by Road Warrior
“A living book, eh? What a rare item. How is his strength? Is he up to a mid-grade mage?”
“I did peek at his stats, but it wasn’t outstanding. However, I can’t discount the possibility that he might be disguising his stats. It could also be some devil disguised as a human.”
“Devils don’t come to this place. They can’t come here. It is a place crawling with their natural predators,” said Mikhael with a smile.
“I tried to look around for his companions but found nothing.” The report ended here. Mikhael made a gesture for Mimi to stand down before he gathered his subordinates and personal servant to discuss.
“Another explorer. Who do you think sent him?”
“There shouldn’t be any new developments regarding the Underground Kingdom. We should consider all possibilities. It is most likely that he’s from the Human Empire, but we can’t discount the Kingdom of Etteria. No one is thirstier of magic than the elves.”
“But, if they can find that, they should be able to produce a monster on the level of the Enemy of the World.”
Sungchul, who was quietly hiding in the darkness, eavesdropped on their conversation. He could discern two facts: the exploratory unit within these ruins was seeking a particular item, and the information regarding the Underground Kingdom was publicly available.
It appears as though Deckard was not the only one to have discovered information relating to the existence of the Underground Kingdom.
Rather, Deckard’s information was only baby steps at this point. He couldn’t even find the entrance to the Underground Kingdom. It looked as though this exploratory unit knew much more. They knew what was hidden in this dungeon and the dangers lying within. Sungchul could now understand why Willie Gilford had hesitated in stepping in personally. He knew that a Despair of the Abyss had been sighted here. There was no other explanation other than this.
Sungchul left his hiding spot and returned to the darkness of the dungeon. He walked from the entrance back to the path he had created.
When Sungchul arrived at a point devoid of people, Bertelgia spoke again. “Those homunculi. It looked as though they were strengthened artificially.”
“Is that so?”
Sungchul had perceived that those homunculi were different than the average ones, but he didn’t pay much mind to it. At his level, homunculi would always be homunculi.
“But that woman is amazing. Seeing how loyal they are to her despite having done quite horrific things to their bodies,” continued Bertelgia.
“Horrific things?” asked Sungchul.
“Those homunculi. Do you remember that their bodies were completely clad in armor? It isn’t just to protect them. It was probably to prevent them from looking at their own appearances.”
It was nearly nonexistent in Sungchul’s time, but empowered homunculi must have been commonplace during the era Bertelgia was from. The population was decreasing, but they needed the power of magic. They had begun to modify the homunculi that had a human’s intellect to make them proficient enough for combat and support. The biggest drawback was that the known techniques for strengthening would horrifically disfigure the homunculi’s appearance.
“So that was a thing.” Sungchul had confronted countless mages, but he had never seen any that had strengthened homunculi.
“It was probably banned. Such a horrific method was fated to be entered into the list of forbidden spells someday…” said Bertelgia.
“…”
Sungchul who had been listening to Bertelgia’s story in silence finally discovered a red light beyond the darkness. There was a mound of human corpses. The red light emitted from a magic staff held by one of the corpses.
Sungchul carefully inspected the bodies. A year? Maybe 2? These bodies are in a better condition than the avian corpses.
These corpses mummified upon death and retained much of their former appearance. The cause of death appeared to be suicide. There were some with a bluish hue indicative of having taken poison, and others had died with a self-inflicted knife wound to the throat.
Sungchul discovered a worn-out diary on the body of the mage looking most noble among the corpses. Parts of the record were too damaged from the fluids leaked from the corpse to be read, but the final page had been preserved. Sungchul read through the last page with a nose full of revolting smells.
[Day 14]
Everything is proceeding smoothly. I already await the day that his imperial majesty sounds the news of his victory.
[Day 15]
Jara and Wesley, who had been getting along very well since long ago, requested that I act as their officiant. They requested to hold their ceremony in the Audience Chamber of the Nahak King. The audacious ideas of the Summoned often astound me.
[Day 16]
Jara had disappeared. Wesley left without notice in search for her. I only pray to the God of Order that everything is ok.
[Day 17]
[Day 18]
42325 54423 99832 31125 34238
88823 42321 11232 44235 19321
88768 11132 08323 13578 69180
The records ended at this point. Bertelgia who was reading beside him asked with a quizzical expression, “What is that last set of numbers?”
“It’s an encrypted message.”
“Encrypted message?”
Sungchul pulled out a faded book from his Soul Storage.
It was a book printed from a rotary press of the modern world. The old book contained a lot of numbers within, but there was also an explanation preceding them. It was a solution manual for sending secret messages via encrypted broadcast. Sungchul had received this book directly from the Emperor of the Human Empire, William Quinton Marlboro. Before their relationship deteriorated, anyways.
Sungchul opened the book and began to seek out the random numbers along with the explanation following them to decipher the message. The deciphered message was as follows:
[Third Floor Underground, Existence of Massive Cavern, Large Number of Eyeless Monsters, Attacked, Relay Farewell to Family, This is my final request.]
“What was it trying to say?” Bertelgia hurried him by poking on his shoulder. Sungchul closed the book and returned it to his Soul Storage before speaking.
