The Devil’s Cage

He had to jump high.

Or even fly if it was possible!

Without any reference point on the ground, instinct could deceive oneself when one was in a miasma maze. A change of altitude would make the reference point reappear though.

That was the true identity of the miasma maze! It would become one’s best reference to getting out of there.

Of course, in the book ”Hex Labyrinth” it was also stated how to prevent such an escape and trap the person inside forever.

Fortunately, although the darkness around Kieran had taken similar precautious, it was not complete.

Its height was far beyond the reach of any mortal being, but it was still a piece of cake for Kieran.

Kieran adjusted his body and jumped as high as he could.

The darkness around him instantly dissipated as he jumped higher than the maze.

...

”Damn it!”

Schmidt quickly reloaded his gun. This was the last magazine he had brought with him.

If he had known that he would encounter such a monster, he would have brought a flamethrower instead.

Unconsciously, Schmidt thought of Kieran’s big backpack and the various weapons inside it.

He even considered whether he should have brought a backpack similar to Kieran’s, but that was a question for another day. If he didn’t solve the problem at hand, he would not get to live another day.

Bang!

The muzzle flashed brightly as the smell of gunpowder lingered around Schmidt.

A spider the size of a knuckle was blasted to pieces, but more spiders emerged from below the deck.

When the sharp spider legs collided with the wooden deck, a concentrated, flesh-creeping noise was produced.

The black spider on the deck stared at Schmidt with all of its eyes.

Its eyes were emitting a pale green glow, which made Schmidt’s forehead break out in sweat.

Schmidt did not fire anymore. He knew firing more shots would only prolong his struggle against the giant spiders.

”The cabin! I need to get to the cabin to get out of here alive!”

The calmness that came after many years of being the Chief Officer allowed Schmidt to make good judgement calls at desperate times.

He took out a palm-sized pure silver pot similar to a teapot and poured out a little of the liquid.

When the giant spiders closed in on him, he lit the liquid up.

The fire instantly sprung up to the height of a human being.

The marching spiders immediately stopped before the fire. Although they had been through some kind of mutation, their insect instincts were still present.

Actually, they were even more powerful. Their hunger and urge to hunt made them more aggressive than normal insects, but also more scared of fire.

Schmidt had created a window of survival for himself. He quickly backed into the cabin and searched for the stairs.

He knew that, although the fire was fierce, it wouldn’t stall the spiders for long.

”This is the second floor of the Sunshine Mary. There’s a swimming pool, a dance floor and a big restaurant inside… No, no, no, this place is too wide open! No way will I be able to block the spiders from here! I need to find a sturdy, narrow space…”

Given the circumstances, Schmidt’s options were limited, and the most reliable one was…

”The captain’s cabin! The captain’s cabin on the third floor!”

Schmidt sprinted towards his destination as fast as he could.

The fire behind him was dimming by the second.

When the fire turned into a spark and was eventually extinguished, hundreds of giant spiders gushed through.

...

”So this is the Sunshine Mary?”

Standing on the deck, Kieran checked out the ferry.

The darkness had dissipated as he’d jumped up high, but a powerful, violent pulling force had dragged him down before he could react and landed him on the Sunshine Mary’s deck.

The force field barrier that prevented people from approaching had suddenly disappeared.

”This must be the first floor deck. The Sunshine Mary has three floors. The passenger cabins are on the first one, and the restaurant and the dance floor are on the second one. There’s a lot of space there. Unless I had tons of manpower, it would be impossible for me to search the area thoroughly in such a short time. I can only investigate some locations I choose and perform a search with a specific goal!”

Kieran recalled Schmidt’s description of the ferry as he scanned the area around him.

After comparing all his options, he quickly came up with a destination. He would go to the captain’s cabin!

A captain’s cabin was the most important place on the ship.

Not only was the captain the highest authority on a ship, but the cruising log and all valuables would also be stored inside his cabin.

If the secrets of the Sunshine Mary were hidden anywhere, it would be there!

Kieran needed to get a good rating for the Sub Mission [Ghost Ferry], so the captain’s cabin was naturally his first choice.

He instantly got moving, but he did not use the stairs to reach the upper deck. He chose a more direct way instead.

He backed up a few steps, ran and then jumped towards the second deck.

While he was still in mid-air, the jumping force started to fade off. He swung the [Deceiver’s Key] and used the hair-like tool to latch onto the second deck handrail.

Before he could fall, he pulled hard with his hand and dragged his body up onto the deck.

”Huh?”

When Kieran reached the upper deck, he was stunned.

His nose picked up a rotten fish stench. When his eyes followed the smell to its origin, he saw bits and pieces of… Was that a spider?

Kieran was unsure what he was looking at. The spider was bigger than a common spider. It was actually bigger than any species Kieran knew off.

He was sure such a species was not found in [Research of Mystical Beings].

Its sharp legs and foul-smelling juices proved as much.

The insect’s legs were as sharp as blades and its juices were venomous.

The venom would not just numb its prey, but deliver a small lethal dose.

[Potionology] and [Medical and Medicinal Knowledge]’s Master of Poison confirmed his theory.

”So this has become a spider’s lair?”

Kieran glanced over the eight dead spiders.

When his [Tracking] was activated, he saw the traces left behind by the group of spiders. There was a burn mark and a set of footprints. A simple glance was enough to know that there were hundreds of spiders.

The bullet mark and the footprints led Kieran to believe that Schmidt was also aboard the Sunshine Mary.

”That fella!” Kieran shook his head with a sigh.

Although he still could not determine how Schmidt had gotten on board, he could guess why he had. He wanted to save him.

Given Schmidt’s personality, it was normal for him to do something like this.

”So troublesome!” Kieran muttered under his breath.

Then he changed his own plan and followed the traces into the cabins.

If Schmidt had gone there for him, Kieran could not leave him in danger.

However, as he approached the cabin swiftly, a weak voice suddenly came out of it.

”2… 2567! Help!”

Schmidt was crawling out of the cabin, his body covered in blood.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

SCHMIDT!!!!!!