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Translator: penny
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: Rift, Ceres's Grudge #3
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Dungeon.
The entrances to labyrinths in the demon realm come in all shapes and sizes.
The entrance to Pluto's Labyrinth, which I knew pretty well, looked just like the gateway to some ancient ruin—anyone could tell at a glance it was a dungeon entrance.
But entrances to dungeons crawling with named monsters often resembled burrows or caves, where natural formations had been unnaturally hollowed out.
In that sense, the dungeon that had appeared at this place called the Nymph's Hill—"Autumn's Entrance"—had a fairly bizarre entrance too.
A massive tree stretching toward the sky at the base of the hill. And beneath its roots, a round rabbit hole.
Just that it was pretty damn big.
A rabbit hole big enough to fit a compact car. Like the earth itself had opened its maw beneath the tree roots—empty, pitch-black, and giving off a seriously creepy vibe.
Antiope rolled a coin inside to test it, then stood up straight on her knees and said,
"This size means it's at least a Silver-grade dungeon for sure. No doubt about it. Half-assed folks would just rack up casualties."
A Silver-grade dungeon.
In this world, they ranked not just adventurers but dungeons and monsters too. A dungeon that a Silver-grade adventurer could clear was a Silver-grade dungeon, plain and simple.
Since it was experienced Antiope talking, her grade assessment was probably spot-on.
I quietly regulated my breathing. Once this mission was done, I'd be promoted to a silver necklace for sure. According to Hippolyte, that was assuming I survived, but with this crew, dying would be the hard part.
Of course, I had no clue about Vice Bain's skills, but an inquisitor from the temple knight order wouldn't be weak.
Everyone here could handle themselves, so I just needed to focus on my own shit.
Honestly, I had no idea what I could even do among these heavy hitters, but maybe just not getting in the way would count as pulling my weight.
Alright.
Fuck it, let's do this.
I was psyching myself up like that when Inquisitor Bain, who had been kneeling and brushing dust from the tree roots and nearby ground with his palm, nodded.
"Definitely Autumn's Entrance. The location matches the records, down to the faint traces of the sealing ritual. The problem is..."
He trailed off, and Hippolyte, her hand lightly on her sword hilt, asked,
"Is there a problem, Sir Bain?"
"The seal's a bit loose. Like something's already been in and out."
"A wild beast?"
Antiope picked up the thread. She glanced around, then stared at the massive burrow entrance and said,
"Could be a rabbit or deer that fell in. Or maybe wild nymphs living around here. This is the Nymph's Hill, after all."
Wild nymphs? Were nymphs like wild animals?
For a second, I wondered what to call people who lived with the sky as their ceiling and dirt as their floor.
There had to be a better word than "wild." Homeless nymphs. Wandering nymphs. Fuck, nothing fit better than wild nymphs.
Wild nymphs.
I'd heard that even now, in the outskirts beyond cities or deep in forests, native fairy nymphs hid from human eyes and hands. Paranoya had said she lived in burrows and caves as a kid.
Yeah, thinking about it that way, it didn't seem weird if a nymph or two had crawled into this hole.
If we caught one, Paranoya might make a friend.
I recalled her mentioning joining some nymph comrades association or hometown club.
Imagining a swarm of nymphs that looked just like her made me crack up, and the tension eased off a bit.
"What're you grinning about? You excited to go into the dungeon? You might die or get seriously hurt."
Hippolyte, standing next to me, asked. Had my face given it away? Being alone for days must've picked up some bad habits.
I loosened my mouth to smooth my expression, and Hippolyte shrugged like she couldn't understand.
"No need to rush. I'll put you at the front anyway, Hassan."
"I'm the vanguard?"
"Yeah. Sir Bain's suggestion."
At the end of Hippolyte's gaze was Bain, scribbling on some report or whatever. After jotting for a bit, he straightened up and spoke.
"Samaritans have strong mental barriers, so they'll wield great power in Ceres's domain. Alright, before we go in, let me perform a blessing to boost your mental defenses."
Vice Bain picked up a strange glass vial from his belt. He uncorked it with a pop, then poured the swirling purple liquid into his palm.
Whoosh-.
A chill hit my nose from the liquid he sprinkled as wind blew. The intense alcohol smell said it was booze.
And then he swung his arm, splashing it—splash, splaaash—onto us?
Fuck, what? Why splash booze?
"Almighty Bacchus, we anoint our bodies with your blood, your precious wine. Guard us with your fiery gaze, fill us with valiant hearts—"
Sprinkling booze while praying. It was such a bizarre sight I was pretty dumbfounded, but Hippolyte and Antiope stood still like it was normal.
Whoosh-.
But the strong alcohol kept hitting my body, making my head fuzzy.
" We offer our prayers to Almighty Bacchus."
By the end of the prayer, our bodies were splattered with reddish-purple splotches like we'd been sprayed with blood. We looked ridiculous, like a bunch of pintos.
Was this really okay? Hippolyte looked down at herself, her face slightly flushed, and said,
"Impressive. A Bacchus devotee's blessing packs a punch. Courage is surging."
"Nooo— Sis, I, I'm not drunk—."
Fuck, was this "courage-boosting" prayer just getting us drunk to dull our senses?
As I panicked a little, Bain gulped down the rest of the booze from the bottle and explained.
