The so-called "Hakoniwa" refers to a kind of holistic interlocking concept... ah, no, it's a map area.
It's just like an exquisite box.
Inside, there are all kinds of surprises, surprises, and even more fucking surprises.
When Isagi drew closer and discovered an Earth Shrine growing out of the ground out of thin air in front of the wooden plank walkway—which looked like a suspension bridge leading to the center of the great pit—he was completely speechless.
He was still using the "Retread the Journey West" Character Card right now, so the respawn point changed from a Sculptor's Idol to an Earth Shrine, didn't it?!
Which means.
If he died halfway through this great pit, he'd have to start all over again and walk another 365 li?!
Dungeon, you really learned well!!
And so, silently, Isagi switched his Character Card back to "Land of Reeds," and that Earth Shrine beside the walkway, sure enough, was reclaimed by the Dungeon. In moments, it transformed into a Sculptor's Idol with a peculiar shape, raising both hands and burning with ghostly blue flames.
"Let's go."
Regardless, they had to go down and take a look first.
Isagi formed a party with the two Elf girls again, and they stepped onto the crumbling old walkway, one after the other.
The wooden planks weren't wide, nor were there railings; it felt like walking on a single-log bridge over a cliff.
There was still quite a bit of sticky, unidentified filth remaining on it. Occasionally, they could see the corpses of Goblins or Kobolds draped in between, though there was no time to squat down and harvest Magic Stones right now.
Isagi took every step with extreme caution.
Because...
"Crack"!
The boy merely touched the path ahead lightly—he hadn't even fully put his foot down—and it collapsed directly.
Super sensitive, is it?!
Isagi knew it would be like this, which is why he had been so careful all along.
But almost simultaneously, something suddenly slammed into him from the darkness on the side.
"!"
Almost instinctively, he drew his blade and slashed in the direction of the attack.
Dark red blood splattered in mid-air. Lefiya, walking a bit further back, saw a round, ball-like object crash onto the boy's blade.
It looked like a Dungeon Lizard that was much smaller, covered in dark scales, and curled into a ball?!
Although the Monster was sliced in two, the impact force still made Isagi lose his footing. He instantly lost his balance and fell toward the great pit beside him.
"Isagi?!"
"Watch out, Lefiya!"
In the darkness, there was more than just one Monster charging at them!!
Filvis was quick with her eyes and hands. While wielding the short sword in her hand, the super-short chant magic was completed in an instant.
"Sweep away the enemy, sacred staff of breaking evil!"
"[Dio Thyrsos]."
The lightning magic coating the short sword emitted a brilliant radiance, and its inherent "Paralysis" attribute formed a dense grid around the two Elf girls.
All Monsters that touched it froze in mid-air, then fell, charred black, in rapid succession.
And at the same time.
From the darkness below, a grappling hook shot out, fixing itself into the rotten wood planks. It retracted rapidly, and moments later, Isagi returned, landing on the walkway not far away.
Fuck! I knew this would happen!!
That was exactly why he switched Character Cards before exploring; the grappling hook was simply too overpowered in this kind of terrain.
He waved to the two Elf girls, signaling that they could come over.
The three continued forward.
Soon after, they encountered a Kobold crawling in the middle of the walkway, covered in layer upon layer of heavy armor.
It carried a broadsword or greatsword and moved slowly. If it were in an open area, killing it wouldn't be difficult.
But in such a narrow place, they could only fight it head-on.
And!
From time to time, those Dungeon Lizards curled into small balls would crash out silently from the darkness!!
Fortunately, with Filvis's support, Isagi could focus on dealing with the heavy-armored Kobold in front of him.
And soon, the boy discovered a trick.
That was to hold up his large shield, use [Heavy], stand his ground to let it attack freely, and simultaneously use the "Firecracker" function of the Shinobi Prosthetic.
The huge explosion and flash produced could startle the enemy, causing a brief control effect, which was particularly effective against "Beast" type guys.
Isagi tried it and found that Kobolds did indeed count as [Beasts].
Usually, after using the firecrackers a few times, the heavy-armored Kobold would enter a frenzied state, and then, with a slip, it would fall into the dark abyss on its own.
