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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“This stench…”
“It’s the smell of rotting corpses.”
“Ugh…”
What the hell were they doing inside for the stench of rotting corpses to be so overwhelming?
The smell wafting from the temple entrance was so strong that we had no choice but to cover our noses.
Was there a mountain of corpses piled up somewhere inside?
“Ugh… It’s hard to breathe…”
“Shuri, you have to endure it.”
Perhaps because she was a dog-beastkin, Shuri’s face was pale, and she was even gagging.
She wouldn’t be able to fight properly like this.
I pulled out a piece of cloth from my backpack, cut it into appropriate sizes, and handed them to the group.
“Cover your noses with this. It’s better than nothing.”
“Ugh… Thank you…”
We quickly covered our lower faces with the cloth.
It wouldn’t completely block the smell like a proper mask, but it was better than nothing.
Having overcome this hurdle, we finally entered the temple.
The temple consisted of a large lobby, a strange statue at the end of the lobby, and a group of red figures bowing their heads before it.
Was that statue the deity worshipped in this temple?
We hid behind a pillar, making sure not to be discovered, and observed the overall structure.
The lobby.
Two hallways on either side.
Should we start by investigating the hallways?
“We’ll search the right hallway first.”
“Shouldn’t we split up?”
“No, the risk is too high.”
I immediately rejected Lewis’s suggestion.
At first glance, it seemed like the most efficient method, but with two non-combatants in our group, splitting up would only make us vulnerable to being picked off one by one.
Slow and steady wins the race.
That was our primary objective for exploring this temple.
We began to move stealthily towards the right hallway, like thieves.
After carefully checking our surroundings while clinging to the walls, we had covered a considerable distance when we sensed a faint presence.
“I sense someone.”
“A grotesque creature?”
“Probably.”
“Shouldn’t we use Search magic?”
“No, if we’re caught using magic, things will get complicated.”
“Don’t you have a Search skill?”
“…My skill is too conspicuous to use.”
Ah, that was the setting… I only remembered after Sif asked that I had said those words.
She seemed a bit puzzled, but didn’t question my excuse further.
It wasn’t the time to be nitpicking.
“Then what should we do?”
“…Everyone, hide behind the pillars.”
As soon as I finished speaking, everyone scrambled to hide behind the pillars, waiting for the unknown presence to approach.
Footsteps, clear and distinct footsteps grew louder as the presence drew nearer.
It was the first time we had heard such rhythmic footsteps since entering the dimensional rift.
I silently adjusted my grip on the shovel and tensed my muscles.
One.
Two.
Three.
A heavy impact struck my hand.
Blood splattered onto my face, but the stench of blood was lost amidst the already putrid air of the temple.
I crouched before the headless corpse, my eyes darting around.
“A… human.”
Not a grotesque creature.
A human.
I stared at the neck, covered by a red hood.
The attire looked familiar.
Halphas?
Was this damn island a Halphas cult base?
No, if they were Halphas, they would have some kind of symbol…
“I’ll search the body, so stay alert. Report immediately if you sense anything.”
Everyone nodded at my command.
I patted down the body, searching for any clues.
All I found was a small dagger and a tiny notebook.
I hid the body behind a pillar and opened the notebook.
“…An unknown language.”
Strangely, my translation trait wasn’t working.
It wasn’t like it was being translated by a machine, so I didn’t understand why it wasn’t working.
Why wasn’t it translating?
I closed and reopened the notebook, flipped it upside down, but the unidentified language remained undeciphered.
I was completely lost.
“Does anyone recognize these letters?”
“Hmm… I don’t think so.”
“I don’t recognize them either.”
“Me neither.”
“Maybe it’s a code?”
A code?
I scrutinized the letters at Sif’s suggestion.
Perhaps she was right.
Maybe it was a code, which was why my trait wasn’t working.
I tucked the notebook into my backpack, making a mental note to investigate further.
I’d have a codebreaker take a look at it later.
“Let’s move on.”
There were many places to investigate.
I chose the right path between the main road in the center of the temple and the smaller roads on either side.
