Chapter 59: Crimson Bat Hollow [2]

As we continued deeper into the cave, the narrow tunnel gave way to a massive chamber—and right in front of us stood a towering cliff.

Embedded into the rock face, high above, was a large stone gate. It looked completely out of place compared to the rest of the cave, almost like someone had carved it straight out of a ruin and jammed it into this mountain.

“That gate up there,” I said, shading my eyes with one hand, “looks like it leads to the next area.”

Alice followed my gaze. “Figures. And of course, it’s way up there.”

She wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t the kind of place you could just climb up to. The rock walls were sheer, jagged, and slippery with ice. This was the part I remembered.

The real difficulty in this dungeon wasn’t the monsters—it was the puzzles.

Traps. Gimmicks. Hidden switches. The kind of stuff that made you want to throw your controller in frustration.

And just to make things worse, my Echo Rod—normally a reliable tool for scanning or activating magical devices—was useless here. The dungeon had a built-in debuff that nullified artifact effects.

’Classic northern dungeons. Always trying to make you suffer in creative ways.’

To proceed, we had to activate several hidden switches scattered across impossible locations—some tucked between stalactites, others practically embedded in the cliffside itself.

It was a nightmare.

That’s why I needed Alice.

“Lady Alice,” I called out, pointing upward, “see that spot near the ceiling? Looks like just another bunch of stalactites, but there’s something odd about the pattern.”

She squinted, tilting her head slightly. “Hmm… I think I see it. Something’s off.”

Sharp-eyed as ever. It made sense—Alice could hit a bird mid-flight from a hundred meters away.

Still, she frowned.

“It’s bothering me,” she muttered. “Like a twitch behind my eyes. Irritating.”

Was it the puzzle? Or something else?

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked. “Dizzy or anything?”

She shook her head. “No, just… mood swings, maybe.”

I let out a small breath. ’Good. I thought I might’ve triggered a hidden trap somehow.’

“Well,” I said, taking a step back and gesturing at the spot, “do you think you can shoot it?”

Alice didn’t even answer. She just raised her bow in one fluid motion.

Effortless. Like pouring a cup of tea.

Her fingers drew the string, eyes locked on the hidden symbol like a hawk.

-Ping-

A clean, precise shot.

And then—

[Puzzle Solved]

A low rumble followed as something clicked deep within the cliff.

-Koo-goo-goong.

The ground trembled slightly beneath our feet as the massive stone gate above began to lower, grinding against its frame with the sound of ancient machinery waking up after centuries.

I glanced at Alice, who was already lowering her bow, unbothered.

“Impressive, as always,” I said.

She smirked faintly. “That was nothing.”

Of course, it looked like nothing. But that was the kind of accuracy most trained archers dreamed of. She made it look easy, but every movement had been precise—controlled.

“Now we need to look for the other patterns to enter the next chamber,” I said, scanning the walls again.

Alice nodded but didn’t move immediately. She was still watching the stone gate, her brows slightly furrowed—as if she sensed something off.

I didn’t blame her. These dungeons loved to throw curveballs. Just because we solved one puzzle didn’t mean we were in the clear.

Sure enough, the gate had only lowered halfway. Enough to tease us, but not enough to let us through.

“Tch. Knew it,” I muttered. “Multiple switches.”

From what I remembered, this section had at least three more.

Each one tied to a different illusionary pattern cleverly hidden in the terrain—meant to blend in with the surroundings unless you looked closely or had a navigation system like mine.

“Let’s split the area into sectors,” I said, pointing toward the far-left wall. “I’ll take the west end. Can you check the right side? Look out for anything that doesn’t quite match the texture of the stone.”

“Mm.” Alice began walking, her boots barely making a sound against the stone floor.

As for me, I pulled out the Echo Rod again—useless for activating the switches, but still handy for identifying unnatural mana traces.

I ran it close to the wall.

Nothing.

Stalactites… moss… broken bones…

Wait.

There. A tiny shimmer behind a thin veil of illusion magic—just a hairline glow around one of the rock spines.

“Got one.”

I tapped my foot on the ground to mark the position, then looked up.

It was wedged behind a frozen outcrop near the ceiling—no way I could climb up there without gear, and teleportation was disabled in this zone.

“Lady Alice, I found another!” I called out. “Near the middle, above the frozen ridge!”

“Alright. One second.”

A moment later, her figure appeared from behind a fallen column.

She stepped up, glanced once in the direction I pointed, then raised her bow again.

This time she didn’t rush.

A breath in.

She waited for the draft of cold wind to pass.

A breath out.

-Ping-

Another flawless hit.

[Puzzle Progress: 2/4]

This time, a deep rumble echoed longer, and the gate descended another notch.

But again, it didn’t fully open.

“Two down. Two more to go,” I said.

Alice lowered her bow, eyes sweeping the far corner.

“There’s something strange over there too. The wall feels too smooth.”

I moved to join her.

And sure enough, when I brushed my hand against it, the texture shifted slightly—an illusion masking a perfectly flat wall with a faint symbol etched in the center.

“Found the third.”

Alice didn’t wait for a cue.

One arrow.

-Ping-

[Puzzle Progress: 3/4]

The gate groaned again. Just a sliver left.

Here’s an improvised and more natural, immersive version of the Chapter, keeping the tone consistent while enhancing the emotional tension and dialogue:

“One more,” I said, turning around. “Where the hell is it?”

I paced in a slow circle, trying to act like I was searching carefully, scanning the cave walls again. The truth was, I was stalling. The last switch was hidden too well, and I didn’t want to admit I had no clue where it was yet.

“Oh, Lady,” I said, raising a hand toward a random direction, “I think there’s another one over there—”

But Alice wasn’t moving.

She was standing completely still, facing the stone gate, eyes locked onto something only she could see.

“…Lady?”

No response.

I stepped closer, my footsteps echoing in the quiet chamber.

Was she zoning out again? Like during that one time in the forest, when she got distracted watching the sky mid-hunt?

“Alice?”

Still nothing. But the moment I got closer, I saw it.

Her jaw was tight.

Her shoulders tense.

And her eyes—sharp, cold, burning with a very quiet, very specific kind of fury.

She wasn’t dazed.

She was angry.

“Did something happen? Are you okay? Did I—”

Before I could finish the sentence, she snatched an arrow from her quiver and drew her bow.

“Lady, wait, what are you—”

She loosed it without hesitation.

The arrow whistled through the air, shattering a glowing symbol near the top of the wall. One of the fake patterns—the decoys. I recognized it immediately.

That wasn’t a real trigger. It was a trap designed to punish players who guessed carelessly.

“Hey—! Lady, that one’s a fake! Don’t—!”

Too late.

She had already drawn another arrow.

And another.

One after the next, she fired—destroying every nearby fake pattern without pause. Each impact echoed with a hollow, empty shatter, like breaking glass in a dead room.

I rushed toward her, trying to stop her hand.

“Alice! What are you doing? That’ll trigger—!”

[Warning]

My status screen lit up with a blaring red message.

[The dungeon difficulty is too high compared to the party’s level.]

[Proceeding is not recommended.]

[Challenge again after further growth.]

The message stayed on-screen, pulsing.

An invisible weight settled over the entire dungeon—like the pressure had doubled in the air.

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