Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 023
Chapter Title: Soul Stone Carving #2
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To obtain a blessing related to traps, I summoned Sabrannik.
Clack, clack, clatter...
I shoved fragments of the stone golems into its mouth willy-nilly...
【─It's done─.】
Sssrrrr...
Sabrannik shuddered.
Soon, the scales clinging to its body rolled across the floor─degur...
【─My scale─.】
It called them scales, but they were actually skulls.
Sabrannik was a bone serpent, after all.
"What do I do with this?"
【─You'll know soon enough─.】
Sabrannik vanished in a whoosh without further explanation.
I'll know soon enough?
I suck at waiting for that kinda thing.
"I feel like I got scammed."
Did Sabrannik just con me or what?
As I turned to rejoin my party with those thoughts, this weird riverbank wouldn't fade away.
What the...
【That scale.】
【Give it to us.】
【We'll grant you a blessing.】
That's when someone called out to me.
I turned my head, and there stood a guy who looked just like the stone golems I'd been gleefully hunting.
The notable difference? Three heads on a single body.
Six hands too, each gripping a hammer and nail, hook and net, pickaxe and shovel.
"...May I have your name, sir?"
【We are stone.】
【Ascended will.】
【Fallen god.】
What a pretentious name.
Are idols trendy with the long names these days?
Ashibar's length feels just right to me.
"By any chance, do you have blessings related to traps?"
I asked.
All three mouths spoke at once.
【【【We do.】】】
【【【Give us that scale.】】】
「Detection Lv.1 – Searches for nearby artificial structures.」
Oh, nice!
So that's why Sabrannik gave me this skull!
Just as I was about to hand over the scale...
【Kuhuhuhuhu─.】
A noise like nails on glass rang out.
I realized it was a sinister laugh because─
─far off, a sleek black beast with a body like a stretched shadow was sneering, its mouth torn wide enough to reach its ears.
【Kuhuhuhuhu─!】
A new idol?
It leaped straight at me, slamming its forepaw down on the three-headed stone golem.
Kwachik!
The three-headed stone golem shattered in an instant.
【【【Aaaagh!】】】
'The idol killed another idol!?'
This couldn't be happening.
What happens to my 「Detection」 now?
I was flustered, pissed...
But staring at that pitch-black beast straight out of a kid's nightmare left my legs trembling and my mouth locked shut.
It looked like a fox or wolf, but no eyes─just multiple mouths where they should've been.
【Stupid brat.】
【Forget these small fries. Deal with me.】
【Kuhuhuhu─.】
「Shadow Ambusher Lv.1 – Greatly increases critical hit chance when attacking from behind.」
「Weakling Cull Lv.1 – Deals 100% additional damage to enemies with low health.」
「Vile Fangs Lv.1 – Increases chance of attacks causing bleeding. Increases bleeding duration.」
What the fuck.
Not a single trap-related one─just blessings reeking of blood and iron.
"Uh, anything else on offer?"
【Explaining to an idiot just hurts my mouth.】
Zzzing─!
The wolf monster gaped its jaws and lunged at me.
My head went white. Right before it swallowed me whole, it froze.
【Your blood reeks of something nasty.】
【You got 'Serpent's Blood'?】
'Serpent's Blood'─the grace from Sabrannik?
Boosts poison resistance and turns my blood toxic.
【No fun eating you.】
【Kuhuhu, forget trap detection. I'll give you something better.】
【My nose discerns all things even in darkness.】
Kwak─!
The wolf cracked open its massive maw and engulfed me.
"Ugh!"
When I came to...
I was slumped in a scorching lava zone.
The skull I'd been holding was gone.
Zing─.
My nose suddenly stung.
The acrid iron stench, the fetid sulfur─all far more intense now, cloying and vile.
Seemed like the trade for the scale from that wolf.
"What the hell was that guy?"
Ashibar and Sabrannik were downright gentlemanly idols by comparison.
Gotta bump up my affinity for those two.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Hold up. I smell oil over there. Iron and sulfur too. Looks like somewhere on this wall, oil pours out and ignites─a flame trap."
Clatter, whoosh─!
"See?"
Thanks to my sensitive nose, I could more or less sniff out the mechanisms hidden in every nook of the stone walls.
Most traps were oil and iron affairs, so distinguishing the scents wasn't hard.
"Whoa, our Yor's pulling his weight! Nothing beats a party with a thief."
Up until that wolf bit me, I'd felt totally scammed.
But in the end? I'd looped around and snagged a trap-related blessing anyway.
Downside: too much info flooding my head fatigued my nose quick.
But dial back the focus, and it was manageable─a proactive, usable blessing.
"Got a blessing just from stone golem scraps? Yor, you're a real piece of work! Guess I should haul around byproducts from now on too."
Hammer clapped my shoulder.
Even Hermit, who'd sniped at me calling me a perv earlier, perked up at my tale.
"Sabrannik really eats stones? Cute!"
