Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

Chapter 48

Thud, thud, thud...

I walked slowly along the path, organizing my thoughts.

The most puzzling question at the moment was this:

"Why didn\'t my heart pound?"

Why didn\'t my heart pound even though it was a very dangerous situation where I was entering a dungeon?

This was something I had to figure out to prevent any unexpected variables in the future.

I recalled the past situation step by step and considered all possibilities.

Eventually...

"Ah... could it be?"

I came up with a hypothesis.

"Is it only considering the danger?"

In [Demonl Fantasy], dungeons were very dangerous places.

If you entered recklessly without properly assessing the situation, your carefully raised character could vanish in an instant.

But on the other hand, dungeons offered great rewards upon clearing them.

And the hypothesis I came up with started from there.

"If it judged that the reward I would get was greater than the danger I would face..."

A dungeon where the return was greater than the risk.

If the dungeon in front of me was such a place, it would make sense that my heart didn\'t pound.

Ultimately, I would benefit from it.

Of course, it was still too early to be sure.

"Sigh... Let\'s clear it first and think about it later."

It wouldn\'t be too late to judge after clearing the dungeon and receiving the reward.

I decided to focus on clearing this dungeon as quickly as possible.

I slowly moved along the right wall.

\'...I\'m glad about this at least.\'

Fortunately, this was a \'maze\' type dungeon.

In other words, as long as I knew the \'right-hand rule,\' I could escape.

If I just kept my hand on the wall and moved to the right, I would eventually find the exit.

The problem was...

"Hup!"

Whoosh!

...that the process wouldn\'t be smooth.

"...This is brutal."

I straightened up reflexively and turned around.

Three arrows, fired from who knows where, were flying along the path.

If I had been spacing out, I would have been pierced by them and turned into a hedgehog.

Like this, I couldn\'t let my guard down for a single moment in a dungeon.

Countless traps were installed everywhere.

Of course, it wasn\'t just physical traps.

The first dead end I encountered...

Screech!

...a grotesque creature, resembling who knows what, was waiting for me there, dripping with viscous saliva.

Hop, hop, hop!

It lunged at me, jumping with its six long legs.

It was incomparably faster than the demons I had fought before.

But it was fine.

Because I could go all out here.

I held the Sword of Light and waited for the right moment.

The moment the grotesque creature entered my attack range...

- Entering Awakening state.

- 300% proficiency bonus to all bladed weapons.

\'Now!\'

Slash!

The Sword of Light drew a splendid arc, cutting the creature in two.

A clean strike, flawless for my current level.

Thud-

The split corpse, spewing blue blood, slid down the walls.

"That smell..."

As expected of a grotesque creature, the smell of its blood was quite foul.

I quickly moved to leave the spot.

I had encountered a dead end, but this too was a problem solved by the right-hand rule.

After some time...

At another dead end, I found a familiar man.

"Mister?"

"Oh, Mr. First Place! You\'re safe!"

Thompson, upon finding me, rushed towards me.

Running in this place...

I thought I should stop him, but it was already too late.

Thud!

"Argh! This damn obstacle!"

Thompson crashed headfirst into a stone pillar that suddenly sprang up from the ground and writhed in pain.

Moreover, it seemed like this wasn\'t the first time this had happened, as his body was already covered in wounds.

What a simple man.

"...Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Damn it! Why are there so many traps here? Are dungeons always like this?"

"Well, yes... but if you concentrate, you can avoid them."

"It\'s doable for someone as quick as Mr. First Place. For someone like me, it\'s an ordeal!"

Thompson snorted and wiped the blood from his nose.

In a way, it was amazing that he only got a nosebleed from that hit.

"Did you come here alone? Where\'s Barundel?"

"Well, we came in together, but... when I opened my eyes, I was alone."

"Aha."

It wasn\'t strange.

It was common to start in different locations even when entering a dungeon together.

Maze dungeons, especially, had a higher probability of that happening.

"We need to hurry. We have to find the exit and Barundel."

"That\'s right, the dwarf said there\'s a time limit here, right?"

"Yes. We have about three hours left."

"...Three hours. Let\'s hurry. I don\'t want to be a lost child in space."

...A lost child in space?

I didn\'t know what he meant, but I decided to let it slide.

It wasn\'t the first time Thompson had said something strange.

"Just follow me."

"As expected, you\'re reliable, Mr. First Place."

Now a duo, we began to navigate the maze more easily.

Thompson touched the right wall, and I deciphered the traps.

This way, we could increase our speed without losing our way.

"Duck!"

"Hup...!"

"Ju-jump!"

"Haaaa!"

We dodged the iron thorns protruding from the wall, had a chase with a giant ball rolling at a terrifying speed...

After about an hour of this...

"Huh? Mr. First Place, is that...?"

