Chapter 81: Sewerage (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Sewerage (2)
"Rotmiller, can you sense whoever is inside?" I asked.
"The smell of filth is too strong to tell who it is."
"I see. Then I will go down first, so follow after me when I give the signal."
The pit was about sixteen feet deep and reminiscent of a water tank. With the shield on my back, I quickly descended the creaking ladder. When I gave them the hand signal, the rest of the group followed suit.
"This is a bit creepy." Once our line of sight was illuminated by the torch, a passage that we couldn't see from above, thanks to the angle, became visible. "From now on, you take the lead," I muttered quietly so as not to make a sound, and placed the prisoner up front. Then, holding the rope, I proceeded down the passageway.
About a minute later, I saw bodies piled up like sacks of clothes.
Fuck...
The dozens of corpses were in the form of mummies, like Hanson, who had been drained of life. No wonder the smell of rot was especially bad here.
"U-Uh... what is...?" Considering the bewildered look on my guide's face, it didn't seem like this place was originally like this.
"Be quiet and keep moving." Since he had stopped, I gave him a shove in the back and kept walking forward. However, I kept all my senses on high alert so that I could respond to anything that came our way immediately. Which was why I was able to react in time.
Clink.
There was a mechanical click right before a faint light began to leak through the pile of corpses, and an imposing voice echoed through the tunnel.
"Saveum, Bania, Hartia."
I didn't need to hear anything else. This was one of the trap-type skills possessed by the priests of Karui. Because of its unique sound effect, it was usually called "Sabaha" for short.
[You have entered the radius of Call of the Evil God.]
Fuck, was this a trap?
"Get back!" As I warned my teammates, I tugged on the rope with my hand and pulled the man toward me. The reason was simple. Sabaha was not a skill that could be blocked with physical resistance or a lithinum shield.
"Eh, huh?" The man I was holding in my hand in place of a shield made a stupid sound.
Right at that moment, hundreds of banshee-like ghosts poured out from the other side of the tunnel.
"Agh! Aaaah!" Seeing this, the prisoner screamed and began to struggle, but I did not loosen my grip and hid as much of myself behind the man as possible. I was glad this guy was tall. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for me to get out with the amount of damage I did.
[You have absorbed 102 ghosts. Dark Resistance is above the specified threshold. The effects are reduced by 30%. Dark Resistance has temporarily decreased your maximum HP by 29%.]
Life drained from my body like there was a hole somewhere that it was leaking from. My skin grew dry like that of a person who had not had water for several days.
Missha was the first to notice the changes in me. "B-Bjorn, are you all rrright?" She immediately ran toward me to look me over. I stopped her from trying to get me to immediately drink a potion and straightened up from my crouch. My muscles ached from holding myself so tensely.
Fuck, I almost died there.
Call of the Evil God was a trap-type skill that caused hundreds of souls to rush in a designated direction when activated. Its key feature was that the affected person's Maximum HP decreased by the number of times their soul got hit. Naturally, if your maximum dropped to zero, you died instantly, just like the guy dangling in my grip here.
"Are you guys all right?" I asked.
"We're okay thanks to you blocking the attack from the front. Anyway, that man... is he dead?"
I didn't have to answer. It would have been incredibly impressive if he had somehow survived with nothing but bones and a hide left.
As soon as I set down the man I was holding tightly in my hand, I heard Hikurod faintly mutter, "...This may not be the best thing to say right now, but it was a good thing to place that guy at the front."
Agreed, and I was not ashamed of that fact. We were merciless adventurers.
"What are you going to do? If there's another one of those attacks, going any further will be too dangerous."
After a moment's consideration, I made a decision. "We'll keep going."
There were several material requirements for triggering Call of the Evil God, mostly human lifeforce. There were a lot of corpses around, but it still wasn't hundreds, so this must have been a one-time activation.
Besides, if we don't take care of her now, it'll just cause trouble later.
I had nothing to back that up but a feeling.
Just as I was about to get moving, the dwarf handed me something. "It's nothing important, but when I dug through his belongings, I found this." It was the identity card of the man who had been turned into a mummy. I didn't know why the fugitive had been carrying an ID, but... "You can submit it to the administrative office when you go to pick up the additional pay later...Wait, why does your face look like that?"
After checking the ID, I was stunned. Hans Marcom. He was a Hans too? Dang, now I was getting worried.
