Chapter 272: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 272
Dungeon.
For ordinary people, a dungeon is thought to be a very novel suicide spot where mentally ill adventurers who think of their lives as flies enter.
So when a naive child reads someone's adventure story and says they want to become an adventurer, their mother and father will prevent them from doing so, even if they have to break their legs.
Nevertheless, the reason people have a romance with the profession of adventurer is that if they properly conquer dungeons, fame and wealth will pour down like rain.
If you organize the records you wrote during your adventure and sell them as a book, it automatically becomes the Empire's best-selling book, Nobles and royalty from various countries invite adventurers to parties to hear stories about dungeon conquests, even a small piece of iron obtained from a dungeon becomes valuable historical material and sells for a high price.
Of course, not all dungeons are equally impressive.
Dungeons also have ranks.
The lowest rank dungeons are created by intelligent monsters, academic dungeons that are good for understanding the ecology of monsters such as ratmen or lizardmen.
Since these can be easily found if you look around, it would be more accurate to say they were 'subjugated' rather than 'discovered'. These are dungeons that even those who start as knights can handle sufficiently.
It's not about complex puzzle-solving or intelligence, but about force. If you want to be recognized as someone who has conquered some dungeons, you should conquer a reclusive wizard's or devil's dungeon. If you discover and completely conquer the research facilities of wandering magician who realized they were magicians but didn't go to a magic tower for some reason and developed magic alone, or places where devils lived in hiding, you can become quite famous.
Of course, since these are spaces where wizards and devils lived, dangerous traps lurk, so if you enter unprepared, you might die as soon as you enter.
Finally, if you want to be praised as a legendary adventurer that appears once in a century, you need to conquer a dungeon created in the forgotten era. Because the forgotten era is an era where records themselves have been erased, discovering dungeons is extremely difficult, and the methods for conquering them are even more complex.
The only way is to use hints from records written by adventurers who happened to conquer dungeons from the forgotten era and historical materials. Even those are scarce, so you have no choice but to conquer by directly diving in headfirst.
Of course, the protagonist of Valent Saga conquers them through simple mini-games like 'puzzle solving', 'piece matching', or 'timing', which makes it convenient.
But where Caesar is now is reality. It is impossible to conquer a dungeon created in the forgotten era through mini-games like puzzle solving or piece matching.
So the only way is to recall the secrets of the 'Sinner's Dungeon' that was conquered numerous times in Valent Saga. Caesar grabbed the next chain. Since it didn't fall as soon as he grabbed it, it seemed he had chosen the correct answer.
The beginning of the mural drawn in the sky focuses on battles between humans.
Dividing the teams was surprisingly easy to distinguish. They were divided into those with white cloth tied around their forearms and those with red cloth tied to their heads.
Among them, the 'sinner' that Caesar needs to grab is the one with 'white cloth' tied around their forearm. It wasn't too difficult to find the sinner connected to the end of the long chain and then find the next chain.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have already lost strength in their hands and fallen, but Caesar wasn't very tired. This much is like eating rice cakes while lying down. The problem starts now.
Whoosh!
Caesar heard something being shot near his ear. Caesar twisted his body to avoid the incoming 'arrow'.
Clang!
The arrow didn't shatter when it hit the wall but instead stuck into it and quivered.
Following that, arrows flew toward Caesar from all directions.
Caesar moved from chain to chain with acrobatic movements while avoiding the arrows. Of course, getting hit by those arrows wouldn't cause serious injury, but it was right to avoid them since they might damage the hyperspace backpack he was carrying if they hit it unluckily.
'I feel like Indiana Jones.'
Caesar continued checking the pictures connected to the chains while avoiding dozens of arrows.
Now, ordinary soldiers wearing cloth clothes were no longer visible. Now, knights wearing proper armor were engaged in a chaotic battle.
Earlier, allies and enemies were distinguished by white and red cloth, but now it was impossible. This was because their armor colors varied—silver, black, red, green, each a different color. Some even had tails or scales.
Then how does one distinguish the 'sinner' here? The hint is in the background. The war history depicted in this ceiling painting is the 'War Between Dragons.' Specifically, the war between the scaleless dragon 'Grezawa' and the flame dragon 'Sturungarden.'
