Chapter 220. Seven Rooms (2)
Chi-Woo’s eyebrows furrowed when he looked up. The Narsha Haram’s interior was completely clouded in faint white light, yet its marble ceiling shone and reflected the entire first floor just like it was showing a map. Soon, the other members of the expedition team looked at the ceiling and fell into deep silence. The layout reflected on the ceiling looked extremely complicated and convoluted at first glance. Furthermore, the reflection was foggy rather than clear like a mirror, so they couldn’t make out the exact details.
Chi-Woo tried to enhance his eyesight with exorcism mana as much as possible, but the reflection was still hazy.
“Urgh…God Mamiya is being a bit…” Bogle groaned. Perhaps the god had given the expedition team some advantage for losing their guide, but this was barely better than nothing.
“Which way do we have to go?” Ru Hiana licked her dry lips and asked. Even the path in front of them was split into two. It was obvious that there would be more crossroads inside, and the thought disheartened everyone on the team. It was then Hawa spoke up.
“Left.”
Everyone instantly turned to her.
“There’s no point in going right. There’s no path leading to the next space whichever direction we go from there.”
Bogle blinked fast in surprise. He didn’t know what Hawa was saying.
“What do you mean by the next space?” Dalgil quickly asked.
“I think this tower’s first floor is made up of a total of eight spaces, or we may call them compartments. We need to go through all of them to escape the maze, and it seems the general direction we have to take is clockwise.”
Hawa used phrases like ‘I think’ and ‘it seems’. They were taboo words for a guide because someone leading a team must always be certain. But considering that Hawa had been following them from the rear the whole time until now, Dalgil asked instead of rebuking her, “What is your reasoning?”
Instead of answering, Hawa jerked her chin upwards, silently telling Dalgil to look up.
“Are you telling me that you read the entire map on the ceiling?” Dalgil asked in disbelief. First of all, the image reflected on the marble was hazy and unclear. And because it was so wide, they couldn’t see the opposite side at all. Thus, it was only natural that Dalgil would be doubtful of Hawa.
Hawa shook her head. “I can’t see everything, only about half of it.”
But Dalgil couldn’t hide his surprise upon hearing this. After all, he was only able to make out a tiny portion of their surroundings on the map, much less half of it.
“The overall layout of the first floor is circular. And the left and right side of the compartment we are standing in gets narrower as we go further in.”
The members of the expedition team quickly looked around them and confirmed that as Hawa said, the walls on their sides closed in slightly as they went further in.
“So the first floor is a circular, fan-shaped structure made up of eight compartments,” Dalgil said. Hearing this, Chi-Woo thought of a large pizza divided into eight slices.
“Yes, and I see a door for us to pass through at the center of the first floor from where we are standing ,” Hawa said without taking her eyes off the ceiling. “And if we continue to the compartment on the left after that, I see a door leading to the next compartment on the farthest opposite arc.”
Ru Amuh gasped softly. Based on what Hawa said, if they wanted to go around the entire first floor, they needed to travel in S-curves to pass through compartments.
“If this space is perfectly symmetrical—”
“What makes you think the place might be symmetrical?”
Hawa glanced at Dalgil and answered, “…If the place is structured in a way that doors are located alternatively between centers and arcs, I think there must be a door on the right of the arc at the very right compartment.” And Hawa explained that her guesses were supported by the image on the ceiling. Dalgil looked back to Chi-Woo with an uncharacteristically shocked expression. It was as if he was asking if they could really believe her.
Chi-Woo was also surprised, but explained to him Hawa’s background and how she was born into a nomadic tribe.
Dalgil seemed to accept the situation better then. “Hm. The Shahnaz tribe. I’ve heard of them. If it’s a tribe that went through war and conquest daily…” Since Hawa had lived among vast plains since she was young, it was reasonable that her eyesight would be exceptionally good with a wider area of vision than most. In Earth terms, it was like how Mongolians could catch flag-bearers earlier than anyone else at a race course.
Dalgil looked at Hawa curiously and asked, “Could you perhaps walk behind me?”
“?”
“I don’t expect perfection. I would just like you to give me directions from time to time.”
The group took a collective breath. Dalgil was basically saying that he wanted to make Hawa their guide. A guide was important for any expedition and was often called a ‘header’ of the team. Sometimes, they held authority on par with the leader, and there were also many cases when the leader took the role of a guide themselves. Before replying to Dalgil, Hawa turned to Chi-Woo, and she stepped forward after getting a nod from him.
