Chapter 34: Katakomb Part 2

“Let’s explore the underground tomb together!”

After returning to the academy, I gathered the professors and coaxed them into going on a tomb raid with me.

The underground tomb was located beneath the academy building.

In other words, this time, the professors could accompany me.

Last time, I explored the coastal cave with my students.

This time, I’d be delving into the underground tomb with my teachers.

Though we often bickered during lessons, we had grown fond of each other in the process.

The idea of tackling a dungeon alongside my teachers filled me with excitement.

However, unlike me, they responded with indifference.

“You’re not interested?”

“—Of course not. Do you even realize where you’re asking us to go?”

“The underground tomb.”

“—Then where are we right now?”

“…At a graveyard.”

“—You get the point without me explaining, right?”

“But there’s a clear difference between above and below ground!”

Besides, the underground tomb was filled with trials, secrets, and all kinds of treasures—it stirred a sense of adventure.

It was clearly different from the lifeless, mundane graveyard on the surface that lacked even a drop of dopamine.

“It might still be a tomb, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same. Especially for people like us, who are already dead.”

“Didn’t you all go on adventures back in your day? I’m trying to rekindle that old excitement!”

“—No matter how nostalgic we get, an underground tomb isn’t exactly heart-pounding.”

Sherthia waved her hand, declining the offer just like Itshin did.

‘How could they not understand a student’s desire to share something with their mentors?’

I felt disappointed, though I wondered if there was another reason behind their refusal.

“Have you ever been to the underground tomb before?”

“—No. I didn’t even know it existed when I was alive. After I died, I became aware of it, but I couldn’t pass through the door.”

“Couldn’t you just go through the wall instead of the door?”

“—That didn’t work either. Some kind of special force covers the entire tomb and pushes us back.”

“—We tried every method we could think of, but nothing worked. It felt like the place was completely immune to shortcuts.”

“Then let’s go together. I have the key!”

I pulled out the bone key I received from Captain Raymond.

‘If I could open the door properly, the professors might be able to enter as well.’

I tried to persuade them, asking if they weren’t curious about what lay inside the underground tomb, but their reactions remained lukewarm.

“—I’m too lazy. You go by yourself.”

After being rejected so many times, even my own enthusiasm started to fade.

“—If it’s a tomb that’s been sealed for ages, it’ll be full of death energy. That clashes with me completely, so I don’t think I can go.”

“—More importantly, there’s no merit for us in entering the tomb.”

In the end, they all turned me down.

But bringing my students along would be too dangerous.

I had an idea of the tomb’s level from the novel, but I didn’t know what the deep zone was like.

In the original story, Luke had wisely turned back, saying it was too risky, so nothing about the deep zone was known.

Unlike Luke, I planned to go all the way in, which meant I absolutely couldn’t bring the students.

Still, I didn’t want to go alone—it felt too lonely.

“Alright. Then I’ll bring just one person.”

“—That’s not a bad idea. Having someone nearby to watch your growth might be a good thing.”

“So who are you bringing?”

“—If you haven’t decided yet, should we play rock-paper-scissors for it?”

“No need. I’ve already chosen who will accompany me.”

I turned my head and fixed my gaze on Sherthia.

Her eyes widened, and she pointed at herself.

“—Wait… You mean me? Why me?!”

“The others might not have a reason to enter the tomb, but you absolutely must come with me, Professor Sherthia…”

“—Tao, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t you want to learn about an ancient, long-lost form of magic?”

“—Huh…? Now that’s tempting.”

Sherthia’s ultimate goal was to reach the pinnacle of magic.

She had devoted her life to magical research, even at the cost of her personal happiness as a woman.

That’s how much she loved magic—it was practically like her own child.

In a way, I was asking her to help me search for a missing child who had run away.

“But there’s no guarantee ancient magic will actually be in the tomb.”

“True. But what if there is, and I miss it because I didn’t recognize it? If there’s even a 1% chance, isn’t it worth checking?”

“—Urgh! That’s a good point.”

“I’ve learned a lot from you, but I still have so much to grasp. If a chance to learn ancient magic came and I missed it…”

“Fine! I’ll go with you, so stop! Just thinking about it gives me chills!”

I had succeeded in persuading her.

I didn’t manage to bring everyone, but convincing even one of them was a big win—especially given how free-spirited they all were.

“—But in return, we’re staying in the underground tomb until I finish analyzing every bit of that ancient magic! Got it?”

