Chapter 172 A Year’s Passage The Crushing Weight of the Swarm
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A year had slipped by—a full year.
The ten months the group spent plunging into the deep layers felt like a vivid, almost dreamlike flash. At first, Yuuri had been dead set on devoting every waking moment outside the Workshop to nothing but dungeon conquering, but Marina insisted they had to log their adventures.
She made a point of it.
So, using a tablet, they began documenting the “Safety Areas,” notable features of each layer, the monsters they faced, and rough maps to the next floor. It all became a quick reconnaissance record—a full trek-log.
”See? Wasn’t it a great idea to make it so we could look back at it?” Marina had tossed Yuuri a long-awaited wink after they cleared a few more layers. They were looking over a journey they wouldn’t return from. The main goal of conquering the Royal Capital Labyrinth was, naturally, to gain the leverage needed for the princess to return to the political fray before she faded into irrelevance. Yuuri’s initial push to minimize lost time and rush their return had nearly resulted in dangerous lapses in caution—a failing born of an overly eager heart in unknown territory.
”Your sense of duty always runs ahead of you, so you end up being short-sighted, you know? We made a plan and prepared to execute it. From here on out, we should approach the journey as if it were a simple sight-seeing trip; that’s the right attitude for it.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Until Marina pointed it out, Yuuri hadn’t realized how tightly ingrained the “standard theory” mindset had remained. That habit made Yuuri default to formulaic actions which absolutely didn’t work on uncharted layers.
Up until then, Yuuri had merely walked the paths great pioneers laid out.
Now it was Yuuri’s turn to blaze the trail—to write the guide. That initial haste had already resulted in a shameful display.
”Thank you, Marina. If this were actually just a pleasure trip, it *would* be strange not to keep a travelogue. And since there’s danger involved, it’s even more important to keep our hearts steady.”
Yuuri felt the sting of immaturity, having let the younger girl worry yet again. But when the thanks were spoken aloud, Marina simply returned a sunny smile as if it were nothing.
From then on, their daily routine included filming their movements and compiling the footage into proper records back at the Workshop. Finishing an adventure log of a new world with old-world electronic devices was a strange process, but the fusion of Yuuri’s two areas of expertise provided welcome distraction within the Workshop’s limited entertainment.
”Um… Yuuri? Could you perhaps grace us with your presence in the bedroom now?”
But a day’s time was finite. Between an hour of full-throttle dungeon conquering, meals, meetings, and sleep, the only reason there had once been enough time to satisfy the needs of Yuuri’s servants was simply that there hadn’t been anything else competing for attention.
Now, the new distraction cut into the time the companions looked forward to most—their intimate moments together.
Where Yuuri once rushed the three girls to devour their exquisite bodies, they now had to rush Yuuri. Unable to resist the sight of all three peeking in unison through the soundproof door, Yuuri reluctantly set aside the record-keeping.
The next ten months were filled with nothing but palpable progress, tangible results, a sure sense of purpose, and a communal life with the beautiful girls whose hearts were intertwined with Yuuri’s. Though the environment demanded tension—one wrong step spelled mortal danger—they overcame everything through the multitude of skills they had prepared.
Beyond combat and scouting, the girls’ clothing-related skills, belonging to Suzuri and Ashley, proved invaluable for gear maintenance, such as crafting a pouch to hold the tablet like a body-camera on Yuuri’s chest. They steadily advanced, enjoying the great shifts in natural environment every ten days or so.
—
”It’s about the time we were supposed to return, isn’t it?” Marina mused softly. The deep-layer strategy had been set for months. In those fulfilling days that passed like arrows, the fact Yuuri had pushed to the back of their mind suddenly surfaced.
”It’s that time already. …No, maybe it’s surprising it’s only been this long.”
This was the inevitable deadline they knew they would cross. Even with the massive time-saving cheat of the Familial Workshop, conquering could never be reduced to zero days.
They had already planned for a slightly overdue return, so this moment was expected. Whatever the Fried-Lord or Lady was doing was unknown, but the sudden, major incident of the princess not returning on schedule was undoubtedly causing commotion in the palace.
