The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 307

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 307
Chapter 307
The Great Pyramid of the Abyss.
Like the pyramids I had conquered during my time in First, this place too was structured in much the same way.
[ Floor 1 – Path of Sacrifice ]
It was composed of levels.
Typically consisting of three to four levels, this one might follow the same pattern.
Yet this place appeared far grander and more treacherous than any pyramid-shaped dungeon I had ever conquered in First.
‘Path of Sacrifice, then.’
The name of each level invariably revealed the method to conquer it.
So what could the Path of Sacrifice possibly signify?
No matter how I pondered it, the reason for assembling an Expedition Party exceeding a hundred members seemed destined to become apparent here.
In that moment.
“This is the interior of the Great Pyramid!”
“How magnificent.”
“Is this truly the inside of that pyramid? It doesn’t look like it at all.”
“It seemed spacious from outside, but this structure is certainly… incompatible with a pyramid.”
The first floor of the pyramid.
The structure of the ‘Path of Sacrifice’ revealed itself.
The structure was simple.
True to its name as a ‘path,’ it was a vast sandy corridor with no branching passages in sight.
Or rather, with the ceiling sealed above, ‘corridor’ seemed a more fitting description than ‘path.’
“I shall take the lead.”
“We follow behind you, Mir!”
“Everyone maintain vigilance! Monsters could emerge from anywhere at any moment!”
The corridor was expansive.
The passage was composed entirely of sand, with sand continuously cascading down the walls on both sides.
Fortunately, the accumulating sand hadn’t narrowed the path, at least.
As we pressed forward.
“Wait.”
My heightened vigilance swept across my surroundings when I suddenly sensed danger and halted my advance.
“Mir, what troubles you?”
“I see nothing particularly suspicious, but…”
The warriors and shamans of the Expedition Party.
None of those sensitive to perception or attuned to mystical phenomena detected anything amiss.
Yet to me, it was unmistakable.
The instinct honed through countless dungeon conquests in First.
Combined with the Dragon’s Eye vision merged with Luke’s sight, the source of this dissonance became clear.
‘A trap.’
A trap concealed within the sand itself.
There was no point in explaining anyway, so I headed straight for the trap.
– I activate a 5-Circle Fire spell: Fire Cannon.
I cast the magic.
A cannon of flame blazed forth without hesitation, soaring through the air.
The moment that cannon struck precisely the switch of the trap I had targeted.
Boom!
Along with the explosion of the Fire Cannon.
From both sides of the explosion point.
Whoosh!
An enormous volley of arrows flew horizontally toward us.
No, not just from the sides.
Including the floor and ceiling, arrows shot from all four directions—up, down, left, right—leaving no blind spot.
Had anyone been caught inside, even with the sturdiest shield, they could never have blocked every single attack.
Witnessing such a relentless barrage of arrows, the Expedition Party’s faces went pale.
“What in the world…?”
“Those aren’t ordinary arrows. They can pierce through thick leather and even sorcery itself.”
“Anyone who entered there would have breathed their last without even a moment to react—at least dozens of them.”
“A trap, then.”
“Ssahan, are you not a Desert hunter who uses traps to hunt the Desert’s monsters? How did you fail to notice this trap?”
“My apologies. As an excuse, as you can see, the trap and all surrounding structures are completely buried under sand, so there was no way for me to confirm it.”
“Then, if such a trap appears again, there’s no way to detect it?”
“…My apologies.”
The man called Ssahan seemed knowledgeable about traps as well.
But it appeared he couldn’t discern this one either.
“Just in case traps activate suddenly, I’ll increase our spacing a bit more. And from the front, I’ll do my best to locate any traps.”
“Mir, will that be alright?”
“I’ll do my best.”
So I had no choice but to take the lead.
The trap I discovered first was actually fortunate timing.
Even with Luke’s Dragon Eyes, I only sensed a very faint sense of danger, so without the countless traps I’d experienced in First, I wouldn’t have noticed it.
Given as much.
