Atlas's body passed beyond in a flash, but when the young man found himself on the other side, what awaited him was not as frightening as he had imagined, or at least that's what he thought.
"Man! It wasn't an ordinary door but some kind of portal... Who would have expected that? The formation within these ancient walls is so advanced that you can't tell the difference between reality and illusion... unbelievable!"
Atlas looked around briefly, and as soon as he noticed that the room was secure, he turned back to the portal. Still, there was no portal there but only an ordinary stone wall.
"Absurd... an advanced level of concealment formation. The gateway is impossible to find if you don't know the exact location."
Taken by a brief moment of exaltation, Atlas stepped through that portal twice, moving from one room to another for sheer amusement, and stopped only after satisfying that need.
"Unbelievable... not even a hint of change in the wall. The creator of this passageway must have been experienced. Hmm... but even if this place is protected by such a powerful Technique, I don't want to risk it... I have to find a way to close the passage... Maybe..."
Of course, Atlas was a little worried that someone else might discover that place, so he looked for a solution.
"Last time, it worked..."
The young man placed his left hand in the center of the gap, and a noise echoed in the room.
"Hmm... Could it be that... But let's see if it actually closed..."
The palm of his hand was only a few inches away from the wall, so Atlas bent forward slightly, and surprisingly, his hand was blocked by a hard surface.
"Unbelievable... now I understand how this place has stayed hidden for so long."
Having ascertained that the secret entrance had vanished, Atlas turned in the direction of the only way out and walked fearlessly forward.
|||
'I've been walking for a while now, but I haven't encountered anything strange yet. Surely, I am in the dungeon below the Stronghold. However, why is there not a single goblin in sight?'
Indeed, the place was completely bare, devoid of anything. There were only cobwebs and piles of dust and rocks scattered everywhere.
The absence of enemies did not calm him but made him more tense than ever. After all, the goblins were greedy and covetous creatures of treasure. He couldn't understand how that group of jackals had avoided this place for so long.
'Atlas advanced very carefully until he encountered something.
Suddenly, the long corridor ended, and a vast room that it was impossible to see the end of greeted the intrepid adventurer.
The room, just like the corridor, was lit by a dim bluish light, but it was difficult for Atlas to distinguish the room clearly. In particular, the ceiling was shrouded by a dense layer of darkness.
'Heck... what is this place?'
That gloomy room was giving him strange vibes. He could proceed further without a proper source of light, so Atlas removed the torch from his backpack. He was ready to turn it on, but suddenly, an eerie noise resounded from above.
'Shit!... There's someone...actually something!'
Atlas looked around slightly but found nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, the noises intensified, forcing him to stand still, trying to minimize even the minus noise coming from his breath.
Skrii!
Skrii!
Skrii!
A simple movement was all it took to trigger the torch's glowing stone, but the adventurer knew that would not be a good idea, so he stood motionless, ready for anything.
Skrii!
Skrii!
Skrii!
The noises intensified, and at some point, something even more disturbing happened...
"You bastards! Be quiet. I'm trying to sleep!"
A shrill voice resounded throughout the room, jolting the young man.
Skrii!
Skrii.
"Keep up the racket! Go back to sleep, stupid creatures. There is no one there! The next one who speaks will become food for the others!"
The being's threats worked brilliantly, for no noise followed, but how could Atlas not tremble upon hearing that voice?
'Heck! It can't be a human. After all, a sane person wouldn't live in this place. But if he's not a human, then... who can he be?'
Atlas was terrified but not so scared as to act recklessly.
Fortunately, his mind was still clear, and he tried to find a solution or figure out what he had gotten himself into.
Luckily, a possible explanation for the strange situation appeared in his mind: 'With Soulis of Nihilum, I can understand and talk to Chaos Creatures, just like what happened with that stupid horse. Maybe... Maybe there are goblins or other creatures here that have gained a bit of intellect.'
It was a worrisome possibility, so Atlas looked around once more. However, nothing had changed because the bluish light was too weak to illuminate the damn room.
