Chapter 88: To the Next Location
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88: To the Next Location
The surviving adventurers looked at one another, their expressions suggesting they might drop dead at any moment.
For those in no condition to follow the Inquisitors on foot, death was the only answer. However, those healthy enough to walk had to rack their brains to find a way to avoid paying the steep fees.
For Sion, who earned a massive income through his subspace pocket, resurrection had become a trivial matter. But for ordinary adventurers, being suddenly asked to pay upwards of 100 gold was an overwhelming burden.
“What do we do now?”
“....”
The seven who remained unconscious were already marked for death. The Inquisitors had no intention of carrying them, and there seemed to be no other way than to kill them and pack them into a subspace pocket.
Because of this, the remaining fourteen wanted to hear each other’s opinions.
Would they die to get out?
Or would they stay alive to get out?
“Hail, what are your thoughts?”
Max, a bald adventurer and the oldest among the survivors, directed his question toward Hail.
“I... well. I have a family to support... and I’ve already been resurrected once before. If I die again... I’ll have to pay over 200 gold.”
Hail answered in a fading voice.
He had already received the Art of Resurrection once.
The price of the Art of Resurrection varied depending on the number of abilities one possessed, the number of mana adaptations, and the total count of previous resurrections.
The higher your specs, the higher the price; the more often you were resurrected, the more expensive the cost became.
If he died and was resurrected again, he might truly have to pay over 200 gold.
For a patriarch responsible for a family of four, that was a devastating loss—a matter that directly threatened his family’s well-being.
200 gold was by no means a light sum. It was, quite literally, the price of a life. If he had the luxury to pay it, Hail would have chosen to be carried out dead.
But he didn't have that luxury. The cost of living in the Labyrinth City was damnably high, and he always needed money to support his family in such a place.
If he didn't have a family depending on him, he wouldn't have agonized this much. But Hail had too much to protect.
“Excuse me, I’m asking because I don’t know much about this, but roughly how much is the resurrection fee?”
“It’ll easily exceed 100 gold as a baseline. It changes based on your abilities and mana adaptation... For Silver Badges like us, it might come out to nearly 200 gold.”
“Are you insane? 200 gold? Has the Church lost its damn conscience?!”
“Whoa, shh! Shhh...! Are you crazy? How can you insult the Church right in front of the Inquisitors? Do you actually want to die?”
“Ah, damn it... They didn't hear me, did they?”
“I don't think they did.”
“Sigh. Fuck. God damn it. Fuck, fuck.”
The Inquisitors were nearby. One wrong word against the Church, and their heads would roll.
“This is driving me crazy. How am I supposed to come up with over 100 gold all of a sudden? It might be better to just die.”
“Haaa... If you die, they’ll just pick you up, resurrect you however they want, and then bill you. If you really want to die, your best bet is to get eaten. Then you can't be resurrected.”
“Can’t even die when I want to... Not that I wanted to die in the first place. This is a headache. It’s maddening.”
“In the end, money is the problem.”
Thinking realistically, the resurrection cost would definitely break the 150 gold mark.
Even Rika, who was only at the entrance of the Labyrinth, had been charged over 100 gold.
For Silver Badge adventurers who roamed the Underground City, the cost would be much higher.
Especially for someone like Hail, who had already died once and received the Art of Resurrection, it might really reach 200 gold. His despair began to spread to everyone else.
100 gold was already a soul-crushing burden; 200 gold was unthinkable. For these adventurers, it was an amount large enough to make their heads throb.
Some were facing 200 gold or more, and among them, some felt it was better to stay dead than to pay.
“If you get resurrected without being able to pay, you’ll become a dog of the Church and be sent on dangerous missions again.”
“Then you’ll die again, get resurrected again, and your debt will just keep growing.”
“Haven't you heard the rumors about Taylor? They say the Church purposely sends people on impossible missions in their later years so they die, then they recover the bodies and turn them into debtors. I heard he worked like a dog until he was too old to be resurrected... Once they have a leash on you, it’s hard to break free.”
“Those rotten Church bastards...”
Max, the bald adventurer, openly displayed his hostility toward the Church.
He hated them. He was sick of the Church using an unidentified forbidden art like the Art of Resurrection to strip people of their freedom and treat them like livestock.
Of course, many people had benefited from the Church’s resurrection, and because they held immense power within the Labyrinth City, a mere Silver Badge like Max couldn't openly revolt.
Then Goro, who was pro-Church unlike Max, spoke up. Usually, Goro and Max didn't get along very well.
