Descent into the Magic Palace
We'd arrived at the Mongrel Kingdom, but no level up from the constellations? After marveling at Hero Daegomgei's divine sword sealing the Magic Palace, we grabbed a room at an inn first. The innkeeper glanced slyly at me and Larirure, her face twisting into a troubled frown.
"We've only got one room left."
"Huh? But innkeeper, last night you said you had plenty—"
A customer nearby trying to pipe up suddenly crumpled, clutching his shin after Larirure kicked it hard.
The innkeeper ranted on about how there was just the one room and one big bed. Larirure, who could've afforded two if she wanted, shrugged it off with a "Guess we got no choice" and booked the single room.
"...Don't we need to make money?"
No, shouldn't the innkeeper be the one making money? But she just averted her eyes from mine. I found out later she was a fellow dwarf, muttering something about her clan's future riding on "the young miss" while scarfing down food.
Time to make a plan. Our original one had gone out the window, so we headed to the adventurer's guild in the Mongrel Kingdom to check collection quests and map out our schedule. Earning cash was part of it, sure, but growth was the real goal. They say hunting stronger monsters boosts your race's potential. Fantasy logic, I guess. Something about accumulating karma. The catch? You need to attune mana to your body first. Karma builds up fine, but your flesh has limits on how much it can handle. You grow by tempering your body with mana.
So for me... does that mean I'm capped even if I hunt monsters? And apparently, you don't just shoot up in power overnight. Talent varies by race, so unless you're chasing strength, it's a real grind. In the end, it's all about your gifts—opportunities, race, talent, skills... whatever you're born with. To jump from C-grade to B-grade adventurer, you need something exceptional. S-grades must have mastered at least one thing to the extreme. Especially killing people—they're pros at it. Best to run if you ever fight one.
In other words, the constellations need to hook me up with a skill that lets me acquire mana. No telling when that'd drop, but hey, they've given me decent ones so far. No rushing—play it slow. Skills shine when combined anyway.
"Alright, next up: a rundown on the Magic Palace."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Deep in the Magic Palace lurk demons, otherworldly beasts from beyond dimensions, all sorts of horrors. And at the 1000th floor? An Evil God. It broke its seal, climbed up to wreck the Chronicle Continent under the gods' watch."
"So the heroes teamed up and took it down?"
"Daegomgei solo-cleared all 1000 floors, saved Hero Park Chun-sik, then cleaved the Evil God solo."
"Uh, what were the other two heroes even doing?"
"Explanations would take forever—study up later!"
No matter how I sliced it, two out of four heroes seemed pointless. One guy did everything. That massive black sword? It's jammed in to seal monsters from spilling out of the Magic Palace.
"What about the Evil God reviving?"
"They tore its limbs off, from what I hear."
What kind of heroes were they? The gods certified it as obliterated, not just revived, so no worries there. Even after the Evil God died, the Magic Palace sucks in continental filth and corruption like a pit, spawning monsters naturally from its living depths. Life's mysteries or whatever. Keeps adventurers in business, at least.
The Magic Palace is all dark dungeon layers. Monsters form ecosystems, eating each other. Deeper you go, tougher they get. Gateposts with layer portals let you travel between floors midway.
"But F-grades can't use 'em. C-grades can hit 50 floors."
No transfer traps or nasty monsters up to 100. Adventurers raid for scraps and scrap over them, so stay sharp. Big hauls draw opportunists eyeing backsides.
"Party up carefully too. Scammers and backstabbers lurk. Not like the Trust Union. Inside the Magic Palace, some adventurers are worse than monsters. Get caught, you're branded criminal—but idiots risk it anyway."
"Good thing I'm partying with you, Larirure—no betrayal worries. Two-person party's enough, right?"
"Yep. Max one more if you stretch it. Easiest to handle if they grab you hostage."
Stick with our party, avoid others. Help those in need but let 'em climb solo. Can't use Return, so buy Return Stones—one per party member, no matter the cost, she advised.
"What's a Return Stone?"
"Hero Park Chun-sik's invention. Giant crystal orb at the entrance? God-blessed relic. Use it as anchor to evac from inside the Magic Palace. Built 'cause so many die down there."
"Still... those other two heroes seem useless...?"
Anyway, we shelled out for them. Who knows what disasters the Magic Palace holds? Heroes attract or stumble into trouble, clearly.
All we've got left is 8 GP, 120 SP... Not much else either. Old weapons, three new knives. Spellbook pages down to two. One Return Stone in the bag. Time to grind cash for real.
