Chapter 434
Chapter 434
“Strange. This shouldn’t be happening.”
It took quite a while to get to the area adjacent to the ant nest.
It was a distance that would have taken several days even in a straight line, and we had to wind our way through a maze-like cave.
But after camping for a few days, we finally arrived near the ant nest.
Now, I could see the ant nest in the corner of my map without even needing to zoom in.
But just when it seemed like we were about to reach the passage leading to it, we were blocked by a wall, unable to proceed.
“Guwon? What have you been doing all this time?”
It wasn't an accusatory tone, just a genuinely curious question, but Sara's words made me feel a little embarrassed.
The truth is, I hadn't told the others yet because I wanted to surprise them when we found it.
But after leading them here so confidently, I never imagined we'd get stuck.
Don't tell me this was the wrong route, and we have to go all the way back to find another one?
I even considered just trying to break through, but the distance was a bit too far for that.
Just like how monsters respawn over time no matter how many you hunt, the dungeon's terrain has a tendency to restore itself.
You thought monsters just reproduced naturally?
That's part of it, of course, but think about how the queen ant was born from that giant magic stone.
The monster population probably doesn't increase through natural reproduction alone.
In any case, these sub-layers have a much stronger tendency to maintain their original form than the main layers.
You could tell just by how the queen ant's respawn cycle was shorter than that of other Layer Bosses.
So even if we tried to dig through, the path would probably fill in faster than we could clear it.
“I have a feeling we've been going in circles for a while now.”
Even Diana, who once declared she had no confidence in memorizing paths because she wasn't a mapper, was saying this, which should give you an idea of how much time we'd wasted.
I guess I have no choice. It's a little embarrassing, but I should just be honest and ask for their advice.
“Actually, I think the ant nest is just beyond this wall. But there's no path.”
“Hm? What?! Is that truly so?!”
The others didn't react so strongly, but Diana couldn't hide her surprise, as if she understood the implications.
“Yeah. I'm sure of it. It's still a little ways off, though.”
“Indeed. Then it seems a penis was necessary to advance beyond the 6th layer after all! In that case, the same must be true here!”
“Huh? But…”
“Excuse me, Diana. Sorry, but could you explain it so we can understand, too?”
As Diana and I had a conversation only we could follow, Sara spoke up with a slightly pouty face, as if she was being left out.
“Ahem. Indeed. As you all know, the dungeon has currently been explored by adventurers up to the 6th layer. The top-tier clans, led by the Arachne Clan, are focused on conquering the 6th layer, but in truth, the monster believed to be the Layer Boss has already been identified.”
“It has? So you're saying they're stuck because of the Layer Boss?”
“No, that is not the case. It was certainly powerful, too much for a single clan to handle on its own. But the top-tier clans are no fools. If one clan's strength is not enough, two can combine their power. There was an operation where the elite members of all the top-tier clans gathered to subjugate the 6th Layer Boss. The result was a resounding success. Everyone was ecstatic with the joy of victory and the thought of advancing to the next layer, but in truth, even after defeating the Layer Boss, the passage to the 7th layer was never found.”
“Then…”
“Mm. Because of that, the perception that the dungeon ends at the 6th layer became ingrained in most adventurers. Though there are still clans like Arachne who haven't given up and continue to explore. However, when this man spoke with the Goddess, it was confirmed that there is indeed something beyond the 6th layer, was it not?”
“Ah, I see. So that’s why the adventurers suddenly…”
Leia nodded as she listened to Diana, as if something had just clicked into place.
“Mm. But no matter how much they searched, the passage to the 7th layer remained hidden. However, the adventurers had one other hope. The discovery of secret passages via penises, which this man announced.”
“But Diana, didn't you say before that there were no monsters on the 6th layer that Guwon's skills worked on?”
“Mm. I did. That is why the Arachne Clan had this man collect penises from 5th-layer monsters instead of the 6th. To be honest, I was skeptical that doing so would reveal a path to the 7th layer, but this discovery has created a real possibility. Think about it. If a passage to the ant nest is found here, it means the sub-layers are interconnected. Furthermore, sub-layers are located between the main layers and are sometimes connected to both. That means there's a possibility of a path leading from the 5.5th layer to the 6.5th, and from the 6.5th layer to the 7th! This is a truly tremendous discovery!”
Diana explained it exactly as I had thought, her voice full of excitement.
No, I'm not bluffing. I really was thinking that.
I mean, I heard the gist of the situation from the Arachne Clan members back when I was collecting penises on the 5th layer.
“The problem is that we're stuck here. No matter how close we are, if there's no direct path to the ant nest…”
“That is why it must be a penis! The penis is the key! Is this place not, like the ant nest, impossible to enter from the upper layer without a penis?! Even coming from the lower layer, the passage is hidden. It is impossible to find unless one already knows of its existence.”
She had a point. The path from the ant nest to the 3rd layer was obscured from view, and the path from here to the 2nd layer was buried in sand.
“This dungeon was designed from the start to be difficult to descend past the 6th layer without your power, Guwon!”
