Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 134
>Chapter Title: An Unimaginable Identity
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Chapter 134
>An unimaginable identity like this?
Do-hyun, who had never even dreamed there might be a secret dungeon, could only crouch there blankly staring at the entrance.
-Whoa... There was a dungeon here?
>-A secret space hiding a secret dungeon... Whoever built this hid it with ruthless precision.
>-Liza Lizza.
The others nodded, sharing the same sentiment.
Charlie was right.
>It was in a position that could truly be called a hidden within a hidden.
'Whoa, chills. They say it's always darkest right beneath the lamp...'
Even if someone decoded Jin Ruddel's cipher and came here, nine out of ten would miss the entrance and leave.
>No one would imagine a hidden piece containing another hidden piece.
>Do-hyun himself had been just like that.
>The meticulous double-layered security left him in awe.
'What on earth could be so extraordinary that they'd go to these lengths?'
He knew finding secret dungeons was like plucking stars from the sky, with harsh entry conditions, but this was overkill.
>...Or was it? Thinking back to the Jihad incident, that had impossible conditions too.
-Why are you looking at me again, Master?
>"...Nothing."
>-...I feel like you look at me every time you're having some bad thought. Am I imagining it?
Ignoring Jihad as he stuck out his lower lip, Do-hyun swallowed hard and checked the dungeon's information.
[King's Tomb]
>-Rank: ?
>-Type: ?
>-Trait: ?
>-Description: A tomb built long, long ago.
>-Presumed to be the resting place of a great king. Traces remain of many visitors from ages past.
>-But now, it is a forgotten king's tomb.
>-Not recorded in history, so nothing more is known at present.
>[Entry Limit: 1 Player]
>[Success in clearing the dungeon will cause it to vanish. Failure means no further entry is possible.]
'...Question marks? What kind of dungeon is this?'
Ranks with question marks existed occasionally, so that was fine.
>But a question mark for type and trait too?
>He had never heard of such a secret dungeon. Not even back in his Demrock days had he seen this phenomenon.
>If it weren't an AI-managed game, he'd seriously suspect a bug.
'This means "find out by going in yourself" if you're curious.'
If that was the intent, it nailed human psychology perfectly.
>It was stimulating his curiosity to the max.
'Clear it and it disappears, fail and no re-entry...'
In other words, no turning back once you enter.
>Success was great, but rushing in and failing would be disastrous.
>Entering such a suspicious dungeon as the first pioneer felt off, but Do-hyun didn't hesitate.
'The answer was decided from the start.'
He didn't even have a guild.
>Who could he trust to investigate? As always, he'd have to dive in himself.
>And his instincts were screaming.
>Telling anyone about this place would be a grave mistake.
>The double layers, the veil of secrecy—nothing about it felt ordinary.
'Even if I can't eat it, it's still mine to claim.'
Decision made, Do-hyun stepped into the entrance.
Unlike before, he wasn't sucked straight somewhere.
Step, step.
He simply descended the stairs slowly.
This differed greatly from known secret dungeon intel.
>Most secret dungeons hit you with nonstop action the moment you entered.
-...Master, the air feels chilly.
>-Liza Lizza...
Jihad, following behind, rubbed his arms.
Relying on the sporadic candles mounted at intervals along one wall to pierce the darkness did feel eerie.
>Being underground made the air cold too.
-Hmm...
Charlie fiddled with his sword, clearly on high alert.
Still, it was a relief.
>He'd worried about the one-player limit, but guardians apparently didn't count toward the headcount.
>Makes sense—tamer classes would be screwed otherwise, fairness-wise.
Step, step.
How far down had they gone?
'Deeper than I thought.'
Just as irritation set in from the endless descent with no end in sight—
Click.
The stairs ended.
At the same moment, as if sensors activated, the wall candles ignited one after another in sequence.
The endless crackling lasted several seconds before fading, the echo lingering in his ears a beat later.
[You have entered the King's Tomb.]
Thanks to that, the yellow-tinged scenery was fairly well-lit, but the moment Do-hyun faced it, his jaw dropped.
"Whoa, insane..."
The guardians were just as stunned.
-...Whoa?
>-My god...
>-Li, Liza...!
Each muttered in shock.
What had shocked Do-hyun's group so thoroughly was none other than the murals covering the walls.
>Countless murals blanketed the entire space, roughly the size of a school field.
-Whoa... Master, all that's paintings?
>-Something like this... I've never seen before. Utterly astonishing.
Overwhelmed by the sheer scale, Jihad and Charlie shook their heads.
Do-hyun was no different.
'This is huge.'
Even he had never seen anything like it.
Drawn to it like a moth, as he approached the wall, the ancient murals welcomed him, bearing the marks of countless ages.
Some parts were faded and frayed, others completely erased.
Despite the extensive damage, the vast quantity remaining revealed what the murals depicted.
-My lord, this looks like... a history chronicle.
