As Ryan stepped into the rightmost branch, a thought stirred in his mind. That feeling of being watched in secret had returned. He had sensed something strange ever since entering the ruins, though he'd initially dismissed it as his imagination. Now that the group had split up, the uncomfortable déjà vu had grown even stronger.
Ryan kept walking steadily as if nothing were wrong. He let his hand swing naturally and gave the Half-elf Ranger behind him a signal, while slipping his other hand into his sleeve to retrieve a scroll from Traveler Space and hold it in his palm.
He rounded a corner as casually as ever, then tore open the scroll of Dispel Invisibility in his hand, unleashing the magic that thieves dreaded most. At the same time, he flicked his staff. With the help of the perfect-grade sapphire set in the tip of his Cold Iron Staff, he conjured a huge ball of light and sent it shooting toward the corner where he sensed something amiss. Having done all that, Ryan quickly began chanting. His Magic Missile spell, which never missed, was ready to fire.
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Behind Ryan, Jelona had already nocked an arrow on her longbow. Her bowstring was taut as a full moon as she warily aimed at the spot illuminated by Ryan's Light Spell. At such close range, she was confident that even the nimblest thief couldn't dodge an arrow that could pierce metal and stone.
But then Ryan found himself in an awkward situation. A pure-white orb clung to the corner of the passageway, casting a gentle yet bright light that revealed every speck of dust on the surrounding walls and floor. But there wasn't a single person in sight. Dispel Invisibility had already taken effect, yet nothing happened.
Startled by Ryan and Jelona's flurry of actions, the Dwarf and the barbarian tightened their grips on their shields and weapons, nervously scanning their surroundings. At the same time, they asked Ryan, "What's going on? Where's the enemy?"
The corner of Ryan's mouth twitched. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The air seemed to thicken with awkwardness. Staring at the empty corner of the stone wall, the handsome, blond young man felt so embarrassed he could've dug himself a two-story villa with his toes.
Just then, Jelona turned a puzzled gaze toward Ryan, who was staring blankly at the smooth stone wall. He had no choice but to pull himself out of his self-doubt and bravely face the humiliating reality.
He canceled the spell and gave an awkward smile. "It's nothing. I might've been too jumpy and overreacted."
The Dwarf, who had been on high alert, and the barbarian warrior, who had been ready to fight to the death, lowered their weapons and sighed in relief. The carefree Dwarf said without thinking, "You startled me, Ryan. Don't be so nervous. It's your first time exploring ruins, but don't worry—we're professionals. Just don't tear up a scroll right away next time. That's a waste of money!"
On the continent of Faerûn, practitioners of the arcane arts were all respectfully called "Mages." These powerful people mastered the mysteries of the elements, freely altered the forms of things, peered into the wonders of other planes, and created astonishing miracles. They certainly lived up to the title.
But that kind of grandeur belonged to high-level Mages and even legendary powerhouses. Ordinary low-level spellcasters still worried about the exorbitant cost of learning magic and the arcane arts.
Though magic was wondrous and mysterious, it followed the rule that you got what you paid for. Firing off a scroll of Magic Missile cost thirty Gold Talons, and that was the price of the most basic first-circle spell. Scrolls containing spell formulas to copy and study cost several times as much.
Of course, some people were deterred by those steep prices and chose instead to follow the paths of Clerics or Druids. After all, divine magic was still a kind of spellcasting, wasn't it? But anyone who thought that was still too young and naive. Clerics had to perform all kinds of rituals to please their gods, and whether it was a "Blessing of the Gods" ritual or a "Gift of Nature" ceremony, you could forget about it unless you had at least five hundred Gold Talons' worth of materials.
Of course, if you joined a temple and chose to worship a deity, the temple would cover part of your training costs. But a single ritual still cost around three hundred Gold Talons—not exactly a small sum.
In this situation, Ryan silently quoted a famous line from some mysterious big shot in his previous life: "Work to create entertainment. If you're broke, don't fucking play."
That was why the Dwarf shield warrior felt so bad about Ryan using a whole scroll of Dispel Invisibility. It wasn't his money, but watching Ryan burn through a huge sum of Gold Talons so casually made him feel that tossing the money into a river just to hear it splash would've been a better use for it.
Ryan nodded in reply to the Dwarf, then took out another scroll and held it in his hand.
Though Ryan was thrifty by nature, never letting even the tiniest amount go to waste and firmly believing that even a mosquito's leg had meat on it, he still carried in his bones the frugality passed down through his ancient homeland for generations. But when it came to his life, he wouldn't take the slightest risk. No matter how precious something was, he'd use it when he needed to. What good was money if he was dead?
