Chapter 215: Fifty-Seventh Floor, Recommissioned Mine Exploration (2)

[Investigate the incident at the fourth mine and report any findings to the employer. Time remaining: 11 hours 50 minutes.]

Dozens of monstrous beasts lay sprawled, dead, across the field before the mine. The battle hadn’t been particularly challenging; none of them had been powerful enough to pose a serious threat.

Still, I couldn’t shake the unease gnawing at me. These creatures, now nothing more than lifeless husks, were draped in ragged, dirt-streaked clothing. Despite their grotesque transformations, I could tell they had once been the miners.

They had turned into beasts in such a short time—a bad omen.

Moreover, their transformation didn’t seem incomplete, either. Every single one had fully become a beast, each at least two meters tall.

Maybe they were meant to be like this, but the speed of their mutation was staggering.

Even more unsettling, something didn’t quite add up. The surviving miner had said that he ran after hearing the screams. However, these beasts had coordinated their attack, surrounding us before making their move.

That meant there was someone—something—directing them.

If that is the case, then how did that one miner manage to escape?

Only one possibility came to mind. Maybe the other miner had approached while the survivor waited farther away, just within sight of the collapsed building.

No. That didn’t fully explain it. The survivor had made the journey back on foot, at least three hours of travel. Maybe the fallen miners hadn’t fully mutated at that moment.

Regardless, this confirmed my fear that the enemy awaiting me wasn’t an ordinary foe.

A summoned minion's strength depended solely on how powerful its summoner was. These beasts, despite being merely transformed miners, had been stronger than the monsters I had fought on the fifty-fifth floor.

Whatever lurked within the mine would be more powerful than Delikurn.

Ugh. Whatever.

.

Shaking the blood from my axe, I let out a slow breath. Scarlet drops splattered against the cold, desolate ground.

Even though I had done my best to wipe any lingering blood from my face, the stench of rot still clung to my nose, and my skin still felt sticky. I briefly considered grabbing some water from my mimic to rinse off, but I decided against it.

This floor was far from over.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Turning, I checked on Doppy. Luckily, he had made it through the battle without sustaining any major injuries. I had deliberately let some of the beasts slip past me, ensuring he got some combat experience.

Come to think of it, he had put up a decent fight. “Good work.”

“You too, Su-Yeok!”

“Let's head inside.”

“Got it!”

“Stay sharp and stick close.”

Taking the lead, I cautiously advanced toward the mine entrance. The collapsed building and the yawning darkness of the mine beyond displayed no signs of life.

Were those miners we just fought the only ones left?

There was no way to know.

I scanned the entrance carefully as we stepped forward. Under the dim moonlight, I spotted human tracks among the deep, monstrous footprints in the dirt. Some led out of the mine, others rushed inward. The freshest imprints pointed toward the depths.

Whatever happened, someone had shown up after the miners turned into beasts.

“

Kiaaaaah—!

”

The screeching wail continued echoing from the mine’s depths and bounced off the stone walls, sending an involuntary chill down my spine. Even when it finished, the memory of the noise triggered a primal fear.

My brows knit together.

The fifty-seventh floor, huh?

That wasn’t like the beasts we had just fought.

“

Huff.

”

I heard Doppy inhale sharply as he gripped his sword tightly.

Summoning my mana, I illuminated the tunnel ahead. The deeper we went, the stronger the stench became.

Was that monster that cried out the last remaining enemy?

Fifteen minutes of cautious walking later, and we hadn’t encountered anything. Instead, we reached a fork in the path.

A strange noise emanated from the left passage, and the tracks in the dirt all pointed the same way.

Still, I couldn't afford to be careless.

“Doppy, which way do you think we should go?”

“The left path seems best!”

Nodding, I turned and led the way. Unlike the right passage, this path sloped steeply downward.

Peculiar carvings were etched onto the walls. I couldn't quite decipher their meaning, but they seemed to depict a battle.

Come to think of it, Kyuntriachae had mentioned a war had happened hundreds of years ago between the humans and demons.

