Chapter 24
What awaited them beyond the passage was an abyss where not even a single ray of light could be seen.
Yet not one of them turned away.
After all, this was exactly the kind of world they had wanted to face.
Seeing the Divine Tree silently grant them permission to enter, the expedition members hurried toward the passage.
“…Let’s move before it changes its mind.”
“As discussed beforehand, we’ll enter in this order: Were, dwarf, elf, then Sapien.”
Vika Harad, the dwarf soldiers, and then Uel Ferda jumped into the passage one after another.
Only the Imperial Expedition and Johan remained.
At that moment, the Divine Tree suddenly spoke to Johan.
“There is one thing you should know, savior who longs for rest.”
“…What?”
An amused smile spread across the bearded Divine Tree’s face.
“The curse placed upon you may perhaps be a blessing to this world.”
Those were the last words of Laufel, the Divine Thorn Tree.
Its distinct eyes, nose, and mouth vanished.
Its countless arms and legs merged back into the trunk in an instant, returning it to its original form.
Even the rows of skeletons behind it were swallowed by the shadows.
Johan understood the meaning hidden behind those words better than anyone.
If his immortality truly was an unparalleled blessing to this world…
then perhaps enduring it in silence for the sake of the world was supposed to be his role.
However—
“…Sorry, great guardian of the forest.”
Even if his power was a blessing to this world—
to Johan, it was a curse.
And to Johan, that was the only thing that mattered.
So he would go.
He would see what waited at the end of this road.
Hearing Danfos and Dexter calling him from far away, Johan raised a hand in response and walked forward without hesitation.
Exactly three days had passed since the expeditions of the Four Great Powers entered the dungeon.
The World Tree standing firmly in that place spread its two arms wide—
almost as though welcoming the young rookies who had only just begun their journey.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
How much time had passed?
Drip….
In pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, Johan opened his eyes once again.
“…….”
It was a familiar sensation.
But never a pleasant one.
Whenever he fell asleep—
whenever he lost consciousness—
whenever his head was severed and his body began regenerating—
his vision would sometimes flicker out.
Every time that happened, Johan hoped he would simply never wake up again.
Sleep was death’s closest companion.
If he could fall into eternal sleep, perhaps that too could be called death.
But no matter how long he slept, this cursed body always regained consciousness and opened its eyes.
Regardless of Johan’s wishes.
This time was no different.
“…….”
Once all of his senses had completely returned against his will, Johan instinctively began determining where he was.
…Drip.
The faint sound of water falling came from far away.
The fishy smell of salt in the surrounding air had clearly been carried by the wind from an even greater distance.
His sharpened senses estimated that even the shortest possible distance had to be at least one kilometer.
That meant there was an ocean somewhere not too far from here.
From that, there was only one conclusion.
Once again, he had descended to the floor below.
Beyond the Dark Forest—
to the Dark Cave.
“…….”
Unlike the Dark Forest, which was wide open and allowed anyone to head toward the center from nearly any location, this place was different.
Here, it was difficult to determine not only where you currently were, but also where you were supposed to go.
Its total area was more than twice that of the Dark Forest.
There were no elevated landmarks at all, which made determining direction extremely difficult.
If you started in the caves, the lake was your destination.
If you started near the sea, the caves were your destination.
That was the only information available for clearing the Dark Cave.
Rookies like Dexter might have sat down in despair and asked what anyone was supposed to do with so little information.
Johan was different.
That’s more than enough.
The dungeon—
especially floors below the tenth—
was almost like home to him.
Perhaps it was even more familiar to him than the Dark Land outside.
A way forward always began with information.
And that information came from senses and deduction.
After briefly examining his surroundings, Johan bent his left knee and touched the ground with his fingers.
Moisture.
Quite a lot of it.
The ground was almost muddy.
That meant water frequently fell here.
Which meant the probability that this location was close to either the lake or the sea was high.
“…….”
Next, Johan focused his full attention on his sense of smell.
There was the fishy odor of the sea he had noticed the moment he woke up.
And there was also the distinct earthy smell that came from a lake inside a cave.
He wanted to determine which one was stronger.
“…The fishy smell.”
It was stronger.
But not by much.
Judging by the intensity of the smell, if the sea were nearby, the fishy odor should have been far more overwhelming.
Which meant—
the lake was actually closer.
Once he found the lake, it would be easy to determine whether it was his destination.
And after that, he could decide where to go with certainty.
Having reached his conclusion, Johan stood and began walking in the direction where the earthy smell grew stronger.
As though she had been waiting for that exact moment, the goddess peeked her head over his shoulder.
[As expected of my darling… So cool! So sexy! Should I just eat you up right now? Hehehehehehehe.]
“Your train of thought is strange.”
[It’s your fault. You keep showing me how cool you are. Hehehehehahahahaha.]
“…….”
This insane monster really would do it.
In fact, Johan had already been eaten by her manifested form roughly three hundred times.
Each time, he had been surrounded by sensations so horrifying that he did not even want to remember them.
Then again—
the fact that Johan could be completely swallowed by a tentacle monster and still somehow come back to life was arguably even more disturbing.
A tentacle crawled up his neck and brushed against his cheek and the bridge of his nose.
Johan indifferently grabbed it and ripped it away.
“Enough. Before I cut off your limbs and use them as bait for deep-sea fish.”
[Eeeek!]
The goddess immediately went pale and hid behind his shoulder.
Her cephalopod-like limbs trembled in fear.
[You… you’re horrible! Using my manifestation for something so insignificant!]
“Then shut up and let’s move.”
[…Hmph.]
Her body visibly shrank.
Then she slowly faded until she disappeared completely.
Johan’s pace increased soon after.
He followed the trace of the earthy smell coming from the lake for roughly ten minutes.
