Survive as a Prison Guard in the Game

Chapter 109
House Netura’s Labyrinth (1)

Cerberus Headquarters Island.

Daylon reviewed the latest reports.

-An undocumented person has united Black Rose, Kenida, and Janus to form an organization called the Bloods.

-Rapidly growing in power, absorbing the remnants of Magnes.

“Hu…..”

The rapid growth of the Oberg Empire.

The Bloods weren’t the only organization to emerge, there were others created by third parties from the outside.

Mercenaries, Corrupted Priests, Excommunicated Nobles, and Slaves.

Entities formed by those with a grudge against the Six Kingdoms, or who came together to take advantage of new opportunities.

Thanks to these groups, the unstable pillars of the Orberg Empire had been solidified, and it became a force that the Six Kingdoms could not easily touch.

“Tsk.”

As much as they were increasing their power, it meant that Burning Hell was going to be busier.

‘Redin, you must be careful.’

Daylon rose from his position, thinking of Redin infiltrating Darkness Seven.

The darkening night sky outside the window.

A time to catch some sleep for tomorrow morning’s schedule.

“Haaaaaam.”

Yawning loudly, he turned off the light and flopped down on the couch next to him.

His eyelids flutter as he drifts off to sleep.

Just as he was about to slumber.

*Knock!* *Knock!*

“Captain.”

Clearing his throat at the sound of Rebecca’s voice, he responded.

“Mm-hmm. Come in.”

Pulling himself upright, he sat back down on the couch.

Shortly, the door opened and Rebecca stepped inside.

“I have an urgent report to give you.”

Daylon’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Rebecca.

“What is it?”

“Runken has been attacked.”

“Runken?”

Daylon’s brow creased.

Free City Runken.

A mining capital, it was also known as the Dragon’s Tomb for its abundance of high-quality magic stones.

“Where did you get that information?”

“We received an urgent report from a Burning Hell representative who was out in the field.”

The majority of the magic stones processed in Burning Hell were imported from Runken, so in order to ensure a smooth supply of magic stones, a prison guard from Burning Hell was dispatched to the site.

“What’s the current situation?”

“Right after we received the report, Cerberus 1, including Khan, was dispatched to assess the situation.”

“What kind of bastards would….”

With all the high-quality gems out there.

There are quite a number of individuals who covet them, so Runken has an alliance with the Kingdom of Resha in exchange for supplying them with the highest quality magic stones.

Because of this, Runken has a contingent of high-level mages from the Kingdom of Resha stationed in the city to protect it.

There’s no way those who raided it didn’t know that.

“This means they targeted it with intent….”

The mood was ominous.

Daylon hopped out of the couch and grabbed his uniform jacket.

“Let’s head over to the place.”

“I’ll get the boat ready.”

Rebecca slipped out of the room first, followed by Daylon, who grabbed his weapon. They boarded a boat on the island and headed for Brule Harbor.

As soon as they reached land, they traveled by teleporter to Runken.

*Oooooh!*

Opening his eyes, he was greeted with an alarming sight.

“….Shit.”

Runken’s vaunted great mine was ablaze, with miners screaming and scrambling out of the entrance.

“Aaaahhhh!”

“It’s hot…. HOT!”

“….Help me!”

It was a chaotic mess.

The supposed administrators were nowhere to be seen, and the mages who ought to be protecting the entrance lay bleeding to death.

Corpses trampled underfoot by miners.

At the head of it all was a member of the Cerberus organization, dressed in a Burning Hell uniform. He led the miners out of the mine, his face burnt black.

“Theo.”

“Captain?”

“Where are the rest of the team?”

“They went inside the mine to conduct an investigation.”

“Rebecca, I need you to contact the Kingdom of Resha, just in case, and then you and Theo can go organize the field.”

“Understood.”

Daylon began walking into the mine.

He traveled a long stretch.

From inside, the smoldering smoke intensified, blurring his vision. He couldn’t go in any further.

He imbued his sword with mana and swung it lightly, creating a blast of wind.

*Whoosh!*

Black smoke billowed out, exposing the figures of the Cerberus 1 members.

A man standing in the forefront.

It was Khan, the current ace of Cerberus and the face of Burning Hell in Redin’s absence.

“Captain.”

“Did you guys find out anything?”

Khan nodded, hauling the two men behind him forward, their arms bound in handcuffs.

“These guys planted the bomb inside the mine and detonated it.”

“Did they act alone?”

“I don’t think so.”

Khan yanked off the handcuffed men’s clothes. Then a tattoo on their chests was unveiled.

A black inverted cross.

Only one organization used that symbol. Followers of the Demon who sought to destroy the world.

“Demon Church?”

“Keheheheh! Soon…… He will descend.”

“All who do not follow him will be punished.”

*Ooooh!*

The Black Tattoo brightened, and thick demonic energy gushed out of it.

“Everyone get away!”

Daylon shouted, scrambling to get away. Shortly thereafter, there was a huge explosion of black light.

*BOOOOOOM!*

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Back in the days of the Oberg Empire.

There were various Houses on the continent, and those houses wielded diverse abilities.

Among them were the Druids, who harnessed the power of nature.

The Netura House which they founded was one of them.

“Though they didn’t last long…”

The House of Netura achieved great success in the war against demons, but its prominence declined when the family patriarch was killed.

The Heir was too young.

Failing to grasp the arcane knowledge passed down from generation to generation, the House of Netura collapsed quickly due to infighting within the family.

In the years that followed.

The members of the family splintered off, and with time, the druidic lineage was lost.

