Chapter 24

"No, how did this happen?!"

The cry of the receptionist who came running.
Her voice grew even louder when she saw the split stone.

"No, if you do this...!"
"It's not like I destroyed it completely; you can still use it. Besides, I think this stone was originally here."

It's not like I shattered it into pieces. I just split it in two. Of course, some fragments... no, a lot of fragments flew off.

But it's not like the stone lost its function. Isn't it good that the obstacle doubled?

Still, since she looked sulky, I gave one more silver coin, and the receptionist finally nodded. So three silver coins were enough?

I thought that would be the end of it.

"No, you have to pay for this too!"

The receptionist raised her voice, looking at the sword I had broken while cleaning up the training ground.

Naturally, it was my fault for breaking it, so I tried to give three silver coins, but Hera glared and stopped me.

"It's just a cheap piece of shit sword, why give three coins?"

"That sword is actually quite expensive..."

"Should I go ask the Armory how expensive it is?"

The receptionist's mouth shut tight.

Hera examined the sword fragments and hilt, then handed the receptionist one silver coin and five copper coins. The receptionist took them without saying anything. I guess that was the exact market price.

As we left the training ground and walked, Hera asked.

"That thing you used, it's what paladins use, right?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, you couldn't use that before, how did you..."

I didn't intend to tell her. After all, it's useless knowledge even if she knew. But Hera thought for a moment, then looked at me as if she realized something.

"You and that coin!"

"Hmm."

"So it's related to that. What was it?"

"Well, it's not easy to explain..."

Hera looked extremely curious. I didn't tell her. There was no way to explain it in the first place. Hera muttered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something like "Is it a special offering?" and shrugged.

"Well, I guess it's something."

"It is something."

"But then you're not lacking power anymore, right? Can't you just keep climbing now?"

Lack of absolute firepower. One of the reasons I hadn't been able to conquer the dungeon. Hera's words were valid. Because that problem was solved.

But if you only look at that, it was correct. However, an entirely different problem existed.

"For all I know, the Deep Layer got even stronger."

"Ah."

"You'll need to brace yourself."

It'll be a fierce fight. Thinking about it, the perk that went to waste is really a shame. I poured so much money into it, and it got reset.

No, let's think about it a bit differently.

The 「Punishment Amplification」 perk, which increases the firepower of 「Touch of Punishment」, was taken to supplement my skill tree, which lacked special single-target firepower. But now I don't need to do that anymore. Because I have 「Divine Smite」, which is top-tier single-target firepower.

Then wouldn't it be possible to take a perk like 「Echo of Punishment」?

For reference, Echo of Punishment fires a follow-up attack once. You could say it's the same in terms of firepower, but it's a bit different. A single 8 damage kills a 0/4 Nerubian Egg and leaves a death spider, but 4+4 damage can remove both the Nerubian Egg and the spider together. That kind of feeling.

Looking at it that way, it's not such a bad thing...

"Let's go."
"Wait a minute. You're Rian, right? The dungeon..."

The training ground had become noisy due to the commotion I caused. Some of them recognized me and approached. They were nobodies, so I was just pushing them away with a 'hwook hwook', but someone blocked the training ground door and stood there.

A familiar impression. A huge build. A completely shaved head with only a topknot left. A long horizontal scar on his face. Complex tattoos all over.

An impression that screamed 'I am a dangerous person'... the kind of character that would get instantly killed by the protagonist in a light novel.

"Rian, you're back?"
"I'm back."
"Good. Tell me how the dungeon is."

I stood in front of him and gestured for him to move. He didn't budge. A sigh escaped me.

"Lake, move."

"I need to hear your answer first."

"Go ask at the City Hall. Director Harabeoji told me to keep my mouth shut."

"Hmph. I can't trust that."

As expected of a deep-layer scavenger, he's being a fucking nuisance.

He went into the training ground and picked up a sword. Only then did Lake release the blocked entrance and step back. While I was putting the sword back, he threw a question.

"Do you know what happened?"
"Go ask about that too."

At my curt reply, Lake frowned.

"Rian, don't act like that. Sharing information is essential among deep-layer explorers."
"Bullshit. That's something you guys say among yourselves. You sons of bitches, the ones who call themselves 'Deep Shadow' or 'Deep Road' or whatever, you fucking rip information out of us, but have you ever given us anything?"

These bastards only come around when they need something and fucking cause trouble. And even then, they send the guys they know. They know they'll get beaten if they send strangers.

"Oh, you and the City Hall don't get along?"
"That's never happened. Anyway, if you don't intend to tell me, let's leave it at that."

