Chapter 126: The 2nd Floor
Chapter 126: The 2nd Floor
Even after that, Guwon continued to hunt on the 2nd floor until the magic circle was complete.
He had vowed to crush the mosquito swarm using a strategy centered on Protect if he ran into them again, but whether by misfortune or fortune, he never did.
And then, finally, the installation of the teleportation magic circle Diana had been working on was complete.
“Ooh. So with this, we can travel back and forth here easily now.”
Guwon said, gazing at the teleportation magic circle.
Just like the one installed at the dungeon entrance, it looked like a giant pillar of light from a distance.
“Yes. This will be an opportunity for the adventurers who’ve been stuck, unable to properly enter the 2nd floor, to grow more quickly. It’s all thanks to you.”
The leader of the Guild employees who had been assisting with the installation said.
I see. So the Guild wasn't just trying to make money; they were thinking that far ahead.
Well, it made sense. If the adventurers' levels rose, the Guild's income would naturally increase as well.
Thanks to them, my life gets easier, and I get to earn more money on the side. It's a win-win.
“So, shall we register right away? Who do I need to talk to?”
In other Great Earth games, you registered by talking to an NPC in front of the magic circle, but maybe because this one was brand new, there was no one like that in sight.
There was definitely someone standing at the teleportation circle by the dungeon entrance, so the method couldn't have changed.
“Come to think of it, this must be your first time. Just touch your adventurer’s card to that.”
Diana said, pointing to a smaller pillar in the center of the glowing column.
What? Did the method really change?
Then again, it was a little strange. In other games, the teleportation circles weren't this flashy to begin with.
But to go inside that thing… Won't it be blinding?
The teleportation circle was glowing so brightly from the outside that it seemed a bit gaudy, which made him a little worried. But when he stepped inside, he found that, contrary to its appearance, it wasn't as blinding as he'd expected.
Is this the power of magic, too?
He took out his adventurer’s card and touched it to the small pillar in the center of the circle, and the card began to glow brightly. Then, new letters began to be engraved on the back of the card, which had previously only listed the Dungeon Entrance.
Even after the light emanating from the entire card faded, the newly engraved letters on the back continued to glow.
Does a new registration method mean a new travel method, too? Let's see.
Guwon lightly pressed the letters that read ‘Dungeon Entrance’.
The moment he did, he felt a sensation of his body floating, and the scenery before his eyes changed in an instant.
So it changed to this kind of travel system.
It was much more refined than having to talk to an NPC every single time. Is this technological advancement?
Guwon pressed the letters on the back of his card again and returned to the teleportation circle on the 2nd floor.
“Ah, wai—!”
Just before his vision changed, he thought he heard someone’s flustered voice.
“What are you doing? You suddenly disappeared! You scared me.”
The moment he returned, he was met with Sara’s scolding.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. I just wanted to see what it felt like.”
“I know you’re not at a level where you need to worry about such a small fee, but I’ll say this just in case. You did know that using the teleportation circle costs money, right?”
“Huh? Wasn’t it free for us?”
“What are you talking about?”
“A portion of the income earned here comes to us anyway, right?”
“That is that, and this is this.”
“Ah, so that’s what that voice was about.”
“A voice?”
“Yeah. When I was coming back here, it sounded like someone was shouting something.”
“You came back without paying?! That’s a crime!”
“Hehe. It’s alright. I’ll just tell them this was a test run.”
The Guild employee said to Guwon with a smile.
She's flexible and a fine young lady.
“By the way, don’t we need to head back to the city at some point?”
Guwon brought it up after Sara, Diana, and Leia had also finished registering.
We’ve only been messing around near the entrance to the 2nd floor, but we’ve still spent a few days in the dungeon.
Besides, travel had become so much easier now, so it seemed like a good time to make a trip back to the city.
“What nonsense is this? Unlike you all, I have been stuck here this entire time. I must see the 2nd floor for myself.”
“Huh? But you’ve been to all these places before. Wouldn’t it be better to rest and resupply first?”
