Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Traces of the Demon (1)
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After sorting through the magic stones and byproducts, the mercenaries quickly exited the mine. Planting the purification tree was something I could obviously handle alone, and dealing with the mercenaries—who were constantly gasping in awe—was a huge hassle anyway. Being left behind like this was actually a good thing.
The wall blocking the path beyond the clearing, which I'd scouted earlier, had a safe passage opened thanks to the plants I'd sown. Elle, Ayla, and I finished the meal we'd paused earlier, then crossed over the wall and entered deeper into the mine.
"Wow!"
Elle, who had gone ahead, let out an exclamation. What was it?
"...Ah."
Following her in, I quickly understood why she'd gasped.
'It’s a double dungeon.'
The passage beyond revealed a completely different scene from the mine. It felt less like a mine and more like an ancient temple, with bizarre statues scattered here and there, and indecipherable letters carved into the pillars.
"This is..."
Thanks to the [Interpreter] trait, I recognized the letters as the language of demons.
'Monsters are tough enough, but now I have to worry about running into demons too?'
It was burdensome, but I couldn't deny a subtle excitement.
If demons really appeared, it raised the chances of hidden rewards beyond the shadow cloak.
Items!
For someone like me whose level wasn't that high yet, so-called 'gear power' was crucial.
Depending on the items you had, the speed of leveling up could change entirely.
That aside...
'This place is fully demon territory.'
The demonic energy was thicker and more toxic than expected. As a druid, the lethal demonic aura rippling everywhere forced me to focus more than usual on purifying the energy within my body.
*Cough.*
'I won't last long here.'
Still, Elle and Ayla seemed fine. Especially Elle—that kid was surprisingly tough, probably thanks to her bloodline. Makes sense; the Reinhardt family wouldn't have made a name across the continent for nothing.
We cautiously stepped into the eerie dungeon shrouded in black mist. The gloomy, damp air and ominous noises echoing from somewhere...
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
Among them, the one grating on my nerves the most was the sound of falling water droplets. They fell relentlessly—regularly, no, irregularly, no, at unpredictable intervals—and felt unnaturally repulsive. The fact that the dripping seemed to grow closer only heightened my unease.
But ahead lay only darkness. The dawn star tree fruit in my hand glowed, but it barely pierced the gloom.
*Sniff sniff.*
How long had we walked?
Ayla suddenly shoved her nose to the ground and started sniffing. Then she began spinning in circles right there.
'Something's there.'
I approached Ayla.
"...!"
There was a faint smell of blood. But no bloodstains were visible nearby.
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
The dripping sounds were now as clear as if they were right in front of my face. Damn it, where? The thickening black mist rendered the dawn star tree fruit's light useless. This wouldn't do. I closed my eyes and activated the [Owl's Eye] skill. My vision brightened instantly. Unaffected by the black mist, I slowly and meticulously scanned the surroundings.
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
Then I spotted where the droplets were falling from.
The droplets weren't falling—they were rising from the exact spot where Ayla had been sniffing.
That's right. Not falling, but rising, defying gravity, and pooling on the ceiling.
"It's not water—it's blood."
That explained the smell without any traces.
I drew the dagger from my belt. Druids don't mesh well with forged metals, so this was a special one I'd ground from black moonstone myself. Why special? Moonstone has superior purification properties to silver. Wealthy nobles even embed it in their estate wells. That says it all.
Anyway, something was definitely below. Trusting that strong hunch, I raised the dagger high and stabbed it into the spot where the blood droplets were rising.
*Rumble...*
A faint vibration traveled up the dagger.
'Ah, I have a bad feeling about this.'
As always, my intuition was spot on.
*ROOOAAARRRR!!!!!!!!!*
The droplets that had been falling one by one exploded in an instant. No dodging, no blocking—it wasn't even an option. The cascade of blood swept over us like a wave.
"Uwaaaack!!!!!"
When I came to, we were sprawled in the middle of a sticky blood puddle. Elle was vomiting, and Ayla, her fur soaked, was shaking herself off to fling the blood away. I nearly hurled too but barely held it in and stood up. Though swept by the blood wave, we hadn't crashed into anything—no wounds visible. Same for Elle and Ayla.
"Damn it."
I pulled an elephant cactus from my subspace ring—the emergency one I carried. The elephant cactus is a round, massive plant from the Roshan desert region, acquired while crossing it. Filled with water inside, it was perfect for desert treks when supplies ran low.
