Chapter 58: Dungeon of the Alchemist (2) |
“Oww... that hurts. You’re so mean.”
Sol rubbed her bottom, crying out in pain. Hyeon offered a hand with an awkward smile, but Sol turned her head away with a huff, showing her displeasure. Hyeon looked shocked. With a stern expression, I walked over and helped her up. Sol pouted but still let me support her.
“Why... why are you only like this with me?”
“Hmph.”
An Hyeon squeezed between An Sol and me, complaining about the injustice, but all he got was a cold response. Watching Hyeon’s dejection, I spoke in a firm voice.
“Sol.”
“What is it~?”
As if she wasn't entirely pleased with me either, An Sol answered with a slightly defiant tone, unlike her usual innocent "Yes?" But when she saw my hardened expression, she immediately lowered her gaze and bowed her head. And then. A short scream escaped Sol's lips.
“Hyaaaah?!”
“Calm down. It's okay. There, there. Good girl.”
One thing did cross my mind: I wondered why she had so deftly avoided Hyeon, who was right in front of her, only to fall into my arms. Still, she seemed genuinely frightened. After comforting the trembling Sol, whose eyes were welling up with tears, I calmly bent down.
Hyeon and Yu-jeong also leaned down to follow my gaze, but they flinched and recoiled. What Sol had fallen on was none other than the corpse of a User. A grotesque corpse, twisted in a bizarre way.
“Ugh...!”
Yu-jeong couldn't hold it in and retched. Even I furrowed my brow slightly at the sight of the body. This was the kind of thing only the most vicious members of the Murder Brigade used to do...
Seeing the bow snapped in half beside the body, it seemed to be an Archer-class User. I could see the neck and face, twisted a full circle and then ripped out, bone and all, contorted in agony. I'd thought any party that made it to a dungeon located between the middle and rear of the Obsidian Forest must have been skilled, but now I could guess why they were wiped out.
“Fools... crawling into a dungeon without a guide? They must have been insane. Or blinded by greed.”
It wasn't my place to criticize others, but I muttered this to myself and bit my lip. I knew the atmosphere would change between the surface and the underground, but this was like getting hit with a fastball right from the start. As I continued to soothe Sol, who was shivering with her teeth chattering, I calmly surveyed our surroundings.
It was literally just a dark, straight corridor. The only ways to go were forward or backward. From now on, there was no need to follow the party's trail. It was a shame they would only be discovered two years and several months after their deaths, but that had nothing to do with me. I planned to activate The Third Eye and meticulously strip this place bare. I also intended to take down the alchemist while I was at it. As the dungeon master, it was highly likely she would drop some decent equipment.
After running the calculations in my head, I turned to the others, a sense of excitement building within me. And my face immediately soured. The initial shock of seeing the corpse seemed to have hit them hard; they all looked anxious and restless. Yu-jeong was even subtly giving off an aura of wanting to return to the city. Looking at them, I spoke in a sharp voice.
“Is this the first time you've seen a User's corpse? Don't you know this is common in the Hall Plain? You've killed Vagrants before, so why are you making such a fuss over one body?”
My rebuke made them swallow hard. But they were still just glancing at each other, a trace of hesitation lingering in their minds. I continued in an even stronger tone.
“What's wrong with all of you? Weren't you just celebrating finding a dungeon on our first expedition? How can you tuck your tails between your legs already? Do you have any idea how huge the rewards will be if we succeed here?”
“...”
It might sound materialistic, but this was reality, and it was the truth. The way they were acting now was proof that they still hadn't reached the mental standards I required. In the Hall Plain, you can't see people as <modern people>. They must be seen as <Users>.
“It seems you still don't grasp the significance of finding a dungeon on our first expedition. If we just push through this, think how much easier things will be later... Treasure is right in front of us, and you want to kick it away? Should we be satisfied with just finding it and head back to the city?”
“N-No. Absolutely not. No way, Hyeong. Not at all.”
An Hyeon was the first to pull himself together. He kept repeating "no" while slapping his cheeks and shaking his head, as if steeling himself anew. My frustration eased a little, but I couldn't help but find them pathetic. Back when I was with Yu-hyeon Hyeong's party or under Han So-young, it was a struggle just to keep up. Of course, I knew they couldn't be compared, but I couldn't shake the feeling of impatience.
“It's the same for everyone. Forget expeditions; even on explorations like this, it's not uncommon for entire parties to be wiped out, let alone suffer a few casualties. Of course, I want to keep you all alive. I have no intention of letting us get wiped out. But I can't do it alone. I need your help.”
“...Yeah. Sorry. I get it. I'm sorry, Oppa.”
As I kept pressing them, Yu-jeong finally seemed to come to her senses, getting up with a determined look on her face. She was clenching her jaw and her leg was still shaking, showing she hadn't completely overcome the shock of the gruesome corpse, but it was much better than her retching.
“...Phew. Anyway... Sol. Get back in the center. That's right. Yes. Good girl. Let's move out. Everyone, form up.”
Watching them nod and get into position at my command, I sighed and turned around. I heard Yu-jeong mutter from behind me in a small voice, "He always plays favorites with Sol," but I didn't say anything.
