The Underground Shortcut
“There’s a way to support the dungeon mercenaries? Even though villages can’t be built in the border conflict zone?”
“Yes. There is a way.”
“What method?”
“A straight path connects the Aiparak Dungeon to the Undead Dungeon. When we traveled that route, we went more than six or seven hours without a single monster attack.”
Aside from one Spirit Cloud they had spotted on the straight path, there had been no monsters at all. It was only Jinwoo’s guess, but he suspected the corridor marked the boundary between the Aiparak Dungeon’s territory and the Undead Dungeon’s territory, so monsters instinctively avoided it.
“It seems the monsters know that long, empty corridor is nothing but a straight line and stay away from it. So the plan is to dig a shaft from the closest point in the border-conflict forest down to that underground passage.”
“Dig a hole? Do you have any idea how deep that would be?”
“Some wells are dug fifty meters deep. If we bore a shaft from the surface straight down to the underground corridor, we could send support parties through it to clear the Undead Dungeon.”
Henry, the mercenary guild master whose bones had been hardened by years in the field, found the idea absurd. If they were unlucky, monsters from the dungeon could pour out through the very hole they dug.
“That’s ridiculous. If that happens—”
“Henry, wait a moment. It sounds feasible to me.”
Mayor Mendelss silenced Henry with a quiet gesture and gathered his thoughts.
“It’s possible. If we succeed, Aiparak will effectively control two dungeons. The passage begins on the third floor, but once we open a shaft in the middle, it becomes the same as having a first-floor entrance. That would make clearing both the Aiparak Dungeon and the new Undead Dungeon far easier.”
The merchant guild and the official guild representatives nodded after considering the logistics. If they could bore the shaft accurately, it seemed workable.
“And if, as the mercenary says, no monsters appear along that straight corridor, we could even build a support village right inside the underground passage.”
“Good heavens. Live inside a dungeon? Who would agree to that?”
“Henry, don’t be so quick to dismiss it. If there’s money to be made, plenty of people will move in. Very well, mercenary. In exchange for the information about the connecting passage, what do you want?”
“I don’t have any special requests, but…”
Jinwoo had originally come to the Aiparak Dungeon to recruit members for his mercenary company, so that goal was already accomplished. Still, he saw no reason to leave empty-handed.
“If a support village is built, I want the exclusive right to sell potions there. I’ll construct the shop myself.”
“Exclusive sales rights for potions? Do you even have a source for them?”
“I haven’t revealed it yet, but I am a mage.”
“Oh my. Please forgive our earlier rudeness. With those clothes, we never imagined you were a mage.”
“It’s fine.”
Mayor Mendelss shot Henry a sharp look, silently scolding him for not mentioning it sooner. Henry, however, had been equally unaware; he had left most matters to his deputy guild master.
“Agreed. We will grant you exclusive potion sales rights in that village. Does everyone consent?”
Once the merchant guild nodded, the documents were drawn up.
“Then the verification team will be assembled by our mercenary guild.”
“Oh, so there really was a passage this close to the third-floor stairs.”
Fourteen people—eight hand-picked mercenaries, guild staff, and representatives from the official guild—moved together. With Jinwoo’s party serving as guides, the group of twenty advanced in single file along the corridor. Not a single monster appeared.
Even as they walked, the professional cartographer kept checking their bearings with a compass.
“From here onward, this is the Undead Dungeon.”
“Then we need to dig the shaft near the path we just traveled. Calculating the exact distance to the conflict forest will be the issue.”
Once they entered the Undead Dungeon proper, the priest took the lead. It was clear that the presence or absence of a priest or cleric would drastically change the difficulty of clearing the Undead Dungeon.
“This is the luminous mushroom grove. Because of the light the mushrooms give off, there are no monsters nearby. We can use this spot as a rest area during future expeditions.”
They eventually reached another exit of the dungeon, but everyone merely stared outside without stepping out. They all knew the fearsome reputation of the border Rangers—the so-called Human Hunters.
“All personnel assigned to Sector 3 have been found dead. There were signs of combat, so it appears to be the work of Redecup guerrilla forces.”
“Tsk. Idiots. Reassign the Rangers. And if our men are dead, theirs must die too. Form an assault unit and begin retaliation.”
Brigadier Mitchell of the conflict-forest Ranger brigade felt a pang of regret that the fragile peace—broken only by the occasional cultist searching for dungeons—had finally shattered.
“Brigadier Mitchell, an urgent summons from the Count.”
Mitchell rushed over, assuming the deaths in Sector 3 had already been reported, only to find a civilian present.
“Brigadier Mitchell, this is Mayor Mendelss of Aiparak.”
After introductions, Count Shulman pointed to a spot on the map directly in front of the conflict forest.
“They intend to build a temporary village here and clear the Undead Dungeon. Ah, I suppose I should start with the underground passage.”
Brigadier Mitchell listened without offering an opinion; the Count had not yet given any orders.
Once Mayor Mendelss departed, Count Shulman revealed his true intentions.
“Hearing about the dungeon-clearing plan gave me an excellent idea for pushing the conflict zone beyond the Nukota Mountains.”
