[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 84 – Raid Dungeon (1)
Aquaz walked slowly.
Passing through the corridor bathed in gold, she opened the brilliantly shining door.
Inside was a flower bed.
A very beautiful flower bed, where flowers of various colors bloomed splendidly.
In the middle of the flower bed was a single table.
A woman was sitting on a chair at the table.
The woman turned her gaze, her golden hair swaying.
Her jet-black eyes contrasted sharply as they looked at Aquaz.
The woman smiled faintly.
“Aquaz. You’ve come?”
Aquaz bowed respectfully.
“I, Aquaz, Inquisitor of the Sun God, greet the Saint of the Sun God.”
* * *
A representative of the divine.
One who conveys the words of the great being to the earth.
A Saint.
The person in front of Aquaz was the Saint of the Sun God.
The Saint extended her hand.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Aquaz hesitated as she sat in the chair opposite.
The Saint lifted a teacup and spoke.
“You’ve had a hard journey.”
“It’s the will of the god. As a believer, it’s a joy to follow their will.”
The Saint shook her head at Aquaz’s calm words.
“Your faith remains unwavering. I couldn’t do that.”
“…Saint?”
“I’m joking.”
The Saint chuckled.
“So. You came to see me to talk, right? Will you tell me?”
Aquaz nodded.
She slowly explained.
About the demon of gravity, Ashetiar, who descended on the Barkan Territory, and the battle against it.
The Saint clapped her hands exaggeratedly.
“That’s an amazing feat! To have defeated a fully descended demon. Aquaz, thanks to you, the church’s reputation has soared! The leaders are also delighted.”
Aquaz did not have the power to defeat a fully descended demon.
That she won against Ashetiar was undoubtedly a miracle.
But Aquaz shook her head.
“…No. If it weren’t for my collaborator, I would have fallen there.”
“Are you talking about the Barbarian from the White Snowfield, whom the leaders dismissed as insignificant?”
Aquaz nodded heavily.
The leaders did not pay much attention to the Barbarian’s existence that Aquaz mentioned.
The extermination of a descended demon.
Before such a great achievement, the existence of a Barbarian was just an obstacle.
It was unacceptable for the noble leaders that a lowly Barbarian had interfered in divine punishment.
Above all, the Barbarian was not mentioned in the Sun God’s revelation.
This meant a flaw in the great god’s words.
Hence, the leaders erased the record of the Barbarian.
But Aquaz couldn’t do that.
That’s why she came directly to the Saint.
“Why… did the Sun God keep silent about the Barbarian? Was it to test me?”
“No.”
The Saint affirmed.
“Probably didn’t know? Their vision only covers ‘our’ world. From their perspective, it would have been an irregularity.”
“What?”
Aquaz looked confused. The Saint spoke lightly.
“It means that even gods are not omnipotent.”
“Saint! What are you saying!”
Aquaz was shocked.
It was a blasphemy that she couldn’t believe came from the god’s representative.
“I’m joking, joking. Don’t get so upset.”
“I can’t take that as a joke. Please refrain from such comments.”
Aquaz suppressed her surprised heart.
The Saint’s faith in the Sun God wasn’t strong.
Rather, it was almost nonexistent.
It was puzzling how she became the Sun God’s Saint.
“But the White Snowfield, huh. Many strange things are happening in this world. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
Aquaz bit her lip.
This world is becoming distorted, and not in a good way for them.
The Saint frowned as if having a headache.
“It’s not just the descent of demons. There are groups worshiping abominations appearing too.”
“Abominations? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Aquaz tilted her head.
She was an expected talent, able to have a private audience with the Saint.
She knew a lot about the world.
But even she had never heard of abominations.
The Saint clicked her tongue.
“They exist. Beings that once conquered the earth in ancient times. Their existence itself is blasphemy. It’s better not to know.”
“…I see.”
“And now, the distortion of the forbidden land has emerged, swallowing up the kingdom. It’s not good. Not good at all. It’s enough to twist your stomach…”
What the Saint was talking about must have been information conveyed to her as the representative of the Sun God.
It was something Aquaz shouldn’t be curious about.
She listened silently.
“And that’s not all. Even the common knowledge we had is changing.”
“You mean the changes in the dungeons.”
“Yes. While other things are inherently alien, it’s perplexing why even the dungeons are in chaos… It’s as if the world is showing malice towards us.”
The Saint propped her chin on the table with a tired look.
Aquaz spoke up.
“The Great Sun God will watch over us. If we act according to His will, the world will find peace.”
“I wonder.”
The Saint made a peculiar expression at Aquaz’s words, filled with faith and belief.
“Aquaz. Shall I tell you a secret?”
“If it’s something I shouldn’t know, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Don’t be like that. It’s related to you.”
The Saint looked beyond the flower bed.
There stood a statue of the Sun God.
“You received a revelation and departed for the Barkan Territory.”
The revelation she received was about the descent of a great evil.
Indeed, the demon of gravity, Ashetiar, was there.
“But there was one problem. The revelation I received was indeed about the demon’s descent. But the Sun God mentioned an incomplete descent.”
“What?”
Aquaz’s eyes widened.
What she encountered was a fully descended Ashetiar who had even succeeded in territorialization.
“We sent you alone because we believed there was a chance of victory. If we had known it was a fully territorialized demon, we wouldn’t have sent you alone, right?”
“Wait a moment. Are you saying…”
Even without considering the existence of the Barbarian, the revelation of the god was not perfect.
“You would have been defeated.”
Aquaz was strong.
