The Game Difficulty
Is Crazy
At the same time, Tris and the apprentice knights had returned to the entrance of the abandoned village.
“The total damage is eight lightly injured.”
After finishing his report, Gregory bowed his head to Tris.
The place where the apprentice knights and the instructors had fallen was not very deep, so everyone could be pulled back up to the surface.
However, neither Gregory, who made the report, nor Tris, who received it, looked relieved.
“But the place where Young Master Glen fell was too… deep.”
“…….”
“For now, we’ve sent three instructors, so he should be rescued soon—”
“Sir Gregory.”
At Tris’s heavy voice, Gregory bowed his head again.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Call all the instructors back.”
Holding her sword, Tris turned toward the center of the abandoned village.
“I’ll go rescue him myself.”
“But my lady. You just fought a battle earlier, so perhaps you should rest first—”
“There are more undead than usual. There’s also a chance there’s more than one mutant.”
Tris turned her gaze and stared at Gregory.
“Other than me, who here can deal with a mutant?”
“…….”
When Gregory fell silent, Tris began to walk.
“Please take care of the apprentice knights.”
“……My apologies.”
Tris headed straight into the abandoned village.
A thick aura of death blanketed the area.
Undead corpses were scattered everywhere.
Passing the corpse of the mutant she had just defeated, Tris stopped in front of a massive pit.
‘The rift that swallowed Glen.’
Tris looked down into it.
It was impossible to see how deep it was. Only thick darkness filled the pit.
Instructors had already been dispatched to rescue Glen, but since they were detouring through an underground passage on the opposite side, it would take quite some time.
If Glen were to encounter a mutant down there during that time, his life would not be guaranteed.
‘I’ll come get you soon.’
Without hesitation, Tris stepped toward the pit.
But at that moment—
A thick killing intent struck the back of her head.
“……!”
Tris instantly turned her body and swung her sword upward.
Kaaang—!
A piercing clash rang out.
What aimed for Tris’s head was a sharp and solid claw.
“Kieeeeeek!”
The owner of the claw was a mutant.
A second mutant, different from the one Tris had just defeated.
‘So there really was more.’
She wanted to ignore it and jump straight into the pit to find Glen. But—
‘If I do that, the apprentice knights will be in danger.’
Even if Gregory was a veteran three-star holy knight, he would not be able to face a mutant.
In the end, for Tris to move, she had no choice but to deal with the mutant in front of her first.
“Kieee! Kieeek!”
Sharpening its claws, the mutant let out a shrill scream.
Tris tightened her grip on her sword.
Her gaze was sharp.
“I’ll come rescue you soon, Glen.”
“Kuaaaagh!”
“Gueeek……!”
The screams of the undead echoed through the dark underground passage.
In the middle of it, Glen advanced rapidly while swinging his sword imbued with holy power.
There were quite a few enemies, but breaking through them was not difficult.
‘As long as there aren’t any mutants.’
Fortunately, after the one he fought earlier, no more mutants appeared.
‘It’s a huge relief that I can save even a little of my strength.’
If a second or third mutant had appeared—
And if he had used up his remaining holy power and magic scrolls—
Then Glen would have faced the boss monster with nothing left.
‘In that case, I would’ve had to bet everything on the skill book.’
In any case, what he feared did not happen, and Glen safely reached the entrance to the hidden room.
At a glance, it was just an ordinary stone wall.
But the secret passage was here.
Glen stretched out his hand and felt along the wall.
Soon, he found a brick with a unique texture different from the others.
He immediately pulled those bricks in a specific order.
With a grinding sound, the wall began to shake.
‘Up to this point, the secret room opens. But that’s just camouflage.’
Glen did not stop.
Before the shaking wall fully opened, he quickly pushed the pulled bricks back in reverse order.
‘This is how you open the passage to the real secret room.’
In the original work, there were two secret rooms in the underground passage of the abandoned village.
One room hid a usable item with mediocre performance.
The other room contained the skill book that was Glen’s true destination.
A mediocre item versus a legendary-grade skill book.
There was no need to think about which was better.
Kugugugugu—
From beyond the wall came a completely different sound than before.
As if the internal structure was changing, loud noises continued, and then, with a thunderous crash, the wall collapsed.
“Bingo.”
Glen lifted the corner of his mouth.
Beyond the wall was a stone staircase leading downward.
There were so many steps that the stairs descending into the darkness had no visible end.
But to Glen, it was a familiar and welcome sight.
There was no reason to hesitate.
Glen immediately went down the stairs.
Step. Step.
Unlike the underground passage that had been dark all along, torches mounted on the walls lit up at regular intervals as Glen descended.
It was as if this space itself was treating Glen as an honored guest.
In a way, that was true.
‘Solving the second secret of the wall and coming here itself means having a noble status.’
While progressing through the scenario, it was easy to learn that pulling the bricks in a set order opened the secret passage.
But pushing them back in reverse order before the passage opened, to open the second secret passage, was not.
According to the original game’s setting, the only ones who knew the second method were the “bloodline of the nameless royal family.”
Now, the Pope and the Minish Church stood at the peak of humanity, but in the past, there had clearly been kings.
Rulers who governed humans through overwhelming force, not divine teachings.
Because of that, human society once existed in a constant balance of power between king and pope.
‘But after a certain incident, royal authority fell to the ground, the king took his own life before the pope, and the royal family lost its name.’
Yet at the end of this passage remained the secret art of a dynasty, preserved in the form of a skill book.
The power that turned an ordinary man into a ruler—
The power that all humans in the world, including the pope, once revered.
Fwoosh—
The final torch ignited.
The stairs came to an end.
At the end stood a massive door made of gold.
Beyond it lay the skill book.
“…….”
But Glen did not open the door.
No—he could not open it carelessly.
Because he felt a faint aura leaking out from beyond the golden door.
‘Evil? A curse? Or death?’
He did not know what the aura was, but it was clearly different from the original work.
If so, there was only one possible conclusion.
“Lunatic…….”
Glen’s voice sank low.
《Cursed Land, Sildur – Lunatic》
: A boss monster possessing intelligence that commands all undead in this land has been added.
The final gateway to obtain a legendary-grade hidden piece.
And the clear condition for the fourth Lunatic element.
That was what awaited beyond this door.
A boss monster with intelligence that commanded undead and mutants.
How strong such a being was, he could not know exactly.
The only guess was that, since it controlled mutants, it was at least five-star level.
‘Can I win?’
That question came first.
But soon, he shook his head.
