Chapter 65
Chapter 65
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Abandoned Mine (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The two humans and two earth fairies leading the exploration team.
About thirty minutes ago, when they reached a dead end, their emotions had been bewilderment laced with absurdity.
Now, what they felt was panic mingled with serious concern.
"Living ruins, huh. We've gotten tangled in something nasty."
Sachet muttered in a troubled tone. Lilia tilted her head.
"Living?"
"Ruins where the structure changes."
Akanksha explained in his place.
"The biggest reason ruin explorations are tough is usually monsters, but sometimes the layout itself is such a maze that finding the path is the real ordeal. The worst of those are ones like this that shift in real time."
"If it's subtle enough not to notice right away, that makes it even worse."
Alon groaned as he held the lantern close to the wall blocking their path ahead. At first glance, it was nothing more than an ordinary dirt wall.
"Look at this. No way to tell if it's newly formed or was always there just by eye? We were walking straight the whole time, so we only spotted something off because of the sudden bend."
"And we didn't touch anything special, but the terrain changes on its own?"
"If we're splitting hairs, we did poke around. We smashed hundreds of those rock monsters."
Sachet crossed his arms in reply to Galen's question.
"Rock monsters popping out of nowhere or passages sealing and opening at random—either way, it's baffling. That's why we chalk it up to ancient magic or lost tech."
"Fair point, but..."
"No need to wrap your head around the incomprehensible. Just figure it's the ruin's defense mechanism and tackle it with experience."
"Hmph. Might actually be a good thing."
Veron flashed a sly grin.
"Way easier than blindly excavating every passage for some secret room that might not even exist. Beats following paths that open up on their own."
"...Following them won't cause issues?"
"Of course it won't be smooth sailing. Monsters will keep spawning, traps are possible. But plow through, and you'll hit the core—that's true of every ruin."
The ruin's core meant exactly that: its deepest sanctum.
Treasures were typically stored there, guarded by an especially powerful monster.
Take it down, and the ruin reverted to a mundane site. No more earthen golems emerging or paths rearranging.
In short, Veron was saying to brute-force their way straight to the boss.
"Hate agreeing with a human, but he's got a point this time."
Akanksha pursed his lips. Sachet nodded in agreement and added,
"Known fact: best way to conquer a living ruin is killing the treasure guardian."
"No helping it, then."
With even Alon on board, consensus was reached.
Lilia, who had been listening quietly until then, piped up suddenly.
"Um, but..."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"If paths keep shifting like this, couldn't it just loop you around forever? Never letting you reach the center or escape?"
"W-Well? Never heard of anything that vicious. Mazes are a pain, sure, but nothing that traps you to die..."
"If they died trapped, of course no one would know!"
"...Good point."
Akanksha faltered under her innocently sharp observation. Alon tsked and spoke up instead.
"There have to be limits, probably."
"Limits?"
"If it could reshape terrain at will perfectly, we'd have been crushed ages ago. Passages narrowing in on us."
"Ah."
"From everything known so far, the ruin itself has never directly attacked."
"Aha..."
"Feels more like the defense system lures you deeper to feed stronger monsters, rather than slowly suffocating you."
"So keep smashing through, and you'll reach the core?"
"Exactly. No need to fret. We'll guide you safely."
Lilia nodded, convinced. Galen was relieved too—it was just what he'd wanted to ask.
No option to dig their way out anyway. For now, they'd follow the ruin's lead.
The exploration team veered left.
They stepped into an uncharted new path.
On the surface, it looked almost identical to the previous stretch.
A wide passage side to side, top to bottom. Firmly packed floor, walls, and ceiling.
The only subtle change—unsure if the others sensed it too...
"Lilia."
"Yes?"
"Doesn't it feel a little thicker now?"
"That... feeling?"
"Yeah."
"Seems stronger than before. Like it was one spoonful earlier, now two?"
Lilia whispered her agreement.
The unique air of ancient ruins felt denser now.
Still faint overall, even intensified, but the two could tell the difference.
"Ruins ramp up monster strength toward the core, right? So that last passage was stage one, this stage two maybe."
"Sounds right, brother! Hm, those earthen monsters gotten tougher?"
"Earth walls blocking paths, monsters too. Whole ruin's themed around earth, probably."
"One stage up won't make them insanely stronger, right?"
"Who knows. We'll see soon—"
"Enemies ahead!"
Alon's shout cut them off—words jinxed into reality. The pair halted.
