Russell was numb.
Not just ntally—literally numb.
He had been electrocuted.
Both he and Rozelite had been struck by the labyrinth’s rule-manifested lightning, roasted “crispy outside, tender inside.” If Russell hadn’t seized control of Rozelite’s body at the last second and turned to run, the situation could have been even worse.
At this mont, Rozelite lay sprawled on the ground in an utterly ungraceful posture, unable to lift even a single finger.
Russell pulled open Rozelite’s status panel.
【Na: Rozelite Othinus】
【Race: Human】
【Level: 11】
【HP: 98/850】
【Status: Starving, Severely Injured】
【Skills: Court Etiquette Lv. 6, One-Handed Sword Mastery Lv. 4, Ballroom Dance Lv. 6, Poetry Recital Lv. 4, Instrunt Proficiency (Zither) Lv. 5, Death Mark Lv. 7】
“What kind of random mishmash of skills are these?”
Still, for soone only level 11, wasn’t an HP cap of 850 pretty high?
Humans really were a race favored by heaven.
Russell was already level 53, and even then his HP had only just passed the 1000 mark.
Or maybe it wasn’t that humans were strong—maybe slis were just too weak. After all, slis were bottom-tier monsters that couldn’t even beat a stray dog of the sa level…
This was his first ti eting a human in this world, so he had little to compare against.
But the bigger problem right now was how to get out of the labyrinth.
The girl’s HP—or rather, her health bar—was already nearly empty.
The damn labyrinth’s rules were absurd. No matter the race or skills, each attempt at the exit cut a flat 100 HP. If it happened again, Rozelite’s health bar would hit zero.
Sure, Russell could still control her corpse—but that would defeat the purpose entirely.
“M-Mister Sli…”
Rozelite’s frail voice whispered.
“What is it?”
“If… if I die… could you please not eat my body? Father might be sending people to find , and I don’t want… sob… I don’t want to be eaten into sothing so ugly…”
She suddenly began to choke up.
“Idiot. Even if I don’t eat it, a corpse will rot anyway,” Russell said helplessly.
“Compared to being found riddled with holes, crawling with maggots, reeking of putrid protein, isn’t it better if I eat you clean down to the bones?”
“Uuuhhh… uuuuhhhh…”
Rozelite only cried harder.
“Kids really can’t handle a little teasing.”
Russell didn’t have the mood to console her, so he opened his own status panel instead.
【Na: Russell】
【Race: Sli】
【Level: 53】
【HP: 1150/1500】
【MP: 968,485/968,500】
【Skills: Bottomless Appetite Lv. ∞, Mana Absorption Lv. 8, Shapeshift Lv. 7, Cold Resistance Lv. 6, Heat Resistance Lv. 7, Corrosion Resistance Lv. 5, Fire Magic Lv. 6, Earth Magic Lv. 7, Water Magic Lv. 7, Wind Magic Lv. 1, Mana Cannon Lv. 8, Parasitism Lv. 5, Mimicry Lv. 5, Regeneration Lv. 7, ntal Integration Lv. 3, Symbiosis Lv. 3】
Hmm?
Russell’s gaze landed on [Symbiosis].
Only Lv. 3.
He recalled picking it up back when he conquered the third floor, from so amphibian-type monsters. Since there hadn’t been many of them and they were weak, after wiping them all out he’d only managed to raise it to Lv. 3.
“Co to think of it, [Parasitism] carries the implication of seizing the host. Maybe that’s why parasitized humans get classified as monsters? If that’s the case, then [Symbiosis] might bypass that problem. Hard to say, though…”
Russell sank into thought.
Rozelite’s health bar couldn’t take more trial and error. Next attempt would likely be the last.
If it failed, he’d have no choice but to wait for the next “lucky encounter.”
“Do I gamble? On Rozelite’s life?”
Then gamble it was.
Russell wasn’t the indecisive type.
Besides, there was no other way. Even the faintest chance was worth taking—if it ant escaping this cursed place, if it ant gaining freedom, if it ant one step closer to becoming human again—he’d do anything.
“Rozelite, we’re going to try again,” Russell said.
“Eh? A-again?”
Rozelite hesitated.
Not because she didn’t trust Russell. Simply because… it hurt.
Too much.
After a pause, Russell suddenly asked, “Earlier, you said your father might send people to find you. In your estimation, how long would that take?”
“Mm… a day, maybe two?”
“…Not sure how you ca to that number, but I’ll be honest with you—it’s already been three days since you fell into this labyrinth. As for how long before that, I don’t know.”
Rozelite’s small face went blank.
Russell continued.
“I understand the desire to wait for rescue. But if it were , I’d put more trust in myself.”
The mont he finished, Rozelite’s stomach lurched.
She gagged instinctively, and then saw a pale-blue tentacle tipped with an eyeball crawl out of her throat, turning to fix its gaze on her.
“So? Will you do it?”
“…Yes.”
Rozelite nodded.
She wiped her tears, placed a hand on her belly.
“Um… Mister Sli, could you pull the tentacle back in? Having it stuck in my throat… gag… it really feels… awful…”
“I need to observe the outside world… But fine, let’s deal with this first.”
Russell withdrew the tentacle.
Rozelite’s throat convulsed as the foreign obstruction finally vanished.
Now a little calr, she thought it through. Mister Sli inside her belly was frightening, yes—but in her condition, she couldn’t do without him. More importantly, he didn’t seem to an her any harm.
Sitting here waiting to die wasn’t a solution. She couldn’t rely only on Father…
“Mister Sli, let’s go!”
Rozelite declared firmly.
“Alright.”
[Symbiosis Lv. 3]
As the skill activated, Russell’s body underwent another transformation.
Unlike Parasitism, which forced its way into a host, Symbiosis was a state of mutual benefit. He had no idea what possible “mutual benefit” could exist between a human and a sli—but under this state, Russell could clearly feel a deeper connection to Rozelite’s body.
If he had to describe the difference, it was like “teaching soone to play a ga” versus “playing it yourself.”
Rozelite lifted her arm and gave it a shake.
She felt her body lighter, better—as if she weren’t injured at all. Was it an illusion?
“How do you feel?”
Russell asked.
“Mm! My body feels so light—I don’t think I have anything left to be afraid of!”
“….”
“Child, that’s the kind of thing you should never say out loud.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)