Chapter 132: Hidden Path

Major Fortresses, unlike smaller, minor ones, span a few kilometers on each side. As such, for efficiency, it became common practice to place several teleportation arrays strategically across the entire length of the structure.

This not only sped up resource and personnel distribution across the fortress, but also allowed for the quick deployment of reinforcements to sections that required them.

That meant that as long as they didn’t get lost, they should be able to find a teleportation array easily.

“Scram!”

But as expected, not everything went as planned.

As soon as the three entered the fortress’s area, monsters began to manifest from the miasma around them and attack. It was a given that monsters would be present, of course. The only reason they hadn’t encountered any yet was simply because they were far from the frontline.

Given how deep they were in enemy territory, all the monsters that appeared were at least Minotaur rank, if not higher. Thus, the three couldn’t help but halt in place for a while.

Fenrir could scatter any monsters that appeared.

Nina, using her curses, could immobilize—if not eliminate—those that came for her.

And for Axel…

“HAAAP!”

He swung his sword down, cutting a Minotaur in half vertically.

With his current speed and strength, such feats were easy for him now.

Of course, what he was currently doing wasn’t testing his limits. Rather, it was the opposite.

“Damn, my clothes burned off again!”

He aimed to control his newfound strength more precisely. It wouldn’t be good if every time he moved, he had to buy a new set of clothes, after all. Rather than always going at 100%, he was trying to modulate his output in stages.

Still, he was already getting the hang of it.

The rate of acceleration, impulse, direction, strength distribution, and the way he handled his body—he was coping with his new powers quite nicely.

With each monster he cut down, more appeared. More chances for him to further optimize his movements and grow accustomed to them.

“Still, there’s no end to them…!”

Of course, they were strong.

However, it wasn’t like they had bottomless energy, mana, and stamina.

Fenrir was one thing, but the other two couldn’t last indefinitely under the siege of powerful monsters.

“At this rate, we’ll end up making a fatal mistake before reaching a teleportation array!” he emphasized.

“Sir Axel,” Nina exclaimed from the side, offering a suggestion. “I’ll try to cast my Death Curse at maximum range. Please equip your and Miss Fenrir’s Substitute Dolls!”

Of course, her curse couldn’t disperse the miasma.

Even if they killed all the current monsters, more would simply form again.

But doing so would take a decent amount of time, which should give the group enough leeway to move around and search for a bit.

“Alright, do it in five!” Axel commanded as he rushed to Fenrir’s side.

“Master?”

Fenrir noticed him immediately and turned, curious. “Do you have another command for me?” she asked.

“Yeah. Take this for now, and don’t lose it,” Axel said, passing her a max-level Substitute Doll. “After the monsters are cleared, go around and search for the teleportation array ahead of us. Leave the nearby locations to me.”

With the increase in his stats, Axel’s speed was off the charts. Still, he couldn’t really match Fenrir. Thus, it made sense to leave the farther areas to her, while Axel handled the closer ones.

“I understand.” Fenrir nodded, holding the Substitute Doll in her hand. “As Master wishes!”

Soon, the five-second mark came, and Nina released a full-power, full-range Death Curse with perfect timing. A gray fog spread from her position, encroaching on the surrounding area for several kilometers.

All the monsters within that range, despite their resistances, fell to the curse helplessly.

’If this were a game, with all the elite monsters we’ve slain, I’d definitely be hearing dozens of level-up notifications right about now.’ Axel thought casually as he turned away.

“Done!”

As soon as Nina’s signal reached them, the two sped off.

Axel had no way to “find” the array other than searching visually. Thus, as he ran, he stopped at each pile of mithril rubble, checking underneath for any signs of a teleportation array.

Just as he checked the fifth “suspicious” pile, he felt the air change.

The manifestation of the next batch of monsters had already begun.

Just as he considered stopping to prepare for battle—

“Leave the demons to me, Sir Axel!” Nina called out from afar. “I can still handle five more casts!” she clarified, stating her limits.

The gap between the first cast and the miasma gathering again was roughly thirty seconds. In short, Axel was given about three minutes of free time.

“Alright!” He nodded. “I promise I’ll find the array as soon as I can!”

It was directly tied to his survival, so he didn’t hesitate to push himself. With such a tight schedule, he didn’t delay.

He searched the nearby piles more thoroughly, making sure each was clear before moving on. He spent about five seconds per pile, scattering debris with a single swing of his hand.

But as always, the goddess of luck wasn’t on his side.

“Damn, not here either!”

Two minutes had passed by then, and Nina had already dispersed the third batch of demonic monsters.

Despite promising she could do a few more, she already looked on the verge of collapse.

Dark bags hung beneath her eyes, and her breathing was ragged. If not for the potion bottle clenched tightly in her grip, Axel would’ve already canceled his search to back her up.

At that moment—

“Master!”

“…!”

Fenrir appeared behind him, her expression grim.

“Did you find it?!” he asked impatiently.

Fenrir shook her head. “Unfortunately, no,” she said. “…However, I found a sealed underground passage. It’s mostly intact. I thought it might lead to a teleporter, so I decided to ask for your opinion first.”

“…A secret passage?”

Axel wasn’t sure either, but based on Fenrir’s observation, even if there was no teleportation array, it was likely an important part of the fortress. If they find something like a map there, then their search would get even faster!

“Let’s check it out,” Axel finally nodded. “Grab Nina first, then we’ll move!”

“As you wish, Master.”

In a flash, Fenrir vanished. The next moment, she returned with Nina in tow.

Without wasting another second, she grabbed Axel as well and jumped through space, arriving at a location roughly four kilometers away from where they had been.

“It’s here,” she said, pointing downward beneath a pile of rubble that looked as if it had exploded outward—clearly Fenrir’s handiwork.

There, a rectangular section of the ground made of mithril was exposed. It was in pristine condition, as if preserved by magic. Above it, a semi-transparent, glowing magic array was inscribed.

“So this is it?”

Axel whispered as he placed a hand over it.

The moment he did, something happened.

[No way…!]

Navi, who had been sulking and silent the entire time, muttered in shock.

[This seal is…!]

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