Surviving the Dungeon with an EX-Rank Trait

The attacker was me, who rushed in first.

Thud!

I punched the leading goblin and sent it flying, then tracked the movements of the latecomers who were showing signs of aggression.

Just like in the first fight, I could see a red trajectory.

Whoosh.

Focusing, I dodged their attacks and landed a punch to the solar plexus. I kicked the stiffened body away.

Cough! Cough!

Bang!

I grabbed another goblin’s head and slammed it into the ground.

Eek…

Leaving the convulsing creature behind, I started to approach the last goblin, who seemed hesitant.

Then I noticed a different red dot, unlike the straight and curved trajectories I’d seen before, coming from the bushes behind it.

…A dot?

Pew─

Thanks to my slowed sight, I barely reacted in time, rolling to the side to dodge the secretly fired arrow.

‘Damn it. Projectiles appear as red dots like a laser pointer!’

Gurr!

Seizing the opportunity, the charging goblin attempted to attack me while I was rolling.

Not a chance. As soon as I got back on my feet, I swung my jaw and knocked it away.

‘Arrows! I need to catch the one who shot the arrows!’

In a hurry, I grabbed a stone at my feet and hurled it toward the bushes where the arrow had come from.

Thud!

Gack.

I definitely heard a hit. Maybe it wasn’t running away but was preparing to shoot again?

I rushed over, fearing it might escape.

Rustle.

As I pushed through the bushes, I was lucky; the stone must have landed a blow, as one goblin with a bow was crumpled and twitching on the ground.

“Thanks for the lesson. Farewell.”

I picked up the scattered arrows and drove one into its neck.

Blood splattered on my cheek like a fountain.

Was it the effect of fighting and killing? I didn’t even flinch at the sight of blood.

Wiping the blood off my cheek with the back of my hand, various thoughts popped into my head.

I was a modern person, crying and laughing in society.

Just yesterday, I was cheering over winning the lottery and excitedly reading comments; now, in such a short time, I felt I had turned into something else—it was a bit bitter.

[Chaos asks cautiously if you’re alright.]

If it’s going to be listening to what I say anyway, it should have come by now. Since it doesn’t hear well, I thought I might as well just speak.

“What if I’m not okay? It’s already spilled milk, so I won’t hesitate going forward. Don’t worry about me.”

[Chaos wants to pet your head for being considerate.]

“Haha. That’s impossible, but I’ll gladly accept the thought.”

I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

“I can’t express how comforting it is to have someone I can talk to in this world.”

I thought the goddess Seres, the master of Chaos, summoned me out of pure whim, but I coped with that as a natural disaster I couldn’t do anything about.

What’s more, I felt too miserable now to harbor any resentment or desire for revenge against the God’s actions.

Then again, I had fallen into a forest where monsters like goblins pop out…

It would simply be an unproductive action to vent my frustrations on Chaos, who was just a mere servant and not the actual party responsible, demanding 2 billion back or begging to be let go.

As I mentioned, since it was already spilled milk, I thought it would be better to keep it inside and act.

Right now, it wasn’t just that something had vanished after giving everything; it was reassuring to have Chaos still here, giving me advice.

More accurately… I felt that thinking and moving like that brought me some peace of mind.

[Chaos is feeling shy.]

I lightly smiled and wrapped up our conversation.

⋯Huh?

It seemed the goblin with the arrow lodged in its neck had stopped moving, lying still, but I noticed something glowing gray from its corpse.

When I touched it, a system window appeared.

[The power activates.]

[You have absorbed the trait Poor Stealth.]

────

[Poor Stealth (E)] [A]

A trait absorbed from a mutated goblin archer.

You poorly hide behind cover and enter stealth.

─You must have a place to hide your body to activate.

─Effect drops drastically if the opponent’s level is above hobgoblin.

─Stealth is canceled if you move or attack for more than 3 seconds.

────

‘So this is how random traits are activated, huh? Still, the name “Poor” doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.’

E appears to be the trait grade.

If that’s a grade, does that mean my traits can’t be graded at all?

P and A likely differentiate between passive and active effects.

“Does saying the trait’s name activate it? Or do I need to perform a specific action?”

I asked Chaos immediately since it would be problematic if I couldn’t use it when necessary, and it kindly answered.

[Although it varies from trait to trait, ordinary traits can be activated just by thinking about them for an average user.]

So it’s a relief I won’t end up shouting out each skill name, at least.

Well, it seems like everything is pretty much sorted out, and I should check if there’s anything to farm before leaving.

Finally, looking at the last goblin I had defeated, it seemed I had driven the arrow in too forcefully; the middle part was broken, making reuse impossible.

‘Guess I’d better find something to wield.’

I thought it’d be better than barehanded and picked up a shabby wooden bow.

