Chapter 48 – Teammates (Part 2)

 

After a moment's silence and much thought, the dwarf, who did not dare to speak, opened his mouth.

"I-I see?!" The reaction was both perplexed and surprised.

"Why are you so surprised?" You should have at least one of these!

"That's true, but... Has your personality always been like this?

Well, I didn't know this guy knew about me, but that embarrassment was enough for today. Given the dwarf's experience, he should have had an idea of the quality of my equipment from this information alone.

With that, he won't be able to play joke games with a distribution ratio, despite my short career.

Best Game Consoles

 

Of course, the recruitment announcement clearly said, "Equal distribution," but I still remembered the face of the dwarf with his evil eyes, calling me greedy when I said I would give up all other loot for the Riftstone in the Blood Citadel.

After all, he is a researcher.

If he had looked down on me here, there would have been no end to it.

Without asking if I could sit down, I sat down opposite him.

"Hikurod, you're buying drinks since you earned a numbered item thanks to me," the comment both demonstrated my skills and reminded him of his duty to me.

"What?" Hahahaha! So how is it? The dwarf just laughed out loud and didn't deny it. He couldn't, because I was the one who contributed the most to the Blood Citadel. "Well, you're not mistaken! It's a little early, but I can buy you as much drink as you want. Let's talk about what we missed while drinking!

"Good.

It turned out that it would take some time for the ordered food to arrive, but we, of course, started pouring drinks first. Then we moved on to the real topic.

The dwarf was the first to speak.

"When I found out that it was you who applied, I was very surprised. What the hell happened? Was there any treasure hidden in that Chasm? I was sure that the mage girl had looked around.

It is not surprising that questions poured in.

Looking at my current appearance, it was natural, although I didn't have enough loyalty to give an honest answer.

"Something like that.

"What does that mean?" Tell me more!

"As you said, there was a treasure there. That's all. Don't ask any more questions.

When I drew the line, the dwarf looked disappointed. Apparently, he realized that it would not be easy to get an answer from me.

"I don't know what kind of treasure you found, but you're very lucky.

Lucky? This was the guy who had benefited the most from the Blood Citadel. I almost died there. All he did was the work of one person, he took a numbered item and got out of there.

I'm also curious what fell out there... I'll have to ask about it later.

They started bringing us plates, so the rest of the conversation took place while we were filling our stomachs.

First, I have to start with this.

"So, have you found any of the crew members yet?"

"No one who would interest me. You're the first one I've really met.

"I see," nodding, I immediately got down to business, like a barbarian. That was the real purpose of this meeting. "So, what are you going to do?"

Will Hikurod Murad accept me as a member of the team?

"Uh, it's... Initially, I mostly came just to check if it was really you. In addition to recruiting a team, I wanted to talk to you. And, also, in the questionnaire I wrote down the 3rd floor, but with the right people I plan to enter the 4th ...

It was an unnecessary long explanation. It was enough just to say that he was not going to accept me into the team.

"Well, have you changed your mind now?"

When I asked, staring at him, the dwarf replied, stroking his beard.

"Ahem, you can say that. After all, who's going to look at you now and think you're a beginner? If it weren't for the fact that it would be difficult for a rookie to recruit the rest of the team, I wouldn't have bothered about it at all!

Instead of coming up with such bad excuses, I wonder if it wouldn't be better to say that from the beginning. However, the lack of such volatility was one of the dwarves' attractions.

"Are we done then?"

"Hahaha!" You can say so.

As I raised my glass, the dwarf followed suit.

– I hope we will become a good team again.

The team was formed. There were still only 2 of us, but for something like this, I had to just pretend to discuss it with him, recruiting dicks to my liking.

"Hikurod, didn't you say earlier that many people applied?"

"I did."

"And who are they?"

"You don't have to worry about that. They were just rank 8 green novices with not even a year of experience.

What was that? Indirect insult?

Thinking about it seriously, the dwarf opened his mouth as if he remembered something.

"Oh! I forgot to ask! How did you level up so quickly? It wouldn't be easy to get rank 7 using only the essence of the Corpse Golem.

"Only the essence of the Corpse Golem?"

I realized my mistake after I said it out loud.

That's right. He passed out when it happened, so he didn't know that I had a Vampire essence. Was it possible to just say something like that to him?

