Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Surviving as a Crow in the Dungeon
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The plan had been perfect.
Fastest to touch the device, isolating the outside from this place.
Just as Cherry and Kiki had warned beforehand, Jenny of the chain sickle barged in midway, but I'd outsmarted her with my ingenuity.
To be precise, I'd successfully breached all the traps and activated the device.
According to our thinking, the entire ruin would shift, pulling only those of us inside the barrier deeper in while isolating the rest outside.
Du-du-du-duk.
But things didn't go according to plan.
This massive rumble.
The noise alone screamed that something was terribly wrong.
Kwa-ka-ka-ka-kak!
The entire ruin flipped over in an instant.
"Kawk!"
Flutter, flutter.
Fortunately, being a bird that could fly, I didn't get hurt too badly.
Thonk.
"Kaak!"
Though I did lightly bump into a falling rock.
Ruuuuumble.
The ruin's structure kept changing for quite a while.
After confirming that Swoong-i and Muna were safe, I hunkered down and waited for the process to end.
"Shwoong."
Finally, the noise died down.
"Kawk!"
I lifted my head and quickly assessed the space we were in.
What I saw was a massive labyrinth.
Well, I couldn't judge solely by what was visible, but my instincts told me so.
"Hmm, something's off. Was my journal wrong? It shouldn't have changed this drastically."
Even the Sage expressed puzzlement.
Which meant the current situation was beyond even his predictions.
"We didn't touch any other devices, and we hit the exact spot at the precise moment, yet this happens. Should we assume the ruin's laws changed in the interim? Or that someone intervened?"
Translating Muna's words, it basically meant this wasn't my fault.
And it wasn't mine either.
I'd just done as instructed.
"You can't cool your sweat by revisiting the passed wind. Better to wait for the new breeze."
Another cryptic saying, but I'd grown used to him and could grasp the meaning.
Roughly: better to plan ahead than dwell on the past.
"Pardon the intrusion."
He muttered anxiously from my shoulder.
What?
We're not that close yet.
"I see."
Thankfully, Muna respected my dignity.
His "intrusion" meant climbing onto my head.
To survey from a higher vantage point, no doubt.
"Hm... The ruin I knew had almost no traces of hostile lifeforms. Strange."
What do you see?
"This place resembles the underground ruin I knew, yet differs. In other words, it's akin to a dungeon in structure."
...Dungeon!
Another word that stirred a crow's heart.
"Traces of other monsters are visible. And this layout is like a maze. To escape or achieve our original goal, we'll have to press forward, defeating monsters along the way."
Countless monsters in an underground dungeon!
Words that would despair an ordinary human, but I wasn't ordinary.
I was a special crow.
"Kaak, kawk-kawk-kawk."
Monsters here meant that many traits ripe for stealing.
Stealing from humans was too risky to do openly, so I'd held back, but now traits were practically rolling in on their own.
To me, monsters didn't look like monsters.
Just shiny feathers and traits.
【Underground Ruins】
In pursuit of the Tin Lord's traces, you've arrived at his ruin site.
While investigating the ruins with apprentice witches Cherry and Kiki, you discovered the entrance to the underground ruins.
But someone is chasing you, and in your escape, you accidentally triggered a device.
In an instant, the ruin's structure changed, and you, the girls, and the Sage plummeted underground.
To be exact, the entire exploration team fell into the underground ruins.
This is no optimistic situation.
Supplies and water are limited, and countless monsters slumber within.
To escape or uncover the ruin's secrets, you'll need to move faster than anyone.
Before your meager supplies run out, that is.
If you encounter supply teams laden with food and water, you might gain some leeway, but their prices will be exorbitant compared to outside.
Thieves posing as allies might also stab you in the back.
Dungeons are such places, and you've landed right in one.
Quest Clear Condition: Escape the Underground Ruins
"Kawk."
As always, the quest window provided some extra info.
