Subdungeon #5

 

The final area before the boss room in the polluted sediment area.

We decided to rest here for a night before hunting the boss.

The party members are fast asleep, and a campfire burns quietly beside them.

I blankly watched the flickering flame.

The nights are long in the world of “Nine Stars”.

⋯It’s too long.

It’s probably because there’s nothing special to do.

It’s not like I have a TV or smartphone to relieve my boredom.

These days, even grandmothers in the countryside have Wi-Fi.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have brought at least a book.’

Free time continues endlessly, but—

Still, I can’t neglect my night watch.

Even though the chances of a monster attacking you while you’re sleeping are extremely low, there’s no need to gamble with the safety of the party.

I poked the burning campfire with a stick for no reason.

I’m bored.

And there’s no one to talk to.

‘If it were a game, this kind of time would be skipped right away.’

A quiet time when I am awake alone.

Thoughts buried deep in my heart slowly rise to the surface.

Will there ever come a day when I can return to the real world?

I’ve thought about it hundreds of times since I came to this world.

But no matter how much I thought about it, no answer came out.

Sometimes, I even wonder if the world I lived in before was really real.

Before I knew it, the distinction between games and reality was becoming increasingly blurred within me.

And the conclusion was always the same.

‘It’s a fucking useless worry.’

What’s the point of struggling alone with a problem that has no answer?

Just doing my best to survive each day.

“hmm.”

Is it because I stare at the campfire for so long at night?

I had to pee.

One of the few advantages of a sewage treatment plant is that you don’t have to bother looking for a public restroom.

I moved to a place not too far from the sleeping party members.

After carefully positioning myself on the waterway, which was softly glowing with fluorescent light.

Dribble dribble—

Now, I’m used to the sitting shooting position.

Is it because she’s a little girl?

Even peeing is so trivial.

Rather than saying it’s urine, I think it’s more appropriate to say it’s a pee.

What the fuck.

In the old days, we would just go out with all our might, as if we were drilling a hole in a rock.

I returned with a bitter feeling, only to find Mitchell awake and sitting in front of the campfire.

“Hey kid, did you come here to rest?”

“It’s not easy.”

“Why are you angry? At this hour of the night? Then why should I cry?”

I pout and deliberately sit with my back to Mitchell.

I feel like I’ve been caught in the thoughts I was having just a moment ago, so I end up being even more blunt.

“Since I’m up early, I’ll change shifts early. Go to sleep, kid.”

Mitchell spoke in a low voice so as not to wake the sleeping Wagner and Flora.

“Okay. I can’t sleep anyway.”

“That’s true, isn’t it? Maybe it’s because it’s underground and there’s no sunlight, but my sense of time is completely messed up.”

“I guess.”

“What’s the deal with you and me? Those dull kids don’t even care and just sleep soundly.”

Mitchell chuckled.

I felt bad about continuing to complain, so I sighed and turned to face Mitchell.

Anyway, it’s better to have someone to talk to than to just stare at a campfire alone.

“Ouch….”

Mitchell groaned softly.

After looking at the red, swollen shoulder, he clicks his tongue.

Now that I think about it, this kid was hit by a wall.

“Come here.”

I said, taking herbs out of Wagner’s bag one by one.

Mitchell looked at me with the same distrust he always had.

“Don’t look at me like that. Come here. I’ll apply some herbs on you.”

“Are those herbs? Or are they just random weeds you picked from a field?”

“Don’t doubt that… If you don’t like it, then don’t.”

Mitchell hesitated a little and then sat down close to me.

Looking at the injured area, the red burn marks extend not only to the shoulder but also to the back.

Even though it’s a fight, you know.

You get hurt like this because you dress too coolly like a track and field athlete.

I slammed Mitchell’s back.

“Ah! Why are you hitting me?”

“Take it off.”

“why?”

“You even hurt your back.”

At my words, Mitchell took off his shirt without hesitation.

Although he has a slim build, his back is full of healthy vitality.

Not only is there not a single ounce of fat, but the back muscles are harmoniously developed.

The body of a trained warrior.

Just by looking at her back, you could tell how consistently this beautiful elf had trained.

However, there is one problem⋯

“Why aren’t you wearing it?”

“what.”

“Brahmalya.”

“Ah- I don’t usually wear them. They’re stuffy.”

Mitchell said casually.

“T-But isn’t that wrong? It’s shaking all over. It hurts when you jump, and what is it? It’s sticking out through your clothes too-“

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Little kid, why are you so flustered?”

“No⋯.”

“I’ve been feeling a little weird since before. Why are you so embarrassed about me not wearing a bra?”

I couldn’t answer right away.

ah.

It’s a mistake.

