Chapter 547: Eternal Spire[R-18] (66)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 547: Eternal Spire[R-18] (66)
The fifteen members were assigned their roles, gathered the necessary supplies, and immediately headed to the dungeon's location.
To be honest, a party of fifteen Level 2s could clear a goblin dungeon with ease. Even if goblins came in a horde, we could handle them without taking any damage if we focused.
‘The problem is… if we get a special dungeon, we're fucked.’
Special dungeons. These anomalous spaces, which had a random chance of opening the moment you entered, harbored dangers incomparable to the original difficulty. What if our party was unlucky enough to step into one? With me here, it wouldn't turn into a catastrophe, but the others would be torn to shreds and wiped out in an instant.
‘Ah, but with the instructors following us, I guess it'll be more or less fine.’
The instructors' average level was somewhere between 30 and 45. To the newbies, they must seem incredibly strong.
But by the standards of the original participants, they were nothing more than rookies.
‘The high-level players are probably all busy grinding dungeons for cash. In the end, the only ones left over are the mediocre-level rejects.’
I glanced around at the group. The expressions on my team members' faces were surprisingly carefree. Some were even chatting as if they were on a picnic.
I let out a smirk and muttered to myself.
‘Looks like we're headed for trouble.’
The only training they'd received so far was facing five goblins in teams of two at the Colosseum.
At first, they were screaming and fumbling around, but once they got used to it, they took the goblins down with surprising ease. It seems their confidence has grown unnecessarily large.
It was true that goblins were the weakest of the weak. They were feeble, their weapons were shoddy, and their individual combat strength was pathetic. So it was only natural to look down on them.
But the problem is… training and a real battle are two different things.
‘Heh heh… It's going to be a real mess once we're inside the dungeon.’
I glanced at the instructor following behind us. He let out a heavy sigh, as if he were thinking the same thing.
And then, I sensed multiple presences along the path to the dungeon.
‘Goblins.’
The instructor and I had already noticed them. But the team members were still chattering away loudly, their faces excited as they exchanged jokes. There wasn't an ounce of tension in them.
Unable to watch any longer, Seo Eun-ha spoke up.
“Stay on your guard. You're being too careless. It seems like you've all forgotten that we're in a dangerous area.”
Despite her words, a man from C-Group just shrugged and replied.
“Aw, what's the big deal? With you and Geum Tae-yang here, I honestly don't think we'd have to worry even if a hundred goblins charged at us.”
Seo Eun-ha let out a deep sigh.
“That kind of complacent thinking… is what gets you killed first.”
Just then, the man from B-Group with the rogue-class profession perked up his ears, his eyes widening as he shouted, “Ambush!”
At the same time, a rough cry erupted from the forest.
“Kieeeeeek!!”
A horde of goblins burst through the undergrowth. Swinging their daggers and panting heavily, they made it clear that this was no longer a training ground.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
At Seo Eun-ha's sharp command, the team members quickly formed a defensive line. Ten goblins charged at them, but they were dealt with relatively easily and without any major injuries.
This outcome, however, only served to fuel their overconfidence. The man from C-Group, in particular, couldn't hide his triumphant expression as he spoke with a sneer.
“See? Geum Tae-yang didn't even step in this time, and it was still a piece of cake. Honestly, this dungeon practical is nothing more than a field trip.”
Seo Eun-ha pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head.
“Haa… Still, stay alert.”
But he just waved his hand dismissively.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Seo Eun-ha.”
A short while later, we finally arrived at the dungeon entrance.
The black, gaping maw of a cave. The area around the entrance was already a tangled mess of goblin footprints, and dried blood and crushed bone fragments were scattered everywhere. A foul stench, like a mix of rotten meat and mold, assaulted our nostrils, and the damp wind blowing from within felt like the breath of a monster.
The team members' steps naturally slowed.
“Ugh… this is creepy…”
“Gulp… I really don't want to go in.”
A few of them swallowed hard and averted their gazes, while another gripped their weapon so tightly their fingers trembled. The atmosphere, which had been filled with bravado and arrogance just moments before, was slowly crumbling in the face of this stark reality.
Seo Eun-ha stepped forward and said firmly, “Everyone, focus. This is not a game anymore.”
At her words, the team members gripped their weapons again, steeling themselves.
“Alright… everyone, maintain formation. Geum Tae-yang.”
“Okay, vanguard is entering first.”
With me in the lead, we slowly crossed the threshold of the dungeon.
The inside of the dungeon was even gloomier than expected. A few torches hung on the walls, but even those flickered as if they were about to go out at any moment. The floor was covered in slippery moss, and water droplets dripped endlessly from the ceiling.
-Drip, drip, drip…
“Ugh… It's so damp in here.”
“Watch your step. It's slippery.”
As the team members cautiously exchanged warnings, I took the lead and scouted the passage ahead.
'Hmm, a typical goblin den. Doesn't seem to be anything special…'
But something was strange. It was too quiet near the entrance. Normally, a goblin den should be crawling with sentries right from the start, but we hadn't encountered a single one.
The instructor following behind us was frowning, apparently thinking the same thing.
“This is odd. It's too quiet.”
Seo Eun-ha came up to me and whispered, “Geum Tae-yang, doesn't something feel off?”
“Right? I wonder where all the goblins went?”
I deliberately answered in a carefree tone, but I was carefully observing my surroundings.
Just then, the man from B-Group in charge of disarming traps stepped forward and said, “Hey, there's a fork in the road up ahead.”
