Old People Don’t Hold Hands - Chapter 167



Only Krnovel

Episode 167, Flame Labyrinth (1)

As soon as I gave the signal, Diana, Biella, and Nowen Inogen all moved quickly.

… … To be exact, except for Inogen, Diana and I avoided it by using the transition.

We were able to avoid it thanks to Nowen lifting Biella, who was relatively dull compared to us.

The iron plate floor, where lava had suddenly risen, had completely melted and disappeared.

“Gah, what is this all of a sudden… … .”

While others stood still, bewildered.

The iron platform nearby began to shake again.

Soon after, lava began to erupt from underneath.

Likewise, after the lava erupted, the iron platform there was nowhere to be found.

Beneath the iron plate lies a thick layer of lava… … .

A place where lava occasionally erupts and erases the floor.

I knew what the name of that place was.

“Ah, I guess this place… … .”

“It’s a flaming maze.”

“… …Dicklen, I think you’re right.”

At my words, Nowen looked around and nodded quietly.

This is a flame labyrinth.

It was a space otherwise known as the Unquenchable Heat.

And the biggest feature here is.

The lava continued to rise and the iron platform melted and disappeared.

I took my watch out of my pocket and checked it for a moment.

We quickly reached the 4th floor right after the cataclysm occurred, so the time now is.

Around 6 am.

If it were normal, I would have taken turns on night watch and taken some rest… … .

“Let’s hurry up.”

There was no time to delay in the Flame Labyrinth.

The reason is, of course… … .

Hwaaaa …

Even during this brief gap while I was exploring the surroundings, the iron platforms continued to disappear.

Because of the lava that sporadically rises.

The biggest feature of the Flame Labyrinth is its unique passive.

It was the wrath of lava.

And as this lava rage overlaps, the speed at which the lava rises becomes faster and faster.

The iron platform on the world line began to disappear more quickly.

So the bottom line is this.

You have to run as fast as possible to the boss room entrance.

The iron platform near the boss room entrance doesn’t melt into lava no matter how much time passes.

However, if there is a variable, it is because the name of this world line is Flame Labyrinth… … .

It was like a labyrinth, with long, winding paths.

It would be a disaster if the iron foothold at the dead end were to melt and disappear.

Because the path of the Flame Labyrinth changes shape every time you encounter it.

Even I can’t memorize all the directions…

There was only one way to destroy it.

Speed ​​run.

While I was thinking about it for a moment, the iron platform we were standing on began to shake.

Hwaaaaak―!!

Soon after, the lava began to erupt again.

But this time, thanks to being able to detect the warning signs early, I was able to avoid it more easily than before.

Then they all jumped onto the platform right next to them.

“Let’s run first!”

I gestured and ran ahead.

Since the shape of the labyrinth itself was so random, I couldn’t memorize it all.

I had a rough idea of ​​the rules.

chamberlain…….

Hwaaaa …

“Let’s go this way!”

“……yes!”

When you reach a fork in the road, a platform right in front of you rises.

It’s like a rule that the left is more likely to be the right path.

Let’s move in unison under my command.

Before we knew it, the color of the iron platform we were standing on had changed from gray to black.

This is how the color changed.

Before I knew it, I was halfway through the labyrinth.

However, if there is a problem, from the middle of the Labyrinth of Flames… … .

Crunch!

A new trap had appeared.

As Biella steps onto a corner of the iron platform.

As if magic had been activated, the iron platform glowed red.

The iron chains that rose from there immediately strangled Biella’s entire body.

“Ugh, ugh, uh, what is this… … !”

Even while Biella was being captured, it seemed like they were pursuing us fiercely.

On the iron platform behind, lava continued to rise.

Right near the iron platform that chained Biella.

K, krrr, krrrrr… … !

A monster appeared.

The monster that appeared took the form of a vampire wolf that can be found on the second floor, in the Red Thorn Swamp.

… … Of course, the overall body color and the lava flowing here and there.

However, it was quite different from the existing vampire wolves.

Krrrr, rrrrr, rrr… … .

The guy watched us for a moment, as if trying to check the situation, while dripping lava from his mouth.

He immediately ran towards Biella, who was bound in chains.

But before the bastard’s open mouth could touch Biella’s skin.

Crunch!

The bastard’s entire face could easily be cut off by the sword swung by Nowen.

After that, Diana, Inogen, and I will join forces to attack.

The wolves that had been lying around disappeared in an instant.

Only after the wolf disappeared did the chains that had bound Biella disappear.

however…….

As soon as the chains disappeared, the iron platform right below Biella began to tremble.

Hwaaaaak―!!

The lava rose as if to swallow her up.

Thanks to Nowen who quickly caught her, Biella was able to escape unharmed… … .

“Huh, huh, huh, ba, what the hell just happened, sir?”

Biella’s face, dangling from Nowen’s arm, was pale.

