Chapter 632: The Queen’s Tomb (2)
‘I think we’re already in the dungeon.’
After watching the surrounding landscape change instantly, I knew that I had entered it. Before my eyes were the interior of a tomb, and I registered it as the starting point.
Seeing that there were no monsters visible, it wasn’t the type where enemies would start charging at the adventurers right at the entrance.
As one could decipher from the Queen’s Tomb’s name itself, the deeper I went, the more likely I would face the Guardian or monsters guarding the tomb.
Since I was the fourth-grade manager of the Museum, I could see through the dungeon easily.
Of course, it was still too early to make a decision, but to give a rough review…
‘It’s not too bad.’
Unlike the last shipwreck the Holy Sword Party had visited, the current dungeon seemed to be a common configuration on the continent.
It went without saying that everyone there liked it. The main problem with dungeons was their gimmicks, which tired out people more than the battle against monsters itself.
Using the heroic-cla.s.s dungeon and the cursed shrine would make my point easier to understand and visualize. The monsters themselves weren’t that difficult, but their home’s traps and tricks had been evaluated as legendary-grade.
I could a.s.sure anyone that it wouldn’t be easy for Raphel’s Party to raid the cursed shrine.
Of course, I had a feeling that the level of difficulty increased simply because of Jung Hayan…
‘But it won’t be too difficult.’
The less experienced parties were, the more likely they would be swayed by the dungeon’s unique secrets.
Although the story had been briefly engraved elsewhere, the dungeon we were at was one of the basic kinds and usually had more monsters.
Still, no matter how basic it was, it didn’t change the fact that it was a legendary-grade. Of course, I was bound to be curious about their progress.
The first ones that moved after entering the dungeon were a duo composed of a rogue and an archer.
If it was the Blue party, wouldn’t Kim Ye-ri and Kim Chang-ryul be sort of similar to them?
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong, warrior. I don’t see any monsters around us, and I don’t see any other traps. Should I look a little further?”
“No, I think we’d better go together. Getting too far from the main party isn’t a good idea. If you see no monsters in sight, then let’s consider this place as a safe zone.”
What I was worried about was Raphael, who was currently looking in my direction. He nodded slightly before continuing.
“Hey, you’re doing that again.’
I saw him clearly looking at me. It felt like he was asking if he was doing well.
Despite telling him about it before, it seemed as if he had ignored it all.
Cho Hyejin followed me from the back since she thought it would be a distraction if she were too close. But she immediately spoke when I looked back at her.
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just looking.”
“Are you having a hard time walking? Should I give you a piggyback ride?”
“No, it’s not that bad. I can still handle it, but please lend me a shoulder later if I get exhausted. Oh, of course, you can give me a piggyback ride after.”
“…”
“I’m not joking. I think the size of this dungeon is quite big…”
“You can see that?”
“It just feels that way, doesn’t it? The ceiling is high, the hall is wide and big, and it’s not just composed of the Queen’s tomb itself but also the city where she lived. Well, it’s smaller than the Crack Museum, at least. But in museums, I don’t have to walk this much… Hyejin, hasn’t it been a while since you’ve been in a dungeon?”
“This is actually the first time since the Mirror Lake incident, but a place like that can’t even be called a dungeon. That aside, is it okay to be chatting with me like this?”
“…”
“…”
“It’s better to leave the whole process to Raphael anyway. I don’t have anything to do except walk right now, and I can only interfere when I go near them. I didn’t come with you to evaluate, but I felt like I was doing that anyway…This distance would be perfect. In the case of an important briefing, I’m sure I’d have already heard about it before, so I think you’d better hold back when the first battle begins. In Hyejin’s eyes…”
“It’s not a bad party at all. Considering that it hasn’t been that long, the bond between the team members seems good… It feels like they’re running towards one purpose. Usually, parties like that tend to rise.”
“That’s a generous a.s.sessment.”
“I just told you what I see. The party is strong. You can’t call them noobs, especially Raphael…”
“What?”
“If he grows a little bit more, you’ll be able to compare him to the eight seats of the continent. Of course, that’s based on the first ones to have that t.i.tle. It’s hard to say he’s stable, but…”
“Hmm…”
“He can become stronger through this expedition.”
“I see.”
“Don’t overdo yourself, Vice Guild Master.”
“How could I overdo myself? It’s not like I’m moving my body violently. Don’t worry about it. Look at that. It’s magnificent and pretty, isn’t it? This building is amazing.”
“We’re in a dungeon.”
“But we can still appreciate it. Why are people being so difficult?”
“I’m working right now. Actually, it would be better to avoid chatting like this as much as possible. I’m just trying to because you look bored.”
“We can be a little less tense. It’s tiring to live with that kind of pressure. It’s not something I should say, but I just like enjoying moments like this. Hyunsung isn’t even here, which means n.o.body here will nag even if we take it a little easier upon ourselves. Hyejin won’t even partic.i.p.ate in the battle anyway…”
“At least one person should stay alert.”
