The Guide from the Underworld
The rhythmic clink of metal rang out steadily.
A dwarf with orange-toned skin swung his pickaxe without pause.
— He looks remarkably similar to the species known as dwarves.
“That’s because they’re basically cousins,” I replied.
“Hoo.”
Nyx let out a short, impressed hum.
Dwarves and Kenaz Dvergr.
Both races were born when maggots that fed on Ymir’s corpse gained sentience.
The only difference was that the pickaxe-wielding dwarf in front of me had never managed to crawl out of the flesh he was devouring.
That tiny divergence had split the fate of the two species entirely.
While the dwarves formed a contract with the Tower and rose to fame as a race of master craftsmen, the Kenaz Dvergr lived monotonous lives mining the calcified flakes that grew on Ymir’s Spine.
— Still, they do seem quite skilled with their hands.
“Yeah, so I’ve heard.”
I approached the dwarf who continued swinging his pickaxe without pause. Even though I deliberately made my footsteps loud, he didn’t turn his head. Completely absorbed in his work.
“Hey, dwarf.”
The Kenaz Dvergr finally looked at me.
Clang—.
“O-outside! An outsider!!”
He dropped his pickaxe and screamed at the top of his lungs.
If he was going to freak out this badly, he should’ve noticed me coming earlier.
“Let’s make a deal, dwarf.”
“My name is Coni! Don’t call me dwarf, outsider!”
Wait a second.
This was different from what I’d heard.
Most Kenaz Dvergr were supposed to be gloomy and taciturn. Living in the barren depths of the Tower had twisted their racial disposition compared to surface dwarves.
But this guy was weirdly cheerful.
“Fine. Coni, then. I’m Yu Jinho.”
“What a strange name. So, Mister, what kind of deal are we talking about?”
“One chunk of that calcified flake. And I need you to guide me to your village.”
Nyx peeked her face over my shoulder.
— Do you have some other use for the flakes?
“You have to eat them if you want to travel through the Tower’s basement.”
When I reached out and touched Ymir’s Spine, the same sensation from my first descent into the basement rushed over me. Without touching the pillar that supported the underworld, you couldn’t move between zones.
— “In the Land of the Forgotten, follow their rules.” Indeed, I understand now.
“Now that I think about it, the Netherworld had similar rules, didn’t it?”
The myth of Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter, who could never return to the surface after eating the food of the underworld. My situation was the complete opposite, though.
Regardless of how long the Key of the Netherworld lasted, I still needed to consume Ymir’s calcified flakes to move properly down here.
The dwarf looked up at me with clear displeasure.
“What can you offer in return for the trade?”
“Food from outside the Tower.”
I pulled out the half-eaten cake Nyx had been nibbling on from the Pocket of Desire.
— That was supposed to be mine!
“Just this once. Bear with me.”
— How cruel! To defile an offering meant for me… you shall be struck by divine punishment!
Nyx looked like she was about to cry. I deliberately avoided her gaze and held out the half-eaten cake to the dwarf.
“How about this?”
“Mister, I have no interest in food from outside the Tower.”
Despite his words, the dwarf flared his nostrils wide and began sniffing eagerly. The sweet aroma wafting from the cake told his nose the truth.
“If you don’t want to trade, that’s fine. I’ll just find another dwarf.”
“Wait, wait! You’re too hasty.”
The dwarf snatched the cake and took a huge bite.
— Aaaahhh!
Nyx’s wail echoed in my ears. Anyone listening would think the sky was falling.
The dwarf who had been chewing the cake suddenly snapped his eyes wide open.
“U-UWOOOOOOH!!!!”
With an ecstatic cry, he shoved the rest of the cake into his mouth. A few unchewed crumbs flew out between his gaping jaws as a bonus.
— I will never forget this. Never!
Nyx’s grief-stricken voice mingled with the dwarf’s cheers, creating a strangely harmonious cacophony.
“Amazing. No, that word isn’t even enough!”
Just as the information from my previous life had said.
