Chapter 13
Chapter 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Kaiden Party
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The troll screamed as it looked down at its own blazing ankle.
They say the worst pain a human can feel is a burning agony.
The pain might be localized to one spot, but having part of your body burn while you're still alive in it seems like a horrific experience even for a troll.
"Roast-! Roast!"
Its wail was heartbreaking.
The cry was a bit unique, but it probably didn't mean it wanted to cook its own body.
Even while facing off against us, it desperately flailed its hand toward its ankle to put out the fire clinging to it.
"Wooaaargh-!"
But in the end, that was a mistake.
The flame flask developed by the Alchemy Guild was, if a bit exaggerated, practically the modern equivalent of a white phosphorus grenade.
Far from calming down, the flames spread to its hand and began to burn even more fiercely.
"Fall back for now!"
At my shout, Kaiden and Rask put some distance between themselves and the troll.
The flame flask nullifies a troll's regeneration and inflicts pain, but it doesn't actually deal a lethal blow.
It's such a massive creature that even dozens of flame flasks wouldn't be enough to take it down on their own.
Besides, hunting it that way wouldn't yield much "profit" in the first place.
'We're doing all this just to make a living. No point in wasting resources like that.'
"Laira. Aim for its eyes if you can."
Ping-! Ping-!
Krheung-! Krheeeung-!
Even as its legs continued to burn, sharp arrows kept pricking at its nerves.
"Rask, whenever you get an opening, sneak in carefully and harass it."
"Keh. Got it."
Kaiden's main weapon was a shortsword, so I had him hold back.
Even rolling on the ground, it was a beast with arms over two meters long.
Getting caught by one of those flailing limbs would be fatal.
Unless you had a polearm like a spear, it was best not to get close.
Krheung—... Krheeeung...
"...Somehow, it looks kinda pitiful."
Miella muttered to herself as she watched the troll thrash about.
Amid the endless torment, the troll's ferocity gradually waned, and soon its huge, ugly eyes were brimming with tears.
"...Mia."
"I know. It's just a monster anyway."
At Kaiden's concern, Miella forced a bright smile.
"This is the standard way to hunt trolls. If you push deeper into lower floors later, it'll work pretty well against other giant-type monsters too."
"Good experience."
"For trolls specifically, since they have such amazing vitality, the textbook method is to wear them down in shifts like this for about a day, then harvest the blood."
I started walking toward the troll.
"Miss Arjen?"
Kaiden voiced his puzzled question at my action, but I slowly raised my hand behind my back.
'Can't waste a whole day here.'
From here on, it was mostly repetitive labor, so the Kaiden Party could handle the rest on their own eventually if the chance came up.
Honestly, I had no reason to babysit them that far anyway.
Krrrh...
Was it because I was approaching defenselessly? After nearly thirty minutes of hellish torture, venomous rage flickered in the troll's eyes beyond the pain.
"Miss Arjen! Danger-!"
"Job's done."
Thud-!
The troll's palm crushed the spot where I'd been standing moments ago.
With that much force and mass, an ordinary human would be turned into mincemeat.
The ground beneath its slightly lifted palm bore a clear handprint, as if struck by the Buddha's palm itself.
Krheeeung-!
Confirming its attack had missed, the troll raised its arm again, this time preparing to sweep the area in a wide arc rather than a pinpoint strike.
"May you achieve nirvana."
The moment I leaped, a silver flash streaked toward the troll's head.
Boom-!
A massive explosion roared out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Don't forget the settlement ratio for special materials."
"...Of course."
Kaiden replied with a somewhat reluctant tone.
What was with that reaction?
He wasn't planning to withhold it, was he?
It was clearly stipulated in the contract, and even if Kaiden wouldn't do such a thing, supposing he tried not to honor it...
'I'd just collect it one way or another.'
Since my rebirth, I'd never once let someone stiff me on payment.
Never.
Miella collected troll blood from around the neck area of the headless corpse, her face twisted in disgust.
Troll blood was inherently toxic, but once alchemists processed it, it became a key ingredient in high-grade potions.
High-grade potions were lifelines for crawlers dancing on the edge of death, so they fetched premium prices—and troll blood, as a core ingredient, was worth more than gold by weight.
"Shame we don't have more vials for blood collection."
Miella had kept a queasy expression throughout the harvesting, but even as a crawler, she looked a bit regretful.
"Can't just use any old bottle, huh?"
"Untreated blood like this would be useless in less than half a day."
"Figured as much... Well, this amount is plenty anyway."
By eye, she'd gathered a bit over 1 liter.
From experience... about 50 gold?
Trolls were rare on the 20th floor, for better or worse, so we got lucky.
I inspected the vials Miella had filled, confirming they weren't mishandled and at risk of spoiling, then turned to Kaiden and asked.
"Has everyone finished 'floor adaptation'?"
"I think I'm done, but the others..."
"Keh. I finished about two hours ago."
"I think I did too, during this hunt."
"......"
Finally, Laira nodded silently as usual.
"Then, shall we head to the next floor?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The 21st floor was a snowy mountain range.
