Chapter 14 - Exploration (3)
“According to the documents I found, this ruin was originally a temple.”
We, just as excited as Dorn, gathered our heads around Dorn's archaeology table.
Dorn, even more excited than us, had us sit down and began his explanation.
“And in ancient society, gods were the center of humanity and the core of human development. That's why there was always a temple in the center of a city.”
Tap, tap.
Dorn pointed to a part of the map with a pointer.
“So, are you saying that this ruin we found during our last exploration was originally the center of an ancient civilization?”
Huhu.
Dorn chuckled at the question Bob couldn't help but ask.
Wow, so Dorn can laugh like that too.
He spoke to Bob with a smirk that seemed to look down on people.
“I thought so too, so I tried to find traces of civilization centering around the temple. But for some reason, this temple was built alone, like a remote island. Yes. Just like a forgotten god. And the name of that forgotten god is the Goddess of Fate, Moirai.”
“What does that mean? You said temples are usually built in the center of a civilization. And what does that have to do with the magician's dungeon we're trying to get to?”
“That's a key question. Mr. Bob, I'll give you credit for that.”
The corner of Dorn's mouth twisted up on the left side.
At this point, it was like his personality had changed.
Dorn in archaeologist mode was, looking at him again, a real jerk.
Normally he was such a softy, but how he changed like this whenever the topic of archaeology came up was a mystery.
It was as if his confidence was filled to the brim.
They tried to force a kid who loves archaeology this much into a political marriage, so of course he ran away from home.
“This temple appeared later, as if it suddenly fell from the sky.
The dates and times of the excavated relics are all over the place, and even estimating the age of the framework supporting the building yielded the absurd result of three hundred thousand years ago.
So, after returning to the city and compiling various documents and information, I formed a hypothesis.”
“Spatial transfer, or dimensional transfer.”
I said, as if muttering to myself.
Ttak.
“Correct.”
Dorn snapped his fingers and pointed at me.
“This temple suddenly appeared here one day through spatial or dimensional transfer. I don't know the reason why. However, the observed results say so. And the one who first discovered it was Diopina, the owner of the dungeon we're looking for.”
Tak.
Dorn once again pointed with his pointer to a location on the map quite far from the temple we were currently in.
“Looking at the records left in the temple, it seems Diopina was a magician exiled from the city. The city she lived in was around here. She was likely suppressed by those around her because the subjects she researched were living organisms and life itself. It seems she was also misunderstood as using black magic.”
“Chimera?”
It was Etiang who reacted to Dorn's words this time.
“That's right. There's a high probability that the monsters inhabiting the dungeon are Chimeras. We'll have to go to find out for sure, though.”
“No, so where is that magician Diopina's dungeon located?”
“The woman gave me a riddle.”
Dorn opened an old book on top of the parchment map, and on it was written an ancient language.
“Find the creature that breathes with its ribs, and enter through its mouth.”
Dorn read the ancient text aloud so everyone could understand.
“A creature that breathes with its ribs?”
“Is there such a thing?”
Everyone murmured, unable to find the answer.
At the end of the murmuring, Etiang and Dorn spoke at the same time.
“A snake.”
And Dorn pointed to a small river on the map.
The winding river looked just like a snake.
“Oh? You knew, Ms. Etiang? I only found out after coming to this temple yesterday and today to further investigate the books left by Diopina. The fact that snakes move their ribs to breathe.”
“I have a little interest in life and living organisms.”
Etiang answered shyly, and Dorn nodded once before continuing.
“So, this place right here has the highest probability of being Diopina's dungeon.”
The place Dorn pointed to was the source of the river.
“Looks like a snake's head.”
Just as Bob said, the source of the river, located at the end of the winding river, looked exactly like a snake's head.
“Alright. Then let's eat breakfast and depart.”
I'll have to praise Dorn a little later.
We ate breakfast and left in the Caravan for the lake where Diopina's dungeon was supposed to be.
***
“How do we find the entrance here?”
Bob said, as if daunted by the size of the lake, which was larger than he thought.
“Ms. Etiang, a detection spell, please.”
“Detect.”
At my request, Etiang cast the 2nd Circle spell, Detect, without a word.
And a short while later.
“There's something over there. Disarm Trap.”
The place Etiang pointed to was a patch of grass near the lakeshore.
She immediately cast a trap-disarming spell.
Then, the illusion lifted, revealing the entrance to a small cave.
“It seems this is the place, right?”
Etiang asked Dorn, and Dorn nodded.
“What a relief.”
Then he whispered quietly enough that only I, who was nearby, could hear.
He didn't show it, but Dorn was actually in a state of extreme tension.
The entire exploration team was moving based on his words, so what if there was nothing at the lake?
Well, things like that happened frequently, but for Dorn, who was still a novice explorer, such a situation would be a huge burden.
“Form up into a travel formation.”
We parked the Caravan neatly to one side and quickly arranged the exploration team's formation.
Well, with only five people, could you even call it a formation?
Kevin, holding a giant shield and a mace, stood at the very front, and I stood one step behind him.
Behind them, the magicians Etiang and Dorn stood side-by-side, and at the very back, Bob stood guard, watching the rear.
It was the travel formation we had arranged beforehand.
“Mr. Dorn, please take out a torch and hold it.”
