Ch.3333. The Scent of Blood

Despite tensing up as if ready for a fight at any moment, the situation resolved itself rather anticlimactically.

There was someone among the unfamiliar intruders whom Harald knew.

Harald exclaimed with wide eyes, “Isn’t that you, Brother Jakob!”

At those words, the man who appeared to be the leader stepped forward. As he pushed back his hood, silver-streaked white hair was revealed.

The man spoke with a smile curling at the corners of his mouth, “Harald! To see you here, am I dreaming? It’s been so long. Was it seven years since we last met?”

“Seven years? It must have been well over ten years at least!”

Jakob, as the man was called, gave a bitter smile at Harald’s reproachful tone.

“My memory isn’t what it used to be now that I’m getting older.”

“Haha! To my eyes, you still look as fit as ever. I see you’ve learned to show weakness now.”

“People change, that’s the way of things.”

The party tilted their heads in confusion at the sudden friendly exchange. So who exactly was this person?

Seeming to notice their puzzlement, Harald glanced back and explained, “He’s a brother who fought alongside me in the same party when I was a rookie. He’s trustworthy. I vouch for him.”

“Pardon my late introduction. I’m Jakob. Harald and I are very close friends.”

Jakob looked over the party once and smiled faintly.

“To think that snot-nosed kid has grown up so much and now leads his own party. It’s hard to believe.”

“Much time has passed, hasn’t it? I’m approaching forty now. I’m even married.”

Harald shrugged his shoulders with a proud expression. Jakob’s eyebrows twitched.

“You, married? Huh, that’s hard to believe. Don’t tell me it’s Alisa? The one you used to follow around every day…”

“Alisa ran off with some carpenter years ago. Now I’m living with a decent woman named Matilda.”

“…I’m sorry.”

The conversation that had been flowing non-stop suddenly broke off. After a brief silence, Harald asked with a puzzled voice, “Why did you return to the dungeon? Didn’t you say you were going to wash your hands of this life and just farm?”

Jakob exhaled with a bitter expression.

“I had a fourth child.”

It was an answer that condensed many meanings.

At the same time, a pained sigh came from somewhere.

Rex turned his head. Patrick and Connor wore sympathetic expressions.

“With a fourth child, there’s no choice.”

“Damn, now I’m feeling depressed too.”

Connor even shuddered as if he’d caught a chill. Rex whispered quietly, “Are you both married?”

Patrick nodded stiffly, and Connor furrowed his brow as he complained, “Of course I am at this age! It’s hard enough raising just one son. When I think about the money it takes to raise a child… ugh, it’s terrifying just to imagine.”

Connor shook his head and added one more thing.

“What can you do? You just grit your teeth and endure it. Because you’re a father.”

Rex remained silent for a while, mulling over Connor’s last words.

Suddenly, he recalled a handmade grave in a blue field.

What thoughts had his father lived with, buried beneath that grave? Perhaps he had endured reality while deliberately hiding his exhaustion and hardship.

No, his father must have always been like that. Rex simply hadn’t known.

If only they had talked more often—regret always comes too late.

Though he still had many things he wanted to ask, now he would never know the answers.

Rex forced a bright expression. Living with a smile was what his father would have truly wanted.

Even as Rex was lost in thought, the conversation between Harald and Jakob continued.

Jakob opened with a serious face, “Harald. I’m telling you this because I trust you, but would you like to join me on a job?”

“A job?”

It was a meaningful question. He surely wasn’t suggesting they tackle the dungeon together, as more people meant less profit per person.

This was also why parties typically consisted of five or six members.

Jakob lowered his voice and continued, “I’ve found a treasure room.”

“What?”

Harald asked again momentarily, wondering if he had misheard.

Treasure room.

It was a term referring to an area that definitely yielded gold-grade chests or higher. Occasionally, the highest reward—gem boxes—would appear.

Naturally, treasure rooms were few throughout the entire dungeon. Since the dungeon’s structure reset every six months, it wasn’t uncommon to never find one at all.

It was no wonder Harald was surprised to hear about the discovery of a treasure room.

“Really?”

“Yes. And it’s not just gold. It was a ruby box. I confirmed it with my own eyes. I had to retreat because dozens of orcs were swarming around it.”

