Bellevagorah’s body collapsed and hit the ground.
I almost fell over from the shock, but I regained my balance.
I looked at the fallen snake, literally feeling as if I had barely come back alive from the threshold of hell.
It died instantly with its eyes open, as if its soul had just disappeared, leaving behind a huge shell.
That was really close...
Just by their size difference, it was comparable to a human and an ant.
If Bellevagorah just flick his tongue, I would have been thrown off somewhere and died an unsightly death. I had to say that I was really lucky.
When I finally made contact safely, the ecstasy rose to the point of nonsense.
Even when I was on the verge of death, I still had that kind of composure. My mind must have gone twisted somewhere because of the [Soul of the King].
“Ugh... uh...”
Hearing that limp moan, I turned to where the two were.
I saw Khan slumped on the floor with a face that seemed like his soul was drained.
Asher stood with her eyes wide open, staring blankly at me. She was finally released from the effects of [Fear].
The atmosphere was engulfed in silence, so I said nothing.
“It’s a monster that wasn’t supposed to be in a place like this.”
“...”
There was no clear response.
Khan was almost exhausted because of shock and fear. So, he continued moving after taking a break for a while.
“Sorry.”
While I was sitting on a rock and looking at Bellevagorah’s corpse, Asher said something out of the blue.
I turned my head and looked at her.
Basically, Asher’s expressionless face made it difficult to read her emotions, but I clearly saw that the other had a sullen expression.
After thinking about what she apologized for all of a sudden, I realized.
'Is she saying that she failed to escort me properly?'
This was a completely unexpected disaster.
It was far beyond her ability, so there was no reason to blame her.
How could she deal with a monster that a Lord could only deal or someone of the same level?
However, she could not tolerate that she did not fulfil her responsibilities properly. She just had that kind of personality.
Asher was a person who had that kind of stubbornness, serious in everything and infinitely strict with herself.
'Ah.. or is it because of that?'
Perhaps it was the shock of not being able to resist even the slightest in front of Bellevagorah.
I opened my mouth.
“Some monsters and species that emit [Fear] are rare.”
Asher blinked.
A reaction showing that she didn’t understand what I was trying to say. She probably also didn’t know about [Fear].
[Fear] was a kind of ability that had little information about because monsters that had it were rare.
At her level, even if she met other monsters that emitted [Fear], she probably would not have been affected at all.
So it was unreasonable if this unfamiliar experience hurt her pride.
“It is an ability that causes fear, especially in opponents weaker than oneself. Usually, they completely lose the will to fight and fall into a panic.”
“...Ah.”
Only then did Asher look back at Bellevagorah’s corpse as if surprised.
“You probably never experienced it before.”
“Yes.”
“That little creature was so powerful that it was rare to see even in a demonic land.”
At the words of consolation, Asher looked a little taken aback.
She nodded her head without answering, then closed her mouth again and returned to silence. So, it’s hard to know what she was thinking.
Soon, Khan also came back to his senses.
“If you’re not feeling well, get some more rest.”
“Oh, no. I’m really sorry for bothering you.”
Khan seemed exhausted, but seemed to have recovered enough to move his body.
Since he was exposed to the [Fear] of a level 90 monster, it’s already good that he did not faint.
Perhaps this was just a short hike in his adventurer’s life, but he wondered if it would be one of the most memorable adventure for him.
“If something like that had really come down to the city, it would have been ruined...”
As if he still couldn’t feel the reality, Khan muttered blankly as he looked at Bellevagorah’s corpse.
Then, as he turned his head this way, his eyes met mine, and for some reason, he flinched excessively and lowered his head.
...Wasn’t his expression the same one he had when he first saw Bellevagorah?
'Are you treating me as a monster?'
It was not an incomprehensible reaction.
In their eyes, it would have looked like I killed the monster just by touching it.
Asher was pretending to be okay, but she was still secretly glancing at the corpse.
Anyway, since the crisis had safely passed, it was time to complete my purpose for coming here.
“Let’s move.”
All around, thick black trees were coloring the forest dark.
The hidden piece was close at hand.
As Khan said, it didn’t take long before we finally reached our destination.
A huge rock lying alone in the middle of the forest.
Compared to the fat top and bottom, the middle part was constricted, and anyone could see that its shape was like an hourglass.
We finally arrived.
With the hourglass rock found, all that remained was to find the entrance.
Near to the rock was a cliff. It was a much lower cliff than the one we climbed earlier.
'It seems like it was roughly that way... isn’t it? Is it over there?'