"Yes, it is. The thing we were talking about earlier."

We found a large treasure chest for the first time.

This was one of the appeals of dungeons, a major factor that made dangerous dungeons worthwhile with large amounts of gold coins, high-level artifacts, and more.

However, if we opened it recklessly, we could face consequences, so...

"Hehehe, so this is the treasure chest? What could be inside..."

"W-wait a minute, mister!"

Damn it, I should have explained the precautions beforehand.

I ran towards Thompson, who had somehow already reached the chest, at full speed.

But the chest had already been opened by Thompson.

Now all I could do was pray inwardly.

Please don\'t let it be a dud.

The odds were 50/50.

"Screeeech-!"

Well, well, well.

"Uh, uh oh! What is this?!"

Thud!

I hurriedly threw myself at Thompson, who was covered in rock magic.

Thompson flew away from the impact.

Woosh-

"M-Mr. First Place!"

After confirming that he had landed a safe distance away, I immediately threw myself flat on the ground.

And...

Crunch!

Screeeech!

A chilling sound of teeth clashing and an ear-splitting shriek came from behind me.

This sound, which I had heard countless times in the game, never failed to make me uneasy.

\'Damn it, I almost died...\'

I didn\'t have time to admire my survival instincts.

As soon as I realized the attack was over, I got up again and ran at full speed.

If I tripped here, the result was obvious.

Death.

"Run!"

Dash, dash, dash!

After running for a while,

We stopped running only when we couldn\'t feel the creature\'s presence anymore and gasped for breath.

"Huff... Huff...!"

"M-Mr. First Place, what was that? What kind of chest has human arms and legs..."

Thompson plopped down on the floor and frowned as if he had seen something he shouldn\'t have.

It was understandable.

The first time I saw that grotesque creature, I had nightmares for days.

"It\'s a Mimic."

"A Mimic...?"

"It\'s a kind of hidden boss. You can only see it in dungeons."

"A hidden boss... Is it that strong? Strong enough to make us run without looking back?"

Well, could that thing be described simply as "strong?"

"If you get eaten by it, you just die. Without any resistance."

The Mimic\'s teeth had a very special property.

They completely ignored the opponent\'s defense and resistance.

So no matter how good your armor was, no matter how tough your body was, it was useless.

The Mimic\'s teeth pierced through everything.

If I had left Thompson, who was covered in rock magic, alone, he would have been killed instantly.

\'Even my zombie warriors were no match for that thing...\'

It was truly overpowered, capable of piercing through something even Baal couldn\'t.

It wasn\'t called the natural enemy of tanks and the number one contributor to breaking the balance of [Demonl Fantasy] for nothing.

"Huh... so all we can do is run away?"

"Well, not necessarily..."

Of course, unlike Baal, it wasn\'t an impossible monster to defeat.

If Baal was a boss mob with a large hexagonal position, the Mimic was a creature specialized in offense.

Relatively speaking, its defense was weak.

But now was too early to try taking on a Mimic.

It was worth attempting only after acquiring skills that could melt a Mimic from a distance or having enough agility stats to dodge all its attacks at close range.

If that time came, I would be able to rake in money in dungeons.

"Someday, we will be able to defeat that thing."

"...We have a long way to go."

Anyway, after safely overcoming the crisis...

We encountered a second treasure chest after a long trek.

"This... will it be alright?"

Having had a terrible experience, Thompson didn\'t rashly open the chest this time.

"There\'s a way to tell them apart."

I pushed Thompson back and summoned the Sword of Light.

And then I stabbed it straight into the treasure chest.

Clang!

With a clear sound, the chest deflected the Sword of Light.

This meant it wasn\'t a Mimic.

"If it\'s intact after being stabbed with a weapon, it\'s a treasure chest. If the weapon sinks in, it\'s a Mimic."

"So this one is a treasure chest?"

"Yes."

"Whew... that\'s a relief. Then what do you do if the weapon goes in? Run away quickly?"

"No, a Mimic won\'t react unless you open the lid. You can just pass by."

"...I did something really foolish earlier."

Thompson scratched his head awkwardly.

I patted his shoulder reassuringly and stood in front of the chest.

Now it was time to open it and check the rewards inside.

\'...This is kind of amazing.\'

It looked like sturdy wood reinforced with gold-colored metal plates.

Seeing it with my own eyes felt new.

It was like I was actually inside the game... and I was proud of myself for already reaching the level where I could farm chests in dungeons.

\'Well, it\'s true that I\'m inside the game.\'

Anyway, I was currently inside a dungeon where I could lose my life.

Reminding myself of that, I firmly grasped the lid of the chest.

"I\'m opening it."

"Let\'s go!"

Clank!

I opened the lid with reverence.

And then...

Whoosh!

A golden light, like the effect I had seen countless times in the game, scattered in all directions.