Chapter 19: Forming the Underground City Raid Force (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: Forming the Underground City Raid Force (2)
“Sion, you’re alive. What a relief.”
A woman with crimson hair and an eyepatch over her left eye gripped my shoulder and grinned.
Guild Master Moira.
This was probably our fifth private meeting.
She was a woman with a considerably large chest.
She was also a former Platinum Badge adventurer whose body was covered in small scars.
“To think you’ve finally decided to join the guild. I’m proud of you!”
“No. That’s not it.”
“What? Playing hard to get won’t be fun for long. Isn't it about time you came under me?”
“Hmm. I’m not really feeling it.”
“Dammit.”
This lady had been hitting on me ever since I acquired the Subspace Pocket.
She’d even subtly tried to seduce me into spending the night with her.
I’m sorry, but married women aren't really my thing.
I didn’t know much about her husband, but she did have a child.
A daughter who looked exactly like her mother, if I recalled.
I’d actually prefer the daughter.
“So, you want to form an Underground City Raid Force?”
Moira returned to her usual expression the moment she realized her flirting wasn't working.
“Yes. I made a promise to a Silver Badge adventurer.”
“I heard the gist of it from Edwin. You want to retrieve the bodies of his comrades from the Underground City?”
“Yes, yes. And since I’m heading down to get the bodies anyway, I figured I could help transport supplies as well.”
“I was already planning to form a raid force, so your timing is perfect.”
So the Guild Master already had a plan.
Well, the Underground City must be a literal den of monsters by now.
The Guild Master didn't say it out loud, but sending in just a few adventurer parties probably wouldn't have cut it.
There was a high probability that the Underground City was crawling with monsters after the Labyrinth Eruption.
Therefore, it was necessary to unleash a large number of adventurers to clear out the monsters once.
“Of course, since I have almost zero combat ability, I plan to just drop off the supplies and get out.”
“That alone is more than enough.”
My plan was also to recruit a raid force, gather a bunch of Silver and Gold Badge adventurers, throw them all into the Underground City, and then hitch a ride with them just to transport supplies before making my exit.
Then, a map would be created automatically, and the monsters would be hunted down, naturally increasing the safety of the area. After that, I could just retrieve Rohan’s comrades with him.
“Good. We’ve already gathered about thirty people. If word gets out that you’re handling the supplies, even more will join. They won't have to carry their own gear down, after all.”
The story of a porter with a Subspace Pocket had spread quite a bit among the adventurers.
Since several Gold Badge adventurers had already sent me "love calls," I figured many would apply if they knew I was participating.
“Then when can the raid force depart? I’d like to go as soon as possible.”
“Since we can transport supplies at will, we should be able to head in by tomorrow morning at the latest. The sooner we go, the better. I intend to move the schedule up as much as possible.”
“Great. I have some preparations of my own to make.”
“Understood. I’ll have the supplies ready for transport.”
Perfect. The raid force was being formed smoothly.
Now I just had to go down, quickly find the bodies of Rohan’s comrades, and flee back to the surface.
“By the way, Sion. Did you obtain something?”
“Pardon? Like what?”
“No, I mean an Ability. It feels like you’ve acquired a rather peculiar one.”
“Ah...”
The eye behind the Guild Master’s eyepatch observed me.
Moira was a possessor of a Demon Eye. She had said it was a Demon Eye-type Ability.
I didn't know exactly what kind of effect it had, but her left eye could see through an opponent's Ability to some extent.
“I obtained an Ability called Spiritual Eye. Do you happen to know anything about it?”
“Spiritual Eye? An eye that sees souls? Hmm. I don't know the details, but seeing how my eye reacted, it must be a fairly good Ability. Sion, have you been blessed by the Labyrinth or something? First a Subspace Pocket, and now a Demon Eye.”
The Guild Master looked at me with a hint of envy.
So even she didn't know what kind of power the Spiritual Eye held.
If even the Guild Master didn't know, just how rare was this Ability?
I guess I’ll have to ask that person.
“I see. I’ll be going now.”
“Right, see you later.”
The Guild Master nodded and returned to her paperwork.
I left quickly so as not to disturb her further.
Anyway, it was good to know the Guild Master was planning to form a raid force.
Well, there was no way the Guild would just sit back and watch this situation unfold.
They had already brought out the people the rescue team could quickly evacuate.
From now on, they likely intended to take their time exploring the changed Underground City.
*
“Mr. Rohan.”
“Ah, Sion. You were here first.”
“Yes. I just finished my meeting, and the Guild Master said she’s forming a raid force. I think we should join them to head down to the Underground City.”
“You’ve already finished the discussion?”
“Yes. I was called in as soon as I arrived.”
“I see. Then do you know when we’re heading down?”
