Chapter 71: Escape (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 71: Escape (2)
The corpse of an A-rank monster, a sub-boss at that, had plenty of valuable parts besides its magic stone.
Leather, flesh, blood, organs, and so on. Every part was classified as a high-grade material, so nothing went to waste.
This was why many people disliked hunting undead-type monsters. It was only natural, since after all the hard work of killing one, the only thing worth selling was its magic stone.
It wasn't that there was no demand for skeleton bones or a ghoul's rotten flesh, but they were dirt cheap compared to parts from other monsters.
In any case, until now, I had only ever taken the magic stones from the monsters I killed, never bothering to harvest any byproducts. It felt like a waste of time, and frankly, it was a hassle.
But this time was different.
As I said before, a sub-boss specimen had no useless parts. Just as a cow is a versatile animal sold down to its marrow, so too was the Minotaur.
From the large horns on its head to its hide, blood, and flesh—all the basics—even its testicles sold for a high price.
Like orc testicles, they were known to be good for virility, but they were also effective against hair loss. Just putting them up for auction meant you could name your price.
It felt a little weird, but I stored the Minotaur's corpse, its upper and lower body now separated, directly into my inventory.
After cleaning up the area, I took a moment to catch my breath and looked at the screen floating in the corner of my vision.
[??? has been detected]
[Abnormal enhancement of the monster has been confirmed]
[Additional rewards will be provided]
[Selecting reward…]
No matter how many times I saw it, this screen left a bad taste in my mouth.
I had no idea who was doing this or for what purpose, but they wouldn't have enhanced a monster for no reason.
I couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Resilia, who had backstabbed Iris, was behind this, but the level of interference seemed too weak for that to be the case.
It would have been more effective to wait for us to escape and then ambush us. Why go through all this trouble?
The more I thought about it, the more Resilia was crossed off the list of suspects.
If that was the case, then Iris wasn't the target.
‘...Me?’
It was hard to believe someone was targeting me when my only connections in this world were Iris and the World Tree, but I couldn't just relax and assume I was safe.
It wouldn't hurt to be careful.
“Next time, I should probably just run.”
If I hadn't been certain I could reach the next realm by fighting the Minotaur, I wouldn't have pushed myself to face it.
Of course, thanks to that fight, I had not only jumped from the 2nd Circle to the 4th in one go but also gained a lot of other things, so I didn't have any major complaints.
“By the way, is this also a reward?”
I picked up the two-handed axe lying on the ground.
It was the axe the Minotaur had been using, though its size had shrunk a little.
Tiring—
[Gathering information on the newly acquired item]
[Bloody Minotaur's Two-Handed Axe]
[Grade: Epic]
[Allows the use of ‘Berserk’]
[Allows the use of ‘Earthquake’]
The blood-soaked axe looked incredibly good at a glance.
It probably wasn't on the same level as Gilenium, another Epic-grade item, but it seemed to be just a step below.
“Noel could use this.”
At first, I considered putting it up for auction, but it bothered me that Noel, who had gone through so much with me, had no reward to show for it.
I'll ask her if she wants to use it the next time I can summon her. If she says she doesn't need it, I can sell it then.
[Remaining Matching Time: 119:02:07]
With the minor cleanup more or less finished, the only thing left was to head back up.
*
“...Is he going back already?”
In the deepest part of the dungeon, Yurain, who was observing the upper floors, watched Kang Hyun-woo head upwards with a look of slight disappointment.
Of course, she understood it logically.
No matter how much stronger he had become by breaking through his limits, defeating the gatekeeper of the deeper floors was still a distant goal.
Now was the time to retreat and regroup.
Yurain smiled faintly at the sight of him, a man who did not misjudge his own abilities.
It was a fitting display for the World Tree's first potential hero.
However.
“Still, to do that with a summon inside a dungeon...”
With a complicated feeling, Yurain swiped the screen of the mirror she had been watching. The scene rewound as if time were turning back, showing the night before Kang Hyun-woo and Noel entered the 3rd Layer.
-Hngh, ughn♡ Haa?!♡
-Ma-Master...!!♡ I'm coming again...?!♡
-Hieeeuk?!!♡ My pussy, my pussy's going to break!!!♡♡
Instead of looking away from the flesh-colored scene unfolding beyond the mirror, Yurain stared, mesmerized.
She had seen it several times, but it felt new every time.
“S-So lewd...!”
Despite her words, no one was there to point out that she was concentrating just as hard now as she had when Kang Hyun-woo was fighting the Minotaur.
Yurain Sylvenia Olivier.
One of the few remaining Transcendent beings on the surface, yet she was a virgin with no dating experience.
*
Climbing back up in a dungeon was a different matter entirely from simply retracing one's steps.
First, unlike on the surface, there were no landmarks to get my bearings, so just memorizing the path was a struggle.
There was a reason I had been mapping the 1st Layer.
“...Did I come from that way?”
If Noel had been with me, it might have been different, but finding my way alone was no easy task.
As proof, even though a good amount of time had passed since I defeated the Minotaur, I was still wandering lost on the 3rd Layer.
Just as I was getting tired of the monotonous scenery...
CRASH!!
-Kieeeek!!
A giant spider burst out from around a corner.
And there were quite a few of them.
I frowned at the grotesque sight of their blood-red bodies, but I didn't back down.
Before, I would have had to flee immediately, but now, I felt no need to.
Magic began to circulate throughout my body.
Since my mana circles had increased, my mana capacity, the durability of my magic circuits, and the speed at which I could process magic—all of my stats had been drastically enhanced.
Naturally, the output of my basic magic was incomparable to before.
