It’s been two days since I started searching for a good spot to hunt Warbear.
Of course, constantly checking the Map Hack and confirming locations was basic, and I moved around to find the optimal place.
And finally, on the second day, I found a suitable spot.
“Hmm.”
The place I was looking down at was none other than a cliff.
It wasn’t an especially high cliff, but at the very least, it was tall enough that a person or a monster would die instantly if they fell.
I wasn’t sure what would happen with the Warbear I was about to face, though.
Below the cliff was a large hole, and I wondered if this was the very place Medu had mentioned.
“A mountain of appropriate height, a cliff, and finally, a cave entrance. It’s worth checking out at least once.”
I decided to use this cliff not only to take care of the Warbear but also to check out the cave.
And I planned to lure the Warbear using the simplest method and drop it off the cliff.
“Grease and Ice Field should be enough.”
I intended to freeze the ground and make it slippery, and even use Grease to make it perfectly slick.
And now, the result of all that was right before my eyes.
“Kuuar…”
“Kuu… Kuu…”
The two Warbears that had fallen under the cliff were groaning and bleeding.
And I was looking down at the two dying Warbears with a grim face.
The two Warbears, bleeding and dying, were slowly crawling toward one spot.
Shuffle, shuffle.
They were moving extremely slowly, and in their wake, blood soaked the sand, dyeing it red.
At the end of the trail the two Warbears were making was the corpse of the baby Warbear I had killed first.
I had taken out the corpse and placed it to lure them to the cliff, then used all sorts of skills to batter the two sliding Warbears, and finally pushed the baby Warbear’s corpse off the cliff. The two Warbears had jumped after the corpse.
That’s why the two Warbears were now as good as dead, and if I left them alone, they would die on their own.
“Tsk… I almost feel bad for them.”
I couldn’t help but feel a bit grim and sorry at the pitiful sight of the two Warbears. But only for a moment.
I had to survive, and I had saved the villagers.
“It’s just a monster that I killed, nothing more.”
That’s what I told myself.
In the meantime, the two Warbears reached the place where the cub’s corpse was.
The moment the three Warbears’ paws overlapped, a Notification Window popped up before my eyes.
-Level Up Notification Window.
-You have gained 5 extra substats.
It was the notification that my hunt was over.
“Should I go down?”
I took out a rope from my Magic Bag and securely fastened it to the largest tree closest to the cliff. Then I dropped it down the cliff.
I pulled the rope as tight as possible and tested it by hanging on it to make sure it was secure, then slid down the rope to descend the cliff.
I gripped the rope with strength and slowly descended. It wasn’t as hard as I thought, and somehow, it was even a little fun.
Not that the fun lasted even a minute, though.
“Ugh, I should really learn a Fly spell or something. This is such a pain.”
I muttered like that and realized just how dumb and foolish I was.
“Ugh, blockhead. They say if your brain’s no good, your hands and feet suffer, and I guess that’s me.”
I shouted as I looked at the ground.
“Blink.”
Pop.
I teleported instantly and landed safely at my destination.
First, I put the baby Warbear’s corpse into my Magic Bag.
Then, after dissecting the freshly killed Warbear corpses, I pulled out a large magic stone and a red, jewel-like gallbladder, and stuffed the rest of the byproducts into the Magic Bag.
“A good harvest.”
I cleaned my hands with Aqua skill.
“Alright, let’s start exploring.”
With excitement, I turned around and looked at the entrance of the huge cave before me.
The entrance of the cave was massive.
Roughly speaking, even an Ogre could easily fit inside. For a moment, I even wondered if this was where Ogres lived.
I steeled myself to be as careful as possible and entered the cave.
The cave was enormous at first, but the further I went in, the narrower it became, so my worries about giant monsters diminished a bit.
“Light.”
I created several balls of Light.
There were more than ten Lights floating ahead and behind, and several more floating around me, making it almost as bright as broad daylight.
Perhaps because of that, the first creatures to react sensitively were the bats.
Flap, flap, screech!
The bats I knew, with glowing red eyes, rushed toward me.
“Shield.”
Rather than bothering to fight them, I decided just to ignore them and cast Shield.
Thump, thump, thud, thud.
The bats threw themselves at the Shield.
They slashed at it with their bodies and sharp claws several times, but it didn’t work at all.
Contrary to my expectation that they would attack a few times and leave, the bats kept coming at me.
“Fireball.”
Boom!
My Fireball engulfed the bats.
The sudden surge of heat even caught the nearby bats, burning three of them up in an instant.
At that, the bats, perhaps sensing a threat to their lives, flew away toward the direction I had come from.
I kept walking through the cave.
Other than the first bats I met, I didn’t encounter a single other living thing.
“…This is strange.”
The Dungeons I knew were supposed to be swarming with all sorts of traps and monsters.
That’s what would make it worthwhile for me to come here.
