Chapter 349: The Hidden Place on the 19th Floor (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 349: The Hidden Place on the 19th Floor (3)
Thousands of caves existed within the ruins of the 19th Floor.
A labyrinth where no one knew which path led where.
Getting lost here meant certain death, wandering endlessly in the dark forever.
Crunch.
Jinhyuk quickened his pace.
Hastings...
Now that Uasis's clan members outside the ruins had been slaughtered, there was no time to hesitate.
The rest of the party knew this as well, so they picked up their speed.
But then.
"Wait!"
Jinhyuk, who had been running like mad, suddenly came to a dead stop.
"What is it?"
Uasis perked up her ears.
"There are monsters ahead. A swarm... easily over a hundred."
"I don't feel any mana signatures, yet there are monsters?"
Teresa focused her senses and scanned the surroundings.
However, nothing caught her perception.
"They're in a semi-hibernation state, so they won't register on mana detection. But if we get within a certain distance, they'll all wake up and attack."
Jinhyuk knew of creatures with these exact traits.
Black Scorpions.
They were over five meters tall and incredibly fast.
On top of that, the venom in their tails was so potent that even the 'Blessing of the Stars' would struggle to cure it.
This meant they were on a completely different level of trouble compared to the sandworms they had just fought.
And there were over a hundred of them.
Even if they managed to break through, it would undoubtedly cost them precious time.
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"We'll have to... take a detour."
Jinhyuk glanced at the side of the passage.
"Don't tell me you're planning to dig a path with a pickaxe? That would take ages."
"Don't worry. It's nothing like that."
Jinhyuk slowly approached the wall.
Brush.
He brushed his palm against the side.
He felt the cold touch of the earth.
"This is no time to—!"
"Shh. Just wait. A little longer."
Jinhyuk focused his mind.
How much time had passed?
Jinhyuk, who had been backtracking slightly, stopped once more.
"Found it. Right here."
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary wall that anyone would pass by without a second thought.
But that was merely an optical illusion created by cleverly overlapping shadows.
Looking closely, there was a gap just wide enough for a single person to squeeze through.
"I'll go in first, so follow right behind me. The rest of you too."
As Jinhyuk slowly vanished into the crevice, gasps of admiration escaped the lips of those watching.
"Ah..."
"To think there was a place like this..."
"I've been here countless times, but I had absolutely no idea."
Even Uasis stared at the spot where Jinhyuk had disappeared, her eyes wide with surprise.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
The interior was far more humid than before.
A musty, long-stagnant odor assaulted their noses.
I wanted to avoid this place if possible...
Jinhyuk had known about this passage, but he hadn't mentioned it.
Of all the paths leading to the Dunes of the Sun, this was the most dangerous and troublesome.
Still.
If they wanted to make it through within the time limit, this was their only option.
And since they had decided to come here anyway, there was something he needed to do.
[Unique Ability 'Primordial Flame' has been activated!]
Along the tip of Fang, red flames flared up.
The darkness receded, illuminating their surroundings.
Whoosh!
A massive cavern carpeted in white sand.
A strange sense of foreboding prickled every nerve in his body.
"From here on out, it's riddled with traps. I could explain what comes from where one by one, but that would eat up way too much time."
"So in the end, we just have to follow your lead."
"Exactly. You all have excellent physical abilities, so just step exactly where I step and follow me."
"Damn it. I feel like whenever I'm with you, I only end up suffering."
Cheon Yu-seong grumbled as he pulled out the protective gear he had tucked into his coat.
Clank!
Clatter!
Teresa also stripped off the armor she was wearing.
It was to make herself as light as possible to move quickly.
The three of them, now in slightly lighter attire, took their stances.
It's been a while since I've been here, so I'm a bit tense.
If they took a wrong turn and woke up the sleeping beast, they would face a situation where fighting a hundred Black Scorpions would actually be the preferable option.
If I knew things would turn out like this...
I should have bought a few items privately through Rick.
As a merchant guild master, Rick surely would have had artifacts imbued with weight-reduction and presence-concealment magic.
I have no choice but to be as careful as possible.
Jinhyuk concentrated mana into his legs.
Hummmmm!
As the 'Domain of Wind' and 'Sword Demon's Heavenly Steps' activated simultaneously...
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept across the sand.
Swiftly.
Yet lightly.
Jinhyuk dashed across the sand, retracing his past memories.
The others followed, stepping precisely where Jinhyuk had stepped.
But then.
Sink!
An ominous sound echoed.
Uasis, who was running at the very back, had her hooves sink too deep into the sand.
Crunch!
The sound of crushing sand grains reverberated through the cavern.
And at that exact moment.
Rumbleeee!
The ground shook violently.
The white grains parted to the left and right, and the entire cave began to shriek as if it were about to collapse.
"U... Uasis?"
"I-I'm so sorry. I'm too heavy. I should have gone on a diet..."
Even if she was a delicate deer, a deer was still a deer.
Given her physical build, weighing well over 100 kilograms, it was practically impossible for her not to leave a trace on the sand.
[The Master of the Passage awakens!]
[Due to the extreme level difference, the 'Fear' effect is triggered!]
[The levels of all players and residents decrease by 10!]
Red status windows popped up one after another.
What emerged from the sand was a monster so massive that "gigantic" was the only word to describe it.
