Chapter 21: Dungeon (3)

“You’ve arrived. There are no monsters nearby, so you can get off.”

Rachel got off after hearing Aris’s words.

Tall trees and wide fields. It’s the first place I’ve ever been, but it was the same as the original description.

“Is there a medicine to cure Miss Yona here?”

“Follow me. Have I ever lied?”

“That’s not it, but…”

Liela seems to find it hard to believe.

It’s a natural reaction.

How can there be medicine to cure a disease that many priests and alchemists failed to cure, in a mountain that no one has ever heard of?

The three people climbed the mountain hard.

“Whew. I should have exercised.”

Rachel was out of breath.

Honestly, it was hard because I didn’t exercise regularly.

So I arrived at the middle of the mountain.

Unlike the mountains that have been on a slope so far, this place was flat.

“Is this it?”

Judging from the description of the original work, this is correct.

“Miss Aris? Could you move that rock over there?”

“A rock? Leave it to me. It’s not a difficult task.”

Aris lifted a huge rock and moved it to the spot Rachel designated. At that moment, Aris, who grabbed the stone, tilted her head.

‘I feel mana suddenly? Is it not an ordinary rock?’

Until now, it was an ordinary rock that didn’t feel anything, but mana was felt.

At first, I thought it was an illusion.

But.

“Liela. Put that leaf over there next to the stone. Miss Aris, please roll that tree trunk over here and stand it up.”

The more I followed Rachel’s words, the more mana I felt around me.

Of course, Liela and Rachel, who cannot use mana, did not know this change.

So, when the last command was executed, a change occurred.

Rumble.

A blue magic circle sparkled on the ground made of soil, and a staircase appeared.

I went down the stairs.

“Where is this? How on earth did you know this…”

“There was a hidden space. And isn’t that a dungeon at the end?”

At the end of the stairs, there was a blue shimmering portal.

It is what people commonly call a dungeon.

The two were curious about this place, but for now, they just passed it by.

Iris fiddled with her scabbard.

“I’ll go in first, so follow me right behind.”

“Yes. I understand.”

A dungeon is a phenomenon caused by the overlap of mana, and it is a phenomenon in which a new space is created in the existing space.

As it is a space separated from the main world, various environments appear, and the Poison King remodeled this dungeon to store his legacy.

I don’t know how he did it.

It just says so in the original work.

Rachel saw Aris enter and went in right away.

[Welcome. Heir of the Poison King. You came here because you want to continue his progress, right? Are you ready to take the test?]

A wide cavity. Suddenly, a statue holding a pair of scales opened its eyes.

Acacia, the statue of wisdom, the administrator who manages this dungeon.

Rachel opened her mouth, facing his gaze.

“That’s right. I came to take the test.”

[Let’s start right away. The reward for success is sweet, but the price of failure is always bitter.]

The surrounding environment began to change.

31 statues rising from the floor, all with different shapes.

There were statues that were not human, and every time a problem was wrong, the statue would wake up and attack the examinee.

The important thing is that after the statue breaks, the next problem comes out immediately.

In other words, the examinee runs away from the statue, misses the next question, and eventually is surrounded by several statues and faces a miserable death.

The person who robbed this place and obtained immunity to all poisons almost died because of that.

The statue immediately gave the first question.

[What do you say when you’re about to stab with a spear? For reference, there are no examples. You have to say exactly one letter without any mistakes.]

A quiz of death where a single mistake can lead to death.

That’s right.

The questions the statue asks were nonsense.

“What do you say when you’re about to stab with a spear? Is there such a thing?”

“There’s only a shout, but I don’t think that’s the answer. It’s quite difficult. As expected of a dungeon.”

It’s a funny situation, but what’s even funnier is that Iris and Liela can’t even grasp it.

I didn’t want to waste time, so I said the answer.

“Embarrassed.” (TN: Embarassed in Korean is “Changpihae”, which also has the word “Chang” which means spear)

[…H, how did you get this right? It was a question I put a lot of thought into. Let’s move on to the next one.]

One of the statues crumbled. The ground shook for a moment, and the statue gave the next question.

[What is the rain that makes fire?]

This is also a nonsense quiz. Since I already know the answer, the answer came out right away.

“Matchstick.” (TN: A match is called “Seongnyang” in Korean, and rain is called “Bi”)

“!!!!”

“?!!!”

The gazes of the two people who were thinking carefully turn to me. They seem to be quite surprised, judging from the way their eyes are wide open.

[You got it right as soon as you heard it. You have a greater talent than the challengers who have entered so far,]

It might be questionable.

The legacy of the great Poison King, and a place where you can get an elixir that can make you immune to all poisons, and it’s a nonsense quiz.