I looked around and guessed the direction.
However, my memory was ambiguous, and I was confused when I saw it in person, so I decided to just check it carefully.
I wandered around the base of the cliff, carefully examining everything.
The two followed me without saying a word, with faces that didn’t know what they were doing.
After several tens of minutes, I found a fine crack on one side of the wall that was vertically split at a height similar to mine.
I could feel the faint chill seeping from the crack.
“Asher.”
“Yes.”
“Break this gap moderately wide.”
Asher looked at the gap I pointed out and raised her hand, saying nothing.
I took a slight step back.
Kwaaang!
The wall crumbled as energy burst from her palm pressed against the crack.
The inside of the chasm was hollow, like a cave, with an entrance large enough for one or two people to enter.
Asher and Khan widened their eyes at the appearance of the hidden passage.
“Wait here.”
Leaving the two at the entrance, I went inside alone. The air was cold.
The passage led down a gentle slope, but as soon as I descended a little, the light from outside could no longer be seen, and I quickly lost sight of anything ahead.
At that moment, I took out a glowstone I had brought.
When I unwrapped the tightly wrapped cloth wrapping the stone, a bright white light spread and the surrounding instantly became brighter.
“...Uh.”
Bugs attached to the wall of the cave also appeared. There were quite a few things, like cockroaches and centipedes.
I clicked my tongue once and continued to move forward.
As the slope gradually continued downhill, I had to take my steps carefully.
When I finally reached the point where I couldn’t go down without touching the ground with my hands, I broke out in a cold sweat.
If I slipped, I’d be done for.
Was the slope here originally in this shape? How much deeper would this slope be until I reached my destination?
I put the glowstone I was holding in my mouth and touched the ground with both hands.
It was fortunate that the ground was bumpy, so there was plenty of space to step on.
'As long as it doesn’t get steeper than this, I won’t fall unless I stumble stupidly...'
“Ah!”
In an instant, my feet slipped on the ground, and my body collapsed.
Fuck. Why did it have to be a flag as soon as I said it?
I desperately touched the floor with my hands, but it was enough.
My body rolled down the slope like a wheel into the darkness.
Cooong!
The fall stopped only after I felt a terrifying shock to my head and arms.
I wriggled for a while, then I got up. My whole body throbbed, and I felt a fishy taste in my mouth.
“Ugh...”
I felt like something was flowing down my face.
When I wiped it off, my hands were soaked in red. It was blood.
With a distorted expression, I wiped the blood from my chin and looked down at my left arm.
Likewise, it was so tattered and covered in blood that I could barely even move it. It might even look like it was broken.
It was the first time I had ever been hurt this badly, so I was embarrassed for a moment, but it soon subsided coldly.
The sharp pain stabbing my arm was excruciatingly painful, but my reason was not disturbed, as always.
After a moment of heavy breathing, I stumbled and looked around.
At the end of the downhill, I saw a small aisle bent to the side. Did it open like that after I hit it from rolling down?
It was a far short reward for my body being in disrepair, but I descended the slope in an instant, anyway.
I picked up the glowstone with my free arm and walked into the aisle.
A tingling pain came up every time I stepped on my right foot, as if I had sprained my ankle, but not that painful that I couldn’t walk.
As I progressed, the aisle gradually widened, and a faint green light leaked from the inside.
“Wow.”
When I finally reached the end, I spit out a short admiration at the unfolding scenery.
A wide and empty cavity, with a green pattern engraved on the floor in the middle, emitting a soft light.
I forgot the pain and smiled brightly as I limped towards the pattern.
I knew what it was, so I didn’t hesitate to approach it.
I finally found it. Mystery of [Super Regeneration].
It’s bigger than I thought.
The mysterious pattern was close to a circle like a magic circle, but it was so large that it was several meters in diameter.
Approaching it, I just stared down at it for a while.
I found it, but I didn’t know how to get this Mystery.
In the game, a message would pop up saying that once you found it and got close to it, you could get the Mystery on its own.
'Can I just touch it?'
There was no other way, so I got down on one knee and stretched my hand towards the pattern.
Hwaak!
Then, the light of the pattern burst brightly for an instant.
I panicked and almost let go, then stopped.
It’s because the light climbed up my hand that touched it and was absorbed into my body.
Soon all the light was absorbed, and the pattern disappeared without a trace. The cavity sank into darkness.
“...”
Feeling a little bewildered, I removed my hand from the floor and looked down at my left arm.
Broken wounds were healing and regenerating in an instant.
