How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 46】

As Helen said, night operations were extremely dangerous.

It wasn’t for nothing that Kudo had mentioned that in the Blood-Soaked Land of Kuberin, barbarians weren’t the only enemies.

Monsters, mages, dark mages, unidentified entities, escaped criminals, and so on.

When night fell, all sorts of dangerous beings would roam around freely, making it all too easy to disappear without a trace if one wasn’t careful.

Moreover, the already treacherous terrain would be shrouded in darkness so thick that identification became impossible at night, so even someone familiar with the geography would easily get lost without a compass.

Nevertheless, the reason Helen approved the operation was because they had to grasp at any straw available.

If the Butcher Tribe abandoned their surprise attacks and launched a full-scale war, Bowden Fortress would have no choice but to be completely annihilated.

They needed to raid even a mage’s dungeon to obtain something that could help strengthen their forces.

“Private Carlisle.”

“Yes, Lady Helen.”

“How many personnel are needed for the operation?”

“Hmm.”

Carlisle thought for a moment before answering.

“I think four or five people would be sufficient.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

Helen nodded and looked around at the scout members.

“Scout Captain Begman.”

“Yes, Lady Helen.”

“Prepare to execute the operation immediately. Total operation personnel: five. Scout Captain Begman, Corporal Kudo, Corporal Marder, Private Russell, and Private Carlisle.”

“Yes, understood.”

Once the participating personnel were confirmed, the operation proceeded swiftly.

Carlisle equipped himself alongside the scout members and left the fortress.

“If it seems even slightly dangerous, immediately abort the operation and return to the fortress. Remember that dungeon exploration is important, but your lives are more important.”

“Yes, Lady Helen.”

“Then, return safely.”

“We’ll be back before sunrise. Hehe.”

Begman smiled at Helen, who was seeing off the exploration team.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The exploration team immediately left Bowden Fortress and headed toward the operation area.

Toward the dungeon of the mage Antiros.

* * *

The dungeon was located about 5 kilometers away from Bowden Fortress.

Based on the scout members’ stamina, it would be an easy one-hour distance on flat ground in broad daylight, but moving through treacherous mountain terrain at night in heavy rain was by no means an easy task.

Moreover, since they couldn’t even use lanterns for fear of attracting the attention of dangerous entities, the exploration team’s movement speed was inevitably slower than usual.

If it had been regular soldiers or non-combat personnel like engineers, conducting night operations in such severe weather would have been unthinkable.

It was only because they were scout members with good stamina and excellent combat abilities that this was possible; otherwise, the operation would never have been approved in the first place.

After nearly two hours to reach the operation area, Begman looked back at Carlisle.

“Where exactly is this mage’s dungeon supposed to be?”

“Here.”

“How do we find the entrance?”

“You should see something like an inscription between the rock crevices. Since it won’t be very visible anyway, you can feel around with your hands to find it.”

It was a dark night with rain pouring down, making it impossible to see properly ahead.

It was only thanks to the faint moonlight that this was manageable; otherwise, the operation approval order would never have been issued.

“Ugh. This is creepy. Something’s going to come out, isn’t it?”

Russell spoke while trembling with fear, quite unlike a scout member.

“No matter how scared you are, don’t piss your pants. If you do it now, it’ll be troublesome.”

Begman scolded Russell.

When Russell transformed into a berserker, he would scream and rampage wildly, which could attract the attention of dangerous entities, so this was a necessary warning.

“I-I may be a bit cowardly, but I won’t go that far!”

“Then stop talking nonsense and look for the seal carved on the rocks.”

“Yes…”

“What a coward.”

Begman glared at Russell, who was walking hunched over in fear, then began feeling around the rocks to search for the seal.

‘If my memory is correct, it should be somewhere around here. The coordinates match too.’

Carlisle also searched for the dungeon entrance, feeling around the towering rocks one by one.

After about 30 minutes had passed.

“There’s something here.”

Marder called the scout members together.

“Really? Give me the lantern. Rookie, come here. The rest of you, cover well so the light doesn’t leak out.”

“Yes.”

Begman lit the lantern inside a makeshift barrier created by Kudo, Marder, and Russell spreading out their raincoats.

True to his veteran status, Begman didn’t forget about stealth operations and light control to prevent light from leaking during night operations.

It seemed he wasn’t appointed as scout captain despite being just a soldier for nothing.

Of course, Bowden Fortress only had one officer, Helen.

“Is this it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Carlisle confirmed the crest that Marder had found and nodded.

It was the exact same crest he had seen in the mage Antiros’s dungeon while playing the game [Overlord].

“What do we do now?”

“We need to chant an incantation to open the entrance.”

“An incantation? Can you do magic and stuff like that?”

“No.”

Carlisle shook his head as he answered.

“If I inject mana while saying the password, it should open. Probably.”

“Hmm. Mana. Then I can’t open it. I don’t know how to handle mana.”

“I can do it.”

Carlisle said that, then placed his hand on the seal and channeled mana into it.

‘What was the password… Ah, right. That was it.’

Carlisle recalled the password from his memory and spoke it aloud.

“The longing for creation, the courage to transcend taboos, the ecstasy of one who explores the divine realm, the evolutionary masterpiece built upon failures.”

