330. Fissure (1)
330. Fissure (1)
- 1 -
The Grand Conference Hall of the Norn Empire's Imperial Palace.
Gathered around a massive marble table, the empire's most powerful figures were in the middle of a meeting.
Summer sunlight pouring through the windows illuminated the map laid out on the table.
"What?!"
Emperor Maximilian's face contorted in an instant.
Though it was merely a minor agenda item tacked onto the end of the meeting, the intelligence concerned a subject that had recently become something of a berserk button for him.
The ruler of the Norn Empire gripped his own chair so tightly that his knuckles went white.
"Orbis adventurers crossed a vassal state's border and raided a dungeon? Without even the permission of our Association?"
The Foreign Minister bowed his head and answered.
"Yes, Your Majesty. It has also occurred in one of our dungeons near the border with Hilsa. What is particularly concerning is..."
"Enough. This is a clear provocation."
The Emperor cut him off and declared firmly.
"Those upstarts from the central kingdoms are testing their influence."
As the Emperor stroked his bushy white beard and spoke, the Foreign Minister opened his mouth again.
"Your Majesty, they are citing the Adventurers' Association rules. They are exploiting the regulation that any adventurer registered with the Association may raid any dungeon, regardless of national borders."
"So you are telling me they are freely entering and plundering dungeons within our own territory!"
The Emperor's voice rose steadily.
As his face grew increasingly flushed with fury, a military representative stepped forward.
"Given that this is occurring simultaneously across the border, it is clearly a coordinated action. Your Majesty, we must show these scoundrels a bitter lesson!"
The Emperor observed a brief silence before arriving at his decision.
"Reinforce the Arilit border with additional troops. And issue an imperial decree to our adventurer guilds as well. If they come into the dungeons in our territory, then we shall enter theirs!"
Exiting the conference room, the Foreign Minister immediately issued new orders to a herald.
It took less than half a day for those orders to reach the Duke of Arilit.
After meeting with the Norn Empire's herald, the Grand Duke of the Arilit Duchy promptly commanded that his nation's border guard be strengthened.
This news was swiftly conveyed to the Zenota United Kingdom as well.
"The Norn swine have begun sealing the border...?"
At the herald's words, the consul's eyes narrowed.
Zenota's council was already on high alert.
In the circular council chamber lined with marble pillars, the chairman, representative of the union, slowly rose from his seat.
His wrinkled face was set like stone.
"Strengthen our border defenses with Leophere, and dispatch guards to the vicinity of all discovered dungeons. No foreign adventurer shall set foot in our territory."
Every nation began to grow tense.
With no one knowing just how far this situation would escalate.
- 2 -
Leaving Sonia and the others with the mercenaries at the social gathering, I returned to my office.
There was an important report to receive.
A social gathering was a social gathering, and work was work.
Just because my subordinates were enjoying themselves didn't mean I could do the same.
Tok-tok.
"Come in."
The ones who entered were Saya and Ran.
The contrast was stark between Saya's quiet steps and Ran's haughty, straight-backed stride as they came in.
"We are a little late."
"No, you're not. Come here."
The two took their seats, and the room briefly fell silent.
I spoke after the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed.
"Now, let's hear it. How are the neighboring countries reacting?"
Saya was the first to speak.
"The Norn Empire has reinforced its borders. While moving troops toward Hilsa, they are simultaneously applying pressure to the Orbis Duchy through Arilit."
"Pressure, you say."
"Yes. Officially, they've raised the matter of 'trade condition renegotiation,' but in reality, it is clearly to secure the safety of adventurers entering their territory."
After setting down my teacup, I turned my head toward Ran.
"What of Zenota?"
"It is the same. They are concentrating forces on the Leophere border. Officially, they have raised the issue of the 'return of the Cheoks Border County,' but they are taking even stronger measures, such as blocking the entry of foreigners."
The return of a border county they themselves had divided up and handed over.
It was a laughable claim.
"So they intend to restrict trade. What is the atmosphere within the kingdom?"
"The mood among the merchants is poor, but..."
Meaning most people weren't paying much mind to it.
Unless you were someone who had to care about this matter, there was no particular reason to.
'On top of that...'
I lightly tapped my fingers on the armrest.
'Kakia and Elienisi. Those two are using more cunning methods.'
Instead of relying on military force, the two nations were employing more insidious approaches.
Attempts to quietly alter the flow by having their own adventurers participate in the dungeon raids.
Of course, even that was expected.
"What's happened with the adventurers?"
The two of them wore serious expressions.