“I expect we’ll depart tomorrow morning. We should finish our preparations by then.”
While we would all go down together, the body retrieval was something we had to do ourselves.
It was true that I planned to use the raid force to move through the Underground City more safely, but that didn't mean we could just sit back and follow them blindly.
In the end, everyone within the raid force would move in team units.
While the goal of exploring the Underground City centered around a base camp was the same, where each team went would differ.
In other words, we needed to recruit people specifically to help us with the body retrieval.
We had our own separate objective of recovering the bodies and returning to the surface.
Forming a raid force didn't solve everything.
The raid force was merely a mechanism to increase the probability of survival in the Underground City.
“By the way, the bodies of the people we need to rescue... you remember exactly where they are, right?”
“I remember the location clearly. I hid them in a building next to the Plaza Section before coming up. Once we go down and find the Plaza Section, we’ll be able to retrieve them.”
The Underground City was divided into several sections based on the type and style of the clustered buildings.
I hadn't heard the details, but I believed there were mainly the Plaza Section, the Temple Section, and the Spire District.
The monsters that appeared in each section were different, so I had to study that part separately as well.
“If you don't mind me asking, could you tell me how your comrades died?”
This was important information.
I needed to know why they died so I could prepare for it.
“We were caught in the Labyrinth Eruption and blown toward the plaza... and unfortunately, a Chimera appeared.”
“Ah.”
A Chimera.
It was a fixture of the Labyrinth City, just as malicious as a Minotaur.
“Don't worry. I killed the Chimera before leaving.”
A party of eight, including Rohan and Hachi.
To be precise, it seemed that the party Rohan led and the party Hachi led had cooperated to fight the Chimera.
And in the process, six people had died.
Everyone except the two party leaders had perished.
“There were some who were going down to the Underground City for the first time mixed in. We were acting as guides to show them the city.”
If they hadn't been caught in the Labyrinth Eruption, they probably would have looked around the Underground City for a bit and then come back up.
“There was even a kid whose mental state shattered as soon as we were caught in the eruption. We were on our way back up after exploring the city when we were dropped back down into it.”
If it was a rookie who had just arrived in the Underground City, it was understandable that their mind would break.
They had barely survived and were escaping that hellish city when the eruption dragged them right back down.
“Anyway, it was chaos. It was an absolute miracle that we killed the Chimera and made it out alive. If we hadn't...”
If Rohan and Hachi hadn't been skilled, they probably would have been wiped out and turned into a meal for the Chimera.
“Tomorrow, once we go down, I’ll probably drop off the supplies at the building being used as a temporary base and then follow you and Mr. Hachi to retrieve the bodies.”
“We’ll need to find adventurers to move with us.”
“Yes. I’ll leave that part to you. I have somewhere else I need to go.”
“Understood. I’ll find them before sunset. Let’s meet later.”
“Yes. See you then.”
Rohan and Hachi would find a rearguard and a healer.
It would be great to have a priest from the Goddess Church who could cast healing magic immediately, but...
Priests from the Goddess Church rarely entered the Labyrinth, so that probably wouldn't work.
“Ah, I’ll leave Baek-ak’s corpse at the dismantling shop. We can split the money later.”
“Understood.”
I left the monster corpses at the guild’s dismantling shop and headed outside.
Since I had turned in everything from the Bunnyman to the other monsters I’d hunted, I’d be able to collect the payment later.
‘Now then...’
I headed toward the hole-in-the-wall shop.
The place where I had purchased various items, including the tonic I used last time.
A hidden shop located in the eastern part of the Labyrinth City.
An atelier run by none other than an Elf Alchemist.
It was a small workshop found by following an alleyway next to the Eastern Red Light District.
“Hmm? Ah. Is that you, Sion?”
As I stepped into the shop, thick smoke greeted me.
It was something similar to tobacco.
That woman was always smoking it.
“It’s been a while, Ms. Lafnel.”
A white-haired elf.
She had exquisite features, pointed ears, and an expression that looked somewhat languid, lazy, and bored.
“A while? Ah. It has been a while.”
Her sense of time was different from a human's.
She looked like a young girl, but in reality, she was an old woman whose age was impossible to guess.
She was the epitome of the "loli-hag" trope.
How strong she was or what abilities she possessed were all complete secrets.
In the first place, this shop itself could only be visited by those who were permitted.
The mysterious alleyway next to the Eastern Red Light District was a type of barrier.
I didn't even know such a place existed at first.
I only became able to enter here on the day I obtained the Subspace Pocket.
“The Labyrinth was trembling. Did you survive the Labyrinth Eruption?”
“Ah, yes. I barely made it out alive.”
“It seems so. To think you obtained the Spiritual Eye at the crossroads of life and death.”
“Huh? You recognize this?”
“Of course. You’ve gotten your hands on something rare.”
