Wolves of Hader

A soldier fastened a grappling rope to the cave entrance. After that soldier climbed up first, Donnie went up, and then I followed.

"This cave is really big, isn't it?"

"Shh. Sound echoes."

I looked inside the cave.

The entrance was large, but the interior was even bigger. Back during the Rac game, I only slept here. The cave was so big and complicated that I never went deep inside.

I fell into thought for a moment.

It was twenty years ago that I came to this cave.

Back then, two party members ventured deep inside. What did they say at the time?

They said there was another entrance to the cave.

The inside was so complicated that they got lost, too. There was apparently a large cavity deep inside—likely the troll's lair.

With the troll being around five meters tall, it wouldn't be able to run in a narrow cave.

If I trusted my intuition and navigated like those party members, maybe I could reach another exit.

I doubt the troll could get through the cave near the other entrance.

"You two stay here. I'll go in alone."

"Young master, it's too dangerous."

"As long as I don't bump into it, I'll be fine."

I took a small glowstone out of my backpack and entered.

Maybe out of concern, Donnie began following me.

And because of this, the soldier followed, too.

"I told you to stay there."

"If we run into the thing, I'll distract it. I might not look it, but I'm good at running. With the cave this wide, it can't chase me, can it?"

"Don't blame me later."

I moved ahead, keeping as quiet as possible.

The stalactites near the ceiling had all been broken, probably by the troll, and the floor was rather flat. The tunnel gradually widened.

I spoke to the two of them.

"If it chases you, go through that small passage. I don't think its hand can reach deep enough to grab you. If the end is blocked, I'll come back somehow to rescue you."

"Yes. Awfully grateful for that."

"Seriously, why did you follow me?"

"Should I let you go to a place like this alone?"

"Yeah. Truly, I'm grateful."

"Heh heh."

The soldier laughed, stifling his voice.

Because of that, both I and Donnie ended up laughing, too.

Had we been walking for about ten minutes?

The cave was impossibly labyrinthine. If Donnie hadn't marked every fork, we definitely would have gotten lost.

Fortunately, there were quite a few narrow tunnels.

The wider tunnels were all connected, so as long as we headed that way, we'd reach the troll's nest.

Moving as quietly as possible, we halted.

A sound echoed from up ahead.

Krrrr—

The breathing of a giant beast.

They say predators have a certain "aura" in their voice, and it turned out to be true.

It gave me chills. I never realized it when I had levels.

"It's the giant."

"But the sound is quiet?"

"I think it's sleeping right now."

"Let's get a little closer. Don't make a sound."

When I started crawling, the others crawled after me. Footsteps echoed more than expected, so we had to crawl.

The musky smell grew worse, along with the troll's resounding breath.

After crawling about twenty meters,

A suddenly open space appeared.

For a moment, I almost gasped—with my hand over my mouth.

The other two did the same.

We all watched below, hands over our mouths.

The cavity must have been about fifty meters wide. In one large corner, the troll was hulking, surrounded by piles of rotten meat.

But we weren't surprised by the size of the chamber.

This was not a natural cavern, but an artificial space.

There were stairs opposite where we were, as well as on the other side's small passage.

I couldn't see the monster's skull. Even if it had been there, the creature would have gotten rid of it.

In that case, the demon's essence must have been eaten by this troll—but I could sense no such power from it.

Oddly, the chamber was rather warm. Somewhere nearby, I heard water flowing.

To hear water in this extreme polar region frozen solid could only mean there was a hot spring close by.

While the two were still surprised,

I took off my shoes and handed them to Donnie.

Then, I gestured to both of them.

'You two stay here. Only I'll go down.'

Donnie shook his head wildly.

Just like a child throwing a tantrum.

Which didn't suit his size at all.

Before Donnie could stop me, I quickly descended the stairs.

After dropping to the floor, I began searching the periphery of the cavity.

Finding nothing notable, I drew closer to the troll itself.

Krrrr—

The breathing of a ferocious beast that made even the air tremble.

Seeing a troll again up close, it really was massive.

How did we ever take down something like this in the old days?

I looked to see if the creature kept any loot nearby, but found no jewels or orbs.

