Chapter 30
I fell into the dark passage as if being sucked in.
Pitch-black darkness where I couldn't see an inch ahead.
But thanks to Diul's ability, I could see perfectly fine.
After checking the ground and landing stably, I looked up.
I wondered if the Undead would fall into the passage after me, but that didn't happen.
...Did the Undead stop moving because I disappeared from sight?
I'd have to hope so.
"Huu..."
I caught my breath and looked around.
It was a straight passage leading forward.
Did I choose the right answer for now?
I used Stop Time and recovered my willpower. Then, after unpausing, I recovered my physical stamina as well.
I slowly moved my steps forward.
Since I didn't know what would pop out ahead, I honed my senses sharply.
The passage continued straight ahead for quite a while.
While I was walking, no particular traps or Monsters appeared.
This made me even more anxious.
If something was going to come out, I wished it would just come out quickly... Oh.
A light started to become visible.
I approached closer with my guard raised even higher.
The identity of the light was a torch.
A wide cavern had torches hanging here and there.
In the middle of the cavern, a single rock sat all alone.
I cautiously approached and examined it.
“What is this?”
Something was drawn on the rock.
An emblem with spikes attached around a circle.
At a glance, it looked like it represented the sun.
And unknown characters were circling the Sun Emblem as if drawing a magic circle.
Small slots were carved into the lines extending from the sun in three directions—east, west, and north—.
As if something was meant to be inserted here.
"Hmm..."
I looked around.
In the cavern, excluding the passage I came through, there were three branching paths to the left, right, and front.
Three slots, three paths.
I vaguely got a sense of what I was supposed to do.
I could find the things to insert into these slots from each path... Probably?
The Sun Emblem definitely seemed like a signal related to clearing the floor.
"Where should we go first, Diul?"
I habitually spoke to Diul.
Floating above my head, Diul was aloof, as if telling me to figure it out myself.
Hmm... let's try the Left Path first.
With heightened tension, I went straight down the Left Path.
The path was short, and a space like a cavern soon appeared.
In the middle of the floor of a cavern smaller than the Central Cavern, an amber gem was placed.
“Is that it?”
It seemed I just needed to insert that into the slot.
But I didn't approach hastily.
...Just taking it is too easy, isn't it?
This is a blatantly obvious trap.
As I took one step closer, an inexplicable ominous feeling became even clearer.
My Sixth Sense was also sending a warning.
I picked up a pebble from the surroundings.
And threw it near the gem.
The moment the pebble touched the ground, spikes shot out from all directions.
Thwack-crack-crack-crack!
Massive iron spikes shot up and retracted at incredible speed, rhythmically tearing the space apart.
Only after a few seconds did they disappear back into the walls as if nothing had happened.
"..."
Too obvious, right?
I threw a pebble one more time.
Thwack-crack-crack!
The Spike Trap popped out without fail.
It seemed it didn't just activate once, but continued to operate.
And it seemed to detect things touching the floor.
A way to retrieve the gem came to mind without difficulty.
"One, two..."
I jumped from my spot toward the gem.
The moment my feet touched the ground, I grabbed the gem with my hand.
I used Stop Time, performed Mental Concentration, and used Teleportation back to where I was.
Thwack-crack-crack-crack!
The spikes pierced the midair.
And the gem was in my hand. An easy success.
Having easily snatched only the gem, I returned to the Central Cavern.
Click.
I inserted the gem into the West Slot.
Then, an orange light traveled up the line and filled about one-third of the Sun Emblem.
"So this is how it's done, huh?"
Two left.
I headed to the Right Path next.
Now, what kind of trap is waiting this time?
I wasn't enjoying this at all, but after walking for a moment while feigning cheerfulness, I felt a slight change.
A small cavern appeared, just like the Left Path.
There was also a gem in the middle of the cavern, but...
This time, some chains were tightly wrapped around the gem.
I threw a pebble again.
No trap popped out.
Since nothing particularly caught my Sixth Sense either, I cautiously approached.
Is it telling me to unwrap the chains and take it?
Clank.
The blue chains tightly wrapping the gem were connected and anchored like a spiderweb to the walls all around the cavern.
I reached out toward the gem.
I tried applying some force to unwrap the chains.
"Nngh."
It didn't budge at all.
