DHISH
The sound of something crashing down from several meters above shook the ground beneath everyone. Dust rose from the impact point and spread through the area before slowly settling down, revealing the massive head of a Monster. Its shape resembled the head of a dragon, although its size was nowhere near that of an actual dragon. Even so, the sharp structure of its skull, the thick scales covering parts of its face, and the large jaw made its appearance different from the other Monsters they had encountered so far.
"That’s the third one since we entered. I think a Divine-rank Ruin really needs a team for a reason." The person standing above the Monster’s head spoke while looking at the others. A forward-curved blade was deeply embedded near the spine of the Monster’s head, and with a small movement of his hand, the blade came free. The next moment, Spirit Energy wrapped around the weapon and pulled it through the air.
WHOOSH!
The dagger returned directly to his right hand, and he caught it without even looking at it.
Atlas, who was standing on the far left side of the group, narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched that movement. He had already seen this kind of use of Spirit Energy several times now, where Spirit Energy wasn’t simply released or used to strengthen the body but was controlled around an object to move it according to the user’s will.
It also reminded him of one of the Traits he had obtained recently. ’Interesting. If I combine that method with the Trait, I might be able to use it in a different way.’
Atlas didn’t immediately try to analyze the technique further. There was no reason to do that in the middle of the Ruin when he could simply observe the method first and experiment with it later. He had already learned that there were many ways to use the same ability depending on how he or someone understood it just like how one comprehended and used Gravity, one of the Fundamental Forces.
’It may come in handy later, though I doubt I will need anything complicated like that anymore.’
His attention soon shifted away from the dagger and returned to the person standing over the Monster’s head.
The man jumped down from the dead Monster and landed several meters away before looking toward Himalton, "Captain Himalton, shouldn’t we go deeper now? It’s been more than an hour since we entered, right?"
Himalton looked toward him without immediately answering. Around him stood the other members of Team Asfalon, along with Atlas and Alberion. Everyone had already become accustomed to moving through the darkness of the Ruin, so the lack of proper lighting wasn’t a problem. Their perception was strong enough to clearly see the surroundings, including the walls, floor and the remains of the Monsters they had already defeated.
However, the deeper they went, the more unusual the structure became.
The walls weren’t simply uneven or naturally formed. They were covered in jagged curves that continued across the entire interior, and the ceiling was even stranger. Massive boulders were hanging between those curved sections of rock, some of them large enough to crush several people if they fell.
None of the boulders had fallen yet, but their positions made it difficult to ignore the possibility.
Atlas raised his head slightly and examined one of them, ’The structure itself seems unstable.’
That didn’t necessarily mean the ceiling would collapse. There were clearly some forces holding those massive rocks in place, but Atlas couldn’t determine what those forces were from where he stood.
Himalton eventually released a small breath before speaking.
"Sigh...this is a mess, This Ruin completely deviates from every Divine-rank Ruin that has been observed before." The moment those words left his mouth, the others looked toward him. Even the man who had just killed the Monster stopped looking around and focused on Himalton.
Atlas only narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had already noticed that something was wrong with this Ruin, but Himalton was now confirming that it wasn’t simply his personal impression.
Himalton looked at the expressions of the others and continued before anyone had to ask. "I’ve been observing everything since we entered. The first sign appeared when we encountered the first Monster. It was a Special S-rank."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"That shouldn’t happen so early, even in a Divine-rank Ruin. The Monsters inside should normally become stronger as we progress through the chambers. But we encountered a Special S-rank almost immediately after entering."
His gaze moved toward the three pathways that had appeared instead of the normal chamber structure, "The second sign was these three pathways. Divine-rank Ruins have already been explored several times by the Guild, and although their internal structures can differ, there are still certain patterns that remain consistent. This Ruin doesn’t follow those patterns."
Everyone remained silent as they listened.
Himalton then pointed toward the walls and ceiling.
"And now we have this." His hand lowered as he looked around the cave-like structure.
"These walls, the ceiling and the entire structure are different from the Divine-rank Ruins that I and the members of Team Asfalon have explored before. We don’t know what kind of structure we’re dealing with, and we don’t know whether the remaining paths will follow any known pattern."
The team members exchanged glances after hearing that. Himalton wasn’t saying that they should retreat. Instead, he was telling them that the information they had relied on before entering could no longer be treated as reliable.
"So we’re abandoning the previous strategy," Himalton said. "From this point onward, we rely on our instincts, our own perception and support from each other. Don’t separate too far from the others, and don’t assume that the next area will follow the usual structure of a Divine-rank Ruin."
His gaze moved from the right side of the group to the left, stopping briefly on each member before finally passing over Atlas and Alberion. "We’ll continue carefully and clear it as fast as possible. If something changes, report it immediately instead of trying to deal with it alone."
Atlas simply nodded.
’So even someone like him is cautious about this place.’
That made Atlas more interested rather than worried. The Eternal-class Ruin he had entered before had also been different from what he later learned about normal Ruins later, though both were agap in classifications by one grade, this one was also showing abnormalities from the moment they entered.
Alberion remained silent as well, his expression unchanged while he listened to Himalton’s explanation. The group had already defeated three Monsters, yet instead of becoming more familiar with the Ruin, they had gained more questions.
"Now we will—"
The moment Himalton started speaking again, everyone felt something change around them. A sudden chill ran through their bodies as all of their trained instincts reacted at the same time, their eyes widened in horror and shock, telling them that something...was making its entrance and that they needed to be careful. None of them were exceptions to that reaction, not Himalton, not Alberion and not even Atlas.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter