I looked around as I walked down the dark, downhill passage.
No matter how powerful my [Super Sensory] was, I couldn’t see through this complete darkness with no source of light. So, I had to rely on the glowstones I brought with me.
There hadn’t been any danger yet, but since it’s a dungeon, one wouldn’t know where something would pop out of nowhere.
It’s a place I found myself in the game, but it was so long ago that I didn’t remember much.
All I could think of was that it was a dungeon with far more guardians than traps.
'I wonder how many levels the guardians of this dungeon were.'
Were they level 30 or 40?
Among them, the bosses were probably over level 50.
Whatever it was, there would be no danger to me now, so there was no problem.
I continued to walk with no tension.
The traces of the previous uninvited guests were still there, so it was easy for me to follow.
The one that appeared at the end of the straight path was a road that was cut off in the middle.
There is no such thing as an obstacle, but a road that was completely cut off like a cliff.
“...”
Feeling a little bewildered, I looked down far below.
It was because the terrain did not feel very natural since it was in the cave’s underground. Come to think of it, was there a road like this at the entrance?
I picked up a stone and threw it down the cliff, and after a while I heard a small sound. It seemed to be at least a few hundred meters.
I looked across in the distance and crossed it using [Space Leap].
Nearby, the ground was marked with particularly rough sweeping marks. Was it a sign of someone landing?
Apparently, the uninvited guests just jumped across.
As I continued to move, what appeared this time was a fork in several roads.
Looking at the aisle divided into six, I was lost in my thoughts for a while.
When I was playing the game, the first passage I entered was probably the one in the middle.
However, the memory was hazy as to which passage led to the Mystery.
I was confused because I had memories of going round and round as the pathways connected to each other from the inside and returned to the same spot.
'Did I find it in the passage leading to the far right after all? No, it was on the left...'
I was pretty sure it was either the far left or the far right.
The traces of the uninvited guests led to the second aisle from the left.
I soon chose the aisle on the far left and moved on.
If I made the wrong choice, I wouldn’t die, and if I made a mistake, I just had to go back and check the other passages.
As I moved further into the passage, a space with an artificial feeling gradually appeared.
Magic stones and magic circles that were scattered and painted everywhere.
I could see dozens of other passages piercing the walls on all sides. Another crossroads?
Kwaaang!
As I was looking around, the entrance I came in suddenly closed.
Subsequently, the magic stones and magic circles began to glow brightly, and the magic energy became stronger.
It was only after that that countless figures emerged from the passageways that were scattered everywhere.
Cooong. Cooong.
Guardians in the form of four-legged animals whose bodies were made of rocks.
The eyes and joints of the monsters that appeared in droves from the darkness shone with blue light.
All levels were level 31, and the number easily exceeded dozens, even at a glance.
Wait...
Did such a space exist?
A vague memory came to mind.
As if in a siege, the guys surrounding me rushed all at once. I teleported upward into the air.
Those who missed their target tangled and collided with each other for a moment, then looked up.
The veil blocked a few who tried to jump up and attack me.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
The entrance I entered was blocked, and the guardians were released in a pile with no space to escape.
At this level, it was a dungeon that made it so that anyone who entered it would just die.
I wondered if the wizard who created this dungeon had a rather dirty personality.
Pew!
As soon as I released the veil, I fell down and performed [Blood Art].
The blood that burst out in all directions soaked the bodies of the guardians who were looking up and they stopped moving all at once.
Landing lightly on the floor, I looked around at the fallen guardians and then moved my gaze to one side.
It was the passageway with the largest entrance. No guardians had yet emerged from that place.
Waa.
Soon, with a heavy trembling, a huge figure appeared.
A guardian that took the form of a four-legged beast no different from the ones that just jumped out.
But the size was as many times much bigger than the earlier guardians.
[Lv. 52]
...Yes, come to think of it, there was a guy like this.
The guy rushed in this direction. Formidable speed, completely out of proportion to its size.
I immediately performed [Blood Art] and shot drops of blood at him.
However, the flying droplets of blood were blocked by the magic screen covering its body and did not reach it.
“Huh.”
Waa!
I sighed and evaded it by using [Space Leap].
The guardian who hit the rock wall in my place completely destroyed one side of the wall and stood up like a machine.
I looked at it with bewildered eyes.
I didn’t even think that it would have a passive shield.
I didn’t have time to relax for a second, and it jumped right back towards me.
Feeling like a bullfighter, I blocked and dodged the attack by alternating between [Floating Veil] and [Space Leap].
...What to do?
It wasn’t difficult to fight it, but the problem was that there was no way to defeat it.
I glanced at the entrance through which I came in.
It looked like a magical veil covered it, shining with a soft blue light.
Thinking of a plausible way, I moved right in front of the passage.
I turned around and avoided the rushing guy with [Space Leap].
Kwaaang!
It collided violently with the magical veil surrounding the entrance.
It could not withstand the shock and shattered at once.
