Chapter 127: A Bit Too Large 2
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
Join the discord! Here
After witnessing that shocking scene of destruction, our party returned quietly to the dead-end path we had set as our base, assuming that no matter how sturdy and massive the creature was, it couldnt possibly come at us through the walls.
Seeing traces of the creature, I felt that I might be able to hold it off but... can our party even deal any damage?
Given its size, Kaiden's sword probably won't even make a scratch on its skin, and Grace's arrows might be as effective as toothpicks against a grown man.
The most promising form of damage could come from Han Se-ah's magic, but she has mostly learned wind-type spells designed to deal with cave spiders and vampire bats.
It would be weaker in raw damage compared to fire or thunder magic.
"...I'm not sure if that thing is a cave snake, but it seems to have a poor sense of smell, doesn't it?"
"Seems so. We were right next to the clearing, and it didn't notice us. Maybe it relies more on its hearing?"
"It's strange that the marks on the ground are perfectly straight. Shouldn't a normal snake leave a winding trail?"
Despite seeing such overwhelming traces, our party, chosen by the goddess, isn't about to cower and retreat.
Led by Grace, the members discussed various theories, and since no one had seen the creature itself, Han Se-ah's viewers started pouring out their opinions too.
-Considering its straight tracks, could it be some kind of burrowing golem?
-Instead of a snake, maybe it's a worm? If it wriggles back and forth, it'd leave straight marks.
-It sounds like the giant worms from fantasy stories, detecting vibrations with their hearing.
-Is there a third choice for the betting?
-How are they going to kill that? It looks massive!
Having only encountered medium-sized monsters till now, the appearance of a large one made them very energetic.
This chatroom ignited, with users debating over what the monster might be.
If Han Se-ah was seeing it for the first time, it meant this was a world-first encounter.
In the outside world, even if there were players enjoying the game as mercenaries, knights, or other roles, they wouldnt easily come across such a large monster.
Whether it's an ogre, worm, or wyvern, such large creatures can't hide from human eyes.
Once they were seen, adventurers and knight orders would quickly exterminate them.
No lord would tolerate a 5-meter-tall man-eating giant roaming around and eating their peasants.
If left unchecked, it would be like allowing a monster to deplete their wealth by 1% every day.
"Roland, do you know any way to hunt such a large monster?"
"Mostly, luring them into narrow spaces or traps is the method. It minimizes the risk and makes the hunt easier."
"Setting up a trap might be hard. If it only reacts to sound and is virtually blind, can we bait it to ram its head into a narrow passage?"
"First, we need to confirm what it looks like. Guesswork alone won't get us to the answer."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Kaiden's suggestion.
If we're not planning to run, we have to confront the cause of the massive noise.
This decision was further supported by their trust in me.
If a party's tank can't handle the situation, the standard approach would be to retreat to a lower floor and grow stronger.
However, with a 6 senior adventurer like me as the tank, it's okay to be a bit ambitious.
"Roland, can you handle it?"
"Of course. I'll definitely hold it off. You should think about how we're going to finish that creature off. Targeting a vulnerable spot on such a massive creature won't be easy."
Dealing with creatures like ogres or wyverns that somewhat resemble humans or beasts is simpler, even if they are large.
Knock them down and destroy important organs like the heart or brain.
But with elongated creatures like these, I find it challenging when I'm on my own.
The brain might be too small, or the vulnerable areas might be towards the back instead of near the mouth.
This would mean I'd have to work my way through, starting from its snout.
'...Could I potentially kill it with reflective damage if I got inside it?'
A seemingly clever trick crossed my mind.
However, nobody would want to be drenched in the bodily fluids and digestive juices of an unknown creature.
I felt the same reluctance.
Ideally, I just want to cleanly smash it with my warhammer and retrieve its mana stone.
"Let's go then."
---
Raei Translations
---
Thus, the exploration of the 30th floor began.
As we pondered how to defeat the boss, an unmistakably alien space appeared before us.