***
After walking about twenty steps, I came to the hiding place that Hans E had spoken of. It was better furnished than I had expected. There was a makeshift bed, a table with leftover bread and coffee on it, and even a candlestick hanging on the wall. Except...
"Hahaha, no one's here."
"Hmm, I think she either left this place altogether or is away for the time being."
No other presence could be sensed inside. It wasn't like there was any place to hide, either.
"Stay vigilant. She could be hiding." I looked around and searched the area thoroughly, checking under the bed, under the table, and even the wall for any hiding places. I did a close investigation for about five minutes, but made no significant gains—at least until Dwalkie used his magic.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-8 supplemental spell Mana Detection.]
Mana Detection: an investigation-type spell that made apparent anything that contained additional mana. "How does it look?" I asked.
"It's hard to say."
"How so?"
"There is something faintly magical about the floor here... but it's too faint. To the extent that I may even be mistaken."
I checked the patch of the floor Dwalkie was pointing to. Since I was not a wizard, I didn't see anything strange. There wasn't even a slight flaw or anything. "Is there any way to use a spell here to learn more?"
"No. I can only guess, though, that this magic is hiding something underneath it."
"I see."
Upon receiving an answer to my single question, I immediately lifted my mace.
Seeing that, Hikurod asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm slamming it down."
"...Slamming it down?"
"Are you guys all right?" I asked.
"We're okay thanks to you blocking the attack from the front. Anyway, that man... is he dead?"
I didn't have to answer. It would have been incredibly impressive if he had somehow survived with nothing but bones and a hide left.
As soon as I set down the man I was holding tightly in my hand, I heard Hikurod faintly mutter, "...This may not be the best thing to say right now, but it was a good thing to place that guy at the front."
Agreed, and I was not ashamed of that fact. We were merciless adventurers.
"What are you going to do? If there's another one of those attacks, going any further will be too dangerous."
After a moment's consideration, I made a decision. "We'll keep going."
There were several material requirements for triggering Call of the Evil God, mostly human lifeforce. There were a lot of corpses around, but it still wasn't hundreds, so this must have been a one-time activation.
Besides, if we don't take care of her now, it'll just cause trouble later.
I had nothing to back that up but a feeling.
Just as I was about to get moving, the dwarf handed me something. "It's nothing important, but when I dug through his belongings, I found this." It was the identity card of the man who had been turned into a mummy. I didn't know why the fugitive had been carrying an ID, but... "You can submit it to the administrative office when you go to pick up the additional pay later...Wait, why does your face look like that?"
After checking the ID, I was stunned. Hans Marcom. He was a Hans too? Dang, now I was getting worried.
***
After walking about twenty steps, I came to the hiding place that Hans E had spoken of. It was better furnished than I had expected. There was a makeshift bed, a table with leftover bread and coffee on it, and even a candlestick hanging on the wall. Except...
"Hahaha, no one's here."
"Hmm, I think she either left this place altogether or is away for the time being."
No other presence could be sensed inside. It wasn't like there was any place to hide, either.
"Stay vigilant. She could be hiding." I looked around and searched the area thoroughly, checking under the bed, under the table, and even the wall for any hiding places. I did a close investigation for about five minutes, but made no significant gains—at least until Dwalkie used his magic.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-8 supplemental spell Mana Detection.]
Mana Detection: an investigation-type spell that made apparent anything that contained additional mana. "How does it look?" I asked.
"It's hard to say."
"How so?"
"There is something faintly magical about the floor here... but it's too faint. To the extent that I may even be mistaken."
I checked the patch of the floor Dwalkie was pointing to. Since I was not a wizard, I didn't see anything strange. There wasn't even a slight flaw or anything. "Is there any way to use a spell here to learn more?"
"No. I can only guess, though, that this magic is hiding something underneath it."
"I see."
Upon receiving an answer to my single question, I immediately lifted my mace.
Seeing that, Hikurod asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm slamming it down."
"...Slamming it down?"
I didn't answer this time. Well, if our magical means were exhausted, it was time to use physical means, like a barbarian.
Bam!
The moment my mace (which was double the price and size of the last one) hit the floor, the ground shook.
However, that was all.
"Bjorn, magical devices cannot be opened that way," scolded Dwalkie, who was watching me, but I silently continued my macing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Perhaps because it was made of steel, the mace was completely fine after being slammed into the ground. The floor was a little dented, of course, but there were no major changes there either.
