Chapter 81: Chapter 81 The Sewers (2)

The Sewers (2)

"Rotmiller, can you sense if anyone is inside?"

"The sewage smell is too strong, I can't tell."

"I see. Then I'll go down first, follow me when I give the signal."

It's a pit about 5 meters deep, reminiscent of a water tank.

With my shield on my back, I quickly descend the creaky ladder. And when I give the hand signal, the rest of the party follows.

"It's kinda spooky."

As the torchlight illuminates the area, I see a passage that wasn't visible from above due to the angle.

"You take the lead from now on."

I whisper quietly so as not to make any noise and have the man lead the way. And I hold the rope and proceed through the passage.

After about a minute...

'Damn it...'

I see corpses piled up like rags.

Dozens of corpses, mummified like 'Hans-on', devoid of life force.

No wonder the rotten smell was particularly strong.

"Uh, uh... what the..."

Judging by his flustered expression, it doesn't seem like this place was always like this...

"Be quiet and keep moving."

I push the man's back, who had stopped, and continue forward.

At the same time, I'm on high alert, ready to react immediately if something happens.

That's why I'm able to react.

Click.

A faint light starts to leak from between the pile of corpses with the sound of a mechanical device activating.

And a deep voice echoes through the passage.

[Sabeum, Bania, Hartia]

There's no need to see any more.

It's one of the trap skills possessed by priests of Karui.

I used to call it 'Sabaha' for short because of its unique sound effect.

「Character has entered the [Call of the Evil God] radius.」

Damn it, she set this up?

"Get back!!"

While I warn my companions verbally, I pull the rope with my hand and drag the man towards me.

The reason is simple.

'Sabaha' is not the kind of skill that can be blocked with Physical Resistance or a Laetium shield.

"Hu, huh?"

The man, who is now in my grasp instead of a shield, lets out a dumbfounded sound.

And at that moment...

Hundreds of wraiths that resemble banshees pour out from the other side of the passage.

"Aak!! Aaaaaak!!!"

Seeing this, the man screams and struggles, but I don't let go and hide behind him as much as possible.

It's a good thing this guy is tall.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get away with this much damage.

「Character has absorbed 102 wraiths.」

「Darkness Resistance is above a certain threshold.」

「Effect reduced by 30%.」

「Character’s maximum health temporarily decreased by 29%.」

My vitality drains away as if I have a hole somewhere in my body. My skin dries up like someone who hasn't drunk water for days.

Misha is the first to sense my change.

"Bjo, Bjorn, are you okay?!"

Misha immediately runs to me and checks my condition.

I stop her from giving me a potion right away and straighten my hunched body.

My muscles ache from the tension.

'Damn it, I almost died.'

[Call of the Evil God]

It's a trap skill that unleashes hundreds of souls in a designated direction when activated. The characteristic is that your maximum health decreases by the number of times you're hit by the souls.

Naturally, if your maximum health reaches 0, you die instantly.

Just like this man in my grasp.

"Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine thanks to you blocking from the front. But that guy... is he dead?"

I don't bother answering.

It would be more surprising if he survived in that state with only bones and skin left.

As soon as I put the man down, the dwarf mutters in a daze,

"...It's not something I should say, but it's a good thing we made him take the lead."

I agree.

And I'm not ashamed of that fact.

We're ruthless explorers, after all.

"What are we going to do? If there are more of these, it's too dangerous to continue."

I contemplate for a moment and make a decision.

"Let's keep going."

Setting up [Call of the Evil God] requires various materials.

Most of them are people's life force.

Although there are many corpses around...

...it's probably just one trap since there aren't hundreds of them.

'Besides, I have a feeling that if we don't take care of it now, it will become a headache later...'

I have no evidence, but I have that hunch.

Just as we're about to set off, the dwarf hands me something.

"It's nothing special, but I found this while searching his pockets."

It's the mummified man's ID card.

I don't know why a fugitive would carry an ID card, but...

"We can submit it to the administrative office later when we receive the additional reward... wait, why are you making that face?"

I freeze as I check the ID card.

[Hans Marcom]

...This guy was a Hans too?

Tsk, I'm suddenly feeling uneasy.

_____________________________________

After about twenty steps, we reach Hans E's hideout.

It's more well-furnished than I expected.

There's something that resembles a bed, a table with leftover bread and coffee, and even a candlestick on the wall.

However…

“Hahaha, there’s no one here?”

“Hmm, either she left this place entirely, or she’s just away for a bit.”

There’s no sign of anyone.

And there’s nowhere to hide.

“Don’t let your guard down. She might be hiding.”

We search the vicinity thoroughly, just in case.

Under the bed, under the table, even checking if there are any hidden spaces in the walls.

After about 5 minutes of careful observation, there’s no progress.

Not until Dwarkey uses a spell.

「Liol Wobu Dwarkey has cast the 8th-grade support spell [Mana Detection].」

[Mana Detection]

It’s a search spell that reveals anything that has been magically tampered with.

“How is it?”

“It’s ambiguous.”

“Ambiguous?”

“I can faintly sense mana from the floor here… but it’s too faint. It’s almost like I’m mistaken.”

