Chapter 14: The Demon’s Lair – 01
The Gate to Another World, from which it was believed a Demon had emerged.
The first thing I saw after being sucked into it was a desolate, boundless expanse of land.
Before me stretched a flat terrain of dirt, sand, and small stones, devoid of any grass, continuing endlessly into the horizon.
Here and there, twisted forms resembling trees stood, but with so few leaves, it was impossible to tell if they were alive or not.
The sky was faintly illuminated, yet it bore a purple hue, casting a sickly tint over everything on the ground.
In the far distance, I could see what looked like gray rocks lined up. They might be mountains, but they appeared as sheer cliffs, rising vertically.
“Well, at least I can breathe normally. There’s no presence detected within my range.”
As I spoke, I glanced behind me.
The hole I had been sucked through was nowhere to be seen. It seemed to have closed immediately after I arrived.
Around me lay the scattered remnants of earth and wood that had come with me. I stepped over them and ventured further into this otherworldly land.
“Now, what should I do first…”
It goes without saying that my immediate task was to find a way back to my original world.
If a Demon had emerged from the Gate to Another World, then I needed to find a similar Gate and pass through it.
There had been stories of Demons appearing all over, so the Gates themselves should open with some frequency.
The problem was whether I could stumble upon a randomly opened Gate in this vast land, the size of which I had no way of knowing.
If I simply wandered aimlessly, leaving my fate to chance, the odds of finding one would be as low as winning the lottery.
Moreover, it was only natural that this otherworld was home to numerous Demons. If I encountered them, a battle would be inevitable. A few lower-tier ones wouldn’t pose much of a problem, but there was a possibility of encountering higher-tier Demons as well. I couldn’t afford to be overly optimistic.
“For now, I’ll head toward that mountain.”
Staying put here was pointless. However, I needed a goal for my journey. The only thing in sight was the towering rocky mountain in the distance, so I naturally began to make my way toward it.
After walking for about an hour, there was still no change in the surrounding scenery.
The distant rocky mountain didn’t seem to be getting any closer.
“…Huh? What’s that…?”
At that moment, I felt something move in the distance. It was beyond the range of my Presence Detection. Squinting, I could see something approaching from afar.
“Is it a Demon after all?”
It was hardly surprising, but it was indeed a strange pink monster, unmistakably a Demon.
It had a human torso with six legs sprouting from either side, crawling toward me with an insect-like motion. It had only one head, but it was disproportionately large for its body. Of course, its eerily expressionless face was just as unsettling as the Demons I had encountered before.
As it scuttled about, glancing around, it spotted me and charged forward, kicking up a cloud of dust.
I retrieved my mace and shield from my Item Box and prepared for battle. Up close, the Demon was quite large, measuring about five meters in total length, including its head and body.
Gu-Gah!
The bizarre insect-like Demon came to a sudden halt about ten meters away, letting out a shrill cry reminiscent of metal scraping against metal as it opened its mouth and launched an ice spear at me.
It was a powerful spell, but my Immovable Fortress Wall sustained no damage. I advanced steadily, bringing my mace down upon its head. The head exploded into nothingness, and its body splattered against the ground, quickly transforming into black particles. This was nothing more than a C-Rank Demon, a low-tier one at that.
I picked up the Magic Stone and tossed it into my Item Box. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something else moving. Looking closer, I saw two more of the same insect-like Demons approaching from the direction of the distant rocky mountain. There might indeed be something over there.
I raised my shield and moved toward my new prey.
After about three hours of walking toward the rocky mountain, I had faced eight attacks from the insect-like Demons. I had obliterated around thirty of them. It seemed that as I got closer to the mountain, the number of Demons appearing simultaneously increased. Earlier, four had attacked at once, but with my Provoke skill, I took them down one by one without breaking a sweat.
The target mountain was now quite close, perhaps only three kilometers away. It was a tall mountain, appearing as a sheer gray rock wall.
However, the rock face had several crevices, some of which resembled cave entrances. I even spotted an insect-like Demon emerging from one of those crevices. That mountain might very well be a Demon nest.
After scattering more insect-like Demons for nearly an hour, I finally stood before the rocky mountain.
Before me loomed a nearly vertical rock wall. Looking up, I could see a massive crevice opening about a hundred meters above. I had seen Demons crawling out from there earlier.
“I guess I have no choice but to climb.”
I stowed my shield and mace, placing my foot on a rock outcropping and feeling for any handholds.
I realized that my Grasp skill seemed to activate even in situations like this. This meant that as long as there was even a slight protrusion, I could climb anywhere. I couldn’t help but chuckle, recalling the spider-man from media in my previous life.
Confirming with Presence Detection that there were no Demons nearby, I began my ascent. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but I quickly grew accustomed to it and began climbing smoothly. As long as I had even the slightest grip, my Grasp skill ensured I wouldn’t fall. Honestly, I could have climbed using only my arms.
In just a few minutes, I had scaled the hundred meters. But upon reflection, if Larni were here, she could have jumped up in just a few leaps, given a proper foothold. It wasn’t particularly impressive for an adventurer.
The crevice was at least thirty meters high and nearly ten meters wide. Upon entering, it felt less like a crevice and more like a massive corridor.
I drew my mace and shield and ventured deeper into the darkness.