60
My Villains Chapter 60
16. Missing (4)
"Ugh, damn it."
I spat out the dirt that filled my mouth along with a curse.
Then, wriggling my lower body stuck in the soil, I pulled it out and crawled forward on all fours.
Ugh, what the hell is going on? My whole body aches.
I rummaged through my bag, trying to assess the current situation.
...Right, I met the groupers and golden molly. Groupers appearing in the sewer, that never happened in the game.
Well, that's because groupers usually appear as minions of the 'Priest of the Deep Sea', the pirate gang leader. It doesn't make sense for them to show up already, right?
No, maybe it does make sense. After all, the bandits surrounding the city are all in cahoots...
Putting the groupers aside, what about golden molly?
Talk about bad luck. Among random named monsters, she's particularly rare to encounter, and yet here we are.
Ah... Come to think of it, I couldn't loot her. She must have had something useful.
Anyway, that woman pulled some trick as she was dying. A block of ice about the size of three or four queen-size beds exploded.
The explosion itself ended with just my shield and wrist getting smashed. The problem was what came after, the sudden earthquake. Was it even an earthquake? Whatever.
The explosion the golden molly caused must have triggered something wrong.
One side of the passage wall and floor collapsed, and then water gushed out in torrents, if I remember correctly.
I got caught in that rushing water and was sucked somewhere-
"Ah, right. Mr. Luke!"
I suddenly remembered Mr. Luke who got caught up in that chaos with me.
I raised my voice slightly towards the surroundings, but sadly, it seems he's not nearby.
I took out a flint and torch from my soaked bag.
Since the flint was also wet, I had to shake it vigorously, wipe it in my armpit, rub it on dry soil - going through all sorts of trouble to get rid of the moisture.
Fortunately, the torch head was tightly wrapped in several layers and made with sulfur, so it caught fire quickly.
Whoosh.
As I looked around using the torch, I was reminded of a narration from a certain game.
It was a game called 'X-ist Dungeon'. When the torch flared up, it described it as starlight blooming.
That expression fit perfectly with my current situation.
The place where I stood was a small sand dune inside a huge cavern.
Water surrounded me on all sides, and even when I held the torch high, I couldn't see the ceiling.
Just like a lonely star in the night sky, the torch alone was illuminating the surroundings.
I shone the torch on the surrounding water, but it looked murky as the sand hadn't settled yet.
Of course, I couldn't tell how deep it was or what might be living in it.
After checking the surroundings, I extinguished the torch in dry sand and wrapped it in cloth. While doing so, I muttered quietly.
"Well, I'm screwed."
Yes, it's certain.
This is the deep part of the sewer dungeon, the 'Rotting Cave'.
This place has quite a high difficulty level based on the game. Regular users need to be at least level 17 to clear it safely.
As a veteran player, I used to clear it even at levels 12 or 13, but there's no guarantee that would be possible in reality.
No, it's probably close to impossible.
This is a reality mode that far surpasses hardcore mode.
"Haah."
Where could Mr. Luke be?
Even though he's a spell user, he's an old man. I wonder if he survived this chaos?
Ellen, that troublesome one, did she escape through the secret passage?
With all those groupers gathered there, I doubt she could have gotten out easily. I'm worried she might have been swept away in this flood too.
I shouldn't have done that. I should have treated her warmly as Mr. Luke advised.
Suddenly acting cold because it felt burdensome... thinking about it now, it was a stupid thing to do. I shouldn't have done that.
I took out ointment and bandages from my bag. After carefully treating my thigh pierced by a spear, my wrist that seemed cracked, and my elbow with ice shards embedded in it, I filled my stomach.
Duck eggs and barley bread, beer diluted with water. Dry barley bread - these were the foods I had brought from the inn.
The barley bread was actually easier to eat because it was soaked in water, and the duck eggs smelled a bit funky but were still edible. The bland beer was perfect for filling the stomach.
As I move on survival instinct, I suddenly feel a sense of futility.
Without Ellen or Mr. Luke, can I get out of here alone?
Even if I do get out, can I move forward in this dog-eat-dog world after losing two companions?
"...Huu."
I rubbed my face a couple of times and got up.
I need to move quickly.
"Mmm-"
A blue light tickled her eyelids.
Ellen, frowning, opened her eyes with difficulty and discovered something floating in mid-air.
"Ugh...?"
As the girl narrowed her brows and adjusted her blurry focus, the sphere enveloped in blue light disappeared somewhere, stretching a long tail.
'...What was that?'
Even in her confusion, Ellen felt her body.
The heirloom robe and shirt, the carnation necklace hidden inside, and the pouch containing jewelry and gold coins were all in place, but her crossbow was nowhere to be seen.
The girl was lying on a dune of fine sand.
Her backpack had its bottom torn off with only tough cloth pieces remaining, but fortunately, her sling bag was intact.
Ellen rummaged through the sling bag with her injured hand and pulled out an experimental knife.
It was just a tool used as a pestle or spoon substitute, smaller than a palm with a dull blade.
But in a situation like this without a speck of light, it was an essential tool for Ellen.
"Influ-unt flammae, Tielum ensa-ra (Fire, answer, your friend calls)."
The calmly recited spell was soon completed, and using Ellen's magic as fuel, it ignited a flame.
Whoosh.
It was the 1.5 rank fire spell, 'Burning Weapon'.
Originally, this spell would completely envelop even the blade of a huge sword or axe and spew out fierce flames.
But the spell cast by Ellen now only engulfed the small blade of the experimental knife, flickering cutely.
