Chapter 29: Rift (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Rift (3)
When playing Dungeon and Stone, in-fighting was bound to occur. And the cause of said in-fighting was always money. Research might have been the top priority of an economically secure wizard, but the reason why most adventurers entered the labyrinth was to make money...
So this wizard bitch had just touched on a very sensitive subject.
"You're going to take all of the guardian's loot?"
The dwarf was no longer smiling kindly. His voice was low, and his eyes were gleaming through his thick hair.
"Do I look like a fucking fool?"
The atmosphere went ice-cold in an instant.
And sensing this—
Click.
The human man placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Of course, he wasn't just an ordinary porter. Breaking the heavy silence, Raven opened her mouth.
"...In return, I will give you all the mana stones that come out of the rift."
"So you want us to eat your crumbs."
"...I think this is a reasonable trade-off. The loot isn't guaranteed to drop every time anyway."
Although she tried not to show it, there was obvious alarm on Raven's face. She probably hadn't expected such a hostile reaction.
You naive woman. You should have known this would happen.
The guardian's loot was pretty much the crown jewel of the rift. And of the loot that could drop, the Numbered Item was a priceless treasure to a dwarf.
"I will not yield the Numbered Item," said the dwarf.
"...Fine. I'll take the guardian's essence instead. And please acknowledge my ownership of any items we discover using my knowledge."
"Fine. Then the two of us can flip a coin over who will take the Rift Stone fair and square."
Haha. Fair and square, my ass.
The two did not even bother to look at me and Ainar as they started fighting for their own interests. Watching them gave me a headache. It was even making me think that it would have been better to clear the rift through blood, sweat, and tears with other first-floor beginners.
If things continued like this, I was really going to have to pick up their crumbs. Being powerless was such a sorrowful state of being.
"Bjorn."
"I know what you're thinking, but for now, be quiet."
"Okay."
My job became clearer. I had to get stronger. Whether those assholes wanted to gatekeep or not, I needed to find my own way to the top. Only then would I be able to protect my interests like they could.
Of course, that wasn't an excuse to concede today.
"Wait."
When I opened my mouth, the two, who had begun conversing in a more civilized manner, turned their eyes to me.
"Take the essence and Numbered Item. But we will take the Rift Stone."
"How greedy."
"Do you think we'd have a problem clearing this map without two barbarians?"
Her eyes were very sharp as they landed on me.
Shit, where did those friendly smiles from the beginning of our encounter go?
Yeah, well, I was just testing the waters.
"Okay, I'll give up the Rift Stone. In exchange, give us first dibs on two essences aside from the guardian's."
"Fine. That much is doable."
"That's fine with me too."
As expected, Raven and the dwarf readily accepted my request. This must have been their Maginot Line. At their level, an essence from a monster other than the guardian wouldn't be all that attractive anyway.
"Shall we go now, then?"
"Yes, standing still is making my body itch to move! Hahaha!"
Once the negotiations were over, the wizard bitch and the dwarf reverted back to their previous selves and laughed.
Freaky adventuring bastards.
***
How long had it been since we had started climbing the mountain road along the fortress?
When we reached the entrance to the fortress, we encountered two winged demon sculptures.
"It's a gargoyle statue."
[Rank Eight Monster: Gargoyle Statue.]
It was a tricky monster that usually didn't move, but when an enemy came into view, it used Petrification and began attacking. The common strategy for dealing with these monsters was to sacrifice one person to Petrification, while the rest defeated the gargoyle statue to release the curse, but...
Unlike most parties, we now had a wizard.
"Kyaaah!"
As the dwarf and I approached the statue, the gargoyle opened its eyes and spread its wings. At the same time, my lower body turned to stone, but it didn't last long.
"Artena Viar."
Raven recited the [Curse Removal] spell, and the battle officially began. Ainar and I took on one gargoyle, and the dwarf took the other.
Bang!
The short dwarf swung his hammer like a madman and smashed both of the gargoyle's legs. Then, when the gargoyle fell to the ground, he smashed its head with the hammer as if he had been waiting for that exact opening.
Is this a dwarf's fighting style?
Taking the enemy down from below was quite a manly-man technique. Well, it was the same on our end too.
"You guys are pretty good too!" yelled the dwarf.
