GILF Hunter

Chapter 367 Harpies

Ian and the members arrived in front of the entrance to the Labyrinth.

Standing before the entrance, unlike last time, Ian pulled out an item he had prepared in advance.

A stone fragment as pitch black as if darkness itself had been condensed.

It was an item called [Abyssal Shard] obtained from the boss, the Banshee, when they cleared the Labyrinth last time.

It was an entry material used before entering the Labyrinth to allow entry into a depth with a higher difficulty level.

As Ian reached out holding it, darkness flickered as if reacting to it. The fragment in Ian’s hand melted away in an instant.

The pitch-black darkness visible inside the Labyrinth’s entrance. It was a darkness so black it couldn’t get any darker, yet it felt as if its depth had grown even deeper.

’Let’s head in now.’

When Ian, having finished the preparations, looked back, everyone nodded with tensed expressions.

Following behind Ian, everyone slowly moved their steps into the Labyrinth.

＊ ＊ ＊

Descending further, Ian felt the texture of the dirt floor beneath his feet as the stairs ended.

As he raised the lantern, the darkness spread out before him was pushed back slightly. A wall blocked the path right in front.

Soon, the members arrived one by one behind Ian.

’Ugh, it’s narrow...’

The Labyrinth they had entered this time was not a place with ample space like the last one.

A cramped passageway.

It was a space so narrow it was difficult for even two people to stand together.

It was a burrow terrain, counted as one of the narrowest spaces among Labyrinths.

’Is this going to be okay? We didn’t accidentally enter the wrong place, did we?’

’We entered correctly.’

Inside a burrow that looked like it had been dug by a beast, not even at the level of a ruin. Since it was a form completely different from the Labyrinth terrains they had seen so far, everyone seemed flustered.

’Then... what should we do?’

Among them, Rin had the most troubled face.

Because it was an excessively narrow place, let alone flanking to aim for the rear, it looked difficult even to run past Lia, who was in front.

’It can’t be helped... Rin, you take the very rear. It looks difficult for two people to fight at once anyway.’

’It truly can’t be helped...’

’If a monster appears from behind, it’ll be difficult for Lia to go there immediately, and they might appear from both sides. We need one person on each side anyway.’

If two people tried to fight together, they were likely to get hit by each other’s weapons, let alone passing through.

In the end, Rin was relegated to the role of guarding the absolute rear.

’Let’s try going forward first. Rin and Airi, keep an eye on what’s coming from behind.’

’I hope a wider place comes up.’

Everyone nodded and swapped positions in the order just decided. Because it was a narrow passage, swapping places past each other was also quite an inconvenient task.

As they decided on a direction and began moving slowly, Mika, standing right behind Ian, asked him.

’By the way, what kind of monsters appear in a place like this?’

’Since it’s monsters that live in burrows, animals like that or insects will probably appear.’

Insects...?

Lia, walking at the very front, flinched upon hearing those words.

Whether it was just a feeling or not, the pace of Lia at the lead seemed to slow down slightly.

After moving for about a few minutes like that, Lia’s tensed voice was heard from the front.

’Enemy ahead!’

’That is...’

Ian poked his head out slightly to inspect the front. Something was approaching in the darkness with glowing red eyes.

’It wasn’t insects.’

What approached closely was a beast that looked like a mole. It was a monster named Moler.

’Phew...’

He felt as if he heard a small sigh from Lia after she confirmed the opponent’s identity.

’It’s coming! Watch out!’

The monster let out a low growl and then lunged immediately. Sharp claws flew toward Lia.

Before those claws could reach Lia, Mika’s barrier deflected the attack with a dull thud.

’It doesn’t seem to be extremely strong.’

Mika, confirming the barrier was still intact, relayed to Lia.

It was a barrier containing a small amount of mana for power-checking purposes, and the fact that it didn’t break meant the attack wasn’t that strong.

’Then that’s enough. You don’t have to use the barrier.’

Lia stepped forward holding her shield. For an attack of that level, Lia’s shield alone was sufficient.

-Skreeee!

As expected, the monster’s claws were easily blocked by Lia’s shield.

’Ugh...’

The problem was the space. Because it was a narrow passage, it wasn’t easy to swing a sword while blocking attacks against a rampaging monster.

Putting her shield forward and blocking the lunging attacks, Lia finally managed to slash the monster after a brief struggle.

Since it wasn’t that strong of a monster and there was only one, Lia was able to deal with it before long.

Lia, having finally dealt with the monster, let out a sigh.

’Phew... Is this one the end?’

