episode_0089

『The progression conditions are unlocked. [Condition: Discovery of the hidden lowest floor of the Artemis Ruins]』

Hidden lowest floor, huh.

This means the game is almost cleared.

It’ll probably be accessible using that [Basement Key] I got before.

It just means I have to find the entrance.

I reached into my pocket to check if the key was still there.

Click—

But something else caught my fingertips.

“Hmm…”

[??’s Magic Stone] – Rank: ?? – A magic stone left behind by ??. Only those who have received ??’s ?? can use it. – It’s possible to borrow some of ??’s power. Usage results in ?? a ??.

It’s a sub-scenario clear reward… What a mess.

How many question marks are there? One, two, three, four… If there are no duplicates, there are nine.

Even simultaneous equations require the same number of equations as unknowns, so this is basically telling me not to read it.

Ultimately, I can’t understand anything about this item right now.

Based on my past experiences, other than the fact that this mysterious magic stone will help me clear other main scenarios.

Woooong-

It’s glowing pure white, which is a little concerning… Oh well, I’ll find out when the time comes.

“What are you doing there?” “Ah— yeah, nothing.”

Eve, after checking on the party members, returned to my side.

I quickly shoved the magic stone into my pocket and straightened my clothes.

“Let’s go.”

“First of all, everyone, thank you for your hard work. We’ve solved the dungeon break.” “It’s not solved yet.”

Joy, clutching her staff with both hands, stared this way with her long eyes.

The meaning that it hasn’t been fully investigated yet was contained within them.

“Roughly… I have a hunch, but we still don’t have proper evidence.”

According to Eve’s report, all the ‘surviving’ adventurers isolated inside have returned.

We could consider the immediate danger to be over.

Since this requires careful and detailed investigation and follow-up measures, I spilled everything I knew.

And left the rest to the Sacred Four.

Because I hate troublesome things.

I gestured with my hand, and everyone gathered around.

I explained the cause of the dungeon break I suspected, including the hidden passageway on the intermediate floor.

“Certainly… I didn’t know this before fighting, but now I do. Even though they’re magical beasts, it seemed like they were all struggling to survive, to me.”

Terence nodded, arms crossed.

Even being in the relatively rearguard in terms of battle deployment, he must have felt something after directly blocking their teeth and claws.

Honestly… During the battle, I felt like I was possessed, like a god had descended and was rampaging.

But after it was over, I felt a little nauseous.

They look different only from people, but they are ultimately the same life forms.

That’s what I felt.

They felt like wild animals struggling to survive in a nature full of threats, like I saw in a documentary.

I didn’t have any psychological interaction with them, but after fighting, I felt like I felt ‘pitiful’ in the end.

…Was that because of that ghost-like thing I saw at the end?

I’m not sure exactly what it is… but it seemed to be pure mana freed from magic, or rather, a soul.

Seeing a soul is ridiculous, but it’s questionable whether souls even exist.

It was like the fantasy I had about magic before awakening the power of the attributeless mana.

I felt that it wasn’t impossible to see them clearly someday.

While I was spacing out, the Sacred Four seemed to have finished their internal meeting.

“Well, we should return for now. To report about the extermination of the magical beast horde… Actually, I want a little rest.” “Let’s do that. It would be nice to collect some spoils and magic stones on the way.”

I subtly pointed with my finger.

Towards the piles of Gray Wolf corpses.

“Haha… kidding?” “No.” “…I don’t have the hands, the hands. Let’s just take the leader’s magic stone. As evidence.”

Oh well, it doesn’t matter—I pointed towards the Shadow Wolf’s corpse, the boss of the intermediate floor, and Terence rushed over.

He expertly finished the dismantling work in an instant, and struggled to move the magic stone bigger than his head.

If Lily hadn’t cast a magic spell for him in a hurry, he would have fallen flat on his face.

After the short slapstick, the four adventurers gathered again in one place.

