Surviving in the Labyrinth City of the Reverse World

10 – Beastman #2

Swu collapsed. He fell down as if tripping over a log, unable to move another step. He hit his head on the ground.

“Swu!”

I hurriedly ran to Swu. I grabbed his fallen arm and struggled to push him up. Even flipping Swu over was difficult with my small hands.

If it weren’t for the help of the sisters with the “Dictator’s Sword,” I would have been drenched in sweat.

“Ow, is it because he’s a beastman? He’s really heavy.”

“Swu! Swu…!”

“Ray, calm down. He just lost consciousness for a moment.”

“….”

At the words of the thief sisters, I calmed down and composed myself, suppressing my excitement. My focus returned.

Now I could calmly assess the situation. I checked Swu’s condition.

“His chest is moving.”

I had lost consciousness, but my breathing seemed fine. It didn’t seem like my lungs were injured.

Next was my heart. I pressed my cheek against Suu’s chest and listened to the thumping sound of his heartbeat.

“It’s really fast. Isn’t this serious?”

The average human heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. What about a werewolf?

I’m not sure, but I don’t think my current condition is normal.

“Dokdangeom” Nuna stabbed me in the shoulder and called out to me.

“Ray, Suu woke up.”

“What?”

I looked up, first at the thief nuna, and then at the awakened Suu. I stared at them like that.

Our eyes met.

Suu turned his head abruptly, his face reddening. He avoided my gaze.

“Suu!”

I couldn’t pay attention to Suu’s reaction. My whole mind was consumed by the fact that Suu had woken up perfectly fine.

Without realizing it, I hugged Suu tightly, so happy that I had forgotten how much pain he was in.

“Oof…!”

Suu, suddenly overwhelmed, trembled. With his arms awkwardly stretched out, he patted my back.

I asked, my voice filled with concern, while still holding Suu in my arms.

“Are you okay…?”

“I-I’m fine. I’m okay. What about you, Ray?”

“I’m fine too. Thanks to you, Suu.”

No one was injured. I thanked Suu.

“Thank you. I can’t imagine what would have happened if it wasn’t for you. It’s unimaginable.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“Really, thank you.”

How can two women be so different?

Some pretend to be kind on the surface to deceive and exploit men. Others fight until they’re covered in blood to protect such men.

While Suu and I embrace each other and share our joy, there are thief sisters trying to pry me away from Suu, reaching their hands under my armpit.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“I have something to ask Suu.”

Suu sat up, as if ready for a conversation, and looked at the sisters of the “Dictator’s Sword.”

One of the sisters, holding the unconscious Brown, spoke.

“Suu, what’s your level?”

“…Why are you asking that?”

“I never imagined you would faint because of a skill. Even if you activated “Beast Soul,” I mean.”

Suu calmly revealed her level.

“I’m level 4.”

“…It’s lower than I thought.”

The thief sister looked at Suu with a surprised expression.

“Well… It’s not easy for a werewolf to find a man.”

“Then, next question. What’s the rank of “Beast Soul”?”

Su-woo furrowed her brow. Asking about the level or skill rank of an adventurer was something that shouldn’t be done unless you were quite close.

The “Venomous Dagger” sisters were being impolite.

“I’m not asking to dig up information about you.”

“I need to know.”

Su-woo retorted, glaring at the rogue sisters.

“S rank.”

“….”

Upon Su-woo’s response, the “Venomous Dagger” sisters’ mouths hung open.

“S rank?”

“…Then it makes sense. Suddenly fainting….”

“No, wait. Then what about her?”

The sisters looked at me.

“Why? Why are you awake?”

“…Excuse me?”

“This can’t be. It’s impossible.”

The “Venomous Dagger” sisters exchanged words that I couldn’t understand.

Unable to hold back, I asked a question.

“Why? What’s the problem?”

“Problem? There’s no problem. There’s no problem with no problem being a problem.”

“?”

I quietly hid behind Swoo. The “Dictator’s Sword” sisters also seemed uneasy, so I took a defensive stance.

Swoo comforted me in such a way. His gentle touch gave me a warm sense of security.

“Ray, you said it was a B-rank ‘Soul Protection,’ right?”

“…Yes.”

“Is it effective? How is this possible?”

The thief sisters stared at me and explained.

“Swoo’s fainting was a result of the ‘Mana Burst’ phenomenon that occurs when magical power is excessively used. It’s a price to pay for activating ‘Beast Soul’ beyond its limits, even with a low level.”

“Beyond its limits?”

“Yeah, as far as I know, ‘Beast Soul’ has different stages. Swoo used it, ignoring his own limits. Understand?”

The thief sister looked at Swoo, wanting to confirm her words. Swoo reluctantly nodded, making the thief sister smile.

“But he recovered quickly because he’s a werewolf. About three minutes? Humans sometimes can’t wake up for half a day, so waking up in less than three minutes is considered very fast. But what’s important here is not Swoo, it’s you, Ray.”

“Me?”