Returning to the battle site, I found two goblins lying there, not dead but faint, with weak breaths, so I promptly finished them off.

I glanced at the rags they were wearing on their lower bodies and felt nauseous, so I gave up.

“Ugh. They won’t die just because they’re not wearing a scrap of cloth, but I can’t bear the thought of putting it on.”

[Chaos slyly smiles, saying it looks nice, so don’t worry.]

Are you a pervert…?

I figured there wasn’t anything more to gather.

If I just stood still here, nothing would change, so I started moving while remaining vigilant of my surroundings.

*

Damn it. Turned out I was the pervert.

“Gah! This is crazy! No, wait, this is… AAAAH! A pervert in the labyrinth!”

“Don’t look! Scarlet, let me cover my eyes!”

“Such immense confidence!”

“Uh, perhaps there’s a situation we’re unaware of…”

“Cursed. This unfair life.”

‘Who would have thought I’d meet people so soon after walking just a little? If I’d known I’d be labeled a pervert right off the bat, I would have just worn something dirty and kept my pride!’

I had overlooked that I was in a labyrinth.

Of course, the Great Labyrinth has the Labyrinth City, so there must be others exploring the labyrinth, right?

What to do?

[Chaos takes a deep breath and suggests you decide on a name to introduce yourself.]

‘Alright. From now on, I’ll be an adventurer named Aren, who’s wandering around the 3rd floor with most of his memories lost… what suitable name would there be? Hans? Seems unlucky. Ian? Too weak.’

After a brief hesitation, I made my decision.

‘Aren. I’ll go with Aren. The memory-lost adventurer, Aren.’

[The name in the status window changes.]

[??? → Aren]

Since it was too close, I worried that if I tried to avoid them, it might look suspicious or end up being chased. While I was pondering how to engage them, a guy around my age standing in the front spoke first.

“I’m the party leader, adventurer Derik. Who are you, wandering around the 3rd floor without any armor? Don’t you have any companions?”

I calmed my breath and replied.

“Hello, my name is Aren. It might sound suspicious, but I truly don’t know why I’m here, naked.”

As soon as he heard that, I could see his wariness intensifying. I quickly added, “Right now, I don’t remember most things except for my name. I have no idea how I ended up in this place you called the 3rd floor, and all I feel is an urge to run away out of embarrassment for being naked.”

Derik rubbed his chin thoughtfully before addressing a cute girl with rabbit-like features beside him.

“Yeriell, what do you think, as a priest?”

The girl, Yeriell, timidly answered, “Well, he doesn’t seem like a bad person. There’s no reaction to traits, and I don’t feel any divine power rejecting him.”

“Really? Then at least I don’t think he’s lying about his memory loss and trying to ambush us with cohorts.”

Then he turned to me again.

“I apologize. I’ve heard of human hunters sending bait to ruin parties, so I just wanted to be sure. I’ll briefly discuss with my companions whether we can accept you into our group.”

I nodded and made eye contact with Derik. He turned around to chat with his party members and, after a moment, smiled back at me.

“Okay then, handsome friend. You said your name is Aren? Since we seem to be around the same age, let’s talk comfortably. You can use honorifics or informal speech as you prefer.”

For now, using honorifics feels more comfortable.

“Understood. Right now, I’m too confused, so it seems more comfortable to speak with honorifics for a while.”

Derik blinked as if he understood me.

“Great. If you’ve truly lost your memory, everything must feel new and confusing. I completely understand.”

He shouted back towards the back.

“Hans! Take out some spare gear and clothes from the storage. Let’s solve the naked problem first.”

Hans? I’m glad I didn’t name him Hans. Seems it’s a pretty common name.

“Eh? Isn’t it excessive to provide gear?”

Someone in the back looked at me with a hostile gaze toward Derik, complaining.

But Derik, maybe thinking he’d lose face as the leader, didn’t just let it slide.

“Look, Hans. If we’ve decided to temporarily add this friend to our party through votes, we should properly equip him to contribute in battles, right?”

While discussing, he asked me if it was feasible to deal with goblins, and I replied by showing my blood-stained hands, saying that I had some experience after awakening, walking a bit, and then encountering and killing goblins.

“See? He can handle them. Even if we take the elite, Aren should at least pull his own weight. Are you going to just give him spare clothes and let him twiddle his thumbs? Or are you going to step up to the front line, Hans?”

Hearing such gentle ridicule, Hans chewed his lips reluctantly and started unpacking the gear.

Derik approached me, speaking in a hushed tone as if he were sorry.

“Hans is responsible for carrying and support, but it seems he’s feeling a bit jealous of your appearance. Try not to mind it. First, just put on the clothes and gear. I’ll go talk to Hans for a moment.”

