Lich Apep
A Gold Rank adventurer received far better treatment than a Silver Rank. And I was experiencing that difference in real time.
“Just fill it out as is.”
The receptionist who had been speaking casually to me completely changed his attitude the moment it was confirmed I was a genuine Gold Rank swordsman. Even now he kept glancing at my face as he carefully held out a basket of sweets.
While jotting down the basic personal information, I checked the precautions for this request. Since the dungeon itself was managed by the royal family, members of the royal house would be participating. The notice claimed that basic courtesy would be enough, but I had a feeling something more would be expected.
“Isn’t dungeon exploration usually dangerous?”
“Huh? Ah, of course it is.”
The receptionist nodded and wiped his forehead. I stared straight at his expression and asked a new question.
“Is it really all right for royals to come along to a dangerous place?”
“Ah, that is…”
“Please explain in more detail.”
Sweating profusely, the receptionist began spilling the information he had been holding back. Recently the Third Prince, who had been showing remarkable talent in swordsmanship, had stubbornly insisted on exploring a dungeon himself.
Even though he was far down the line of succession, he was still royalty. Because of his insistence a dungeon exploration party had been hastily assembled, and the royal family had posted this recruitment notice to attach Gold Rank adventurers as escorts.
“Then shouldn’t they have recruited escorts instead of dungeon explorers? And doesn’t this country already have strong knights?”
“That was also the Third Prince’s stubbornness. He said he wanted a real adventure without escorts…”
“So they hired outside adventurers instead of kingdom knights?”
“…It’s a secret only the Third Prince doesn’t know.”
“Well, all right.”
It would be a bit of a hassle, but considering the pay it was worth taking. I nodded and finished signing the documents.
I felt sorry for Nightmare, but he couldn’t come into the dungeon with me. It was a problem caused by the dungeon’s structure. I stroked the head of the horse who would be left behind alone.
“I’ll be back soon, so stay quiet.”
Puihihing-!
Nightmare shook his head in refusal. When he began stamping his front and hind legs, the stable shook as if an earthquake had hit.
“I’m sorry. But there’s no choice. They said there are a lot of narrow passages deeper inside the dungeon.”
Purrruk-!
Now he had gone past throwing a tantrum and was getting angry. Nightmare snorted roughly and kicked the door blocking his way. The solid iron door crumpled on the spot, Nightmare’s hoofprint stamped clearly into the metal.
“Ah…”
Puihing-!
He shoved the door open, came out, and lay down in front of me, tapping his own back with his tail as if telling me to hurry up and mount. I looked at the crushed iron door and let out a deep sigh.
We stayed silent like that for a long while. Nightmare cautiously checked my expression, then opened the crumpled door again and returned to his original place.
He seemed afraid I was angry.
“Good. Stay quiet like that.”
Puihihing…
When I nodded and spoke, Nightmare let out a mournful cry. He blinked his large eyes and looked up at me.
“When I get back I’ll play with you as much as you want.”
In the end I only managed to leave him after promising to play. At the stable entrance I handed a money pouch to the employee who was trembling. It was for Nightmare’s feed and compensation for the broken door.
“I packed plenty just in case.”
“Ah, thank you…”
After finishing my greetings with the employee, I headed for the massive mine located a short distance from the castle. A road built for hauling carts stretched along the way to the mine.
In front of the mine entrance, behind the laborers bustling about, I spotted a group of adventurers. Nine people. As I examined them one by one, I suddenly noticed a familiar face.
Pink hair swayed gently, giving off a peculiar atmosphere. Standing among the surrounding adventurers, her small stature stood out even more. The pink-haired girl was Terra. Apparently she was the second Gold Rank swordsman.
“Oh?”
Just as I had spotted Terra, she seemed to have spotted me as well. She turned her head, looked at me, and waved with a slightly surprised expression.
“Ceris!”
It seemed I was the last one. I broke into a run and joined the party.
“Ceris, you say? Are you certain you’re the Gold Rank swordsman Ceris?”
The one who asked me was a man clad in full plate. His short-cropped hair gave him a refreshing impression. He scanned the documents in his hand as he questioned me.
“Can you show me your rank badge?”
There was a strangely refined quality to his voice. I nodded and presented the gold badge.
“Confirmed. Good. I permit your joining.”
I looked up at the man with a peculiar gaze. It was the kind of look that subtly regarded everything around him as beneath him. It felt so natural that he must have lived his entire life that way.
“Today we will enter the dungeon of the wicked black mage…”
Confirming that all party members had gathered, the man began the briefing. He rattled off simple precautions and the items that needed to be packed before entering the dungeon. Most of the information coming from his mouth could be found in any adventurer’s guidebook.
