Chapter 51

The Game Difficulty
Is Crazy

Chapter 10

The same day, at noon.

After finishing his conversation with Jaber, Glen was immediately assigned to the newly formed patrol unit and came to the border area.

“Nice weather.”

Clear and cool air.

Sunlight falling down, and beneath it spread a dense conifer forest.

When he breathed in, it felt like even his mind became clear.

The border area.

A vast forest stretching dozens of kilometers from Avenue Fortress to the Land of Demons.

The reason Glen came here today was to obtain the hidden piece concealed in this place.

“Young Master Glen.”

A Gray Wolf Knight approached.

He was a man with sharp eyebrows and eyes, giving him an appearance somewhat resembling an eagle.

“Yes. Sir Hawkney.”

Even his name was Hawkney.

Despite appearances, he was thirty-three years old and a Gray Wolf Knight ranked 6th, having woven his fifth ring of achievement.

Indeed, compared to knights of other minor families, the Gray Wolf Knights were clearly one level higher.

The man in front of him, though ranked only 6th within the order, was skilled enough that it would not be strange for him to serve as a knight commander in another minor family.

“We have finished all patrols in this sector. May we move on to the next sector?”

“You don’t need to ask me about every little thing. Right now, I’m just a member of the patrol unit. You’re the commander, Sir Hawkney.”

As Glen smiled gently with his eyes, Hawkney nodded repeatedly as if impressed.

“As expected of someone acknowledged by Sir Jaber! Such an admirable mindset! Moved by that spirit, I too will carry out my duties as commander with full passion!”

With eyes burning to an overwhelming degree, Hawkney turned around.

Then, looking at the patrol members scattered while checking traps and signal lines, he spoke.

“Freeze.”

“Gather.”

At Hawkney’s command, the patrol unit quickly assembled.

“Patrol of Sector 5 is complete. Today, we will finish patrolling up to Sector 6 and then return.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon, the patrol unit moved out.

Glen smiled faintly.

‘It’s about time to prepare.’

Border Area, Sector 6.

Within this area, today’s target—the hidden piece—was concealed.

To be honest, he wanted to leave Avenue Fortress alone and retrieve the hidden piece by himself.

That way, he wouldn’t have to bother joining the patrol unit and deceiving them while searching for it.

‘If I could have done that, I would have.’

Glen let out a dry laugh.

But it wasn’t that he didn’t do it—it was that he couldn’t.

‘Because I can’t fight right now.’

Currently, due to the penalty from using the Gray Ring, Glen’s Holy Ring and Demonic Ring were both deactivated.

The penalty duration from using the Gray Ring was twelve hours.

However, Glen had fought a desperate battle with a demon race member at full strength around 2 a.m. today.

To regain his original combat power, he needed to wait at least a couple more hours.

That was why he joined the patrol unit for the day, to receive protection from excellent Gray Wolf Knights, including Hawkney.

If Glen entered the border area alone and happened to encounter demon race members, there would truly be nothing he could do.

‘And having multiple people is also advantageous for clearing a secret dungeon.’

For these and several other minor reasons, Glen decided to move together with the patrol unit.

Their current location was Sector 6, where the secret dungeon was hidden.

Coincidentally, the ten patrol members had just split into pairs and gone out to patrol the area.

‘Shall I move now?’

Stretching lightly, Glen approached Hawkney, who was checking traps.

“Sir Hawkney. I need to take care of some business for a moment.”

“If it’s nothing serious, wouldn’t it be better to just handle it in your pants?”

At Hawkney’s excessive reaction, Glen widened his eyes.

Then Hawkney launched into a long speech.

“……Excuse me?”

“Patrolling is a proper operation! In a situation where enemies could appear anytime and anywhere, you plan to leisurely lower your pants and take care of business? That’s practically shouting at the enemy to kill you!”

“This isn’t wartime, so I don’t think it’s necessary to go that far.”

“What are you saying, Young Master! In real combat, act like it’s real combat! Even Young Master Glen, a blood descendant of the Wordsworth family, is no exception!”

Sparks flew from Hawkney’s eyes.

Looking at him, Glen frowned.

‘……Is this guy crazy?’

He wanted to argue that Hawkney’s booming voice alone was enough to attract enemy attention, but—

Seeing that passion-filled face, he felt nothing he said would get through, so he gave a rough excuse instead.

“Actually, it’s… a big one.”

“Oh! Is that so? In that case, it can’t be helped. If you keep waste in your pants for too long, there’s a risk of catching a plague.”

“Yes, well…….”

There were many points to object to, but Glen only smiled bitterly and moved away from Hawkney.

“I’ll be right back.”

“After you’re done, be sure to cover it with dirt!”

What a rough and crude man.

‘Is that the kind of monster strict manuals produce?’

Disgusted, Glen steadied his confused mind and hurried into the forest.

Because the dense trees blocked the sunlight, the surroundings grew dark, but it didn’t matter.

To Seong Yohan, the secret dungeon was practically his own room—he could find it even with his eyes closed.

Step—

Leather shoes pushed aside the grass.

Soon, beneath Glen’s feet, there was a flat stone embedded in the ground.

On its surface were grooves carved in a unique pattern.

“Found it.”

Glen lifted the corner of his lips.

The secret dungeon he was looking for lay sleeping beneath this stone.

Then how do you enter the secret dungeon beneath the stone?

‘Every lock has a matching key.’

To enter a hidden place, you simply need to use the special entry method suited to it.

And the key to entering this secret dungeon had been prepared by Glen long before he ever came to Avenue Fortress.

‘More precisely, I made it one day before leaving the estate.’

Glen took out an old parchment scroll from his bag and unfolded it.

A Magic Scroll.

