NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53
Fortunately, there were no monster waves on the way to our destination.
We only encountered a few trivial small fries.
“Is this it?”
“I think so.”
The Twin Rocks were originally a single massive boulder that had been completely split in half.
The developers took inspiration from a real-life mystery.
Was it the Al-Naslaa rock in Saudi Arabia?
They said the Twin Rocks had a perfectly straight cut, just like that.
When I saw it in the game, I just shrugged it off.
But seeing it up close made me gasp in awe.
‘It wasn’t sliced in half with a lightsaber? This is?’
The straight cut was one thing, but the size and shape on both sides were identical down to the last detail.
It wasn’t small either; it was as big as a house.
They say this is a natural work of art without magic.
I felt a strangely reverent mood.
“What’s amazing is how precisely it was split. Could it be natural?”
“That can’t be.”
For some reason, Isabella was right this time.
Caught off guard, Isabella scratched the back of her head in confusion.
“Well, I guess.”
I stepped back from the two and placed my hand on the Twin Rocks.
Just as I knew, it maintained its form despite the heavy snow and blizzards.
It wasn’t hot enough to melt the snow in an instant.
Maybe it was magically treated, but I was about to ask Charlotte why when I decided against it.
I didn’t have enough curiosity for that.
“Charlotte, let out some magic through the crevice.”
“Yes.”
As soon as she spoke, Charlotte moved without asking any questions.
It was nice to have someone that obedient.
Humm—
As soon as the magic spread through the crevice, the rock began to move.
As if it were a sign, something slowly began to emerge from the rock.
Unintelligible symbols and geometric shapes resembling ancient murals appeared.
Intricate kanji symbols representing dragons were also conspicuously visible.
‘That must be the old dragon.’
At the top, a stag-horned dragon soared, bowing down in front of it were smaller dragons.
It looked like kanji was popping out of the dragon’s wide-open mouth.
It was clearly a way to represent dragon language.
Thus, the ancient dungeon sleeping underground was activated.
Without this procedure, entering would yield no rewards, making it pointless to go in.
“What is this? Do you know, Vice Captain?”
“I don’t really…”
Almost simultaneously, both of their gazes landed on me.
I pondered how to brush it off and decided to change the subject.
“Isabella. Break it.”
“Huh? Me? …Can I?”
With your level, it should be fine.
Isabella still didn’t realize her own strength.
She hadn’t been an 8th-ranked lord for very long, so it made sense.
“If you think you might get hurt, push yourself back.”
It would be pretty tough, though.
Regardless of the method, we needed to clear the rock from this spot.
If we dug down below the rock, we would reveal a stone wall, and breaking that would lead us to a staircase underground.
“Um… Do you think I can do it?”
“We won’t know until you try.”
Just when I thought she would hesitate, Isabella stretched out her hands.
“Huh! …Huh?”
Kugugu—
It wasn’t that she was pushed back; she was propelled forward in one go.
She moved that giant boulder as if it were a chair.
‘Really a monster.’
At level 88, her base stats were indeed off the charts.
Even with blood magic as her basic skill, her base stats would naturally rise.
Isabella silently looked down at her hands.
“…Wow.”
Looks like she didn’t even realize her own strength to this extent.
“Dig a hole.”
With Isabella, I wouldn’t even need to give her that order.
Thud! Thud!
Every time Isabella jumped, a hole was dug, and the stone wall leading to the underground tunnel was quickly revealed.
That stone wall too broke apart at her kicks like a wooden plank.
As I gently nudged it, debris poured down, and stairs led down into the darkness.
Estimating the width of the passageway, it seemed one person could enter at a time.
“Is it an ancient ruin? How did the boss know about this place?”
“By chance, I suppose.”
With no words to say, I decided to play dumb.
Isabella didn’t ask beyond that.
“Summon Wilhelm.”
I placed Wilhelm (the meat shield) who appeared from Charlotte’s shadow at the front.
Following him, I began to descend the stairs with Isabella and Charlotte behind me.
As we approached dusk, Charlotte attached a glowing orb to the lantern.
Thanks to our racial traits, Isabella and I didn’t need it.
The sound of our footsteps echoed eerily, and the darkness deepened as we ventured further inside.
There were no sources of light around us other than Charlotte’s lantern, but I didn’t mind since we were undead.
In fact, it felt cozy like home.
A spiraling staircase that led endlessly onward.
Unbeknownst to us, it reminded me of the treacherous schemes of the King Balutak.
‘Just suddenly ticked me off.’
I had accumulated a lot of stress from the Balutak Dungeon.
Well, I’m fine now, though.
