STGB Chapter 583

Episode 583 Opening the Gate (4)

A straight hallway.

In fact, the structure itself is similar to that, but calling it a hallway might be a little awkward.

Even though the aspect ratio was similar, there was a big difference in the absolute width.

I think this would be three times bigger than the hall of the Palace of Glory where the titles were

conferred

.

Dark shadows cast over the stone statues standing in rows along the wall, creating a gloomy atmosphere.

‘It’s a stone statue of a guardian…’

What the hell is this place doing?

Isn’t it a place that requires individual play rather than party play?

While worrying about that, I was vigilant about the surroundings in preparation for any possible danger. As the promised time passed, portals appeared in the air.

Huung—

A portal large enough for one person to fit through.

The portal only opened for a short while, vomited out a person, and then disappeared as if it had served its purpose.

“Fortunately you were unharmed.”

Amelia came right behind me.

“Uh… It’s a spookier place than I thought, isn’t it?”

Next, Einar, a warrior, showed up with a lack of motivation and lack of fighting spirit. After that, the portal continued to open and his colleagues entered.

“There may be traps around, so everyone stay still and wait!”

All the members of the provisional group 4 were admitted, but I did not start the exploration right away and waited for the second team.

It’s never too late to start a search after all preparations have been made.

3, 2, 1…

Let’s wait silently, and more than 100 people enter one after the other, including the village chief.

“Secure the wizard’s line of sight first, and don’t act rashly and wait for instructions from the rest!”

The village chief screaming at the top of his voice with the face of Jerome St. Red. Seeing him act naturally, I felt uncomfortable somewhere, but at the same time, I was a little relieved.

Yes, you came in right.

I was worried that maybe I was the only one who didn’t come in.

‘Anyway, all entries were successful…’

Is there no limit on the number of people entering this place? It seems that the limit is very broad.

Of course, it’s hard to be genuinely happy.

Due to the nature of [Dungeons and Stones], most of these categories have a high level of difficulty.

“Baron Yandel, what should I do from now on?”

Afterwards, the village chief approached and asked, and I gave instructions to the village chief pretending to express my opinion.

“Hmm… That makes sense.”

The village chief pretended to be worried for a while, as if he did not want to be found out as the pants boss, then gave an order to the deputy commander.

“First of all, I will form an investigation team and start the search!”

The search began like that.

Primarily, the knights looked around first, and if there was something suspicious, they did not touch it rashly and called in the wizards to investigate.

When I came to my senses, the map was completed before I knew it.

‘It’s really comfortable because there are so many people I can handle.’

It’s new, but it feels like using a cheat key.

If only our clan Anabada had existed, it would have taken a year just to create the map.

“No monsters are found within the radius.”

“Never touch the statues! It’s faint, but I feel an unknown magical response inside!”

“You came over the portal, but it doesn’t seem like you’re inside the rift.”

“All geographic features have the nature of restoration.”

Work that would normally have taken an entire day was completed in an instant with several times the manpower mobilized.

All I had to do was sit still, listen to the reports one by one with the village chief, organize the information, and make a decision.

‘Is this… the taste of power?’

It’s so convenient that the exploration I’ve done so far seems very savage.

Instead of a pen, I rolled my head and organized the information gathered so far by myself.

From my point of view, three things were of great importance.

1. Guardian stone statue.

If the wizards guessed right, those stone statues were not simple sculptures.

It definitely has a role, and I have something to say about it.

Well, I guess that’s exactly what I’d expect.

‘It’s not clear, so let’s move on…’

2. The possibility of a new guardian.

The statues were all guardians of the 5th floor or lower.

However, what is a little unusual here is that even the vampire Duke Cambormire, who can be seen as a kind of hidden boss, was nestled among the statues… The

real problem is separate.

‘Why are they here again?’

Among the Guardians, there are those I see for the first time.

For reference, it was not an unidentified object.

Even if it was a guardian, the object itself was mostly an object that had finished supplying and receiving experience points, just as the essence of Cambormire was a 5th grade monster vampire.

But the problem here is…

‘Drake won’t come out as a guardian…?’

A monster that does not appear as a ‘guardian’ in any crack is proudly nestled between the guardian stone statues.

In fact, weren’t these stone statues just a collection of guardian monsters? To say that, all the other stone statues had the characteristics of guardians.

Just look at that lycanthrope statue.

The only lycanthrope that uses an ice club as a weapon is Tarunbas, the tyrant of the Glacier Cave.

“If you’re really one of the Guardians… it’s as if more new Guardian Essences have appeared!”

“But nothing has been confirmed yet.”

“No, I’m sure! Just as Baron Yandel obtained the essence by defeating the vampire guardians before, they are guardians of yet undiscovered rifts, just like those vampires!”

Maybe it’s really a similar case to Bloody Citadel.

It’s not easy to accept the fact that there will be so many cracks that I didn’t even know existed… but

the longer I stayed in this world, the longer I accepted it in my heart.

It’s just that you know a lot more than everyone else.

Knowing everything about [Dungeons and Stones] is my arrogance.

Representatively, this is the case with the first basement floor.

I didn’t even know that a vampire essence could be upgraded to an ogre essence with restrained wishes.

Anyway, next on this.

3. A huge stone gate.

If you pass between the stone statues and reach the end of the hallway, a huge stone door will appear, and even if you shoot 1st grade magic, there is no scratch.

And…

4. This is the end.

To put it simply, it means that only the things you have found so far can satisfy and solve certain conditions before you can open that door and move on to the next step.

