The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 158

19. Ruins: Welcoming the Bastard

Ilina had loved her mother since she was young. Her mother was benevolent, kind, and even brave.

Even when adolescence came and she was old enough to know everything, she often followed her mother around.

She admired her and wanted to be like her. She practiced with the weapons her mother used until her hands bled, and she applied the same training methods.

As a result, Ilina was able to become a strong woman with both beauty and talent.

A student surpassing their teacher.

She had finally surpassed the person she had aimed for, so she should have been proud and overwhelmed, but she could only curse herself.

“My daughter has become stronger than her mother, so her mother is no longer useful.”

Crunch, crunch.

Her mother was eaten alive.

And it was in front of Ilina.

Even while watching the tragic sight of the person she loved most being reduced to a meal before her eyes, Ilina could not resist. She clenched her fists until they bled, controlling her emotions with superhuman patience.

The only reason she didn’t rush in was because of her mother’s last words.

‘Ilina, take care of the Merfolk in my place. If you leave too, no one will be able to stop that demon from running wild.’

‘We have a noble mission as royalty. Our ancestors have protected it for generations, and I have only followed. Now it’s your turn.’

“I’m glad you enjoyed the meal.”

Since then, Ilina, who had taken over as Prime Minister, volunteered to be the Mermaid King’s secretary and worked like a machine.

On the surface, she maintained the most businesslike attitude possible, but in reality, she was suffering from extreme anxiety and insomnia to the point of losing hair.

Especially during the Martial Arts Tournament season, the stress reached its peak.

The octopus, who couldn’t get enough of strong Merfolk or strong energy sources, couldn’t possibly leave the Mermaid King’s Orb, the greatest treasure of the underwater city, alone.

The magic of the first ancestor had become both a medicine and a poison. Thanks to the magic, the monster couldn’t invade, and because of the magic, the Martial Arts Tournament was created, causing innocent victims every year.

To protect the treasure, she defeated the winner with a bleeding heart. The defeated winner went straight into the octopus’s mouth. Their blank expressions appeared in her dreams every day, tormenting Ilina.

She thought this Martial Arts Tournament would be similar. She would win against her opponent as usual and suffer from nightmares. She took the test with a depressed heart, but…

“Huh?”

The winner from the north was quite unique. It was amazing that a human had come all the way here, but his swordsmanship was unusual.

Until then, Ilina thought she would win. Until the human stood with his hands behind his back and faced her with one hand.

“Eek!”

She had trained in martial arts all her life and thought she was the best in the underwater city, except for the Kraken. But to have her skills toyed with to this extent.

Two emotions arose in her heart at the same time. The first was despair, thinking, ‘Even so, he won’t be able to defeat that cannibalistic monster,’ and the second was hope, thinking, ‘Maybe this person can be a match for the Kraken?’

While Ilina was lost in complex thoughts, the human approached her first. And then he proposed. Let’s join hands and get rid of the octopus.

Ilina was already exhausted. She was on the verge of going crazy if she stayed around the Kraken any longer. Was that why? She made a contract with the human as if possessed.

‘I must have been out of my mind.’

The next day, when she faced the Kraken’s face after making the contract, she was immediately filled with regret. No matter how she looked at it, the human didn’t seem capable of defeating the octopus.

Would the entire underwater city end up becoming the Kraken’s slave and food storage? While she was lost in a sense of loss, the true nature of the human named Khan began to reveal itself one by one.

“There are tails behind us. The Horned Butchers. The number is about one hundred.”

Ilina had been praised by her mother for having a natural sense since she was young. Even she didn’t know, but this human sensed and identified enemies far away.

Not only that.

He perfectly grasped what weapons the opponents were carrying, how many there were, and who the leader was. It felt as if his eyes and ears were everywhere.

‘What the hell is this human’s identity?’

The surprises continued.

In fact, it was just beginning.

As soon as they entered the ruins, she felt lost. She had no idea how to find the exit in this vast maze.

She thought there were only two options. Either die in the ruins, or return empty-handed and become food for the Kraken.

But Khan presented a third option. That was ‘to break through the ruins.’

He suddenly flew a bat-frog and said that he had figured out the ruins in ten minutes. Even then, she thought it was a mistake. There was no way he could have found the exit with just a bat-frog in that short amount of time.

But the one who was mistaken was Ilina. Khan easily broke through the ruins. He was unstoppable, as if he had a map drawn in his head.

“This place is a trap where the floor collapses. Only step on the corners to move.”

“This is a section where monsters appear. Let’s take care of them.”

“Arrowheads will pop out of the wall. Be careful.”

It was to the point where she was confused as to whether Khan had designed the ruins. She couldn’t even guess how he was finding the way and disarming the traps.

Even his skills were veiled. He was always overflowing with 余裕 [Yoyu, Japanese for composure or余裕] when dealing with monsters or avoiding obstacles. Unlike herself, who was doing her best with all her might, he seemed to be using half or less of his power.

Even the companions he brought were strong. An old man who laughed loosely, a woman who was expressionless but had a warm heart, and a man whose hearty laughter was charming. The old man was definitely stronger than her, and she felt that the woman and the man were also formidable.

‘If it’s these people, maybe it’s possible…’

She shouldn’t be like this. Vain hope always returns as greater despair.

Ilina felt a cotton candy-like excitement swelling deep in her heart, even though she knew it. Her heart was already pounding like crazy.

* * *

Breaking through the ruins was going smoothly.

This time, the Life Skills were really paying off.

[Life Control]

[Taming]

[Shared Vision]

I ran along the shortest route found using the bat-frog. The traps in each room had already been scouted. Just in case, I placed my hand on the stone wall and activated Memory Recall to check again.

