Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Dungeon
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"Ah, morning already."
I opened my eyes to find the sun rising in the distance. The murky sky was gradually being dyed by the morning sunlight. My throat was parched as I sat up and shook awake my companions.
"Already morning? I'm exhausted."
"Let's get inside quick. Sleeping out here is fucking freezing."
Kobson got up first, followed by Meria rubbing her eyes sleepily. Elise was already awake, sitting there reading a book. I wondered what it was—it was the bible she always carried with her.
"Good morning. Shall we head in now?"
Elise closed the book, tucked it into her waist sash, and stood. Four grotesque skulls were already dangling from her belt. They were all the skulls of skeleton mages etched with pagan symbols. What kind of voodoo nun was she?
We headed straight for the city gates. They were already open. A world-weary uncle guard and a young woman with twintails stood on either side. The uncle seemed to be the senior, as he gave a nod and the woman hurried over.
"What business you got?"
"Ah, we're adventurers returning from a quest. We got here at night and camped by the gates."
"Adventurers, huh? Got your tags?"
Most guards skipped the formalities, but she asked for our adventurer tags. We rummaged through our pockets and pulled them out. Mine was a copper tag issued by the Krasheim Adventurer's Guild.
It was from when I'd ranked up to E-rank—a few years old now, tarnished. Been a while since I last pulled it out.
"All three confirmed. And that nun over there?"
Elise silently undid her rosary and showed it. The guard stared intently at the glowing cross necklace before speaking up.
"Uh... so, what religion is that?"
Come on, you dense idiot, just let us in.
The uncle guard watching us seemed fed up and chimed in.
"Hey, don't you know it? It's the Radiant Cross Society. Let 'em in already."
"Ah, yes. Sorry about that. Go on in."
"Thanks for your service."
I gave a slight bow as we entered the city.
"Alright, let's go sell off our loot."
"Yeah."
Now that we were back in the city, it was time to offload everything we'd picked up and turn it into coin. Split the money, and done. That would perfectly wrap up our thrilling dungeon trip.
"Sister Elise, let's hit the nearest smithy first. Everyone, follow me."
And so we bustled through the streets, hawking our goods. First stop: the smithy. We planned to sell the two knives we'd stripped from that ragged adventurer's corpse.
"Two knives? Hmm, the edges are a bit nicked. Forty copper each—eighty total."
I glanced at my companions. Eighty copper split four ways was twenty each. Not bad. Kobson and Meria said it was fine, and Elise didn't mind. I handed over the knives.
"Pleasure doing business."
The smithy owner bid us farewell. We stepped out right away and I divvied up twenty copper per person.
"Here, twenty each."
"Where to next?"
Meria asked, pocketing four five-copper coins.
"Dunno. I'd like to unload these imp horns and mimic teeth first. Carrying them around feels ominous."
The mimic teeth were one thing, but the imp horns were straight-up repulsive on a visceral level. Humanoid monsters always creeped me out more, no matter what. That's why imps were so gross. I wanted them gone ASAP.
"Then the Alchemist's Guild would be best. They pay better for magic materials than the Magic Tower does."
"Alchemist's Guild? Never been. You know where it is?"
"Follow me. I'll show you."
This time, we trailed Kobson. Keeping up with his long strides, we turned down alleys and emerged onto a main street where the Alchemist's Guild loomed, its roof topped with a giant potion bottle. Kobson took the teeth and horns from me and pushed open the door.
"Mimic teeth and imp horns gathered yesterday. What's your offer?"
He pitched his voice low at the counter—because the clerk was a woman. Did this guy seriously need to deepen his voice around girls to speak?
"Oho, mimic teeth. Rare stuff. Gathered yesterday, you say?"
"Yep. Fresh from the dungeon. Pulled 'em right from a live one."
The robed woman clerk appraised the materials with a magnifying glass. It didn't take long.
"This one's cracked—no good. Too small, this one's got a chip. Eight intact ones—thirty-two copper. Imp horns at three each, six copper total."
Eight mimic teeth for thirty-two copper? I let out a quiet gasp. If I'd been solo hunting, this would've been a goldmine. Four copper per tooth. Even picky about quality, it was break-even at worst.