Before long, the end of the staircase came into view, and behind it lay a vast cavern.
“Wait a moment.”
I picked up a stone lying on the ground.
Like most ancient dungeons, this dragon’s tomb had trap triggers.
The way to identify them was through an irregular pattern.
Among the claw-like patterns on the wall, a few had solid lines drawn.
It was just like playing “find the difference.”
In the game, I remembered all their locations, but since this had become reality, both the scale and the intricate details were different.
Fortunately, I was undead, so I didn’t have to bother with holding a lantern and looking around.
‘This one.’
The moment I found the trigger, I threw the stone.
Boom!
From a distance, both walls converged towards the center and then returned to their places.
At that speed, if someone was standing there, they would’ve been flattened.
“Oh…”
“….”
The gazes of the two were quite burdensome.
Feeling a bit guilty, I opened my mouth.
“There are usually trap triggers in ancient ruins. Pay close attention to the ground and walls.”
After that, the traps with triggers were easily bypassed like just now, while the traps requiring a sacrifice had Wilhelm take the hit as my meat shield.
With an 88-level physique specialized for taking hits, he didn’t even get a scratch.
“It’s a mimic.”
Among them, there were traps that blatantly advertised ‘I’m a mimic.’
“A mimic? Is that what it is? Isn’t it just a treasure chest?”
Showing an example of her actions matching her words, Isabella approached the mimic.
With an expectant look on her face, she opened the treasure chest.
– Grrraahh!
“Yeeek!”
Isabella, startled to the core, fell on her backside.
Just before the mimic’s long tongue could touch her, Isabella scratched the air with blinding speed.
Swipe!
With a single stroke, the mimic was sliced in half.
Isabella sighed in relief, wiping her brow.
“Phew… that startled me….”
“Next time, please don’t touch a treasure chest blindly. It’s bad for your heart.”
“But you both knew! Why didn’t you tell me?”
I wanted to see your surprised face.
After that, we smoothly sped through the rest of the dungeon without any incident.
Suddenly.
…I thought this was how it would be.
I heard a sound from under Isabella’s feet, moving here and there.
“Whoa!”
The ground Isabella was standing on collapsed, and she vanished like magic.
Did I really bring her along for no reason?
– Aaaahhh!!
A scream tore through the darkness, piercing the air.
Though there were no ears, I was subconsciously covering mine.
“I’ll go save her.”
“Let her be.”
“Yes.”
– Aaaahhh! Monsters! I’m scared!! Help me!!
I could easily visualize what was happening.
She was probably screaming while slaughtering the placed monsters.
Before long, Isabella floated back up into the air, looking disheveled.
Her whole body was drenched in blood, the stench of death overwhelming.
“Phew…. I thought I was going to die of fear….”
You’re the scariest one here, girl.
Even at level 88, she retained her core essence.
***
Skipping the trap chapter, the next trial awaited the Guardian.
Standing in front of the Guardian’s room, Isabella rubbed her arms with both hands, shivering.
“Is it just me, or do I feel a sinister aura coming from that room?”
“Judging by the feeling, there surely will be a Guardian. It’s likely not just a ruin but an ancient dungeon.”
As expected, her intuition was spot on.
While ruins are filled with traps and mazes, dungeons are complicated by active obstacles like placed monsters, guardians, and sentinels.
‘I should start to get nervous soon.’
That Guardian was quite the headache.
I wanted to ignore it, but there was no way around it.
The first phase of the Guardian was a notorious newbie crusher, while the second phase was tough enough to challenge even seasoned players.
Naturally, I was unworried.
I was only pretending to be nervous for formality’s sake.
Creak—
The stone door opened with a noise that grated against the floor beneath.
Beyond the newly revealed scene, a steel golem lay coiled.
I glanced from one to another as I spoke.
“This is a test. You three defeat that golem.”
Thud!
Before I could finish speaking, the steel golem rose to its feet.
It resembled the Great King Daron, a titan of great stature.
“I will succeed without fail.”
“Uh… it’s pretty huge?”
[Lv. 89]
There was a slight level difference, but it was undeniable that it was higher than the three of us.
Of course, this gap could easily be overturned by numerical superiority.
It might be a bit tough, but I silently affirmed our victory.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The steel golem, having detected intruders, approached with a heavy noise.
Numerous magic circles appeared around Charlotte, who had already begun to chant.
As Isabella cut her arm with her nails, droplets of blood floated and filled the air, sharpening in the process.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the steel golem leaped into action with a piercing sound.
Seeing that massive body jump was quite a sight.
Using this as a signal, dazzling magic, bright red blood magic, and purple aura surged toward the steel golem.