I was deep in my thoughts when suddenly the dwarf shouted:

"Aha!" I got it! Haha! I didn't think so far! However, this equipment will definitely raise you to rank 7!

Ah, uh... This is a plausible guess, but...

"Yes, something like that.

Now that this has happened, I have decided that I will keep this fact to myself. The team hadn't been officially formed yet, and I couldn't know what kind of people would join later. The best thing was to have a plan for all occasions. Someday this may become my trump card.

I can tell you that the regenerative power comes from the Imprint of Immortality.

The most important things were finished, but we continued to drink and talk. Thanks to this, I was able to find out why the dwarf left his former team to recruit another one.

"As you know, I left my team for a short time.

— That's right.

I've heard that he's applied for leave in the hope of entering the Chasm.

"But when I tried to return, they were more interested in the warrior they hired to fill my empty space!"

Then the dwarf furiously unleashed his anger on his former comrades, but I could not sympathize with him in the least.

Isn't the problem that you left the team for personal reasons?

The biggest victim was its former leader. While planning an upcoming expedition, the dwarf suddenly took a break, leaving him to run around. Perhaps if there had been problems with this warrior, everything would have turned out differently. But was it better?

If I were that leader, I wouldn't have accepted this selfish dwarf into my team either. He will probably behave like this again.

Of course, I kept it to myself.

"Oh my God, what disloyal bastards, don't you think?"

— Exactly. They don't seem to know what loyalty is!

In these situations, I've learned that unconditional consent works best. After that, I decided to ask about what really interested me.

"I don't know how wonderful they are, but if they found out what you got this time, I'm sure they'd regret it for the rest of their lives!"

"What did I get?"

"A numbered item!"

"Ah!" Come to think of it, that's true! If I meet them later, I must let them know how foolish they have been!

The dwarf seemed to have imagined it in his mind. Taking a sip of his drink, he burst out laughing.

Great, that looked natural, right?

"So I wanted to ask—" I began cautiously. "What did you get?"

"Hmph, haven't I told you yet?"

"He didn't!"

This was something that interested me from the moment we met. I knew all the numbered items that could drop, but what we went through this time was an unprecedented Chasm. Perhaps a unique item appeared, like that mysterious box that Raven left open in the boss's room.

Come to think of it, I didn't ask what was in it.

I decided to ask her about it next week when we meet.

The dwarf grinned and placed his fat hand on the table.

"This bracelet is what I got.

Hmm, I couldn't figure out what it was just by looking at it.

"What's it called?"

"The guild's appraiser said it's called the 'Guardian's Protective Bracelet'.

"Damn it," I blurted out.

— ... Hmm? Do you know that?

"Oh, no. I was just surprised how cool the name is.

"Hahaha!" After all, I have something in common with you! I thought so too!

No 3112: The Guardian's Protective Bracelet is a numbered item from the 3000th series that could only be obtained from the Chasms on the 4th floor or higher. Its effects were of secondary importance.

"How much did this thing cost?"

"I checked the price through the central exchange, and it seems to be worth about 50 million stones.

What the hell? What exactly did this dwarven bastard do in the Chasm to deserve this?

"Hahaha!" They said that this is even the old price and it may be more expensive as there is almost no stock to sell! Of course, I have no intention of selling it! He paused when I didn't answer. "Hey, why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"

"Nothing. I... simply... To be honest, I was so surprised that my stomach, filled with alcohol and meat, began to ache unbearably.

"I understand. 50 million stones? I thought I'd faint when I first heard this, so you must be too.

So what does it mean to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind? Now that I saw this, my old show off was nothing compared to that dwarven bastard.

"Don't be too jealous. If you continue your research, you'll find a numbered item someday. Of course, it doesn't compare to what I have! Hahaha!

*Slides*

Avoiding the smiling dwarf's gaze, I slowly lowered my hand under the table.

On her arm was No9425, "Frost Spirit Ring".

***

50 million stones?

I decided to think as positively as possible. Minor problems related to the fact that my insides were turning out so that I wanted to vomit could be ignored. Either way, having a strong teammate is a good thing.

Let's just focus on building a team.

Calming myself down with this thought, the next thing I did was to raise the rank of the Little Bastard Researcher by one level. To find good teammates, we must first seem like an attractive team. There was a huge gap between the rank 7 team leader and the rank 6 team leader that no words could fill.

