Chapter 29 - The Rift (Part 3)

 

While playing Dungeon & Stone, there were always internal conflicts.

And the cause of these internal conflicts has always been money. Research may be a top priority for an economically relaxed magician, but the reason the researchers entered the maze was to make money...

So this Magus bitch has just touched on this very delicate topic.

"Are you going to take all of the Guardian's loot?"

The dwarf was no longer smiling good-naturedly. His voice lowered, and his open eyes gleamed through his thick hair.

"Do I look like a fucking idiot?"

The atmosphere instantly turned icy.

And feeling this,

*Click*

The man put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Of course, he was no ordinary porter. Breaking the painful silence, Raven opened her mouth.

— ... Instead, I'll give you all the mana stones that come out of the Chasm.

"So you want us to eat crumbs."

— ... I think this is a reasonable calculation. Anyway, loot is not something that drops every time.

Although she tried not to show it, the alarm was evident on Raven's face.

She probably hadn't expected such a hostile reaction.

A naïve girl. You should have expected such a reaction.

The Keeper's loot was practically the flower of the Rift. Among them, the "numbered item" should be a priceless treasure for a dwarf.

"I won't give up the numbered item.

— ... Ok. Instead, I'll take the Guardian Essence. And please acknowledge my ownership of the items we discover using my knowledge.

"Good. Then the two of us can roll the dice and take the Riftstone fairly and fairly.

Haha. Fair and fair.

These two did not even pay attention to Einar and me and began to fight for their interests. Watching this, I had a headache. I even thought that it would be better to go through the Chasm through blood, sweat, and tears along with the other 1st floor beginners.

If everything is as it is now, I will have to pick up their crumbs.

To be powerless was such a sad state.

"Bjorn."

"I know what you're thinking, but shut up for now.

"Good.

My task became clearer. I had to get stronger.

Whether these assholes want to get in my way or not, I have to find my own way to the top.

Only then will I be able to defend my rights like they did. Of course, this should not be a reason to give in today.

— Подождите.

— ?

When I opened my mouth, the two who had begun to speak in a softer manner turned their eyes to me.

- Take the essence and the numbered item. But we will take the Riftstone.

"How greedy.

"Do you think we'll have a hard time clearing this map without two barbarians?"

Her gaze at me was very sharp.

Damn, where did those friendly smiles go when they first met?

yes, well, I was just testing the water.

"Alright, I'll give you the Riftstone." In exchange, give us priority for two essences other than the Guardian essence.

"Good. This is quite doable.

— I don't mind either.

As expected, Raven and the dwarf readily responded to my request.

This must be the maximum they are willing to accept. At their level, the essence of a monster other than a Guardian wouldn't be so attractive.

"Then shall we go?"

"Yes, standing still makes my body itch!" Hahaha!

When the negotiations were over, the mage bitch and the dwarf acted as usual and laughed.

Crazy bastard explorers.

***

How long has it been since we started climbing the mountain road along the fortress?

When we reached the entrance of the fortress, we encountered two sculptures of winged demons.

"This is a statue of a gargoyle.

Rank 8 Monster: Gargoyle Statue.

It was a cunning monster that usually didn't move, but when an enemy came into view, it would use [Petrify] and start attacking. The usual strategy for these monsters was to sacrifice one person to get them under [Petrified], and the rest defeated the Gargoyle Statue to break the curse, but...

Unlike normal groups, we now had a Magus.

"Kyaaa!"

As the dwarf and I approached the Statue, the Gargoyle opened its eyes and spread its wings. At the same time, my lower body turned to stone, but it didn't last long.

— [Artena Viar].

Raven cast the [Breaking the Curse] spell, and the battle officially began.

Einhar and I took on one, and the dwarf took on the other.

*Bach!*

The short dwarf swung his hammer like a madman and shattered both of the Gargoyle's legs. When the Gargoyle fell to the ground, he smashed her head with a hammer, as if that was all he had been waiting for.

Is this the dwarf's method of combat?

Knocking the enemy down is quite in the spirit of a courageous person.

The same thing happened on our side.

"You guys are good too!" The dwarf shouted.

The difference in the time we spent destroying the Gargoyle Statues was not great. We were also confident in close combat.

[You killed the Gargoyle. Experience +2].

The two Gargoyles turned into particles of light and disappeared, dropping their mana stones, but there was no need to pick them up. They flew up on their own and fell into a large matting bag.

"I'll collect the mana stones and give them away when we leave," Raven said.

