“Excuse me for a moment?”
Creak—
Right after smashing the mysterious coffin inside the room.
Holding the doorknob with my hand, I once again examined the warning sign.
[Warning! Do not enter under any circumstances.]
‘What was this warning about?’
I vaguely remember seeing it before.
Back in the VR game era, I was the type to headbutt raid bosses instead of going into dungeons at the scheduled time, so the dungeon settings were a bit hazy in my memory.
‘But…’
There’s a way to find out.
Although the barrier surrounding the pyramid blocks real-time posts or communication, it’s still possible to view past Another World forum posts.
Another World – KR Server
[What’s this place?]
(Photo of the warning: “Warning! Do not enter under any circumstances.”)
This warning popped up while exploring the pyramid.
Are we not supposed to go in?
Why do I feel so tempted to enter?
– Do not enter under any circumstances.
What is this, a red button?
– It’s the boss room anyway, so you have to go in.
A mummy wrapped in bandages will greet you.
– Suddenly, I don’t feel like going in anymore.
I glanced through the window to peek inside.
When I first saw the warning outside the door, I was hesitant, but now, looking inside, I recognized the familiar scenery from the game.
A massive coffin placed in the corner of a room made of yellowish-brown bricks.
And next to it, dozens of artifacts piled up.
It was unmistakably the treasure room you’d get after clearing the dungeon.
And the boss…
I blankly stared at the coffin, now full of holes and completely shattered.
“Was that too much?”
I vaguely remember the setting mentioned something about the boss being sealed for a thousand years.
But somehow, I ended up skipping its appearance entirely.
Even villains wait for magical girls to finish their transformation scenes, but I ended up feeling worse than a villain.
“Let’s just pretend nothing happened.”
Yes, there was no boss here.
It’s just a treasure room.
Sadly, the dead can’t speak.
And since they can’t speak, they can’t argue back.
I nodded to myself and turned my gaze to the artifact-filled chest.
‘In the game…’
In the VR game Another World, after clearing the pyramid, you could take one artifact from the room.
Most artifacts found in the pyramid were sealing tools, so even if they didn’t work on the Seven Great Bosses, they were often used against lesser mobs.
‘Was this used to seal the mummy?’
But the number of sealing tools seemed excessive for just one mummy.
Moreover, the artifact I originally aimed for, which worked on the Seven Great Bosses, wasn’t even here.
‘Oh well.’
Is there anything else?
As I rummaged through the artifacts, wondering if I should just take something, a voice echoed from outside.
“This is the last room. Once we pass this, we can escape!”
It was Helena’s voice.
Soon after, the sound of multiple footsteps approached from outside the door.
‘Are they the hunters dragged into the pyramid?’
It’s better to join them.
Helena must be looking for me too.
This is a chance to naturally join them and escape the dungeon.
Just as I placed my hand on the doorknob, I heard the hunters murmuring outside.
“Why is this path so muddy?”
“Probably another damn monster lurking around. It’s just another pyramid trap, right?”
“Doesn’t it lead to this room?”
Suddenly, a few memories flashed through my mind.
The memory of smashing a huge hole in the pyramid, turning a golem blocking the path into scrap, and pulverizing rolling boulders and arrows.
And then…
I looked around the room.
The boss that was supposed to be the final challenge of the dungeon.
That boss, now lying dead in its coffin without even making an appearance.
This wasn’t something an ordinary hunter, or even a top-tier hunter, could do.
This was the work of a boss monster driven by madness.
“Ugh, there’s no easy way to get to the final room.”
“Well, it’s fine. At least it’s consistent, which is somewhat reassuring.”
Clang—
The sound of players gripping their weapons.
What would they think when they see a suspicious girl, who eerily resembles the final boss of the Seven Great Bosses, alone in this wrecked room?
The answer wasn’t hard to guess.
A short sound escaped my lips.
“Huh?”
Am I screwed?
What the hell do I do now?
In that moment, my trembling amber eyes scanned the room.
The door opened.
***
[Warning! Do not enter under any circumstances.]
Standing in front of the warning sign, Dave, an A-rank hunter from the U.S., glanced at the other hunters and swallowed dryly.
‘This is…’
The final room of the mysterious dungeon, the pyramid.
The place where the undead slept, something I’d only seen in games.
And…
Probably the lair of whatever terrifying being had torn through this pyramid.
Dave closed his eyes quietly, recalling the devastating scenes he’d witnessed while exploring the pyramid.
The strange traces he’d found while navigating through traps.
The thorny paths that had troubled the hunters were now blunt and broken.
The persistent pyramid guardians, who had exhausted the hunters, were now pitifully shattered.
Even the pyramid walls, which hadn’t budged despite numerous skill attacks, were now cracked from the aftermath of battle.
Since all the scattered hunters had regrouped, it couldn’t be them.
That meant it was undoubtedly some unknown monster that had emerged when VR became reality.
And its final destination was…
[Warning! Do not enter under any circumstances.]
Dave sighed as he stared at the ominous warning sign.
‘If only…’
If it were the original mummy boss, I’d be less worried.
Even though its regeneration was a headache, I thought we could take it down with consistent attacks.
But now, the hope of easily clearing the final room felt like it had plunged into an abyss.
The other hunters felt the same.