We weren't the only ones who'd fallen here, just as I'd seen earlier.
Not just Jenny of the chain sickle, but Kiki and Cherry too.
And the rest of the exploration team, all scattered in this labyrinth.
Given their positions, they were likely split into small groups like us, not gathered in one spot.
And since no one expected a simultaneous drop into the underground ruins, they wouldn't have prepared accordingly.
They had basic explorer gear, sure, but not ample food and water as the status mentioned.
Even if they did, it'd be carried by a few supply handlers.
Stay put, and things would unfold just like the quest described.
Fights over food and water, betrayals.
Old grudges turning into attacks now that they saw an opportunity, plus monster assaults.
It could turn into a true hellscape.
Fine for now, but who knew after time passed.
Scarce supplies meant frayed nerves all around.
We were no exception.
No food or water, and we couldn't last here.
"Shwoong."
I poked the puffed-up Swoong-i.
"Shwoong?"
We didn't have food or water on us right now.
Because they'd been stashed in our excellent backpack.
Swoong-i stared at me blankly.
Poke, poke.
"Shwoong! Shwaang!"
Tickling Swoong-i made it roll around, giggling.
No, stop laughing and cough up the goods.
Actually, Swoong-i had been acting odd lately.
Maybe from stuffing it too full? It used to spill items with just a poke, but not anymore.
Like it had grown attached and refused to let go.
Who'd it take after, acting like that?
"Truly befitting your familiar."
Hey, why praise it?
"Shwaang. Shwawaang!"
See? Now it's all smug.
Poke, poke, poke.
"That tickles!"
Yeah, it would.
Now hurry up and...
"Kawk?"
I tilted my head, and Swoong-i put on an innocent face like it knew nothing.
"Shwoong."
Then it finally dumped out the items.
Wait, that's not the point right now?
"Kaak! Kaak!"
Did you just talk like a person?
"Shwoong! Shwoooong!"
"Kaaaaak! Kawk!"
Don't play dumb—fess up!
How could you beat me to speaking?
"Shwaaaang!"
I was in the middle of interrogating Swoong-i about its secret when...
"Chit."
A sound from the shadowy corner.
Not a human voice.
Chit-chit-chit-chit.
The cry alone told me who—or what—it was.
【Plague Giant Rat LV11】
The foe was a rat.
But awfully big.
"Kawk!"
Wait, can rats even get that huge?
Even cats would flee from that thing.
Drip.
A drop of water hit my head.
I looked up to see what it was.
Obviously, I couldn't see Muna perched above me.
"Mm, little wind. That one's quite the delicacy despite its looks."
Even so, I figured out the water: Muna's drool.
According to him, that rat was delicious despite appearances.
I trusted Muna on most things.
But not tastes. This guy thought red ginseng jelly was a treat.
"Trust me. The exterior's off-putting, but inside it's tender and... Ah, sorry. Drooling again."
Sometimes he seemed sage-like, other times not.
But no ordinary kiwi bird either.
"Chiiik! Chit!"
The giant rat eyed me warily.
Whatever.
I'd catch it anyway, so sharing some meat was fine.
Even if it didn't suit our palates, it'd have uses.
Like ripping off some naive human later.
"Kaak, kawk-kawk-kawk...."
I let out a wicked cackle and checked its detailed info.
【Plague Giant Rat】
Descendants of giant lab rats given bloated bodies through someone's experiments.
Contrary to their looks, they prefer clean areas and have a tangy meat prized by gourmets.
Offspring of plague-spreaders, they have sturdy teeth but little else; the original strain is notoriously dangerous.
【Skills】
「Fury of the Molars LV3」
【Traits】
「Sturdy Teeth」
「Remnants of Plague」
Nothing standout, it seemed.
As the status said, decent food stock.
"Plague" in the name and trait was iffy, but what could go wrong?
"Kakaka-kak!"
With a valiant crow cry, I charged at it.