Naturally, loud noises erupted from all directions, the ground shook, and dust poured down from the ceiling.
It’s no wonder it was level 89. The golem was effortlessly blocking their attacks in return.
‘This is ridiculously fun.’
In the midst of the chaos, I kept my distance and enjoyed the show.
The steel golem prioritized attacking those who harmed it.
With no wide-area attacks and hardly any blind spots, I was safe as long as I stayed still.
‘Oh no. That’s not how you dodge. Wasting movement.’
Knowing all the patterns, I felt the urge to give them some pointers.
Even now, they’re rolling around again.
Though they stood in the same space, the disparity between us was tremendous.
What was happening over there was a boss raid for newbies, while I was observing from an omniscient high-level perspective.
Boom!
I thought they were doing well, yet the steel golem fell faster than I expected.
The effectiveness of their joint attacks was astounding.
“Whoa- that was quite a challenge.”
“….”
Charlotte stole a discreet glance my way, silently acknowledging my presence.
For some reason, she seemed to be seeking compliments, yet her relaxed demeanor still reminded me she was a newbie.
This is just the start of phase two, why the fuss?
In an instant, the steel golem’s crimson eyes turned golden.
As that massive body stood back up, both of their gazes fell into despair.
“Oh, please. Oh my god.”
“…This is interesting.”
[Lv. 91]
To think it had the worst match-up as well.
From phase two onward, the golem would have 80% resistance to magic.
Not to mention, its overall stats would skyrocket, and it would constantly regenerate no matter how many times it was slain.
‘If they manage it, I’d have to give my acknowledgment.’
To be frank, I had certain doubts about their capability to conquer this trial.
If they succeeded, it would surpass my expectations.
I would feel a sense of fulfillment in training them to be resourceful.
As I mentioned, I had really sent them out as a test.
Boom!
Like the first phase, I stood back and watched while preemptively considering strategies.
‘I’m already uneasy.’
Just one glance showed I could feel our side’s prospects dimming.
As expected, as time passed, a sense of despair clouded over Charlotte’s face.
Magic proved to be useless against the steel golem, while Isabella and Wilhelm suffered under the blows of the seemingly immovable entity.
The only viable magic was summoning undead, but in front of the golem, they were nothing more than ants.
Bam— Crash!
“Ugh…!”
Isabella, who slammed into the wall, coughed up blood.
She seemed severely injured but paid no mind as she rushed back in.
“Why does it keep regenerating?!”
The steel golem reattached limbs that had been torn off like a magnet.
The entire notion of exhaustion wasn’t applicable here.
For newbies, working hard like that was their only chance.
Wilhelm kept getting bounced around like Isabella.
One would come in while the other would be thrown against the wall, but the aggro wouldn’t be diverted to Charlotte.
However, with the pace they were going, it was clear Charlotte would soon draw aggro as well.
Charlotte’s shield magic would certainly break under the golem’s single blow.
“Hah, hah….”
Charlotte was panting, wiping the cold sweat from her brow.
The signs of running out of magical energy were apparent, and Isabella looked quite beaten up as well.
Wilhelm was simply acting as a punching bag.
Yeah. At this point, I’ve seen enough.
Sensing the impending crisis, I stepped forward and pushed Charlotte back.
I signaled to Isabella, who had been bashing against the wall, to stay back.
Realistically, even with just the completion of phase one, they had done enough.
From phase two onward, targeting the core of the steel golem became an option.
In phase one, the enhancement notifications hadn’t shown, so I couldn’t deny they’d played a big part in this.
[Guardian Steel Golem’s Core (S+)]
[Enhancement Success Rate: 2%]
[※Warning! If you fail to enhance, it will be destroyed automatically!]
[If you fail to enhance, the cooldown will reset.]
[Would you like to enhance the Guardian Steel Golem’s Core (S+)?]
[YES/NO]
[Enhancing the Guardian Steel Golem’s Core (S+).]
[Enhancement Failed. The Guardian Steel Golem’s Core (S+) has been destroyed.]
Kuwaaah!
The steel golem’s massive form crumbled, losing its visible level entirely. This meant it was completely dead.
The battle thus far had proven to be a hollow victory in the face of this anticlimactic ending.
I turned my head at the sound of a sigh.
Isabella’s mouth hung open while Charlotte’s eyes widened, looking like lanterns.
After briefly looking over, I shifted my gaze back to them.
“That was an unfounded expectation.”
For flowers to bloom, a suitable stimulus is needed.
People sometimes need this kind of whip-cracking.
“Work harder.”
Not that I’m one to say anything as the weakest one around.