“This doesn’t seem like a mine!”

“You're right. Looks more like an ancient tomb or a temple.”

“A tomb? Any wrong step, and we're doomed!” Doppy remarked uneasily.

I found it a little absurd that an apostle would believe in such superstitions.

Or maybe...

Given the bizarre phenomena that often occurred within the tower, perhaps that was precisely why he found this unsettling.

“Chomp, chomp.”

The strange noises grew clearer as we advanced. Reaching the end of the downward path, we found an elongated corridor. Unlike the sloping passage before, the walls here were not adorned with murals but rather eerie symbols.

A hidden tomb within the mine.

I was starting to piece things together.

The miners uncovered this.

Thinking it contained treasure, they had likely dug deeper. Kyuntriachae wasn’t the type to lie, so this had to have happened without his knowledge.

We headed down the corridor.

At the end of the corridor, the flickering lightning briefly illuminated something: an ancient stone door standing slightly ajar. The floor around the entrance was stained black with blood that had seeped out.

A pungent, overpowering stench of blood filled the air.

Crack—

“Chomp, chomp.”

I suddenly realized the origin of the bizarre noises—they were the sounds of something feeding.

No way.

Much like I had suspected, only one presence remained inside. A creeping sense of dread settled inside me.

Taking a steady breath, I stepped through the door. Sending out a flare of lightning, I momentarily lit up the chamber, casting an eerie glow.

The entire space was drenched in red. It was literally a sea of blood.

Beyond the mangled corpses of monsters and humans, a grotesque creature feasted beside an open stone coffin. Then, it slowly turned its head toward me.

[Demonic Spawn, Keribel]

It towered above its surroundings, roughly four meters tall and packed with bulging muscles. Sharp horns protruded menacingly from its temples, while its thick, muscular tail swayed ominously. Only adding to its gross appearance, pulsing veins ran taut over its sinewy frame.

The demon’s crimson eyes flickered as it slowly blinked. It didn’t seem to possess much intelligence, but the sheer force radiating from its body was undeniable.

Adjusting my grip on my axe, I stepped forward. My foot squelched ominously on the blood-drenched floor with each step.

“

Grrr.

”

The demon discarded the mangled corpse it had been devouring, then reached for a blood-soaked sword lying nearby.

The sword was stained crimson from the tip of the blade to the hilt. Yet, beneath the dripping blood, hints of gleaming silver shone brilliantly.

As soon as I lunged forward, the demon responded in kind, its massive frame surprisingly moving quickly.

“

Kyahhh!

”

Given the differences in our reach, it struck first, slashing diagonally with all its might. In a clash of raw strength, meeting it head-on would definitely be a poor choice.

Kyuntriachae’s cloak crossed my mind, and I remained on high alert.

I should keep an eye out for any magic.

Ducking low, I twisted to the right and slipped past the demon. Turning my waist sharply, I aimed for the back of its right knee and swung.

Slash—

The sensation of metal biting into flesh traveled up my hands, but unfortunately, the cut was too shallow to be of any significance. Even though I had put a significant amount of force behind it, the wound wasn’t as deep as I had expected.

To inflict any real damage, I would need to use Aura.

Its massive arm whizzed past the top of my head.

The demon let out a guttural roar upon realizing it had missed. “

Graaaah!

”

Whoosh—!

A sharp gust followed its swing.

Without missing a beat, I rolled again and dodged its follow-up strike. The bloodstained sword came crashing down, and the beast used both hands to pull it up from the floor before slamming it repeatedly into the ground.

Evading the attacks wasn’t difficult, but something felt off.

Why isn’t it using magic?

I had wanted to take a few hits from spells to strengthen my body.

Wait. Is the clock unrelated to this trial?

If that was the case, then I had gone through all this trouble for nothing.

Maybe it only uses magic after taking damage?

It seemed I needed to get a little more aggressive.

As I dodged another swing, I countered with a horizontal slash of my axe.

Shhhhk—!

The blade, crackling with Aura, slices across the demon’s chest in a clean line. Thick, black blood splattered down.