>-War? Something like that, Master?
>-Liza Lizza.
As the guardians said, the murals chronicled the history of wars.
>Starting from the entrance, progressing toward the far end brought one closer to more recent pasts from the distant antiquity.
>The art style shifted at points, suggesting generations of people had continued the work.
'...This seems like that war Gamillion told me about. And this... the Abyss?'
The ceiling depicted divine beings descending from the heavens.
>One wall showed massive warriors and dragons battling them, the other tiny fairies and humanity.
>From midway, the floor murals featured horrific black monsters—clearly the ones that crossed via the Abyss's eyes.
'...No monsters or traps, just history lessons?'
No such secret dungeon existed in Demrock, as far as Do-hyun knew.
>He'd heard no rumors of this even in God of Oslo.
>And if this history tied into the Main Quest...
'Definitely an alternate route to the Main Quest.'
No doubt.
>The Main Quest wouldn't unlock for another three years normally.
>Multiple alternate routes made sense, and Do-hyun had just found one.
>Probably by tracing this historical trail to access the Main Quest.
'And from here, it's the aftermath.'
This dungeon itself was a chronicle vast enough to be called a history book.
>It depicted events after that day, unknown even to Do-hyun.
Gulp.
Do-hyun's face lit with excitement as he slowly advanced.
What followed matched his expectations closely.
>The gods on the ceiling joined humanity on the walls, while humanity plummeted underground.
>The Abyss lay dormant, occasionally emerging from below; the other races who fought the gods scattered and vanished.
>A mural spanning eons.
Step, step.
Ancient humanity, cast underground, gave rise to modern humanity, who ascended to the surface as outsiders appeared.
>The long history forming the current main continent.
-What cruelty...
>-...
Glimpses of the gods' brutality shone through.
>How ancient humanity had been treated, and how the gods now wore masks of benevolence toward modern humanity.
>All laid bare.
-Those monsters were horrific, but to think the gods were worse... Unbelievable. Were you fighting such battles all along, my lord?
Charlie, trembling with rage, looked at Do-hyun with pure admiration.
>Not a shred of doubt.
'...I was wondering how to explain and convince them, but maybe this worked out better?'
As he followed the wall to the end—
"Hm? This is...?"
One image caught Do-hyun's eye.
>A group of five.
>Their silhouettes resembled humans overall, but their attire and builds varied wildly.
>Especially one towering over 2 meters with wings—impossible to mistake for human.
-My god.
They mercilessly slaughtered the last resisting ancient humans on the floor.
>Turning the earth, parting seas, always at the vanguard terrorizing humanity.
>Yet worshiped by some.
'Not the Five Lords... What then?'
A new faction unknown to Do-hyun.
>They appeared everywhere, portrayed as objects of fear across all murals.
>In the earliest ones, and those continued by new hands after ages passed.
Step.
As he progressed, their appearances grew more frequent.
By the mural's end, they had vanished.
[You have uncovered a fragment of hidden history.]
>[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]
>[You have witnessed a history chronicle traversed by ages.]
>[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]
>[Acquired title 'Discoverer of Forgotten History.']
[Discoverer of Forgotten History]
>-Rank: Hero
>-Description: A title bestowed upon a great explorer who uncovers forgotten history.
>-Having learned a true piece of history unknown to others, your fate will differ from now on.
>-Effect: Search range +10%, unrestricted communication with all other races and languages, all stats +5
'...Is this the end?'
He'd reached the vast dungeon's conclusion.
>Yet still, nothing.
>No rewards—just an empty space.
'At least I got a Hero title out of it.'
This place's true purpose was an alternate Main Quest route.
>Meaningless to Do-hyun, already on the Main Quest, but a massive reward for anyone else.
'No wonder no one found it.'
Probably no one would in the future either.
>Not that it mattered now.
>He'd monopolized yet another hidden Main Quest route, so at least Sargis's path was gone.
As he checked the rising messages—
Ding-
"Huh?"
A cheerful alert rang out of nowhere, and as he looked up—
[The guardian of the King's Tomb detects the intruder's approach.]
>[The dungeon guardian appears.]
>[Danger! You may lose your life.]
Rumblecrash-
With the now-familiar danger message, a colossal entity burst from the ground.
It was a snake.
>...Though calling it a mere snake felt dubious.
[Hiss... Intruder... Kill...]
A massive being roughly 11 meters in body length alone.
>Its head nearly brushing the lofty ceiling—it could hardly be dismissed as "just a snake."
>Naturally so.
[The Ancient King's Divine Beast - Arlagini reveals itself.]
For it was no mere snake, but a divine beast.
-My god... Is that really a monster?
>-Whoa...
>-Li, Liza!?
Leaving the dumbfounded guardians behind, Do-hyun stared blankly at it before letting out a deep sigh.
"...Why is nothing ever easy?"
Resigned now, Do-hyun gripped his spear.