Ch.3434. Treasure Room

‘The Warrior’s Gaze’ was a blessing that proved useful in many ways, but this time it acted more like a poison. The sensitive sense of smell conveyed the scent of blood with overwhelming vividness.

Rex covered his nose with his hand. The stench was so terrible that it seemed even dismembering dozens of people and leaving them for a week wouldn’t produce something worse.

“What’s wrong?”

Chloe approached with a concerned expression. Elin was also staring intently in his direction.

“It’s nothing.”

Rex lowered his hand and replied in a composed tone. However, his complexion remained pale.

“…If you’re feeling unwell, tell me right away. I can’t ignore it when a party member has a problem.”

When Chloe showed signs of disbelief, Rex forced a smile and added:

“Alright. Thanks.”

“Don’t suffer alone, okay?”

“I said I understand.”

That was a lie.

The problem had already occurred. Chloe’s words hit the exact blind spot. She was concerned about his health, but in reality, it was a much more serious issue.

Nevertheless, Rex chose silence instead of revealing his thoughts.

He had no choice.

The only clue he had was that those men reeked of a terrible blood scent.

What would happen if he suddenly accused them of being suspicious for that reason? It wasn’t hard to predict the outcome.

They would surely dismiss it as him being overly sensitive, treating it as an odd fuss about nothing.

Adventurers were people who made their living by killing monsters. Naturally, they often ended up covered in blood. Even Rex himself was coated with the purple bodily fluids of monsters he had killed on his way down to the third level.

Thanks to that, Rex knew well what monster blood smelled like.

And that’s precisely why he couldn’t help but be suspicious.

‘It’s different.’

Based on his experience, no matter how he thought about it, that wasn’t the smell of monster blood.

If someone asked what was different, the answer was simple.

Everything was different.

Something sticky and fishy mixed with the men’s body odor assaulted his nose. He didn’t need to think long about where that difference came from.

‘It’s human.’

Unless at least two people had suffered serious injuries, it would be impossible for such a thick scent of blood to permeate the air.

Rex glanced sideways at them with a hardened expression. None of them appeared to be injured.

‘I need to keep watching.’

For now, the best course of action was to remain vigilant and keep an eye on the men.

As he turned his head with that thought, he suddenly noticed Yakoff in his field of vision.

Yakoff was staring at him with an expressionless face, but when their eyes met, he smiled kindly and waved. He even turned his body and slowly approached.

It was obvious to anyone that he intended to start a conversation, and Rex desperately thought:

‘Don’t come over.’

However, Yakoff inevitably stopped in front of Rex.

Rex quietly sighed and greeted him.

“Hello.”

He didn’t feel like talking to Yakoff at all.

But he couldn’t keep ignoring someone standing right in front of him. After all, on the surface, no conflict had occurred between them.

If he showed any discomfort here, the other side might realize they were under suspicion. That couldn’t happen.

Rex steadied his breathing and stared at Yakoff. Given that he had deliberately approached, he clearly had something to discuss.

“You’ve been keeping an eye on my companions. Is there something you want to say?”

It seemed that Yakoff also thought Rex had something to discuss.

At the bluntly thrown question, Rex finally realized his mistake. He had been staring at the men too obviously.

Since they had started moving through the passage, he had been frowning and watching them, so it was no wonder Yakoff had noticed something strange.

In his defense, it was because his ability to handle divine power was still immature. He had been so focused on maintaining the Warrior’s Gaze that he failed to notice the attention he was drawing.

Just as Rex was about to make up an excuse, Yakoff smiled wryly with an understanding expression.

“As I mentioned earlier, they’re quite gruff fellows. Despite their appearance, they’re actually quite sensitive. Don’t think too badly of them.”

“I haven’t thought that way at all.”

Rex replied readily and turned his gaze away. The men were advancing through the passage, keeping a distance from the group.

It seemed Yakoff was the only one who had noticed Rex’s stare.

That was fortunate in a way, but it only heightened Rex’s wariness toward Yakoff. It meant he was that perceptive. He was definitely not someone to be careless around.

Yakoff looked Rex up and down before speaking.

“You look quite young.”

“I’m fifteen. I recently had my coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Huh, really? I can’t even remember what I was doing at that age. You don’t seem to be from Lindvale… Where are you from?”

“Oakbrook village. It’s a small rural place far to the south of Lindvale.”

Rex spoke in a calm tone despite the friendly attitude.

“Leaving home at such a young age to become an adventurer must have been a difficult decision… That’s impressive.”

Yakoff seemed genuinely satisfied with the brief exchange and continued with trivial small talk. The look he gave, seemingly impressed, showed not even a hint of suspicion.

Having run out of things to say, Yakoff suddenly began boasting about his children.

“I have a daughter exactly your age. She’s my third child, and oh, how lovely she is! Ah, her name is Greta. Whenever I come home, Greta calls out ‘Papa’ and jumps right into my arms. But lately, perhaps because she’s getting older, it’s not quite the same as before…”

He looked just like any ordinary middle-aged man you might see anywhere, and Rex made a wry face.

