Chapter 148 – Nuia (１)

“Managed to get in, somehow—but now I’m stuck.”

A long stretch of time had already slipped by since the three of them stepped into the deeper dark.

Yet all they’d done so far was walk forward, doing nothing else.

Contrary to Gijun’s expectations, there was nothing here—not a single thing in sight, not even a presence.

A barren land where not even a blade of grass grew, let alone a Monster.

“And no Quest or Achievement has popped up either.”

Literal.

Not a single Quest or Achievement had appeared so far.

He had no clue what he was supposed to do inside here.

The only thing they could do now was keep walking.

“Hell, I’m not even sure this direction is ‘forward.’”

With nothing to gauge direction by, they couldn’t even be certain they were moving ahead.

“What in the world is in this place? Where are those so-called Monarchs hiding? Come out! I, Amalta, will face you!”

Amalta bellowed at the top of his lungs—but nothing.

No one appeared. Not even an echo came back.

[They should be in here… I’m sure of it…]

Libre muttered then.

[If my memory serves, someone lives in here too. No—of course they do. This land was once a thriving place of life, in the distant past.]

Libre kept going.

[First, we must find them. They were the last resistors. And they’re still resisting, even now. If they’re still alive, that is.]

The last resistors.

Maybe they were like the Beastmen who’d stayed with Tubaku.

But whether they were still alive in this place was uncertain.

Even so, it was the only thing Gijun could do right now.

“The problem is how to find them…”

[There is one way to find them.]

“A way?”

[Light.]

[!!]

[They would have yearned for light for a very long time. They were a people of light, who loved nature.]

Light.

That, Gijun could do.

He was a Seeker with the light attribute.

Gijun spread his hand and cast Fireball.

A single sphere of flame blazed up in his palm.

“What is that?!”

“An enemy?”

The two of them jerked their weapons up.

They thought an enemy had appeared when they saw Gijun casting Fireball.

Gijun shook his head.

“No. I just thought I’d light a fire to brighten the path…”

He couldn’t tell them the truth, so he made an excuse.

The Fireball Gijun conjured crackled and radiated light.

It was distinctly different from the light of ordinary flames.

Emitting a soft white glow, it held the intrinsic power of the light attribute.

“Let’s keep moving.”

Gijun stepped forward.

Hoping that someone would see this light and come to them.

*

“Who are they?”

“…I don’t know, my child.”

Around that time.

There were those watching a light streaming in from somewhere far away.

They hid themselves in the darkness, watching the light approaching from an unfamiliar place, on full alert.

“That… that’s definitely light, right?”

“Yes. Light. Something you don’t find in this place.”

“But how do they have that light?”

“…I’m afraid I don’t know either.”

Their conversation ended there.

The old man couldn’t answer the girl’s question—because he was just as full of doubts himself.

“What shall we do?”

“Well, we’ll have to watch a little longer. We must be careful. We absolutely can’t let them know we’re watching.”

“I know.”

Caution and wariness were ingrained in their every fiber.

This place was dangerous.

They had been hiding for a long time.

Dodging their eyes.

But they had awakened.

The Monarchs of the Underworld.

“Are they their servants too?”

“….”

The old man thought for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t think so.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you wield light.”

“…Ah.”

A short gasp escaped the girl’s lips.

“But why be wary? If they’re not his minions, doesn’t that make them our allies?”

“The world isn’t so simple, child. They could be enemies of those Lords and our enemies at the same time.”

“….”

The girl tilted her head, puzzled, as if she didn’t understand.

Her face wore an expression of utter bewilderment — how could someone be both the enemy of the Lords and their enemy at once?

Seeing her face, the old man’s expression softened into pity for a moment, then he straightened his face again and stared at the approaching light.

“First, let’s head back to the village. We need to inform the villagers of this.”

“Understood.”

With that, the two of them vanished back into the darkness.

*

“I can’t see a damned thing.”

Amalta said.

He was seething with dissatisfaction now.

He had stepped onto this land with high expectations, but contrary to them, not a single fight had broken out so far.

“It’s a bit different from what I expected, I’ll admit.”

Klaim said as much.

Of course, Jun felt the same.

He’d braced himself the moment they set foot on this land—expecting ferocious Monsters to pour out at any second.

But hours had slipped by since they entered, and nothing had happened at all.

“Let’s search a little more. There has to be something here.”

Jun said it plainly.

It wasn’t just blind hope talking.

According to Libre, there was a good chance someone had lived here.

Back when they were still alive, at least….

Then—

“Hm?”

Jun snapped his gaze to the side.

“What is it?”

“Get your weapons up.”

Jun said.

“…Something’s finally showing itself, then.”

“Seems that way.”

The two men left with Jun lifted their weapons too.

Jun stared into the distance.

Something was closing in fast.

A person?

Gijun strained to make out what was charging toward him.

No.

