Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 268

268

Implicit Haewollyeong (6)

Tadak.

Sakjeongi exploded in the fire. As the scarlet light gradually dispersed, Dallon hesitated in answering.

And I thought at the same time. Why am I hesitating to answer?

Going down to the underground palace wasn’t that difficult. Beyond the monitor, I once broke through with a level 5 transcendental character.

By the time we defeat the evil spirits, overcome the apocalypse, and kill the remaining soldiers of Laphilem on the island, recovering the body of the first witch will be as simple as flipping the palm of your hand.

Dallen, who had thought about it that far, was only then able to realize it.

Why are you hesitating to answer?

“I don’t want to hear an answer right away.”

Sienna said. She immediately shook off her clothes and stood up.

“I have to go to sleep now. “Because it’s my early morning shift.”

“…good night.”

“You.”

After throwing a few dry twigs into the fire, the witch entered her tent. Where she disappeared, only the calm air remained.

Cracking. Crack.

The swamp beyond the campfire was quiet. The silence of the night air, where the noise had disappeared, was the same whether in the labyrinth or on the ground.

It was one of the few things Dallen liked in this world.

The feeling of the moist night air embracing him comfortably. A sense of peace that he had never felt before, having grown up in the noisy city.

Dallen, who was staring blankly at the swamp, suddenly put his hand into his chest. What was held in his hand was a rustling piece of paper.

‘The Republic of Korea in the 21st century… liberal democracy… I like games…’

Words dotted on torn and burned paper.

A deep sense of nostalgia in letters that only you can read.

During the tutorial days when Dallon had not yet arrived in Falcion, he would write diaries like this whenever he had time to find comfort while working as a mercenary.

Then, he put it in an envelope, tied it with a string, and always carried it in his backpack or in his arms like a talisman.

Those mercenary days were already a long time ago. The paper that stayed in his arms for a long time and endured many battles was the spokesperson of those times.

The diary that I never put in even if I put all my other belongings in subspace for fear that Arbor might see it.

Out of dozens of sheets, only one remains, a torn and burned piece of paper with barely any visible words.

‘I’m scared.’

Why did I suddenly remember what the witch who had gone to sleep said before?

‘I’m afraid you won’t remain with us at the end of this journey.’

The twilight of dusk on the ruined walls of Lvivbach cast a reddish shadow on Siena’s face.

That face was one of the things he had to protect. Precious relationships that I am determined not to lose again.

For that purpose, I have run so far. He willingly crossed the line of fire every time to defeat an apocalypse he had never overcome before.

When I think about it, I never thought about anything after that. It must have been because the enemy called the apocalypse was that big.

What would you do if you were given a choice in return for obtaining the Wish Stone?

If you could choose between a sleeping bag from a stinking swamp or a bed from a diffuser-smelling office, which would you choose?

Sienna’s question about whether she would go down to the underground labyrinth with her was actually a question about that choice.

The answer flowed out in the night air above the crackling campfire, with no one listening.

“I…”

***

“So…this is the entrance to the fourth floor?”

Kugwagwagwagwa…!!

In the midst of the roar that shook my eardrums, Bjorn asked with a shocked face.

The group was standing above the waterfall. To be exact, it was on a protruding rock near the beginning of the waterfall.

A hole with a diameter of hundreds of meters in the middle of a vast swamp was dropping hundreds of tons of water in real time.

My nose felt a little stuffy due to the humidity. Dallen nodded.

“That’s right.”

“…If it’s a waterfall this big, isn’t there water at the bottom?”

The dwarf carefully looks down into the hole again. At the bottom of the waterfall, I couldn’t even see the bottom because of the water mist.

“It’s water. If you dive and swim under the lake, you will reach the fourth floor of the labyrinth.”

“The world under the sea. “What a strange and dangerous place…”

Bjorn began to tremble, his words slurred. Dallen slightly raised an eyebrow. Why is this guy like this today? Did I eat something wrong?

“If you think about it, the third floor is also under the scorching desert. “The second floor is similar.”

“…No, actually, that’s not the problem.”

“then?”

“Did I tell you I can’t swim?”

A dwarf clutching his beard with his eyes tightly closed. Dallen was so dumbfounded that he laughed.

[Father, it seems that dwarves are a race that is naturally fearful. Even the forest is afraid, the dragons are afraid, and now even the water…]

“Akasha! Two fears! “There is no race in this world as brave as the dwarves!”

[Then, can we say that this kind of ecology is your unique characteristic, Bjorn? Perhaps you grew up confined to a mine in a mountain valley during your childhood…]

“Akasha. “Go there.”

It was Sienna. The dragon, who had grown from a boy to a young man, still listened carefully to the beings he called his mother.

Ignoring the dwarf’s gaze as if he were seeing her as a lifesaver, Sienna let out a small sigh. She said.

“Actually, I’m afraid of water too. “Crossing a bridge is okay, but diving into the open sea or deep is a bit much.”

“…Are you serious?”

“What can I do by lying about something like this? At least I thought you knew.”

Sienna lightly shrugs her shoulders. Dallen lifted his hand and rubbed his face.

If you think about it, even in the game, Sienna would take sleeping pills every time she went on a ship and would not come out of the cabin.

At that time, I thought I would just get seasick. I never thought he was afraid of water.

‘There are two barrels.’

