Chapter 86. Drifters #1
Somewhere in the Ancient Labyrinth.
Inside a prison made of mud.
In a place where the damp air heavily weighed down, 19 drifters were trapped.
“Sob, sniff…”
“Mom…”
“Please, save us…”
People were sobbing pitifully.
These were all drifters from a planet called Normalia, a world similar to Earth, and they were ordinary people without any special abilities.
At first, 35 of them crossed over to this world together.
However, not all of them were acquainted.
College students, families, couples, and so on.
Various people were enjoying a picnic in a park when they got swept up by a suddenly appearing Dark Portal, drifting into the Ancient Labyrinth.
When they first fell here, there were 35 of them.
But now, only 19 remained.
What happened to the other 16?
Of course, they died.
They became food for the Pig Kings who had trapped them.
The reason the remaining 19 were still alive was simply because the Pig Kings had kept them as reserve food.
[Shhhhhh. Sshhh.]
[Ssshhh.]
The sound of the Pig Kings breathing as they wandered around the mud prison.
The sobbing humans fell silent as soon as they heard it.
If they stood out, they would be the next meal.
They were going to die eventually, but still…
They all wished their turn would come as late as possible.
[Shhh, ssshhh.]
[Ssshhh!]
The Pig Kings licked their lips as they looked at the humans.
Greed flickered in their eyes, and sly smiles appeared on their faces.
[Shhh.]
Soon, the door of the mud prison opened.
Even damper air flooded in.
As the heavy breathing of the Pig Kings echoed inside the prison, it stirred the drifters’ fear.
[Shhh. How many this time?]
[Nine… ssshhh.]
Nine people.
The moment that word was spoken, the inside of the prison fell into chaos.
“Ahhh…!”
“Save me!”
“Don’t push, you bastard!”
“I don’t want to die!!!”
A young man, who seemed to be a college student, elbowed the person next to him in the face.
Blood dripped from the victim’s nose, but no one cared.
Everyone was desperately struggling, trying not to be dragged off by the Pig Kings.
Not a single person voluntarily chose to sacrifice themselves.
“You, you go! You’re old and won’t live much longer anyway!”
A young woman grabbed an older woman’s hair and yanked her backward.
Some people crawled on the ground, trying to hide in corners.
Others picked up a young boy and threw him towards the Pig Kings.
Some could do nothing but tremble, while others clung to the Pig Kings’ legs, begging for their lives.
Among all these people…
One man courageously tried to protect his lover.
He didn’t choose to sacrifice himself, but he shielded his lover behind him and glared fiercely at the Pig Kings.
But the man immediately regretted his choice.
Thud!
His girlfriend pushed him forward, making him stumble in front of the Pig Kings.
With a pale face, the man turned back to look at her.
“Honey, why…?”
She avoided his gaze and quickly hid herself in a corner.
It was a scene of blood, tears, and sweat.
People trampled and shoved each other, doing whatever they could to survive.
Someone’s glasses fell to the floor and shattered, while someone else’s clothes were torn, revealing flesh.
Friends and family were now enemies.
They had thrown away their humanity just to stay alive.
The Pig Kings watched this ugly scene with amusement.
[Shhhhhh!]
[Shhh!]
Eventually, the Pig Kings selected their nine prey.
The child who had been thrown.
The man who tried to protect his lover.
The people who could do nothing but tremble.
Those who had been forced to sacrifice themselves and those too weak to resist.
They were excluded.
The ones the Pig Kings chose were the humans who had desperately struggled to survive, clawing at each other.
“Ahhh!!”
“Honey! Save me!!!”
“Honey! I’m sorry for pushing you earlier! It was a mistake!”
The desperate screams of the selected echoed through the prison.
They were soon dragged out, and once the prison door closed, darkness fell inside.
The remaining people felt a mix of slight relief, guilt, betrayal, and fear.
***
The Pig Kings’ habitat.
A little distance away from it.
As the Pig Kings dragged people out of the prison to butcher them, seven people watched the scene in hiding.
They were drifters from a world called SageWorld.
One of them was known as a Hero.
Another was known as a Sage.
The remaining five were students attending an academy for nurturing talent.
These five students were elites of the academy, who had been given the honor of receiving guidance from the Hero and Sage.