Not a person.

A Monster?

Not that either.

He felt no trace of Magi — the demonic energy any Monster should carry.

A beast.

Yes.

A beast was bearing down on him.

Not huge.

About the size of a large dog — or, if it was bigger, a big wolf. A four-legged animal.

Then—

It split.

Where there’d been one presence, now there were two.

No, three…

No…

How many?

Countless.

In a single instant, the beasts rushing in multiplied beyond counting.

“Where are you!”

Amalta shouted.

The bigger problem was that although he could sense their presence, he couldn’t see them at all.

[They’ve become one with the darkness.]

Libre was right.

The creatures living in this deep darkness had adapted over long ages—they were masters at hiding their forms completely within the gloom.

For someone who’d spent their life on the surface, they were about as tricky an opponent as it got.

But…

‘Not for me.’

Right.

If Gijun had been an ordinary mage, he’d have fallen to their ambushes without a chance.

But Gijun was no ordinary mage.

He was a Seeker of Light.

A mage who wielded light that could pierce even this thickest dark.

Whoosh!

The moment Gijun’s Mana surged forth, the whole area blazed bright.

It wasn’t just light that illuminated the darkness—it was a radiance that pushed the dark itself away.

Crackle!

Grrrrrr!

Kraaa!

In an instant, the light forced back the shadows, and the forms of the beasts charging in were laid bare.

Alongside him, the creatures writhed in agony.

They hadn’t even attempted a proper attack—just facing the light made their skin melt, and their degenerated eyes suffered severe damage.

“There you are—right where I thought you’d be!”

Amalta lunged toward them.

Klaim, too, charged forward with his sword drawn.

A sharp hiss cut through the air.

The Fireball, its casting already complete, streaked unerringly toward the beasts.

Crack! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-CRACK!

The fight ended in an instant.

The moment they faced the light, the creatures offered no resistance—helplessly crushed under the trio’s assault.

“…Damned if I know what kind of animal these are.”

Amalta clicked his tongue, staring down at the fallen beasts.

“Hideous things. At first glance, I thought they were wolves, but…”

He wasn’t wrong.

The creatures they’d taken down looked like wolves at a glance, but they were something else entirely.

Its body was completely hairless, and its eyes had atrophied into tiny sockets holding only a thin, filmy membrane.

But the strangest part was its head.

Its head looked something like a catfish’s, with a dozen or so odd whiskers sprouting from either side.

It was a creature unlike anything he’d ever seen.

Then it happened.

[Achievement Earned!]

[First Discovery of ‘Sbo’!]

[All Stats increased by 5!]

‘…Sbo.’

The creature’s name was Sbo.

Of course, the name wasn’t what mattered.

What mattered was that they’d finally encountered the first living thing down here.

And that confirmed it beyond doubt — something else was alive in this place besides themselves.

“Huh?”

Amalta tilted his head, studying the fallen Sbo.

“What’s wrong?”

“These ones….”

He examined the Sbo’s body, then offered a meaningful smile.

“They were bred.”

“What?”

“Are you sure?”

The words from Amalta’s mouth were startling.

He was saying the Sbo were domesticated beasts.

Which meant someone had raised them.

“No doubt. Look at the teeth and claws — clearly a carnivore. But their bodies are unnaturally clean.”

He was right.

Their skin was smooth.

Not without scars, but not the kind you’d expect from a creature that had scrapped its way through the wild.

“Then….”

“Someone set them loose to attack us.”

“Who could that be?”

“How should I know? It’s one of two: either them, or the ones we’re looking for.”

Amalta straightened up.

Then he spoke to Gijun.

“Shine a light. I’ll backtrack and see where these ones came from.”

Gijun was a little surprised.

He hadn’t known Amalta had this kind of skill.

“Why the stare? Don’t let the looks fool you — I’m a son of the Plains. This is as easy as breathing.”

“…Got it.”

Gijun moved to Amalta’s side and cast Fireball to light the way.

Amalta followed the beasts’ tracks by the glow of Gijun’s flame.

The tracks broke off in places, sometimes multiplying, sometimes thinning out.

But Amalta never lost the trail, pressing on relentlessly.

Hours passed as they followed the creatures’ prints.

“Stop.”

Amalta lowered his stance.

“This is it.”

“What is there?”

“I see tracks here mixed with human footprints.”

He adjusted his grip on his spear.

Then he stared at a single spot and spoke.

“Come out. I know you’re hiding there.”

“…!”

“Hah!”

Gijun and Klaim snapped into combat stance.

But no sound answered.

No presence stirred.

No matter how hard Gijun strained his senses, he felt nothing.

Yet Amalta kept his eyes fixed on that one spot.

“If you don’t come out, I’ll….”

At that moment.

Thud —

“…!!!”

From the darkness where nothing existed, someone emerged.

It was an old man with black skin and white hair.