Who designed this underworld dungeon?.

Chapter 727 The Northern Undead Asylum

Northern Undying Asylum

Todd clearly recognizes each of these words, but when they are put together, he just can't understand them.

What?

Does such a place exist in the Sien Dungeon?

"Where is my Firelink Shrine!?"

Because he was so eager for Firelink Shrine, or rather, so eager to use its power to leave Scammeron, he was willing to go anywhere.

So being locked up in jail now is even more painful, so painful that I can't accept the reality.

The prison? Yes, the prison.

He is now living in a luxurious single room in this enormous prison called the Northern Undead Asylum.

It was a single room, without a bed or table, and naturally, there was no toilet or shower.

Perhaps because of the excessive dampness, the prison was covered with slippery moss. Stepping on it, you could feel the sloshing sound of water, and you could even see some suspicious little creatures popping out.

This is absolutely not a place where humans can live!
He's a bit of a germaphobe and strictly requires the people of Hypa Town to wash their bodies before eating. He really can't stand being in this environment for even a second longer; he feels like he'll lose a year of his life if he stays here any longer!
I beg any god above, please let a good person come and save me!
I shouldn't have believed that the Sien Dungeon would be so kind; this must be another disgusting idea they came up with!

There are many different opinions about whether dungeons possess a certain degree of intelligence, but Todd believes that dungeons definitely have self-awareness, especially the Sien Dungeon.

Otherwise, where would all those disgusting things come from!

"Damn it, let me out!"

He pounded on the iron fence, but unfortunately, no matter what he did—burning, freezing, or anything else—he couldn't get the damned fence open.

It's as if magic is weakened when it comes into contact with this thing, and it has no effect at all.

"Hey, stop calling me, don't you think it's noisy?" Hervé's voice came from the cell across the way. He was a little lucky; he had a cellmate.

The only problem is that the roommate is a madman who just squats in the corner and bangs his head.

"Even you can't open this iron gate?" Todd asked in surprise, because just by looking at the other person's clothes, he knew that the other person was a very skilled expert.

"This fence looks simple, but it's actually anything but ordinary. I mainly fight with weapons, but when I woke up here, everything was gone."

Hervé's voice sounded serious, but behind that seriousness was excitement.

He caressed the moss-covered iron railing and said in a passionate tone, "Truly a creation of the Sien Dungeon. I must take one back, no matter the cost."

His tone made Todd shudder, feeling goosebumps all over his body. It was the first time he had ever seen someone so obsessed with the Sion Dungeon.

After making a fuss for a while, he finally couldn't take it anymore and, with his last bit of stubbornness, found a relatively clean spot to squat down and recover his strength.

Some members of the Spark Church, including Hervé, were also imprisoned here, mostly in single cells. The prison tunnels stretched as far as the eye could see, and it was unknown how many people were held here.

I don't know what this place was built for. Is it just an ordinary prison?

Time ticked by, and in the dark, sunless prison, it was impossible to distinguish the sky or the time.

Todd initially insisted on squatting and refusing to touch the dirty ground, but eventually he couldn't hold on any longer and sat down on the ground.

The moment he sat down, he felt a rupture in his personality.

It felt like an eternity had passed, and the sound of water dripping from the moss on the ceiling was so irritating that he wanted to kill someone.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock."

Every drop of water was putting pressure on his increasingly tense nerves, causing him to tremble all over.

This prison must have some kind of magic that accelerates people's mental breakdown, otherwise his mind wouldn't have collapsed so quickly.

“Hey, let’s talk to each other to kill some time,” Hervé’s voice suddenly came.

Todd glanced at him. "I have nothing to say."

"Heh, you were begging for mercy just now, and now you're all tough?" Hervé shrugged, took off his helmet, revealing a fairly clean-cut young man's face, but his hairstyle was very similar to Iori Yagami's, making him look a bit like a punk. "Whether you want to talk or not, I want to talk, or I'll go crazy."

Hervey's voice seemed to drown out the suffocating sound of dripping water, so Todd let him be.

