Seeker 301

A

Chapter 301. Pyramid

Walking through the desert at night, we arrived at the front of the pyramid.

It was about half a day after hearing the story at Rashad's old house.

The members who came to this place were six in total.

Apart from me, there were Kazane, Yuzuki, Queen Lulu, the warrior Nasser-san, and the shrunken Griffin.

The massive structure towering in front of us was indeed what we imagined as a 'pyramid'.

Its overall shape was that of a square pyramid, immense in size.

It was constructed by stacking huge stone blocks cut into squares in a ridiculous amount.

The height to the top was not just ten times my height. But almost twenty times.

The sight of the pyramid under the stars was majestic and surreal, but we couldn't just stand there mesmerized.

With Nasser-san leading the way, and holding a lamp, our group proceeded into the interior.

The entrance to the pyramid was a gaping hole about five meters above the ground.

Entering from there, we navigated through narrow passages, sometimes descending, and ascending.

After a while, we reached a relatively spacious, empty room where we didn't feel cramped.

It seemed to be the burial chamber.

A splendid stone coffin was placed in the center.

Because it was sealed with a heavy stone lid, it seemed difficult to move it aside and inspect the inside, but there was probably no need to do so in the first place.

In front of the stone coffin were stone pedestals arranged.

In the middle of the top of each pedestal, there was a recess as if to insert something.

Looking around the room, there was nothing else particularly noticeable.

It was a barren space with only the stone coffin and pedestals.

"Father... please guide me."

Princess Lulu inserted the brooch she held into the recess on the pedestal.

The brooch fit snugly and emitted a faint glow.

Rumble...

A part of the wall at the back of the room moved by itself, revealing a small chamber beyond.

The floor of the small chamber had the shimmer of a teleportation magic circle.

We nodded to each other and followed Queen Lulu into the small chamber, stepping onto the teleportation magic circle together.

Wrapped in the brilliance of teleportation, we eventually arrived at another location.

It was a stone room similar in atmosphere to the previous one.

The room was mostly square, with walls on all sides. And there was a door on one side.

In the four corners of the room were what looked like coffins.

Other than that, there was nothing else in sight.

There was also no sign of a teleportation magic circle to return.

That was already within the dungeon, a one-way ticket as usual.

"Now that we've come this far, there's no turning back. We have to clear this dungeon and bring back the 'Mirror of Truth'." 

Nasser-san's smiling at Queen Lulu.

Queen Lulu nodded and looked around at the three of us.

"Daichi-san, Kazane-san, Hotaru-san. I'm counting on all of you. Please."

With that, she bowed deeply.

Queen Lulu seemed to possess the power of an Awakened One, but her power seemed immature.

She's probably around level 10, give or take.

"Got it. We'll take care of it like sailing a ship. By the way, Senpai usually figures out the difficult stuff." 

Yuzuki proudly puffed out her chest.

As usual, her chest development was somewhat disappointing.

"Jeez", I thought, when suddenly a suspicious gaze from Kazane caught my attention.

It was a look of "What are you looking at?"

I quickly averted my gaze from Yuzuki's chest.

"Daichi-kun, you're always a pervert, aren't you?"

"Oh, no, it's not like that..."

"What are you talking about, Kazane-san? Did Senpai look at you with lecherous eyes again?"

"No, it wasn't me. It was probably you, Hotaru-chan. That lecherous wolf is always targeting you, so you should be careful, you know?"

"Huh? Me?"

"Ah, ahem! Um, now is the time to focus on conquering the dungeon. Isn't that right, everyone?"

"...Senpai, your way of talking has changed."

"Kupi, Kupi♪"

And so, we unintentionally started a comedy routine as soon as we entered the dungeon, earning worried looks from Queen Lulu and Nasser-san. 

Oh well, that's just how we roll in our party.

Anyway, let's get back on track.

"There's one coffin in each corner of the room, totaling four. And there's one door," I summarized.

There were five objects in total.

Leaving aside the door, the coffins seemed to be warning us.

How should we approach this?

By the way, the fire and ice dungeons were 100,000 points.

Although our levels have increased significantly since then, it wouldn't be wise to underestimate this dungeon too much.

"Coffins are obviously suspicious. Kazane, any signs of presence?"

"Hmm, I don't sense anything clear. But it's not like there's something clearly inside the coffins; it's a vague feeling."

Kazane's [Presence Detection] gave a response that was neither a "yes" nor a "no."

Based on experience, so there's a high possibility of "something being there" in this room.

So far, however, there was no reaction from the coffins in the room's corners.

"What should we do, Senpai? Open the coffins?"

"Well... rather than that, it might be better to assume monsters will come out from there and destroy the coffins. These coffins seem to be made of wood."

"But 'seeing' something inside the coffin doesn't mean there's a monster inside. It might come out from somewhere completely unrelated, like from the floor with will-o'-wisps."

"That's true."

"On the other hand, there might be treasures in the coffins. If by any chance, the 'Mirror of Truth' is inside... Well, that's probably not the case."

"Hmm, logically, I don't think it would be, but..."

Thinking about possibilities is endless.

By the way, when I asked Kazane to [Trap Detection], there was no reaction at all. Well, they're not treasure chests to begin with.

There's no point in overthinking it.

For now, let's try the straightforward approach.

That is, trying to open the coffins.

Returning Griffon to its original size, we utilized our numbers to be vigilant around each coffin while I attempted to open one.

But--

"Huh, it's hard. Or rather, it won't open."

I tried to open the coffin lid, but it didn't budge.

Even when I used both hands to open it after placing my spear aside, it still didn't move.

That's beyond just being hard.

It seems like the lid is integrated with the coffin, not just appearing to be on top of it.

Or rather, there was no sign of the coffin even lifting from the ground; it seemed to be perfectly fixed to the stone floor.

"In that case--hah!"

I wielded the divine spear and sharply thrust it into the coffin.

If it won't open, then attack it.

And--Clang.

The attack from the divine spear on the seemingly wooden coffin was deflected without leaving a scratch.

Ah...

It's safe to say this is a dead end.

"No use, no use. This thing won't budge no matter what."

I raised both hands in surrender.

"It seems that way. The fact that Senpai's attack with that spear didn't leave a scratch means it's impossible. Shall I try shooting with my Fenrir Bow just in case?"

"Nah, it would just waste MP."

As a precaution, I tried opening or attacking the other coffins, but the results were the same.

The coffins didn't budge, and they were impervious to damage.

It feels like I'm experiencing the absurdity of the dungeon after a long time.

Yeah, this is it. This absurdity.

So, since we concluded that everything we do to the four coffins is futile, all that's left is the door.

"Alright, I'll open it."

While remaining vigilant towards the coffins, I reached for the door representing the remaining challenge. 

And--