Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

“This is unfair!”

“Stop acting like a child and accept the results, Benny.”

“Ugh…!”

Gnashing.

Benny ground her sharp teeth audibly. Though the sight was quite threatening, the tears welling up in her eyes made her less intimidating.

I opened the top of the backpack slung over Benny’s slumped shoulders.

“Let’s see… Ah, here it is.”

What I was looking for was the standard lantern I bought before entering the Labyrinth. Uniquely designed to be worn around the waist like a belt, it was made of a material that wouldn’t break from vigorous movement.

They say it’s made from something called Soft Crystal that only comes from the second floor… In simpler terms, it’s a material that can be processed into soft glass.

I don’t know how it works. If I did, it wouldn’t be a fantasy.

Out of curiosity, I fiddled with the lantern around my waist and turned it on.

Click-!

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The sound of the switch flipping and the lantern lighting up brightly. Thanks to it, the previously pitch-dark surroundings began to be visible a bit further.

The road surrounding us was dirt. The air was heavy and musty. And a terrible silence with not a single sound.

That’s right. If the first floor’s background was a dense forest, the second floor’s background is an underground tunnel.

A giant maze created by countless tunnels intertwined over a long period. That is the concept of the second floor. Of course, it’s a maze that has been conquered and mapped out.

“Wow. Seeing it in person, it’s no joke. People in the old days tackled this place with their bare bodies, right? I don’t think I could do it.”

“Yeah. Even now, most of the deaths on the second floor are not from monsters, but from people starving after getting lost. So be careful, Jonah. The difficulty of finding your way will be different from the first floor.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

With the pathfinding skill, there’s no worry of getting lost at least where there’s a map. Yet, the scene before me was so overwhelming that I worried about losing my way despite knowing it in my head.

The distance the lantern’s light reached was about a 1.5m radius. Beyond that, it gradually darkened and soon transformed into an unfathomable unknown.

Shaking off the chill of looking into an abyss, I smiled brightly.

“In that sense, shall we first check where we are?”

“Hmph! Even if we’re lucky to be on the second floor, can a newbie who’s only been adventuring for a month really find the way?”

Unlike Lydia, who stood calmly behind me, Benny grumbled with a face full of distrust. I smirked at her.

“Hey! Is the porter complaining? Just enjoy the view.”

Benny’s face suddenly crumpled. But what could she do? If she didn’t like it, she should’ve trusted what people say and not have placed a strange bet.

I chuckled and scanned the gravestone standing alone in the center of the safe zone, which was like a large room.

“It’s Zone 17. It’s just right as it’s appropriately on the outskirts. I’m thinking of passing through Zone 15 and returning from Zone 26. Any objections?”

“Yeah. It looks fine. I agree.”

“Even if Lydia doesn’t, I do! It’s clearly a route that circles around the outskirts, so only monsters appropriate for your current level will come out. But do you know how many crossroads you have to pass to circle around the outskirts like that?!”

“Uh, um. It’s nine.”

“Yeah! Quite a lot, right?! Can you choose the right path all nine times without any confusion? Since we are here, the monsters won’t be a big problem. So, how about going deeper and then returning around the 13th Zone along one path?”

Benny pointed to the winding path on the map, indicating the straight path from where they were.

Ultimately, it leads to the middle of the second floor, but as Benny said, there won’t be any dangerous situations due to lack of power. However.

“Hmm. So, you’re saying you don’t trust my skills, right? This is one totally arrogant porter!”

“Isn’t that obvious?! What have you done to make me trust you?”

“Well… I appreciate that you’re worried about someone you’ve hardly met, but trust me, I’m really okay. If anything happens, we can just retrace our steps, right? Benny is a mage, so you must have a good memory. It won’t be hard with Benny around.”

“…I wasn’t worried about you, okay? But, well…if you promise to follow my lead in case of an emergency, I’ll let it slide this time.”

Benny, boasting with a backpack as big as her own body. I’ve always thought that tight-fitting witch dresses are practically cheating.

A body that shouldn’t look sexy is starting to look sexy.

I averted my gaze and crouched down, touching the floor.

In a Labyrinth where everything inside changes irregularly, the basic trick to figuring out your position and finding your way is simple.

The unchanging elements…that is, using the Safe Zone and the location of the god’s remains as reference points. On the first floor, the World Tree, visible from anywhere in the primeval forest, served that purpose.

