Victor Seeks a Party #2
When I opened my eyes, the world was nothing but a vast field of white snow.
“So this is the dungeon? It feels like a lie that we were standing in the park just moments ago!”
“Melvin, be quiet. We have no idea what enemies might be waiting. That said, it is rather fascinating.”
The duo of Melvin and Diarmuid made no effort to hide their sense of wonder. Even these honor students from Class A-1 seemed captivated by the “other world” hidden inside the dungeon. Even the usually talkative Megaira could not hold back her admiration.
“So this is a dungeon shaped by the gods… a training ground where heroes face trials and grow stronger… I never imagined such a place existed. Victor, how exactly did you learn of it?”
Of course I had figured it out by pounding the pavement and digging through every possible source. This Snow Mountain Labyrinth was a secret dungeon unrelated to any main quest or sub-quest. Gaining entry required reading multiple books in the student library and piecing together the hints scattered across their pages. These days everything was neatly organized on TreeWiki or whatever, but back when I had only logged around a hundred hours, none of those resources existed.
Naturally I could not tell them the truth, so I offered a suitable lie instead.
“It was one of the pieces of information I acquired during my time on the student council. Do not inquire any further. It is classified. The important point is that there is no problem with us being here.”
It was known that Victor did not lie. Because of that reputation, no one seemed to doubt my words. Or perhaps they were simply too overwhelmed by the snowy landscape to spare the energy for suspicion. In any case, I felt the same rush of emotion. The thought that every hint and every hour I had desperately chased had materialized right before my eyes filled me with a strange, fresh sense of wonder.
Still, standing around in awe would get us nowhere.
“I will now convey the necessary precautions.”
The dungeon called Snow Mountain Labyrinth was not especially difficult in itself. The monsters that appeared—snow rabbits and ice fangs—were comparatively weak. The real challenge lay in the environment. As the name suggested, it was built around the concept of a labyrinth buried inside a snowy mountain. It was cold.
“Colder than I expected.”
Simply standing at the entrance brought bone-chilling cold. Even I, Victor, felt my teeth beginning to chatter; there was no need to speak of the others.
“Ugh, it’s freezing. First time I’ve been this cold since last November, and it isn’t even my hometown! Spring clearly hasn’t arrived here yet!”
“You people are at least wearing pants. I’m in a skirt.”
Everyone was complaining about the cold. Of course I had anticipated this severe chill. I pulled a small red bottle from my coat.
“All of you, drink this.”
When traveling to Ludens’ frigid zones without proper cold-weather preparations, one would suffer a “cold wave” status that inflicted one damage per second. Characters under the effect would occasionally freeze solid and waste entire turns. That was why a heating potion was useful. The setting was that drinking one would cause the body to generate heat, allowing the drinker to endure even the harshest cold.
Since I still lacked the ingredients for a genuine heating potion, I had prepared a substitute by diluting Bomb Sauce with water. Commonly called Bomb Potion. It lacked the attack-power increase of the original sauce, but it also carried none of the HP-drain side effect. The result was simple: drink it and your body would grow hot, sweat pouring out.
The idea had come to me after watching Victorica eat Bomb Sauce Bulgogi. She had sweated profusely.
“Drink this and the cold should become bearable.”
“Krah! Insanely spicy! But heat is definitely surging through me—no, I’m actually hot! Is it this hot already?!”
Melvin had already drained his bottle. When he shouted about the heat, Diarmuid and Megaira—who had been eyeing the red liquid with suspicion—lifted their own bottles and gulped them down.
“…Spicy.”
“Eek, it’s spicy!”
The reactions varied, yet the effect was identical for everyone.
“You should no longer feel the cold.”
Overcoming the cold meant we had already cleared more than half the dungeon’s challenge.
Melvin and Diarmuid each held a white rabbit in their hands as they spoke.
“Simpler than I thought. Nothing but snow rabbits. Still, these taste good roasted. I ate them often back home!”
“The cold was the biggest problem. To think you prepared for everything, Victor. You’re more meticulous than I realized. When I mixed that Bomb Sauce with water before, it never produced this kind of effect.”
It had been roughly an hour since we entered the dungeon.
“We stop here. This is the entrance proper.”
Standing before the large cave mouth halfway up the mountain, I decided to light a campfire. The interior was a complex maze worthy of the name “labyrinth.” Without prior explanation we might easily become lost. Then the effect of my crudely made Bomb Potion would fade, and this dungeon that had so far offered only boring snow rabbits would once again become an icy coffin.
“There is only one point to remember. Do not stray from my side.”
That was all. Even beginners should understand.
Thus we stepped into the cave.
After walking for about a minute through the straight passage, the sight of stalactites and icicles vanished. Before us stretched a maze of ice walls.
Diarmuid ran a white-gloved hand across one of the walls.
“A maze… It reminds me of Daedalus’s labyrinth. I don’t suppose a bull-headed monster lurks here as well?”
Megaira asked in return.
“Isn’t that a made-up story? A mythical monster with a bull’s head on a human body.”
I answered lightly.
“The Minotaur resides in a different labyrinth, not this one.”
“…A different labyrinth? You mean such monsters truly exist? Creatures that split boulders with axes and dismember people?”
Of course they did. But the level was still beyond what these two could handle. There was no need to explain; they would encounter it eventually. Besides, I needed to keep the minimap in my head clear.