“It looks as though there is definitely something underground. Monsters without eyes seem to be inhabiting the place.”
The avian corpses were just the prelude to what was to come. There were creatures more bizarre and grotesque lurking beyond them. Sungchul put down the record to continue his exploration of the dungeon. When he finally discovered the stairs leading down to the floor below, Bertelgia diligently recorded Sungchul’s path in her pages. “Map complete!”
Sungchul descended the dark spiral staircase which was littered with skeletons of the avian race. An obsidian door blocked his path at the end of the steps. The Eye of Truth reacted to the magic cast upon it.
This is dangerous.
It was a destructive magic that was powerful enough to cause the entire dungeon to collapse if he activated it carelessly. This was not something that a hammer could solve.
Sungchul approached the door and once he did, text soon appeared before him.
[This is a place that only the holy and majestic avian, Nahak, may enter.]
[Display the symbol of the Nahak.]
“What should we do? It doesn’t look as though it’ll just let us pass.” Bertelgia circled Sungchul’s vicinity while speaking with a concerned voice. Sungchul looked around the door’s surroundings.
Before the door was a small altar with a hole and just below it was an obsidian shard. The obsidian, which still contained magic energy, looked like it might partially fit into the hole built into the altar. Sungchul placed the shard inside the altar as a test. Immediately, magical energies of the altar enveloped the shard then dissipated once more.
[Display the proper symbol]
A statue in the shape of a bird man standing next to the door began to emit red lights from his two eyes
.
“…”
Sungchul retreated up the stairs for now.
“What should we do now?” asked Bertelgia.
He ignored the endlessly talking Bertelgia who was following beside him and took a few steps forward once he reached back to the stair entrance.
This looks good.
It was an ordinary bedrock with no reaction to magic whatsoever. Sungchul pulled out Fal Garaz and swiped at the floor. When the hammer struck the ground, the large bedrock cracked and broke off.
As the entire dungeon shook, hundreds of avian corpses appeared before him. Sungchul resumed his work after the one-sided slaughter. A large hole appeared where he had been pounding away with his hammer, and he jumped into it.
BOOM!
A weighty landing. The back of the obsidian door that had refused to open stood behind Sungchul.
“Bertelgia. Draw out the map for the second floor starting from here.”
***
BOOM! BOOM!
Sungchul continued the same way he did on the first floor. However, he noticed something different compared to the walls on the first floor as he worked his way through. There were bones of what appeared to be of animals, perhaps even human.
A pile of bones emerged from between the brick and mortar masonry wall. Considering more than a few bones were coming out, Sungchul couldn’t help but be curious.
He stopped working for a moment to peer inside the area where he broke the wall. There were countless skeletons stacked within. Sungchul gripped the surface with his hand and easily pulled it apart, and, when he did, he discovered a skeleton that had managed to keep its original form intact.
“…”
Sungchul’s pupils shrank. These were human skeletons trapped between the walls. They weren’t from the avian race. Perhaps, they were buried alive as they were constructing this dungeon. It wasn’t just one or two people, but it seemed that thousands or tens of thousands of individuals made up this graveyard.
Sungchul finally said, “It looks as though the Nahak were quite the cruel race.”
“According to legend, the Nahak were known to be an arrogant and cruel race. More than anything, they didn’t have a shred of mercy toward the other races. These corpses were probably once slaves.” Bertelgia flew about the intact skeleton and explained what she knew. “Even if that was the case, they did something unimaginable: burying all these living people inside a wall. Those birdbrains.”
“Why did they do this?” asked Sungchul. There was a gentle fury beneath his voice.
“Couldn’t it be to gather their magical power? You know, using their pain and anguish as nourishment?”
“I would really like to see a living Nahak.” Sungchul fixed his grip on his hammer as he muttered. His work began once again. The wall fell, and the skeletons within poured onto the floor. This was repeated several times until he reached the end of the second floor. Sungchul put his back to a bedrock and took a brief rest. It had been a while since he had used his strength like this, and he was feeling a bit peckish.
Should I make a meal?
However, this was not a good place to eat. Sungchul didn’t eat just anywhere.
He turned back towards the path he had created but witnessed a strange occurrence along the way. Something was huddled over in the distant darkness, gluttonously eating the bones on the floor.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
Bertelgia tensed her body at the definite sound of chewing bone coming from the distance. “Uuu… What is it this time? I really want to leave now.”
Sungchul walked over to the creature in question without another word. The creature lifted its head as Sungchul drew close, then let out an ear-piercing scream.
“Kiiiii—!!”
It was a sound that wasn’t quite human nor beastly, but almost mechanical in nature. Sungchul acknowledged the intricacies of the sound but focused more on the creature’s appearance. It looked quite human, but the skin was sickly pale, and the face was so grotesquely twisted that it was difficult to look at without grimacing.
The creature’s most striking features were the empty spaces where eyes should have been and the rows of what should be called teeth. The teeth grew randomly and chaotically all over its mouth, and some even punctured through and stuck out of the face tissue.
