Perils of the Treasure Cave
Namgung Seojun's party immediately entered the cave. But the moment they stepped in!
"Trap!"
As Seojun shouted urgently, the trap triggered, unleashing a barrage of arrows. Lee Guho activated his shield right away.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
All the arrows were blocked by Lee Guho's massive circular shield and simply clattered to the ground.
"Phew... That was close. As expected, hyungnim is amazing."
Seojun had instructed Lee Guho beforehand to pre-cast the shield, and it had proven invaluable. This trap was a little special. It convinced the party that there really was something extraordinary on this island—and it gave Namgung Seojun a nagging sense that the place might be somewhat dangerous.
'The trap's incredibly intricate.'
A trap so sophisticated that even his Super Sense had detected it late. In a place with mechanisms like this, he resolved to tread even more carefully.
"We'll move slower and more cautiously from here on."
At his words, the party's excitement over reaching Treasure Island naturally ebbed away.
The traps they encountered while traversing the cave remained highly intricate.
Clang!
A pitfall where the floor collapsed—Seojun barely sensed it in time and disarmed it.
"The floor here's pretty dangerous. Step only where I step."
Even the trap that dropped a massive boulder when triggered by light was masterfully crafted.
"Halt!"
In the hazardous zone, the party froze at his command.
"Guho, hit that spot with a Magic Missile."
Lee Guho struck the specific area with a Magic Missile.
Boom!
A massive flame explosion erupted. There were traps of exceptional intricacy and lethality, and Seojun learned right there that detecting them required tuning into even the subtlest cues from his Super Sense.
Fortunately, these were auxiliary traps designed to counter magical attacks. Had a mage assaulted them alongside such precision mechanisms, the casualties would have been devastating. Seojun thus deduced the cave had been crafted by a mage.
Once the party had advanced a fair distance into the cave, the trap section ended. Ahead lay only a massive hole.
"It's a cliff."
The chasm's bottom was invisible. The party halted, and Namgung Seojun picked up a small nearby stone, tossing it into the void.
"......Splash."
The sound of impact echoed back after a long delay.
"About 100 meters deep, I'd say. And the bottom's water."
Leto the lizardman stepped forward and declared.
"Leader, let me go down first."
At Leto's offer—he was at home in water—Seojun nodded. "Please do."
Leto secured a rope around his waist. "I'll scout and report back. Count the pulls carefully."
With that, Leto leaped off the cliff.
Splash!
The hefty lizardman's entry reverberated through the cave. Moments later, the rope tugged. Once... twice... three times. Three pulls meant no enemies below, but the water was deep.
"Leader, what's the plan?"
Li Zhangwei asked, brimming with eagerness to dive in at a word. But Namgung Seojun opted to assess personally first.
"I'll go ahead. I'll signal with rope pulls too. Follow those cues."
Seojun shed his chain armor and heavy gear, then plunged into the black abyss.
"......Splash!"
The drop lasted longer than anticipated, the water deeper too.
"Leader!"
Leto, already below, caught him. Seojun signaled he was fine, and Leto released his grip.
Surveying the surroundings while honing in on his Super Sense, Seojun noted the unexpected depth, poor visibility, and biting chill. Best to limit descent to the stamina-endowed; his trait concurred.
"Signal only the strong ones to come down?"
"Got it."
Leto nodded and yanked the rope four times—calling down only elite warriors proficient in swimming.
Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash!
Soon Pinara, Li Zhangwei, Dmitri, and Halep descended in sequence.
Six in the impromptu squad. Per Namgung Seojun's orders, they linked the rope from Leto's waist to each waist, forming a single chain.
"Leto, take point."
The lizardman led with powerful strokes; the rest swam in his wake.
A pitch-black underwater cave. Barely enough light to make out the path ahead, they trailed Leto and Seojun warily.
Suddenly, the waterway dead-ended.
"Leader? Now what?"
Scanning with his mapping skill, Seojun replied, "Probably a passage below... in the water? Leto, check it out?"
"Leader, on it."
Leto dove. Ten minutes passed before he resurfaced.
Phew ha!
"Leader, hole confirmed. Swim through—five minutes to another area. Didn't explore beyond."
Seojun decided swiftly. "Let's go."
Leto would blaze ahead; the others would cling to the rope. All secured themselves.
"On three. One, two, three!"
Leto submerged, towing the party one by one into the depths.
A grueling underwater tunnel. Breath held, hands clenched on rope, they endured as Leto powered through.
Five minutes later, they broke surface.
Phew... ha!
Gulping fresh air, Seojun tallied heads. "One, two, three, four, five, six! All accounted for."
Safe and sound, they pressed on along the cave. At water's end, a dirt-floored tunnel resumed. Ashore once more, they walked.
Deeper in, cave walls sprouted dense thickets of trees.
Mindful of their prolonged chill, Namgung Seojun commanded, "Short break here. Build a fire."
Leto and others hacked wood for kindling with swords; Li Zhangwei fetched lamp oil from his waterproof pack and kindled flames.
Pinara stripped bare boldly, basking in underwear by the blaze.
"Whew... Feels alive again."
One by one, gender no barrier, they shed clothes to thaw by the warmth.
Dmitri stripped fully, down to skin.
"....."
The leader's woman. Li Zhangwei averted his eyes; so did Halep.
Ignoring their unease, Dmitri waded back in to rinse her pussy.
"Ah... Semen's still in there."
Namgung Seojun's load from yesterday clung stubbornly.
Watching her brazen display before the men, Seojun approached. "That's enough."
At his rebuke, Dmitri muttered low. "Your fault for blasting so much! You stuffed my womb till it bulged and..."
Seojun patted her back to hush her; she emerged at last, grudgingly donning panties, then warmed quietly with the group.
As the others thawed, Namgung Seojun summoned Sylph to dry their garments swiftly.
Clothes bone-dry, they redressed. "Onward."
Refreshed, they delved deeper. Trees thickened, vision narrowing to nil.
"Maze ahead. Rope up again."
No mere overgrowth—a labyrinthine weave. To avert disorientation, Seojun ordered ropes anew.
Seojun in front, party tethered behind in line.
An eerie arboreal maze: false paths demanded traversal, true ones shunned. No foes, no traps—but a nightmare for lesser groups.
Child's play for Seojun's Super Sense and mapping skill.
No pitfalls here either, yet deadly against mage assaults.
'Definitely a mage's dungeon.'
Convinced, he advanced with redoubled caution.
An hour of frenzied navigation later, they emerged—to spy a quaint cabin.