The Tomb Of Underground Magicians

The ground beneath his feet collapsed.

An endless fall.

It was strange. Even though he was falling endlessly, as if the ground he had been standing on had caved in, he felt none of the sensations a falling person should naturally feel, such as his body floating up or his organs rising inside him.

Before long, the fall ended, and Solomon didn’t even topple over where he stood. His two legs didn’t have to bear the burden of the falling energy either. Even though he had not performed any particular breakfall.

‘Where is this…….’

He silently looked around. Beyond the underground waterway scenery from earlier, a cavern closer to a cave stretched on endlessly. Solomon silently moved his feet.

Before long, the pitch-black darkness subsided, and the softly glowing luminous all around illuminated the remains of something.
It was a structure of civilization.

Obsidian pillars so tall it was hard to believe they had been built by human hands. The pillars stretched vertically, then twisted grotesquely and coiled like the organs of a living creature. Meanwhile, the grooves and sections of the pillars, walls, and floor were, in contrast, excessively geometric and held mechanical precision.

Even so, the awe and holiness dwelling there pointed to only one purpose. The function of worship. A place that enshrined a god. A temple.
Was it built, as Lord Bowery had said, for the Goddess of Shadows and Webs who had been wounded to the point of death? For that to be the case, the weathering of the structure was far too old. At the very least, it didn’t look as if it had been built in the era when Duke Bale, Darkshadow Duke Bale, as the Patriarch, and furthermore as a human assassin, had ‘tried to kill’ the Goddess of Shadows and Webs.

‘……Ah.’

Only then did he realize it.

‘To begin with, just how far…… in the past was this matter of the Darkshadow Duke trying to kill the shadow goddess?’

[Insight Success!]

The Patriarchs of the Five Great Houses were bound by the fetters of mortals, while at the same time, they were beings extremely close to the realm of immortality. Just as Rosetta Arrowhead had been right before his eyes. It was that way in the setting as well. The era they spoke of was not a measure of one or two generations based on a mere human lifespan.
After thinking that, Solomon shook his head. Now was not the time to care about that.

‘There are 100% going to be traps.’

Solomon thought this before the scenery around him. It was common sense among common sense in the TRPG world. Moreover, since that world was unfolding so vividly before his eyes, he couldn’t help knowing it even if he didn’t want to.
That was why Solomon stopped for a moment and examined the mosaic brick tiles lined up beneath his feet.

[Insight Success! Looking closely, you can see that one tile right in front of you is misaligned at a slightly lower height. The grout between the tiles also shows traces of light friction.]

A brick that activated a trap as soon as weight was placed on it, pressed down like a button when stepped on. It was the very stereotype of a trap. He realized it as soon as he saw it. If there was one, there would be two.

[Additional Insight Success! That is correct. Countless bricks are each misaligned at different heights, making it necessary to be careful even about what you step on.
It seems the designer of this place does not particularly welcome new guests.]

“…….”

The Narrator’s voice continued. Solomon didn’t stop there and turned his gaze around. If there were countless stones underfoot that had to be tested before he stepped, it meant things would be no different above.

[Insight Great Success! Is it thanks to the Trait 「Insight」? Or thanks to the sharp senses and experience of a TRPG player?
Before you know it, your astounding insight sees through the trap layout of this indoor structure like the palm of your hand!]

“!”

At the same time, a light headache washed over him. His head throbbed, and as if information were being directly hammered into his brain, the trap layout of the area began dancing inside Solomon’s mind.
What reflected in Solomon’s eyes was no longer chunks of stone or marble structures. Within them was a collection of countless assassination devices that held precise murderous intent in silence.

‘The brick trap underfoot is bait.’

A trick to intentionally make the trap relatively easy to spot and make him lower his guard.

[Pneumatic poison-needle launchers hidden in every gap between the pillars, explosive devices set to activate the moment the detection runes on the ceiling identify you, poison gas sprays, and electrical discharges. They were really determined to fuck someone up.
At this point, one question suddenly comes to mind…….]

“No, if they were going to go this far, they should’ve just poured concrete and blocked it off.”

Rather than pointlessly spilling innocent blood, would it not be more effective against intruders to simply block the whole thing off?
Solomon turned his eyes without thinking. Something caught his eye.
Solomon knelt on one knee on the floor and touched it.

It was very faint dried blood stuck to the floor. A bloodstain deliberately wiped away but not completely erased, so faint it was barely visible. Only then did he realize it.

That the purpose of the traps in this temple, of those countless slaughter mechanisms, was not ‘intruder prevention’ from the beginning.

This place itself was one giant slaughterhouse. The purpose of a slaughterhouse was to catch and kill animals in order to provide meat. And what this slaughterhouse dealt with was not cows, pigs, or chickens.

“This place itself is a slaughterhouse that exists to offer sacrifices.”

Solomon muttered, deliberately calm. As if waiting for that, the Narrator’s voice continued.

[That is correct. The traps here do not exist to ‘stop’ intruders. They exist to slaughter, process, and offer the intruders who enter carelessly.]

