Chapter 146: Arkemans Treasure (2) (1/2)

“We’re here.”

At the words of Jude who landed silently like the wind, Cordelia opened her closed eyes and looked in front of her.

A pile of rocks that were roughly piled up.

Cordelia couldn’t see anything that resembled an entrance, but she still said with a smile.

“It’s the same as in the game.”

“You’re right and…can you feel it?”

“Yes, it’s weak, but I can feel the flow of mana. It’s quite faint though.”

There was some kind of barrier in the area.

The arrangement of mana in the place was done in a very strange way that a normal wizard wouldn’t be able to sense that something was out of place, but Cordelia was different.

‘Because she is a genius in sensing and manipulating mana.’

A talent that the present Cordelia was born with and had nothing to do with her previous life.

“But Jude, how did you know?”

“Because of my Cheonmujiche…no, when I opened the fifth gate, my senses became sharper.”

“Hmm.”

Cordelia had tried to pull his ear to stop him from bragging about his Cheonmujiche, but withdrew her hand afterwards, so Jude sighed in relief and said.

“Anyway, let’s go in.”

“Yes, put me down.”

“Oh, you’re right. You were so light that I forgot that I was carrying you.”

“Hey, there’s something like a limit to flattery, okay?”

Cordelia reproached him but her face had a smile.

Satisfied with that fact, Jude took the lead as he said.

“Then, I’ll go in first and check if there’s anything dangerous we may not know.”

“What are you talking about? Let’s go together.”

“Well, okay. If you say so.”

In fact, Princess Darianne and her group had already passed through the entrance, and even in the game, there was no such trap in that place.

But there was still a possibility.

The original might have been twisted due to Princess Darianne entering the dungeon.

‘Rocks that are made of magic.’

The pile of rocks could be passed through since it was a fake image created by something similar to a hologram, and that fact alone demonstrated how skilled Arkeman was.

Creating a barrier that lasted for more than a hundred years was not easy.

“In any case, I’ll go in first.”

Jude quickly spoke as he moved and passed his body through the pile of rocks. He sharpened his senses as he looked around.

‘Well, I guess I was worried for nothing.’

The relieved Jude relaxed his posture when he didn’t sense any particular danger, and Cordelia’s voice was heard behind him.

“.”

A basic level magic that created a light made from magic.

The yellow light from Cordelia’s fingertip drove out the darkness in the dungeon, and Jude and Cordelia unconsciously let out astonished voices.

“Wow, you can tell that someone passed here.”

“Because Sir Cornwell has a cautious personality. He must have acted a little thoroughly because of Princess Darianne.”

They reacted like that because of the sight that spread before their eyes.

Traces of destruction remained all over the straight lined corridor of the dungeon, and traps and what seemed to be traps were also lying broken everywhere.

“We’ve told them about most of the dangerous traps…but this must also be because of Princess Darianne’s power, right?”

“Yes, it’s said in the game that she has a searching ability.”

The superpowers the children of the Sälen royal family were born with.

The game didn’t properly describe it, so it was impossible to guess how good their abilities were, but it seemed to be quite a powerful ability given the sight in front of them.

‘Because they immediately found the trap as they moved.’

Her search range was unknown, but he could at least guess that its duration was superb.

‘More than three hours.’

It took them only three hours to go to the end of the dungeon and return even though they broke the traps one by one.

It would have taken them much longer if she took a break after using her ability.

‘Anyway, it’s much easier now because of them.’

If the princess’ group had destroyed all the traps, all they had to do was to run fast as if they were running on flat ground.

“Wow, that’s quite bold of them. Doesn’t that trap seem to have exploded?”

An explosion in a narrow dungeon.

It was obviously limited to a small scale explosion, but considering the fact that Sir Cornwell was a ‘knight,’ it was quite surprising.

“I’m suddenly beginning to like Sir Cornwell.”

Jude narrowed his eyes at Cordelia’s words, and Cordelia giggled and continued her words.

“After all, when you don’t know what kind of trap it is, you just make it explode, right?”

“No, you demon. That’s not true.”

Having said that, Jude pinched Cordelia’s cheek as he thought that now was his chance to do so.

“Aah?!”

“Wow, it’s so soft.”

“You wanna die?”

Cordelia quickly moved her foot and tried to step on Jude’s foot, but Jude was already one step ahead of her.

He retreated like the wind and then said.

“Let’s hurry up, Milady. We have a long way to go. Shouldn’t we go back before sunrise?”

“I don’t think we’ll be too late even if I step on you a few times.”

Cordelia laughed ‘hohoho’ and clenched her fists, and Jude turned around while snickering as he hurriedly walked as if he was running away.

‘Cordelia is actually a bit correct though.’

If you didn’t know what kind of trap it is, you could just make it explode.

