novelraw Chapter 150 : Dungeon
Chapter 150 : Dungeon
Chapter 150: Dungeon
Dungeon.
There were several theories about its origin.
A prison created by the Demon Tribe.
The remnants of a civilization that had existed in the distant past.
A secret vault where treasures were hidden.
None of them were certain, but there were a few common points.
Rustle. Rustle.
“Is it a Monster.”
“It’s a Little Cobra. Everyone, fall back.”
In the dim Dungeon, Monsters appeared,
and if one somehow reached the very end, they could obtain a rather lucrative reward.
Hissss!
The arrow Aelin shot pierced through a snake’s head.
The dozens of snakes sprawled across the floor were Monsters Robin also knew.
Small in size and moving swiftly, they were venomous snakes that were troublesome to deal with.
If bitten even once, one’s nerves would be destroyed, so it was best not to get close.
“Fortunately, they’re retreating.”
Each time Aelin shot an arrow, their heads were skewered, so they did not recklessly charge in.
Only after confirming that nothing remained but corpses did Robin let out a sigh of relief.
‘A Dungeon…….’
In truth, discovering a Dungeon was not easy.
Compared to the vast land, it was no more than a small dot.
Among Adventurers, a Dungeon was practically like a bonus.
One could even sell the Dungeon’s location to the Guild.
That was why the current situation had to be considered fortunate.
“For reference, the porters probably fell much farther down than we did.”
Serena spoke nonchalantly.
Everyone looked at her as if asking what she meant.
“The place we landed was something I created artificially.”
As soon as Serena finished speaking, the ground crumbled away with a thud.
A pit shrouded in darkness with no end in sight.
The clever Spirit Mage had exercised her wit as they entered the Dungeon.
Judging that falling too deep would be dangerous, she had created a foothold.
“Th-Then does that mean my companions are dead?”
Sigbard set down Delinger.
Staring into the pit, his voice was filled with disbelief.
Serena answered Delinger’s question.
“Well. How would I know? If you’re curious, why not go down yourself.”
“N-No! If they were the type to die so easily, they wouldn’t have lasted long as Adventurers.”
While fleeing from the tree root Monster, Hank’s group had ignored Delinger.
Delinger felt complicated.
He felt betrayed, yet if the situation had been reversed, he would have made the same decision.
Not knowing what had happened to companions he had shared hardships with was not a pleasant feeling.
At the same time, he was relieved to have remained with Robin’s group.
It was obvious which side had the higher chance of survival.
“How long have you been Adventurers?”
“Hank, the longest among us, has been one for three years. I’ve been at it for two.”
To think that two to three years counted as long—Robin was reminded anew how short an Adventurer’s lifespan was.
“Let’s explore first. I’ll feel at ease once we at least find a way out.”
Returning the way they came did not seem easy.
The slope was no different from rock climbing.
It was not impossible, but there was no need to say that the entrance had been closed.
“There might be traps, so be careful.”
“Serena, have you been to a Dungeon before?”
“I’ve been to three.”
“How does this compare?”
“They were all different. Some were underground, but there were also ones that were like ruins.”
Even Serena, the only one with Dungeon experience, was not much help in understanding this place.
She could send Spirits to scout, but grasping a maze-like structure in detail would be difficult.
The one who truly shone here was Aelin.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Aelin periodically threw pebbles as she moved ahead.
Whenever she discovered something suspicious, she informed Serena, and when a physical impact was applied, traps were triggered.
Traps such as falling into a pit lined with spikes, or a crossbow being fired.
“You two work perfectly together.”
Thanks to them, no one was caught in a trap.
Even when a fork in the path appeared, the way Aelin chose was never blocked.
No one knew what lay at the end, but it was certain they were advancing deeper.
After three hours of overcoming the occasional Monster and trap,
the gently descending Dungeon showed no sign of ending.
“Maybe we should’ve just jumped into the pit.”
“Don’t say such things. We don’t know what’s down there.”
Serena and Aelin chatted quietly as they put jerky into their mouths.
A flat patch of ground that had appeared rarely within the Dungeon.
The five of them were resting and eating.
After confirming there were no Monsters nearby and since places where one could sit comfortably were rare, they planned to rest for quite a while.
“Delinger, you should eat comfortably too.”
“I’m fine. Doing at least this puts my mind at ease.”
Delinger stood near the passage, watching to see if anything approached.
He slightly bent one leg and leaned against the wall while eating hardtack, looking uncomfortable enough to make onlookers uneasy.
Even at Sigbard’s urging, he did not relent.
“Stubborn in the most unnecessary places.”
Delinger merely smiled faintly and did not stop keeping watch.
Strictly speaking, he was the Client who had commissioned an escort request, so he did not need to go that far.
Since he said he was fine, there was nothing more to say.
He was an excellent Adventurer in terms of awareness and conduct.
“Listen while you eat. The Dungeon exploration will last a maximum of three days. If it takes longer than that, we’ll give up on rescuing the porters and leave.”
Sigbard, Aelin, Serena, and even Delinger
all listened to Robin’s words.
The three-day period was calculated considering their remaining provisions and stamina.
Even if they escaped the Dungeon, there was still a distance from the Uncharted Area to the city.
Even taking into account stopping by a Rest Stop, three days was the limit.
If they stayed longer than that, it would be no different from slowly dying.
“Is there a way out?”
“We go back the way we came.”
Delinger made an uneasy expression, but it was the most certain method.
At the same time, Robin hoped that situation would not arise.
Forcing open the sealed entrance might cause the Dungeon to collapse.
The tree root Monster might also be waiting outside.
If they had to fight that creature, conserving as much strength as possible would be wise.