Glancing back instinctively, yep: earth rising stealthily from the floor behind them.
"Oh, definitely different."
The previous ones had oversized torsos and flimsy legs—bipedal, sure, but unmistakably monstrous.
These had balanced proportions top to bottom. Fat mannequins, almost.
Even armed. Holding shield-like things. Clay slabs or stone, whatever—they had gear.
"New form! Doll-like, stay sharp!"
The front-runners had faced upgraded versions too, apparently.
Not downgrades, so upgrades it was.
Pfwoom!
While Galen sized them up, Lilia had already dashed in and snap-kicked one to bits.
"Ow ow..."
Lilia winced, wiggling her ankle.
"Tougher than before!"
"Same old rock lumps. Shield boost defense or something?"
"Still shatters the same when the waist snaps!"
"Good to know. That's enough—come back. We're just spectators, yeah?"
Galen chuckled.
Supervisors were meant to supervise only—the Red Rock Alliance insisted on that too—so they alternated rushing attackers.
Human, earth fairy, human... next up, earth fairies.
That's what he'd figured, nice and easy.
"Uwah?!"
"Wh-What?!"
Screams erupted from the rear suddenly.
Galen whipped around, puzzled—his eyes widened.
"Huh?"
Front: four Golds leading.
Mid, a bit spaced: twenty Silvers.
Rear, further back: four supervisors.
A brawl had broken out amid the clustered Silvers.
Not infighting between the humans and earth fairies who'd been growling at each other.
They were tangled up with earthen golems.
'Breached?'
Front line of four Golds breached?
Even counting two shifting rearward, the other two pierced?
Lilia had just smashed one effortlessly? Maybe those were unfinished weaklings—completed ones super strong or—
Thoughts flashed by; Galen realized his mistake.
Shlorp!
Not the floor—the wall.
The wall bulged out, molding into a golem before his eyes.
Kaboom!
The nearly formed golem shattered apart before peeling free.
Sachet had raced to mid-row and straight-punched it.
"Don't panic!"
Akanksha bellowed, smashing a forming one on the opposite wall.
"Old-model monsters! Slow—dodge 'em! Blunt weapons, not swords! Aim waists, smash!"
In the mixed mid-section, earth fairies naturally heeded Akanksha.
Even humans wary of earth fairies weren't blockheads enough to ignore battle-saving advice.
Silvers were elite warriors outside—just sidelined as spectators here.
"Watch it there!"
"Damn, floor one's rising!"
"Clear space! Fight while falling back!"
They swung auxiliary maces instead of swords, pulverizing golems. Earth fairies favored blunts anyway with their brute strength.
Unlike steady front/back assaults before, these popped from mid-row walls—even floors—pure surprise.
Panic cleared, their skills shone. All battle-hardened veterans.
Ambush golems actually outnumbered by the team.
Leaving the now-stable mid, Akanksha and Sachet hustled rearward.
"Sorry! Ran late?"
"All good. Who could've predicted a mid-row hit?"
Galen replied coolly, gesturing to Lilia behind him.
"But we had to pitch in too—bear with us."
The earth fairies had rushed to steady mid as fast as possible.
But Lilia had already bisected five dolls by then.
Galen had switched from glove form to hurl water slugs, flattening five more.
Dolls clearly tougher than golems—Silver-rankers, maybe.
Still mere snacks for the pair.
"Ugh, we're late, no excuses... but we can't keep leaning on you two."
"Call it volunteer work."
"No, really can't. Sorry, but humans would lose it."
Akanksha let out a faint sigh, glancing at Sachet.
"Stay rear full-time?"
"Fairness gripes again. Front's tougher, true."
"Four rear bad for emergencies though..."
"Just hustle back and forth more."
Sachet sighed softly, shaking his head.
Something trivial in a unified team was grinding here.
Galen smiled faintly as he listened.
Spirit Creation Lv. 54
Progress to next level:90%
Earthen golems were just numerous annoyances.
But the dolls, stronger individually, yielded decent experience.
Not massive amounts due to the level gap, but beats the pittance from solo practice or spars.
'Holding for now, but how long?'
Team's power was solid.
But split in half, babysitting supervisors—not running smooth.
How long could this inefficiency last?
Deeper in, trickier foes ahead.
'Fewer monsters then, but elite-tier.'
Not weak swarms—potent elites.
Perfect for leveling.
"Do whatever works. Holler if you need hands."
Compensation in experience, after all.
Ah, not only that, of course.
```