There was not much difference in the time it took us to destroy the gargoyle statues. We, too, were confident in melee combat.
[You have killed a Gargoyle. EXP +2]
The two gargoyles turned into light and disappeared, dropping their mana stones, but there was no need to pick them up. They floated up on their own and were propelled into a large burlap bag.
"I will save the mana stones and distribute them as we go," Raven said.
"That works for me! Hahaha!" replied the dwarf.
The dwarf didn't seem to be worried about the wizard stealing the stones. To be fair, there was no way a wizard would get hung up on such a small amount of money.
"Then, let's go!"
The dwarf smashed through the old wooden door with a hammer and cleared the way.
Is this the start of the real dungeon?
Yeah, well, I was just testing the waters.
"Okay, I'll give up the Rift Stone. In exchange, give us first dibs on two essences aside from the guardian's."
"Fine. That much is doable."
"That's fine with me too."
As expected, Raven and the dwarf readily accepted my request. This must have been their Maginot Line. At their level, an essence from a monster other than the guardian wouldn't be all that attractive anyway.
"Shall we go now, then?"
"Yes, standing still is making my body itch to move! Hahaha!"
Once the negotiations were over, the wizard bitch and the dwarf reverted back to their previous selves and laughed.
Freaky adventuring bastards.
***
How long had it been since we had started climbing the mountain road along the fortress?
When we reached the entrance to the fortress, we encountered two winged demon sculptures.
"It's a gargoyle statue."
[Rank Eight Monster: Gargoyle Statue.]
It was a tricky monster that usually didn't move, but when an enemy came into view, it used Petrification and began attacking. The common strategy for dealing with these monsters was to sacrifice one person to Petrification, while the rest defeated the gargoyle statue to release the curse, but...
Unlike most parties, we now had a wizard.
"Kyaaah!"
As the dwarf and I approached the statue, the gargoyle opened its eyes and spread its wings. At the same time, my lower body turned to stone, but it didn't last long.
"Artena Viar."
Raven recited the [Curse Removal] spell, and the battle officially began. Ainar and I took on one gargoyle, and the dwarf took the other.
Bang!
The short dwarf swung his hammer like a madman and smashed both of the gargoyle's legs. Then, when the gargoyle fell to the ground, he smashed its head with the hammer as if he had been waiting for that exact opening.
Is this a dwarf's fighting style?
Taking the enemy down from below was quite a manly-man technique. Well, it was the same on our end too.
"You guys are pretty good too!" yelled the dwarf.
There was not much difference in the time it took us to destroy the gargoyle statues. We, too, were confident in melee combat.
[You have killed a Gargoyle. EXP +2]
The two gargoyles turned into light and disappeared, dropping their mana stones, but there was no need to pick them up. They floated up on their own and were propelled into a large burlap bag.
"I will save the mana stones and distribute them as we go," Raven said.
"That works for me! Hahaha!" replied the dwarf.
The dwarf didn't seem to be worried about the wizard stealing the stones. To be fair, there was no way a wizard would get hung up on such a small amount of money.
"Then, let's go!"
The dwarf smashed through the old wooden door with a hammer and cleared the way.
Is this the start of the real dungeon?
A strange feeling came over me, and I followed him inside.
"We're going to need some light."
"Leait."
A sphere of light floated above Raven's hand, illuminating the dark room. The space we were currently entering was the outer checkpoint of the castle. It was a place that would have been used to perform various administrative tasks, like checking the cargo of wagons and the identity of visitors before they entered the gates.
"Guhhh..."
Attracted by the light and sound, rotten corpses emerged from within the closet on the wall and under the table and began approaching us.
"It's a horde of Undead."
Undead: an unranked monster that didn't even spit out mana stones, let alone experience points. Their bodies didn't even disappear when they were defeated, except for when they dropped an essence.
"Since these monsters only bite and scratch, I'll save my mana here," said Raven.
Even without the help of magic, it didn't take long to clean out the entire room.
"Mr. Murad and Mr. Yandel, can you go check out the top floor while I open the door?"
"We'll be back soon! Hahaha!"
As I followed the dwarf to the second floor, a space that looked like a common sleeping area appeared before us. There were also about ten Undead, but since the room was larger than the one on the first floor, they were even easier to take care of.