Lake said that and left.

You're afraid rumors will spread and cause trouble, right? Because it'll mess with your business.

I shook my head with a 'jeolle jeolle' and headed to the lodging.

It was around lunchtime two days later that people started coming out of the dungeon.

"Someone came out!!"
"Really?!"

I had sent Erion to the training ground to build stamina and was reading a book when a voice echoed through the inn. I went out of the room and looked downstairs, where a very excited person was splattering spit.

"No, if you go into the dungeon now, you'll all die!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Goblins are using magic and stuff! On the 8th floor!"

"How can goblins use magic? This guy's crazy."

"No, they really do!! I heard it, I'm telling you?"

He was extremely excited and rattled off stories.

Goblins use magic. Gnolls attack in formation. Trolls launch wave attacks. Et cetera.

Even though it sounded unbelievable, I, who had experienced it, could tell. It was the complete truth.

Still, the troll wave attack seemed a bit bullshit.

"The City Hall will announce related news this afternoon!"

Soon after, the city herald walked around shouting at the top of his lungs. Probably to make an announcement about the current dungeon situation.

I already knew the content, so I didn't think I needed to go listen, but someone came instead.

It was Calliope.

"Something has changed."

At the central district café, which was completely deserted. As soon as she sat down, Calliope said that.

Hera glanced at me, then looked puzzled.

"What changed?"

"I don't know either."

"Hehe. To those who see, it is seen. You must know well yourself, Rian."

There's no need to tell her. Rather, I was more curious how she knew. But she wouldn't tell me either. When I gestured for her to state her business, a reply came.

"The investigation results are out."

"What is it?"

"That we currently know nothing."

Are you kidding me?

Calliope ignored my dumbfounded look and drank her coffee. Hera had a similar expression.

"It's not caused by the dungeon's external magic circles or twisted mana. I saw that myself."

"You saw it yourself?"

"Yes. Normally they would never show me, but the situation is urgent, so they showed me. Thanks to that, I got to see some interesting things..."

If that's the case, it's not a problem with the City Hall's management. It must be a problem inside the dungeon... How the hell do we find out about that?

"Anyway, I'll be returning to the Magic Tower."

"Okay."

"This matter is interesting, but... I can't leave Arcanum empty for too long. It's a bit regrettable."

"Yeah, take care."

I could feel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Calliope's gaze on me. It still gave me goosebumps, but well. This wasn't the dungeon; it was outside. Nothing to worry about.

As I kept giving short answers, Calliope gave a faint smile as if disappointed.

"I miss that time. When I went into the dungeon with you..."

"I don't really miss it."

"Hehe. People always ruminate on memories. Because we have beautiful memories built in the past, we can move toward the future."

"What if the built memories aren't very beautiful?"

"They will become beautiful. Time is convenient that way."

"Stop talking nonsense and go."

A meaningful voice. I waved my hand, telling her to stop being dramatic and go, and Calliope smiled slightly before standing up.

"The investigation team will depart."

Before leaving, Calliope said.

"Investigation team?"
"Yes. We need to know for sure what happened."

That was true.

The City Hall and the Dungeon Management Bureau are greedy for money, but they're not insane. Of course, they would have given all the information they had to Calliope. She's the Vice Tower Master of the Magic Tower and a high-ranking noble. They even showed her the dungeon's magic circles, so that says it all.

And yet, if there's still no answer, then this is definitely not something that can be solved by a quick investigation. It was a situation where we needed to know for sure what was happening inside.

"And I heard that other places have also sent people to this city."

"Other places?"

"Sebron, Marsevan, Orthean... The dungeon being blocked is an important matter. They've all heard the situation too."

"Hmm."

That was all Calliope said. She gave me a meaningful look and disappeared. Are we supposed to pay the bill? I gave Hera a look that said 'What were you doing? You always stick me with the bill and pass it to others,' and Hera smiled sheepishly. Anyway, whenever she sees a pretty woman, she loses her mind.

"Let's go too."

I stood up, hearing the outside noise getting louder. It seemed the City Hall had just announced the current situation.

After the news was announced, the city was in an uproar.

"Strengthened for an unknown reason? Fucking hell! I need to go make money!"
"Are you crazy? Do you know how few of those who went in came out?"

Inns, bars, plazas, and elsewhere. Wherever people gathered, related stories kept coming.

"I heard that if you go into the dungeon now, you can get four times the magic stones."

"Four times?? Then we fucking have to go!!"

"But they're blocking it now. Why? They say it's because if you get four times the magic stones, the City Hall bastards would lose money."

"These lunatics!"

