Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Dungeon (2)
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What is a dungeon?
It's the tried-and-true route for obtaining soul stones—essential materials needed to craft 'Holy Relic'-grade equipment.
At the same time, it's a treasure trove brimming with all sorts of rare items and gold. That's why their spawn rate is extremely low...
And on top of that, they're infamous for their insane difficulty.
The monsters inside exceed twice the average level of the surrounding area, so clueless players charging in headfirst and getting obliterated has become an everyday occurrence.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [An NPC has appeared!] That's why Novel Online assigns a powerful NPC escort whenever a player enters a dungeon for the first time. That NPC even has some narrative weight in the story, so you'll run into them pretty often.
...Honestly, though, they don't help much.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 《 ~Neutral Stage~ Asral City Dock 》
As a port city, Asral saw crowds coming and going every day, which meant there were procedures for entering and exiting the city.
With dozens of ships docking daily, some folks slipped in contraband—banned narcotics or legally restricted goods—to export while dodging the authorities. And plenty came the other way, importing forbidden merchandise.
That's why these two guards were out there today, sweating buckets under the blazing sun as they inspected imports.
Nights felt a bit chilly like autumn, but with the sun high at midday, summer's heat still lingered.
"Max, how many more ships left today?"
"Just one more scheduled to come in."
Frank checked the manifest of expected cargo while rummaging through the cart.
This one was loaded with fruits from another region.
To keep them fresh, a water magic stone emitting cold air sat in the center, and the wooden crates—riddled with holes—held colorful fruits packed neatly.
At this rate, they'd probably sell for fair prices at market, neither too cheap nor too pricey, basket by basket.
Seeing such vibrant fruits always made Frank think about grabbing one on his way home from work, and sure enough, he'd swing by the market.
Especially that long, yellow one—soft and sweet. His four-year-old daughter would love it for sure...
-Thud!
"This cart's clear! Next!"
Frank said with a beaming smile.
Still a few hours till quitting time, but no night patrol today, so he could afford to grin.
-Creak!
The fruit-laden cart rolled past, and next up was a fancy cart brimming with unidentified eggs that halted before him.
"Frank! They say that cart's from the Turk Merchant Guild—handle with care!"
"Got it, no worries!"
Frank swallowed hard at the mention of the Turk Merchant Guild.
It was the biggest trading outfit in the Holy Empire of Ires, dealing in massive volumes of goods.
Everything from foodstuffs to weapons of war, and they traded with all sorts of other races.
Rumors even said they dealt with magical beasts.
Of course, that was nonsense.
"What kind of eggs are these?"
"Low-grade magical beast eggs. Famous for being loyal if tamed from hatchlings."
A crewman with a headscarf handed over a document as he spoke.
"Magical beast eggs, huh? The nobles sure have weird tastes."
The papers included an import permit and a manifest listing the egg types.
▶Black Pattern Owl Egg
▶Hurk Lizard Egg
▶Snake Parrot Egg
All harmless ones—weak magical beasts that nobles kept as pets.
Plus an import permit stamped by the Ires Empire, so paperwork-wise, no issues.
Now he just needed to verify the eggs matched the list.
Problem was, distinguishing them took expertise.
Magical beast eggs were ID'd by shell patterns, something no average Joe without study would know.
Frank examined them and shook his head.
"...Guess I can't tell. Max! Come help ID these eggs! You learned from the senior, right?"
"What? Eggs? Lose your balls or something?"
"You idiot, not those—these magical beast eggs."
Max chuckled at his own joke and hopped aboard, peering at the eggs with a "Lemme see."
He'd been trained by a senior on spotting magical beast eggs before.
They'd always had demand, so imports were common, and someone always got trained to check them.
Especially since smugglers sometimes snuck in illegal or dangerous ones.
Or hid them among similars.
"Alright, check this out. See the egg with round circle patterns? That's Hurk Lizard. Most reptile magical beasts have 'em—no real exceptions."
Maybe because of that training, Max exuded expert vibes, lecturing not just Frank but nearby merchants and guards too.
Somehow, everyone ditched their posts to crowd the dock and gawk at the eggs.
-Thud.
After inspecting all the round-patterned ones, Max pulled out a triangular-patterned egg.
"This is Black Pattern Owl. Famous for sneaking into camps at night to steal adventurers' food. But their night vision's great, so people use 'em as messengers."
Who knew what was fun about this.
Still, better than sweating nonstop under the sun. A short break like this hit the spot.
Plus, Max's beast tales were surprisingly engaging—even a couple passengers gathered to listen. Kinda entertaining...
"...And Snake Parrots mimic snake hisses to scare folks nearby, but surprisingly useful since it drives off real snakes?"
"Hey! Got a question—mind if I ask?"
"Hm? Shoot. Anything on magical beast eggs, fire away."
About ten minutes into the spiel, a black-haired young man among the passengers raised his hand.
Max sized him up—top-shelf gear and weapon. Looked like a solid adventurer.
One oddity: black hair. Probably from across the sea, east side.
Frank and Max had seen a white-haired high elf last time; this was the total opposite.
"Know what a dragon egg looks like?"
"Dragon?"
The question was as unusual as his hair.
Dragons? You'd need to trek to the remote Dragon's Gorge, crawling with beasts. Years back, red dragons lived in the Pione Mountains, but swordmasters wiped 'em out ages ago.
