Trap
“Get down!”
The scout at the front yelled, and a massive iron ball came flying from the left. It was on a perfect course to smash right into me, standing on the far left. I could dodge, but then someone else would take the hit.
-Thud!
I pulled out my shield and crouched slightly to block it. The thing weighed a ton—even blocking it sent a jolt through my arms.
“Shit...!”
Who the fuck knew how many times this had happened already. This dungeon wasn't crawling with monsters; it was swarming with traps.
The open community forums had made it sound like it was just full of lizardmen wandering around. But since this was the first discovery, everything was way off. Were the lizardmen going to move in and claim it after we cleared a path through this hell?
“Tch, what a pain in the ass.”
I flicked the iron ball away and rolled my shoulders. They throbbed, but my HP hadn't budged much.
“You alright there? Nothing broken?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“Good to hear. You've got some real strength on you, huh?”
Winzer said it like he was impressed, while the other NPCs moved ahead without a word and disarmed the trap. That's how the ruins exploration had been going for a while now.
The scouts could read the ancient script on the walls and operate the mechanisms. They moved alongside me, spotting traps ahead and disarming them to clear the way.
Of course, there were way more traps they triggered than ones they disarmed, so I was the one constantly eating shit. Iron balls and boulders flying at me like this, blades and arrows shooting out, even the floor collapsing once. Still, they were all manageable with my strength. These were designed for Floor 3 challengers, after all.
And this barrage of traps? Surprisingly good for honing my skills. I was getting faster at reacting to their sudden triggers. Like I was starting to get a feel for the timing.
[Instinct Lv.1]
Maybe this [Instinct] skill was kicking in. If I kept dodging on gut feeling, the level might go up.
“Anyway, let's just hurry the fuck up.”
That was that, and being pissed off was pissed off.
Come to think of it, I'd switched to casual speech with them halfway through.
* * *
The dungeon crawl was slow as hell, traps or no traps.
“Oh dear, this section's quite the puzzle. Third time around already.”
We'd looped the same spot three times now. This wasn't a simple maze. It was a moving labyrinth where mechanisms shifted paths in real time. According to Winzer, you had to hit specific rooms in a certain sequence to open the right path.
The scouts were deciphering the wall script to figure it out, but even that wasn't smooth sailing. Trial and error galore, and any fuck-up meant another trap shower.
“You sure we're even going the right way?”
“Ahem, doing our best here.”
I'm no good with mazes or riddles myself, so all I could do was gripe at the scouts.
[Floor 3 Ruins Dungeon Map (Complete)]
The finished map from the community was useless in a dungeon that kept changing. Probably had to clear it to the end and disable whatever was reshaping the terrain.
-Twang, twang.
Two arrows launched from somewhere. I quietly raised my shield. Sharpening my senses to beat the traps to the punch had made this possible now.
-Clang!
The arrows ricocheted off, and the scouts, spotting them late, jumped back in shock.
“W-what the hell!”
The silently flying arrows must've creeped them out bad—their faces went sheet-white in an instant. I was the one almost hit, so why were they freaking?
Winzer and the others had never even come close to eating a real trap. Most activated on me in my awkward position, and the big ones they spotted and dodged easy. Still, their overreactions... what pussies. Sneaking into lizardman turf for treasure and they're this jumpy? Though they were just NPCs, so bitching was pointless.
* * *
A few hours later, we reached a massive cavern. Way bigger than anywhere else we'd passed, with flashy script and murals carved into the walls. It looked like a giant temple from the shape alone—and I'd seen this spot in community guides.
Midpoint of the ruins dungeon, one of the rare safe zones. The shifting layout made "midpoint" iffy, but safe? Definitely.
“Oho, this looks like... some kind of myth.”
Winzer wiped dust from the wall with his palm, reading intently with a serious face. I got curious too and scanned the murals slowly.
Couldn't read the script, but pictures? I could guess the vibe.
“Lizardmen?”
Most of it was lizardmen, by my reckoning. Armed, bipedal lizards? Had to be.
Not ruins in lizardman turf—these were lizardman ruins. Made sense; they had a society, so cultural heritage wasn't a stretch.
Did that make us grave robbers? Any treasure here would be lizardman relics. Not like I gave a shit, slaughtering them on sight anyway.
“Hmm... I see. This ruin seals something the lizardmen call 'lightning.'”
Winzer finished reading. The murals had suggested as much to me too. Armed lizardmen, and up front a white one holding a weird-shaped sword. Lightning motifs over the white lizardman. That sword probably wielded lightning. They snatched it and sealed it here.
“So, a unique weapon, then.”
Probably the final quest reward. I'd barely used the one from Floor 2 boss yet, but might swap soon.
* * *
Winzer and the scouts wrestled with the murals a while before seeming to reach a conclusion.
“It's getting late—how about we rest here for the day? You must be beat.”
“I'm good.”
“We figured out the treasure spot, but it'll take time to get there. You sure?”
I nodded. How long could it take? I could hop a mountain easy right now.
“Erm... truth be told, you might be fine, but we aren't.”
Winzer scratched his head sheepishly. Fair enough; no point forcing it without them—the quest might stall.
“Should've said so from the start.”
Soon a simple camp was up. Fire going, tents pitched, and they even started cooking.
-Bubble bubble.
A huge pot—god knows where from—simmered with milky meat stew. Looked like pork bone soup or some shit.
I ignored the scouts slurping it around the fire and ate a white roll from my inventory alone.
“Hey, what're you doing off by yourself? Come join, grab a bowl! You burned a ton of energy—gotta eat hearty!”
“I'm good.”
“Don't be like that, come on! What, fill up on that tiny bread crumb? Don't refuse!”
Winzer couldn't stand it, shoving a bowl at me.
“You know we're screwed if you're not at full strength. I'll nag till you empty it.”
He looked dead serious, so I took the bowl.
“That's the spirit! Eat while it's hot—gotta keep the belly and back warm, that's the rule!”
I slurped the stew, tuning out Winzer's chatter. Tasted just like pork bone soup, looks and all. After sweet-ass white rolls forever, the salted broth hit hard. Umami from meat fat and salt? Killer combo.
“Hoo...”
Wasn't rushing, but the bowl emptied in a flash. Damn, this is good. Had I been surviving on nothing but white rolls? Never knew stew could slap this hard. A cheese pork cutlet bento from Floor 1 would've wrecked me.
“Haha, seconds?”
I took the second bowl no hesitation.
* * *
Warm food after so long? After wolfing the stew, drowsiness hit like a truck.
“Pretended otherwise, but you were wiped. We'll take watches—sleep.”
I didn't refuse this time. Pulled a simple tent from inventory, set it up, and crashed. Just a blanket on stone floor felt comfier than most inn beds. No time to question it—I was out fast.
-Stab!
Moments later, a blade pierced my throat, jolting me awake.