Did he just memorize the entire book?
I swallowed a dry laugh and shook my head. Terra approached my side.
“Do you know who that is?”
“Isn’t he the Third Prince? It’s obvious just looking at him.”
“Yeah. That’s right. He seems to think he’s completely fooled everyone.”
Had the briefing finished? The Third Prince lightly thumped his chest and introduced himself.
“I am Al… Alfonso.”
Once the Third Prince Alfonso’s introduction ended, the other adventurers introduced themselves in turn. Of course the name Alfonso had given was an alias, but none of the party members made an issue of it. The party totaled ten people: two priests, two rangers, and the rest all swordsmen.
“I intend to depart immediately… any objections?”
No one raised a hand. Under Alfonso’s command the party entered the mine.
Clang-! Clang-!
Even at this very moment the sound of heavy pounding echoed from inside the mine as if work was still ongoing. The air, mixed with the sweat of laborers and dust, was quite foul. The expressions of the other adventurers and myself naturally hardened.
The party kept moving. We passed through a long corridor and climbed down a ladder that led beneath a large cliff. Torches burned here and there along the path, lighting the darkness.
After walking for some time, Alfonso, who had taken out a lamp and was shining it into the dark, smiled and spoke.
“We’ve arrived!”
The place Alfonso pointed to was the entrance to a dungeon that somehow gave off an eerie aura. Rusted iron chains hung long around it, creating the impression that one should not enter.
While Alfonso was excitedly discovering the dungeon entrance, I sensed faint signs of people nearby. Two figures were hiding behind a rock not far from here.
Just as I was about to rest my hand on my sword in case of an emergency, Terra lightly approached and grabbed my hand.
“Terra?”
“Shh.”
Terra looked toward the direction of the faint presence and shook her head. Then, while watching Alfonso’s expression, she whispered to me in a small voice.
“Those are the guards protecting the dungeon entrance.”
“So there’s no need to step forward?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded at Terra’s words. She seemed to know more than I did.
The dungeon exploration proceeded exactly according to the standard methods written in the adventurer’s guidebook. Swordsmen with shields stuck close to the rangers as if protecting them, and the rangers advanced while checking for traps installed in the dungeon.
Terra and I kept our distance to escort Alfonso. The rangers found no particularly threatening traps. Since there was no need to wait for trap disarmament, our advance speed was naturally swift.
After walking for some time, faint signs suddenly poured out from the pitch-black darkness.
[Kieeek-!]
[Kyaeek-!]
“Monsters! Prepare for battle!”
The moment the faint cries came from the end of the passage, Alfonso shouted as if having a fit. Rather than sensing the monsters’ presence, he had simply reacted to the cries.
The instant every adventurer drew their swords, the monsters revealed themselves. Small stature, green skin. Goblins.
I tilted my head at the sight. I had expected skeletons to appear since it was supposedly the dungeon of a wicked black mage, yet goblins had shown up out of nowhere.
The ten goblins were swept away the moment they appeared. Even a single Silver Rank swordsman could handle ten goblins at once. Considering the party’s composition, this was only natural.
The tension-free, disappointing battle left me drained, but Alfonso seemed otherwise. In a highly excited voice he checked the condition of the party members.
“Anyone injured, raise your hand immediately!”
There were no injured.
Once the party finished reorganizing, Alfonso once again took the lead. After walking for some time more, another presence was felt in the pitch darkness.
[Grrrr!]
[Woof woof!]
This time the ones that appeared were wolves with pure white fur. I frowned at the sight of the wolves.
Don’t tell me…?
“New monsters have appeared! Everyone prepare for battle!”
There were five wolves, but a situation similar to the goblins unfolded.
Alfonso skinned the wolf he had felled. A faint smile hung on his lips, and his eyes sparkled.
By this point even a fool would have realized.
A dungeon state with no dangerous traps, and the sudden appearance of goblins and wolves. Considering the ecology of both monsters, they could never appear in a place like this.
“This is…”
The goblins and wolves had clearly been prepared by the royal family without Alfonso’s knowledge. Everything had been staged. For the sake of just one person.
I couldn’t hide my disappointment. Looking at Alfonso as he skinned the wolf, I let out a long sigh.
Just as I sighed and leaned my body against the pitch-black stone wall—
Kakak-!
With a sudden noise I felt a flow of mana, and the floor I was standing on abruptly vanished.
“Ah…”
What happens when the floor disappears? Of course you fall. Every party member, myself included, plummeted without even managing a scream.