“Yes, yes.”
I felt like I needed to focus more at that moment.
That was because the surrounding landscape changed while we were chatting and walking continuously.
‘That’s cool.’
The road was already wide, but it was now getting even wider, and the ceiling was becoming higher as well. I thought it was the queen’s city, but what I saw instead was a city for giants.
My jaw dropped at the sight of what I could only label as amazing.
I thought I had seen all kinds of scenery since I entered the continent, but that was new to me. However, the problem was that walking was so hard.
If Park Deokgu had been with us, I could have requested to be carried comfortably, and I was hooked on such thoughts.
We marched for four hours in peace. Eventually, some of us
‘Sh*t, we’re so unprepared.’
I should’ve packed a carriage. Raphael also asked if it was better to take a rest.
However, if we didn’t battle first before resting, we would end up spending more time in the dungeon.
At that moment, I saw a huge door. Looking at the huge stone statues standing on both sides of the door, I could predict how things would turn out.
- This place is…
- The Queen’s tomb.
- Those who are unworthy…
- Can’t enter.
Giant statues greeted Raphael’s party with shining eyes.
‘Who designed this dungeon? It’s so stinky.’
The odds were low as it was a legendary dungeon, but it would be quite sad if what I witnessed was the result of the Benignore Patch 2.0.
- Go back…
- Dishonest people.
- This is a place where the unqualified…
- Can’t enter.
“I’ll get ready for battle.”
“Okay.”
“Focus on one of them as I take out the other one quickly.”
“Got it.”
“Yes, Captain.”
- Death.
“Begin.”
- Death!
The battle commenced in the blink of an eye. The wizard chanted a spell, and an ice column appeared, blocking the guardian’s path.
Soon enough, the entire place was filled with ice columns. It wasn’t a bad start at all.
There was a common way that a lot of ordinary parties dealt with such a situation.
The stone guards in front of us were more like regular monsters than boss monsters, but the ones that were guarding the gate to the Queen’s tomb couldn’t be ordinary.
In that sense…
‘It should be fine, but…’
I felt a little off while watching the scene unfold.
‘Did he… really need to do that?’
Raphael’s party was strong. They were stronger than most parties around the continent.
However, they didn’t have to proceed that way. While they were dealing with one of the guardians, the one stuck in the ice prison broke through it and jumped out.
While the party was in battle, the wizard chanted the spell and locked the guardian up again.
They then concentrated their firepower on the other.
‘It’s inefficient.’
The magic of a wizard wasn’t infinite. It wasn’t easy to restore their mana, either.
Using their mana to add up to their firepower seemed to be a better tactic to me. That party had enough ability to do that, and it wasn’t unreasonable to deal with the two simultaneously.
‘Your party is filled with first-cla.s.s heroes, sh*t, but you still have to do that even when you already have the Holy Sword?’
“Please prepare the next magic. Cast it before it comes out.”
“Yes.”
“Their durability is higher than I thought. Please be as careful as you can, Lee Ju-hyuk.”
“No need to worry.”
“Keep the magic buff going, and the rest should create a distraction.”
I didn’t want to be an old nagger, but it felt frustrating to watch them move like that even though they already had more than enough stats and abilities to fight them more efficiently. I couldn’t stand still.
“Cancel your magic.”
I spoke quietly, but the wizard must’ve still been startled.
“Cancel the spell. It doesn’t matter if you deal with both of them at once.”
“Sir?”
“Listen to me. It won’t be too much at all. It’s not dangerous.”
“Cancel your magic.”
The wizard paused for a moment but immediately canceled the spell at Raphael’s voice.
It wasn’t much, but didn’t that show that the leader of the party was Raphael?
‘He’s very loyal.’
“I’ll take the lead from here.”
“From now on, Hyung will tell you what to do. Please concentrate.”
“You don’t have to be careful. Don’t overwork your body. Melee fighters should be prepared to get hit at least once or twice. That’s the sole purpose why you’re raising your durability stat. The support should cast a protective spell, and the wizard should prepare a magic spell with high firepower. Archer and rogue lure the two guardians at once, and the wizard will burst down the Guardians as much as possible. You have to aim for their back, not their front.”
BAAAAAAM!!!
“If you feel like you’re going to reach your limit, the support can use protective magic on you. Release the spell, wizard.”
BAAAAAAAAM!!!
“If you’ve got them in range, bombard them and stop them from getting away. Chant again.”
BAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!
A part of the Guardian’s body exploded, releasing a thunderous sound. Looking at the reactions of the party members, they didn’t expect it to end that easily.
They seemed to be embarra.s.sed and unable to come to their senses.
They all were staring at me. I had no choice but to mumble quietly.
“Aren’t you going to wrap it up? Finish them, ladies and gentlemen.”
At this, they all launched themselves forward with all that they could.