It had already been four days since the adventurers living in the United lands, including Hallai, had entered the dungeons.
But it certainly wouldn't have ended with only good results.
"Those people do not even know what it is they are doing."
"Everything is proceeding as per your will, Master."
I gave a wry smile.
Because those words meant that the seeds of discord had been sown across the continent.
- 3 -
Two days prior. An underground dungeon on the Haisen-Elienisi border.
Tak!
"Gather the precious metals over here!"
"Good heavens. How much is all this worth..."
Immediately after the dungeon raid concluded, Hallai tossed a piece of dry wood onto the campfire and surveyed his surroundings.
The adventurers were organizing the dungeon's spoils.
His gaze soon shifted elsewhere.
'Those people... I could never figure out what they were thinking in the end.'
The Elienisi adventurers hadn't caused any trouble.
To be precise, in the early stages of entering the dungeon, there had been incidents of them picking fights over every little thing, but they quieted down once Hallai began to distinguish himself by demonstrating the 'High-rank' power he had received from Philia.
And so, three days passed.
Within the underground dungeons whose locations the Union had informed them of, there had been hints pointing to other dungeons.
While raiding dungeons scattered across the Elienisi and Haisen border using the hints thus obtained, they had quietly followed behind him.
"How many does this make?"
At the question one adventurer asked behind Hallai, another adventurer laughed and answered.
"Five? It's been a forced march. But we've gotten a lot."
Hallai smiled quietly.
Seeing that the Elienisi side was quiet and cooperating well, he thought this dungeon expedition might end just like this.
The situation was such that all they had to do now was divide the treasure and cores and disband.
Of course, Hallai was not someone who believed in loyalty or friendship between adventurers.
To simply believe in such fairy-tale stories—well, he was already a fine old man who had been through all sorts of hardships.
"... What is the meaning of this?"
But that didn't mean he could have been prepared for a situation like the present one.
"You've arrived, Guild Master Hallai."
Brandon's lips still bore a polite smile, lifted at the corners with proper etiquette.
Hallai glared at that shameless face and quickly scanned the area.
Elienisi adventurers had surrounded Brandon, and the faces of the three Haisen adventurers encircled by them were filled with terror.
Rage blazed up in his chest like a flame.
"G-Guild Master..."
The three adventurers were those who had just reached Advanced rank, but they were promising young talents Hallai had deemed worth nurturing, which was why he had brought them on this dungeon expedition to broaden their experience.
"I asked you what the meaning of this is."
Hallai strode forward and demanded.
Behind him, the Haisen adventurers and the border adventurers he had invited were also glaring at the man, but Brandon stared back at Hallai with a sneer, not batting an eye.
"I thought it was about time we renegotiated the terms."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's simple. If you hand over the cores, we will let these men go alive."
Hallai's face twisted.
Even if they did betray him, he had never imagined they would pull something like this.
He wondered if he himself had been too naive.
His eyes swept the surroundings.
The expressions of Brandon and his close associates did not change at all, but those of the nearby adventurers did.
"You lot. Do you think the Association will sit still if you pull a stunt like this? Your adventurer licenses will be suspended too!!"
Hallai shouted at them.
A few adventurers hesitated, glancing around nervously.
"But that man... isn't he a noble..."
Hallai squeezed his eyes shut.
While border adventurers—enjoying influence, power, and wealth comparable to quasi-nobles—often looked down on aristocrats, it was not so for inland adventurers.
Most of them came from commoner backgrounds.
Even if they banded together and risked danger to earn money, there were few among them who could properly grasp and enjoy that position.
"You people are free from the influence of the nobility! So cease this madness at once!"
But there was no further reaction.
The Elienisi adventurers merely avoided Hallai's gaze without lowering the weapons they held.
"Whether they live or die, we must protect the spoils! There will be no negotiation!"
Those were the words of one of the border adventurers Hallai had invited.
Hearing several voices saying 'Hear, hear' from behind him, it seemed most adventurers from outside Haisen shared a similar opinion.
Hallai hesitated.
The image of his daughter, who would be waiting for him at home, came to mind.
To cure her, wealth was needed. A lot of wealth.
'But...'
The young adventurers before his eyes also had parents, and perhaps even children of their own.
"Take them."
In the end, he nodded.
"Guild Master!"
Other adventurers protested strongly behind him.
"What is the meaning of this! Those aren't your spoils alone! Guild Master Hallai!"
"They are guild property in the first instance. And I shall compensate you all separately."
Hallai stated firmly in a heavy voice.
"But I cannot leave them to die. Look at those youngsters."
