Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 174: The Underground Labyrinth (2)

In the wide and large corridor, numerous iron doors of unknown purpose were tightly packed together. Curiosity about what might be inside grew alongside a fear that made the mercenaries reluctant to open them.

Occasionally, when the doll inside the box shrieked loudly, Pergamond, who was carrying the box, would lightly tap the corner of the box on to the floor, cursing at it to be quiet. Of course, a doll possessed by an evil spirit wouldn’t flinch at such a threat.

Their advancement was not very fast. Walking with high alert, unsure of what might jump out, naturally slowed them down.

The underground space was quite vast. After walking through the winding, maze-like corridors for quite some time, they arrived in front of a certain door.

It looked distinctly different from the plain iron doors that were tightly packed in the hallway. It appeared to be much larger and heavier, and seemed unlikely to budge with just any effort.

“Is it here?”

“Yes, it continues this way.”

Allen had a near-certain thought that there might be a passage leading to the labyrinth beyond this door. Before entering this place, he first ordered his members to rest. Of course, even during rest, they were to remain fully equipped to respond to any emergency situation.

He then briefly called the Milk-Jug Mage to inspect the door. He was suspicious that there might be a magical device in place. No matter how incompetent the Magic Tower was, they wouldn’t have made the door leading to the labyrinth so easily open.

The Gate Opener lightly channeled mana through it. Beneath her closed eyelids, her eyes could be seen darting back and forth.

The Milk-Jug Mage finished her investigation and reported to the Group Leader.

“It seems there used to be some kind of magical design. But it hasn’t received mana for a long time, so it’s not functioning.”

“Then can you open it?”

“…I’ll give it a try.”

In truth, he had considered using her magic to break through the door if necessary, but he hoped it could be resolved in the easiest way possible.

“Alright, good job. You should rest a bit too.”

The investigation concluded, and Allen sat next to Group Leader Luis. Even though he had been entrusted with this exploration almost independently, it was right to share at least the minimum information with the leader of the other mercenary group. This way, if any unforeseen circumstances arose, they could respond appropriately.

“There doesn’t seem to be any problem opening the door, but the issue is what comes next.”

“…Are you saying that the source is behind this door?”

“Yes. Of course, it won’t appear immediately. No mage of the Magic Tower would be foolish enough not to hide such a dangerous entity thoroughly.”

That was all the information to share for now.

Allen himself did not know exactly how the underground labyrinth beneath the Magic Tower was structured. He only knew that all sorts of impure entities were present.

Anyway, after the rest, the Milk-Jug Mage approached the door again. As she slowly infused mana into the next door, the light from the magic orb gradually dimmed. However, when a blue pattern began to glow on the plain surface of the door, the surroundings became brighter than when the magic orb was fully lit.

Ah.

It was such a spectacle that even Allen couldn’t help but be surprised. Naturally, the mercenaries were astonished, their mouths agape as they watched the scene unfold.

Creak, creak, the sound of the interlocking locks being released from top to bottom echoed. As all the locks were undone down to the floor, the door began to open on its own with a heavy, grinding noise. At the same time, a fierce wind blew towards them.

!!!

It was a chilling wind that made their legs tremble.

“Everyone, line up! From now on, it’s the real deal! So keep your wits about you! One slip, and you’re dead!”

Allen shouted loudly, rearming the spirits of the members.

“Move out!”

Inside the door was a natural cave. The corridor, once neatly stacked with bricks, had vanished without a trace, and raw cave walls greeted them.

It was a cool space, unimaginable with the desert’s heat. The difference between above ground and below was astonishing.

Compared to the wide corridor they had passed earlier, this cave passage was low and narrow, barely allowing two or three people to walk side by side. Pergamond, the tallest in the Allen-Mercenary Group, had only a handbreadth or two between his head and the ceiling.

The cave’s damp air was imbued with an unpleasant smell. It felt as if every breath was polluting their lungs.

The group, cautiously advancing step by step, confirmed that the passageway opened up significantly in the distance. Allen glanced back, giving a look that signaled to stay alert, and then moved forward again.

And they soon reached a certain space.

The first thing to greet them was the terrible stench mixed in the air. Next were the massive iron pillars embedded like bars in a concave space.

Designed almost like a prison, it was arranged snugly against the cave walls. Just by looking at it, it didn’t seem like a prison made to hold people.

In this chilling sight, the mercenaries’ nervous panting and the sound of saliva being swallowed down throats echoed continuously.