At one point, the walls of the path shimmered smoothly, even though no mana had been infused into them.
It resembled a fusion of the cavernous pathways of the tower and the pathways of the maze where golems appeared.
We couldnt ignore this suspicious corridor, so we ventured inside.
"This path is just like the maze where the golems appeared."
"Do you think there might be golems here too? I mean, like that golden golem we talked to."
Indeed, the corridor, like someone had combined the caves and the maze, was eerily quiet with not a single monster in sight.
Remembering our search for the golem, our pace quickened.
There were no inexplicable loud sounds around, and the absence of monster noises lowered our guard, making us more impatient.
Instead of an anaconda-sized Blind Serpent, a huge creature appeared capable of destroying the cave path.
And polished maze walls instead of the rough caves filled with stalactites and stalagmites.
In comparison to the 10th and 20th floors, the completely different progression of the 30th floor had the viewers spamming the chat with comments.
-No main quest, no clues wtf
-Shouldn't the quest start after meeting that massive creature?
-A golem NPC might give us a quest.
-Damn I bet it all now I'm scared
-Should we close the betting soon? Just in case we get a hint and someone goes all in.
"You're really honest huh? But I like that honesty. I'll be closing the bets now. If you saw that scene where everything was ripped apart, you should've placed your bets by now, right? Those of you who haven't, just continue watching."
With no monsters around to disturb the tranquility, Han Se-ah cheekily teased the viewers.
While some viewers spammed the chat with complaints, we continued to forge ahead.
However, unlike when we searched for golems, this time we didnt need to walk for hours.
After a few turns, a vast open space appeared.
Unlike the cave chambers filled with dripping stalactites and stalagmites, this spacious area had perfectly smooth walls, ceiling, and floors.
It felt like a storage or cargo area, especially with the massive doors at the far end.
"Should we try opening that door?"
"There might be a golem inside, should we break it open?"
"This place feels so foreign. Like we're not in the tower."
The unnaturally polished chamber stood adjacent to long, towering doors.
To me, it resembled a storage or hangar, but thats from a modern perspective.
To NPCs living in this fantasy world, it might seem like a bizarre and eerie place.
A golem hangar... could that be a possibility?
The golden golem dropped a key-shaped mana stone.
A key-shaped quest item and rows of doors.
Even someone unfamiliar with games would try the key here, right?
"Has someone been here before? It looks like they tried to break the door."
"This, it appears a skilled swordsman was here. The sword clearly contained mana. Although it's unbelievable that only this much damage was done"
Across the clearing, large doors stood confronting them.
On the cavern walls, five massive doors resembling storage shutters were tightly closed.
And there were marks of fierce attacks on them.
Perhaps a senior adventurer party happened upon this place; the damage was intense.
Fierce gouges far exceeding thin cuts, shearing off stone and unknown metals.
On top of that, there were also scorch marks that clearly seemed to be from magic attacks.
Someone tried slashing with a mana-infused sword, tanks smashed the seams of the doors and walls with blunt weapons, and mages scorched with powerful magic.
Yet, they couldn't get past the surface.
They used up a lot of mana, seemingly confident in their ability to take care of any monster that appeared here on the 30th floor, even with less mana than usual.
However, the doors that withstood all their confident attacks remained firmly locked.
'Should we find a keyhole?'
"Grace, how about looking for something like a keyhole on the walls? I think we need to use the mana stone key that the golden golem dropped."
"Hmm, this place does look similar to where that golem came out from."
I looked around for a keyhole, but there was nothing.
Han Se-ah must've had the same thought, or perhaps her stream viewers gave her the idea, and she asked Grace to search.
The party, seeing the key-shaped mana stone that was taken out of the inventory, nodded and began to feel along the wall.
While scouts may have the upper hand in monster tracking, it seems a rogue is needed for structural features like this.
As I pondered the pros and cons of each class,
"Here, there's something."
True to her role as a scout, Grace found something.
---
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om