‘What’s going on?’

It felt almost anticlimactic after being so tense. Once the conversation started flowing, Yakoff talked non-stop.

Most of it went like this:

Someone used to do this, but nowadays they do that, I don’t understand why they’re like this, what do you think…

Each story invariably concluded with him feeling disappointed.

“Watching children grow up is heartwarming, but sometimes it’s bittersweet. Especially the day after my daughter got married, I spent the whole day drowning my sorrows in alcohol. What can you do? You can’t keep them forever, so you have to let them go.”

Yakoff scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.

“I’m sorry. You probably weren’t interested in hearing all this, and I’ve been bothering you.”

Rex had been quietly listening to Yakoff’s words.

For some reason, despite knowing he should be wary, part of him felt at ease. Perhaps it was because Yakoff’s tone revealed a genuine love for his family.

Setting aside his suspicions momentarily, Rex shook his head and said:

“Not at all. You’re a good father, Yakoff.”

“Haha, hearing you say that gives me some comfort. Thank you.”

Yakoff curled up the corners of his mouth and changed the subject.

“I’ve been doing all the talking. Now let me hear about you. You said you came from Oakrookbook village?”

“It’s Oakbrook.”

When Rex corrected him, Yakoff cleared his throat and amended his statement.

“Ahem. Right, Oakbrook. Getting old makes me forgetful… Please understand. Anyway, what I want to know is why you left home to become an adventurer. At fifteen, isn’t that when you should be helping your parents?”

Generally, age was the criterion for distinguishing between children and adults. Though it varied by region, most places considered someone over fifteen to be an adult.

Of course, that was just in name; becoming an adult didn’t dramatically change one’s life. Until they established some basis for independence, most continued living with their parents.

If Rex hadn’t experienced a series of events, he too would probably still be living at home with his family like other boys.

Rex answered briefly.

“I have my reasons.”

“Haha, don’t want to talk about it? Boys your age typically harbor grand ambitions. Even I ran away from home when I was young to become an adventurer.”

“…Is that so?”

“I told my father I didn’t want to spend my life cleaning up pig dung, got beaten half to death, and was thrown out.”

Rex let out an awkward laugh. That was one story he could relate to.

And the next moment, that laughter abruptly stopped.

“Though he might not show it, your father must be quite worried, having sent his child off to a strange land. So send him news from time to time.”

Rex replied in an indifferent tone.

“My father passed away.”

“…!”

Yakoff showed a bewildered expression, then stiffened and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. I’ve reopened a painful wound.”

“It’s fine. I’ve somewhat adapted by now.”

Yakoff stared at Rex with a peculiar gaze.

Finding that stare uncomfortable, Rex casually brought up a different topic to change the atmosphere.

“I heard you returned to the dungeon after ten years.”

Yakoff blinked in confusion, then realizing this was a form of consideration, responded in a deliberately cheerful voice.

“Then you must have also heard about my fourth child.”

“Yes.”

“You might not know this, but raising children requires quite a lot of money.”

Rex nodded. He recalled Corner sighing deeply.

“Farming alone isn’t enough to support a family of five. In the end, I had no choice but to return as an adventurer. There’s a saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. It suits me perfectly.”

Yakoff murmured while staring at the shadow-filled passage.

“…I hope Matthias grows up to be as decent as you.”

“Matthias?”

“My fourth child I mentioned earlier. After having three daughters, I finally had a son. It’s truly a joyous thing…”

Yakoff trailed off and closed his mouth. For a moment, his expression darkened.

‘Why?’

As Rex naturally tried to guess the reason, Yakoff spoke first.

“I should get back to my group now. Even with scouts, I as the leader need to check the map periodically.”

“I understand.”

“See you later.”

With that, Yakoff left.

Rex quietly watched his retreating figure.

Then suddenly, one fact belatedly crossed his mind.

‘Huh?’

Yakoff didn’t smell of blood. He hadn’t noticed when Yakoff was mixed with the other men, but talking to him up close made the difference starkly clear.

It was truly incomprehensible.

***

Even for experienced adventurers, it took at least three days to reach the ninth level. And that was only if they were extremely lucky and took the right path every time.

Breaking through dozens of rooms teeming with monsters and setting up camp to manage stamina would naturally extend the time required.

Harald, being a wise party leader, had planned for this expedition to take at least a week. He had prepared thoroughly accordingly.

Sadly, all those efforts were in vain.

Yakoff led the group without hesitation.

Every room they passed through had already had all monsters eliminated. They found staircases quickly too. It seemed his claim about visiting the treasure room last week was true.

Thus, the group was able to reach the ninth level without engaging in a single battle.

It took only 10 hours.

However, one problem remained.

“Brother, what’s going on here?” Harald asked with a furrowed brow and a displeased voice.

The other parties that were supposed to join them in conquering the treasure room were nowhere to be seen.

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.