The Weight of Faith
The Spriggan shamans gathered in front of the village shrine, offering their prayers in unison.
‘O great Eshgal. Goddess of the earth who embraces us…’
They prayed with one heart and one mind for the victory of their warriors. If they offered their prayers with true sincerity, perhaps the goddess whose voice had fallen silent long ago would once again reveal her divinity.
Priest Mano prayed to Eshgal with the most fervent posture of all.
‘Please… do not abandon the Spriggans…’
For a long time now, he had felt as though the earth itself was rejecting the Spriggans. Ancient monsters rising from the abyss. The land becoming corrupted at an alarming rate. The ever-increasing threats…
‘Perhaps… those mushroom monsters are the earth’s messengers sent by Lady Eshgal.’
Cold sweat trickled down Mano’s forehead.
‘Our race should have vanished together when the underworld was destroyed long ago. Yet we defied fate.’
The humans’ underground kingdom had been destroyed. The kingdom’s three guardian deities had turned their backs on the underworld. The Spriggans had built their village in a small cave, worshipped the Illusory Heat Stone, and clung to life.
‘Is destruction inevitable?’
Perhaps they were paying the price for defying fate. Mano immersed himself even deeper in prayer.
Awooooooo!
The distant howl of a wolf echoed from afar. A fierce battle was raging outside. The stench of spores bursting from the corpses of the mushroom monsters permeated the entire village. No matter where you went, the fishy smell of mushrooms clung to the air.
“Th-this is terrible!”
Dungeon SeekerNoman came running in a panic, shouting.
“The wolf! The wolf has fallen!”
“What are you saying?!”
“It was defeated! The mushrooms got it! Your guardian beast has lost!”
The Spriggan shamans screamed and shot to their feet. The shock they received was immense. They had never doubted victory. The Sage of the Boulder was a spirit beast, and the mushrooms were nothing but hideous monsters. Yet the Sage of the Boulder had been defeated?
“This is divine wrath,” Mano said, his body trembling. “The goddess has sent down punishment to chastise the corrupted Spriggans. This is the goddess’s fury!”
The shamans collectively lost their minds. Without the Sage of the Boulder, stopping the fungal legion was impossible. The fall of the village was only a matter of time.
“Th-this is all the chief’s fault. It’s the retribution for neglecting the sacrifices to the goddess!”
“That’s right! If we offer the chief as a sacrifice, the goddess’s anger will subside. Those monsters will return to the abyss!”
The terrified shamans spouted whatever nonsense came to mind. Watching them, Noman clutched his face in disbelief.
“You primitive savages… Can’t you see what’s happening? That’s not divine punishment! They’re monsters! Man-eating monsters!”
One of the shamans glared at him and shouted.
“You wretch! How dare a mere human open his mouth! We are the descendants of the Earth Mother Goddess. It is only natural that the divine would take interest in us!”
A Spriggan shaman drew the sword from his waist. Noman’s heart sank as he stumbled backward.
“That’s right. From the beginning, we never liked you humans. Those monsters appeared because you lot disturbed the goddess’s peace!”
“No, that’s completely backward! We came here because of the monsters…”
“Shut your mouth!”
The shaman swung his sword at Noman as if to kill him. Noman screamed internally.
‘Crazy bastards! He actually attacked!’
Noman awkwardly thrust out his hand. The whip hanging at his waist uncoiled like a snake and wrapped around his arm. The whip writhed as if protecting its master and struck away the shaman’s blade.
“Somebody help me!”
Noman screamed and fled.
‘They’ve all gone mad… They’re losing, so they’ve lost their minds!’
After running for a long time, Noman stopped, gasping for breath. The scent of mushrooms filled his mouth. Thick clouds of fungal spores drifted through the air. Countless Walking Fungus must have died.
‘Why do I have to go through this?’
Noman shuddered. He had never been an explorer to begin with. He was registered with an exploration party, but that was only a side job to earn some pocket money. The only successful missions Noman had completed until now were delivering packages to the neighboring village or appraising relics in the Unclaimed Cemetery.
‘Damn it! That bastard Hajun. I told him several times that I’m not an explorer…’
He felt like he might cry from the injustice. No wonder the pay had been so good. If he had known it would involve stepping into this living hell, he would never have accepted.
“Hey, you there!”
At the sound of someone calling him, Noman lifted his head. Then he froze stiff.
“Perfect timing. I need your help.”
It was Seori, the Spriggan with flowing white hair.
“What do you…”
Noman hesitated the moment he saw Seori. Even at a glance, Seori’s condition was far from normal. He was covered in wounds, his entire body coated in mushroom spores. He looked like he might collapse at any moment.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course I’m alright! I’m still full of energy. More importantly, you. Can that lantern of yours track something?”
Noman nodded as if in a trance. At that very moment, the shamans who had been chasing Noman ran into Seori. Seeing Seori in such a wretched state, the shamans were rendered speechless. Taking advantage of the opening, Noman quickly spoke up.
