Chapter 161

Episode 161:  A Friend’s Grave.  (4)

“What do you mean you’ve found a way?”

As Jerry asked with a furrowed brow, Hardin simply shrugged his shoulders.

“You said it seemed unnatural how that thing kept returning to its original spot.”

“…I did, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“You guys, watch closely the moment that thing returns to its place.”

“Huh?”

Jerry, Beryl, and Mikkelsen.

The three blinked in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

Taaah!

Hardin dashed forward, closing the distance between him and the statue once more.

Kaaang! Kaaang!

He exchanged a couple of strikes with the statue, then leapt back again, putting distance between them.

Guuuuung!

At the very moment the statue returned to its place and touched the wall—

Wooooong!

“Hmm?”

“D-Did you see that just now…?”

As the three frowned and stared at the statue, their pupils began to tremble ever so slightly.

The instant the statue touched the wall… they felt a brief surge of mana emanate from the surrounding area.

“That bastard’s pulling that stunt to absorb mana.”

“…Huh?”

Yeah. I mean, come on—could something like a magical construct really operate on its own without a source of mana in the first place?

In the end, the method to bring that thing down was simple.

‘The spot where it receives mana… destroy that, and it’s over.’

Mikkelsen, watching from the side, asked,

“Then… should we just smash that wall?”

“No. You really think they made it that easy?”

This wasn’t just any place. This was the tomb of the one and only ‘Pirate Empress’.

“…Then what should we do?”

Hardin raised his head to look up at the ceiling.

There, densely drawn, was something resembling constellations.

‘The Pirate’s Constellation.’

Completely different from those used in the Fabian Empire or any other nation—these were part of a unique constellation system used only by pirates.

When we first entered, I wondered why those were drawn there, but now it was starting to make sense.

Because…

As Hardin turned his gaze forward again, he saw the statue with the image of a seahorse carved into its face.

And up on the ceiling’s northeastern side, a seahorse constellation was drawn.

Nine times out of ten, the mana source had to be there.

“Huuuuu. So then, the question is… what should we do about it?”

Hardin scratched his chin for a moment, then turned his head to the side and said,

“Halfling.”

“…Yes?”

“Help us out a bit.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’m going to blow a hole in that spot up there.”

He pointed toward the part of the ceiling where the seahorse constellation was etched.

“There’s definitely something inside that’s the source of the mana. I’ll punch a hole in it, so you go in and… smash it.”

“You really think it’s in there? How can you be so sure…?”

Hardin smirked.

“If I say it’s there, then it’s there.”

A voice filled with certainty, not a hint of hesitation.

To Jerry, who was seeing this man for the first time, it was an incomprehensible statement—but maybe it was instinct speaking.

Somehow, there was a weight to those words.

“So, are you doing it or not? We need to clear this dungeon, don’t we?”

“…What are the odds of success?”

“Obviously a hundred percent.”

When Hardin gave a confident grin and a thumbs-up, Mikkelsen and Beryl squinted their eyes.

‘Ah, there it is again.’

‘Every time he gets like this, it always turns into a damn nightmare…’

Jerry hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“I’ll do it.”

“Great. Then give me your wrist.”

Hardin grabbed his wrist and closed his eyes briefly.

Sting!

Jerry flinched as he felt a prick in his lower abdomen and instinctively widened his eyes.

Wooooooong!

A warm energy spread from his belly, and mana began to flow throughout his entire body.

“This is…”

As Jerry stared in astonishment, Hardin clapped his hands and said,

“Alright, we’re starting now, so get ready.”

“…What are we supposed to do?” Beryl asked.

Hardin adjusted his grip on his sword and replied casually, as if it were nothing.

“Just hold out. Until this guy smashes the mana source.”

“Hold out?”

“Yeah.”

Wooooooong! Crackle! Crackle!

Mana began to condense at the tip of Hardin’s sword, its glow intensifying by the second.

When it reached its peak—

“Hyat!”

He swung his sword, and a wave-shaped flash surged through the air.

Blue Wave.

The moment it struck the ceiling—right at the spot of the seahorse constellation—

A hole large enough for a person to fit through suddenly opened up.

Guuuuuuung!

At that moment, a grinding sound echoed from ahead.

“Y-Young Master!”

“Damn it, it’s coming!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The seahorse statue began charging toward them.

What that meant was obvious.

‘I’ve found the answer.’

That thing would do whatever it took to stop them from getting up there.

“Halfling, hold tight.”

“Huh?”

Just as Jerry was about to ask—

Grab!

Hardin snatched the back of his neck.

“Ura-cha-cha-cha!”

“Kyaaack!”

And hurled him upward with all his strength toward the ceiling.

Jerry’s body soared into the air.

“Finish it fast! We can’t hold out for long!”

Kaaang! Kaaang!

Hardin dashed forward and clashed swords with the seahorse statue.

“Damn youuuu!”

Grab!

Jerry clung to one side of the hole in the ceiling and looked down.

“Eeek! Young Master, I think it’s gotten faster!”

“Then we move faster too!”

“Nooooo!”

Kaaang! Kaaang!

Below, Jerry saw Hardin’s group exchanging sword blows with the charging seahorse statue.

Maybe it was the threat to its own survival, but the statue's attacks now felt far more ferocious than before—on a completely different level.

‘Screw it, whatever!’

Jerry quickly pulled himself up with agile strength, climbing onto the ceiling.

There, he found a narrow passage just wide enough for him to squeeze through.

He crawled through it—how far, he couldn’t say.

Wooooooong!

Deep inside, a massive boulder glowing with blue light came into view.

This must be…

‘A magic stone.’

A special kind of stone that absorbs mana from the atmosphere and serves as a source of mana.

Most likely, this was what had been supplying mana to that statue all along.

