Check out this novel and many more on [email protected]/Translatetoki
Memorize - Episode 57
00057 Dungeon Of Alchemist(2)
"We should change the formation for a moment."
"What? Oh. Yes. How...?"
"Single file behind me. And the person behind should grab the collar of the person in front. Once you grab it, you must not let go no matter what."
Normally they might have questioned why, but as soon as I finished speaking, the kids swiftly put it into action. There was a brief commotion, but soon I could feel Ahn Sol, who had secured the spot right behind me, grinning as she firmly grasped my collar. I could roughly understand why they were suddenly moving so promptly.
After confirming that Ahn Sol, Yoo-jung, and Ahn Hyun were lined up in order behind me, I continued speaking in a calm voice.
"The space we're about to enter is called a path barrier. If we take even a slightly wrong turn, our paths might immediately diverge. So you must absolutely, absolutely not let go of the person you're holding onto. It's best if you can follow in my footsteps. And... never mind. Let's go."
I wanted to add that they shouldn't be surprised no matter what happens. However, I deliberately held back my words. Even I couldn't predict what kind of scenery we would encounter ahead. I composed myself and then slowly took one step at a time.
The kids were diligently following my words, but occasionally their gazes still floated with lingering questions. I carefully placed my steps while maintaining the activation of my Third Eye.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.... My gaze was directed downward as I traced my footsteps, but I could feel by intuition that I was moving forward correctly. The color of the grass surrounding us was regaining its original lustrous hue. The occasional exclamations of wonder from behind also added to my confidence.
However, this didn't mean the alchemist's dungeon would appear right away. The kids might be following behind me carefree, but I was walking while maintaining a high level of concentration, pinpointing each trace. Even just maintaining the Third Eye for a long time was not something to be taken lightly.
How much time had passed?
"Phew. You can let go of your hands now."
After fully entering the barrier, we arrived at our target location. After nearly 40 minutes of continuous tracking, it seemed that all the alien air surrounding us had disappeared. I took a deep breath and then felt the hand still grasping my collar. The occasional tugging was really annoying.
I slightly turned my head and grabbed Sol's hand to make her let go. A soft, warm sensation entered through my palm. When I grabbed her hand, Ahn Sol looked at me with a startled face before her face turned red. I was just trying to make her let go because it was annoying, but while doing so I ended up holding her hand....
I twisted my palm to grasp her hand, then forcibly removed her hand that was trying not to let go, and beckoned to the remaining kids with my finger. Receiving my signal, Hyun and Yoo-jung also gathered by my side. Since they were all just staring blankly at my face, I pulled them all further inside.
"Wow..."
Ahn Hyun let out an exclamation as he saw the old marble castle standing tall before his eyes. When I pointed my finger forward, Sol and Yoo-jung also looked at the castle with dazed faces. After seeing only the gloomy forest, they seemed at a loss for words upon seeing the castle surrounded by lustrous vegetation.
After gawking for a while, Ahn Hyun finally opened his mouth in an awestruck voice.
"This castle..."
"It's presumed to be the dungeon of the ancient alchemist Vivian... We'll have to go inside to know for sure though."
Watching the dazed kids, I also felt proud inside. I had really agonized a lot when choosing my unique ability. The reason I chose the Third Eye, setting aside other amazing abilities, was because I thought it could be used most widely and efficiently in the Hollow Plane. In the past, it was difficult to find caves or dungeons even after going through all sorts of hardships, but now being able to find it with just a bit of information made me think I had made a really good choice.
"Hyung... I didn't think you'd actually discover it, even though I had my suspicions."
"I didn't know either. I just followed the traces and my intuition... Maybe it's beginner's luck."
Hyun's eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at me. I responded humbly. We'll be experiencing this kind of thing every time we set out on an exploration from now on, so it's too early to be surprised. However, we couldn't be entirely happy either. Right now, everyone was exclaiming at the peaceful scenery surrounding the outside, but I knew better than anyone how hellish it was inside.
"Tee-hee. Oppa. The castle is really pretty. When you said dungeon, I thought of some strange, gloomy facility."
That's right. You'll see when we go inside and descend underground. I answered only in my mind to Yoo-jung's mumbling. I didn't want to break the mood just yet. Ahn Sol also opened her mouth with a face full of excitement.
"It feels like looking at a fortress. Like something you'd only see in movies..."
When Sol spoke with dreamy eyes, I could see a bitter look flash across Hyun's face. I couldn't understand why, but somehow it seemed the keyword was in the word "movie."
Yoo-jung looked impatient to go inside quickly. With heated gestures, she had already stepped forward and was urging me on. The kids who had been dejected until just a moment ago changed their behavior again simply due to the change in environment. They seemed to be quite moody too.
