Ch.91Between the Sky, the Sea, and the Land

After spending about an hour investigating the area around the dungeon entrance, several interesting facts came to light.

First, the small clearing where we arrived through the gate is surrounded by a high rock wall in front and dense forests on the other three sides. If you exit through the forest on the left, you reach a cliff overlooking the sea.

This means the dungeon is located somewhere near the coastline of Grantis, but according to Jessica, apart from the eastern coast where Mother Town exists, no western city built so far has ever reached a coastline within a 5-day walk.

“That means if we fail to take the return gate, the chances of reaching a western city even if we make our Ancestor run at full speed without rest are very low.”

“Yeah. If we could at least figure out where we are, we might be able to estimate the distance or direction to the nearest western city…”

“But we can’t even tell if the direction we’re looking at is east or west.”

That was the second peculiarity we discovered while investigating this area: the ambiguity of direction.

Grantis’s sun rises in the east and sets in the west just like Earth’s, so it’s not difficult to distinguish cardinal directions by observing the sun’s movement for a while.

However, the sun in the sky here remains fixed directly overhead at 90 degrees without moving at all, and even the compass needle just spins around without performing its proper function.

Not only that, despite being barely 50 meters away from the coast, we couldn’t hear any sound of waves.

The forests in the two directions apart from the coastal side are quite deep and dense, yet there wasn’t a single monster, animal, or even an insect to be found.

It was also noteworthy that we couldn’t light a campfire in this place using any means, whether lighters or magic.

“We’ve ended up in a nasty place.”

“Yeah. Not knowing directions and unable to camp—it almost feels like there’s an intention to prevent us from investigating this place.”

“I feel like my sense of direction is subtly distorted. At this rate, exploring the dungeon will be difficult too.”

“Don’t worry about that. Dwarves can accurately determine the direction and slope of passages just by eyeballing them. You don’t need to worry about getting lost indoors or underground, though outdoors might be different.”

“Huh, that’s reassuring.”

It seems Mina’s skills, which proved invaluable in the Disease Demon’s Dungeon, will be put to good use this time as well.

As I was feeling relieved at that thought, I caught Seti’s muttered words.

“…What about the people who went in first?”

“Huh?”

“We won’t get lost because we have Mina. But that party only has three humans.”

“Ah… that is dangerous.”

Hector’s group, who entered the dungeon an hour ago, doesn’t know about the direction-disrupting magical effect in this area.

Perhaps they’re already lost and wandering around…

“They rushed in without investigating the surroundings—that was their decision, right? We don’t need to worry about their situation.”

“I agree. Even if they’re in trouble, it’s the self-inflicted consequence of that man Hector’s arrogance and rash behavior. Besides, they’re our competitors.”

“Phillis is right. I don’t like that Hector guy who bullies Jessica either. But the other two people with him aren’t guilty of anything.”

“Hmm…”

It’s true that only Hector has been picking fights with us, while the other two haven’t shown any hostility.

Moreover, judging by how they act like Hector’s words have nothing to do with them, it seems they’re hired help rather than personal friends.

It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if we let uninvolved adventurers die just because we dislike Hector.

“Can’t be helped. If we happen to run into them, let’s at least give them advice about the magical effect and directions to the exit.”

“Then let’s finish our external investigation and enter the dungeon ourselves. It would be annoying if Hector swept up all the loot, right?”

“OK. Mina, I’m counting on you for the mapping.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll draw a map so perfect they’ll have to admit our victory just by looking at it.”

We left our Ancestor waiting outside the dungeon and entered through the purple gate.

Unlike the Disease Demon’s Dungeon with its square passages, the interior of this dungeon consisted of bumpy corridors like a natural cave.

“A four-way intersection right at the entrance? That’s harsh. And the corridors curve subtly. It really seems designed to make intruders get lost.”

“The dungeon itself has no light source, so we’re vulnerable to ambushes. I’ll take the rear guard and watch our surroundings.”

“Ah, please do. We need to use the lantern to light the way ahead.”

With Phillis handling rear security with her Night Vision ability, we can quickly respond even if enemies approach from the dark corridors.

The corridors were wide enough for two people to walk side by side, so our party formation naturally became Seti & Mina, me & Jessica, and Phillis in that order.

Since Mina needs to hold paper and writing tools to draw the map, it’s my job to carry the lantern.

It’s unfortunate that I can’t pan it around, but Seti, Jessica, and Phillis all need both hands for combat, so it can’t be helped.

“By the way, what’s this dungeon called? Who names dungeons like the Disease Demon’s Dungeon?”

“The person who discovers and first reports a dungeon has the right to suggest a name. The New Continent Development Headquarters has the final decision, but if there’s no issue with the reporter’s suggestion, it’s usually adopted as is.”

“So the naming rights for this dungeon belong to our client, Mr. Sam McClain.”

“I don’t think so. I doubt the client will report this dungeon’s existence to the Development Headquarters.”

“Hmm? Why is that?”

“Because this request is about monopolizing the dungeon without letting anyone know of its existence.”

After saying that, Jessica carefully checked for approaching enemies or presences, then continued cautiously.

“Remember the conditions of this request? Investigate the dungeon interior but don’t defeat the boss, and don’t engage in resource gathering activities like mining.”

“Ah, and there was the condition that the client gets priority on just one item from the loot.”

“The implications are clear. The client wants to regularly send only people he employs to this dungeon to profit from it. He hired us under confidentiality conditions to assess the risks and available resources, and to evaluate its business potential.”

So he intends to hunt the resources or monster materials generated inside without clearing the dungeon, creating a stable and infinite source of income.

It’s an unthinkable approach if you consider dungeons solely as targets to be conquered.

“Deliberately leaving a dungeon alone while continuously profiting from it… I understand the concept, but isn’t it too reckless? One mistake could lead to massive damage.”

“That would be true for normal dungeons. Casually going in and out just to gather resources could trigger an overflow and cause a catastrophe. But with this dungeon, there’s no need to worry about that, right?”

“Ah… I see what you mean.”

If this dungeon had appeared in the basement of the client’s mansion, he would have frantically issued a request to conquer it.

But this place is far from the settlers’ living areas, in unknown territory.

The only means of access is the ‘Book of Adventure’ owned by the client, so even if an overflow occurs, he can simply close the gate and avoid any risk.

In other words, if our investigation proves this dungeon has low risk and high profitability, it would be like obtaining a goose that lays golden eggs.

“So that’s why he imposed conditions of secrecy and no resource gathering.”

“Yes. And the condition about getting priority on just one item from the loot was probably in case something big like an artifact or magic core turned up.”

“A thorough fellow… Well, if I were in his position, I’d probably do the same.”

Whether this dungeon contains gold veins, artifacts, or just swarms of monsters depends on our client’s luck.

We just need to ensure our party’s safety while achieving better results than Hector’s party, and maximize our gains within the permitted scope.

There’s no need to envy or be jealous of the golden-egg-laying goose.

“…I hear something. Up ahead, many of them.”

“Oh, is it starting already?”

Time to collect our first loot from the dungeon—magic stones.

With the intention of conquering the dungeon within three days and even uncovering the identity of the white building visible on the cliff, I prepared to face the enemies emerging from the darkness.