As I made my way through the opening, the guardian continued to pursue me relentlessly.
I used [Space Leap] and [Floating Veil] repeatedly to lead it to the cliff at the beginning of the passage.
Finally, I teleported into the air in the middle of the cliff and opened the veil.
Then, sure enough, it leaped toward me without hesitation, crashed into the veil, and then fell straight down the cliff.
“Ugh...”
Landing on the ground again, I sighed, feeling a little tired.
If I had known this was going to happen, I would have just brought Asher along.
I was about to go out and bring her, but I changed my mind and just went back inside.
I passed the exit of the place where the Guardians were.
Another long passage followed, no more traps or guardians popping out.
Soon, I opened my eyes wide as I looked at another huge passage in front of me.
'It’s here.'
On the upper wall there was a pattern that looked like an eyeball. I clearly remembered that the Mystery of [Acceleration] was beyond this passageway.
I passed the entrance of the passage with a lighter step. And...
“...?”
I couldn’t help but frown at the presence that soon began to be felt from the inside.
***
“...Hey, Captain. Can’t we just go back now?”
Clark opened his mouth cautiously, looking around with anxious eyes.
Nine people - composing of both men and women–walked down a dark passageway.
As a new member of the adventure group and also a porter, he had little right to speak, but he had no choice but to speak up.
Even the group of guardians that just popped out were so dangerous that at least one of them died.
It wouldn’t be strange if the adventurers were wiped out if a more threatening guardian came out from inside.
“Boy, didn’t I tell you to shut up?”
The woman, who was alert to the rear with her bow on her string, said nervously.
“If you’re that scared, don’t whine and get out of here by yourself, huh?”
“Hey, focus.”
The man at the forefront interrupted in a stern voice. She clicked her tongue.
“Even if I try to do that, that idiot keeps annoying me.”
Clark groaned inwardly.
The reason that woman was so rude and the others just let her was because she was the most capable member of the group.
“Clark, you should focus as well. We’ll go in a little further, then come back if there’s nothing. Or is it that you don’t have that much trust in me?”
“...No, no. Sorry, Captain.”
On the other hand, the leader, Regneel, was very polite.
Clark obediently apologized, and once again hardened his heart.
'Yes, it’s still a dungeon. It would be a waste if we give up like this...'
There was no doubt that the captain valued the lives of his members more than anyone else did .
Besides, wasn’t this the chance to make a fortune that all adventurers aspire to?
The rewards waiting there must be more than worth the risk...
Clap.
Everyone’s footsteps stopped.
“Uh, huh?”
The woman with the bow looked down at her feet in bewilderment.
The members’ expressions hardened all at once.
Coo coo coo.
As the vibrations approached, guardians in the form of small bugs rushed like a tidal wave from the road they passed.
“...Run!”
Everyone realized as soon as they saw the guardians that they weren’t something they could deal with.
With the captain’s urgent cry, the members hurriedly sprinted.
Clark also went white and ran, holding back the urge to scream.
“...Argh!”
At that moment, a woman running right next to her tripped and fell.
“He, help me! Don’t leave me alone! Ah!”
Clark stopped running and looked back.
I saw the woman rolling on the floor, entangled with several bug guardians who had already come close to her.
The members who were already running in the lead were running into the passage that was closing in front, as if they couldn’t even see her.
He hesitated and finally approached her with a swear word. He drew her sword and slashed the bug guardians as they attacked her.
“Quickly! Go in before the door closes...!”
F*ck!
Suddenly, Clark’s body fell backwards.
The woman who stood up whimpering kicked his body as he was supporting her arm. Then she started running alone.
Clark, who jumped to his feet, looked at her back with amazement.
“That crazy b*tch...! Gup!”
He hurriedly ran after an insect guardian had bitten his wrist.
However, it was a long way off to catch up with the members who took the lead in a situation where he had already fallen behind.
Clap.
To make matters worse, Clark stepped on another trap, which made his body sway.
On the downhill that suddenly appeared as the ground collapsed, his body rolled back and forth as if it were about to fall.
After hitting the wall, he barely balanced himself, but the disaster wasn’t over yet.
He screamed as he saw the guardians rushing down in front of him.
“Ughhhhhh!”
Waa!
At that moment, the stone wall that suddenly fell in front of him cut off the space and blocked the guardians.
Clark sighed heavily, and his throbbing body rose.
“...F*ck.”
Where was this?
He didn’t know where it was, but he couldn’t help but be aware of the fact that he was definitely in trouble.
He barely survived, but the stone wall suddenly appeared and blocked the way out.
He looked around and soon found another passage on the side.
With no other way to go, Clark cursed again and slowly moved down the passage.
As he walked through the dark passage where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, what appeared immediately was a wide cavity.
“...”
There were huge stone statues all over the common area.
Clark stared at something in the middle of the cavity with bewildered eyes.
It’s a pattern engraved on the floor that glows in a subtle red color.
He mumbled.
“A Mystery?”