“Phew…”

Jerry drew the dagger from his waist and immediately lunged at the magic stone.

Kaaaang! Kaaang!

He slammed his dagger—enhanced with Weapon Enchant—down onto it.

But no matter how many times he struck, the blade didn’t even leave a scratch.

“Damn it! Damn iiiiit!”

He swung until his hands bled, but the stone refused to break.

‘Think, think… how do I destroy this thing…?’

Shockwave, whatever—that kind of knightly technique was never something he’d learned.

And he had no bombs or magical tools that could do the job either.

Jerry was just a common thief. It was hopeless to expect him to have an answer.

In the end, he had only one option left.

He poked his head back out through the hole he came in from and shouted,

“Uh, sir!”

Kaaang! Kaaang!

Down below, Hardin was locked in combat with the seahorse statue when he heard Jerry’s voice and looked up.

“Hey! What are you doing?! Hurry up! We’re all gonna die at this rate!”

His forehead was drenched in sweat, and his breathing was noticeably heavier than before.

Of course…

“Heeek! Haaah! Haaah!”

“Get a grip, Mikkelsen!”

Mikkelsen and Beryl beside him were in much worse shape.

Gulp.

Jerry shouted urgently,

“I can’t destroy it!”

“What?”

“I found the magic stone, but it’s way too hard—I can’t break it!”

Hardin frowned deeply and let out a sharp sigh.

“Just tell me the location!”

“Huh?”

“Infuse mana into it! If I know where it is, I can smash it from here!”

“O-Okay!”

Jerry crawled back into the ceiling, making his way toward the magic stone.

‘He can locate it just by me injecting mana into it…?’

The magic stone was buried quite deep in the ceiling.

Pinpointing its exact location didn’t seem like something easy to do.

But in this situation, there weren’t many other options.

Jerry placed his hand on top of the magic stone and infused it with mana.

Wooooooong!

“Ghhhhh!”

The mana stored within began to rage, the glow growing even fiercer. His palm, pressed against the surface, burned as if it were gripping fire.

After pouring in a round of mana—

‘Time to get out of here.’

Just as Jerry pulled his hand back and turned to crawl out—

KABOOOOOM!

“Huh?”

A deafening explosion rang out from below, and the entire space began to tremble.

Crackle! Snap!

And then, a light began to leak upward from below.

“D-Don’t tell me…”

No way that lunatic actually did it…

But in this world, it’s always that “no way” that gets you.

Just as Jerry frantically tried to retreat—

CRRRUUUUMBLE!

The floor beneath gave way, and the entire space was suddenly bathed in light. The magic stone—and Jerry along with it—were lifted into the air.

No… to be precise—

‘I-I'm falling!’

The shattered floor was sending him plummeting down.

“Young Master, incoming!”

“Got it.”

Down below, the very man responsible for all this grinned as he raised the corners of his mouth.

Zeeeeeeeng!

At that moment, a blue light once again gathered at the mouth of the seahorse statue.

Hardin dashed forward in response.

Bwooooooom!

The statue swung its dual cutlasses.

“Ura-cha-cha-cha!”

“Go for it!”

Mikkelsen and Beryl lunged forward at the same time, parrying the blades with their swords.

Hardin charged straight into its face and—

“Yah!”

Slid beneath its legs…

KAAANG!

And struck viciously at its Achilles tendon with his sword.

In that instant, the statue’s body wobbled—

Zeeeeeeeng!

The blue light condensed at its mouth shot upward into the air.

That blazing ray flew directly at the suspended magic stone… and the moment it made contact—

KABOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted.

Taaah!

At that very moment, Jerry landed on the ground.

“Gah! cough cough!”

“D-Did it work?”

Mikkelsen and Beryl shielded their faces from the billowing dust and stone debris as they tried to get a look ahead.

Moments later, as the smoke began to clear—

Hardin stood there with a satisfied smirk on his lips.

“See? Told you it’d work.”

In the clearing smoke lay the shattered remains of the seahorse statue, broken into pieces and strewn across the ground.

Considering how it hadn’t shown the slightest crack just moments ago, the sight was surprisingly anticlimactic.

Jerry stood there, mouth agape.

‘He… really took it down.’

Meanwhile, Beryl and Mikkelsen let out a deep breath and said,

“Damn, we almost died for real this time.”

“Still, wasn’t this better than Kreveion?”

“That’s like comparing who died slower, brother.”

They even sounded relaxed, like this sort of battle was nothing new.

‘These guys… what are they?’

Jerry was still wide-eyed, his jaw slack with disbelief.

“Hey, halfling.”

“…Yes?”

“I’ve done everything I can, so you find the tomb chamber now.”

“…Okay.”

Tap tap! Tap tap tap!

Jerry quickly moved to where the seahorse statue had been standing. Pressing his ear to the wall, he tapped the surface with the back of his hand to check the resonance.

Then—

‘This must be it.’

Clack!

Jerry gripped a notch in the wall with his fingertips and gave it a firm pull. A mechanical sound echoed in response.

He stepped back and pushed the wall aside.

Guuuuung!

With a deep rumble, the stone door slid back.

“I think this is it.”

“Alright.”

Hardin, Beryl, and Mikkelsen—

The three of them, catching their breath, walked slowly toward the passage.

“Keeeh… There’s gotta be treasure inside, right, brother?”

“Seriously. Wonder how much is in there…”

Excitement was written all over Beryl and Mikkelsen’s faces, drool practically dripping from their mouths.

“What’re you two drooling for? I did all the work.”

“Huh? We helped, though.”

“Young Master, that’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

When Hardin scolded them, the two muttered in protest.

Soon after, the three stepped beyond the stone door.

“…Good heavens, this is…”

“What the hell…?”

The sight that greeted them at the end of the dungeon—

Left all of their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

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