Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Looking for Someone (1)
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Finding the portal on the 4th floor had been a nightmare.
A lycanthrope had appeared out of nowhere, forcing me to run for my life in a blind panic.
‘Compared to that, this is a walk in the park.’
There weren’t any monsters on the 6th floor on the level of a lycanthrope anyway.
To be honest, even if the boss showed up, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
‘Other parties swarm in to take it down, so anyone who wants out can slip away safely.’
The 6th floor boss was pretty popular.
Its difficulty was lower than a lycanthrope’s, naturally, but on top of that, the drop items were highly valuable.
And there were enough for at least one or two full parties to get a share.
Rushing to claim them first was only natural.
“This way…….”
“Hm?”
Thanks to that, the walk had only involved skeletons and minor skirmishes.
Regin let out a hollow chuckle upon arriving at the transportation magic stone.
“So this is how you can exit so easily.”
“……Ah.”
Greg gave a wry smile and nodded.
“You said you ran into a lycanthrope on your first expedition?”
“That’s right.”
“Heh heh. Talk about rotten luck. Oh, Seria. Not sure if you heard, but a lycanthrope showed up on the 4th floor right before this portal opened.”
“I know. The survey team mentioned it before we entered the tower.”
“Oh, so you came in during this portal opening?”
“I go out every time the portal reopens.”
Seria was what you’d call a commuter explorer.
Unlike those who entered once and lived in the tower for months, she was the type who left and reentered each time the portal opened.
‘It’s a pretty long commute, though. The portal only opens once a month.’
As that thought crossed his mind, Regin suddenly grew curious and looked at Seria.
“But Seria.”
“Yeah?”
“Doesn’t that mean you’re heading out earlier than usual this time?”
“A bit earlier than normal. I usually spend about two days in the kingdom before coming back.”
Heading out now meant she’d have to stay outside for at least a week.
For Regin, it was plenty of time to resupply, so not a bad thing.
But wouldn’t it disrupt Seria’s routine?
“Well, I’ll just think of it as a vacation. I made out pretty well this time anyway.”
“Hm.”
“And it’s not like I get much time with my little sibling otherwise.”
“You have a sibling?”
Seria nodded in response.
“Yeah. It’s one reason I’m exploring. They’re depending on me to put food on the table.”
“…….”
Something told Regin that digging deeper would lead to another tearjerker story.
He clamped his mouth shut and decided to just listen.
“Since we’ve got this connection, I’ll stop by your forge for repairs while I’m at it. Greg.”
“Heh heh. Were you planning to go somewhere else? My poor breastplate that got blown clean off might get jealous.”
“I overheard the location while you two were talking. Not that I was trying to…… I just have good ears.”
“……I see.”
Seria pondered for a moment, then smirked.
“I’ll bring my sibling along too. I don’t know about you, but the villagers find them pretty cute.”
“Sounds good. Is your sibling old enough for custom armor?”
“I’m not letting them explore. But they’re fascinated by explorers. I’d love for you to give them a good scolding about how tough it is.”
“Ah.”
“Unlike me, they’re pretty sharp. I want them doing something safe, like accounting for the kingdom or some noble house.”
“Got it.”
Regin and Greg nodded in unison.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, which conveyed a clear emotion.
She didn’t want to lose her sibling.
“I’ll make sure they never dream of becoming an explorer again.”
Greg declared boldly.
“If I go through examples one by one, it might take all night. That okay with you?”
Regin replied with fierce determination.
Seria finally burst into genuine laughter.
“You’re reliable. Great. See you outside.”
Wooong—
Rubbing the transportation magic stone summoned two portals.
One led up to the 7th floor.
The other would take the three of them back to the kingdom.
Seria stepped in first, followed by Regin and Greg.
“Regin.”
“Yes.”
“Good work out there.”
From the rabbit hole to Kaluan.
Greg had joined him for two unexpected long battles.
He tapped the lettering etched on his own body and continued.
“Thanks to you, I could explore without shame.”
“…….”
“Our promise to go to the 10th floor together still stands, right?”
“Of course.”
“Glad to hear it. See you in the kingdom.”
Regin chuckled and nodded.
“You had my back too. See you outside.”
DAT players all knew how reassuring it was to have a reliable tank on the way to the 10th floor.
It meant the next expedition could be planned more thoroughly and boldly.
* * *
“The total tax on the tower items you’ve brought is…… 4 gold.”
“Submit after selling the items.”
Under the warm sunlight pouring over the kingdom plains.
The relief of returning alive was short-lived; tax collection time had arrived.
‘Seria’s at 5 gold, Greg at 4.’
Standing at the checkpoint, Regin watched the two pay and pass through.
With taxes around 20 percent…… that meant Seria had earned at least 25 gold, and Greg about 20.
‘My last haul was insane by comparison.’
Of course, they valued at minimum prices, so the actual earnings could be higher.
Even so, it was less than Regin’s previous expedition.
Swoosh.
Regin stroked the bracelet on his wrist, once again realizing how overpowered this item was.
