Chapter 560: First Clear (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 560: First Clear (5)
After the search and seizure of Hamsick's home was complete, we ended up having a lot of time to spare, as there wasn't as much investigating to be done in the space beyond the stone gate as we expected.
"These are the items we found in the initial search, and I'm confident they're not at all ordinary. Commander, please entrust this duty to us. We will study them and uncover all their secrets."
"...We leave the library tomorrow, so unearth anything you can before then."
"Understood!"
While the others were resting, the wizards of the expedition group gathered together and began a series of tests on the items they took from Hamsick's home. Not that I expected them to get anything out of it, though.
And if they do find something, I should be able to sneak in a question to Raven about it.
With the interior of the library now converted into a research facility, I could see Raven among the other researchers doing all sorts of experiments.
She looked happy.
Is that really fun...?
As a barbarian warrior, I couldn't understand her taste in hobbies at all, but I needed to respect her. Also, it was always good to have a few people like her around.
Plus, maybe because she's a player, Versyl doesn't show any interest in academics.
In any case, since we were free to do whatever we wanted until tomorrow, I decided to take it easy and rest.
"The squad reorganization plan has been finalized. All soldiers, check your new assignments on the poster we've created here!"
The redistribution of our forces went into effect sometime later. Between the seven people who died during our various battles in the library and the twenty-seven who died in the final fight, each squad needed to have members moved around and subbed out to ensure they were well-balanced.
"Squad Four doesn't seem to have changed at all."
Since our squad had low numbers to begin with, there were no changes made to our comp, while Squads One, Two, and Three each had some slight changes.
Squad One, forty-nine people.
Squad Two, forty-nine people.
Squad Three, forty-nine people.
Each squad originally had sixty people, but their numbers had been reduced to this. With Squad Four now at thirty-seven, there was only a ten-person difference between our squad and the others.
"We will be holding a meeting! All squad leaders and officers must attend!"
Once everyone had their new assignments, we had another meeting. These guys really liked their meetings. So after what ended up being a short break, I entered the tent right as it began.
"Only with your hard work and loyalty were we able to safely complete our campaign in this library. Nia Rafdonia."
"Nia Rafdonia!"
For some reason, Jerome was leading this meeting instead of leaving it to the deputy commander as usual.
"The wizards are busy with their research, but they haven't yet been able to find a single clue that will aid us in our escape from this floor. As such, we will put that issue on hold until their research is complete."
"So this meeting is..."
"It is to discuss what we will do next."
With that, we got down to business. Since we'd cleared the library, we needed to decide on our next destination. Naturally, the eyes of all the other leaders shifted to me. Since I was the one who had been here the longest, and since I was the one who supplied the map, they likely valued my input a great deal.
Where would be the best place to go next...?
There were three potential candidates.
One: Giant Island.
It'd be possible to farm for Hipramajent's essence there, and that huge giant boss monster lived there too. Also, it had the portal stone that connected to Basement Floor Two.
Two: Rainbow Island.
This was the island in the direction of the rainbow we saw back when the rainy season came to an end. It was a complete mystery of an island, and my gamer senses were telling me that whatever it was, it was the key to Basement Floor One.
Three: Chief Island.
That option went without saying. If our intel was right, that place had the portal stone that connected back up to the first floor, and even if that wasn't the case, I could tell that the village chief was hiding some sort of big secret. If we could capture him and figure out what exactly that secret was, that information would likely prove very helpful in the future.
Hmm, what do I do?
I had gotten to see the strength of the expedition group for myself while fighting alongside them in the library. They weren't perfect, per se, but even I had to concede that they were an impressive task force. Also, considering that the group was composed of knights, wizards, and priests who specialized more in man-to-man combat than hunting monsters, I predicted that if we went, there was a good chance we'd be able to burn down the entire village with the village chief still inside before nightfall.
But oddly enough, something's just not sitting right with me...
I decided to listen to my gut again, laying out the map I took from Hamsick's home and pointing to an island. "...I think this would be the best place to visit next."
It was the one island, other than Rainbow Island, that we hadn't been to yet.
