Rise of the F-Rank Hero-Chapter 156: Guardian

He kicked hard, propelling himself straight down into the crushing dark.

The pressure built instantly, squeezing his eardrums. He swam blindly, following the sensation of the blue pricking against his skin.

Deeper. Colder.

Soon, the sensation vanished. The guidance was gone. His breath began to run short, his chest tightening.

’Did I imagine it?’

Panic flared. He was about to turn back when his eyes widened.

Hwaaak!

Far below, at the very center of the lakebed, a faint blue glow seeped out from a fissure in the rock. A small, underwater cave.

’Huuurp!’

His lungs screamed. His vision edged with black spots.

He hesitated. He had confirmed the location. He should go back, get Seraphine, maybe wait for Amy’s buffs.

Bubbling.

From the mouth of the cave, a single, silver air bubble wobbled upward.

Oliver froze.

’Air. There’s a dry space inside.’

If he went back up now, he’d have to do this swim all over again. He might not have the stamina for a second attempt.

’All or nothing.’

He kicked his legs, forcing his body downward. His face went pale, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. He reached the cave mouth and pulled himself inside.

The pressure released slightly, but the need for air was critical.

’Light?’

Inside the tunnel, luminous stones were embedded in the walls at regular intervals.

Artificial. Nature didn’t space stones like that.

Clear traces of people. Or something intelligent.

But there was no time to admire the architecture. His vision was tunneling.

’Hurry... hurry!’

He didn’t survive the fall, the monsters, and the cold just to drown in a hole five miles underground.

He clawed at the water, flailing desperately toward the upward slope of the tunnel.

His head broke the surface.

"Puhaaa!"

Oliver gasped, a ragged, ugly sound as he sucked in greedy lungfuls of stale, dry air.

"Huff, huff... I-I survived."

He coughed, spitting out water. Damn it. What kind of treasure was worth this? He found himself missing the ’Daphne’s Seal’ blessing he used to have in the game—water breathing would have made this a leisurely stroll.

’Well, that’s not what matters right now.’

Splash.

He dragged his heavy body out of the water and onto the stone floor. He lay there for a moment, catching his breath, before slowly lifting his head.

He wasn’t in a small cave.

He was in a massive underground antechamber.

Directly ahead, dominating the space, stood a colossal stone door carved from the bedrock itself. It was seamless, imposing, and ancient.

And right in the center, above the seam, was a crest. A sigil he recognized from the lore books he had memorized a lifetime ago.

The moment he saw it, instinct screamed the truth.

This wasn’t just a cave.

The thing in front of his eyes was a Hidden Treasure Vault.

A grin tugged at the corner of Oliver’s mouth, his exhaustion forgotten.

"Jackpot."

****

The Dance of Steel and Stone

"Hoo... let’s go."

With a faint smile tugging at his lips, Oliver muttered to himself, then pushed against the heavy stone door.

Guuuung!

The massive slab slid back with a dull rumble, ancient dust motes dancing in the sudden airflow.

When he stepped inside, a long corridor, dozens of meters in length, lined with white luminous stones embedded in the walls, revealed itself. It was pristine, untouched by time or monster rot.

"Hmm..."

Oliver tilted his head.

At the far end of the corridor, right in the center, there was another stone door identical to the one before. Flanking it stood two stone statues, about three meters tall, shaped like heavily armored knights. They held greatswords that looked more like slabs of iron than weapons.

It was an imposing sight, like a grand temple or an underground tomb, as if those statues were silent sentinels gazing down over the entire space.

"Seraphine, analysis," Oliver whispered.

Seraphine stepped past him, her eyes scanning the corridor. "Structure analysis: High-density granite reinforced with mana weaving. No organic life signs detected."

She took a step forward.

Clack!

"Huh?"

Along with the sound of metal interlocking, a tile sank under Seraphine’s foot.

"Trap detected," Seraphine stated calmly.

RUMBLE.

It wasn’t a spike trap. It wasn’t arrows.

Behind them, the stone door they had just opened slammed shut with incredible speed.

"Master!" Seraphine turned, her arm-blade extending instantly to jam the door.

But she was on the wrong side of the threshold.

THUD.

The heavy door slammed down, separating Oliver from his android maid.

"Sera!" Oliver shouted, banging his fist on the door. "Can you hear me?"

"Affirmative," Seraphine’s muffled voice came through the stone. "Door thickness: 40 centimeters. Material: Mana-dampening obsidian. Unable to breach with current power levels without risking structural collapse of the chamber. Master, are you secure?"

"I’m stuck in here," Oliver sighed, leaning his forehead against the cool stone. "But I’m alone. Just me and some statues. I’ll find another way to open it from this side. Stay put."

"Acknowledged. Initiating standby mode."

Oliver dusted off his hands and turned around to face the corridor.

"Great. Just me and the creepy twins."

He walked cautiously down the hall, hopping lightly.

Clack!

"Again?"

Another tile sank beneath his foot.

"This is..."

A secret place, a sinking platform, some kind of mechanism...

’A trap?’

Taah!

Oliver quickly rolled his body to the side and flattened himself on the floor, expecting arrows or a mana blast.

He turned his head around, staying on guard.

But...

"...."

Nothing.

"What the hell... why wasn’t anything happening?"

He dusted himself off awkwardly and stood up. "So what is this, exactly? Just a prank?"

Clack! Clack! 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

He stepped on it again and again, lifting his foot and pressing down repeatedly, but there was no reaction at all.

"Hmm?"

Would the creator of this dungeon have installed a mechanism here that did nothing? Unlikely.

’Well, it’s possible, I suppose. Maybe the battery died.’