‘……No item gets left behind because of bag weight or size.’
He could gather every visible material.
Every valuable or useful item he could get his hands on.
How advantageous was that in DAT……!
‘Thanks, Ketchup Thief.’
It was a hassle hiding it from Greg when stashing into the inventory.
But this expedition had missed almost nothing.
“1 gold 50 silver.”
Regin’s assessed tax was a measly 1 gold 50 silver.
That alone meant over 7 gold in profit.
‘But factoring in the inventory items changes everything.’
Regin’s mind raced.
Applying the black market prices he’d checked last time.
‘……Total of 70 gold.’
Compared to his previous 40 gold haul, it was grin-from-ear-to-ear money.
Equivalent to two or three months’ earnings for Greg and Seria combined.
“I’ll pay after selling the items.”
“Yes. Pay within the deadline.”
He took the single sheet of paper from the checkpoint guard.
A bill of sorts, listing 1.5 gold and the due date.
Leaving the checkpoint, Regin couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
‘Solid.’
Knowing a reliable tank was one thing. This felt even more reassuring.
‘No need to skimp on scrolls and items.’
Far beyond his DAT playing days.
He could set up faster and more efficiently.
Which meant he could survive with even greater certainty now.
“…….”
Returning to Middle Street with his inventory brimming.
Regin tamped down his excitement and scanned the surroundings.
‘I can sell the stuff slowly at the black market.’
But there was something to do right now upon returning to Middle Street.
His steps didn’t stop until he reached the fountain square.
The moment he quickly scanned the area around the fountain.
“……What?”
Regin’s eyes shook, lost.
He turned his head, but the person he sought wasn’t there.
“Hey! Long time no see!”
“Kid.”
“Yeah?”
The boy selling newspapers near the fountain square smiled and approached Regin.
He was the one who always sold papers to Regin on Middle Street.
Normally, Regin might have praised his sales, but this time his voice came out cold.
“The old man who sleeps rough here.”
“……Oh. The wanderer you called him?”
“Yeah.”
The wanderer, Ferma Vinis.
From Regin’s first visit to Middle Street until the end of his initial expedition.
The very being who had dropped cryptic words on him here.
“Where’d that wanderer go?”
The man had vanished.
There was no sign of the wanderer anywhere in the fountain square.
* * *
Clatter—
Arriving at his lodging, Regin tossed his bag aside and flopped onto the bed.
This room he’d been using since entering DAT was just the size of a Korean one-room apartment.
Lying on the bed that took up a third of the space, Regin stared at the ceiling.
‘…….’
He’d bailed midway, but it had been a satisfying expedition overall.
Starting with entering the rabbit hole, after all.
‘……Getting the rabbit’s foot was huge.’
An essential material item to cover the regeneration scroll’s weaknesses for the foreseeable future.
Without reaching the 10th floor, you couldn’t ask for better.
Not to mention Plexis’s cloak, a solid tank connection.
And the fact that he was a skilled blacksmith too was no small factor.
‘And yet, I don’t feel relieved.’
With all those items safe in his inventory, tax-free…… he should be grinning ear to ear.
But lying on the bed, Regin’s mind churned in endless complexity.
—Should I just tell you what I saw?
The boy’s voice from the fountain square earlier flashed through his head.
Regin had pressed him to tell everything and slipped a gold coin into the boy’s hand.
Recalling events from two weeks ago, the boy had answered.
—The kingdom guard came to the square. The wanderer went with them, and we haven’t seen him since. But……
The boy had continued cautiously.
—What’s the punishment for a Class 3 criminal?
Regin hadn’t answered.
It didn’t seem right to tell a young boy.
……Above all, he didn’t want to believe it himself yet.
‘……Execution.’
Unlike Class 2 crimes, which sealed mana or limited body parts, Class 3 brought incomparable punishment.
When the kingdom deemed blocking their power or movement insufficient.
They simply removed the person from the kingdom entirely.
A curse slipped from Regin’s lips as he stared at the ceiling.
‘Why now…… of all times!’
Hadn’t Ferma already served a Class 2 punishment?
That’s why he could mooch around the fountain square without the kingdom bothering him……!
It was bolt-from-the-blue news for Regin, who’d come looking assuming he’d be there.
The bizarre events from this expedition.
‘……I definitely heard something in my dream.’
Regin was convinced it tied to black magic.
‘Ferma Vinis was a black mage too. And he said strange things.’
He might be the only one who could connect the dots.
And now, of all times, he’d been sentenced to death and arrested.
‘……Wait. What happens after a death sentence?’
Swoosh.
After much thought, Regin sat up and sorted his bag.
‘No time to dawdle.’
Recalling his DAT experiences, he quickly listed his tasks.
‘Find out the execution date.’
If it wasn’t public, it wouldn’t be widely known.
But someone info-savvy could dig it up in a few days.
—Jack. I want info on Ferma Vinis.
The black market request he’d made flashed in his mind.
‘One-Eyed Jack.’
He had to make that guy spill every scrap of info he’d gathered, right now.