Hunting the Earth Dragon (2)
Step, step.
Once we passed the village at the entrance, the true labyrinth finally revealed itself.
The pungent smell of earth and mold, unique to underground tunnels, stung my nose.
As we descended further down the damp passage, the light from the surface gradually faded, replaced by a thick, ominous darkness.
That was the name of the area in the game.
The upper floor of Labyrinth Village was where the barrier's influence began to fade in earnest.
As such, it was a place fraught with the danger of monster ambushes, much like the uncharted territories.
I paused.
Right on cue, a translucent window flickered in the darkness.
Something hiding in the dark alley was targeting us.
"Adelia."
The moment I called her name—
"Kieeeek!"
A green-skinned monster lunged at us.
Burrow Goblin.
It was one of the most common low-grade monsters inhabiting Labyrinth Village.
Without a hint of panic, Adelia swung her sword and ended the creature's life.
Slash!
Thud.
The cleanly severed head of the beast fell to the ground.
Watching this from a few paces away, I thought to myself.
'Thanks to the level windows, I can detect almost any ambush.'
The tunnel was dark.
Only the dim torches installed here and there illuminated the surroundings.
Although my vision was slightly restricted because of it, there was no need to worry about being ambushed.
I could pinpoint the monsters' locations thanks to the level windows floating before my eyes.
'I've felt this ever since I noticed Adelia tailing me the other day, but...'
'The game system is seriously broken in so many ways.'
'Well, putting that aside.'
I carefully recalled the goblin's movements from moments ago.
The speed of the creature lunging at us.
And Adelia's seasoned swordsmanship, dispatching it in a single strike.
—Kieeeek!
Was it because my swordsmanship talent had been unlocked?
Or was it simply because the goblin's level was low?
I didn't know the exact reason, but...
'I feel like I could easily react to an attack of that level now.'
For some reason, I felt that surge of confidence.
'If I get the chance later, I should fight a goblin for practice.'
I was planning to gradually accumulate real combat experience to level up.
Of course, without the help of skills, relying solely on my swordsmanship talent.
"Sir Gaon."
It was while I was lost in these thoughts.
Adelia, looking down at the headless goblin corpse, asked a question.
"What should we do with this?"
Tap, tap.
Adelia nudged the corpse with her foot.
Monster corpses were the primary source of income for adventurers.
To be precise, it was the mana stones that could be harvested from their bodies.
Power sources for barriers, materials for magic tools, and so on. The uses for mana stones were endless.
After pondering for a moment, I gave my answer.
"Leave it. Someone who needs it will take it."
Selling a goblin's mana stone would only yield pocket change.
The lower the monster's grade, the lower the purity of its mana stone.
Rather than wasting time on something so trivial, it was better to find the Earth Dragon quickly.
It wasn't as if we were short on cash right now anyway.
'I'm truly grateful, Lea de Karayan...'
...Thanks to the generous sum she had provided, we didn't have to live like beggars.
Step, step.
Before we knew it, half a day had already passed since we entered the labyrinth.
Nothing particularly special had happened in that time.
It was just a continuous cycle of low-grade monsters like goblins ambushing us, and Adelia hacking them to pieces.
Well, if I had to point out anything unusual...
It was occasionally running into groups of adventurers like this.
"...We will pass first."
A grey-haired swordsman spoke, highly wary of us.
Lowering the tip of his sword to signal he had no intention of attacking, the swordsman slipped past us.
The other party members also followed him, walking slowly.
Watching their retreating figures grow distant, Adelia spoke as if surprised.
"There are quite a lot of adventurers. I didn't expect to run into them this often..."
It was just as Adelia said.
We had already encountered other groups of adventurers about five or six times.
It wasn't anything new. The upper floor of the labyrinth had always been an area crowded with adventurers.
After all, this was one of the few fields where one could stably harvest mana stones.
'First of all, because of the ceiling height limits, there are no large monsters.'
Due to the nature of the tunnels, only small monsters could inhabit them.
Unlike the uncharted territories where anything could pop out, it meant the types of appearing monsters were somewhat fixed.
That alone gave adventurers a significant sense of security.
'Besides, the barrier's influence hasn't completely vanished, so there's little risk of high-tier species appearing.'
However, not all adventurers were satisfied with hunting on the upper floor.
As I mentioned earlier, selling mana stones from monsters like goblins only brought in pocket change.
Therefore, adventurers confident in their skills would descend deeper to continue their hunts.
To places where the barrier's influence faded and high-tier monsters appeared.
'For example...'
'...like that party of adventurers over there.'
As soon as we turned the corner, a group of adventurers came into view.
The moment Adelia saw them, she assumed a defensive stance and spoke.
"...They are well-trained adventurers."
Her reaction was completely opposite to when we encountered the grey-haired swordsman earlier.
And with good reason.
Setting aside their fairly high levels, their party composition was remarkably well-balanced.
'Let's see.'
Two melee fighters, one archer, and a level 21 guide.
It was a highly stable combination for exploring the labyrinth.
'A guide only becomes truly necessary from the middle floors.'
This meant they might be a skilled party that traversed the middle, or perhaps even the lower floors.
They paused.
Sensing our presence, the leader of the other party whipped his head in our direction.
The moment they spotted Adelia, they froze in place.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence fell.
Just as Adelia was wary of them, they also seemed cautious of us.
How long did this standoff last?
A man with a ponytail spoke up on behalf of the party.
...Looking not at me, but at Adelia.