This was the only drawback of treasure rooms. The number of monsters guarding the chest was damnably high. Even the most skilled adventurer party would likely face annihilation.

“I’ve gathered reliable comrades over the past week. We agreed to meet on a set day to tackle the treasure room together. Each person should be able to take at least ten gold coins.”

“So…”

“Yes. Today is the day. The location is on the ninth floor.”

“Brother, is it okay to tell me this?”

Harald spoke with a hesitant tone.

Jakob grinned and extended his hand.

“Now for the main point, listen carefully. Harald, come with us to the treasure room. I know your skills well. Your party’s capabilities are probably similar. If you join us, we can tackle the treasure room much more easily.”

Harald bit his lip as he stared at Jakob’s hand, then answered with difficulty.

“This isn’t something I can decide alone. May I discuss it with my party?”

“Of course. Just don’t keep us waiting too long. We have an appointment…”

Harald left to explain the situation to his companions.

“So what happened was—”

After his lengthy explanation, Chloe summarized it neatly.

“So there’s a treasure room, and they’re inviting us to join them?”

“That’s right.”

“What are you hesitating for? Of course we should do it! Don’t you agree?”

Chloe looked around at everyone with a confident expression.

Everyone nodded, seemingly of the same mind. No one would refuse gold rolling right before their eyes.

Rex had planned to go with the majority opinion, but since it was unanimous, he just watched.

He was also curious about this treasure room.

Elin, who had the most influence in the party, was sticking close to Rex. She seemed indifferent to the outcome.

Harald stroked his beard and approached Jakob.

“Brother, let’s do it.”

“Haha! Now that’s my brother! It’ll be like old times, fighting together again. No need to practice coordination beforehand, right?”

“Of course not. Shall we go to the treasure room together? If it’s inconvenient, just give us the map. We’ll find our way.”

“No need for such formality between us. Let’s depart right away.”

Jakob clapped his hands and called his companions.

Men who had been sitting at a distance rose to their feet. Their faces were hard to see clearly as they all wore black hoods.

They glanced at Harald’s party without greeting, then looked away.

“Please understand. They’re men of few words.”

The party nodded reluctantly.

And so the awkward journey began.

Rex narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized the strangers.

‘What is this?’

He felt inexplicably uneasy.

Until just moments ago, everything had been fine, but as soon as those men approached, his heart began to ache. The discomfort didn’t fade even after some time.

‘Why?’

It couldn’t be because of their suspicious attire—Elin right beside him was also wearing a pitch-black robe. Dark colors were often used as camouflage in the gloomy dungeon. So this couldn’t be the reason.

Yet he couldn’t ignore the intuition that kept tickling his chest.

Rex summoned his holy power.

Until entering the dungeon, Rex hadn’t understood the concept of a holy knight.

Naturally, he didn’t know how to handle this energy called holy power either. He had only used it to strengthen his body.

Looking back, it was truly an ignorant approach.

Four days ago, when he first entered the dungeon, Rex achieved a technique he had been working on and gained a sort of enlightenment. It was about the countless ways to utilize holy power.

Of course, four days was too short a time for significant change. Without a master to guide him, he could only learn one simple technique.

But for now, that was enough.

Rex muttered inwardly.

[Warrior’s Gaze.]

His senses became extremely acute, and information from all directions flooded his mind without pause.

Warrior’s Gaze was an ability that amplified all senses. He modified it. He concentrated the holy power that would normally spread throughout his body solely into his eyes.

Then, what had been invisible came into view.

Translucent smoke rose around the men. A kind of intuition told him it was holy power.

Rex shifted his gaze to his companions. Similarly, translucent smoke was visible.

Peculiarly, Chloe’s smoke had a bluish tint unlike the others. In Elin’s case, nothing was visible at all.

Anyway, despite activating his blessing, he couldn’t find anything particularly suspicious about the men.

‘It’s okay.’

He had only used his sight among the five senses so far.

There were plenty of methods to try. Rex shifted his holy power to his nose. After sight, smell was the most useful in the current situation.

Whoosh. Dozens of scents tangled together, stabbing at his nose. His head throbbed momentarily, but the blessing, following its master’s will, filtered out unnecessary elements.

And finally, something remained that flowed to the tip of Rex’s nose.

‘This is…’

Rex frowned without realizing it.

A distinct smell of blood was emanating from the men.