Chapter 114: Cave Exploration 4
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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On the 21st floor, there's a hidden mechanism that reacts to magic light.
When you channel mana into it, stimulating the mechanism behind it, the cave transforms into a maze.
Within this maze, there's a colossal golem; only by defeating it can one exit the maze.
"Roland, you understand what I'm getting at, right?"
"I do, we have the evidence right here."
"If it weren't for that, I would've thought you were joking around after a few drinks."
Ellis, holding a magic stone, had a peculiar expression.
While I've spent 10 years in the tower, people of this world have been with the tower for almost 30 or 40 years.
This means they'd been studying beyond the 20th floor of the tower long before I arrived.
Having spent decades with the tower, learning about a secret mechanism hidden on the 21st floor only now might be difficult to accept.
Still, our genius mage Han Se-ah brought both a piece of the golem and the mana stone as proof that it was no lie.
"It's hard to believe, but with such concrete evidence... we have no choice but to accept it. Are you going to submit the mana stone to the Magic Tower?"
"No, not the stone. We'll only submit the golem's remains. I think we'll keep the mana stone."
"Hmm?"
As Ellis started gathering the golem's fragments spread out on the table, Han Se-ah sneakily placed the faintly red mana stone into her inventory.
Ellis seemed to think it was a mage's privilege to do so, but I found it suspicious.
While Han Se-ah claims to be both a mage and alchemist, in reality, she merely uses the game system as a player.
She only knows how to channel mana onto her staff, a basic feat any low-tier mage can do.
What could she possibly do with the mana stone?
Suddenly distracted, I turned my gaze to Han Se-ah's live stream.
-Is there a golem to beat on every floor?
-How is maze-solving, content?
-Still, if you skip it, you might miss out on something
-RPG player problems: Miss a quest, get a heart attack.
-Hopefully, the next one won't take as long.
"Ugh, no one else has reached the 21st floor. Is the golem's appearance timed within the maze? Or was I just unlucky to encounter it after an hour? If it takes an hour each time, it'll be pretty annoying."
-Complaining like usual.
-Even with bad luck, should it take this long?
-But seriously, an hour is excessive.
-For real, if every floor requires an hour in a maze, that's a forced 10 hours.
-They're just trying to extend playtime.
Seeing Han Se-ah carefully placing the mana stone in a corner of her inventory, I suspect that the stone might be some sort of quest item.
Perhaps collecting these stones will open a hidden passage?
Some games often have a kind of hidden true ending.
If you play normally, you'll get the normal ending, but if you gather all the specific items or complete some sort of requirement, an alternate ending is revealed
Han Se-ah and the viewers believe that there must be a hidden maze on each floor.
If they find ten mana stones, one on each floor for the cave floors, they suspect there might be an additional reward on the 30th floor.
"So we're not entrusting this to the Magic Tower, you want to keep it with us?"
"Well, this kind of feels like a... magical key? So, couldnt these stones possibly open hidden spaces similar to how we opened the maze?"
The party nudges her for details.
She seems to be formulating her answer on the spot, likely basing it on comments from the viewers, occasionally stumbling over her words.
But the group nods in agreement.
It's a mysterious mana stone from the maze, and while it could be sold for a good sum, no one in the party seems greedy for it.
Seeing their nodding faces, I turned to address Ellis,
"So, I'd like to place a request."
"You, Roland, are placing a request?"
The sudden notion of me not taking but giving out a request makes everyone stare widely.
However, while navigating the maze, I realized something: it would be more efficient to resolve things with money rather than wasting time like this.
How long will it take us to find all the cave walls with peculiar patterns from floors 21 to 30?
"Let's say, find one of these unique patterns and I'll pay 10 gold coins."
"10 gold coins... Are you serious?"
"Yes. They can bring the golem's mana stone in exchange for the 10 gold coins. If there is another anomaly, securing the lead with 10 gold coins will be a profitable deal."
It's better to invest the money and hire people.