It would have been nice if Etiang could cast a Light spell, but we had to conserve mana, so we decided to use a torch for now.
That's why I had Dorn, who had no combat ability, hold the torch.
Normally, a porter or the Caravan driver would hold it, but we didn't have one, so we had no choice.
“Is everyone ready?”
I looked back, making eye contact with each of the exploration members.
Kevin faced me stoically as always, while Bob grinned playfully and nodded.
Dorn looked at me with large eyes filled with curiosity and fear.
Etiang, too, had her eyes narrowed like a cat, showing signs of being extremely tense.
“We don't know what's inside. There might be a battle the moment we enter. Everyone, brace yourselves.”
Of course, I knew what was inside the dungeon.
This dungeon had a linear structure, in the form of a long cave.
So, there was no need to find a path; just by advancing straight ahead, one could reach the magician's laboratory at the end of the cave without difficulty.
And the fact that it was linear also meant there was a high possibility that the monsters inside would swarm us at the slightest sound and mob us.
I gave the party members as much warning as possible.
“We'll enter once Ms. Etiang's attack spell casting is complete. Please prepare one with the highest lethality possible.”
And after a moment, Etiang, who had been chanting a long spell, looked at me and nodded.
A held state after the casting was finished, right before releasing the spell.
“We're going in.”
Kevin carefully took a step into the dark cave.
Following him, the rest of the party members, including myself, slowly followed him inside.
As we passed through the narrow entrance, the dungeon's scenery slowly came into view.
The farther we got from the entrance, the dimmer the sunlight became, and our surroundings were plunged into deep darkness.
From behind, the single torch held by Dorn was lonely illuminating a small area.
The air in the cave was cool and damp, and amidst the silence, the sound of dripping water occasionally echoed.
The floor was made of uneven, rough stone.
There were sharp protrusions and uneven surfaces here and there, so we had to be careful with every step.
Long stalactites descending from the ceiling like giant chandeliers told us that this space held an amount of time beyond human comprehension.
“Kkik, kkik.”
And in the center of that huge cavern, a hideous creature was looking at us.
It was as short as a goblin, with skin patched together like rags.
A strange creature with three arms and four legs.
“I think I'm gonna puke.”
Bob, who was at the very back, blurted out.
“Explosion.”
As soon as Bob's words were out, the spell Etiang had been holding flew towards the Chimera.
Kwang!
The spell, which closed the distance in an instant, blew up the Chimera's head.
The Chimera's headless body collapsed.
“Everyone, hold your position. Ms. Etiang, please check for any spell traps.”
It was at that moment.
A blue window appeared before my eyes, and letters scrolled up haphazardly.
[The Winds of Fate are blowing.]
[‘Event - Diopina's Dungeon’ is intensifying.]
[The master of the dungeon, Diopina, is resurrected.]
[Diopina, the magician of life who dreamt of eternal life, is enraged by the intrusion into the dungeon.]
[The cave entrance is blocked. You cannot leave the dungeon until it is cleared.]
“Aargh. Savior, the cave entrance is collapsing.”
Along with the shout from Bob, who was at the very back.
Ruuuumble.
The entrance to the cave our exploration team had entered collapsed.
The strange event didn't end there.
[Diopina's mental world is projected onto the dungeon. Proceeding with maze transformation.]
[The dungeon's structure is changing according to the maze transformation.]
Kureureung kureung.
A loud noise came from beyond the abyss of the cave.
What in the world is happening?
If this happens, doesn't it make my past memories themselves useless?
“Mr. Savior, do you know what's going on?”
“Dorn, wasn't this in those documents you interpreted or something? Did the magician place a curse on the dungeon?”
The exploration team was instantly thrown into chaos.
It was understandable, as the entrance had collapsed and at the same time, a sound like the heavens and earth were twisting could be heard.
In a situation like this, perhaps the only person who could remain calm was a Regressor who had regressed a hundred times.
“Everyone, calm down. For now, we wait here until the sound in front of us stops. Grab the person next to you in case something happens.”
I loudly told everyone the countermeasures.
At my calm shout, everyone seemed to have calmed down a little.
‘When in chaos, what you need is someone you can rely on.’
That is human instinct.
In a chaotic situation like this, there had to be someone to step up and manage the situation.
This was not a time to panic, but a time to calmly assess the situation.
Maintaining composure at moments like this was the role of a leader.
So I shouted earnestly.
Because I am the leader of this exploration team.
“It's alright. It will be fine if we wait a bit. Nothing has changed. We came here to clear this dungeon, and now that our way back is blocked, we just have to move forward and clear the dungeon as was our original purpose.”
My voice kept getting buried by the roaring sound the dungeon was spitting out, but I didn't care.
Because the message that appeared before my eyes was telling me that it was safe for now.
I squeezed the hands I was holding tightly and shouted so everyone could feel at ease.
However, the bad news didn't stop there.
[Diopina becomes the dungeon itself.]
[The six circles Diopina possesses are converted into the dungeon's magic traps. The existing magic traps and snares will become more elaborate.]
[The positions of the monsters within the dungeon are being rearranged. Stronger monsters will appear the deeper you go into the dungeon.]
“My goodness. What is this now?”
The moment I saw the message that popped up before my eyes, I couldn't help but be flustered.
Even I, who had regressed a hundred times, couldn't help but be surprised by this.