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Chapter 46: Trap Detection
🕑 Added 2025-02-11 03:26:11 +0000 UTC“Listen here, girl. When I say I don't need help, I mean it. I don’t want you to help me. Understand?” James raised his voice at the girl.
“But we are in this together. We should all help each other!” Kaina answered. She didn't know that EXP and coins were split among all participants. Kouki knew but had hidden the information from her. He wanted to be a hero, so if he divulged the real reason, it would only make him look like a selfish person.
James was not like that anymore. Seeing that Kaina and the two military men seemed to agree with her, James decided to tell them the truth.
“Listen. You are weak. If you meddle, it decreases my EXP and coins. Understand? I don’t mind if you tag along at a distance. You may even take on a mob on your own. However, you may not meddle with the monsters I fight! Understand?”
“Eh? Is that true?” Kaina asked, dumbfounded.
“If you ask the system, it will answer. You may not know this, but coins are precious! They can be used to upgrade your skills, weapons, and even buy health potions. So, with your meddling, I get fewer coins and find it harder to level up. If you understand, then don’t meddle,” James scolded her. He then left.
James had not been this harsh before. However, he had changed. When he was fired from his job, he swore never to indulge others anymore. He swore that he would say what he wanted and push away anything that inconvenienced him. He had become more selfish, but he was no longer a pushover.
Kaina lowered her head. She whispered a faint but clear “sorry” that reached James’s ears. James didn’t console her and walked away.
“Um… Wait, aren’t you going into the portal?” Sanders asked as he watched James walk past the portal and into the Stonehenge.
“I am looking for a chest! Or other monsters!” James scoffed. His annoyance got the better of him due to their earlier mishaps. He often leveled up after defeating a boss monster, but this time, he didn’t. That annoyed him to no end.
“Sorry…” Kaina said again.
The Stonehenge in the desert was wider than it had appeared in the distance. James was curious. At the center of the Stonehenge was clearly an arena. Yet, why had the boss monster come to him? In the corner of the arena, there were stairs leading underground. Ever wary, James stepped in while Kaina, Sanders, and Anderson followed him.
Torches lit the dungeon-like structure. The brick walls and floors were neatly layered throughout the dungeon. Sand was piled up in the corners. The structure seemed to resemble something from ancient Egypt. However, there were no pyramids anywhere James looked. He could only sigh at such disparity.
“Look! There are three chests there!” Kaina pointed toward one end of the room. James was bewildered. He had never seen three treasure chests in one room before.
Kaina hopped toward them, but James stopped her. Using his usual tactics, he launched ice spears at the chests. Chests were impervious to attacks. However, attacking them might trigger traps. Seeing that the attacks did nothing to the chests, James walked closer—not from the front, but from the side, as usual.
Then, as usual, he attached his spiderweb to one of the chests. There were no arrows or poison gas inside.
“Were there more chests because there were more members? Or was it simply because we are in a real dungeon?” James muttered. Of course, he had no proof of this assumption. He couldn’t decide whether the system encouraged cooperation or not.
On one hand, they could easily defeat enemies even when underleveled thanks to their cooperation. On the other hand, the EXP and coins were divided. If more members meant more chests, then the system clearly encouraged cooperation. James pondered whether he should start being more cooperative.
“Hey, you guys. What levels are you right now?” James asked.
“Hm? I am level 13,” Kaina answered without hesitation. James raised an eyebrow at how quickly she answered. He couldn’t find it in himself to hate Kaina for her honesty. However, seeing her irritated him because she reminded him of his old self. The other guys hesitated a bit before revealing their answers.
“We are level ten. Why do you ask?” Anderson, the handsome military guy, answered.
“Nothing. Stay back, I am going to open it.”
“Why are you so cautious with it…” Sanders asked.
“Sometimes, there are traps within the chest. Opening it from a distance prevents it from harming anybody.”
“I see. What an ingenious idea. There were no traps inside, though,” Sanders answered. James scoffed at him. He didn’t realize that Sanders’ confidence came not from experience.
“Don’t get cocky. Just because you have never seen a booby-trapped treasure chest doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Some of the traps are deadly.”
“Um… no. That’s not what I meant. My unique skill lets me see traps. And the skill says there are no traps here,” Sanders answered. However, James didn’t trust him.
“Well, I am going to open one. If you are so sure of yourself, you may open the rest,” James challenged him. He decided not to rely on anyone else, and he wouldn’t suddenly break his principle.
What Sanders said was true. The chest opened without incident. James frowned at how ridiculous his unique skill was.
[Congratulations! You have obtained 4 flashbangs. A flashbang grenade has been added to your shop. You can buy it for 50 coins apiece.]
