Chapter 14
Like that, I descended the stairs for a long period of time.
“Ha…Since when did I arrive at this hard mode route?”
[Clack-clack?]
As I carefully stepped down on the gradually narrower and steeper stairs, I thought once again about this paradox.
The most obvious answer seemed to be sinking to the bottom of the lake–because the next monsters, Lulu and Marien, were definitely not present in the normal route monster list I previously saw.
I regret not reading any information related to the hard mode. I had no intention of coming this way, after all. The low level Dungeons I’ve experienced so far had no labyrinths nor divided difficulty levels, so I had never imagined that one could just simply cross over. ….Although there’s a high probability that any preparation may still be rendered useless.
Amidst my confused worries, a horrible idea bubbled to the surface. Even if I safely reached the reward room, would the Boss of the <Tower of Command’s> hard mode route be waiting for me?
Three years ago, some of the top rankers in the nation were exterminated while trying to defeat the Boss…With just the two of us, what can Lackey and I accomplish?
No matter what, I couldn’t think of a satisfactory answer to my dilemma. I stopped walking and stared at the floating green arrow. When I stopped, the arrow shook and swayed in the air, as if asking why I paused and urging me to step forward.
When I saw its erratic movement, I decided to clutch at straws and talk to the green arrow.
“Guide-nim…By any chance, could you lead me someplace else in the dungeon…?”
""
Of course I didn’t expect much–my question was another outlet for complaints.
Do you wish to modify the path?
Surprisingly, I received a positive response to my complaint.
Please call out your desired destination. Keywords can also be searched.
In addition, the ‘Guide’ let me know that I can search through filters for desired routes. I thrust a silent fist of joy into the air. This time I fell into a deep contemplation, I needed to properly use this GPS…I should think carefully…
So, I chose a few key parameters.
“The nearest place with no traps nor monsters!”
Scanning for possible routes….
As soon as I finished talking, the green arrow started blinking yellow. After a few minutes, it returned to its original color: [A new destination has been found.]
But…
The ‘Guide’ buff has been reapplied.
The guide has knowledge of all the routes inside the Tower of Command. For the next 45 minutes, we are able to guide you through the fastest or safest path to the keywords “No trap or Monster,” and “Nearest”. Which path will you select? This choice can be changed during the journey.
>Fastest Path….Estimated 15 minutes
>Safest Path……Estimated 55 minutes. The buff will expire during travel.
This time the remaining time left on the buff and the safe route travel time conflicted. Of the 60 minutes originally given, 15 minutes had been consumed getting to and walking down these stairs. Even if I were to go on the safe route now, there would be 10 minutes of guide-less travel.
However, considering how without a guide I’ve run into monsters like Marien, I felt like I could actually die in the fast route. Eventually I pressed [Safest path] and quickened my pace towards the direction the arrow pointed. Lackey fastened its hands onto my clothes, holding tightly onto my back…
Fortunately, the stairs began to widen, and it didn’t take much effort to descend. As I continued, the surroundings became darker and darker. Soon enough, I had to step according only to the green light of the guide.
Suddenly, the direction of the guide arrow changed.
Please pay attention to the front.
The arrow that had been steadily facing downwards had corrected itself. In front of me were broken steps and a flimsy wooden plank connecting across to a new set of stairs.
The brick wall I had been holding onto had been excavated, concave like a fireplace….I almost screamed when I saw what was inside of the wall while checking on the wooden plank.
An upside down bat, twice the size of my body, hung upside-down with its eyes closed within the recess. The bat looked like a stone carving and horns, like a mountain goat, grew out of its head…Anyone could see it was a monster. However it didn’t move, so I wondered if it was a Dungeon ornament and not a real being.
New monster information has been updated!
How fortunate, you’ve come across a Gargoyle that’s still asleep…It’s a vicious monster that gobbles humans when awake, but, when asleep, it turns into a vivid and artistic sculpture. It’s rare to have a chance to watch a sleeping gargoyle. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad to observe it if you can afford the time.
A sleeping monster?
Upon closer inspection, it really did look more like a statue than a living, giant bat. But the description really did paint a horrid picture…I was constantly afraid that the bat statue would wake up whenever I heard a creak while stepping on the wooden planks.
The next step would take me right beside the upside down bat statue. Further down, countless gargoyle statues lined the walls as far as the eyes could see. The place was reminiscent of the inside of a beehive.
Wow….If I were to make a loud noise by mistake here…could those hundreds of gargoyles wake up simultaneously?
Every quiet breath was filled with fear. I still had a long way to go and I couldn’t even see the end of the gargoyles. Perhaps Lackey was also afraid. It stopped its familiar clacking and instead plastered its forehead onto my back, trembling.
–Creak
“Urm……Ngh!”
Just when I stepped on the next plank…
The board cracked through the middle. I almost screamed as I felt my body tilting, but, fortunately, Lackey covered my mouth and muffled the noise.
As soon as I stepped across, the plank completely crumbled. With a “clang, clang, clang….,” it bounced off the walls and disappeared into the abyss. To my annoyance, it took more than a minute for the sound to trail off in the distance. I slowly looked up at the gargoyle statue next to me in fear.
-krssssss…..
The gargoyle did not immediately jump up and attack as I had feared….but rather, with a disturbing sound, tiny bits of stone crumbled from the body of the bat. As if the statue was going to wake soon….
Damn!
I turned straight away and ran with great speed, as though rolling down the steps. The pounding of my footsteps was certainly disruptive….but the sound of crumbling rocks began to bury the sound.
T-This is crazy…..That’s the sound of those jerks waking up, right?
[Kieeeeakkk!]
A foreboding premonition will always come true. The arms of a sooty statue in front jutted out, like the security gate arms that stop cars from entering apartment complexes..
I didn’t dare slow down, so I bent my waist as low as possible and passed underneath the arm….While passing, I regretfully turned my head to look at the statue, wondering why Lackey gave a tremulously clacked on my back. The giant gargoyles fixed their shining red eyes on me, flapping their wings, and getting ready for a fight…
“AhhhhhhhHH!!” I felt free to scream as loudly as I pleased–the statues were awake anyway. The issue was not just the gargoyles pouring from behind but also the gargoyles still stirring in front.
The way forward was still clear of monster bodies, but, consecutively, arms poked out in preparation for flight. I hurriedly lowered my head multiple times while running.
Eventually, I sprained my ankle trying to avoid the sudden protrusions of arms in front of me. Of course, there were no kindly guard rails like on the stairs on a mountain behind my childhood neighborhood. My body helplessly stumbled off the stairs.
“No!”
I hastily reached out a hand, but I couldn’t grab onto anything. Lackey crawled onto my head and covered my vision with its entire body. Perhaps he was trying to protect my head and neck during the fall.
However, even if I couldn’t see, it was obvious that I was falling at a great speed. Soon after, I hit something in the air, as if something had caught me. The impact knocked me unconscious.
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