Chapter 42
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
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Underground City of the Ancient Gods 1
「I’m, uhh… sorry . 」Hikaru apologized .
Knowing Lavia was a bit scared, he said they were going to run away at the first sign of danger, but he just declared he was going to clear the dungeon . It didn’t take long for him to go back on his word . Lavia couldn’t help but laugh .
「It’s okay . I’d get angry too if I was in your shoes . I wanted to say you are awesome, but I can’t really do it . I was relieved that you spoke out . 」
「Thanks, I guess . 」
「Besides, I don’t think you’ll make a mistake . You’ll turn back once it gets too dangerous and forget about clearing the dungeon . 」
「I promise . No point in clearing the dungeon if we’re dead . 」
「Let’s go then . 」
They were standing in front of the mausoleum . After Hikaru’s declaration, the adventurers went silent, then burst into laughter . With a “good luck”, they left and entered the dungeon before them .
Having used the regulations as a pretext, the guild personnel said he was going to allow them to enter, but he would report it to the guild . He looked displeased as he wrote something down .
Sure, go ahead and report me . I don’t really care, Hikaru thought . They were going to leave soon anyway . It only fueled his determination even more .
「Let’s go . 」
Although it looked like a cabin made of stone, it was definitely a mausoleum and it served as the entrance to the Underground City of the Ancient Gods . Shelves, which seemed to have had urns displayed before, lined up the walls . Cremation was a rare custom in this world . The urns were probably taken for examination .
The discovery of the dungeon itself was quite peculiar . Low-level spirit-type monsters started appearing near the roads . Since there weren’t any settlements or graveyards nearby, adventurers went out to investigate, and happened on the mausoleum .
A simple set of stairs were set up by the hole in the ground . It wasn’t technically an “entrance” to the dungeon . Back when it was discovered, it was nothing but a hole . Two hundred meters down a gentle slope was where the Underground City was located .
According to Gafrasti N . Valves, a historian, the mausoleum was not related to the Underground City in any way . The undead monsters that appeared in the place wore clothes from the Poelnxinia dynasty, a dynasty that had fallen 600 years ago, while the mausoleum was built sometime in the last hundred years .
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In other words, the Underground City was built by the Poelnxinian people, and their bodies turned into undead .
Undead-type monsters drew spirits . It was mentioned in the book that perhaps undead monsters dug through the dirt for years and finally made it to the mausoleum . The thought of a monster digging tenaciously for hundreds of years filled Hikaru with dread .
Incidentally, Poelnxinia was an old term for Ponsonia, although now obsolete . At least according to Roland’s knowledge . He only had vague memories about the history of the fallen dynasty, however .
「Watch your step . 」
「Thank you . 」
Hikaru took the first step on the stairs then took Lavia’s hand . Lamps were installed on the walls at regular intervals, and while inadequate, enough to see . Activating Group Obfuscation, they both headed further inside .
It’s getting cold .
Hikaru felt the temperature drop . Strong, chilly wind from the depths blew past them . The walls now changed to bare rocks, wet and slippery . Sounds of water dripping could be heard . Initially, he thought 200 meters was nothing, but it surprisingly felt so far . They were both quiet . But if there was a beginning, there was always an end .
「Wow… it’s huge . 」
All of a sudden, the passage came to an end, and they emerged at a stone-made house . There was a hole in the wall where the passage was connected to . Crisp, dry air entered their lungs . The floor was muddy from all the people that had gone through here . Worn-out blankets and tables were sprawled about .
A howl sounded from far away . Hikaru and Lavia looked at each other . It wasn’t a dog . A monster, or perhaps, a human .
The wooden door creaked as it opened to the pitch-black darkness . Beyond it was the beginning of the dungeon .
Lavia carried the lamp with one hand, and held Hikaru’s hand with the other .
「Let’s go . 」Hikaru said . Lavia gave a nod and they both stepped out of the house .
Heavy silence descended upon them . Even a cloudy, dark night was brighter than the dungeon . It was as if the world had ended and they were the only people around .
As soon as they stepped out, the ground seemed to rise . Apparently it was a small bridge for the irrigation channel that ran through the houses, although had long dried out . They crossed the bridge and out into the dry, hard-packed road . Clouds of dust rose with each step, but it was easy to walk on .
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The light of the lamp gave vision to the next house, one made out of stone, with a five-step ladder at the front that lead to its entrance . A few glances around and it was evident that every house was of the same design .
Being made of stone, the structures had stood the test of time, although most of them had their roofs collapsed . The first floor of two, three-story houses were fine . Unfortunately, most of them had been ransacked by adventurers – drawers were turned inside out, porcelain plates were smashed to pieces .
