episode_0178

“The dungeon was discovered fifteen days ago. A patroller from our branch discovered it by chance during a separate request.”

While Reed was dismantling the tent he was using as a temporary shelter, Ariene explained to Friede and me what we needed to know about this order in advance.

“Based on the magic concentration at the entrance, it was judged to be a dungeon with at least the 6th floor, so instead of informing the Adventurer’s Guild, they kept it secret. So that our organization could have a monopoly on the dungeon’s products.”

If you report the appearance of a dungeon to the Adventurer’s Guild, it is obvious that many adventurers will flock to the dungeon and fight for the treasure.

It is said that the branch leader of the branch that Arine and Reed belong to concealed the dungeon itself to prevent detection from the outside, then formed its own search party and sent it down into the dungeon.

If you can monopolize all products, you will be able to reap profits that exceed the cost of concealing whatever comes out.

However, most optimistic plans lead to dismal failure. If things had gone as planned, I wouldn’t have been called here.

“I guess it didn’t go as well as I thought?”

“…Well, that’s right. We sent down a twelve-member exploration party divided into three, but there has been no news for a week.”

Priest Arine sighed slightly and nodded.

Twelve people are missing. It’s definitely a big deal.

That number would have used up all of the branch’s core power, but that power literally disappeared as if evaporating.

“That’s why I requested support from the higher-ups. We were the only two of us who had the silver level strength left, so our strength was severely lacking.”

The branch is ruined.

Even though it would be impossible for them to become knights of the kingdom if they had the strength of a silver plate, they were more than enough to be knights of an ordinary noble family, but out of the fourteen of them, twelve were lost.

If they are still alive, and if they are rescued safely, there won’t be a big problem… If everyone dies, it’s over.

It was terribly difficult to replenish that much power.

Think about it, why would a person who can make a living as a knight anywhere feel regretful about joining an underworld assassination organization?

If you just work for a suitable nobleman and show off, you can not only receive a salary and honor, but if you do well, you can even be granted land.

When looking at salary alone, the organization may have the upper hand… There weren’t many people who would choose to work in the underworld instead of becoming a knight just for a few extra pennies in salary.

A criminal who was deprived of his knighthood after causing a serious accident, or a piece of trash whose character is too poor to deserve a knighthood.

A debt collector who has taken on a huge debt that cannot be covered with a knight’s salary, or a homicidal maniac who loves killing so much that he cannot control it.

Well, unless you’re a human being with some flaws like those guys, you’re saying that.

It’s not like we can just blindly accept those guys, and we had to carefully select only those who wouldn’t betray the organization out of self-interest.

It is doubtful whether this was possible with the capabilities of just one branch.

If I were Argantir, I would have decided to take down the branch’s sign and then ordered the branch president’s head to be taken down from his neck as well.

Considering that what Argantir instructed me to do was explore dungeons, not slaughter the branch leader, it seems that he has a slightly different opinion than me.

You never know. They already sent an assassin to the branch leader, so there may be no need for me to step forward.

◆◆

40 minutes by carriage from the entrance to the forest.

After following the snow-covered path and turning deep into the forest, we arrived in front of a cave located in the middle of a low hill.

“You’re there. The entrance to the dungeon is inside here. Thanks to that, it was easy to conceal.”

Reed, who had volunteered to act as the coachman, stopped the carriage next to a suitable tree and said.

While Friede, I, and Ariene gathered our belongings and came down from the luggage compartment, he took off the horse’s harness and tied the reins to a tree right next to it.

“Is it okay to just tie them up like that?”

I tilted my head and asked.

Unlike carriages, horses are definitely living creatures. If they were left unattended like that, they would likely be hunted by wild beasts or starve to death.

“It’s no problem. Our branch comes here every two days to hide the magic leaking from the dungeon.”

Reid shrugged his shoulders and answered.

They said that low-level gang members were visiting once every two days, so if I just left the carriage and horses here, they would retrieve them and take care of them.

“…If you come here every two days, wouldn’t it be better to just set up a tent in the cave and stay there?”

“Monsters may pop out of the dungeon. But to keep a watchful eye, at least four or five people would have to be deployed.”

After listening to it, it makes sense.

Rather than burying as many as five people in a cave, it would be much more efficient in terms of manpower management to send just one person every two days.

“I understand. Then you can go in right away. Please guide me.”

Anyway, we said we have someone to look after the horses for us, so we don’t have to worry anymore.

All that was left was to enter the dungeon and slaughter all the enemies that stood in the way.

