Chapter 88: To the Next Location

The surviving adventurers looked at each other with expressions like they were about to die at any moment, trying to gauge each other’s reactions.

For those who were in no condition to walk and follow the inquisitors, death was the only answer, but those who were in good enough condition to walk had to rack their brains to avoid paying money by any means necessary.

For Sion, who earns enormous income through his spatial pocket, resurrection wasn’t a big deal, but for adventurers who couldn’t do that, it was inevitably burdensome to suddenly be asked to pay more than 100 gold coins.

“What should we do now?”

“…”

The 7 unconscious people were already confirmed dead. The inquisitors had no intention of carrying them, and there seemed to be no way other than killing them and putting them in the spatial pocket.

The remaining 14 wanted to hear each other’s opinions.

Whether to die and get out.

Or to get out alive.

“Hail, what do you think?”

Max, the bald-headed adventurer, asked a question to Hail, the oldest among the survivors.

“I… well. I have family to support… and I’ve already been resurrected once. If I die again this time… I’ll have to pay more than 200 gold coins.”

Hail answered with a voice that was almost dying.

He had already received the elixir of resurrection once before.

The price of the elixir of resurrection varies depending on the number of abilities one has, the number of mana adaptations, and the number of resurrections.

The higher the specs, the higher the price, and the more often one resurrects, the higher the cost becomes.

If he dies and resurrects again this time, he might have to pay more than 200 gold coins.

That was a painful loss for the head of a family of four, and it was a matter of immediate concern for his family’s well-being.

200 gold coins was by no means a light amount. It’s literally the price of a life. If he had enough leeway to pay this, Hail would have chosen to die and be transported.

However, he didn’t have that much leeway. The cost of living in Labyrinth City was filthily high, and to support his family in such a place, he always needed money.

If he didn’t have a family to support, he wouldn’t have worried this much. But Hail had too much to protect.

“Excuse me, I don’t know much about this, but how much is the resurrection cost roughly?”

“It will easily exceed 100 gold coins basically. It also varies depending on the number of abilities and mana adaptations.. For Silver Badge holders like us, it might even be close to 200 gold coins.”

“What the hell? 200 gold coins? Has the religious order’s conscience died?”

“Whoa. Shh! Shhhh..! Are you crazy.. How can you curse the religious order where the inquisitors are? Do you really want to die?”

“Ah, damn… They didn’t hear me, right?”

“It doesn’t seem like they did.”

“Haah. Fuck. Oh God. Fuck fuck.”

There are inquisitors around. If you make a mistake in cursing the religious order, your head will fly off right there.

“I’m going crazy. How are we supposed to prepare more than 100 gold coins suddenly? Wouldn’t it be better to just die?”

“Haah.. If we die, they’ll pick us up and resurrect us as they please, then bill us. If you really want to die, it’s best to be eaten to death. Then you can’t be resurrected.”

“We can’t even die as we please… I didn’t intend to die in the first place, but. This is giving me a headache. I’m going mad.”

“In the end, it’s a money problem.”

Realistically thinking, it was clear that the resurrection cost would definitely break through at least 150 gold coins.

Even Rika, who was at the entrance of the labyrinth, cost more than 100 gold coins.

For Silver Badge level adventurers who could roam around the underground city, it would be even more.

Especially for someone who had already died once and received the elixir of resurrection, it might really be close to 200 gold coins, and the despair of Hail, who would definitely have to pay more than 200 gold coins, spread to everyone.

100 gold coins was already a burdensome amount that felt like dying, let alone 200 gold coins. For adventurers, it was such a large amount that it gave them a headache.

There were also people who had to pay 200 gold coins or more, and some of them thought it was better to die than to pay the money.

“If we can’t pay and get resurrected, we’ll become dogs of the religious order and receive dangerous missions again.”

“Then we’ll die again and be resurrected, increasing our debt.”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors about Taylor? He deliberately sends people on difficult missions in their later years to make them die, then retrieves the corpses and makes them debtors. I heard he was treated like a dog until he was too old to be resurrected… Once you’re tied down even once, it’s hard to escape.”

“Damn religious order bastards…”

Max, the bald-headed adventurer, showed hostility towards the religious order.

He hated the religious order. He was sick of the religious order that brought some unknown alchemy called the elixir of resurrection and took away people’s freedom, treating them like livestock.

Of course, many people had benefited from the elixir of resurrection owned by the religious order, and they had such a large presence in Labyrinth City that Max, who was merely a Silver Badge holder, couldn’t openly rebel, but still.

