“Finally!”
“I made it. Hahaha—”
As hunters unleashed the cheers they had suppressed for so long, I found myself walking toward the stairs leading outside.
“Everyone, stop! Have you forgotten that it’s dangerous out there?!”
“Ah…!”
“There are still monsters swarming outside…”
“We don’t know how many more there are besides the Nargul that followed us. What we saw earlier might just be the tip of the iceberg.”
“What’s with the difficulty level, seriously…”
“Wait, if we just sit here, the monsters will come through the corridor, right?”
“We’ve reduced their numbers quite a bit; isn’t it better to face them here?”
“True, the terrain here is better. Much safer than going out there and getting eaten.”
Half of the hunters were resting on the floor to recover their health, while the other half were discussing countermeasures.
“Maybe we should just close those stairs…”
I remembered having thought like that before, trying to close a door with that same intention.
But those stairs were meant to remain open once certain conditions were met. They’d likely close only after we all went outside.
Uuugh— Kraaah!
“It’s not closing. It’s super heavy?”
“Ugh! Let’s just stack something on the stairs and brace ourselves. That’s probably better than going outside.”
Everyone seemed to nod in agreement, deciding to hunker down for the next few days.
However…
‘It’s going to collapse soon…’
Although it had been quiet since the big tremor earlier, the place where the Skeleton Knight had been wouldn’t hold for much longer.
‘Last time we held out for about two hours, right? Hmm…’
Given how many conditions had changed, this place would probably crumble within an hour.
“But since we cleared the hidden dungeon, wouldn’t there be any rewards?”
“Usually, you’d get some shabby gear or something.”
“I think if we all go outside, they’d give us something.”
That’s right.
Once we exited the cave, every participant would receive one artifact each.
Of course, they’d be the lowest-grade artifacts with the weakest performance, but selling them would easily net over 2.5 billion.
The hunters here had basically hit the lottery.
Although it’s a reward only possible because they survived in such harsh conditions.
‘But the main prize lies elsewhere.’
After carefully observing the others, I activated stealth.
I tapped Yeon-hee with my finger to let her know I would step away for a bit.
“Huh-uh— Hmm…”
After giving her a gentle pat on the ear, mimicking a scary expression, I climbed the cave walls toward the ceiling.
[Adhesion]
‘This looks familiar.’
Let’s grab everything and get out.
Tap-tap—
There was a small empty space at the ceiling that had been used as a library. I had no idea why it was hidden in such a tough spot.
Were there other passages? So far, none had been detected.
After all, there shouldn’t be a library at this height.
Perhaps the space had warped when the dungeon was created…
Creeeak—
After soundproofing the ceiling to avoid alerting other hunters, I opened the hidden door.
The door, just wide enough for two people, opened easily, revealing a decent space.
[Fireball]
Even without lighting a fire, I could sense it, but I wanted to confirm if anything was different.
‘Same as before. The place with the artifact hasn’t really changed.’
Despite the thick layer of dust, I walked a few steps across what was clearly an extravagant floor.
An old wardrobe that looked like it would crumble with the slightest touch and a box painted in dark brown caught my eye.
‘I’m excited to get an artifact after so long.’
The item I was about to obtain was especially unique.
Rustle—
As I touched the wardrobe with my hand, the dust was blown away, revealing two sets of chain mail that fell to the floor.
Both were surprisingly large for a modern person to wear, but I wasn’t worried since they would shrink to fit once donned.
What made them unique was that both the armor in the wardrobe and the earrings in the box were part of a coordinated set.
It was a peculiar artifact that would activate its effect when worn together in close proximity, like a couple’s outfit.
Tap-tap—
After shaking off the dust from the chain mail a few times, the armor glimmered as if it were brand new.
=====
Forgotten Ancient Kingdom’s Inamard Mail
– Defense +95
– Health +70
– Trait: When the partner’s health is below 20%, shares current health instantly.
– Trait activates only when within a certain range together.
– Trait does not apply if one side refuses.
=====
‘The option’s performance… increased a bit, huh?’
In my memory, this chain mail had only given about 30 health boost; now it was over double that.
Was it helping to regain the broken balance by enhancing the artifact’s performance?
‘…Well, that’s good for us.’
The Bone Armor had a defense of 120, while this artifact’s defense was 95. While one might think it’s a bit disappointing, considering the chain mail could be worn over armor, its defense was pretty decent.
With both together, I would have 215 defense!
That should protect me against most common enemies.
Since this chain mail had some bulk, it took a bit longer to apply the stealth effect. I didn’t want to stir any trouble by wearing it out, so I stored it in my inventory.
Clunk—
I then opened the small dark brown box, which had a thick lock attached to it, but that vanished as I infused my sense wave.
Inside were two small boxes side by side, roughly double the size of a ring case.
Though both the wardrobe and the box looked old and shabby, the case holding the earrings shimmered with a brilliant golden glow.
Click—
As I pressed a small square button on the bottom, the case opened with a cheerful sound.
Inside were a pair of droplet-shaped earrings, shining with the same golden light as the case, but based on what I had used before, one person had to wear the left earring while the other wore the right for the effect to kick in.
