Free Web NovelThe next day, early dawn.
We finished camping just before dawn broke. After having a simple meal with the bread and jerky we brought, we started moving again.
'The time remaining until the quest ends is approximately 6 hours.'
Half a day would be more than enough time to clear the quest. Unless an unexpected variable occurred.
'As if something would happen.'
Thinking so, I moved my steps. We moved our steps steadily while lined up in the same formation as yesterday.
"Kieek!"
In the process, giant insect-type monsters like those we saw yesterday appeared, and bizarre-looking carnivorous plants attacked us.
"Really, I can't get used to this appearance."
I could hear Zain muttering with a pale face, apparently still unable to adapt. I tapped his shoulder once, then shook off the plant monsters' sap on my mace.
'Well, I'm still not used to these monsters' appearances either.'
Some of the insect-type monsters that occasionally appeared even felt disgusting to me.
'Still, that Terdius guy is quite reliable.'
Meanwhile, Terdius thoroughly kept the words he had said yesterday. When plant-type monsters appeared, it was natural that he moved first, and when insect-type monsters appeared, he moved even faster.
Terdius's speed was such that he had already released sword aura before Zain even discovered the insects and got startled.
'Still, thanks to him, Zain seems more comfortable.'
Without Terdius's performance, 6 hours might have felt far from enough. Since I couldn't forcibly drag Zain who said he couldn't go, we would definitely have fallen far behind now.
Anyway, thanks to Terdius, Zain had a much better complexion than yesterday, and though he still got scared every time he saw insects, he wasn't just frozen stiff.
Today he at least pulled his bowstring and fired arrows.
'It is progress.'
Fortunately, after passing this section, insect-type monsters that Zain dreaded wouldn't appear for a while. Though the modifier "for a while" was attached.
'Isn't even temporary fine?'
Like that, our party walked and walked again. After walking while catching various monsters for about two hours...
We discovered a dead end deep in the jungle, or rather, a space filled with thorn bushes where there was no path at all.
"It seems we took the wrong path."
Zain said while wiping sweat beading on his forehead. But I just smiled once at him, then extended my left hand toward the thick thorn bushes.
Flash—
I simultaneously emitted holy power. Then a passage about 2 meters high was created in the middle of the thorn bushes.
"No, we didn't take the wrong path. This is... the right path."
After saying so, I passed through the passage and moved. Then a spacious area filled with bright sunlight appeared.
In this place full of bright sunlight, there was a ruin-like site that had collapsed from being quite old.
'Looking at it like this, I can't easily find its previous appearance, but...'
In HSAW, the original appearance of this place had briefly appeared. But that was only a matter of the past.
Now it was just a collapsed ruin.
"What is this place..."
"It seems to be ruins. And quite old ones at that."
Zain and Troy, who followed me in, also looked at the ruins with quite surprised faces. Terdius, who entered last, looked up at the ruins as if in wonder.
"...Beautiful."
Hearing Terdius's words, I readily nodded. Because the appearance of the ruins, as if assimilated with nature over long years, was quite beautiful as he said.
—Oh, you finally arrived!
Then I heard Kyros's voice, who had been playing at the temple or something since yesterday without saying much.
'You came?'
—Yes, yes. I felt like you were getting close to the holy relic, so I came. And my thoughts were exactly right!
'That means Kyros's holy relic is indeed inside that ruin?' ƒreewebɳovel.com
——Yes, that's right. However, be careful. I feel auras much stronger than the monsters throughout this jungle from inside that ruin.
'You don't need to worry about that. Not only me, but now I have Terdius too.'
—Right. With that child, there's even less worry. Still, always be careful.
'Yes, Lord Kyros.'
After finishing the conversation with Kyros, I looked at the party members. Having finished appreciating the ruins, the three were looking at me.
"First, take these."
I supplied them additionally with the potions I had distributed yesterday. And I gave them antidotes and several more potions in preparation for any possible situation.
"I don't know what might be inside, but it's better to be as careful as possible."
Of course, I knew the identities of what was waiting for us inside. That's why I distributed the various potions to my companions.
'If we're unlucky, our party could be split up.'
Still, since I gave them this many potions, major problems shouldn't occur. After finishing distributing potions like that...
"Now let's go in."
I said so and headed to the ruins' entrance. The entrance structure was simple.
There was no separate entrance door, and there were stairs going underground near the ruins. This was the entrance.
"We're entering here?"
"Yes. This seems like the official entrance."
"Hmm... is it just me feeling like it's a trap?"
Zain asked me with a quite worried expression. This guy has unnecessarily good intuition.