”Heh. There’s no turning back now,” Marina chuckled.
”There was never a plan to turn back,” Yuuri answered.
For them, the assassination attempt felt like a distant memory from months ago. But on the surface, it remained an active disturbance.
That made the dislocation of perceived time undeniable.
Yuuri understood logically that they were experiencing relative advancement in time, yet the outside world felt like a frozen, unmoving space. Still, the thought of returning made their current actions feel strangely dreamlike.
”I understand it logically, but it’s a strange feeling,” Yuuri murmured.
”That’s probably the difference between understanding numbers and the human sensation of shared time,” Marina reasoned.
Though they had chosen their current course, they could have gained enough power and simply returned to the surface. But that option—postponed by the Workshop—was now catching up, slow and inevitable.
The only path left was to acquire the dungeon by any means necessary and foil the schemes of those who targeted them. Yuuri had chosen to conquer the dungeon by personal will, but Marina’s words made clear that Yuuri still harbored naïve thoughts of retreat.
With that moment of reflection, their resolve did not waver, and they managed to pass the cluster of status-effect layers.
They had known of twenty-four status effects. As they progressed, the pattern was one status effect per layer. That alone couldn’t fill the layers up to the mid-nineties, where the Dungeon Core had to be, and the goddess Mataaha’s hint ensured the goal was correct. Thus, there had to be a final, challenging group of layers beyond the status floors.
And unfortunately, that prediction proved true.
They stood on the 82nd floor. They had just passed the final status-effect layer—an absurd “all-of-them-at-once” trial—and nullified it.
The real problem lay ahead. Rushing into the “Safety Area” beside the brilliantly colored geological strata, an unusual presence was already palpable.
Though the space was the familiar white stonework, from the descending stairs came a bizarre, roaring din. The sound wasn’t strong enough to echo to the upper layer—and that made it all the more unnatural.
Yuuri remembered the flooded 59th floor and armed themself before descending slowly.
”Is that… a cry?”
”Oh, I— I have a bad feeling about this,” Ashley stammered.
Previously, the “Safety Area” had blocked any harmful attack or status effect, though it allowed through water, sound, or light.
Yuuri had trusted the Goddess to uphold that rule—yet that trust now trembled.
”H-Hee, hiiii—!” Ashley shrieked, clinging desperately. The soft, swelling curve of her chest pressed against Yuuri’s arm, but there was no time to indulge in the sensation.
Outside, they were amassed—swarming over the walls, the window barrier—they packed the entire outside in churning layers.
”They’re— They’re enormous!”
”Is that… a swarm of locusts?”
”M-My apologies, I’m normally fine with insects, but this *quantity*…!”
The floor resembled a warped recreation of the first layer’s grassland. A straight, maintained path sloped gently downward, the distant exit visible like a tiny bean—but impossibly far under the circumstances.
”A wheat field. But I wouldn’t call it pastoral,” Marina noted.
”Just how many are there?”
”Easily over ten thousand. Maybe more…”
Unlike the ankle-height grass of the first floor, the 83rd floor’s wheat stalks were ten times a person’s height. Perhaps as twisted kindness, the “Safety Area” sat on a high ledge, offering full view of the surroundings.
And there, greedily devouring the golden harvest, was a living ocean of black and yellow. Gigantic Langosta—bigger, deeper-layer versions—leapt across the field with terrifying strength.
”They won’t ignore us if we step outside, will they?”
”No chance. The ones by the entrance already noticed us,” Marina warned.
A battle of sheer volume. The simplest yet most difficult strategy to counter. Yuuri even caught themself thinking: *How would someone without the Workshop deal with this?* It was overwhelming. Status effects had been manageable tests—but the *volume* of the dungeon was another trial entirely. As if the stern Goddess herself whispered the question.
A battle of attrition was impossible. They would respawn faster than the party could kill them. Sprinting to the exit was equally hopeless; the monsters’ legs were too powerful.
Yuuri looked up to gauge their strength, but Suzuri was already watching.
”Can you do it? Don’t push yourself. Measure their strength and retreat to the Workshop immediately if needed.”
”Understood. I shall go forth.”
Yuuri wondered how effective Suzuri’s speed would be. Even if they overwhelmed her, she could use area-of-effect skills—though focusing on so many targets at once seemed doubtful.
As Yuuri watched with growing anxiety, Suzuri was serene. She conjured a kunai in each hand and casually hurled one at the nearest Langosta.
It didn’t even register the danger—until the explosive impact erased its torso.
That pathetic cry was the signal for Suzuri to leap into the wheat field.
”Oh, she made it?”
”No. This looks bad.”
The Langosta turned as one toward Suzuri—and leapt. Their speed wasn’t too fast for Yuuri’s enhanced sight; it seemed she could dodge everything.
But Marina’s eyes fixed elsewhere.
The ones that hadn’t moved.
Crouched.
Waiting.
Dozens—no, hundreds—in the same posture across the field.
*Bad.*
Suzuri vanished an instant before a deafening impact. A pile of mangled Langosta appeared where she had been.
It was a suicidal charge—death to themselves and their allies didn’t matter. Suzuri had been forced to flee into the Workshop.
Ashley trembled, clutching Yuuri tighter.
But Suzuri reappeared moments later, kneeling without a scratch.
Marina attempted her Holy Armor afterward—but though she blocked the slams, she became immobilized beneath the piling swarm. Even killing dozens in one swing only buried her deeper. She, too, had to retreat.
”This is bad. We need to re-evaluate our power,” Marina said gravely.
There, the dreamlike conquest came to a jarring halt. A wall of sheer numbers confronted them, and for a moment, the party had no answer to this overwhelming volume.
—
Summary:
The party’s confident ten-month plunge into the deep labyrinth layers ends abruptly on the 83rd floor. The peaceful routine of exploration and intimate moments with Marina, Suzuri, and Ashley is shattered by an overwhelming monster strategy: a massive, suicidal swarm of giant Langosta locusts. Suzuri and Marina’s best attempts to scout and fight are immediately overpowered by the sheer volume of the insects. The protagonist, Yuuri, faces a sudden, total block, forcing the group to pause their advance and re-evaluate their entire strategy. The political deadline for their return has passed, and they now have no path but forward.
—
Character Insight:
Yuuri’s self-refection on his initial arrogance and haste is a major moment. He realizes his reliance on the ‘Familial Workshop’ skill led to a false sense of security about time and retreat. Marina acts as his grounding point and strategist, but her attempt also fails, underscoring the severity of the threat. Ashley’s fear and Suzuri’s disciplined, yet defeated, return highlight the team’s vulnerability to this type of threat.
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Behind the Scene:
This chapter marks the definitive end of the ‘easy phase’ of the dungeon conquest. The previous status-effect floors were designed as ‘gimmick’ layers, but the 83rd floor introduces the ultimate challenge: overwhelming physical power and numbers, a literal wall of meat, which is the dungeon’s true, un-skippable test. The timing of this block, coming right after the political deadline for Marina’s return, heightens the stakes dramatically.
Notes:
• Marina – First Princess of Restea—needs labyrinth escort.
• Ashley – Count’s daughter, royal attendant, has a crush on Yuuri.
• Suzuri – A scout who braved the labyrinth and lured a petrifying monster to protect her friends. Tall, statuesque, flawlessly pale skin, powerfully toned yet soft and feminine, with long, flowing black hair identical to Marina. Her body have muscles but slim. Her breasts are very large, full, high-set, and overtly described as “too big for her frame,”
• Mataaha – the labyrinth goddess with brown skin, silver eyes, and waist-length black hair. She resembles a stern, intellectual character like Mikasa Ackerman but with divine power.
• Ai – The recently-formed sub-divinity/ego who manages the world’s Skills. Her sudden, intense burst of divine will (‘ki’) almost bleached Yuuri’s wicked thoughts. Called Yuuri ‘Elder Brother’ and declared genuine affection and trust based on his efficiency with her Skills.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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