If you weren’t wearing it, I would have just let it go and said you weren’t wearing it. Why did you say it first?

Mitchell smiled faintly, then suddenly became quiet.

I feel like there’s something hidden in that silence…

The next moment.

“Wow!”

Mitchell turned sharply towards me.

I felt my heart sink and quickly covered my eyes.

But, in that fleeting moment, I clearly saw it.

A pair of elven, luscious, swaying, graceful things⋯

“Ah- Stop kidding me!”

“Ahahaha- this is so funny. Why are you so embarrassed? Your face is completely red. Huh? Why are you embarrassed-”

“Go! Don’t put any herbs on me. Just get out.”

“Hey kid, let me see yours too. Why—I showed you—what treasure chest did you hide?”

They say that heaven and hell are only a hair’s breadth apart.

In a situation where you have your eyes tightly closed and cannot see ahead, the elf’s hand comes in recklessly.

What might be heaven for some was hell for me.

This little bitch’s power is really strong.

I can’t escape.

I can only be fooled around endlessly.

“Oh, what’s wrong, kid? You’re not wearing anything either. See—you and I actually look surprisingly good together.”

What the fuck.

This vicious bitch⋯.

I barely managed to break free from Mitchell’s grasp, gasping for breath. My shoulders trembled slightly.

Ugh—

Across the campfire, Wagner tossed and turned in his sleep.

Mitchell straightened my disheveled clothes and brushed the dust off them.

“Hey, hey, let’s be quiet. We’ll wake all the kids.”

“You were the one who made the most noise⋯.”

“Oh, kid- what are you complaining about again? This is how we become friends.”

I bit my lower lip.

It was only natural that my hands, which applied the herbal medicine, were filled with emotion.

“Ouch! Ouch! It stings! Wait, wait-“

“Hold on.”

“It hurts. You’re doing this on purpose, kid.”

“I told you to be patient. Be quiet.”

“You’re actually quite the harbinger of things⋯.”

I finished the treatment by wrapping the bandage.

I’ve carefully crushed and applied herbs that are especially effective on burns, so you’ll feel better as soon as you wake up. And there won’t be any scarring.

“You know how to do everything, kid?”

Mitchell looked at the carefully tied bandages and admired them.

“You cook, you handle corpses, you know dungeons, you do first aid. Where did you learn all this?”

“Just read the book and listen to it.”

“There’s nothing you can’t do. Isn’t that amazing?”

I thought he was teasing me again, but Mitchell’s expression was genuine.

“At first, I didn’t really like it. Well, now that I think about it, he definitely has the potential to be a party host.”

“⋯.”

“I’m not 100% sure yet. But, what, maybe 83%?”

“What is that specific number?”

“Oh, what are you nitpicking about? I gave you a rough idea. You’re doing pretty well, kid.”

We stared at the campfire in silence for a while.

Mitchell, who was chewing on something in boredom, took something out of his pocket.

A badge in the shape of a small laurel leaf.

Mitchell clenched his fist, holding his badge, against his chest, closed his eyes for a moment, and muttered something.

When Mitchell opened his eyes, I asked.

“Were you a believer of Frelium?”

“Oh. Oh, I see?”

“Okay then.”

Frelium, the god of duels.

He is a warrior god who oversees honorable wars and battles and looks after warriors.

One of the nine gods who govern the world of “Nine Stars”.

“But I didn’t formally learn theology or anything like that at church. I just pray like this at the end of the day.”

“What prayer?”

“It changes depending on the mood. Today, well, roughly—Thank you for fighting well and winning today, Mr. Frelium! Something like that.”

“⋯Was the god of Praelium an old man?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it, but that’s the image I have in my head. I think it smells like an old man. Like he sweats a lot and doesn’t wash well. Am I the only one who feels that way?”

“Isn’t that blasphemy?”

“Hey, it’s okay. Would God be that petty?”

Mitchell smiled brightly and without hesitation.

As expected, this guy is a weirdo.

Elfran, who serves the god of duels.

Well, being an elf, he was already unique in that he had a foul mouth and was addicted to gambling.

“Kid, what god do you believe in?”

“Um⋯.”

“Oh, I see. Since you’re a wizard, you have Magicka, right? Flora seems to believe in that god too.”

Are you talking about Magica the Blue, the goddess of magic?

In this world, faith is not an option, it is a necessity.

Unlike real-world religions that pray for happiness in the afterlife or peace of mind, the religion of “Nine Stars” provides immediate, tangible benefits.

This is also the reason why faith stats occupy a prominent place alongside physical and magical stats.

But I couldn’t answer Mitchell’s question honestly.

‘It would be better not to say anything.’

We laugh and chat together now, but my true identity is the immortal lich.

