CH 228

“Hmm?” (Rook)

Behind the wall that I was leaning my back against, there was a reaction of multiple objects moving toward me from the forest.

The number of them was one, two, three… The number continued to increase, exceeding ten, then twenty, then thirty.

“Huh…” (Rook)

I stood up with my Mithril Alloy Cudgel in my hand.

I checked the surroundings, but no one seemed to have noticed yet.

What do I do now? Even if I tell other adventurers about this situation, I can’t show any evidence to convince them.

While thinking so, an adventurer near the entrance to the encampment shouted,

“Here they come!” (Adventurer)

At that voice, the surrounding adventurers stood up and began preparing their weapons.

“Damn! Did they really come?” (Adventurer)

“Alright! It’s time to earn money.” (Adventurer)

“Haaaa… I was sleeping! This is a pain.” (Adventurer)

The adventurers’ reactions varied. But they don’t seem to be in a hurry.

I asked one of the adventurers who were nearby.

“Does this happen often?” (Rook)

“Ah? Huh… Sometimes. They are very aggressive at night.” (Adventurer)

The adventurer said nothing more and walked to the entrance of the encampment.

The undead are more aggressive at night…? Did I find that information anywhere? I don’t remember… but it fits the image.

I checked the encampment and found that about half of the adventurers were preparing for battle, but the rest were sleeping or making soup from a pot. They seem relatively carefree. Maybe it’s not that big of a deal.

Thinking for a moment, I went to the entrance of the encampment to see what the undead were like at night, and from there I peeked out at the adventurers and the undead army fighting outside.

The undead that emerges from the [Light Source] emitted by the adventurers are eerie and look different from the daytime. No, not only do they look different, but they are also actually a little different. The normally slow zombies are a little more agile, and the skeletons are also more powerful.

“Ora!” (Adventurer)

One adventurer strikes a zombie with his club and crushes its head. Another adventurer then uses a sledgehammer to blow the skeleton’s head off along with its arm.

The battle became a melee, with many adventurers in multiple parties fighting freely and without coordinating.

And so, after a brief battle, the undead army was all but cleared out.

Still, it was the right decision to come to this encampment, even if it was a bit risky. If I had camped alone and encountered such a horde at night, I might have been in danger. After all, it made sense to have an encampment here, and it also made sense that so many adventurers would gather here at night.

If this was the case on the third floor, the fourth floor would be even more difficult. I have a feeling that solo encampment in this dungeon would be quite difficult.

“Hey! That’s the skeleton I defeated!” (Adventurer)

“Huh? What are you looking at?” (Adventurer)

The moment the undead are defeated, the adventurers start fighting with each other.

It’s impossible to tell which one was the prey of whom in such a crowded battle. At the time of the stampede, the monsters that were killed by anyone were once in the custody of the Adventurers’ Guild and were later divided up at their discretion. I don’t know if that was fair, but the power of the Adventurers’ Guild made sure that no one complained. But this place was different. There was no organization in charge.

“You must be joking!” (Adventurer)

“Oh? What are you gonna do about it!?” (Adventurer)

One of them pulls out a large knife from his waist, and the other one, seeing this, rushes to take up a club.

Are these guys seriously going to fight?　Are they serious?

Just as tension flared around them, a large man intervened.

“Hey, that’s enough. Don’t tell me you’re putting your life on the line for one skeleton? Think about how many people are watching you here.” (Huge Adventurer)

The big man said, and the two struggling men slowly lowered their weapons.

He continued speaking.

“I’ve seen this skeleton knocked down by this guy. This skeleton belongs to him. Is that clear?” (Huge Adventurer)

The big man pointed toward the man with the club and looked at the man with the knife as he said this.

“Nah! That’s wrong—” (Adventurer)

The man with the knife tried to argue, but several of his friends interrupted him and said, “Hey, no!” Then the man with the knife seemed to have given up, saying, “……fine,” and put down the knife.

Seeing this, everyone around me breathed a sigh of relief.

The dungeon is not a lawless zone… but it is a place where the rule of law is difficult to reach. So there are dangers in this encampment apart from the monsters, but perhaps that is why a certain order is created… maybe.

And within that order, a kind of hierarchy is born, and at the top of that hierarchy is a powerful figurehead.

Thinking of this, I looked at the man with the knife. The man looked frustrated.

Well, I don’t know if that is fair or not…

Anyway, it was a good thing I didn’t take part in the battle this time and just watched.

The next morning, I leave the encampment just as the sun is coming up. My goal is the outside world.

I had decided beforehand that this expedition to the fourth floor would be just scouting, so I am right on schedule.

Besides, I learned a lot of things on this expedition, and there were things I needed to prepare for.

After that, it took several hours to return to the dungeon, and when I went outside through the rift, it was already past noon.

As I thought, it takes a long time to move around in the Rift Dungeon. I felt grateful for the Labyrinth Dungeon with the Transfer Monument…

Then I entered the Adventurer’s Guild and presented the magic stone to the counter.

The receptionist checks the size of the stone with a board with holes in it.

“Oh? This is a C-rank magic stone. I don’t see any other party members, is Rook-san solo?” (Receptionist)

“Yeah, you are right.” (Rook)

“That is quite promising!” (Receptionist)

I received two gold coins and one silver coin while chatting with her.

I knew that entering the C-rank area would be lucrative. And if you work solo, you will also stand out.

But now I decided to sell my name a little more. To go to various places, act freely, live an unencumbered life, and engage in various activities, I need at least a minimum “rating”. I have finally come to understand that. It is not good to be too conspicuous, but you can’t do anything if you are just a pebble on the side of the road. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but I have to find the right position as I go along.

We left the Adventurer’s Guild and got a room at our usual inn, and decided to go to bed early because we were tired.

And the next morning.

I went to bed too early and woke up early.

Normally I wouldn’t mind waking up early since I was going to the dungeon, but today I was going shopping, so there was no point in getting up at a time before the stores weren’t open. But I decided to go out behind the inn and do some light training.

I grabbed my Mithril Alloy Cudgel with ghouls as my imaginary enemy.

I knew that if I was going to take on ghouls, I needed to be able to use magic smoothly while engaging in close combat. The last time I had a close encounter with a ghoul, I couldn’t use my magic well in close combat, so I kicked it to break the ghoul’s pace and create a gap to use my magic. But I think that is a move that could be too late. I think it will be tougher in the future to act solo unless I use magic to take down another enemy while fighting in close combat.

With this in mind, I practice my Staff Art moves. I swing down the Mithril Alloy Cudgel and launch magic while thrusting with the tip.

“Light, illuminate my way [Light source].” (Rook)

Since offensive magic is dangerous, I substitute it with [Light Source].

Then I dispelled [Light Source] and do it again.

The Mithril Alloy Cudgel is stabbed, swung, and slammed, and magic is released from the tip.

“Light, illuminate my way [Light source].” (Rook)

While experimenting with various moves, I thought of new martial art that would unite martial arts and magic.

It will not happen overnight, but the concept is already clear, so all that remains is to refine it so that I can use magic without any sense of discomfort.

I practiced my new martial arts for a little over an hour.