Chapter 40. The Answer Was All Around.

“They did a good job making such a complex structure.”

After moving along with the smoke for a while, I could see how they had created the air currents.

Air came in and went out through holes that existed all over the ceiling and walls.

It seemed like a structure with holes punched clean through the hard rock without disturbing the surroundings would be difficult to replicate even with modern engineering from Earth.

If it had been discovered on Earth, it might have become the subject of conspiracy theories about aliens or super-ancient civilizations.

“It must be magic, right?”

“Something like this would be difficult without magic.”

Pol answered my words immediately.

Even something this mysterious gained plausibility with the single word, magic.

It was truly a convenient world.

“Anyway, it's far from sufficient to be used as an escape route. We'd have to widen it quite a bit for a person to pass through.”

The size of the holes was about that of a human head.

It was large if you called it large, but it was certainly too small for a person to pass through.

In fact, it was a matter of course.

This place was a space for raising Arachne.

Even if the Arachne's bodies were similar in size to a human's, it was also true that the legs stretching out in all directions, a characteristic of spiders, made them look bigger than they actually were.

I had once seen a documentary about a spider freely passing through a hole that seemed difficult to get through.

‘If the holes were large enough for a person to comfortably come and go, they'd be like an eight-lane highway for the Arachne.’

To prevent escape through the ventilation shafts, the size of the holes could not exceed a certain level.

Thanks to that, it had become even more difficult for humans to escape or invade.

“We can't just widen any hole recklessly. This is troublesome.”

The tunnels inside the cave were also connected to each other by holes.

Because of that, only a few holes led outside, but it was difficult to tell which was which since it was hard to perceive direction inside the cave.

If we went through the trouble of widening a hole only for it to connect to another tunnel, we would have just wasted our energy and time.

It might be better to just find the path that leads to the entrance.

“Uwaah! Brother! We have a problem!”

Pol suddenly shouted.

Thinking an Arachne had jumped out, I immediately drew my sword and turned around, only to see Pol's body flailing about with his head stuck in the wall.

“I- my head is stuck!”

“…….”

Why would a guy who's old enough to know better stick his head in a hole without being careful?

I felt a slight headache coming on.

But I couldn't just leave him there, so I grabbed Pol's torso and pulled with all my might.

“The situation is bad enough as it is, so be a little more careful, will you?”

At my scolding, Pol whined that he had scraped his cheek.

“Owowowowow-it stings. I had a good feeling about this hole. I thought I'd be able to get out.”

“What are you, a cat? Do you think you can pass through just because your head fits?”

After smacking the top of the clueless Pol's head, I examined the hole.

In any case, if Pol's intuition was at work, it might be different from the other holes.

I soon found out that Pol wasn't entirely wrong.

The faint smell of blades of grass, carried through the hole.

It was definitely connected to the outside.

“…….”

“Uh……. Is something wrong?”

“No. It's not that.”

The result was good.

But does this mean I have to condone this guy's foolish actions in the future?

Wouldn't I collapse from high blood pressure if I do?

It was a problem that was too difficult for me.

“We have to widen this hole.”

Unfortunately, I couldn't see the outside beyond the hole.

But if the smell of the outside could be carried this far, it had to be a few meters long at most.

Couldn't we somehow break through this much?

“Leave it to me!”

Pol stepped forward energetically.

From ancient times, hasn't splitting a rock with a sword been a sort of measure of strength?

But, we had the cheat known as swordsmanship.

Sgeok- Syusyut-

The successive strikes of ‘Muu’ cut through the wall where the hole was.

In front of a sword imbued with mana, the hard rock wall of the cave was softer than tofu.

Stone fragments flew ceaselessly from the mangled wall.

* * *

And so, time passed.

“Heok- heok.”

When Pol, gasping for breath, dropped his sword.

There was a hole in the wall, widened enough for a person to pass through.

A hole with a depth of about- 30cm.

For all his flashy sword-swinging, the result was lackluster.

“…….”

I had a feeling it would turn out something like this.

Cutting the rock itself was entirely possible.

However, widening the hole was a completely different story.

In the first place, a sword was an object for cutting and stabbing.

When a sword passes through, it only leaves a single line.

If it could penetrate the wall completely, I could cut it into a desired shape and push it out, but if it was several meters to the outside, it was meaningless.

“I split…… the rock……”

Pol muttered, spread out on the floor.

Just 30cm at a time.

If we repeated this about 20 more times, we might be able to reach the outside.

I probably wouldn't be much different from Pol.

How long would it take to reach the outside that way?

They say humans can survive for a few days without water and food, but that's when you're surviving in power-saving mode.

If you move vigorously and consume stamina, that time is drastically reduced.

What's more, swordsmanship consumed an incomprehensible power called mana along with it.

It was impossible.

‘If only I had the proper tools……’

A pickaxe lingered in my mind.

The pickaxe I had swung to my heart's content when I was in the army.

With my current body, it felt like I could easily break through even a rock wall like this.

If this had been a mine, it might have been a different story, but such a tool wouldn't be rolling around in a cave untouched by human hands.

[Hahaha! Serves you right! Did you think you could escape so easily!]

As I was pondering for a moment, the Queen became triumphant again.

Look at this brat.

It was true that if we were stuck here for a long time, it would be the Queen's victory.

Monsters could survive on Yonghyeol, but we had to worry about food first.

