Chapter 103. Araneum (5)
Crunch!
A massive shield made from a solid slab of steel—practically a weapon in itself—smashed the giant spider’s skull.
The follow-up strike from the mace crushed one of the baby spiders clinging to her.
Even though two blows had efficiently killed two spiders, there were still far too many left in the room.
“…Ugh!”
At that moment, one of the giant spider’s sharp legs pierced the shoulder of the man in the white shirt fighting beside her. Sohee grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him away while green aura burst from her body.
[Healing Aura].
A skill that healed those she recognized as allies.
It had already reached mastery, so the man’s wound closed almost instantly.
“Focus!”
Shouting at the new companions she had met inside the maze, Sohee charged fearlessly back into the swarm of spiders.
—Kieeeek!
—Kirrk!
The spiders shrieked and rushed toward her.
Standing at the very front of the battle, Sohee continued leading her companions while fighting.
Gradually, the swarm of spiders—including numerous giant ones—began to thin out.
“Huff…”
“Man… I’m dead tired.”
By the time the room was drenched in spider blood and littered with corpses, the battle had finally come to an end.
Instead of collapsing onto the floor like the two men, Sohee walked over to them and activated [Healing Aura].
“Ah, thank you so much. Sohee, you’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Whew… I think I caught a whiff of that scent just now. Thanks to you grabbing me by the scruff and pulling me away, I survived. Thank you.”
“No, it’s my job. Investigator Seo, are you alright too?”
“Thanks to you, Miss Sohee, I’m fine.”
“I swear, this compass has to be broken. Where on earth is it trying to take us? We just keep passing through room after room… At least we haven’t run into any Demonic Humans.”
At Gu Younggi’s grumbling, Sohee nodded in agreement.
She knew how terrifying Demonic Humans were.
And according to the two men, the Demonic Humans inside Atlnak’s Nest were even stronger than the ones outside.
Had she entered the nest alone without meeting these two, even someone like her might have ended up in serious danger.
Is that thing really working properly?
She looked at the compass that kept leading them to strange places.
She had found Fragment B while exploring alone, and after combining it with Fragments A and C that the other two possessed, they had completed the compass.
The finished compass was currently in Seo Seogi’s hand.
So far, they had already passed through five different rooms following it.
…
Even if the compass really was malfunctioning, there was nothing she could do about it.
Still, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling lingering in the back of her mind.
After checking on her companions, Sohee stepped over the spider corpses toward the center of the room.
There, a small altar protruded from the floor.
Resting atop it was a dull golden fragment.
With it, she completed another compass.
“Looks like we ended up making one more compass. Is it alright if I keep this one?”
“Of course. Yours is what allowed ours to be completed in the first place.”
With Gu Younggi’s approval and Seo Seogi’s nod, Sohee carefully stored the compass away.
The compass they currently possessed pointed toward the treasure.
Minjun was probably wherever the treasure was.
But just in case…
I’m not exactly convinced the compass Investigator Seo is carrying is trustworthy.
“…Huh?”
Just then, while Sohee was putting away the newly assembled compass, Gu Younggi suddenly let out a dumbfounded sound.
“What is it?”
“The… the Treasure Hunt Quest…”
Stammering in confusion, Gu Younggi checked the quest window.
Sohee immediately opened hers as well.
The ‘Treasure Hunt Quest’, which had been listed only moments ago, had disappeared.
Someone had completed it.
Without hesitation, Sohee walked over to Seo Seogi, who was holding the compass.
“Is the compass still working?”
“Yes. It’s still pointing in the same direction, and I can still see the red line.”
“Inspector Gu, then what are you planning to do? Are you still going to follow the compass?”
Gu Younggi appeared to think for a moment before looking at her with determined eyes.
“Of course. When we entered, those ‘Red-Eyed’ bastards came in too. They’re obviously the ones who took the treasure. If we don’t take it back, they’ll continue rampaging through this area, and innocent survivors will suffer because of it.”
