Bound for Wiseville
Yuri spoke calmly. "Some of our ancestors felt ashamed that they survived the Great Eruption."
"The Great Eruption?"
"The Crafolt Kingdom. Have you heard of it?"
"The underground kingdom of humans."
"That's right. The people of the kingdom tried to make the underground as livable as the surface, following the will of the three gods. Enormous construction projects continued beyond imagination, and the world we call the Underworld was completed."
...This was a story I didn't know well. I'd never seriously thought about the lore.
"Do you know there's another world beneath the ground?"
"The hollow Earth theory?"
"Earth? I'm not sure about that, but the meaning seems similar. While digging deeper, the kingdom's people discovered another hidden world underground. And there were natives living there."
"...Demons, then."
"Correct. Beings that had lived since before the gods' touch reached the world. Races that had fallen into eternal slumber, waiting for the day the world would become livable again, were awakened by human hands."
I didn't know the story, but I knew that hordes of demon bastards appeared in the late game. And I hated demons. They were a pain to fight.
"The humans suffered a crushing defeat in their war against the demons. The entire kingdom burned, and the temples of the three gods collapsed."
Yuri recounted the events from long ago in a detached tone.
"At that time... I don't know what the humans were thinking, but they caused a massive explosion, attempting to self-destruct along with the demons. It was probably to prevent the demons from reaching the surface."
"That must have been the Great Eruption."
"Yes. Humans and various underground races joined forces. An enormous amount of power was needed to gather enough explosive force."
Yuri's voice grew quieter. It was time to talk about the dark history of the Spriggans.
"...But our ancestors thought dying like that would be miserable. So the Spriggans betrayed the underground races and hid in dark underground caves. There, they chose complete isolation and continued their own history."
In hindsight, the Spriggans' decision at the time was correct. The kingdom's people and underground races who attempted self-destruction were completely annihilated along with the demons. On the other hand, the Spriggans survived...
"After that, the three gods ascended to the surface and rebuilt the world. A tiny number of human survivors once again became the masters of the surface. At the time, the Spriggans thought Lady Eshgal would take care of the children of the earth. But Lady Eshgal never returned to the Spriggans."
Yuri spoke with a slightly trembling voice.
"We Spriggans... envy the humans chosen by Lady Eshgal, yet at the same time we hate them. We can't accept the fact that we've been abandoned by the Earth Mother Goddess."
"But you still serve the Earth Mother Goddess, Yuri."
At my question, Yuri gave a sorrowful smile.
"Parents can abandon their children, but children cannot abandon their parents."
I thought for a moment. According to Yuri, the Earth Goddess Eshgal had abandoned the Spriggans and ascended to the surface. The world created that way was the current roguelike world... But people in this world didn't even know who Eshgal was?
"Hmm."
Should I ask a Dungeon Seeker? Or a Guardian? Either way, I didn't think I'd get the answer I wanted easily.
"I don't know what your purpose is for exploring the Underworld, but you'd better stay sharp. All sorts of terrible monsters are swarming down there."
"I'll keep that in mind."
I already knew how difficult the late-game dungeons were without Yuri explaining. But I wasn't particularly worried. Someone who'd poured a thousand hours into an early-access pixel-graphic turn-based roguelike game wasn't about to suddenly fear dungeon exploration.
"I'll make good use of the gift."
"Go well, Hajun. It would be nice if we meet again someday."
After receiving our reward from Yuri, we stayed in the village for a few more days. Only after resting sufficiently and watching the village being rebuilt did we ascend to the surface. Our party left Moro Mine. Heading back to Runen in search of new adventures.
#
"Man, it really feels good to set foot on solid ground after surviving!"
Noman's energy had been one level higher than everyone else's throughout the return trip. Unlike Alma, who had calmed down, and Roa, who was originally quiet, Noman wouldn't stop chattering excitedly about the expedition.
"There were moments when we almost died, but we overcame them together by combining our strength! I guess this is what teamwork is all about? At this point, why don't the four of us form a permanent party and—"
"Noman."
"Yes! Alma!"
"Shut your mouth before I throw you out of the carriage."