It was an unexpected variable. The border between the 3rd and 4th floors of the labyrinth is a huge lake created by the accumulated water of a bottomless swamp.

There are a few more places to go down to the 4th floor of the labyrinth, but they all end up diving and going down to the bottom of the lake.

If you are simply crossing a lake or the sea, all you have to do is knock it out and put it on a boat or carry it on its back.

But diving was a little different. Moreover, given the nature of the labyrinth, it is not surprising if some variables arise…

“So, as long as I can’t swim, it’s okay?”

Felber’s voice penetrates my thoughts. Dallen turned his head.

“If that’s the case, I have a good way.”

The wizard said, raising his wand.

***

Boogrrrrrrrr…!

The streamlined, copper-colored fuselage cuts through the water and moves forward. The fuselage, which looked like a fish at first glance from a distance, was actually a lump of metal.

A piece of metal swimming in the water carrying Dallan and his entire group. Dallen knew what it was called. It was a submarine.

“A submarine in Medieval Land.”

I never thought I would come here and ride something I’ve never ridden before on Earth.

The submarine Felber created with the golem technique had performance comparable to that of a modern tourist submarine.

A submarine that uses horsepower propulsion, has a solid fuselage like a golem, and is capable of hiding as well as automatically circulating air indoors.

It was a moment to reflect on someone’s words that advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. Of course, in this case, the magic unleashed was indistinguishable from science.

Coogung!

At that time, the submersible made a small stir. Sienna and Bjorn’s faces turn white in an instant. Felber burst into laughter and calmed the two down.

“Don’t worry. “It looks like it just hit a chunk of debris.”

“…….”

“This is the guy who crossed the lava even before he was strengthened with the keel staff. Even a moderate shock won’t make you lose your incontinence.”

According to Felber, Elgaia Magic Tower had cooperative relationships with mines across the continent. The mine donates a certain amount of its profits to the magic tower, and the magic tower receives requests and solves various difficulties in the operation of the mine.

Most requests involve collapsed mine shafts or bedrock that cannot be split with a pickaxe, but occasionally there are requests that ask to pass through lava.

Especially in mines in volcanic areas where a lot of precious metals are produced, such incidents occur once or twice a week.

“If you go on a mission to a place like that, you will at least become proficient in golem arts. A lake like this is no big deal! Hahaha!”

Felber said as he slapped the dwarf on the back. It seemed like he was trying to relieve tension, but looking at his complexion, it seemed like he was feeling unwell on the inside.

Anyway, it was amazing to be able to stretch my legs and go down to the lake.

Unlike lakes on the ground, this is a place where stagnant water from a bottomless swamp gathers.

Not only was the water itself dirty, it was sticky and full of sediment.

Swimming in such dirty water was not something that Dallan was very happy about.

“Still, I’m glad.”

Felber’s student, Tommy Valentino, slowly approached and whispered. Over Tommy’s shoulder, the dwarf looked like he was about to throw up.

“What do you mean?”

“In fact, this submarine does not have any special protective functions.”

“…what?”

“If the monsters from the deep had not swept away the monsters in the lake as they ascended, water would have been leaking from various parts of the submersible by now.”

A blonde young man sighs in relief. Dallen pressed his fingertips between his eyes.

He soon expertly tightened the straps of his armor and stood up. He then spoke to Felber, who finished patting himself on the back and was now concentrating on driving the submersible.

“I’ll be back for a little while.”

“Where do you mean?”

“A customer has been following us for a while.”

They are guests who see us as prey. As he added these words, a shadow appeared on Felber’s face.

“Please come down first.”

「Hoemyeong(回冥)」

I leave a short greeting and take a step forward. At that moment, the gray shade that surrounded his body led him out of the submersible.

Kugugugu…!

The violent rapids you feel as soon as you come out. The moment the murky water tried to penetrate my eyes, nose, and mouth, the wind that covered my skin pushed the water away.

「Magic armor」

「Baekpungap」

“Fuck.”

I pull out the ax from my waist and regain my balance in the water. Even though the wind pushed the water away, the stench of the lake remained the same.

Dallen focused his eyes on the rotting swamp water and the floating objects floating in it, and saw a sign approaching from afar.

[――――!]

That was a dragon.

A huge dragon with three pairs of purple eyes glowing in the dark.

Its tattered wings easily cut through the current and propel its enormous body, which can reach a length of 100 meters, through the water.

Dallen knew the guy.

Because it was a monster I had defeated once while playing as a warlock character.

‘Cursed ancient dragon gateway guardian.’

Originally, it was a monster sitting in a coil in the deepest part of the 5th floor of the labyrinth.

It was also a kind of essential boss mob that guarded the ‘gateway’ leading down to the 6th floor of the labyrinth.

‘And he could talk like a dragon. Rather, it was a good meeting.’

What was the entity that pushed away the monsters from the depths of the labyrinth who were quite motionless?

In addition, when all the monsters have ascended to the lower levels, how is it that only that one remains in the lake?

Dallon laughed as he looked at the ancient dragon with its mouth wide open. It was an appropriate meeting in a situation where information was already lacking.

[――――!]

The moment when a somewhat strange saying echoed in the water and a purple breath instantly engulfed the place where Dallon was.

Shhh─

[―Cruck?]

The beam of light that cut through the breath and the current landed exactly in the center of the three pairs of eyes.