[ Warning Scarab ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type: Tool
Grade: Legendary
Restriction: Level 400 or higher, Trap-Related Skill Lv 40 or higher
Description: A detection tool used by the ancient Desert peoples to survive various perils of the Desert, including antlion pits.
I too had made thorough preparations.
Starting with a Legendary-grade tool for trap detection.
[ Ancient Ruin Plunderer’s Gloves ]
[ Ancient Ruin Plunderer’s Boots ]
….
[ You have equipped the complete ‘Ancient Ruin Plunderer’ set (5/5). ]
[ The ‘Ancient Ruin Plunderer’ set effect activates. ]
[ Ancient Ruin Plunderer: Abilities and skills related to trap detection and disarming are enhanced. ]
I had swapped out all my armor for pieces that would aid in finding and disarming traps.
Not long after doing so.
Whirrrrr—.
The scarab I held in my palm began to flutter its wings.
Curious about which direction, I moved my hand slightly, and the moment I pointed it at the floor, the scarab erupted into frantic wing beats.
[ Ancient Ruin Plunderer’s Trap Disarming Tool ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type: Tool
Grade: Epic
I approached the trap cautiously and immediately began to disarm it.
Second is a fantasy game.
So when disarming traps, you naturally need a trap disarming skill.
– Using skill ‘Trap Disarm’.
Of course, I possessed a trap disarming skill as well.
Just like alchemy and crafting skills, I had long since used the trap disarming skillbook I brought from First.
Moreover, since trap-related skills were linked to All Mastery and skill level just like production skills, my current trap disarming skill level was exceptionally high.
And when I added the experience of disarming various traps back in First.
Click.
[ You have disarmed the trap ‘Collapsing Floor’. ]
“It’s done.”
“You, you really disarmed the trap!”
“That’s incredible!”
“Just finding the trap was impressive, but to actually disarm it….”
I had managed to disarm the trap.
Yet my expression after disarming it was far from bright.
And there was good reason for it.
‘The trap level is high.’
As I said, my current trap disarming level is extraordinarily high.
I’m wielding an epic-grade trap disarming tool, with a high trap disarming skill level and experience from First.
Realistically, at this level I should have been able to disarm most traps in under a minute.
Yet that last trap took me three minutes to disarm.
And as we progressed deeper, my concerns became reality.
[ You have disarmed the trap ‘Sand Venom Spray’. ]
Four minutes.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
The traps were being disarmed smoothly, but the time required to disarm each one continued to increase.
And that wasn’t all.
Traps with structures I myself was beginning to struggle understanding were being discovered.
Until now, I’d managed to disarm them somehow, but if the trap difficulty rose even slightly further, there was a real possibility I would fail.
Still, for now, it was manageable.
As long as the passage ended soon, it would be fine.
While I waited, thinking only of when the path would finally end.
Fwooosh!
The scarab suddenly flapped its wings frantically.
The problem was that the wing-beats were far too violent.
Normally, this scarab would flap its wings gradually as traps drew near, but now it was moving its wings at an enormous speed all at once.
Sensing the danger, I.
– Used the 4-Circle Earth Magic ‘Sand Wall’.
I immediately deployed a defensive spell.
And at the same moment.
Whoooosh!
“F-fire!”
Scorching flames erupted from all directions.
Though the flames came suddenly, I managed to avoid the initial danger thanks to the sand wall I had created.
However, the erupting flames showed no signs of stopping.
The sand wall was melting away in an instant.
“O sand, protect us!”
“Let fierce winds sweep forth!”
“The desert’s heat shall be our ally!”
The sorcerers used defensive incantations, blocking the flames alongside me.
I too seized this opportunity to deploy another defensive spell.
Initially, not knowing what trap would strike, I had used the most efficient sand magic available.
– Used the 4-Circle Water Magic ‘Aqua Wall’.
Now it was different.
Having realized the trap’s true nature was fire, I used the most effective defensive magic against flames.
I created a barrier of water—the Aqua Wall.
Yet even with this, the flames were not completely blocked.
“Warriors with shields, step forward!”
“Block the flames!”
