Flesh Golem of the Labyrinth City

TN: I think I've made a mistake with how the environment works. It's not that there is a probability of each type appearing, but the amount of the floor consists of the type. It makes much more sense than some rng portal since establishing bases like in the last chapter would be impossible.

"Seriously, what is this?"

My body sped up. I definitely felt my strength increase too.

'To jump this high.'  

An average adult male's sergeant jump is 40cm at best. This means that when you kick off the ground and soar into the air, assuming you don't bend your legs, the soles of your feet would be 40cm above ground.

I heard top national athletes could jump around 110cm max.

But even when I casually jump, my feet nearly reach my solar plexus. Considering how I kicked off the ground with all my might earlier, I definitely jumped higher than my height.

'2-meter sergeant jump? That's monstrous.'

My eyes felt slightly off, too. I plucked some dew-laden grass and shook it high up, causing a dewdrop to fall towards the ground.  

ㅡSlash

Although it unfortunately hit the flat of my blade, my dynamic visual acuity rose to the level of cutting a falling dewdrop. Clearly different from daytime. Something from the wolf was definitely affecting my body.

The biggest difference was my right forearm.

I haven't even been working out lately. Shouldn't my strength decrease?

"Ah, I swung my sword a lot."

The battle on the 3rd floor was the first time I gripped a sword hilt in the middle of the night. I couldn't feel it properly since the battle started right away, but now I know for sure.

'My grip strength increased tremendously.'

The force entering my grasp felt entirely different. I also felt my left arm's strength increase significantly, but it paled in comparison to my right forearm. Thinking about it, it made sense.

Losing an eye, it was replaced by a dire wolf's eyeball. The lost blood was replenished by dire wolf blood. And my tattered arm?

"Dire wolf muscle..."

But other than increased strength, I didn't feel any particular discomfort. So, if other parts get injured, will they also be replaced by dire wolf organs?  

In any case, it was certain this would benefit me right now. My body overflowed with energy, and my vision was bright. Even during battle, I quickly caught and reacted to their movements.

Like... the senses of a wild beast.

"Whew, did I become a werewolf?"

Fortunately, the place I landed on the 4th floor was a forest area. I was worried it would've been a mountain.

ㅡTing!

Infusing mana into my explorer badge, it pulled taut towards the portal. The forest here looked a bit different from the 3rd floor, and other mana-infused creatures would start appearing from here on.

"Water? Check. Energy bar? Check."

I refilled my canteen. I wasn't sleepy despite it being night.

The trees in the 4th-floor forest were spaced slightly further apart, but visibility was a bit shorter due to the thick tree trunks than on the 3rd-floor.  

Weak but mana-infused monsters like horned rabbits appeared more frequently, and valuable creatures like blue-horned deer showed up. I want to catch them if possible.

ㅡRustle

Even with a slight breeze, my footsteps were a bit quieter thanks to the lack of knee-high miscellaneous plants. Overall noise decreased, making my senses even sharper.

'Strange.'

I didn't feel anything nearby, making me even warier.

I couldn't tell if there was nothing or if they were hiding too well for me to notice.

My only experience with the 4th floor was going with a party that had an explorer with presence detection skills. I wasn't sure if I currently possessed senses rivaling that.

Of course, recalling that time, there was likely nothing now. Although dire wolves caused trouble at night, just like the 3rd floor, the biggest difference on the 4th floor was that it was dangerous even during the day.

My field of view was also narrow. The thick tree trunks obscured distant sights. Did I hype myself up too much on the third floor?

After brief deliberation, I started running.

"Huff, huff."

Running was definitely better than walking.

The end of this run would be passing the portal and entering the 5th floor. That thought invigorated my body.

After adjusting my speed and running through the forest for about 30 minutes, a plain eventually came into view.

"There aren't many plains on the 4th floor. I'm lucky."

Moonlight, previously blocked by leaves, now faithfully illuminated the wide meadow. However, there was a minor catch: unlike the first-floor plain, it was slightly more hilly, obscuring the view.

But that wasn't a problem.

"Calorie replenishment time."

Thanks to the cool air, I didn't sweat much. After taking out water from my canteen and drinking, I put a grain cube in my mouth and slowly walked while chewing. The plain wasn't very large, so the forest appeared again after walking a few minutes.

"...Water."

I heard the sound of flowing water. It is probably not a pond, and based on the sound, it is probably between a valley. There is no need to go there now.

Before entering the forest, I turned my head back and surveyed the surroundings. Fortunately, there were no tall mountain ranges in my direction.

The mountainous area was far away, so there was no need to worry about going them. I could just run straight to the portal.