"We check this island out first, and if there is nothing there or if it'll take too long to clear it, then we can immediately head for Rainbow Island after," I suggested.
In other words, we could just drop by this island to fill in the map on the way to Rainbow Island.
"I see. Thank you for your input, Your Lordship." Jerome nodded and accepted my input without giving any indication of whether he agreed or not. "What are you all doing? I didn't call you all here to twiddle your thumbs and listen to the baron's opinion. This is a discussion, so I want to hear your perspectives. Do not hold back."
The other leaders began to share their thoughts, and Jerome listened intently to each one. Then, at long last, he declared what our next destination would be.
"Tomorrow morning, we will head toward the island where this so-called chief resides."
I wondered why he even asked for our opinions if he was going to end up doing whatever he wanted anyway, but I knew that was a bit unfair of me. The only reason we came to Library Island in the first place was because he went with my suggestion.
Hm, I guess not obtaining anything here in the library was a big factor.
We had come here on my advice, but we hadn't gotten anything out of this trip. In fact, we'd ended up losing troops instead. That was probably why Jerome was making this decision. We could capture the village chief, get information out of him, and then use that to plan our next move more efficiently.
I guess it came to this, then...
Besides my strange, lingering unease, I didn't really have any reason to argue against this decision, so I kept my mouth shut and accepted it.
Where would be the best place to go next...?
There were three potential candidates.
One: Giant Island.
It'd be possible to farm for Hipramajent's essence there, and that huge giant boss monster lived there too. Also, it had the portal stone that connected to Basement Floor Two.
Two: Rainbow Island.
This was the island in the direction of the rainbow we saw back when the rainy season came to an end. It was a complete mystery of an island, and my gamer senses were telling me that whatever it was, it was the key to Basement Floor One.
Three: Chief Island.
That option went without saying. If our intel was right, that place had the portal stone that connected back up to the first floor, and even if that wasn't the case, I could tell that the village chief was hiding some sort of big secret. If we could capture him and figure out what exactly that secret was, that information would likely prove very helpful in the future.
Hmm, what do I do?
I had gotten to see the strength of the expedition group for myself while fighting alongside them in the library. They weren't perfect, per se, but even I had to concede that they were an impressive task force. Also, considering that the group was composed of knights, wizards, and priests who specialized more in man-to-man combat than hunting monsters, I predicted that if we went, there was a good chance we'd be able to burn down the entire village with the village chief still inside before nightfall.
But oddly enough, something's just not sitting right with me...
I decided to listen to my gut again, laying out the map I took from Hamsick's home and pointing to an island. "...I think this would be the best place to visit next."
It was the one island, other than Rainbow Island, that we hadn't been to yet.
"We check this island out first, and if there is nothing there or if it'll take too long to clear it, then we can immediately head for Rainbow Island after," I suggested.
In other words, we could just drop by this island to fill in the map on the way to Rainbow Island.
"I see. Thank you for your input, Your Lordship." Jerome nodded and accepted my input without giving any indication of whether he agreed or not. "What are you all doing? I didn't call you all here to twiddle your thumbs and listen to the baron's opinion. This is a discussion, so I want to hear your perspectives. Do not hold back."
The other leaders began to share their thoughts, and Jerome listened intently to each one. Then, at long last, he declared what our next destination would be.
"Tomorrow morning, we will head toward the island where this so-called chief resides."
I wondered why he even asked for our opinions if he was going to end up doing whatever he wanted anyway, but I knew that was a bit unfair of me. The only reason we came to Library Island in the first place was because he went with my suggestion.
Hm, I guess not obtaining anything here in the library was a big factor.
We had come here on my advice, but we hadn't gotten anything out of this trip. In fact, we'd ended up losing troops instead. That was probably why Jerome was making this decision. We could capture the village chief, get information out of him, and then use that to plan our next move more efficiently.
I guess it came to this, then...
Besides my strange, lingering unease, I didn't really have any reason to argue against this decision, so I kept my mouth shut and accepted it.
Though I did, of course, have a question. It was something I wanted to ask earlier, actually.
"...Tomorrow?" I asked. "It's rainy season right now, so what do you mean by that?"