“That’s right, Lady Teluna. You should come with us to the mansion for now…”
“No! It’s been too long, my heart is pounding! I absolutely must go!”
Ah… Guwon had a feeling he knew why Diana was throwing such a tantrum.
She must have been pestered quite a bit by the Mage Association folks.
Honestly, I don't think she needs to be so annoyed by them.
At first, they were obsessed with Diana to the point of madness, but after spending a few days together, they seemed to have calmed down a bit. They didn't feel so fanatical anymore.
From the sidelines, it just looked like a group of much older sisters doting on their adorable youngest sibling, which was actually rather heartwarming to see.
Of course, considering her actual age, I could see how it would be annoying from Diana's perspective.
But well, if she's this insistent, as the party leader, I should listen to her.
“Then how about we try heading to the teleportation circle on the 2nd floor?”
“Excellent! Wonderful! Well! What are you waiting for! Let’s go at once!”
Excited, Diana grabbed Guwon’s arm and started pulling him along.
“Well then, you lot! We’ll see you later!”
“Aaaah…! Lady Teluna…!”
The people from the Mage Association looked a little pitiful, but it couldn’t be helped.
I’m on Diana’s side more than yours, after all.
Urged on by Diana, the party left the spot as if they were being pushed.
“So. Where is the 2nd floor’s teleportation circle installed?”
Diana had said before that it would take several days.
Given the structure of the 2nd floor, if you have a precise destination, the best way is to pick a direction and just go straight.
“Hmm. If my memory serves me correctly, we should just have to head southeast from this entrance.”
“Oh yeah? And which way is southeast?”
“I was not the mapper.”
Diana puffed out her chest and declared this nonsense with utter confidence, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“…You’re not seriously going to say you don’t know, are you?”
“How would I know?”
“Then why were you in such a hurry when you don’t even know the way! There were plenty of Guild employees back there, someone must have known! They’ve probably all left by now!”
“Hmm. It can’t be helped. I suppose we’ll have to go up to the Guild and get a map.”
This infuriating little… She was only saying this now because she knew the Mage Association people had probably gone back by now.
It took a surprising amount of time just to get here from the secret base.
Going back to the Guild and then returning here would waste an entire day.
“If we go to the Guild and come back, we’ll waste the whole day anyway. Forget coming back. Let’s just return to the city and stay the night.”
By now, the heads of the magic schools had probably been given rooms at Diana’s mansion and finished moving in.
Let’s see how you like being surrounded by all of them and suffering a little.
“W-wait a moment! If I think really hard, I feel like I might remember…!”
Diana, knowing this as well, hastily tried to stop Guwon.
“Ummmmmmmmm.”
She frowned, stared at the horizon, and spun around in a full circle.
Your body is young now, so don't start frowning already. You'll get wrinkles.
“So? Figured anything out?”
Guwon said, rubbing Diana’s brow with his index finger to smooth out her frown.
Of course, he could guess the answer without even asking.
“Umm. J-just a moment. I think that cactus over there looks a little familiar…!”
I have no idea how long ago you were last here, but what are the chances the same cactus you saw back then is still around?
No, wait. Plants usually live a long time, so maybe the chances are high?
Anyway, the spot Diana was pointing to was in the 4:30 direction on Guwon’s map.
He couldn’t be sure if the map in his vision worked the same way, but in most games, the top of the map is north. If his map was the same, then the 4:30 direction would be exactly southeast.
Diana’s vague memory and Guwon’s map with its uncertain orientation.
Trusting either one alone was incredibly unreliable, but if they both pointed in the same direction, that was a different story.
For now, let’s assume that way is southeast and give it a try.
“Sigh. Let’s go, let’s go.”
“W-wait. Just a moment. Now that I think about it, I feel like I’ve seen that gaunt tree over there, too…!”
As Guwon started to walk, Diana seemed to get even more flustered and pointed in another direction.
“This is probably southeast.”
Guwon said, walking off in the direction Diana had pointed to first.
