CH 252

I returned to my room at the inn and sat down on my bed. I go back to my room at the inn and sit down on my bed, and take out a magic book from my backpack.

I knew it was something I could use because I felt it connect with my hand.

“I never thought I’d be able to get one here…” (Rook)

Compassion is not for people, is it? If even one of my actions had been different this time, I wouldn’t have gotten this grimoire. I knew it was not a mistake that I wanted to help him at that time. I think so again. I would never have found the grimoire in that place if I didn’t have such an opportunity.

“Then I should use it right away.” (Rook)

No matter how many times I have experienced it, I am always impressed when I get a new Sacred Magic grimoire. And I am also impressed when I learn new magic. After all, this is what makes it fun, isn’t it?

I flipped through the grimoire while thinking about this, and when the book was reduced to ashes, another new magic was added to my mind.

“This is!” (Rook)

I suppressed my impatience and decided to use the magic for the time being.

I calm my mind and quietly chant the spell.

“To a new world. Open the dimensional door, [Holy Dimension]!” (Rook)

At that moment, I feel as if all the magic power in my body is gathering in my right hand as if it were draining everything.

“Wait! Wait a minute!” (Rook)

What is this magic? Could it possibly consume all my magic power?

As I was kneeling down and desperately trying to control my magical power, a burst of magical power was released from my right hand—and before I knew it, a “hole” had formed in front of my eyes.

Most of the magic power was sucked out of me, and I looked up at it in a cold sweat.

The “hole” was not circular, but rather a beautiful vertical rectangle. It was exactly the same size as the door of the inn room. Inside the hole was a white space about six tatami mats wide.

Such a thing was created in the middle of my room. It was like…

“Like a Rift Dungeon…” (Rook)

It looks completely different, but this thing, which looks like another dimension suddenly connected to an empty space, somehow resembles a rift at the entrance to a dungeon of rifts. I had a feeling that this was the case.

I was a little curious and looked at the back side of the hole.

A white rectangular something.

When I touched the back side with a mithril alloy gel, it felt neither hard nor soft.

Apparently, it was possible to enter from this side.

“I see……” (Rook)

Returning to the front side, I looked inside the hole in the space.

Everything in the space is pure white, and even though there is no light source, it is filled with light as if it were the daytime outdoors.

“Now……” (Rook)

After all, this is magic…

Well, let’s go inside anyway.

I plunged my Mithril Alloy Cudgel into the white space and tapped its floor.

It is hard, but it feels strange and different from metal or ceramics. Even if I hit it a little harder, it doesn’t seem to be damaged.

Determined, I slowly put one foot in the white space and then the other.

“…No particular problem, huh?” (Rook)

Unlike the Rift Dungeon, I don’t feel any boundaries when I enter this space, nor do I feel as if the atmosphere has changed. It feels as natural as if you just entered the next room normally, and you can see and hear the rooms of the inn from inside.

However, perhaps because it is actually a different space, the ambient noise that I could hear in the inn room became muffled, and I felt as if I had entered a soundproof room.

“… is this, maybe, by any chance.” (Rook)

The next day. I entered the dungeon in the morning and did some light business on the ground floor.

Then I leave the dungeon and resume gathering information and buying supplies.

I want to buy a lot of supplies, but it’s unnatural to buy them all at once, so I do it this way. It’s still a hassle.

When the sun was about to set, I entered the dungeon once more and stopped in the forest at the corner of the first floor.

“I wonder if this would be a good place to stay.” (Rook)

After confirming with [Magi Location] that there were no people in the vicinity, I chanted the spell.

“To a new world. Open the dimensional door, [Holy Dimension]!” (Rook)

When the magic is activated, there is a sensation of about 20% of my magic power being released, and an entrance to a white room is constructed in front of me.

Strangely enough, the first time it consumed almost all my magic, but the second time, I only consumed about 20% of my magic. However, before I came to this dungeon before I leveled up, this amount of consumption would have been a little too much for me.

In the meantime, the door to the white space was opened and four goblins lying in it woke up and turned to me.

“Hi, good morning.” (Rook)

When I called out to them, the Goblins stood up all at once and rushed toward me.

Yes, that is very goblin-like behavior. They are really exemplary goblins.

I carefully crush them with my Mithril Alloy Cudgel and throw them out of the white space.

“Ugh… Well, they did whatever they wanted…” (Rook)

When I looked at the white space, it was strewn with things left behind by the goblins, giving off a foul odor.

I cleaned them up with purification and thought to myself,

“Thank goodness I have [Purification]!” (Rook)

I thanked the purification magic again and looked at the white space that had been cleaned up.

This is what we’ve come to.

I did an experiment using goblins this time. What will happen to the creatures in this white space?

Today, first thing in the morning, I captured four goblins in the dungeon, put them in the white space, closed the space, and left them there until the evening. But the goblins were alive. In other words, closing the space probably had no adverse effect on the creatures inside, and the lack of oxygen is not a thing. And, fortunately, or unfortunately, the time inside the space did not stop but continued to flow.