First, three squares to the right—.
I was reviewing the route when a low growl echoed.
“Already?”
A monster native to the labyrinth—an ice fang.
“It is a tier-three monster. Be careful; its bite inflicts frostbite.”
“Finally something worth fighting! Come on!”
Melvin roared and charged. The ice fang was a wolf-like beast easily two meters tall, yet Melvin was a giant in his own right. When the two collided inside the narrow passage, the corridor seemed to fill completely.
“Melvin, keep it pinned. Diarmuid, finish it while Melvin holds it down.”
“Victor, you give orders so naturally.”
“Diarmuid! This thing is thrashing too hard—I can’t hold it long!”
The moment Melvin seized the giant wolf around the waist, Diarmuid stretched a hand into empty air. Two ordinary iron swords materialized in his grip. So that was his “Weapon Summon” skill.
Cross Slash
He swung the twin blades in an X pattern. The white wolf let out a sharp yelp and died instantly.
As expected, Diarmuid’s offensive power was excellent. Bringing these two had been the right choice.
Melvin smiled at the fallen wolf.
“This fellow should fetch a decent capture score, no? We’re one step closer to the path of the hero!”
“More importantly, look here.”
Diarmuid examined the floor where the wolf’s blood had splattered. The ice was transparent like glass, yet beneath it lay a strange pattern.
“This burning sun symbol is the crest of an ancient royal house. There is a structure beneath the ice wall. This entire area is a building encased in thick ice.”
As expected of the honor student Diarmuid. He understood at a glance.
The one who reacted most strongly was Megaira.
“The crest of an ancient royal house? Then there might be a crown hidden somewhere around here. If we obtain it, Lady Enio could claim the empty throne…”
She suddenly clamped her mouth shut. She must have realized that if a crown existed here, everyone present would become rivals for it.
Unfortunately she had already said too much. Melvin seized the topic eagerly.
“A crown! If I get that, can I become king too? Then I could obtain the dice only kings are allowed to hold and become the player of Ludens’ game!”
“Melvin, you only sleep through class, yet you’re strangely well-informed about this.”
“My friend Diarmuid, it’s the crown and the dice! Not knowing would be stranger! The final turn that the ancient king Gilgamesh abandoned. They say completing it allows one to ascend and become a god!”
What Melvin had just described was the ultimate goal of the game D&A and the hidden wish of every student at Ludens.
To become the one who throws the dice instead of being a mere piece on the board.
Regrettably, the crown everyone sought did not exist in this dungeon. There was no obligation to explain that, so we simply kept walking.
“Let’s go.”
Megaira said, “Victor. You really do know the way, right? We seem to have been circling the same spot for a while now.”
“Your eyes must be mistaken.”
I was definitely on the correct path. Yet roughly an hour had passed since we entered the labyrinth. The location itself seemed to drain stamina; everyone looked exhausted. Better to light a campfire, warm ourselves, and take another dose of Bomb Potion.
Whoosh.
Flames rose. We sat around the fire and decided to rest briefly.
“Diarmuid, shall we roast the rabbit we caught earlier?”
“Not a bad idea.”
While Melvin and Diarmuid began roasting the rabbit, Megaira, who had been watching the sizzling meat, turned to me.
“Given the situation, I’ll ask directly. Why exactly did you break the engagement?”
“Is that what you wish to know?”
“You were an orphan. You received an immeasurable debt of gratitude from the Arclight family, did you not? A debt no lifetime could repay. How could someone like you abandon his master?”
“So that is why you appear to hate me. After all, you also carry a debt to Blackstar.”
“Yes. I would never abandon Lady Enio. Even if it placed me in danger.”
“Yet you were manipulated by Enrique and attempted to attack Enio. The one who protected her was me—the person you dislike. Is that not why you are separated from her now?”
“Ugh…”
Her reaction told me everything. Even though she had been controlled, Megaira had clearly been deeply shocked by the fact that she had tried to harm Enio. She might be carrying guilt such as “It was because I was inadequate.” That was likely why she wanted to prove her usefulness again by clearing this dungeon. Enio herself would never consider Megaira useless, yet to such a loyal girl, Victor was nothing more and nothing less than a dog that had bitten the master who fed and raised him. Her hatred was understandable.
But that was Victor’s perspective. I am Ha Seungri. I owe the Arclight family nothing, so I feel no such burden. Even setting my own situation aside, the reason Victor became an orphan was Cain Arclight, head of the Arclight family. Of course that truth had not yet been revealed—it was still only the beginning of the first semester. Neither Victorica, his former fiancée, nor Enio, skilled at gathering intelligence, knew it yet. Since Victor would never turn into some sluggish monster, the secret would remain hidden unless I spoke of it myself.
“Young lady, the item you requested. Here it is.”
“Well done, Tisiphone. You may go. And in this academy, do not call me ‘young lady’—simply call me Enio.”
“I cannot do that.”
Tisiphone, the eldest of the three sisters, vanished back into the shadows. What she had placed on the desk of Enio’s luxurious single room was an old document inside an envelope adorned with a brilliant starlight crest.
It’s a top-secret Arclight family document. Even for Tisiphone it must have been difficult to obtain.
Thinking of her friend’s hard work, Enio broke the seal. Papers cascaded out. She picked one up, and her red eyes widened for an instant before slowly narrowing, trembling.
“This is…”