STGB Episode 512

Grave 4

One, two, three, four, five, six…

I counted their numbers out of habit.

‘Twenty-four.’

That’s how many explorers were awkwardly standing near the entrance.

So, these guys are from the Hex Clan?

“It seems that Mirtane’s team has joined their clan.”

“Mirtane?”

“The five-member team that couldn’t bring in a warrior. Their leader’s name is Mirtane.” Versil cautiously answered

I see.

So, have the other two teams, the four-person team and the five-person team, joined the Silver Lion Clan?

Either way, I decided to talk to them first.

Something about their stance had been bothering me from the moment I saw them.

“Are you here to fight?”

“…Huh?”

Hearing my question, the leader at the front seemed to snap out of it and quickly gave orders.

“Ah… We heard noises and thought it was monsters… Everyone, lower your weapons!”

I’d wondered if they were preparing for a PK, but apparently not.

Once everyone lowered their weapons, the guy cautiously asked me.

“Um… Are you done exploring down there?”

“Just for now. But did you just arrive?”

“Yes, that’s correct, but…”

“Since our paths have crossed, let’s introduce ourselves. What’s your name?”

“Wyatt. Wyatt Hex. I’m currently serving as the second leader of the Hex Clan.”

“Second leader?”

“The first leader was my father.”

So it’s a clan passed down from father to son —a classic silver-spoon situation.

I felt like we should just go our separate ways at this point, but I was a bit curious, so I continued the conversation.

“Wyatt, what happened after we left?”

“Ah, about that…”

Normally, if you ask other explorers this kind of question, they’d tell you to figure it out yourself, but it was different with me.

Partly because of my reputation, but also because I was the one who opened the portal to this place.

Even if I had left them on the rocky island and told them to fend for themselves, they’d still have a positive reaction.

“As you probably expected, Baron, everyone ended up splitting into two groups.”

In any case, the story Wyatt told me was quite simple.

The Silver Lion Clan and the Hex Clan.

These two groups formed a temporary alliance after I left. They didn’t merge their command structures, but they decided to move together and help each other in case of danger since they didn’t know what lay ahead.

“What about the smaller teams?”

“They seemed uneasy being caught between the two clans, so three teams formed an alliance.”

 

So the three groups formed a cooperative relationship.

They each boarded their ships, left the rocky island, and began serious exploration. Then…

“The problem started after we discovered that island.”

And then…

“That island?”

Seeing my interest, Wyatt, who wasn’t a complete fool, proposed a trade.

“If you share information about what’s below, Baron, we’ll also share our information.”

“Oh? Alright then, go ahead.”

Even though we didn’t sign any formal agreement, Wyatt seemed satisfied with my verbal promise and nodded without hesitation.

“It was a very large island. And we encountered an undiscovered monster.”

“Are you talking about the Tentaculan?”

“How do you know that name, Baron Jandel…?”

“I’ll explain later. Keep going.”

“……It wasn’t the Tentaculan. Unlike the ones we encountered on the way to the island, this monster was much stronger.”

Much stronger…

If the Tentaculan was Level 4, then this one must be at least Level 3 or higher.

“I’d like to hear more details.”

“We managed to defeat it somehow, but we still don’t know its active ability. All we know is that it used Deathlord’s ‘Mist of Salvation,’ Rectas’s ‘Corpse Toxin,’ and Hellsmyth’s ‘Hellfire.’ We’ve named it ‘Diamont.'”

Diamont.

Given its ranking was unknown and it seemed to operate alone, it appears to be a solitary type creature.

“What happened after you guys defeated it?”

“We decided it was too dangerous to venture further into the island, so we camped on the shore and continued hunting the Diamont. And then… opinions diverged.”

“How so?”

“The Silver Lion Clan wanted to go deeper into the island, while we were against it. Even taking them one by one along the coast seemed risky.”

But the Silver Lion Clan was adamant.

Rather than trying to reach a consensus through persuasion, they suggested going their separate ways, and the Hex Clan had no choice but to concede.

“The smaller teams were also divided. Two teams joined the Silver Lion Clan, while Mirtane’s team here decided to stay with us.”

“Why did you leave the island?”

“We figured there must be other islands. Ones where we could explore more safely.”

Well, if a Level 3 or higher monster appears right at the start, it makes sense to look for another place.

When I first saw them on the first floor, I thought they were suicidal, but now it seems they’re quite realistic.

“Then, may I hear your story, Baron?”

In exchange for their information, I shared details about what we’d found in the library. At first, Wyatt listened eagerly, but as I went on, his expression turned somewhat awkward.

“Based on what you’ve said, there’s not much for us to gain below.”

“If you just want to hunt, it’s not bad. We left a lot of summoning books unused. And who knows – you might discover something we missed.”

“That’s… true.”

Afterward, Wyatt called over their sailor to share the island’s location with our sailor, Auyen, effectively ending our business.

As we were about to go our separate ways…

“As expected… it seems you haven’t found a way out either, Baron.”

Wyatt made a cryptic remark.

“What do you mean?”

“No… it’s nothing. Just my needless worries.”

“I’ll decide if it’s needless, tell me.”

