Ch.64Wolf Cult

“Cough…!”

Waking up with a fit of coughing, Seo-rin first checked her physical condition. Without proper light, it was difficult to clearly perceive her surroundings, so she had to utilize the mana within her body.

Following the natural flow of the White Dragon Heart Sutra, cold mana surged through her entire body. The rush of mana that began from her heart swept through her limbs and finally dispersed into her head.

Fragmented moments of consciousness returned to her. She had lost consciousness after being hit on the head by a heavy boulder in the collapsing mine. Raising her hand to touch her forehead, she felt sticky blood clotted there.

“Ugh…”

Apart from the head wound, the rest of her body was relatively intact. There were many scrapes and scratches, but nothing that would impede her movement. It was a fortunate outcome amid misfortune.

Seo-rin’s body had not released the sword even when she lost consciousness. Rising to her feet, she swung the Magic Killer she had been gripping.

Clang-!

Sparks flew as the dark blade collided with solid rock, briefly illuminating the surroundings. Though the moment was fleeting, it was sufficient for Seo-rin.

The small girl’s gaze etched that instant onto her retina. A corridor with a structure unlike a mine stretched out in a straight line. Much like the dungeon she had seen in the Fairy Forest.

She couldn’t spend all day striking walls and rocks just to illuminate her surroundings. Seo-rin began to examine her environment using senses other than sight. First was her sense of smell. With olfactory abilities superior to ordinary people, she quickly detected Envy’s scent nearby.

Next was her hearing. Following the smell as she moved, she heard faint breathing. Judging by the absence of blood smell, Envy must have fallen without injury. Perhaps it was also thanks to Envy that Seo-rin herself wasn’t badly hurt.

“Envy.”

Without light, she could see nothing. Seo-rin reached out and touched Envy’s face. As she kneaded the soft cheeks while repeatedly calling Envy’s name, a response soon came.

“Uh, ueh…”

“Wake up, Envy.”

“Se, Seo-rin…? Is that you?”

Regaining consciousness, Envy sat up and flailed her arms. Even without seeing, her movements were clearly perceptible. Seo-rin gently distanced herself to avoid being hit by the flailing arms.

“I can’t see anything! My eyes! Something’s wrong with my eyes!”

“Calm down. There’s just no light.”

Greatly flustered, Envy felt her face. There was no particular pain. Realizing nothing was wrong, she immediately used magic.

Fwoosh-!

A small concentration of mana gathered above Envy’s hand, creating a small wonder. As the bright light she summoned illuminated the surroundings and dispelled the darkness, the outlines of objects became clearly visible.

Magic is truly a convenient power. It creates light even in spaces without it. While Seo-rin was marveling at the power of magic, Envy’s gaze settled on Seo-rin’s head.

“Um, that…”

“It’s nothing. The bleeding has stopped.”

Seo-rin responded nonchalantly to Envy’s concerned look. Indeed, the bleeding had stopped. The wound wasn’t deep, so it wouldn’t even leave a scar. Seo-rin wiped away the dried blood and looked around.

“The werewolf…”

It wasn’t visible for now. Her heightened hearing didn’t detect any unusual sounds either. What about smell? Seo-rin sniffed the air, checking for scents dispersed in the atmosphere.

Blood, sweat, and old dust. Among them, she detected the musky odor of a beast. The animal smell mixed with blood was emanating from within the collapsed pile of stones. Even that was faint.

“Seems it’s dead.”

She spoke calmly, looking at the pile of collapsed stones. A slight disappointment lingered in her voice.

‘I wanted to take the sword it was carrying…’

The girl’s gaze turned upward to the pile of stones. The debris from the collapsed mine was thickly stacked, so much that the end wasn’t visible.

There was no need to risk danger for an uncertain reward. Seo-rin turned around. Envy quickly followed behind her.

“Um… I’m sorry…”

Seo-rin only slightly turned her head at Envy’s apology. Bowing her head in apology, Envy couldn’t even properly meet her eyes. She seemed to have just realized her mistake of using explosion magic in such a confined space.

“It’s okay.”

What’s done is done. Blaming Envy now wouldn’t change the past. Acknowledging the mistake was enough. It wasn’t intentional, just an accident. She had done her best to help in her own way.

Even if there were resentments, they could wait until after escaping this place. Seo-rin didn’t want to be at odds with her only ally in this unknown space. She sheathed the Magic Killer.

Shing- Click.