The Tower’s basement was a desolate place. No wonder the Old Gods were so desperate to swallow up other dimensions.
The same went for these dwarves. Having lived their entire lives eating nothing but the flakes that grew on Ymir’s Spine, tasting real sweetness for the first time must have been a cultural shock.
“I told you to just taste it. Why did you eat the whole thing?”
“Ahem. It was simply too heavenly. My apologies.”
— Shameless! After devouring an offering meant for me, how dare you speak so casually!
The dwarf looked flustered by Nyx’s outburst.
“Alright, alright. I’ll do what you asked earlier.”
Still wearing a dazed expression, he held out a freshly mined flake from the spine.
You have consumed the calcified flake of an Old God.
You may now use the passages of Ymir.
“Ugh.”
It tasted absolutely disgusting.
No wonder these guys went crazy over cake if this was all they ever ate.
I clicked my tongue lightly and placed my hand on Ymir’s Spine. The hard, solid texture felt exactly as the information from my previous life described. This was indeed the pillar that supported the underworld.
“One problem solved, thanks to you.”
“Mister, why do you want to go to our village anyway?”
“To get a guide or a map.”
The structure of the Tower’s basement changed periodically. It was an unstable world. The tremors that occurred in Tartarus destroyed everything the residents built.
“Hehehe, then this is perfect.”
“What is?”
“I’ll guide you through the basement myself.”
The dwarf declared confidently.
I smiled and replied without missing a beat.
“I refuse.”
I brushed his offer aside lightly.
On the path leading to the Kenaz Dvergr village, Coni kept pestering me.
“Hey, Mister! I said I’d guide you, so why are you being like this?!”
“I don’t trust people with loose lips.”
“Are all outsiders as suspicious as you?”
“Whether I trust you or not is my business.”
This was a stage where I couldn’t take full advantage of being a regressor. I knew what I needed to obtain in the Tower’s basement, but I didn’t know the exact locations.
Limited time and limited information. With so few cards in my hand, I had to be cautious this time.
First, I needed a map. Using this dwarf as a guide was secondary. If he led me to the wrong place, I’d be in trouble. I needed landmarks.
— You’re being unusually cautious.
“If I slip up even a little, I’ll get kicked back outside the Tower.”
I gave a vague answer.
The Kenaz Dvergr village was located not far from Ymir’s Spine. There were about fifty residents. The only source of light came from a bonfire in the center of the village.
“An outsider.”
“He looks strange.”
The dwarves showed a brief flicker of interest before quickly turning their eyes away. Finally, the information from my previous life was starting to line up.
— The others show no interest in you.
“Hehehe, everyone except me lives such boring lives,” Coni snickered.
That didn’t sound like something to brag about.
“Why don’t you learn some of your kin’s reticence?”
“Heh, that’d be too dull.”
I traded cookies I had brought as snacks for Nyx and an underground map with the village chief. Of course, Nyx glared at me with eyes full of indignation.
Couldn’t be helped.
The truth was, I had brought plenty of snacks specifically to trade with the Kenaz Dvergr.
“I’ll buy you more cake when we get back.”
— Do you really think you can soothe my heart with something like that?
“Hmm, then I’ll throw in five more cotton candies.”
— The wrath of the Goddess of Night is dark and deep!
“Fine. Ten, then.”
— And the cake must have fresh strawberries in it.
“Of course, Goddess.”
After that dramatically concluded negotiation and I finally managed to calm Nyx down, I could examine the map properly.
The underworld was divided into five layers total. What Coni’s tribe had drawn on the map only covered the bottom—Layer 1 and Layer 2.
“Hey, dwarf.”
“I told you my name is Coni!”
“You don’t know anything about the layers above the third?”
“There’s no reason for our tribe to go that far.”
I let out a short hum.
What a shame. I could only hope that what I was looking for was on the first or second layer.
Thanks to the unified language system that had been integrated when the Tower of Babel appeared, I could immediately understand the Kenaz Dvergr script.
