«Rotmiller, can you feel who's inside?» Asked.
«The smell of filth is too strong to tell».
«I see. Then I'll go down first, so follow me to the sign».
The pit was about 16 feet long and reminiscent of a water tank. With the shield on my back, I quickly descended the creaking staircase. When I waved to them, the rest followed me.
«It's a little creepy». By illuminating the field of view with the flashlight, a passageway became visible that could not be seen from above due to the angle. «From now on, you take the initiative». I murmured quietly so as not to let any sound be heard and placed the prisoner in front. Then, holding the rope, I walked down the hallway.
A minute later, I saw bodies stacked like sacks of clothes.
Fuck...
The dozens of corpses were shaped like mummies, like Hanson, who had been emptied of life. No wonder the rotten smell was especially bad.
«U-uh... what is it...?» Seeing that bewildered look from my guide, it didn't seem like this place was originally like this.
«Shut up and keep moving». I pushed his back, as it had stopped, and continued moving forward. However, I kept intensifying all my nerves so I could respond to anything immediately. That's why I was able to react.
Clink.
A faint light began to filter through the pile of corpses with the sound of a working mechanical device, and an imposing voice echoed through the tunnel.
«Saveum, Banja, Hartia».
There was nothing else to see. This was one of the trap-type abilities that Karui priests possessed. Due to its unique sound effect, it was usually called «Sabaha» for short.
[You have entered the radius of the Call of the Evil God].
Damn, was it a trap?
«Back!» As I warned my companions with words, I pulled the rope with my hand and pulled the man towards me. The reason was simple. Sabaha was not an ability that could be blocked with physical resistance or a lithinum shield.
«Hey, huh?» The man holding in my hand instead of a shield made a stupid sound.
Just then, hundreds of banshee-like ghosts emerged from the other side of the tunnel.
«Agh! Aaaaah!» Seeing this, the prisoner screamed and struggled, but I did not let up and hid as much as I could behind the man. I was glad this guy was tall. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to get away with just this amount of damage.
[You have absorbed 102 ghosts. The Dark Resistance is above a certain level. The effect is reduced by 30%. Dark Resistance temporarily decreases your maximum HP by 29%].
Vitality escaped from my body as if there were a hole through which it filtered. My skin became dry like that of a person who hasn't drunk water in several days.
Missha was the first to notice my change. «B-Bjorn, are you okay?» He immediately ran up to me to check my condition. I stopped him from trying to make me drink a potion right away and straightened my crouching body. My muscles hurt from being so tense.
Damn, I almost died there.
Evil God Call was a trap-type ability that poured out hundreds of souls in a certain direction when activated. Its characteristic was that the maximum HP of the affected person decreased by the number of times it hit the soul. Naturally, if the maximum value was 0, you died instantly, just like the guy hanging from my hand here.
«Are you okay?» I asked.
«We're fine because you blocked the front. Anyway, that man... is dead?»
I didn't have to answer. It would have been even more amazing if he survived with nothing left but bones and a skin.
As soon as I let go of the man I was holding tightly in my hand, Hikurod murmured as if dizzy: «...It may not be the best thing to say now, but it was a good idea to put that guy in front».
I agreed, and I wasn't ashamed of it. We were ruthless explorers.
«What are you going to do? If there is another one of these, it will be too dangerous to go further».
After considering it for a moment, I made a decision. «We will continue».
Various materials were needed to install the Call of the Evil God, especially human vitality. There were many corpses around, but not hundreds, so it must have been a unique facility.
Plus, if we don't deal with it now, it will cause problems later.
I had nothing to back that up other than a hunch.
As I was about to leave, the dwarf handed me something. «It's nothing important, but when I searched through his belongings, I found this». It was the nameplate of the man who had become a mummy. I didn't know why the fugitive criminal was wearing an ID badge, but... «You can present it at the administrative office when you go to receive the extra pay later... Wait, why do you have a face like that?».
After checking the nameplate, I was shocked. Hans Marcom. Was he a Hans too? Dang, I was worrying now.
***
After walking about 20 steps, I arrived at the hiding place Hans E talked about. It was better decorated than I expected. There was a makeshift bed, a table with leftover bread and coffee, and even a chandelier hanging on the wall. Except...
«Hahaha, there's no one».
«Hmm, I think she left this place completely, or she's away for the moment.»
No other presence could be felt. It wasn't like there was anywhere to hide.
«Stay alert. It could be hidden». Still, I first looked around and searched the area thoroughly, under the bed, under the table, even the wall in search of some hidden space. I inspected carefully for about five minutes, but there was no significant progress, at least until Dwalkie started using his magic.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has released the level 8 Mana Detection auxiliary magic].
Mana Detection: Exploration-type magic that made anything with added mana evident. «What do you think?» i asked.