Noman flinched slightly but still didn't stop humming, apparently in a good mood. I left him alone. Surviving a near-death crisis and successfully completing the mission to earn a large sum of money was a thrilling experience. Having gone through it myself, I could understand how excited Noman was.
Upon arriving in Runen, we sold the jewels we received as compensation for money and parted ways on the spot.
"Thank you all for your hard work."
"You worked hard too."
"Go rest well."
"L-Let's meet up sometime and have a meal together..."
I returned to the Necromancer Guild. It was still quiet and gloomy. But the Necromancer Guild, where you never knew what might be buried underground. I holed up in the guild without even going out. I spent a lot of time checking for useful magic to learn and analyzing the map I received from Yuri.
When I first fell into this other world, everything had felt vague and hopeless. But with each dungeon I cleared, the possibility of returning to my original world increased little by little. At this rate... returning home wasn't an impossible task.
Reach level 9. Or level 10, clear the final dungeon, and obtain the Crown of the Forgotten. That was all I wanted.
Now that I was approaching level 5, it seemed like a good time to start preparing for the first divine dungeon. After finishing my preparations over a little more than a week, I headed out into the streets again. It had been a really long time since I'd visited the Explorer's Association when I unexpectedly ran into familiar faces.
"Hey! Hajun!"
Sion, the young man with short ash-gray hair. And Jangcheok, the middle-aged explorer.
"Oh. You two are still alive."
"Of course, you bastard. It's good to see you after so long!"
And the man standing next to them was also someone I knew well.
"It's been a while, Hajun!"
It was Noman, the Dungeon Seeker with an innocent expression.
Jangcheok, Sion, and Noman. The three of them had been sitting in the explorer's rest area when they spotted me passing by.
"What a coincidence."
"Right? Heh heh. Since this is fate, how about we have a drink here..."
"I'm busy, so I'll be going."
I tried to hurry away, but Jangcheok grabbed me in the end. It wasn't that I disliked them. But those three people... their combination was just too unstable.
Jangcheok forcibly dragged me to a table and sat me down. Inside the explorer's rest area where a small lantern burned, Jangcheok began to speak.
"The last time we saw each other was after we rescued that alchemist girl, right? Probably?"
"Yes. I went to Oricil with Maya. What have you two been up to?"
"I've been working with Sion the whole time. We went to a dungeon once and took on escort missions nonstop. The explorer business has been booming lately, so there's plenty of work."
I checked the two men's status windows.
[Jangcheok (Lv 4)]
[Class: Raider]
[Sion (Lv 3)]
[Class: Ironclad]
Both had gained a level since I last saw them. It seemed they hadn't been lying about steadily handling work.
"A boom doesn't necessarily mean good things. It means monsters are increasing while explorers are decreasing."
"Tsk. That's true. I heard there aren't many new explorers these days. Even the guilds are reluctant to send people to explorer parties."
Because there were too few Copper-grade explorers, veteran explorers like Jangcheok could receive work nonstop. Even if the pay was small, the work was safe and there were many jobs, so it was worth doing.
"That's why I'm saying this. This time, with me..."
"I'll pass."
I tried to stand up from my seat. Jangcheok spoke in alarm.
"Hey, you bastard. At least hear someone out to the end!"
"What is it?"
"Hajun, you bastard. You've become a complete coward while I wasn't looking. Are you that scared of working? You've been holed up in the guild reading books this whole time, haven't you?"
The mission itself didn't scare me. But people could be scary. Jangcheok and Sion. And with Noman added... it wouldn't be strange if something happened.
"Hajun. This is a suggestion I'm making because I care about you."
"You care about me?"
"Yeah. The mission is escorting goods from Runen to Wiseville. Wiseville isn't that far, and the monsters that appear are just dire wolves and goblins."
Sion spoke with a languid smile. He seemed much calmer than before. Maybe he'd grown a bit.
"And Wiseville is where Jangcheok's house is."
Sion brought up something unexpected. Jangcheok's house?
"That's right! We took on an escort mission on the way back home. Hajun, you bastard, I'm telling you this out of consideration for the bond we formed suffering together in the dungeon, and you're just acting busy..."
Jangcheok grumbled to himself in displeasure. He wasn't actually sulking because I wouldn't take the mission with him, was he?