Using the dagger I hadn't lost, I sliced the elephant cactus in half. I scooped out the spongy, water-laden flesh and roughly wiped the blood from my face and body. I gave one to Elle and sprayed the inner water over Ayla.
'I should grow some elephant cacti in the Dimensional Garden.'
Catching my breath, I surveyed the surroundings. No black mist, no bizarre statues or letters. But an even stranger aura permeated the area now. As if the space itself was warping...
*Thwip!*
"Gasp!"
By a hair's breadth. A dart embedded right in front of me, black smoke—clearly ominous—rising from the impact.
"Elle, get down!"
I activated [Wood Skin] and [Leaf Step] simultaneously, then scattered seeds around. The location slowed their growth, but the plants rose tall, serving as shields.
*Thwip!*
*Thud!*
*Thwip!*
Darts flew from all directions. More foes than I'd thought. Damn...
"Great Lynshaka, goddess of forest and earth, guardian of life. Let your children heed my voice..."
Using [Song of the Forest], the plants that had only grown as shields began moving one by one, as if possessed of will. Focusing my mind, I pinpointed where the darts were coming from. And then—
*Whish!!!*
Before another dart could fly, I whipped a thick vine like a lash.
*Thwack!*
*Crack!*
"Gaaahhh!!!!"
It caught about two. Swinging the sturdy vines together produced bone-crunching sounds as something collapsed. The vines were damaged but still functional. I kept lashing toward the dart origins.
*Thwack!*
After five—no, six—crunching sounds, no more darts came. I slumped to the ground, panting. Losing focus, the plants wilted instantly. That was close...
"Master!"
*Woof!*
Looks like Elle and Ayla each took down one too. With Elle's help, I stood.
"Were they people?"
"Yeah, people. Besides the five attackers you downed, Master, there were two more guards. Ayla and I handled them."
People attacking in a dungeon. This was no good.
I pulled back the hood of the one Ayla had dragged over by the scruff. On his pale-painted face was a dark red symbol drawn in blood.
"This is..."
Seeing the symbol jogged a memory, so I checked his wrist. Sure enough, a vertical slash—still oozing blood.
"Cultists."
Damn. That explained the weirdness. Monsters spawning in a perfectly fine mine? Rare. All because of these guys.
'That's why the purification linked into a quest.'
Were they summoning demons?
"Stay alert."
First, recover stamina. I pulled various fruits from my subspace ring and used [Forest's Gift]. Fresh forest essence infused them. [Forest's Gift] fruits restored stamina—perfect right now. I bit into one glowing fresher than normal fruits and caught my breath.
"Hoo..."
Now it made sense. All that blood—probably from countless 'sacrifices.'
The monsters appearing? The cultists' doing to avoid interruptions.
'This is the real game.'
Shouldn't have sent the mercenaries away. Shaking off useless what-ifs, I stood.
My body was still heavy, but movable. Thanks to [Regeneration], [Hardiness], and level-up boosted base stamina.
A few months ago, I'd have bolted in panic. But now?
I had solid skills, traits, and items.
I fiddled with the totems around my neck.
These I'd made early on worked well even in cursed lands, and they'd shine here too.
[Great Nature's Harmony] for 30% extra damage to demon-types, [Exclusion of Impiety] for 70%. Undead or demons meant baseline 100% damage boost. Doable.
Get it together. Not here to die—here to loot.
Only one path anyway. We moved silently. With their scouts not returning, the others would know something was up. Full readiness required.
Anticipating trouble, Elle and I had hand signals ready. Ayla, thanks to [Affinity], moved like an extension of me without orders. No worries.
Stepping through the blood-slick floor briefly, we soon spotted the cultists' altar.
How'd I know it was theirs before seeing?
The stench—blood mixed with rot, unimaginable foulness. Sure enough, the altar was piled with corpses, human and monster alike. Intentionally for the ritual, most had severed wrists, their massive blood pool writhing like a living thing, hovering in midair.
"Gasp..."
"Shh."
Elle deserved praise for not screaming. Any kid her age would've shrieked, pissed themselves, and fainted.
"..."
I eyed the shadow by the writhing blood pool. Probably the cult priest.
I loaded the last moonflower seed into my arrowhead groove, nocked it, and drew the bowstring taut.
I felt Elle's tense gaze.
Holding my breath quietly, I aimed and released the arrow lightly.
*Zwing!!!*