GILF Hunter

Chapter 369 Bonfire

A bonfire burned at the center of the campsite.

The cliffs here were covered with unknown tree roots and vines, so dry firewood could easily be found nearby. Thanks to that, they were able to build a large fire without using much of the kindling they had brought along.

Ian sat on one side of the temporary camp, looking at the cliff while recording the placement of the caves and landmarks.

’Can you actually read that?’

Rin, who was watching from beside Ian, asked.

Regular maps were complicated enough, but what Ian was drawing this time was dizzying to a different degree.

Even to Ian himself, it wasn’t exactly a map that was easy to read. Ian paused his recording for a moment and answered Rin.

’Well, somehow... It’s better than just wandering aimlessly.’

’It looks difficult...’

Rin shook her head as she stared at the map, which made her dizzy just looking at it.

The burrows in this terrain were complex in shape, but since they also had to be connected to the exterior cliff terrain, it was far more complicated.

In truth, he was only recording it because it was better than wandering the paths without a plan.

Sitting next to Ian and leaning on his shoulder, Rin watched him draw the map for a long while.

Occasionally, the cry of a Harpy could be heard from somewhere slightly close by.

Mika, who was on night watch duty, raised her head and surveyed above, but one Harpy that had approached nearby eventually flew away after peeking around.

This was already the third Harpy to just leave like that. Just as Ian said, they seemed reluctant to approach the fire.

Thanks to the holy water sprinkled at the burrow entrance, even the Molers didn’t approach, making the campsite surprisingly peaceful without any major incidents.

Mika, who had been preparing a barrier just in case, sighed and canceled her magic.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Ian’s words that it would be safe, but she wasn’t so stout-hearted that she could be at ease in a place where Harpies were flying around.

Rin, turning her head slightly to watch Mika, asked.

’Can’t you use something like that? An alarm spell. In novels, they cast those and just go to sleep...’

’As if...’

Mika looked at Rin with an exasperated expression.

’Do you know how much mana is required to keep something like that up all night? It’s a waste of mana.’

’Couldn’t you do it if you had a massive amount of mana?’

’Even if I had mana to spare, I’d use it for fighting, not for something like that!’

Rin and Mika bickered for a while over the usual useless topics.

’....’

How much time had passed like that?

A good while after the two had stopped talking, Ian felt something soft touch his shoulder.

Rin, who had been nodding off, had finally fallen asleep, leaning against Ian’s shoulder with soft, rhythmic breathing.

She wasn’t even on watch, but she had insisted on staying awake saying it was worrying for Mika to be alone, only to eventually succumb to her fatigue.

Ian draped his cloak over Rin as she slept against his shoulder.

Then, he suddenly felt a different sensation on his other shoulder.

When Ian turned his head, Mika was sitting there before he knew it.

Having approached quietly, Mika was also leaning her head slightly against Ian’s shoulder.

Mika, sticking close to Ian’s side with a nonchalant expression as if it were nothing, had ears that were slightly flushed red.

Ian eventually pulled the cloak over to cover Mika as well.

...One cloak was far too narrow to fit all three of them.

＊　＊　＊

’Rin. Another one is coming from behind.’

’Which path?’

’From where we came...’

’I’ll go take care of it!’

Airi, who was keeping watch at the rear while moving with the party, spotted a following monster and informed Rin.

Upon hearing Airi’s words and confirming the monster’s location, Rin dashed toward the back.

’Hah!’

Rin swiftly cut down the monster that had latched onto the back of the group.

The ambushed Moler couldn’t withstand Rin’s attacks for long and collapsed without a chance to counterattack.

In the meantime, a battle between Lia and a monster was also taking place at the front.

Lia, seemingly accustomed to the battles here now, swung her sword quite skillfully compared to the beginning and slashed the monster blocking the way.

Several battles had occurred in succession in just a short moment.

’Are you both okay?’

’I still have plenty of energy.’

As everyone grew more accustomed to this terrain, the speed of combat and exploration was gradually increasing.

However, since the frequency of monster appearances also increased the deeper they went, the investigation was still sluggish.

Lia, walking at the very front, stopped her steps before long.

’It’s another fork in the road...’

’Are you going to keep going further inside?’

Facing the new fork, the members at the lead turned their heads to ask Ian.