“If that happens, the current conflict forest and the dungeons will become Your Excellency’s territory?”
“That’s the goal. First, I plan to open access routes to both dungeons.”
“Pardon? If you do that, Redecup forces might descend upon us.”
“I intend to place a Ranger headquarters in the village that will naturally form once the dungeons are opened. The mercenaries and merchants gathered there will then help the Rangers fight the Redecup forces.”
“So you plan to use the mercenaries?”
“Exactly. Rangers and soldiers alone cannot push back the Redecup troops, but if those troops threaten the dungeons that let mercenaries earn money, the mercenaries and merchants will fight of their own accord.”
“A brilliant plan, Your Excellency.”
“The problem is the kingdom’s noble council. When the war ended thirty years ago, the border here was never clearly defined. They’ll be terrified that this could spark another war.”
“Then the key will be to build the village as quickly as possible and secure a supporting faction.”
“Indeed. We should also consider distributing the village’s interests among the nobles. First, however, we must investigate the two dungeons. Commission surveys of the Undead Dungeon and the Green Dungeon.”
“Understood. I will issue requests not only to the guilds in Aiparak but also to those in the capital.”
“No. Do not go through the guilds. Commission individual mercenary companies directly.”
“Pardon? May I ask why?”
“We need to force the Aiparak people to exhaust their resources digging that tunnel and building their village outside the conflict forest. Only then can we seize the initiative in the village that forms in front of the dungeons. This must remain secret from them.”
“Ah, I understand.”
“Count Shulman has issued a direct commission to the Golden Dawn Mercenary Company, bypassing the guild. Can you spare the time?”
When the noble knight bearing the Ranger brigade insignia arrived, Jinwoo had briefly feared the visit concerned the Rangers killed in the conflict forest. Once the knight explained the secret dungeon-survey request, however, Jinwoo relaxed.
“We were planning to leave anyway, since we’ve already accomplished what we came to Aiparak for. Accepting this secret commission will let us depart without raising suspicion. By the way, I heard there are two dungeons in the conflict forest. Are both included?”
“No. Since the Golden Dawn Mercenary Company has neither priests nor clerics, the Undead Dungeon will be assigned to another company or party. Please explore the Green Dungeon here.”
The knight showed them a Ranger map. The dungeon lay close to the enemy kingdom of Redecup.
“Furthermore, if you discover a connecting passage between this dungeon and the other, His Excellency has stated he will grant you a knight title.”
A knight title was an enormous reward—though it would be meaningless if no connecting passage existed.
“This is the official commission form. Please review it.”
The document the knight handed over requested mapping of the dungeon’s floors, basic monster encounter data, and emphasized strict confidentiality. The reward was one hundred gold—forty million won. Supplies would also be provided free of charge. Still, the dungeon could prove extremely dangerous, so Jinwoo hesitated for a moment before accepting.
“How do we reach the Green Dungeon? I was told we shouldn’t move freely through the conflict forest.”
“Two Rangers will accompany you to handle the mapping.”
Though they claimed the Rangers were there to map, their real task was clearly to monitor whether Jinwoo’s party was properly exploring the dungeon.
“This is Tom, and this is Danny.”
“I don’t understand why you’re buying extra mana stones just to fulfill a delivery request.”
Cezanne clicked her tongue in frustration as she watched Jinwoo prepare to complete the commission that Meni and the mountain-folk siblings had taken on.
“You could just cancel the request.”
“Yes, I could. But that would be a waste. Besides, by doing this we’ve already made a connection, and that connection will bring more opportunities to earn money. Just watch.”
Cezanne could not fathom what kind of money-making opportunity he was talking about.
Voltaire of the Voltaire Trading Company accepted the mana stones Jinwoo delivered and stamped approval for the guild-mediated payment. While doing so, he licked his lips as he glanced at Meni and the mountain-folk siblings standing behind Jinwoo.
He had heard the rumors about the Undead Dungeon that had leaked from the merchant guild. If they really dug a tunnel and began clearing that dungeon, there would be enormous profit—but they lacked capable mercenaries to lead the effort. Even if they bought slaves and sent them to a dungeon training camp, it would take far too long for them to become veterans like these people.
“Since this seems to be fate, I would like to ask the head of the trading company something. If I were to sell this certificate of rights, how much would it be worth?”
Jinwoo showed Voltaire the potion-exclusive-sales certificate bearing the seals of the Aiparak mayor, the merchant guild, and the official guild.
“Ah, so you were the one who discovered that straight underground passage?”
“It was just good luck. I obtained these potion sales rights and the right to build a shop, but I plan to return to the capital, so I intend to sell the certificate. If your trading company is interested, how much would you pay?”
At the mention of selling the exclusive potion rights, Voltaire’s brow furrowed as he calculated.
“…At the very least, it should be worth more than a thousand gold. It is an exclusive right, after all.”
A thousand gold was four hundred million won.
“Isn’t that too cheap? There’s no expiration date on the exclusive rights. The more the Undead Dungeon is cleared and the larger the village grows, the greater the profits will be. A thousand gold is far too little. I think it would be better to auction it through the merchant guild after all.”
“W-wait a moment. How about three thousand gold?”