“We’ll reach the end within three days.”
“What’s with that confidence.”
“Want to take a look at this?”
Aelin unfolded a map she had drawn along the way.
More precisely, it was a cross-sectional diagram extending downward from the strata.
“As we go down, this Dungeon has more branching paths.”
“It looks like tree roots.”
“Exactly. Roots get thinner the deeper they go, right? The passages we’ve passed through are also gradually getting narrower.”
‘Did she infer the overall structure just from the sounds.’
Even Serena said she had never seen such a talent before—truly superior hearing.
“In a structure like this, there’s a limit to how small the passages can become.”
She pointed to the lower part of the incomplete cross-section.
It was not that far down.
“If we pick up the pace, we could reach the end even today.”
“Hearing it like that makes me greedy.”
“What are you going to do, Robin.”
He had thought it would be endlessly deep, but hearing Aelin’s words put him at ease.
‘Then there’s no need to hurry.’
Just as he was about to suggest they rest well for the remaining day and resume exploration tomorrow.
Clunk.
A sound rang out as if a door had opened, followed by a rumbling tremor.
The cause was Delinger.
“What was that!”
“I leaned my head against the wall and then…!”
Delinger hurried back to where the group was.
The tremor did not last long.
As if it had been a lie, silence settled in all directions.
“Stairs?”
On the ground near where Delinger had been standing, stairs leading downward appeared.
It was an utterly sudden situation, like lightning striking from a clear sky.
“How did this happen.”
“I-I don’t know either…….”
No one here knew.
“Aelin.”
“There’s no sign of Monsters.”
“Let’s go down.”
Robin illuminated below the stairs with a torch.
Each step was low in height, gentle enough that even a child could descend.
“What are you doing, Delinger. Pack up.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Even though he had discovered it himself, Delinger was reluctant.
Every time he set his foot down, a dull pain spread through him, and now he had to go down stairs.
As if understanding his hardship, Sigbard slung Delinger—who had gathered the luggage—over his shoulder.
Though he had once again become baggage, Delinger accepted the kindness without complaint.
Given the situation, Robin took the lead.
By the time they had descended the height of about three floors of a typical building.
“There’s something below.”
Robin discovered that the end of the stairs connected to some sort of space.
As he stepped forward to examine it more closely.
“Wait a moment.”
Aelin grabbed Robin’s shoulder.
Then, instead of a pebble, she fired an arrow.
Thunk.
The arrow did not bounce off the wall but embedded itself in the floor.
Just as he was about to ask what she was doing.
Boom.
A small explosion erupted from where the arrow had struck.
Robin vaguely saw what had just happened.
A projectile had been fired at an incredible speed.
“Is, is someone there?”
Astonishingly, there was a person below.
And it was a familiar voice.
Delinger answered the call.
“Hank! Is that you, Hank!”
“D-Delinger! You’re alive!”
Following Aelin’s lead, he slightly peeked his head out, but without a light source below, it was pitch-dark.
When Serena raised a fist-sized flame, only then did the interior come into view.
“H-Huh!”
Delinger gasped.
The space underground was so vast it was hard to believe such a chamber could exist here.
No, rather than a chamber, it was closer in size to a Clearing.
“Beka, Puglish, Charles… are they dead……?”
“…They’re dead. Killed by the cannon.”
What they had feared had come to pass.
Hank explained what had happened since they entered the Dungeon.
The five of them had regained consciousness deep underground, unharmed and without injuries.
They had briefly thanked the gods for their incredible luck.
But when Robin’s group did not follow after them, anxiety crept in.
They decided to explore the Dungeon, and after wandering for hours, they arrived at the place they were now.
“There’s a cannon on the ceiling that detects movement.”
A cannon was a weapon ordinary people rarely encountered.
It was made using the technology of the Dwarves.
Heavy and expensive, lacking practicality in real combat, it was generally used only by wealthy high nobles.
But a cannon that automatically targeted moving individuals?
No one here had ever heard of such a thing.
“When the first cannonball flew in, we realized something was wrong. We tried to run, but…….”
The three besides Hank were in horrific condition.
They had literally been reduced to pulp.
The only reason Delinger had recognized them was because their faces were relatively intact.
All three had their abdomens blown open.
Hank had endured alone for hours in the terror that moving meant death.
“Th-Then what do we do. Is there no way to get out of there.”
“There is one way.”
Five had entered this place.
One was missing.
“There’s only one cannon. You run while it targets someone else.”
“Poch isn’t here… did he escape?”
“That’s right. We decided to take turns being the bait. Only Poch made it out alive.”
A cruel and cold decision.
Should they rejoice that there was another survivor.
The ending of the Adventurer who struggled desperately in a hopeless situation was not a good one.
“While we distract the cannon with something like pebbles, can you run?”
“N-No, I can’t.”
He immediately rejected Robin’s proposal.
Hank quickly added,
“If an inanimate object and I move at the same time, it will definitely target me.”
“A smart cannon. Hank, from what you’ve seen, is there a good plan?”
Perhaps reassured by Robin’s calm voice, Hank regained a bit of his composure.
“Have one person come down here and draw its attention.”
“You’re asking us to be your bait?”
“If it’s the four of you, that cannon won’t pose a threat.”
It was nice to be rated highly, but it was not a particularly appealing suggestion.
Still, it was not wrong, so Robin nodded.
“I’ve even fought Monsters with my eyes closed. This is nothing.”
Robin glanced at his companions as if he were about to take a light stroll.
No one tried to stop him.
“Let’s do it. Hank, run.”
The cannon aimed at Robin, who had leapt down, and fired a cannonball.