Smack! Smack!
We cleared out the second floor in an instant and climbed the ladder to the roof without much conversation. On the third floor were a dozen Undead soldiers wearing rusty armor, and a commander Undead who was slightly larger in stature. It couldn't exactly be called our first boss monster, but it was one we had to get rid of to progress through the map.
"It's big, but it doesn't look all that different from the others, so let's get rid of it! Hahaha!"
Once again, we quickly cleared out the area and went through the Undead commander's clothes, picking up a horn. When we headed back down to the first floor, the iron door on the other side was already open.
"It's very reassuring to have a wizard with us."
As light poured in from both directions, the windowless room became quite bright, but it didn't matter. All the work that needed to be done at the outer checkpoint was finished. Now, it was time to cross the 160-foot-long bridge.
"Please watch your step, Lady Raven."
"Ah, thank you."
The bridge stopped in the middle, about twenty yards away from the gate. It wasn't eroded, though—that was just how it had been designed.
Boooooo!
When the horn we obtained earlier was blown, the drawbridge began to descend with a rattling sound. And not only that...
[A long-dormant water-based magic circle has been activated.]
"Bjorn! Water is rising from below!"
The moat. Liquid began to fill the trench that had been dug around the fortress walls to prevent foreign invaders—dark, crimson blood.
That was why this place was called the "Bloody Citadel." The sky was red and the ground was too. But there was something else that magnified this macabre vibe.
"Bjorn! Hand! There's a hand waving above the water over there!"
"Don't be nervous, they're Undead."
"Hmph, who said I was nervous?"
A strange feeling came over me, and I followed him inside.
"We're going to need some light."
"Leait."
A sphere of light floated above Raven's hand, illuminating the dark room. The space we were currently entering was the outer checkpoint of the castle. It was a place that would have been used to perform various administrative tasks, like checking the cargo of wagons and the identity of visitors before they entered the gates.
"Guhhh..."
Attracted by the light and sound, rotten corpses emerged from within the closet on the wall and under the table and began approaching us.
"It's a horde of Undead."
Undead: an unranked monster that didn't even spit out mana stones, let alone experience points. Their bodies didn't even disappear when they were defeated, except for when they dropped an essence.
"Since these monsters only bite and scratch, I'll save my mana here," said Raven.
Even without the help of magic, it didn't take long to clean out the entire room.
"Mr. Murad and Mr. Yandel, can you go check out the top floor while I open the door?"
"We'll be back soon! Hahaha!"
As I followed the dwarf to the second floor, a space that looked like a common sleeping area appeared before us. There were also about ten Undead, but since the room was larger than the one on the first floor, they were even easier to take care of.
Smack! Smack!
We cleared out the second floor in an instant and climbed the ladder to the roof without much conversation. On the third floor were a dozen Undead soldiers wearing rusty armor, and a commander Undead who was slightly larger in stature. It couldn't exactly be called our first boss monster, but it was one we had to get rid of to progress through the map.
"It's big, but it doesn't look all that different from the others, so let's get rid of it! Hahaha!"
Once again, we quickly cleared out the area and went through the Undead commander's clothes, picking up a horn. When we headed back down to the first floor, the iron door on the other side was already open.
"It's very reassuring to have a wizard with us."
As light poured in from both directions, the windowless room became quite bright, but it didn't matter. All the work that needed to be done at the outer checkpoint was finished. Now, it was time to cross the 160-foot-long bridge.
"Please watch your step, Lady Raven."
"Ah, thank you."
The bridge stopped in the middle, about twenty yards away from the gate. It wasn't eroded, though—that was just how it had been designed.
Boooooo!
When the horn we obtained earlier was blown, the drawbridge began to descend with a rattling sound. And not only that...
[A long-dormant water-based magic circle has been activated.]
"Bjorn! Water is rising from below!"
The moat. Liquid began to fill the trench that had been dug around the fortress walls to prevent foreign invaders—dark, crimson blood.
That was why this place was called the "Bloody Citadel." The sky was red and the ground was too. But there was something else that magnified this macabre vibe.
"Bjorn! Hand! There's a hand waving above the water over there!"
"Don't be nervous, they're Undead."