As a result of this story.

Although there was a Druid class in the game, it was only a tier 1 class, and the only way to advance beyond that was to find the inscription of House Netura.

The search for the inscription was participated in by many players.

In particular, Druid-transitioned players came together as a group to find the inscriptions, and their efforts yielded remarkable results.

The Underground Labyrinth of House Neruta.

This is where players found the path to the second and third advancements, but never got to the fourth advancement, which is the pinnacle of true Druidry.

A labyrinth whose path changes every five minutes.

A cryptic message at the end of it belonging to the Neruta House.

After much effort to find any structure or solution, they concluded that something else was needed to get through the Labyrinth.

“I don’t know what that is, but…..”

With the Eyes of Arrakis, getting to the end of the labyrinth wouldn’t be too challenging.

However, the problem was on the other side.

A large group of people had gathered at the ruined grounds of the Neruta family compound.

Makeshift tents were pitched throughout.

Several people were digging with pickaxes and shovels, others were dusting off stone columns.

Pulling out the Watcher’s Eye.

Staring in the direction closest to him, he heightened his hearing to listen in on the conversation.

“It looks like there’s something here. Can someone help me out?”

“I’m coming, hold on.”

“Look here.”

Two people were talking, looking at a carving on a tombstone.

“This one looks like it’s about shapeshifting….”

“I think it’s a bear, I’ll have to compare and analyze it with the other one, I’ll take some pictures.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with the labyrinth, does it?”

“Probably.”

The purpose of the excavation.

The Labyrinth.

Those who came here knew of its existence and were analyzing the various traces in the ruins to unlock its secrets.

He lowered the Watcher’s Eyes.

“Where….”

There was no specific place that came to mind.

There was no obvious symbol of any particular organization or family, but the scale of the group suggests otherwise.

Their movements were organized.

Their presence was spread throughout the ruins, so it wouldn’t be easy to sneak in.

“It can’t be helped.”

These guys are patrolling around the ruins. There’s only one way to get one of them to talk.

*Rustle!*

Stepping out of the forest, he used [Ghost Walk] to erase all traces of his presence. He made his way to a makeshift tent in the far corner of the ruins.

Hiding himself near it.

Waiting for someone to return from patrol. It wasn’t long before the guards returned from their patrol and entered the hut.

“I think I’ll have a smoke. Do you want to join me?”

“Go ahead and smoke. I’m exhausted and need to take a break.”

The flap swung open and a scout stepped out.

With a cigarette in his mouth, he moved across the field.

It was built like a small shelter.

There was some sort of seat.

As he sat there, cross-legged and smoking, Redin scanned the surrounding area to see if there was anyone nearby.

Finding that there wasn’t.

With a quick maneuver, he positioned himself behind the ranger and covered his mouth.

“Hmmph!*

*Smack!*

With a quick blow to his neck, the man slumped over and dropped the cigarette in his mouth.

He kicked the dropped cigarette with his foot.

With the ranger sprawled on his stomach, he carried him a short distance away from the ruins.

Using his mana to prevent sound from leaking out, he removed his hand from the man’s mouth on the ground.

“You’d better answer whatever questions I have for you.”

“There’s an intruder here…… Kuck!”

He squeezed the man’s neck.

“Where are you from?”

“Kuekk…. I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, it can’t be helped.”

With a little more force, the grip on the neck tightened, and the scout thrashed in response. His hands are trying to remove the grip on his throat.

At the sight of it, Redin loosened his grip for a moment.

“Tell me exactly where you guys came from.”

“Huff…… Kukk.”

The sputtering scout chuckled, his mouth curling into a smile, and demonic energy leaked from his body.

Black light glowed on his chest.

Redin tore off the man’s shirt, revealing a black inverted cross.

“Demon Church?”

He asked in surprise.

Hurriedly, he snapped the man’s neck.

*Snap!*

[Killed the target].

[Harvested a damned soul].

[Ding!]

[Fulfilled the Mask of the Dead’s special condition].

[Special Condition: Harvest Souls of Various Races]

[You can now briefly converse with the Damned Soul].

Immediately, the guy’s memory flooded in.

-Ahhhhh!

The memory began with the screaming voice of the scout lying on the bed, opening his eyes.

The scout breaking into a cold sweat.

His screams woke the others around him and they all stared at him.

-What the hell.

-Sorry. Because I had a dream of going to the maze a few days ago…….

-Hurry up and sleep. We need to be well rested if we want to be on duty tomorrow.

-Yes.

Climbing out of bed, the scout exited the tent and lit a cigarette in his mouth.

At that moment.

His eyes glazed over and he faced exactly in Redin’s direction and opened his mouth.

-Ask me anything.

A special ability gained upon unlocking the Mask of the Dead.

Communication with the Dead.

Although feeling uncomfortable, he still had to ask, anyway.

“Who are you?”

-I am Del. Five years ago, I joined the Demon Church, and after a long training, I became a member and was assigned to this place.

“Why were you brought here?”

-To find the hidden secrets of the Druidic House.

“When did you come here?”

-A year ago, I came here by order of the High Priest.

‘High Priest?’

He wanted to ask more.

Del’s eyes cleared, ending whatever brief momentary glimpse into his memory.

A time limit.

Or a limit on the number of questions.

He’d have to be careful with those in the future.

“So you’ve been around for a while, huh?”

Whatever they were going to do with that secret, he wasn’t about to hand it over to them.

Glancing away, he looked at the entrance to the maze.

“First, the inscriptions.”

[Transforming into Del].