Chapter 120: Sacrifice

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Sacrifice

Never letting go was just the most basic of precautions.

But the most important thing right now was the outcome.

Milo Shaw took a deep breath, the muscles in his calves trembling. Who could stay calm in a situation like this?

Going in meant a chance of death, but not going in meant certain death.

Between the two...

’I’ll take the risk!’

He took a step into the area, holding his breath. His eyes were glued to the skeletons scattered across the ground. To him, they were a summons from the Grim Reaper himself.

One second, two seconds... He silently counted past ten seconds, but nothing happened.

He won the bet!

He’d actually won!

Cold sweat dripped from Milo Shaw’s forehead, the hair on his arms standing on end. He didn’t celebrate just yet. Instead, he cautiously edged a few steps closer. He only relaxed after he had picked up his Sunflower and confirmed that the monsters still hadn’t risen again.

It was a false alarm. They probably wouldn’t attack again.

Milo Shaw gave Chloe Reed a reassuring smile, wiped the sweat from his brow, and jogged back to the stairs. Only then did he truly let out a sigh of relief.

Chloe Reed was genuinely happy for him, and also happy that she was no longer the one bringing up the rear.

Seraphina Sinclair and Hannah Morgan, however, were lost in thought.

If the monsters’ revival wasn’t triggered by the presence of an enemy, then there were only two other possibilities.

First, the monsters only attack once, stopping after their target leaves the area.

Second... after killing one person, the mechanism is considered complete, and they won’t attack again.

The first possibility wasn’t particularly useful.

But if it was the latter...

’That would mean that when we encounter an unbeatable monster, we could simply "sacrifice" a teammate!’

If Seraphina could think of it, then of course, so could Hannah. The two even exchanged a look, each seeing the same thought reflected in the other’s eyes.

’So they were on the same sinister wavelength.’

’But one is judged by their actions, not their thoughts. As long as I, Seraphina Sinclair, don’t actually do it, I’m still a good person!’

’Of course, Magnus Barrett didn’t count.’

Hannah Morgan’s thoughts, however, were more thorough. For her, sacrificing a teammate was an option that could never be used.

’Because the strongest person present is this Serafelle Sinclair.’

’If this dungeon has enough areas, eventually a stage will come where I’m the one on the chopping block!’

’So that’s a precedent I absolutely cannot allow to be set.’

For Hannah Morgan, everyone working together was the best option.

And for that reason, she didn’t voice her theory.

Seraphina Sinclair withdrew her gaze, her tone calm. "Let’s go."

She was the first to turn and start down the narrow staircase.

The Sunflower in her arms seemed to sense the danger had passed, and its leaves gently brushed against her arm.

Hannah Morgan followed close behind. Chloe Reed and the still-shaken Milo Shaw didn’t dare linger, and they hurried to catch up.

The staircase was longer than they’d expected, spiraling downward. The edges of the stone steps were badly worn, and stepping on them produced a gritty, sandy sensation, as if they might collapse at any moment.

For Seraphina Sinclair, the feeling of the precarious structure was somewhat reminiscent of the Rune Workshop she had visited before.

The walls were a rough mixture of earth and stone, cold and damp to the touch. The air was thick with the smell of old dust and an indescribable, faint odor akin to rotting plant roots.

"This smell..." Chloe Reed sniffed, a little unsettled.

Milo Shaw and Hannah Morgan felt it too. Their expressions were tense, and they didn’t even respond to Chloe Reed.

As the one in the lead, Seraphina Sinclair had to be extra cautious and certainly wasn’t going to answer such a trivial question.

She held the Sunflower a little more securely. Perhaps the shaking from descending the stairs was making it dizzy; she could hear the little thing’s thoughts complaining about it.

After another two or three minutes of descent, a faint glimmer of light appeared ahead.

"We’re at the bottom!" Milo Shaw said, his voice filled with relief.

The exit was a square opening, with a hazy light filtering in from the other side.

It was clearly illogical, but this was a dungeon—logic rarely applied.

Seraphina Sinclair stopped before the exit and peered out cautiously.

Beyond it was what seemed to be a larger space. The source of the light was unclear, like a weak fluorescence diffused throughout the air, providing just enough illumination to see.

Before them lay an open area. The ground was paved with neat yet mottled stone slabs that stretched into the distant darkness.

The putrid smell in the air was much stronger here.

The most striking feature was about a dozen meters from the exit, where several indistinct... humanoid figures stood?

"Is someone there?" Milo Shaw whispered, his voice a mix of surprise and uncertainty.

Seraphina Sinclair narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look.

They were indeed humanoid silhouettes, standing completely still in various poses, like frozen statues.

But upon closer inspection, she could see their bodies seemed to be formed from twisted, tangled dark vines or roots. Their surfaces were coarse, and she could even make out small protrusions resembling leaf buds.

Where their heads should be, there was instead a drooping, unbloomed, giant flower bud, or a cluster of large, withered, curled leaves.

These weren’t people.

They were some kind of plant-based life-form.

"Are they monsters?" Milo Shaw nervously set down his Sunflower and reached for his bow, but then, as if remembering something, he hastily picked the Sunflower back up.

He clearly remembered what had just happened.

"They don’t look alive," Hannah Morgan judged. "There’s no movement."

Seraphina Sinclair paused in thought for a moment. She picked up a small piece of stone that had crumbled from the edge of the staircase, weighed it in her hand, and tossed it at the nearest humanoid figure.

THUD.

The stone hit its target with a dull sound.

The humanoid figure didn’t even sway. It was completely unresponsive. The stone clattered to the ground, the sound echoing clearly in the silent space.

"So... they’re dead?" Milo Shaw guessed.

"Or dormant," Seraphina Sinclair said. "We can’t stay here forever. Let’s go take a look."

Her tone was surprisingly casual.

Hearing her, Milo Shaw relaxed considerably. ’With an expert like her around, nothing bad should happen.’

Seraphina Sinclair was the first to step out of the stairwell and onto the mottled stone-slab floor.

The surface was solid underfoot, feeling much safer than the crumbling staircase.

The Sunflower in her arms grew still, its head turning slightly toward the humanoid figures as if in curiosity.

Hannah Morgan and the others followed her out, each gripping their weapons tightly. They spread out cautiously, advancing slowly behind Seraphina Sinclair.

As the distance closed, the details of the humanoid figures became clearer.

They were indeed formed from some sort of tangled, dark-brown, woody vines. The forms were lifelike—it was even possible to distinguish the different physiques of men, women, the old, and the young—but every detail exuded an inhuman, eerie quality.

They were rooted in the cracks between the stone slabs, as if they had been standing there for countless ages. As they drew near, the smell of plant decay grew even stronger.

There was something uniquely terrifying about these things that were so close to human, yet so clearly not.

"What... what in the world are these things?"

Milo Shaw stared at a figure frozen in a struggling pose, and his scalp prickled with fear.