That was actually the best option if one was pressed for time. In fact, there had been many times when Jude had made a similar choice.

“Hey! Once I catch you, I’ll…”

“This way!”

Jude quickly shouted at the crossroads as he dashed towards the right path, and Cordelia ran after Jude in a hurry.

There were several forked roads, various traps and even hidden paths that deceived the eyes of visitors.

Even Jude thought that the whole terrain of Arkeman’s Dungeon could not be properly explored in one day.

However, all they had to do was run since Princess Darianne’s group had already destroyed all the traps, so they reached their destination in not just an hour but almost half an hour later.

“We’ve arrived quickly.”

Jude comfortably said after having arrived first, and Cordelia who was a step behind him gasped and slapped Jude on the back several times.

“Haa…haa… I’m exhausted.”

“But we arrived early, right?”

“So exhausting.”

Cordelia slapped Jude’s back again before she raised her upper body and looked around the last room, where the chimera had resided.

“It’s the same as the game.”

“Yeah, and the ceiling hole is over there.”

It was the passage the chimera went through to absorb the sun’s heat.

The special passage could only be used by the chimera because it was a place with a short distance space leap magic circle.

“It’s somehow scary when there’s such a big hole in the ceiling of a cave.”

Cordelia’s voice faltered as if she was afraid and she forcefully turned away from the black hole and looked in front of her.

Beyond the chimera’s seat, she saw the plot of land where the Seven-Colored Herb was grown.

“There are really only sprouts here.”

“It takes a long time for it to grow up. And…this arrangement makes it easy for others to think that the treasure of the dungeon that is guarded by the chimera is the Seven-Colored Herb.”

The medicinal efficacy of the Seven-Colored Herb was quite good.

If counted as an item, it was a medicinal herb that was around A-rank.

‘The problem is that I’ve already eaten a lot of S-rank stuff.’

From the Sunflower and the Essence of the Blue Moon to the Sphere of Life.

So for the present Jude, the Seven-Colored Herb didn’t really mean much to him.

Just as defeating low-level monsters when one’s level was already high would hardly increase one’s experience points, the efficacy of the medicine would be weak for the current Jude if it was not at least S-rank.

“Anyway, let’s move. First, let’s take the hidden treasure chests.”

“Okay, I’ll take the left one.”

“Then I’m right.”

There were hidden treasure chests at both corners of the altar where the chimera usually lied down.

“Just as I thought, we can take it because this is reality.”

In the game, it was treated as a background item so they couldn’t take it.

Cordelia broadly smiled as she packed magic orbs that were some kind of mana battery, and Jude also packed jewelry with a happy expression.

“Now, next is the real thing.”

Cordelia finished filling up the bags they had prepared and ran before stopping as she stood in front of a wall.

A complex pattern similar to a magic circle was drawn with blue paint, and that pattern could be said to be the real treasure that the chimera guarded.

“Cryptogram.”

It was some kind of guideline left behind by Arkeman which explained the way on how to get his treasure.

But neither Jude nor Cordelia had any intention of cracking the code of the pattern. Because they already knew the correct answer.

“This unexpected thing made me not like his personality.”

“You’re right.”

In order to get Arkeman’s treasure, one had to find and decrypt seven cryptograms like the pattern in front of them, and after deciphering it all, the following answer would come out.

‘Go back to the first dungeon.’

The treasure was hidden behind the wall where the first pattern was drawn.

How does it feel to run around in excitement without knowing that the treasure was right in front of you? – Those words was how the chain quest showed well on what kind of person Arkeman was.

“In the game, we had to go to many places even though we already knew the answer…”

But this was reality now.

They could break the wall in front of them without even using the trigger to open it.

“Should I blow it up then?”

“Do you want to destroy the cave? Stand back. I’ll take care of this.”

“Yes, Milord.”

Cordelia stepped back as she gave the opportunity to Jude, squatted on the floor, and became spectator A. Jude then once again used the Power of the Sun.

‘It won’t be just a single blow. The impact should be widely spread in order to destroy the wall.’

He spent only 3 minutes in gathering the energy.

Jude judged that he had gathered enough energy, so he stretched out his palm instead of his fist.

Black Dragon’s Ascent.

As the energy of the black dragon was released straight to the wall, hundreds of cracks appeared on the wall.

And a few seconds later.

When Jude withdrew his palm, it was like a signal for the wall to collapse with cracking sounds. The wall was destroyed, and a big hole was created.

“Oh, that’s amazing.”

The wall itself was in good condition, but a hole with a diameter of 2 meters had been created as if it had been cut out.

That was much more difficult than simply breaking down the entire wall.

Cordelia clapped her hands and Jude bowed like a magician on stage before he pointed to the inside of the hole.