Hawa’s new position was decided in an instant. Watching Hawa take the spot right behind Dalgil, Chi-Woo was hit by a complicated feeling. Although it was hard to tell what she was thinking externally, this was a girl zealous for power. And the situation was different from the last expedition when they fought Zepar. This time, Hawa quietly did what was expected of her without getting noticed and seized the opportunity as soon as it was offered to her. It seemed she had reflected back on herself after getting scolded by Apoline. Thinking this, Chi-Woo found Hawa quite admirable.
“So we are going left. Since we don’t know when and where we could be attacked, everyone be on your guard,” Dalgil said.
And thus, the marching with Dalgil on the lead began. The maze consisted of a variety of shapes, including ‘ㄴ’, ‘ㄱ’, ‘ㄷ’, and more; as expected, it was very complicated. It also felt a bit stuffy. And they had to stop often because Hawa needed to check the reflection on the ceiling every few steps. As a result, the speed at which they advanced was slow as a snail’s, but no one said anything. Rather than being suddenly ambushed like what had happened to Airi with the anguses, it was much better for them to go the slower but safer route. As was often the case, though, danger always came at unexpected times.
The expedition team stopped again after turning a corner. This time, it wasn’t to look at the ceiling.
“What are those?”
“There are three of them.”
Bogle and Dalgil spoke up simultaneously. As they said, there were three figures on their knees in front of the team. None of them moved the slightest bit; it was as if they were hardened and attached to the ground. All three were humanoid beings heavily equipped with armor, but none of them looked alive. Instead, they were deathly pale like recently drowned victims. Chi-Woo thought he met eyes with one of them, and soon his ominous feelings came to reality.
A bluish light passed through the three soldiers’ eyes and—
“They are getting up!” Bogle shouted, and as he said, the three soldiers got up and glared at the expedition team. What followed immediately was surprising: the three soldiers stretched out their arms, and the ends of their fingers lengthened and changed into the shape of spears.
“Attack first! Haaah!” Dalgil rushed forward while clutching his steel club. Seeing this, the three soldiers kicked off the floor wordlessly. They all raised their spears and rushed forward while aiming for Dalgil.
“Haaap!” Dalgil swung his club wildly. He crushed the head of the soldier running at him, but faltered afterward.
“What?” The head that had exploded like a water balloon reconverged like water after a splash. The soldiers on both sides took the chance to thrust their spears at Dalgil’s sides. Dalgil quickly twisted his body around, but the soldiers’ spears still touched his armor. While they failed to pierce through it, they melted like water and soaked it. Dalgil felt chills and heat from the fluid seeping through the cracks. The water that had penetrated inside morphed into sharp thorns and pierced his body, rendering the armor that usually shielded him useless.
“Water! It’s water!” Bogle shouted quickly after seeing Dalgil falter. At that moment, a strong whirlwind swept through the path. It was Ru Amuh. As soon as he heard Bogle, he created wind. It was effective in getting rid of the fluid sticking to Dalgil and the water that made the soldiers.
“Buy me some time!” And while the fluids repeatedly scattered away from the wind and gathered again, Bogle quickly took out a bottle from his bag and threw it with all his might. The bottle broke when it crashed into the ceiling, and liquid scattered everywhere. The yellowish liquid didn’t mix with the fluidly changing bodies of the soldiers and streaked down.
“Captain! Back away!” Bogle shouted, and Dalgil stepped backward while enduring the pain. Soon, a torch fire flew above his head. Crackle! The soldiers were fighting hard to not get swept by the whirlwind when their entire body caught on fire. It appeared the fluid Bogle had thrown was oil. The soldiers fell into chaos then. They tried to extinguish the fire somehow, but the strong winds only stoked the fire and made it burn stronger. In the end, bubbles gargled up from their bodies, and a gush of steam poured out until they evaporated. It was then Dalgil staggered and collapsed to the ground.
“Captain! Are you all right?” Boggle hurriedly rushed to Dalgil’s side.
Dalgil groaned, “Damn it…I have never heard of a soldier made of water.”
“It’s probably not something as fantastical as that. I think they are chimeras.”
“chimeras?”
“Yes, I recall reading about them in records. It’s a type of familiar spirit,” Dalgil explained while tending to Dalgil’s injuries. “They are soldiers created by putting humans into a boiling special concoction created with magic alive.”
“So does that mean the guys we just fought were human soldiers?”
“Probably. Given we’re inside Narsha Haram, those guys might’ve been humans from mythical times.”