’By now, something should have appeared...’

Ian, who had been descending deeper while leaving markers, pondered.

Burrow terrain was the kind where you could end up in an endless wrong direction if you took a single wrong turn.

If they were unlucky, there was a possibility they would just waste time spinning in circles inside.

’Should I just flip a coin?’

’Or should I have the unlucky Airi pick first and then take the opposite path?’

While Ian was contemplating for a moment, he heard Mika’s voice as she discovered something ahead.

’Ah, there’s something strange in front!’

- Skreeee!

Hearing the roar from ahead, everyone flinched and stepped back.

Having accumulated experience in Labyrinth exploration, they had instinctively felt the energy of Erosion approaching.

Soon, a monster shrouded in black smoke appeared from beyond the dark passage.

The monster, appearing with glowing red eyes, roared at Ian’s group again and lunged immediately.

’Mika!’

’On it!’

Immediately, the barrier Mika deployed blocked the monster’s approach from a distance.

The monster, colliding with the barrier with a loud thud, pounded on it frantically while letting out an angry cry.

Every time it did, the black fog surrounding its body dispersed here and there.

It was a monster with the characteristic of spreading Erosion to nearby enemies.

It was a troublesome monster that spread the fog of Erosion not only when it attacked, but also when it was attacked or died.

’Let’s head back through this path.’

As Ian hurriedly decided on one of the remaining forks, everyone moved in that direction.

Although its stats weren’t significantly higher than other monsters, there was no point in dealing with it in this situation.

If it were a wide area, they could have simply dealt with it with long-range attacks and waited for the fog to dissipate, but if fog spread in a narrow place like this, it would be a headache.

Ian decided to just avoid the troublesome monster rather than face it.

Since everyone felt the same, they moved quickly in the direction Ian chose, putting distance between them and the monster.

The roars of the monster blocked behind the barrier gradually grew smaller, and after a short while, nothing could be heard.

’Phew...’

’That minor thing was such a nuisance...’

The members, who were guarding the rear to see if any monsters were following, let out small sighs.

After catching his breath and finishing a brief reorganizing, Ian quietly examined the map he had drawn so far and spoke.

’Since it’s come to this, let’s go a bit further forward.’

’I wonder if there’s even anything in here? It’s just crawling with monsters...’

The Labyrinths they entered last time at least had the form of buildings, so it wasn’t strange for there to be various types of rooms.

But this was the middle of a burrow dug by beasts. It didn’t seem like there would be anything at all.

In truth, whether there would be a useful room was random, so Ian couldn’t give a definitive answer either.

Ian and the members passed through the narrow passage and descended a bit deeper.

Lia, walking at the very front, suddenly realized something strange.

Until now, monsters had appeared more frequently the deeper they went, but after entering this path, the appearance of monsters had suddenly stopped.

Just as Lia was contemplating for a moment whether to tell Ian about this, Mika’s voice was heard first.

’I think there’s something ahead there?’

’Where?’

A light holding an unknown mana. A faint light was spreading from the end of the dark passage.

Its identity was still unknown, but everyone realized something unusual was there and moved their steps more cautiously.

It seemed something Ian had been looking for was there after all.

’It doesn’t seem to be the outside...’

An unknown light was leaking from beyond the passage, but it felt different from the light of those glowing plants that grew in the canyon.

A short while later, Lia, walking at the very front, discovered a room connected to the end of the burrow.

It wasn’t a burrow dug by beasts like the places they had passed through, but a structure touched by human hands.

Inside a room where pillars were erected and the walls and floor were finished with sturdy stone.

Everyone peeked inside from the outside, talking with bewildered faces.

’What is this place?’

’Who would make a room like this in a place like this...’

’...No, it wasn’t made, it was originally here, wasn’t it?’

It didn’t seem like someone had intentionally made it inside the beast’s burrow.

It was likely a place that had been buried since a very long time ago, and it seemed the Molers had accidentally connected to it while digging their burrows.

Just what kind of place was it to be buried in such a location? Everyone surveyed the room’s interior from inside the burrow with tensed faces.

At the center of the room stood a large statue-like object of unknown identity.

’...This is a trap, right?’

Everyone, who was peering at it from the passage without entering the room, turned their heads toward Ian.