Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Dungeon
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Clack clack clack!!!
Not long after, we found the fourth Skeleton Mage. The thing that got absolutely pummeled by us tried to scream, but with no vocal cords, all it could do was look pitiful.
We poured the friendship of four onto the skull mage and shattered it to pieces. We were thrilled to snag four staffs, but more than that, after four of them, it was starting to get boring, so we vented some stress.
You could call it a bit of an aggressive celebration smackdown.
"Guess we can head back now, huh? Heh... wonder how much this'll fetch?"
"Tin cups, staffs, ancient trinkets too. We're gonna make a killing."
Most of the ancient trinkets looked like junk, but just selling the tin cups and staffs should net us a total of 10 silvers. Honestly, not holding my breath on the trinkets.
"Plus two daggers and Mimic teeth. Imp horns are just gravy."
The daggers came off some other adventurer's corpse, and I carved out the Imp horns earlier. My pack was heavy, but that weight would soon fill my wallet. I had to suppress the urge to rip off my balls and roar. I was that happy.
Elise strapped the staffs to Meria's back. We looked like a four-person mage robbery squad. My shoulders squared up automatically.
"Alright, let's head out then. Sister Elise, you got enough saved maps?"
"Pardon? Saved? What do you mean?"
"Nah, just kidding. Now that we're heading back, it's time for your map to shine."
"Leave it to me."
Elise unfolded the map and strode forward confidently. We followed with grins. Since we'd massacred everything on the way in, the return trip was free of ambushes. All that greeted us were piles of bones from the skeletons we'd already smashed.
We made it back up to the third basement level. That massive room like a church chapel, connected to the waterway.
"Whoa, this guy's fully skeletonized now."
In one corner lay the adventurer's corpse we'd handled. The only change was that all the flesh was gone. Someone must've come by and stripped it clean in the meantime.
"He's not gonna suddenly wake up, right?"
I'd thought the same.
"I purified it myself, so that shouldn't happen."
"Yeah, now that you mention it."
Unlike Elise's godawful map, the party safely navigated out of the third level and up to the second. How the hell did she read that??? I had no clue, so I asked.
Of course, I didn't phrase it as "How do you even read that shit map so well???" I kept it polite and roundabout.
"It's training."
"Training?"
"If I die and heretics loot the map to misuse it, we can't have that. So we make them as unreadable as possible for outsiders."
My jaw dropped. Wait, a junior nun?
What the hell kind of religious order was the Radiant Cross Society? From their actions and words, you could call them a holy special forces unit and not be wrong.
"T-that makes sense! I'm really sorry for thinking you just couldn't draw!"
"What? But I really can't draw. Still, that stings a bit."
"Damn it!! My fucking mouth!!"
I couldn't take it anymore and slapped my own mouth three times. Me, hurting her!
"Hee hee. Stop that."
Elise let out a small laugh at my antics.
"You're crazy."
"Uh, yeah."
Kobson's jab made me a bit embarrassed.
No monsters meant a relaxed vibe as we walked, and soon we reached the long-lost first basement level. That big hall. Felt like we'd been trapped in this dungeon forever. It had been a while, actually.
"Let's get topside quick. Ugh, I'm beat."
"After all that heavy labor, of course you're fucking exhausted. I wanna wash up and crash too."
We headed toward the sunlit surface. Then, voices echoed from the stairs leading up. Other adventurers? We climbed cautiously, tension appropriate.
"Huh?"
Yep, other adventurers. A middle-aged guy with a bushy beard. We paused midway up the stairs. He eyed us and asked.
"You guys coming from inside?"
"Yeah?"
Vague unease hit me as I answered.
The party seemed unfazed, but I don't trust adventurers much by default. If it profits them, they'll drown a guy without blinking.
I know, because I've done it.
"Staffs? Four identical ones? You find those inside too?"
He scanned our group, then brought up the staffs.