“…”
“Would you be willing to help us recover it? If you do, once we’re back at the courthouse, we’ll help you find the companion you’re searching for. And of course, we’ll compensate you appropriately.”
Gu Younggi looked as though he was prepared to sacrifice himself for justice itself.
Watching him, Sohee wore an expression of admiration.
Yet the two of them were thinking completely different things.
This woman has incredible healing abilities and excellent tanking skills too. If we’re going to recover the treasure, we have to convince her to fight for us no matter what.
These people do seem a little suspicious… but everything they’re saying is technically true, so I can’t really argue. Besides, Minjun definitely took the treasure. Following the treasure’s trail means finding Minjun.
Having made her decision, Sohee smiled warmly and took the hand Gu Younggi offered.
“If I can contribute to such a noble cause, it would be an honor.”
“Thank you for making such a difficult decision. Investigator, what are you standing around for? Let’s go—”
BOOOOM!!
“…!!”
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion echoed from beyond the gate, shaking the entire maze.
“Hurry!”
“…Wait, we don’t even know what’s happening. What if it’s a Demonic Human—”
“What if they’re fighting over the treasure?! Didn’t you say we absolutely had to get it back? Are you seriously going to let someone take it right in front of you?”
“Well… no, but…”
“Then I’m going ahead. Catch up!”
Sohee effortlessly hoisted Seo Seogi onto her back—the one needed to guide them—and kicked off the ground with explosive force, disappearing beyond the gate in an instant.
“…Damn it. Whatever.”
Left standing alone, Gu Younggi stared blankly for a moment before hurriedly chasing after them.
* * *
Kim Rick was one of the electrical repair workers staying at KEPCO’s Seoul dormitory next to Mangsan High School.
Not long after the world fell into ruin…
His junior and senior coworkers had all been killed.
Not by Apostles.
By gun-wielding humans with red eyes.
“…”
He only learned later from other survivors that the culprits had been members of the high school’s shooting club.
But he never dreamed of revenge.
In a world like this, simply keeping himself alive was hard enough.
People died every day.
If he let himself be ruled by such petty emotions, he’d only end up dead as well.
Kim Rick faced reality with cold pragmatism.
“Everyone! Especially in times like these, we must stand together! Let’s overcome every obstacle and claim the treasure together! Besides, ten thousand hours is more than enough for everyone here to share equally, isn’t it?”
The only reason he had entered this dangerous place was because of the newly made friend passionately delivering that speech beside him.
His name was Gong Seunghee.
Kim Rick had no idea what he had done before the apocalypse, but the man possessed an extraordinary gift for winning people over.
They had entered the maze together in search of the treasure.
As they progressed, Gong Seunghee persuaded every survivor they encountered to join them.
Even those who had initially remained wary gradually warmed up to him and joined their ranks.
One by one, their numbers grew.
Eventually, they became a group of forty survivors.
Then…
They finally found the exit from the three-dimensional maze.
It was all because they had worked together exactly as Gong Seunghee had suggested.
Someone with an excellent sense of direction led the way.
Combat specialists handled the battles inside each room to collect the fragments.
Healers treated the wounded afterward.
Now, before a magnificent gate that looked unmistakably like the exit, Gong Seunghee stepped forward to address everyone.
“Everyone, you’ve all done an incredible job so far! Whatever challenges lie ahead, as long as we stay united, there is nothing we cannot overcome!”
“That’s right!”
“Hear, hear!”
Since he truly had united everyone’s hearts—and because they had survived thanks to that unity—the survivors looked at him with complete trust.
“Besides, those looters and lawless thugs who only believed in their own strength are nowhere to be seen. They probably destroyed themselves through selfishness. We won’t follow their example. We’ll move forward together and claim the rewards that await us!”
“Woooooo!!”
After raising everyone’s morale for the trials ahead, Gong Seunghee confidently walked toward the gate first.
Standing beside him, I naturally entered alongside him.
