Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 349. Hidden Place on the 19th Floor (3)
The 19th-floor ruins were filled with thousands of caves.
A labyrinth where one could never know which path led where.
If you got lost, there was no doubt you’d wander until you died.
Crunch.
Jinhyuk quickened his pace.
‘Hastings…’
With Yua Sis’s kin slaughtered outside the ruins, there was no time to hesitate.
The rest of the party understood this too, so they increased their speed.
But then—
“Wait!”
Jinhyuk abruptly stopped in his tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
Yua Sis perked up her ears.
“There are monsters ahead. A swarm… numbering over a hundred.”
“Monsters? But I can’t sense any magical presence.”
Teresa focused her senses, scanning the surroundings.
But nothing registered on her radar.
“They’re in a semi-hibernation state, so they won’t show up on magic detection. But if we get too close, they’ll all wake up and attack.”
Jinhyuk knew exactly what these creatures were.
Black Scorpions.
They were over 5 meters long and incredibly fast.
Moreover, their venomous stingers were so potent that even the ‘Blessing of the Stars’ would struggle to heal the damage.
They were far more troublesome than the Sandworms they had fought earlier.
And there were over a hundred of them.
Even if they fought their way through, it would take a lot of time.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“We’ll have to take a detour.”
Jinhyuk glanced at a passageway to the side.
“You’re not suggesting we dig our way through with a pickaxe, are you? That would take forever.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not like that.”
Jinhyuk slowly approached the wall.
Shhk.
He ran his palm along its surface.
It felt cold and earthy to the touch.
“Now’s not the time for this…”
“Shh. Just give me a moment.”
Jinhyuk focused.
After a while, he stopped and smiled.
“Found it. Right here.”
What appeared to be a perfectly ordinary wall was, in fact, an illusion created by the shadows.
Upon closer inspection, there was just enough space for a person to slip through.
“I’ll go first. Follow me closely. The rest of you too.”
Jinhyuk slipped into the narrow gap, and everyone else watched in awe.
“Ah…”
“A hidden passage…”
“I’ve been here many times, but I never noticed this.”
Even Yua Sis, wide-eyed, stared at the spot where Jinhyuk had disappeared.
* * *
The passage was much more humid than the previous area.
A musty smell filled the air.
‘I’d hoped to avoid this place…’
Jinhyuk had known about this route but hadn’t mentioned it.
Among the paths leading to the Dunes of the Sun, this was the most dangerous and challenging one.
Still…
Given their limited time, this was the only option.
And since they were here, there was something else Jinhyuk had to do.
[The unique ability ‘Flame of Origin’ has been activated!]
Red flames flared from his fingertips.
The previously dark surroundings lit up, revealing the space around them.
Fwoosh!
The ground was covered in white sand.
A strange tension pricked at Jinhyuk’s nerves.
“From here on, the place is riddled with traps. I could explain them all, but that would take forever.”
“So, we just have to follow you, huh?”
“Exactly. You all have excellent physical abilities. As long as you step where I step, you’ll be fine.”
“Damn it. Every time I’m with you, it feels like pure hell.”
Chun Yoosung grumbled as he took out the armor he had stashed in his coat.
Thunk!
Teresa also began removing her armor.
To move quickly, they needed to lighten their load as much as possible.
The three of them, now dressed more lightly, assumed their positions.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I’m a bit nervous.’
If they took a wrong step and awakened the creature sleeping here, it would be far worse than facing a hundred Black Scorpions.
In hindsight…
He should’ve bought a few more items from Rick before coming here.
Rick, the merchant, would have had artifacts imbued with lightweight and stealth magic.
‘We’ll have to be extra careful.’
Jinhyuk concentrated his magic into his legs.
Wooooong!
As both ‘Domain of Wind’ and ‘Heavenly Swordsmanship’ activated simultaneously…
Fwoosh!
A gust of wind swept across the sand as Jinhyuk sprinted.
Swiftly.
And lightly.
He ran over the sand, following the path from his memory.
The others trailed closely behind, stepping exactly where Jinhyuk stepped.
But then…
Squish!
Something felt off.
Yua Sis, who was running at the back, had stepped too deeply into the sand.
Crunch!
The sound of sand grinding together echoed.
At that moment…
Rumble… rumble… rumble!
The ground began to shake violently.
The white grains of sand parted, and the entire cave seemed to scream in agony.
“Y-Yua Sis?”
“I-I’m sorry! I’m too heavy… I should’ve gone on a diet…”
Even for a slender deer, a deer is still a deer.
With her body weighing over 100 kilograms, it was nearly impossible to avoid leaving any trace on the sand.
[The master of the passage awakens!]
[Due to the extreme level difference, the ‘Fear’ effect has been activated!]
[All Players and Residents’ levels have been reduced by 10!]
The red status windows appeared in succession.
And then, a massive creature emerged from the sand.
It was so enormous that the only word to describe it was “gigantic.”
Towering at over 15 meters, the monstrous insect filled the center of the cave.
A named guardian: the ‘Antlion.’