Another 30 minutes or so after re-entering the forest,

I sensed a presence.

'There's something to the right. The footsteps aren't particularly light...'

It belonged to a four-legged beast with hard hooves.

'Fuck.. it's an absolute unit.'

I had only heard of a blue-horned deer by name. I thought it would be a roe deer with horns, but it was huge, like a crazy Arctic reindeer. It was over 2 meters tall, excluding the horns.

With the trees being thick and branches growing high, I couldn't expect its horns to get caught on trees. I also heard they were extremely aggressive…

'Can I catch it?'

If it charged at me with those horns, gambeson or not, my organs would be minced right away even if my belly skin luckily didn't burst open.

It was almost 100 meters away. Due to its large size, only its body was visible, but the long horns clearly had a blue tinge. I heard it had the property of storing mana, making it the ideal material for beginner staffs.

'No, let's not. Let's just go around.'

I didn't want to risk my life to make a few bucks. But that bastard, why did it suddenly stop moving.

'Could it be.'

Suspecting something, I slightly lifted my foot.

'Fuck.'

It also moved and stopped in sync. It was unnatural behavior, and I felt it was wary of me. Damn it. I got caught.

Are deer usually this sensitive? It was far away, and I moved carefully to avoid making any noise.  

Well, since I got caught, let's try talking.

"Deer. I just want to pass by quietly."

No answer. Its breath intensified, and it stomped its hind legs as if saying forget it. Let's fight.

Fuck my life. No matter how much faster and stronger I became, I had no confidence in fighting and winning against such a truck-sized deer.

It felt like preparing for a head-on collision with a Damas. A Damas would probably knock me over if it hit from the side, but it's still a vehicle. The power that comes with size can't be ignored.

"Fuck it's coming..!"

ㅡThud thud thud

The sturdy hooves supporting its massive body kicked off the ground, producing an ominous vibration.  

The blue-horned deer advanced relatively quickly with its huge horns at the forefront. Due to the thick trees, it couldn't charge in a straight line, so I used them as obstacles and dodged around, somehow fleeing.

I heard explorers lure it to the plains to fight while preserving its horns. Are they crazy?

Right now, I don't care about preserving the horns. I wish it would quickly break its horns by ramming them somewhere...!

Bam ㅡ !

'Incredible.'

A deep gash was carved into the thick tree trunk rammed by its huge horns. I could gauge the impact of its horns from the deep crater left in the barely standing tree.

It was advancing recklessly between the trees, shaking its head side to side like a drunk person. If I keep running away like this, forget the 5th floor, my stamina will run out...

'Stamina..!'

That's it. I'm not the only one getting tired. I'll wait patiently while it goes berserk.

Bam!!

Look at that. It keeps ramming its horns into trees, skillfully avoiding trees by shaking its head from side to side. But it's still a beast.

The moment the impact accumulates in its head, its judgment will slow down and create an opening.  

While running, I lowered my body, grabbed a rock caught under my foot, and gradually slowed my pace.

I was aiming for just one thing.

'A little closer..!'

It had a tendency to raise its head from bottom to top when thrusting with its horns. If I used that...

"Come at me bitch!"

I ran toward a tree and readied myself. I threw the stone, and anger glinted in its eyes.

The moment it thrust its horns towards me,

"Hup..!"  

I dropped to the ground at lightning speed..! Since it didn't lower its horns enough to graze the ground, I could avoid its horns by lying down.

Bam ㅡ !!!

Its huge horns, filled with force, slammed into the tree trunk. As it raised its head while ramming, its neck was left defenseless. Deer have eyes that can't see straight ahead. It wouldn't see me thrusting the sword.

'Now's the chance.'

Gripping the sword tightly in my hand, I got up from lying on the ground and simultaneously thrust it towards its neck.

"Take this...!"

Crunch-

Luckily, the blade entered the thick and sturdy cervical cartilage.

ㅡSnap

With the sound of its hide tearing at the back of its neck, I twisted the blade and pulled out the hilt for smooth bleeding.

ㅡSplash

"Ack, fuck."

As a result, I got soaked by the fountain of blood. The smell was fishy, but it felt warm, which was nice. I didn't get hit much since I quickly moved out of the way.

The problem was when the blood got cold.

This fearsome blue-horned deer required at least an Iron rank to catch alone. And I caught it by myself.

If it were the old me, I would've gotten my guts spilled out while trying to lie down quickly and getting pierced by its horns.

No, I wouldn't have been able to run around for 30 minutes in the first place.  

"Is this… really the Labyrinth...?"

I could feel my growth.

Translator’s Corner

It took me way too long to decide on the word hype, but I feel I'm missing a very obvious word.