Dungeon Predator

The inside of the pyramid looked exactly as Kang Oh had expected. 

Walls of square blocks enclosed the passageway with inscriptions and drawings that he'd never seen before on the walls.

There were golden mirrors on the ceiling and ground; he didn't know where the light came from, but beams of light bounced off the mirrors and illuminated the pyramid.

"I know the way, but I'm not sure about all the traps, so you must be wary of them," Grano said.

"I understand."

Traps were what stopped intruders from leaving after all.

"Eder, take point!"

"Me?"

"Who else? What, you want me to take point?"

Kang Oh scowled.

"Never mind."

Eder pouted and stood at the vanguard, protecting his body with his shield.

"Keep on the lookout for any traps. Tell us right away if you see one."

Amongst the few support skills he'd learned, Disarm Trap was one of them.

Therefore, if Eder found a trap, then Kang Oh could try to disarm it.

'Well, I'm not sure how effective it'll be due to how low leveled it is.'

He could at least try.

However, Kang Oh's party was attacked by monsters, rather than traps, first.

It was a bipedal, dog-faced monster that wielded a Y-tipped metal staff in one hand.

A Nukura!

It was over 2 meters tall and was capable of turning into sand.

"I will protect... the king's tomb," the Nukura articulated slowly and approached Eder, who stood at the vanguard.

Grano cast a spell.

He unleashed a cool water cannon from his orb.

Bang!

His attack struck the center of the Nukura's body.

The monster turned to sand and disappeared.

It instantaneously appeared behind Grano and swung its Y-tipped staff downwards.

"Not a chance!"

Kang Oh responded quickly and swung his demon sword.

Sword and staff clashed.

Clang.

The sound of metal upon metal resounded throughout; the Nukura, unable to overcome Kang Oh's might, retreated.

Kang Oh was about to press his advantage, but at that moment, something grazed his side.

Eder had cast an aging curse.

The aging curse stuck to the Nukura and it became visibly weaker.

Bam!

Kang Oh swung downwards, but the Nukura was able to block the attack.

However, the Nukura was unable to contest Kang Oh's strength and was forced down onto its knees.

Kang Oh quickly flowed into his next attack.

Upward Cut!

The Nukura quickly turned into sand once more, but that turned out to be a mistake.

The demon sword could cut through ghosts and lightning, so why wouldn't it be able to cut through sand?

His demon sword cut through the sand, inflicting severe damage. Moreover, the sudden, unexpected damage confused the Nakura as well!

Grano finished it off.

Water Spear!

A violent, whirling spear of water pierced the Nukura's chest.

That was the end.

For Kang Oh's party, it wasn't nearly strong enough for them to derive happiness from its defeat.

They continued on.

* * *

There were other monsters that resided in the Tomb of Beskamen II aside from the Nukura.

For example, the Ranka, which wore a maple-leaf mask and possessed sharp teeth and claws!

It possessed the ability to freely pass through walls.

Therefore, it was a troublesome monster that would ambush players from the side and if it was at a disadvantage, it would retreat through any nearby wall as well. 

But this time, it wasn't a good match for its opponents.

Once the Ranka popped out of a wall, Kang Oh's demon sword, Eder's mace, and Grano's magic came flying at it.

The Ranka received a one-sided beat down, as if it were on the other side of a game of whack-a-mole, and died.

Besides that, there were Two-Headed Sand Snakes, Sand Alligators, Black Scorpions, etc. However, they weren't even remotely a threat to Kang Oh's party.

The traps were actually more tiring than the monsters were.

Clatter.

Eder, who stood at the vanguard, had stepped on a floor-activated trap.

"Duck!"

Kang Oh felt a chill on his face and quickly bowed his head.

Eder and Grano quickly reacted and lay face down.

Swoosh.

Spears popped out from the eyes drawn on the walls and then quickly returned back, making everything look normal again.

"Hoo. That surprised me."

Kang Oh caught his breath and carefully stood up. The trap didn't activate again.

"I-I'm sorry."

Eder looked sullen as if he had committed a crime.

"It's fine. Just be more careful."

Kang Oh's party continued onwards.

After that, the now focused Eder began finding traps.

Whenever he did, Kang Oh used his Disarm Trap skill.

If he successfully disarmed the trap, then he'd get a system message that told him how to avoid, destroy or disassemble the trap.

Kang Oh's proficiency in Disarm Trap was pathetic, but his high Sense stat allowed him to increase his success rate.

Like right now!

---

[You have successfully disarmed the trap.]

[It is a trap that rains arrows down from the ceiling. Please stick to the walls.]

---

"Please stick to the walls."

Grano and Eder followed his directions and stuck to the walls, allowing them to pass through without triggering the trap.

However, there were more traps following that.

"There are so many!"

It was definitely a pyramid dungeon; the dungeon possessed more traps than any dungeon he'd ever gone through. So much so that it was getting old!

Therefore, Kang Oh's party couldn't let down their guard.

"We're almost all the way there. Please hang in there," Grano said.

"Alright."

"You're not just saying that when there's like an hour left to go, are you?"

Kang Oh looked at him suspiciously.

