Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Law of Competition and Distribution (4)
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The darkening evening. Under the moonlight, Regin and his companions rode on hogs.
“Do you feel like you’re getting used to it now?”
“Ahem. Yeah. Watch closely—this time I can ride it hands-free.”
“Puhaha. Be careful. What if you fall off?”
Regin smirked as he looked at Greg.
“Since we’re at it, should we try using Path of the Wind? If it works on the hogs too, we could scout the outskirts even faster.”
“……”
Greg’s confident expression froze instantly.
Well, if the speed picked up even a little more here, it wouldn’t be like a bicycle anymore—it’d be motorcycle-level.
‘I’m curious if Greg’s body could withstand a fall at that speed.’
Another experiment popped into Regin’s mind, but he quickly erased it.
‘Of course he could. He takes hits from Skeleton Knights with his body.’
Based on when he was fully armored and prepared, he could even tank a troll’s attack.
With the dwarven toughness plus years of self-training.
And with that finely crafted armor… he might even handle an ogre’s fist if he pushed it.
“Let’s rest here for today.”
“Yeah.”
They’d ridden the hogs all day long.
They’d stopped midway to hunt any Skeleton Archers they spotted.
But otherwise, they hardly got off the hogs.
‘Reducing the archers’ numbers is a good idea. They have a pretty long respawn time.’
On top of that, the drop items from Skeleton Archers were quite useful.
They were items of high value, comparable even to a mage’s crystal orb.
“Got a few spider silks.”
“Yeah.”
“This is Grangtula spider silk, right?”
“No. Precisely, it’s Minitula spider silk. Grangtulas… they’re about troll-sized, from what I hear.”
There are massive spiders you occasionally see on the 7th Floor.
They’re common enough on the 8th and 9th Floors too.
‘Still, what we see here are Minitulas, the offspring of Grangtulas. Their silk has various uses…’
Farming Minitulas directly gives a lower drop rate than hunting Skeleton Archers.
“Minitulas spew corrosive fluid right before they die, and it melts all the silk they produce.”
“So that’s why you get nothing even if you kill them.”
“Exactly. Meanwhile, the Skeleton Archers in this area harvest the spider silk well and use it for their bowstrings.”
It was ironic.
To get spider silk, you had to hunt Skeleton Archers, not the spiders.
At first, it seemed weird, so he’d farmed repeatedly, but once he learned the lore behind it, he’d nodded in understanding.
‘There were fun elements like this. They’d set up detailed lore. Lots of things emerged as if the monsters adapted to their surroundings.’
Whenever something seemed off, it always tied back to the local environment.
Since it always concluded that way, it became one of the enjoyable aspects for Regin.
That nothing in sight was lore thrown in without meaning.
For veterans, it was a delight to dig into each one.
“Spider silk is useful in daily life too, but it’s expensive because no party can do without it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You can inject mana to slightly alter its shape, so it’s often used for ornaments or crafts.”
“So it’s a material with high mana sensitivity.”
“Correct.”
That was why the silk fetched prices comparable to crystal orbs.
Well, it wasn’t as durable as orichalcum or mithril, so it wasn’t suited for weapons.
But it was perfect as a luxury item for nobles.
“Regin.”
“Yes?”
“Sorry, but is it okay if I take these?”
The three of them had dismounted the hogs for a short break. Seria stared at the spider silk before continuing.
“I think I could use them as weapons.”
“As weapons?”
“Our assassins dig traps or hide and strike from the shadows.”
“That’s true.”
“If it’s tougher than regular thread or cord and can change shape… I could make traps that are even harder to spot.”
Regin nodded.
“That makes sense. You take them for now, Seria.”
Come to think of it, her class was assassin.
She wielded twin daggers, but her flashy combat style made him think of her more as a dancer.
‘Threads or wires are weapons for assassins, though.’
It was a perspective he hadn’t considered, so it intrigued him.
He’d raised quite a few assassins, but since most play involved hunting monsters, he’d never delved into assassination gear.
‘There were a couple times, but it always ended with assassins losing to enchanters in PvP…’
After entering this world, Regin had never regretted his past playstyles.
He’d tried everything an enchanter could do and cleared the game once because of it.
But the moment he realized Seria viewed the silk differently, a tiny pang of regret hit him.
‘It’s a shame I never cleared the game with other classes.’
Regin wasn’t bad at other classes.
No matter what he picked up, he was one of the rare veterans who could reach the final phase.
‘But the only class that cleared that final phase and saw the ending was enchanter.’
Others might say it was the one true path.
If Regin were satisfied with that, he’d have thought so too.
‘Maybe I just haven’t found the right path for other classes yet.’
So after clearing once, his goal had been to clear with other classes too.
But then he’d been pulled into this world.
“Seria.”
Lost in thought, Regin looked at her and continued.
“If anything else comes to mind, let me know.”
“Comes to mind?”
“Like what else could make a good weapon. Or how and where to fight.”
“Hmm……”
“I might miss some ideas.”
“If that’s it, sure. No reason not to tell you.”
In the end, to fill the gaps in his experience with other classes, he had to make good use of his party members.
He couldn’t replay the game, so he had to rely on those who had the classes now.
“Haha. Not that I’m asking you to force ideas out.”
No sooner had he finished than Seria grabbed the spider silk and stared at it intently.
