The Altar of the Blue Eye
The party members stared at the piles of bones—some clearly from monsters, others unmistakably human—and offered their guesses one after another.
"Should we collect these?"
"These bones..."
"Looks like they performed some kind of ritual here. It's been a while, though. Maybe two or three weeks?"
"Don't you think these bastards are doing this ritual in every dungeon they visit?"
"Ugh, these crazy bastards! If they're so eager to sacrifice themselves, why drag innocent people into it?!"
Jua snatched up a piece of clothing that clearly belonged to a woman, her face twisting with rage as she shouted.
"But it looks like they left in a hurry. They didn't even clean up properly."
"It's not like this was their personal bedroom. Why would they bother cleaning?"
"Ice Queen, even so, isn't it common sense to erase your traces?"
"Hmm... I suppose you're right."
I placed my hand on the black altar that supported the dust-covered bones. It was a portable altar of the Blue Eye—crafted from black steelwood so that followers of the Blue Eye could perform their rituals anywhere.
It's been a while since I've seen one of these. The fact that a description pops up means it's valuable. They must've been in a real rush if they couldn't even take this with them.
The altar wasn't a single solid piece; it was built from several wooden sections that could be assembled. In an emergency, they probably wouldn't have had time to disassemble it, so abandoning it made sense.
I decided to store it in my subspace for now.
You have collected your second Portable Altar of the Blue Eye.
Wait a second.
The system never displayed messages without meaning. Collect... Does something happen if I gather more of these?
These were altars used to make offerings to the Blue Eye. If too many of these ominous objects gathered in one place...
In the worst case, the Blue Eye might notice my existence.
Or perhaps some other event would trigger. This is the most annoying part.
There were times when I had no clue what might happen, and this was exactly one of those moments. I decided to think it over carefully later and continued exploring the interior with my companions.
"Huh?! There's a trace of a gate over here!"
"What? Where, where—"
Where Arin was pointing, the wall had been carved into a perfectly round shape.
"I heard that when a gate appears and disappears on a wall, it leaves a mark like this."
"You're right... So does that mean the ones who were here fought against whatever came out of the gate?"
Or maybe they went inside the gate.
Since there were no signs of battle, the latter seemed more likely. We searched the area a bit more but couldn't find anything else of note.
"It's hard to tell with just these clues. Let's head outside, fire a flare to alert the administrators, and be on our way."
Piiyuuung— Boom!
Once outside, we sent up a danger signal for the administrators and left without waiting for them. They would reach the same conclusion once they saw the inside for themselves.
After that, we encountered two more medium-sized direwolf packs over the next two hours. The groups of fifty to sixty wolves were no longer a match for us, so we subdued them without much difficulty.
"Oh, a Thorn Rune. The stats on this are pretty good. The rune drop rate seems high today, doesn't it?"
"Yeah... and they're all high-grade too. It's completely different from when we ran with that four-person Veil team a few days ago."
......This really is strange.
Even considering the dungeon's instability, the difference in probability was too extreme. The only thing that's changed is our party composition. Those Veil guys didn't seem to have any special luck abilities, but if I had to suspect someone...
Just in case, I asked the cat nestled in Eunyeong's arms.
Azraelon—
(?! How do you know my true name?!)
I heard your owner say it. You weren't exactly hiding it. Anyway, 'Azra.' Do you have any abilities related to 'luck'?
Although it didn't show up in the status window, I'd heard that some beings were born with such powers. Hunters who were abnormally lucky.
(You! Don't you dare shorten my name however you please!)
Got it. Just answer the question.
The cat wiped its face a few times with its soft paw before replying.
(Did you think this body only had one or two special abilities? Hmph!)
The prickly cat said only that before burrowing back into Eunyeong's embrace. Eunyeong's chest had grown noticeably fuller lately, enough that the cat could bury its head inside.
Definitely a male, that bastard.
Regardless, it seemed clear that being around 'Azra' brought good fortune. And not just for himself—he can grant that effect to the entire party? I thought he was only strong in combat, but he has all sorts of strange abilities. Just what is this guy's true identity?
I had only seen Azra use his power once—when he unleashed a tremendous shockwave on that ghoul variant. That ability alone would keep most monsters at bay, yet he claimed to have many more tricks. I was incredibly curious what else he could do.
In any case, I needed to guide Ham Eunyeong well, if only because of that cat. And to do that, it would be best to keep No Hayun—the one Eunyeong liked—close by as well.
"Clack clack."
"It's a centipede hell. Distance... two hundred and fifty meters ahead?"
I nodded.
"You're going to take care of the first one again, right, Ilwol?"
