Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Magic Genius with Korean Patch
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Rumble!
A voice that echoed through the entire cavern accompanied by vibrations shaking the ruins—the source was none other than the outskirts of the cavern.
The ground on the cavern's outskirts began to rise one by one like spikes.
"W-What's that!?"
"The passage! The passage is getting blocked!"
"Everyone, don't panic! Hold your positions! Prepare for any contingencies!"
Moreover, one of the spikes rising from the ground had blocked the entrance to the corridor through which the expedition had entered.
The expedition, caught off guard by the sudden change the moment they reached the central platform, showed signs of bewilderment.
But since they were experienced, they only panicked without acting rashly, whereas the slaves, for whom this was a first, began flailing about in full-blown panic.
"I-It’s a trap! A trap!"
"We're all gonna die!"
"Uwaaaak! Uwaaaaak!"
The entrance was sealed, and the source of the echoing voice couldn't be found.
No, in the first place, Jeon was the only one who could understand what the echoing voice was saying.
Thus, to everyone else but Jeon, the voice didn't sound like a warning but like a ghost's whisper or an ominous incantation chanting some curse.
As a result, the inexperienced slaves fell into panic in an instant and started running around in search of an escape.
"Don't move on your own! I said don't move!"
"You damn slave bastards! Stay put! Hold your positions!"
From the expedition members to Slave Overseer Jimmy, they spat curses while trying to control the slaves, but their words fell on deaf ears.
And as if reacting to the slaves' movements, the cavern-shaking voice echoed once more.
Rumble rumble!
A voice even more solemn than before echoed, and the entire ruins shook once again.
This change occurred from the spikes encircling the outskirts and the central platform.
"G-G-Giant!?"
The rock spikes gradually changed shape, transforming into massive statues resembling giants.
At the same time, the terrain around the central platform rose, producing identical statues.
Dozens of statues, each twice the size of an adult male, instantly filled the empty cavern.
Moreover, as soon as the giant-shaped statues took form, they moved swiftly, beginning to surround the expedition.
Caught between the statues from the central platform and those from the outskirts, the expedition was suddenly trapped with no way forward or back.
"T-The statues are moving!?"
"This is insane...!"
"Everyone hold your positions! Scattering will just get you killed!"
In response to the sudden change, the expedition members panicked but hastily assumed combat stances.
Even so, Jeon could clearly see the fear in their eyes.
'This much?'
These were the expedition members who had massacred the monsters they encountered on the way here.
Yet here they were, thrown into such disarray.
The oppressive presence of these suddenly appearing statues was no joke.
'How dangerous a seal is this?'
At this point, Jeon couldn't help but wonder just how perilous the sealed thing here must be to warrant such extreme security measures.
The murals he had read on the way felt like mere ancient tales, giving no sense of the magnitude of what lay dormant.
And that curiosity drew Jeon's gaze to the small box on the platform.
Jeon flinched.
The voice came the instant his gaze reached the box.
'What is this?'
Hearing the voice, Jeon questioned in his mind as he stared at the box.
It was definitely different from the voice echoing through the cavern.
'The language is different too.'
The voice from the box used a language similar yet somehow distinct from the echoing one.
Then, the voice came from the box again.
Though it was a small whisper, the voice from the box reached Jeon's ears clearly, unaffected by the surrounding noise.
Jeon quickly scanned his surroundings at the continuing voice.
But no one else seemed to notice it—either they couldn't hear it, or they couldn't understand it.
"Uwaaaak! S-S-Save me!"
"R-R-Run!"
"Captain! What do we do!?"
"Grab the box quick and get out!"
"But the statues have the platform surrounded...!"
Slaves and expedition members alike were just staring at the moving statues in a frenzy.
The only silver lining was that the statues hadn't attacked yet.
At that moment, the voice from the box grew even clearer, ringing in Jeon's ears.
'It's... looking at me?'
Moreover, as if recognizing Jeon's presence, he felt like the mere object—the box—was gazing at him.
While Jeon hesitated in that eerie sensation, the statues surrounding the expedition began to move.
However, rather than a full assault, they only approached threateningly.