«It's hard to say».
«How is that?»
«There's something faintly magical about the ground here... but it's too weak. To the point that I may have confused you».
I soon checked the ground that Dwalkie was pointing to. Since I wasn't a magician, I didn't see anything strange. There wasn't a slight flaw or anything. «Is there a way to learn more with magic here?».
«No. Although I can only assume that this magic hides something underneath».
«I see.» After just one question, I immediately raised my mace.
Seeing me like this, Hikurod asked: «What are you doing?».
«I'm hitting her.»
«... Knocking her down?»
This time I didn't answer. Well, if magical means were limited, it was time to use physical means, like a barbarian.
Bam!
The moment the mace (which had doubled in price and size) hit the ground, it trembled.
However, that was it.
«Bjorn, magic devices can't be opened that way», said Dwalkie, who was watching, and scolded me, but I continued silently with my baton.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
Perhaps because it was made of steel, the mace turned out completely fine after hitting it on the ground. Of course, the floor was a little dented, but there was no change either.
«That's enough», Hikurod said. «Dwalkie already said it. This kind of method...»
I took off my armor, shoes and helmet, and even left the backpack I was carrying. Everyone looked at me as if to say: «What are you doing suddenly?».
[You have launched Gigantization. Your threat level and physical value increase in proportion to the growth in your size].
As my body doubled in size, my strength increased accordingly. However, the dwarf continued to spit out useless words. «Even if you do that, without magic, it's...».
Impossible? As an expert in this game and an active barbarian, I still had a hard time agreeing with that. If I couldn't break it by force, it was because I lacked power.
Banggg!
Oh, except for the ghosts, of course.
«Wow, so this is possible», Missha gaped.
«Dwalkie, what happened? Didn't you clearly say no?».
«Hey, that... I'm not sure either. How did he do it...?».
Leaving everyone's comments behind, I checked the floor. After hitting it a couple of times, the light filtered out and it began to crack. On the third hit, I surprisingly saw a ladder under the shattered hole. «Hidden stairs in these sewers?».
It was so deep that you couldn't see the end, even if a flashlight was placed underneath. It seemed like a path to the underworld.
«We're not going down there, are we...?». Missha looked at me with a reluctant expression. To be honest, I didn't like it either. It was used as a hiding place, so I assumed it would be a cavity only large enough to hide a body.
But what is this now?
Feeling trapped in something problematic, I also felt a little curious. That was because the sewer itself was a forbidden area in the game. Of course, I had no intention of taking any chances out of curiosity.
«Bjorn, the woman's smell comes faintly from down here», Brown announced.
«What?»
«It's clear he passed by here. And it hasn't been long either».
Damn, what do I do? Should I come back here and let them find out on their own? Concern began to increase. So, I asked Brown's opinion, too. «Rotmiller, what do you think? Is it good to go back like this?»
«... Just a brief check should be fine. It doesn't smell like anyone but that woman down there». It was a slightly surprising response. Was that feeling too obvious? Brown laughed and added: «For some reason, I have a feeling it won't be too dangerous.».
Well, the sixth sense was the reason. There was no clear evidence, but I listened to his words.
The hit rate is higher than I thought.
In fact, when Hans E was hiding, Brown detected him very precisely. Had he been reluctant to head to the hideout? If he had sensed the danger of the trap from the beginning, it was understandable that he was the only one who opposed it despite the majority vote.
Sixth sense, huh? This may be a better statistic than I thought.
I soon came to a conclusion. «Rotmiller, you will take charge from now on. If you feel something is wrong, we will return immediately». Brown's senses were quite reliable.
***
«Vice-Captain, the door has been destroyed».
A man frowned at his subordinate's report. An underground shelter had been created thousands of years ago, before Rafdonia, a mere stately castle, was built as much as it is now. The city of Noark was built here. Most of the entrances to this place were guarded by members who watched at all times.
«Is the door destroyed? Could it be an attack by the royal family?»
«The probability of that has been determined as low».
«...Tell me the details.»
At the vice-captain's urging, the subordinate was quick to explain. «Upon inspection, it was a door forgotten since the Karui incident. I reviewed the latest scan report, which said it was being used as a hideout by a single homeless man.»
«Hmm.» The man rubbed his chin. It was an old habit of his that came up when he was worried. «There's no reason for the royal family to agitate us now, but... Still, it's obvious that this is an intruder, so we'll have to check it out».
«Yes sir. Which unit do you want to contact?»
«Is there any reason to send troops?» The vice captain asked the woman next to him. She had been talking to him until her subordinate gave her this report, talking about a barbarian she let go in the past and who had become a famous explorer of the city. Unfortunately, the interesting conversation was cut in half. «Amelia, if it were you, you could calmly take care of whoever it is. Would you go check it out for us?».
The rest of the story could continue later.