At that moment, Goro, who was pro-religious order unlike Max, blurted out a word. Goro and Max usually didn’t get along well.

“I think we should be thankful that they’re not charging for corpse transportation costs.”

“What? That’s because you have money to spare.”

“What did you say? Are you picking a fight now? Then you should have saved some money. I saw you spending recklessly.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“Hey. Calm down! Calm down! If a fight breaks out, the inquisitors will intervene. Calm down, everyone.”

“Tsk. Fuck. I can’t die. I don’t have money. And frankly speaking, what if those bastards all die during transportation? Then we’ll be dead forever. No matter how strong those inquisitor bastards are. I don’t want to entrust my life to them.”

Max ultimately revealed his hostility towards the religious order openly and refused death.

To this, Hail, the middle-aged adventurer who had been listening from the side, nodded in agreement.

“The resurrection will definitely cost more than 200 gold coins. I can’t die either. I don’t want to become a dog of the religious order and fall into the cycle of debt.”

Two people refused to die and be transported.

Following this, those who didn’t have the ability to pay the amount all started expressing their refusal.

“I, I also… don’t have money.”

“200 gold coins is a bit much when I don’t even have silver coins to eat and die with. I can’t die either.”

“My religion doesn’t allow resurrection. It’s not possible.”

Gradually, public opinion formed. People were divided between those who chose to die and be transported and those who would get out alive on their own feet.

At that moment, Roka, the youngest adventurer, asked Hail.

“But why do we have to follow them in the first place? Can’t we make our own way…”

“Look, young friend. That’s impossible. The underground city is already a field of heretics. If we separate from the inquisitors, bugs will crawl into our brains again.”

“Uh.. that’s a bit…”

“So if you want to get out alive, you must follow the inquisitors no matter what. It’s a party with the Saint, after all. As long as we don’t do anything strange, our safety is guaranteed.”

“If it’s that safe, I don’t want to bear the burden of 200 gold coins either.”

Seven people refused death.

The remaining seven also had to make their choice.

“I…. I’ll die and be transported.”

“Somehow I’ll manage with the money I’ve saved.”

“The Saint will take us up. That madwoman won’t die to the heretics.”

“I’ll die too. I’ll have to beg my parents for help.”

The remaining seven chose death.

They were people who had spare funds or had some insurance to avoid being tied to the religious order no matter what.

“Wait.”

At that moment, Max, the bald-headed adventurer, suggested an idea to those who chose to die.

“We don’t necessarily have to die right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“We can just escape through the transfer stone when we find one while wandering around with those guys. We might not be able to break through the underground city on our own, but we can definitely break through the upper floors by ourselves. And we might find a transfer stone faster than we think. Then there’s no need to die and lose 200 gold coins unnecessarily, right?”

“That’s… but. We need to think about what happens if things don’t go well. What if our bodies get smashed while fighting? We’ve preserved our bodies intact now, but.. what if we get eaten and digested, or crushed in a trap? If the damage rate is too high, the elixir of resurrection won’t work. Then resurrection becomes impossible forever.”

“That’s true. But considering that, there’s still the option of trying to find the transfer stone as quickly as possible. Are you going to pay 200 gold coins just like that without trying anything? Are you all that rich? Then why the fuck did you crawl into the labyrinth in the first place? If you have money to spare. Everyone’s struggling to make ends meet.”

“…”

“Even 100 gold coins is burdensome, let alone 200 gold coins. Think properly. Don’t try to escape into an easy death thoughtlessly.”

Max wanted as many people as possible to stay alive and wander around with him without dying.

Why? Because the more people there are, the higher his chances of survival.

Surely the man who seemed to be the porter of the inquisitors had said so. Those who choose to wander around with them won’t be taken care of during combat.

When combat situations occur, the inquisitors will no longer do their best to save the adventurers.

It will be such a perilous journey. The adventurers who chose to follow had to take care of their own lives.

That’s why Max thought that as many adventurers as possible should stick together alive. The more adventurers there are, the more they can be used as meat shields.

Max was recognizing everyone except himself as bait. He had long since abandoned human compassion to survive.

“Let’s just wander around with the inquisitors for now, and if we die, ask them to pick us up then. How about it? They’ll at least pick up corpses, right?”

“…That’s a method too.”

“The risk of permanent death is extremely high, but.. maybe permanent death is better than being in debt?”

“And if things go well, we can gain 200 gold coins.”

“Hmm. I’ll still choose to be transported safely.”

“Me too. I don’t want to risk permanent death unnecessarily.”

“I’ve.. changed my mind a bit. I like Max’s opinion.”