“

Kyaaah!

”

Its tail shot out between its legs.

Why do all tailed creatures attack in the same way?

I had encountered it countless times before, and I was more than prepared.

With each exchange, new wounds appeared on the demon’s body. Even still, the beast showed no signs of using magic.

So the cloak really has nothing to do with this fight, huh?

If I had known that ahead of time, I would have let Delikurn hit me more times on the last floor. I felt a pang of regret, but there was no point in dwelling on it. The time had already passed.

The demon swiped at me again with its razor-sharp claws. There was no need to drag things out.

Kraack!

I pushed off the ground, launching myself into the air like a thunderbolt, and its claws grazed past my shoulder.

The demon’s glowing eyes followed my movement, tracking its escaping prey.

For a fifty-seventh-floor trial, this is underwhelming.

Twisting my torso midair, I swept my axe in a large arc.

Shhhk!

The Aura-infused blade cleaved clean through the demon’s thick neck.

“Khhrk...!”

The demon couldn’t even let out a proper death cry. Its massive head soared through the air. A split second later, a fountain of black blood erupted from its headless corpse, shooting skyward like a grotesque fountain.

I caught myself mid-thought.

Wait, when did I start thinking like this?

A brief, chilling sensation crawled up my spine.

Am I slowly becoming desensitized to the tower? Am I slowly losing myself?

I needed to be careful.

Thud—!

The demon’s massive body finally collapsed onto the floor.

I released a slow breath, shaking the blood off my axe. The thick layer of blood pooling beneath my feet rippled from the motion.

As I glanced around the chamber, a vague sense of unease crept up on me.

Did I really need to burn through the fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh floors like this?

Past acquaintances regularly reappeared on later floors, but I had never entered a floor with no trial like I had with the fifty-sixth.

The demonic spawn had been stronger than the other beasts, but not by much.

Have I just gotten too strong for these trials?

That was a possibility. The only trial that had genuinely tested me in recent floors was the forty-seventh, during my fight against the Catastrophe.

Still, something felt off.

A demonic spawn that can’t use magic managed to turn miners into undead?

That made no sense.

In truth, the tower could’ve dropped me right in front of the mine. Kyuntriachae’s welcoming reception and information all felt unnecessary.

Then, realization struck. I had taken Kyuntriachae’s words at face value without a second thought.

Was the miner who returned actually a miner?

Something felt wrong, and a picture formed in my mind. The war three hundred years ago, the sealed fiend, and Kyuntriachae.

I needed to get back to the fortress immediately.

Spinning around, I called out, “Doppy! Get over he—”

Before I could finish, the severed demon’s head started moving. Like a haunted puppet, the head rolled across the floor and turned to face me.

A deep, unnatural chill spread through me.

Its vacant eyes gleamed with a faint, eerie red. “So, you've figured it out, you meddlesome interloper.

Keuk

, but you are too late. The preparations are almost done.

Ehehehe.

”

The dry, sinister chuckle echoed through the chamber.

Damn it. Did it already kidnap Kyuntriachae?

“

Ahaha

, don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for you. Unfortunately for you, it will already be over by the time you arrive.”

With those final words, the light in its eyes faded. A strange, dark energy seeped from the head’s severed neck.

The strange energy, continuing to emit a wicked laughter, swirled through the chamber before darting out the open door. It was heading straight for Kyuntriachae’s fortress.

“Su-Yeok! What do we do?!” Doppy flailed in alarm, but I simply shook my head and reclaimed calm.

At first, I felt worried. Then I realized that there was nothing to be concerned about. The demon hadn’t done anything yet. If it had, it wouldn’t be taunting me like this. It was still in the process of setting something up.

Right now, it was likely transferring its consciousness into the miner it had used as a pawn.

That means...

I grinned.

The dark energy had vanished with incredible speed, but I could travel much faster. I had Two-Way Portal, after all.

Too late?

“Fuck you.”

I scoffed at the demon’s arrogance and reached out, tearing open a portal straight to the fortress.