I etched into my mind: mimic teeth = valuable. Those mimic bastards were actually pretty generous.
"Good? Total thirty-eight copper."
Nine and a half per person—not bad. We hadn't expected much from raw materials anyway. The real prizes were the pewter cup and staff.
Meria and Elise agreed, and as Kobson took the money, I jumped in.
"Oh, and we found some ancient trinkets in the dungeon. You buy those too?"
"Ancient trinkets? Let me see."
The word piqued her interest.
I pulled out the necklace, ring, and earrings I'd kept, showing them one by one. With each item, I could see her enthusiasm visibly deflate in real time.
"These aren't really ancient artifacts—just old metal scraps. No magic aura, so I can't buy them."
"I see. What about this staff? It's quite valuable."
Since we were here, I set the staff on the counter, hoping to sell it too. My heart started pounding. How much was an evil magic staff worth?
"Black crystal? Unusual, but cracked. Mind if I appraise it?"
"Sure."
"Let's see..."
This time she brought out appraisal tools. She seemed more interested than with the trinkets.
It was a staff used by skeleton mages, after all. Had to be pricey.
"Crystal's in bad shape. One silver."
"One silver?"
I nearly fell over in shock.
No way—I figured at least three. What bullshit was this?
Was this chick a scammer?
No, total scam. Alchemists were all con artists and top-tier swindlers. They ripped off clueless adventurers like this all the time—pure human garbage.
Offended, I shot up from my seat.
One silver was decent money, but not for this staff.
"That's way too low. We'll shop around."
"One silver fifty copper then?"
Suddenly a 50% hike. Who did she think she was fooling? Jacking the price right after a refusal? Her face looked a bit desperate now—she had more wiggle room.
"Why the sudden half-again? No sale."
"Two silver."
"Whoa, doubled in a flash. Guys, let's go!"
"Wait, hold on...!"
I stormed out of the Alchemist's Guild. Fucking crooks. Back in Krasheim, I'd paid two silver for goddamn antiseptic ointment. No way this staff was worth less than that salve.
Elise and I exited immediately, but Meria and Kobson took a bit longer.
"What the hell?"
The two who came out weren't carrying the staff anymore.
"You guys sold it?"
"Of course. Two silver thirty copper. Good deal, right? I'm wondering why you didn't sell."
"Hmm... Katt, maybe you should just go back and sell yours now?"
These crazy idiots.
"No, listen. They jacked it up over double instantly—something's fishy. They definitely lowballed us."
"Even if they did, what if they drop it next time? Sell at a fair price when it's fair—that's how you avoid losses."
Kobson spouted nonsense that almost sounded reasonable. I nearly bought it, but no—it stank. I bet they'd have snapped it up at three silver easy.
Fine. Time to level up my appraisal skills. I'd shop this staff around myself and get its true value.
"Meria, you think so too?"
"Hmm... two silver thirty feels fair?"
"Goddamn it... At least Sister Elise is the wise one here."
"Ah, I'm donating mine to the church."
Got it.
"Anyway, just the trinkets and pewter cup left. I figure a jeweler, gem shop, or antique dealer."
"No clue—never dealt with those. Where are they?"
"I'll lead this time. Let's go."
Girls really knew their fancy goods. I had no money for luxuries and zero interest, so I was clueless there.
My whole isekai life, I'd never owned real accessories. Except that necklace I took off the bandit last time. Come to think of it, I still had it. Keep it as emergency cash and sell later.
Following Meria led us to a tidy street. It was clean because adventurers rarely came through. Most of us shit, ate, and tossed wherever, so high-traffic spots got filthy naturally.
"Antique shop first."
We entered the cramped antique shop. A well-dressed old man bowed politely.
"Adventurers, eh? Found some old relics in a dungeon?"
"Damn, you nailed it on sight."
Fuck, if even this antique shop wouldn't take our ancient trash, we were screwed. We'd be sobbing on the spot.
"Show me what you have."
"One sec—got a lot..."
I pulled out the items, equal parts hope and dread.