104th
The Nymphs and Pluto’s Underground Labyrinth
104 ? Nymph Cult and Pluto’s Underground Labyrinth #2
The nymph cultist Paranoy, who was sitting in the prison, slowly spread her thighs left and right.
Is there anything more primal than that? If you are a strong man, your gaze will inevitably be fixed on that spot.
“What did you just say…?”
“I, I am so grateful that you saved my life. You even did the dangerous thing of sucking out spider venom with your mouth to save me… So, I will give you, comrade, what I have protected with my life.”
I couldn’t understand what this tied-up social paranoiac was trying to say. There was no such thing as a poisonous spider in the first place.
What on earth are you giving me?
I glanced at it to see if there was any treasure hidden between its legs, but there was nothing there.
“Oh, are you giving me your virginity…?”
“… .”
Paranoy simply swallowed his saliva and said nothing more.
That silence.
Can this be seen as a positive statement?
Subal, what the hell is going on? A wicked trap of the cultists?
“I’ve been saving it to give it to my son who is dying… But, this is all I can give you right now.”
At Paranoy’s words, my face turned hot and the blood rushed to my lower body, almost to the point of leaking out through my pants.
What man would refuse a meal prepared like this?
Of course there is.
He’s a man who already has a lover.
I already have a precious Luna.
Above all, the sanitary conditions of Paranoy, who had been locked up in prison for a long time, were so filthy that it seemed certain that if I hugged a woman like that, I would contract some strange disease.
If Paranoy’s condition had been a little cleaner, I would have really thought about it seriously. Although she was a stupid and idiotic socialite, she was cute, as befitting her name as a nymph.
So after much consideration, I had no choice but to decline Paranoy’s offer.
“Paranoy, you don’t have to do that.”
“Really? Huh… That’s a relief. Comrade, you seem to have a broad mind. I was short-sighted….”
Paranoy also let out a sigh of relief, perhaps trembling with fear on the inside. She must have been afraid of giving her virginity to a man she didn’t even know.
“Someday, when I get out of here, I will definitely repay your kindness, comrade. You can look forward to it.”
“I see.”
Paranoy still hasn’t given up hope of escaping from this dungeon. It’s a bit strange that he hasn’t lost hope even in such a desperate situation.
I decided to take a closer look, wondering if there was some kind of hidden agenda or a scheme being hatched by the cultists.
“How, is there any way to get out of here?”
“Well, it’s not like there aren’t any. The stupid dogs of Mars made me an offer. If I convert, they’ll set me free.”
If I convert, you’ll set me free?
From my perspective, I wonder if it is okay to let go of socializing so easily.
“Did you really say that?”
“Yes, it must be true since a man who looks quite high up said so. Pure-blooded nymphs like me are highly sought after everywhere, so they would want to make me their comrade. I, it’s ridiculous to say that I would betray Pluto-sama.”
“hmm.”
“Well, wouldn’t Lord Pluto forgive me for pretending to convert? I don’t think it would be a problem if I just pretended to convert, but didn’t really convert…”
This is such a pathetic, socially awkward bastard.
* * *
A week spent immersed in books and the smell of medicine.
Just when I was starting to feel bored and wondering if there was anything fun to do.
Hassan of Samaria, Luna Noxdotti are here.
A messenger from the Mars Guild came to find Luna and me.
“Hassan, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know either.”
I began to secretly hope that guild business would resume again, and that there would be some new guys who would beat up the rusting clubs for some extra money.
It seems that I had become addicted to the feeling of beating something with a club without even realizing it. I went to the guild building with the slight expectation that I might be able to hit at least a goblin’s bowl.
Among the remains of the broken guild building, a group of adventurers appeared to be gathered.
Hippolyta, the only person we knew among the unfamiliar faces, approached us.
“Ah, you came.”
“What’s the matter, Hippolyte? Why are you calling us all like this?”
“Ha, ahem, ahem.”
Hippolyte shrugged her shoulders, seeming greatly embarrassed by Luna’s question. Soon, she let out a small sigh and spoke as if nothing had happened.
“No, it’s Knoxdotty. Ahem. It’s nothing special. I called you here as an observer of the conversion ceremony.”
“We’re going to the conversion ceremony? Really? Wow!”
Luna was so surprised and delighted that she couldn’t believe it.
He looked so excited that I couldn’t help but ask him while lightly touching his side with my finger.
“Luna, what is a conversion ceremony?”
“I don’t know either! I don’t know what it is, but it must be good! Shh!”
“Oh, I see.”
“Ugh… .”
Hippolyte, who was watching this, groaned and explained it kindly.