I felt like I finally understood why 4th Circle mages were treated as quasi-nobles in many countries.
[Flame Lance x5]
Five lances of fire appeared in an instant and shot toward the spiders.
Feeling threatened, the spiders charged at me in unison, but a 3rd Layer monster was no match for the speed of my magic.
The lances of fire flew in the blink of an eye, each one piercing a spider's body or head. The spiders thrashed about grotesquely from the extreme pain and heat before finally turning to ash.
The nauseating smell made me gag as I quickly collected the coins and magic stones. Then, I hurried on my way.
I wasn't certain, but I had a feeling the path leading up was just a little further ahead.
Before long, just as I had expected, I found a staircase leading up.
My mood lifted slightly, but the thought that I would have to do this two more times made my steps heavy again.
I guess this is just my fate.
The only silver lining was that without Noel, there was no one to complain even if I pushed myself on a forced march.
But the silence felt strangely awkward.
I should be used to being alone.
“...If Noel were here, I wouldn't have had to struggle so much to find the way.”
Putting that regret behind me, I continued to climb the seemingly endless stairs and walk across the vast 2nd Layer.
It might have taken a bit more time, but I didn't use mana detection to avoid fights. It wasn't as dangerous as before, and the coin drops were pretty sweet.
And so, time continued to pass.
When I was hungry, I endured it. When I was sleepy, I made do with meditation.
I kept up a forced march I couldn't have imagined when Noel was around, and as a result, I reached the 1st Layer in less than a day.
I had the mapping data I'd made for the 1st Layer, so getting this far was basically the same as making it all the way back.
Moreover, the monsters on the 1st Layer were no match for me, so I practically ran through it.
[Remaining Matching Time: 72:37:14]
After starting from the 3rd Layer, it took a little over a day to finally reach the stairs leading up to the underground cavern.
Considering how long it took to get down to the 3rd Layer, I had arrived relatively early, but it bothered me that I had less than three days left.
[Owned Coins: 4,150 Coins]
On the bright side, my coffers, which had been depleted from buying dice and elixirs, were full again thanks to my aggressive hunting on the way up. That was some consolation.
Looking at it this way, strong monsters were definitely the worst for farming coins. In terms of coin acquisition, hunting several weaker monsters was far more efficient.
Of course, that didn't mean hunting strong monsters was a stupid thing to do.
Take the Minotaur, for example. Considering the two Epic-grade items, the various byproducts that would fill my bank account, and the additional rewards the app would provide, there was more than enough merit to hunting strong monsters.
In fact, if I didn't need coins, there was no reason to hunt weak monsters at all.
“I wonder how long it's been since I last saw Iris.”
It felt like we had been apart for that long. It might have felt that way because of how much I'd struggled in the meantime.
Anyway, this time I cast support magic on myself and climbed the stairs without stopping. I had taken short breaks on the way down, but now, even that felt like a waste of time.
After climbing the damn spiral staircase for a long while, a faint light began to shine from above.
It was undoubtedly the light from the lamp I had set up before going down into the dungeon.
The thought of seeing Iris after so long made me strangely nervous. I slowed down a bit, wiped the sweat from my brow, and straightened my clothes.
As I cautiously ascended, the familiar temple greeted me.
However, because the golden tree that served as a light source wasn't functioning, the inside of the temple was very dark. It would have been much darker without the lamp I'd left behind.
Still, I was happy to have escaped the goddamn underground dungeon.
But no matter where I looked, I couldn't see Iris.
Wondering if she was asleep, I headed toward the tent. It was only then that I heard someone's breathing.
But the breaths were slightly irregular and ragged.
Like those of a sick person.
My steps quickened unconsciously. I tore open the tent flap with enough force to rip it off and rushed inside.
“Hah, haah...”
“Iris?”
Just as I'd feared, inside the tent was Iris, struggling to take ragged breaths.
I immediately placed a hand on her forehead and felt a heat far greater than I expected. Her temperature had to be at least 39 degrees Celsius [102.2°F].
“Hyun-woo...?”
Her voice came out, sounding slightly cracked at the end.
“Iris, can you hear me?”
“I'm so glad... you came back safely...”
Even as she smiled at me, her condition was clearly poor. She coughed several times and tossed in her sleep.
I couldn't bear to watch any longer, so I quickly took out my last bottle of Holy Water and a health potion.
“Drink this slowly.”
Supporting her back slightly, I helped her drink, making sure it was easy for her.
After she finished the potion and Holy Water, she seemed to feel much better. The cold sweat that had been pouring off her like rain finally stopped.
“Hyun-woo... are you hurt anywhere...?”
She was clearly suffering, but she was worried about me first. I was so grateful.
“I'm fine. But what on earth happened to you?”
“...It's nothing.”
Iris seemed reluctant to talk about it, turning her head slightly to avoid my gaze.
I didn't press her further. I raised the temperature in the tent so she could rest comfortably and placed a wet towel on her forehead.
“That feels cool...”
She must have liked the feel of the cold towel, because she soon fell asleep.
I was relieved to see her rest, but I had a suspicion as to why she was in this state, so I couldn't be entirely happy.
'It's probably because of the blessing.'
The World Tree's blessing Iris had given me was incredible, easily surpassing the effects of Holy Water made by a bishop-level priest.
But there was no way she could bestow such a blessing without paying a price.
Her poor condition was almost certainly a side effect of overexerting herself to grant me that blessing.
Seeing her like this, I felt a sense of debt growing in my heart. I stayed by her side, not leaving for a single moment until she woke up.
Unlike last time, this was a return that left an unsettling feeling in my chest.