It wasn't the tail end of the rainy season either. Since it was only the second day, dangerous monsters were still falling from the sky as we spoke.
However, Jerome dismissed my concerns. "You said yourself that you have experience traveling during the rainy season, Baron Yandel. There is no reason we can't do the same."
"Uh... but we only got moving when the rainy season was nearly over..."
"Taking an exhaustive survey of this floor is also one of the missions of this expedition. Shouldn't we experience this 'rainy season' properly at least once?"
I felt it every time I talked to them, but these guys really were hardcore as hell.
***
Excluding the wizards, who were busy with their research, everyone went to sleep. The only people wandering around that dark, early morning were the select few on night watch.
I, on the other hand, was under a blanket and staring up at the ceiling in a daze. I had taken a nap that afternoon after the meeting so I didn't feel sleepy at all. Sensing that I wasn't going to nod off any time soon even if I forced my eyes closed for a while, I instead spent the time collecting my scattered thoughts.
Our first ever encounter with and defeat of a rank-one monster.
The deaths of dozens of soldiers.
The missing golden book and Hamsick.
Our next destination.
A lot of things happened today, and there were a lot of things still left to figure out.
I'm interested in what Jerome Saintred said earlier too.
The commander of the expedition group had made the following statement today: no matter how many people died in the process, so long as this expedition got me back to the city alive, the mission would be considered a success. Thanks to that, my anxieties about whether this trip would end up being a repeat of the one to Ice Rock had quieted a little.
If he were planning on killing me, he would have been strategically better off letting Squad Four suffer as many casualties as possible.
However, Jerome instead took pains to ensure the complete opposite. This was something he would've never done if he was scheming against me. Which left me with even more questions than I already had.
Why is the palace actually trying to save me this time? I'm a thorn in their side, so wouldn't it be better for them if I die here?
I had no way of knowing the answer to that. The more I thought about it, the less any of this made sense to me.
The uncertainty pushed me to get up from my makeshift bed and get moving in an attempt to clear my mind.
"Lord Baron? Where are you going?"
"I can't sleep, so I'm going to stretch my legs a little."
"Ah, I see. Understood."
After letting the night watch know what I was up to, I started walking around the outskirts of the large library, figuring that I might get lucky enough to run into Hamsick.
Lo and behold, ten minutes later, I heard a familiar sound from somewhere nearby.
Squeak...!
"(...Hamsick?)" I whispered in the ancient language.
Though I did, of course, have a question. It was something I wanted to ask earlier, actually.
"...Tomorrow?" I asked. "It's rainy season right now, so what do you mean by that?"
It wasn't the tail end of the rainy season either. Since it was only the second day, dangerous monsters were still falling from the sky as we spoke.
However, Jerome dismissed my concerns. "You said yourself that you have experience traveling during the rainy season, Baron Yandel. There is no reason we can't do the same."
"Uh... but we only got moving when the rainy season was nearly over..."
"Taking an exhaustive survey of this floor is also one of the missions of this expedition. Shouldn't we experience this 'rainy season' properly at least once?"
I felt it every time I talked to them, but these guys really were hardcore as hell.
***
Excluding the wizards, who were busy with their research, everyone went to sleep. The only people wandering around that dark, early morning were the select few on night watch.
I, on the other hand, was under a blanket and staring up at the ceiling in a daze. I had taken a nap that afternoon after the meeting so I didn't feel sleepy at all. Sensing that I wasn't going to nod off any time soon even if I forced my eyes closed for a while, I instead spent the time collecting my scattered thoughts.
Our first ever encounter with and defeat of a rank-one monster.
The deaths of dozens of soldiers.
The missing golden book and Hamsick.
Our next destination.
A lot of things happened today, and there were a lot of things still left to figure out.
I'm interested in what Jerome Saintred said earlier too.
The commander of the expedition group had made the following statement today: no matter how many people died in the process, so long as this expedition got me back to the city alive, the mission would be considered a success. Thanks to that, my anxieties about whether this trip would end up being a repeat of the one to Ice Rock had quieted a little.
If he were planning on killing me, he would have been strategically better off letting Squad Four suffer as many casualties as possible.
