We took a long break.
Until Beigo’s torn wound healed without a trace and energy surged back into our exhausted bodies.
It probably took about an hour.
“Keyshaah….”
Kikel, not liking the skeleton shield he hastily grabbed, whined the whole time, scratching the surface of the shield with his nails.
Well, of course, he couldn’t be happy about it, could he?
Unlike the original shield, which was reinforced with a solid piece of wood covered with leather and edged with metal, the new shield looked so shabby it was almost laughable.
It was basically a wooden shield crudely pieced together from half-rotted planks.
Honestly, it looked more like a village inn door that had been halved than a shield.
I spent the time tearing the tattered ends of my cloak to wipe the blood off my armor and sword while Amy sat next to me, watching.
“The official wizards of the Magic Tower are recognized as Bronze-tier adventurers the moment they register, you know? Due to a lack of experience, they’re treated like rookies among other Bronze-tier adventurers. However, as they build experience with reliable party members….”
She rambled on about her life plan, which I hadn’t even asked about.
After passing the Magic Tower’s exam, she planned to visit the Guild to register, aiming to rise to the Gold tier with trustworthy party members.
…Is she trying to flirt with me?
Listening to her made it seem like she desperately wanted to include me as one of her “reliable party members.”
The way she was being oddly friendly and pouring out this kind of talk was a bit too warm, even considering she was a woman.
If all of that was for the sake of recruiting me, it made a lot of sense.
◆◆
After about an hour’s break, we continued our exploration.
This time, it was a hundred times more cautious.
Amy and Bolton, who had felt so confident against the wights, were now practically liabilities.
Amy had completely exhausted her attack spells and could only use illumination and defense magic now, while Bolton barely had a couple of heals and just one blessing left.
Our party’s firepower had drastically decreased.
Unlike warriors who could recover their stamina and fight again, wizards and priests have to wait until after midnight to restore their spellcasting abilities.
So until tomorrow morning, both of them were pretty much out of commission.
What else could we do, then?
We either retreated all the way back without any results or moved much more cautiously than before, avoiding combat as much as possible.
We chose the latter.
It felt like it hadn’t even reached noon. Waiting until midnight felt like an eternity.
If the enemies were at a level where they couldn’t be confronted without attack magic or divine miracles, that’d be one thing, but it didn’t seem to be the case.
The last fight was problematic because three wights were running around at the same time; if it was just one, we could’ve taken it down without wasting any spells.
“So let’s keep going. Let’s see what other monsters are around. If we really hit a wall, we can retreat then.”
There were no objections.
◆◆
Was the choice to resume exploration the right one?
The trio of wights roaming near the entrance seemed to be the gatekeepers of this place, as all the wights we encountered afterward were just lonely losers.
Every time we encountered a wight, we quickly checked for any other enemies around and then unleased a barrage of violence.
Like a gang of young thugs preying on a drunk middle-aged man’s wallet.
“Grrrrr…”
Taking down a single wight with the four of us was surprisingly easy and almost felt embarrassing.
Having fought them one-on-one before, I could predict its every attack just by seeing the signs, and although the other party members were a beat behind me, they managed to handle the wight’s fierce strikes without much trouble.
Our experience of facing three at once had given us wings.
It felt like we wandered around for almost three hours.
In that time, we had killed eight more wights, and Kikel had swapped shields four times.
The half-rotted wooden shield couldn’t withstand even a single blow from the wight.
“When we get back, I’ll buy a good shield!”
For some reason, his desire for a quality shield seemed to have doubled since earlier.
Maybe next time we meet, he’ll be wielding something like a steel shield?
Anyway, after thoroughly searching the third level of the dungeon, we finally discovered something.
“This is….”
“A door.”
A rocky door connecting to the space beyond the wall. On either side hung skulls decorated like decorative candle holders, filled with cobwebs.
The rectangular door’s surface was covered in strange inscriptions or patterns, the majority of which had eroded away, making it impossible to discern their original form.
“A treasure chamber, maybe?”
Kikel exclaimed with wide eyes, looking like a cat that had just found a toy.
“Well… It seems a bit ominous to me. It looks like the perfect place to hide, and anything could jump out at any moment.”
I shook my head.
A decorated door with skulls? This seemed more like a boss room than a treasure chamber, doesn’t it?
Treasure room, boss room.
There was only a one-letter difference, but that one letter difference could mean life or death for an adventurer.
In the former, one could simply rummage through for valuables like an in-game archaeologist, but in the latter….
I would learn the harsh lesson that no ultimate happiness comes without a price.
Especially if that cost was either my life or my party members’.
“What do you think, Amy?”
“Oh please, the flow of magical energy is pointing inwards, right? That means whatever we’re looking for is in here!”
After pausing, Amy took a deep breath and declared firmly.
“So let’s go in. If something we can’t handle comes out, we can just turn and run.”
“Okay, got it. Then… Kikel? Can you shield me with your shield? There’s a chance something could attack as soon as the door opens.”
It wasn’t just excessive caution; I’d actually witnessed it several times.
Uncautious rookies flinging open doors like this, only to get hit by blade traps, falling logs, or arrows, spraying blood all over as they fell.
A pretty shocking memory.
I remembered a sixteen-year-old kid brimming with excitement, joyfully opening the door to a treasure chamber…
THUD!
…the log trap smashed his head in, and he convulsed like a frog struck by lightning, losing control of his bowels.
I truly jumped in shock that time.
“Yes! Doors are dangerous, armor hurts!”
Kikel nodded and took his position beside me.
After glancing at the wooden shield he was holding, I stretched my arms forward and pushed the rocky door with all my might.
GRRRRRR…!
With a sound of grinding rock, the firmly closed door began to slowly open, revealing the inside bit by bit.
Since it was a door carved out of rock, I wondered if it was too heavy to open, but it turned out to be surprisingly light and thin, sliding open quite easily.
“Haah!”
Realizing this, I let out a light shout and stomped my foot, using that momentum to push the door wide open, when Kikel, like he was waiting for this moment, blocked my way with his shield.
I lowered myself down, readying my sword to deflect whatever might come flying at us.
And then—
“…….”
“…….”
Nothing happened.
“……Caw caw!”
“Uhm.”
Kikel awkwardly smiled and lowered his shield, and I stood up straight after clearing my throat from the unnecessary tension.
…Well, I guess there could be no traps. That’s a good thing. I saved a shield.
“Safe, good!”
“Indeed.”
Nodding at Kikel’s comment that it seemed safe, I turned my gaze beyond the wide-open door and scanned the interior.
“That’s….”
“A altar?”
As Amy came up beside me and commented, just inside the opened door was a structure resembling a stone altar.
Flanking it were rock-like braziers arranged in a low staircase and a stone table placed on the central platform, with bizarre-shaped statues draped like a screen.
It was obviously an altar.
An altar suited for cultists who might prefer human sacrifice.
“An altar…for heretics…of the heretics…uhhhrg…!”
As if reaching the same conclusion, Bolton’s eyes widened with rage as he jumped into the room with a furious growl.
“Elianel!”
It felt like a near unstoppable urge overwhelming his impulse.
“Wait, don’t just run in alone…!”
“Another human man acting like this! It’s a disease!”
“Stop, wait! Don’t destroy it yet! We need to check something!”
We shouted in a panic, chasing him into the room.
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