And if it’s not? What can we do? Nothing. We’ll just have to think of it as getting in a lot of good hunting.
It was an endless desert, but with his map, at least he didn’t have to worry about getting lost.
“Guwon. Look over there!”
After walking for about half a day and fighting off monsters here and there, the long-awaited time for revenge had finally arrived.
In the direction Sara was pointing, a familiar black mass was flying fiercely toward them.
“Alright. Leia! Protect, please!”
“Yes!”
Leia gripped her staff with both hands and answered energetically.
Guwon dashed forward and took a stance to meet them.
“Alright. Come on, you vermin! Just because you have overwhelming numbers doesn’t mean anything! I’ll show you what it means to fight with your head!”
Just then, something glowing brightly flew past Guwon from behind him, heading straight for the mosquito swarm.
Boom!
And in an instant, the black cloud vanished.
Whoops. Come to think of it, what was it Diana said when she first warned us about the mosquito swarms?
“See? Did you see that? Magic is the ultimate art, the very essence of wisdom!”
Guwon shouted confidently, as if his plan all along had been to wipe them out with magic.
His ability to switch gears so quickly was one of Guwon’s many strengths.
“Mm. It seems you too have been reminded of the greatness of magic. But why did you dash forward like that?”
“Why else? To go pick up the magic stones! It’s going to take forever to harvest them from every single one of those things.”
Guwon thought fast.
“Hmm. Individually, the mosquitoes are weaker than even 1st-floor monsters, so unless you need their items, it’s common practice to just leave the magic stones behind. The general consensus is that it’s better to just kill another monster in the time it would take to harvest them all.”
“I-Is that so? Still, since this is the first time we’ve fought them, let’s harvest them this once. We might need their items for enchanting later.”
In truth, he doubted mosquito parts would be of any use for enchanting, but Guwon put on a brave face and pushed ahead.
“Is that so? Hmm. Well, do as you wish.”
Now that they could deal with the mosquito swarms so easily, there was nothing to stop them.
The party advanced at a rapid pace, just as they had when they broke through the 1st floor with the Guild employees.
“But what do we do when it’s time to sleep?”
When it was time to rest, that question arose.
It would be best to sleep in a dead end like on the 1st floor, but they couldn’t expect to find such a place in the wide-open desert.
It would have been better if there was a sandstone cliff or something, like on the route we took past the orcs last time.
Their current location was completely open on all sides.
“Worry not. My level has risen considerably since then. I can now expand the range of my alarm magic to a 100-meter radius.”
Diana said confidently.
A 100-meter radius was certainly decent. It was enough time to prepare after hearing the alarm go off.
Well, we’d still have to stand watch, though.
They decided on the watch order: Leia and Diana, who had less stamina, would take the first and last shifts, respectively, while Guwon and Sara would take the middle ones.
And now, as he stood watch, Guwon was fiercely bored.
Having just shared such a sweet moment with Leia, the added loneliness probably made his current boredom feel even more profound.
Besides, he hadn't stood watch on any of their recent dungeon trips, so doing it again after so long was quite an ordeal.
In the past, he would have killed time by admiring the beauty of our female party members. But now, even that was impossible.
Because of that damn tent.
On the 2nd floor, sand was always blowing around, so it was impossible to just lay out blankets and sleep like on the 1st floor. Plus, there was the issue of temperature.
That’s why they’d brought the tent, which was said to be reinforced with the windpipe of a Desert Lizard.
It was comfortable to sleep in, of course. It’s not like you could sleep in armor just to block out the heat.
But since they sealed the entrance completely shut to keep the sand out, the person left alone outside on watch duty was bored to death.
Aaaargh! At least give me some eye candy!
Of course, there was no way his inner scream would reach them.
…I should just practice my skills.
In the end, this was the only thing to do when you were bored in this world.
And I needed to practice handling my mana properly so I wouldn't make the same mistake as last time.
Guwon decided to practice his skills diligently until it was time for Sara’s watch.