“Hiii…” Bertelgia dropped out of the air as if she had fainted when she saw the hideous appearance of the monster.
Sungchul picked her up off the floor and placed her into his pocket before glaring at the creature. “Get lost.”
But the creature did not move. It let out a monstrous cry instead and lunged at him.
WHAM!
His hammer destroyed the creature’s skull and sent it flying off back into the darkness. The broken teeth scattered and made clinging noises as they fell onto the floor.
“…”
Sungchul glanced into the darkness. An incalculable number of those creatures was silently and stealthily approaching his location.
He briefly took a moment to think. The question was whether to kill all of the incoming monsters or to simply retreat from here. In the end, he chose to erase his presence and retreat from this place. He was feeling a bit hungry, and it might reduce his long-awaited appetite to deal with the grotesque monsters. He put the gathering creatures behind him and climbed back up through the hole he had created before. There were several members of the exploratory unit loitering outside the hole. When they saw Sungchul, they asked a question out of surprise, “W-who are you?”
Sungchul looked at every one of their faces. There were five in all. A party composed of two mages and three soldiers. He couldn’t see Mikhael or Mimi. Sungchul pointed towards the piece of cloth attached to his person then spoke. “I am Number 34.”
“Number… 34? Just what are you doing down here in a place like this?”
“I just came down because I saw a hole. Some fun things seem to be crawling around.”
“Something… fun? Are you talking about the Nahak skeletons?”
Sungchul shook his head. “The monsters were blind and had a humanoid form, crawling around in droves.”
The faces of the exploratory unit members who heard Sungchul’s words became serious and twisted.
“It sounds like he’s seen the Cave Elves.”
“Cave Elves?” inquired Sungchul.
“Well, they were once creatures known as Cave Elves to be exact. Their race was enslaved and brutally exploited by the Nahaks, but after their extinction, it’s the Cave Elves that control the dungeon now. They are strong, persistent, and still have some level of intelligence. They are extremely dangerous.”
It was at this moment that a piercing shriek rang out. “Kiii—!”
It was the cry of the blind monsters. The members of the exploratory unit turned pale as sheets, then hurried to leave the place.
“L…let’s return quickly. What scouting, schmouting? We’re all about to die here!”
The members of the exploratory unit disappeared into the darkness as if their pants were on fire. Sungchul gave them a small service; He blocked the hole with a large boulder just in case the blind creatures emerge from it. After blocking his personal entrance, Sungchul continued to follow the path he created and left the dungeon.
–
The brunch for the day was fish. Sungchul jumped into the ice-cold water with a harpoon in hand. There were massive dark creatures swimming in the shadowy water. They were known as the Demon Fish, and they lived in the seas along the frontlines of the Demon Realm. They were about as large as an adult male. One of the fish discovered Sungchul, opened its maw, then leaped toward him.
STAB!
The harpoon pierced its forehead. The blood pouring out from its wound dissipated into the water like smoke. The large fish struggled once or twice, but as Sungchul’s fist came down upon its head a few times, it gave up.
Sungchul grabbed the massive fish that was about his size with just his arms. A swarm of sharks that smelled the
blood in the water began to gather. He grabbed the fish’s gills to tear off its head, which he fed to the sharks, then headed leisurely toward the shore. The cooking utensils were already prepared on land.
“Goodness. At least you’re diligent in preparing your meals,” Bertelgia, who could not consume food, said while flapping in the air.
“…”
Sungchul pulled out a blade from his Soul Storage. By the bluish light emitting from it, it was obvious at a glance that it was a renowned sword of great repute. There was a beautifully engraved symbol of a lion representing the Human Empire on its grip. It was a gift from the Emperor that was coveted by every knight within the Human Empire, but to Sungchul it was just another tool for his cooking. The blue tinted blade plunged into the silvery scales of the Demon Fish, then was expertly wielded to rapidly remove the scales. Sungchul put the fish down and headed to the boiling pot once he was finished descaling the fish.
Within the pot were dried vegetables, fish, mushrooms, and various other things for a soup stock. Sungchul scooped a bit of soup with a bowl to test the flavor. “Mmm.”
The flavouring was proper. He cut away a portion of fish and chopped it into paper thin slices before arranging it onto a plate. Chopsticks appeared from the Soul Storage.
Sungchul grabbed a slice of fish, dipped it briefly into the boiling soup, then put it in his mouth. The deep flavour of the soup along with the rich flavour of the fish melted together deliciously in his mouth.
[The score of this recipe is… 63!]
The score appeared before his eyes, but he didn’t mind it. He solemnly gazed out taking in the scenery of the Demon Realm as he continued his meal alone. When Sungchul was starting to feel sated, he added dry noodles to the fish broth and let it boil.
Once the noodles softened up, Sungchul moved it to a bowl and poured the soup on top. Blowing on the steaming noodles, he gulped them down.
“Mmm.” It had a great taste. He could feel his mind and body being reinvigorated.
When the meal ended, Bertelgia began to pout as though she had been waiting for him the entire time. “Quite the dedication to food. Really. Every meal.”