"Entering Ceres's domain sober is dangerous. Better to cloud the mind first. Samaritan, your mind looks sharp as ever. You okay?"
"Then gimme some more of that leftover booze."
So I chugged a couple bottles Bain had brought. But no matter how much I drank, the buzz wouldn't come.
I'd never been much of a lightweight. Except that time with Luna when some eye-flower wine or whatever knocked me out cold in one shot, I'd basically never gotten drunk.
"Alright, time to head in— Hassan, you're on point."
Hippolyte gave me the order. But she was staring at Antiope.
"Hassan, you deaf?"
Frowning hard, Hippolyte slapped her palm on Antiope's shoulder and chest.
"Chest muscles are soft, Hassan—. Skipping training lately?"
"Sis— you're drunk—. I'm not Hassan, dummy—. But why do you have four eyes—!"
Hmm—.
I seriously sensed trouble brewing.
Fuck, thought I'd be a chill passenger in the back of the bus.
Now I felt like a taxi driver stuck with three drunk assholes. Everyone slurring nonsense, and I was the only sober one.
"Mr. Hassan, let's go in. We need to destroy everything by tonight."
Of course, Inquisitor Vice Bain seemed pretty clear-headed despite downing booze strong enough to knock you out from the fumes. Looked reliable enough.
Fuck, it'll work out somehow.
*
*
*
As planned, I took point and crawled into the rabbit hole.
True to the massive tree roots, thick roots, twigs, and creepy giant beetles popped up, but swinging my club around handled them easy.
Unlike that goblin king crawl where I scraped along the ground, this burrow was wide enough for a bear to lumber through comfortably.
After trudging a while like that,
A massive boulder blocked the passage. It was so huge I couldn't budge it no matter how hard I pushed.
I looked around wondering what to do, and shining my torch on the floor revealed a small animal-sized hole dug under the rock—maybe made by whatever critter had snuck in earlier.
A nymph? But it was tiny, so no way me or the others could squeeze through.
I stopped and asked the folks behind me.
"What should we do?"
"Sis, I totally cut the lightning, I swear. The lightning, I cut it..."
"Antiope, shut it. My head's pounding."
But Hippolyte and Antiope were getting drunker by the minute, totally out of it. Only me and Vice Bain were straight.
"Mr. Bain. Really okay dragging these two like this? They're too wasted to tell shit apart."
"It's fine. Leave it to me."
Vice Bain raised his hand smoothly in the air. Then clapped loud—clap—and spoke like a teacher herding kids.
"Alright, everyone, move that boulder. Push hard. Heave-ho. Heave, ho."
"Ughhh—."
"Hnn..."
At his words, Antiope and Hippolyte shuffled like late-night drunks chased by a shopkeeper closing up. They slapped their palms on either side of the boulder.
I was seriously shocked.
"What the hell? You controlling people?"
"I can manipulate and command the intoxicated to a simple degree. That's the blessing I received from Lord Bacchus: Gospel of the Drunkard."
Fuck, a blessing to control people. Fittingly powerful for a blessing. This guy had one too.
Antiope, this guy—heard the temple knight order's dozen members were all blessing holders. Seemed legit.
But curiosity hit me.
"If you're gonna make 'em do heavy lifting, why get 'em drunk at all?"
"Mars's daughters have weak innate mental defenses. Now you'll see why I got them wasted to take control."
Groooan—.
Hippolyte and Antiope pushed together, the gap widening with a heavy rumble as the boulder rolled away somewhere.
Flash-!
Something shattered loudly.
"The seal's broken. Now Autumn's Entrance—the gateway of the season—truly reveals itself. Stay alert for—."
I heard Vice Bain's firm voice from behind,
But my focus was on the scene ahead, his words fading into the background.
The world beyond the boulder felt way too weird for a dungeon.
I'd pictured an underground ruin, or at least a gloomy burrow teeming with beasts in the dark.
But what unfolded before me was like a hidden secret garden.
Secret garden.
Was there a better way to put it?
Dense as reeds, packed with red and yellow flowers—an utter wonder. No clue where the bright light came from without sunlight.
Whoosh—a breeze scattered pollen and petals, melting away my tension until the scenery overwhelmed me, thoughts blank.
Vibrant flowers and cloyingly sweet scents left my mind empty. Warm, humid air like a sauna. This maddening feeling.
Where'd I felt this before.
I'd experienced it plenty. Mom's greenhouse she slaved over? Fuck, that was kinda like this.
Digging through memories like that, a tear suddenly rolled down my cheek.
Huh, why the tears.
Not sad, just stinging eyes. Fuck, mixed in with onions or garlic or some spicy shit. Pollen hell.
Rubbing my eyes in confusion, Vice Bain behind me—nose and mouth covered with a handkerchief—clicked his tongue.
"Contamination's worse than intel. Stay too long, and we'll end up fertilizer like these folks."
"Fertilizer?"
At his words, I looked down. What I'd thought was a beautiful flowerbed hit me as horrifying.
Under my feet, white bones rotted away, entwined in roots. Plenty of them. Beautiful blooms over gruesome corpses.
"Fuck, what is this— turning shit into fertilizer like that."
"Sacrificed to Goddess Ceres. We'll join them if we linger—move, quick—."