CH 235

“…how much exactly do I have to pay?” (Rook)

“1,000 gold coins.” (Hibos)

“a thousand gold…” (Rook)

I can’t pay for that. Physically.

A nearby seat yells, “That’s too much of a rip-off!”

“Well, if you think about it in terms of money, that’s what I’m talking about. You can have all the money, but the guys here can make a good amount of money. Money is a weak bargaining chip.” (Hibos)

“If that’s the case, can it be a ‘thing’?” (Rook)

Yes. Rare medicines, materials, weapons, and information. After that… you can also exchange liquor or food! Anyway, you can’t get rare things even if you have money!　There are more things more valuable than gold!” (Hibos)

Well, this world has limited means of transportation, so it’s hard to get things from far away. Even if you had money, it would be difficult without connections to merchants who would transport it from distant places. In a world where refrigeration and freezing technology and food preservation methods are limited, even food from the next town over may be hard to come by.

In Japan, there is a story that local specialties were prized as luxury items by court nobles and feudal lords in the past.

I’m not sure if it’s a thing from another region… What do I have with me? I thought for a moment, and then I thought of something.

“How about this?” (Rook)

“This is…” (Hibos)

Hibos-san took out a white, thin, rectangular object from the cloth bag I offered him.

“It is dried Fungus. It is tasty especially if you roast it.” (Rook)

Yes, that’s right, a moving giant mushroom, or Fungus. It was a mushroom-type monster that lived in the cave where I met Borok-san, and it was the staple food in that place.

Fungus itself was a weak monster, but Borok-san was the only one who hunted it because of its location, and judging from the clan master’s reaction to this, it’s highly likely that it’s rare in this area.

“Where did you get this?” (Hibos)

“I can’t tell you.” (Rook)

I really can’t tell him where that place is, and I’m sure I can’t get into it now.

“I see… Well, that’s fine. We have a deal!” (Hibos)

“Thank you!” (Rook)

And we shook hands with gusto and toasted our wine.

“So, were we talking about this dungeon, right?” (Hibos)

“Yes. I want to talk about this dungeon, mainly about the sixth floor and beyond.” (Rook)

“Now, where do we start…” (Hibos)

Hibos-san thought for a moment, sipped his wine, and continued.

“First of all, this dungeon has not been conquered, but it is said that the total number of floors is around 10 floors.” (Hibos)

“Oh.” (Rook)

“The reason is the way the monsters rise in rank.” (Hibos)

The deeper the dungeon, the stronger the monsters become, so it is possible to estimate the total number of floors based on how strong the monsters become as the floors progress.

“The monsters on the seventh floor are Blood Knight and Wight. The wights are wizard-type undead monsters that use magic and are troublesome to deal with, but they sometimes drop lower-grade magic potions. I’ve only seen up to that floor. I don’t know what is after that.” (Hibos)

“I see, I see.” (Rook)

I took note of the information carefully.

It’s great to hear about the seventh floor!

I had heard that there might be monsters that drop lower-grade magic potions, and it seems to be true.

“As far as I know, the adventurers who have recently dived into this dungeon have dived up to the eighth floor. It’s tough to go any deeper than what they said. Rumor has it that the all-time record is on the ninth floor, but I haven’t heard anything about the ninth floor.” (Hibos)

“Is that so……” (Rook)

Should I start thinking about how to collect information on the 8th and 9th floors?

Well, it’s probably a long way off, so I’ll take my time and think about it.

“After that, it looks like… The only thing I know is that the monsters on the eighth floor are undead, and apparently the boss of the dungeon is also undead.” (Hibos)

“How do you know who the boss is if you don’t have any information about the ninth floor?” (Rook)

“The Rift Dungeons tends to have monsters of a similar type to the boss on each floor. Conversely, if there are so many undead in a dungeon, the boss is almost certainly an undead.” (Hibos)

“I see!” (Rook)

I wrote the information on a rough piece of paper with a simple pencil.

I see. Let me get this straight.

This dungeon probably has between nine and eleven floors, and the bosses are undead. The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors are also likely to have undead, and the subsequent floors are also likely to have undead. Also, for some reason, the eighth floor has become a hurdle, and I feel that the adventurers are being held up. The party that set the record for the highest level in the history of the game was said to have reached the ninth floor, so there must be a problem on the ninth floor as well.

If you go to the sixth floor, you can get a Low-grade Potion, and if you go to the seventh floor, you can get a Low-grade Magic Potion, so it looks like I can make a lot of money–

At the moment I thought of this, a ray of possibility came to me like an electric current in my head.

It was a story that was really out of the blue, a story that seemed to reach for the heavens, a story that didn’t seem realistic. But like a ray of light shining in the darkness, that possibility is indeed right in front of me, shining. A light that is indeed there, though I can’t reach it for now even if I try to reach for it.

This dungeon is an undead dungeon, and there will be undead on the floors ahead. And there is a high possibility that even the boss is undead.

I have the magic called [Turn Undead] that can kill undead instantly with a certain probability.

In other words–

“Maybe I can clear this dungeon?” (Rook)

This dungeon.

“Hmm? Did you say something?” (Hibos)

“Oh, no! It’s nothing!” (Rook)

I continue to gather information, hurriedly and quietly.

But is it really possible? I can’t believe I’m going to clear this dungeon.

No, there are too many uncertainties at this point. First of all, it is unclear if the monsters from the ninth floor are undead. It is also not certain if the boss is undead or not. Is the boss affected by [Turn Undead] in the first place? Isn’t it a cheat and completely over the line? Besides, it is common knowledge to all the boys in the world that instant death attacks don’t work on bosses. If turn undead doesn’t work, then the moment it does, failure is determined.

And one more thing. This is also common sense.

That’s right…”You can’t escape from the boss”.

What if you really can’t escape from the boss? And what if [Turn Undead] doesn’t work? If the two overlap, you are completely stuck. It’s over.

However, in the end, they are things that I imagine from the stories in the game, and I don’t know if they will become reality in this world. I don’t know, but when it becomes a reality, it’s over. Betting on it can be life-threatening.

There is a fear as if you are walking along a cliff in the fog.

However, I saw a certain light ahead.

I’m sorry…

But when I think about it, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. For me, the undead are my specialty. There is a possibility that I can clear the dungeon because it is a dungeon of the undead. There are countless dungeons in the world, but not all of them are dungeons of the undead.

If you I can conquer the dungeon here, I can advertise my name. Recently, I have come to understand that there is a world that expands when one’s name is well known. When I first came to this world, I was not interested in such things at all, but now I am not. I now understand that a “name” in this world is a proof of trust that an ordinary person can have.

Because you have a name, there are places you can enter, things you can know, and people you can communicate with.

Even if I take a risk, it’s worth getting a name.

Ultimately, I thought that I needed to acquire “power” in order to protect myself and Shion.

Now is the time, isn’t it?

“Maybe I should seriously aim for it?” (Rook)

I clenched my fist tightly as I muttered.