=====
Forgotten Ancient Kingdom’s Enchanted Droplet
– Magic Power +250
– Trait: Instantly transports your partner to the safest location you can think of. The partner becomes [Invincible] for an hour. The partner stays in [Statue] state for a day.
– Number of times the trait can be used: 5
– Trait activates only when within a certain range together.
– Trait prioritizes the intent of the first wearer.
=====
‘Indeed… these are on a whole different level.’
The stats displayed by the artifacts I had seen so far were laughable compared to these impressive figures. But the crux was clearly the trait.
A mind-blowing option that allows instant escape from hazardous places.
It even granted [Invincibility] for an hour and a [Statue] state, which reduced damage from physical and magical attacks by 90% for a day.
Although the [Statue] state would slow down movement speed by 95%, becoming a slug if activated, it was better than losing one’s life in situations that warranted such a drastic measure.
While it could only be used five times, if I ended up needing to use it more than twice, I needed to seriously reflect on my choices.
I immediately applied stealth to the earrings.
I brought one close to my right bony ear, and it melted into my ear like a pattern.
‘How fascinating.’
It was genuinely otherworldly.
I placed the remaining one in my inventory and prepared to leave this spot.
At that moment, I noticed a few sheets of parchment tucked away on a bookshelf, something I hadn’t noticed the last time I had been here.
‘Hmm…’
There were passionate expressions of love and affection written about a woman named Adrienne. But at some point, the writings shifted to hatred toward her and eventually escalated to almost a level of loathing.
From the writings, it seemed that Adrienne had ditched the Skeleton Knight to marry Nargul. The Skeleton Knight, consumed by vengeance toward Adrienne, was engaged in intense battles with Nargul, ultimately losing and fleeing here…
The chain mail and earrings were likely ordered beforehand to use in conjunction with Adrienne.
‘…What a tough time they had.’
That was about all I felt.
Yet, with my situation being far from easy, I couldn’t simply dismiss their woes. With a slightly bitter heart, I launched myself out into the open.
Kugugugugu—!
‘Huh?!’
As soon as I stepped outside, the tremors of the cave resumed. It was shaking violently, almost as if it would collapse at any moment, and there was no disagreement that we needed to get out immediately.
“Dammit! Everyone, move! This place is going to go down!”
“Hahaha—! But those guys inside are going to be trapped!”
“I think those guys will somehow manage to chase us, even if the cave collapses.”
As we burst outside, the compensation message popped into our heads, causing us to momentarily pause, but we couldn’t help but gaze in the same direction.
– Bwoooooor—!
The sight of dozens of Giant Skeletons and thousands of Undead charging toward us was indeed…
“Shit…”
“Please, just leave us alone! You freaks—!!”
“Let’s run for now!”
It was the natural response to blurt out.
I immediately scooped Yeon-hee up onto my back.
“Ah—!”
Let’s bolt. There are too many of them.
And everyone was utterly exhausted.
Like they’d made a pact, the hunters followed me as I flew off with Yeon-hee in tow.
The party members, as usual, climbed onto the Lizardmen and moved together.
“Rock Barrier!”
“Ice Field!”
Of course, it wasn’t just a leisurely ride.
Bae Joo-ah and Noh Ha-yoon took turns casting spells to hinder the pursuing monsters.
It was a big help that Lizardman 2 and 3 at the back were buying us time with their provocation.
Thanks to that, we managed to escape them completely.
We ran non-stop for 30 minutes, and it seemed like the hunters had no energy left to spare.
Many hunters had used up all their water from Irmana’s lake, so now they could only rely on natural recovery.
We found a spot beyond a broken stone bridge that showed signs of burning, temporarily taking a breather.
We chose this spot because below the bridge was a steep drop to an infinite abyss, and its length made it such that only through the bridge could the enemies cross.
It was wide enough that I and the summoned creatures could hold them off if need be, so as long as we endured, it would be fine.
While everyone rested, I called Yeon-hee aside.
Bae Joo-ah, Baek Ah-rin, Ham Eun-young, and even Noh Ha-yoon had all fallen asleep as soon as they sat down, so no one found it strange.
It was rare for me to call her out, so she looked at me with a slight glimmer of anticipation.
“Wh-why? Do you… have something to say?”
What could she be expecting from me, unable to speak?
I took out the earrings and handed them to her.
Yeon-hee looked puzzled for a moment, but once she saw the revealing earring of stealth in her hand, she covered her mouth in surprise.
(Wh-what is this?)
Her expression was adorably urgent as she quietly whispered.
Without a word, I took the earring back from her and placed it in her left ear.
“Ah… um… where did… you get this…?”
As soon as I placed it nearby, the earring stuck to her earlobe, slightly shrinking in size. Its design was so beautiful that it enhanced Yeon-hee’s appearance even more.
Of course, there was no one else to see it aside from me, but it left me very satisfied.
“Tap, tap, tap!”
“Mm-hmm. Thank you…”
There was something satisfying about adorning her one piece at a time.
Was this the joy of raising a princess in a game?
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