27. Dungeon Strategy
Irina embarked on the conquest of the dungeon.
The interior of the anthill was dark.
Fwoosh!
She lit a torch.
Bringing divine power to the stick she had made by hand, a bright white flame ignited.
However, the torch’s brightness was far from sufficient.
Especially when following the flow of oxygen through the passage, the torch flickered significantly.
Shadows swayed in the burrow, both large and small.
The light was unstable.
When considering that this was a lethal space known as a dungeon, it was not a favorable situation.
Nevertheless, Irina had a tool to address such issues.
Items purchased from the store.
Click.
The lantern attached to the golem’s shoulder lit up.
The swaying shadows retreated as darkness was dispelled.
Irina widened her eyes.
“What is this…?”
With growth, the ability to purchase was not limited to just the Earth Golem.
He could also grow to some extent in terms of purchasing auxiliary items.
The lantern was one such example.
Unlike ants optimized for living deep in darkness, elves structurally resembled humans.
Hence, relying on eyesight was natural.
What Han needed to do was ensure her safety and allow her to focus solely on the enemy’s presence.
Irina smiled faintly and greeted.
“Thank you, Lord.”
There was no longer a need to hold the torch.
Extinguishing the flame, she focused only ahead.
The smile quickly vanished, replaced by a solemn expression as she took a deep breath.
She readied her bow.
Her assistant would take care of Han and his golem.
“Kieyek!”
Soon, a fierce howl echoed from beyond the darkness.
They were coming.
“…Ha.”
Inhaling the cold air of the atmosphere.
She exhaled, loading her bow.
The dazzling divine power enchanted, completely illuminating the darkness of the passage.
From afar, the presence of approaching figures could be seen.
Both of them were mere ants.
Ping!
Her arrow crossed the pathway, hitting the figures accurately.
A bright explosion followed.
***
“By the way, this is what they call a dungeon….”
Han’s gaze scanned the surroundings continuously.
“How fascinating.”
This was the first time she had witnessed the inside of a dungeon with her own eyes.
The word “Dungeon” refers to a crevice in the distorted intersection, caused by the overabundance of magic, resulting in rapid changes like contraction and expansion, creating their own ecosystem but also being a part of a clearly existing environment somewhere in this world.
Due to the distorted influence of magic between each planet, phenomena pieced together by the warped magic power are directly referred to as dungeons.
In summary, with the existence of mana, appearing in this reality was somewhat of an error or bug.
“A distorted intersection of two worlds, where this world and that world converge and combine.”
If you broaden your perspective a bit, even Earth could appear as a dungeon on some planet.
Since magic-distorted spaces are scattered throughout Earth.
It meant that such places often become dungeons from other worlds and emerge.
In this way, dungeons could appear anywhere and mix with other worlds, without common ground or overlapping ecosystems.
Various worlds without commonalities.
Some were endless oceans, and some were landscapes covered with forests.
Of course, there also existed small underground dungeons like the ant nest they were in.
Present-day humans have not definitively concluded their research on the existence of dungeons.
Dungeons were still an unknown world to them.
Boom!
Irina’s advance proceeded smoothly.
Her attacks were surprisingly sharp.
Before Han’s Earth Golem could even react, each one was taken down precisely, one by one.
Although she encountered and dealt with as many as six ants, she seemed unfazed.
“Phew.”
Irina breathed a sigh of relief after defeating another ant.
Even though she handled them easily, she couldn’t let her guard down.
Monsters were dangerous.
Even if Irina could easily deal with them, allowing their approach even once would turn her delicate skin into a terrible sight.
Han’s Earth Golem had to remain on high alert.
How deep had they descended?
They were likely quite deep.
“There it is.”
A fork in the road appeared.
This was a crossroad.
On one side, a grand passage, on the other, a tunnel leading to the ants’ nest.
As he alternated his gaze between the two passages, a small direction caught his eye.
“It’s towards the small passage.”
Seemingly realizing this fact, he began to move towards the ant nest.
The earth golem shuffled alongside her, guarding her flank as they took each step.
Currently, the earth golem was in escort mode.
The advantage of this mode was clear.
Protecting the designated target from surrounding dangers.
In other words, prioritizing the safety of the target.
“There is no being more suitable for escort than a golem.”
An existence formed from compacted earth between large rocks, the golem was as resilient as the material it was made of, impervious to most physical shocks.
[Current damage below 17.97%.]
[Moderate level.]
In reality, it had suffered minimal damage from the attacks of a single ant.
Well, to be precise, it was only minor damage.
Only the wrist crack and the roughly struck shoulder were affected.
Groooan-.
Suddenly, they arrived at a wide central area.
It was a noticeable change at first glance.
“Here is…”
Whether Irina also noticed this change or not, she scanned the surroundings with a tense expression.
The flashlight attached to the earth golem’s shoulder slowly scanned the darkness around them.