“Of course! The more knowledge you gain, the more I’ll benefit, too!”

“—So, when are we heading out?”

“Right now, of course!”

I slung the leather backpack I had packed in advance over my shoulders.

There would never be a more perfect time to enter the underground tomb than now.

Although my charges had been cleared, unfortunately, the academy was no longer in a state to hold regular classes.

Professors had been dragged away for corruption—and even for alleged collusion with demons—and the dueling arena needed to be rebuilt from scratch.

As a drastic measure, the chairman announced that the main gates would be closed for a week.

They were probably planning to use that time to reconstruct the dueling grounds and recruit new professors.

Thanks to that, I ended up with an unexpected break, and I planned to use that time to completely conquer the underground tomb.

I estimated seven days would be enough to explore the whole place, but since the scale of the deeper zones was still unclear, I wanted to head in as early as possible.

“Let’s get looting right away!”

‘…I wasn’t sure if it was really okay to allow my student to go grave robbing, but here we were.’

And so, the exploration of the underground tomb began—with me and Sherthia.

***

The Underground tomb.

Also known as the Katacombs, its first impression was that of a prison.

There were numerous rooms, many of which were sealed off with iron bars.

The structure was complex, filled with forked paths, and sometimes, they would loop back to where we started—making it more of a labyrinth.

The only difference from a prison was the unnerving amount of bones.

Skulls lined the walls, and even the pillars were made from human bones.

No matter where I looked, all I could see were skeletons.

The damp, metallic stench clung to everything and left a sense of unease.

“This isn’t easy.”

—Weren’t you all excited about an adventure just a moment ago? Regretting it already?

“I’m not regretting it. It’s just… mapping out the place by hand is a pain.”

This was the kind of place where wandering aimlessly was the fastest way to get lost.

The novel didn’t describe the katacombs’ structure in much detail, so creating a map as we explored was unavoidable.

I had hoped Sherthia could help complete the map in one go, but she said that ever since she stepped inside, she could no longer pass through walls.

Which meant some unknown force was at work not only around the perimeter, but within the tomb itself.

—”For someone complaining, your face looks awfully cheerful.”

“I’m just enjoying the feeling of gradually conquering a dungeon.”

—”Give it a few days. You’ll be sick of it soon enough.”

“Maybe. You could be right.”

As Sherthia said, if all we did was map out the place, the boredom would probably set in quickly.

But this was an ancient underground tomb.

It wasn’t the kind of place that welcomed intruders with open arms.

—”Tao.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I paused my hand, which had been busy drawing the map.

I closed the notebook and slipped it into my pocket along with the pen.

Just then, a bone fell from the ceiling and snapped in half as it hit the ground.

“Kiiiiiiieeek!”

***

At the same time, a humanoid creature let out a horrible screech as it leapt down from the ceiling.

I twisted around and caught its neck just as it lunged at me.

It was completely naked, its rotting skin oozing, and its eyes were filled with tentacle-like appendages that writhed like sea anemones.

A creature born from a human corpse.

I’d read about them in the novel, but seeing one in person was far more revolting.

Crunch!

With a sharp twist, I snapped the creature’s neck.

But even with its neck broken, the thing kept writhing.

It was a corpse—snapping its neck wouldn’t be enough to kill it.

I poured mana into the creature’s body and hurled it forward with all my strength.

It slammed into a wall, and the mana detonated on impact, blowing the creature to bits.

—”Ugh! That’s disgusting.”

“Get used to it. We’re going to be seeing a lot more.”

No sooner had I said that than the ground began to tremble, and the sound of countless footsteps echoed from every corridor.

There were so many, I couldn’t even guess at the number.

The real trial had just begun.

—”Are they trying to throw a welcome party?”

“The scene from here on out is going to be rated R, so if it gets too much, feel free to close your eyes.”

Burn them, blow them up, crush them—nothing short of destruction would stop these creatures.

Out of the swarm, not a single one looked even remotely pleasant.

Whoever created them clearly had zero aesthetic sense.

And since we’d be killing these grotesque monsters in equally grotesque ways, I could consider today’s meal officially skipped.

—”Hey! I know I’m pretty and all, but calling me a minor is a bit much!”

“……”

—”Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“It’s nothing…”

Fortunately, I wasn’t scared, even at the sight of the oncoming horde of corpses—because I had someone scarier than any of them standing right beside me.