"Woooo—"
Accompanied by the crackling of firecrackers and the fading dog-like yelps, Isagi's party managed to continue forward.
In the darkness.
The Magic Stone Lamps held by the three were like small boats drifting in a lonely ocean.
The surroundings were terribly dark; nothing could be seen.
Even the path a few meters ahead and the road behind them were completely submerged in the pitch blackness. Only in a few fixed places, far away, could they see small clusters of pale blue fluorescence floating, as if specifically guiding the way.
Crossing the walkway, climbing down vertical ladders, or coming to the edge of the pit to travel through rough caves that were clearly chiseled out, then entering back into the interior of the giant pit from the other side...
Isagi felt the various Monsters encountered along the way were manageable.
They were basically all Kobolds.
Hiding in blind spots, hiding on the edge of cliffs, hiding on the pitch-black ceiling...
These no longer posed a threat to Isagi.
But the most disgusting thing was—
"Twang!"
The sound of a crossbow trigger being pulled came from the distant darkness.
After the three entered the middle section of the pit, they would be suddenly subjected to ranged attacks shot from the darkness from time to time like this.
There was no pattern, and the direction was completely unknown. It seemed as if several Kobold crossbowmen were hiding above, below, left, and right, shooting an arrow this way every now and then.
The main issue was that there was absolutely nothing they could do about them!
Isagi's only ranged attack method right now was the Shuriken of the Shinobi Prosthetic, which couldn't shoot that far at all.
Filvis's offensive magic wasn't the long-range type either.
Lefiya's magic was too slow.
When the girl chanted her "Arcs Ray" and smashed it toward the direction where the crossbow bolt had just come from.
They only saw a burst of pure white light illuminating the entire pit.
Countless black shadows roared and scattered in all directions. Because they were too fast, the Elf girl's magic simply missed completely.
This couldn't go on.
Those crossbow bolts shot from afar actually didn't cause much impact on the squad. His shield could block them, and Filvis's magic shield could also block them, but it was mainly annoying, requiring constant concentration.
And if they encountered a Monster attack or some trap, the two combined made it even more annoying!
In that case, they could only...
"Lefiya, cast Arcs Ray again, but this time shoot it upwards."
Isagi spoke, while already beckoning the Elf girl to get on his back.
Seemingly guessing what the boy was going to do.
Lefiya obediently did as told immediately. Skillfully lying on the boy's back, she raised her staff high and chanted her magic.
"Liberating arrow of light, bow of the sacred tree, I am the master of the bow. Snipe, fairy archer. Pierce, arrow of certain hit!"
The pure white arrow of light formed once again.
It shot straight upwards, exploding above their heads like a sudden firework.
That slightly blinding light instantly illuminated the intricate, web-like walkways inside the pit, and also allowed Isagi to quickly spot a landing position far below.
"Miss Filvis!"
Lefiya reached out her hand to the black-haired Elf girl.
Then.
Isagi fired the grappling hook.
In an instant, the boy, carrying Lefiya and the Filvis she was holding onto, was pulled away into the distance by the immense towing force.
A few seconds later, the three landed. Repeating the trick, it didn't take long for them to successfully reach the bottom of the pit.
Cheesing?
No, this is a mechanic!
Beneath the pit was a stone-paved platform.
Under the glow of the Magic Stone Lamps, the pale stones presented a sense of solemnity.
Isagi looked up. The heavy darkness above the pit and the pallor beneath his feet right now gave a very disjointed feeling.
There were no Monsters here.
Nor was there a Boss. Apart from a few scattered corpses of Goblins and Kobolds, and dark red bloodstains, there was nothing.
Oh, there were also the corpses of heavy-armored Kobolds and various other Monsters that must have fallen from the walkways earlier, smashed to pieces like broken watermelons.
Lefiya immediately started digging for Magic Stones!
After all, many of the Monsters defeated on the walkway earlier had fallen directly, which had made her cry out in pity!!
And very quickly, after circling the entire bottom of the deep pit.
The Elf girl also made two major discoveries!
___
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