Therefore…

“Now that the search is enough, gather everyone. No, I think it would be better to assemble.”

I told the village chief, the pants boss, and summoned everyone.

So, isn’t this enough clue?

“All armies prepare for battle…!”

The deputy commander, who had been instructed by the village chief, commanded the troops and shouted, and I slowly approached the stone statue in such a rigid atmosphere.

And…

trudge.

I put my hand on the most easygoing King Slime statue for the first time.

Geeeeing-

The feeling of something electricity flowing through the fingertips that are inexplicably touching.

I knew instinctively that something was working.

But…

‘I didn’t expect this.’

At best, I expected the extent to which the stone statue would come to life, so I could not help but be perplexed.

“…portal?”

A portal was created around the stone statue.

***

Portal opened.

A portal that appeared after opening an unknown stone gate on the first basement floor. However, it is not too difficult to guess where this portal might have led.

“Is it a portal connected to the green coal mine…?”

“Isn’t that highly likely?”

Listening to the whispers, it seems that other explorers are thinking the same thing as me.

But I wasn’t immediately convinced.

“I’ll have to decide the number of people to go with.”

There is really no guarantee that that portal will be connected to the green coal mine, and it is difficult to guarantee how many people can enter that one portal.

Therefore, the cutting edge work was started with the utmost care.

That’s because there were three types of portals.

1. Once opened, the portal is permanently activated until the labyrinth is closed.

Dimensional tombstones fall into this category.

However, in the case of rifts, this type of portal has never been opened, so the possibility of this is low.

2. It is not a one-off, but a portal that is maintained only until the specified number of people is full.

Representatively, there are cracks on the first floor.

When the rift opens, dozens of portals are created all over the first floor, and when a total of five people cross the portals, the portals disappear at once.

And finally…

3. A one-time portal that works only once.

The doppelganger forest on the 4th floor is a case in point.

You can only ride the portal once.

However, if there are people around you who are bound when you enter the portal, they will also be moved at once.

Oh, by the way, in this case, it was proven a long time ago that all six of them were moved even if they were in a bond.

‘Okay then, the selection process is over…’

In the case of a 5-person team, of course, a 6-person team.

10 people, 12 people, 15 people, 18 people… After forming teams in multiples of 5 and 6 like this, we decided on the order of entry.

It may all be useless, but it was my conviction that not doing something when you can do it in advance is no different from a sin in the labyrinth.

But…

“Then I’ll go in first.”

After applying the binding magic anew, I cautiously stepped into the portal, and soon I was taken aback.

“….”

The railroad tracks on the floor.

Waste materials scattered randomly around.

A cart with a broken wheel and coal placed in it.

No problem so far.

Once you arrive, the green coal mine is the right place.

However, if there is a serious problem here…

“What is this. Why is no one coming?”

Amman, but no one is coming in even after time passes.

“…”

First of all, I searched around and waited for a while longer, just in case, but there was no sign of the portal opening.

As a result, the brain became more complicated.

‘Why isn’t he coming in?’

Got a problem out there?

Could the village chief do something else…?

Um, or is it that everyone has entered, but the starting point is different so we can’t meet?

“…Let’s go ahead alone.”

In either case, it seemed pointless to wait here, so I started attacking slowly.

This is no ordinary green coal mine.

It wouldn’t be strange if any powerful monster appeared.

The time when I was moving cautiously, repeating myself several times so as not to be caught off guard.

“…huh?”

I hadn’t even walked that long before an empty lot suddenly appeared.

And…

[Kwyiyiyi-!]

The guardian of the green coal mine appears out of nowhere.

Originally, I should have walked a while longer even after catching the middle boss…

Kwajik-!

As soon as they saw me, they attacked me and beat me to death with a hammer.

“King Slime has been defeated.”

“Guardian Kill Bonus. EXP +3」

…The experience seems to have come in correctly.

It could be because of my mood, so I’ll put this aside for now.

Shaaaaaaa-!

As soon as the treatment was over, I stared blankly at the portal that was created.

‘This is the end…?’

It’s a little futile, but it seems like it’s really over.

Unless another event awaits beyond that portal.

Since the portal doesn’t seem to disappear right in front of my eyes, I gradually regained my composure and checked the spot where the king slime fell.

“It would rather come out with crack stones.”

The loot is one rainbow-colored essence that proves that it belongs to the Guardian.

For me, it was garbage.

Even if you put it in a test tube and sell it, it’s hard to see a big profit….

There is no wizard who will put it in a test tube in the first place.

It’s ridiculous that I eat that.

Took.

I took my eyes off the Guardian Essence without any regrets and quickly climbed out of the portal.

“Ah uncle…!!”

Fortunately, the place I came through the portal was the same place I had been before.

“Bjorn…!”

“Thank you! Captain!!”

“What happened inside?”

The members who ran to me with worried eyes and asked how I was doing. However, before telling my story, I first listened to the situation after I entered the portal.

Why didn’t anyone come after me?

The answer to that question matched what I expected.

That’s really sad.

“It’s not that I didn’t go in, it’s that I didn’t get in. Because the portal disappeared right after you entered Yandel.”

…So it was a real one-person rift.

Well, it’s much better than not being able to come in because there’s another problem outside….

“Whoa…”

I can’t help but sigh.

I took my eyes off my colleagues and scanned the stone statues erected in the hallway.

kind too. Guardians below the 5th floor with various levels of difficulty and opponents.

‘I have to catch all of these guys by myself…’

The hardships were already clearly visible.