“Ohh! A grenade! This dungeon is surprisingly modern, huh? Did you find your gun in chests too?” Sanders exclaimed. However, James frowned.
He was not happy with the reward. He already had his mind magic skill to incapacitate enemies. So, these expensive grenades were useless to him. Carrying one grenade just in case, he threw the rest of the grenades to them.
“Here. I just need one. Didn’t think I would use them anyway. I have other means to battle the enemies. I don’t need these.”
“Really? Thanks! You’re nicer than I thought!” Sanders chuckled. “Oh, I can buy this in the shop too? I didn’t know the shop could be upgraded like this. I thought it could only buy health and hematonic potions.”
“So, we can open the rest of the chests, right?” Kaina walked closer to the remaining chests. James winced. However, he was too proud to take back his own words and let her open the rest of the chests.
“Ugh… coins…” Kaina frowned. “I need weapons… or armor.”
“Ah, EXP scroll for me,” Anderson said.
“Shit!” James cursed as they got exactly what he wanted.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Enemies?” Sanders and the rest raised their weapons, anticipating an attack. But James dismissed them.
“Nothing!” James left the chamber without hiding his annoyance. The group could only tilt their heads at James’ erratic behavior.
James came out from the underground room together with the three survivors. He wondered whether he should cajole them or ignore them. The sun had set, and cold air blew on his fur as he walked away from the monument and back toward the golden portal. A golden arrow, courtesy of the system, pointed him toward the portal.
“Wait! There is a trap there!” Sanders shouted.
James tilted his head. He had been walking this path when he came to the Stonehenge, so how could there be a trap here?
Sanders wasn’t lying. James felt something moving underground thanks to his echolocation ability. A monster that resembled a beetle emerged from the sand. Its massive pincers homed in on James, threatening to split him in two right at the torso.
James leaped closer as he swung his axe upward. There was no time for a skill, but the force of his strike was enough to knock the beast away. The massive pincers that had been aimed at him bit nothing but air.
James followed with a thrust as he drew his sword from his back. The longsword slid easily into the beast’s stomach as red blood spurted out from its guts. The massive bug cried out its last breath before dying.
[Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 42. You have earned 20 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 11.]
James felt his heart leap out of his chest for a second there. It was so sudden. If he hadn’t stopped, he might have lost his legs or, worse, died.
“Are you okay?” Sanders came in and sighed in relief when he saw that James was unharmed. “Sorry, you’re at a much higher level than me. My warning must have been unnecessary.”
“No. It’s fine. Thanks for the warning,” James muttered.
This was not the first stealth opponent he had faced. The frog on the previous floor had done the same. However, that frog relied on paralysis and the binding of its tongue. James realized he needed more detection skills to avoid traps and ambushes like this.
He recognized gaps in his defense. His echolocation skill hadn’t detected the beetle because it hadn’t moved. Only at the very last minute did he realize he was being ambushed.
Unfortunately, the sand beetle that ambushed him didn’t have any useful parts
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Parts:]
Sand Beetle’s Pincers (STR +20%) (Extra Slot)
Sand Beetle’s Scales (Physical Resistance +20%) (Extra Slot)
Its scales were worse than the crab’s, so James ignored them from the beginning. However, its pincers might be useful. He could swap out his gills for the pincers. But the question was, where should he place them?
“No. If there are any more water floors, I’d be screwed without the gills,” James muttered and decided to abandon the corpse.
Finally getting the level-up he wanted, James checked his stats. His new class had leveled up significantly, shooting up to Level 12.
“Alright! You guys are not so useless after all. Let’s head on to the next floor.” James smiled. His new level-up had certainly improved his mood. He could feel himself getting stronger.
With renewed determination, James walked to the portal. This time, his heart slightly cared for his new companions.
[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 42
Coins: 170
Stats:
STR: 138 (↑2)
DEX: 134 (↑3)
MAGIC: 89 (↑3)
MANA: 900 (↑20)
Skills:
Novice Axe Mastery Level 4 (Powerstrike, V-slash)
Beginner Sword Mastery Level 7 (Hurricane)
Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
Magic:
Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar
Class:
Attacker (Level 11) (10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level) (↑1)
Unique Skill - Chimera Level 2:
Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
Orc’s Left Arm (STR +10%) (Arm Slot)
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
Ratking’s Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
SwordShark’s Gills (Water Breathing, Negative Trait: Waterbound Respiration) (Extra Slot 3)
Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
Land Shark’s Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
Equipment:
Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
War Axe
Longsword
Crossbow (x12)
Waterspout Dagger
Mask of Identity
Leather Bag
Sphere of Fethusiane
Cloak of Dark Night
Thompson Center Contender (x2)
Frag Grenade (x1)
Flashbang (x1)
