Chapter 15 - Diopina's Dungeon (1)
“It... it seems to be over.”
Dorn said as the roaring sound that had been coming from beyond the dungeon's darkness subsided.
“Could it be that we triggered a magic trap without realizing it? Like the Chimera we killed was the trigger for the trap….”
The experienced Kevin asked Etiang for her opinion.
“Well, I'm hastily running a detection spell right now, but there are no magical traces left on the Chimera's corpse.”
“I see.
Then what could have happened?”
“All I can offer are conjectures. Uncertain speculations like the magician named Diopina had a very nasty personality and set up a trap that would unconditionally activate whenever someone entered her dungeon.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Not often, but it's not entirely rare either.”
Kevin and Etiang were analyzing the cause like seasoned explorers.
I guess experience is something that shines when a crisis hits.
Looking at Dorn and Bob standing there silently like mutes who had eaten honey, that thought naturally came to mind.
Before we entered, this comedy duo's mouths really hadn't rested.
“Now, whatever the cause, there is only one thing we must do. Move forward.”
“That is true.”
At my words, Etiang shrugged and spoke.
“Let's first assess our situation. First, I will check how much food we brought with us.”
We each took out the food we had packed in our backpacks and gathered it together.
“It looks like about a week's worth in total. If we eat sparingly, we can last for two weeks.”
Kevin reported with a grim expression.
“Food aside, drinking water is the problem.”
“We were planning to go back and forth to the Caravan during the exploration……. It can't be helped.”
Etiang looked worriedly at the collected water supply.
Four 2-liter water bottles.
It was an utterly insufficient amount for five people to survive for two weeks.
“In natural caves like this with high humidity, there's a high probability that edible moss grows. Furthermore, since this dungeon is near a water source, there's a possibility of drinkable water nearby. For now, let's start exploring with hope.”
Kevin comforted everyone by presenting the most realistic alternatives.
“Yes, I think so too. But what's really fortunate is that we brought enough torches and sleeping bags. It would have been a real disaster if we had left the camping gear in the Caravan.”
I also chimed in with Kevin, saying the most hopeful things I could.
“That's right. I was thinking I'd have to light the way with my Light spell if it came to it.”
Etiang also set aside her usual haughty tone for a moment and played along.
At the conversation between the three of us, the stiff expressions on Bob and Dorn's faces gradually softened.
“That's right.
We came in to explore anyway, so nothing's changed.
At the end of a magician's dungeon like this, there's always a magic portal to get outside.
If it's a magician who can create a dungeon of this level, there will definitely be a portal in their laboratory.”
Dorn soon nodded as well.
“Alright. Then let's hurry and move while we're still motivated.”
I quickly got the exploration team moving.
Although we had made an effort to have a bright conversation to lighten the stiff atmosphere, the lack of food and water was an undeniable fact.
“We will move in the same formation as when we entered.
Just in case, Ms. Etiang, please keep running trap detection.
I'll also keep checking for monsters ahead with mana detection.
If either my or Ms. Etiang's mana runs out, we will rest on the spot.
During that rest, I'll ask Kevin and Brother-Bob to handle the defense.”
I presented the most conservative and safest method to the exploration team in the current situation.
Everyone nodded as if they understood.
‘These are all problems that can be solved.’
Finding a way through a maze-like dungeon would eventually be resolved by exploring meticulously with time and effort.
The scattered relics and rewards would naturally be found while searching for the path.
‘Chimeras are originally classified as the weakest type of monster.’
There's a saying that a living creature's current form is its final evolutionary form.
That also meant that a creature's natural form was the most suitable for survival.
Therefore, Chimeras, which were made by arbitrarily mixing evolved individuals, were often neither here nor there.
Moreover, even the current civilization has not yet developed alchemy or magic capable of creating life, so what more could be said of hundreds or thousands of years ago.
For these reasons, Chimeras were classified as monsters that even an E-rank mercenary could handle sufficiently.
Nevertheless, there was only one reason for my concern.
The resurrection of Diopina.
“Mr. Dorn, what circle magician did you say Diopina was?”
“In a diary presumed to be her last, it was written that she had created her sixth circle. Why?”
“Ah, I was trying to predict the level of the monsters.”
“If it's monsters, they probably won't be that strong. They're Chimeras, after all. That's also why we chose this destination.”
“I see.”
If she was a 6th Circle magician, our party would be annihilated just by making eye contact.
Of course, the message said her circles were transformed into traps, but that also meant the dungeon's trap level had risen to that of a sixth circle.
That in itself was a worry.
The Winds of Fate.
Even though I had prepared thoroughly, it put me in a difficult situation in a completely unexpected way.
“Mr. Dorn, for now, please do your best to create a map of the dungeon.”
“Ye...Yes! I understand.”
As we had such conversations, we continued to move forward.