"Hmph, who said I was nervous?"
As soon as the blood reached the bottom of the bridge, the Undead who had been floundering on the surface of the river were able to climb onto it. The drawbridge had not yet come down a fifth of the way. The concept behind this part of the map was simple.
[Stay alive until the drawbridge comes down.]
If we were in the game, that was the message that would have appeared.
"Guhhh..."
However, while there were no specific instructions given here, everyone instinctively knew what to do and started pushing the Undead off or smacking them down with their weapons.
Smack! Smack! Crunch!
Although our opponents were Undead, which were unranked monsters, they were a rather difficult foe on the bridge. That was because if you fell off, it was game over.
"All done."
After about a minute, Raven completed her magic spell.
"Uterna Dertu!"
If I were to translate the spell name directly, it would be [Storm of Blades.] A strong, dense gust of wind surrounded us and ground the Undead up in an instant, almost like a blender.
Tututututu.
Almost immediately, the bridge was covered in the corpses of Undead.
"...Amazing," the dwarf exclaimed.
"They're just Undead, of course."
In contrast to her humble words, however, Raven's eyes were full of pride. But it didn't feel like arrogance to me at all. This was not a part of the map that could be easily traversed without a wizard with some kind of wide-range spell. As we continued to turn the Undead that had climbed up onto the bridge into mush, the slowly descending drawbridge finally came into contact with the bridge.
Boooom!
The first stage of the Bloody Citadel was over... ridiculously easily.
***
Having crossed the drawbridge, we had three remaining stages ahead of us: a battle in the outer wall of the city, the dungeon in the inner wall, and then the demon worship room inside the lord's castle.
"This is interesting."
Raven's eyes lit up once she entered the castle and took a look at the ruins. It was like a treasure had just been dropped right in front of her.
"Blacksmiths, taverns, inns, churches, stables used by merchants... Most of this wreckage appears to be public facilities."
The dwarf grinned.
"Is that all that surprising, Miss Raven?"
"Of course. Neither the mountain road we climbed nor the castle had any farmland or dwellings. Meaning there were no farmers in this city. Aren't you curious? What did everyone in this fortified city, built in such a remote mountain area, eat to survive?"
"Well, aren't there alchemists in this dimension, too? They must have just turned mana stones into bread like we did. Hahaha."
"...In truth, most scholars agree that's the most likely explanation."
"Haha! Is that right? Even smart people agree with me!"
"But, Mr. Murad, that's not the only interesting thing. With that long drawbridge and those high walls, this citadel was built to be functional. But who was the enemy they were guarding against?"
As the conversation dragged on, the dwarf grew bored and started to distance himself from the wizard.
"I don't understand why you're asking all these questions. After all, isn't this entire dimension man-made?"
As soon as the blood reached the bottom of the bridge, the Undead who had been floundering on the surface of the river were able to climb onto it. The drawbridge had not yet come down a fifth of the way. The concept behind this part of the map was simple.
[Stay alive until the drawbridge comes down.]
If we were in the game, that was the message that would have appeared.
"Guhhh..."
However, while there were no specific instructions given here, everyone instinctively knew what to do and started pushing the Undead off or smacking them down with their weapons.
Smack! Smack! Crunch!
Although our opponents were Undead, which were unranked monsters, they were a rather difficult foe on the bridge. That was because if you fell off, it was game over.
"All done."
After about a minute, Raven completed her magic spell.
"Uterna Dertu!"
If I were to translate the spell name directly, it would be [Storm of Blades.] A strong, dense gust of wind surrounded us and ground the Undead up in an instant, almost like a blender.
Tututututu.
Almost immediately, the bridge was covered in the corpses of Undead.
"...Amazing," the dwarf exclaimed.
"They're just Undead, of course."
In contrast to her humble words, however, Raven's eyes were full of pride. But it didn't feel like arrogance to me at all. This was not a part of the map that could be easily traversed without a wizard with some kind of wide-range spell. As we continued to turn the Undead that had climbed up onto the bridge into mush, the slowly descending drawbridge finally came into contact with the bridge.
Boooom!
The first stage of the Bloody Citadel was over... ridiculously easily.