They had been on a monster-slaying practical mission when they got swept up by a Dark Portal and fell into the Ancient Labyrinth.
“Hero! We must save those people right now!”
A student spoke as they watched people being dragged away by the Pig Kings.
“…”
The Hero remained silent.
She clenched her teeth and fists without responding.
Frustrated, the student turned to the Sage.
“Sage!”
“…You know as well as I do. These monsters possess strength beyond common sense.”
The Sage was right.
They had already experienced firsthand the overwhelming power of the monsters here.
And they had realized that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t defeat any of them.
By Kang Geon’s standards of strength:
The Hero was B-grade, the Sage was C-grade, and the academy students were D-grade.
For the record, the Hero was considered the strongest human in SageWorld.
“Sigh.”
After struggling internally for a while, the Hero let out a deep sigh.
Then, she took a step forward and spoke.
“There’s no choice. Sometimes you have to fight even when you know you can’t win.”
“Hero…!”
The Hero took another step forward.
“I can’t turn my back on people in danger.”
She turned to look at her companions.
“Because I’m a Hero.”
“As expected of the Hero…!”
“How amazing!”
“Yes! That’s the very duty of a Hero!”
“I’m moved, Hero.”
“Hero…”
Turning her head back, the Hero strode forward and spoke to her companions.
“Honestly, this is nothing short of suicide. So, don’t follow me.”
Despite that,
“No, Hero! We’ll go with you!”
“I also can’t turn a blind eye to people in distress! I joined the academy to help the weak!”
“I’d rather die than ignore people in need.”
“Hero. Don’t turn us into cowards. And I’m always with you.”
The Hero felt slightly moved.
Thinking to herself that she was fortunate to have such loyal companions.
“…If that’s how you all feel.”
The academy students and the Sage followed behind the Hero.
Not too closely, though, keeping a bit of distance.
The Hero then appeared in front of the Pig Kings, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly.
“Hey, pigs!”
[Ssshhh?]
“Let those poor people go right now!”
[Ssshhh?]
“Or else, my magic sword will judge you─”
Thud-!
The Hero was defeated.
In just 1 second.
A single Pig King approached her.
And it took only that long for it to slam the Hero’s head into the ground.
The companions, who watched in horror, reacted quickly.
“Damn it! Why is that pig so fast?!”
“R-Run!”
“…W-What about the Hero?”
“I don’t know!!! Just leave her and run!”
“I’m sorry. Hero…”
Their immediate action was to flee.
Without looking back, they all used magic to increase their speed and ran away.
The Pig Kings didn’t bother chasing them.
It was too much trouble, and they still had some food left.
Watching her companions run away, the Hero thought to herself.
Damn bastards…
***
46th day in the labyrinth.
─[Pig Kings detected. Large numbers.]
Iris, who was exploring on her own in the morning, sent me a message.
She seemed to have discovered another Pig King habitat.
Ah, for the record, today was a rest day.
Iris exploring was more like a stroll than actual investigation.
She just enjoyed wandering around.
─[I also found people who appear to be drifters.]
“Huh? Drifters?”
─[They’re extremely weak. High probability of being drifters.]
“Zoom in on them.”
─[Understood.]
【Pururu】─What what! Found drifters?
【Mysticism】─😮
【Rizenova】─Ohh. Finally, I can see my successors.
【Bubble Bubble】─You already saw one. Merino is a drifter too.
【Rizenova】─I don’t consider Merino a worthy successor. Too dumb.
【Yumi】─Even if she’s dumb, her ability is exceptional.
【Bubble Bubble】─Yeah, you have to acknowledge her skill. She easily neutralized all the poison held by that S-grade monster.
Iris zoomed in on the screen.
Inside the mud prison.
Eleven trembling people came into view.
Ten were F-grade.
One was B-grade.
It was their actual danger level, not their nerf status.
Iris didn’t have her severed arm with her, so…
“Hmm. I guess I’ll go take a look.”
“Should I come too?”
“Merino, you stay here.”
“Okay!”
I got up from my seat.
“Everyone, let’s go.”
“Okay!”
“You stay here.”
“Okay!”
I headed to where the drifters were, taking the SS-grade monsters with me.
Might as well meet the drifters and grab a large haul of Pig King meat while at it.