She was expected to become the next Chief Inquisitor and lead the order.
But she was not yet strong enough to defeat a territorialized demon.
Ashetiar would have defeated Aquaz and advanced to the middle world.
The demon would have engulfed the kingdom and spread evil throughout the world.
But the demon failed to do so.
The demon was defeated by the Barbarian of the White Snowfield, unable to fulfill its intentions.
“A Barbarian from outside the realm…”
The Saint murmured.
“I wonder if it’s a good or bad omen.”
* * *
“A raid dungeon?”
Ketal’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“What is that?”
“You know about dungeons, right?”
“I know a bit, but not in detail.”
“Then I’ll explain briefly.”
Milena began her explanation.
Dungeons appear near places where people gather.
They might be dangerous, but they always appear at a certain distance from villages or cities, so as long as one doesn’t foolishly enter a dungeon, they weren’t usually a threat.
The death of a common citizen in a dungeon was regarded similarly to dying while climbing a cliff.
However, dungeons often blocked the way to cities, and if left unattended for too long, the monsters inside might come out.
Ketal stroked his chin with interest.
“They do come out?”
“Very rarely. They don’t come out unless a dungeon is left unhandled for over a year.”
That’s why it was necessary to deal with dungeons before they piled up.
It was the job of mercenaries to assess the danger level of nearby dungeons and attack them.
“Basically, a dungeon raid is done by a party of four. There isn’t enough room to move otherwise.”
Most dungeons were designed with narrow passages or rooms.
Too many people would just get in each other’s way.
“Come to think of it.”
Ketal didn’t particularly notice, but recalling his memories, the sizes of dungeons were generally similar.
“I thought you said you worked as a mercenary, Ketal. I thought you’d know this.”
“I did enter dungeons, but I usually went in alone, so I didn’t pay attention to such things.”
“Alone…?”
Milena paused for a moment and then shook her head to clear her mind.
“A party of four is the basic formation for dungeons. Any more than that, and they just get in each other’s way.”
“I see.”
Ketal stroked his chin with interest.
“The restriction of four.”
“Yes. There are very few exceptions, but most dungeons follow this rule. That’s why most parties are composed of four members.”
“That’s an interesting statement.”
“Interesting?”
Milena tilted her head.
Was the restriction of four interesting?
She couldn’t understand.
To her, that restriction was as natural as birds flying in the sky or apples falling to the ground.
But to Ketal, it was quite intriguing.
Milena mentioned that with very few exceptions, most dungeons had a restriction of four.
This could imply that someone intentionally created this restriction.
Of course, it could be an overinterpretation.
There were cases where people believed that a statue was made by someone, only to find out it was naturally formed by wind and rain.
With so much friction between people, there were just as many conflicts, and it was a hassle.
No matter how high the pay, it was hard to find people willing to join a raid dungeon.
Ketal was a Barbarian.
Barbarians typically didn’t like group activities.
Even though Ketal was a bit unusual, Milena thought he still had the basic characteristics of a Barbarian, so she couldn’t help but be surprised.
“It doesn’t matter. I want to go.”
“Really?”
Milena had no reason or right to stop him.
She opened her mouth to speak.
“I’ll tell you the location of the mercenary guild. If any problems arise there, just show them my family’s crest.”
“Thank you.”
Ketal expressed his gratitude.
Milena murmured.
“A raid dungeon… You might see some familiar faces.”
* * *
Tiana, the receptionist at the mercenary guild in the capital city of Denian, was dissatisfied.
‘This isn’t what I wanted.’
She had grown up reading stories about mercenaries and admired them.
But it wasn’t like expecting a prince on a white horse like Elene did.
She admired something rougher, more savage, almost beast-like.
People thirsty for combat, clashing swords and axes, risking their lives in battle.
Gulping down drinks and sleeping on any piece of ground.
She longed for such scenes, symbols of barbarism.
So she studied hard and became a receptionist at the mercenary guild.
But once she became a receptionist, she found the mercenary guild to be very ordinary.
The mercenaries didn’t bicker with each other and drank only until they were moderately drunk.
At first, she expected the mercenaries to flirt with her, so she dressed up, but that didn’t happen either.
They were exceedingly polite, keeping work and personal matters separate.
It made sense, after all.
This was the capital of the Denian Kingdom.
Only vetted mercenaries could enter, at least B-rank, and C-rankers were rarely allowed into the capital.
Consequently, the mercenary assembly hall was very peaceful.
If anyone caused trouble, they were immediately expelled, and their sponsors could also face repercussions.
Naturally, other receptionists appreciated this tranquility, but Tiana found it extremely boring.
‘I need excitement…’
She longed for intense stimulation in her monotonous life.
She wanted to see the violence and savagery she had read about as a child.
She wished for it every night.
And today.
She genuinely regretted making such a wish.
Tiana’s body trembled.
She wanted to run away immediately, but she couldn’t because she didn’t know how the enraged man in front of her would react.
A gigantic Barbarian sat before her.
“Are you the receptionist of the mercenary guild?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right…”
Tiana tried hard to suppress her trembling as she glanced up.
The Barbarian was looking at her.
She involuntarily bowed her head.
She had seen many people with good builds or large frames, but the presence before her was different.
The most significant difference was the sense of intimidation.
She felt as if her head would be smashed if she made any wrong move.
‘Mom!’
Mom, who told her to stop making stupid prayers and find a decent man to marry!
Mom, who said normal was best!
‘I’m sorry for complaining! I’ll never make such prayers again!’
While she was screaming inside, Ketal opened his mouth.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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