A trap-type monster that lurked in the dunes, waiting to devour its prey.
“This is dangerous. Survival probability is less than 2%.”
Frey unsheathed her spear.
“Tch.”
“So, we can’t avoid a fight, huh?”
Chun Yoosung and Teresa, their faces grim, also readied their weapons.
The Antlion looked down, as if deciding who to devour first.
Once it made its choice, its bright yellow eyes fixed on Chun Yoosung.
“Screeeeech!”
The creature opened its mouth wide, revealing dozens of sharp teeth, and spat out a purple liquid.
It was an acidic fluid capable of dissolving prey in an instant.
The wide spray of acid was headed straight for Chun Yoosung.
…Fast.
Sssizzle!
The acid hit the sand, melting it instantly.
Of course, Chun Yoosung had narrowly dodged the attack.
“Tch! Out of the frying pan and into the fire, it seems.”
Wooooong!
His sword, enhanced by the ‘Song of the Sword,’ glowed with a blue aura.
He swiftly leaped onto the Antlion’s back and slashed down with his blade.
The Executioner’s Sword Dance unfolded across the creature’s exoskeleton.
Clang, clang, clang!
The blade tore into the outer shell, digging into the flesh beneath.
No matter how high-level a monster was, it couldn’t withstand a sword aura like that.
The problem was…
“Huh?”
The creature was so massive that such wounds weren’t anywhere close to fatal.
“Screeeeech!”
The Antlion let out a long roar.
Its speed was shockingly fast for its size.
Rumble, rumble!
The sand parted like the Red Sea as the creature charged forward.
Its entire body slammed through anything in its path, as if it would crush anything that stood in its way.
“Get out of the way!”
But avoiding it wasn’t easy, given the massive area its charge covered.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
The ground shattered wherever the Antlion passed.
Chun Yoosung leaped sideways, pushing off the sand with his feet.
“Kuh!”
His stance faltered.
And in that moment…
…the predator didn’t miss its chance.
“Screeeeech!”
With another ear-piercing roar, the Antlion tore through the sand.
Even if he used the Executioner’s Sword Dance to its full extent, there was no way to block that attack.
It was too late to dodge.
At that moment…
“I… will stop it.”
Before anyone could react, Frey stepped forward.
Boom!
The Antlion’s massive head, charging at full speed, collided with…
The slender arm of a young girl.
The hairpin holding Frey’s blue hair in place shattered under the impact.
Rrrrumble…
The clash between the two forces produced a strange, resonant sound.
Once again, it became clear just how formidable the Philosopher’s Stone-made ultimate combat weapon was.
However…
The stalemate didn’t last long.
Frustrated by its prey’s continued resistance, the Antlion unleashed its full magical power.
[The Antlion has activated the unique ability ‘Antlion Pit’!]
The moment its prey turned into a pesky “enemy” to be exterminated.
With a loud sucking noise, the ground beneath them began to give way.
The Antlion Pit.
A massive-area skill that pulled everything on the sand into the creature’s lair.
Anyone caught in it would be helpless, completely restricted by the sand.
It would be like being a mouse trapped in a cage.
“I… I can’t move.”
“Survival probability… less than 0.01%.”
“Damn it, do something! I don’t want to have a desert burial!”
Drool dripped from the Antlion’s mouth.
At the same time, its massive body slowly began to sink back into the sand.
* * *
‘Good.’
Jinhyuk watched as he sank up to his waist.
To be honest, he hadn’t expected Yua Sis, a Dryad, to make it out undetected.
Even so, he had pushed ahead with this route on purpose…
Because he knew how to escape even after awakening the creature.
And now that the Antlion Pit had been activated, the odds of success had increased.
‘I can shorten the time and earn a favor from Yua Sis too.’
Seeing her friends in danger because of her had left Yua Sis trembling with guilt.
Her large eyes brimmed with tears, as if they were about to fall at any moment.
And on top of that, Jinhyuk had also confirmed Frey’s immense strength in that brief moment.
It was a win-win situation.
“Everyone, stay calm. It’s not over yet.”
Jinhyuk spoke in a composed voice.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Yeah. There’s something we can try. But…”
His words trailed off.
Chun Yoosung, catching on, immediately shook his head as if he’d touched a boiling kettle.
“I’m not doing it. No way.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“Let me guess. You’re going to tell me to act as bait while you do something else, or you’ll ask me to sacrifice myself. I’ve known for a long time that you’re a master at talking people into marching to their doom.”
Three years in the academy, and even the school dog learns a few things.
By now, Chun Yoosung could tell what his future held.
“I’ll do it. The survival probability is 0%, though.”
Frey nodded slightly.
As if she had no idea what death even meant, her face remained expressionless, without a trace of emotion.
She was probably just following orders because she didn’t know how to do anything else.
But…
“No.”
Jinhyuk pulled out the scythe made from Death’s Breathwood.
“The bait will be me.”
There was something else Jinhyuk had to do, apart from escaping.
And to test that out…
It would be better if fewer eyes were watching.