Chapter 484: Tomb of the Martyrs
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 484: Tomb of the Martyrs
From the first floor to the eighth, we had rarely ever left the city.
Our sole focus had been on climbing the Tower as quickly as possible.
Of course, that wasn't a bad thing.
After all, reaching the middle floors even a day sooner was better for our growth than loitering on the lower ones. Besides, we weren't here for a tour.
Moreover, thoroughly exploring each floor was no easy task. Even the smallest floors were the size of continents.
And on a landmass that vast, it wouldn't be strange at all if there were still undiscovered dungeons.
Like the one we were about to clear today.
Half a day had already passed since we left Sanctelium with the Celis Holy Knights, traveling by carriage.
In a deep mountain valley, we found an artificial entrance leading underground.
It was so narrow that a single person could barely squeeze through, forcing the Holy Knights to remove their armor.
A total of seven Holy Knights were participating in this dungeon raid.
Including our party, that made a total of twelve people tackling the dungeon together.
It would depend on the dungeon's difficulty, but I didn't feel for a moment that our forces were lacking.
If anything, having Commander Rusleck, a middle-floor player, join a mere 8th-floor dungeon raid was overkill.
Well... not that he's in any condition to be overkill.
Perhaps he hadn't fully escaped the influence of his heart demon, because Rusleck's expression remained dark.
He avoided answering the other knights' questions, and the arrogant attitude he'd had when we first met was gone. Now, he could barely even meet my eyes.
Then again, why would a cleric ever experience a heart demon? All they have to do is pray.
I felt I might have gone a little too far, but in a way, this was an opportunity.
Even if Rusleck was several steps below me, moving around without him noticing would have been difficult, especially with the other Holy Knights around.
But with him in his current state, I could move much more freely.
Relying on a single lantern, we descended for nearly an hour.
Ting—
「You have discovered the special zone, ‘Tomb of the Martyrs.’」
A vast cavern, incomparably larger than the entrance, opened up before us, blocked by a massive door.
I focused on the screen that appeared before my eyes.
The Tomb of the Martyrs, huh...
Now I understood why there hadn't been much of a backlash from within the Twilight Holy Society, despite outsiders like us joining their dungeon raid.
Martyrs.
People who sacrificed their lives to protect their religious beliefs or truths.
And when a dungeon has "Tomb" in its name, nine times out of ten, it's filled with undead.
Putting those two facts together led to one conclusion: the monsters in this dungeon were resurrected martyrs.
For the Holy Knights of the Twilight Holy Society, they were undoubtedly unsettling opponents.
It means killing their brothers and sisters who were already persecuted and killed once before.
Of course, they could use divine power to help the souls pass on, but unavoidable circumstances always arise when you least expect them.
In such a situation, if outsiders like us stepped in, the Holy Knights could lessen their guilt.
A kind of mutual assistance.
Well... some of them might not like us dealing with the martyrs, but that's not my problem.
Besides, we had Bishop Donatian backing us.
It was only for this dungeon raid, but on the lower floors, he was a pretty reliable supporter.
“Kang Hyun-woo, we're about to enter. Please gather with your party members.”
“Understood.”
At the vice-commander's words, I headed toward the massive door with my party.
There was one condition that had to be met to enter this dungeon.
“Total entry personnel, twelve, confirmed. Everyone, please place your hands on the door.”
Huddled before the entrance, our group and the Holy Knights followed the vice-commander's instruction, placing our hands on the old, worn stone door.
Ting—
「The souls of the martyrs awaken.」
「The souls of the martyrs look upon you.」
「The souls of the martyrs gauge your piety.」
˙
˙
˙
「The soul of ??? has detected your presence.」
「The soul of ??? awakens from its long slumber.」
—!!!!
As the screen filled my vision, the entire door began to glow.
Soon, a pure white flash engulfed the entire cavern, and when I blinked my eyes open again—
“...Where am I?”
I was inside the dungeon.
*
Before leaving the grand cathedral, I had attended a meeting led by the Holy Knights.
The briefing was based on the report from the advance team that first discovered the "Tomb of the Martyrs." It stated that to enter, one had to place their hands on the stone door and channel magic into it.
Compared to the entry conditions of other dungeons, which demanded lifespan or expensive items as payment, the barrier to entry was surprisingly low.
Furthermore, since the advance team had already scouted the initial area, a plan was more or less in place for what to do immediately after entering.
The problem was...
“...This wasn't part of the plan.”
「You have entered the special zone, ‘Tomb of the Martyrs.’」
I scratched the back of my neck and looked around.
In the blink of an eye, I had been transported to the middle of a vast labyrinth. No matter where I looked, there wasn't a single soul in sight.
This was a completely unexpected situation.
The scouting team's report only mentioned being moved to a random location upon entry; there was nothing about being separated from party members.
The only hypothesis I could form was that a specific condition had been met because our party, a group of outsiders not affiliated with the Twilight Holy Society, had entered the dungeon.
No, to be precise, it was probably because of me.
「The soul of ??? has detected your presence.」
「The soul of ??? awakens from its long slumber.」
That was the message that had appeared in the system window the moment I entered.
This, too, was not mentioned anywhere in the report.