Lafnel recognized the Spiritual Eye immediately.
As expected of an ancient elf who seemed to know everything.
“Could you tell me a bit about this ability? I want to use it, but I’m not sure how.”
“Hmm. Spiritual Eye, is it?”
Lafnel pondered for a moment before explaining the essence of the power.
“Ultimately, it is an ability that allows you to see what cannot be seen. For instance, the dead. Or the souls of others. Or perhaps the flip side of the invisible world.”
“That sounds like an incredibly broken ability.”
“It could be broken, or it could not be. Since it’s a Demon Eye, it will likely be heavily influenced by the nature of its owner.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You haven't even opened your eye yet. You’ve merely earned the right to open it. No one knows what you will see yet. You might be able to see everything, or you might only witness the most trivial things.”
Lafnel stroked her chin and stared intently into my eyes.
Her green eyes peered into me as if observing my very inner self.
Even after hearing Lafnel’s explanation, I didn't quite have a grasp on how to use it.
Above all, according to Lafnel, I hadn't even awakened the Spiritual Eye yet.
I literally only had the qualification to open it.
“So I don't even know when the ability will activate?”
“That’s right. But you’ll be able to open it eventually.”
It wasn't exactly concrete information, but I was relieved to hear it wasn't a bad Ability.
There were some Abilities that were quite ambiguous, after all.
“Anyway, the fact that you’re here to buy things means you’re heading into the Labyrinth, right?”
“Yes. I’m planning to go as far as the Underground City this time.”
“Since the eruption just ended, there’s no telling what might happen. It would be wise to pack plenty of supplies. Speaking of which...”
“Don't tell me. Is it another experimental product?”
“Haha. Well, you see, I’ve made something quite interesting lately.”
Lafnel pulled out a potion of a very mysterious color onto the counter.
This woman was always trying to experiment on me.
She only started selling that erectile-inducing tonic after experimenting on me a few times.
“What is it this time?”
“If you drink this, you can turn into a mouse.”
“A mouse?”
A potion that turns you into a mouse?
No, transformation magic itself is rare, and she made it into a potion?
This crazy monster of an elf.
Just what the hell did she create?
“Yes. The selling price is... I think about 10 gold would do. No, wait. The ingredients that went into it... I think I should get at least 20 gold.”
20 gold?
No way. If the price is set too high, I can't just buy it whenever I want.
I have to lowball her. I have to drive the price down no matter what.
‘She’s a long-lived species who probably doesn't even know how much money she has. Lowballing her a bit won't hurt.’
Lafnel was actually an eccentric who just wanted to be paid what she felt an item was worth.
I had already discovered through several conversations that she wasn't the type who earned money because she needed it.
So, even if I cut the price recklessly, it wouldn't really matter to her.
To buy it as cheaply as possible, I, as a regular, had to drive the price down.
“No, who would pay 20 gold for that? It just turns you into a damn mouse.”
“Huh? B-but... it’s a potion imbued with transformation magic?”
“Ugh. It won't sell. Who would buy it? Why would anyone pay 20 gold to turn into a mouse? Do they want to get stepped on and die?”
“Ugh... are you really not going to buy it?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Why! Buy it!”
“It’s just an experimental product for now anyway. You’re going to charge 20 gold for a potion that hasn't even been verified? Are you sane? Have you gone senile?”
“You... you brat... Fine. I’ll give you one bottle for free for now. Use it and tell me what you think.”
“Well, I can't say no to free stuff. I’ll use it and let you know how it was later.”
I received the ‘Mouse Transformation Potion’ from Lafnel for free.
‘This is huge.’
If I turn into a mouse, I can enter small spaces.
My presence would also be much smaller than when I’m human.
It seemed like it would be great for infiltration or escape.
As long as I could maintain my intelligence, the ways to use it were endless.
“But this doesn't have a side effect where my intelligence drops to the level of a mouse, right?”
“Hmm? Ah, side effects. Well, your intelligence will remain the same. However... your tastes might change for a while?”
“My tastes?”
“Yes. Just try using it. I’m not entirely sure myself.”
“Hmm.”
Based on my frequent use of Lafnel’s potions so far, there hadn't been any devastating flaws.
In fact, there were cases where I benefited by utilizing the side effects. It never led to a bad result.
I had faith in Lafnel’s skill.
This would surely be useful later.
“Thank you. I’ll come again.”
“Right. Let’s meet again alive.”
After quickly purchasing the things I needed, I left the hole-in-the-wall shop.
Since she sold all sorts of things, I was able to get a lot of good items at a fairly cheap price.
Above all, since I had acquired the Mouse Transformation Potion, I would have to use it effectively in the Underground City.
My preparations for entering the Labyrinth were nearing completion.
I just hoped nothing went wrong.