I had been saving diligently for a comfortable retirement. I had been planning to buy a mansion, magical tools, and hire servants.
However, my goal now is to clear the tower.
If Han Se-ah and I clear the tower, see the ending, and somehow exit the game... even millions or billions of gold coins in this world would be meaningless.
However many gold coins we have, once we leave the game, won't they just vanish as mere data?
"True, if you think about it as getting a head start on information, 10 gold coins is..."
"What are you talking about? Thats 10 gold coins!"
"Roland, arent you overdoing it?"
The lady raised in a Duke's family nods in agreement, but Grace, who comes from a rural village, and Irene, who was born and raised in a temple, are shocked and grab my arms, trying to dissuade me.
To common folks who haven't adventured much, even a silver coin is a significant sum, let alone gold.
At the sight of the two of them panicking, I can't help but let out a chuckle.
The mana stone that Han Se-ah casually stowed in her inventory itself could be sold for gold coins.
"Why would you say it's too much? Do you really think someone who's been a senior adventurer for over five years, would fret over something like this?"
"Well, that's true. You've been diligently saving all your gold, dreaming of buying a large estate in a peaceful, tranquil place."
At my words, Ellis quickly chimed in.
She wouldn't miss an opportunity to earn a hefty commission.
After all, the Adventurer's Guild primarily sustains itself on commissions from requests.
After successfully coaxing Grace and Irene away from me, Ellis leans in and whispers into my ear,
"Roland, including the commission, its 10 gold coins and 15 silver coins for each request."
"Isn't that commission a bit steep?"
"Come on, the request starts from the 21st floor. I'll spread the word to the best scouts with sharp eyes. You want to monopolize it all quickly, even if it costs a bit more, right? And it's a commission per case. If they find nothing, I get nothing too"
"Alright, fine."
Ellis grins widely at my consent.
I give in because she is undeniably the best when it comes to getting things done.
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Raei Translations
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One evening, after exploring the 21st floor for several days to complete requests from Ellis,
"Hey, I heard you're buying Golem mana stones!"
A burly man with a scarred arm, broad shoulders, and, even without any visible gear, had the unmistakable aura of a party's tank.
The way he enthusiastically approached, huffing through his nose... his excitement was almost overbearing.
In his large, rough hand was a red-tinted mana stone.
He could've submitted it to the guild and received the gold coins through Ellis but instead, he had waited for our party.
Trading without going through Ellis does save on the commission fee.
But wouldn't this upset Ellis?
If one just took the information for the request and then conducted a personal trade, it would be like going behind the guild's back.
"You were waiting for us?"
"Yes! Thing is, I wasn't really after the gold coins!"
Feeling a tad overwhelmed by Ellis's sharp stare from the back counter and the fervent expectation in the eyes of the man in front of me, I tried to guess his intentions.
He suddenly presented an old iron shield.
While it wasn't rusted, it had numerous dents and scratches, indicating its long service.
"This is the shield I used back in my novice days. Since I'm now seriously aiming to be a senior adventurer, this old thing won't be of much use."
"And?"
"If it's not too much to ask, could you grip this shield with both hands... to leave your handprints?"
Do people think alike even in different worlds?
Never in my life did I think someone would ask for handprints, especially on their old equipment.
His highly-expectant eyes, oddly mismatched with his rough appearance, looked at me full of anticipation.
Well, it's not difficult if he's just asking for handprints instead of ten gold coins.
Channeling mana into both hands, I gripped the shield and exerted force, causing the steel to deform as if it were soft clay.
"Ha-ha! Thank you so much!"
Happily clutching the shield, now imprinted with the shape of my palms, the man's steps were light as he left the guild.
His request was so unexpected that I could only chuckle.
"Seems like a lot of people really like Roland."
"Yeah, but who knew there would be so many golems."
"... I wonder what they are used for?"
The collected Golem magic stones from the 21st floor alone already amounted to six.
One per floor? More like ten per floor at this rate.
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