But the author had all the thoughts.

Poison is basically made by mixing materials that exist in the world.

Alchemy and swordsmanship are the same, but poison is especially important to think outside the box.

That’s why they make nonsense quizzes as questions.

It means not to be trapped in a fixed frame, but to think freely.

When poisoned, it immediately becomes a fight against time, and at this time, people limit their imagination by being trapped in the knowledge they have.

When making poison, and when detoxifying.

It certainly makes sense to have a nonsense question in a dungeon.

I laughed a lot while reading this part.

The problem continued.

Every time.

“Chick,” (TL note: In korean. The word “Byungari” means both chick and hospital.)

[Ahem. This question was easy. I’m sure you won’t know the next question.]

“Breathing”

[You’re greater than I thought. But this time…]

“Ceiling.” (TL Note: Ceiling in Korean is Cheonjang, 천장. When read as Cheon Jang, it means 1000 sheets.)

[…]

I answered without hesitation.

The statue lost its words, and Liela and Aris were amazed.

[It’s the next question. Try to guess this too. If you can’t send it?]

“Huh?”

What is this?

I searched the answer sheet I had organized until yesterday. But no matter how much I think about it, the answer to that question doesn’t come to mind.

‘Clearly, the answer to this question should be rabbit, but there’s no way rabbit is the answer.’

It seems that I memorized the wrong answer.

‘Ah! Come to think of it, the supporting character in the original work got it wrong here, too?’

I memorized it according to the original work without thinking, and this disaster happened.

When I hesitated, the statue finally raised the corners of its mouth.

[You don’t know?]

“….”

[Hahaha! Then think about it as much as you want. Thanks to you answering the previous questions quickly, there is plenty of time. But you know, right? From the moment you fall into thought, you can’t get the answer right]

The statue hit the nail on the head.

These problems usually need to be solved as soon as you see them. Otherwise, you will be swayed by various thoughts and become neither here nor there.

I was grabbing my hair to find the answer somehow, when Aris suddenly approached.

“Th, maybe the answer is scissors?” (TL Note: “Bo” means cloth, and “Bo” also refers to the palm of the hand when playing rock paper scissors. So, it’s saying you cannot make “Bo”.)

“Yes? Scissors?”

“Yes. I don’t know if it’s correct, but it says you can’t ‘Bo’. So I think it’s either scissors or rock”

“!!!”

I was truly amazed.

How can this woman, who is known for her rigidity, get the answer right?

“But which one should I do, rock or scissors?”

“Just do both. Don’t worry. Even if the statue wakes up, I’ll protect you.”

She fiddled with her scabbard.

I thought for a moment and shouted. The supporting character who cleared this place also solved the quiz while fighting the statue. I don’t think Aris is weaker than that person.

“Scissors!”

[Ugh. That’s correct.]

The statue collapsed.

We eventually got all the questions right. The only remaining statue around is Acacia, who is standing with a scale in front of her eyes.

[Excellent. This is enough to receive the Poison King’s legacy.]

At the end of those words, the statue collapsed. A white light shimmered in his remains, which turned into ashes.

“Found it.”

A dark red sphere contained in a box with a white light. It is an elixir that can reach the realm of immunity to all poisons just by eating it.

“What is that?”

“It’s the medicine that Miss Yona will eat.”

“Miss Yona? Are you saying that you’re going to give her something from the Poison King’s dungeon?”

“You can see it that way. But don’t worry too much. Anyway, it doesn’t have any toxicity.”

People who hone poison, like the Poison King, usually eat poison to increase their poison resistance. The proficiency of poison is also the same.

So you might mistake that the elixir of immunity to all poisons left by the Poison King is poisonous.

But it’s not.

I shook my head, saying not to worry.

“Then is it over?”

“Uh, probably.”

“Then I’ll look around.”

“Why? There’s nothing here.”

“It’s a dungeon.”

Liela said that and started searching around.

There are many hidden items and spaces in the dungeon, so you should always look around after clearing it.

I, who already knew the original work, didn’t bother.

So Liela’s exploration ended empty-handed.

“Let’s go out. I think this place will collapse soon.”

“Yes. I understand.”

As the dungeon is an overlap of dimensions, it is bound to disappear when the power that maintained the dungeon disappears.

We entrusted ourselves to the blue portal that appeared in the center of the cavity.

Caw. Caw. Caw.

“It’s already night. I guess the time flow in the dungeon was slow.”

“I guess so.”

It’s already evening.

When I went to the teleport station, it was said that it had stopped working.

“Then I have to stay here and go. Is that okay?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You?”

“There is no other option.”

We found a suitable accommodation nearby and rested.

Without knowing the threat that will come.