“I think we’re lucky they aren't charging us for body transport.”
“What? You only say that because you have money to spare.”
“What did you say? Are you picking a fight? You should have saved some money then. I saw how you were throwing it around.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“Whoa, calm down! Calm down! If a fight breaks out, the Inquisitors will intervene. Everyone, stay calm.”
“Tui. Fuck this. I can't die. I don't have the money. And frankly, what if those bastards all die while carrying us? Then it’s over for us while we’re still dead. No matter how strong those Inquisitors are, I don't want to leave my life in their hands.”
Max eventually refused death, openly declaring his hostility toward the Church.
Hail, the middle-aged adventurer listening nearby, nodded in agreement.
“Resurrection will definitely cost me over 200 gold. I can't die either. I don't want to become a dog of the Church and fall into a cycle of debt.”
Two people refused to be carried out dead.
Following them, those who lacked the ability to pay began to voice their refusal as well.
“I, I also... don't have the money.”
“I don't even have a silver coin to my name; 200 gold is out of the question. I’m not dying either.”
“My religion does not permit resurrection. It is impossible for me.”
A consensus gradually formed. The group split between those who chose to be carried out dead and those who would walk out on their own two feet.
Then Roca, the youngest adventurer, asked Hail.
“But why do we have to follow them in the first place? If we were to clear a path ourselves...”
“Listen, young man. That’s impossible. The Underground City is already crawling with heretics. If you stray from the Inquisitors, those bugs will crawl back into your brain.”
“Uh... that’s a bit much.”
“So, if you want to get out alive, you absolutely have to follow the Inquisitors. It’s a party with the Saintess, for heaven’s sake. As long as you don't do anything stupid, your safety is guaranteed.”
“If it’s that safe, then I don't want to bear the burden of 200 gold either.”
Seven people refused death.
The remaining seven also had to make their choice.
“I... I’ll die and be carried.”
“I can manage somehow with the money I’ve saved.”
“If it’s the Saintess, she’ll get us back up. That madman won't let the heretics kill him.”
“I’ll die too. I’ll just have to ask my parents for help or something.”
The remaining seven chose death.
These were people with spare funds or some kind of insurance that would prevent them from being shackled to the Church.
“Wait.”
Then Max offered a suggestion to those who had chosen to die.
“You don't necessarily have to die right now.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“We can travel with them, and if we find a transfer stone, we can just take it and escape. The Underground City might be tough, but we can fight our way through the upper levels on our own. And we might find a transfer stone faster than you think. If we do, there’s no need to die and lose 200 gold for nothing, right?”
“That’s... true, but we have to consider what happens if things don't go well. What if our bodies get mangled during a fight? Right now, our bodies are intact... but what if we get eaten and digested, or crushed in a trap? If the damage is too severe, the Art of Resurrection won't work. Then you’re dead for good.”
“That’s true, but even considering that, the option of finding a transfer stone as quickly as possible still exists. Are you really going to pay 200 gold without even trying? Are you guys that rich? Then why the fuck did you crawl into the Labyrinth? If you have money to burn. Everyone’s struggling to survive here.”
“...”
“Even 100 gold is a burden, but 200? Think carefully. Don't just try to run away into a comfortable death.”
Max wanted as many people as possible to stay alive and travel with him.
Why? Because the more people there were, the higher his own chances of survival.
The man who seemed to be the Inquisitors' porter had said it clearly: they wouldn't be able to look after those who chose to travel with them during combat.
If a battle broke out, the Inquisitors would no longer do their best to keep the adventurers alive.
It would be a treacherous path. The adventurers who chose to follow had to look out for their own lives.
That was why Max thought the adventurers needed to stick together while alive. The more adventurers there were, the more he could use them as meat shields.
Max viewed everyone except himself as bait. To survive, he had long since discarded his humanity.
“Let’s just travel with the Inquisitors for now, and if we die, we can ask them to pick us up then. How about that? They’ll at least pick up a corpse.”
“...That is one way to do it.”
“The risk of permanent death is very high, but... maybe permanent death is better than being in debt?”
“And if things go well, you save 200 gold.”
“Hmm. I’ll still choose to be carried safely.”
“Me too. I don't want to take the risk of permanent death for no reason.”
“I... I’ve changed my mind. Max’s idea seems good.”
“Then the discussion is settled.”
Out of the fourteen conscious survivors (excluding the seven unconscious ones), nine wanted to get out alive. The remaining five chose to die.
“Excuse me. We’ve decided.”
