Chapter 24: Beasts of the Plaza Section
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: Beasts of the Plaza Section
"So you've arrived, Porter."
"This place is..."
As soon as the teleportation ended, the first thing I saw was Karan, the female thief, waiting for us.
Looking around, I saw Sola and Gou engaged in a serious conversation. Stein and Torius were busy lighting up the dark space by placing torches here and there.
Every member of the Morning Sun party looked grim. It was as if something had gone terribly wrong.
"Excuse me, Karan. Where are we?"
"I don't know. It's our first time here, too. It's likely a newly added section."
In response to Rohan's question, Karan explained that they were also seeing this place for the first time. These were veteran adventurers—the best of the best, Gold Badges—and even they had never seen this area before.
That meant this was a place newly created after the Great Cataclysm.
Is this a dome building?
We were inside a stone structure that felt like the interior of a dome stadium. The ceiling was rounded. While it was quite high compared to a normal building, it was definitely lower than the usual ceiling of the Underground City.
It felt like the interior of some specific building. Since it was wide open in all directions, it also felt like a plaza.
"Hachi, this isn't the Plaza Section, is it?"
"It is not. The Plaza Section is much brighter than this. You should be able to see ruined buildings there. Furthermore, the ceiling isn't this low. The ceiling of the Underground City is quite high."
"Then as I thought..."
"It's a new section. A new building. I've never seen this place before either."
Lewis, the Earth Mage, also confirmed that this was a new location.
"Any monsters?"
"None. We've checked several times. We're the only living things in this vast space."
"I do not sense anything in particular either."
Hachi closed his eyes and spread out his sensory aura, while Horaru, the bear beastman, flared his nostrils and sniffed the air.
"Monsters. None."
Horaru confirmed there was nothing.
"Hey. You guys help set up the torches for now. Securing visibility is the priority. Porter, get some torches out."
"Understood. We shall help as well."
Stein told us to get the torches lit. Since we knew there was no immediate danger, we needed to secure our line of sight. Our group followed Stein and Torius, placing torches around the dome area to light it up.
There are doors.
As I set up the torches, I noticed several gateway-like openings leading outside. It seemed that if you passed through those open gateways, you could move to different sections.
Did that mean this structure was built in the very center of the Underground City?
Based on the layout of the building forming in my mind through Map Creation, it did seem like this building was at the center.
But the center of the Underground City? I had never heard such information before. The Underground City was only known to be divided into four sections. There was no such building in the middle.
As Karan and Rohan said, it must be a section added after the Great Cataclysm. It was the kind of space where a boss monster might appear.
However, according to Karan, Hachi, and Horaru, there was nothing in this vast space. Something was definitely strange.
"It's unsettling."
"You feel it too, Yuria?"
"Yeah. A new location means new monsters will appear. The fact that there's nothing here makes it even more unsettling."
Yuria’s expression grew serious. A new place meant new monsters, and new monsters always brought death to adventurers.
After a brief moment of anxiety, the adventurers from the Strategy Team descended from the 4th floor.
"Vanguard, where are we?"
"We don't know. Even Sola says it's his first time."
"What? Even Lord Sola...? Hey! Everyone, stay sharp! We don't know what might come out."
The fear of the unknown.
Because they couldn't define where they were, anxiety began to grow in the hearts of the adventurers. We had to light up this space quickly.
I took out piles of torches I had received as supplies from my inventory and distributed them to the incoming adventurers.
"Drive them into the ground to light the way. We have to drive back the darkness."
Darkness, by its very nature, gnaws at the human soul. Just being in a bright space can restore one's mental strength, so we needed to flood this area with light as quickly as possible. The Gold Badge adventurers hadn't started lighting torches for no reason.
"Hmm. Given the circumstances, it seems this building is situated at the center of the Underground City. From now on, we shall call this the 'Central Section.'"
"The Central Section?"
"Yes. Calling it the Central Section or the Gate Section seems appropriate. And we shall call this building the Central Hall."