I then check the spot Dwarkey pointed to.

Since I’m not a mage, I can’t see anything unusual.

There aren’t even any subtle cracks or anything.

“Is there no way to find out more with magic?”

“No. But if I had to guess, this magic seems to be hiding something beneath it.”

“I see.”

After that one-word question, I immediately raise my mace.

The dwarf asks, seeing my actions,

“What are you doing?”

“Smashing it.”

“…Smashing it?”

I don’t bother answering the dwarf’s question. Well, since magical means are blocked, it’s time to use physical means.

Like a barbarian.

Kwaaang!

The mace, which has doubled in size and weight compared to before, hits the ground, and the earth trembles.

But that’s all.

“Bjorn, you can’t open a magical device like that.”

Dwarkey, who was watching, throws in his two cents, but I continue swinging my mace.

Kwaaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

The mace is still intact, probably because it’s made of solid steel.

Of course, the ground is slightly dented, but that’s it.

Therefore—

“Stop it. Even Dwarkey said that it wouldn’t work…”

I take off my breastplate, my shoes, my helmet, and put down the backpack I was carrying on my back.

Everyone looks at me with a ‘what the hell is he doing?’ expression.

「Character has cast [Gigantification].」

「Character’s size increases, and threat level and physical stats increase proportionally.」

My body doubles in size, and my strength surges. The dwarf still mutters discouragingly,

“Even if it’s you, magic doesn’t work that way…”

It won’t work?

As a veteran of this game and a current barbarian warrior, I still find it hard to agree.

If you can’t break it with strength—

Kwaaang—!!!!

—it’s because you’re not strong enough.

“……???!”

Ah, well, except for ghosts.

___________________________

“So it works.”

“Dwarkey, what happened? Weren’t you the one who confidently said it wouldn’t work?”

“Uh, that is… I don’t know either. Why this worked…”

Ignoring their muttering, I check the floor.

After two swings, light starts to leak out and cracks appear, and with the third swing, it shatters. There’s a staircase under the hole.

“A hidden staircase in a sewer like this…”

It’s so deep that I can’t see the end even when I shine the torch down.

It feels like a passage to the underworld.

“Do we really have to go down there…?”

Misha looks at me with a disgusted expression.

Honestly, I don’t want to either.

Since it was used as a hideout, I thought it would just be a small space big enough to hide one person…

‘But what is this?’

I feel like I’ve gotten involved in something troublesome, but at the same time, I’m also a bit curious. After all, the sewers were a restricted area in the game.

Of course, I have no intention of risking danger just out of curiosity.

But…

“Bjorn, I can faintly smell that woman from down there.”

“What?”

“She definitely passed through here. And not too long ago.”

Damn it, what should we do?

Should I just call it quits here and tell them to handle it themselves?

I’m deeply troubled.

So I ask for Rotmiller’s opinion as well.

“Rotmiller, what do you think? Do you think it’s better to retreat?”

“…I think it’s okay to just check for a bit. I can’t smell anyone else down there besides that woman.”

It’s a slightly unexpected answer.

But did my surprise show on my face?

Rotmiller chuckles and adds an explanation.

“Somehow, I have a feeling it won’t be too dangerous.”

Hmm, so it’s because of his Sixth Sense stat.

Although there’s no clear evidence, I don’t ignore his words.

‘His accuracy is quite high.’

In fact, Rotmiller accurately sensed Hans E’s presence when he was hiding.

The reason he was reluctant to go to the hideout?

If he sensed that it was dangerous because of traps, it would also explain why he was the only one who opposed going to the 4th floor during the vote.

‘Sixth Sense… it might be a better stat than I thought.’

I finally make a decision.

“Rotmiller, you take the lead from now on. If you feel anything even slightly off, we’ll turn back immediately.”

Rotmiller’s intuition is quite reliable.

_____________________________________

“Vice-leader, the ‘gate’ has been destroyed.”

A man frowns at his subordinate’s report.

The underground shelter built in the ancient times, when Lafdonia was just a lord’s castle and had not yet undergone countless expansions.

And the city of ‘Noark’ located there.

Most of the entrances to this place are guarded by members who are always on watch.

But…

“The gate is destroyed? Don’t tell me it’s an attack from the royal family?”

“The probability of that is low.”

“…Explain in detail.”

At the man’s urging, his subordinate hurriedly explains the situation.

“It turns out to be a forgotten gate that’s been abandoned since the Karui Church incident. According to the last reconnaissance report, a vagrant was using it as a hideout.”

“Hmm.”

The man strokes his chin.

It’s a habit he has when he’s contemplating something.

“There’s no reason for the royal family to target us now… but it’s clear that they’re intruders, so we need to confirm.”

“Yes. Which unit should I contact?”

“Is there a need to send a unit?”

The man asks rhetorically and looks at the woman next to him.

It’s the woman he was talking to before his subordinate’s report.

They were talking about how the barbarian he let go of has become a famous explorer in the city. It was an interesting story for once, but it was interrupted…

“Amelia, you can handle anyone quietly, right? Would you mind going there on our behalf?”

They can continue their conversation later.