However, Jerome instead took pains to ensure the complete opposite. This was something he would've never done if he was scheming against me. Which left me with even more questions than I already had.
Why is the palace actually trying to save me this time? I'm a thorn in their side, so wouldn't it be better for them if I die here?
I had no way of knowing the answer to that. The more I thought about it, the less any of this made sense to me.
The uncertainty pushed me to get up from my makeshift bed and get moving in an attempt to clear my mind.
"Lord Baron? Where are you going?"
"I can't sleep, so I'm going to stretch my legs a little."
"Ah, I see. Understood."
After letting the night watch know what I was up to, I started walking around the outskirts of the large library, figuring that I might get lucky enough to run into Hamsick.
Lo and behold, ten minutes later, I heard a familiar sound from somewhere nearby.
Squeak...!
"(...Hamsick?)" I whispered in the ancient language.
"(Here! This way! Come up here...!)"
After glancing around a little to see if anyone was looking my way, I climbed the staircase to the second bookshelf as quietly as possible. Hamsick was hiding in one of the empty slots where a book had been taken out.
"(Why did it take you so long to come?)" it demanded.
"(Oh, I was waiting for nightfall.)"
"(You... are you okay? It looked like you were hurt pretty bad...)"
Uh... I didn't expect it to ask me that right out of the gate. "(...I'm all healed now, so don't worry.)"
"(How could I not worry? After so long, I finally found someone qualified!)"
I tilted my head. "(By qualified... do you mean for the golden book?)" Hamsick had once told me that he couldn't give me the golden book because that item was something he had to save for the right person.
"(That's right! The moment you defeated Kashan, you became qualified!)"
So, like I thought, clearing the library was the achievement I needed.
The joy of having my theory confirmed rushed through me, but I had a question. "(Wait, then is everyone here qualified now?)"
"(Huh? Not at all! You're the only one who got the qualification!)"
"(Hmm, really?)" Then what was the condition that needed to be met? Was it contributing the most to the battle? If that was the case, it still didn't make sense that I'd be picked.
Well, none of that mattered right now.
"(So? Now that I have the right qualifications, what next?)"
When I made it obvious that I was waiting for my reward, Hamsick rushed to say, "(Here, take it! This book is now yours.)"
It handed me the golden book with the boring story written inside. Wondering if I would be able to see some sort of hidden text now that I had the right achievement under my belt, I threw it open. "(...The writing is the same as last time.)"
"(Really?)"
"(What do you mean, really? If I'm qualified, shouldn't you tell me how this book works or something? What, is your job done after you hand it to me?)"
"(Uh... yeah?)"
I sighed. Based on the look on its face, Hamsick seemed to have no idea how to use the book either.
To be honest, that wasn't a big surprise to me. That was how cruel a game Dungeon and Stone was. It never explained anything, so its players had to test all sorts of solutions to figure out how anything worked.
...I think something might happen if I put this book on the altar.
I could already think of a few potential use cases, but I couldn't test them right now. If it worked and something showed up, all the spoils would go to the palace. In the end, I had only one option.
"(Anyway, thanks for giving this to me.)" I took the golden book from Hamsick and hid it in my sub-space for safekeeping. "(So, is there anything else?)"
"(Huh?)"
"(You know, a blessing or unique equipment you want to gift me or something.)"
"(You've already taken everything! My fountain pen and all those precious books I've been protecting!)"
Ah, right.
A moment of awkward silence settled between us, and I quickly changed the subject. "(Right. Well, I don't know if you overheard, but we're leaving tomorrow morning.)"
"(You're... leaving...?)"
"(We have things we still need to do. I don't know when, but I'll definitely come back someday, so don't get too lonely in the meantime.)"
"(Who said I'll be lonely at all? Don't be so full of yourself... you leaving is better for me, hmph! Now I'll be able to relax in my own home!)"
I gulped. Judging by the way it was talking, Hamsick still didn't know what happened to its house.
"(...Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?)"
"(I-It's nothing. I'm going to go now. I'm hungry!)" With a very casual excuse, I booked it back to camp.
The next morning, all the members of the expedition group packed up camp and got ready to leave the library.
