He hadn't expected their attacker to be a plant.
It was his first time seeing a creature like this, and curiosity flickered in him.
Still, he didn't feel much threat from it; it probably wasn't at the level of an elite monster.
Even so, he didn't get careless—this was a labyrinth creature, and their first encounter with it—so caution was best.
He pulled Alia back a few more steps, far beyond the flower bud's reach, then drew his bone staff.
Because the bud writhed like a serpent's head, he aimed for the point where the vine anchored to the rock to keep things simple.
"Firebolt."
Red light quickly gathered at the staff's tip.
"Hm?"
The instant he cast, Gauss felt a faint drag, as if something in the environment were slightly suppressing fire.
But with the spell already going off, he didn't dwell on it. A crimson arrow streaked along the line of his staff.
Boom!
The shot struck the vine's root cleanly; flames whooshed up, and the tough stem snapped in the heat.
The whole plant dropped from the rock face and hit the ground with a wet thud.
Even on the floor, the spiny bud kept spasming and bouncing in a twitchy, mindless way.
But the kill prompt had already flashed before Gauss's eyes.
"Snakevine Slain ×1."
"Total Monster Kills: 1,479."
He'd smoothly unlocked the 21st entry in the common monster index!
[New Title Earned: 'Snakevins Hunter.' This title upgrades with kill count.]
[Current Effect: Danger Premonition – When a hidden snakevine attempts to attack you, you will sense the danger in advance.]
Gauss pulled his attention off the panel.
Barely into Level Two and he was already adding to his index—he was pleased.
But…
Watching the flames gutter out so fast, he frowned.
Did the fire die quicker than usual?
Was it the damp, misty air? Or did the floor itself exert some kind of suppression on fire?
The sluggish feel when he cast seemed to back that up.
Still, that also meant they were less likely to start a forest fire in this plant-choked level.
On the ground, the snakevine's bud kept twitching reflexively.
Gauss gave it a glance. The panel already said it was dead; most likely it was the brief postmortem movement many creatures showed—lingering reflex and stimulus.
A snakevine wasn't much of a threat and its range of motion was limited; so long as you avoided a straight-on lunge from the bud and cut the fixed vine at the root, it was easy prey.
It just had a good chance to sucker-punch first-timers.
"Looks like we need to be extra careful," Alia patted her chest. "There are probably plenty more disguised creatures like this on this floor."
Even things that looked harmless—plants, say—might suddenly gape wide and bite.
They moved on with greater caution.
After the ambush, both Gauss and Alia kept an eye on the ceiling above.
Sure enough, they soon ran into a few more snakevines.
Watching for them, the two had little trouble—just more numbers ticking up in Gauss's compendium.
"Gauss, appraise this?"
Alia pointed to a tall plant hung with lantern-like fruit.
It looked familiar, but Gauss still approached carefully; white light bloomed at his staff tip as he tapped a fruit.
[Lantern Globefruit]
Description: Fruit borne by a peculiar plant that grows in damp, dark places. The rind is tough and semi-transparent; inside is a viscous pulp that glows warm yellow. Highly nutritious and edible.
Seeing the result, Gauss immediately remembered an entry from The Complete Guide to Foraging around the Jade Forest.
"Good stuff!"
He swallowed.
His frog jerky was more than half gone.
He'd added some frost snake jerky later, but that was limited too; it would run out.
So even before entering the labyrinth, he'd hoped to find another high-calorie staple among its monsters and odd resources.
This looked perfect.
It could be dried into fruit leather or cooked into preserves.
And Alia could eat it too.
Hearing the appraisal, Alia was just as delighted.
They drew their knives and carefully cut the stems, soon piling up palm-sized, plump, glowing spheres that cast a soft orange light.
Seeing the little harvest heap, a simple, farmerly satisfaction spread over Gauss's face.
"I'll taste it first."
They were a bit thirsty after walking a while.
The plump, juicy fruit was irresistible.
But Gauss stopped the eager Alia.
Not greed—just practicality. He had a special stomach; he was the right one to test it.