Sola decided on the name for the location.
Naming something is humanity's struggle to escape the fear of the unknown. The moment you quickly decide on a name and define an object, it is no longer an unknown terror. Defining the unknown was a very important task.
"There are no monsters here."
"As Gou said, no signs or traces of monsters were felt in the Central Hall. After several checks, the Central Hall is considered empty."
"Strategy Team Captain. Are you saying the Central Hall is safe?"
"I cannot say it is perfectly safe, but for now, we must consider it so."
Most of the gathered adventurers accepted Sola's words. No matter how much they searched for over an hour, nothing that could threaten an adventurer appeared in the Central Hall. Of course, it was possible that some danger hadn't been triggered because a specific condition hadn't been met.
"In any case, it seems we can reach other sections through the five gates of the Central Hall."
"Wait a minute. Why are there five gates? Shouldn't there be four?"
The adventurers expressed their doubts as they looked at the five gates. I wondered about that too. Why five instead of four?
The Underground City was originally supposed to be divided into four sections.
The Ruins Section, the Plaza Section, the Spire District, and the Garden Section. Originally, there were only these four.
However, it had now changed to a total of six sections. In addition to the original four, this 'Central Section' and a 'Submerged Section' had been added.
"Wait, look at this gate. The buildings are underwater. It's a new section."
"Ugh... does that mean aquatic monsters will appear?"
"It looks like it'll be waist-deep."
"Look over there. The deep parts are so dark you can't see the bottom."
Some adventurers expressed concern at the altered landscape of the Labyrinth, while those with a strong sense of adventure showed interest, calling it a new farming spot. The anxiety and excitement emitted by the adventurers began to amplify.
"First, let's set up a base camp in the Central Hall. Exploration will proceed after that. Porter, unpack the supplies."
Following the command of Sola, the leader of the Strategy Team, I began taking the supplies out of my inventory one by one in the center of the building.
From food to large pots, firewood, oil bottles, glass bottles filled with water, and even strong liquor. There were also various items like makeshift tents and boxes containing all sorts of herbs.
"He can carry this much? There's all sorts of stuff in there."
"I'm jealous of that Subspace Pocket."
"Hey! Don't put the oil bottles near the torches! Do you want to die?!"
"Ah, I didn't know. Sorry!"
As I unpacked the supplies, the adventurers began organizing the gear and setting up the base camp, each offering a comment. Since people with Subspace Pockets were rare, everyone reacted with fascination.
"Two teams will remain here to guard the base. The remaining ten teams will split into pairs and begin exploring the sections."
"Who's going to that submerged land over there?"
"The submerged land... let's call it the Lake Section for now. Our Morning Sun will lead the exploration of the Lake Section. We'll take one more volunteer team."
"Not me. I don't want to die in a place I've never seen before."
"Our team passes too. It's too dangerous."
"No volunteers? If there are no volunteers, we'll decide by drawing lots."
"Wait, our mission was only up to delivering the supplies."
"Ah, the body recovery team can sit this one out. Good work. See you alive."
At Rohan's words, Sola excluded our group from the drawing. We hadn't come here to explore, but to recover corpses.
"Then, let's head to the Plaza Section first."
"Rohan. You said you knew the approximate location, right?"
"Yeah. I remember the scenery there. If we succeed in recovering the bodies, we can go back up through a Transfer Stone within thirty minutes."
A half-collapsed building in the Plaza Section. Six bodies were hidden inside. After recovering the bodies, we just had to run to the location of the Transfer Stone that Hachi and Rohan remembered and escape the Labyrinth.
The problem was that we didn't know exactly where the place Rohan and Hachi remembered was located. We had to find the spot where they had seen that specific scenery. They said they would know once they got close, but we had to keep wandering the Plaza until we reached that vicinity.
"First of all, the further we go into the Plaza Section, the more High Orcs will appear. They are particularly strong even among the indigenous species of the Underground City, so be careful."
