Chapter 134
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134
The following afternoon.
After returning from the dungeon and getting a full day’s rest, our party gathered in the Student Council room.
Beatrice was still resting for health reasons, so only the remaining six of us were present. Yulina wasn't technically entitled to a share, but she had tagged along to collect Beatrice’s portion on her behalf.
With everyone watching, I opened Beatrice’s Subspace Pouch and began distributing the gold ingots we had hauled back from the dungeon.
"We acquired a total of one hundred gold ingots from this expedition. I’m taking twenty, and the rest will be divided among you."
I distributed the ingots based on each person’s contribution.
Fifteen for Ciel, fifteen for Bell, ten for Chloe, and ten for Melga. The remaining thirty were Beatrice’s share. As agreed, Yulina was excluded from the distribution for this expedition.
"..."
She stared blankly as the others collected their gold. From her expression, it was clear she deeply regretted her promise to forgo any reward in exchange for joining the party. Still, Beatrice would likely share a fair amount of her gold, so Yulina wouldn't be going home empty-handed. Besides, as an imperial princess, she wasn't exactly hurting for money.
And so, the gleaming yellow gold ingots were piled before each of them.
Ciel silently stacked her ingots beside her, while Chloe was so excited she started jumping up and down, dancing on the spot. Bell, seeing such a fortune for the first time in her life, stood frozen with her jaw hanging open. Melga gave his pile a cursory glance before tossing them aside, seemingly uninterested.
It was an amusing sight, seeing their vastly different reactions.
"Next is the distribution of the Elemental Stones."
Clatter—.
I laid out ten Elemental Stones on the table. I picked up five of them and tucked them into my pocket.
"As the leader of this expedition, I’ll take five. Any objections?"
"None."
Everyone agreed, acknowledging my performance during the expedition.
Five Elemental Stones remained. The Fire attribute went to Bell, the Wood attribute to Chloe, and the Steel attribute to Ciel. The Water and Earth attributes were set aside for Beatrice.
Melga frowned. "Is there no share for me?"
"Yours is right here, separate. It’s far more valuable than some pebbles."
I handed Melga a bundle of blueprints tied together. His eyes lit up the moment he examined them.
"Th-This is!"
"That’s right. These are the blueprints for the Dwarf Mechanical Guardians we defeated. The Dungeon Keeper’s blueprint is in there, too. The automated manufacturing process is also documented, so make good use of it."
At this, Melga burst into a hearty laugh.
"Gahahaha! Yes! This is the real treasure, not some pebbles infused with elemental power!"
"Ah, and you can also take the various parts we salvaged from the dungeon to your workshop. That should be enough, right?"
After clearing the dungeon, we had crammed as many of the Dungeon Keeper’s broken parts as possible into Beatrice’s Subspace Pouch. Each piece was an out-of-place artifact in its own right, imbued with the craftsmanship of ancient dwarves and holding immense potential for analysis. By carefully studying these blueprints and the parts we brought back, he should be able to replicate ancient dwarven technology in no time.
Melga grinned from ear to ear.
"Of course, this is more than enough. In fact, I don’t even need the gold ingots. What am I going to do with a bunch of gold lumps like this? You can just have them. Ah, but wait... I do need some money for research and materials. What should I do?"
Melga, who usually had zero interest in the monetary value of gold, was now lost in thought as he realized he needed funds for his research.
I looked at him, recalling a specific detail from the game.
‘The triplet dwarves are single-minded eccentrics who only care about inventing.’
It was so bad that Meister Academy had eventually restricted their access to the warehouse, telling them to stop blowing the budget on materials. Understanding his situation, I made him a proposal.
"In that case, Melga, if you entrust your gold ingots to me, I’ll give you a dividend each month corresponding to a certain percentage of the principal."
"A dividend?"
"That’s right. I’ll handle the hassle of cashing them in. All you have to do is withdraw the money that gets deposited into your account like clockwork."
The proposal I’d just made was the textbook pitch of a con artist—a fraudulent scheme where they promise regular dividends if you hand over the principal, only to vanish with the money.
However, I had no intention of scamming him. I could use his gold to generate a much larger sum and support him with it, making it a win-win situation.
