Chapter 49. Pyramid (2)
Because the pyramid had turned out to be a government facility, I had not expected it to contain anything like a dungeon.
However, this was a world where magic and monsters existed.
Making assumptions about what might be inside was dangerous.
Our group gathered in front of the door Axel had discovered.
I picked up the canary cage again.
“Same method as before. Stay silent, and I’ll lead. Keep your weapons ready so you can enter combat at any moment.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The knights adjusted their equipment.
Since the passage looked too narrow for longswords, they switched to short spears, greatswords, maces, and other weapons that could be used more effectively.
Knight Commander Axel looked slightly nervous.
“Do you think undead will appear?”
“Maybe. If many people died underground, it’s possible.”
“If this place was caught in a war, then there may have been many deaths.”
Judging from the size of the facility, at least fifty people probably worked here.
If they had all been killed at once and abandoned underground, undead appearing would not be strange.
“I’ll open it.”
I used [Convenient Lesser Appraisal] and entered the password.
Rumble.
The iron door leading underground opened.
A gust of air carrying the smell of ancient dust blew toward me.
No gas, apparently.
The canary in my hand remained calm.
“We’re going in.”
I held the cage in my left hand and Soul Reaper in my right.
I moved forward slowly.
Quiet.
The only sound was the canary fluttering inside its cage.
Even the knights moved without making footsteps.
We descended through stairs and corridors.
Air somehow circulated all the way down here, so breathing was not difficult.
I would have to investigate the ventilation system later.
After descending what felt like roughly fifteen meters underground, we encountered another large iron door.
“Everyone, prepare for combat.”
The knights tightened their formation, raised their weapons, and activated their aura.
Rumble.
Using the password discovered through [Convenient Lesser Appraisal], I opened the door.
Then,
Uuuaaagh...
A zombie rushed out.
Smash, smash!
It disappeared instantly.
There had been five zombies.
The knights destroyed every one of them in less than two seconds.
Zombies in this world were weak.
Even zombies nearly three thousand years old were still one-hit kills.
“Advance.”
Maintaining formation, we slowly moved through the iron doorway.
The place resembled a huge warehouse.
However, stacked crates and dividing walls made it feel like a complicated maze.
We had not even advanced ten meters before another monster appeared.
Huuuu...
A glowing spiritual body floated through the air.
A specter.
These things caused confusion, fear, and other effects through mental attacks.
“Ghh!”
Several knights were immediately struck by its mental attack.
Whoosh, whoosh.
One knight swung his mace.
However, normal physical attacks did not work on a spiritual being like a specter.
A knight capable of Aura Focus could gather aura directly into his weapon and deal some damage.
Unfortunately, only two knights in the territory could do that, Raul, Chief of Security Affairs, and the retired Sir Pierre.
Neither was here.
Even covering your entire body in aura and attacking would only deal slight damage.
“Damn it. Winnie, can you attack them with magic?”
“I’m preparing!”
While she prepared, I decided to draw the specters toward me.
Thanks to [Status Abnormality Immunity], their mental attacks did nothing to me.
I concentrated mana into Soul Reaper and swung at one specter to get its attention.
Slash!
Kieeeeh...
The specter was cut apart in a single blow.
“Huh?”
What was this?
Whatever.
Kill first, think later.
I began cutting through the five or six specters.
When one completely disappeared,
[The soul stack of the item ‘Soul Reaper’ has increased. (1/100)]
Now I understood why this sword was called Soul Reaper.
Whenever it killed something, it absorbed the soul and increased a stack whose purpose I did not yet understand.
Maybe once it reached one hundred, some ultimate attack would go, whoosh, bang!
Anyway, I now had an easy way to deal with troublesome undead monsters.
“Undead bastards, repeat after me. You’re already dead.”
The knights gave me strange looks after hearing my muttering.
I ignored them.
We were busy.
Slash, slash, shraaak!
Kieeeeh...
[The soul stack of the item ‘Soul Reaper’ has increased. (6/100)]
I destroyed every specter by myself.
The knights stared at me in amazement.
“Oh, my lord. As expected of one blessed by the gods.”
“To defeat such troublesome monsters so easily, incredible.”
It was nothing.
This was item power.
“We’re advancing again. This whole place is one huge chamber, so prepare in case a large number of undead attack at once.”
The knights nervously gripped their weapons and raised their aura.
First zombies.
Then specters.
There was no telling what would appear next.
As we moved deeper, the cramped maze suddenly opened into a wide space.
More than a hundred zombies and skeletons had gathered there.
And near the center stood a knight with a burning head.
Then a thought entered our minds.
Who are you?
It was [Thought Transmission].
The Death Knight with the burning head had used it.
Even if we spoke different languages, the skill allowed communication.
Powerful monsters sometimes used abilities like this.
