As it turns out, running 50 miles in 4 hours, from noon to dusk, was impossible even in a fantasy world.

Not that Lu-el was expecting to, nor complaining.

After all, the remaining thirteen young hunters even had to take turns carrying the twelve other unconscious hunters, including Weed.

But the fact that they had to navigate the maze of Labyrinth Canyon in the dark, with only their magic lanterns as their source of light, wasn’t their only concern at the moment.

"ARGH—!"

"What the heck is happening this time..."

As soon as the sun set on the horizon and darkness claimed everything beneath the twilight sky, Weed and his erection buddies—who were being carried by six young hunters over their shoulders—suddenly woke up, groaning in pain.

They soon began convulsing uncontrollably, forcing the hunters to stop running and drop them onto the ground.

The instant they stopped convulsing, Weed—first among them—abruptly rose in an inhuman manner and jumped on Lu-el, aiming to bite him like an undead.

Since Lu-el had been crouching beside him to check his condition, Weed easily pushed him down to the ground.

"Get your freaking rod away from me, Weed—" Lu-el grumbled while desperately trying to push Weed away, carefully avoiding contact with Weed’s erect body, "unless you want it cut off!"

Feeling absolutely disgusted by the position they were in, Lu-el resorted to breaking balls—driving his knee into Weed’s crotch before punching him in the face, knocking him off.

Whether from the punch or the blow to the groin, Weed was knocked unconscious again.

"Hurry up and deal with them," Lu-el said, instructing the other hunters to do the same.

They responded without hesitation, as if they had been waiting for the chance to kick their friends in the balls and knock them unconscious.

Just what else did that trap put in that juice, Sera?

Lu-el sighed, trying to recover his composure and ready himself to fight.

After all, more naked undead who were once participants of the Goddess’s Trial were beginning to appear ahead, blocking their path.

He set his lantern on the ground, grabbed his battle axe, and took his stance—ready to defend the group while the other hunters tried to restrain their rampaging friends.

"Tie them up before more undead arrive!" Lu-el shouted, drawing everyone’s attention—including the undead—so they wouldn’t attack anyone else.

ROAR—!

With a deafening roar echoing through the darkness, the first wave of undead rushed at Lu-el, though not at a speed he couldn’t react to.

The instant the first group entered his range, Lu-el took a single stride forward and swung his axe, unleashing a powerful horizontal strike with all his strength.

The sharp blade tore through flesh, and the force of his swing created a shockwave that burst upon impact, knocking back the torn corpses.

Lu-el halted his swing at the end of its arc, then shifted his grip and stepped forward again, unleashing a powerful return slash that tore apart the next approaching group of undead.

Brutal and grotesque, with no trace of elegance or mastery—like a savage beast. That was the only way Lu-el knew how to fight, but it got the job done.

By the time his hands and arms felt numb, Lu-el had already taken down the first wave, eliminating a dozen undead. Yet more kept coming, one after another, from the darkness at the edge of the lantern’s light.

ROAR—!

And for the second wave, they weren’t only coming from the front.

"We’ve got more undead coming behind us!" one of the hunters shouted.

"Then deal with them, unless you want them to fuc’ us from behind!" Lu-el shouted back, his laid-back demeanor slowly crumbling into irritation rather than panic as they found themselves surrounded.

***

[LU-EL@LIVESTREAM - GODDESS’S VESSEL]

[Poru@Astronaut: Somehow, this has become more of a zombie apocalypse genre rather than fantasy adventure.]

[Poru@Ghost: I want more fantasy creatures rather than zombies!]

[Poru@Sage: And I want to see more magic than curse!]

[Poru@Beast: Cum on—fighting zombies isn’t that bad. And our dude is fighting like a beast on a rampage.]

[Poru@Knight: More like the 300 Spartans fighting in the narrow passage of the Hot Gates. Wait... I mean the 13 Spartans—Hahaha!]

[Luvira@Goddess: I said stop mentioning other franchises here!]

[Poru@Undead: There’s also a lot of death!]

[Luvira@Goddess: PFFT!—You mean the undead are making you excited again—HAHAHA!]

[Poru@Undead: Those undead are all dudes!—And I don’t have an undead fetish!]

***

If you’re all going to enjoy watching me struggle to survive, then you should at least give me a reward right now!

Despite Lu-el wanting to complain, his voice couldn’t come out as he struggled to catch his breath.

Fortunately, their group survived, and no one died or sustained serious injuries.

The fight against the undead lasted nearly an hour. Though not continuous in large waves, the constant need to stay alert—never knowing when another undead would emerge from the darkness—was just as exhausting as fighting itself.

Only half an hour after the last undead fell did Lu-el and the other hunters finally decide to take a break and check on their unconscious companions—or rather, hope that they were still only unconscious.

"They haven’t turned undead, right?" Lu-el said, doubting his own words after remembering how Weed had tried to bite him earlier—and nothing else.

"It’s faint, but they’re still breathing," one of the hunters confirmed after checking Weed’s pulse.

None of them had enough priestly knowledge to confirm whether Weed and his erection buddies had been cursed, though it was obvious given their condition and their encounter with undead who were once participants of the Goddess’s Trial.

What was worse, no one needed to say it aloud: if they died, Weed and his erection buddies would almost certainly turn undead—and that would likely happen soon unless something was done.

I’m not even sure if this is going to work, Lu-el thought as he pretended to rummage through his bag, quietly taking out the Lust Elixir from the Isekai Livestreamer System.

[Isekai Livestreamer System - Lust Elixir (x5)]

Since he didn’t have enough for everyone, Lu-el only took out five bottles, hoping they would still be effective after dilution.

Two bottles were to be shared among Weed and his erection buddies, hoping it would give them enough stamina to stay alive until they reached the village at the finish line.

Another two were to be shared among the other hunters to restore their stamina for fighting and carrying their friends.

"Just have everyone drink these. No questions asked," Lu-el said, instructing them to dilute the potions into the healing supplies packed by the maids.

The hunters looked at Lu-el in disbelief, knowing it was against the rules of the second stage to bring personal items such as potions or antidotes, except for weapons.

But none of them complained or questioned him, not now—with their friends’ lives on the line.

"Let’s hope it works..." one of them said, followed by a simple gratitude "Thanks, Lu-el."

"Just don’t mention it," Lu-el replied with a light pun as his usual laid-back demeanor returned.

As for the last bottle, Lu-el still wasn’t sure whether to dilute it or drink it himself, since he didn’t want to end up with an erection—since the potion would restore his stamina and boost his lust.

But before he could decide, a voice—like that of a creepy stalker—came from the darkness.

"Isn’t that cheating, big guy?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

A blade followed immediately after, stabbing into his back and piercing through his gut.

"Argh—!"

"LU-EL—!"