The god he serves is the infamous goddess of death, El.

This world hates the followers of evil gods.

Even if you are executed simply for worshipping an evil spirit, you are in a position where you cannot make any protests.

‘How will they react if they find out I’m a follower of El?’

Would you be shocked?

Should I be afraid?

Will they be angry that they have been deceived until now?

I smiled bitterly.

Whatever happens, it won’t be a pleasant situation.

It would be best not to reveal it.

If possible, it would be ideal to keep it a secret until the end and break up on good terms.

Anyway… this is also something to think about when the time comes.

“uh?”

Suddenly, Mitchell’s eyes widened.

“why?”

“Little one, be quiet.”

Mitchell brought his finger to his lips, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

The pointed ears twitch intermittently like a rabbit.

He’s a weirdo, but he’s an elf after all, and he seems to be hearing a small sound coming from far away.

“⋯I don’t know.”

After a while, Mitchell tilted his head and opened his eyes.

“What did you hear?”

“No, I don’t know. I thought I heard a loud bang, something shattering… It’s too far away to be sure. Hey, it’s okay. It’s nothing, right? Don’t worry about it, kid.”

Mitchell waved his hand as if it was nothing, but I kept my mouth shut.

An elf’s hearing is almost superhuman.

If it were a quiet underground place like a sedimentary basin, you would be able to detect the rustling of stones somewhere far away.

Is it really true that it is nothing special?

Our party is the only living and breathing people in this sedimentary rock.

All the other monsters were wiped out as they arrived, leaving only the boss room.

Even if it’s a waste of effort, it’s better to check.

I stood up from my seat without saying a word.

“Hey, kid. Where are you going?”

“⋯Go to sleep.”

I waved the tissue in my hand and started walking.

***

The main quest of the pioneer area, “The Vigilantes’ Rebellion.”

By now, the real story would be about to begin.

This also means that Dawson’s hideout and one of the Garden underground fields will soon be connected.

The underground field has five zones.

The area connected to each game changes randomly, so it cannot be determined in advance.

‘The odds are one in five.’

Dawson’s hideout, where does the underground cave lead?

The underground waterway where I am currently located is one of those candidates.

If the mysterious cracking sound Mitchell heard was the sound of a wall breaking down leading to the underground sewer…

‘So you’re saying the vigilante search party entered the underground sewer?’

I quickened my pace a little.

After going up the polluted sediment, you will reach the starting point.

“Phew.”

I took a breath and immediately poured magic power into the gloves.

“clairvoyance”.

My expanded vision penetrates the darkness of the underground and scans every corner.

‘We’re not here yet.’

The search party was nowhere to be seen.

“phew.”

For now, I breathed a sigh of relief.

However, it is still difficult to feel completely at ease.

It could just be that the timing was off with the guys.

So I’m trying to prepare a little more concrete countermeasure.

‘It was a good idea to prepare the ingredients in advance in case something like this happened.’

I took the tools I needed out of my bag and laid them out on the floor.

Hammer, shovel, saw, wooden planks, nails, camouflage tent⋯.

What I’m going to create from now on is a trap.

And it’s not a trap for beasts or monsters, but a thorough trap for people.

It was a good thing because the location was a polluted sediment site.

The flesh-melting acid walls and poisonous waterways are extremely dangerous on their own, but combined with my traps, they will create hell for any intruders.

There is no need for a huge blade or a crossbow loaded with poisoned arrows.

All you have to do is grab the bridge for a moment to throw off the balance under your feet, and the contaminant deposit will take care of the rest.

“Ahem-”

I found myself humming.

Dig a circle in the ground and hammer nails into the boards.

The work of making and setting traps was more enjoyable than I thought.

I feel like I’m the main character of the “Home Alone” series, which I watch every Christmas like an annual event.

But things are a little different from movies.

It’s not an all-ages movie that even kids can watch, so if you fall for my trap, you’ll probably end up with a broken arm and more.

No, maybe what I’m doing now is closer to the Saw series.

‘Once I started making it, it was really fun.’

For a moment, it felt like the genre had changed to a defense game.

I carefully placed special traps at every single location where I was sure to get caught.

‘This is crazy. It’s almost a work of art.’

This isn’t me being self-indulgent. Even for a first-timer, these traps are masterpieces, even in my opinion.

It would be a shame if the traps were not used and passed over.

“I’d rather you come here. Please, please come.”

I secretly hoped.

You vigilante bastards.

Don’t go anywhere else, come here.

Let’s step on the traps once and for all, okay?

Suddenly, I saw my reflection in the dirty water of the canal.

The gray-haired girl was chuckling with an evil smile.

⋯No, if I do this, I’ll sound like a villain.

It seems like the positions have been reversed.