Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: 10. Mine Dungeon. (1)
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During the group's journey by carriage, fortunately, they weren't ambushed by bandits or anything of the sort. The central region did have relatively good public security, but more than that, there simply weren't any bandit crews bold enough to tangle with one of the Ten Strongest. Even the continent's most notorious bandit gang usually went out of its way to avoid drawing the attention of the Ten Strongest.
In any case, after five days of fairly comfortable travel, the Allen Mercenary Corps caught sight of a massive city nestled between wide-open plains and a broad river. Towering mountains stood majestically along the arrogantly flowing river—a perfect example of a city backed by mountains and facing the water, without a single flaw.
The great city of Agnentia—
A place known as the City of Silver for its abundant silver mines. Of course, most of the mined and refined silver had to be handed over to the Empire, but even the portion kept as compensation was more than enough to amass unimaginable wealth. Thanks to that, Agnentia had become one of the continent's most renowned and prosperous cities.
With the silver mines disrupted by the dungeon, it was only natural that the city would be deeply concerned.
The ruling marquis family must have been eagerly awaiting a group capable of thoroughly cleansing this wretched monster den, as the marquis's own son came out to greet them at the gates of the marquis's castle.
Of course, Allen—being the lowest of the low in the group—had no idea what was happening outside. He simply sat quietly in the carriage until told to disembark. The carriage paused briefly near the gates before moving on again. As expected, it wasn't his stop.
The carriage procession entered the marquis's castle and came to a halt in a remote corner of the grounds. Finally, the signal to disembark came. The mercenaries leaped out one by one, stretching their stiff bodies. Groans of relief echoed here and there.
Guides who had been waiting assigned themselves one to each mercenary corps. The Allen Mercenary Corps followed theirs in a cluster to the lodgings where they'd spend the night.
As one might expect, the room was completely empty. Still, it was far cozier and more luxurious than some shabby inn. The mercenaries gave the room a quick once-over, yielding the best spots to their leader first before laying out their bedding to claim their preferred areas.
There was a minor squabble over "this is mine" and "no, that's mine," but it resolved peacefully enough.
Once the room was sorted, the mercenaries headed to the dining hall for dinner. The food was plentiful, allowing them to eat their fill.
Back in the lodgings, they hit the sack early. They needed to rise before dawn tomorrow, so best to sleep soundly from early evening.
Dmitris, the timid believer who had claimed the spot next to the leader, knelt on his bedding before lying down. He clasped his hands tightly and offered a long prayer. Allen, the atheist beside him, watched and pondered a very philosophical question: whether such actions actually helped at all.
After finishing his prayer and lying down, Dmitris cautiously addressed his leader, who was still wide-eyed and staring at him.
"…Do you think the gods will watch over us?"
It was a question laced with worry about the dungeon exploration starting tomorrow. Would the gods protect them to see it through safely?
Allen gave a faint smile at those fear-filled eyes.
"Who knows… They'll handle it themselves, I suppose?"
Of course, if gods even existed.
The group departed the city at dawn, accompanied by two guides leading them to the silver mine.
They crossed a massive stone bridge built over the river and entered the forest. The dawn forest was serene yet eerie.
The group marched in two columns, constantly vigilant in all directions. Monsters from the deep valleys rarely appeared, but they did sometimes… The odds of one showing up today were slim, but with the dungeon right ahead, a bit of tension made for good preparation.
The felled path leading straight to the mine had grown overgrown with fresh weeds in the time since traffic had dwindled. The crunching underfoot mingled with shallow breaths, creating an uncanny atmosphere.
As the sun just began to rise, they arrived at a massive fortress built of stone walls. Mining had halted, leaving it cold and silent now, but in its heyday, it must have belched heat day and night from smelting silver.
The fortress gates swung open at their arrival. Though no workers remained, guards were stationed there permanently.
Viola signaled a brief rest here before entering the mine proper.
"Rest—!"
Everyone flopped onto the dirt indifferently, munching on fruit scraps they'd pocketed from their early breakfast. Stamina was key for the mission, so eat whenever you could.