"But we can't just stay still like this. We must carry out the mission Lord Kyros gave us."
After answering so, I opened my inventory while looking down at the dark stairs. And I took out four lamps I had prepared in advance and distributed them to each party member.
"I brought them just in case, and fortunately there's use for them."
After cracking a joke in my own way, I tried to carefully descend the stairs. But at that moment, Terdius overtook me.
"I'll take the lead here."
Since there weren't any insect-type monsters inside anyway, it was an acceptable proposal.
"Please do, Brother."
I smiled readily and followed Terdius. And Zain and Troy moved in line behind me.
We descended the dark stairs relying on the lamplight. The stairs continued endlessly downward.
"What exactly is this place? It doesn't seem like a simple ruin..."
While descending the stairs, Zain carefully examined the surroundings. As he said, this wasn't a simple ruin.
When the building was intact, it would have had value as a ruin, but now all that remained was the building's wreckage and underground.
'And this underground is...'
It wasn't a simple underground space.
"The stairs finally ended."
With Terdius's words, the long, long stairs ended. At the end of the stairs we descended for about an hour, what unfolded was a corridor with some space.
From here, we didn't particularly talk but ended up walking in pairs. I walked at the front together with Terdius, and Zain and Troy moved behind us while staying alert.
And after several minutes of walking quietly through the corridor...
"This is..."
A huge door appeared before us. On the giant stone door that seemed easily five meters tall, strange pictures were engraved.
Iron bars protruding from the floor everywhere, people impaled on them, people dying from the iron bars, etc.
"What on earth is this..."
"...Terrible."
Right after Zain and Troy's sighing voices were heard...
Rumble—
The door began trembling violently with a heavy sound and opening by itself. Seeing that, I spoke quietly to the party members.
"Everyone be careful. We don't know what might be inside."
When the door opened, what was revealed was a wide space. It wasn't very dark since torches were embedded in the walls everywhere, and it appeared to be a space without anything particularly special.
'However...'
This wasn't as simple a space as it appeared. I carefully examined the surroundings and told my companions.
"I'll lead the way, so everyone follow me."
"Leviathan, that's too dangerous."
Then Terdius immediately stopped me. After he spoke, Zain and Troy added.
"That's right. It's dangerous, Master."
"Right, Church Leader. Didn't you see what was engraved on the door earlier?"
Iron bars rising from the floor, people impaled and killed by them. How could I not know those things?
'I saw them several times in the original.'
That's why I had stepped forward. To resolve this situation, it was natural that I, who knew the 'path' of this corridor, should lead.
"I know well that it's dangerous, so don't worry. Right now... it will be more convenient if I step forward. Unlike me, you don't particularly have means to defend."
In Terdius's case, he could somehow cover it with his own ability, but there wouldn't be a method as fast and safe as the 'Protection Barrier' I had.
Thinking so and speaking, they couldn't make any particular objections, as if they knew.
"Then it's decided."
I smiled faintly at them, then stood at the very front.
"Everyone try to follow me exactly."
After warning the party members, I began placing my steps.
The floor of this space had fairly wide-sized tiles laid out completely. However, if you stepped on the wrong tile, iron bars would rise from the floor.
And the method to distinguish this was simple.
"It's blood..." freewebnøvel.com
I heard Zain's small voice from behind. I answered that voice.
"Yes, that's right."
Hints were already written on this space's entrance door. People who stepped on incorrect paths and met death by iron bars.
And their blood was smeared on various incorrect paths. I didn't know exactly how many people had visited here, but...
The amount of blood remaining on correct paths and incorrect paths was remarkably different.
Well, the public explanation was just up to here. Actually, I had played this section several times in HSAW, so I knew the correct path properly. That's why I naturally led.
"It's the exit."
After walking for about 10 minutes like that, we reached the exit without anyone getting hurt. As soon as we approached the exit, the door opened by itself, and we entered a dark corridor again.
"Wow, I thought I'd die from tension."
"Church Leader, thank you. Thanks to you, we could come without anyone getting hurt."
"You worked hard, Leviathan."
As if they had noticed the fate of those who stepped wrongly, they expressed gratitude to me as soon as they came out to the corridor.
I spoke to them with a smile.
"Everyone, don't let your guard down yet. Because it seems like this is just the beginning."
Of course, my words were perfect truth stemming from experience. And as if they roughly sensed that fact, Zain and Troy's expressions hardened.
Not only that, even Terdius seemed slightly surprised.
"Well then, let's keep moving."
To clear the quest within the remaining time, we had to move diligently.
