Chapter 20

Chapter 20 : Dungeon Village Medaollinum

“I will explain as we go.”

When I hurriedly packed my things and arrived outside the city walls, Malton immediately jerked his chin toward the carriage behind him.

I climbed into the carriage without complaint and set down my backpack, and he lightly joked,

“It has been a while. About a week, has it not? I have already been hearing of your exploits from the guild. It could not have been easy for a Skeleton to secretly blend into the human world. Impressive.”

“I am glad you look healthy too. Is the Curse all right?”

“There are some lingering aftereffects, but I am perfectly fine. It will probably improve slowly as time passes. Thank you once again.”

“You do not need to thank me. I am going to drain you down to the marrow from now on.”

Malton chuckled at my half-serious joke, then his expression turned quite serious as he spoke.

“Then, to get to the point... They say a Dungeon has been discovered in a village around here. The problem is that the scale of that Dungeon is absurdly large. They say it is large enough to swallow a small kingdom whole and still have room to spare... Have you heard?”

“Of course. I have heard it so much my ears are practically callused. By now, even the mistress of some lord two countries over must have heard of it.”

It had been a week since I completed the Resonance Stone quest, and everywhere I went, people were all talking about the same thing.

[Dungeon]

‘In the end, it has opened....’

A Dungeon was like a red fruit blooming in the middle of a desert.

When adventurers greedily threw their lives into its maw, merchants who smelled blood and gold coins would gather like hyenas.

Before long, the enormous wealth born from the blood and desire they shed would fatten the nearby city of Verastin as well.

However....

‘That only applies to the early stages.’

Someday, the number of Monsters would become too much for the adventurers and Knights to handle.

When that moment passed the critical point, the overflowing Monsters would pour onto the surface, and the Great Flood that devastated the surrounding area would arrive.

That would become the first button leading Velheim toward becoming a world on the verge of destruction.

Unaware of this fact, Malton leisurely nodded and said,

“If you already know the news, this will be quick. The adventurers of Verastin have all already flocked there. And as adventurers ourselves, how could we stay out of something like this?”

“Of course.”

Fortunately, because I knew the future of this world, I also had a sense of when I should pull out.

If I escaped quickly before the Great Flood occurred, I should be able to enjoy only the sweet benefits and slip away.

A Dungeon crawling with all kinds of Monsters was both a shortcut to rapid leveling and a place of opportunity where one could earn a fortune overnight.

However, Malton, who was examining my complexion, asked curiously,

“Hmm... The area beneath your eyes is dark. Have you not been sleeping well?”

“Yes. I have not been able to rest properly lately. I have been hunting all night....”

“All night? Do you mean you hunted at night? Outside the city walls?”

“Yes. I think I spent about four days outside....”

“......May I ask what your Level is?”

“My Level? I just reached twenty-three this time. It was close, but I somehow managed it.”

“Twenty-three... Were you not in the single digits when I first met you last time?”

“I was.”

Thanks to hunting through the night all that time, my Level had risen sharply, but I could not simply be happy about it.

That was because a new quest had appeared at some point.

｢[New Quest]: Form a reliable party and reach the Dungeon.｣

｢A Dungeon is a demonic realm teeming with powerful Monsters and traps! It is an extremely dangerous place, but if you overcome adversity and survive, you will be able to grow quickly.｣

｢Reward upon quest completion: Strength permanently increases by 2.｣

‘...Something is suspicious.’

I had been planning to go anyway, so I was grateful that it would even throw in free stats, but I could not shake off the unpleasant feeling.

Was it not as if it were dangling a sweet reward as bait and pushing me into the fire pit where a Great Disaster would unfold?

It was laughable to have such doubts about a Status Window that was nothing more than fragments of text, but....

I let out a deep sigh, laid my head on the straw pillow, and said,

“Then wake me if something happens. I am going to sleep.”

“Understood. Once we arrive at the Dungeon, we will be busy for some time, so rest well. I will close my eyes for a bit too.”

Malton and I rode the rattling carriage toward the Dungeon village.

***

After riding the carriage for two full days and arriving at the village near the Dungeon, my eyes opened on their own at the loud noise.

Half-asleep, I peered beyond the wooden window and saw a crowd so packed that there was no room to step.

“No, how long has it even been since the Dungeon’s existence was announced? How did this many people already gather here...?”

Warriors busily moving around in full-body armor, Mages wearing pointed hats and reciting suspicious spells, Peddlers shouting at the tops of their lungs....

Amid the chaotically mingled crowd, weasel messengers darted about nimbly, and adventurers were setting up tents and camping anywhere they pleased on the Grassland.

“...This is a complete mess.”

“We still have a ways to go. Let us hurry.”

After handing a bribe to the gatekeeper and passing through the Wooden Fence into the village, I followed Malton and opened my mouth.

“So... I came along for now, but why did we need to enter the village? The Dungeon is outside the village.”

“There is someone we must meet before entering the Dungeon. ...You also know that it would be uneasy to form a party with just the two of us, don't you not?”

“Well, yes....”

Since Malton and I were both Front Line fighters with melee weapons, there was a limit to how many situations we could handle.