Damn it…
The moment I saw the space beyond the gate, I cursed inwardly.
It resembled one of the rooms we’d encountered in the maze, except stretched into a long corridor.
The floor consisted of square blocks about two meters wide, arranged in a checkerboard pattern.
Here and there, some blocks were missing entirely.
Is this one of those floors where you fall if you step on the wrong tile?
Below the checkerboard was a bottomless abyss of darkness.
Judging from the missing blocks, those who had come before us must have chosen incorrectly and fallen to their deaths.
“Hmm…”
As more survivors entered the new chamber, uneasy murmurs spread.
A maze where they had to cross a checkerboard floor filled with both real and fake tiles to reach the gate on the opposite side.
This wasn’t a challenge they could simply overcome by working together.
Whoever stepped forward first would inevitably bear all the risk.
Reading the gloomy atmosphere, Gong Seunghee stepped forward confidently.
“I’ll go first—”
“Hey. Are you crazy?”
I cut him off, staring straight into the determined eyes beneath his thick caterpillar-like eyebrows.
His expression had already made up its mind.
“…You sure about this?”
“How can anyone be sure in a gamble? I’ll just leave it to fate.”
“You don’t have to be the first.”
“If I don’t go, nobody else will. We’ll all just sit here forever.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. If something happens, you’ll save me anyway, won’t you?”
“You call that reassurance…?”
“Anyway, I’m going.”
Just as he stubbornly moved to step forward—
Silhouettes appeared within the darkness of the gate on the opposite side.
One after another, people emerged.
The survivors instantly fell silent upon recognizing them.
“…”
The Red-Eyed humans.
The very ones who had entered Araneum ahead of everyone else.
The ones everyone had assumed were already dead because none of them had been seen anywhere inside the maze.
Those bastards crossed this place first? No… that can’t be right. Out of all these people, not a single one ever saw a Red-Eyed person inside the maze…
As I puzzled over it, one of them—a bald giant with bloodshot eyes—stepped forward.
“Well, well… look at all these little bugs. Quite a swarm you’ve gathered. What, you actually thought you’d find the treasure? Pretty gutsy of you. Come on over here. I’ll give you a proper welcome.”
The moment they appeared, Seunghee and I exchanged glances.
Whether they had come to kick away the ladder after monopolizing the treasure…
Or whether they simply intended to slaughter us…
It didn’t matter.
The enemy stood before us.
The maze blocked our retreat.
There was only one direction left to go.
I leaned close and whispered into Seunghee’s ear.
I’ll cross first and buy some time. You lead everyone across afterward.
What are you planning? Is there even a way to cross?
I can make it across alone. Just don’t take too long… unless you want to watch me die.
With that, I kicked off the ground and sprinted along the wall.
The distance was considerable.
But using Holy Power and my own abilities, I reached the opposite side in an instant.
Kim Rick charged straight at the bald giant, throwing a punch.
BOOM!
His gauntlet collided with my fist.
An explosive shockwave erupted as Holy Power and Battle Aura scattered like sparks in every direction.
Then the gang beating began.
One wore a prison uniform.
Another hid beneath a hood.
One second felt like an entire minute.
Without the skill I possessed, even someone at Gold Rank wouldn’t have lasted long against their relentless assault.
Desperately avoiding their weapons, I glanced toward the opposite side.
Seunghee was carefully leading the survivors across.
Huff… I just have to hold on until everyone makes it across. If these bastards start interfering, no one will get through.
But every one of them was monstrously strong.
All I could do was barely evade.
Even that wasn’t enough.
One out of every five attacks had to be blocked with my own body.
Halfway… maybe? Just a little longer…
Bearing the full attention of every murderer alone, Kim Rick’s body gradually became covered in wounds and blood.
As Gong Seunghee hurried everyone across the path—
THUD!
A steel shield came flying back like a boomerang.
It crushed two enemies standing in front of Kim Rick before slamming into the battlefield.