An insect over fifteen meters tall rose like a skyscraper in the middle of the cavern.
The Named Guardian, 'Antlion'.
A trap-type monster that hid in the dunes to devour its prey.
"Dangerous. Survival probability is under 2%."
Frey drew her short spear.
"...Tch."
"So we couldn't avoid a fight after all."
Cheon Yu-seong and Teresa also drew their weapons with grim expressions.
The Antlion looked down.
As if selecting who to devour first.
And the moment its decision was made, its bright yellow eyes locked onto Cheon Yu-seong.
"Kieeeek!"
Its jaws parted, revealing dozens of teeth, and a purple fluid erupted from the Antlion's mouth.
It was an acidic liquid capable of instantly dissolving prey into juice.
The widely sprayed fluid rained down directly toward Cheon Yu-seong.
...It was fast.
Ssssshh!
The acid melted the sand in an instant.
Of course.
Cheon Yu-seong had already narrowly escaped the spot.
"Tch! We tried to avoid wild dogs only to walk straight into a tiger's den."
Hummmm!
His sword, enhanced by the 'Song of the Sword'.
A brilliant blue aura flared up.
Quickly leaping onto the Antlion's body, Cheon Yu-seong swung his sword in a wide arc.
The Soul-Chasing Sword Dance unfolded across the Antlion's carapace.
Clang! Clang! Screeech!
The blade tore through the outer shell, carving deep into the flesh beneath.
No matter how high-level a monster was, it couldn't withstand sword aura with its bare flesh.
The problem was...
"Huh?"
Because of its sheer size, a wound of that scale could hardly be considered fatal.
"Kieeeeee!"
The Antlion let out a long roar.
It moved with surprising speed, completely defying its massive bulk.
Rumbleeee!
The sand parted like the Red Sea.
Its full-body charge seemed poised to pulverize anything in its path.
"Get out of the way!"
But even dodging was no easy feat, as the area of its charge was absurdly wide.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
A deep trench formed wherever the Antlion passed.
Cheon Yu-seong kicked off the sand and leaped to the side.
"Ugh!"
His posture broke.
And that opening...
...the predator did not miss.
"Kieeeeeee!"
With another sharp screech, the Antlion's body plowed through the sand.
Even if he unleashed the Soul-Chasing Sword to its absolute limit, he couldn't block that attack.
It was too late to dodge.
Right then.
"...I will stop it."
Before anyone could stop her, Frey stepped forward.
BOOM!
The forehead of the charging Antlion, hurtling forward at terrifying speed...
...was stopped dead in its tracks by the arm of a fragile-looking girl.
The pin holding her blue hair back shattered, unable to withstand the impact.
Creaaaak...
As the two forces locked in a tense struggle, a bizarre, resonant hum vibrated through the air.
It was a stark reminder of why she was called the ultimate weapon created from the Philosopher's Stone.
However.
The deadlock did not last long.
Annoyed by the persistent resistance of its prey, the Antlion began to unleash its mana in earnest.
[The Antlion activates its unique ability, 'Ant Hell'!]
The moment its prey had been upgraded to a troublesome 'enemy'.
Sink.
Their legs sank into the ground.
Ant Hell.
An anti-army, wide-area skill that sucked in everything on the sand.
Submerged in the sand, all their movements would be restricted.
They would literally be like rats trapped in a jar.
"I-I can't move."
"Survival probability... under 0.01%."
"Damn it, do something! I refuse to have a desert funeral!"
Drip.
Drool dripped from the Antlion's mouth.
At the same time, its massive body slowly sank back into the sand.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
Good.
Jinhyuk watched as he sank up to his waist.
Honestly, he hadn't expected Uasis, a dryad, to slip through undetected.
Even so, the reason he had pushed for this route anyway was...
...because he knew a way to escape even if they woke the beast.
In fact, the activation of 'Ant Hell' only increased their chances.
I can save time, and on top of that, I can make Uasis owe me a favor.
She looked devastated, unable to bear the thought that everyone was in danger because of her mistake.
Tears welled up in her large eyes, looking ready to spill over at any moment.
Plus, he had gotten to gauge Frey's instantaneous physical strength, so it was truly killing two birds with one stone.
"Everyone, calm down. It's not over yet."
Jinhyuk spoke calmly.
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yeah. There's something worth trying. It's just..."
His voice trailed off slightly.
At that, Cheon Yu-seong shook his head vigorously, as if he had just touched a boiling kettle.
"I'm not doing it. Absolutely not."
"I haven't even said anything yet."
"It's obvious. You're either going to tell me to act as bait while you do something, or ask me to sacrifice myself. I already know your specialty is sweet-talking people into marching straight to their deaths."
As the saying goes, even a school dog can recite poetry after three years.
By now, it seemed even this guy knew exactly what his future held when dealing with Jinhyuk.
"I'll do it. Though the survival probability is 0%."
Frey nodded slightly.
As if she didn't even comprehend what death meant, her expressionless face showed no emotion whatsoever.
She probably had no agency of her own other than to follow orders.
But the thing was...
"No."
Jinhyuk drew his scythe made of Ghost Tree.
"I'm the one who's going to be the bait."
Besides escaping, there was one more thing he needed to do.
And to test it...
...it was best to have as few eyes on him as possible.