After passing a large cavern that appeared a short while later, we were walking along a single path for a moment.
“It's a fork in the road. Mr. Savior.”
Kevin stopped and said.
Three paths, which hadn't existed in the original dungeon, appeared.
“What about magic traps?”
I immediately asked Etiang.
“There are very powerful magic traps on the two paths, excluding the left one. I don't think I can disarm them with my skills.”
Bad news came from Etiang's mouth.
This was no different from being forced into a choice.
Furthermore, there was also a trap in the last option.
It wasn't a magic trap, so Etiang hadn't noticed it.
“We will take the left path. Everyone, please wait here for a moment. There's a trap over there too.”
“A trap? You can see it?”
Leaving behind a startled Kevin who asked back, I walked towards the left path.
If Etiang couldn't disarm a magic trap, there was nothing to be done, but if it was a physical trap of this kind, it was a different story.
In my past life, I learned a great many things from the barbarians of the north.
And among them was how to dismantle traps like this.
An uneven stone floor, no different from the path we had walked so far.
But if you looked closely, you could see a small stone with a subtly different color from its surroundings.
It was evidence of a trap that one wouldn't notice without looking very carefully.
I carefully lifted the stone.
Then, a single thin wire connected to the stone was revealed.
I intuitively knew that this wire was the trigger for the trap.
I raised my hand and motioned for the party to move back a little more.
In the off chance the trap was triggered and something flew backward, it could be dangerous.
Kevin, as if understanding, pushed his giant square shield forward, and the rest of the members hid behind it.
Everyone watched me with bated breath in a state of tension.
‘She installed a pretty complex trap. Is this also because of the Winds of Fate?’
I knelt and took a small tool out of my leather pouch.
With sharp eyes, I followed the end of the wire, locating the mechanism to which it was connected.
Soon, I was able to find the mechanism hidden inside the wall near the end of the wire.
I reached for the mechanism.
My heart pounded as if it would explode.
I felt the cold touch of metal on my fingertips.
I carefully pulled the wire.
I could feel the resistance of a small spring from beyond the tautly pulled wire.
Using a thin, flat metal plate, I carefully propped it around the wire.
This was to secure the trigger mechanism to which the wire was connected.
The work proceeded with great precision and caution.
One mistake, and a huge number of arrows would surely fly out and make me look like a hedgehog.
I took a deep breath.
My hand trembled at the thought that the trap's structure was more complex than I expected.
With the device fixed by the metal plate, I gently pulled the wire once more.
The wire only moved slightly; the trigger remained fixed.
‘Now it's time to cut the wire.’
Using a small cutting tool, I found the thinnest part of the wire.
For a moment, a tension so thick I couldn't breathe flowed.
Aided by that tension, I focused deeply and cut the wire very carefully.
Jjigeok.
A small sound was made as the wire snapped.
As everyone watched with bated breath, the trap ultimately did not activate.
“Phew, it's done.”
Finally, I inspected the area around the device and confirmed that the trigger was properly secured.
After judging that everything was safe, I moved away from the wall.
I wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on my forehead with my sleeve.
“Wow, when did you learn to disarm traps?”
Dorn asked me, surprised.
I smiled and answered.
“I've told you before, right? I've lived a pretty rough life. You tend to pick up miscellaneous skills when you do all sorts of things. Now, let's move forward again.”
And I spoke to Kevin.
“Mr. Kevin, there may be more traps like this ahead, so please advance as slowly as possible. There's no way to check for this kind of trap other than seeing it with your own eyes. Mr. Dorn, please come to my side and shine the torch a little more forward.”
The formation was adjusted.
“You're quite skilled. I heard this was your first time exploring as a mercenary.”
“Monsters and traps won't go easy on me just because it's my first time.”
“So it's out of necessity?”
“I'm also quite competent by nature.”
We hadn't gone more than a few steps past the trap when something was caught in my mana detection.
“Stop, everyone into battle formation.”
“Is it a monster?”
Kevin asked as he raised his shield towards the front, where nothing was visible.
“Yes, at the end of this passage, there's a cavern almost the same size as the one we saw at the beginning, and there are about three life forms in it. Given the place, they are probably Chimeras. But the problem is….”
“A problem?”
As my voice trailed off, Kevin hastily asked back while still keeping his eyes forward.
The role of the main tank is to protect the party members from the front.
I could feel Kevin's determination not to miss even the smallest problem.
“They are very large. Each one seems to be about 3 meters tall.”
What on earth do you stitch together to get something that big?
Don't they usually avoid using large monsters as Chimera materials?
They require a lot of blood, and if the volume to be connected is large, it takes a long time, causing the joints to necrotize.
“Chimeras? They're 3 meters tall?”
As if thinking the same thing as me, Mr. Kevin also looked surprised.
No, I'm flabbergasted too.
Why is that thing so big? It's making me anxious.