A little further in, the passage split to the left and right. A faint breeze was blowing from the left path, while the sound of dripping water could be heard from the right.
Seo Eun-ha turned to the team and said, “Let's check for traps first.”
The man from B-Group nodded and examined both passages. He closed his eyes and concentrated, as if using a detection skill.
“…I feel a strange reaction from the left. There might be a trap.”
“So we go right?”
“The right side… seems clear.”
Seo Eun-ha thought for a moment before making a decision.
“Alright, let's go right.”
But I just smirked to myself.
'There's a high chance the path with the trap is the correct one…'
One of the basic rules of dungeons is that the easier the path, the more dangerous it is. But I had no intention of telling them that.
'Well, they'll learn through experience.'
We headed down the right passage. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But the further we went, the narrower the passage became.
“Huh? Why is it getting so narrow?”
“This is too tight for fifteen people to pass through at once…”
‘There’s a trap.’
His trap detection skill level was probably too low to sense it. And in that instant—
-Rumble!!!
Suddenly, a massive boulder came crashing down from behind, completely blocking the path we had just come from.
“W-What was that?!”
“The path is blocked!”
Fear spread through the team in an instant. At the same time, a clattering sound came from ahead as another boulder fell, sealing us in.
We were completely trapped.
“Goddammit…! It was a trap!”
At that moment, small holes began to open up on the walls of the narrow passage. And from those holes…
-Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
A rain of poison arrows poured out.
“Everyone, get down!”
At Seo Eun-ha's shout, the team members quickly dropped to the ground. But in such a confined space, it was impossible for all fifteen of them to dodge.
“Aaargh!”
“I got hit in the leg!”
Several of them screamed as they were struck by poison arrows. Their faces began to turn blue as the poison spread.
Han So-young cried out in a trembling voice, “O-Oppa! What do we do?!”
I quickly scanned the area. The boulder was too large to be moved by normal means. But…
'This is nothing.'
I stood before the blocked path. Then, I deliberately shouted in a loud voice.
“Hey, hey! You think a pathetic rock like this can stop me?!”
“Geum Tae-yang, what are you trying to…”
Seo Eun-ha said in a panicked voice, but I had already thrown my fist.
-BOOM!!!!!
With a massive explosion, the boulder shattered into pieces. The path was cleared in an instant, and the team members' eyes went wide.
“Gasp… W-What was that…?”
“Whoa! Lucky for us, the rock was already cracked! Totally lucky!”
Of course, it was a ridiculous excuse, but no one had the presence of mind to question it in this situation.
“Let's get out of here, now!”
Following Seo Eun-ha's command, we hastily exited the passage. The members hit by poison arrows were treated with the antidotes we had prepared beforehand.
Returning to the fork, we were now left with only the path to the left.
Seo Eun-ha sighed and said, “Now only the left path remains. But you said there was a trap there…”
The man from B-Group replied, “It should be fine if we proceed with extreme caution.”
He carefully approached the entrance to the left passage, meticulously examining the floor and walls.
“…There's a pressure plate here. And I see some kind of device on the ceiling.”
“What kind of trap do you think it is?”
“Probably… something falls from above when you step on it. But there's a way to bypass it.”
He turned to the team with a confident expression and said, “I'll go in first and disarm the trap. Everyone, wait here.”
“Isn't it dangerous to go alone?”
He shook his head at Seo Eun-ha's concern.
“It's safer to do this kind of thing alone.”
With that, he carefully entered the left passage. The rest of us held our breath, watching his back with tense anticipation.
A few minutes later, his voice echoed from the distance.
“Disarmed! You can come through now!”
Seo Eun-ha let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew… that's a relief. Let's go.”
But I knew. That wasn't the man's voice.
‘Just my luck to run into a special dungeon here.’
I was the only one who had noticed. Not just the team members, but even the instructor had failed to realize it. The dungeon's atmosphere had been subtly shifting ever since we chose the right path, but no one else seemed to notice.
‘Hmm, I wonder what kind of special dungeon this is.’
As I was thinking, Han So-young sidled up next to me and whispered, “Oppa… I'm scared. Are we really going to be okay?”
I patted her on the shoulder and said nonchalantly, “Don't worry. I'm here, aren't I?”
We cautiously entered the left passage. But strangely, the man from B-Group who was supposed to have disarmed the trap was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh? Where's Yeong-hun?”
“He definitely said he was here…”
The team members began to murmur, looking around. At that moment, I lowered my gaze to the floor.
On the damp stone floor were clear footprints. And next to them, a long drag mark, as if something had been pulled away.
‘Looks like they dragged the body.’
Just then, a low, rough laugh echoed from the deep darkness of the passage.
“Kirrrrk…”
Dozens of pairs of eyes emerged from the darkness. All of them held a crimson glint, glistening with the smell of blood.
They were goblins. But not ordinary goblins. They were much larger than the average kind.
‘Goblin Warriors.’
At their feet lay the blood-soaked corpse of the man from B-Group. His limbs were twisted, and his face was mutilated beyond recognition.
“Yeong-hun!!”
One of the team members screamed in despair. At that moment, a sickening laugh erupted from the goblin horde.
“Kihihihi…”
They raised their blood-stained weapons, preparing to charge all at once.
I scanned the goblins.
‘There it is, mixed in with them.’
The monster that had mimicked his voice was hiding among the goblin horde, perfectly camouflaged.