Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Hidden Piece (3)

It was as he expected .

When the magical item evolved, it became the Shrewmouse’s Cry .

Information popped up as he lightly examined the magical item .

Name: Shrewmouse’s Cry

Rank: D

Classification: Continuous

Effect: Inflicts surrounding Shrewmice with a ‘Fear’ status .

Although it could not be used to physically damage their enemies, it was much more useful .

Just possessing this magical item would affect the Shrewmice near him .

Because of the ‘Fear’ status, the Shrewmice’s movements became sluggish . Unlike before, they weren’t able to act as a group and were scattered .

When the Shrewmice flinched, Muyoung started the massacre .

‘… Incredible . ’

Taehwan was absent-mindedly staring at the scene which was unfolding before his eyes .

Out of the members gathered today, Muyoung was the only one who was truly ‘hunting’ .

It was a scene that made others tremble, Muyoung looked like an evil spirit .

He seemed like a champion fighting to death . Every unyielding step seemed to thirst for victory .

If it wasn’t for Muyoung, they would have been annihilated in seconds .

‘I have to get stronger . ’

Overwhelmingly .

That is what Taehwan felt as he watched Muyoung fight .

If he doesn’t get stronger, he would never be able to survive in this place .

If he wanted to survive, he had to get stronger .

Like the man in front of him, he had to persistently strive to survive .

“After we clean up, we will move out,” said Muyoung after he had massacred all the Shrewmice except for the few that had fled .

His body was caked with a mixture of his own blood and the blood of the Shrewmice .

‘There should be a den nearby . ’

Looking towards the direction the Screwmice fled to, it seemed like their destination wasn’t far away .

His stamina was almost completely used up, but he couldn’t stop .

There was no guarantee that it would still be there tomorrow .

“We, we aren’t going back?”

There were no casualties on their side, but everyone had some light scratches .

They were also extremely exhausted .

It was too much to expect them to continue .

Swish .

Instead of answering, Muyoung opened his gathering bag and took out a few leaves .

The leaves on the Sacred Tree could disinfect wounds and had excellent treatment capabilities .

After inattentively crushing the leaves into a paste, he rubbed it on his wounds .

Not long after, the bleeding stopped .

“Those that want to leave, leave . If you leave now, you can get back by retracing our steps . ”

Muyoung was completely calm .

The reason why he dragged all these people out here was simple .

Luggage, sleep and for unlikely circumstances .

It was also to select the few who would fight with their life on the line .

Something like exploring the outskirts of the temple could only be done by those who are desperate .

‘For the boss battle, I need people with at least a bit of experience . ’

Bosses were strong . It was hard for him to overwhelm them alone .

The ones that only improved inside the temple weren’t of any use .

Only those who experienced the outskirts of the temple for a few days would be able to cope with the boss .

It was foolish for him to try to force them .

That was why he only accepted the people who volunteered .

At the same time, the person, who asked the question, became dumbfounded .

Even if they tried to return to the temple, if they were attacked by monsters along the way, without Muyoung, they would be in danger either way .

In fact, they felt that they would be safer with Muyoung after watching the previous scene .

“I will follow you . ”

The first one to speak was Taehwan .

Muyoung who was examining his wounds next to a tree looked at him .

“We’re not going out to play . ”

“… I didn’t volunteer so I could fool around . ”

Muyoung got up .

‘I guess he figured something out . ’

He wasn’t simply a meddlesome fellow .

On the other hand, Suzy held a small dagger in her hand . Looking at the blood stained on the dagger, it seemed like she didn’t simply run away when they encountered the Shrewmice . She probably wielded her dagger to protect her father .

Even so, she was only out of breath, he didn’t see any apparent signs of agitation in her .

‘If she just survives…’

He smacked his lips in anticipation for a second before shaking his head .

He then grasped his trembling fist .

He couldn’t calm his excitement .

It was quite different from his past self who was cool-headed in any situation .

He didn’t even feel this excited after killing 300 assassins and the leader of the Forest of Death .

Was it because his body reverted back to its untrained state?

‘As expected, my Agility went up . ’

After the fight, his Agility went up by 1 .

The more he pushed himself towards the boundary between life and death, the faster his attributes will rise .

He looked at the carcasses of the Shrewmice around him .

The smell of Shrewmouse blood was pungent .

This was not a good place to stay .

Even if it was the territory of the Three-clawed Shrewmice, this much blood could attract other predators .

