Ch.17Shen’s Dungeon (4)

Swoosh!

“Gaaack!!”

Three goblins are split in half and die by the greatsword I swung widely.

It’s been about six hours since we entered the dungeon, and after thoroughly searching every room, we’ve managed to salvage quite a lot of treasure.

Most of it was old, broken junk, but apparently these items aren’t meant to be used as accessories anyway. They’ll undergo special processing, be melted down, and recycled for various purposes.

When I was around 14, I actually worked at a recycling center. I couldn’t afford gloves, so I vividly remember my hands frequently getting pricked and cut by sharp fragments.

“Let’s find two more rooms and then take a rest.”

“Alright.”

“Up ahead, two orcs.”

Thwack!

Crack!

One orc falls, and I quickly move around to the side of the other, slashing its flank, then its back, before finally piercing its heart from behind, killing it instantly.

Squelch…

“Tch. These orcs have so much fat… It’s sticking to my blade.”

“Can you keep fighting?”

“Well, it’s a pretty well-made sword, and I think it’ll be fine for now… It can hold up for two more rooms.”

“That should be good then.”

Indeed, this dungeon had an appropriate difficulty level for novice adventurers like me and Seriya, who were at the Flint rank.

It wasn’t too easy, and traps were placed strategically, so letting your guard down could result in serious injury.

Once, after disarming a trap at a corner, I continued walking with a false sense of security when suddenly another trap activated, and I got hit by a log.

It was only because I’m sturdy that I survived. If Seriya, with her weak armor and health, had been hit, she would have been severely injured at minimum.

We stuffed all the treasures from one room into our “rolly” (that’s what we call a carrier) and moved toward the next room.

“By the way, are you in debt?”

“Well, yes. Just to be clear though, it’s not from loan sharks. I borrowed from a trustworthy source.”

“I understand that buying that thing (the rolly) costs a lot, but did you really need to buy it? I thought the standard practice was to purchase such items when you have a party.”

“Tch… I was originally part of a party.”

“Originally?”

“Yeah. Until the warrior who was our leader fell for a priestess and ran off with all the money we’d saved.”

“Oh my…”

The bonds between adventurer parties seemed weaker than I had expected.

More than that, to develop feelings for someone when your life is on the line…

“Is that common?”

“Well, it’s common enough. Especially young men like you who have nothing in their heads and will do anything just to get between a woman’s legs.”

“Hmm, at least I’ve never done that.”

It’s not that I have no interest in women.

It’s just that every woman I’ve met has despised me for being poor and having no connections, so naturally, resentment built up.

As we were talking, we finally discovered another room, and after checking for traps, we entered.

“Nothing here…”

“Yeah, nothing.”

It was just an empty room.

There were some artifacts piled up at the edges, so we dusted them off and put them in the rolly. That was it.

“Let’s light a campfire. Open up the rolly.”

“Wait…”

It was a disappointing room, but since fatigue had likely accumulated without us realizing it, we decided to rest here.

*

“So… where are you from?”

“Parcival. It’s a port city.”

“Ah…”

“Have you been there?”

“No, I’m a wood elf. Not a fan of salt water.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

Crackle! Crackle!

With the blazing campfire between us, we conversed.

We mostly talked about our pasts, though the experiences of a 200-plus-year-old elf and a barely 16-year-old like me didn’t exactly align.

“So… you’ve lived without parents, relatives, siblings, or friends.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Must have been tough.”

“Hmm.”

Honestly, I never thought it was tough.

I thought everyone in the world lived like me, and naturally assumed my suffering was normal.

But it wasn’t.

People had parents, brothers and sisters, and relatives.

And friends…

I’ve interacted with quite a few people, but could I call them friends?

I don’t even know my own birthday.

I just think of February 3rd as my birth date—a string of characters tossed to me by a government office that couldn’t be bothered.

“Why did you leave the forest? You’re a wood elf.”

“Well… there are many reasons. I was poor like you, but I chose a different path. I stole from others. Then I got caught by someone important, was banished, and ended up like this.”

“…Do you want to go back home?”