In each section of the Underground City, there were indigenous species that made that area their home. The Plaza Section had High Orcs, and the Ruins Section had Hob Goblins. We had to assume they would keep crawling out as basic mobs.
"Besides them, we have to watch out for packs of Garum, Gulun, and Hati."
The Plaza Section was wide open. And that open plaza was filled with wild dogs (Garum), hounds (Gulun), and wolves (Hati). We had to be careful not to get surrounded by them.
If the Ruins Section, consisting of corridors and rooms formed by interconnected buildings, was relatively low in difficulty, the Plaza Section, where one could be surrounded at any time, was a place of considerably high difficulty.
Especially since those beasts gather in an instant if they catch the scent of blood, we need to hunt as quickly as possible and leave the area.
Adventurers who don't know this, die. It was a structure where wolves would show up while you were skinning a hunting dog, and if you killed the wolves, a pack of hounds would attack next. Furthermore, since they were beast-type monsters, they would chew on and eat the corpses of adventurers, making the possibility of resurrection significantly low.
To hide bodies in a place like this... Rohan is out of his mind.
He must have hidden the scent and used preservatives. Since the canine monsters here generally had poor eyesight, there was no worry about the bodies being discovered as long as the scent was handled well. However, if we were any later, the smell would eventually leak out. We had to recover the bodies before decomposition progressed further.
"Then, let's go."
We passed through the gate leading to the Plaza.
The Plaza Section was a place dotted with collapsed buildings. To survive here, one had to duck into buildings occasionally to drop the aggro of the beast-type monsters. If you continued hunting while covered in blood, you would attract the attention of the beasts, and if that aggro stacked up, you would eventually end up facing a swarm of monsters.
The problem was that the buildings one could hide in were already occupied by High Orcs. Therefore, we had to deal with beasts while moving and clear out High Orcs to rest. This was why the Plaza Section was so difficult.
"Seven charging from the right!"
"Lewis! Build a wall!"
"Guh...!! Earth Wall!"
Lewis, the Earth Mage, raised a wall of earth in the direction the Garums were charging. The lead Garums, unable to slow down, slammed their heads into the barrier and collapsed, and those following behind also couldn't slow down and tripped over them.
"Um Bahara. Mera."
Horaru the Druid immediately sang the 'Voice of Empathy' toward the half-dazed pack of Garums. If they had been in a normal state, they would have rejected Horaru's communication, but those who had suffered a shock to their brains fell straight into a state of empathy.
"Shit...!!!"
Meanwhile, Yuria, Rohan, and Hachi swung their weapons against the charging Hati pack. The black-furred wolves kept their distance, dodging Yuria's sword. Rohan was giving orders while simultaneously annihilating three large wolves. Hachi supported his comrades while protecting me.
"Damn it...!! Six more charging from behind!"
"Horaru! Hurry up and control the Garums!"
At Rohan's shout, Horaru, having finished his empathy with the Garums, sent them charging toward the Hati pack our party was fighting. Simultaneously, Lewis, having finished his incantation, raised an Earth Wall against the Guluns charging from the rear.
"Run!"
"Yeah!!"
We ran. Searching for an empty building. We had to run and run.
"Dammit...! I didn't think the monsters would have increased this much...!!!"
"Shut up and run!"
Rohan and Hachi also hadn't expected there to be this many monsters. Even though we had erased the scent of blood and left the battlefield as soon as the combat ended, we still ended up surrounded like this. There was no other way. There were so many monsters that the conventional solutions didn't work.
"There! That building! Let's go there!!!"
"What about Orcs!!?"
"I don't sense any! Run! Keep running!"
"Lewis! Can you incant while running!"
"I'm incanting, so shut the fuck up!!"
Lewis began his incantation. He probably intended to close the entrance and raise an Earth Wall as soon as we entered the building.
I feel like I'm going to die.
My breath was caught in my throat, and I could taste blood. Even so, I ran. If we were late, it was the end.
"Sion!! Hey!!!"