◆◆

The inside of the cave was dark and humid, and had the unique odor of an animal.

The uneven floor was full of bone fragments of animals large and small, and the air I breathed was thick with the stench of excrement and rotting meat.

“I guess it was originally a den of animals.”

“Yes, he said so.”

Reid nodded, lifting the fur cape wrapped around his shoulders. Its pure white, rough fur glowed reddish in the lantern light.

Snowy bearskin cloak.

Seeing that Arine was also wearing the same cloak, I thought I knew where the original owner of this cave had gone.

Did the whole family live together and then all sleep together and become a cloak?

It wasn’t particularly pitiful. There were human skulls scattered among the bone fragments scattered here and there.

The only good snowy bear is a dead snowy bear. It was a maxim and truth that every adventurer knew.

“You’re almost there. If you turn left at this intersection… you can see it? It’s that crack over there.”

After that, we walked for maybe ten minutes. We finally arrived at the entrance to the dungeon.

“It’s a crack….”

It was definitely an entrance that had that feeling.

The rock wall at the end of the cave. The part just above the ground was broken into pieces, leaving a huge hole, and the area around it was full of cracks and small incontinence.

Did some kind of truck come and crash into it? I wonder if this is the entrance to a dungeon or a collapsed cave passage.

The only elements reminiscent of a dungeon were a vaguely creepy feeling and a magic circle with a strange pattern carved in front of the open entrance.

Of course, the magic circle was not part of the dungeon, but was merely a foreign object carved by the members of the organization who discovered the dungeon to hide the magic leaking from the entrance.

“I’ll take the lead from here on. Follow me from behind with the lantern.”

“Yes!” “Okay.” “I will!”

I picked up Edelmut and stepped into the crack.

The quality of the air changes in an instant along with a puffing feeling.

The foul odors, such as the smell of animal life and rotten smell, disappeared as if they had been erased, and the air, which was a little stuffy but was significantly clearer than that of a cave, seeped deep into my lungs.

Is it finally a dungeon?

I stared straight ahead with my sword drawn and waited for other party members to enter.

“Huh…it’s better because there’s no smell.”

“Somewhere here, my colleagues….”

Reed, who had taken out a bow and arrows, approached while joking, and Ariene, who had taken over his lantern, followed him in, holding the lantern high and illuminating the surroundings.

“Hmm….”

And finally, Friede, with a black iron greatsword on his shoulder, trudged over and settled down at the end of the party.

After confirming that everyone, including Friede, had entered, we began to move forward cautiously, relying on the light of the lantern held high by Ariene.

– Gooo.

In a vast and dark dungeon. A cold wind blew from beyond and let out a strange cry, as if welcoming a new visitor.

◆◆

Is it because it is a class close to the ground? The scenery on the first floor that I took a quick look around was very similar to the cave outside the dungeon.

In that it is close to a half-collapsed rock passage full of stalactites and stalagmites.

“It’s bigger inside than I thought.”

However, unlike the cave we passed through earlier, the inside of the dungeon was spacious, like a plaza.

Because of the collapsed ground and piles of rocks here and there, the width of the passage itself was not much different from that of a cave.

As I continued walking and entered the inside, the dark dungeon began to become brighter, little by little.

It’s not because the sunlight is seeping in. This was because strange ores were stuck everywhere, including the ceiling, rock walls, and floor.

Sharp ores that emit a soft, pale blue light.

“What is that…?”

“It’s a luminescent crystal. It emits light because it is imbued with magic.”

Arine was a little surprised as it was her first time seeing this sight, but Reid explained the identity of the ore in a calm tone, as if it was a familiar sight to her.

“It’s an ore used as a material for magic tools, so if you dig it up and sell it, you can make some money… but these are not good. The amount of light is too low.”

“The stronger the light, the more expensive it is?”

“That’s right. The higher the magic content, the stronger the light. These things here are scraps that can’t even be used as lighting, so they won’t sell at best if you dig them up.”

For a gambling addict, he’s very knowledgeable.

No, is it because he is a gambling addict that he is knowledgeable?

Since you spend a lot of money on entertainment compared to others, you need to know all the dungeon products that can make money in order to avoid becoming a beggar.

Considering that he ended up joining an organization because he couldn’t pay off his gambling debts, it doesn’t seem like that knowledge was really useful.

Well, what’s the point if you know something that can make money? If they don’t appear in front of you, it’s ultimately meaningless.

Like these luminous crystals.