“S-Seori, sir. These shamans… they’re not in their right minds. They’re talking about sacrificing the chief or something…”
Seori shrugged and twirled his spear. The terrified shamans trembled and took several steps back.
“Stop with the nonsense. If you have that much resolve, you should be able to drag at least one line of mushroom monsters with you when you go out.”
Only Priest Mano stepped forward and spoke.
“Seori! We have incurred the goddess’s wrath. We must offer the chief who ruined the village and the humans he brought here. Only then will those monsters retreat!”
Seori smiled bitterly.
“I see… The real monster was inside your heart all along. If you’re not going to fight, then get out of the way. I have business with this human.”
“No matter how much of a guard captain you are…”
Seori’s hand moved. He drove the spear he was holding straight down into Mano’s foot. The long spear embedded itself deep into the ground like a stake.
“Ughhh!”
Mano groaned in pain and fell to his knees.
“Don’t make me waste any more words. That goes for the rest of you shamans. If you’re that anxious, go wash your feet and sleep at home. At least then you’ll be able to die without pain.”
The shamans glanced at each other and quietly slipped away.
“Where is the chief?” Seori asked. Noman answered in surprise.
“Sh-she’s at the barrier. She should be tending to the warriors there.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried those idiots might have dragged her away.”
Seori patted Noman on the shoulder and laughed. It was a smile twisted by pain, somehow broken. Noman had no choice but to force a smile in return.
“Seori! You are committing a grave sin! Are you not afraid of the goddess’s wrath?!”
Mano, still on his knees, cried out in a desperate voice.
Seori clicked his tongue.
“You know too much for your own good. Think simply. The enemies are monsters, and we simply need to defeat them.”
Leaving Mano behind, Seori headed toward the barrier. Noman hesitated between the two Spriggans before following after Seori.
The barrier was quiet. The fungal creatures had temporarily withdrawn to prepare for their next assault. The village barrier was a kind of hill built by stacking stones, with only the entrance formed as a ramp, forcing enemies to climb a narrow path.
Piles of fist-sized stones were stacked all over the barrier. The Spriggan residents had gone around the village collecting and piling up the stones. The warriors would launch them using slings attached to long poles. These were called staff slings, the Spriggans’ signature projectile weapons.
“Seori, sir!”
The Spriggan warriors spotted Seori and bowed their heads. Yuri, who had been tending to the wounded, stood up upon seeing him.
“Why don’t you rest for a bit?”
Yuri looked at Seori with worried eyes. She had watched the warriors’ battle clearly from atop the barrier. Seori had bravely commanded the warriors and even taken down a mushroom giant by himself. She had seen everything, even the moment the Sage of the Boulder saved Seori.
“There’s no time for that. We need to bring the human explorers back as quickly as possible.”
“But… they’ve already gone underground.”
“This explorer here can find them.”
Seori patted Noman on the shoulder. Noman’s expression darkened. The pressure made him feel like he was going to die.
“Um… unlike the other explorers, I’m not really good at dungeon exploration…”
“You can’t whine about something you haven’t even tried.”
There seemed to be no way to escape Seori. Noman screamed silently inside.
‘Damn it! I should’ve just run away!’
“I will go with this explorer to bring the humans back.”
“Seori. You need to rest. Leave this to someone else…”
“No. This is an important task. Please let me handle it personally.”
After pondering for a long time, Yuri eventually nodded. Among the Spriggans, there was no warrior equal to Seori. If it was Seori, he would surely complete the mission successfully.
“I will definitely bring the humans back.”
Seori and Noman secretly slipped out of the village. Noman couldn’t easily take a step forward. Looking at him, Seori said,
“You’re more timid than you look, young friend. Shouldn’t you show the true power of a human explorer?”
“I’m not an explorer, I’m a scholar… Damn it. I can’t even say that anymore. If that purple-haired woman finds out, she’ll try to kill me later.”
Before Seori, who had been trying to find the way, Noman stepped forward holding the Seer Lantern.
“I’ll do it.”
When the lantern emitted its light, the darkness vanished. Seori let out a small sigh of admiration.
“Humans really do have many fascinating techniques.”
“It’s the Spriggans who are primitive. Living so close to the ruins of an ancient kingdom, why don’t you use ancient technology?”
“The Spriggans are survivors of a fallen kingdom. Once, the land below was meant for the Spriggans. When the kingdom was destroyed, the Spriggans nearly shared its fate… but we survived by hiding ourselves in secret. Even now, we still fear anything entangled with the ancients.”
Noman easily located the position of the explorers. More precisely, he located the position of the party leader, Hajun. When they had formed the party, he had recorded Hajun’s identity tag into the lantern.
Once they left the vicinity of the village, the number of fungal creatures decreased sharply. Even so, the two of them encountered a group of lost fungal creatures.