"It's better to sell magic stones quickly now."

"Won't they go up more?"

"Do you think the City Hall will just watch? They'll take measures. I think now is the highest."

Most of it was nonsense. Some stories I could guess who spread them, and some were completely incomprehensible.

We watched the situation unfold while drilling Erion at the training ground. We had just come out of the dungeon early, so we really had no idea how things would develop.

"Huff... huff... Is this really... right...?"

"Of course it's right. Your stamina is too weak. Not long ago, you were struggling so much."

"That bag was... heavy...!"

"That's partly heavy, but a normal explorer should be able to carry that much. You're just weak."

Hera worked Erion like crazy. She made him carry a load of about 20 kg and continue going up and down the training ground and nearby hills.

Stamina isn't something that builds up quickly, so there weren't dramatic effects in a short time. But still, Erion's stamina was visibly increasing. Well, that might be less because Hera trained him well and more because Erion's stamina was originally so low.

"Did you hear that story? They say the investigation team is departing."

"Investigation team?"

"Yeah. I heard they're gathering strong explorers to go..."

Ah, and I also heard that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the investigation team was departing.

Naturally, an offer came to me too. And naturally, I refused. I had no intention of going to die.

Why would I think it's going to die?

Things like investigation teams would have been planned in advance. Calliope must have known beforehand. And considering her personality, if she isn't joining... then it's not a good opportunity. There was no need to take the risk.

After spending some time like that, a different news came this time.

It was about a rescue team.

The center of the rescue team was not the City Hall side. It was the Pantheon side.

Specifically, it was the Ailas Cult.

In short, Ailath is the god of healing and mercy, and naturally, the cult was very strong. Healers also served him. And since he is the god of healing and mercy, not the god of compassion and salvation, the cult also made a lot of money.

"We are recruiting people to join the rescue team!!"

In the plaza, now nearly empty of people, someone from the Ailas Cult shouted. There were few onlookers. Ironically, there were many people gathered nearby. It was the 'Iron Ash Knights' dispatched from the Sebron Kingdom and their detachment, and they seemed to be cooperating with the Ailas Cult.

"Why are they doing that?"
"How should I know?"

I thought while looking down at the plaza from the second-floor balcony of the inn. The City Hall was staying still, so why were they doing this? Because of the god of mercy? It's the god that is merciful, not the followers. They call themselves a cult of mercy, but they're the ones printing money. It didn't seem likely.

"There must be a reason they're doing that."
"Well, yeah..."

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. That's a famous saying on Earth, but it didn't exist in this world. No, in this world, it was considered perfectly normal for religion to interfere in politics. Well, maybe that's only natural. Because for these people, religion is life itself.

"When do we leave?"
"Well, we'll know once the situation reveals itself a bit..."

Either the investigation team returns, or the situation gets resolved somehow. Only when one of those happens would something come of it. Still, I had money to hold out, so I could wait.

But situations always change. That afternoon, we met a person who claimed to be one of the leaders of the rescue team. At the exact same café where I had coffee with Calliope before.

"Nice to meet you. I am Priest Berto."
"Hello."

A greeting offered before sitting down. Berto, dressed in clean white priestly robes, looked at us with a smile in his wrinkly eyes.

"Please sit."

I took a sip of the coffee that was offered and looked at Priest Berto. Since he was said to be the leader of the rescue team, he probably knew we had refused the investigation team. What business did he have, and what conditions did he bring?

"The reason I came to see you is none other than..."

"You're going to ask me to join the rescue team. I know."

"... That's correct. Will you participate?"

No need for complicated talk. When I shook my head, the priest asked.

"Why? If you can save the little lambs..."

"Save that speech for your followers. We have no intention of doing something like a rescue team."

"But if you would reconsider..."

"If you're only going to talk about that, I'm leaving. Let's go."

Trying to probe and argue back and forth. Why do that? Just die. As I stood up, the priest gestured for me to sit. A troubled expression was on his face.

"You're as firm as I heard..."

"Don't say weird things."

"Of course, we are not asking out of pure goodwill. As you would take a major role in the rescue team, there must be a clear reward for that."

The priest took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. It looked like a contract, and the paper had writing in a language I had been learning in my spare time. It was a language based on Latin.

And the word written at the top of the document, and the drawing of a ring below it, even shook my will to refuse.

"The cult intends to give a gift to Rian-nim if you and we can complete the mission successfully..."
"This is..."

An item that ordinary explorers find hard to even have one of. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even high-level explorers with considerable experience only possess a few. A category of item that I also don't have a single one of.

It was, a Unique item.