As the incantation ended, the rock with the carved seal split left and right as if by magic, revealing narrow stairs leading underground.

“Hmm. So it was true that the Sigmund family had a library.”

Kudo muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.

“To think there really was a mage’s dungeon…”

“Is it okay to go in? We won’t die if we go, will we?”

Marder and Russell also seemed quite surprised.

“Let’s go.”

“W-wait.”

Begman grabbed the back of Carlisle’s neck.

“Is it really okay to just go in like that?”

“Should we not go in?”

“N-no, that’s not it.”

Begman showed a slightly flustered expression.

Even this battle-hardened veteran—though not old—who had survived nearly 10 years rolling around in Kuberin seemed reluctant about the mage’s dungeon.

Perhaps it was a natural reaction.

They had fought barbarians before, but had never faced a mage.

Moreover, mages weren’t very common in this world either.

Unknown enemies are always frightening, aren’t they?

“The mage Antiros is from 200 years ago, so he’s probably already dead.”

“He could have become undead and still be alive.”

“…?”

“You know, that thing. Li… Li-something or other.”

“Li-something?”

“Li, Lij? No, Lichu?”

“Are you perhaps referring to a Lich?”

“Y-yes! That’s it!”

Even Begman, who had no magical knowledge, seemed to have picked up something from somewhere.

“You don’t need to worry about that. While Antiros wasn’t normal, he wasn’t a dark mage.”

“Really?”

“His specialty wasn’t in that area either, so you can rest assured.”

“W-well, that’s a relief then. Ahem. Ahem ahem.”

Begman cleared his throat unnecessarily, trying to hide his embarrassment by acting nonchalant.

“The inside isn’t completely safe either… but I think I can solve it with the information I have, so don’t worry too much.”

“Who said anything about worrying? I’m just saying we should be careful since it could be dangerous.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“You little…?”

“Let’s go.”

Carlisle cleanly ignored Begman’s glare and went down the narrow stairs.

* * *

Inside the dungeon, or more precisely the laboratory interior, was very comfortable.

Despite being underground, far from being humid, it maintained a pleasantly dry, appropriate humidity and wasn’t cold either.

Rather, it was warmer than outside, giving the feeling of being in a cozy house.

And dozens of magic stone lights on the left and right walls were glowing, illuminating the interior of the laboratory.

“Wow! Mages really are amazing! To be able to create such a cozy facility underground!”

Russell, who came from a rural backwater, couldn’t hide his amazement as he marveled continuously.

“Shh.”

Carlisle cautioned Russell.

“It’s not completely safe, so let’s move quietly.”

“R-really? Got it.”

Russell shut his mouth tight.

“There might be traps, so everyone be careful.”

Marder said while scanning the surroundings with hawk-like eyes.

“There probably won’t be traps. Instead, there will be guardians, so we need to watch out for those.”

“Guardians?”

“Like guards protecting the dungeon.”

Kudo added a comment to Carlisle’s words.

“We should definitely assume they’re there. There’s no way a facility like this wouldn’t have something protecting it.”

Carlisle’s steps stopped at the end of the narrow passage.

“Why are you stopping?”

“Because it’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“Once we leave here, it’s a plaza.”

Carlisle pointed to the laboratory interior right ahead.

“We’re only five people, so wouldn’t it be troublesome if we get surrounded by multiple enemies?”

“I was being careless.”

Begman nodded as if agreeing.

The laboratory interior was quite spacious.

At a glance, it seemed to be about the size of Bowden Fortress’s training ground, so as Carlisle said, if they were surrounded by multiple enemies in such a wide space, it would be difficult to avoid annihilation.

“If you wait here, I’ll go take a look first.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“But…”

Begman seemed reluctant.

He probably felt uncomfortable about pushing an unknowing recruit into a dangerous area.

“I’m not trying to show off, but I’m the only one who knows information about this place and I’m probably the fastest, so don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm…”

“Well then, I’m going.”

“Huh? Hey! Rookie! Wait! Stop right there!”

Begman urgently tried to call him back, but Carlisle didn’t even pretend to listen.

‘It’s not like I want to go either.’

Carlisle grumbled inwardly.

How many people in the world would want to walk into danger with their own feet?

Moreover, given Carlisle’s personality of finding even moving a finger bothersome, stepping forward like this wasn’t easy either.

He had readily volunteered simply because explaining the strategy would take too long, and there was no particular need to do so.

‘It should be about time for them to appear.’

Carlisle was thinking this as he entered the laboratory interior.

Swish, swoosh.

Sounds of something moving came from inside the iron cages positioned throughout the laboratory.

Clank, clatter.

The iron cages opened by themselves.

“Grrrowl!”

“Grrrrr!”

Soon, the beings that had been crouched and trapped inside the cages began to reveal themselves one by one.

“W-what the hell are those?!”

The startled Russell fell on his backside.

They weren’t wild beasts, and they certainly weren’t monsters.

They were horrific and grotesque life forms that couldn’t be found anywhere else in this world, existing only here in Antiros’s Laboratory.

In this world, those with magical insight had a specific term for those various ‘things.’

Chimera.

That was the name for those cursed life forms created using magic and alchemy.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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