"I don't mind!" Hahaha! The dwarf replied.

The dwarf didn't seem to care about the mage stealing the stones.

However, the magician could not get hung up on such a small amount of money.

"Then send it!"

The dwarf hammered through the old wooden door and cleared the way.

Is this really the beginning of a real dungeon?

I felt a strange feeling wash over me, and I followed it inside.

"We're going to need light."

"[Leith].

A sphere of light appeared above Raven's hand, illuminating the dark room.

The space we have now entered was an external checkpoint. It was a place that had to perform various administrative tasks, such as checking the cargo of carts and the identities of passers-by before entering the castle.

"Guhh...

Attracted by the light and sound, rotten corpses approached from the cabinet on the wall and under the table.

"It's a dead man.

Corpse.

An unranked monster that doesn't even leave mana stones, let alone experience points. Their bodies don't even disappear upon death, except when they drop essence.

"Since these monsters only bite and scratch, I'll save my mana here."

Even without the help of magic, it didn't take long to clear the entire room.

"Maybe Mr. Murad and Mr. Yandel will go check the upper floor while I open the door?"

"We'll be back soon!" Hahaha!

As I followed the dwarf to the 2nd floor, we saw what looked like a normal sleeping place.

There were also about 10 Deadmen, but since the room was larger than the 1st floor, it was easier to take care of them.

*Schmiak! Schmiak!*

In the blink of an eye, we cleared the 2nd floor and climbed the stairs to the roof of the 3rd floor without further ado. There were a dozen Dead Warriors in rusty armor and one Dead Commander with a slightly larger build.

It wasn't the first boss monster, but it had to be eliminated in order to advance the map.

"It's big, but it doesn't look like it's any different from the rest, so let's get rid of it!" Hahaha!

After quickly clearing the area once more, we rummaged through the Dead Commander's clothes and picked up the horn. When we went down to the 1st floor again, the iron door on the other side was already open.

"It's very reassuring that a mage is with us.

As the light came from two sides, the windowless room became quite light, but it was pointless. All the work that needed to be done at the external control point was finished. Now there was a bridge 160 feet long to cross.

"Be careful where you step, Lady Raven.

"Ah, thank you.

The bridge stopped in the middle, leaving about 20 yards from the gate. It wasn't broken, it was just designed that way.

*Booo!*

When the horn we had received earlier sounded, the drawbridge began to fall with a roar.

Not only that...

[A dormant water magic circle is activated].

"Bjorn!" The water rises from below!

Ditch.

Water began to rise from the furrow that had been dug around the fortress walls to prevent foreign invaders.

Dark, crimson blood.

That is why this place was called the "Bloody Citadel". The sky was red, and so was the earth. But there was something else that strengthened this gloomy mood.

"Bjorn!" Hand! There's a hand waving over the water!

"Don't be nervous, it's the Dead.

"Hmph, who says I'm nervous?"

As soon as the blood rose to the bottom of the bridge, the Dead, who were struggling on the surface of the water, climbed onto it. The drawbridge has not yet descended even to a fifth of the way. The concept of this part of the map was simple.

[Stay alive until the drawbridge comes down].

If we were in the game, this message would appear.

"Guhh...

There were no specific instructions, but everyone knew how to react, and pushed the Dead away or shot them down with their weapons.

*Шмяк! Шмяк! Хруст!*

Although the opponents were the Dead, monsters with no ranks, they were quite a difficult opponent on the bridge.

If you fell, the game ended.

"Everything is ready.

After about a minute, Raven completed the magic spell.

"[Eterna Dertu]!

If I were to translate the name of the spell literally, it would be [Bladestorm]. A strong gust of wind spread around us in a tight formation and instantly ground the Dead like in a blender.

*Tututututu*

At the same moment, the bridge was covered with the corpses of the Dead. The dwarf exclaimed:

— ... That's amazing.

"After all, it's just the Dead.

Contrary to her modest words, Raven's eyes were full of pride. But it didn't look like arrogance at all. This wasn't a part that could be so easily completed without a Magus with mass destruction skills. As the Dead continued to be turned into mush, the slowly descending drawbridge finally came into contact with the bridge.

*Boom!*

The first chapter of the Bloody Citadel has ended... It's ridiculously easy.

After crossing the drawbridge, there were 3 chapters left:

• Battle on the outer wall of the city,

• The underground prison of the inner wall,

• The Demon Worship Hall in the Lord's Castle.

— That's interesting.

Raven's eyes lit up as she entered the castle and looked out over the ruins.