[Life Control]

[Memory Recall]

It was tiring to scan through a thousand years of memories at once, but it wasn’t too burdensome. I possessed the stone that had always been in its place and quickly grasped what devices were hidden.

Indeed, there were all sorts of traps. Each time, I identified them in advance and moved in a way that avoided them as much as possible. In unavoidable cases, I moved while hitting them with weapons or blocking them with armor.

Places with monsters were rather easy. I swung the Heavenly Demon Sword and took care of them in an instant. Campbell and Zion also showed off their strength, and Old Man Orneo silenced the enemies with powerful water cannons.

“It’s really amazing.”

Ilina, who was watching from the side, couldn’t close her mouth. Even I thought it was amazing. A party with our level of power is rare even in the Arnia continent.

“We’re almost there. We only need to pass through five more rooms.”

As I said, we were able to break through exactly five stages and reach the exit.

“Uwaaa!! I’m alive! I’m never coming back to this damn maze!”

“You have to go through it again when you go back. You idiot, Campbell.”

Campbell stretched and expressed his joy with his whole body. Zion also threw a jab, but it was obvious that he was secretly happy. On the other hand, Old Man Orneo was a sage, so his reaction was different.

“I should come back later and examine the ruins in detail. It’s a very high-level structure. If I write a thesis on this, at least a thousand papers will come out.”

Anyway, we cleared the maze section.

Ilina said.

“From here on, there are no remaining records. In fact, we may be the first to pass through the maze section.”

“Are you saying we have to headbutt our way through?”

“That’s right.”

First of all, what was visible in front of them was a cliff. There was a lake below. The problem was that it was impossible to guess how deep the lake was. The lake water, which looked only black because no light entered, was ominously undulating.

-Hey kid, there’s something in the water. It’s quite big and strong.

Just in time, the Heavenly Demon warned me. His senses are more accurate than mine, so it seemed like there was something inside.

“I was tired from running all this time, so let’s take a break.”

While the group was resting, I released a bat-frog that I had tamed into the lake water. The creature with the body of a frog slipped down below the surface of the water.

I searched the lake thoroughly using the bat-frog’s glowing eyes. What I felt in the water was a creepy silence.

‘How can a lake be so still?’

Usually, small fish would be swimming around in groups, or an ugly deep-sea fish would appear, or seaweed stalks would be swaying.

It was just water. Clean water with nothing in it. An unnaturalness and coolness coming from complete nothingness.

‘Let’s go down a little more.’

I sank further down. It felt like I was a submarine exploring the deep sea. How long had I been going down like that? I landed on the bottom.

The bottom material was unique. It wasn’t dirt, it wasn’t rock, it wasn’t sand. It felt like rubber tires were laid out in a row.

Paat!!

Suddenly, two yellow lights lit up the abyss lake. It looked like two full moons were floating around. The surroundings were clearly visible because of the light. And then I realized.

‘It wasn’t the bottom. It was his body.’

It was the largest creature I had ever met since falling into the game world, after the Ancient Dragon Kyle.

A snake head with reptile eyes glared at the bat-frog. Below that, a torso with tremendous thickness and length was coiled. The creature’s true identity was an Imugi [Korean dragon or serpent; a proto-dragon].

‘Ah······’

The Imugi, who saw the bat-frog, spoke using telepathy without opening its mouth.

[Sniff, sniff, I smell the cursed Merfolk from above. A lot of time has passed, so it’s probably a descendant. You will never pass through this place.]

With those words, the Imugi opened its mouth wide and swallowed the bat-frog in an instant. The shared vision was over.

“Umm…”

“Young Master, is something wrong?”

Zion asked me as I groaned. I shared what had just happened with the group, and everyone had a serious expression.

“A thousand-year-old Imugi, it’s practically a monster that’s no different from a dragon that can’t fly.”

At Orneo’s words, Ilina, who had been quietly next to him, stepped forward.

“I think I know what that monster is.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s a legend that everyone in the Merfolk knows. Once upon a time~ it tore the sea and sky~ and tried to bring a great flood~ a monster was sealed~ Ah~ the great ancestor~”

“Why are you suddenly singing…”

“I’m sorry. It’s a children’s song. It was a lullaby that my mother always sang to me before bed.”

Ilina blushed, perhaps a little embarrassed.

Anyway, I knew what was under the lake. Since he’s the Mermaid King’s mortal enemy, I’ll eventually have to defeat him to get the Orb.

“Let’s rest more and hunt when our energy is restored.”

At my words, my companions nodded with determined expressions. Only Ilina was surprised.

“Are you really going to defeat the monster? What’s under that lake is a legendary being that has lived for over a thousand years. It might be stronger than the Kraken.”

I understand Ilina’s feelings. An existence that has been regarded as a symbol of fear since childhood exerts its power even when you grow up.

But you can never develop by being afraid. You have to face your fears head-on. Only when you discover the truth and confirm the reality can you move on to the next stage.

“Ilina, it may be a legend or a symbol of fear to you, but to us, it’s just a big snake. We’ve come all the way here, so we have to challenge it. Wouldn’t it be disappointing to go back empty-handed?”

Ilina nodded and agreed after hearing my words.

“Khan is right. Let’s all hunt the legend together.”

The agreement was over.

All that’s left is to start the raid…

No matter how I think about it, it’s a shame that I don’t have detailed information about the Imugi.

I wish I knew how he fights, what his main weapon is, what his weaknesses are, and if he has any ultimate moves.

Could it be that the gods heard my worries?

Just in time, a commotion arose from the exit of the maze, and bloody Merfolk rolled out.

“I’m never coming back here again!”

“Damn ruins! I won’t even pee in this direction in the future.”

“What kind of dog suffering is this to get treasure?”

The ones who revealed themselves were the Horned Butchers and their thug subordinates who had been following us.