Found a Secret Dungeon
Found a Secret Dungeon
I got used to hunting Orcs pretty quickly. Seol-ah-unni tells me the locations of the Orcs identified through the Scout Drones, and then I just beat them up. Done.
"Beating them up" might sound easy, but unlike Goblins, I had to dodge their attacks while taking them down.
I handled three or fewer Orcs on my own, and if there were more than that, Seol-ah-unni helped me out.
The drones following behind Seol-ah-unni automatically attack when an Orc enters their range, which looks so convenient.
Seol-ah-unni says she's controlling them all herself, but considering that, she looks so relaxed that it's hard to believe.
"We've come pretty deep already. How is it, Ahyeon-ah? Are you tired?"
"I'm fine!"
It seems fewer people come this far inside, probably because the Orcs get stronger the deeper you go into the dungeon.
It feels like it's been a while since I've seen anyone passing by.
At first, it was almost half people and half Orcs.
Now, if I hear footsteps, it's just easier to assume it's an Orc.
"Huh? What's this?"
Seol-ah-unni, who had been walking in the lead, suddenly stopped.
"Hmm... was this always here? I never had a reason to come here, so I wouldn't know... I've never been in charge of newbies."
"Why, what's wrong?"
"There's a structure up ahead I've never seen before. It feels like a Temple, but I don't know if it was always there."
"If it appeared later, does that cause a problem?"
"Hmm... if so, there's a possibility it's a Dungeon within a Dungeon. Maybe because not many people come this deep? I've never heard of something like that being inside an Orc Dungeon."
"A Dungeon within a Dungeon?"
It's not like it's a Matryoshka doll. Then is it possible there's another dungeon inside that one too?
"Yeah. Among dungeons, there are some where the interior layout keeps changing. In those cases, paths to other places can form inside. I haven't heard of that happening in an Orc Dungeon, though..."
"Then should we head back for today?"
"Do whatever you want. If you want to check it out, we can. I don't mind."
"Then let's go! If it's dangerous, we can just come back out, right?"
I was just starting to lose interest in hunting Orcs, so this worked out well. I'm also curious about what might be inside.
"Alright. But if I tell you to run, we leave immediately. Got it?"
"Sounds good!"
As I followed Seol-ah-unni, a massive Temple-shaped structure with an eerie atmosphere that didn't fit the wide plains revealed itself.
"Wow... it's huge."
"There's nothing suspicious around it for now... but be careful."
As we cautiously approached the entrance of the Temple, the firmly closed door opened as if it had been waiting for us.
I tilted my head slightly to try and peek inside, but the interior was submerged in pitch-black darkness, and I couldn't see anything.
It felt creepy, yet I was curious about what might be inside.
As soon as we entered, Seol-ah-unni sent out the Scout Drones to start analyzing the interior structure.
"It looks like something I've seen somewhere... or maybe not?"
She kept muttering to herself while looking at the drone screen, so I stayed to the side so I wouldn't disturb her.
"For now, there are no monsters visible around here. Still, be careful just in case, usually places like this have traps too, so-"
Before Seol-ah-unni could even finish her sentence, an arrow flew out of nowhere like a bolt and stuck into the wall right past us.
"......You have to be careful. Got it...?"
"Y-yeah, you're right..."
Looking closely, it seems I had stepped on a floor plate without knowing. The drones fly, so they wouldn't have stepped on it in the first place...
The floor plates were actually quite obvious in between, so if I just kept my wits about me, I could easily avoid them and move.
"But it's really quiet."
How should I put it, the space is so huge that I can feel my voice echoing even if I say just one word, but since there's no sound other than us, it feels strange.
"Yeah. It's strange that there are no monsters at all, or perhaps someone has already cleared this place?"
Plus, it was dark so I couldn't see well, but it looked like an empty space with nothing in it just kept stretching on.
"For now, there's some kind of picture over there. Let's head that way."
At the place we arrived following Seol-ah-unni, a massive mural filled the wall. It was a painting of a lion-like monster fiercely breathing fire.
"But this looks like something I've seen somewhere... what is it? Why does it feel so familiar?"