“You’ve really worked hard. We didn’t do anything— no, yes…” “We did it together. Picking which side is better will ruin the romance.”

Thinking of the saying, “a rope of a hundred strands,” I extended my hand.

Just like the first meeting that felt like yesterday, a few days ago.

We clasped each other’s hands tightly and shook hands firmly.

“Is there any problem exploring further inside?” “Don’t you remember? What’s in that bag.”

I pointed to the golden turtle-shell-like backpack hanging on Yuri’s back.

Terence stared blankly into space, uncontrollably drooling reflexively, before coming to his senses.

“Well… you planned everything from the beginning.” “That’s right.” “…But, you know.”

He paused for a moment.

He scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression and continued.

“Let’s be informal from now on.” “Ah… um. Should we? Kid?” “Why are you cursing…”

The quiet atmosphere made me cringe, so I blurted out a bunch of swear words and laughed heartily.

Terence laughed in return, welcoming the change.

Joy and Lily no longer showed any ill feelings towards me.

Towards me.

Eve, on the other hand, glared fiercely before.

They each held a Return Stone.

“Good work, everyone.”

I was the first to wave at the Sacred Four.

“You’ll work a little harder—!”

What returned in the intense light of the Return Stone was a middle finger.

I suddenly remembered the last words of my senior who had been discharged earlier.

‘Just screw around, you idiots—!’

It was summer.

The intermediate level of the Artemis Ruins, when comparing the map with the Tarun mountain range area on the ground.

Was located exactly in the center, so it was least touched by human hands.

Therefore, the magic is dense.

It means it’s an environment where magical beasts can be born anytime.

Even though I’ve sashimi’d them all now, they will be reborn someday and return to their original environment.

It’s unavoidable.

Survival of the fittest, that’s their way, so I just followed suit.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I despise their lives themselves.

On the contrary, I highly value their desperate struggle until the very end.

It’s a matter of time before those hundreds of Gray Wolves are moved and disassembled, and the skins and magic stones will be sold.

If it’s for the purpose of investigation, the leader, Shadow Wolf, is sufficient.

Anyway, I defeated them all, didn’t I?

So I should decide how to dispose of them.

All I get from selling them is money.

But I have enough money to rot.

Showing respect as living beings, I cremated all the Gray Wolf corpses neatly.

It’s enough for the leader, the one who decided everything, to be sacrificed by defeat.

Well… it’s much more peaceful than killing prisoners of war or civilians, to cut the king’s head and simply end it.

Eve, the only fire mana user in our party besides me, agreed with my belief.

Together, we burned all the corpses on the intermediate level, and we walked out of the empty hall.

Halfway through the long, long cave, we saw the very heart of where they lived.

The place where the leader had to make the final choice right before facing us.

There were traces of their desperate struggle to survive by consuming their kin.

Scattered blood and scattered hides.

My heart grew heavier in that horrifying scene.

There was no sign of resistance.

Not a single trace of teeth or claws was visible.

“…What are you looking at like that?”

Whoosh—

But before its trait activated, Eve covered my eyes with flames.

“It’s over.” “…That’s right, what.”

It’s a little too much to act tough in front of Nix, but realizing how many unnecessary thoughts I have means I’m getting old.

I kept stopping like this even when passing through the empty cave.

I gave an awkward smile.

“…Got it. I’ll help with that.” “Thank you.”

Eventually we cleaned up almost all the traces of blood in the intermediate floor. It would have taken about ten minutes if we simply ran, but we spent nearly three hours to barely reach the second safe zone.

It was evening by the time we reached the outside.

We made a bonfire and sat around it to prepare dinner.

Tonight’s menu was soup with plenty of homemade ham and bacon.

Yuri, who always shows off their amazing skills, made another delicious meal.

It was a masterpiece that was impossible to believe was made on the spot using preserved ingredients.

After dinner, it was time for bed.

Thanks to Eve, who tactfully excused herself first, I enjoyed a second dinner.