Flesh Golem of the Labyrinth City - Chapter 47



46. Are you out of your mind?

“Interesting.”

After getting ready to go to the magic tool shop, I retrieved the paper airplane from the backyard. On my way to the northeast, I got bored and threw it lightly, and for some magical reason, it started flying towards the magic tool shop.

It was around 8 PM. When the white paper airplane knocked on the door of the magic tool shop, the door opened by itself, revealing the interior.

Just like last time, the lights weren’t properly turned on, leaving the inside dark and gloomy. Albresto was half-lying on a chair, sprawled out.

“Albresto.”

“Iris.”

“We’re not that close, are we?”

“Let’s get closer.”

“Friend, can you write off some of my debt?”

“Let’s be clear about financial matters.”

“That’s a shame…”

Exchanging trivial jokes, we closed the door and went inside. Iris half-turned the chair, rested her chin on the backrest, and looked at me. Her chest armor, with its violent mass, was assertively pressing down with a resilient force.

“I told you to put that away.”

“Sorry.”

Looking back, the shelf that seemed like it was going to break had collapsed and merged with the lower floor. I had roughly cleaned it up, but there were still wooden fragments scattered around messily.

“Can you bring me one thing?”

“Is this an errand?”

“Yes.”

“Where is it?”

“Come over. The desk.”

What is this person saying? Come over the desk?

“Do you mean this? You want me to come over this desk to your side?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because the item is inside.”

Iris slightly turned her eyes to look at the place behind the desk where a curtain was drawn. The opposite side of the desk that divided the place where customers came in and where the owner would sit. It seemed like the item was inside the building.

Is she calling me here because she doesn’t want to get up from her chair? Iris, I’ve thought this before, but she’s not an ordinary lunatic. The envelope is intact, but what’s inside it? Anyway, since she asked me to run an errand, I should do it.

“How do I get over?”

“Jump.”

“No, isn’t there a part of this desk that opens or something?”

“No. If you want to come here, you have to come in through the back door.”

Like a convenience store counter, there was no part that opened, just an ordinary desk blocking the inside of the shop. It was annoying to go out and find the back door again, but was it okay to just jump over?

Is it okay for a customer to come this close? Even though Iris is quite a strong magician, she’s still a woman and I’m a man, right?

Dressed all casual, like she’s got nothing to hide, acting like this with me.

‘Yeah, she’s definitely weird.’

Last time, when I said she had a weakness, she went off on some nonsense too.

“Moving on.”

“Okay.”

She hops over the desk, landing softly on the other side. Iris is just sitting there on her swivel chair, staring straight at me like I’m some kind of specimen, not even thinking about getting up. Maybe her legs are hurting or something.

I thought this errand was going to be something difficult, but she has me doing this grunt work? Like, she could just get up and walk a few steps, but *I* had to come all the way across town.

“So, what exactly is it you need?”

“A glass bottle filled with red liquid.”

“Right, I’ll look for it.”

I roughly yank the curtain aside and duck inside. What the hell?

‘This b*tch is nuts, for sure.’

On the right and straight ahead there’s a bunch of, like, magical-looking stuff and all sorts of materials scattered everywhere. But the problem is the bookshelf on the left…

It’s completely packed with women’s s*x toys, filling the entire wall. Like, is she just okay with showing this to random people?

“Iris. Which side is the glass bottle on?”

“The right. Don’t look to the left.”

“You should’ve said that before I came in.”

“Oh, I forgot.”

Seriously, I’m starting to wonder what goes on in her head. Looking over at the right wall, there’s a fair number of bottles filled with some kind of unidentifiable liquid, and there’s more than one or two with red liquid.

“There’s too many of them, though?”

“Bring them one by one.”

“Ugh.”

Reluctantly, I carried one bottle in each hand. I had to make about fifteen trips to show nearly thirty glass bottles.

“That’s the one.”

“This one?”

A peculiar hourglass-shaped glass bottle contained a red liquid. If it was this unique, couldn’t they have just described it? I really don’t understand this person, but I let it slide. Isn’t that how the world works?

“Is this it?”

I placed the glass bottle with the red liquid on the desk and moved to the other side. Only then did Iris lift herself slightly from the backrest, pick up the glass bottle, and shake it around.

A slightly viscous red liquid. Iris observed it closely, then placed the glass bottle back on the desk and said,

“Drink it.”

“Do you even know what this is?”

“Blood.”

Still seated, Iris reached out, opened the lid, and slowly pushed it towards me.

Screech-

“Blood?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t this an errand? Is this a human experiment?”

“Both.”

Blood, huh. I know that the blood of various monsters is used as alchemical ingredients. Iris is a magician, so it’s not surprising she has some blood.

“So, whose blood is this?”

“Snowfield Troll.”

“Is it strong?”

“Yes, very. 57th floor.”

“Crazy, that’s expensive.”

“Not really. 10 gold coins for 100ml.”