“There are traps scattered throughout the Flame Labyrinth. You have to kill all the monsters that appear to unlock them.”

“Then, if I had caught it just a little later, I would… …?”

I was silent for a moment at Biella’s words.

… … Even in EndWorld, if you fell into the lava of the Flame Labyrinth, you would die instantly.

Biella has relatively weak durability.

It would have been even more so.

As Biella’s face turned even paler as she understood my silence…

Nowen, who had been holding her tightly in silence, tried to laugh heartily.

“Haha! Well, at least he’s alive, isn’t that really lucky!”

“… … That, that’s what you call it?”

“Yeah, but I survived, didn’t I… … .”

While Nowen mutters in despair at Biella’s nagging.

The iron platform right next to us shuddered and spewed out lava.

As soon as we saw that sight, we quickly started moving again.

Since coming to the area with the black iron steps.

There are more forks in the road.

And from here on out, there are many cases where the rules are not properly applied.

I couldn’t help but get lost even more at the crossroads.

Sometimes, when I was at a crossroads, my feet would tremble and I had to go back faster.

There were also times when traps would be triggered again and my feet would be tied.

The only fortunate thing is that even those who are chained cannot escape from the platform.

Because it was still possible to attack… … .

Even if Nowen, Inozen, or I are tied up.

By joining the attack while tied up, he was able to quickly free himself from his bonds.

As we continued on, the speed at which the lava rose up over the iron platform became even faster.

At the same time, the number of bondage traps increased.

The number of monsters that appeared when caught in the trap continued to increase.

… … At the same time, the level of monsters was also getting stronger.

The forms of monsters that appeared throughout the trap were all different.

Most of them were in the form of common monsters distributed on the 1st and 2nd floors.

Of course, only the overall shape is similar.

The colors and the lava flowing were all different though.

Those guys who only showed the form of 1st and 2nd floor monsters… … .

As time went on, they began to appear, resembling monsters from higher and later world lines.

Now a normal monster located on the 3rd floor, Dragon’s Grounds.

It had the shape of a dram.

“Ugh, it makes me feel even worse because I resemble those guys who were on my land!”

Naturally, it had a similar form to the regular monsters on the third floor, so it was stronger… … .

It was easy to handle with Inozen and Nowen lines.

Let’s get past the black iron platforms and deal with them as quickly as possible.

What appeared before us was… … .

Covered with red iron treads.

It was a huge fortress with lava flowing from time to time.

And of course, the area surrounding the fortress was also made of red iron platforms.

Standing on that platform, we looked at the fortress for a moment.

“… … I have a bad feeling about this, human.”

Inogen, who had better intuition than humans, looked at the fortress for a moment and said this.

… … As Inogen said, when I first reached the Flame Labyrinth in EndWorld.

The information I had acquired about the boss here was nothing but evil.

That makes sense, because that’s what it said in the system window.

[A long time ago, this is the place where the great wizard who tried to engulf this world in disaster was imprisoned.]

[The Archmage constantly offers sacrifices into the waves of disaster, dreaming of death.]

[With that death, we look forward to a distant future when we will be freed from bondage… … .]

… … That’s exactly what it is.

Perhaps the waves of disaster in the description meant the lava right below us.

In fact, the more companions you lose in the lava, the stronger the boss becomes in proportion to that number.

The time it takes to become wild is also much shorter.

They say he was a great wizard who existed a long time ago, so I thought he was a human from the Frozen Citadel.

That didn’t seem to be the case.

While playing EndWorld, the Frozen Citadel was intact.

The Archmage has never appeared even once.

Even when exploring the labyrinth as an ancient being in the frozen citadel.

I met the boss of the Flame Labyrinth on the 4th floor.

Well, he’s a bit of a creep because his identity is unknown in many ways… … .

At least we had no choice but to face it.

Since the lava kept rising up until we got here, the iron foothold we could have stood on disappeared.

Fortunately, the red iron platform near the boss room will not disappear.

It seemed safe from the lava, but there was one problem… … .

Krrrr, krrrr… … .

It turned out that we weren’t the only ones who had escaped by stepping on this iron platform.

So, before long, all the monsters that were here will gather here.

That one was like the vampire wolf I met at the beginning.

Even the guy who resembled Draemon that we met in the second half.

… … In addition, if it’s in the form of a draenei, it’ll be closer to the boss room entrance.

The number would have been much larger.

As I expected, the guys slowly gathered towards the boss room entrance.

It was spewing lava out at us with its mouth open.

“Ah, sir… … , what should we do now?”

What should I do? What should I do?

Even for us, it would have been difficult to deal with those guys all at once.

Above all, there was one decisive reason why we couldn’t deal with them here.

So then the only choice we have is.

“Let’s go into the boss’s room, right now!”

As soon as I shouted this, as if I had been waiting for it.

The monsters that had been surrounding us from the front started to rush at us all at once.

I quickly turned around and opened the door to the boss room.