Max hadn't seen one himself, but his senior had described dragon eggs.
He'd share that much.
"Well... Varies by type, but red dragons supposedly have red shells with jagged, crack-like patterns."
"...I see. Bummer. Was hoping there might be a dragon egg here."
The young man looked disappointed.
Onlookers tilted heads, puzzled by him.
"Pfft, wanna see a dragon egg? Forget it. Dragons are rank-1 hazards—importing 'em or their eggs is illegal here."
"Oh, really? First time in port."
Max pegged him as an eager rookie adventurer, full of vim.
Not his first such sighting.
Fresh-faced adventurers often showed up decked in flashy gear for quests, only to crawl back wrecked next day.
This guy seemed overarmed for his build—same type, maybe.
Or some pampered noble kid with travel fantasies bolting from home.
"But what's this watermelon-patterned one? Looks just like a dragon egg."
"...What?"
Yet the youth pulled a strikingly patterned egg from the cart.
-Murmurs.
Sure enough, lightning-bolt stripes ran straight across it.
The crowd buzzed.
"Hold up, lemme see."
Startled, Max inspected it closely. He'd only heard tales, but it matched descriptions.
"...Haha! False alarm."
"What is it?"
-Rustle.
Max laughed in relief.
Frank grabbed his shoulder, worried by the sudden guffaws.
"Not a dragon egg. Similar, sure, but dragons have horizontal stripes too. This one's only vertical."
"...Yeah, looks that way."
"So not a dragon egg?"
"Nope."
-Rustle rustle.
The black-haired youth looked even more bummed.
Normally you'd thank your stars it wasn't, but he seemed genuinely let down.
Guy was as quirky as his hair.
If it were real, an enraged mother dragon would've torched the city by now.
-Rustle rustle rustle.
"So whose egg is it?"
"Dunno. Never seen this pattern... Wait, is it moving? About to hatch?"
Frank's question stumped Max too—no such pattern in his knowledge.
-Step.
"...I think I know."
-Thud!
"Huh?"
"Hey! What the hell?!"
The black-haired youth stepped forward and snatched the egg from Max's hands.
Frank protested the sudden grab, but Max just stared, dumbfounded.
'Wh-what just happened?'
Trained tough as he was, Max hadn't caught a glimpse of the move.
No resistance—even noticed the egg was gone only after it was in the youth's hand.
"Hey, you two guards. Why not catch that fleeing guy? Or is smuggling a 'wyvern' egg into this country not illegal?"
The youth spouted more weirdness.
"What're you on about? Whatever—just hand back the egg!"
"Here."
"Huh? Fine... Don't pull that again."
"...?"
Frank took the egg back, but Max froze at "wyvern"—something clicked.
-Rustle rustle, crack!
"Whoa, shell's cracking. About to hatch."
Vertical stripes, unlike dragon eggs.
A vague memory surfaced.
Wyverns lacked hands, smaller than dragons—still plenty dangerous.
Adults devoured hatchling dragons, even.
Wait, the youth said wyvern egg?
"No way...?!"
"Yeah, that no-way."
-Crack!
"It hatched! Wait, is that a Hurk Lizard? But... it has wings...?"
―Peep! Peeep!
A bizarre cry from the mystery beast.
Sounded like calling for something.
Like a baby bird summoning its mom.
"Frank! Chuck that egg in the sea—now!"
"What? Why?!"
-Whoooosh!
"...Too late. It's coming!"
A sudden gale hit the shore.
Ships rocked; everyone on deck toppled—except the youth, still standing.
"Ugh? What gale?!"
"Gale? This is way worse."
―Grrrrowl!
A massive shadow blanketed the dock, followed by an eerie roar.
At the freak event, folks cautiously looked skyward.
...And.
"Lord have mercy."
⚔ STATUS ⚔ [Rough-Winged Dark Wyvern (Adult) – Lv.180] ※HP: 5,000,000 / MP: 8,000 ※Special Note: Rage ▶ Enraged at humans stealing its egg, it seeks to destroy everything in sight. ―Rooooar!
The black-scaled wyvern roared, unleashing breath at the dock.
People screamed and fled.
Futile.
Lesser than dragons, but wyverns were still wyrms.
That breath had power to incinerate everything nearby.
In other words, running just delayed the inevitable death.
-Slash!
"Slashed the breath?!"
...If not for that mystery black-haired youth drawing his waist sword and cleaving it.
"Too bad. Would've raised a dragon. Perfect personal ride. Can you tame wyverns?"
The youth asked Max.
"Wyverns are too feral—no taming records..."
Max answered dumbly, staring.
"Really? Shame. Guess I'll have to kill it."
Disappointed again.
Sword drawn, the youth advanced.
"Wait...!"
"Yeah?"
"What's your name?"
But first, Max wanted a name.
Slicing wyvern breath in one stroke? No mid-tier swordsman could attempt it.
Meant the youth wielded sword aura rivaling swordmasters at least.
No mere flashy poser.
"My name? Hmm..."
"Yeah, you're no ordinary adventurer. Who the hell are you?!"
The youth tilted his head at the name question, like he couldn't say.
-Crackle! Zap!
Then the wyvern gathered mana for another breath.
Spotting it, the youth glared and raised his sword.
-Thud!
"Name's a bit tricky..."
He leaped at the wyvern.
"Just know me as the 'Hero'."
The Hero.
Here to save this world from the Demon King.
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