Chapter 41
Chapter 41
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Newbie Party
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As the festival wound down and the excitement began to fade, daily life in the dungeon city gradually returned to normal.
Some folks took a while to regain their senses after partying too hard, but most had recharged plenty during the festivities and headed back into the dungeon.
I was no different.
Was it because the show I'd put on at Katabasis—purely for my own amusement—had left such a strong impression?
Even though it was only right that I got properly compensated, a bunch of cheapskates started badmouthing me as "setting a bad precedent," a "money ghost," or a "shrewd hag."
The very people who'd hurled "shrewd hag" at me for demanding fair pay—while gaslighting me out of it—finally caught on to the right way of things.
Suddenly, the Crawler Guild was delivering stacks of party requests right to my doorstep.
I hadn't planned it that way, but it meant my support payments were now 20% higher than before.
Three months passed after that.
My debt, which had been well over 300 gold, shrank down to 130. I'd escaped the "ultra-high-debt priority repayment" trap.
Interest still crept up by about 2 gold a month, but at least it wasn't getting auto-deducted from my post-dungeon settlements anymore.
Thanks to that, I could finally spare some cash again and make a deposit in the gnome vault for the first time in ages.
It was smooth sailing, nothing else to call it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -Please, just get out of the house already!
"Huuuh..."
Until burnout hit.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -Your goddess knows full well how hard you've lived your life until now. How could she not, after watching over you for half of it? But...
A voice filled with compassion, yet growing laced with anger by the end.
-How long do you plan to keep wallowing like this!!!
"Ugh... Goddess, just a little longer..."
The hangover combined with the goddess's thunderous roar made my head ring like a bell.
Even as I grimaced from the pain, she just clicked her tongue in disapproval.
-You drank that much and expect to feel fine? Sigh...
Her sigh led into more words.
Was it my imagination, or could I picture her pressing a hand to her forehead through the transmission?
-Look around you. Your goddess can't for the life of her tell if this is the room of a grown maiden or a pigsty.
At that, I massaged my throbbing head from the hangover and took in the surroundings.
Empty bottles scattered everywhere.
The ashtray overflowed with a mountain of mana herb stubs.
"...It's a bit messy, sure..."
-A bit!? A tiiiiny bit!?
If the goddess had a physical body, she'd have smacked the back of my head for sure.
Her fury exploded at my last words, making my head throb even more, so I tuned her out as best I could and recited a blessing to detox my body.
'...How much time has passed?'
I didn't keep a calendar in my room, and it had been ages since I'd drunk enough to actually get wasted, so I had no clue.
About two weeks, maybe?
'Guess I got a little worn out.'
I'd been working my ass off.
Even in my previous life, I doubt I'd hustled this hard—talent or no talent, I probably would've made something of myself.
Of course, it was less "self-motivated grind" and more "grind or die."
'Yeah, haven't taken a proper break in a while.'
Ever since learning those invigorating blessings, I hadn't rested properly for any real stretch.
Normal crawlers take ample downtime between dungeon runs.
They need time to recover stamina or heal injuries from the depths.
But I could handle all that with blessings.
That's how I'd pulled off three straight deep expeditions to the lower floors right after the Festival of Receiving Flesh—zero breaks.
'Body held up fine, but my mind hit the wall ages ago.'
Stabilizing the debt must've let all the tension snap at once.
'Still... maybe I should clean up a bit?'
I scratched my head and glanced around.
Every step clinked against empty bottles. Yeah, even by the goddess's standards, this was pretty bad.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -I'm not saying you shouldn't rest your weary body. But holing up without a word to anyone, drowning in booze, neglecting yourself, and wasting away like that... that's what I'm warning against. Get some fresh air... bask in the sunlight... greet your neighbors... pick up a healthy hobby...
I changed out of my comfy clothes into my priestess robes, gave my hair a quick fix, and stepped outside.
