Chapter 38
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Crystal Mine (2)
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The moment Jinwoo stepped into the tunnel, the noises of the outside world were completely cut off.
Only the sound of water droplets trickling down the damp walls.
And his own footsteps echoing through the darkness.
Jinwoo pressed forward along the narrow, twisting passage, relying on the faint yellow glow of the lantern he'd pulled from his belt.
The surroundings were shrouded in pitch blackness where he couldn't see an inch ahead.
Only a strange, cloying dampness lingered in the air.
'This place is disgustingly cramped. Whoever designed it had some seriously twisted tastes.'
The ceiling hung low, and the floor was uneven and bumpy.
Rotting wooden supports that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Passing between them, he even heard creaking sounds.
'No way it'll actually collapse now that this is the real world, right?'
Jinwoo had to crouch carefully.
With every step, he sensed something slithering in the deep darkness beyond the lantern's light.
They were small spiders.
'Why the hell are there so many bugs crawling around in a crystal mine?'
Jinwoo grumbled.
It seemed another one of Providencia Games' perverse traits had kicked in.
Namely, their love of insects.
They were infamous for insect models of quality inversely proportional to their shoddy NPC appearances.
People with arachnophobia had to install mods that changed their looks—no exceptions.
'Damn it, does that mean I have to see those guys again?'
Jinwoo shuddered inwardly.
How far had he walked?
An old wooden door blocking the path came into view.
A complex metal lock hung on it.
It was a mechanical locking mechanism made by the Trade Federation, impossible to open with a regular key.
'First gimmick.'
Jinwoo glanced around briefly.
In a game, there might have been hints nearby, but this was reality.
Depending on his memory, he groped the wall to the right of the door for a specific brick.
'Third from the top, fifth from the right... this is it!'
When he shoved the brick inward with all his strength, the lock clicked open on its own.
If he'd tried to force the door without knowing the gimmick?
Jinwoo looked up.
Rusty blades glinted in the lantern light, jutting out from between the rocks.
'Blades would drop from the ceiling!'
Jinwoo relaxed and pushed open the creaking door, stepping inside.
Beyond the door lay a fairly spacious cavern.
A bizarre noise echoed in the silence.
Scratch! Scritch!
At the same time, a sticky, foul stench assaulted his nose.
Jinwoo reached out and felt the wall.
"Damn it..."
The floor and walls were entirely covered in thick, white cobwebs.
'The Crystal Spider habitat.'
Jinwoo shone the lantern light up at the high ceiling.
"Kikikik!"
As expected, dozens of red eyes glared down at him from the darkness.
Giant spiders with shells as hard as crystal.
Spotting the intruder, they skittered down from the ceiling on their sharp legs.
"Son of a... damn Providencia!"
Even bold Jinwoo felt queasy at the realistic visuals of the spiders.
'Fighting them head-on would be a waste of time. Their weak point is the crystal magic stone in the abdomen. And...'
Jinwoo turned his back to the spiders and bolted back toward the passage.
Sassasak!
Thinking their prey was fleeing, the spiders chased after him recklessly.
Jinwoo reached another wooden door on the opposite side of the passage.
His gaze stopped at a specific spot on the floor.
'Around here.'
Jinwoo stomped hard on the loose stone slab in the floor.
Thud!
A massive iron grate crashed down from the ceiling behind him.
"Kyaaak!"
Several pursuing giant spiders were crushed beneath it, letting out horrific screams.
The rest could only glare at him furiously from the other side of the grate.
"Dealt with."
Jinwoo waved lightly at them and continued into the darkness.
Jinwoo had shaken off the giant spiders.
But he didn't let his guard down.
This abandoned tunnel was riddled with traps that led to death the moment you got careless.
'Why are there so many traps in the crystal mine?'
There was no explanation even in the game, leaving Jinwoo puzzled.
'Anyway, next up is probably... the gas vent section.'
His hunch was spot on.
Tiny holes drilled into the walls of the narrow passage.
In Rising West, it was a paralyzing poison gas trap that briefly threw players off.
Step on the pressure plate in the floor?
Poison gas that numbs the nerves bursts out from all sides!
Jinwoo stopped and shone the lantern on the floor.
The faint outline of the plate beneath the dirt.
Recalling the safe path sequence from the game, he stepped forward.
'Two steps left, one forward, then three right.'
He moved with precise steps, like walking on thin ice.
"Good, we're clear."
The traps couldn't affect his path at all.