“Have you made your choice?”
“We have. The nine of us will not die. We intend to get out alive.”
At Max’s words, Sion nodded and looked at Raphael.
“It looks like we’ll have to take nine of them with us.”
“That’s more than I expected.”
“Indeed.”
Sion separated those who had not chosen to be carried.
“Those who chose to die, please step aside with Lord Raphael. Those who decided to survive, follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“You need to secure food if you want to survive.”
The adventurers who followed Sion to the eastern part of the Central Section swallowed hard as they saw the piles of monster corpses before them.
“These are the corpses of the monsters that died here. Skin them and prepare up to two weeks' worth of food for each of you. I’ll handle the transport, so you just need to do the butchering.”
“Wait, it’s all just wild dogs and wolves?”
“And?”
“This is a bit much. The gamey smell will be overwhelming.”
“Then... should I pull out some goblin corpses for you?”
“What? No. You can't eat goblins!”
“We don't have any food to share with you either.”
“Fuck. To think I have to eat beast meat.”
“Kaylor. Shut up and grab a dagger.”
“But...”
“Shut up. Let’s just get to butchering.”
Max silenced the complaining adventurer and drew his dagger.
He began skinning the animals and carving out the edible parts.
‘Greenhorn brat.’
Max cursed Kaylor under his breath.
An adventurer sometimes had to eat beast meat regardless of the smell.
He believed it was better to tear into human flesh than to suffer from starvation.
In that regard, the porter’s offer to transport the meat was an act of great kindness.
‘That guy must be the one with the subspace pocket.’
Max had a general idea of who Sion was.
The boy the Guild Master doted on. Also, the man living with the Guild Master’s daughter.
Those two facts alone were enough to know that the person in front of him was a significant figure.
There was no reason to get on his bad side.
“Still, I have a decent supply of spices. I’ll provide pepper and salt for every meal.”
“Really?”
“Oh... if that’s the case, I can even eat wolf meat.”
At Sion’s words, the adventurers began butchering the wolf meat with renewed vigor.
‘This side is settled.’
Sion turned his gaze away from the nine adventurers who wanted to stay alive and checked on the people who had gone with Raphael.
Crack!
He heard the sound of something twisting.
They must have snapped their necks.
Considering resurrection, that was the most rational method. It was the way to die with the least amount of physical trauma.
“Porter, we’re done here.”
“Yes. Let’s switch.”
“Sure.”
Raphael approached Sion’s side to supervise the adventurers butchering the meat, and Sion moved toward Raphael to collect the dead adventurers.
Twelve bodies in total.
They were laid out in a line, their eyes closed.
‘I’ll make sure to get you back up.’
Sion placed them into his subspace pocket.
If Sion failed to return to the surface, these people would remain in the subspace pocket forever, unable to even rot.
“Now then, since we’ve had enough rest, let’s begin the heretic hunt.”
“Uh, Saintess. Where do you plan to go first?”
“Well. Since we’ve gained nine pieces of baggage...”
A few adventurers bristled at the Saintess’s words, but no one could refute them.
They were indeed baggage.
“I think you’d all be wiped out in the Plaza Section. The numbers are too high to enter the Ruins Section. And we have too few magical tools to enter the Lake Section.”
The Lake Section required Water Walking magic or magical tools enchanted with similar spells to avoid falling into the water.
They didn't have enough magical tools to distribute to all nine of them.
“That leaves only the Spire District and the Garden Section. Which do you think is better?”
The Spire District was an area with several towers lined up. Like the Ruins Section, it was a place filled with narrow corridors.
“The Spire District will have the fewest numbers. Werewolves have the smallest population among the indigenous species.”
“But werewolves are also the strongest among the indigenous species.”
“Even so, going to the Garden Section...”
“There are Dungeon Trolls there, so it’s just as dangerous.”
Sion fell into thought.
‘There’s a high chance of encountering Arachne in the Spire District. Conversely, there’s a high probability of running into Frogman in the Garden Section or the Lake Section.’
He was fine with either.
Whether they went to the Spire District or the Garden Section, he could find clues for either the spider’s den or the snake’s nest.
“Let’s go to the Garden Section. There’s water there, and edible plants too.”
“Then let’s do that.”
The next destination was decided by Hail’s opinion.
The Garden Section of the Underground City.
It was a place where Dungeon Trolls, known for their tough skin and tenacious vitality, appeared as the indigenous species.
It was also a district where various plant-type monsters and several kinds of small monsters crawled out.