Even if we used the few remaining Arachne as a food source in an extreme situation, it wouldn't last long.

The possibility of someone coming to rescue us was also 0.

“Tsk.”

I couldn't blame anyone since I had walked in here on my own two feet.

[You're paying the price for a lowly human like you to have insulted me! Go on, get down on your knees and beg me. If I'm in a good mood, I might just tell you the way, don't you think?]

No, there was at least one person to blame.

“You're full of spirit. Then I will torment you until I die.”

[Wh-what?!]

There was no way she would tell me the way anyway.

The Queen would also know that after letting us out of here, she would have to be dragged around again.

She was not a monster foolish enough to naively believe in a promise.

For the Queen, the rational choice was to keep us trapped here.

If only we died, there were still a few Arachne left in the cave, so it would be the Queen's world.

“Pol.”

“Heueu……. Yes?”

I tossed the crystal to Pol.

At that moment, the Queen's loud voice was cut off.

Pol, who was lying down and catching his breath, failed to catch the crystal properly.

“Uwaht?! Ah?!”

The crystal, after hitting Pol's hand, bounced into the air.

Pol shot up to his feet, trying to catch it somehow.

However, the crystal slipped past Pol's hand again, soared up near the ceiling, and then fell straight to the floor.

Bbak!

With a sharp sound, the crystal hit the ground.

“Ugh. I'm sorry. It's not broken, is it?”

“Don't worry. It won't break, it won't break.”

If it was something that could break just by falling from a height, there was no way it could have withstood my sword.

I approached the crystal.

Naturally, what was broken was the floor.

The floor, made of the same hard rock as the walls, was cracked, and a few pieces had even fallen off.

To have such destructive power with just a few meters of potential energy.

It was really, ridiculously hard.

No, wait a minute.

A hard lump?

A shape close to a sphere and this heavy weight?

I got it, just like that.

[I'm sorry! Please forgive me!]

The Queen pleaded as soon as my hand touched it.

“No. I'm sorry. And thank you.”

[Wh-what for?]

Whether she felt uneasy at my words, the Queen's voice trembled.

“Now. It's time for some arts and crafts.”

I dismantled the spare torch I had.

I separated the wooden stick and gathered the cobwebs spread all over the cave.

I twisted the cobwebs to make a thick rope of a suitable length and attached the stick and the crystal to either end.

Flail (makeshift), complete.

‘A hammer would be more efficient for breaking the wall, but it can't be helped.’

If I were to make it into a hammer shape, the method of fixing it to the stick would be a problem, and there was a high possibility that the stick receiving the force wouldn't last long.

I had chosen a relatively sturdy one, but in the end, it was just a branch rolling around.

[What are you trying to do?! Stop it!]

“It can't be helped since you won't guide me.”

[I'll, I'll show you the way!]

“Too late.”

Whoosh- whoosh-

[Ugaaaaga-]

As I held the handle and gently spun it, I could feel the centrifugal force in my hand.

This cool, heavy sensation.

I felt like I could break down a castle wall.

I aimed for the point of impact, and swung.

Kwaang!!

The ego weapon containing the spirit of the Arachne Queen struck the cave wall.

The result of my strength, the hardness of the crystal, and the acceleration the crystal gained as it spun in a circle, all combined.

The wall, breaking apart in large chunks as if it had been hit by a wrecking ball.

“With this, I think we can get out.”

[I- I was wrong! Please don't use me as a tool-!]

* * *

Luke, who had come out of the cave, was lost in thought.

The signs of someone's intrusion were clear, but he couldn't find them.

He had retrieved the Yonghyeol, but an uneasy feeling remained.

What if the intruder was still investigating inside the cave.

Or if they had already escaped.

‘It's not a big risk.’

With only the clues left in the cave, the chances of reaching the ‘organization’ Luke was a part of were almost nil.

Even if they discovered the artificial structure, the most they would realize was that there was someone who had orchestrated the whole thing.

Of course, that was only if a proper investigation was conducted.

It had been only about two days since the Arachne had emerged.

At most, only a few people would have reached the deepest part.

The testimony of those few people would not be enough to move the Empire.

The reason was simple.

This was still the dead emperor's empire.

There was no way the complacent and lazy Empire would react sensitively.

‘Still. I should take care of it.’

They might not believe the words of just a few people, but it could be different if testimonies piled up.

If an investigation was conducted and the information reached a sharp person—for example, the Sword Saint—it would become troublesome.

Not yet.

The well-fed pigs of the Empire.

Those bastards had to keep their guard down.

They shouldn't be given a chance to escape.

They shouldn't be given an opportunity to counterattack.

It's easier to slaughter a pig if the pig itself doesn't know it's going to die.

Someday, only when everything around them is a sea of fire will they realize they are being roasted.

‘If the plan had succeeded, I wouldn't have had to worry about this.’

Luke clicked his tongue.

If it had gone according to plan, no one would have known until the Arachne burst out.

The calculation was that by the time they became aware of the Arachne, the surroundings would already be covered with them, making it difficult to pinpoint the location from which they had emerged.

A situation where he had to clean up in such a hurry was unexpected, and he didn't particularly like it, but…….

‘That man’ must have anticipated even this and sent him.

If so, it was only human nature to live up to expectations.

‘Changcheon-’

Luke drew his sword.

And- the mountain that held the cave collapsed.

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