"Huff... huff... yeah?"
"Throw the oil bottles behind us!"
"Huh? Oh! Got it!"
At Yuria's shout, I immediately reached back and pulled out oil bottles I had stored in my inventory. The oil bottles shattered on the ground, and Yuria threw the torch she was holding.
Whoosh!!!
Flames erupted, catching the bodies of the beasts chasing us. It worked. Beasts fear fire. They began to run around in confusion and were soon far away from us.
"Earth Wall!"
Rumble!!!
An Earth Wall rose at the entrance of the building we had ducked into. We lived. We survived.
"Haa. Haaaaa."
"Horaru, are you okay?"
"Uuu... the empathy was cut off. They all died. Uuuu... huff... they're all dead... again... it happened again... it's happening again..."
"Hey, Horaru! Get a grip. If you break down, we're finished."
Rohan barked. Our team had survived three times already thanks to Horaru. It was because he controlled the beasts with the Druid skill, Voice of Empathy, to draw the aggro of other monsters. However, Horaru was suffering from mental distress. It seemed his mental strength was being shaved away in chunks every time a creature he empathized with was brutally torn apart and killed.
"Rohan, wait a moment."
"Hmm?"
"I'll take a look. Barking at him is counterproductive."
"Haaa... I suppose so. I'll leave it to you. If Horaru breaks down..."
Rohan swallowed his words. He was perfect at giving orders in combat situations, but he seemed to have zero talent for managing the team's morale. Hachi was usually better at it, but currently, Hachi was also in a very weakened state, both physically and mentally. I, who had been away from the thick of the fight, had no choice but to take care of Horaru's mental state. If Horaru broke down, our party was doomed.
"Horaru. Hey, Horaru?"
"Uuu...?"
"Here. It's honey. Have some honey."
"Honey... ah... honey... honey. I like it..."
"I still have plenty of honey. Let's hang in there a little longer. We've picked up a lot of monster corpses. If we make it back out, we'll be able to earn a lot of money. You'll be able to eat all the honey you want."
"Honey. Yeah... I'll... try a bit harder. Thank you."
It was honey I had bought for myself, but I decided to give it to Horaru. Bear beastmen love honey. When you're tired and suffering, it's good to eat something sweet. Even better if it's your favorite dessert. It wasn't a waste if it helped him recover his mental state so we could move forward.
"Phew. Rohan, is it still far?"
"I think I'm starting to see familiar scenery. A little further... and we'll probably reach the place where the Chimera's corpse is."
"The Chimera's corpse won't be there."
"True. The Chimera's corpse has probably been picked clean or handled by the High Orcs. Well, anyway, it'll show up if we explore a little more. We're almost there."
"That's a relief, at least. Everyone... let's eat."
Rohan's comrades' bodies were hidden near here. The words that we only had to wander a little more came as a great comfort. I began taking meat and ingredients out of my inventory. We had to eat. We needed to fill our stomachs and get some rest.
"I'll prepare dinner, so everyone, please rest."
"Thank you..."
"Nothing I can help with?"
"No. Yuria, you rest too."
"Yeah. Thanks. Phew..."
Yuria let out a deep sigh and took off her boots. The others also slumped down, removing their gear and beginning to rest.
"Lord Rohan... let me see that wound on your arm..."
"Guh... it hurts."
"I have to disinfect it. Please bear with it a little longer..."
"Aargh!"
Yata the healer poured disinfectant on Rohan's arm. It was good to have a healer so we could recover immediately after combat.
Grrrr...
As Rohan screamed in pain, the growls of beasts could be heard from outside.
"Ugh, those sons of bitches."
"They certainly are."
"Indeed. They are. Sons of bitches. Hahaha..."
As the tension eased slightly, Hachi, who had been silent, cracked a joke. Perhaps because we had lit a fire, warmth circulated inside the building. Since we had blocked the entrance, the beasts would wander around for a bit and then leave. It looked like we would have to spend the night here.