CH 109

Chapter 109 – It Was A Familiar Place!?

We descended from the lighthouse and headed towards the place where Melk and Asuha stood.

“Melk, Asuha. Is everything alright?”

“I’m sorry, Sir Joshua… I told Melk not to do that, but…”

While Asuha bowed her head and apologized, Melk muttered,

“Melk did not think it would open. I came here because it smelled like this.”

“That…it’s the board the Fletta received from the child.”

Melk nodded.

Just then, Monica, Ecleshia, and Berdos came from behind.

Monica looked at me with a serious expression.

“We came because we heard something…”

“We’re fine, Monica. No one was hurt.”

Monica sighed with relief.

And then Ecleshia turned to Melk.

“Melk. You smelled the scent of wood from here?”

“Yes. As you say, Ecleshia, all of the trees on this island have a similar smell. However, it was especially close to this board in this area.”

Melk answered, and then Ecleshia turned to me.

“This board is made from a tree that is over a thousand years old. However, it is the same type as the trees on this island. And so I thought that there must be something here. Only, I could not follow any scent… That was very impressive of Melk.”

‘It was easy,’ Melk answered.

“In any case, we should go down the stairs. There must be something.”

Melk said as she looked into the open hole in the stone pavement.

“Indeed, there must be something. A ruin…no, this…”

I started to say, and Iria nodded.

“It looks just like the dungeon that we entered before, Sir Joshua.”

“Aye. Below the rocky area where the Golems were mining.”

Melk and the others looked confused at the word ‘dungeon.’

“To put it simply, it’s a place where monsters lived, a long time ago. While it’s possible that something rare is hidden in them, there might also be traps. And so you have to be very careful when entering them.”

I then turned to Berdos the Minotaur.

“It’s possible that the entrance will close if someone goes in. And so could you stay here and use a boulder of something to make sure that it stays open?”

“Hmm? Leave it to me.”

Berdos looked a little surprised at first, but nodded in agreement.

Perhaps he was wondering why I was trusting him to protect my back.

He did not need to worry, as we all had faith in the Minotaurs.

“Monica, we’ll need you to watch over the surrounding area. Golems…humanoid rock monsters might appear. If they do, you must use your bow to shoot their red stones. You have to break them in order to destroy their form.”

“I-I understand.”

Monica took her bow off her back.

“We will be fine with your bow skills. Iria, Melk and I will take the vanguard. Asuha and Ecleshia will support us from behind. Now, let’s go… Torch.”

I summoned a magical sphere of light and then we went down the stairs.

The island itself was not that big. And so I doubted that the dungeon was larger than the island. However…

The staircase was quite long.

We had already walked for a minute now, and we could still not see the end of it.

But the height of the island was only about twenty beters…

That meant we were probably below the surface of the sea now.

However, shortly after I thought this, the end of the staircase appeared below.

We then walked down a stone passage…that was quite short, and then a wooden door came into view.

“This…this smell.”

Melk said as she brought her nose close to the door.

Apparently, a scent that was similar to the board was coming from the door.

“In that case, there may be some connection.”

However, there was no keyhole in the door.

And though I tried pushing it, the door did not budge.

But I thought I could hear the faint sounds of dripping water coming from the other side of it.

Perhaps it didn’t open because there was seawater on the other side?

Well, maybe I should absorb the door with magic workshop.

And so I placed my hand over the door, but I could not absorb it.

It must have some kind of special magic cast over it. Dungeons often had such magic so that their structure was not destroyed.

I tried it on the stone materials of the wall as well, and could also not absorb them.

“It’s no use. It won’t open with my power. I suppose we should call Berdos or Mette.”

“Wait, Joshua. Let me try.”

Said Ecleshia as she stood in front of the door.

“The runes written on the board. Perhaps it is a key to open the door.”

Ecleshia closed her eyes and traced her finger over the runes that were carved on the board. And then she moved her finger on the door as if to trace the same runes.

And then…

“Ohh!”

The door was bathed in light and slowly began to open.