Even when I tried to pull the gem out with all my might, it wouldn't come out.
Hmm, right.
So it's hard to pull it out by force?
I stepped back from the gem and loaded my magic.
And I launched a Flame Strike at the chains.
KABOOOM!
The chains, revealed after the flames cleared, were perfectly fine.
...They're quite sturdy, aren't they?
If they had been normal iron chains, they would have naturally shattered into pieces.
I also tried to destroy the chains using Mana Bullet and Blade Storm. Sharp winds shredded the chains.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
But as expected, it didn't work.
Even after spamming magic several times, the chains were perfectly fine without a single scratch.
Fuck, what is this.
What, Adamantium? Vibranium? Is it something like that?
After pondering, I decided to target the walls the chains were connected to instead of the chains themselves.
BOOM!
I detonated magic to destroy the cavern walls.
But even when I dug deep into the walls, the chains were endless, making it impossible to tell how far they were embedded.
I had no choice but to give up on this method too, as the cavern might collapse if I spammed more magic.
After struggling for a long time, I eventually sat down with my arms crossed.
"What am I supposed to do..."
Is it like a puzzle? Is there another solution?
I looked around.
"Ah."
Then I soon discovered something.
The wall surface right above the entrance I came through.
The exact same Amber Gem was embedded there. What's that?
I approached, pulled it out, and examined the gem with a dumbfounded look.
"...Can I just take this one?"
Was the gem wrapped in chains a fake?
Just like on the 2nd Floor, this Nightmare bastard really loved making a fool out of people.
Returning to the Central Cavern, I inserted the gem into the East Slot.
The orange light traveled up the line and filled the Sun Emblem up to two-thirds.
"Phew."
Good.
Now only one last slot remained.
I mentally prepared myself and headed to the Front Path.
"..."
What is that.
An hourglass?
What was in the center of the cavern that appeared when I reached the end of the Front Path was a giant hourglass.
The giant hourglass was connected to a structure and fixed in midair.
And there was something below it too.
A long, cylindrical rock.
What was stuck in the Rock Slot was an Amber Gem and... unexpectedly, a cube.
That 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube that you twist and turn to match the same colors.
I tilted my head and reached out toward the gem first.
Of course, the gem didn't come out.
I looked at the cube again.
...This means I have to solve the cube to take the gem, right?
“Ah, damn it.”
What do I do.
I forgot all the formulas for this.
There was a time when I used to play with cubes a lot, but that was back in elementary school.
Now, my memory was naturally hazy.
Instead of being painted with colors, the metal cube had pictures drawn on each square.
As I picked up the cube that was perfectly fitted into the carved crevice of the rock.
Clunk!
*At that moment, the giant hourglass flipped over with a loud rumble.*
I panicked and looked back and forth between the hourglass and the cube.
It was obvious what it meant.
It meant I had to solve it within the time limit.
I immediately used Stop Time and fumbled through my memories.
How did I solve it again? I had to recall the method.
Come on, my long-term memory. You used to do this a lot back in the day!
So first, make a cross... and then... right, is that how I did it?
Now that I actually tried to recall it, it felt like I could remember it.
It felt like I could do it if I just tried.
I unpaused time and started fumbling with the cube, twisting it.
After twisting the cube for a bit, I raised my head and checked the hourglass. But.
"Huh?"
The hourglass had already dropped by half.
No, it's only been about 10 seconds...
As I looked at it now, the hourglass was dropping at a ridiculous speed.
I used Time Stop again.
The cube wasn't even 5% complete yet.
What kind of bullshit is this now.
You want me to solve the cube completely in just a few dozen seconds?
Of course, if I were a world cube champion, I could solve it even if given only 5 seconds, but it was naturally impossible for me.
Besides, I only knew the basic formulas, and it was impossible to solve the cube that fast with basic formulas in the first place.
...What happens when the hourglass runs out?
I didn't know. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be anything good.
But it was also an impossible situation in which to solve the cube in the mere 10 seconds or so left until the hourglass ran out.
In other words, checkmate.
“Hah, damn it.”
What do I do about this?
Should I try breaking the hourglass?
...It didn't seem like a good result would come of it. Rejected.
If I put the cube back, wouldn't the time stop ticking too?
With that thought, I unpaused time and stuck the cube back into the Rock Slot.