Allen tilted his head slightly and moved closer to the iron bars with his members. Accompanied by the foul stench of rotting flesh, they saw a dead monster lying in the distance at the end of the space. Around it, traces of cave worms that had fed on the carcass were prevalent.

Such spaces with rotting corpses were lined up next to each other. However, there were quite a few places where the iron bars were bent or torn away. It seemed that the mana supply to the magically reinforced iron pillars had been exhausted and could not withstand the monsters’ strength.

…In other words, there were numerous monsters that had escaped from the cages here.

Though it was uncertain how many were still alive, considering the nature of the labyrinth, there might surprisingly be many living ones.

“…This seems like a fucking dangerous place.”

Furball Geese, seeing that there was no master, looked at the others and voiced a concerned remark. It seemed like more than a few creatures had escaped from the monster cages.

Occasionally, the corpses of escaped monsters could be seen strewn across the wide prison corridors. Judging by the missing body parts, they appeared to have been eaten by fellow creatures.

The Luis-Mercenary Group, having almost no experience in such matters, seemed quite tense. It wasn’t just the monsters, but the eerie atmosphere of the labyrinth that felt all-consuming.

Of course, Allen knew this was merely the tip of the iceberg. The Magic Tower’s labyrinth was not a naturally formed maze but one created by mages. It was a space that truly revealed the base nature of humanity.

In the passageway of the cave, numerous bizarre symbols that were difficult to understand were visible. Allen immediately recognized them as demonic symbols. Perhaps they were part of various experimental processes.

The mages of the Magic Tower were those who would even force their fellow members to swallow dark mana, turning them into dark mages. Using demonic symbols was likely nothing to them.

This was an example of how twisted the desire for knowledge could become when pushed to the extreme. The Milk-Jug Mage, who opened the door, wore an expression as if she was about to vomit at this vile aspect of mages… lt was a dreadful disgrace as a mage walking the same path.

As the monster passage ended, another prison appeared. This time, it was truly a space that could be called a real prison.

Compared to the monster cages, the iron bars here were somewhat thin, and corpses with decayed flesh exposing white bones were strewn about. After the Magic Tower fell, those trapped here eventually couldn’t overcome starvation and ended up eating each other. Eventually, the last survivor also starved to death.

Of course, there were no holes in the thin iron bars. Before the monsters could eye the tempting prey, they would have already all died of starvation.

Prisons holding a dozen or so people were lined up along the corridor. There were dozens of them. They were probably used for human experimentation or as sacrifices. After all, the continent was teeming with such individuals—those who, even if captured, no one would come looking for.

In various places in the hallway, there were quite a few skeletons hanging from the ceiling like criminals executed by hanging. It was probably a warning that this would happen to them if they acted foolishly.

After passing those two areas, a wide space finally appeared. And on the walls of that wide space, numerous passage entrances were punched open. That must be where the secret experiments were conducted.

And right at that moment.

The Blind Saintess, who had been scanning the surroundings, suddenly snapped her head up.

At the same time, a monster with several pairs of bushy, hairy legs, hanging like a spider from the ceiling, suddenly leaped toward the mercenary group.

“Damn it, block it now!!”

Honestly, there was no time to form a proper formation. The creature pounced on the two lines of mercenaries in an instant. Unlike its other blunt legs, one sharp hook-like leg pierced through the mercenaries’ bellies.

Caught on the hook were Newbie Kori and a female mercenary from the Luis-Mercenary Group.

At that moment, the Itty Titty Swordsman charged like lightning and sliced off the leg impaling Kori with her sword, but could not save the other mercenary.

The monster thrust the mercenary, skewered by its hook, into the hole lined with hundreds of teeth on its thick belly. With a scream of agony, the female mercenary was instantly ground away.

The long-starved monster lunged for more prey, but was promptly defeated by the Allen-Mercenary Group, who had already formed their ranks.

The mercenaries severed its legs to prevent any unforeseen situations and hurriedly cut open the belly where their comrade had been taken, but the mercenary had already been shredded into pieces.

Ugh.

Witnessing the gruesome sight, Balding Kancho, despite his large build, dry heaved several times and eventually vomited what was in his stomach.

Kori, with his stomach impaled by a hook, writhed in the horrific shock and pain, losing control of his bowels. Fortunately, the wound was neatly healed by Believer Luka’s healing, but the eerie atmosphere left by the monster’s rampage couldn’t be dispelled.

“Take a short break. Treat the minor wounds with potions. Don’t hold back unnecessarily. If they get infected, it’ll be a big problem.”

Having given various instructions, Allen also sat on the cold stone floor to calm his ragged breathing.

The labyrinth they had entered for money was a nightmare from the start.