Chapter 136
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 136: How to Set a Goal (10)
The distorting space slowly formed a small circle, reflecting another location, and soon that circle expanded to a size large enough for several people to pass through. Na Yuri, who was watching with a tense expression, muttered.
“It’s a Gate.”
“Just like Junior said~ How do you know this stuff? Anyway, Junior, you’ve always known too much on your own~”
As Choi Sujeong glared, Na Yuhan gave an awkward laugh and tried to change the subject.
“Let's prepare to enter. The name of this dungeon is 'Dragon's Lair'. It's where one of the six races' keys, the Dragon Race's Key, lies dormant.”
“The Dragon Race…”
“Right. Min Jaeyun, this is a dungeon that needs you. Without someone who inherited the blood of the Dragon Race, you can't obtain the trueKey.”
Na Yuhan, glancing at Min Jaeyun who had her eyes wide in surprise, continued his explanation.
“Like the Temple of Beasts, the Key'sdungeon is divided into two stages. The outer dungeon and the inner dungeon. Anyone can clear the outer dungeon. But you have to clear the outer dungeon by turning it into the inner dungeon to get the trueKey, and that…”
“Requires someone related to the dungeon's race or who inherited their blood~?”
Choi Sujeong, looking very unenthusiastic, cut off Na Yuhan's words and grumbled.
“What, so we have to gather all six races?”
“That's right.”
“Ugh~ You were lucky, Junior.”
“We were. Especially since the Dragon Race, including mixed bloods, only numbers about 30 people.”
“Still, you should have at least explained that much before bringing her.”
Na Yuri hit the core of the issue, and Shin Baran, hugging Min Jaeyun tightly, added huffily.
“That's….”
“Yuhan-ssi. After we clear this dungeon, please tell us everything. We have a right to know, too.”
“Right! You have to explain this stuff in detail!”
“...Alright.”
Na Yuhan, avoiding the gazes of the three female students, finally accepted their demand.
“Well… anyway, we seem ready, so I'll explain the strategy.”
After a short briefing, we formed a perimeter around Na Yuhan.
“Ready, Nahyun?”
I glanced over my sniper rifle and GAH Filter and nodded. I could feel my hair, tied up with the hair tie Na Yuri gave me, tickling my neck.
“All ready.”
At that, Na Yuhan smiled confidently and shouted.
“Good, let's go!”
He took a step. His stride was noticeably more confident.
[A Story Fragment has been added.] [Currently collected Story Fragments: 15]
[Story Fragment / Unread]
A black doll, hiding its presence, watched the group enter the Gate from afar and quietly raised the corner of its mouth.
“Hmm… they're moving directly, as expected.”
Leaning against a wall, he confirmed the group had completely disappeared into the Gate, then silently flew in after them.
“Well then, shall I see your skills?”
A sharp fang glinted between his smirking lips.
Inside the Gate, the dungeon named Dragon's Lair felt like a well-polished cave. It was filled with stairs that looked carved from stone and rock doors that opened by being rolled aside. The paths leading from wide rooms to other rooms had holes drilled in the walls like small doors. The various complex, branching paths connecting them made it feel like a well-made underground city. And Na Yuhan's movements, as he walked without hesitation through those tangled paths, were clearly those of someone who knew this place very well.
“It's like a maze….”
“Yuhan knows the way well!”
“Suspicious, suspicious…”
Na Yuhan, who had smiled slightly at my, Min Jaeyun's, and Shin Baran's words, soon hardened his expression.
“It's coming.”
“I know.”
Na Yuri retorted, letting out a burst of fire from her knuckle. Just as she said, beyond the rock door in front of us, something was shaking the earth and rushing toward us.
Kuuung— Kuuung—
At last, 'it' revealed its form, knocking the rock door forward.
“It's a Metal Golem. Na Yuri!”
Na Yuri's fist shot out toward the giant, golden golem without hesitation.
Chiiik—!
Every time her flame-wreathed fist struck the giant golem, its body melted and it was pushed back a step. The heat from the flames, hot enough to melt gold, instantly heated the cave.
Tutuk— Tuk—
At last, the golem'score became visible through the melted gold. As soon as he saw it, Na Yuhan gestured to me. I silently focused on the core.
Taang—!Clang—!
I had already changed my mana to the Fire attribute through the GAH Filter. The golem'score, resembling a well-cut yellow diamond, shattered the moment the fiery bullet pierced it. Simultaneously, the Metal Golem's golden body collapsed. Min Jaeyun let out a sound of admiration as she watched the golem's remains, which had instantly melted into a runny, golden liquid.
“It melted!”
“Without its core, the body is just gold. Its durability is low.”
Na Yuhan retorted and strode forward. When we followed him inside the rock door, we saw gilded decorations on the ceiling and walls. The flashing golden decorations seemed to boast of the dungeon owner's wealth. The deeper we went, the more gilded parts there were. It was truly a magnificent world, but…
“Wow, a Golden Slime…!”