"Hoho. Well, I’d be grateful if you did. My brothers and I are clueless when it comes to managing funds, anyway. I’ll leave all but one ingot with you. Come to think of it, I should probably melt one down for research."
Just as Melga readily accepted the offer, Chloe spoke up.
"Mr. Melga, that’s a classic scam, you know? It’s been in the papers a few times. Are you sure about this?"
"Ehei. You really think Roen would pull a scam? Even if he did, I’m sure this diligent student next to him would keep him in line."
Melga glanced at Ciel, who nodded as if to say she understood.
With Melga’s gold ingots sorted out, the distribution of the spoils was complete. Yulina then spoke in a trembling voice.
"U-um... Is there really nothing for me?"
I shrugged.
"Didn't you say it yourself? You wouldn't take a share as long as we let you join the expedition."
"..."
"Beatrice will share some with you anyway, so what are you so worried about? It’s not like the Imperial Princess is short on cash."
"That’s true, but..."
Yulina fidgeted, her eyes darting toward the gold ingots and Elemental Stones the others had received.
"Hmm."
Seeing how disappointed she looked, I decided to be generous and handed her a single gold ingot.
"Here. This isn't me telling you to take it and scram. Just accept it. A small token of my goodwill."
Pat, pat—.
I patted Yulina’s shoulder and gave her a grin.
"Y-You..."
Her rapidly changing expression was quite a sight. In any case, this brought the Ether Dungeon expedition to a complete close.
*
After the party left, the Student Council room fell silent once more.
I’d have to ask Alfredo to cash in the gold ingots stacked next to my desk later. Including the ones Melga entrusted to me, it would be worth at least ten billion or more.
‘If I dump all of this on the market at once, the value will plummet.’
The intrinsic value of the gold wouldn't change much, but its value as an antique or research material—'ancient dwarven gold'—would drop significantly. I’d have to ask Alfredo to time the sales appropriately.
And instead of cashing it all in, I could save a certain amount to use in crafting the Azoth Sword. Gold is an excellent alchemical catalyst, after all.
‘Dwarven gold ingots are high-grade, with a purity close to 100 percent.’
If I could melt and process these properly, I might be able to craft at least an [Epic] grade item.
Following the gold, I took out the Elemental Stones and examined them one by one. The ores, which held the power of the elements, reflected the light like jewels on the table.
At first, I had planned to craft the Azoth Sword using only materials that matched my origin attribute, but now I decided to make use of all these Elemental Stones. An Azoth Sword containing the power of all Five Elements could be used as an all-purpose artifact, capable of responding to any situation. Moreover, the interactions between the elements could create countless variables, making its applications virtually limitless.
The crafting difficulty would increase, but it was a price worth paying. And there was another reason for my decision: the new Trait I had acquired during this dungeon expedition, [Elemental Affinity].
Ting—.
I opened my trait window and examined the new entry.
[Elemental Affinity]
* You have received the blessing of the Ether Dungeon. You acquire an affinity for a specific element.
* Strengthens your affinity for the selected element. You can only choose one element at a time.
* Currently selected attribute: [Fire (火)]
I mulled over the description.
‘In some ways, [Elemental Affinity] is similar to the [Overload] trait.’
If [Overload] was an ability that temporarily boosted a specific stat, [Elemental Affinity] was an ability that strengthened one’s affinity for a specific element. Unlike Overload, this enhancement wasn't temporary; it could be maintained semi-permanently once selected.
For example, if I had to fight against Fire-attribute guardians, I could simply select the Water (水) attribute with [Elemental Affinity] to increase the power of my water magic. Then, if the situation changed and I had to fight Steel-attribute mechanical devices, I could switch my [Elemental Affinity] to the Fire (火) attribute.
Although I could only choose one attribute at a time, it was a powerful trait that allowed me to enhance my elemental affinity based on the situation and my needs. This trait was perfect for properly utilizing an Azoth Sword imbued with the power of the Five Elements. If I could master this power through the Azoth Sword, my combat strength would increase three or fourfold.
I fell into thought, picturing the various materials needed to craft the sword.