That just adds more weight to the theory that the Goddess created this dungeon, though.
Our Goddess... She isn't actually a bad person... I mean, a bad goddess, is she?
She gave me these powers and threw me into this wonderful world, so I'd rather keep believing in her if I can.
Thanks to her, I got to meet my girls, after all.
“So, what you're saying is, the path connecting the sub-layers will also open with a penis?”
“Mm! Precisely! Since it is a place difficult to enter without a penis in the first place, does it not stand to reason that a penis would also be required to move to another area?”
“But there are no monsters here that drop penises.”
I've been using my Saint skills on every kobold we've met.
Even though it's been draining my Spirit like crazy.
But still, not a single one of them has dropped a penis.
Come to think of it, there weren't any monsters that dropped penises in the ant nest, either.
“Hmm. But for them to reproduce, it makes no sense for the population to be skewed to one gender. Especially in an area where only one type of monster resides.”
“What about the possibility that they're being born from a giant magic stone, like the queen ant was?”
For the record, there was a proper giant magic stone in the kobold boss's room, too.
Diana had briefly investigated it this time as well, and it seemed to be identical to the one in the ant nest in almost every way.
“Hrmmm. I do not believe that is likely.”
“Did you find something when you examined the magic stone?”
“That is part of it, but to be honest, I am also relying on my intuition. I believe there must be a reason the Goddess specifically told you to descend deeper than the 6th layer.”
I can't believe the Diana is talking about intuition at a time like this.
No... I guess it just shows how highly she thinks of me.
“I agree with Diana. I'm sure that's it.”
And Leia, who always thinks the world of me, affirmed Diana's words, her eyes sparkling.
“W-Well... In that case, I guess we first need to find where these male kobolds that can drop a penis are hiding.”
Facing their sparkling eyes full of expectation, I felt a little shy and looked away, mumbling the words.
“Heehee.”
As if she knew I was embarrassed, Leia giggled, looking at me with an expression that said I was cute.
Even in a cave, your smile shines so brightly, my angel.
“Ahem! Alright, let's go! Everyone, keep your eyes peeled and search everywhere! Let's move out!”
“Hieuu... Uuup!”
To hide my embarrassment, I threw an arm around Silvia's shoulder—the one person I could always dominate—pulled her close, and shouted.
But to think she vibrated, even for a moment. Silvia, is your concentration slipping?
My combat mode almost deactivated just now.
Right before it did, though, Silvia slapped her own cheeks and switched back to combat mode.
Right. No matter how weak the monsters here are, let's not get careless.
After that, we spent a good while wandering around and searching the cave, but as expected, we found no male kobolds.
“Maybe there really aren't any.”
“Hmm... Perhaps they cannot be found through ordinary means.”
I was starting to feel like giving up, but Diana seemed to have no intention of abandoning her hypothesis.
I mean, I'm fine with staying here longer, especially since it includes Matilda's training.
But with no tangible results, it was hard not to lose motivation.
“Alright. Then let's try that for the first time in a while.”
“Huh? That? Guwon, you're not thinking of something weird again, are you?”
I'm not! What do you take me for?!
...Well, I can't deny that I tend to say strange things whenever I open my mouth.
“Tailing them. I'm talking about tailing them. Don't you remember how we found that secret place on the 1st layer?”
Back then, we were able to find it by tailing a werewolf.
We haven't had a reason to tail monsters since then, but it seems the time has come to show off my skills again.
If there really are males for reproduction, then surely some of the females will head to wherever they are.
“But with so many of us? Won't we get caught?”
“Yeah. That's why I'll go alone.”
“What?! Absolutely not!”
“I-It's fine, really. You know I have the Assassin job, right? There's no way monsters at this level will ever spot me.”
Sara's objection was much stronger than I'd expected, so I was surprised and tried to calm her down.
“But what if something happens…”
“I'm telling you, it's fine. Even if all the monsters here ganged up on me, they couldn't leave a scratch. You saw what happened when I fought the boss here, right?”
It was over in one shot from my Saint's Wave.
Yeah. It was anticlimactic.
And its writhing pleasure was all the more disgusting because of its needlessly huge body.
Ugh. A memory I'd purposely sealed away... I need healing, healing...
“Hyaaaah!”
Phew... I'm finally starting to calm down.
I regained my mental stability by feeling the vibrations of Silvia in my arms.
Well, I say 'feeling,' but she's just hard because of her armor.
But that's okay. Our Silvia smells nice, and her vibrations feel good.
“But…”
“It's really fine. I won't do anything dangerous. I have absolutely no intention of dying and leaving you all behind. So please, relax. Okay?”
“Then at least two of us…”
“That's no good either. It's easier for me to move around using Stealth by myself, and more importantly, what if the two of us get separated? Can you remember the way through here?”
“Ugh... Th-That's…”
Unless you had a map like me, memorizing all the routes in this tangled, maze-like cave was no easy task.
It wouldn't be easy even with a map.
“So, all of you just rest here. I'll be back in a flash.”
Sara wasn't the only one who objected, but I somehow managed to persuade everyone and decided to tail a monster on my own.