***
Having crossed the drawbridge, we had three remaining stages ahead of us: a battle in the outer wall of the city, the dungeon in the inner wall, and then the demon worship room inside the lord's castle.
"This is interesting."
Raven's eyes lit up once she entered the castle and took a look at the ruins. It was like a treasure had just been dropped right in front of her.
"Blacksmiths, taverns, inns, churches, stables used by merchants... Most of this wreckage appears to be public facilities."
The dwarf grinned.
"Is that all that surprising, Miss Raven?"
"Of course. Neither the mountain road we climbed nor the castle had any farmland or dwellings. Meaning there were no farmers in this city. Aren't you curious? What did everyone in this fortified city, built in such a remote mountain area, eat to survive?"
"Well, aren't there alchemists in this dimension, too? They must have just turned mana stones into bread like we did. Hahaha."
"...In truth, most scholars agree that's the most likely explanation."
"Haha! Is that right? Even smart people agree with me!"
"But, Mr. Murad, that's not the only interesting thing. With that long drawbridge and those high walls, this citadel was built to be functional. But who was the enemy they were guarding against?"
As the conversation dragged on, the dwarf grew bored and started to distance himself from the wizard.
"I don't understand why you're asking all these questions. After all, isn't this entire dimension man-made?"
"A constructed space... People who haven't studied dimensionalism might think so, but—"
"Stop, Miss Raven, monsters are coming."
Monsters appeared not too long into our journey into the inner city, from Undead to skeleton archers, mages, ghouls, and even a rank eight monster, a death fiend. The level of the creatures spawning was not much different from those that could be found in the Land of the Dead, but there was a big difference in scale. Each group had at least several dozen monsters.
"Everyone, get close to me."
Moreover, while we were dealing with one group, others heard us and gathered. Within a minute of encountering the first group, hundreds of monsters surrounded the area. But at that moment, the Storm of Blades we had witnessed earlier swept the surrounding area once more.
Shhh—!
Like any magic spell made for mass slaughter, it couldn't grind through every single one of them. Some of the ghouls survived with just one severed limb, and that wasn't even taking into account the high defense and regenerative ability of the death fiend. But...
"Please take care of the remaining monsters."
There was no doubt that by slaughtering the Undead and skeletons, which accounted for more than 90 percent of the monsters, Raven had done the work of multiple people.
"Ainar!" I shouted, and Ainar ran out. Our target was the death fiend, and our method of hunting it was... Well, it didn't require any verbal explanation. One glance at each other was all it took.
"Behelahhh!"
We had fought hundreds of monsters together and had now reached a point where we hardly made any mistakes. It was time for the True Double Barbarian Tackle.
Boom!
The dwarf watched in astonishment as we lifted both of the death fiend's legs up into the air, slammed it onto the floor, and then smashed its head open.
"...Do you normally hunt like this?"
His eyes seemed to say, 'Who are these barbarians?'
"Is there a problem?"
"No. Quite—quite exciting, just like a typical barbarian! Hahaha!"
There was no point in being embarrassed, but I found this a little ironic. I mean, the fighting method the dwarves used wasn't particularly elegant or sophisticated either.
"Raviod Eheltun."
There were seven death fiends left, but when Raven put a Wound Exacerbation Curse on them, they were easy to take down. Death fiends, which had an innate Body Preservation passive ability, weren't that difficult a monster to deal with.
"I think I can see why everyone thinks wizards are great..." Ainar muttered blankly.
Had she come to understand how useful wizards were in just two battles?
Raven didn't respond, but when I looked, I could see her lips twitching. She seemed pleased about the admiration coming her way.
The dwarf threw in his two cents, too.
"Haha! No doubt about it, having a wizard completely changes what you're able to do."
I agreed as well. If we had attempted the Bloody Citadel with a party of five beginners, a head-to-head battle like this would not have been possible. We would have been stuck trying to pick off their numbers from the outskirts, and it would have taken ten times longer.
"Hmm, well... This is what I studied so hard for. You also need to have a talent for it, of course."
Raven fidgeted at the successive compliments. Slowly, I was beginning to get a grasp of her character—a gifted wizard who pretended to be humble but loved to show off and was extremely passionate about magic and research. And I was starting to get a sense of how to deal with her, too.