“All that’s left is this experiment… All right!” (Rook)

This time I entered the white space, raised my right hand toward the door, and said, “Close.”

Then the rectangular door contracted as it distorted, and eventually disappeared.

Silence falls over the white space.

There is nothing but the sound of my breathing and the rubbing of the fabric.

[Magi Location] is completely blocked, and I can no longer detect anything outside of this space.

All is well. I can breathe without any problem and my body is fine. All that’s left is…

Once again, I put my right hand on the place where the door used to be, this time saying “Open”.

Then the empty space begins to distort, and the door appears again.

On the other side of the door, there is the view of the forest that I was looking at earlier.

“Success.” (Rook)

I mutter to myself as I step outside.

Judging from the color of the sky, not much time has passed.

It was a complete success.

With this magic, I could probably safely camp out here… Yes, I should be able to do that.

“Well… what do I do?” (Rook)

People always choose their actions within the range of what is possible for them.

Basically, the more choices you have, the wider the range of possibilities, but the more choices you have, the harder the choice becomes.

A great soccer player once said, “Only those who have the courage to kick a penalty kick can miss a penalty kick.” But because of the existence of options, you may end up making a risky choice and making a mistake. That is why it is difficult. Just like I am now.

With this in mind, I left the dungeon and headed for the Adventurer’s Guild.

At this time of the day, when the sky is tinted with shades of red, many adventurers have returned to the Adventurers’ Guild, making it a good time to gather information.

Looking at the bulletin board, I noticed that the price of requests had gone up. Is it reasonable to assume that the shortage of goods has started to inflate the prices?

Then I went to the bar area and was thinking of having a drink while listening to what someone had to say.

“Oh, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” (Damod)

“Oh, it’s you, Mr. Damod. It’s been a while.” (Rook)

Mr. Damod, who was having a drink at a table by the window, approached me.

I had not been selling magic stones recently, so I rarely went to the Adventurers’ Guild and did not have a chance to see Mr. Damod.

“I haven’t seen you lately, so I thought you’d gone to another town.” (Damod)

“Ah… I have some business to attend to in the Fifth Floor Village.” (Rook)

While trying to make a suitable excuse, I was going to order ale from the master, but Mr. Damod stopped me and said, “Wait a minute.”

“I’m buying today. Drink up. I’ll buy you a drink, old man! Ale and meat.” (Damod)

“Is that so? What is it you want to ask me?” (Rook)

It’s a new feeling for me to be bought a drink by Mr. Damod, which is strange.

At the same time, I felt a little on guard that he was buying me a drink.

“It’s not that. I heard that you helped Barthez’s wife, didn’t you?” (Damod)

“Barthez’s wife… Barthez?”  (Rook)

“Adol’s mother.” (Damod)

“Oh! …Well, did something happen?” (Rook)

Somehow, it was difficult to say “yes” honestly because I was using Sacred Magic to heal her, so I got a little nervous.

“That’s why I thought I’d buy you a drink when I met you. Well, drink up.” (Damod)

“Okay then, I’ll accept.” (Rook)

I drank the ale that was brought to the table with a gulp.

It is nice to have a day like this once in a while. There are a lot of problems to think about, but it is good to have a day like this…

“Barthez was a good guy. He was our idol. And then that happened…” (Damod)

What happened to him is the “disappearance” he mentioned earlier.

“I’m grateful to you for saving someone that was so important to him…” (Damod)

“I just did what I could…” (Rook)

“Still.” (Damod)

Mr. Damod held up his cup of ale, so I held up my cup and brought it to each other.

Mr. Damod had a little sparkle in his eyes, and I also had a few thoughts.

The dungeon here is risky. Even if I successfully cleared the dungeon, if it was discovered that it was me who cleared the dungeon, I might be targeted like Barthez. Such a reward for clearing the dungeon is too much for me.

I don’t have to go… but if I miss this chance, I may never get another chance to clear the dungeon.

I’ve been able to conquer this dungeon with ease because it’s an undead dungeon, not a dungeon with normal monsters.

I was sober and various thoughts were going through my mind.

I had given up on the idea of clearing dungeons, but now that the hope of Holy Dimension had been born, I was getting greedy.

Hope is the light that keeps people alive, though sometimes it can also become poison…

“That’s right. There was something I wanted to give you.” (Damod)

“Give me something?” (Rook)

Mr. Damod rummaged through the pouch at his waist, pulled out a few crumpled pieces of paper from inside, and placed them on the table.

“Here it is.” (Damod)

Mr. Damod coked his chin and urged me to pick it up.

I picked it up and checked the top sheet, which was a map, and upon closer inspection, I noticed some familiar landmarks…

“This is!” (Rook)

“Shhh! Don’t shout!” (Damod)

Damod lowered his voice and ran his eyes from side to side as if checking his surroundings.

Then he tells me.

“That’s the last information Barthez left behind… the information about the deepest part of the dungeon.” (Damod)