“Let’s say Swoo can do that. He’s a werewolf who doesn’t know much. His level may be low, but his skill rank is high. It’s possible that a miracle happened. But what about you?”

There is a lot of information revealed about male adventurers. In the Labyrinth City of Labyrinths, there were quite a few accumulated experiences.

“Do you know that a boy’s ‘Soul Protection’ can push away the darkness of the labyrinth? That’s why a boy is essential for exploration.”

“…Yes.”

“And there are other roles. Hidden effects. It’s called magical power supply.”

Brown’s fainting was also due to the bizarre effect of magical power supply.

“So what the sisters are saying is… I endured an unimaginable amount of magical power?”

“Yes.”

The werewolf activated “Beast Soul”. Well, okay.

Getting a little rough during the second-stage transformation? Well, that’s okay too.

But what about you? Aren’t you tired? Are you okay?

He’s going crazy with your magical power, isn’t he?

Oh, look at this.

“…that’s the feeling.”

After hearing the explanation, I understood the reaction of the “Dictator Sword” sisters. Isn’t it supposed to be a situation where a guy would have collapsed immediately?

I was not only able to withstand it, but I was also fine.

“So, Brown is okay?”

“Yeah, he just lost consciousness for a moment. It’s because I used the “Dagger Throwing” skill….”

I glanced at Brown for a moment, but soon the attention returned to me. The gaze of the thief sisters was uncomfortable.

I came up with a suitable excuse.

“…maybe it’s because the battle started and I had some leeway with “Soul Protection” so I could handle it?”

“Huh?”

I just threw out any random bait, but the thief sisters took the bait and chewed on it.

“That could be possible.”

“So, as soon as Swoo rushed in, did you release the “Soul Protection” placed on those bandits?”

I nodded my head. And then the sisters seemed to understand, as if they were amazed.

“Yeah, it’s not like the B-rank “Soul Protection” would be enough for that.”

“And I, well, I thought Ray was at least A-rank.”

Rank A. Just one step higher than Rank B, but how different must it be to elicit such a reaction?

My sisters answered that question for me.

“Once you reach Rank A, you have to serve under the City Hall. It’s mandatory to become a civil servant.”

“You’re closer to being a soldier than a civil servant, Lauren.”

“Do you also get assigned as a knight to the guys?”

“I don’t do it separately since there aren’t any requests, but if they want, we can have a grand ceremony.”

While Rank B occasionally gives off a gifted vibe, Rank A is considered a genius that only appears once in a century.

‘…I need to hide it no matter what.’

I expressed my sincere gratitude for the fact that the system to check individual skill ranks hadn’t been established yet.

“You only have one skill registered now, right?”

“Yes.”

“It must be less burdensome, for sure.”

“…Yes.”

There wasn’t much of a difference. Whether I had three or just one. Apart from the initial sense of liberation when I first registered, it didn’t matter much.

But I pretended.

“For now, let’s take a break. Brown also needs to recover his stamina.”

My sister, the rogue, was carrying Brown. Since we couldn’t go hunting while carrying a guy, we decided to wait until Brown woke up.

We made a small bonfire and laid out sleeping bags. A makeshift bonfire kit and sleeping bag. It was something all adventurers carried with them.

But Su didn’t have anything. Whether he lost it on the second floor or didn’t have anything from the beginning, I didn’t know.

“…Su, you rest first.”

There must have been a lot of fatigue from the battle. If we were to prioritize rest, it would be more appropriate for Swoo to sleep before me.

Swoo wiped off the blood from his body and lowered his head.

“I’m fine. Let Ray sleep first.”

“No, Swoo should sleep first.”

“Werewolves are strong. This kind of battle doesn’t affect us much. So, it’s better for weak Ray to sleep first.”

“When I briefly fainted earlier, I slept and woke up. I’m fine.”

Neither of us gave in.

“They’re so stubborn as a pair.”

The sisters couldn’t help but roll their eyes.

“Well then, why don’t the two of you sleep together?”

“Since only one person needs to stand guard anyway.”

The sisters laid out sleeping bags near the campfire and laid down Brown. Then, they subtly lay down next to him and embraced him, like playing with a favorite doll.

“Next, we’ll wake up Lauren. You two have worked hard, so I’ll wake you up last. You can rest well until then.”

In front of the campfire, the thief sister who hugged her own knees instead of Brown stared at us intently.

“What should we do…?”

I awkwardly smiled and nudged Swoo. Swoo also seemed hesitant, unable to make a clear decision.

“It seems like it would be better for Swoo to sleep first.”

“I’ve said multiple times that I’m fine, haven’t I? Ray, you, who are small and weak, should be the one to sleep. I’ll watch over you by your side, so relax…”

“I don’t want that.”

I saw Swoo fighting. But how could I sleep peacefully with that?

As a man, I can never allow it.

“Th-then… like those thieves….”

Swu offered a compromise with a trembling voice. His face turned red, and he plopped down next to my sleeping bag.

“C-Can we sleep together? W-with Ray…?”

He was seriously embarrassed.