"You're a man of principle. You won't live long as an adventurer."
Another adventurer crossed his arms, speaking with a scoffing voice, yet his eyes held a strange sense of respect.
"We don't care as long as we get compensated, but it must be in proportion to the total spoils we've obtained from the dungeons so far. Only then will we have something to report to our own guilds."
"I am aware."
With that, a triumphant smile rose on Brandon's face as he received the cores.
"Do not worry about our adventurers, Guild Master Hallai. Even if these men lose their licenses, they will be able to find other work... and from the start, they won't lose their licenses at all."
"What did you say?"
"I am under no obligation to answer you that far."
Brandon and his adventurers began to exit the dungeon, dragging the hostages with them.
The Haisen adventurers followed behind them at a set distance.
"Then, fare well."
But just as they were about to reach the entrance.
Kung!!
With a sound like thunder, the massive stone door slammed shut.
Dust rose as the air compressed, and pressure pushed against the adventurers' ears.
A shock as if time itself had frozen for an instant.
"What..."
"The door closed!"
The adventurers shouted in disbelief.
It was only then that Hallai realized.
Brandon had merely promised to spare the adventurers' lives—never once had he said he would let them go free.
There was no way he would let witnesses to his misdeeds simply walk away.
Focused on the crisis before his eyes, he had overlooked that all-too-obvious fact.
In an instant, he felt as if the interior of the dungeon had grown darker.
The light from the blue crystals embedded in the walls illuminated the sealed entrance, painting pale terror on everyone's faces.
"Those goddamn..."
Hallai and the adventurers stared at the rock wall before them in utter despair, speechless.
"You sons of bitches!!"
"Goddamn it!"
One of the border adventurers slammed his fist against the rock wall.
Kwak!!
The rock wall caved in, proving the formidable force behind the blow, but the depth was woefully insufficient to break through that stone.
More than anything, this place was deep within a cave inside a mountain.
One wrong move and the ground could collapse, burying them all alive.
Kurrrrng...
But neither could they afford to simply stay here forever.
"Damn it. The dungeon is dissipating. If we don't get out soon, we'll be buried alive either way."
In most cases, a dungeon maintained its interior breadth and size through the magical power of its Dungeon Lord and core.
Meaning the interior of a dungeon whose core and Lord had vanished could no longer sustain that size.
There had been frequent cases of adventurers dying, buried alive, as the space contracted back into the featureless earth after its power was gone.
"Magic is useless too..."
"Damn it!"
One hour passed.
Some adventurers began to use magic and tools to breach the entrance, but it was futile.
The magic the Elienisi mages had laid over the dungeon's own power could not be pierced, and breaking through by force was equally difficult.
"This is all your fault!"
A young adventurer raised his voice at Hallai.
"Just handing over the cores because a noble threatened you! We should have all fought together instead!"
"Watch your mouth, whelp."
A veteran adventurer from the border cut in.
"If the Guild Master hadn't done that, maybe half of us would have made it out of the dungeon. You wouldn't have been among them."
The adventurers' voices echoed through the vast dungeon interior.
Anxiety and fear filled the air.
"How much water is left? Food rations? Check them."
Two hours passed.
One adventurer and his party began checking the supplies.
But soon, a grave silence followed.
They had planned to leave immediately after raiding the dungeon, so they hadn't prepared sufficient supplies.
Water and food amounted to only about two days' worth per person.
"Guild Master Hallai."
Three hours passed. Another young adventurer approached him.
"Are we... going to make it out alive?"
He endeavored to smile as lightly as possible and patted the young man's shoulder.
"Of course. I've been through this sort of situation dozens of times."
Everyone knew. It was a white lie.
The air grew thicker and fouler, and anxiety was turning into despair.
Kudeudeuk...!
And so, four hours passed. Suddenly, the cave began to tremble.
Dust scattered from the ceiling, and small stones fell to the floor.
"Weapons up!"
Hallai shouted.
The adventurers drew their weapons in unison.
Though their faces were weary, a spark remained in their eyes.
"Monsters?"
"No, the sound is coming from the entrance!"
Everyone's gaze converged on a single point. And then...
Kudeung—!
The shut entrance slowly, as if by a miracle, began to open.
Faint rays of light cut through the darkness and reached them.
Emerging from beyond the darkness, carrying torches, was a group of adventurers clad all in black attire and equipped with light weapons.
At their very front stood a woman whose eyes glowed red even in the dark.
"We have come to rescue you all."
Hallai suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He had certainly seen those eyes somewhere before.