The cavern-shaking voice returned.
It was clearly giving one more chance, but the problem was that no one in the expedition except Jeon could understand it.
"Damn it! Grab the box before these things go all out!"
"Yes!"
Not understanding the words, the expedition saw this as their chance to seize the treasure and charged toward the box in sync with the statues' movements.
Crash!
A thunderous voice shook the cavern, and the statues immediately charged at the expedition.
"You damn rock bastards!"
"We can't take them all! Grab the box and bail!"
The expedition charged back at the oncoming statues, unleashing the prowess that had slaughtered the monsters on their way here.
Light flashed from the knights' sword tips, fire erupted from the mages' staves.
But their flashy skills left not even a scratch on the statues.
They merely made the statues pause for a moment.
"W-What is this!?"
"No way!"
"Impossible!?"
Given the number of statues, the expedition had expected they couldn't defeat them all.
But no one had imagined they couldn't even scratch them, so their faces filled with horror.
And then the statues' attacks rained down on them.
Unlike the expedition's flashy prowess, it was a simple punch from stone fists.
Yet not a single expedition member could block it.
Boom! Crunch!
One punch turned knights and mages into pulp.
Overwhelming force.
And that force mercilessly struck not just the expedition but also the slaves fleeing in all directions.
"Kuaaaak!"
"Aaaak!"
"S-Save...!"
Thud! Thud! Thuuud!
Screams erupted everywhere with each punch and stomp from the statues.
But amid the chaos, Jeon was still alive and unscathed.
By sheer luck?
Or because Jeon was exceptionally quick?
Neither.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
"Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah!"
"Heok! Heok! Heok!"
By following the voice that only whispered in Jeon's ears, he cleverly dodged the statues' attacks.
'What the hell is this?'
His heart felt like it would burst as he ran with all his might, but Jeon's movements weren't particularly fast.
Not among the expedition members, nor even the slaves.
Yet by following the whispering voice in his ear, he evaded the attacks.
And with that, Jeon was steadily getting closer to the platform.
'Is it right to go?'
The voice only he could hear.
It was keeping him alive, but Jeon couldn't decide if blindly approaching the box was wise.
'It could be a trap too.'
Unlike the merciless killer statues, but the voice might have its own agenda.
If another trap awaited there, Jeon had no means to escape it.
In other words, he might be heading straight into a trap right now.
Thud! Splatter!
But such thoughts scattered from his mind amid the explosions nearby and the spray of blood and flesh.
"...?"
A statue's fist had slammed quite close, splattering blood and flesh onto Jeon's face.
The unfamiliar, gruesome sensation of others' blood and flesh on his skin snapped Jeon out of his immersion in thought.
And only then did he take in the horrific surroundings.
Unrecognizable, pulped corpses littered the area, mingled with faces Jeon knew well.
"Kuaaaak!"
"J-Jeon...? Jeon, s-save...!"
"Ga...ron? Tuk Tribe... people?"
Garon, recognizing Jeon with only his upper body left after his lower half was blasted away; Tuk Tribe corpses identifiable only by their builds; and countless others screaming, awaiting imminent death.
Until now, focused solely on the voice in his ear and dodging fists, the reality hadn't sunk in—but now it did, skin-deep.
"...Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Just moments ago, acquaintances lay pulped around him, their numbers growing.
The most horrific scene of his past life combined—an utter hellscape.
Facing this reality anew, Jeon looked once more at the box on the platform.
The voice, now seeming even clearer, commanded Jeon once more.
If he didn't follow, he'd end up no different from those around him.
In short, if he didn't want to die right now, running with all his might as the voice directed was his only option.
"Fuck! Heok! Heok! Fuck, fuck!"
No other choice.
Realizing that, Jeon ran with everything he had.
But even as he did, his eyes never left the box on the platform.
The closer he got, the more details invisible from afar came into view.
'Maybe, just maybe, there's a chance.'
A faint sliver of possibility, however slim.
What Jeon was looking at was the box on the platform.
More precisely, faint letters engraved on its surface—still indistinct from distance but growing clearer as he approached.