If, in the unlikely chance, a Giant Leo appears, he will have no choice, but to use the others as bait and escape .

“Crush these herbs and rub them on your wounds . We leave in 5 minutes . ”

He took out some herbs from his storage bag and distributed a small portion to everyone .

*

After following several leads, they arrived at the Shrewmice’s den .

It was a huge cave .

Clomp .

The sound of their footsteps echoed out .

There was no way to figure out how deep the cave was .

“Raise your torches and step lightly . I will lead . Taehwan, you bring up the back . ”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I was at the front?”

“Don’t question my orders . ”

“… Okay . ”

Before they left the temple, Muyoung told everyone to follow his orders unconditionally .

No matter what, they had to return by midnight .

There was no time for him to explain each and every detail .

After arranging everyone in a line, he headed into the cave .

Squeak . Squeaak!

Not long after, they were able to hear the cries of the Shrewmice .

Muyoung took out the ‘Shrewmouse’s Cry’ .

The rushing Shrewmice slowed down and paced back and forth hesitantly .

When he shed the torchlight around him, they were able see approximately 300 Shrewmice scattered around every corner .

In any case, he wasn’t after the Shrewmice, he was after what was behind them .

It was wise to pass through the hoard of mice while they were still under the ‘Fear’ status .

“Huuk!”

“Gasp!”

Everyone was frothing at their mouth as they rushed to follow Muyoung .

He wasn’t running at an especially fast pace, but the pressure felt from the surrounding monsters was no joke .

*

They ran for a while .

As the pathway slowly expanded, they arrived at an enormous cavern .

From the floor to the ceiling, it seemed to be 50 meters tall and there were a multitude of holes on the walls .

‘These are the tunnels the Shrewmice use to move around . ’

This was the center where all the tunnels led to .

“A shrine?”

Taehwan softly spoke out .

His eyes fell on a certain place .

At the end of the cavern, there was a shrine .

There was a hexagram drawn in the center and statues of a goddess were spread out around it .

Although it looked old and rusted, everyone was captivated by its magnificence .

‘A hexagram and statues of a goddess, huh . ’

Muyoung looked at the Status Viewer on his left wrist .

There was a pentagram on its face .

On the other hand, the symbol drawn in the center of the shrine was a hexagram .

It looked like two overlapping triangles .

However, Muyoung had definitely seen the symbol and the statue before .

“The Star of David…”

“What?”

Taehwan tilted his head as he looked towards Muyoung .

But Muyoung’s expression was extremely solemn .

‘Why would the Star of David be here?’

His whole body was shaking .

The Star of David .

The symbol only appeared in places where the 72 Demons were summoned into the Underworld after being unsealed from Lemegeton .

That meant that one of the 72 Demons was summoned here and that the shrine was just a consequence of the summoning .

And that statue of the goddess is…

‘Gremory . ’

As one of the 72 Demons, Gremory held the 56th seat .

It was the statue of Gremory .

‘What do I do . ’

Muyoung motionlessly stared at the shrine .

A place where the Star of David appears .

There would be treasures in every place Demons were summoned .

For example, in the place where the 7th seat, Amon, was summoned, there was a book . The book overflowed with knowledge of all kinds of magic .

Magicians who have read the Book of Amon gained 10 years worth of training from simply reading the book .

Those who rigorously studied the book became Grand Magicians… The owner of the book’s class was changed to the secret class ‘Arch Mage’ and constructed the Tower of Wisdom which allowed him to confidently place in the top 10 among humans .

Unfortunately, no one could ever find the summoning location of Gremory .

He couldn’t understand why Gremory was summoned so close the Blue Temple where beginners stayed .

Of course, he expected that this place would be as risky as the retrieval the Book of Amon, where more than 500 people lost their lives…

‘There is only one chance . ’

If he fails, that was it .

After a month, the gate will open and they will all be sent to the Underworld .

Once they arrive in the Underworld, they will not be able to return to the temple . Also, there was no guarantee that they would be able to come back to the shrine within a month .

He was at a crossroad .

If they were successful in investigating the shrine, Muyoung will have an unbelievable advantage over others . On the other hand, if he failed, he will die .

“We will go inside . ”

He made his decision .

The Underworld was a place where nothing could be gained without risk .

The rewards were too tempting to just let this opportunity pass by .

*

Rumble!

As soon as they stepped into the shrine, the ground below them shook and words appeared in front of their eyes .

Four doors appeared at the time .

A few words were etched on each door .

, , , and