A perfect bypass without a single burst.
Passing the trap section, the tunnel opened into a massive cave connected to an underground lake.
The air reeked of fishy water and damp moss.
In the center of the cave stretched a rickety wooden bridge leading to the opposite passage.
'That bridge is designed to collapse midway. And in the water...'
Jinwoo crept along the cave wall, watching the water's edge.
The moment the lantern light hit the surface, a massive shadow writhed beneath.
A cave kraken with dozens of tentacles.
The mid-boss of this section, devouring anyone who fell from the bridge.
"Grrr..."
It surfaced one enormous eyeball, gazing greedily at Jinwoo.
'Guns won't work underwater. The counter is...'
Jinwoo shifted his gaze to the cave ceiling.
A huge stalactite cluster dangled precariously, ready to fall.
Jinwoo grinned and drew his pistol.
'Time to feed it.'
He kicked a nearby loose rock, sending it splashing deliberately near the kraken.
Splash!
The kraken reflexively lashed out a tentacle toward it.
The moment its massive body positioned directly beneath the stalactite.
Red Eye
Precise shot!
Pew-!
Jinwoo's bullet struck the weakest point where the stalactite connected to the ceiling.
Crack!
The ceiling fractured with a bursting sound.
Soon, a massive stalactite chunk—easily several tons—plummeted straight onto the kraken's head.
"Kraaaah!"
Splash!
A enormous spray engulfed the entire cave.
The underground lake turned black with ink in an instant.
"Dealt with."
Jinwoo watched the scene impassively before hurrying onward.
Jinwoo crossed the bridge toward the opposite passage.
The moment he finished, part of the bridge—unable to bear the weight—collapsed dizzyingly behind him.
'This path is completely blocked now.'
Soon, raucous voices reached Jinwoo's ears.
"We're here."
"Hah... hah... d-did we make it?"
Barrett panted heavily, wiping sweat from his damp forehead.
Traversing the narrow, dark crystal cave had been far more horrific than expected.
"Damn it, no maintenance and monsters are already swarming..."
He'd lost two men fighting cave beasts that lunged out of the pitch blackness.
Exhaustion and fear were plain on the faces of his remaining subordinates.
"Almost there, boss! Just around that bend—it's the secret cavern!"
At his subordinate's words, Barrett mustered his last strength.
He dragged his stumbling legs around the final familiar corner.
Finally, a vast space unfolded before him, filled with enormous crystal pillars emitting blue light.
The secret cavern.
"Found it! At last!"
In the center stood a massive steel vault exuding heavy presence.
Beside it, atop a secret tunnel leading to the wasteland, sat an old mine cart at a stop.
Hope surged adrenaline through him again.
"What are you idiots standing around for? Open the vault and load up—now!"
Barrett urged his men as he rushed to the vault.
With trembling hands, he began turning the dial.
The complex eight-digit password that existed only in his head.
'One mistake and it's all over!'
The surviving gang members behind Barrett let their guard down, sighing in relief.
They began organizing cargo around the mine cart.
They had no idea.
That every one of their actions was being watched meticulously by a presence in the darkness.
"Yes... just a bit more! If we take this out!"
Click!
Finally, the thick steel door of the vault swung open.
The moment it did, golden radiance poured out!
Barrett's eyes nearly went blind.
Mountainous piles of gold bars.
Piles of heavy coins jingling richly.
And the secret ledger recording every transaction.
Everything containing Barrett's entire fortune!
"Load it! Get it all into the cart now!"
The gang members cheered as they started transferring the vault's contents to the mine cart.
'No guard at all—way too careless.'
Jinwoo moved silently to near the tunnel's final exit.
He then hid in a small rock crevice overlooking the secret plaza at a glance.
Barrett's gang's desperate movements came into view.
Their disheveled appearance from battling monsters.
Eyes mixed with fear and greed.
'They got here faster than I thought. Should've left a little gift on the way.'
He watched with interest as Barrett turned the vault dial.
How much time had he dragged out because he couldn't kill Barrett right away due to that random password?
But now, this foolish self-proclaimed sheriff was personally handing over his most precious treasure to Jinwoo with his own hands.
Jinwoo waited for Barrett's gang to load all the gold bars and ledger onto the mine cart.
'No need to rush.'
That mine cart would soon be his.
As they loaded the final gold bar crate and moved to depart.
Jinwoo made his move.
'Alright, now it's time to collect the delivery fee.'