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＜ 12. Into the crack (7) ＞
“ It was when I arrived at the waiting room. I looked to see if Andrea-sama’s group had arrived first, but not even Andrea-sama, or even Arpan-sama, was there. But then . . . ”
Unexpected things happened one after another. Suddenly, the air cracked and a crack appeared, and from the entrance behind someone entered, a large man in red armor .
Thinking he was an ordinary challenger, Emilia greeted him awkwardly, but what came back was a punch that was so strong that he was bewildered .
“ I didn’t even have time to ask why. I was going to take a card out of the deck and deal with it, but before I had time to do so, he grabbed me from behind and choked me with his forearm… The power was really… unbelievably strong. In the end, I quickly lost my mind .”
When he came to his senses again, he said that the man had disappeared and was left alone in this wasteland. Of course, Emilia couldn’t understand at all why this happened .
After that, stories of hardship that could not be heard without tears continued .
After wandering through the wasteland and finally reaching Hersheba, Emilia realized that she had to collect rift stones to escape, and accepted the village chief’s request. I came to this cave with other challengers, but they were all beginners who couldn’t even climb the 20th floor, so they couldn’t even beat the nasty monsters .
“ Everyone died, and I was the only one left… To make matters worse, I even broke my staff while blocking the centipede’s attack. Monsters were blocking my way out, so I was stranded. Then, he noticed that there was a hidden space around here and hid there .”
The Priest of the Earth God has the ability to detect secret spaces. Perhaps, had it not been for that characteristic, Emilia would have followed the footsteps of her comrades .
“ You worked hard, priest. It’s safe to be with us now .”
Hearing Andrea’s words, Emilia nodded her head with a less worried face. On the other hand, Andrea smiled softly on the outside but was deeply troubled on the inside .
‘ It’s full of things I don’t know what it is, but there’s something else I need to look into …’
Why were the inhabitants of the shantytown massacred, why did Bagrati’s personality change so drastically from the game, and who, for what purpose, assaulted Emilia and threw her into the crack ?
I couldn’t quite guess any of them. Andrea inquired more about Emilia’s clue about the appearance of the savage who threw her into the rift .
“ Hmm… I couldn’t see his face at all because he was wearing red armor and even a red helmet. He didn’t say a word, so I couldn’t even hear his voice… All I know is that he was huge. I’m sorry …”
“ No, the priest is not sorry .”
“ Yes. that’s right. If we meet again… I will not leave you alone, that person .”
As before, even if Emilia looks weak, she shows the utmost coldness towards the obvious enemy who harmed her first. Perhaps, if Emilia met that ruthless man again, she would definitely attack without hesitation, as she said .
‘ Anyway, it’s a red armor …’
Step by step, Andrea looked back to see who was the NPC or character wearing the red armor. It wasn’t as long as I thought. It wouldn’t have known if he was only wearing red armor, but it’s not common for him to wear a red helmet as well .
‘ Sir MacLean, the knight of the sun, Kuntram the bloody berserker, or Gatras that never fades …’
However, when I thought about it, there was no guarantee that they would be the only ones wearing the red armor. Because it wasn’t a world where NPCs were quietly killing each other. Even Emilia can never get out of Adsel in the game, but isn’t she accompanying her like this now ?
Anyone could be the culprit if they farmed and ate the red armor while exploring the dungeon. However, I had a good idea of what kind of equipment the red armor was .
“ Priestess Emilia, by any chance, wasn’t there a protrusion like a beast’s teeth on the man’s breastplate ?”
“ Oh, yes. that’s right! I think it must have been .”
‘ As expected …’
Blood Eater’s Armor. Beyond Epic, Legend-grade equipment .
Legend-grade equipment is equipment that you can only see one or two unless you are very lucky and have to go to the 100th floor in the 25th ordeal. Wearing such equipment means that you are a person with power that at least Andrea and the others cannot handle .
‘ If the culprit was an NPC, I couldn’t even guess. I’ve never seen an NPC wearing the Blood Eater’s armor. But if there’s a culprit among the playable characters… He’s one of two people who can wear that armor .’
Conjectures that are not supported by evidence always contain the possibility of being delusional. Andrea decided that it was futile to worry any longer. First of all, it was more urgent to solve the problem right in front of me .
“ I have no idea why this happened. For now, I have a job to do, so let’s investigate after rescuing the village chief’s daughter .”
The companions nodded and stood up. In order to complete the request, I had to head to the depths of the cave before it was too late .
*
“ But how on earth could the village chief’s daughter have been kidnapped all the way back there ?”
said Trisha, trying to free the arrow from the giant bat. He was about to meet another group of monsters and fight a bout of battle. The arrow that had completely pierced the bat was not easily pulled out even if a dragon was used .
“ No, think about it. This isn’t a place to go for a walk, but wouldn’t a monster come all the way to the village and pick up one person and go all the way into the cave ?”
It was a very valid point. Andrea gave the answer in a dry voice, wiping the spider’s bodily fluids with bat skin .
“… The villagers made human sacrifices. So that the monsters inside the cave don’t crawl out .”
“ Yes ?”
Emilia shouted in a shocked voice. Andrea continued to explain without hesitation .
“ There is an old woman who is a respected fortune teller in Hersheba. Monsters are infested outside the village, and even the monsters in the cave crawl out, so the villagers ask the old woman for a solution. The solution given by the old fortuneteller was to offer the village chief’s daughter to the Red Valley Cave because the monster inside the cave was angry .”