"That's enough," said Hikurod. "Dwalkie already told you. This method..."
I removed my breastplate, shoes, and helmet, and even set down the backpack I was carrying. Everyone looked at me as if to say, "What's he doing all of a sudden?"
[You have cast Giantization. Your Threat Level and Physical Attributes increase in proportion to your increase in size.]
As my body doubled in size, my strength increased accordingly. The dwarf continued to spit out unhelpful advice, though. "Even if you do that, without magic, it's—"
Impossible? As an expert in this game and a currently active barbarian, I still found that hard to accept. If I couldn't break something with force, it was simply because I lacked the power to do so.
Banggg!
Oh, except for ghosts, of course.
"Wow, so it is possible," Missha gaped.
"Dwalkie, what happened? Didn't you clearly say it's not?"
"Uh, that's... I'm not sure, either. How did he do that...?"
Dismissing everyone's comments, I checked the floor. Now that I had hit it a couple of times, light was leaking out from cracks in the surface. On the third hit, I was surprised to find a staircase under the smashed-up hole. "Hidden stairs, in these sewers?"
The staircase was so long that even if you held the torch inside, you wouldn't be able to see the end of it. It felt like a path to the underworld.
"We're not going down there, right...?" Missha looked at me with reluctance. To be honest, I didn't like it, either. This bunker was being used as a hiding place, so I figured this cavity would only be big enough to hide a body.
But what's this, now?
Despite feeling like I'd gotten caught up in something troublesome, I was also a little curious. That was because the sewer itself was a no-go zone in the game. Of course, I had no intention of risking my life for curiosity.
"Bjorn, I can faintly pick up the woman's scent coming from down there," announced Brown.
"What?"
"It's clear she passed through this place. And not too long ago, either."
Fuck, what should I do? Should I just turn back here and let the authorities figure it out on their own? My worries intensified. Therefore, I asked for Brown's opinion too. "Rotmiller, what do you think? Would it be better to retreat here?"
"...Just a brief look around should be fine. I can't pick up the scent of anyone other than that woman down there." That was a slightly surprising answer. Was that a little too conspicuous? Brown chuckled and added, "For some reason, I have a feeling that it won't be too dangerous."
Well, the Sixth Sense stat was backing him up. So, though he had no clear evidence, I heeded his words.
I mean, the hit rate is higher than I thought.
In fact, Brown very accurately sensed him when Hans E had been hiding. Hadn't he also been reluctant to come to this hideout? If he had sensed the danger from the trap in advance, it made sense that he was the only one to oppose our decision to come despite a majority vote.
Sixth Sense, huh? That may be a better stat than I thought.
Soon, I came to a decision. "Rotmiller, you take the lead from now on. If you feel like something is wrong, we'll turn back right away." Brown's senses were quite reliable.
***
"Vice captain, the door has been destroyed."
The man frowned at his subordinate's report. Thousands of years ago, before Rafdonia, an underground shelter had been created. It had been the castle of a mere lord and was built up to what it was today—the city of Noark. Most of the entrances to this place were guarded by members who were standing watch at all times.
"The door was destroyed? Could it be an attack from the royal family?"
"The probability of that has been determined to be low."
"...Give me details."
At the urging of the vice captain, the subordinate hurriedly explained. "Upon inspection, it was a gate that had been forgotten after the Karui incident. I looked over the last scouting report, which stated that it was being used as a hiding place for a single vagrant."
"Hmm." The man rubbed his chin. It was an old habit of his that came out whenever he was troubled. "There is no reason for the royal family to bother us now, but... Still, it's obviously an intruder, so we'll need to check it out."
"Yes, sir. Which unit would you like to contact?"
"Is there any reason to send troops?" the vice captain asked the woman next to him. She had been conversing with him until his subordinate came in to give him this report, talking about a barbarian she let go a while back who had apparently become a famous adventurer in the city. Unfortunately, the interesting conversation had been interrupted in the middle. "Amelia, if you went, you could quietly deal with whoever this is yourself. Will you go check it out for us?"
The rest of the story could be finished later.
I didn't answer this time. Well, if our magical means were exhausted, it was time to use physical means, like a barbarian.
Bam!
The moment my mace (which was double the price and size of the last one) hit the floor, the ground shook.
