I retrieved an M84 flashbang from my grenade pouch and gave Ashley the signal. It was cute how she covered her ears. I pulled the grenade’s pin and tossed it toward the center of the goblin cluster.
VMB grenades came in various types, most of which exploded about three seconds after they were thrown. Just as the firearms’ properties remained unchanged in this world, the M84 flashbang exploded three seconds later, as expected.
I confirmed the explosion and flash, and the crosshair on my goggles expanded, indicating the flashbang’s hit. I readied the P90 and charged into the large room.
“Argh!”
The goblins all clutched their eyes and ears. their mouths gaping with screams or groans. I was unsure how long the visual and auditory status effects would last. Before the goblins recovered, I quickly pulled the P90’s trigger and swiftly eliminated them one by one.
To avoid unexpected retaliation, I maintained a safe distance while ensuring each shot was lethal. However, even with the P90’s fifty-round magazine, it wasn’t enough to handle all eleven goblins. Perhaps my burst control was lacking? I slung the P90 over my shoulder, swiftly drew the FN Five-seveN from my waist, and finished the remaining goblins off.
“You defeated them all in just one assault! And in just a few minutes!” Ashley entered the center of the room after I dealt with the goblins. “And the sound was truly loud. Even with my ears covered, I felt the ground shake from the explosion. I’ve never heard of sound causing a status effect, even with attribute magic.”
The fallen goblins were enveloped in mist, and they left only magic stones behind.
“Things went as planned,” I told Ashley while collecting the stones. “I told you I can manage on my own. I know how to adapt my tactics to the situation.”
“Yes, obviously. Even so, don’t get cocky and let your guard down.”
“Of course not,” I said. “Let’s keep moving! Once we pass through this large room, there shouldn’t be any more rooms until the stairs to the second underground floor. Let’s clear it quickly.”
The journey to the second underground floor was no different from before. My preemptive strikes took care of all threats. We slowly descended the stairs to the second floor. My D-rank promotion exam was nearly complete. I saw only dark passages upon reaching the second underground floor. The map on my goggles showed no structural difference from the floor above.
“Congratulations on completing the first underground floor, Schwarz. Now, let’s head back to Balga and report the results.”
“Thank you. This is the second floor, but the labyrinth’s structure hasn’t changed.”
“The structure usually changes every five layers. Here, in the Wolf Fang Labyrinth, it changes at the sixth floor. Why, what’s wrong?”
At the bottom of the stairs was a small room that had a passage winding further inside. It was dark and only illuminated by white light grass. From the darkness, I heard—or thought I heard—whispers of hurried voices.
“Schwarz?”
“Shh.”
I raised my index finger to my lips. I tried to discern whether the faint sound was a figment of my imagination or something real. There was definitely noise, but the sound was too faint to determine its nature, direction, or distance. In this situation, I needed to advance to a point where the sound became clearer, but with the exam I was uncertain that was wise. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something unexpected was happening right now. I recalled the mixed adventurer quest where our party was half-destroyed during the harpy extermination. That was all thanks to the unexpected encounter with the higher species and that monstrous bird.
Turning to the side, I saw Ashley wordlessly looking straight at my eyes.
Should I mention it? That I heard something?
I didn’t actually know what it was yet. I didn’t want to cause her unnecessary alarm. I needed to figure this out first.
I operated the TSS on my left arm and opened the detailed settings screen for the audio sensor. This screen allowed players to customize the sensor’s capabilities to suit their preferences and the situation. One of these features was the equalizer settings. Simply put, this setting allowed adjustments to the sensor’s sensitivity across different frequency ranges, from low to high, enhancing or reducing the ability to pick up sounds accordingly.
In FPS games, not just VMB, adjusting the equalizer had immeasurable benefits. Every sound had a specific frequency. By understanding the frequency of the sounds you wanted to hear and enhancing the sensor’s ability to pick them up, while reducing sensitivity to unnecessary sounds, you could...
Actually, for FPS players, one’s equalizer settings were a closely guarded secret. I never shared my settings with friends or even with members of my own team, P0wDer. Besides, each member had their own unique settings.
I adjusted the equalizer and focused on the faint sound’s frequency and closed my eyes to better concentrate on the minute changes the audio sensor collected. I strengthened the sensor’s ability to pick up desired frequencies while weakening others. Then, I heard it. The noise that had been barely audible became clear enough to discern.
“Run! Run!” someone screamed.
“Which way should we go?” another asked.
“I don’t know! Just run. Run!”
It was the three distinct voices of small boys and girls fleeing from something behind them.
“This isn’t good...” I said.
I reset the equalizer settings and turned to Ashley.
“What’s wrong?”
“It seems there’s a party being chased by a group of beasts or demi-humans further inside. I faintly heard their panicked voices.”
“I can’t hear anything...”
Ashley looked down the passage leading to the second underground floor, straining to listen. But the sound was only audible to me after adjusting the audio sensor settings. She couldn’t hear it.
“I’m certain. I may be a dud, but I have great hearing.”
“Are you really sure?”
“Yes, and the group chasing them is quite large.”
“Could it be...a stampede? But I haven’t heard of any recent mass casualties in the Wolf Fang Labyrinth.”
A stampede was a phenomenon where a large number of monsters overflow from the labyrinth. It occurred when there were many deaths within the maze. The more incidents that occurred, the higher the probability of occurrence. The stampede would destroy the surrounding nature and continue to rampage toward populated areas.
“It might be what we’ve long called a ‘train,’ where a group of beasts or demi-humans chase explorers or parties, and they grow in number as they pursue.”
“I see... So, what should we do?”
“We help them,” Ashley responded without hesitation.
“Understood.”