Spell Scrolls were so prized by Ryan because they saved Spell Slots and let him cast spells without going through the tedious, complicated process of casting them normally. As a squishy Mage and Alchemist with a hoarder's habit and a collector's obsession, Ryan felt he was well stocked with consumables.
The Dwarf watched Ryan's movements, his hand tightening around his luxuriant beard. He was speechless at Ryan's profligacy, but before he could say anything, the Half-elf Ranger beside him stopped him.
Jelona gave Ryan a slightly worried, concerned look. Knowing that Ryan wouldn't raise a false alarm, she was also uneasy about what had happened. She cut off the Dwarf's rambling and got down to business. "All right, Ryan's just being cautious. We should all stay alert from now on. Let's keep moving, or that bunch from the Mages Guild will get ahead of us."
Especially that annoying red-haired woman, Jelona added silently.
Ryan checked the walls and floor beneath the Light Spell, confirming that he was probably—just maybe—being overly suspicious. He suppressed his unease, agreed with Jelona, and set off again.
As the Light Spell faded, the passageway's stone walls sank back into darkness.
Once the group had slowly gone some distance, a grotesque, enormous eyeball emerged from the top of the smooth stone wall in the darkness. Its large black pupil shifted from side to side several times, then turned toward the Mage's retreating figure, seeming to mock him in silence.
The deeper they went into the branch passage, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.
Jelona breathed a sigh of relief when she saw an iron door at the end. Deep in a dark, gloomy passageway inside the mountains, she felt especially stifled. The Half-elf had grown up in the forest, and she couldn't shake the feeling that the rock overhead would suddenly collapse. The narrow space also restricted the Ranger's abilities. Now that this grueling stretch was almost over, she relaxed and was about to step forward when Ryan stopped her.
"Wait. Something's not right." The blond young man furrowed his brow slightly and fixed his sharp gaze on the floor in front of the door, pondering.
"Judging by all my years playing various Souls-like RPGs, and the lessons I've learned from countless adventure logs, there's a ninety-percent chance a place like this has a door-opening ambush or some damn trap." Ryan rubbed his smooth chin and muttered to himself.
Jelona watched Ryan, who was lost in thought, not understanding what he meant. She was about to ask when she saw him begin chanting and casting a spell.
A wave of magic swept past. Several spots on the floor in front of the iron door and on the wall beside it glimmered with magical light. Ryan smiled with satisfaction and laughed. "Ha ha! Just as I thought. There's always a trap at a roadblock. Thanks, Miyazaki, for raising me right."
Ryan studied the trap in front of him with interest. He used a spell to summon an Unseen Servant, then directed it to carry a heavy stone onto the trapped area.
As soon as the Unseen Servant entered the trap's range, green liquid sprayed rapidly from the wall facing them, completely engulfing it.
They heard a sizzling sound as the highly corrosive liquid ate away at the Unseen Servant and the stone in its arms, making them ripple. The Unseen Servant couldn't maintain its form and was unsummoned, leaving behind a stone pitted with corroded patches and many small, uneven holes in the surrounding floor.
Ryan smacked his lips as he looked at the trap before him, grateful for his caution. An Acid Trap that powerful could easily leave the entire party badly injured—or even kill some of them.
Traps, one of the things adventurers hated most, were common in all kinds of ruin explorations. Many were triggered by weight, with the weight of an adult serving as the standard.
There were two types of Acid Trap. One was set up with a magic circle that fired Melf's Acid Arrow when an adventurer stepped on the right spot. The other was a mechanical trap connected to a trigger that launched refined acid installed in advance when someone set it off. The one Ryan's group had encountered was the former.
That was exactly why every seasoned adventuring party had an experienced, skilled Rogue. Rogues had to rely on their professional instincts to determine whether traps were present. But low-level Rogues were pitifully bad at spotting them. Even if they found a trap, not every Rogue had mastered the skills needed to disarm it. Every year, countless scouts and Rogues found traps, failed to disarm them, and died.
That was why a skilled, battle-tested, experienced Rogue was always welcome in the world of adventurers. Better still if they were a nimble Halfling.
Of course, if—just if—your party had a Mage who could cast Detect Traps, then you could treat everything I just said as bullshit. Mages were gods, forever!
P.S. Could everyone give Ryan and Yefalin a thumbs-up? I want to get Ryan's alternate account soon. Thanks, everyone. Love you all.
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