It was as if a treasure had appeared before her eyes.

"Forges, taverns, inns, churches, stables used by merchants... Most of this wreckage appears to have been public institutions.

The dwarf grinned.

"Is that so amazing, Miss Raven?"

— Of course. Neither on the mountain road we climbed nor in the castle were there any farmland or dwellings. This means that there were no farmers there. Aren't you curious? What did all the inhabitants of this fortified city, built in such a remote mountainous area to survive, eat?

"Aren't there alchemists in this dimension?" They must have turned mana stones into bread, just like we did. Hahaha.

— ... Indeed, this hypothesis is the most probable among scientists.

"Haha!" It's true? Even educated people think the same way?!

"But, Mr. Murad, that's not the only thing that's interesting. With a long drawbridge and high walls, this citadel was built in a very practical way. But who was their enemy?

As the conversation grew wider, the dwarf showed his dislike and began to distance himself from the mage.

"I don't understand why you're asking that. After all, isn't all this man-made?

"Created space, those who have not studied dimensionality, may think so...

"Stop, Miss Raven, the monsters are coming."

As we were heading to the inner city, monsters appeared very soon.

From the Dead to Skeleton Archers, Skeleton Mages, Ghouls, and even rank 8 monsters, Death Fiends. The level of the creatures that appeared wasn't much different from the level of the Land of the Dead, but there was a big difference in scale. There were at least several dozen monsters in each group.

"Everyone gather next to me.

Moreover, when we were dealing with one group, the others heard the sound and gathered. A minute after facing the first group, hundreds of monsters surrounded the surroundings.

But at this moment, the [Blade Storm] that we saw earlier swept through the surroundings again.

*Shhhh!*

As a magic spell created for mass slaughter, it couldn't grind every single one of them. Some Ghouls survived with one limb severed, not to mention the protection and regenerative power of the Death Fiend.

But...

"Please take care of the remaining monsters.

There was no doubt that by destroying the Dead and Skeletons, which made up more than 90% of the monsters, Raven had done the work of more than one person.

"Ainar!! I shouted, and Einar ran out.

Our target was the Fiend of Death.

And the method of hunting was...

Well, it didn't require a verbal explanation. One look at each other is enough.

'Behellaaaaa!!!!a

We've fought hundreds of monsters together, and now we've reached a level where we made almost no mistakes.

It's time for the "(True) Double Barbarian Throw".

*Boom!*

The dwarf watched in amazement as we lifted both legs of the Death Fiend into the air and knocked him to the floor, then smashed his head.

— ... Do you usually hunt like this?

His eyes seemed to say, "Who are these barbarians?"

— Any problems?

— No, I don't. Quite, quite exciting, as befits barbarians! Ha ha ha!

There is no point in being embarrassed now, but it was a little ironic. After all, the dwarven combat method was not particularly elegant or sophisticated either.

— [Равиод Эхелтун].

There were only 7 Death Fiends left, but when Raven cast the [Curse of Aggravation of Wounds] on them, they were easy to hunt. A Death Fiend with an innate passive ability [Body Preservation] was not such a difficult monster.

Ainar muttered in a hollow voice.

"I think I understand why everyone thinks mages are great...

Did she really feel the need for a Magus in just two battles?

Raven didn't answer, but when I looked, I saw that her lips were quivering.

She seemed pleased to be admired.

The dwarf added a few words as well.

"Haha!" Of course, having a magician expands the boundaries of what you can do.

I also agreed. If they tried to take the Blood Citadel with a group of five rookies, such a head-on battle would not have worked.

Even if it took dozens of times longer, we would work to reduce the number of monsters on the outskirts.

"Hmm, well... This is what I studied so hard for. Of course, you need to be talented.

Raven fidgeted at the next compliments.

Gradually, I began to understand her character: a gifted mage girl who pretended to be modest, but loved to show off, and was even more fond of magic and research.

I also began to understand how to handle her.

"Then I'll go around and gather some data for research. If you don't mind, could you all help me?

"We have so much time left thanks to you, of course we have to help. Hahaha!

"Thank you.

Afterward, we scoured the rubble of the city, collecting antiques, books, earth, metal, and the flesh and bones of the Dead.

"Thanks to all of you, I finished earlier. So, let's move on to the next one!

I was stunned for a moment.

And? Wait, are you done? You've defeated all the monsters and searched everything around, so why don't you take this?

"What are you doing there!" We're leaving.

Could be... They really don't know about the item that is easy to find if you break the fountain statue?