"I've been roaming Labyrinth Village for three years and know the faces of most adventurers, but today is the first time I've seen someone as skilled as you."
"..."
"You seem to be new here. May I ask what brings you to Labyrinth Village?"
Adelia kept her mouth shut, refusing to answer the question.
Since she followed me, she had no intention of speaking first.
But to the other party, who didn't know this, it was merely frustrating.
Sigh.
Let's out a sigh, the ponytail man continued.
"Understand us. There have been a lot of 'looters' around lately."
"..."
"We need to know your purpose here just to put our minds at ease."
Looters. A term referring to those who hunted humans instead of monsters to make a profit.
They were criminals who mainly operated in the lawless uncharted territories and the upper floor of Labyrinth Village.
Instead of answering meekly, I threw a question back at the man.
"Tell us your purpose first."
"...?"
Hearing my question, the man furrowed his brow slightly.
"Is there really a purpose? We're just hunting monsters, earning money from mana stones, scraping by..."
"Is that really all?"
I cut the man off.
Claiming their purpose was simple hunting. It was a blatant lie.
Would they gather a party of that caliber just for basic hunting?
'And above all...'
—Crazy bastard. It's already been over three years since that commission was posted.
Three years. The exact duration those adventurers claimed to have been active in Labyrinth Village.
And that timeline perfectly aligned with when the Earth Dragon subjugation commission was first issued.
It was far too coincidental to dismiss as mere chance.
"Ugh..."
Sure enough, upon hearing my words, the man scratched the back of his neck with a sour expression.
"We are exploring the deep floors to slay the Earth Dragon. What about you?"
I answered immediately, keeping my voice as dry as possible.
"Same here."
The air turned icy in an instant.
Naturally, they would find this uncomfortable. From their perspective, a new competitor had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Let's out a smirk, the ponytail man nodded as if he had expected as much.
"I figured."
Soon, he began throwing childish provocations.
"By the way, aren't you a guide? I naturally assumed you were some nobody hired by that lady."
"..."
"Ah, I get it. Some rich boy bringing his bodyguard along to play explorer."
Hearing those words, Adelia's brow furrowed in anger.
"How dare you speak such insolence...!"
Before she could draw her sword, I quickly stepped in to stop her.
I raised my arm, signaling her to stand down.
As I extended my arm, Adelia suppressed her anger and stepped back.
'The reason he's provoking us is obvious.'
He wants to rile us up so that we initiate the fight.
That way, they can claim self-defense and eliminate us.
They were willing to resort to such underhanded tactics just to keep the Earth Dragon to themselves.
'Do they really think the four of them combined can defeat Adelia?'
Well, it was a foolish assumption.
If this were the level 77 Adelia I first met, maybe.
But having gained enlightenment and broken through the level 80 barrier, Adelia was on an entirely different level.
Seeing how they provoked her without even gauging the gap in their abilities, they clearly lacked basic competence.
'At the very least, they aren't strong enough to subjugate the Earth Dragon.'
It was obvious why they had been empty-handed for three years.
'Well, there's no reason to waste energy fighting guys like them, either.'
It was then.
"Hey, young master. Let me give you some advice."
The ponytail man spoke in a patronizing tone.
He must have interpreted my silence as fear.
"The upper floor might have been easy, but from the middle floors onward, playing adventurer is a quick way to end up dead. You have to know how to protect yourself down there."
Hearing his words, I nodded with feigned compliance.
Do you avoid shit because you're scared of it? No, you avoid it because it's dirty.
I chose the so-called "don't feed the trolls" strategy.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll end my little adventurer game here."
"...?"
"We'll be heading back now."
Turning on my heel, I walked away.
As soon as I finished speaking, I turned and headed in the opposite direction.
Up the slope, specifically toward the path leading away from the middle floors.
"Huh?"
"What's with that guy?"
"Pfft, haha! What a spineless coward."
The next moment, laughter erupted among the adventurers.
They clearly hadn't expected me to give up so easily.
"S-Sir Gaon...?"
Adelia was equally bewildered.
She caught up to me and whispered quietly.
"Are we... are we really giving up like this?"
"No."
As if.
It was just that the place we needed to visit lay in the opposite direction of the path to the middle floors.
"I guarantee you, they won't even catch a glimpse of the Earth Dragon's claws."
"..."
"On the other hand, we will accomplish in one go what they couldn't do in three years."
"Ah."
Hearing that, Adelia gasped in admiration.
Before I knew it, her eyes were filled with deep reverence.
"...I will trust and follow you."
About an hour had passed since then.
"Sir Gaon?"
"What is it?"
"Can we really... find the Earth Dragon this way?"
I nodded without a shred of hesitation.
"Yes."
"..."
Adelia bit her lip, looking at me with skeptical eyes.
It was a look that said she couldn't comprehend my actions at all.
Regardless, I began the final preparations with a resolute expression.
Rumble!
The entire tunnel vibrated along with the sound of the dirt floor shifting.
...It was time to call our "guide."
"H-Huh?"
Startled, an old man resting peacefully in a field bolted upright.
Prick!
Glancing sideways with anxious eyes, he saw his donkey, which had been drinking water from a stream, perk up its ears.
It looked as if it were about to bolt at any second.
"W-Wait! Calm down, Wilson! I know what you're thinking... but don't just run off on your own...!"
"Hee-haw!"
Despite its master's desperate pleas, the donkey let out a bray and began charging off somewhere.
Cursing under his breath, the old man hurriedly chased after it.
"...That damn donkey, seriously!"