With a shrug, he walked over toward the statues at the end of the hall.

When he reached the end, he naturally pushed against the inner stone door.

But then—

"Ngghhh!"

Even though he put so much strength into it that his arms trembled, the door didn’t budge an inch.

"What is this... why won’t it open?"

The last one opened just fine (until it slammed shut), so why was this one locked?

While he panicked and examined the door here and there...

Scrape, scrape...

He heard something beside him. A sound like grinding millstones.

Slowly, Oliver turned his head.

"...Huh?"

The knight-shaped statue on the left was staring straight at him. Its carved stone eyes were now glowing with a menacing blue light.

The one on the right was doing the same.

...

Oliver froze for a moment under the wave of dread creeping over him.

The knight statue raised the greatsword in its hand high above its head. The motion was stiff but terrifyingly fast.

’What the hell?’

His face twisted in sheer bewilderment.

Buuuuung!

The thing brought the sword crashing straight down.

"Hup!"

Kuaaaang!

Oliver reflexively rolled his body to the side, slipping out along a diagonal line.

The instant the sword hit the ground, the tiles shattered mercilessly, and dirt exploded upward.

’If that had hit me just now... I’d be dead.’

Clicking his tongue, he quickly retreated to the middle of the corridor to get a grasp of the situation.

’Guardians.’

Protective golems set to repel intruders. It was obvious the platform he stepped on earlier had triggered them—it just had a delayed activation, waiting for him to get close.

’Tch... if I wasn’t in this condition, there’s no way I’d have fallen for such a pathetic trap.’

Thanks to the frantic speed run down five floors, his mana sense had dulled. Honestly, it made him feel like he was going to explode from irritation.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

While he sighed, the two Guardians began dragging their swords along the floor as they approached him. Sparks flew where the stone blades ground against the stone floor.

When the two of them came within reach and almost simultaneously raised their swords—

"Damn it."

Kwaaaang!

He rolled his body forward again, dashing toward the opposite side of where their blades came crashing down.

He slipped around behind the Guardians, quickly drew his remaining dagger, and struck behind one of their knees.

Kaaang!

"Ugh!"

Pain shot through his hand, and the dagger chip instantly. It was like hitting a mountain with a toothpick.

’Damn it.’

He had barely a scrap of mana left. Seraphine was locked out. Amy’s buffs were gone.

No matter who he was, how the hell was he supposed to smash these things with physical force alone?

-Gooooooo!

The golems turned, their joints grinding.

"Hey, wait! Hold on a second! Slow down!"

Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!

"Shit!"

The Guardians swung their swords down at him again.

Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!

Each time he dodged, the stone floor shattered apart, debris peppering his face.

The only saving grace in all this was that the things moved sluggishly. They were tanks, not assassins. Thanks to that, he could somehow avoid taking a direct hit every time, barely slipping away like a rat in a cage.

Whenever he had the chance in between, he stabbed his dagger at them again.

Kaaang! Kaaaang!

But every time, all that came of it were a few sparks. Not even a scratch.

"What am I supposed to do about this!"

He yelled while running away, but of course, no answer came back.

Kaaang! Kaaang!

"Hey, go easy! Easy! Heek, heek..."

All he could do was run, block, and dodge in this enclosed corridor.

Because of the lingering exhaustion and the earlier hypothermia, his movements were slowing down. His face turned pale, and his breath grew ragged.

"Cough! Cough!"

Another fit of coughing burst out, and blood dripped steadily from his nose.

...He was going to die at this rate.

’Should I turn back now? Try to break the door to Seraphine?’

Impossible. That door was reinforced. By the time he scratched it, he’d be squashed flat.

No matter how he looked at it, the best outcome was... for him to personally smash those two things to pieces.

’...But how the hell am I supposed to do that with no strength?’

He needed a siege weapon. He needed a wrecking ball.

He grabbed at his hair and stared straight ahead.

The two Guardians and the massive swords they were dragging came into view.

’Honestly, calling those things swords is generous—they’re too damn big. They’re basically... siege weapons.’

In that moment, a random passage from a berserker saga he’d read long ago came floating up in his mind. The part where the hero, weaponless, used his enemies’ strength against them.

’...I’ll go with that method.’

He exhaled deeply, then carelessly tossed aside the chipped dagger. He lowered his posture, readying himself to sprint.

"Hooooo..."

Right now, that was the only option he had.

The Guardians were rapidly closing in, shoulder to shoulder, blocking the hallway.

He shut his eyes tightly for a moment, then snapped them open again.

Then—

"Hup!"

Taaah!

He dashed straight forward at full speed. Not away from them. At them.

As if they’d been waiting, both Guardians raised their massive stone swords high.

But Oliver didn’t stop. He pushed himself even faster, plunging right into the narrow space between the two of them.

And then—

Buuuuuuung!

Just like before, the bastards swung their swords down at him in a perfect, synchronized arc.

The only difference was that this time, Oliver slid. He dropped to his knees, sliding on the smooth stone floor right between their legs.

The direction those swords fell...

Crack!

...wasn’t onto him.

The left Guardian’s sword smashed into the right Guardian’s shoulder. The right Guardian’s sword smashed into the left Guardian’s shoulder.

"Urachacha!"

Sliding out cleanly to the far side, Oliver immediately turned and fixed his gaze on the Guardians.

Buzz... Crack, crack...

From the Guardians’ shoulders, fragments of stone crumbled down in chunks. The immense weight of their own weapons had shattered their joints.

"Alright, let’s get this started."

From now on, you’re going to kill each other.

A faint smile curved over Oliver’s lips as he watched the golems stumble, unbalanced.

"Encore!"