-And while you're resting, why not head into town and meet a nice young man? Drinking alone just chews over your loneliness like poison, but sharing drinks with someone smooths relationships like fine lubricant.
Having been cooped up in my room for so long, the goddess's nagging didn't let up now that I was out.
"I have you with me always—surely no bond could be dearer. How could any drink I take be truly solitary?"
-Don't try to sweet-talk your goddess with that slippery tongue of yours.
She put on a stern tone for the obvious flattery, but the mood softened anyway.
-Planning to look for work right away?
"Nah, gonna rest a bit more."
-Good. Rest properly—you've earned it. No one can blame you for what you've done so far. Just... rest the right way, like your goddess said.
No more tolerating booze-fueled isolation. Crystal clear and firm.
I scratched my cheek and let out a small sigh at her words.
'...But there's nothing fun to do, really.'
Memories from my old life were fuzzy now, but they'd been steeped in the addictive pull of computers and smartphones.
The local entertainment like plays and circuses didn't grab me much.
Gambling might hit that dopamine spot... but the goddess kept hawk-eyed watch, so I'd never even tried.
"Guess I'll head to the central district for now."
Surely a walk would spark some ideas.
"Ack! It's Arjen!"
As I strolled Ariadne Street with those thoughts, one of a gaggle of kids playing curbside spotted me and yelled.
They dropped what they were doing and came pelting over.
"Yup!"
One little girl leaped right into my arms for a hug.
She buried her face in me, rubbing happily—then whipped her head away and scowled.
"Eww! Stinky!"
"Sniff sniff. For real."
"Smells like my dad!"
"Gross!"
They pinched their noses dramatically and teased away.
Not a shred of malice—just pure, innocent kid stuff—but those little jabs pierced my heart like daggers.
-Tsk tsk.
I snapped out of my daze at the goddess's tongue-click, lifted my arm, and took a whiff.
I'd hung up the robes, but the room's stale mix of booze and mana herb clung to me.
Couldn't smell it inside, but out here contrasting with fresh air, it hit unpleasant.
I quickly hit myself with a purification blessing, blasting away the grime from body and clothes.
"Arjen stiiiinks~ Stink bomb!"
"Enough."
I grabbed the noisiest boy's cheeks in one hand and hoisted him up.
"Whoa! Arjen! You're crazy strong!"
"Me next! Me too!"
His friends dangled midair, kicking wildly, but the kids just cracked up like it was the best game ever.
Teasing one second, onto the next thrill the next. I smiled faintly and played along like they wanted.
"Kyahahaha! Kyahaha!"
Even as blood rushed to their heads from the spins, the little ones grinned ear-to-ear, drool and all.
"Playing extra long today."
"Arjen, when'd you get back from the dungeon? You popped home two weeks back, but you're back quick this time?"
'Two whole weeks cooped up.'
Stuck in so long, they figured I'd dungeoned again in between.
Still, their chatter gave me a rough timeline.
"Two weeks? Bet you didn't even hit many floors."
"Was this party trash-tier? That's why you ditched?"
"How much penalty did you squeeze outta them!?"
"How was it? Spill!"
"Next dungeon when? With who?"
"You really meet Heavenly Demon? For real!?"
Endless, tireless babble from the kids.
To the slum kids on this west-side street, crawlers were idols.
Success as a crawler could flip their rock-bottom lives.
I was one of the "made it" locals, so whenever they could, they'd beg dungeon tales outta me.
"Oh yeah!"
Mid-chatter, sharp-as-ever Luna remembered something and toddled off toward the prayer room.
She came back moments later clutching a wad of paper.
"Arjen! This you, right!?"
Luna shoved a newspaper at me—one from the Crawler Guild a few days old.
Rare sight around here in the west side.
Village chief must've left it at the prayer room.
"Look! Look!"
The headline blazed across the top of the front page where she pointed.
📰 Breaking News 20 Crawlers to Lead the Next Generation