The 'humans' and 'dragon knights' serving each dragon have different characteristics. In the case of humans and dragon knights who sided with the flame dragon 'Sturungarden,' they literally used swords, spears, or armor covered in flames. Those who sided with the scaleless dragon 'Grezawa' used various magic while drawing blue-white magic circles.
Among them, the 'sinner's' chain that Caesar needs to grab is on Grezawa's side knights and dragon knights.
Among them, he needs to grab the 'dragon knight' with scales. Caesar grabbed the chains connected to Grezawa's dragon knights and moved forward.
Then Caesar's body began to feel abnormally heavy. It felt like the purple floor was emitting a deeper light and pulling Caesar down.
'Now it's starting in earnest.'
Caesar moved forward, quickly shifting from chain to chain. Arrows continued to fly, and the further forward he advanced, the heavier his body became.
Slip
Caesar momentarily slipped due to the sweat on his hands.
"Damn it!"
Caesar barely managed to grab a chain and stop himself.
But he couldn't stay still. Now, instead of arrows, fireballs as big as a person's torso came flying.
Caesar continued to advance upward by moving from chain to chain, and eventually an entrance came into view.
The problem was that there were five entrances. If he entered any entrance randomly, he would suffer greatly.
Caesar knew which was the correct answer among those five entrances. Each entrance had a unique symbol drawn on it, and these symbols were ones that Caesar had seen before.
They were dragon language he had seen in the Akashic Record. Caesar chose the dragon language that had the synonym 'scaleless dragon' along with 'Grezawa' and entered.
How did he know the dragon language? Caesar obviously didn't know. He just learned the correct answer by physically trying each one in Valent Saga.
Caesar entered the second entrance from the right, and the fireballs and arrows that had been pouring toward him stopped. Caesar wiped the sweat from his hands with his clothes and sighed.
"Phew, that was hard."
At the end, it felt like gravity increased over 20 times, making him think he would die from exhaustion.
Caesar walked slowly through the entrance glowing with blue flames. From here on, there will be no physical hardship. From now on, it's a battle of mental strength.
Thud!
A strange shockwave struck Caesar's head.
Normally, horrible nightmares along with burning hungry ghosts should appear and attack Caesar here... But Caesar was completely unaffected.
This was because Caesar was already under complete mental defense from 'Flawless'. Originally, one would have to endure with true mental strength to pass through here, which is why Caesar didn't dare to come here before.
While he was confident in his physical strength, Caesar was less certain about a battle of mental fortitude. But with Flawless in this situation, such traps are nothing.
***
How long had he been walking?
A fork in the road appeared.
Normally, one would have to find the right path with a devastated mind, but Caesar already knew the answer.
This was because the dragon language symbolizing Grezawa was drawn at the entrance.
Caesar continued forward, choosing only the entrances marked with the dragon language symbolizing Grezawa, and eventually reached the final destination.
"This is more serious than a game."
First, shouldn't it be called the unique fishy smell of scaled creatures?
Such an unpleasant odor pierced Caesar's nose.
And the temperature. Even though it's winter, the cold is absurd.
Just breathing in makes the tip of your nose ache. This isn't a normal temperature but an extreme temperature magically forced down.
And Caesar could see the 'sinners' before his eyes. The appearance of the sinners was exactly as depicted in the murals.
There were ordinary soldiers with white cloth tied around their forearms and dragon-scaled soldiers with green-scaled tails.
All these sinners were hanging from the walls, with their hands, feet, and tails fixed by thick iron nails.
Some were suspended in mid-air, bound by chains connected to the iron nails.
Rather than calling it a prison, should it be considered a scene of cruel and tragic torture? No life force could be felt from them.
Caesar walked along a straight path laid out in the middle of such a prison. On both sides of the path was an underground darkness so deep it was difficult to see the end, and it seemed like one wouldn't be able to survive a fall.
Well, as can be seen, this prison of sinners was built after Sturungarden and
Grezawa went to war and Grezawa was defeated. And the reason why all of Grezawa's dragon-scaled soldiers and ordinary soldiers are imprisoned is, as can be seen, because Sturungarden appears to have won the war.
Caesar doesn't know exactly why dragons fought against other dragons, as there is no explanation for it.
However, what is certain is that there are only two things that can be obtained from this prison. One of them is right in front of Caesar's eyes.
In the middle of the path was a dragon-scaled soldier with iron nails driven into both arms, legs, and tail, and if that wasn't enough, another iron nail pierced through the heart.