This was enough to serve as a small oil lamp, and it also saved magic, so it wasn't bad at all.
She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but a considerable amount of her magic had recovered.
Of course, in her current situation where she knew nothing about her surroundings, she had no intention of wasting magic, not even an ant's eyeball worth.
Ellen rummaged through her sling bag and found the hourglass. Looking at the markings, about three hours had passed since she last checked. The sun would be rising outside soon.
"Ugh."
Checking the time somehow made hunger and fatigue rush in. The added weight of her battered body felt almost unbearable.
'Some magician I am, can't even properly control my own body-'
The girl who was berating herself soon sneered and shook her head. It was Ellen who had impulsively run out of the inn, unable to control even her own emotions. Suddenly, self-reproach seemed ridiculous.
Putting aside idle thoughts, Ellen began to survey her surroundings. Suddenly, she was struck by a sense of incongruity.
Although she had clearly been swept away by flowing soil, how was it that only white sand covered everything here?
How was she lying on a mound without a single injury despite having lost consciousness?
Having descended further underground from the lowest level of the sewer, how were these perfectly square stone walls surrounding her on all sides?
What about those stairs in the center of the room, and those arched passages large enough for giants to pass through?
Before she could even solve these questions, Ellen was overwhelmed by an eerie sensation.
"...What's this?"
Feeling a rush of evil energy from somewhere, the girl quickly stood up and prepared a spell.
"Puheo-eok!"
Emerging on top of the sand pile, I got up as if scraping the ground and moved away from the water's edge. Then I threw down my bag and quickly drew my falchion.
Cheng!
"Huu, huu."
Breathing heavily, I awakened the senses throughout my body.
It was a terrifying thing to face an underwater enemy in a pitch-black cave.
Although I swam away from the water with all my might as soon as I sensed the presence of a living creature, my heart was still pounding violently.
"Huu, hu-"
The rippling water surface and my rapid breathing regained stability. I pointed my sword toward the water for a long time, but nothing happened.
...Did I hear wrong? I was sure something seemed to be swimming after me.
Now, what monsters could come out of a cave?
First - 'Drowned corpse', a type of zombie.
The black slime and giant alligator I've already encountered.
Besides those, water snakes, leech golems, water striders... Ugh, just imagining them makes me want to vomit.
Whether I'm lucky or all the monsters fled due to the collapse, I've been swimming around for hours but only encountered undead drowned corpses.
Drowned corpses are low-level undead that appear in water. They're a bit dangerous when encountered in water, but on land they're not even as good as regular zombies.
Still, I can't let my guard down.
I quickly opened my bag to light a torch and took out my armor. I had kept wearing the breastplate and helmet, but I had temporarily taken off the other parts because they were cumbersome while swimming.
"Ugh."
Geez, these armors aren't even ten days old, but they've become like rags.
It's quite a task to put them on as they're dented, cracked, and torn all over.
I struggled to put on the armor and then draped a black half-cloak over my left shoulder.
The ground I stepped on this time seemed quite large. Maybe I could find a way up...
"...Hmm."
As I looked around holding the torch, this place was certainly unique.
The first thing that caught my eye was the square elevated ground in the center. It wasn't a simple mound of dirt like the other hillocks around.
It was firmly packed ground, and broken bricks were visible in places where it had been dug up.
On three sides of the elevated ground were low sandy beaches, with mounds of dirt piled up here and there.
On the hillocks, which seemed both artificially piled and naturally formed, there were several bony footprints.
I wondered who those footprints belonged to, but soon I encountered a group of drowned corpses.
On land, they're not even as good as regular zombies, so I could easily sweep them away.
Where did all the other monsters go, leaving only these guys? Well, I suppose it's better than sweating profusely against a formidable enemy.
One side of the elevated ground was a steep cliff. The surrounding water was just stagnant, neither having waves nor flowing in one direction.
So this cliff didn't seem to have formed naturally.
As I was thinking about climbing up the elevated ground, I discovered something I never expected.
"This is!"
As I dusted off the dirt, a smooth bronze body was revealed.
It's Ellen's crossbow. Although the string is broken, the stock, body, and trigger all seem intact.
Was this originally here? I'm sure I didn't see it when I passed by earlier-
Ugh, suddenly my heart is racing. No, it's beating so fast that it feels like it might jump out of my throat.
If this crossbow didn't fall here alone during the earthquake, Ellen must be here. Or, was here.
Ugh, don't think ominous thoughts!
After shaking my head vigorously, I immediately started climbing the elevated ground. As the gentle slope gradually became steeper, brick stairs came into view.
"...Huh?"
Wait. This looks strangely familiar?
This is the 'Altar', a random encounter in the ‘Rotting Cave'!
'Random encounter' literally means various events you face as you progress through the game.
You rarely encounter them in the main scenario's terrain, and mostly meet them in terrains like the ‘Rotting Cave' that you don't necessarily have to progress through.
Depending on the nature of the encounter, you might get free experience points or items, but usually you face dangerous challenges with corresponding rewards.
The 'Altar' in front of me now is a typical high-risk, high-return encounter.
Even when enjoying the game, I used to skip it unless I was quite confident in my specs. It's an encounter with extreme difficulty.
Uh- wait, hold on.
The randomly named monsters I've met so far were 'groupers' and 'golden molly'. But the first random encounter is the 'Altar'...? Are you out of your mind?
Is this world perhaps filled with only the worst random elements?
If that's really the case, I'm going to tear that Trickster bastard limb from limb.
Trying to shake off the anxiety that sent chills down my spine, I hurriedly climbed the stairs.