“…”
The man looked at the new message silently.
It was fortunate that the obstacles and the beasts were removed thanks to the forest fire, but what is this about a hidden dungeon?
The man was troubled for a moment, but hesitation was not very long.
“Hoo…”
The man took a deep breath and checked the location information of the dungeon. He moved through the smoke and the ash towards its direction.
The entrance to the dungeon was farther than he thought.
It took a while to arrive at the location indicated. He looked at the entrance of the cave for a moment. As the forest burned down, the trees and vines that were covering its entrance disappeared.
The man created a torch by tying a brush to a tree branch. He lighted it and went inside the cave.
The smell of moist mold filled his nose.
How long did he have to walk through the cave?
Suddenly, the narrow cave path widened, and an empty space appeared.
“This…”
He looked around and found a rotting wooden couch, a desk, and a wooden box.
As he approached the couch, he saw a body that had turned into a mummy.
He was shocked momentarily but regained his calm. He started to look on the desk but found nothing unusual.
The man turned to the box next to him.
Even though it seemed like a treasure chest, it could be a trap, so the man pushed the lid with his torch.
The lid fell over. The dust covering it rose.
The man covered his nose, waited for the dust to settle, and then went closer. There were a small notebook and a small leather bag.
He carefully reached out and checked the notebook first. The paper inside was already crumpled, and the writing had already faded because it was too old.
He looked at the leather bag next. Two crude gold rings came out as he opened it.
“Hmm…”
The man looked at the gold rings for a moment.
There was nothing unusual in the first ring except for one small groove, and the groove in the second ring had something black like sunflower seeds.
Maybe it’s like a magic ring? Suddenly, he thought about trying to put it on but stopped thinking that it might be cursed.
It is dangerous to use items that have not been properly identified.
The man thought, putting the rings in the pants pocket.
In some ways, the biggest prize could have been the leather bag itself.
He placed the bundle of grilled meat in it and tied the strap to his waist. It felt easier to move.
The man again held a spear and a torch in each hand.
Out of the blue, he wished that he could have made a necklace with the saber-toothed tiger’s teeth.
He looked around and decided that he had nothing else to take with him.
He continued down the cave. He noticed that the passage was wider than when he first came in.
Suddenly, he heard squeaks in the dark.
Are there monster rats here?
As he stepped in a little further, he noticed that large mushrooms reminiscent of a king oyster mushroom were growing in a colony.
But the man did not touch them. It is virtually impossible to determine whether the first mushroom you see is a poisonous mushroom or not unless you are an expert.
This is a place where strange creatures exist, such as the saber-toothed tiger.
Given that, it is too dangerous to try to determine whether or not poisonous mushrooms with poor knowledge.
In addition, mushrooms have different kinds of poisons. Sometimes, it may seem that there was nothing wrong while you eat them, then suddenly you develop symptoms and die.
If it is a wood mushroom, he could use it to light a fire, but other mushrooms should not be touched if he wanted to survive.
The man continued walking.
As he walked, he noticed three or four monster rats running away.
It is quite eerie to see their red eyes staring at him from the dark. He knew that the only thing stopping them was his torch.
“Well…”
He felt a little anxious as the number of monster rats increased, but the man kept moving inward.
How far did it go?
The cave started to become narrower until only one person could pass through it.
The stalactite went low and narrowed to the point where he had to crawl just to pass through.
“…”
He came across a stalactite that blocked his way completely. Fortunately, it wasn’t too think, so he thought he could break through it.
The man lifted his feet to crush the stalactite and found a pair of red eyes looking at him from across, and he froze.
He waved the torch in front of him, and he saw a giant monster rat, almost the size of a dog, curled up behind the stalactite.
Around six dozen other little monster rats were squeaking around. He wondered if all the rats he encountered earlier in the cave came together here.
The man paused for a moment and thought.
“Well…”
Then, with his torch, he looked around, but he could not see any exit.
He thought about the mummy on the wooden bed. If there are these many rats, how come the body has not been touched? Probably the mummified man was the goal he wanted for the Hidden Quest.
He wondered whether he could fight against the monster rat.
Even if he was able to fight against the wolves and the saber-toothed tiger, it was a fight that he barely won. There was no guarantee he could win a battle against these rats, who looked like they were kings of this cave.
After thinking for a moment, the man decided to use a different method.
He ran and went back to the room where there was a wooden box. He took it and returned to the colony of mushrooms. There was a bunch of dry grass in between the mushrooms.
He removed the contents of his leather bag and used it as a glove to pick up mushrooms. Then, he stuffed the wooden box full of mushrooms and dry grass.
He returned to the far room with the rats blocked by stalactites.
He stared at the red eyes as he lit the dry grass in the box.
He was sure that the mushrooms that will burn with it are poisonous.
“Adios.”
The grass did not catch fire immediately because of the dampness inside the cave, but soon, the flame began to ignite.
Thick smoke was coming out of the box full of mushrooms.
The man hurriedly left the place.
The man urgently escaped and returned to the wooden bed.
He could see faint smoke coming out from the area he came from.
He rested there as he waited for the smoke to subside.
It took about an hour.
After the smoke subsided, he covered his nose and mouth and headed back to where the giant monster rat was.
At the entrance, there were many ashes left behind.
He broke through the stalactite and saw the dead monster rats.
He began stabbing them with his spear to make sure they are dead. They may have just passed out and didn’t die from the smoke, so he wanted to make sure.
After the giant monster rat and the rest of the rats had been killed, unlike the man’s expectations, nothing special happened.
Was it in vain? The quest notification was still not appearing.
The man looked around, wondering if he had missed anything, and looked at the giant monster rat.
He thought it was strange. If you look at the structure of the room, the rats could have gone further to avoid smoke, but why did they die here, without moving a step?
When that thought came up, the man shook his spear and put the monster rats to the side.
“This is it.”
He found a small box under the corpse of the giant rat.
The message he was waiting for came when he picked up the box.
Start the tutorial.
5. Go through the forest.
― Based on your experience so far, go through the forest in front of you. There are many unexpected obstacles and powerful beasts in the forest, so be careful.
→ Incomplete
(Hidden) Remove all the ugly obstacles hidden in the forest.
→ Done!
(Hidden) Get rid of all the ugly beasts hiding in the forest.
→ Done!
(Hidden) There is an unknown dungeon hidden in the forest. Explore the inside to uncover the secret.
→ Done!