Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Hunting Festival
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Divine Beasts.
Animals blessed by the goddess, possessing the power to create purified water.
In Odobaekryeong, a world swallowed by the Labyrinth, their importance was nothing short of absolute.
No noble was permitted to harm a Divine Beast.
Since all territories were built upon the bodies of Divine Beasts, harming one meant diminishing the living space of intelligent species and hastening the apocalypse.
However, that didn't mean Divine Beasts were purely beneficial.
Despite the goddess's blessing, they were still beasts, and aside from passively allowing intelligent species to live on them, they acted on instinct.
A Divine Beast that hibernated and then moved indiscriminately when hungry was both a treasure and a nuisance.
It was tantamount to a natural disaster, especially if one crawled into the heart of the Labyrinth.
But in Odobaekryeong, there were extremely rare Awakened Ones who could freely move Divine Beasts through a contract.
They were the Drivers.
Among the five classes of the Awakened—Ranger, Fighter, Summoner, and Caster—they were the most crucial.
The mere presence of a Driver changed not only the safety of a territory but also the very scope of what was possible.
But Drivers were rare.
High-level Drivers of 3-star grade or higher were exceptionally scarce, forcing lords without one to live by clinging to other territories.
This was why there was a saying among nobles that one should recruit a high-level Driver even if it meant giving away a daughter.
“In that regard, the lord of the Grotesque Tree Estate is a very lucky man.”
“Because he's a high-level Driver himself?”
“Yes, and that includes how he was able to pour his family's entire fortune into purchasing a Divine Beast egg.”
“True, you can't get a Divine Beast with money alone.”
The slowly moving Grotesque Tree Estate.
To be precise, a colossal, snail-like Divine Beast that moved with the estate as its shell.
To Dion, who was looking down at Daedalus from the veranda.
Naru, the rabbit-eared boy with a lute on his back, calmly continued his explanation.
“There's even a rumor that he started the Hunting Festival because he spent too much money back then.”
“That makes sense. It must have taken a lot of money to grow the territory this much.”
“Yes, but the fact that he didn't actually go bankrupt is another reason the lord is called a lucky man.”
The Labyrinth was a demonic hellscape.
A place where sacrifices were inevitable, no matter how many safety measures were taken.
For a lord, the Hunting Festival was a double-edged sword.
It was an adventure where one could gain much by leading their territory into the Labyrinth, but a misstep could mean losing the entire territory.
In that respect.
Ras Hara—no, the Grotesque Tree Estate—was certainly lucky.
It had not only avoided ruining the territory while regularly holding the festival but had actually developed it.
However…
“It seems his luck with heirs isn't so good, though.”
“He has over fifty relatives, but only seven of them are high-level Awakened Ones, was it?”
“Yes. And four of them are from his nephew's family. His only direct descendants are his daughter and granddaughter.”
“That must be quite a headache.”
“Indeed. It seems the direct and collateral family lines are already at odds in the estate.”
A family head whose life was nearing its end.
A nephew aiming for the position of the next head.
And a daughter too weak to be a firm successor.
After nodding along to the description of the territory's situation, which resembled a bomb about to explode.
Dion asked bluntly.
“So?”
“Pardon?”
“I already knew all that. It's been two days since we entered the estate. Haven't you found out anything new?”
“Uh, um…”
*Drip.*
A bead of sweat trickling down the back of his neck, Naru folded his rabbit ears slightly and spoke.
“Well, as I said, everyone here in the Grotesque Tree Estate is a relative of the lord.”
“So?”
“It's, it's hard to bribe anyone, so gathering information just by eavesdropping is…”
“So?”
“…I'll try harder.”
“Yes, you should.”
As if realizing that excuses were utterly useless.
After Naru left the room with slumped shoulders, vowing to gather information somehow.
Dion rested his chin on the balcony railing, leisurely lost in thought.
‘I see why the [Calamity of the Grotesque Tree Estate] happened.’
Even without his knowledge of the future, Dion would have been certain.
That something would go wrong during this Hunting Festival.
The Labyrinth, already dangerous.
The estate's complicated succession structure.
And on top of that, Pandora, whose very existence was a disaster.
The Grotesque Tree Estate, with all these elements combined, was no different from a warehouse filled with oil barrels and embers.
‘Well, I could stop it now if I wanted to…’
He didn't know the exact process through which the [Calamity of the Grotesque Tree Estate] occurred during this Hunting Festival.
In his first life, he had only heard it mentioned in records.
In his second, all he had was what he'd heard in passing from a survivor.
But even with that fragmented knowledge, it was entirely possible to prevent the coming disaster.
He knew, at least, what the biggest cause of the calamity was.
If it had been the Voice, it would have prevented the problem in advance and taken a moderate profit.
‘But there's no reason to.’
And yet…
No, precisely because of that.
Dion smiled faintly.
If he'd intended to stop the [Calamity of the Grotesque Tree Estate] in the first place, he wouldn't have even participated in this Hunting Festival.
Stopping it wouldn't gain him much, and in some ways, it would even be a loss.
But if the [Calamity of the Grotesque Tree Estate] occurred as scheduled, he stood to gain quite a lot…
And above all, because he knew he would get to see a rather interesting spectacle.
Dion looked down at the view from the veranda with a beaming smile.