He needed a safe place to organize his next move, so the young man silently turned back. Unfortunately, his movements were loud enough to stir up those sleeping creatures.
Atlas heard slight vibrations spread across the ground, and soon, strange noises approached his position.
Alarmed, the young man backed away quickly, still trying to reduce the noise, but the creature paid no attention to his trivial attempt and moved even more rapidly.
Atlas could already smell a pungent stench coming from the opening, but soon, an even more rigorous sound echoed from his back, followed by that shrill voice.
"You slimy bastard, I warned you! SILENCE!"
Atlas clearly sensed the creature's death. Not only because its putrid blood had smeared his face but also because the creature's head had leaped so far that it fell right between his legs.
'OH SHIT! What devilry is this?'
The creature's head was gigantic and did not stop wiggling, with what looked like small hairy claws at the edges of a tiny but tooth-filled mouth.
In addition, the blood emitted a pungent and nauseating odor, but strangely, it was not warm and slimy but rather icy and lumpy.
By now, he was far from the room, so he grabbed that head and immediately sent it inside the space artifact. After all, he could not let such a rare material slip through his fingers.
One glance was enough for the young man to discover the origin of that creature. It was, in fact, the head of the Funestial Solifuranus, a Chaos Creature extremely powerful but long extinct. It belonged to the arachnid family and possessed a potent venom useful for many potions or ointments.
'That place is the lair of terrifying creatures. Besides, that wretch I heard before must be even more powerful than this little fellow here... I'm in deep shit!!!'
Naturally, the discovery surprised Atlas, but it also presented him with a tough choice...
'If I go back, I risk being stuck inside that ruin for days. However, if I continue, my life will be in danger... What can I do?'
Atlas found himself undecided about what to do, but even after several minutes, the only option was to try his luck through that den teeming with monsters.
It might have seemed like a reckless and crazy choice, but if he wanted to return to the surface, it was the only possible way.
Having decided on his next move, Atlas did not leap like a madman into the room but instead analyzed all the information at his disposal to devise the best plan.
'Those creatures are in the arachnid family, so they will surely have woven a giant web suspended in the air for their abode. Also, some types remain in hibernation inside cocoons to reduce their life decay and evolve further...'
'...Hmm... Probably, that was the noise caused by the opening of a cocoon suspended from the ceiling earlier. However... How can I be sure? Also, I can't use the torch. Otherwise, I would make the situation worse. So how can I do that?'
One doubt after another gripped the young man's mind, proving the absurdity of his plan, but Atlas did not demur and instead continued to reason...
'... The only bright side to this mess is that, with that creature's death, surely others will avoid further angering that monster, so if I'm careful and avoid making too much noise, that behemoth's wrath will keep everyone else at bay. But I can't understand why that monster would remain so impassive by feeling the agitation of others... Usually, the weaker creatures play the role of forerunners in the world of Chaos Creatures. So... such strange behavior from their supposed leader confuses me in no small measure.'
If there was a solution to that scabrous situation, then Atlas was still far from finding it, but the eager young man for adventure did not give up and suddenly thought of something important.
'I had been cautious before, and I'm sure the noise caused by my footsteps was completely inaudible, so something else must have attracted that creature. Maybe... maybe it was my smell! Exactly, that could be the solution! But I can't rule out the possibility that this type of arachnid has a high auditory capacity... Heck! I'll never find a solution this way.'
His mind had never stopped evaluating every detail, and eventually, having reached a stalemate, Atlas opted to test his first assumption. Hiding his scent was easy with that putrid blood just a few steps away from him.
Covering himself with that disgusting and dubious liquid would undoubtedly have caused his body to ache. Still, in that situation, if he wanted to survive, the young man had to be ready for anything.
Without further thought, Atlas removed that disgusting head from the space artifact and rubbed that foul liquid over most of his equipment.
'Ew... let's hope it works. Otherwise, I will have soiled my precious cloak for nothing.'