The party members were gradually beginning to understand my abilities. It was impossible not to. I kept using skills similar to those of the monsters we'd faced, so anyone who wasn't an idiot would catch on.
After receiving my companions' permission, I dug into the ground.
Kwagwagwagwak—
I swam through the earth as if it were water, moving forward without hesitation. When I sensed the 'centipede hell' detect me and try to turn and flee, I increased my speed.
Where do you think you're going?
Despite its size, the centipede moved with surprising speed. However, it must have realized it couldn't outrun me underground, because it stupidly changed direction and headed for the surface.
I followed it out, and the moment I emerged, the hooked venomous stinger on its tail shot straight toward my head.
Shuk—!
Whoa— the mana in that thing.
The quality and quantity of mana condensed at the tip of its tail was terrifying. Even the combined First Brothers probably wouldn't have survived a direct hit.
Tung—!
But I blocked the attack with my bare arm, without any equipment.
Burrow Destroyer — Defense +135 when charging at enemies outside the tunnel
As the level of Tunnel Destroyer rose, the greatly enhanced option turned my arm harder than any shield.
Kkikik—?!
The creature's antennae flailed wildly in confusion as its full-powered attack was effortlessly blocked.
Paching—!
I restrained it with Chains of Flame, grabbed its tail, and spun it around several times.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
Then I hurled it high into the sky. The massive centipede twisted and writhed against the clear blue sky, creating a bizarre sight.
Hoo—
I leaped powerfully into the air after it and swung my sword five times in rapid succession. Flame Slash landed five times in quick succession, stacking enough marks on its body.
Kwaaaaaang—!
I triggered Flame Explosion right there in midair.
Thudududuk—
The creature's vertically falling body was incinerated along with a pillar of flame that shot into the sky. What rained down to the ground were countless fragments of the legs that had been attached to its torso.
Whoa— already at max level?
I had just started to enjoy the fun of growth, so it felt a little disappointing. Still, the skill growth from defeating the centipede hell was tremendous. The new option that increased attack power in proportion to time spent waiting underground seemed like it could be useful in certain situations.
Pioneer
All stats have increased by 2.
Along with the centipede hell's skills and traits, my stats had risen as well. My Perception had now reached 170. The rapidly expanding range of my senses caused a small vibration in my head. The area of my perception was now approaching six kilometers. The range had grown so vast that fully expanding it actually felt burdensome.
Toxic Sting — A hooked venomous needle that never lets go of prey once it bites.
On successful attack, injects a paralyzing poison.
Venomous stinger? Don't tell me...
The moment I felt uneasy, something tried to burst out from between my waist and hips. I quickly exerted my will to prevent a tail from forming.
Whew— first horns, now a tail?
My combat form already looked hideous. If I manifested all the abilities I'd gained today, I'd be a full-blown chimera.
Still, having a rear attack option without needing to move the thorns is pretty convenient.
"......"
"......"
When I returned after cleaning up the centipede's legs, my companions were all silent, staring at me in a daze. Their lips moved as if they wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
"Shall we... keep going?"
"Yes..."
The party seemed somewhat dejected.
"Honestly, if we weren't trying to keep the minimum number of people, Yeonhee could probably clear this dungeon by herself. Right? With just Ilwol..."
Jua finally spoke to Yeonhee. She was essentially asking whether they were even necessary for dungeon exploration. Yeonhee firmly denied it, but in my opinion, it was true. They probably all felt the same way.
"Aish, who cares. Anyway, I don't mind running dungeons with anyone. I just find it fun when I'm with Yeonhee, so that's why I stay. Jua, stop overthinking and just do your job. Isn't making money safely what you want most?"
"I was just asking. Don't make such a big deal out of it."
Bae Jua had asked cautiously, but after hearing Lee Yeonhee's answer, she let out a sigh of relief in her heart. She had been worried that she might be excluded from the party.
She had thought she'd grown tremendously after surpassing level 60, but seeing Ilwol made her feel like she'd fallen behind again.
I'll stick with them no matter what. The money we earn per dungeon run is no joke.
Bae Jua steeled herself again, thinking she needed to develop her abilities further to increase her value.
Unlike Bae Jua, Baek Arin was lost in a different worry.
I still can't understand how Ilwol's swordsmanship improved so drastically...
Ever since she clearly witnessed Ilwol slicing a direwolf variant in half with a single strike, that scene had occupied her mind completely. It was a realm she couldn't even dream of reaching. Of course, since she specialized in combat against people, the swordsmanship she used had a completely different nature. Still, all swords ultimately pursued the same goal. Since Ilwol had only called her his master a few weeks ago, it was only natural that her heart felt complicated.