He picked a ripe fruit, used a minor cantrip to clean the surface, and took a big bite.
Crunch!
The tough yet crisp rind gave way; a rush of very sweet, richly fragrant, viscous juice flooded his mouth, flavor dancing over his tongue.
A few bites and he'd devoured the globefruit—skin and all.
Orange-glowing juice still clung to the corner of his mouth, making him look a bit comical.
Alia, seeing it, couldn't help the curl at the corner of her lips.
Gauss didn't care.
Catching her glance, he nodded at once—full approval for the newest addition to their pantry.
"Delicious!"
He cleaned another fruit with a cantrip and handed it to her.
Alia took a hearty bite.
Sweet juice immediately brimmed over her lips.
In the gloom, a soft orange halo lit up around her mouth, as if she'd put on glow-in-the-dark lip gloss.
"Haha…"
Gauss couldn't help laughing.
The joke was how the normally bare-faced Alia now looked like she'd clumsily smeared on a coat of fluorescent lipstick.
Mouth full and happy, Alia tossed him a wounded, innocent look.
She'd just held back her own laugh a moment ago…
But with the fruit this tasty, she wasn't in the mood to fuss.
She quickly finished it, then let out a satisfied burp.
Then she took out a handkerchief to wipe her lips.
Gauss licked off his own juice, then noticed that after wiping, the stained area on Alia's face had actually spread, forming an even brighter glow.
"What is it?" she asked, catching his odd expression.
"N—nothing."
He decided not to mention her "glowing makeup" for now; she couldn't see it anyway.
They carefully stowed the dozens of precious fruits in the storage pouch and moved on.
Not far ahead, the path cut off.
A huge sunken platform opened below them, a drop of over ten meters.
It was broad, with several pools along the edge burping eerie green bubbles and exuding a faint acid reek.
And in the very center of the platform, something gleamed brazenly in the dimness—a massive, glittering treasure chest.
"A treasure chest!"
Alia had still been puzzling over Gauss's meaningful smile, but the shining chest seized her attention at once; her eyes practically lit up.
The chest was a fresh, dark-red lacquer, inlaid with sparkling gems and bright precious-metal trim—luxurious and grand.
Its opulent look begged you to imagine the hoard inside.
Gauss felt a twinge of excitement too—at first.
But then—
"Something's off—it's too suspicious." All the "treasure-chest PTSD" he'd built up from games and movies blasted a siren in his head. Be careful!
And yet… that chest was so shiny.
Even if it were empty, just prying off the fancy fittings would fetch a tidy sum, right?
He and Alia traded a look.
No words needed; they both read the sparkle in each other's eyes.
The Labyrinth Guide did say there are real chests with valuables—and traps disguised as chests. Until you open it, you can't tell whether it's a gift from the labyrinth or malice laid with care.
But if you've come all the way down here, who turns their back on a treasure chest?
"How do we get down?"
Alia eyed the drop.
There didn't seem to be any solid anchor points for a rope.
Gauss scanned the rock at the platform's edge and soon found a route: thick vines clung to the wall, and every few meters a rocky lip jutted out like a natural step.
"We can climb down there," he said, pointing.
"I'll go first and check?"
They were still too far from the chest.
Well beyond the range of Gauss's spells; he planned to descend, get within Mage Hand's maximum reach, and try opening it from there.
"No, let's go together," Alia shook her head.
She could support him at range, but a labyrinth is trickier than the surface; if he ran into trouble the moment he went down, she might not be able to help from up here.
Gauss started to argue, then met the resolve in her eyes and swallowed his words.
Leaving her alone up here wasn't necessarily safe either.
What if the labyrinth's danger did the opposite of what they'd expect?
Better to stick together and watch each other's backs.
"Alright—together," he said after a moment's thought.
They clambered down the vines, pausing on the occasional ledge.
Ulfen followed after, springing nimbly from lip to lip.
Before long, two humans, one wolf, and one raven stood on the sunken platform.
At its center, the chest gleamed even brighter, as if silently urging them to draw near.