RTGR 134

Chapter 134 ….

What kind of identity could be this unexpected?

Do-hyun, who had never even dreamed there would be a hidden dungeon, could only squat there blankly, staring at the entrance.

Whoa… There was a dungeon here?
A secret dungeon inside a secret space… Whoever built this hid it viciously well.
Riza riza.

The others nodded, clearly feeling the same.

Charlie was right.

This was truly a hidden-of-the-hidden location.

Wow, chills. They really meant it when they said it’s darkest under the lamp…

Even if someone deciphered Jin Rooddel’s code and came here, nine out of ten would probably leave without ever discovering the hidden dungeon.

Normally, no one would imagine there’d be another hidden piece inside a hidden piece.

Do-hyun himself hadn’t.

The sheer meticulousness of the double lock was almost admirable.

Just how amazing is this place that they went this far to hide it?

Sure, finding secret dungeons was already like plucking stars from the sky, and entry conditions were usually strict—but this was excessive.

…Then again, thinking about Jihad’s case, that had been ridiculous too.

Why are you looking at me again, Master?
“…It’s nothing.”
…Why do I feel like you look at me whenever you think something bad? Am I imagining it?

Ignoring Jihad’s pout, Do-hyun swallowed and checked the dungeon information.

[King’s Tomb]

Rank: ?
Type: ?
Trait: ?

Description:
A tomb built long ago.

It is presumed to be the resting place of a great king, and traces suggest many people visited it numerous times in the distant past.

However, the king’s tomb is now forgotten.

As it is not recorded in history, nothing is currently known about it.

[Entry Limit: 1 person]
[If the dungeon is cleared, it will disappear. If the clear fails, entry will no longer be possible.]

…Question marks? What kind of dungeon is this?

An unknown rank wasn’t unheard of.

But the type and traits were question marks too?

He had never once heard of a secret dungeon like this—not even back in the Demrock days.

If this weren’t a game managed by AI, he would have seriously suspected a bug.

If I want answers, I have to go in.

If that was the intention, it understood human psychology perfectly.

It was pushing his curiosity buttons to the limit.

Clear it and it disappears… fail and I can never enter again…

In other words—no take-backs.

Success would be great, but failing recklessly would be a disaster.

Entering first into such a suspicious dungeon felt extremely uncomfortable, but Do-hyun did not hesitate.

The answer’s obvious.

It wasn’t like he had a guild.

Who could he trust to investigate this for him? As always, he had to move himself.

And his instincts were strongly telling him:

Letting someone else know about this place would be a very bad choice.

The double lock, the layers of secrecy—none of it was ordinary.

All or nothing.

Decision made, Do-hyun stepped into the entrance.

Unlike before, he wasn’t sucked somewhere instantly.

Step. Step.

He simply walked down the stairs slowly.

It was very different from the usual information about secret dungeons.

Normally, hidden dungeons assaulted you the moment you entered.

…Master, the air feels kind of ominous.
Riza riza…

Jihad rubbed his arms as he followed.

Relying on the occasional wall-mounted candles to push through the darkness did feel eerie.

Maybe because it was underground—the air was cold too.

Hm…

Even Charlie, fingering his sword, looked highly alert.

Still, it was fortunate.

The entry limit was one person, which had worried him, but it seemed Guardians didn’t count toward the limit.

Well, otherwise Tamers would be completely screwed—wouldn’t be fair.

Step. Step.

How far had they gone?

Deeper than I expected.

Just as the unpleasant feeling of endless descent began to creep in—

Tap.

The stairs ended.

At the same time, as if sensors had activated, the wall candles ignited in rapid succession.

The chain of sounds continued endlessly, only stopping several seconds later, echoing in his ears a beat behind.

[You have entered the King’s Tomb.]

The place was now brightly lit in a yellow glow—

—and the moment Do-hyun saw it, his mouth fell open.

“…Holy crap.”

The Guardians were no different.

…Whoa?
My goodness…
Ri–Riza…!

Each of them voiced their shock.

What had stunned Do-hyun’s party was—

the paintings on the walls.

Countless murals completely covered the walls of a space the size of a school field.

Wow… Master, that’s all paintings?
I… have never seen anything like this. Simply astonishing.

Overwhelmed by the scale, Jihad and Charlie shook their heads.