"Then I'm going to go around and collect some research data for a bit. If it's okay with you, can you all give me a hand?"
"We're ahead of schedule thanks to you, so of course we can help. Hahaha!"
"Thank you."
So, after the battle, we scoured the rubble of the city, collecting antiques, books, soil, metal, and the flesh and bones of the Undead.
"Thanks to all of you, I finished early. So, let's move on!"
I was stunned for a moment.
Huh? Wait, you're done? You defeated all the monsters and searched the entire area, so why are you not taking it?
"What are you doing over there? We're leaving."
Could it be...they really didn't know? What about the item that you could easily find if you broke the statue in the fountain?
"A constructed space... People who haven't studied dimensionalism might think so, but—"
"Stop, Miss Raven, monsters are coming."
Monsters appeared not too long into our journey into the inner city, from Undead to skeleton archers, mages, ghouls, and even a rank eight monster, a death fiend. The level of the creatures spawning was not much different from those that could be found in the Land of the Dead, but there was a big difference in scale. Each group had at least several dozen monsters.
"Everyone, get close to me."
Moreover, while we were dealing with one group, others heard us and gathered. Within a minute of encountering the first group, hundreds of monsters surrounded the area. But at that moment, the Storm of Blades we had witnessed earlier swept the surrounding area once more.
Shhh—!
Like any magic spell made for mass slaughter, it couldn't grind through every single one of them. Some of the ghouls survived with just one severed limb, and that wasn't even taking into account the high defense and regenerative ability of the death fiend. But...
"Please take care of the remaining monsters."
There was no doubt that by slaughtering the Undead and skeletons, which accounted for more than 90 percent of the monsters, Raven had done the work of multiple people.
"Ainar!" I shouted, and Ainar ran out. Our target was the death fiend, and our method of hunting it was... Well, it didn't require any verbal explanation. One glance at each other was all it took.
"Behelahhh!"
We had fought hundreds of monsters together and had now reached a point where we hardly made any mistakes. It was time for the True Double Barbarian Tackle.
Boom!
The dwarf watched in astonishment as we lifted both of the death fiend's legs up into the air, slammed it onto the floor, and then smashed its head open.
"...Do you normally hunt like this?"
His eyes seemed to say, 'Who are these barbarians?'
"Is there a problem?"
"No. Quite—quite exciting, just like a typical barbarian! Hahaha!"
There was no point in being embarrassed, but I found this a little ironic. I mean, the fighting method the dwarves used wasn't particularly elegant or sophisticated either.
"Raviod Eheltun."
There were seven death fiends left, but when Raven put a Wound Exacerbation Curse on them, they were easy to take down. Death fiends, which had an innate Body Preservation passive ability, weren't that difficult a monster to deal with.
"I think I can see why everyone thinks wizards are great..." Ainar muttered blankly.
Had she come to understand how useful wizards were in just two battles?
Raven didn't respond, but when I looked, I could see her lips twitching. She seemed pleased about the admiration coming her way.
The dwarf threw in his two cents, too.
"Haha! No doubt about it, having a wizard completely changes what you're able to do."
I agreed as well. If we had attempted the Bloody Citadel with a party of five beginners, a head-to-head battle like this would not have been possible. We would have been stuck trying to pick off their numbers from the outskirts, and it would have taken ten times longer.
"Hmm, well... This is what I studied so hard for. You also need to have a talent for it, of course."
Raven fidgeted at the successive compliments. Slowly, I was beginning to get a grasp of her character—a gifted wizard who pretended to be humble but loved to show off and was extremely passionate about magic and research. And I was starting to get a sense of how to deal with her, too.
"Then I'm going to go around and collect some research data for a bit. If it's okay with you, can you all give me a hand?"
"We're ahead of schedule thanks to you, so of course we can help. Hahaha!"
"Thank you."
So, after the battle, we scoured the rubble of the city, collecting antiques, books, soil, metal, and the flesh and bones of the Undead.
"Thanks to all of you, I finished early. So, let's move on!"
I was stunned for a moment.
Huh? Wait, you're done? You defeated all the monsters and searched the entire area, so why are you not taking it?
"What are you doing over there? We're leaving."
Could it be...they really didn't know? What about the item that you could easily find if you broke the statue in the fountain?