But the hourglass didn't stop, as if saying no take-backs.
I used Time Stop again.
Now there was only one option left.
Getting out of here for now.
I unpaused time and hurriedly ran out of the cavern.
It was because I was worried spikes might shoot out like in the left fork earlier if the hourglass ran out.
With my guard raised to the max, I stared at the hourglass from the cavern entrance.
And soon, the hourglass completely ran out.
The change was... nothing. For now.
However, a moment later, a vibration rang out.
"...?"
I looked back with a stiff expression.
The sound was getting closer and closer.
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
What soon unfolded was the Undead surging in like a tidal wave, completely filling the straight passage.
"This crazy...!"
I freaked out and launched a Flame Strike.
The Undead in the front exploded.
However, their momentum only faltered for a moment before they surged in again.
In my urgency, I also fired Mana Bullets and used Blade Storm.
That was also only for a moment. There was no end to them.
I retreated into the cavern, pulled out the Frozen Dagger, and used it.
WHOOSH!
A cold wave stormed out, freezing the suffocatingly swarming Undead.
Ice formed like a barricade, and the crazy march of the Undead stopped.
Crack...
It seemed that wouldn't last long either.
I looked at the Undead with blank eyes before I used Time Stop.
Did the Undead from above come into the underground...?
Is this the penalty for exceeding the time limit?
‘...There's no answer to this.’
The procession of Undead had completely filled the only passage.
There was no way out other than breaking through them head-on, but there was that was impossible.
Even if I used Teleportation, I would just get stuck in the gaps between the Undead.
I desperately searched for a way out.
But no matter how much I racked my brain, there really was no answer this time.
Am I... going to die? Really?
Feeling death approaching right under my chin, I chuckled inwardly.
I'm dying because I couldn't solve a single cube, what the hell.
To think my end would be such a pathetic death.
“You win, you Nightmare son of a bitch.”
You must be so happy to have screwed me over this much. Motherfucker.
But I had no intention of dying obediently like this.
I still had to struggle until the very end.
Having made my resolve, I unpaused time and gripped my mace tightly.
It was the moment the ice completely shattered and the Undead were about to surge into the cavern.
"Uwaaaah...! Huh?"
I, who was about to charge out with a battle cry, flinched.
Suddenly, a black aura wrapped around my body.
*At the same time, the Undead that were rushing toward me stopped all at once, as if they had lost their destination.*
What happened?
I looked down at my body.
A faint black aura was wrapping around my body like a haze, and my body had become translucent.
I looked up at Diul floating above my head.
The guy was grumbling, as if he found it annoying.
“Is this your ability, Diul...?”
Even with me right in front of them, the Undead stood there stupidly staring into midair.
I cautiously took a step.
Not even the sound of footsteps could be heard, as if my very presence had been erased.
Is this the second ability of the Spirit of Darkness?
It was a Stealth Ability, following Suggestion.
Hah... Diul, you rascal!
You're helping me because it looks like I'm really going to die!
Wait, this isn't the time for this.
While in Stealth, I quickly picked up the cube again.
I had to finish solving it and take the gem. Only then would something come of it, one way or another.
After a few minutes of racking my brain and solving the cube with the horde of Undead right in front of me, I completed it.
“...Done!”
I somehow succeeded in completely solving the cube.
As I inserted the solved cube back into the Rock Slot.
Click.
With a sound, the gem popped out of the slot.
I picked up the gem and looked around at the Undead.
Wait a minute...
But how do I break through these guys now?
I stealthily poked one of the Undead with my finger.
The guy had no reaction at all.
...Is there no reaction even if I touch them?
I cautiously passed between the Undead.
Squeezing my body through the gaps of the Undead, I advanced like it was Sindorim Station at 6 PM.
Why did a scene from World War Z suddenly come to mind?
I felt like the protagonist walking among the zombies after getting the vaccine.
“Wait, just hold on a little longer!”
Feeling that maintaining Diul's ability was slowly reaching its limit, I hurried.
I finally arrived at the Central Cavern.
The Central Cavern was also completely packed with Undead.
I barely reached the place where the rock was.
And I inserted the gem into the last remaining slot.
It was the moment all three gems were gathered and the Sun Emblem was completely filled with light.
FWOOSH!
An intense light burst forth from the emblem, covering the cavern.