32. Glory
"Of course."
"Then I'll leave the support to you! You're the hero of the day, so go wild!"
I'd earned too great a merit. I'd worried it might draw jealousy, but Ash actually pushed me forward.
I cast Darkness on the spot where the orcs were clustered and holding out, cut down as many as I could, then returned to Tia.
I'd also recovered one 2nd-circle spell with the Pearl of Power, so I had resources to spare, but I should save them for an emergency.
Tia had been firing support shots and welcomed me back.
"Do-hyeon! You made it back safely!"
"I said I would, didn't I? So, Tia, is your body still warm?"
"We're in the middle of battle, so of course it is."
Still, since we were in the middle of battle, we couldn't exactly engage in affection. I pulled out my crossbow and gifted arrows to the orcs from a distance.
While I was shooting down the remnants alongside the hobgoblins, Commander Ash called for me.
"Honored one, Do-hyeon! What are you doing over there! The greatest merit awaits!"
Hearing that, I gave Tia a deep kiss, then followed Ash. What awaited us were two monsters standing twice the height of an ordinary person, with bodies just as thick.
Their entire bodies were packed with muscle; their necks were barely visible, as though buried in all that bulk, and even the clubs they carried were nearly the size of a person.
"Ogres. They're guarding the path to the lower floor."
The hobgoblins seemed to recognize the labyrinth's floors too. Well, that's why they'd created a system that even the goblins on the 1st floor used.
"I'll take one. You handle the other."
Ash said it so casually. I inspected the ogre's status window.
［Name］: Ogre
［Race］: Giant
［Challenge Rating］: 2 (450 EXP)*
□STR : 19
□DEX : 8
□CON : 16
□INT : 5
□WIS : 7
□CHA : 7
【Darkvision】: 18m
〔Armor Class〕: 11
〔HP〕: 68
A monster suited for a level 2 party to face. Even a typical level 4 adventurer would have to risk their life to fight one alone.
Before, when I'd faced the Challenge Rating 3 monster, the Goblin Poison Shaman, I'd been with Tia.
But I'd grown far stronger since then.
While Ash faced one ogre with sword and shield, I gripped my sword and charged at the other.
Against a monster of this level, I didn't even need to use Blur.
As I charged in, the ogre brought down the greatclub it held in both hands,
"Shield."
Normally, to cast the Shield spell, you'd need to trace a circle with one hand,
［Feat］War Caster
Requirement: Spellcasting ability, and one of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma of 13 or higher
You gain the following benefits:
▶Ability Score Increase
Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
▶Armed Magic
You can satisfy the somatic components of spells even while holding a weapon in both hands.
▶Opportunity Spell Attack
When you make an opportunity attack, you can cast a spell that deals damage to that target instead of making an attack.
The Feat I'd received from Eira allowed me to cast spells while holding my sword in both hands.
After blocking the attack like that, I closed to point-blank range, took the spell's opening stance, and slashed wide.
Just before the True Strike blow reached the monster's lower belly,
"Divine Smite!"
Normally, after using a mana circuit that consumes a spell use, it takes time to activate another circuit.
Having used Shield, I shouldn't have been able to cast another spell,
But the ability I'd received from Choi Da-in allowed me to cast Smite once per long rest without consuming a use.
Holy light wreathed my sword, and a single flash of radiance split the ogre's lower belly.
Despite the pain in its gut, the ogre didn't lose its fighting spirit. But I still had one move left.
The kiss I'd shared with Tia before coming here had granted me the effect of a short rest. In other words,
'Action Surge.'
I could use the Action Surge I'd received from Lee Se-rin again.
When I swung the sword, fed with mana from the refilled Primary Mana Circuit, once more using centrifugal force,
"Zzurik!"
The ogre fell with only a death cry.
The lingering feel of the longsword in my hand was shouting that I'd cut down that massive monster in an instant.
An enemy with higher HP than the goblin shaman, no less.
"Need any help?"
I asked Ash, who was still locked in a fierce fight with the other ogre,
"I can't let even my merit be taken! Go help the others!"
I drew my crossbow again and rejoined Tia.
"That was amazing! Do-hyeon!"
Tia must have watched my performance from afar, because she said that. Somehow it made me a bit embarrassed.
The battle that day ended in a great victory, and the greatest contributor was neither hobgoblin nor goblin, but me.
***
"I can offer all the orcs I killed, right?"
"If it were up to me, I'd offer half the orcs we killed as well, but"
"If I didn't kill them myself, it has no effect."
First, I offered the orcs I'd killed, fifty in total, as sacrifices.
Tia had killed about twenty as well.
Maybe because we were in the same party, or because she'd provided support fire, the experience from thirty-five orcs and half an ogre seemed to have been distributed to me.
An enormous amount of experience that could easily have pushed me to 5th level. I carefully split it between experience and Contribution Points.
As a result, my experience stood at 6400, one hundred short of the 6500 required for 5th level.
For Contribution Points, after what I'd saved and spent, 725 remained.
They say the moment you reach 5th level, if you hunt recklessly in the upper layer, a disaster occurs. So from now on, I should raise Contribution Points instead of experience.
After offering the sacrifices like that, I suddenly remembered something and asked the hobgoblin commander, Ash.
"Don't you all offer sacrifices to a god?"
For all the praise of offering sacrifices to a god as devout, I'd never seen a hobgoblin or goblin do such a thing.
"We have no god."
We'd never seen a god either, but we'd experienced divine Authority directly and indirectly.
The experience and Contribution Points that came in when offering sacrifices.