Snow leopards, yetis, white walkers, and such were the main threats, with wendigos serving as elite monsters in the same role as the mountain trolls on the 20th.
They were all tricky foes, but the subzero temperatures affected the dungeon's creatures too, so the 21st floor generally had fewer monsters overall.
However, an environment harsh for monsters was an even greater foe for humans.
The freezing cold made metal armor a recipe for frostbite, so any armor worn here had to be enchanted with cold resistance.
"...Ugh. This place is the worst, no matter how many times I come."
On top of that, my goddess's blessing didn't include any specific protection against this cold.
I could maintain some body heat thanks to elemental resistances and enchanted gear, but it wasn't enough to fully block the extreme chill.
The Kaiden Party also had Rask, who struggled more with the cold than humans, so they had no desire to linger here.
Thus, they only stayed on the 21st long enough to complete floor adaptation before quickly moving to the 22nd.
"...We've... arrived."
"Yeah."
Upon reaching the high-altitude zone of the 22nd floor, the Kaiden Party—well, precisely Kaiden and Miella—wore expressions that mixed emptiness with a touch of emotion.
"Once we finish floor adaptation here, this expedition is over."
This meant the contracted expedition with the Kaiden Party was nearing its end.
It hadn't even taken two weeks to get here.
Factoring in time for adaptation, it'd be right around two weeks total.
Still, since the Kaiden Party was solid, it was a relief we hadn't hit the worst-case three weeks or more I'd prepared for.
Time? That's all money.
"...Yeah."
Kaiden nodded thoughtfully at my words.
Hm.
Judging by his expression, I could guess what he was thinking.
"Um... Miss Arjen."
"I wouldn't recommend it."
"Pardon?"
"You're not about to suggest changing the contract to go deeper than the 22nd, right?"
"...Spot on."
I let out a small sigh at Kaiden's admission.
Humans always want to sit when standing, lie down when sitting, and sleep when lying down.
Even steadfast types like Kaiden, who seemed to live by the book, weren't immune to that principle.
I understood.
The Kaiden Party had come prepared with supplies for adventuring lower floors on their own.
But thanks to my blessings and support, they'd saved a good portion of those supplies.
With my assistance boosting their power, they could probably...
'...Reach the 27th?'
Five more floors down.
'Using Keseff Heyrel... 29th, or pushing it, even 30th.'
Beyond that, no amount of blessings could compensate—their base caliber just wasn't high enough for the 20th-floor league.
"You know about the penalties for contract changes and the adjusted settlement ratios, right?"
"...Of course. I'm saying this even accounting for that."
Kaiden had instinctively realized they still had plenty of room to descend, even after breaking through the once-impenetrable 20th and reaching the 22nd.
'Even with penalties and harsher ratios, he figures maximizing their reached depth this time is worth it.'
Apart from being solid from our two weeks together, he seemed sharp-minded too.
But that's exactly why.
"The longer you survive in the dungeon, the more you value one key principle."
"?"
"Nothing in the dungeon is as dangerous as 'one more'."
To me, the dungeon was business.
Not about achieving grand feats, but my job and livelihood.
Crawlers adventure in the dungeon, but I don't—I just work there.
Even if there's more to gain, unless it's unavoidable, I stick to my original plan.
For me, dungeon runs aren't one-offs; there's the next, and the one after, and beyond.
Until I've earned enough for a comfy retirement, it's a daily grind.
Ironically, in the dungeon, it's not the bold who survive longest, but folks like me.
And those who last longest reach the farthest places eventually.
"That incident on the last dungeon run... maybe that's why too."
"......"
"I get the impatience. But without solid principles, one day when Lady Luck doesn't smile on you—just once—the Kaiden Party's adventures end."
Two weeks is short yet long.
Mine was a money-tied relationship, but I liked the Kaiden Party after these two weeks.
Kaiden, the reliable leader; Miella, socially awkward but devoted to her party with pride; brave Rask, fulfilling his role; quiet Laira, steadily doing her job—all of them grew on me.
So I hoped they'd avoid bad habits and survive as long as possible.
"...You'd never join our party, would you, Miss Arjen."
"No. Sadly not."
No need to sugarcoat it—the Kaiden Party was nowhere near my level.
I wouldn't be partying with them after this run.
That's why I wanted their adventures to continue properly even without me, rather than fostering false hopes and overconfidence.
That's also why I hadn't used Keseff Heyrel, which could ruin their natural combat instincts.
I take pride in my role, whatever anyone says, and get paid accordingly.
Kaiden closed his eyes, deep in thought at my words.
I'd given my advice.
If he still insisted on going deeper, I'd go along.
There were safe zones en route, and we could reach 25th or 26th without issue.
Considering the effort, the penalties and new ratios would be quite lucrative.
But high odds I'd never see this party in the dungeon city again after some time.
"...I'll follow Miss Arjen's advice."
Kaiden opened his eyes, his face cleared of doubt, and spoke to me.
He looked a bit regretful, but convinced.
The time adventuring with the Kaiden Party was truly drawing to a close.