Do-hyun was no different.

This is insane.

Even he had never seen anything like it.

As he approached as if entranced, the murals—bearing the marks of long ages—welcomed him.

Some parts were faded and worn.

Some were completely erased.

There were many such damaged areas, yet enough remained to understand what the murals were depicting.

My lord, this appears to be… a historical record.
War? Looks like that, Master.
Riza riza.

They were right.

The murals depicted the history of a war.

From the entrance onward, the timeline moved from the distant past gradually toward more recent eras.

At some point the art style changed, suggesting many people had continued painting it across generations.

…This must be the war Gamilion mentioned. And this… could it be the Abyss?

On the ceiling were divine beings descending from the heavens.

On both walls were massive warriors, dragons, small fairies, and humans fighting against them.

From midway onward, the grotesque black monsters painted on the floor were clearly the ones that crossed through the Eyes of the Abyss.

…No monsters or traps—just history?

At least in Demrock, no hidden dungeon like this existed.

And as far as he knew, there had been no reports of such a thing in GodOS either.

If this history was connected to the main quest…

This is definitely another route into the main quest.

He was certain.

The main quest wasn’t supposed to unlock for another three years.

It made sense there would be multiple routes leading into it—

and Do-hyun had just discovered one of them.

Perhaps following these historical traces was how players were meant to approach the main quest.

From here… this is after that point.

This dungeon truly deserved to be called a book of history.

It depicted events even Do-hyun didn’t know—what happened after that day.

Gulp.

Now fully absorbed, Do-hyun slowly walked forward.

What followed wasn’t far from his expectations.

The gods that had stayed on the ceiling were now fighting alongside humanity on the walls.

Humanity had been driven underground.

The Abyss occasionally emerged from below.

The other races that fought the gods scattered and disappeared.

It was an immense mural spanning an unbelievably long time.

Step. Step.

Behind the ancient humans who had been forced underground, modern humanity formed and rose to the surface.

Outsiders appeared.

The present main continent took shape.

A vast stretch of history.

How utterly vicious…
…

Within it, the gods’ brutality was unmistakable.

How the ancient humans had been treated.

And how the gods now wore masks, pretending to be benevolent toward modern humanity.

It was all laid bare.

To think the gods are more horrifying than those monsters… I cannot believe it… My lord, is this the battle you have been fighting?

Charlie trembled, looking at Do-hyun with rising respect.

There was not a shred of doubt in his eyes.

…I was wondering how I’d explain this and make them understand. Maybe this worked out better.

They were nearing the end of the murals when—

“Hm? What’s this…?”

One image caught Do-hyun’s eye.

A group of five.

Their overall silhouettes resembled humans, but their outfits and physiques varied wildly.

One of them was over two meters tall with wings—clearly not human.

My goodness.

They were mercilessly slaughtering the last resisting ancient humans on the ground.

They overturned the earth, split tidal waves, always at the forefront threatening humanity.

Yet at the same time, some people worshiped them.

They don’t look like the Five Lords… so what are they?

A new faction Do-hyun didn’t recognize.

They appeared everywhere, depicted as objects of terror in every mural.

From the earliest paintings…

to those drawn much later by new hands continuing the history.

Thud.

As he moved forward, their appearances gradually became more frequent—

until finally, at the very end of the murals—

they disappeared.

[You have uncovered part of the hidden history.]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]
[You have witnessed the historical archive spanning ages.]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]

[Title acquired: “Discoverer of Forgotten History”]

[Discoverer of Forgotten History]

Rank: Hero
Description:
A title granted to a great explorer who uncovered forgotten history.
Your fate, now that you know part of the true history unknown to others, will differ from before.
Effects:
- Search ability range +10%
- Free communication with all races regardless of language
- All stats +5

…Is that the end?

The vast dungeon had reached its conclusion.

Yet there was still nothing.

No reward to speak of—just an empty space.

Well, at least I got a Hero title.

Originally, this place was just another route into the main quest.

For Do-hyun, who was already progressing it, it didn’t mean much.

But for others, this alone would have been an incredible reward.

No wonder nobody found this.

Honestly, it would probably be hard for anyone to discover this place in the future.

Though now, that didn’t matter.

He had monopolized yet another hidden route to the main quest.