The spatial movement experienced at the Temple of the Travel God.
How returning always required only a simple ritual.
But they had no god?
Seeing my puzzlement, Ash explained.
"Unlike your Incubus Race, we are a people abandoned by the gods. That is why we struggle to survive in this land."
Faced with that lament, I couldn't even offer comfort.
"But with this, we've secured the path to the lower floor. If we keep winning, we may reclaim our past glory."
"Past glory?"
"Yes. We once had an Orichalcum mine."
Orichalcum? Isn't that a rare metal?
According to Ash, the hobgoblins and goblins had originally occupied an Orichalcum mine on the 5th floor of this cave.
"It's a very effective material for making magic items."
Some of the goods in the Merit Point shop were also made of Orichalcum.
"But the orcs, who came swarming with numbers, and the giant-kin who followed behind the orcs, took the cave from us."
Come to think of it, the ogre's race was giant. So they weren't guarding the floor for nothing.
I'd thought, like when crossing from the 1st floor to the 2nd, that my excessive performance had made Tartarus send out stronger monsters.
"After that, a war broke out between the peoples, and mining could no longer continue."
"Then securing this passage will play a major role, won't it?"
"Indeed. We can now invade the place they've been using for resupply."
For the glory of their people, the hobgoblins who'd died must have been satisfied. At least, the hobgoblins I'd seen so far were like that.
We returned to the forward base. It was time to investigate the monsters said to come out of the 3rd floor.
***
When we returned from the labyrinth a little earlier than usual, there were people waiting for us.
Dismas had invited us to his mansion.
"What is this about?"
"It's about what happened six nights ago."
Six nights ago—that would be when we'd subjugated the goblin village for Lee Se-rin.
"It's the mission reward. Do-hyeon."
Tia, oddly excited, said that.
Come to think of it, we'd taken the mission before dealing with the disaster.
We asked the priests to tell Kwon Chae-a and Lee Se-rin's party that we had some business to attend to and were heading back early, then went to Dismas's mansion.
As guests, we were bathed and changed into splendid clothes. Time to enjoy the banquet.
Dismas's mansion was more splendid than when we'd visited before.
Maybe it only felt that way because Tia's expression was brighter than before.
All the people invited to the banquet were Dismas's people, apparently.
While we were enjoying the splendid food, sweet drinks, and interesting rumors, someone came from Dismas.
Following him, I saw Dismas in a small room.
"Welcome."
"Good to see you."
Seeing his face again wasn't exactly pleasant, but hadn't I received a great deal from this man?
Even though he hadn't become a direct patron, I couldn't treat him carelessly.
"I knew you two would pull off something someday, but I didn't expect you to do it this quickly."
"You flatter me."
"No, you've far exceeded my expectations. In a good way."
Taking down a disaster with just the two of us must have been quite impressive to Dismas.
"I've taken on the role of delivering the official bounty to you. It's a shame I can't raise your fame, since you didn't want it."
"I'm sorry about that."
According to my deal with Dismas, Tia and I were supposed to become idols to those who lived in the back alleys.
But I'd refused because I disliked receiving too much attention, which would work against Dismas's interests.
"It's fine. A dream shouldn't be too vivid."
But Dismas had no need to defend that.
As I was wondering, Dismas took another sip from his glass, then,
"In my view, you are a born lion."
"What do you mean?"
"Opposing a lion is something only fools do. I simply wish to be on friendly terms with a young lion."
I see. Dismas was telling me he wanted to reestablish our relationship.
Originally, hadn't he planned to grow closer by giving gifts slowly? My performance had overturned that plan.
"What do you hope for once the lion has fully grown?"
If so, what I needed to confirm was what Dismas wanted from me.
What he could do for me was boundless, so there was no need to confirm that again.
"The remains of an animal a lion has devoured are a feast for a fox."
He said, pointing at the sword I wore.
"That sword was entrusted to me by an adventurer who went down to the lower layer, saying he no longer needed it. He asked me to pass it on to his juniors."
"Without any compensation?"
"Of course. Naturally, I admired his care for his juniors and provided him with support funds."
What Dismas wanted was for me, in the distant future when I'd become overwhelmingly stronger than now, to dispose of unneeded items through him.
Naturally, he'd pay the appropriate price, and he'd be able to obtain items that simply couldn't be acquired in the upper layer.
He'd then provide those items to outstanding adventurers in the upper layer, maintaining and growing his influence.
Needless to say, a network would also form among those who'd received support from Dismas like this.
With Dismas, a real power in the city, going this far, there was no reason to refuse.
"Understood."
"Then take these."
What Dismas held out were three bundles.
The first bundle was full of gold coins.
"Exactly one hundred."
No need to count them.
In the second bundle were three jewelry boxes, each containing a transparent octahedral gem slightly smaller than a ten-won coin.
"Diamonds."
"These?"
They looked completely different from the diamonds I knew.
Dismas must have sensed it from my tone, because he asked.
"What do the diamonds you know look like?"
"Well, they're angular like this, pointed at the bottom, and they sparkle as light reflects off them."
Dismas seemed slightly impressed by my description of a diamond.
"I've heard of it. They say such diamonds can be made using high-level magic."
Dismas explained that each diamond could fetch three hundred gold coins, and that everything up to this point was the mission reward.
"Normally, proclaiming your honor in the square would also be part of the reward, but you declined it yourself."
A mission worth a thousand gold coins in rewards. Now I understand why the economic sense of a 4th-level party seemed strange.
"And this one contains magic items I thought you two would need."
With that, he held out the last bundle.