"It's Orleon."
"Huh?"
"The name of this monster. It's Orleon."
I doubted my eyes, but it was definitely Orleon. A monster with a shape that looked like a mix of a lion and a tiger. Its biggest features, the flashy golden mane and the fire it was breathing from its mouth, were the proof.
"How do you know about this mural?"
"It appears in Prism Fantasia. As one of the Constellation Monsters."
"Ah! That's why I felt like I'd seen it somewhere. I was sure I had seen it before, but I couldn't remember, so I was wondering."
Even looking at it closely again, it looked exactly like the Orleon I saw in the animation.
"Why would a monster from an animation be drawn on a mural here?"
"Yeah, really. To say someone scribbled this here... it's too well-crafted for that."
"Is there anything else besides this?"
"Doesn't look like it. I'm still analyzing the structure with the Scout Drones, but... I haven't found anything else."
Thinking I might find something I missed if I looked closer, I approached the mural.
Then.
Kugu-gung-!
With a loud noise, the wall where the mural was carved began to shake, and the entrance we had passed through was blocked.
"W-what? Why is it doing this all of a sudden!"
At the same time, a blue window popped up in the corner of my vision.
【 Defeat Orleon Haze. 】
The painting that I thought was just a normal mural was emerging from the wall and moving.
"Ahyeon-ah! To the right!"
As soon as I dodged to the right at Seol-ah-unni's words, a blue beam pierced right through where I had been.
At some point, several armed drones were floating behind Seol-ah-unni's back.
"Wow... I didn't hold back and fired from the first shot, but it's completely fine?"
The dust cleared, and Orleon Haze revealed itself, looking as if it hadn't taken any damage at all.
But why is it Orleon Haze? I've never heard of a monster called Orleon Haze. Is there some difference from a regular Orleon?
One of the twelve Constellation Monsters in the Prism Fantasia universe, Orleon of Leo.
It has two characteristics. The defensive power of its shining golden mane, and the powerful fire breath it unleashes when the mane turns red.
It keeps long-range enemies in check with its breath attack, and in close range, it relies on the sturdy defense of its golden mane—that's all there is to it; in a way, it's an extremely simple monster.
If there's a problem, it's that because that's all it does, it's simply and stupidly strong.
"Breath is coming again!"
"This is driving me crazy!"
Ah, there was one more thing.
It can't change direction while firing its breath. So dodging the breath itself is easy.
Although there was an incomprehensible word "Haze" attached to the end, the attack pattern itself was the same as the Orleon I saw in the animation.
If there's a difference, it seems smaller, and its form is blurry, giving it a ghostly feeling. And that its breath power is weaker than what I saw in the animation?
In the animation, once it fired, everything in front of it would disappear without a trace, but it wasn't to that extent.
"You like Puripan, right! Doesn't it have a weakness?"
"Weren't you the one who watched it all too, Seol-ah-unni? Why can't you remember!"
"I watched it all, sure! But it's been a while, so I don't remember!"
"For starters, in the anime, Orleon was taken down by Ice Bluebell!"
It was the coolest scene among Ice Bluebell's battle scenes, so I remember it clearly.
When Orleon fired its breath, she used a blizzard to stop Orleon's movement and slashed it in one go with a sword-drawing technique... honestly, it was so cool. Sword-drawing is romantic, you know.
"That's not really helpful information!"
"It can't be helped!"
The drones Seol-ah-unni deployed into the air once again poured a barrage of fire at Orleon Haze.
Kuo-oh-!
As Orleon Haze roared, its golden mane emitted a sharp light and deflected the barrage.
"Whoa-ack! I don't think you should use that!"
If I'm not careful, I'm going to get hit by Seol-ah-unni's attack.
"Then think of a way! I have to at least keep interfering like this so it doesn't do anything!"
That's too much, seriously. She says she didn't watch the anime properly, so she's telling me to think of a way to catch it?
A way... breath... mane...
"I did think of one thing!"
"Just tell me!"
"Please lure its breath!"
"You want me to get hit and die?!"