Episode 331
Episode 331
"How is it? Does it work?"
"It seems fine? Seriously, how did you make this?"
Nilia marveled as she examined the leather canteen up and down.
The fact that she couldn't spot any special gems, materials, or reagents made it even more fascinating.
"Though it'll only last about two weeks."
"Two weeks? That's a bit disappointing... but still usable."
"If you were to buy this with silver coins, how much would you pay?"
"???"
Nilia was taken aback as her friend suddenly turned serious, launching into market research.
What was she planning?
The hunters picked out some fairly useful artifacts and expressed their gratitude.
"Thank you. I never expected to find something like this."
Baishada, who had obtained a strength-enhancing ring, looked thoroughly satisfied.
Of course, wearing it came with the curse of reduced mobility, but it was a manageable drawback.
"It wasn't me—it was the priests of the Prisinga Order who gifted these."
"True. But we wouldn't have received them without you. By the way, priests... It feels wrong to just accept these without anything in return..."
"Not at all. If you consider it Prisinga's mercy, we would be pleased."
The two hunters, who had been hesitating, suddenly remembered something and asked:
"Come to think of it, we heard a small dungeon was discovered in the forest beyond the Bridge Gate. Is the Prisinga Order not interested?"
The Bridge Gate was Granden City's southern gate—meaning the dungeon had been found in the woods about half a day's journey south of the city.
It wasn't a particularly large dungeon, nor was it an ancient ruin, so it hadn't become a major topic of discussion. Dungeons were discovered more often than people thought.
For adventurers, it was just a matter of casually exploring and slowly clearing it out...
...but for priests in nearby cities, the story was different.
Just as merchants would rush to prepare goods and head to the area upon hearing about a dungeon (to prey on adventurers), priests would immediately take precautions when they heard the news.
Even a small dungeon could unleash unknown curses. If an infected person entered the city, it could potentially trigger an epidemic.
So, religious orders usually dispatched priests to investigate newly discovered dungeons—just in case.
"We were actually planning to go check it out. We requested an escort from the city council..."
"If you don't mind, we'd be happy to escort you."
And of course, priests didn't go to such places alone.
Whether they were accompanied by paladins or hired trustworthy guards, preparations were necessary.
From monsters to deranged adventurers, the dangers were plentiful—so precautions were essential.
Hunters from the Shadow Patrol or the Wasteland Star-Catchers were more than capable enough.
"It feels rude to ask even more of you, but..."
"Not at all. After receiving such gifts, if we just walked away, the mountain spirits would laugh at us."
"That's right. Please let us help."
Seeing the hunters' sincerity, Priest Mehrid realized refusing any further would be discourteous.
"Thank you. Then let's leave the remaining tasks to the others and go take a look."
"I'll help too."
"Much appreciated."
Priest Mehrid expressed gratitude when Dijiling volunteered.
Watching this, Lee Han felt a sudden spark of inspiration.
'This is my chance!'
"I'll help as well."
"Huh? Lee Han of the Wardanaz family? But... didn't you come with the professor?"
"It's fine. The professor can handle the rest."
While Professor Verdus was away eating, Lee Han planned his escape.
What could they say if he left to assist the Prisinga Order for a while?
"I'll help too."
Thud—
Nilia placed a hand on Lee Han's shoulder and spoke up.
With even Lee Han going out of his way to help the Order, she couldn't just stand by.
"But are there really that many monsters around there?"
"Huh? I don't know either."
"...???"
Nilia tilted her head in confusion.
"Wait, weren't we going to help them because monsters were appearing?"
"No. I'm trying to escape Professor Verdus. And while we're at it, I want to check the artifact demand among adventurers."
"......"
Hey!
The group quickly slipped through the city gates. Lee Han glanced back. Fortunately, there was no sign of Professor Verdus chasing after them.
'Seems he hasn't noticed yet.'
After passing through the gates and running along the road, it didn't take long to reach their destination. In the distance, they could see tents and lines of people spread out within the forest.
Quick-footed merchants had already arrived with their carts and set up tents. Adventurers sat around them, sharing information.
"So you're saying mud lizards appeared inside?"
"That's what I heard. You'd better bring blunt weapons."
"I don't want to change my weapon just for one mud lizard. Any other way?"
"Hold on. I've got a book here. Mud lizard, mud lizard..."
"Besides monsters, is there anything useful inside? Hunting monsters won't fetch much. The real money's in valuable loot."
"Don't be ridiculous. It's a naturally occurring dungeon. Even if there's something useful, guys like us wouldn't recognize it."
"Why not? Just grab everything you can get your hands on. Whether it's minerals or plants, if you haul everything out, at least one thing's gotta be worth something, right?"
"Have you ever even been in a dungeon? As if that'd work. How the hell would you know what's valuable in that pitch-black place? And how would you check after bringing it out? Some mage'll just toy with you like a plaything."
"Damn... You've got a real talent for ruining the mood before we even start."
Lee Han listened to the conversation with interest. Nilia wasn't particularly engaged—she'd heard enough of such talk during her patrol days.
"Did you hear that, Nilia?"
"Huh? What? Hear what?"
"Don't you sense the need in that conversation? I smell business opportunities."
"I don't know... That kind of thing..."
Nilia couldn't understand her friend's suspicious obsession with business ventures.