Because whether viewed objectively or subjectively, Yu-jeong wasn't wrong.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We moved forward slowly in a triangle formation. It was slightly different from the formation we'd used in the forest; Hyeon and Yu-jeong, who were guarding the flanks, were now positioned at a 45-degree angle toward me. It was quite dark inside, but the Light Magic Sol maintained secured us a decent field of vision.
We walked through the gloomy underground, remaining vigilant of our surroundings. Of course, my senses hadn't picked up any traps or monsters yet. The only things we occasionally found were monsters turned to ash or already sprung traps. It seemed the party that went in before us had taken care of most of them. Thanks to them, our passage was easy, and I felt a small sense of gratitude.
I wondered if this might change the future, with them obtaining all the rewards from the expedition, but it didn't matter. I could just secretly kill them all and take everything back. I continued forward, my mind filled with thoughts that would make the previous Users recoil in horror if they could hear them.
Sol's Light spell was still unstable, and the orb of light flickered erratically. It couldn't stay in one place, just bobbing and drifting around. Clearly annoyed, Yu-jeong waved her hand irritably whenever the orb loitered near her. The orb would then float away to the side.
I didn't understand why the two were having a war of nerves, but I decided to ask later and expanded my senses further.
“Hmm.”
After walking for some time, I abruptly stopped and let out a soft hum. The others tensed up, raising their weapons and extending their senses. A small part of me felt satisfied that they were finally starting to look the part. Sol was already muttering a spell, even though no enemy had appeared. I raised one hand to ease their excessive caution and spoke in a calm voice.
“I sense a presence up ahead. It's a bit strange. I think we need to get closer.”
Watching their hands, which had just started to relax at my signal, shoot back up to their weapons, a bitter smile formed on my face. It would be nice if they could show some consistency. Their reactions varied so much depending on the situation that even I found them hard to predict. After a moment of idle thoughts, I focused my vision and hearing.
There was still some distance, but the presence I was sensing wasn't a monster; it was a User. It was too small to be a full User, but I could hear faint groans. I motioned for the others to follow and dashed forward.
“Ughh...”
As the distance closed, the User's moans became clearer. Could the party have been wiped out this quickly? No, they shouldn't have been defeated so easily. Various thoughts ran through my mind, but confirming if they were alive or dead was the top priority. If they were alive, I might be able to extract some information.
“Haa... ugh...”
I see them. A User, collapsed on the floor ahead. I rushed over as if flying and immediately knelt. The others, who had followed without knowing what was happening, gathered behind me and gasped at the sight of the fallen User. First, the archer. And now. The User collapsed before us was wearing priest robes. The problem was that his upper and lower body had been torn apart and were lying strewn on the ground.
“...It's a miracle he's still alive.”
A faint white light emanated from the severed torso, as if he had desperately cast a healing spell. After checking the User's condition, I reflexively activated The Third Eye.
⚔ PLAYER STATUS ⚔
1. Name:
Park Nam-heon (4th Year) 2. Class:
Normal Priest 3. Nation:
Barbara 4. Clan:
- 5. True Name · Nationality:
- · Republic of Korea 6. Sex:
Male (27) 7. Height · Weight:
177.8cm · 79.1kg 8. Alignment:
Lawful · Neutral
⚡ Strength: 36
🛡️ Endurance: 57
💨 Agility: 31
💪 Stamina: 47
✨ Magic Power: 81
🍀 Luck: 41
* Has sustained a fatal wound. * Requires a Grand Heal-level recovery spell. Life can be saved. * Requires an Elixir-grade recovery potion or higher. Life can be saved.
Not worth saving. Especially considering he's a 4th-year. The moment I confirmed his stats and other details, I completely gave up on saving him. The male User must have sensed our presence, as he struggled to open his eyes and looked at us.
For a priest with his stats, it was remarkable that he was still alive with such injuries. He had probably cast a healing spell on himself or was holding on thanks to a special or latent ability. Even so, with a wound this fatal, death was inevitable...
“U...Users... how...”
“What happened? When did you enter this dungeon? And your companions?”
“Th... thank... *cough!*”
“Oppa. W-we should save him first...”
He can't be saved. It's more beneficial to extract what information we can instead of wasting our efforts. I barely managed to stop myself from saying those words out loud. I still needed to be careful with my words. Sol began chanting a healing spell, and Yu-jeong handed me a stamina potion. The mana for the spell and the potion were a complete waste, but I reluctantly uncorked the bottle.
“You fool. What guts you have, entering a dungeon without a guide. Anyway. Open your mouth.”
I whispered carefully into his ear, then supported the man's head and poured the potion into his mouth. He seemed to drink a little at first, but then he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. Seeing this, Sol was so startled that the spell she had been chanting fizzled out. When I tried to force him to drink again, the priest weakly shook his head, refusing. It seemed he already knew he couldn't be revived and was calmly accepting his death.
In that moment, I felt a sense of unease. Despite calmly accepting death, he had been trying desperately to survive. He wanted to hold on, even for a little longer. But upon seeing us, the User gave up on life. That meant he had something to tell us.
Finally, the male User spat out the blood filling his mouth and struggled to speak.