The weight decreased due to the magic embedded in the scabbard. As the escaping mana was blocked, breathing became easier. The heavy pressure that had been weighing down the surroundings also disappeared.

Magic Killer.

A suspicious sword made of unidentified metal. It endlessly absorbed the user’s mana, to the point where it was jokingly called a “demon sword” among mages.

Seo-rin kept her hand on the sword’s hilt, ready to respond at any moment.

“Envy. Is there no way to escape this place with magic?”

“Hmm… it’s beyond my abilities. To practice spatial magic, you need to reach at least the Mystic rank.”

That meant they had to break through this dungeon itself. If it was a dungeon, there should be an exit somewhere. Seo-rin’s gaze swept over her empty waist. After the promotion test, the White Dragon Sword that had always been with her was gone. She had thrown it earlier and couldn’t retrieve it before the mine collapsed. The White Dragon Sword was lost that way.

“Then we have no choice…”

Eventually, Seo-rin and Envy headed toward the corridor.

The atmosphere of the dungeon was strange. There were no traps to prevent intruders. Before long, Seo-rin and Envy realized that this place wasn’t a dungeon.

The rooms they occasionally discovered seemed like living spaces for people. There were even maps engraved on the walls showing the internal structure of the building.

Not a dungeon. It was clearly an ancient ruin built for some other purpose.

Walking along the corridor, the two stopped in front of a large wall.

“This is…”

“Do you recognize these characters?”

Seo-rin’s gaze swept over the large wall. It was filled with unfamiliar characters. Even Seo-rin, who had absorbed various memories through the sword, couldn’t read them.

“These are characters that aren’t used anymore…?”

It was Envy who reacted. Brightening her light, she approached the wall and tentatively touched its surface.

“Can you read it?”

“No. I can’t read all of it. Just a few words…”

Envy’s gaze moved ceaselessly as she recalled old memories. Eventually, faint words flowed from her lips.

“Moon… wolf… wind…”

She boldly skipped over unreadable characters. She could only read partial words, so it was impossible to know exactly what the inscriptions meant. However, it was now certain that this place wasn’t a dungeon.

“Ritual…? This isn’t exact.”

Instead of the text, Seo-rin inferred what this place was for from the images engraved on the wall. People were prostrating themselves toward the moon. It was very similar to how the White Frost tribe would pray to the wolf god.

‘A space for religion…?’

It was too early to assert that. They needed more information. Seo-rin and Envy checked the map engraved on the wall and determined their current location.

“Seems like we’re at the end of the third floor.”

“Which way do you want to go, Seo-rin? Up? Or down?”

Seo-rin spread her fingers and pointed to the very top. This was where they had arrived when the mine collapsed. To return to their original location, it was right to head upward.

They climbed the stairs through dusty corridors. To the point where their tension seemed futile, there was nothing inside the building.

Finally, they reached the last floor. Seo-rin approached a large door with Envy. Indicating its importance, the entire floor was made into a spacious room, with a large stone door blocking the entrance.

Seo-rin pressed herself against the door. It was an impossibly heavy door for a small girl to open, but Seo-rin was no ordinary girl. The mana within her body surged and spread throughout her body, compensating for her lack of strength.

As her arm and leg muscles expanded, the large stone door moved with a rumbling sound.

“Nnnngh!”

“Wow…”

A vast space unfolded before them. The first thing that caught their eye were skeletons lying prostrate within a large hexagram formation. Not just one, but dozens. All in the same posture, as if they had met their end while praying.

“So it was indeed some religious group’s building.”

Sniff sniff-

She used her sense of smell and hearing to check for any danger. But nothing special was detected. Seo-rin and Envy cautiously entered.

“They must have all been devout believers… I think it’s best not to disturb them.”

Seo-rin agreed with that opinion. One shouldn’t disturb the dead who are at rest. The small girl passed through the skeletal remains and headed toward a large altar.

On the dust-covered altar were a large bowl and a sword.

‘A sword…’

As if entranced, her small hand brushed over the dusty sword. At that moment, Seo-rin felt a sharp pain in her finger. Despite the passage of time, the sword had retained its sharp edge.

Drip-

A drop of blood fell from her finger and stained the bowl. In that instant, Seo-rin’s blood, as if multiplying on its own, spread widely and escaped the altar.

The blood that left the altar continued to rush forward. Spreading at an incredibly fast pace, it even stained the massive hexagram formation surrounding the altar red.

“Seo-rin…?”

“Seems I made a mistake…”

Simultaneously, the massive stone door closed.

Boom-!