Experience and treasure.
Those two reasons were why I sought out Dungeons, but this place felt more like a mine than anything else. It was so quiet, I started to wonder if this wasn’t just a mine.
“Well, let’s go a bit further.”
In any case, it hadn’t been long since I entered.
Of course, in the game I used to play, I would have fought monsters several times by now.
Still, with a sliver of hope, I pressed on.
***
I walked for quite a while.
By this point, something should have appeared, or so I felt.
“But why is there nothing here!”
I shouted out, a bit frustrated.
My voice echoed loudly through the cave, and I saw a bit of dust fall from the ceiling.
“Sigh. No, it’s fine. There’s got to be more.”
I told myself that and kept going. Doing my best to be patient.
Eventually, I came upon a dead end. But at the end of the dead end, there were stairs going down.
“Right, this is it. The first floor must have just been the entrance.”
Pleased, I descended the stairs. There were more steps than I expected.
But with every step down, my sense of anticipation only grew, and a smile spread across my face.
At last, I could see the end of the staircase, and an entrance-like space appeared.
I could feel it then.
A stench, so intense it stung my nose, mixed faintly with the scent of blood.
Squish, squish.
As I stepped onto the basement floor, I found it covered in blood. My shoes stuck to it, squelching. I created as many Light Magic orbs as I could, making them wide and bright.
“Wow…”
The size of the first basement level was astounding. The ceiling looked to be at least three meters high, and all around were stalactites, stalagmites, and stone pillars.
Contrary to my expectation that it would be filled with corpses, the interior was empty.
Only blood stained the floor in red, and faint traces of some sort of battle remained.
So I was surprised.
“There is something here.”
It was certain. There was something here.
And my theory was that whatever it was, it had killed everything and stuffed them in its own belly.
I tensed up and drew my sword in one hand.
Shiiing.
Even the sound of drawing my sword echoed loudly. I moved cautiously.
I followed the trail of blood. Of course, I tried my best to avoid stepping in it and moved carefully.
I just wanted to find the enemy before it found me.
But that was nearly impossible.
Given all the Lights glowing around me, after all.
If anything, it was more likely the enemy would spot me first. That’s why I was being so careful.
As I walked in this tense state, I lost track of how much time passed. If I noticed anything, it was only that the smell was getting steadily stronger.
And finally, I saw a light from the opposite side.
“Oh? So I’m not the only guest here. How surprising.”
Then, as if noticing me, a voice came from the opposite side.
The voice was not an ordinary human’s. It sounded as if metal were being melted, giving off an unpleasant feeling.
It was like the kind of voice ghosts make in horror movies.
“Kukukuku. You came at just the right time, guest. So, will you talk? Or fight?”
He was giving me a choice.
Normally, with my temperament, I would choose to attack, not talk.
Strike first, win first.
It increased my chances of victory.
But somehow, I felt like I needed to talk instead of attacking right away.
Strangely so.
“Talking would be better, wouldn’t it?”
I answered, spreading the Light skill wider to expand my field of vision.
“A wise choice. Young man.”
He said, taking a step forward. One step, two steps, three steps—I heard his footsteps. Thanks to the movement of both the Light skill and the other person, I was able to see him clearly.
“Nice to meet you, young man. I am the one called Swayne.”
He wore a deep, black robe pulled low over his face. Calling himself ‘old man’ in his self-introduction meant he was aged, and as proof, he carried a staff.
“I’m Solo.”
“Nice to meet you, Solo. So, what brings you here?”
As soon as Swayne, who had suggested talking, asked, I answered.
“First, curiosity. Second, I thought there might be ruins. Third, for treasure.”
“Heh, I wonder where you heard those rumors. I thought I kept this place thoroughly secret.”
He said it as if regretting something. Then he laughed a little to himself and looked at me. I couldn’t see his face under the deep robe, but at least I could see his eyes.
They were red.
“You should have come a little later. I wish you’d arrived after I finished my business.”
“Why is that?”
He sounded as if he was genuinely concerned for me, clicking his tongue in regret as if he wished I had come a bit later, so I asked.
“As you said, there is a treasure hidden here. Call it the arrangement of Shin Yu Sik? It’s an item created to maintain peace on the Continent. I intend to destroy it.”
“Why? Why destroy an item meant to preserve peace?”
“I serve the Demonic Lord. So of course, I have to destroy it, don’t I? Already, many of my comrades across the Continent are striving to sow chaos in the world.”
That was when the biggest question hit me. Why was he telling me all this?
But I quickly figured out the reason.
Thud, thud.
I heard footsteps approaching.
“The reason I’m telling you all this is so that even in death, you’ll have fewer regrets.”
He turned his back to me and looked toward the approaching presence, and I followed his gaze.
Before my eyes stood a massive creature, nearly three meters tall.
And I understood immediately what it was.
“Abomination?”
A truly monstrous being.