"Rothmiller, do you feel who is inside?" I asked.

"The smell of rot is too strong to identify.

- I see. Then I'll go down first, follow me on the signal.

The pit was about 5 meters deep and resembled a water tank.

Holding the shield on my back, I quickly descended the creaking staircase. When I signaled them with my hand, the others followed my example.

"It's a little creepy.

When the field of view was illuminated by the torch, a passage became visible that could not be seen from above around the corner.

"From now on, you will lead," I muttered quietly so that no sound could be heard, and placed the prisoner in front. Then, holding on to the rope, I moved down the aisle.

About a minute later, I saw the bodies piled up like bags of clothes.

Deuce...

Dozens of corpses looked like mummies, like Hanson, from which the life had been drained. Not surprisingly, the smell of decay was particularly strong.

"Uh... What is this...?

Judging by the bewildered look of my guide, it doesn't look like this place was originally like this.

"Shut up and keep moving.

I pushed him in the back, as he stopped, and continued to move forward. However, I was still straining all my nerves to be ready for anything. That's why I was able to react instantly.

*Kling*

A faint light began to seep through the pile of corpses with the sound of a mechanical device working, and an imposing voice rang out in the tunnel.

— [Saveum, Bath, Paper].

There was nothing else to be seen. This was one of the traps possessed by the priests of Karui. Because of the unique sound effect, I used to refer to it as "Sabaha" for short.

[You have entered the range of [Call of the Evil God]].

Damn, is this a trap?

"Back!"

While I was warning my colleagues with words, I pulled the rope with my hand and pulled the guide towards me. The reason was simple. Sabaha is not a skill that can be blocked by Physical Resistance or a litinum shield.

"Eh, eh?"

The man I was holding in my hand instead of a shield made a stupid sound.

At this moment, hundreds of Banshee-like ghosts spilled out from the other side of the tunnel.

"Ahhh Ahh

When the prisoner saw this, he screamed and struggled, but I did not relent and hid myself behind him as much as I could. I was glad that this guy was tall. Otherwise, he would not have been able to catch so much damage.

[You have absorbed 102 ghosts].

[Shadow Resistance is above a certain level, and the effect is reduced by 30%].

[Your maximum HP has been temporarily reduced by 29%].

The life force left my body as if there was a hole somewhere from which it flowed. My skin became dry, like that of a person who had not drunk water for several days.

Mike was the first to notice my change.

"B-Bjorn, are you okay?"

She immediately ran up to me to check on my condition.

I stopped her attempts to get me to drink the potion immediately and straightened up. My muscles ached from the exertion.

Damn, I almost died.

[Evil God's Call] was a trap-type skill that would pour hundreds of souls in a specified direction when activated. Its peculiarity was that the maximum HP value of the affected person was reduced by the number of hits to the liking. Naturally, if the maximum HP dropped to 0, you died instantly, just like the guy hanging on my arm.

"Guys, are you okay?" I asked.

"We're okay because you blocked the front. In any case, this man... He's dead?

I didn't have to answer. It would be surprising if he survived after only skin and bones remained.

As soon as I lowered the man I was gripping tightly in my hand, Hikurod muttered as if he were dizzy.

— ... Perhaps this is not the best thing that can be said now, but the fact that this guy was put to the front was right.

I agree, and I was not ashamed of this fact. We were ruthless explorers.

"What are you going to do?" If another similar trap appears, it will be too dangerous to go further.

After a moment's thought, I made a decision.

"We'll continue."

The installation of the [Call of the Evil God] required several materials, mainly human life force. There were many corpses around, but still not hundreds, so it must have been a one-time installation.

Besides, if we don't take care of her now, there will be problems later.

I had nothing to back it up with except a premonition.

As I was about to go, the dwarf handed me something.

"Nothing important, but when I was digging through his things, I found this.

It was the identification plate of a person who had turned into a mummy. I didn't know why a fugitive would need an identity card, but...

When I checked my ID, I was stunned.

"You can present it at the administrative office when you go to get the extra fee..." Wait, why do you have such a face?

Hans Marc. Was he Hans too?

Damn, now I'm starting to worry.

After walking about 20 steps, I came to the shelter that Hans E. had spoken of. There was a makeshift bed, a table with the remains of bread and coffee, and even a candlestick hanging on the wall. But ...

"Hahaha, there's no one here.

"Hmm, I think she either left this place altogether or went away for a while.

No other presence was felt. It didn't look like there was a place to hide.

"Don't let your guard down. She can hide.

However, I first looked around and carefully searched everything around, under the bed, under the table, even the wall for a secret place. I looked around carefully for about 5 minutes, but there were no significant results, at least not until Dvalki moved on to using his magic.

[Riol Varb Dvalki cast an 8th rank spell [Mana Detection]].

[Mana Detection] - Scout-type magic that made anything that contained additional mana obvious.

"Did you find anything?" I asked.

— It's hard to say.

"How so?"