As blood sacrifices. To whom? There was no need to say it. As Lord Bowery had said, it would be to that wounded god said to be sleeping in the deepest part of this cesspit.
Of course, Solomon had not entered this place to become meat in a slaughterhouse. Even putting aside the fact that moving even a single finger could turn him into ground meat.
That was why what Solomon had to do was clear. Even if he was alone, nothing changed. As the party’s vanguard, he had to play the role of a rogue who searched for and guarded against every trap and threat lurking ahead.

‘One by one. Carefully.’

As a test, he picked up a suitable scattered pebble and threw it into the air. Then, somewhere in that empty space, countless detection devices began activating all at once.

Kwajik, kwajijik!
A barrage of traps that would not merely grind him in a blender if he were there, but literally turn him into ground meat. And this was only the beginning.

“Ancient Spider Lockpicks, activate all at once.”

He was not scattering them recklessly. Solomon murmured while facing the traps clustered before him, traps that clearly had to be removed.

Kkirik! Kkiririk!
Only then did the automated spiders, packed full of ancient pride, begin moving as if they had understood Solomon’s words.
With the sound of countless mainspring devices interlocking, seven spiders burrowed between the countless trap mechanisms and began operating their blade-sharp legs.

Click, click.
Each time the sound rang out, one device layer was undone, and the outer and inner walls of the traps fell one after another. Of course, Solomon was not someone who would blankly watch that and sit on his hands. While the seven Ancient Spider Lockpicks moved busily, he too was moving busily, steadily identifying the traps inside, throwing pebbles, or directly neutralizing detection runes.

Cheolkeodeok, cheolkeok!
The slaughter devices aiming for prey here and there stopped functioning with powerless sounds.

“……Huu.”

Only then did Solomon exhale deeply while sweating cold. Using not only the Ancient Spider Lockpicks, but also all kinds of devices such as a portable laser and spike magnet, he had neutralized the traps in the area.

With this, the blades that physically threatened him had disappeared. Even so, Solomon’s steps as he crossed the obsidian corridor inside the temple did not become even slightly lighter.

Ta-dak, ta-dak.
Footsteps ringing out in endless silence. The noise of obvious, easy-to-see traps disappeared, and what replaced that void was a chilling silence.

A spiral corridor that did not even try to hide its tilt. It continued endlessly downward like a funnel…… pointing toward something.

Before long, Solomon was reaching the bottom of that very spiral.

Tak.
Right there, the obsidian corridor that seemed as if it would continue endlessly revealed its end.

“…….”

Only a hollow laugh came out. The scenery beyond the end. Pure white grape clusters filling the area. At first, Solomon thought that when he saw that above his head. But no. It was thread. More precisely, spider thread, spiderweb.

Countless lumps, wrapped tightly in that very pure white thread and hung there so they couldn’t budge.
They were cocoons.

‘It was the Goddess of Shadows and Webs, wasn’t it?’

Putting aside what common denominator shadows and spiderwebs had, Solomon moved carefully, conscious of the cocoons above his head. Solomon had come to make a deal with her. There was no reason to go out of his way to destroy the cocoons and disturb her nest.

So it was just as he was trying to move his feet more carefully than ever.

Cheolpeok.
A sound he did not particularly want to hear rang out. From above his head, it was the sound of one cocoon bursting as if it had been waiting.

Solomon steadied his posture and stayed on guard. Before Solomon’s eyes, the contents inside the cocoon poured down along with an unidentified mucus.

It was a corpse. Relatively fresh, with belongings such as robes and the shape of the body preserved intact. There were signs of corrosion here and there, but not to a severe degree.
What stood out among them was…….

[Oh, a journal held in the hand of an unidentified corpse. Truly, it is difficult to restrain one’s curiosity.]

“…….”

Solomon silently approached the corpse and carefully opened the journal.

───
Certain Month, Certain Day
The esteemed Mage Tower Master, Lord Bowery, told me that I have talent as a magician! How astonishing! To think that someone like me would be appointed as Lord Bowery’s godson!
How could I not leave a record of this glory?

(omitted)

Certain Month, Certain Day
My esteemed godfather said that in order for me to be reborn as a better magician, I needed to meet the goddess at the bottom of the city.
As the son of my proud godfather, I have a duty to endure it, no matter how harsh it may be.
───

The journal ended there. It was not that long. Even so, faced with that short content, Solomon had to struggle to maintain his wavering composure.

‘Godfather and godson…….’

「In the world of magicians, master and disciple are called godfather and godson.」

A hollow laugh came out. Thinking about it, how could he trust someone who evaluated him highly and showed him goodwill for no particular reason? Lord Bowery had been that way. Even knowing that, Solomon realized just how carelessly and unnecessarily he had trusted that man.

‘Did I believe I was different from this guy?’

Because the blood of House Bale flowed through him, and he was a bit more special? That might actually be true. Even so, that could never be a reason to let his guard down. Just like the situation right now.

“!”

Tuk, huduk, hududuk!
It was right then. As if they had been waiting, the contents of countless cocoons above his head poured down. They were the same kind of corpses. Some were more corroded than the first, some were almost skeletons, some less corroded, and some fresher. There were only differences in degree.
Not all of them were the type to carefully write journals, but he could tell from their clothing and appearance.

“Don’t tell me, all these corpses are…….”

Just as he muttered, the dice rolled.

[Insight Success! The Tomb of Underground Magicians]