The short break ended, and Viola called out again.
"Rest over—!"
That meant prepare to move. They reformed into two columns and set off at Viola's signal. The fortress guards watched wide-eyed as the mercenaries plunged fearlessly into that terrifying mine. No amount of gold could make them consider it.
Allen, positioned midway in the long line, realized upon entering the mine that the interior was surprisingly spacious. Five grown men could stand side by side with arms outstretched… It was an old silver mine, and the scale certainly reflected that.
As they walked the straight tunnel, a foul stench began to waft in at some point.
"Fuckin' hell, who shat themselves?"
Not just Allen—the other mercenaries noticed too. He guessed it was monster secretions or a corpse.
Even as a master of the 24-hour grind, he had no talent for gleaning info from smells, naturally. …Though if [Guild Master] had really supported smell detection, he might have.
The stench grew worse. Strange substances clung to the tunnel walls. No one touched them, curiosity be damned. Who knew what they were—better not risk chopping off a finger.
Sunlight had vanished entirely, replaced by a line of a dozen torches and a few mana orbs illuminating front and back.
Fortunately, the Allen Mercenary Corps had a redhead mage, whose mana orb on her magic wand emitted far brighter light than any torch. That alone earned them recognition as a solid outfit. That was the prestige of mages.
The group had traveled quite a ways down the tunnel without encountering monsters yet. Either good luck, they were deeper in, or they'd returned to their lair—one of the three.
Still, the mercenaries were far more tense than in the forest. They reacted sharply to the slightest movement or sound. Anything could lunge out from anywhere at any time.
Soon they reached a vast cavern. It was enormous—the torchlight didn't reach the opposite wall.
Suddenly, Viola, leading the way, raised her hand sharply then clenched it into a fist. Signal to halt silently. Everyone was on edge, so no collisions with the person ahead.
A silence fell, broken only by stifled pants and gulps of dry saliva.
In a dungeon, even tiny sounds demanded caution. They weren't fully in yet, but with the dungeon spawning the tunnel, the mine was part of it now.
Viola extended just her index finger from her fist, jabbing it toward something in the darkness to indicate direction. Something was there.
Her keen senses had detected a monster lurking in the shadows. Fortunately, it was asleep—no movement.
Just one, in any case. No need for the whole corps to swarm it. Viola pointed at a few of her own mercenaries, signaling them to follow.
They crept forward stealthily toward the spot she'd indicated… And beyond the flickering torchlight, a shape began to emerge.
—!!
Dmitris, the timid believer seeing a monstrous beast for the first time, clapped both hands over his mouth in terror. He'd nearly screamed.
It was huge—elephant-sized, roughly.
The thing had wrinkled, shriveled skin and multiple pairs of thin, spider-like legs. Its mouth, as wide as its body and rounded, bristled with vicious teeth protruding like spikes above and below… Getting caught in that wouldn't end with mere pain.
Viola crept as close as possible to the prone monster, gave her selected mercenaries a final glance, then slashed hard at its neck with her sword.
————————!!!!!
The body thrashed wildly as its head came off. Even decapitated, the monster gaped its jaws wide, trying to swallow Viola whole.
The mercenaries hammered the head and body with clubs and axes, pounding it into meat paste. Only then did it stop moving entirely.
Allen was impressed by Viola's flawless handling. And that single stroke severing the thick monster neck—truly, a genius swordswoman.
"Rest."
She called for a break. The mercenaries exhaled in relief and sprawled out anywhere.
Cabrioldi, the axe-wielding mercenary from Allen's corps who had been chewing something sloppily, grinned at his leader as if relieved.
"We're pretty lucky, huh? Doesn't seem too tough."
"Hey, you idiot. Don't jinx us. Shut your mouth."
Nora, the superstitious woman with the iron mace, warned the loose-lipped Cabrioldi. He just shrugged it off nonchalantly.
Allen the atheist didn't really believe in superstitions either, but… After some time as a mercenary, he couldn't dismiss them entirely.
…Somehow, that comment made him feel like they'd just invited bad luck, and he couldn't shake the unease.