We hit the guild for Magic Palace entry permits. Signed a magical oath document—violating it flags you for attacks on adventurers, treaty breach. Even with gods watching, crimes happen. Morons or fearless?
"Baa— Long time no see, Larirure."
"Yeah, been a while, Nox. Few years?"
"Since you set up that matchmaking here... a year ago. Who's the human beside you?"
Black sheep horns, fluffy wool-like hair, sleepy-eyed woman in receptionist garb with wool peeking at her neck. No shoes, cloven goat legs. Straight out of Greek myths—a satyr in the flesh.
"Y-you okay with this? She's a demon...?"
"Not elves, so should be fine? Don't worry—Radamu's clueless anyway."
"Human sir, why meet a girl like her...?"
Thwack! The demon girl's head met Larirure's furious palm strike. "We're a party! Radamu can't live without me!" she bellowed desperately, loud enough for guild adventurers to stare. I grabbed her shoulders to calm her; she quieted instantly.
"Pleased to meet you. Helena Knox Ramuh—demon, as you see. Know demons live in the Trust Union?"
"Heard about it."
"Our kind's hard to pin down. Usually, they tell you themselves."
Shear and sell the wool...? She invited questions anytime, gauging my human curiosity. I asked about a library—none here, but a data room for monster ecology. Check Magic Palace ecosystem when free. Meant to before, but no time amid chaos.
"First human I've seen born."
Her sheep-like horizontal pupils stared up in wonder. "Rare as hell in Mongrel Kingdom... Laurel Guild leader's an elf—met her?"
"Huh? Elf?"
"Oops, sensitive for humans? Trust Union has elves too."
What the...? Larirure nagged me to study history. We got permits; Nox waved us off, asking for adventure tales later.
"Damn, Nox. Elf talk's touchy with humans."
"That bad?"
"What do you know? Or not know... Sigh... What to do with this cute dummy."
No say in it—she'd drag me everywhere forever. Her choice. Following her lead, the Magic Palace entrance was disappointingly mundane. Like a mine shaft. Steps plunged down immediately, revealing torch-lit underground labyrinth.
Larirure showed a thick Magic Palace map book—blunt weapon material for goblins. "Thinnest one, 200 layers. Whole thing's 999. 1000th collapsed in the hero-Evil God fight?" Maze-like depths screamed "easy to get lost."
"Minimum 50-layer runs to make bank."
"Whoa, how far down?"
"Elevator here."
Civilization's wonders... Around the corner: elevator to 100 layers. One every 100 floors. Past 700, you're on foot—far off for us.
"Didn't wanna risk life hunting monsters..."
Tailing her worried ass, we dropped to 50. Hobgoblins (goblin superiors) and orcs from here. Orcs split: civilized folk vs. monsters.
"Like bandits?"
"Rights get messy. Union orcs are people. Outside? Fair game."
Law's a tangle. Magic Palace ones are mute beasts—kill away. But an orc adventurer? Murder risk...
After slimy snails, white ants... black puddings too. Monster fights started brutal. Hobgoblins barely bigger than goblins—not too scary. But one-shot for me? Total stats 21—tears.
Here it comes.
"Kieek...?"
While pondering, a hobgoblin appeared, eyeing the glowing thing on the floor. Fluorescent T-Rex toy gleamed alluringly. Dazzled, it approached—Metal Mimic smash to the skull. My weak strength + pot durability crushed it flat. Black pudding-proof indeed. Hobgoblin flopped dead.
Next: chucked the fluorescent dino. Hid in shadows, breath held. Larirure watched my hunt practice. Second hobgoblin fell for it, met the pot.
"Kieeeek!!!"
This one had backup? It spotted me, bone knife in left hand, charging.
Left hand!
Cast Handshake—knife clattered, hobgoblin gripped my hand, dumbstruck. Before I recovered, it shook free and lunged. Low-IQ monster: dodged left, it swung left.
"Deadly Queen!"
Boom! Hand blasted airborne. Metal Mimic to pelvis unbalanced it. Secondary blast stunned—smashed face, ended it.
"50 layers are a breeze."
"Wonder how far this works."
Hunting stayed easy. Lizard-like fluorescent dinos lured snake monsters—heads pulped. Beasts followed chicken fry scent rolling on floor—dumbly approached, skulls caved.
"Thanks, constellations!"
Fluorescent dinos and chicken fry for the win!