It was an unsettling space.
There was a feeling, somehow.
A cold current seemed to flow through the interior, chilling the atmosphere.
“There is still plenty of strength left.”
Although the golem’s damage rate had risen sharply, there was still room to spare.
In a dungeon, one must always anticipate what comes next.
From Noble mtl dot com
Having strength wasn’t everything; having the ability to defeat the enemy wasn’t either.
Of course, it wasn’t Han’s experience.
It was advice from a hunter who had authored many renowned books.
Han had saved Irina.
She, too, had room to spare.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, not from exhaustion, but from a suitable level of tension.
“If Irina is in danger, I must sacrifice my golem to ensure she can escape.”
Of course, the optimal scenario would be to cleanly clear the dungeon like this.
But one cannot be certain.
If the situation were to turn, she knew she had to retreat.
While a golem could be summoned back even if destroyed, it was the end for Irina if she perished.
She was a real entity in this world.
Something was blocking their path.
It was a white mist.
“This is….”
Irina showed a rare sign of tension.
Sweat droplets like dew formed on her forehead.
“Beyond the white mist, the king of the dungeon lurks….”
Irina murmured the old saying she had heard from her ancestors long ago, gripping her bow.
It was as the oral tradition had passed down.
From the white mist to the monsters that kept pouring out from there.
“Grrr-.”
From beyond the mist, a low growl could be heard.
The king of the dungeon.
The boss was waiting.
***
Step by step.
Irina, who had been staring at the mist.
Finally, she took a step inside.
The obscured mist cleared, revealing the interior.
“That is….”
It was clear.
The expression of Han, who had been guarding her side along with the golem, also stiffened.
A fierce being staring at them could be seen.
On the opposite side of the boss room, an ant carrying a huge swollen abdomen appeared.
It was the queen ant.
[The mother of the initial colony, Megajo – Queen Ant]
Was it because she was the boss of the dungeon?
Even the symbol revealing the name emitted a sinister red glow.
It felt completely different from the usual monsters.
‘…It’s dangerous.’
At a glance, you could sense the difference in caliber.
The red eyes of the queen ant glared at the intruders.
[Kirrr-.]
…Oh my goodness. The vicinity is filled with eggs.
There were even several individuals already in the larval stage among the ants.
Showing hostility towards the intruders alongside wriggling larvae, the queen ant expressed animosity.
Han muttered in a voice tinged with confusion.
“Just how many are there, exactly?”
When all the numbers are added up, it seems to exceed twenty at least.
If those guys all reach the adult ant stage….
Haneun remained silent as if something had broken down.
A young certainty emerged from intuition.
“When they all grow up, there will be no way to stop them anymore. We have to stop them before that.”
Later, the numbers would swell to an unbearable extent.
Of course, at that time, it was going to become an unbearable disaster for the elves.
“We have to kill them now.”
Sshh-.
At that moment, Irina slowly began to draw her bow.
As slowly and delicately as possible to not provoke the creature.
Simultaneously, a faint sacred power gathered at the tip of the arrow, emitting a sharp aura.
It was preparation for an attack.
Irina, who had been silently staring at the queen ant head-on, slowly nodded her head and signaled to it.
“Earth Golem, attack mode!”
The golem’s eyes briefly lit up red.
It raised its giant fist and charged forward.
“Kieeek-!!”
The queen ant, facing a strange intruder, let out a sharp cry.
The eyes of the surrounding larvae began to glow bright red.
With their jaws wide open, they rushed forward as if they had lost their reason.
Ant larvae tried to block the golem, but it simply trampled over all of them with its massive stature and weight, charging straight ahead.
It was an overwhelming rush.
However, the real threat was not just some ant larvae.
“Kieeek!”
The enraged queen ant, witnessing her offspring being slaughtered, roared and collided with the golem.
Kwahng!
With a loud noise, the golem’s fist struck the soldier ant.
The ant, stuck to the wall, sprang up like a snake and began to bite and tear at the golem.
The two collided in the middle of the corridor, starting a power struggle.
Neither side seemed to easily give in.
But there is not only the Earth Golem here.
“Now!”
Seizing the opportunity, Irina’s arrow emitted a strong light.
The queen ant, who had been tearing and biting the Earth Golem, suddenly turned her gaze towards her with the bright light illuminating the tunnel.
“Haa!”
Zing!
In an instant, Irina’s sniper shot, like a beam of light, struck the creature.
The impact seemed not to be light as the creature let go of the golem it was holding onto.
Its gaze turned towards Irina.
The pupils turned a bright red. It was a sense of crisis.
“Escort mode!”
Earth Golem’s stance was switched.
In an instant, the golem transformed into a rock, blocking the path in front of Irina.
It was a perfect barrier.
Under the protection of the golem, Irina leaped vertically off the common wall, shooting consecutive arrows of light towards the queen ant.