"Excuse me... Lord Baron...?"
And the Goblin Paladin, Sven Parav, came to me in those early hours with a bit of startling news.
"Last night... she showed me the future again."
"What did you see?"
"Well..." Parav hesitated for a long moment before squeezing his eyes shut and explaining what he saw in his dreams. "You were surrounded on all sides by the expedition group... and they were in the process of brutally executing you..."
The goddess had shown him my death warrant.
"(Here! This way! Come up here...!)"
After glancing around a little to see if anyone was looking my way, I climbed the staircase to the second bookshelf as quietly as possible. Hamsick was hiding in one of the empty slots where a book had been taken out.
"(Why did it take you so long to come?)" it demanded.
"(Oh, I was waiting for nightfall.)"
"(You... are you okay? It looked like you were hurt pretty bad...)"
Uh... I didn't expect it to ask me that right out of the gate. "(...I'm all healed now, so don't worry.)"
"(How could I not worry? After so long, I finally found someone qualified!)"
I tilted my head. "(By qualified... do you mean for the golden book?)" Hamsick had once told me that he couldn't give me the golden book because that item was something he had to save for the right person.
"(That's right! The moment you defeated Kashan, you became qualified!)"
So, like I thought, clearing the library was the achievement I needed.
The joy of having my theory confirmed rushed through me, but I had a question. "(Wait, then is everyone here qualified now?)"
"(Huh? Not at all! You're the only one who got the qualification!)"
"(Hmm, really?)" Then what was the condition that needed to be met? Was it contributing the most to the battle? If that was the case, it still didn't make sense that I'd be picked.
Well, none of that mattered right now.
"(So? Now that I have the right qualifications, what next?)"
When I made it obvious that I was waiting for my reward, Hamsick rushed to say, "(Here, take it! This book is now yours.)"
It handed me the golden book with the boring story written inside. Wondering if I would be able to see some sort of hidden text now that I had the right achievement under my belt, I threw it open. "(...The writing is the same as last time.)"
"(Really?)"
"(What do you mean, really? If I'm qualified, shouldn't you tell me how this book works or something? What, is your job done after you hand it to me?)"
"(Uh... yeah?)"
I sighed. Based on the look on its face, Hamsick seemed to have no idea how to use the book either.
To be honest, that wasn't a big surprise to me. That was how cruel a game Dungeon and Stone was. It never explained anything, so its players had to test all sorts of solutions to figure out how anything worked.
...I think something might happen if I put this book on the altar.
I could already think of a few potential use cases, but I couldn't test them right now. If it worked and something showed up, all the spoils would go to the palace. In the end, I had only one option.
"(Anyway, thanks for giving this to me.)" I took the golden book from Hamsick and hid it in my sub-space for safekeeping. "(So, is there anything else?)"
"(Huh?)"
"(You know, a blessing or unique equipment you want to gift me or something.)"
"(You've already taken everything! My fountain pen and all those precious books I've been protecting!)"
Ah, right.
A moment of awkward silence settled between us, and I quickly changed the subject. "(Right. Well, I don't know if you overheard, but we're leaving tomorrow morning.)"
"(You're... leaving...?)"
"(We have things we still need to do. I don't know when, but I'll definitely come back someday, so don't get too lonely in the meantime.)"
"(Who said I'll be lonely at all? Don't be so full of yourself... you leaving is better for me, hmph! Now I'll be able to relax in my own home!)"
I gulped. Judging by the way it was talking, Hamsick still didn't know what happened to its house.
"(...Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?)"
"(I-It's nothing. I'm going to go now. I'm hungry!)" With a very casual excuse, I booked it back to camp.
The next morning, all the members of the expedition group packed up camp and got ready to leave the library.
"Excuse me... Lord Baron...?"
And the Goblin Paladin, Sven Parav, came to me in those early hours with a bit of startling news.
"Last night... she showed me the future again."
"What did you see?"
"Well..." Parav hesitated for a long moment before squeezing his eyes shut and explaining what he saw in his dreams. "You were surrounded on all sides by the expedition group... and they were in the process of brutally executing you..."
The goddess had shown him my death warrant.