“A conversion ceremony is an event to change the god that one has sworn to. In the case of cultists who believe in false religions, it is held with the attendance of five or more Silver Tier adventurers.”
I’m a Silver Tier Adventurer.
As I looked around at Hippolyte’s words, I saw the remains of a giant hammer and several people wearing silver necklaces, including Hippolyte.
Just looking at them, they’re all equally formidable adventurers. Sval, if I ever want to become Gold Tier, I’ll have to compete with those guys.
But looking at the flashy weapons, the solid, bulging muscles, and the chilling staffs, I felt a little intimidated.
Although I’ve grown rapidly recently, I still feel like I have a long way to go compared to Silver Tier adventurers.
I turned away from the guys and asked Hippolyte calmly.
“But why did you call us to that conversion ceremony?”
“You played a big role in suppressing the cult, so I called you here as a special observer. It’s nothing special, you can just sit there, so don’t worry.”
“I see. So who exactly is converting?”
“There they come.”
It was when I turned my head like that.
Click, click, click, click.
A small wooden cage with wheels soon appeared among the adventurers.
And the one caught and tied up inside was none other than the rag-clad nymph Paranoy!
Sval, what is it?
I too could not help but be bewildered by the sight of him locked up like a monkey in a wicked zoo.
A conversion ceremony? Could it be that he has decided to convert? Has his spirit been broken after being locked up for so long?
At that moment, Baltmar, a balding man with a frown on his face who had been sitting on a chair, stood in front of the wooden cage like a zookeeper.
“Now, here stands Paranoia, daughter of Demetra, before the gods and the initiates. Paranoia has today renounced her faith in Pluto and vowed to live as a faithful servant of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth.”
Groan, groan.
As Baltmar finished speaking, the adventurers and onlookers who had been filling the hall looked at each other and chattered.
Luna also seems to feel something and speaks to me quietly.
“Who is it? It’s the cultist I met at the logging camp last time. By the way, Hassan, why are you sweating so much? Is it hot?”
It was Luna who fanned me with her hand and even blew wind while I was sweating profusely on my forehead.
It was a hot day, but the sweat wasn’t just because the weather was hot.
“Paranoi, do you swear that you will live as Vesta’s faithful servant from now on?”
Baltmar asked Paranoy, who was trapped inside us. Paranoy hesitated as if he didn’t know what to do.
“That, that….”
“If you don’t tell me quickly, I’ll have to send you to the prison city too. Do you know what happens to soft nymphs like you there?”
“Oh, what’s going on?”
“Hehe, I don’t know. You can go there and let us know, okay? Of course, I don’t know if you’ll have time to write letters or anything like that there.”
“Huhhh… .”
Did Baltmar’s threats work? Paranoy was at a loss, trembling like a frightened rat between two huge dogs.
Who could possibly think of an evil cultist from that appearance? At this point, I don’t know who the bad guys are.
“Paranoy, do you swear? This is your last chance.”
Baltma asked again, looking inside us. Soon, Paranoy closed his eyes tightly and answered as if he had made a big decision.
“I swear, I swear! I swear!”
“좋아, 그럼 플루토 개새끼 해 봐.”
“What, what? I, I didn’t say anything like that!”
“If you really want to convert with all your heart, it’s not impossible.”
“Ugh… .”
Paranoy moved his eyes anxiously as if wondering what to do. Those amber eyes that had been searching between people’s faces met mine.
“Ugh… .”
Isn’t that guy shouting as if he’s about to make up his mind?
“F, Pluto Bog!”
I don’t know what kind of change of heart the guy had when his eyes met mine. Anyway, his voice was as loud as a lightning bolt.
Who would have thought that such a loud sound could come from the body of such a small nymph? Anyway, everyone surrounding the girl smiled in satisfaction at that clear oath.
“Okay, so there’s one last checkpoint left.”
“What, what? Mars’ dog… no, Baltma! Even though our promises are different, they are too different! I did everything you told me to do! Just let me go quickly!”
Paranoy growled as if he couldn’t understand at all. Hippolyta, who had been quietly listening to the story with her arms folded in a corner, stepped forward.
“Convert, Paranoy. You will be part of the labyrinth exploration team that departs tomorrow and will raid the ruins of Pluto. This will be proof of your conversion and apostasy.”
“You want me to rob the ruins!?”
“Yes, Pluto’s Labyrinth is like Pluto’s Temple. If you steal the artifacts there and present them to us, then you will be granted freedom.”
“I can’t do that. I’ll be cursed by Pluto!”
“That’s none of my business. And you better not have any other intentions. You’ll have a vicious guard following you.”
“Ugh… .”
Paranoy ground his teeth as if he was really being wronged. But Hippolyta simply continued to speak loudly and clearly as if she really didn’t care.