"There's not much to say to a stranger like you. How about I introduce myself? My name is Hervé, I'm male, my sexual orientation is Saine, my hobby is Saine, and my most desired birthday present is Saine."

"What kind of nonsense is this?" Todd thought to himself without saying a word.

"A lady named Stern saved me from bandits. I asked her how I could repay her, and she told me I could become a Sun Warrior and help others, which would be my way of repaying her. I was moved by her words, so I joined the Church of Starfire. Unexpectedly, I seem to have quite a talent; after a little training, I became very, very strong. Now I've returned to Scameron to spread the spirit of the Sun Warriors. By the way, I was originally from Scameron. My mother took me to the Kingdom of Anor when I was a child."

Hervé kept talking and showed no sign of stopping.

"Life is short, and I believe that learning should focus on the key points. Through my lifelong research, I have discovered the most worthwhile moves to learn in the Sien Dungeon. Would you like to hear them?"

Before Todd could answer, he said directly:

"You absolutely must learn the Hound Step combat technique. It would be best to get a Hound's Tooth weapon. If you have the means, you can go find someone named Leon to learn Swift Slash. Lion Slash and Hunting Titan are also quite good."

"We should learn Whirlwind Spellstone and Broom Star. These two spells are incredibly powerful. For ordinary people like us, learning other spells is both tiring and unrewarding."

"As for those weak combat techniques and spells, I won't even give them a second glance!"

It sounds like Herve has his own unique understanding of the combat magic in the Sien Dungeon.

And he's also a hardcore player.

He kept rambling on and on, and it seemed to really help alleviate the boredom of being locked up in the prison. Todd was infected by his enthusiasm and gradually started chatting with him on and off.

"Where do you think this Northern Undead Asylum is located? Is it connected to the Firelink Shrine, the Hall of the Round Table, or perhaps the Hunter's Dream?"

"Anything is possible."

“I really want to go back to Irithyll to see the Onion Knight again. I always feel that his story is not over yet, and it can’t stay in the cellar forever.”

That sounds amazing!

Time passed slowly in casual conversation, and it wasn't too boring.

However, I don't know when it started, even these casual conversations disappeared.

Talking is also physically demanding, and talking too much can lead to boredom. Moreover, even for Hervey, being locked up here with no way forward or future would be uncomfortable.

Despair is like black dye, gradually eroding everyone's heart.

Todd had completely disregarded his image and lay sprawled on the moss, staring at the dirty ceiling made of some unknown material, his lips dry.

"Is no one coming to save me?" Inside the prison, only the faint light of torches could be seen, and this dim light gave people more despair than hope.

Because when the light is too small and the darkness is too vast, the presence of the light is particularly dazzling. If it is completely dark, people can deceive themselves and fall into depravity. But when light appears, people are unwilling to fall into depravity, and the result is naturally that they are consciously suffering.

He now understood why Hervé's roommate was squatting in the corner hitting himself; he would have gone crazy if he had stayed there any longer.

Simply being locked up here is the most terrifying punishment in the world!

Todd's gaze, which was fixed on the ceiling, gradually became cloudy, and he slowly lost consciousness. Just then, he suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh.

He was laughing at himself, because...
"I must be out of my mind, I'm even hallucinating."

He shook his head, dejectedly muttering to himself:
"I was shocked to see that the ceiling had been torn off, and someone was staring at me."

"."

"wrong!"

Todd suddenly jumped up with a "thump!" His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and he was trembling all over, shaking like a leaf!

"What's wrong with you?" The commotion he made woke Hervi, who was on the verge of fainting.

"Ah, ah"

Todd stared, speechless, his eyes wide with astonishment.

light.

A small beam of light descended from the sky, piercing through the barrier of the deathly prison and shining its warm light on his face.

It was a long-lost light, a light coming from a small gap in the ceiling that had been lifted. Only then did he realize that the ceiling could be opened.

Within that beam of light, he saw the angel who would save the world.

The figure of a knight appeared in the only gap in the ceiling.

If a veteran adventurer like Leon, who has traversed all areas of the Sien Dungeon, were present, he would likely recognize that the knight's armor is called the [Astra Superior Knight Armor].