"Cute? Hermit, you'd change your tune seeing it up close."
Flutter─.
Did she blow off my words with one ear? Hermit pulled 「Idol Codex」 from her conical hat.
She flipped to a page and shoved it at me.
"Wolf gave you blessings, right? Few dog-like ones here. Is yours?"
Plenty of canine idols sketched there.
Calling 'em dog-like feels like an insult.
Anyway, no sign of that creepy eyeless, multi-mouthed wolf.
"Nope."
"Then it's definitely a taboo idol!"
"Too dangerous to record?"
"Suits your constitution. Your karma draws 'em in."
Karma? Hermit drops some heavy term, and suddenly I'm sleepy as hell.
Rubbing my eyes, Felix chimed in.
"Those blessings the wolf offered? Don't even think about taking 'em."
"Why?"
"Blessings for backstabs and crits? Can't trust guys with that shit."
Huh.
Hammer piled on.
"Yeah, a thief with those behind me? I'd be watching my back nonstop. Even if I got hurt, I'd hesitate. Screws tactics."
I'd passed precisely 'cause no trap blessings.
Good call.
Dismantling traps led us to a corridor's end: a stone door.
Boss room vibes.
「Unlock the seal?」
「Costs 1,000 Ether」
「Success rate under 1%」
Crack it open: a sealed chamber.
Air's pretty fresh.
"Yor! Treasure chest!"
"Hammer! It's a treasure chest!"
Dudududung─.
Smack in the center: a chest screaming "treasure" to anyone.
Gleaming silver, smelled great too!
Clang-clang─.
Hammer tapped it with his hammer, awestruck.
"Whoa, this is a 'silver chest'! Nail today's quota and next month's too, maybe!"
Picking the lock.
Please succeed quick without wasting Ether this time!
But right now, more urgent than lockpicking.
I sniffed deep: that dank moldy whiff, like from sewers.
Thought it was from secret passages.
But in this bone-dry treasure room? Nah.
"Hammer."
I flashed a V-sign with my fingers.
Party code for "enemy sighted."
He catch it?
"Ugh, lugging this heavy armor's tiring."
Thud─.
Hammer set down his hammer, rolling his shoulders.
Clank, clank─.
Hermit and Felix, scanning the room, subtly gripped their weapons.
I whipped my throwing knife.
Ching─!
In the rectangular room's corner.
Something squelched─and batted my knife away.
"Never expected my 「Shadow Cloak」 pierced like that."
Like peeling a sticker.
A figure materialized from thin air.
Human loaded with daggers everywhere.
Knife salesman or what?
More than that: squinting eyes.
No clue where the bastard's even looking.
"Everyone, stay sharp. Looks like a buddy of those dead thief corpses."
Hammer whispered.
Thieves under Narakje ain't pushovers.
Outlaws surviving Night Land, after all.
But the shady stalker had sharp ears, cutting in.
"Buddy? Not at all. And I'm no villain. Not dumb enough to jump a group either."
Weird.
For a back-alley rat, his speech is way too refined and slimy?
Face all smiles too.
Should be barking "bitch, fucker, shit" like a proper thug, gangster, robber.
So I got wary, and Felix asked.
"You wouldn't be Belzer, would you?"
"Oh? You know my name. How'd you spot me?"
"Process of elimination. Few thieves solo Night Land without a party."
Grind─.
Felix finished, grinding his teeth.
Wiped his jaw sweat with his hand.
Signal for "retreat."
Abandon the treasure chest and bail?
Why? One guy, us four.
Felix: 15-level knight at human limits.
Hammer: vet.
Hermit: mage with a hidden nuke.
And still run?
As I puzzled, Hammer muttered.
"Belzer as in 'Desperado Belzer'? Fuck. Talk about bad luck. Better to yield."
"Hammer, you serious? Just one thief."
Thieves ain't combat classes, right?
Locks, traps, lies, scams─that's the gig.
Hammer whispered softer.
"Word is Belzer's a textbook 'desperado' thief─specialized in killing people."
"Despe... what's that?"
"Yor, like that wolf idol's blessings earlier. Stacks vile shit endlessly to hit level 15. Few years back, so higher now."
Born killer, basically.
"Fight him now? At least two of us die. High odds it's you and Hermit."
Hermit's words popped up: Hammer as "poster boy for safety-first explorers."
Avoiding risk, yeah.
"Retreat."
Party leader's call is absolute.
Regrettable, but we had to back off─treasure chest lost...
"Don't you wonder what's inside the chest?"
Belzer called out, like he sensed our lingering greed.
My mind flashed.
'That guy's got no lockpicking skills!'
Makes sense─wolf's blessings were all murder tools, zilch on traps or locks.
Stack those? No way Belzer picks locks.
'Watched us clear traps from hiding!'
Chance to exploit!
I thumped my chest in front of Hammer.
"Hm?"
Hammer tilted his head.
Didn't get it?
No surprise.
Brand-new signal.
"Trust me on this!"