However, that was all.
"Bjorn, magical devices cannot be opened that way," scolded Dwalkie, who was watching me, but I silently continued my macing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Perhaps because it was made of steel, the mace was completely fine after being slammed into the ground. The floor was a little dented, of course, but there were no major changes there either.
"That's enough," said Hikurod. "Dwalkie already told you. This method..."
I removed my breastplate, shoes, and helmet, and even set down the backpack I was carrying. Everyone looked at me as if to say, "What's he doing all of a sudden?"
[You have cast Giantization. Your Threat Level and Physical Attributes increase in proportion to your increase in size.]
As my body doubled in size, my strength increased accordingly. The dwarf continued to spit out unhelpful advice, though. "Even if you do that, without magic, it's—"
Impossible? As an expert in this game and a currently active barbarian, I still found that hard to accept. If I couldn't break something with force, it was simply because I lacked the power to do so.
Banggg!
Oh, except for ghosts, of course.
"Wow, so it is possible," Missha gaped.
"Dwalkie, what happened? Didn't you clearly say it's not?"
"Uh, that's... I'm not sure, either. How did he do that...?"
Dismissing everyone's comments, I checked the floor. Now that I had hit it a couple of times, light was leaking out from cracks in the surface. On the third hit, I was surprised to find a staircase under the smashed-up hole. "Hidden stairs, in these sewers?"
The staircase was so long that even if you held the torch inside, you wouldn't be able to see the end of it. It felt like a path to the underworld.
"We're not going down there, right...?" Missha looked at me with reluctance. To be honest, I didn't like it, either. This bunker was being used as a hiding place, so I figured this cavity would only be big enough to hide a body.
But what's this, now?
Despite feeling like I'd gotten caught up in something troublesome, I was also a little curious. That was because the sewer itself was a no-go zone in the game. Of course, I had no intention of risking my life for curiosity.
"Bjorn, I can faintly pick up the woman's scent coming from down there," announced Brown.
"What?"
"It's clear she passed through this place. And not too long ago, either."
Fuck, what should I do? Should I just turn back here and let the authorities figure it out on their own? My worries intensified. Therefore, I asked for Brown's opinion too. "Rotmiller, what do you think? Would it be better to retreat here?"
"...Just a brief look around should be fine. I can't pick up the scent of anyone other than that woman down there." That was a slightly surprising answer. Was that a little too conspicuous? Brown chuckled and added, "For some reason, I have a feeling that it won't be too dangerous."
Well, the Sixth Sense stat was backing him up. So, though he had no clear evidence, I heeded his words.
I mean, the hit rate is higher than I thought.
In fact, Brown very accurately sensed him when Hans E had been hiding. Hadn't he also been reluctant to come to this hideout? If he had sensed the danger from the trap in advance, it made sense that he was the only one to oppose our decision to come despite a majority vote.
Sixth Sense, huh? That may be a better stat than I thought.
Soon, I came to a decision. "Rotmiller, you take the lead from now on. If you feel like something is wrong, we'll turn back right away." Brown's senses were quite reliable.
***
"Vice captain, the door has been destroyed."
The man frowned at his subordinate's report. Thousands of years ago, before Rafdonia, an underground shelter had been created. It had been the castle of a mere lord and was built up to what it was today—the city of Noark. Most of the entrances to this place were guarded by members who were standing watch at all times.
"The door was destroyed? Could it be an attack from the royal family?"
"The probability of that has been determined to be low."
"...Give me details."
At the urging of the vice captain, the subordinate hurriedly explained. "Upon inspection, it was a gate that had been forgotten after the Karui incident. I looked over the last scouting report, which stated that it was being used as a hiding place for a single vagrant."
"Hmm." The man rubbed his chin. It was an old habit of his that came out whenever he was troubled. "There is no reason for the royal family to bother us now, but... Still, it's obviously an intruder, so we'll need to check it out."
"Yes, sir. Which unit would you like to contact?"
"Is there any reason to send troops?" the vice captain asked the woman next to him. She had been conversing with him until his subordinate came in to give him this report, talking about a barbarian she let go a while back who had apparently become a famous adventurer in the city. Unfortunately, the interesting conversation had been interrupted in the middle. "Amelia, if you went, you could quietly deal with whoever this is yourself. Will you go check it out for us?"
The rest of the story could be finished later.