It's not particularly glamorous, but it gives people a sense of security and stability.

"Help! Help!"

He had almost forgotten how to speak. The words "Help me" were stuck in Todd's throat, and he couldn't get them out. He was getting anxious and agitated.

The knight, who was bathed in sunlight, then reached out his hand to him.

No, it wasn't that they reached out their hand, but rather that they dropped something.

"Ding Dong——"

Todd quickly ran over and picked it up. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was a set of keys!
A key! Could it be the key to open the prison gate?
He was overjoyed, holding the key in both hands as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, and was about to look up to express his gratitude.

But the knight was gone, leaving only the ceiling still bathed in sunlight, indicating that what he had just seen was not a dream.

Todd paused for a moment, then grinned and took the key to try the front door, muttering to himself:

"What a wonderful person! He'll definitely be rewarded for his good deeds!"

"Although the Sien Dungeon is a real pain, the afterimages are quite endearing!"

With a click, the prison door opened.

"How did you open it!?" Now it was Hervi's turn to be surprised. The others also looked over, and the next moment, a tidal wave of voices begging him to come and open the door came from all directions.

Holding the prison key, Todd felt like he held the lifeline of the entire world in his hands. These people who were stronger than him had to listen to him.

However, this inflated ego didn't last long. He obediently opened the door for people, appearing honest and simple.

Using a key to blackmail someone is the most foolish thing to do; what he should do is do the people of the Spark Church a favor.

“I’m letting you out. In exchange, I hope you can escort me to the Firelink Shrine.”

"As long as I can find the way, I'll take you anywhere."

Standing in the prison corridor, Hervé stretched his aching shoulders, revealing a relieved expression, and put the dragon-shaped helmet back on his head. "Describe again what the knight who gave you the key looked like. I have a feeling we'll run into him here again."

So Todd continued to describe the knight's attire as he followed the group.

He had successfully joined the Spark Church, and surprisingly, no one raised any objections, as if he was obligated to act along with everyone else.

You would never guess that when they first met, people wanted to fill him with cement pillars.

Upon hearing his description, Hervé immediately recognized it as the Astra Superior Knight Armor, something that could be found on the Road of Living Sacrifices.

Todd then took the opportunity to praise the other person's extensive knowledge.

The only problem they have now is that they have no weapons.

With their weapons and shields gone, all that remained were their armored fists, which were still capable of fighting, forcing them all to become boxers.

As for the exploration of the Northern Undead Asylum, under the guidance of Hervi, a veteran adventurer who seemed to be from the Sien Dungeon itself, even Todd, who had never explored a dungeon before, was able to keep up with the pace of the group.

They were now walking down a corridor lined with prisons on both sides, filled with large numbers of undead, whose eerie wails echoed from time to time.

The corridors twist and turn, and there are stairs leading to the upper and lower levels, leaving people with choices. It seems to be a very conventional architectural layout, and everything is fine except for being a bit gloomy.

They hadn't walked far when they encountered the guards, a group of armored zombies who were quite agile and seemed tireless, able to wield their knives continuously for several minutes.

Without weapons or shields, the group had no way to get close to the dragon and could only wait for it to stop moving before swarming at it.

When people lose their weapons, they can sometimes become pitifully weak.

Hervé would comment on the design of each place he visited, such as the timing of monsters popping out at corners and the coordination between monsters. His final evaluation of the Northern Undead Asylum was as follows.
"The zombies are far stronger than I imagined, but they are not insurmountable. The map design is standard, on par with the Road of Sacrifices."

In other words, apart from the fact that the zombies are incredibly strong and can fly around like bricks, the design here is like a beginner village in the Path of the Living Sacrifice.

Todd wasn't interested in the dungeon design and quickly lost interest after listening for a while.

He was searching for the knight; he should at least thank him in person, right? Maybe he could even get some reward from him after thanking him.

After walking for a short while, people suddenly found themselves leaving the dark corridor and arriving at an open courtyard.

Opposite the courtyard is a closed gate, and although you can't see clearly behind the gate, you can see the blue sky and white clouds that represent freedom!
"Let's go, that must be the exit!"

(End of this chapter)