Victor Is Recruiting a Party. #3

The Ice Fang let out a piercing scream—kyeng, keeeeng!—before collapsing. Its body began to shimmer and turn transparent, eventually leaving behind only a flat pelt and a jingling pouch of Rene. A living creature dying and dropping items instead of a corpse was a bizarre sight, but Melvin and Diarmuid didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

“Diarmuid, that’s one more for me.”

“I cut down two while you were talking.”

To these guys, this kind of scene must be everyday life. After all, back when I played the game, I used to think it was completely normal for monsters and beasts to drop items.

Anyway.

The deeper we ventured into the labyrinth, the more Ice Fangs appeared. From what I remembered, this Snow Mountain Labyrinth was only supposed to house about five Snow Rabbits and seventeen Ice Fangs.

“So far I’ve taken down four, and you’ve got seven, Diarmuid.”

“Hey, why are you leaving me out? I killed six too, you know?”

Listening to my party members chatter, it seemed we had taken care of all seventeen Ice Fangs. That meant there were no more enemies left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inside this labyrinth.

“That last one was probably the final Ice Fang.”

“Really? Man, that’s a shame. I was just starting to warm up.”

Melvin let out a heavy breath. He had sounded confident, but it looked like his stamina was reaching its limit. The same went for Diarmuid, who had sliced through seven monsters. He sheathed his swords into an invisible spatial pouch and clenched and unclenched his fists.

“…That was pretty intense for a walk. I’m a bit tired.”

Megaira seemed exhausted too. Unlike her nonstop chattering when we first met, she had grown noticeably quieter. Still, she hadn’t completely shut up and occasionally asked me questions.

“Is there a boss or something in this dungeon? Like, the dungeon master?”

“There is.”

I could feel tension ripple through everyone at my answer. It was only natural—they were already worn out, and now they had to worry about facing the dungeon’s owner.

“However, the goal of this dungeon is not to defeat its master. Our current strength is still far too lacking to challenge it.”

What I had sensed after entering the labyrinth was that Melvin, Diarmuid, and even Megaira were roughly the same as I remembered, yet slightly different. The difference was that they were all a little weaker than in my memories. Since this was a world where exploring labyrinths and hunting monsters was considered dangerous, it made sense that their growth lagged behind the characters from the game.

That was why taking the boss down with them right now was impossible. It wasn’t that there were no methods at all, but there was no need to go that far. Besides, the place I was heading toward was in the exact opposite direction of the boss monster’s room. The chance of encountering it now was practically zero.

And sure enough, the room I had been aiming for appeared before my eyes. A stone door blocked by solid sheets of ice. The moment I reached out, the door rumbled open with a deep groan.

Everyone shivered and hunched their shoulders as a wave of cold air blew out from inside.

“As expected, they were blooming here in full.”

I spotted flowers blooming between the transparent, crystal-clear walls of ice. Lilies that looked like they were made of clear glass. Seeing them scattered so beautifully across the room, even someone as emotionally rigid as me felt the corners of my mouth soften a little.

When I reached out and plucked one, a sharp chill ran through my hand.

This was a proper Tier 2 ingredient. Just as the description suggested, it really could be used for all sorts of things.

“What the… Isn’t this a Snow Lily? There’s no way it could be anything else with that appearance.”

“Melvin, you know about this?”

“Yeah. It’s from a famous story back in my hometown of Draheim. There was a legend in Ludens about a place where flowers of ice bloom. I never thought the legend was real…”

To think a guy who looked like a Viking warrior would be so sentimental. I was thinking that when Megaira reached out her hand.

“It’s so pretty…”

With a soft rustle, Megaira snapped off a single Snow Lily like she was picking an icicle. I spoke to her.

“Take one to Enio. She will like it.”

This Snow Lily was an item often used to raise Enio’s favorability. If the game’s setting still applied, she would probably be quite happy to receive one.

“Alright. Everyone, gather the flowers and we will head back the way we came.”

I had just decided our direction when Megaira tilted her head.

“We’re not clearing the dungeon?”

“No. Once you clear it, you can never enter this place again. If we wait about a day, the Snow Rabbits and Ice Fangs will respawn.”

It was an infinite resource node. Why would I slit open the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs?

“Then I will give all the wolf pelts and Snow Rabbit pelts to you three. You can divide them among yourselves. In exchange, I will take all the Snow Lilies. Is that acceptable?”

Right before leaving the dungeon, I distributed the loot. We had obtained five Ice Fang pelts, four fangs, five Snow Rabbit pelts, and a total of 120,000 Rene. All of them were Tier 3 items. Even if we sold them, we wouldn’t get much. After shivering in the cold for over an hour, the profit felt disappointingly small. It would have been nice if at least one Tier 2 ingredient like an Ice Crystal had dropped.