Plains of Despair — Southwest of Layer 1
Tomb of the Great — West of Layer 1
Cage of Oblivion — Southeast of Layer 2
Thorn Forest — North of Layer 2
Lucky me.
I swallowed a laugh. Every single place I absolutely had to visit in the Tower’s basement during my previous life was clearly marked on the map.
“I’ll have to move quickly.”
“Mister, are you sure you’ll be fine with just a map?”
“My sense of direction is excellent.”
Thanks to the essence of the cave-dweller, my perception had been greatly enhanced. If I used Ultrasound, the information would be filtered from auditory to visual and absorbed instantly.
The darkness of the Tower’s basement was no obstacle at all.
“Hehehe, come on. Why don’t you just let me guide you?”
“I don’t have any more food to give you.”
I had originally planned to recruit one of the Kenaz Dvergr as a guide, but if I spent any more snacks on hiring one, I didn’t even want to imagine what Nyx would say. Just look at how she was glaring at me from my shoulder right now.
“I don’t need any payment.”
“I don’t believe in free kindness.”
“Following you around just seems like it would be fun. Isn’t that enough?”
I stared straight at Coni.
Behind those playful eyes was an unreadable emotion. It seemed he had his own schemes, but that didn’t matter.
“If it gets dangerous, I’ll abandon you.”
“Hehe, got it.”
Whatever he was plotting, if he became a hindrance, I could just deal with him then.
— Looks like our party has grown.
“Is that thing on your shoulder an outsider’s summon?”
— How dare you compare me to a mere summon? Such insolence!
The dwarf and the goddess began bickering.
“Your name was Coni, right?”
“That’s right, outsider!”
“Our first destination is the Plains of Despair.”
“Hehe, then just stick right behind me from now on.”
Coni moved his short legs briskly as he took the lead.
As we moved a little farther from Ymir’s Spine, the darkness grew even thicker. The wind carried no moisture at all. Every step kicked up clouds of dust that rose all the way to my knees.
— The scenery is similar to the Tartarus I remember.
“You chose such a bleak place as your home?”
— It is quiet and dark. Is it not the perfect place for the Goddess of Night?
“Sure, sure.”
While I was walking and chatting with Nyx, Coni suddenly raised his hand.
“Shh. Stop.”
“What is it?”
“This area is part of the Peacock Overseers’ patrol route.”
“How do you know their patrol routes?”
“Those bird-brained bastards steal the flakes we work so hard to mine.”
Coni ground his teeth audibly.
I closed my eyes and expanded my senses. The loud flapping of wings brushed against my ears.
“They’re five hundred meters ahead.”
This guy… he might actually make a decent guide.
“What the—? How did you figure out the Peacock Overseer’s location…?”
“Just wait here.”
Using Dark Shadow Body.
Using Night’s Veil — Internal Skill: Night’s Step.
I merged my body with the darkness and moved forward. The Peacock Overseer, completely unaware of my presence, kept turning its head left and right.
With the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword, I sliced its body clean in half.
You have devoured the essence of a Peacock Overseer.
“O-outside! How did you avoid the Overseer’s gaze?!”
“Just tell me their patrol routes.”
“Are you insane, outsider? If you do that, you’ll make every single Peacock Overseer your enemy!”
“Are you scared?”
“No. This is way too exciting!”
Coni’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
A short while later, after I had taken down every Peacock Overseer in the vicinity, I was finally able to devour their essences at 100%.
You have devoured the essence of a Peacock Overseer.
Essence devoured: 100%
Essence Grade: Ancient
The skill — Tracking Eye has been added.
Tracking Eye
Grade: ★★★
Type: Active
Designates a target. The user’s next magical attack will home in on the target of ‘Tracking Eye’.
*Duration: 30 seconds
A skill that granted homing properties. It was a powerful support spell I had never obtained in my previous life.
“Coming down here was definitely the right choice.”
I was already looking forward to how many things I would be able to obtain from the Tower’s basement.