“Not really. It’s a place with absolutely no fun. All they have are religious ceremonies, occasional festivals, and toys made by carpenters.”

“I see. Definitely sounds boring.”

Human life is short.

And at the same time, it’s stimulating.

In the forest, you can’t get spices or find entertainment.

But human cities are different.

They move dynamically without pause, with countless people chasing profits, creating a massive pulse.

That’s why elves who mingle with humans don’t return home.

Just as a disturbed sea never becomes calm again, an elf who has tasted human stimulation can never return to a static life.

Bubble, bubble…

“Looks like the stew is ready.”

“Come on. Dungeon meals aren’t great, we could just eat when we get out.”

“You don’t understand. Quality meals are especially important in places like this.”

Saying that, I generously ladled my portion of stew into a bowl.

Finely chopped meat and vegetables. A stew with starch, generously seasoned with salt and pepper, plus a bit of cinnamon powder and cloves.

Taking a bite of this stew that would be strange if it didn’t taste good, I could feel the fatigue of the day melting away from my entire body.

“Hmph… you could have made a good living as a chef rather than a battler.”

“Instead of talking, put some stew in your mouth.”

“Yes, Chef.”

If nothing else, I have some expertise in cooking.

When I was young, I often worked as a kitchen assistant, learning over shoulders how to handle ingredients and how to measure and add various spices.

Especially since there were ingredients that could become tasteless or even poisonous if prepared incorrectly.

*

“Squeeeek!!”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Damn! There are too many of them!”

“Stay down! I’ll try to handle them with my arrows!”

As I ducked down low, two arrows quickly flew past, embedding themselves in an orc’s head and chest.

One orc fell that way, and then I rose again, putting all my strength into slicing horizontally through an orc that was bringing its club down on me.

“Squeeeek…!”

Seeing me cut a fat, large orc in half, the remaining orcs began to flee, but we had no intention of letting them go.

“After them!”

Thwack!

Crack!

“Squeeeek!!!”

Seriya and I chased them closely (with the rolly).

We cornered them in a dead end and began a one-sided slaughter.

“We’ve got them cornered!”

Thud!

“Gueeek!”

Seriya took down one orc with an arrow, and I rushed in to kill the remaining two.

“Die!!!”

“Squeeeek!”

My weight-driven sword flew through the air with me and pierced an orc’s heart. I pulled out the sword, leaped, and wrapped around the neck of another nearby orc, bringing it down to the ground.

Thud!

As the orc’s heavy body fell to the ground, I drew my sword and stabbed its neck repeatedly until it became minced meat, then I stood up again.

“Phew… these damn things. Disgustingly heavy yet disgustingly fast.”

I had never complained about my body before, but my build was inevitably smaller than that of grown adults, so I was at a disadvantage in situations that required speed, like pursuit.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. No injuries. But where are we?”

“I don’t know, we ended up here while chasing the orcs.”

I looked around. It was good that we didn’t need to find our way since it was a dead end, but I couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.

The original purpose of this expedition was to earn money and build a reputation, not to exterminate orcs and goblins.

Perhaps I got too excited with the blood rushing to my head.

“Tch. Looks like we’ve gone too deep. Let’s move slowly and see if there’s anything worth salvaging.”

“Yeah. That’s all we can do.”

“How many arrows do you have left?”

“About 10?”

“Hmm… we should bring more arrows next time. I didn’t think about arrows enough.”

Seriya’s bow was not only powerful but also very effective for taking down enemies from a distance.

But without arrows, she couldn’t shoot, which was an oversight on both our parts.

“Ah… it broke again. This is why I hate heavy creatures.”

Seriya grumbled, looking at an arrow that had snapped in half.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shoot with a broken arrow.

“Well, just leave the broken ones. Just use the arrows sparingly. You also have the dagger I bought you.”

“Tch… I’m just annoyed because they’re expensive, you know.”

True, I used to collect chicken feathers to sell to arrow makers, so I know well how expensive well-made arrows can be.

But if we worry about that, we might as well be afraid to swing a sword for fear of it wearing down.

Just as I was about to say something to Seriya…

“AAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!”

From far away, we heard a human scream.