If the demon general's armor were here, I'd say the demon's essence was present too.

Krrrr—

I checked under where the thing was lying, and by its head, but once again, found nothing.

The stench from its musk and the rotten meat around made it nearly impossible to breathe.

Krrrr—

Did guildmaster defeat this troll and consume the demon's orb?

In any case, how did guildmaster eat the demon's essence?

I doubt he swallowed the orb.

Maybe it was absorbed simply by holding it.

I clearly had it wrong.

If this troll had consumed the [Essence of Rage], I should be feeling incredible pressure from it, but even up close, I sensed nothing special.

Time to get out.

If it isn't here, then where on earth is it?

The stench was suffocating me...

Krrrng.

Krrrng?

Why did the sound change?

I glanced to the side without thinking and my hair stood on end.

The troll was staring straight at me.

"Argh!"

Kwooooo—!

The monster's roar echoed through the cavern.

Wait! Which way do I go?

The moment I looked toward Donnie,

I realized—if I go up those stairs, the troll will grab me along the way!

Just then.

Suddenly, fwoosh—a huge object flew by with a rush of air.

Instinctively, I dodged, and the troll's massive hand passed right over my head.

Having a child's body made my reactions so sluggish!

I barely dodged in time, but then the troll's fist came slamming down.

I wanted to roll away quickly, but my body didn't respond as I wished.

"Damn it!"

I threw myself and rolled across the floor with all my might.

Boom—

The ground shook with its tremendous power.

At last, the troll rose up to catch me—really, it felt like a mountain was moving!

I lived at max level for too long! I never imagined a troll would be this scary—trolls were just beginner mobs!

Kwaaah—

Another roar exploded out.

I sprinted toward where Donnie was. I must have twisted my leg while diving, almost stumbled as I ran.

I'll lure it that way!

Then veer off to the opposite cave exit!

Run like my life depends on it!

"Young master! Look behind you! Behind!"

I glanced back as I ran and paled.

The troll was hurling a boulder.

"Gaaah!"

Too late to dodge, I just flung myself down.

Crash—

The rock smashed against the wall, shattering into bits. Pebbles rained down on my head.

I wanted to get up quickly, but this damned body was so slow!

Then—

"You damned monster! Over here!"

I leapt up and looked.

Donnie nocked an arrow and shot at the troll.

Of course, the arrow wouldn't do any harm.

"Over here! Monster!"

Kuwooo—

Thump-thump-thump-thump—

The monster, struck in the face by the arrow, left me and charged headlong at Donnie.

In those brief moments, I ran frantically.

"Young master! Run, quickly! Hurry!"

"Donnie, you too!"

Without Donnie drawing aggro, I'd stand no chance of escaping!

I only hoped the little tunnel on the opposite side really led out!

I scrambled up the stairs and dove into the small tunnel.

Thump-thump-thump—heavy crashes came from behind.

Of course—right then, the troll's hand snaked inside the cavern with a whoosh.

"Argh—"

I truly ran for my life.

Still, the troll's hand was faster.

Something brushed against my back!

Its fingers caught on my backpack, and I crashed into the cave wall before tumbling down.

Fortunately, the troll only snagged the edge, so the impact wasn't too bad.

And its hand couldn't reach any further.

"Whew...!"

The troll swept its hand around, trying to nab me.

Then its hand withdrew, and its massive head appeared in the tunnel's entrance, glaring at me with those huge, furious eyes—enraged at losing its prey.

I walked down the narrow passage.

Where on earth was the demon's essence supposed to be?

I can't just comb through every troll nest like this.

If things couldn't get any worse...

The passage I was in suddenly sloped sharply downward.

So this wasn't an exit—it led deeper inside?

Going a little further down, the slope became even steeper. Warm water spilled from above, making the floor slippery.

At least the floor was smooth and not bumpy.

Well, I won't die from this.

"Here goes! Damn it!"

Laying back as if riding a slide, I let myself go.

At first, I just slid down. Suddenly, the slope became abrupt, and I picked up speed.

Come on! What is this, a water slide!?

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
I'm glad they didn't let mc go into the cave alone...
That would have ended the novel quite fast...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】