An escort mission to Wiseville was really a good request. Wiseville was a pioneer town not far from Runen. There were no threatening monsters, and with explorers and guards stationed there, it was safe. The monsters we'd encounter during the escort didn't seem particularly dangerous either...
I sat back down.
"I was too hasty. It was my mistake for not considering your feelings, Jangcheok."
"Ahem. As long as you understand! So, are you taking the mission or not?"
"I'll do it."
When I answered, Jangcheok grinned, the corners of his mouth lifting. His pleasure was obvious. He was a simple man.
The pay probably wouldn't be much. But taking a short break like this wasn't bad either. Staying cooped up underground all the time wasn't good for mental health.
"By the way, how did Noman end up..."
Noman laughed awkwardly.
"Well, I tried to find dungeon exploration missions, but it wasn't as easy as I thought."
"You just played around here after finishing the mission with us?"
"I met a few dungeon exploration parties, but they all turned me down..."
I nodded without realizing it. Whoever they were, they must have been wise party leaders.
"While I was playing around, these people happened to receive a mission and came out, so I thought I should do something and joined in."
Noman spoke with sparkling eyes.
"Don't you think we have some kind of connection? I'm really looking forward to this mission!"
...I wasn't looking forward to it at all.
I filled out the party application form on the spot. The next mission was escorting goods to Wiseville.
#
Our party left Runen aboard a carriage provided by the merchant caravan. The long line of carriages in front and behind were loaded with various daily necessities and goods. All of them were items to be sold in Wiseville.
The hired explorers were just the four of us. There weren't many guards compared to the amount of goods, but since the road was safe, it should be sufficient.
It had been a really long time since I'd traveled by carriage along a road that smelled of grass. A moderately blue sky and bright yellow sunlight. A gentle mountain breeze. As I sat blankly among the carriages leaving long wheel tracks, my miscellaneous thoughts and worries melted away like snow.
To think it could be this peaceful just because it wasn't underground.
Jangcheok had fallen asleep, and Noman had climbed onto the roof, saying he'd learned somewhere that he should prepare for ambushes. I didn't know what a Dungeon Seeker climbing onto the roof was supposed to accomplish, but I didn't stop him since he wanted to suffer voluntarily.
"What have you been up to?"
Sion asked, tossing me an apple. It was bright red and looked delicious. I took a bite of the apple and said,
"Nothing much. Did some escort work, cleared some dungeons. Killed some monsters."
"Sounds ordinary."
Considering everything I'd been through, it was anything but ordinary. I'd worked my ass off. Compared to that, Sion didn't seem to have suffered much since we parted ways at the Ant Cave. No scars, no missing limbs. The only change was that his hair had grown out and become a bit fuller?
"The old man and I went into a dungeon last time..."
Perhaps because his mouth was bored, Sion started recounting stories without being asked. I listened blankly to Sion's tales of valor. To summarize, they found treasure in the dungeon and made a decent profit. That kind of story.
There was no explorer who hated money.
"Jangcheok seems like he wants to quit working for a while."
"He's been at it for a long time."
Being an explorer wasn't something you could do for long. If you thought about what I'd experienced in dungeons so far, you'd get the idea. There were very few people who remained active as explorers into their mid-forties. In that sense, Jangcheok was an extremely rare case.
"His son got married too. He says with this one big job, he'll have enough money for his daughter's wedding."
I tossed the apple core out of the carriage.
"He might not even return to Runen..."
It was right at that moment.
"Wait! Stop for a moment!"
Noman, who had climbed onto the roof, shouted loudly.
"Ambush!"
Soon the carriage procession began to slow down. The explorers drew their weapons and moved to the front of the line. The frightened merchants spotted us and looked relieved.
"What's going on?"
"There's a monster over there. Time for you to show what you can do!"
I confirmed the identity of the monster blocking the procession.
"That's..."
And I felt uneasy. It wasn't a particularly strong monster, but... it was the size of a horse. A slimy body. Droplets of mucus falling. And two protruding eyes.
The culprit attacking the merchants was none other than a giant slug.
"Eek!"
The merchant panicked and hid behind the carriage. I pointed my saw blade at the giant slug.
"Kwaaaaaang!"
You heard the giant slug's furious roar from afar!