It would be more efficient to split up and search the temple, but that was impossible with two non-combatants in our group.
I peeked into the right hallway, checking for any presence.
“…Annoying.”
The hallway was structured in a peculiar way, protruding from the middle of the temple building, so as we approached, we could hear incomprehensible chanting.
“!@&(#$)!($(!!”
The pious voices echoing in our ears reminded me of the mass I had once attended during my military days, but knowing that the voices were uttering words in an alien language made the situation even more bizarre.
It was like the sound effects from a horror game I used to enjoy in the distant past.
“It’s quiet.”
“It’s hard to tell with all that noise.”
The annoying chanting filled my head, making it difficult to concentrate.
It was hard to pick up other sounds with that noise.
I stood beside the first door in the hallway and looked at the group.
Everyone, except for Sif, was huddled behind me, their eyes fixed on me.
“Lewis, keep watch. Shuri, Perinne, can you cast Silence magic?”
Silence magic was a spell that used mana to dissipate sound within a designated area, essentially silencing it.
In the game, it was often used for stealth and assassination, along with Invisibility magic.
It was classified as a 3rd-tier spell in the game’s magic system, which ranged from 0th to 4th tier, so there was a chance they had learned it.
Fortunately, I received a positive answer from Perinne.
“I can do it.”
“Cast Silence magic on the door.”
I silently adjusted my grip on the shovel and watched as Perinne cast Silence magic on the doorknob.
Now, there would be no sound even if I opened the door.
I turned the knob, opened the door just enough for my foot to fit through, and peeked inside.
“…A torture chamber?”
A corpse was tied to a chair, a scene straight out of a movie.
Its face was covered with a bag, so I couldn’t see its features, but it was quite large.
I opened the door halfway and stepped inside.
The overall impression of the room… wasn’t suitable for children.
It was a blood-soaked room with a dead body sitting in it.
I slowly approached the corpse, shovel in hand.
I didn’t want to, but I had to search the body.
After all, there was nothing else in this room besides the corpse.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The distance between the body and I closed.
I was within arm’s reach when my instincts started blaring alarm bells.
“Oh, shit.”
A grotesque creature burst out of the corpse’s stomach.
The disgusting mass of tentacles flew towards my head, as if trying to seize control of my body.
I reflexively plunged my shovel into its body.
The tentacle went limp with a sickening gurgle.
Damn it.
I didn’t need this kind of jumpscare.
I poked the exploded corpse a few times with my shovel and searched its body, but couldn’t find anything unusual.
Should I remove the bag from its face?
I carefully removed the bag and checked the corpse’s face.
It was a middle-aged man his face contorted in fear.
Cause of death: shock?
I checked the back of his neck.
No signs of strangulation.
There was only an eye-like symbol drawn on the nape of his neck with something that looked like black ink.
If this was a religious symbol, then this cult wasn’t Halphas.
I left the room with this valuable information in mind, grabbing the doorknob and pulling the door open.
That’s when it happened.
“Johann, people are approaching this way…!”
What?
I strained my ears at Perinne’s words.
Only then did I start hearing multiple sets of footsteps.
They weren’t hurried, so they were probably walking, but that wasn’t good news.
I hurriedly opened the door and called the group inside.
It was a gruesome room, not suitable for anyone’s mental well-being, but we didn’t have the luxury of caring about such things.
The group rushed in and covered their mouths, horrified by the state of the corpse.
I closed the door and pressed my ear against it.
Click, click, click, click…
The sound drew closer, then faded away.
Had they not found the body I had hidden behind the pillar?
The footsteps were rhythmic, as if they were going about their daily routine.
“It seems like we weren’t caught.”
“Thank goodness. I was worried we might have been discovered…”
“Maybe they’re just stupid?”
Sif’s words made sense, considering these were members of a cult.
They didn’t even bother to investigate, despite all the suspicious circumstances.
This would make our investigation a bit easier…
Click.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.
“…We’re fucked.”
Everyone’s faces turned pale.
I adjusted my grip on the sweat-slicked shovel.
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