“That’s just insanely expensive.

It’s not just moderately expensive, it’s blatantly expensive, leaving me with no strength to argue. If I eat this again, my debt will pile up even more. They say it’s 10 gold coins for 100ml, but it looks like it’s at least 300ml.

“So, what do you want me to drain this time?”

“Are you stupid? Of course not.”

“You asked for eyeballs last time.”

From noble mtl dot com

“Blood is mixed. It’s useless.”

“Can you at least tell me why you’re making me eat this?”

“I’m curious. I want to see if it has any effect.”

What kind of creature is a Snowfield Troll anyway? Honestly, I have no idea about monsters beyond the 11th floor, so I have no clue what will happen if I eat this recklessly.

When you think of trolls, aren’t they usually large, muscular humanoid monsters? Like Trundle. Come to think of it, if it’s Trundle, isn’t it a Snowfield Troll? Living in the cold and being a troll.

“You’re not going to charge me anything for this blood, right?”

“Yes. I promise.”

“Hmm…”

“Really.”

For now, I got a promise from Iris that she wouldn’t charge me anything. Honestly, I’d be grateful if I could eat the bodies of high-ranking monsters. But still, isn’t this a bit much?

Lifting the glass jar with its lid open, I give it a slight shake. The thick substance clinging to the walls of the jar unmistakably feels like the blood of a living creature. The smell, as blood tends to be, is fishy and somewhat foul, not a pleasant fragrance at all.

—Gulp

Surprisingly, there’s nothing particularly noticeable about the taste. It’s just that the lingering sensation in my mouth is more unpleasant than any other blood I’ve tasted so far.

“Can I circulate some blood?”

“Yeah. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

“Then no. You need to be in pain.”

“What on earth does that mean?”

According to Iris, the blood of a snow troll is used as an ingredient in potions that restore stamina. What kind of potion is made from blood?

“Trolls have exceptional natural healing abilities. Snow trolls are the best among them.”

“How exceptional are we talking?”

“You can see the wounds closing up.”

“That’s insane.”

The giant creature, nearly 5 meters tall, is said to massacre explorers with its tough hide and strong bones, armed with powerful brute strength. Simply cutting through its hide and muscles only causes minor bleeding, leaving no real wounds.

You have to keep cutting until all the blood drains out, or you have to pierce the heart precisely. Even if you roughly pierce the heart, it will heal.

“Come to think of it, I do have a sore spot.”

“Really?”

“Is there a place to lie down?”

“My bed.”

“No thanks. I’ll just sit in a chair.”

Sitting in the chair, I relaxed my body against the backrest and reverted all my muscles to their original state.

“Hoo…”

“What is it?”

“I’ve reverted all my muscles to my own. I was running around the labyrinth quite a bit, so I was using different muscles because I had severe muscle pain.”

“That’s possible?”

“Yes.”

“Hurry up and do it.”

“Understood.”

Iris stared at me with a look of interest. My whole body was in a state of severe muscle pain. After relaxing my body against the backrest, I circulated the blood of the snow troll I had just consumed throughout my body.

“Ugh.”

“Does it hurt?”

I slowly nodded. I could feel my entire body consuming energy like crazy and healing rapidly. The feeling of fullness disappeared in an instant, and the little fat I had was burned away in no time.

Still feeling insufficient, I hurriedly stored the snow troll’s blood and replenished my body with my original blood.

“Huff… Huff… What… what’s happening…”

“How is it?”

“The energy consumption is severe. And it hurts a lot. It’s a different pain from muscle pain… healing pain? Anyway, as my body recovers, it feels like it’s burning all the energy in my body.”

“I see.”

*Growl*

My stomach was making a fuss, demanding food. I slipped my hand under my shirt and felt my abdomen, which was now tightly clinging to my abs. There was nothing to grab anymore, as all the fat had been burned away, and it felt like my body fat percentage had plummeted in an instant.

“Show me.”

“What for.”

“Your body.”

“Why.”

“…Part of an experiment.”

Well, if that’s the case, what can I do? I roughly took off the top I was wearing and tossed it aside, then stood up from the chair. My body definitely seemed recovered. The pain I felt during the healing had subsided quickly, and all of the intense muscle aches that made it difficult to stand were gone.

“Will you understand something by looking?”

“…Impressive.”

“Is that so.”

“Now get out. I need to jerk off.”

“Huh?”

“Out.”

Iris extended her index finger, picked up my discarded clothes with some kind of telekinetic power, and threw them at me. Then she restored the chair to its original position and opened the door.

“Bye.”

“Uh.. yeah. I’m going.”

“Okay.”

—*Screech*

I roughly put on my clothes and walked out the door, which automatically closed behind me like last time.

‘What the hell did I just hear?’

Today, I faced the true madness of the labyrinth city. My body’s all clammy, I’m so scared I’m about to ask the landlady to sleep with me.

“Is she insane….”

Night has fallen on the labyrinth city.