Each of them gripped their weapons—swords, staffs—so tightly that their hands were sweating.
“Alright, everyone, relax. Let’s move in quickly!”
Perhaps sensing the tension, Helena, the highest-ranked hunter present, adjusted her witch hat over her golden hair and spoke cheerfully, pretending nothing was wrong.
Creak—
All eyes focused as the door slowly opened.
And…
What they saw was something the hunters could never have predicted.
“Kyaaak!”
As soon as the door opened, a blood-curdling scream erupted.
The hunters’ flashlights immediately lit up the area, and their eyes darted toward the source of the scream.
There, they saw a girl.
Her amber eyes glistening with tears.
She was sprawled on the floor, one hand on the ground, the other pointing at something, looking utterly helpless.
A girl fleeing from something.
Soon after, the girl’s tearful eyes turned toward the door as she sensed the hunters’ presence.
“Kyaah! H-help me!”
Bang—
At the same time, a massive fist wrapped in bandages slammed into the wall right next to the girl’s face.
The girl clenched her eyes shut and let out a sharp scream.
The hunters’ heads turned quickly.
A giant mummy, its body wrapped in bandages, emerged from the swirling black mist.
And behind it, in the center of the room, lay a massive—shattered coffin.
It seemed as though the mummy had broken out of the coffin, and now it was staggering toward the girl.
For some reason, the bandages wrapping the mummy’s body were torn and tattered, making it look even more menacing.
It was a life-or-death moment.
“Scatter!”
Helena, with her black hair and amber eyes, recognized the girl in an instant and let out a silent scream.
“Everyone, spread out!”
“Attack!”
The hunters, quickly understanding the situation, immediately charged at the mummy attacking the girl.
“Is it a variant of the boss monster?”
Normally, boss monsters don’t leave their designated areas.
But the mummy before them had broken out of its coffin and was now attacking the girl.
It was impossible for a seemingly fragile girl to have shattered the coffin like that.
A thought flashed through the hunters’ minds.
A variant.
An extremely rare occurrence in dungeons, where a monster breaks from its usual patterns, gains self-awareness, and acts abnormally.
There have been very few documented cases, but—
The creature before them, its body pitch black as if it were already dead, was unmistakably a variant.
‘If that’s the case…’
It would explain why the pyramid’s traps were destroyed.
Whoosh—
A strange light emanated from Helena’s hand, creating a portal that severed the mummy’s arm.
Slash—
The hunters’ blades cut through the mummy’s torso.
With each successful attack, the darkness around the mummy dissipated, and its movements slowed.
Seizing the moment, Helena rushed over to the girl.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Still shaken, the girl sat huddled in the corner, her amber eyes blinking nervously as she glanced around.
Then, with a bright red face, she stammered out a response.
“Y-yeah…”
Helena recalled the girl screaming at the mummy earlier.
Kyaaak!
‘She must have been through so much alone.’
The girl had navigated through countless traps in the pyramid and finally reached the last room.
But after being attacked by the mummy, she was still traumatized, avoiding everyone’s gaze.
‘If only I hadn’t insisted on coming to the pyramid…’
But at least we made it just in time.
If we’d been any later, the girl might have suffered a fatal wound.
Helena, feeling both guilty and relieved, approached the girl.
***
‘Why are they staring at me…’
I avoided Helena’s piercing gaze and turned my head away.
I had tried to divert attention to the mummy I was controlling, but some, including Helena, were still staring at me.
‘Was my acting not convincing enough?’
This kind of thing really isn’t my forte.
I did my best to suppress my instinctive discomfort, but I’m still getting suspicious looks.
I can’t help but lament my acting skills.
In frustration, I subtly moved my finger.
Crash—
At the same time, the mummy’s fist narrowly missed the hunters and smashed a pillar to pieces.
The room was pitch dark.
It was the perfect environment to manipulate the mummy using the surrounding darkness.
The hunters’ flashlights and light spells were a bit distracting, but I could dim them with a flick of my finger.
‘It feels a bit wrong to desecrate a corpse, but…’
Thank you, generous mummy uncle.
Just as a tiger leaves its pelt behind, the mummy uncle leaves his corpse behind.
While I controlled the mummy, making sure the hunters didn’t get hurt, something happened.
Thud—
Helena suddenly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into a tight hug.
I instinctively flinched, and Helena whispered in my ear.
“Oh, you’re trembling. It’s okay, I’ll hold you.”
‘…?’
I tried to struggle, but Helena only hugged me tighter.
‘Wait, if this keeps up…’
The mummy, like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsed.
It began to crumble into dust.
And then.
At that moment.
Whoosh—
The stone slabs of the pyramid began to rise.
[7 Wonders Dungeon – Pyramid of Traps]
As if announcing the dungeon’s clearance.
Words appeared in the air.
Simultaneously.
Rumble—
The pyramid began to shake.
Crack—
Bricks fell from the ceiling, and the pillars started to crack.
The air grew heavy, the floor began to collapse, and the passages outside started to crumble.
It felt like an earthquake of magnitude 7 or higher.
In the chaos, I stared blankly at the collapsing ceiling.
…Don’t dungeons usually eject you after clearing them?
Crash.
With a deafening roar, the pyramid collapsed.