Of course, the real reason we came here wasn’t for those junk items. It was for the Snow Lilies. As long as I secured these, everything else was fine.

Even so, Melvin and Diarmuid were overjoyed.

“Amazing! We got this much loot! This is the first time since I enrolled at Ludens!”

“It really is an unexpected harvest. I feel like I gained quite a bit of experience too.”

To these kids who had barely any experience clearing dungeons, even this level of reward must have felt incredible. I gave the excited pair a warning.

“Let me be clear. You must keep the location of this dungeon and how to enter it a secret. If you promise to keep it from others, I will draw you a map so you can come hunt here in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the future.”

“Whoa!”

“In return, bring me the Snow Lilies.”

Diarmuid nodded.

“Fine. It’s not like we could do anything with them besides admire how pretty they are. But Victor, are you really okay with this? Sharing a secret dungeon like this with us. It must have been hard to find.”

“As long as you keep your promise, it is fine.”

If you guys keep supplying me with Snow Lilies from inside this annoying maze, it’s actually a profit for me. Besides, to conquer this labyrinth of snow lilies, my perfectly balanced Bomb Sauce is absolutely necessary. I gave it away for free at first, but now I’m going to start charging for it.

In other words, this was a two-birds-one-stone strategy—expanding my customer base while using them to gather materials.

Diarmuid and Melvin, who had no idea about any of that, looked at me with sparkling eyes like innocent teenagers.

“Biego, you’re actually a really manly guy!”

“It is not Biego. It is Victor.”

“Right! Victor! I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠won’t forget your name again! If you ever need my help, just say the word! I, Melvin, swear on the honor of Draheim that I will help you!”

It seemed I had unintentionally earned Melvin’s goodwill. Judging by this reaction, he would gladly join me if I ever needed more people for a dungeon raid later.

His duo partner Diarmuid also expressed his gratitude.

“Victor, to be honest, I think I misunderstood you. When the rumor spread that you broke off your engagement because another woman appeared, I honestly thought you were trash.”

“That is understandable.”

“But after spending today with you, I understand. The rumors were wrong. There must be some misunderstanding about your broken engagement with Miss Arclight. You are not the type of person who would cheat.”

Is “not the type to cheat” a compliment or an insult? Does it mean I’m that morally upright, or that I’m not charming enough to seduce women? I was momentarily confused, but seeing Diarmuid’s proud expression, it seemed to be his version of a compliment.

So Victor’s negative reputation was rising a little? That wasn’t a bad thing.

“Then let us leave now. The effect of the Bomb Sauce is about to wear off.”

The clock tower in the park was pointing to seven in the evening. Melvin looked shocked.

“The time hasn’t changed at all from when we entered the dungeon. Not even ten minutes have passed inside.”

He was right. We had stayed inside the dungeon for over an hour, yet only about ten minutes had passed outside. The honor student Diarmuid offered his assessment of this strange phenomenon.

“A subspace where time flows differently. The gods’ technology truly defies understanding.”

There was no other way to explain it. Anyway, the fact that it was still only seven o’clock was good news for me too. It gave me enough time to start working on the next dish using the Snow Lilies I had just obtained.

“By the way, why are you following me?”

I was heading back to the club room, but Melvin, Diarmuid, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Megaira were trailing behind me. This was the old school building area, so it was in a completely different direction from the new school building dorms where they lived.

Melvin answered my question.

“We’re escorting you. Those Fimblevert guys have been really active lately, right? Since you live in the old school building, it could be dangerous.”

“Yeah. We’ve got time to kill anyway. Might as well take a walk.”

They said that, but it was obvious they had some kind of ulterior motive. I had a rough idea what it was, but I decided not to mention it.

“Victor, you really live in a place like this? I heard that people expelled from the Student Council get treated badly, but this seems a bit much.”

When we arrived at the club room, Melvin shuddered after seeing where I lived. Was an empty room with nothing but a single blanket really that shocking? Compared to when I was homeless, this place with a ceiling and a roof was practically a palace.

Then Diarmuid added,

“And more than anything, this is the famous haunted old school building. To think a classmate like you was living in a place like this…”

“You all seem to be misunderstanding something. It is warm, there is no wind, and it is a good place. It only looks empty because there is no furniture.”

I gave a brief explanation. But both Melvin and Diarmuid looked at me with expressions that said, ‘You don’t have to say anything more.’ Melvin even declared, “I’ll give you two of my wolf pelts!” and arbitrarily laid the pelts down on the floor of the club room.

What a bothersome bunch. Still, since they were giving them for free, I would accept. Rather than wasting time with these guys, it was better to do what I needed to do. My real work was only just beginning.

“If you have nothing to do, stay and eat what I make. That is why you followed me here anyway, is it not?”