‘I’ll have to ask Alfredo to procure the rest.’
I was deep in planning, considering the spoils of the expedition and my future, when it happened.
Knock, knock—.
Someone was knocking on the door of the Student Council room.
"Come in."
After a short wait, the door slowly opened, and a student entered hesitantly. A familiar turquoise ponytail and pointed ears—an elf with a look of trepidation.
It was Kiriel.
I put the Elemental Stones back into my pocket and spoke.
"You're here. Looks like you've made up your mind. Where are your friends?"
"...I came alone."
"Hoh, you can finally walk around by yourself? I'm impressed."
She was always hiding behind her aide friends, but it seemed today's decision had motivated her to start facing things on her own. Kiriel grumbled at my remark.
"What are you talking about? I could always walk around by myself, you know? They're the ones who get anxious and follow me around."
‘They have good reason to be anxious.’
I could understand how her aides felt. She was a tomboy of a president who could bolt off anywhere at any time.
Kiriel plopped down on the sofa and asked cautiously, "Can I really improve my grades if you teach me?"
I answered readily. "Yes. It will depend on your effort, but you'll at least do better than you are now."
"But not as fast as you, right?"
"Of course not. I'm a genius and you're an idiot."
"...!"
Kiriel flinched and looked like she was about to snap, but she sat back down and swallowed her anger. It seemed she understood her own situation well.
"Looks like you've fixed that habit of flaring up at everything. A good sign."
With those words, I took out a document and handed it to her. Before I started teaching her Spiritology, I wanted to make things clear with a contract.
"Read it and sign."
I had written it simply enough for even Kiriel to understand, so there shouldn't be any problems. After slowly reading the document with a frown, Kiriel looked up.
"Huh? Only one hour a week? Can I even study with just this?"
I leaned back comfortably in my chair and sighed. "I'm a busy man. I can't afford to be tied up with your studies."
I had to handle Student Council duties while taking 40 credits a semester. And that wasn't all. I had to collect hidden pieces, make money through various means, and meet with different characters to raise my affinity with them. On top of that, I had to train to improve my own martial prowess, practice magic, and craft artifacts. And I also had to prepare for the main story's enemy factions.
I was in a situation where even three or four bodies wouldn't be enough. The only reason this lifestyle was sustainable was thanks to Union’s practical-focused curriculum, which meant there were no assignments for theoretical subjects.
I continued, "And an hour a week is enough. You excel in practical application. Written studies are just the foundation for moving on to practical work. All you need to do is learn to express your innate talent through words and formulas."
"H-Hmph. I guess I am pretty talented."
I gave Kiriel a moderate amount of praise to encourage her to sign.
"Go on and sign it."
"Uh, okay. But what's this special clause written here?"
"It's nothing. You can ignore it."
I had written, in minuscule print, a clause stating that any items discovered on Voltimir Territory land—and in the ground beneath it—belong to the discoverer. This was to clarify ownership of the spoils from this dungeon expedition, like the gold ingots and Elemental Stones. The Ether Dungeon was located beneath the Black Forest and the Lake of Wrath, both of which were on Voltimir Territory.
Of course, there hadn't been any issues when we explored the basement of the abandoned school on Eredor Territory, but it was always best to have these things in writing to avoid trouble later.
"Well, it's probably nothing. Here."
I took the document Kiriel had signed and said, "A good choice. I expect you to study hard from now on. Since you're here, shall we start our first lesson today?"
"R-Right now?" Kiriel’s ears perked up, as if she hadn't expected that.
"Yes. It's a hassle to coordinate our schedules, so let's just get it over with while you're here."
"Ah, uh..." Kiriel fidgeted nervously at the prospect of starting immediately. After a moment of thought, her eyes lit up. "My book! I don't have my textbook with me right now! Let's do it next time when I bring it."
"What next time? I have a Spiritology textbook right here. I also have the midterm exam paper and a quiz sheet."
"..."
I took the exam papers from the bookshelf and placed them in front of Kiriel along with a pen.
"Alright, let's test your skills and see if you've been reviewing diligently. Try taking the pop quiz and the midterm exam you took before one more time."