“Warriors of the scorching desert! We can do this!”
“Uoooooh!”
The shielded warriors stepped forward, blocking the flames that seeped through.
And shortly after.
We fortunately managed to withstand the erupting fire trap unscathed.
However, my expression only grew darker.
“I failed to detect the trap.”
It was only because Scarab alerted me to the danger just before the trap triggered that I escaped unscathed.
Had it been otherwise, I too would have been in mortal peril.
My current trap detection and disarming abilities are at an extraordinarily high level.
Yet even my abilities prove ineffective against this.
Is this not utterly unreasonable?
It feels as though the Pyramid itself is telling me not to even attempt disarming these traps.
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
The name of the Pyramid’s first floor surfaced in my consciousness.
[ Floor 1 – Path of Sacrifice ]
Yes. The Path of Sacrifice.
Now I understand.
What trial this first floor truly represents.
‘Each time we pass a trap, we must sacrifice one person.’
Initially, I could trigger the traps using magic like Fire Cannon.
But that was no longer possible afterward.
No matter what magic I employed, whether I hurled spears or fired arrows.
The traps would not activate.
Therefore, I had no choice but to rely solely on trap disarming skills.
Yet now that detection and disarming have become impossible as well, there remains only one path forward.
Send one person ahead first, sacrifice them to the trap, and cross over using their death as the price.
And I was not alone in reaching this grim conclusion.
“Such cruelty….”
“This is malice incarnate!”
“This is no sacrifice! You’re asking us to offer our comrades as sacrifices to these traps!”
“How can this be.”
The Expedition Party too could not help but grasp the horrifying truth.
In truth, reaching this point without a single casualty was already a remarkable feat.
Had I not been leading the way to discover and disarm the traps, half the Expedition Party might have already perished.
Yet the warriors of the Desert were resilient.
Even in this desperate situation, they steeled their resolve and stepped forward with unwavering determination.
“I will volunteer.”
“Tulan!”
“I am confident in my durability. Perhaps I might even survive once.”
“Tulan, even you cannot survive those traps! Did you not see what the previously triggered traps did!”
“If this is the only way to save the Desert, I will gladly offer this life.”
Following his example.
“I will volunteer next.”
“No. I should go first. You have a family, do you not? I lost all my family not long ago… It is only right that I step forward.”
“You were planning to marry your fiancée as soon as this expedition concludes, weren’t you?”
“So… I’m entrusting my beloved to you. If it’s you, I can trust her.”
“No! I cannot allow this! Let me take the lead! Don’t stop me!”
The Desert’s warriors rushed forward, each vying to be first.
An action befitting the name “Path of Sacrifice.”
Only warriors as resilient as those of the Desert could undertake such a thing.
Perhaps this was the malice the “Path of Sacrifice” intended—to advance by sacrificing these warriors one by one.
But.
“No.”
I had no intention of falling victim to such malice.
Dungeons existed to be conquered, not to be endured.
There had to be a way to advance through this Dungeon without sacrificing the warriors.
“I will take the lead as planned.”
“Mir! That’s not acceptable!”
“If you were to fall, we could not guarantee success in conquering the Pyramid!”
“It’s fine. If danger arises, I’ll withdraw on my own.”
“But…”
Well, discovering the proper method of conquest would take time.
I intended to conquer this trial through a more straightforward, brute-force approach.
“Luke.”
– Yes, Master.
[ Using Black Flame Transformation. ]
[ Borrowing the power of the Black Flame Dragon, Lucknir Desperate Ignoxtan. ]
Black flames began to engulf my body.
Above them, a dragon’s horns and fangs took shape.
A sturdy skeletal frame and a fearsome gaze.
And finally.
Crackle, crackle, crackle—
Dragon scales, draconic scales, sprouting across the surface.
That’s right.
I was now.
“I will advance, triggering the traps as I go. Once I’ve activated them all, please follow.”
“Mir!”
Luke’s scales—draconic scales—recently acquired.
I would rely on their defensive power to break through the traps of Floor 1.

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