Did he really need to start a business?
Even without one, Lee Han seemed perfectly capable of making money just fine...
"Huh?"
"Look, it's the priests!"
The adventurers brightened upon seeing the priests of the Prisinga Order arrive.
While merchants charged exorbitant silver coins even for simple healing salves, the priests were different.
Here, the only people who genuinely cared and worried for the adventurers were the priests.
"Thank you! Thank you for coming, priests!"
"Hey, move aside. The priests need a place to sit."
"But we were here first..."
The adventurers shoved the merchants aside to secure a good spot for the priests. They barked at the grumbling merchants:
"Don't you have any gods you believe in? Won't you visit a temple when you're injured?"
'Filthy, petty bastards.'
The merchants relocated while vowing to overcharge these adventurers later.
"Priests, let me help set up your tent."
"Ah, no need."
Lee Han stopped the approaching adventurers and raised his staff.
"Excavate."
Pits formed where the tent poles would be planted, and the surrounding earth was neatly smoothed out.
Once the tent was set up, Lee Han immediately lit a fire, summoned water into a pot, and comfortably took his seat.
The adventurers watched in awe as he completed in minutes what would take others hours—their gazes mixed with reverence.
"So that's magic...!"
"That's actually possible?"
"Well, it's magic—of course it's possible."
"That's weird. I was once in a party with a mage. I was so thirsty I begged them to summon water, but they flat-out refused. Said they needed to conserve mana."
"That guy was lying to you."
"That bastard...! So that's how it was!"
While the adventurers misunderstood, Lee Han surveyed the surrounding merchants.
'Potions, tools, miscellaneous goods. Hmm. The competition's pretty fierce.'
"Since it's about buying quality goods cheap and selling them high, the competition is fierce."
But there's always a niche market.
'No artifacts.'
It was only natural.
What crazy merchant would bring such expensive artifacts here to sell? They'd be lucky if they didn't get robbed on the way.
'If I were to make an artifact...'
As Lee Han was lost in serious contemplation, Priestess Dijiling asked Nilia with a puzzled expression.
"Are you perhaps worried a curse might appear right now?"
"W-well... I'm not sure..."
Nilia couldn't bring herself to tell Priestess Dijiling the truth.
"Priest!! My leg!! Is this a curse!?!"
"No. It's muscle pain."
"I see."
As expected, nothing major happened.
At most, the adventurers who occasionally entered came out either looking exhausted or with a broken bone or two.
Occasionally, some adventurers would emerge groaning while dragging a massive monster behind them.
Thud!
"That one's got guts. That guy."
"But the real challenge is butchering it properly."
"Right. Just bringing it out isn't the hard part."
Even after hunting a monster, selling it for a good price required skill.
If it had a magic stone inside, that would make things easier, but skinning it and properly extracting the meat was also a highly difficult skill.
Of course, for hunters from the Shadow Patrol and the Wasteland Star-Catchers, it was so familiar they could do it with their eyes closed.
"Tsk tsk... What a shame."
"His knife work was lacking. Just now."
"Tell me about it."
The two hunters critiqued the adventurer's butchering skills as he hacked away with a hand axe and a crude knife.
Lee Han also nodded and chimed in.
"You should make a lateral cut first and then pull—that would make skinning it much easier."
"Wha...?!"
Baishada was stunned.
Just like last time, this boy from the Wardanaz family was oddly proficient in hunting and butchering, as if he had been personally trained by the Shadow Patrol.
It was truly baffling.
"......"
Nilia stared intently at Lee Han, who slightly lowered his head.
"Thanks for the lesson."
"No... It's fine..."
Nilia instinctively knew that saying something like "Actually, I taught him" to those two hunters would only complicate things unnecessarily.
She was already misunderstood enough as it was.
'What even is social magic? It's not some evil cult technique.'
Rumble—!
The ground shook violently as a deep sound echoed from underground.
Everyone present was startled by the sudden change.
"What in the...?"
"Priest! This way!"
The hunters immediately shielded the priests. Though they didn't know what was happening, it was clear something had been triggered in the dungeon.
'What's going on?'
Thud!
Fortunately, they soon found out what had happened inside the dungeon.
An adventurer stumbled out in complete disarray, babbling incoherently.
"P-people got teleported...! People from somewhere else appeared with monsters...!"
"What? What are you talking about??"
"Move aside!"
Someone capable of giving a proper explanation rushed out.
"I am Berhirg, a knight of the Kerel Family! My subjugation squad and I were teleported here while on a mission in the Red Lotus Forest! Many are severely injured—we request immediate aid! In the name of my family and the families of those in the squad, we will duly compensate those who assist... cough."
The knight, clearly badly injured, dropped to his knees, coughing.
But that alone was enough for everyone to grasp the situation.
"It seems spatial teleportation magic was cast during their subjugation, sending both the monsters and them into the dungeon. We should contact the city and request healers immediately."
Merchants prepared to lay out the wounded while priests hurried to call for additional support from the city.
Lee Han approached Berhirg and began healing his deep wounds with magic before administering a potion.
If they tried to heal everything with potions alone, neither their bodies nor their supplies would last.
"...???"
Priest Mehrid was utterly shocked to see Lee Han casting healing magic so naturally.
What in the world are you doing???