With that, he gave my shoulder a light pat and walked over to converse with Hans.

I see why Derik is the leader.

‘But it bothers me that Yeriell said there was no reaction to traits. What kind of traits could I possibly have? What if someone in the party notices me peeking into their status window?’

If they find out I’m stealing someone else’s information, things definitely won’t end well.

I inwardly questioned Chaos.

[Chaos reassures you that unless you have a particularly unique trait, you’ll likely not be caught.]

If Chaos says so, I feel relieved.

Soon, Hans approached me, carrying the gear.

As I took it, he suddenly leaned in and whispered.

“What are you doing just showing up? Lost your memory? I know a liar when I see one, someone like you who tries to act all high and mighty. You’d better watch yourself, as I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

Ugh, did I just walk into a sewer? His breath stinks. It was so strong my head was spinning.

Enduring the smell, I stayed silent, and thinking he mistook me for someone intimidated, he added defiantly before leaving, “Scarlet is dating Derik, and I’m trying to woo Yeriell, so don’t think you can use that pretty face to go after either. Got it?”

The guy with a pumpkin-like face was trying to woo that rabbit-like person.

What a hostile guy.

‘How did such a guy manage to be part of a party? Does he have some amazing traits suitable for a porter?’

Focusing on Hans’s back, a status window appeared right in front of me.

────

[Hans]

[Strength: E-] [Agility: F+] [Endurance: E-]

[Health: E] [Magic: F] [Luck: E]

[Traits Owned] (Collapse)

SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1Zk1Bamt2bEVERjVVWnhONjdsUHkyeUpUVUxVUlZwaHY3N0FBVEczNXJ1MA

Slyness

Porter’s Strength

────

His stats are lower than mine, and he has two traits?

────
[ Slyness (F) ] [P]

From the womb, he showed weak skills in deceit and incitement.

─Slight bonus for lies and incitement.

─Burns envy toward those superior to him.

─Gains confidence against those below him.

────

‘What? What a pathetic trait.’

────
[Porter’s Strength (E)] [P]

A trait formed by diligently working in a role suited for him.

─When carrying a certain weight or more, increases endurance by one level.

─When carrying a certain weight or more, increases strength by two levels.

─Cannot hold a weapon while carrying a load.

────

What the hell is this?

‘What? Even I can see this is a completely useless porter. Did he underestimate me because I was naked and memory lost?’

[Chaos shouts that such a foolish person shouldn’t even exist.]

[Chaos whines that it got smacked for being noisy.]

Hold it together. I need to stay as part of this party until I get out of the labyrinth.

‘Actually, because of Chaos, I’m not that angry. Instead, I feel like I can tolerate it since you seem so frustrated.’

[Chaos rubs its eyes and giggles.]

Alright, I put on the clothes and completed the gear setup.

Although this was spare gear, with a shabby hard leather armor on my chest, tight greaves and boots, and a poor-quality iron one-handed sword, I was still grateful.

After I was all set, Derik said, “Now that everything seems ready, how about we all introduce ourselves and set off?”

He pointed to himself with his thumb, continuing on.

“First, I’m Derik, the party leader. I handle the frontline with sword and shield. Let’s rely on each other until we escape the labyrinth, Aren.”

Next was a middle-aged man carrying a bow on his back and a dagger at his waist. He seemed more like a seasoned hunter than an archer?

“I’m Bernard, the scout and archer. Welcome.”

His serious and quiet demeanor seemed quite reliable.

Next came Scarlet, who was dating the leader, right?

“Nice to meet you! You’re very handsome! I’m Scarlet, the party mage. If you didn’t hear, I’m dating Derik. But for now, let’s get along well, Aren!”

How should I put it? She seems a bit light-hearted. She has a bouncy vibe?

Wait, why is she winking?

[Chaos says it feels odd for some reason.]

“Now, then it’s Hans!”

Derik pointed to Hans.

“I’m Hans, responsible for transportation and support.”

That’s it?

Seeing Derik’s expression stiffen, Yeriell, the last member, quickly caught on to the atmosphere and spoke up.

“I’m Yeriell, a standard member of the Light Church. My specialties are healing and buffs. I’ll heal you if you get hurt in battle. Nice to meet you!”

With snow-white skin and jewel-like red eyes shining, how is that guy even thinking of wooing someone like her?

Yeriell is out of his league.

Derik sighed lightly and smiled.

“Right, let’s get going then. There’s a long way to the escape portal! Bernard, don’t forget to check the map. Let’s move out!”

With that signal, the party began to set off, with Derik at the forefront.

If I can just tolerate Hans, this party seems to have solid job compositions and decent characters.

I have a good feeling about it. I think I can safely escape the labyrinth. I hope I can awaken my magic before that.

*

I was mistaken. How did things end up like this?

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