And the reference point for the second floor, the god’s remains, is the Heart of the Earth.

On the map, it is marked with a large heart shape, and if you actually go there, you’ll see a giant pulsating rock heart.

As the name suggests, the god sleeping on the second floor is the Earth God.

While the other elemental gods died during the war, the Earth God survived until the end.

Thus, among the spirits born in places heavily marked by elemental gods, earth attribute spirits are the fewest in number.

While other gods birthed numerous spirits from their corpses, the Earth God did not die on the surface but was buried in the Labyrinth.

Feeling the faint vibrations while keeping my hand on the ground. It’s not that the heartbeat of the Earth God can actually be heard here.

Just as the entire Great Forest is under the domain of the World Tree, this burrow itself was the realm of the Earth God, so you could feel the presence of its owner everywhere.

Remembering the location of the Heart, I stood up.

“I found it. It’s this way.”

Heading towards one of the three passages connected to the large, room-like Safe Zone, Benny muttered anxiously from behind.

“Lydia. Do we have enough food?”

“We always carry a year’s worth of emergency rations.”

“Isn’t that too much?”

“But you don’t carry any, Benny. If we share, it’s half a year.”

“Oh…sorry.”

“And if we share with Jonah, it’s four months’ worth.”

“I’ll start carrying some from now on….”

“No. It’s fine. Since a new emergency manual comes out every year, it’s perfect.”

“…Give me back my apology!”

Lydia and Benny followed well despite bickering. How many times did we laugh and proceed down the long corridor?

Thud.

There was a small sense of discord in the otherwise silent space, except for the sounds coming from our party.

I stopped walking and drew a dagger from my waist.

“Enemies.”

“I know. …I don’t know how you figured it out, though.”

Benny tilted her head. When I waved at the eyes that popped out from her shadow, they blinked in approval.

I replied with a smirk at the sight.

“I’m quite sensitive, you see.”

Footsteps that consume sound gained power and became more sensitive. If you want to hide your presence, you must be keenly aware of the impact you have around you.

I tapped the ground a couple of times with my toes and focused my mind. Sharpening my senses to the utmost. At the edge of my awareness, I hear a faint breath.

Is it from the right wall?

Using the Sound-eating Footsteps, I suppressed my presence to the extreme.

Before long, my breathing became quiet, and the sound of my steps grew faint.

It felt as if my existence was melting into the world, or as if I was wrapping this world around myself to hide my being.

Perhaps it was startled by this. The breathing sound that came from afar started to become erratic.

It’s only natural. The monsters on the second floor live in burrows, so most of them have degenerated vision and have developed other senses.

It must look like one of the enemies suddenly disappeared from that monster’s perspective.

“What, what the!”

Benny, who is quietly exclaiming from behind, seems to feel the same way.

According to Lydia, unless you use aura to sense it or keep watching, even she would miss it.

Benny would be no different. No, being a mage, the sharpness of her senses would be less than Lydia’s, so she would be even more surprised.

Giggling inwardly, I carefully approached the monster step by step.

What was there was a bipedal monster, clinging closely to the wall, holding a pickaxe dearly in its arms.

It appears to be of similar height to me or perhaps a bit taller. However, its appearance, being a mix between a wolf and a lizard, and its shabby attire, along with the long, spiky tail suggests that it’s a threatening monster despite its small frame.

A Kobold.

Like the goblin on the first floor, it’s the weakest monster on the second floor. Perfect for a first opponent.

Quietly smiling, I approached the creature, who was listening intently in this direction.

Eyes turned gray. Probably a sign of visual degeneration.

Even though I’m right in front of him, the kobold doesn’t notice me at all as I swing my dagger.

“Kobol?”

Maybe it’s the sound of the wind being sliced. Or perhaps it’s the light emitted by the Unicorn Dagger. The kobold realizes my presence belatedly.

Indeed. It certainly looks stronger than a mere goblin. Though it’s already too late.

Swoosh.

The Unicorn Dagger sliced smoothly through the cobalt-scaled neck, as if cutting through pudding.

The body, now without its owner, collapsed with a thud, and the head rolled to a stop at my feet.

After a moment of hesitation, I picked the head up. Then, I walked back to my party, dangling it.

Specifically, to Benny. novelbuddy.cσ๓

“Benny! A gift for you!”

“You’re like a cat bringing a cockroach! I don’t need it!”

That’s too harsh.