“They keep squirming out of everywhere!”
“Nyahaha, this is a pain!”
We couldn't just be happy. It was because golden monsters were continuously being generated and crawling out of those golden decorations.
“Kang Nahyun! 1 o'clock! Shin Baran! 11 o'clock!”
“Okay!”
“Got it!”
Na Yuhan occasionally spotted and destroyed cores embedded in the walls ahead of time, but it was far more common for monsters to be created before he found them. The monster types were diverse, too. At first, it was just slimes, but soon, higher-grade monsters began to appear.
“Now wyverns too!? What on earth was the owner of this place thinking, making a space like this?!”
“I know….”
“I like it…!”
Shin Baran freaked out at the golden monsters attacking in all shapes and forms. But Min Jaeyun seemed to quite like this sparkling underground city.
“Wow, gold here too...!”
“That's a monster!!!”
“Ah!”
Min Jaeyun, lost in the glittering gold, almost touched a monster. Shin Baran, who barely managed to pull her away, glared and lightly smacked her on the head where her horns were. Is it because she's a dragon, she likes shiny things? I pushed the useless thought away and focused on the battle.
After walking through this maze-like underground city for a long time, we arrived at a vast, open cavern that couldn't be compared to any before.
“This place is…”
“It looks like a chapel.”
Lee Hana, who was scanning the surroundings, said calmly. Now that she mentioned it, I could see chairs facing one direction, as if for many people, and a dais where one person could give a speech. But….
“For a chapel, isn't it… a bit too much?”
“It could be an altar.”
I half-listened to Lee Hana and Na Yuri's conversation and looked around. Unlike the grand and solemn atmosphere one usually associates with a chapel, this place was grand, but excessively gaudy. The walls, ceiling, chairs, everything was made of gold, and on top of that, piles of gold coins and huge gems were stacked everywhere. Because of that, rather than a real chapel, it felt like a tacky warehouse, decorated by a devil to mock a space made for God.
“So what now?”
“Simple. Min Jaeyun just has to go and stand on that dais.”
I looked at the dais in the center, where Na Yuhan was pointing. It was a design full of the intent to make every being in this space look only at the person on the dais. The most splendid space, even within this cavern glittering with gold. The dais, studded with fist-sized gems in addition to pure gold, sparkled so brightly it was blinding. Just taking it in was enough to overwhelm the viewer. But Min Jaeyun, who seemed to like this place quite a bit, was walking around with a bright smile.
“I just have to go up?”
“Right.”
As soon as Na Yuhan gave his permission, Min Jaeyun scurried to the dais. As her steps, one by one, brought her closer to the dais, our group waited, silently tensing, for what would happen. At last, the moment Min Jaeyun's steps reached the center of the dais, the center of the treasure where light poured down from above.
<O kin of the valiant dragons existing in the Tower, continue the ordeal.>
The cavern began to vibrate. Ruuuumble—! The vast cavern began to shake as if it would collapse at any moment. I quickly grabbed a stumbling Na Yuhan and observed the rapidly changing cavern. The countless golden chairs, decorations, and gold coins that had been facing the dais instantly melted.
“Do we have to fight a monster? Is an even stronger monster coming out?”
“No, we don't need to fight a monster.”
Na Yuhan denied Park Siwoo's words, who was quietly frowning as he recalled the golden monsters we'd faced so far.
“No, wait. Maybe you're right?”
“Speak clearly.”
“...Why are you so prickly?”
Na Yuhan, who grumbled at Shin Baran, spoke. The hot, golden liquid, which had been slithering, headed behind the dais and began to create something huge, yes… something like a giant, ornate mirror.
“You just have to remember this. If we don't try to fight, we don't have to fight.”
Knowing what was coming, I tried to force a smile, but just gave up. While we waited silently, the vibrations soon stopped. After even that gaudy dais had melted, all that stood beyond the path we were on was a large, round, flat golden mirror. The mirror, which looked tall enough to reach the cavern's ceiling, was so smoothly polished that it clearly reflected our forms.
Ripple, ripple. Our reflections in the golden mirror distorted. And then, those figures began to move on their own. The person in the mirror reached a hand toward us.
Swoosh— That hand, which should not have been allowed to emerge into this world, reached out.
“This inner dungeon is called the Mirror of Greed. The clear method is simple. Don't fall for taunts and temptations. And do not fight. Then we can win.”
Starting with that hand, what walked out of the mirror were the doppelgangers of all of us. I looked at the doppelganger that looked like me, who was tilting its head, and smiled bitterly. What a disgustingly tacky dungeon.
When I closed and opened my eyes, I was trapped in a golden-lit space, alone with the doppelganger that looked just like me. My doppelganger, who had been staring at me, slowly opened its mouth.
“Hey. Do you think everything you’ve done was the best choice?”
She was smiling. …Don't answer.Don't think. But I had already thought of the answer. Was it really the best?
“If it were me, not you, I would have made a better future.”