“ That, such a savage …”
“ The village chief vehemently rejects it, saying it is a ridiculous superstition, but in the end, the villagers kidnap her and give her to the cave. The monster in the deepest place took my daughter inside the cave, and we are going to get it now .”
In fact, this request had more complicated circumstances than just this one. Unlike the old fortuneteller who was just a trickster, the daughter of the village chief actually had magical powers, or the old fortuneteller was jealous of the village chief’s daughter because of that, or the old woman and the village chief had a bad relationship .
But that didn’t matter too much now. Only when this task is properly completed will the related quests occur. Andrea finished the explanation with only that .
Trisha and Marco ended up in a mixed mood, but Emilia still couldn’t get out of the shock of the story .
“ It’s so horrible, so pitiful… You can never be happy by making one person unhappy .”
“… Then, what would Priest Emilia do in a situation where only one member of the party could survive if all the other members of the party could survive ?”
Andrea knew more about the Infinite Dungeon than anyone else here. The dungeon is a constant barrage of brutal choices. It’s never happened before, but it could happen in the future .
Emilia opens her mouth with a determined look after her lips are pursed .
“… I’m going to be strong, so that won’t happen. Although now… I am unable to do anything because my staff is broken …”
“ That was enough. Enough .”
An Emilia-like answer. Andrea nodded .
After all, choosing to accompany Emilia was not a wrong choice. Even if I was incompetent right now, it didn’t matter. Andrea had decided to accompany Emilia after seeing her potential and upright conviction .
. . .
Although I was a little concerned about what kind of attitude I would show in the moment when I had to make a cruel choice .
As we talked, the deepest part of the cave was right in front of us. There was a long downhill road with many stalactites mixed with luminous stones hanging from it. There was a monster that was the target of the request down there .
Andrea did one final check .
‘ Even if the dawn of the polar region is a bit dull, there will be no problem if you strengthen it with shadow imprint… The Earth Grinder’s hammer is fine. The potion is also prepared for sure .’
The problem was what to do with Emilia whose main armament was broken. Andrea cautiously urged Emilia to stay. Then the expected reaction came out .
“ No! Me too, I’ll go with you. Although the wand is broken, the power of the magic will be reduced, but it will not help …”
The quarrel continued for a long time. Andrea managed to squeeze out a solution .
“ Priest Emilia. If so, I’ll call you when I’m in a bad situation and need help. Could you please wait here until then ?”
It was an embarrassing face, but Emilia wasn’t even more stubborn .
“ You have to be careful. May the protection of the Earth God, who is the cornerstone of all things, be with you …”
Leaving behind the divine greeting, Andrea and the others, excluding Emilia, went downhill .
“ Be careful not to hit your head on the stalactites .”
As I came downhill with my head down, a corner appeared. Andrea told the group to wait a moment, then stuck her head in and looked around the corner .
It looked like a pretty huge space. No, it’s actually a bigger space than it looks. It was covered in spider webs on all sides, making it look smaller than it actually is. Everywhere that could be hit was entangled with cobwebs, making it difficult to step on .
Andrea used Shadow Imprint, followed by Shadow Concealment. I needed to take a closer look. As expected, the ceiling was ridiculously high. And it was all white. A thick, densely woven spider’s web to withstand heavy weight .
In the center of this cave was the keeper of the cave .
I could feel the gaze looking down. Right under the pair of large eyes were three pairs of small ocelli. Its eight legs were densely covered with black thorns, and it was carrying countless eggs behind its bloated belly. The giant spider was opening its big mouth, as if it had caught the intruder’s presence .
‘ Arachnid ….’
Arachnid, the king of the black haired spiders, the predator of the Red Valley Cave .
I also had to check where the village chief’s daughter was. Concentrating my senses and looking up, I saw small cocoons tied with spider webs. Most were skeletons, but one of them was definitely a living person .
Suppressing the tension, Andrea took a step back. I had to reverse summon Marco and launch an attack with Trisha .
But at that moment, a loud shout came from behind .
“ Look here! You twisted, fat bug !”
When I turned around in surprise, there were three people standing there. The one who is not a tank, but confidently pulls aggro and twists the spear, the priestess with a confident face next to him, and the barbarian standing behind him .
It was Bagratu and two people who had been separated in the village .
‘ What was that bastard’s name …?’
“ This Gravel-nim will deal with you!”
‘ Ah, Gravel .’
Andrea was sure of one thing, if nothing else. That Gravel was definitely an idiot .
It wasn’t just because they called spiders, not insects, bugs. Whether it was throwing a spear or using magic, it was because he blew the chance to surprise himself by attacking first .
“ Keee !”
Eight eyes simultaneously turned to Gravel. Arachnid raised its giant body and started crawling through the web. Gravel finally pulled a card from the deck, and the priestess also hurriedly moved her hand to the deck .
It was stupid, but ironically, it helped Andrea. All eyes were on Gravel, making it easier to proceed with the plan. Instead of drawing a card, Andrea pulled out a potion from her subspace pouch .
A crimson potion with a blazing surface. It wasn’t hard to guess what kind of effect it had without having to listen to the explanation .
This potion was the gun that made Arachnid’s attack several times easier .
＜ 12. Into the Rift (7) ＞ End