“The departure is at dawn tomorrow morning. And the destination is a level 1 labyrinth floating in the swamps of Kallan. I will now call the names of the personnel assigned to that mission.”
Chorus.
Hippolyte took out something like a scroll from her bosom and spread it out to the sides. She scanned the letters written on it with her eyes, then opened her mouth and shouted.
“For this level of labyrinth raid, I have selected promising supernovas within the guild. The adventurers whose names have been called out, please receive a seal from me! First up is Didier, the small beast of Irene!”
“Haha, I’m so honored. I knew I’d be chosen.”
At Hippolyte’s call, a small man emerged from the crowd.
With his small body covered in iron plates and holding a fairly large double-edged axe, he looks like a formidable warrior.
He looks quite skilled, but judging by the necklace he’s wearing around his neck, he seems to be a bronze tier.
“I’ll show those dungeon monsters the taste of an axe! You damn bastards, you’ll pay the price for eating my leg!”
I was wondering why he was so angry. Now that I look at it, I see that the dwarf friend’s left leg was something like a wooden prosthesis.
Even a guy without one leg is good at adventure work. While I was thinking about this,
“Is that the one-legged Didier who single-handedly defeated the Basilisk?”
“You look more in shape than I thought.”
“That guy might be the one to get promoted to Silver Tier this year.”
People around me have been gossiping about the one-legged dwarf Didier. I don’t know what it is, but he seems to be quite an impressive guy.
“Ahem, quiet. Then secondly. Velmina, the Decisive Master of Carinthos!”
“joy.”
A woman in blue robes named Velmina stood up and accepted what looked like a small seal in Hippolyte’s hand. Her long, sky-blue hair gave her a refreshing impression.
However, he doesn’t look like he’s got a lot of money. Judging from the small stick he’s holding, is he a wizard?
Even if you call it a stick, it is so thin that it is not even worth comparing to my club. It is just as flimsy as a magic wand.
“You graduated second in your class from the ivory tower, right?”
“They say you can use ice magic freely.”
“Oh my god, ice magic. It’s not as good as fire magic, but isn’t it a high-level attack magic? And it’s still bronze tier.”
“It must be going smoothly now.”
However, contrary to my harsh evaluation, the score for the female wizard with sky blue hair was quite generous. After all, the wizard race itself is a fairly high-level human resource.
Having studied magic professionally at a place called the Ivory Tower, such as a magic university, means that you are basically at least Silver Tier.
“And thirdly. Luna, daughter of Ideopheus, the sorceress of superstition and violence.”
“What!?”
Luna jumped up in surprise, as if she had never expected her name to be called. Of course, I was also suddenly really flustered and wondered what the heck was going on.
Weren’t you building an Avengers team of human weapons to conquer the labyrinth? With Luna in there, it’s like a Pomeranian stuck between muscle-bursting pit bulls. Wouldn’t it be crushing?
“Is it really me…?”
Luna stood up hesitantly as if she didn’t understand and took something like a small seal from Hippolyte’s hand.
“Is that girl the one who’s been getting so aggressive lately?”
“They say your karma level goes up by three or four every few months.”
“She’s much prettier than I’ve heard. I thought she was some kind of rough, barbarian woman. She’s comparable to Lady Yeong-ae.”
“No, no matter what, the Count’s daughter is more….”
It seems that rumors about Luna have been spreading, whether you know it or not. Who would have thought that Luna, who used to get beaten up by goblins and whined, would one day be recognized by people?
Didn’t I just raise them all?
When I felt that proud.
“Well then, lastly. Let me announce the leader of the dungeon exploration party. Well then, I don’t think much needs to be said about this man.”
When the party venue was announced, everyone’s mouths fell silent.
“This man is said to have defeated Pluto’s champion in single combat, and subdued the witch’s lions and crocodiles with his bare hands.”
Amidst a slight tension and even a desolate silence floating around.
Hippolyte said.
“The party leader is the descendant of Jupiter. The soul hunter of the black wilderness. The silent warrior of the gods, Sigress!!”
Jigress? Sval, who is that?
“Another name is Hassan of Samaria! Young warrior, you are the one in charge of this labyrinth expedition!!”
[Work Review]
I feel like I’m about 1/10th of the way through the story now. I’ll try to speed things up a bit..!!
Since we started with the ending already decided, there will be no changes to the actions and events of the characters, including Hassan and Luna, until the knife is put in their mouths…!!!
But let me tell you one thing. Since this is written with the motto of being easy to read, there won’t be any content that will make you worry or anxious, so please go about your business without worrying, everyone!!!!
You have to trust me completely…!!!
