Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Tomb of the Silent Dead (1)
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Time flew by quickly, and it was now Saturday afternoon.
Having successfully sneaked past the association agents guarding the abandoned cathedral, I was waiting for Amelia right at the entrance to the cathedral.
"Ugh... the smell is really foul."
In the game, since it wasn't full virtual reality, they hadn't implemented senses like smell or touch, so I hadn't noticed.
But now that I was actually here at the abandoned cathedral—a place I'd gone in and out of thousands of times as a player—the overall atmosphere was just... off. Not great at all.
Or maybe it was telling from the start that dozens of undead-type dungeons had appeared inside what was supposed to be a holy cathedral. A place overflowing with deathly energy...
I was lost in thought like that for a while.
"Hmm... It's definitely full of the grudges and lingering attachments of the dead here! Now I get why they sealed this place off!"
A bright, cheerful voice came from the direction of the door.
"Did I keep you waiting long? I came as fast as I could, but Sophia kept getting curious about where I was headed and trying to follow me, so it took a bit to shake her off!"
Amelia approached me, who had been blankly lost in thought, holding the Infinite Bento Bag in one hand.
"I've only been here a short while myself. Still, nearly getting caught by Sophia? That was close."
"Right? She knows I usually never leave the academy grounds and just cook in the dorms, so she must've gotten suspicious when I suddenly headed out."
"You did well. Want to rest a bit? Or should we head in right away?"
As I took the bento box from her and asked, Amelia furrowed her brow as if pondering for a moment, then clenched her fist tightly and shouted.
"Mm~ Let's head out right away! I'm feeling better than usual today—like I could smash the undead heads with ease!"
"Th-that so? Glad you're in good condition... but 'heads'? Isn't that a bit rough? Maybe soften it to just 'heads' instead of... you know."
"Huh? Isn't 'head' the same as head? My Korean teacher taught me. She said if some sleazy guy tries any tricks, smash his head with your fist!"
"Uh... r-really? You've got one heck of a teacher."
'What kind of person teaches an innocent girl crude stuff like smashing heads?'
I vowed to correct Amelia's misguided knowledge someday if the chance arose, and started walking.
Amelia followed beside me, her two fists clenched tightly.
"About five minutes inside? That's where today's dungeon is. It's called The Tomb of the Silent Dead, and as I mentioned, it's D-Rank."
"Actually going to clear a real dungeon... it's a bit nerve-wracking! But Hyun-sol, thinking about it, isn't this a little too much?"
"...Huh? Did I mess up somewhere?"
As I asked in confusion, Amelia replied with an innocent smile.
"Even if my trait is the natural enemy of undead and I've trained in boxing for over 3 years and Taekwondo for over 5 as a black belt,
shouldn't you at least bring one party member to protect the healer? Isn't that a bit much?"
"...That should be plenty... me? Wait, no—if anything, shouldn't you be protecting me? With 5 years of Taekwondo and all..."
To reiterate, S-Rank trait awakeners have average stats around 24-26.
And Amelia? Even with her special Saintess class and the S-Rank unique trait Authority of Purification—a support-type—she boasts an average of 23.
Purely in terms of stats, that meant she was way stronger than me.
Plus, boxing for 3 years? Taekwondo for 5? That sounded beyond amateur level.
If we fought bare-handed, I was confident I'd just get pummeled the whole time.
As I refuted her with a dumbfounded look, Amelia fell silent for a moment, cleared her throat awkwardly, and continued.
"Ahem, that's that! If you've had academy training, you should act accordingly! Trying to clear a dungeon with just the two of us, no party... or could it be...?"
Mid-sentence, Amelia suddenly looked shocked, as if realizing something, and covered her mouth with both hands.
"Hyun-sol, did you skip making a party on purpose because you wanted to spend time alone with me? Now it all clicks... I should've realized when you lured me with the bento box..."
"No, it doesn't go that far! I didn't..."
The utterly ridiculous speculation left me ready to retort immediately, but I had to stop.
Because right before my eyes appeared the entrance to today's dungeon: The Tomb of the Silent Dead.
"Whew... let's talk more after we go in."
"Got it!"
We slowly stepped into the dungeon entrance.
The moment we passed through the dungeon entrance, the air changed.
"Ugh... the smell got worse. It's really nasty."
A nauseating stench mixed from damp soil, rotten flesh, and the tang of old blood.
True to its name, Tomb of the Dead.
The countless graves filling the surroundings, along with the tombstones stabbed into them, made the dungeon's atmosphere even more chilling.
"As expected, it's on another level from artificial dungeons. Even a D-Rank is this intense."
"Wow... it's exactly like the undead dungeons on NewTube! The vibe is just like a movie set!"
Amelia scanned the surroundings with an excited expression, showing no tension whatsoever.
Her lime-green eyes sparkled with pure curiosity, not a trace of fear.
"More like a morgue or autopsy room than a movie set."
"Hmm~ Yeah, with all these graves, that fits better!"
"Alright, let's head that way first. That biggest grave over there looks like where the dungeon boss is."
As I pointed to the massive grave with what looked like a 3-meter entrance bored into it, Amelia nodded and said,
"Yeah. That's the thickest death energy around here."
"Good. Let's go."