***
“How are the kids?”
“They are all resting well.”
“They don't seem particularly anxious?”
“No. Thanks to the training you've given them, my lord, they all seem to be taking it in stride.”
“…Hmm, is that so?”
Perhaps because the accommodations had been prepared with the assumption that most participants would be nobles or Awakened Ones.
The rooms assigned to them, while not large, were clean four-person suites.
Furthermore, with every service from meals to baths being high-quality, it was only natural that the slaves were resting comfortably.
Of course, others would have been too anxious to rest at all, just from being this deep in the Labyrinth…
But that was a different story for the slaves, who had grown accustomed to the Labyrinth thanks to Dion's hellish training.
Arsha reported calmly.
And added another word to Dion, who had tilted his head slightly.
“Also, I have something else to report.”
“What is it?”
“A butler I encountered outside said that a monster nest was found on our route, and they've decided to make it the first hunting ground.”
“What kind of monster nest?”
“A nest of [Cave Wolves]☆. The pack size is said to be around one hundred or less.”
“A Cave Wolf nest… They've found a pretty good hunting ground right from the start.”
“Do you intend to participate?”
As if to say she would prepare the slaves immediately if he just gave the order.
Hearing Arsha's words, Dion shook his head slightly without much thought.
“No, let's just watch for now.”
“Will that be all right?”
“We didn't come here to hunt things like that anyway. Tell the kids to pay close attention to the Grotesque Tree Estate's hunting methods.”
“…”
“What?”
“No. I was just admiring your foresight, my lord.”
“Hmm?”
The entry fee for the Hunting Festival was by no means small, so it was natural to want to participate in the hunts as much as possible.
Especially when one had brought dozens of slaves.
Admiration for Dion, who, despite this, wasn't swayed by immediate profit and loss and instead sought to broaden his slaves' horizons.
And a sense of inadequacy for not having thought of it herself.
While Arsha wore a complex expression of mixed emotions and Dion tilted his head again, Daedalus continued to advance through the Labyrinth.
Its movement stopped about an hour later.
In a corner of the [Wanderer's Forest], a labyrinth made of colossal trees that soared to the sky.
It was the moment they encountered a massive cave hollowed out beneath a slanted, fallen tree—or more precisely, the numerous wolves swarming inside and out.
“Grrrrrr…!”
“Woof, woof!”
Did they feel threatened by the approach of Daedalus, which was the size of a house?
Dozens of Cave Wolves bared their teeth, their fur standing on end.
Though only 1-star, they were still monsters, and their ferocity was enough to threaten even a high-level Awakened One if they were alone.
But despite the wolves' threats, Daedalus showed no sign of tension, let alone agitation.
*Creeak.*
It simply opened a part of its shell.
And so, the loading dock at the lowest level of the Grotesque Tree Estate—far below the main gate—opened.
The moment a long gangway slid out from within and rested on the ground.
*Ssssssk.*
“Grr?!”
—A pitch-black wave poured out from the Grotesque Tree Estate.
With eight simple eyes.
And eight legs.
Hundreds of [Forest Spiders]☆, smaller than the Cave Wolves but radiating an even more menacing aura.
Perhaps because they hadn't expected other monsters to pour out, the surprised Cave Wolves faltered for a moment.
Baring their teeth, they charged with ferocious roars.
But…
*Thwip!*
“Yelp!”
Despite their bodies, larger than ordinary wolves.
Their hides, tougher and sturdier than a bear's.
And the disciplined movements of their pack.
The Cave Wolves were bound tightly by webbing.
As fellow 1-star monsters who could only run on the ground, they were powerless against the Forest Spiders shooting webs from the trees.
All the more so because they were outnumbered nearly two to one.
And so, a short while later.
When most of the Cave Wolves were bound to the ground by webbing and the rest had fled into the cave.
A group of people emerged from the Grotesque Tree Estate.
“Everyone, get out of the way! Their magic stones are mine!”
“Says who? First come, first served!”
“Dammit, how are so many of us supposed to share a few dozen measly 1-star monsters!?”
An Awakened One who looked like a former mercenary.
A fat commoner who, at a glance, seemed to be holding a weapon for the first time.
And even a centaur young master, who looked somewhat noble, accompanied by his retainers.
After quietly observing nearly all the Hunting Festival participants—aside from himself and his slaves—unilaterally slaughtering the web-bound Cave Wolves.
Dion glanced away.
He then nodded as he watched the kobold leader-kin servants directing the pack animals at the loading dock.
“I see. It's certainly a stable experience factory.”
“A factory, you say?”
“Yeah. A pretty well-made auto-hunt bus, you could call it.”
No wonder the Grotesque Tree Estate's Hunting Festival was so popular.
Watching the participants below squabbling over prey and magic stones, Dion let out a dry chuckle.
“Though the efficiency is crap.”
“…?”
“As expected, if just anyone tries to be a bus driver, things are bound to go off the rails.”
There's probably no bus driver as good as the Voice anywhere.
Muttering such cryptic words, Dion suddenly turned to Arsha as if something had just occurred to him.
“Ah, by the way, Arsha. Do you have a moment?”
“Is there something you wish me to do?”
“Nothing much. Pandora invited me for tea earlier.”
“…”
“It's good for neighbors to be friendly, right?”
“…”