"There's something magical about this floor... But it is too weak. Perhaps I was even mistaken.

Soon I checked the floor that Dvalki was pointing to. Since I wasn't a magician, I didn't see anything strange. There wasn't even a small flaw or anything like that.

"Is there any way to learn more through magic?"

— No, I don't. But I can only guess that this magic hides something underneath.

- I see.

After a single question, I immediately raised my mace.

Seeing me in this position, Hikurod asked:

"What are you doing?"

"I'll hit him."

— ... Will you blow it?

This time I did not answer. Well, if magical means are limited, it is time to use physical ones, as befits a noble barbarian.

*Bach!*

The moment the mace (which doubled in price and size) hit the floor, the ground trembled.

However, that was all.

"Bjorn, you can't open magic devices like that," said Dvalki, who was watching the scene, and scolded me, but I silently continued to hit with the mace.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Perhaps because the mace was made of steel, it was perfectly fine after hitting the floor. Of course, there are small dents on the ground, but nothing has changed there either.

"Enough," Hikurod said. "I've already told you about it. Such a method...

I took off my bib, shoes, and helmet, and even put the backpack I was carrying. Everyone looked at me, as if to say, "What are you doing all of a sudden?"

[You have used [Gigantization]: Your threat level and physical stats increase in proportion to your height].

As my body doubled in size, my strength increased accordingly.

However, the dwarf continued to spit out useless words.

"Even if you do it, without magic-...

Impossible?

Being an expert in this game and an active barbarian, I still couldn't agree with that. If I couldn't break something by force, then I lacked strength. Well, except for ghosts, of course.

*Bang!*

"Wow, so it's possible," Mike exclaimed.

"Dvalki, what's wrong?" Did you not clearly say that this is impossible?

"Uh, that's... I'm not sure either. How did he do it...?

Ignoring everyone's comments, I checked the floor. After I hit it a couple of times, light began to ooze out and the surface began to crack.

On the 3rd strike, I was surprised to see the ladder under the hole.

"A hidden staircase in this sewer?"

It was so deep that you couldn't see the end of it, even if you put a torch under it. It seemed that this was the road to the underworld.

"We're not going there, are we...?"

Mike looked at me with a reluctant expression on her face. To be honest, I didn't like it either. This place was used as a hiding place, so I decided it would be a cavity large enough to hide the body.

But what is it?

Feeling like I had been sucked into something unpleasant, I was also a little curious. This was because the sewer itself was a no-go zone in the game. Of course, I wasn't going to risk myself for curiosity.

"Bjorn, the smell of a woman is coming from there," Brown announced.

"What?"

"It's clear that she passed through this place. And not so long ago.

Damn, what should I do? Maybe I should just turn back and let the authorized people figure it out for themselves?

Anxiety began to deepen. So I asked Brown's opinion.

"Rothmiller, what do you think?" Is it good to retreat like this?

— ... With a simple cursory inspection, there should be no problems. There's no smell down there but that woman.

It was a bit of an unexpected answer. Was this feeling too obvious?

Brown grinned and added,

"For some reason, I have a feeling that it won't be too dangerous.

Well, the Sixth Sense was the reason. There was no clear evidence, but I listened to his words.

I mean, the hit rate is higher than I thought.

In fact, when Hans E was hiding, Brown sensed him very accurately. Didn't he want to go for cover? If he sensed the danger of the trap early, then it is clear that he was the only one who opposed it, despite the majority of votes.

The Sixth Sense, right? Perhaps this figure is better than I thought.

Soon I came to a conclusion.

"Rothmiller, from now on you will lead. If you feel that something is wrong, we will go back right away.

Brown's feelings were quite reliable.

***

"Vice-Captain, the entrance is destroyed.

The man frowned as he looked at his subordinate's report. The underground shelter was created thousands of years ago, before Rafdonia, the castle of a simple lord, was built up to the extent it is now. The city of Noark was built here. Most of the entrances to this place were guarded by people constantly standing guard.

"Is the entrance destroyed?" Could this be an attack by royalty?

"The probability of this was determined as low.

— ... Tell me the details.

At the insistence of the vice-captain, the subordinate hurried to explain.

"Apparently, this was the entrance, which was forgotten after the defeat of Caruism. I looked at the scout's latest report, which said that he was being used as a hiding place for a drifter.

"Hmm...

The man rubbed his chin. It was an old habit of his that manifested itself when he was worried.

"The royal family has no reason to bother us now, but... However, this is clearly an intruder, so we need to check it out.

"Yes, sir. Which unit would you like to contact?

"Is there any reason to send troops?" The vice-captain asked the woman next to him. She talked to him, telling him about a barbarian whom she had let go of in the past and who had become a famous explorer in the city until his subordinate arrived.

Unfortunately, the interesting conversation was interrupted in the middle.

"Amelia, if it were you, you could calmly figure out who it is. Maybe you'll go and check it out for us?

The rest of the story could be continued later.