Anyone could see she was wracking her brain for ideas—it made him chuckle.
“…Hmm. Yeah. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
Memories flashed of a game where NPC growth varied each run, making intervention tricky.
That’s why Regin had focused on his own growth and avoided party hunting.
This time, he had to choose a different path.
‘I need to grow myself while raising a party capable of tackling the final phase together.’
He wasn’t sure yet if Greg and Seria would make it that far.
But whoever he met next, the knowledge and experience from them would help.
Regin chuckled to himself as he mulled it over.
“Is it the mushrooms?”
“Huh?”
“You laughed out of nowhere. I wondered if the ones we roasted had poison.”
“Oh… no, just some old memories.”
“Old memories?”
“Yeah.”
Looking around, Regin nodded.
“There was a time when I holed up researching alone.”
“I’ve heard mages hole up in libraries or studies for solitary research. You must’ve put in a lot of effort, given how knowledgeable you are.”
“…Haha. Something like that.”
Seria looked at Regin with a serious expression.
To her, he seemed a proper mage, so she assumed the research was about magic.
Seeing that, Regin grew awkward and looked away unnecessarily.
‘I was just grinding the game hard.’
He’d researched one game until his head hurt.
Wondering if the devs hid more, if he’d missed something.
Regin had constantly racked his brain playing it.
‘Though in later runs, once I got familiar with the endgame, I didn’t push as hard.’
Coming into the game world.
Facing all these new situations.
It set his mind spinning again.
Like those nights planning the next run to clear DAT, heart pounding even once.
“……”
At that moment, his wandering gaze caught the two hogs tied to a tree.
‘…Nah.’
Something clicked, but it was so absurd he laughed it off first.
No way that’d work.
“…It might.”
His expression hardened in an instant.
His mind raced with assumptions, counterarguments, and rebuttals in an endless chain.
Shh—
Finally, Regin pulled an item from his pocket. A shard of Heart Diamond.
[Hogs’ Favorite Things.]
It was the title of a post he’d drafted in the community and then deleted.
He’d organized it thinking someone might need it, but ended up saving it only in drafts.
That memory resurfaced.
[Seen often on 7th and 14th Floors: hogs. Wondered if breeding was possible, so I experimented.]
[They like a few things. Mushrooms seem to appeal from scent to taste. And hilariously…]
[They like mana-sensitive ores like mithril or orichalcum.]
[No idea what scent ores have, but tests showed them heading to ore spots over normal areas.]
Probably because good-scented mushrooms grow around mana-rich ores.
That’s what he’d planned to add.
‘Heart Diamond’s mana sensitivity is…’
Higher than mithril, about equal to orichalcum.
Recalling that, Regin held the shard to a hog’s nose.
Shh—
Sniff sniff—!!
Regin’s eyes widened.
“…It’s reacting.”
Exhausted from the day’s ride, the hogs had been quietly tied up.
Thud thud—!!
Suddenly, they slammed into the tree they were tied to, snorting wildly.
“…Greg. Seria!”
“What’s going on all of a sudden!”
“I think we can find it.”
“Find what?”
“Where the Saint’s Sword is. In other words…”
Watching the hogs’ reaction, Regin felt certain.
“We can find the 7th Floor’s Red Portal.”
* * *
Inside the 7th Floor’s Skull Citadel, now shrouded in darkness.
Regin and his group had given up rest and were riding their hogs again.
‘The moment I let them sniff it, they wouldn’t stay still.’
It was a playstyle he’d never tried in the game, but he’d thought there was a slim chance.
He hadn’t expected it to work this well.
‘Ores generally form deep underground, and high mana-sensitive ones absorb mana from earth or air.’
That fertilizes the surrounding soil, affecting the plants that grow.
Hogs resembled pigs in appearance, so their sense of smell was keen.
He figured they’d remember the scent of soil where good mushrooms grew.
‘A quick search out of curiosity confirmed it. Strong-scented mushrooms like truffles are found using pigs.’
So he’d wondered if they could smell Heart Diamond too.
Sniff sniff—!
The hogs bolted forward, noses twitching as if entranced.
“…These guys will lead us to the Red Portal?”
“That’s my guess.”
“What’s the 7th Floor Red Portal like?”
“To explain simply…”
Seria, riding behind Regin, asked. He answered.
“It’s like a garden.”
“…A garden?”
“Yeah. But not with flowers or gardeners… I hear it’s a garden full of ores.”
Players knew it by a more familiar name.
‘Witch’s Garden.’
A space overseen by an entity emitting mana similar to the kingdom’s first witch, even before she appeared.
“With the hogs’ sense of smell, we can find the connecting spot…”
Pew—!
It happened then.
Squeee—!!
Greg’s hog, running fine, tumbled head over heels.
Right after the sound of an arrow whistling through the air.
Greg rolled across the ground too, while Regin and Seria barely halted their hog.
“Greg!!”
“Urk! Damn it…”
“Are you okay?”
“My body’s fine. Why’d this guy suddenly…?”
As Greg struggled to his feet, he spotted the hog’s hind leg.
“Arrow’s lodged in it. And this… isn’t a Skeleton Archer’s arrow.”
“……”
All three gazes turned to one spot.
“People.”
Regin’s face twisted.
“We have pursuers.”
Their eyes fixed on a nearby ruined house. Four silhouettes came into view.
They looked somehow familiar.