I Have a Task Log

CLINK, CLANK—

Colin listened to the sounds coming from his own gear and the footsteps around him.

The stone-brick floor underfoot and the walls beside him were covered in cracks and moss. Every so often, ventilation shafts leading to unknown places would appear in the ceiling.

Although time had left its clear mark on these ancient structures, they also offered a glimpse into the prosperity of the Dwarf Clan that once lived here. An engineering project of this scale could only have been built with immense manpower and time.

But then again, wasn’t the Shadow Anvil Clan supposed to live deeper Underground?

Colin carefully surveyed his surroundings.

The corridor was quite spacious, about three meters in both height and width.

This space made Colin understand why Adventurer parties usually consisted of only five or six people. After all, any more than that and they wouldn’t have room to maneuver in a place like this. A party of that size was the absolute limit for fighting effectively.

It was worth noting that although Dwarves didn’t need a lot of space due to their size, they were obsessed with building tall, spacious halls. Some Dwarf Kings even liked to call themselves "Supreme King."

This stubbornness also brought them a great deal of trouble—many an Evil Dragon considered a Dwarf hold to be a move-in-ready, perfect dragon’s lair, leading to numerous tragedies.

Colin looked toward the front of the group.

Ahead of him were Kase, Dorn, and Ale. Orelia was by his side.

Moving through a Dungeon was vastly different from traveling on the Surface.

There were no chirping insects or birdsong. Everything was silent. He couldn’t hear a thing besides the sounds of his own gear and his companions’ footsteps.

The strangest part was the lack of wind.

Or rather, he couldn’t perceive the slightest movement of air. The air, trapped here for who knows how many years, felt like a thick, viscous swamp, making one feel incredibly stifled.

Thanks to the [Light] spell, Colin could more or less see his surroundings.

However, the area beyond the Divine Art’s range was still pitch black.

’A Hobgoblin? A giant spider? Or a colossal worm bigger than the entire corridor?’

No one knew what lurked in the darkness.

After walking for some time in this environment, Colin even started to hallucinate, imagining monsters lunging out of the darkness.

He could also see Kase keeping one hand on the Short-Handled Battleaxe at his waist at all times. The Half-Orc didn’t say anything, but he was definitely far more nervous than he let on.

"Hey, we..."

The instant Dorn spoke, Colin whipped out [Burning Blood]. Kase and Orelia drew their weapons at the same time, instantly entering a combat stance.

Colin scanned his surroundings and shouted, "Where’s the monster?"

"Heh heh, no monster."

Dorn flashed a very punchable grin. "I was going to say we should chat. They say mortals get very tense in situations like this. I’ve lived Underground for a while, so it’s no big deal for me. Of course, I didn’t expect you all to be scared out of your wits already."

"You’ve lived Underground before?" Colin frowned, casually sheathing his sword.

He grew more and more suspicious that Dorn had some connection to the Gray Dwarves. ’But it’s not a good time to ask,’ he thought. ’Besides, Donkexes and the others wouldn’t mix with a Gray Dwarf, would they?’

"Don’t you know there are tons of Dwarf fortresses up north? Or did you think all Dwarves just run around on the Surface? Get rid of that arrogant human prejudice of yours," Dorn said as he continued walking forward.

Kase chimed in, "Well, how about we talk about monsters, then? I get the feeling the monsters down here are pretty nasty."

"There’s too much to say about that. Ask something else."

"I read in a book that because resources are scarce Underground, the inhabitants of the Underworld have to kill each other to survive. It’s a very cruel place," said Ale.

"You’re half right, my delicate Elf Princess," Dorn said. "Resources Underground aren’t scarce, and its inhabitants don’t necessarily have to ’kill each other.’"

"Is there a story behind that?" Colin asked.

He had to admit, now that they were chatting, the strange tension from before had indeed eased considerably.

"What do you think is the biggest difference between the Underworld and the Surface?" Dorn countered.

Colin thought for a moment and said, "No wind?"

"Right, no wind," Dorn continued. "So water vapor, plant seeds, and spores can’t easily spread to other places. Most caverns in the Underworld are isolated from one another."

"This leads to some places called ’underground oases’ having an abundance of fungi and animals, with food production even higher than on the Surface. But other places have no food or water at all—just bare rock and the bones of some unlucky souls."

"That does make some sense," Colin nodded.

Dorn went on, "Of course, there are other reasons too. Just like how some long-ears threw another, darker group of long-ears Underground, many intelligent races tend to toss their misfits down here."

"Over time, most Surfacers came to see the Underworld as a hunting ground of deceit and betrayal. But even so, there are some reasonable intelligent beings down here, like Underground Gnomes, Mushroommen, and so on."

Hearing this, Ale reluctantly took out her notebook and started writing.

Just as Colin was about to ask another question, Dorn suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He stomped his foot lightly, then said, "Hold on, there’s a trap up ahead."

Colin looked ahead. The corridor looked exactly the same as the part they had just walked through; he couldn’t see any difference at all.

Dorn pulled a handful of thumb-sized steel balls from a side pocket of his pack. He then bent over and tossed them forward, and the steel balls merrily rolled along the floor.

At the same time, a strange ripple appeared in the air around the Dwarf’s ears, accompanied by a faint, silvery glow.

’Must be Spiritual Energy,’ Colin thought.

After the last steel ball had rolled far into the distance, Dorn spoke up. "Alright, follow me. Remember every single tile I step on. Don’t misstep."

With that, the Dwarf began walking forward, one step at a time.

The others followed closely behind him, carefully watching every tile on the ground.

Dorn didn’t let out a sigh of relief until they had crossed more than a dozen tiles.

"How’d you know there was a trap?" Kase asked. "Let me in on it."

"By listening," Dorn said. "If there’s a trap in the corridor, there will be a corresponding mechanism behind the walls or under the floor. The sound of footsteps on those tiles will be different from the sound on solid ground."

Kase gave Colin a confused look, and Colin just shrugged.

’Maybe it’s some special Dwarven ability,’ he mused. He certainly couldn’t hear any difference in the footsteps.

Just then, Orelia, who was at the very back, shouted sharply, "Wait, look up!"