"Yep. What is this, a dungeon? All sorts of stuff buried in there. Head down and grab your share."
I brushed it off casually, passed him, and kept climbing. Two more rough-looking guys behind him. We outnumbered them. Safe now. I called back to the party, relaxed.
"C'mon, let's go. I wanna wash up bad."
"Me too."
We crossed paths and went up, no incidents. Finally, the surface.
—Blazing sunlight!
Outside, the sun was high noon, bathing the world in light. After relying solely on lantern glow inside, the sunlight felt like a vitamin D explosion.
Noon already?
"What, it's noon? Didn't we enter in the morning?"
"Looks like we pulled an all-nighter and then some inside."
"Oh, right."
Greed had us mindlessly slaughtering skeletons through the night, apparently.
Roughly 30 hours in there? Felt like over ten days to me, but probably an illusion. Time sense gets wonky in the dark.
"No wonder I'm so damn tired."
Skipping a day of sleep ain't much. Pulling all-nighters is routine. Still, in the light, Meria, Kobson, and Elise all had dark circles. Everyone looked beat.
Wanna crash so bad.
"Hm... outside looks the same."
"Only a day passed."
The area around the dungeon entrance was unchanged from when we entered. Abandoned campsites scattered everywhere. Did they ditch all this? Or still exploring deeper? Or wiped out inside.
Probably not all dead inside. Hard to imagine idiots dying to skeletons. Though we did see one corpse.
"Tents'd fetch some coin. Should we grab 'em?"
"What? That's someone else's stuff."
"Kidding."
Elise snapped at me as I moved to dismantle one. Wasn't kidding at all—dead serious—but her sharpness startled me.
"So how we getting back?"
Meria piped up, looking around.
"Wait, hold up. The carriage..."
No round trip, right? So we walk to the city...? I stared at Elise in horror. She spoke calmly.
"Didn't think about the return. Looks like we're walking."
"Fuck, this is gonna suck."
And so we trudged back through the midday jungle zone. We'd taken a carriage to here inbound, so outbound meant crossing it on foot.
"Mommy, it's fucking scorching."
"At least the dungeon was cool inside."
"Ugh~ Sweating buckets."
Hacking through the overgrown plants drenched us in sweat. Hot and humid. Dungeon sweat evaporated in the cool air, felt great; now it was just fucking hot.
Finally out of the jungle—no carriage.
I despaired visibly.
"Carriage really gone."
"You think it'd wait for us?"
"Fuck, would it kill 'em?"
"It'd kill me. Can't understand barbarian logic."
A few hours by carriage inbound, so even hustling now, we'd hit the city after dark. Gonna lose a ton of weight. Insane.
"Let's head out."
Elise said flatly, no hatred even for the long walk.
We, looking like dirt-covered wrecks, crossed the plains. Thinking of the trek to Isbrandt brought tears. Or maybe they were already flowing.
I trailed behind, tears streaming. Meria glanced back.
"Katt, crying?"
"Yeah. Suddenly tears just pour. Thinking of home."
"Heh... Nomad roots kicking in from the plains? I get nostalgic vibes sometimes seeing spots like my hometown."
"Nah, bit off."
I just tear up when exhausted.
We walked forever. Sun dipping cooled things, making it bearable despite fatigue. City walls appeared distantly only after full dark.
"Back to lanterns already."
No streetlights here. Night means pitch black. Kobson relit the lantern—handy thing.
"We're super late."
"Yeah. Gates are shut tight."
At the gates, the massive doors stayed closed. They don't reopen till dawn. No entry meant camping outside tonight.
"Well, they say the trip ain't over till you're home."
"What's that? Barbarian proverb?"
"Kinda. Let's prep camp."
We leveled spots by the wall, laid leaves, gathered wood for a campfire.
"Man, starving."
Once set, we pulled out rations. I warmed mine by the fire and scarfed it down. Then collapsed into sleep. Safe by the wall—no watch needed.