Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Hidden Entrance
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Shwick!
"Keeeaak!"
As the dazzling blade of light carved a horizontal arc through the air, several gargoyles that had spread their wings and lunged at me plummeted to the ground all at once, tumbling head over heels.
Sizzle...
Unlike when struck by ordinary weapons—where their stone-like skin would crack or shatter into fragments—the creatures dissolved as if corroded away.
'As expected of dark creatures. Light is their kryptonite.'
Among the many elemental weaknesses in Holy Warrior Brayden NX, the clash between light and darkness was the most iconic.
Those two attributes inflicted critical damage with even the slightest graze, but neither was something players handled often.
Darkness mostly showed up on the enemy side, while light was the exclusive domain of a tiny handful of priestesses or saints among your allies. For users, it was just something to drool over from afar.
That was why, when I first acquired the Radiant Secret Tome in that cursed goblin camp, I was convinced I'd reached a whole new level.
Light-based skills packed that much punch, and with good matchup, they could incinerate monsters outright.
Gargoyles—the most common dark-attribute foes—were prime examples.
Gargoyles were dark creatures whose very existence stemmed from dark mana, so when hit by my one and only but devastating light skill, Light Saber, their bodies vanished entirely.
A truly powerful dark creature might have snuffed out my saber in retaliation, but these gargoyles weren't on that level.
Dozens of them swarmed before my eyes, but thanks to the Light Saber, none could even get close.
If I'd been wielding a standard iron sword, I'd probably have been sliced into as many pieces as there were gargoyles. But hey, what can you do? Survivor takes the win, luck or not.
Over ten gargoyles became fodder before my Light Saber and dissolved, but fearless by nature, the rest charged like moths to a flame.
Shwick!
Sizzle...
And dissolved again.
After a ten-minute skirmish, the dozens of gargoyles had all vanished. Perfect timing—Ravi and Elfin approached just as the last ones disappeared.
"There he is! Alvis!"
"Hey, Alvis! You rotten bastard, you used us as gargoyle bait and ditched?!"
Elfin, convinced I'd thrown them to the wolves and bolted, flew into a rage the moment she saw me. But she gradually quieted down upon spotting what I held.
"Hey, what's that in your hand...?"
"As expected, Elfin—you're quick on the uptake."
"Cut the crap. Doesn't look like an ordinary rock."
"Huh? Don't tell me..."
"That's exactly it. This is a barrier stone that formed the boundary dividing the mid-layers of the Fresia Mountains. It was already like this when I got here."
Ravi and Elfin took the shattered barrier stone from my hand and examined it, their expressions darkening by the second.
"Most of the mana has leaked out already, leaving just a faint trace. But it must have held an enormous amount originally. Even the remnants we sense now suggest it wasn't destroyed that long ago. This is definitely the direct cause of the gargoyle swarms spilling down to the lower layers."
"And... there's a rotten stench too. Several of them. Could it be the cultists' doing?"
Elfin furrowed her brow slightly at Ravi's speculation.
"Cultists...? Those scum crawled all the way up here just to smash a barrier stone and leave? Instead of infiltrating villages for sacrifices or terror attacks?"
"That's definitely odd, yeah. But who else reeks of decay like this? The smell's old and mostly faded, but it's unmistakable from the stone—impossible to hide."
Having seen the truth with my own eyes, I knew they were both spot on.
No identifying features under the deep hood and long robe, but if they were cultists, it made sense.
In Holy Warrior Brayden NX, the cultists were the biggest antagonist faction, behind nearly every villainous plot.
In fact, thinking back on their atrocities in the game, smashing a Fresia Mountains barrier stone was downright mild—no real casualties. Couldn't tell what they aimed to achieve, though.
"What do we do? We can't just remake a barrier stone like it's nothing. No guarantee this is the only one broken in these mountains, and hunting them all down one by one would take forever..."