We could be helplessly attacked from long range, and if a flying Monster appeared, we would have to stand there and watch while sucking our fingers.

I had also been quietly thinking that it would be good to have a party member skilled in ranged attacks....

“As it happens, I arranged a suitable talent in advance.”

“Oh, now I am looking forward to this.”

As expected of a veteran, Malton had an excellent network.

Malton strode through the village without hesitation and stopped in front of an old tavern.

When we pushed open the swing doors and entered, hearty laughter, overflowing beer foam, and the smell of roasting meat filled the air beyond the crowded tables.

Passing across the creaking wooden floor and the shadows cast by the fireplace flames, Malton stopped in front of one adventurer.

“It has been a while, Radi.”

“...It has been a while, Mr. Malton.”

When the person sitting alone at the bar answered, I could not help but be surprised.

The voice flowing from beneath the hood sounded so young that it seemed his voice had not even broken yet.

Because of the crimson robe covering his entire body, I could not properly make out his appearance, but his build also seemed too small to belong to an adult.

‘A boy... perhaps?’

Of course, in this world, one could not judge age by appearance alone.

Among Mages, there were people who had lived for hundreds of years, and the elf bastard beside me was also an extremely long-lived race.

But even so, his equipment, such as his worn-out robe and boots and a backpack clearly marked with stitching, also unmistakably suggested that he was a beginner.

‘He really seems like a child... Is his Level only around the early thirties at best?’

Had Malton mistaken him for someone else? Or was he simply an acquaintance sitting here?

But as though my doubts were meaningless, the boy naturally exchanged greetings with Malton, then turned to me and asked,

“...So, who exactly is this man?”

Beyond the young and delicate face visible beneath the hood, the boy’s deep blue eyes gleamed sharply.

Beneath that gaze lay the meaning, “Is he someone we can trust?”

Malton gave a hearty laugh, glanced at me, and said,

“I have not known him for long either. But I guarantee that he is not a bad person. He even removed my curse.”

“Then it seems his character is decent... What about his skill?”

“His skill... He does occasionally cause unexpected situations, but he is quite useful. He will develop even further from here.”

“Hmm... Is that so? If Mr. Malton says that much about him, I am looking forward to it. What Rank are you? E like me, or perhaps D?”

“Hmm, well....”

At Malton’s look, I silently took out my adventurer badge from my chest and showed it to him.

The boy flinched the moment he saw the F-Rank wooden tag that symbolized a novice, but that was nothing compared to the shock he would receive afterward.

“Wh-what is this...! There is only one request completion stamp! You have no boss hunting experience either...!”

The boy stared at me with his mouth wide open.

｢The adventurer ‘Radi’ searches you with an incredulous gaze!｣

｢In Velheim, a weak companion is nothing but a burden. Due to the [Chaos] skill, Strength increases by 1.｣

｢Radi turns to Malton with a pitiful expression.｣

The boy took Malton aside and whispered to him.

“You were not deceived, were you? I cannot believe Mr. Malton would make such a mistake....”

“Hmm... That is not the case. His skill, at least, is certain. I witnessed it myself.”

“Then is it a disguised registration? Did he falsify his Temple Inquiry Level...? Or did a criminal launder his identity?”

“Do not worry. He is not the sort of person who would do that.”

Malton chuckled and eased the atmosphere.

“In any case, I guarantee this man’s identity and skill. And at first, we will challenge the Dungeon with the three of us. What do you all think?”

“.......”

The boy looked at me with a reluctant expression.

I was not particularly satisfied with the proposal either.

A Dungeon was a harsh place.

Monsters attacked without warning, and when supplies ran out, one had to fend for oneself.

At times, one had to stay awake through the night through battles that continued day and night, and one might have to fight adventurers who had turned into robbers with one’s life on the line.

Could I really entrust my back to such a fragile-looking boy?

Moreover, because of the Main Quest that required me to reach Level 30 within the time limit, my situation was urgent.

The problem was....

‘...Considering my position, it is difficult to actively raise an objection.’

No matter how much of a former Top-Ranked Player I was, right now I was nothing more than a beginner.

My list of completed requests had only one entry, and it had only been a week since I became an adventurer.

With my current Specs and achievements, I would likely have difficulty finding a satisfactory party even if I went out looking.

In other words, I had no choice from the beginning.

I secretly hoped the boy would reject the proposal first, but he rubbed his temple as if his head hurt, sighed, and said,

“...Fine. I owe Mr. Malton a debt, after all. But this is only a temporary party! I will enter the Dungeon with you exactly once, and if I think it is no good, I will leave immediately!”

“That is enough. Then I will consider the party successfully formed... How about a drink, Radi?”

“No. I am busy. I was looking forward to it because Mr. Malton said he would bring a reliable warrior... But now that I have ended up forming a party with a beginner, there is a lot to prepare, from herbs and bandages to emergency Magic Scrolls and healing Potions.”

The boy glanced this way and openly rebuked me as he spoke.

“Will you truly not drink when I am buying free alcohol?”

“...In that case, I will drink.”

The boy immediately changed his attitude and sat down.