...Is it because Gabriel hid Lucifer's power in this dungeon? Did my entry trigger the condition?
It made a certain amount of sense.
Thanks to this, I could now move without the Holy Knights watching me, but the problem was that this was still a dungeon.
Ting—
「Within this area, ‘Persecuted Faith (D+)’ is constantly active.」
「Persecuted Faith
Classification: Curse
Rank: D+
A curse and an earnest wish left behind by the souls of martyrs persecuted centuries ago.
Players who enter this area must offer a prayer every 5 minutes.
Failure to pray will result in a random debuff. If debuffs stack more than 5 times, the rank of ‘Persecuted Faith’ will increase.」
The "Tomb of the Martyrs" had a penalty.
And it was the most troublesome kind: a curse that restricted one's actions.
Of course, a mere D+ rank curse was unlikely to affect me, but the same couldn't be said for my party members.
Lucifer will be fine, but... if everyone else was separated like me, they could be in danger.
I couldn't afford to be complacent just because the dungeon's difficulty was supposed to be low. The situation had already deviated from the scouting report.
Anything could happen now.
Ting—
「You have failed to pray.」
「The curse of ‘Persecuted Faith’ is being applied.」
「You have resisted the curse.」
「The souls of the martyrs glare at you.」
「The souls of the martyrs rage at you for rejecting their faith.」
「You have been branded a ‘Religious Persecutor’ by the enraged souls of the martyrs.」
“...A Religious Persecutor?”
「All martyrs within the dungeon now recognize you as an enemy.」
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
At that moment, the entire labyrinth began to shake as if in an earthquake.
I immediately spread my senses to grasp the situation and let out a dry laugh.
It looked like I was in for a rather intense welcoming party.
After stroking my chin in thought for a moment, I took the Corrupted Starlight Staff out of my storage bag.
Vwoooom!!
Perhaps because it had been so long, the vengeful spirit of the Archlich dwelling within the staff greeted me as if it were happy to see me.
Ting—
[You have resisted the curse.]
[You have resisted the curse.]
[You have resisted the curse.]
˙
˙
˙
Thwack!
I slammed the staff onto the floor, and it instantly fell silent.
With a satisfied smile, I began to draw up my magic power, my eyes fixed on the corridor from which the vibrations were coming.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE—!!!
—Kuaaaack!!
—Kieeeeeeek!!
—Ughhhh...!!
Just then, a horde of several dozen undead came pouring around the corner like a flood.
Although they were low-grade, none of them were mere minions; they were all named monsters.
This was an unbelievable situation for an 8th-floor dungeon.
Logically, the right move was to run, but instead, I stroked my staff and chuckled softly.
I guess I don't have to worry about the others.
I'd felt this before, but in the Tower, I never had to worry about being trapped in a narrow space like this.
Why?
Kiiiiing—!!
Because I didn't have to hold back for fear of the ceiling collapsing.
As magic concentrated in the staff's gem, I offered a short prayer to the martyrs in my mind.
I'll help you pass on right now.
Physically, of course.
[Mega Flare]
The Corrupted Starlight Staff was crafted from the bones of the Archlich, Cornelius.
Because of this, it constantly inflicted curses on its user, but in return, it absorbed the user's magic power to dramatically amplify the power of their spells.
And Kang Hyun-woo's magic reserves were overwhelmingly greater than those of most 6th Circle mages, and his magic recovery speed was second to none.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
The fireball that flew toward the undead horde erupted in a massive explosion, generating a wave of heat that obliterated the surrounding area.
But Kang Hyun-woo didn't stop there.
[Mega Flare]
[Mega Flare]
[Mega Flare]
[Mega Flare]
˙
˙
˙
KA-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!!!!
KRA-KOW-KRA-KOOM!!!
CRUUUUNCH—!!
I fired off spells one after another, as if to unleash all my recently accumulated stress.
There was no retreat for me.
The massive explosions shook the entire labyrinth so violently it seemed on the verge of collapse. The undead caught in the blasts were incinerated, disappearing into ash without even leaving behind a trace of their rotten flesh.
「The Constellation, ‘Dancing Destroyer’, claps its hands and clutches its stomach with laughter.」
「The Constellation, ‘Dancing Destroyer’, has sponsored you 5,000 WP.」
「The Constellation, ‘Dweller of the Swamp’, bursts into laughter at your exhilarating display.」
「The Constellation, ‘Dweller of the Swamp’, has sponsored you 5,000 WP.」
「The Constellation, ‘Saintess of Uruk’, smiles with satisfaction.」
「The Constellation, ‘Saintess of Uruk’, has sponsored you 5,000 WP.」
「The Constellation, ‘Monarch of the Underworld’, strokes its beard as it observes your act of destruction.」
「The Constellation, ‘Monarch of the Underworld’, has sponsored you 3,000 WP.」
「The Constellation, ‘Goddess with Three Faces’, watches you with a meaningful expression.」
「The Constellation, ‘Goddess with Three Faces’, has sponsored you 3,000 WP.」
「The Constellation, ‘Rider of the Red Cross’, condemns you for blasphemy.」
「The Constellation, ‘Saintess of the Palm Tree’, is horrified.」