"Oppa, you're really amazing. When we passed by earlier, we couldn't even see the tip of the castle, right? How on earth did you discover something like this?"
"Well. I guess I'm just lucky."
"Come on~ I know you've been looking at records and stuff all the time. Did you really pluck a star from the sky like you said?"
I just gave a faint smile at Yoo-jung's words. Suddenly, Kim Han-byeol came to mind. I don't know what she's doing now, but if she had come along... I shook my head. If it were just the two of us, she probably would have nitpicked tremendously again.
Anyway, it was still too early to let our guard down. No, it wasn't too early - it was just the beginning. As I moved towards the castle, the kids hurriedly followed behind me.
"Wait a moment."
I stopped in front of the castle gate. There were clearly traces leading into the castle. This meant that the caravan that discovered this dungeon had already gone inside. However, looking at the traces this time, I could pick up footprints of a total of 5 people. Were there 5 from the beginning, or did one person die along the way? After tilting my head briefly in thought, I carefully opened the door blocking our way.
"Whew."
"Ooh..."
We entered the long-awaited castle interior. As soon as we stepped inside, the kids seemed distracted by looking around the interior, swinging their heads back and forth. The circular lobby inside the castle could hardly be described as clean even as a polite lie. Broken chairs and shattered windows came into view one after another. There was an antique flavor, but unlike the exterior, a slightly eerie atmosphere lingered.
Still, the ceiling made of white marble was pleasant to look at. The large circular domed ceiling and the marble pillars supporting it. In some ways, it bore a considerable resemblance to European churches.
"What's this? There are no treasures or monsters. Did someone already clean it out?"
"..."
Do you think it would be that easy to find? I briefly held my forehead at Yoo-jung's disappointed words, then raised my remaining arm to point at the center. On the floor in the direction I pointed, there was a wooden door with an iron ring attached to the floor.
"Ah! A secret base."
"...It's a door leading to the underground dungeon. How old are you to call it a secret base..."
"Tch. That's the same thing. Oppa always picks on me."
It seemed she was excited again after discovering the castle. Earlier she had lowered her eyes like a puppy with its tail down, but now she was slowly climbing up again. For now, I took a step back, intending to wait and see.
The original meaning of dungeon is underground prison. It was surprising, if anything, that there were no monsters in the castle lobby. However, it wasn't incomprehensible. Either there were no monsters from the beginning, or the caravan that had already entered might have dealt with them all. However, given the lack of corpses or battle traces, the former possibility seemed more likely.
"Then we just go in through here?"
"That's right. We can't just look at the outside and go back after discovering it."
I nodded briefly and grabbed the handle. It looked quite heavy on the outside, but it was no match for my strength score that had already reached 94. As I exerted force once to lift it, there was an annoying creaking sound and the door opened. Soon, I could see a large, square hole appear in the floor.
"It doesn't seem too deep. I'll go in first, then follow me one by one."
After finishing my words, I immediately threw my body in. The faintly visible floor below grew closer and closer, and soon I was able to complete the landing with a thud. Seeing that I had descended without difficulty, Hyun and Yoo-jung nodded to each other and jumped in simultaneously.
With another thud, dust billowed up. Ahn Hyun, who had good physical ability scores to begin with, seemed unbothered, looking calm. However, Yoo-jung was kneeling on one knee, clutching her foot. I approached with a worried thought, and soon Yoo-jung raised her head and opened her mouth with a tearful face.
"Ugh... I landed wrong."
Hyun and I sighed at each other, looking at Yoo-jung who had become tearful. When I raised my head again, I saw Sol still hesitating above. Sol hesitated for a moment up there, but soon closed her eyes and jumped down at Hyun's words, "If you're alone, ghosts will get you." She seemed to dislike being alone. Watching Sol jump down gracefully... wait, did she close her eyes?
"Catch me!"
Sol screamed as she descended with her eyes tightly shut. Hyun and I looked at each other blankly and tilted our heads. Yoo-jung looked at us with an exasperated gaze and sighed. Where does she get off sighing?
Splat!
"Kyaa!"
There was a sound of something soft being squished. Sol, who let out a short scream, fell mercilessly to the floor. She rubbed her bottom a few times as if it hurt, then looked up at us with a face tinged with betrayal. It seemed she hadn't really expected that no one would catch her.
Looking at Sol pouting at us, I felt something off. She had fallen bottom-first, but instead of a thud, there was a sound of something soft being squished. I quickly raised my mana to sharpen my senses. And then...
A total of 350 chapters are available on the patreon
Check out this novel and many more on [email protected]/Translatetoki