“S-Seori, sir! Monsters!”
“I know. Your lantern’s color changed, didn’t it?”
With a terrifying aura, Seori stabbed a Walking Fungus to death. Though injured and exhausted, his skill hadn’t completely vanished. A few mere Walking Fungus could not threaten Seori.
Shhhhhhh…
Spores rose from the corpse of the Walking Fungus. Seori inhaled a small amount of the spores and spat on the ground.
‘This is definitely bad.’
He could feel his condition worsening. The fungal creatures truly were vicious monsters.
“U-uwaaaaaaaaah!”
From behind came Noman’s desperate scream.
“Seori, sir! Help me! Here, there are mushrooms here!”
“Just a moment.”
Seori stood in place and broke into a coughing fit. Just a little. If he could just catch his breath for a little while…
“Cough, cough!”
Seori opened his palm. Small mushroom pieces the size of millet grains were mixed in with his spit.
‘This is really not good…’
Breathing had become difficult. A stabbing pain like needles piercing his lungs throbbed in his chest. Seori dropped to one knee on the spot.
“Seori, sir! Seooorii!”
“You’ve got quite the loud voice. Use that energy to kill the monsters. They’re nothing but walking mushrooms. You can do it. You’re an explorer, aren’t you?”
Noman looked at the fallen Seori in horror.
“I can’t! Who else am I supposed to trust after coming all this way?!”
Seori looked at Noman and smiled bitterly. He had known he was overworking his body. But his body was weaker than he had expected. Seori had grown so frail that he could no longer carry out his master’s orders.
“Aren’t you an explorer? You can do it with your own strength.”
“I didn’t become an explorer to do something like this…”
“Stop with the weak talk. The monsters won’t show any consideration for your weakness when they attack.”
Noman squeezed his eyes shut. Seori was right. In the end, this dungeon was something Noman had chosen for himself. Once you entered a dungeon, you had to do your best as an explorer.
“You damn monsters!”
Crack!
Noman swung his whip with all his might. A satisfying strike burst forth, surprising even himself. Noman opened his eyes, half expecting the worst.
“Uwaaaaaah! Fuck, they’re still fine!”
Noman’s whip had no effect. Two Walking Fungus waved their arms threateningly at him.
‘Fuck, of course…’
Noman despaired. He had never once been strong in his entire life. He had simply lived an ordinary life like everyone else, joined the Dungeon Seeker guild because studying was fun, that was all. There was no way such a Noman could kill a Walking Fungus.
At that moment, Seori spoke.
“Aim for the legs.”
‘The legs?’
Noman’s eyes widened. The Walking Fungus’s body was grotesquely stretched. That was because they were mushroom monsters that had grown haphazardly. Noman swung his whip and hooked it around the Walking Fungus’s leg. The creature fell helplessly.
“It worked!”
Noman, who had knocked down both of them in succession, grabbed his whip and ran over to Seori.
“That was impressive. I could see the qualities of a warrior in you.”
“Ahahaha… Warrior? It was just luck. Pure luck.”
At Seori’s praise, Noman smiled brightly.
“Can you walk?”
“Right now… it might be difficult.”
“I’ll help you.”
Grunting with effort, Noman hoisted Seori onto his back. He ran with every ounce of strength he had. Sweat poured from his entire body like rain.
“If we can just get to Hajun… if we join up with the explorers, we can survive! Hang in there!”
Then, from behind him, Seori’s laughter could be heard. It was mixed with weak coughing sounds.
“Yes. But… I think this is as far as I go.”
“Seori, sir?”
“It’s too difficult. I’ll entrust my remaining duty to you.”
Seori got down from Noman’s back. He sat down on the ground and weakly closed his eyes. Irregular breathing leaked from Seori’s mouth.
“You’re going to entrust something so important to someone like me? You said you had to do it yourself!”
“You have the ability to do it. Look. You even saved me from the mushrooms.”
Noman silently looked down at Seori. That old Spriggan had trusted Noman, who had no ability whatsoever, and brought him all the way here. And even in this very moment, he had not given up on that trust toward Noman. It wasn’t simply because he was an explorer from the surface. Seori believed in Noman’s potential.
“Damn it… If I fail, don’t blame me.”
“You will succeed. You’ll save our village in spectacular fashion.”
Noman turned his back on Seori, leaving him behind alone.
“…I’ll be back soon.”
There was no answer.
Noman raised his Seer Lantern. The dark dungeon brightened up. Relying on the lantern’s light, he ran toward the explorers, avoiding the monsters.
‘I’ve gone crazy. I really have lost my mind.’
Noman cursed himself. He was not a hero. The people who tried to become heroes in dungeons and during explorations all died early. Like most ordinary people, Noman was afraid of dying.
‘But if not me… there’s no one else who can go. Damn this dungeon.’
The self-reproach did not stop. But neither did Noman’s footsteps heading deeper into the dungeon.