UHWKT 29

Chapter 29

The ancient dungeon lay dormant beneath a canyon at the southernmost edge of the continent.

Though “canyon” might be a generous term—it had been abandoned thousands of years ago, and now it was a desert where not a single blade of grass grew.

As Kyars and I stepped onto the ground with a flash of blue light, we both looked up at the same time.

“Is this the entrance?”

“Yes. It’s bigger than I expected, right?”

Below the dizzyingly high canyon, a massive door loomed with grandeur. It was so enormous that even tilting your head back, you couldn’t see the top.

“I’ll open it.”

Kyars drew his sword with the intent to smash the door without a word. I quickly stepped in front of him.

“Wait, you can’t.”

[Kyuu!]

He was showing again that he had no experience with ancient dungeons.

“I already told you. This place is different from ordinary dungeons. If you try to force it open recklessly, you’ll be bombarded and die before you even step inside.”

Ancient dungeons were filled with magic and traps beyond common sense.

I told Kyars to step back and ran my fingers along the door. From a distance, it looked like a massive, intricate bas-relief mural, but up close, it was a deep, engraved design.

“Look at this. It seems like a normal carving, but if you observe closely, there are paths engraved into it. The picture on the door itself is a huge maze. So, if you start here and channel magic along the correct path…”

A streak of blue energy flowed from my fingertips through the intricate maze engraved in the mural.

Rumble.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and the firmly closed door began to slowly open, kicking up dust.

[Kyuuung!]

“See? This is what it’s like here.”

“…So even entering is different from a normal dungeon.”

“Yes. Modern dungeons we call dungeons are all reinterpretations and imitations of these ancient ones over centuries.”

Kyars nodded and took a step as if to go inside.

So impatient.

I grabbed his sleeve.

“What now?”

“You don’t know what’s inside.”

I held out my hand.

“Take it. It’s safer than going separately.”

That way, I can protect you in emergencies. If we’re separated and an ancient spell activates, it would be bad.

Kyars lowered his gaze, stared at my hand for a moment, then twisted his mouth into a smirk.

“No ulterior motives, huh? If you wanted to hold my hand, you could’ve said so honestly.”

…Should I just stop protecting him?

I was about to pull my hand away in irritation, but Kyars was faster. He grabbed my hand like fishing it up and stepped into the dungeon.

“Can’t be helped. I’m precious, after all.”

Precious, huh.

Rumble, boom.

No sooner had Kyars and I fully entered than the door slammed shut with a heavy sound. Darkness engulfed us completely.

“Oh, trapped as soon as we entered?”

“…If we go down, there should be an exit on the bottom floor.”

I floated a magic orb. It wasn’t enough to illuminate the whole space, but I could faintly discern objects and structures.

The dungeon’s entrance resembled a massive cavern. Unlike a natural cave, the floor was paved with neatly cut stones.

“The passage down to the lower floors is a long corridor, so it’s narrow. Don’t let go of my hand. The golem should be on the bottom floor.”

[Kyuu, kyuu.]

“Golsuni, you too, come here.”

I held Kyars’ hand with one hand, Golsuni with the other, and headed toward the corridor leading down.

Tap, tap.

The footsteps sounded unusually loud.

This is scarier than I expected.

Like a haunted house.

Actually, scarier than a haunted house. At least in a haunted house, lethal magic or monsters don’t lurk about.

“Should I go first?”

“No.”

“You’re trembling.”

“It’s cold.”

He still had some pride.

I spoke confidently and led the way down the corridor.

“This should be it…”

Then—

Screeeeek!

“Ahh!”

A red light flashed in the darkness, and a giant bat flapped its wings and flew toward us at high speed.

Slash—

I squeezed my eyes shut instinctively, and something fell with a brutal sound. Peeking open, the severed bat’s body lay at our feet.

“Thanks to you, I got to use my left-hand sword.”

Kyars laughed weakly and tapped the blood off his sword.

Why is there a bat in the dungeon? Oh, right—because it’s a dungeon. Ugh, I hate it.

Gripping my pounding heart, I headed to the lower floors.

Contrary to expectations, descending to the third floor went smoothly. Except for the occasional giant rat, bats, and a few traps, it was relatively peaceful.

Kyars suddenly asked,

“Have you been here before?”

“Well… should I say yes or no?”

Why—don’t give me that strange look again.

“You have a talent for answering simple questions in the most difficult way.”

“Let’s just say I’ve been here.”

“That’s not an answer at all.”

“It’s complicated to explain.”

I created the ancient dungeon setting in this story, so if I say it appeared naturally, he wouldn’t believe me.

“Going down here will take us to the fourth floor.”

The golem should be on the seventh floor.

[Kyuu! Kyuuu!]

Golsuni, who had been in my arms the whole time, suddenly leaped out and stomped in front of me.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

[Kyuuu. Kyuu.]

Look at the floor?

“Oh, wow, that could’ve been bad.”

The floor right in front of us was covered in intricate ancient magic circles. Just a glance told me stepping on them would be disastrous.

“Ancient magic. It’s too dark to tell what kind exactly, but it’s best not to step on it. Some of these activate just by standing on them.”

But there was a problem. The floor with the magic circles was huge. Even for a narrow corridor, it spanned roughly five meters ahead.

I can’t just run. And using magic here recklessly is risky—I don’t know what traps might be set.

While I was pondering, Kyars suddenly stuck his head forward.

“Do we just need to avoid stepping on the magic circles?”

“Yes, but the distance…”

“It’s too far to cross with your legs alone.”

What is this—picking a fight?

I glared at him.

“Excuse me.”

Smiling mischievously, Kyars suddenly let go of my hand, crouched, and slipped his arms behind my knees to lift me up.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“To let you know, I have the physical ability to easily jump over this. So this is the most effective method, isn’t it?”

“True, but…”

Isn’t this position embarrassing? I’d rather he just carry me.

“Oh, if you’re worried about letting go of your hand, I’ll let you hold it again after we cross.”

“Let’s go quickly.”

I decided to stop dealing with this narcissist.

Instead, I hugged Golsuni, who leaped into my arms.

Kyars leapt lightly into the air and in an instant, cleared the magic circle area, landing on the other side.

Wow.

It worked.

That easily?

Swordmasters really are different.

I came down from his arms, still dazed.

Rumble—

“…ugh.”

What now?

The space shook violently, and a mysterious, ominous mist began to rise.

What the hell? I avoided the magic circle, so why this?

I reflexively looked up. My heart sank. The same magic circle pattern as the floor was drawn on the ceiling—but even larger. We were standing just before the end of the pattern.

This is insane—a trap?

Realizing the danger too late, I frantically turned my head.

“Kyars, my hand!”

Don’t fall!

But it was too late. Kyars, who had been beside me moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. Golsuni had vanished too.

“Where did you go…! Kyars! Golsuni! Cough, cough!”

Before my shout ended, the mist enveloped my vision. I covered my mouth with my sleeve to avoid inhaling it, but it was useless.

I grew dizzy.

Just as I felt my body stagger, the world flipped, and consciousness sharpened.

A familiar voice reached my ears.

“You sly little girl.”