We slowly approached the grave, and upon reaching right in front of it, we saw stairs descending endlessly deep.
We exchanged glances, nodded, then carefully descended the stairs.
After going down the stairs for quite a while, we arrived at a large dome-shaped space.
In the center stood an ancient altar lined with broken stone statues.
And between them... something resembling human forms stood in rows.
"......Skeletons."
I immediately created a few Mana Bullets with Star Mana and floated them in the air.
From the black shadows, the skulls slowly walked out, revealing themselves—their eye sockets flickering with red light.
Skull soldiers clutching rusted swords. Their precise name: Skeleton Warriors.
As Amelia and I both took combat stances upon spotting the monsters, the passage we'd come through slammed shut with a thud, as if waiting for it.
"Lockdown pattern. No retreating now."
Lockdown pattern.
As the name implies, you have to clear all monsters in the sealed area to proceed to the next.
"Let's clear them fast! I wrapped bandages on my arms knowing this might happen!"
"Bandages and a dungeon—what do they have to—"
Before I could finish, Amelia smashed the head of a skeleton that had come right up to her face with her fist wrapped in a glowing golden knuckle guard.
Pow—!
-Kreeeek....
The Skeleton Warrior struck by the holy fist let out a short death cry and disintegrated into dust in an instant.
Amelia looked at me triumphantly and shouted,
"Ta-da! It's a magic tool loaded with enhancement buffs! For soul purification~! It sends D-Rank undead straight to oblivion in a flash!"
"......And after showing that, you're still gonna say you need a party member to protect you?"
As I asked with a hollow laugh, Amelia scratched her cheek and averted her gaze.
"Ahem, let's clear the monsters first! Our goal is to conquer the dungeon!"
"Wow... so shameless."
"Ahem, talk later!"
Looking a bit embarrassed even to herself, Amelia wrapped her fists in holy power and leaped into the midst of the skeletons, slamming her fist toward the ground.
At the same time, a wave of pure white holy power spread outward, and five skeletons simultaneously vanished in blue flames.
"Not enough yet!! This fresh sensation so different from artificial dungeons—it's really hitting the spot!!"
But Amelia showed no signs of stopping.
One hand purifying light, the other her reinforced knuckle guard—she looked less like a saintess and more like a straight-up fighter from afar.
After handling a few approaching skeletons with Mana Bullets, I asked,
"Where'd you even learn boxing? Better yet, why'd you learn it?"
"Father said a woman's body is hers to protect herself, so he had me learn boxing!"
"You've got one amazing father."
Your body is yours to guard.
A simple, solid teaching.
I glanced at Amelia briefly, then turned back and fired Mana Bullets at the skeletons approaching me.
Bang—!
The bullets made from Star Mana arced out in an instant.
The first pierced a skeleton's chest, the impact chaining outward like a reaction.
Second, third—
Thud, thud, thud!
Mana Bullet fragments and Star Mana exploded together, toppling the undead in front en masse.
But the problem was behind us.
"Hyun-sol, behind you!"
-Grraaaahhh!!
Along with a rotten stench, zombies with decayed flesh clinging thickly burst through the walls.
Dozens of corpses stumbling forward, eyes rolled back.
Up close, they looked like sludge mixed from mud and blood.
"Ugh, those look even grosser."
I fell back while generating more Mana Bullets, then fired at their heads.
Bang—!
The Mana Bullets swiftly burst the zombies' heads.
But more kept crawling out endlessly, tireless.
"I knew there'd be a ton... but this many is disgusting."
"That's when you pray!"
Having smashed all the skeletons' skulls, Amelia came to my side and clasped her hands together.
White rays of light rose from her fingertips, drawing a massive pattern in the air.
A sacred light magic circle—one of the skills made possible by her Authority of Purification.
"Grant them the repose of light... Lumina Secrum!!"
⟨ Light's Repose ⟩
As the prayer ended, a massive pillar of light shot up.
The zombies and skulls inside it froze as if bound, then burned white and vanished.
Strangely, instead of a burning sound, it was like the tolling of bells echoing.
I stared at the scene, speechless for a moment.
"...Wow. Forget saintess—this is an angel incarnate."
"Hehe, thanks! Still, it's tough. Even in a mere D-Rank dungeon, the purification radius is this limited."
"That's plenty. Look over there."
As Amelia turned, dozens of zombies and skeletons had vanished without a trace.
The floor held only shattered skull fragments and the black dust from rotten corpses.
And faintly floating above it all were sparkling blue crystals.
"Mana stones."
"The mana stones look clean. But..."
Amelia bent down and picked up a few.
The crystals sparkled in her palm before melting into her holy power and disappearing.
"Better to just purify these. A bit wasteful, but if you leave them, they possess new corpses right away. Bad for the living."
"Saintess through and through."
"Hehe, I'll take that as a compliment!"
As she smiled brightly, the last two or three skeletons jumped out from behind.
But they were no threat now.
I shaped my hand like a pistol and fired Mana Bullets, while Amelia charged forward and straight-punched the remaining one.
Pow—!
The final skull shattered to pieces, and the entire space fell silent.
"All done?"
"Seems like it."
With all monsters gone, the only sound echoing quietly in the tomb's interior was our breathing.