"We've got evidence now, so best head back. Proof someone's sabotaging the barriers means the two nations can discuss countermeasures. Alerting the Empire could give us a strong card in negotiations—"
"No. Since we're here, let's uproot the problem entirely."
I voiced my opposition to Elfin's suggestion.
If the same shadowy figures from that goblin camp vision were behind this too, they'd pulled shady stunts both then and now.
Back in the goblin camp, fleeing that unidentified dark spirit had triggered massive backlash damage on me.
So if I bailed from this apparent handiwork of theirs, I'd likely trigger the same backlash again.
Acting on that hunch, I shot down Elfin's idea—and the lack of backlash proved me right.
But the two, oblivious to the truth, stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Alvis... you don't mean head up to the mid-layers, do you?"
"Are you insane? Ravi and I barely handled those gargoyles earlier—it was insanely risky! Venturing into the mid-layers with anomalies popping up? No telling how many gargoyles we'll face, and we're supposed to punch through with just us three? Brayden, Celine, and Lenis aren't even here!"
"No need to worry about that."
I pocketed the barrier stone fragments and headed for the mid-layers as I spoke.
"I've got this."
"......Huh?"
Elfin gawked, brimming with distrust, but Ravi—who'd witnessed me erase that dark spirit in the goblin camp—followed with skeptical hesitation.
"Elfin, I know it's still hard to believe, but I saw Alvis wipe out some unidentified freakish monster last time. He's got skills. Probably."
"Hey, Ravi. Always gotta add that extra word, huh? So, Ravi's on board—what about you, Elfin? Scared? Head down first then."
That hit Elfin's nerve.
"Huh? Scared? Me scared??? Telling me, the proud granddaughter of an elven elder, to bail if I'm scared? Hey, what happened in a few weeks? Suddenly talking like some veteran knight? You run!"
"Taking that as a yes? I'll take point—hide if you're spooked."
"You...!"
Ravi barely restrained Elfin's brewing outburst as we pressed into the severely weakened mid-layers of the Fresia Mountains.
Contrary to expectations of gargoyle hordes, the mid-layers actually had fewer than the lower ones.
No, this wasn't fewer...
"Why... are there no gargoyles?"
"Weird. They're everywhere they shouldn't be, but missing where they should be? The swarms were bad enough to alert us and Carrot Duchy."
"Was it all just rumors?"
I shook my head at Ravi's question.
"Nah, not rumors. If it were, we'd at least see a griffon in broad daylight like this. But nothing."
"Oh, right..."
"Griffons fled because of the gargoyles, but the gargoyles that swarmed down to the lower layers aren't showing hide nor hair in their own turf? Means they're holed up somewhere."
"Where?"
Where else? The gargoyle cave in the Fresia Mountains mid-layers.
This dungeon spawned only gargoyles—no other mobs—making it perfect for farming their drops.
The odd part? Location checked out, but no cave entrance in sight.
'Then...'
I triggered today's last use of Eye that Pierces Truth.
The skill activated, and the surroundings hazed over like fog.
But one spot—a section of the rocky cliff face—glowed vivid red, as if demanding my attention.
It looked like just another bit of barren cliff wall.
"Got a hunch."
I led Ravi and Elfin there.
"Hey, why here?"
"Elfin. Can you collapse this?"
"What?"
"Your powers should make it easy. Possible?"
"Of course it's possible. But why collapse this?"
"Trust me and do it."
"...That makes me trust you even less."
Grumbling, but with no other leads, Elfin summoned her power.
Among elves who commanded earth and flora, Elfin's talents shone brightest. She compacted the soil deep underground, then crumbled the wall from below.
Rumble! Crash!
The ground shook violently as cracks spiderwebbed across the face, and it collapsed in a cloud of dust.
But the dust didn't linger.
Whoosh—
A gust from within swept it away instantly.
"Th-this is..."
"What...? How's this possible? A place like this existed? Hey, Alvis—how'd you know?"
"Told you I had a hunch."
Elfin's gaze shifted, and I flashed a smug grin before stepping into the cave.