"Hikurod, go to the Guild today and raise your rank as an explorer first.

— ... Why so suddenly?

"Don't you have 50 million stone equipment?" If you apply for a review, the Guild will definitely take it seriously!

"But it's too unexpected...

"So you don't want to?"

"No, not really...

"Then, let's go!"

I even followed him to the Guild and watched him apply, in case he slipped away in the process. For reference, the evaluation results took 6 days, a bit longer than I expected, but thankfully, the rank boost was successful. Since then, the number of applicants has increased significantly. More than ten applicants arrived every day.

Together with the dwarf, I carefully studied the candidates. We were talking with pleasure, when suddenly a statement came from the magician.

"A magician?"

Of course, it wasn't a Magus from the tower, but an 8th rank Magus working in the Guild or perhaps a government agency. But, nevertheless, it was a magician.

"Hey, Bjorn, did something go wrong?" Why did the mage apply to our team?

"It's definitely strange. There should be many more teams with better conditions than we have.

"Then what should we do?"

There were a few dubious moments, but we decided to meet with the mage and reported it to the Guild. That morning, finally, the place and time of the meeting were set.

"He won't ask for half of his earnings, will he?" They say that all mages have great rights...

I didn't understand why he was so nervous. He took his share of the profits against Raven, who was a member of the Tower, without receiving the slightest rebuff.

"What are you so worried about?" If he makes such a request, we can simply say "no, thank you" and leave.

"Yes?"

Was he acting like that because it was the first Magus he had met as a team leader?

While I was comforting Hikuroda, who was endlessly twitching his leg and fussing, a man in a robe entered the tavern. When he saw us, he waved his hand.

— О, Варвар! Дворф!

Damn, was that another landmine? How could you anger someone with such a short greeting?

I already felt the approach of disaster, but just in case, I decided to watch it a little longer.

"Hahaha!" Nice to meet you, are you the same mage we're meeting today?

"What is the probability of accidentally meeting a magician at the exact time and place?"

At the bastard's question, the dwarf looked at me in disbelief. I couldn't stop sighing.

"Ha... That means you're right.

"S-right?" Hahaha! Anyway, nice to meet you, my name is Hikurod Murad!

"What a strange name. I am Riol Warb Dvalki, a magus of the 8th rank and approved by the royal family of Rafdonia.

— ... Approved by the royal family of Rafdonia? Hikurod asked.

Why are you so surprised?

"This means that he works in a government agency as an administrator, not in the Guild.

"Ah, I see!

The idiot mage kept talking in confused words, but this dwarf who had fallen for it every time was getting on my nerves, too.

The magician laughed.

"Haha!" Even though you are a barbarian, you are very knowledgeable. What is your name?

"Bjorn, son of Yandel." Sit down.

At first, I planned to just observe, but when I felt disappointed, I decided to conduct the conversation myself. This will save more time.

"Dvalki, I've read your statement. I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Do you mind?

— Of course.

"Do you have a pass to the labyrinth?"

"Would I have come if I hadn't?"

Just say yes, fuck.

"And one more thing, why would you be an explorer if you can make enough money in the city?"

An 8th rank Magus rarely went on an expedition. The reason was simple: They didn't have enough skills to work on the middle floors and above. However, the study of the lower floors did not bring much money. The income received from working in a state institution was much higher.

Given the difficulty of obtaining a pass and the risk involved, it wasn't worth the money in many ways.

"Hmm, unexpected question," Dvalki tilted his head and continued, "It's simple. I want to become a great explorer and bring glory to our Baron Martoin.

He expressed his aspiration with pride on a face full of confidence.

Hikurod, who had been calmly listening to this, then got scared.

"B-baron?" Could it be that you are a d-nobleman? No, you are a nobleman... sir?

Nobles. The most influential people in Rafdonia and those that an ordinary person may never meet in their entire life.

Hikuroda's reaction was obviously quite satisfactory, because Dvalki burst out laughing and said proudly.

"Hahaha, the husband of my mother's sister, Aunt Enki, is the third younger brother of the one and only Baroness Martoin.

At that, the dwarf took a deep breath, as if he were about to faint. Dvalki patted him on the shoulder, as if understanding. A kind smile played on his lips.

"Don't be so nervous. I have no intention of mistreating anyone of my status.

Seeing this smile, I thought:

What a bastard. Could it be that he is crazy?