「Ugh… What is that smell?」
In the quiet underground city, Hikaru caught the stench of rotting meat .
「Hmm?」
「Ssh!」
Sensing its approach, Hikaru was quick to react and covered Lavia’s mouth . A human came from behind the house . Or what once was a human . Its eyeballs were gone and its lower lips were peeled off, exposing its yellowish teeth . The creature had a right arm, but its left arm, from the elbow down, appeared to have been torn off . Rather than walking, it looked more like it was staggering . It didn’t notice Hikaru and Lavia .
A Dead Citizen .
Dead Citizens were the lowest of the mobs among undead monsters . However, it could still prove to be troublesome . They could call for their friends . This place was a city, so it had plenty of friends around .
The Obfuscation is working well . Even with our lamp, it doesn’t see us . Not that it has eyes . It looks like not having eyes is not a problem for undead monsters . Does it have some sort of a Detection skill, then?
Hikaru thought he could bring up its Soul Board since it was technically a former human being, but it didn’t work . His Life Detection actually didn’t sense the monster, only Mana Detection was able to . Within a range of a hundred meters, he sensed twelve undead monsters, most likely Dead Citizens .
There’s quite a lot of them . I’m sure a normal adventurer can handle one of them, but it must be rough if it called for backup .
Hikaru pulled Lavia and went around the monster’s back . He drew his Dagger of Strength and thrust it into the creature’s heart – or where its heart would be . The monster trembled before collapsing to the ground . A cloud of dust rose as it dropped .
「I can kill them no problem… is what I’d like to say, but this fluid is disgusting . 」
Dark liquid stuck on his blade .
「Hikaru, this is a Dead Citizen, right? So its heart is its weakness? I don’t recall reading that on the book . 」
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「Its mana was concentrated on its heart, so I just stabbed it . 」
It was all thanks to his Mana Detection .
「So you can see the flow of mana . You might be able to use magic . 」Lavia said .
「Haha . I sure hope so . 」
I’m sure I can if I put points on my magic-related stats . I don’t have a lot of extra points to use, though . In any case…
Hikaru had two questions from his kill just now .
Will my soul rank go up if I kill undead monsters?
He could find out by killing a few Dead Citizens, although he didn’t really want to . Using magic was out of the question . That would only draw attention . The stench was unbearable as well .
Why are there monsters near the entrance?
That was his second question . Since its discovery five years ago, hundreds – no, thousands of adventurers had entered this dungeon . That much was clear from the ransacked houses near the entrance . It would make sense then that monsters in the area would be all cleared . And yet they ran into one immediately . The Dead Citizen was still on the ground, wearing old worn-out clothes .
Whatever . For now, we’ll just proceed deeper .
Thanks to Group Obfuscation, the Dead Citizens didn’t notice them . There were other monsters roaming about as well .
The Skeleton – a Dead Citizen that was nothing but bones . Skeleton Armor – a higher-level Skeleton well-versed in combat . It didn’t wear an actual armor, but used mana to toughen its body . The Skeleton Mage – Skeletons with staffs that could use magic . It wasn’t a problem since Hikaru could take it down before it couldn’t notice him . There were also Ghosts – spirit monsters which looked like a thick mist .
These monsters were lurking in the area . A whole lot of them, in fact . Hikaru and Lavia would come across a few of them every five minutes of walking . They usually grouped up in two or three .
For now, Hikaru resolved to just kill every last one of them . Skeletons had their mana concentrated in their skulls so he stabbed them in the head . He wasn’t sure if physical attacks worked on Ghosts, but he tried anyway . It worked; it felt like he was cutting a piece of cloth .
His first question was answered after a few kills . His soul rank went up . Though it felt remarkably slower than when he killed Goblins or Green Wolves . About five times slower . But since his goal was to raise his soul rank, he proceeded to kill more, as long as it didn’t take him too far .
Then they heard something .
「Hey, there’s more!」
「I know! Hold ‘em back!」
「This is rough!」
「Put your backs into it!」
Voices and the clash of steel rang through the darkness . In the distance, they could see a light . Five adventurers were fighting a horde of Skeletons .
「What do we do?! No matter how many we kill, they just keep on coming!」
「I told you to be more generous on the holy water!」
「They’re weak in one-on-ones, so just keep at it!」
「I’m sorry . I’m running out of mana…」
「Aah! I got bit! Damn, that hurts like hell!」
Hikaru knew who they were right away . The adventurers they met at the entrance .
「Huh…?」
It looked like they were having trouble .
「You don’t look too happy, Hikaru . 」
「Really? I’m the same as always, if you ask me . 」
Hikaru grabbed Lavia’s hand and they started walking towards the skirmish .