Ch.9393. Venice (2)

After that, the two of us visited the temple again, following Lord Dorthea.

“What?! Subjugating a mid-level necromancer? Why didn’t you tell me about such an achievement?!”

“Haha, well… I didn’t want to speak about those disgusting cultists.”

“Indeed, I understand!”

Thanks to our reputation built through Lord Dorthea, plus the added prestige from defeating the necromancer, we were able to secure permission to join the expedition under much better terms than we had expected.

Officially, our “accompaniment” was being hired as guards during the practical training of new priests from the War God’s temple. In reality, though, this arrangement was to help us navigate the complex procedures involved in departing on a crusade aboard a Venetian military vessel.

The “crusade” would last approximately two weeks. During this time, we would be free to wander the Desert of Death to handle our business, with a contract ensuring our safe return at the end of the two weeks.

“Then, I’ll see you in a week.”

“Yes, let’s meet again then, Druid and Miss Sophia!”

And so, with the contract properly concluded, we were leaving the temple of Chronima, the War God, with these farewells when…

[Excuse me, Master? I have a question.]

“A question? What is it?”

Gretel, the newcomer among my animal companions who had been chattering among themselves, directed a question at me.

[The otherworld is a dangerous place, right?]

“That’s right.”

[But you said the outer regions of the otherworld are safe, and I’m curious about that.]

“Ah. That’s what you’re asking about.”

Gretel’s question was common among those who didn’t fully understand the concept of otherworlds, so I was able to quickly organize my thoughts and answer.

“Gretel. The otherworld isn’t a single unified space. It’s more like this kind of space.”

[Like this… space…]

I showed Gretel the approximate structure of the otherworld that I had in mind, slowly explaining this concept.

“The otherworld is like an onion. There are natural barriers, and within those barriers are more barriers, and within those are yet more barriers. The deeper you go, the stronger the otherworld’s characteristics become, while the outer regions have weaker characteristics.”

What’s commonly referred to as the “depth” of an otherworld—essentially how deep it goes—simply means the difficulty level of that otherworld.

Naturally formed barriers in ordinary otherworlds aren’t as effective as artificially created ones, which is why most natural otherworlds maintain this layered, onion-like structure.

Consequently, spaces isolated by these barriers operate under increasingly different rules from our normal world the deeper you go, and these “different rules” typically favor the native creatures while disadvantaging outsiders.

In other words, the deeper the otherworld, the more the environment itself favors the internal creatures. The stronger creatures tend to burrow deeper to take advantage of the internal environment, leaving only the weaker ones in the outer regions.

[…So, does the interior of the otherworld get narrower as the depth increases?]

“Not exactly. While it may appear that the area narrows as the depth increases, one of the features that strengthens proportionally with depth is spatial expansion.”

[Ah, I’ve heard about this from Teacher Frida. The interior of the otherworld is wider than it appears from the outside…]

“That’s right. So in the end, the area at each depth level is similar. There are exceptions, of course. Does that answer your question?”

[Yes. Thank you.]

Having resolved Gretel’s question, we agreed to temporarily separate according to our individual goals.

“The prophet will visit the local Druid Conclave branch for a while.”

“…Ah, right. There’s a Conclave branch here.”

While most Druid Conclave branches are typically located in the heart of nature, far from civilization, one of the few exceptions is this Venice branch.

It’s an unusually nature-filled city that provides druids with sufficient mystical energy to operate, and I suspected that at least a few mid-level druids would be stationed there permanently.

“So you’re going to the Conclave to find useful magic-related materials?”

“The prophet affirms. Different magic works better in deserts and seas, you know.”

Given the nature of druid magic, which is closely tied to specific natural environments, Sophia’s suggestion to learn druid magic tailored to our upcoming environments seemed quite appealing.

However, I had a reason why I couldn’t join her.

“Then, I’ll stop by the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“The Guild… you say?”

“Yes. They should have information about the local ecosystem and the Desert of Death. Since I’m Silver rank, I should have sufficient access.”

My first purpose in visiting the Adventurer’s Guild was to check on Venice’s nearby marine ecosystem and the magical beasts inhabiting it.

In a world where drake species (essentially living tanks) appear on local mountains and basilisks occasionally show up by rivers, how dangerous must the ocean ecosystem be?

From man-eating seaweed and algae that writhe and constrict living beings, to elemental spirits like “living waves”—the ocean is full of dangers. Sometimes parts of the sea spontaneously transform into otherworlds, instantly changing the environment when crossed, and marine creatures truly deserve to be called monsters.

From sea serpents, the dragon species of the ocean that rank high in the ecosystem, to arrow-shaped “man-eating sardine swarms” that pierce through fish and ships like velcro-like colony organisms.

Add to this the whale-like magical beasts that dominate the seas with their innate size, intelligence, and magical abilities—the danger level of these ocean-adapted creatures with massive bodies cannot be ignored.

Moreover, in this era, pirates running rampant across the seas is practically “common sense.” To be frank, most vessels, with few exceptions, engage in piracy as a side business.

Of course, among them, there are the “real” ones.

Ghost ships (undead pirate ships) known for their ruthlessness and surprisingly reasonable undead; Dark Elf slave trader pirate ships from the Southern Continent; notorious High Elf privateer pirates from the British Isles who cause trouble everywhere.

Add to this the goblin pirates, poor in quality but irritatingly numerous, and human pirates who are second to none when it comes to piracy, all raising the danger level of the seas.

If you don’t want to die, knowing such information is practically essential.

My next objective was to gather various information about the “Desert of Death.”

While the Desert of Death is certainly a dangerous otherworld where undead naturally spawn, it’s also a dungeon where skilled adventurers can make a fortune.

When naturally occurring undead are subjugated, their physical bodies vanish, but they leave behind minor spoils in the process.

Of course, most of these spoils are merely dented silver or copper coins, and the weapons of common undead are typically so worn that they’re barely worth scrap metal.

But the key treasures in the desert are the ancient imperial ruins scattered throughout. Inside these ruins buried in desert sand, valuable treasures form under the influence of the otherworld.

The most representative of these is the “Golem Armor,” a magical powered suit that guarantees its wearer physical abilities and defense comparable to a mid-level warrior, regardless of their own capabilities.

Of course, it’s such a rare equipment that even maintenance, let alone manufacturing, is challenging. Only crown princes might possess a full set, and naturally, with this era’s technology, producing additional parts for the drive system is impossible.

It’s so valuable that even a shattered left arm frame with only the frame remaining can be traded for hundreds to thousands of gold coins.

Additionally, equipment made with the ancient empire’s magical technology, despite deteriorating over time, is not significantly different from the average magically imbued equipment of this era.

In minor details, modern technology sometimes even surpasses the ancient empire’s, such as energy arrows automatically loading when an empty bowstring is drawn.

Besides these, precious metals and ancient civilization accessories remain buried in the sand, sometimes popping up above buildings due to the magical operations within the otherworld.

Since it’s easy to make a fortune if you have sufficient skill, information about the Desert of Death was inevitably substantial at the Adventurer’s Guild.

“…Then, leave the magic data to me. I’ll bring it back, even if I have to copy it by hand.”

“And I’ll bring back all the information I can get from the Adventurer’s Guild.”

And so, the two of us began to move to prepare for our adventures in the desert and sea before setting sail.

…This is certainly much safer than embarking on a journey without proper preparation.