“Then we’ve finished coordinating opinions.”

Out of the remaining 14 people, excluding the 7 who were unconscious, 9 wanted to get out alive. The remaining five chose to die and get out.

“Hey. We’ve decided.”

“Have you made your choice?”

“Yes. Nine of us won’t die. We intend to get out alive.”

At Max’s words, Sion nodded and looked at Raphael.

“It seems we’ll have to take nine with us.”

“That’s more than I expected.”

“Indeed.”

Sion separated those who didn’t choose to be transported.

“First, those who chose to die, go to the side with Raphael-nim. Those who chose to survive, follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“You need to prepare food supplies. To survive.”

The adventurers who followed Sion to the east of the central district swallowed dry saliva as they saw the pile of monster corpses in front of them.

“These are the corpses of monsters that died here. Prepare up to 2 weeks’ worth of food for each person by processing them. I’ll handle the transportation, so you just need to process them.”

“No, it’s all stray dogs and wolves?”

“So?”

“This isn’t right. The stench will be overwhelming.”

“Then… should I take out goblin corpses?”

“What? No. We can’t eat goblins!”

“We don’t have any suitable food to share with you.”

“Fuck. To think we have to eat beast meat.”

“Keiler. Shut up and take your dagger.”

“But…”

“Shut up. Let’s just process it.”

Max stopped the adventurer who was about to complain, then drew his dagger.

He skinned the hide and cut out the edible parts.

“Fucking rookie.”

Max cursed Keiler quietly.

There are times when adventurers have to eat beast meat regardless of whether it stinks or not.

He thought it was better to even tear into human flesh than to suffer from hunger without eating.

In that sense, the porter’s offer to transport the meat was an extremely kind gesture.

‘That must be the guy with the spatial pocket.’

Max roughly knew Sion’s information.

The boy favored by the guild master. Also the man living with the guild master’s daughter.

Just these two pieces of information were enough to know that the person in front of him was quite a big shot.

There was no reason to unnecessarily offend him.

“But we have more spices than you might think. I’ll provide pepper and salt for every meal.”

“Really?”

“Oh… That should be enough to eat even wolf meat.”

At Sion’s words, the adventurers began earnestly processing the wolf meat.

‘This side is done.’

Sion turned his gaze from the nine adventurers who wanted to get out alive to check on the people who had gone to Raphael’s side.

Crack!

There was a sound of something twisting.

Probably breaking necks.

Considering resurrection, that was the most rational method. It’s the way to die with the least injury.

“Porter, we’re done here.”

“Yes. Let’s switch.”

“Alright.”

Raphael came over to Sion’s side to monitor the adventurers processing meat, and Sion moved to Raphael’s side to pick up the dead adventurers.

A total of 12 corpses.

They were laid out in a straight line with their eyes closed.

‘I’ll make sure to take you up.’

Sion put them into his spatial pocket.

If Sion fails to return to the surface, they will be left to rot in the spatial pocket forever without even being able to decompose.

“Well then, now that we’ve rested enough. Let’s start hunting heretics.”

“Um, Saint. Where do you plan to go first?”

“Let’s see. Since we’ve gained nine pieces of luggage…”

Some adventurers were offended by the Saint’s words, but no one could refute them.

They were indeed luggage.

“You’ll probably be annihilated in the plaza district. There are too many of you to enter the ruins district. And we have too few magic items to enter the lake district.”

To avoid falling into the water in the lake district, you needed magic items engraved with water-walking magic or similar spells.

There weren’t enough magic items to provide for those nine people.

“All that’s left are the tower district and the garden district. Which do you think is better?”

The tower district is an area with several towers lined up. It was a place full of narrow corridors like the ruins district.

“The tower district will have the least quantity. The number of werewolves is the lowest among the native species.”

“But werewolves are also the strongest among the native species.”

“But going to the garden district…”

“With dungeon trolls there, it’s equally dangerous.”

Sion fell into thought.

‘There’s a high chance of encountering Arachne in the tower district. Conversely, in the garden district or lake district, there’s a high probability of encountering Frogmen.’

He was fine with going anywhere.

Whether it was the tower district or the garden district, he could obtain clues about either the spider’s lair or the snake’s nest in either place.

“Let’s go to the garden district. There’s water there, and edible plants too.”

“Then let’s do that.”

With Hail’s opinion, the next destination was decided.

The garden district of the underground city.

It’s a place where dungeon trolls, native species with tough skin and tenacious vitality, appear.

It was also a district where various plant-type monsters and many types of small monsters crawl out.