Lia kept her eyes on the front passage, but there didn’t seem to be any more monsters.

In the meantime, Ian, who had inspected the monster’s appearance more closely, said.

’There are probably many more nearby.’

’Is it a monster that travels in packs?’

’They are monsters that travel individually, but there are just many of them.’

They weren’t monsters with a pack mentality.

They didn’t call for allies while fighting, and there were almost no cases where many of them clustered together at once.

However, there were just many of these monsters.

’It’s probably packed inside this burrow.’

The burrow, the habitat of these monsters, was not of a scale that one or two could dig.

It was a characteristic of these monsters that numerous monsters gathered to dig a massive burrow and lived crowded inside it.

As per those words, Ian’s group continued to encounter monsters while advancing.

They approached from behind, and they even encountered new monsters after walking just a few steps following a battle. The inside of this tunnel was in a state of being infested with monsters.

A burrow where numerous paths were entangled like a spiderweb. In a narrow and complex passage where a fork in the road led to another fork again, Lia, having dealt with another monster, muttered.

’Are there only these monsters here...?’

’Indeed. Although it’s annoying, if this is all, it’s too simple.’

Everyone inwardly agreed and nodded.

They had entered with firm resolve because it was said to be a deep Labyrinth where stronger monsters appear, but so far, it was an underwhelming situation.

It’s inconvenient to fight, but it’s not a place that’s that difficult. Rather, the undead Labyrinth they entered at the very beginning felt much more difficult.

Perhaps, they felt the Labyrinth was simple thanks to having grown significantly in the meantime. They moved their steps while inwardly thinking so.

While wandering a bit more through the burrow like that, Lia, having discovered a strange phenomenon, hurriedly stopped her steps.

Until now, the pitch-black burrow had been continuing, but bright light was leaking in from the other side of the passage.

The members standing in the back also discovered it and shouted.

’Ah... something is glowing ahead there!’

’It seems like there’s a wide area in front.’

Perhaps because they had been in the dark, it was a light so bright it made their eyes sting.

’Let’s go slowly. Carefully.’

Following Ian’s words, everyone reduced their walking speed and slowly approached that light.

The surroundings became brighter the closer they got, and as their eyes adjusted to the light, it was to the point where there was no longer a need to light the lanterns.

’This is...’

Lia, walking at the very front, stopped her steps in bewilderment.

The point where Lia stopped was the end of the burrow. Light was coming in from outside the tunnel.

’....’

Lia, who had cautiously poked her head outside, stepped back without a word.

The outside of the burrow was not the surface.

As Lia returned back again, Mika and Tanya, who had been waiting, asked Lia with puzzled faces.

’What’s wrong? Aren’t we going out?’

’...Come and see for yourselves.’

Since the burrow had widened slightly more than before, there was space for the members in the back to also come forward and look outside.

Everyone stepped forward and poked their heads out like Lia.

And everyone, after looking outside, hesitantly stepped back without a word.

The outside of the burrow was not the surface, but the middle of a cliff.

A tunnel pierced in the middle of a high cliff.

It was a place so dizzyingly high that the ground couldn’t even be seen.

There was a cliff of similar height on the opposite side, and it could be seen that countless tunnels were pierced there as well, just like on this side.

This was not the exit of the burrow, but one of the countless passages dug inside the cliff.

The cliff was covered with mysterious vines and tree roots that emitted light, allowing them to look far out to see what was there.

’Careful, stay quiet.’

Ian spoke to the members in a small voice and stepped back.

Hearing those words, everyone hurriedly lowered their voices and ducked their bodies.

As they lowered their voices, they could notice something like a cry coming from afar.

’What monster is it? It doesn’t sound like the cries of those things earlier...’

’It’s over there.’

Ian answered the question of Rin, who had lowered her voice small.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the direction Ian was pointing with his finger.

Above a large nest built on one side of the cliff, they could see numerous things that looked like birds flying around.

’What is... that?’

’They’re Harpies.’

The monsters nesting on one side of the cliff were Harpies.

Everyone quietly held their breath and watched the movement of the Harpies flying above the cliff.

The Harpies flew at high altitudes and observed below the cliff, occasionally flying down to snatch Molers who poked their heads out of the burrows and dragging them to the nests.

’We... won’t need to go outside there, right?’

’The source of this Labyrinth is probably over there.’

Ian’s finger pointed to the largest nest of the Harpies.

Everyone’s expressions darkened upon seeing it.

It was the Harpy Canyon, famous for being the most difficult to navigate among Labyrinth terrains.