"We really are almost there."

Grano was being honest. 

Once Kang Oh's party progressed a little bit further, they arrived at their destination.

"Over here!"

Of the pyramid's passageways they had seen, this one was the largest.

There were statues on both sides of the passageway with animal faces and human bodies.

The types of animal faces were obvious: lion, eagle, snake, elephant, etc.

There were five different animal-faced statues, but they all wielded a different weapon.  

"Beskamen II rests through that door, but that's not our objective," Grano said. 

At the end of the passageway, there were double doors shut tight on either side.

"Then where are we going?" Kang Oh asked.

"We're going to open the hidden passageway. If you handle the statues incorrectly, then it'll spring a trap, so please listen to me."

"I understand."

"Beskamen I's favorite animal was the hawk. Please stand in front of the hawk statue."

Kang Oh and Eder stood in front of bird-faced statues.

While the statues were similar, they were also slightly different.

"Mr. Eder, that's the eagle statue. Mr. Kang Oh is standing in front of the hawk statue."

"Ah."

Then, Eder found the correct statue.

'As I thought.'

Kang Oh had stood in front of the statue where his Hyper Intuition had flared up and that was none other than the hawk statue.

"Please press on the top of its right foot," Grano said.

Kang Oh and Eder stamped on its right foot with their own.

Screech.

It felt like they'd pressed the button of some sort of device.

Grano pressed on the other foot.

Rumble!

The passageway shook slightly and dust rose.

Plus!

At the center of the passageway, the ground sunk inward and a hidden passageway appeared.

"Oh!"

Kang Oh's party gathered around the hidden passageway.

There were stairs that went underground.

"So this is the tomb within a tomb you were talking about," Eder said.

'Tomb within a tomb, huh...'

Kang Oh recollected what Grano had told him and Eder.

* * *

Before, when they were still in their base within the Hapdala Oasis...

"So where is it?" Eder had asked where Beskamen I's tomb was.

Grano's response was quite curious.

"It's a tomb within a tomb."

"A tomb within a tomb?"

Kang Oh tilted his head. What did he mean?

Grano began, "A pyramid is constructed whilst the king it will one day entomb is still alive. This applied to Beskamen I, as well as his son, Beskamen II."

Kang Oh and Eder paid close attention to him.

"However, when Beskamen II took control of the kingdom, an event took place that completely shocked him: his father's tomb was robbed."

"What happened next?"

The story was getting more and more interesting.

"It was said that Beskamen II truly loved and respected his father, yet his father's tomb was robbed. He blamed himself and thought of a way such that his father's tomb would never again be robbed. That way was..."

"Was what?"

Grano paused, but Eder urged him to continue.

"Beskamen I's tomb was annexed and made into Beskamen II's own pyramid. He also erased all records of his father's tomb and killed everyone involved in its construction. He hid the fact that his pyramid was actually Beskamen I's."

"Why?" Eder asked wide-eyed.

"A pyramid is meant to bury only one king; it is not a burial ground meant for multiple kings. Yet, what would happen if there were two kings buried in a single pyramid? With one king's tomb hidden while the other's was completely out in the open."

"Hmm. It would make it seem as though there was only one tomb," Kang Oh somewhat agreed with him.

"But for someone like me, I'd look around for anything that might be hidden when a pyramid is mentioned," Kang Oh said.

"That's why I discovered Beskamen I's tomb. I looked everywhere. Though I was forced to overcome danger several times while doing so."

Grano smiled.

"In any case, once I discovered the hidden entrance to Beskamen I's tomb, I investigated as to why Beskamen I's tomb was within his son's pyramid. And I figured out everything I just told you about."

Grano was finished explaining.

"When you get straight to the point, you're saying that there's a hidden dungeon inside of Beskamen II's tomb," Kang Oh said.

"Indeed."

* * * 

Kang Oh was finished reminiscing.

Before him, he saw the hidden passageway that led to Beskamen I's tomb.

"Shall we go inside?"

Kang Oh rubbed his hands together and smiled.

It was both a hidden dungeon and a king's tomb!

'It's a king's tomb, so he would've been buried with a lot of treasure!'

He could smell it; the smell of hitting it big.

Kang Oh took point and made his way down the stairs.

---

[You have discovered the hidden dungeon, Tomb of Beskaman I.]

[You are the first to discover it.]

[Fame has increased.]

[When you hunt within the Tomb of Beskamen I, experience is doubled. Item drop rate is also doubled.]

---

'As I thought!'

The message that would always make him happy popped up.

As he expected, no other player had ever set foot in the Tomb of Beskamen I.

So, Kang Oh was the first to set foot upon these grounds.

It was an exhilarating moment.

'However...'

"Mr. Grano."

"Yes?"

"When you discovered this place, did you go all the way to the end?"

If he did, then he should hand over his info.

"Yes, I went all the way to the end, but back then, I was too weak to face the boss, so I just left."

Kang Oh could only smile.

'There is a boss monster!'

If that's the case, then it was worth a go. Since the boss either accumulated riches or already had them to begin with!

"The boss is...?" Kang Oh stared at Grano and asked.

"It's a mummy."

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