A consumable item that activates a simple spell written inside by tearing the parchment.

The magic Glen prepared this time was the Unlock spell.

It was a spell that activated a hidden entrance connected to a concealed location near the caster.

‘Of course, since it’s implemented through a magic circle rather than formal magic, it’s unstable.’

But the entrance to the secret dungeon he was heading to wasn’t locked at a very high level, so it didn’t matter.

Fwoosh—

The torn magic scroll in Glen’s hand was engulfed in blue flames.

Soon, the 5th-circle spell recorded inside pierced through the parchment and manifested.

Kiiiiiing—

What formed from the burning parchment were blue mana particles.

They soon gathered in one place and seeped into the flat stone beneath his feet.

Rumble—

Suddenly, a light vibration arose from the ground, and the stone began to move.

And where the stone had been, there were stairs leading downward.

The lock on the hidden entrance leading to the secret dungeon had been released.

“Ah, so perfect.”

Looking at the pitch-black darkness beyond the stairs, Glen snapped his fingers.

He had worried, just in case, that the crude unlock spell created by the magic scroll wouldn’t work, but it seemed to be a needless concern.

Now all that remained was to bring Hawkney and the patrol unit into the secret dungeon and obtain the hidden piece.

‘What’s so hard about that?’

As long as Glen had a perfect strategy for this secret dungeon in his head, there was nothing to worry about.

“Young Master!”

Perfect timing.

An echo rang through the dense trees, and Hawkney came running over at a frightening speed.

It seemed he had reacted to the light vibration that occurred when the hidden entrance opened.

“There was an unexplained vibration, so I came to check. Are you all right?”

As Hawkney tried to examine him, Glen waved his hand.

“Yes. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. However……”

Trailing off, Glen pointed to the entrance of the secret dungeon, and Hawkney’s gaze followed.

“Hm? That’s a passage I’ve never seen before…….”

“Yes. Suddenly, the ground shifted, and this passage appeared.”

“The ground shifted?”

“More precisely, that flat stone over there.”

Hawkney’s eyes sharpened.

“It seems that Young Master has discovered a hidden passage leading somewhere. I don’t know why it opened.”

Hearing Hawkney’s satisfied reaction, Glen naturally continued his act.

“A hidden passage? Where do you think it leads?”

“Well, I don’t know for certain, but since it’s a secret place in a location like this, there’s a possibility it belongs to the demon race.”

“The demon race?”

“Yes. Demon race skirmish units sometimes prepare places like this in the border area to use as their bases.”

“I see.”

“It could also simply be a warehouse used by smugglers. Either way, since such a passage exists, we must investigate whatever may be inside.”

Passion burned in his hawk-like eyes.

Soon, Hawkney drew his sword from his waist.

Fweeee—

A long whistle followed.

It was the signal to assemble.

“Once the rest of the unit gathers, we will form up and enter.”

“You seem quite experienced with situations like this.”

“In fact, I’ve discovered several demon race bases and smuggler warehouses before.”

With eyes full of enthusiasm, Hawkney raised his thumb.

Glen also nodded with a faint smile.

“You’re young, yet you have a lot of experience in many ways.”

Of course, the scenery awaiting them down those stairs would be quite different from what Hawkney expected.

‘However Hawkney believes it, as long as he comes along, isn’t that enough?’

Soon, the rest of the patrol unit gathered where Glen and Hawkney stood.

Hawkney briefly summarized the situation for them.

“……Therefore, we will now explore below.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Moti and Rick, stay behind and monitor the situation. If we don’t return within one hour, run to a nearby patrol unit, request support, then immediately return to the fortress and report.”

Clean and concise orders.

The patrol unit quickly moved into formation.

“Then, are you ready?”

Hawkney looked at Glen.

A sense of resolve even seeped from his blazing eyes.

“Of course.”

Glen smiled with his eyes.

This was something he had planned himself—how could he not be ready?

“Then we go down. Enter!”

“Enter!”

A spirited response followed.

Then the knight at the front, holding a torch, quickly stepped onto the stairs and went down.

“Next. Enter!”

“Enter!”

At Hawkney’s command, the next knight swiftly descended the stairs.

Because the stairs were narrow, only one person could pass at a time, yet the patrol unit moved quickly and efficiently.

In an instant, everyone except Glen and Hawkney disappeared below the stairs.

“Young Master. We don’t know what dangers may lie below, so please stay alert.”

Hawkney offered his advice.

There was nothing to worry about.

‘The place below is more familiar to me than my own room.’

Glen responded with a polite smile and descended the stairs.

After that, they went down for quite some time.

As if descending a massive underground waterway, corridors and downward stairs repeated.

Only after about thirty minutes did the patrol unit finally exit the passage and arrive at an open area.

The darkness they relied on torches for ended, and a bright space spread out before them.

However, this was not the place the patrol unit had imagined.

“This place is……”

Hawkney and the patrol members’ eyes filled with confusion.

The world before them was far too alien to be a demon race skirmish base or a smuggler’s secret warehouse.

The floor and walls were made of black rock.

And through grooves on their surfaces flowed mysterious blue liquid.

At the end point of that blue liquid was a lake of enormous scale.

The scenery unfolding before the patrol unit was like a single gigantic garden.

“In five years of patrol duty, this is my first time seeing a place like this.”

Hawkney frowned.

In contrast, Glen nodded calmly.

‘We arrived safely.’

While the patrol unit was flustered at finding themselves in an unexpected place, Glen was quite satisfied with the situation.

By coming here, he had drawn closer to the hidden piece he was aiming for.

‘Welcome, Gray Wolf Knights.’

To the secret dungeon where the hidden piece lay.

To Medlers’s Garden.