Dragon-scaled soldiers aren't completely covered in scales; only their hands, feet, and tails are covered with scales, while their faces and other body parts are almost identical to humans.
Caesar carefully lifted the necklace hanging around the fellow's neck with Thunder. The necklace was so cold that frost began to form on Thunder as soon as it touched it.
It was good that he didn't touch it with his hands first. Caesar inserted Thunder's blade between the necklace and cut it off.
Clink
Caesar didn't touch the necklace immediately but took out dry twigs and hay from his bag and piled them nearby.
Then he struck a match, lit a fire, and raised the temperature of the necklace with the hot flames. Meanwhile, Caesar observed the dragon-scaled soldier.
Although Caesar is large for a human, this dragon-scaled soldier is almost as big as an orc. The muscles visible on his body overflow with strength, as if he was born to be a warrior.
Should it be said that it feels like he could come alive and move at any moment?
Whatever the case, what reason could Sturungarden have had to go through such trouble to create this prison?
He would like to read the memories contained in the armor or objects through psychometry, but he dares not touch them carelessly for fear his fingers might freeze and fall off from frostbite.
There's a cardinal rule of dungeon exploration that says, ‘Don't touch what you don't understand.’
'Still, wouldn't it be okay to try using psychometry?'
Though using psychometry on someone already dead might not have much meaning, isn't it worth a try with nothing to lose? Caesar used psychometry on the fellow.
-...Who... Are... You?
"Oh, fuck."
Caesar was genuinely startled and stepped back. He must have been hanging like this for several hundred years, yet he's still alive.
His mind is even clear enough to notice Caesar's presence.
While dragon-scaled soldiers are certainly strong creatures, Caesar never dreamed they would be this tenacious.
"Can you hear me?"
-...What... Are... You... Saying...?
The fellow was using a language from a forgotten era, while Caesar was using the common language of the continent.
With completely different language systems, it was impossible to have a conversation with him.
However, Caesar has 'psychometry,' so while he can read the fellow's thoughts, it's impossible for Caesar to speak to him.
-...Whoever... you... are... please...
Caesar listened carefully to him. What was he going to ask for?
-...Please... kill... me... -Aah... ah...
-...How much... longer... must I...?
Of course. The fellow's mental state was completely shattered.
Indeed, if Caesar were to remain alive in such a condition for several hundred years, his mind would break too.
At this point, death would be better than life.
Caesar stomped out the burning twigs with his foot. Then he picked up the necklace, which had warmed up to an appropriate temperature. The necklace was very simple.
It had a metal plate with the dragon language for Grezawa engraved on it. In military terms, perhaps it's similar to dog tags? The reason Caesar was taking this was simple.
'Because it can be used in Grezawa, the city of sin.'
After putting the necklace in his pocket, Caesar looked at the fellow. Can giving death to one who desires it be considered mercy?
He could strike him down with Thunder right now, but isn't there a cardinal rule of dungeons? Don't touch what you don't understand. Caesar walked past him.
How long had he been walking along the path?
Caesar arrived at the center of the prison. In the center were two rings—one emitting blue light and one emitting purple light—each locked in different cages.
"Finally, it's time for the reward."
If he takes one from here, the dungeon will naturally collapse immediately.
The only way to survive is to run straight through to the opposite side. Since he was confident in his running ability, escaping wouldn't be a problem. It's just a matter of choosing the reward.
"Hmm......"
The name of the purple ring is 'Stigma.' It's an ancient artifact with a sealing effect that binds a single target with strong gravity.
The name of the ring with the blue gem is 'Ruthless.' It creates a field of cold that slowly freezes people except for allies designated by the wearer.
In other words, Stigma is a bind that activates immediately on a single entity, while Ruthless applies a slow debuff over a wide area.
When starting as an adventurer, the obvious choice would be Stigma. Because it has the advantage of being able to bind any opponent, allowing one to avoid dangerous monsters initially.
But Ruthless isn't bad either. Given enough time, it can turn targets into ice sculptures, like the dragon-scaled soldiers hanging here.
To be honest, Caesar is more drawn to 'Stigma.' However, there's one reason he's hesitating.
'Is there a way to take both?'
In the game, you only need to choose one, but this isn't a game, is it? If he can take both, he'd like to.
'Let's look for a way.'
Caesar decided to look around a bit more.