When I pressed him, he spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“I was just thinking…about when this place will close, and for a moment I was worried. Like, when the day of closure finally comes, will we really be able to return to the city…?”

“…”

“It’s this nagging fear that maybe this place could end up being my grave.”

Sigh, so that’s what he was getting at.

‘I shouldn’t have asked.’

Now I feel uneasy too.

***
Whoooosh…

Our ship cut through the silver waves, heading toward the island whose coordinates we had received from the Hex Clan.

“With our ship’s performance, we should arrive in about five hours.” Auyen Spoke

Using all his skills as a sailor, Auyen worked to shorten the travel time, and the team members efficiently carried out their tasks in their respective positions.

The time was 2 a.m.

‘It’s already the 11th day…’

It’s been 11 days since the labyrinth opened.

But the labyrinth still hasn’t closed.

I’ve been paying attention to this since the 7th day, but…

Was it because of what he said earlier?

This time, something feels off.

Until now, I felt relieved that the labyrinth closing day hadn’t come yet, but now a small sense of unease has started to creep in.

‘Not knowing anything drives people crazy, huh.’

This is still a labyrinth, so it should close when the time comes.

But even as I think that, doubts arise.

Even though all floors from 1 to 10 share common traits, the unique characteristics of the underground 1st floor make it hard to feel at ease…

‘If the labyrinth still hasn’t closed by the 30th day, I’ll think about this problem again.’

Once I settled on that, my mind felt lighter.

It’s always good to assume the worst, but it’s also a mistake to become so caught up in it that you can’t focus on anything else.

“Bjoruuun! That Tentamond! It’s appeared!”

“You mean Tentaculan.”

We finally entered the island where the Hex Clan had been exploring earlier, and the Tentaculans started appearing.

I have no idea what they are like underwater, but they jump out like flying fish and land on the deck.

「Tentaculan has been defeated.」

「Tentaculan has been defeated.」

「Tentaculan has been defeated.」

「Tentaculan has been defeated…….」

We hunted them continuously, but no essences dropped.

It was disappointing.

Given that it’s a new Level 4 monster, its essence would surely sell for a high price.

‘If I have time later, I’ll come back here to farm essences…’

I forced myself to let go of the regret.

There’s a saying about not losing sight of the bigger picture for small gains.

“Ooh! A new island!” Aynar Shouted

As soon our destination became visible, we began preparing to get off the ship.

The docking point was a small beach at the base of a cliff.

The rest of the island is all cliffs, so there’s no place to dock the ship.

‘It’s not impossible to dock the ship next to the cliff and climb up, but…’

Well, it’s better to just land on the beach and walk from there.

That kind of thing is something you do after becoming a veteran anyway. That beach looks like it’s clearly meant to be the starting point.

“First, we’ll survey the terrain. Everyone, follow me, and if you find anything, report it to me immediately.”

After arriving at the beach, we started by scouting the surrounding terrain. There were no monsters nearby for now, but we couldn’t let our guard down.

‘Visibility is about 10 meters.’

It’s one of the characteristics of the underground 1st floor. Each field has a different visibility range.

From a distance, we could see the outline of the entire island, but once we entered, our vision became less, making it feel suffocating.

“Auyen, you’ll follow us and map the area. Can you handle that?”

From a distance, we could see the outline of the entire island, but once we entered, our visibility diminished, making it feel suffocating.

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

I could have made the maps myself, but I left that role to Auyen.

As the lead, I can’t exactly carry a notebook and pen around, can I?

“Captain, it seems there’s nowhere else to explore now.”

‘That was quicker than I expected.’

After about 20 minutes of exploring the beach, there was only one way to leave the area.

Unless we planned to climb a cliff several tens of meters high, the conventional route seemed to be squeezing through a narrow gap between cliffs leading inland.

However…

‘The problem is that there are three paths.

Directly ahead of the beach, and two more to the left and right.

No matter which one we chose, they might all lead to the same place, but that wasn’t certain.

We had to pick one.

“Aynar, which path do you think we should take?”

“As a warrior, of course, we go straight ahead!”

Since we wouldn’t know until we tried, I decided to follow Ainard’s suggestion and chose the path straight ahead.

‘…It’s much narrower than I thought.’

Even with my [Gigantification] deactivated, my head kept bumping and my shoulders scraped against the tight walls.

20 uncomfortable minutes later, we reached an exit.

‘Phew, finally out.’

Feeling almost claustrophobic, I squeezed through the exit as fast as I could.

I quickly checked the terrain around me.

‘…….’

A rainforest reminiscent of the Amazon jungle.

The ground was lush with knee-high bushes, and the strange-looking trees were bigger than anything I’d ever seen in Korea.

Also…….

Something liquid dripped from above.

‘Rain?

At first, that was my thought, but the sticky sensation sliding down my cheek was unmistakably something else.

‘Blood’

I immediately looked up.

“……Damn it.”

Three gruesomely mutilated corpses were hanging by their necks from tree vines.

“…They’re members of the Silver Lion Clan.”

With Versil’s words, a heavy silence enveloped us.

The reason was very simple.

“……”

“……”

Monsters don’t do this kind of thing.

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