To think those soldiers were created by melting humans alive—Dalgil scowled, while Ru Hiana couldn’t overcome her disgust and became nauseous.
“Well, those kinds of practices were common during those times, though they are illegal now…here, drink this.” Bogle put a bottle half-filled with healing potion to Dalgil’s lips. Dalgil drank, and his pain significantly decreased. Some time later, Dalgil nodded and got up.
“Let’s get back into formation. We will start again immediately.”
“Already? Shouldn’t you rest a bit more—”
“That was only the first battle, nothing more than warm-up probably. Don’t whine, Bogle.”
Bogle looked pitifully at Dalgil, but seeing how firm Dalgil was, he shut his mouth and obediently backed away. Thus, the marching continued. They hoped that they would be able to reach the door without encountering any enemies, but as expected of a test, that was too much to ask for.
The expedition team walked along the swerving path, and not long after they got through about half the maze, they had to stop marching again. The ground suddenly shook like there was an earthquake.
“What? Is it a trap?”
“Did you touch something?!”
They spoke up one after another. Chi-Woo put all his focus on trying to recover his balance when he suddenly heard something scratch the floor. Drrrr. The expedition looked back to see where the sound came from, and one by one, their gazes shifted downwards. A large, squarish hole formed on the ground, and some kind of giant, angular lump shot up. Seeing that its body was made up of attached pieces of refined rocks, Bogle shouted, “This is crazy! It’s a golem…!”
“Everyone back away!” Dalgil didn’t rush forward this time. Unfortunately, they were unable to move as he intended even though his judgment wasn’t bad; another hole had formed behind them. They were thus trapped between enemies on both sides. As golems far exceeding three meters stomped toward them, the expedition team was caught in the middle like helpless prey.
“Damn it!” Dalgil cursed as he marched toward the golem approaching from their front.
“I will take care of the back!” Ru Amuh shouted as he turned around and ran like the wind. Dalgil’s steel club sliced through the air fiercely, and when it made contact with the golem’s arm, Chi-Woo could see it clearly: on the surface of the golem’s metallic arm, brightly shining metaphysical symbols hovered into the air and—
Wing! Dalgil’s arms were flung upward along with the steel club in his hands, leaving his vital parts exposed. The golem’s fist then struck him.
“Kuh-!” Although Dalgil didn’t fall or get blown away, it took a couple steps backward for him to regain his balance. But the way he arched his back slightly showed that Dalgil was in bad shape; the problem was compounded by the fact that he was attacked at the same spot where the kimera soldiers injured him. And the golem’s strength was evident given it had crushed Dalgil’s hard, thick armor.
“Ahhhh! To think a silver golem will show up!” Bogle despaired while looking teary.
“What’s a silver golem?” Now that Bogle mentioned it, Chi-Woo noticed that the golem had a silverish shine to it.
“They are golems considered to be one of the masterpieces created from mythical times! They have magic that deflect all physical attacks! Damn it! It’s my first time seeing one!”
All the while, Dalgil continued to rush forward and fight. He fought fiercely against a golem much bigger than his size, but the way he swung his club wasn’t as strong as before. He was injured, and as Bogle said, the golem deflected physical attacks.
“W-What can we do? We should do something with that magic first…!” Bogle murmured anxiously. The way he gnawed on his nails showed that he didn’t have a clear solution either. Though Hawa was throwing daggers at what looked to be the golem’s core after hearing what Bogle said, her attacks were completely ineffective. It was the same for Chi-Woo. He knew he had to help, but didn’t know how. It wasn’t as if he had a proper weapon either. If he struck the golem with his ghost-crushing club, it would break right away. Furthermore, if an experienced warrior like Dalgil was struggling to this extent, there didn’t seem to be much Chi-Woo could do.
“Urgggh! If only we had a magician or something…!” Bogle cried, and Chi-Woo began to miss Apoline. If she were here, they might have been able to do something.
“Are there any other methods?” Chi-Woo quickly asked.
“Other methods? Ah…t-there is,” Bogle said. “We have to find the c-core. Find where the core is and strike a blow that’s stronger than the silver golem’s deflecting ability. But we don’t even know where it could be—!” Bogle screeched mid-sentence. Dalgil had collapsed after backing away several times. While Dalgil rolled on the ground, the golem looked to where the scream came from. It saw Bogle scurrying toward Dalgil and moved its feet. There were no more options now.
“Senior! No!” Ru Hiana shouted, and Chi-Woo ran between the golem and Bogle.