Chapter 84: 84 Watchman
I left the watchtower. Riding Lynn, I looked up at the sky.
"At least I need to resolve this before it gets dark."
Because I had something else to do later.
I didn’t return to Ravenscoft Manor. Instead, I went to a dungeon nearby.
If my prediction was correct, that dungeon would provide an item suitable for reaching Expert Mid-stage.
’The last remaining hidden piece. This is mine... or so I was going to say.’
But when I arrived, I paused at an unexpected sight.
There were traces of a fire lit in front of the dungeon entrance. Signs of people were scattered everywhere, as if deliberately left for someone to see.
Even the dungeon was open. This shouldn’t be happening?
’What? How did they know to go in? From the traces, it’s more than one or two people?’
There were many footprints. This can’t be good. What if someone gets there first?
’This is my hidden piece!’
Gritting my teeth, I rushed into the dungeon. I entered, checking the information.
[Mysterious Ghosts and the Secret Labyrinth]
-Composition: Labyrinth, 1st Floor
-Difficulty: ★2
-Objective: Item Acquisition
-Reward: 800 Gold
※Main Composition: Wisps, Wraiths, Ghosts
I stepped inside. First, I checked for any signs of a fight.
As I looked around, I tilted my head. There were no signs of a fight.
"That’s strange. Goddess, please lend me your strength! I need to see the ghosts!"
’As expected, I’m practically a corpse without the Goddess, you know!’
Soon, a faint golden light spread from my body. It felt like power was surging through me.
Something soon appeared in my vision.
A brutally torn human... no, it was a ghost. Behind it, I also saw a ghost with long, drooping hair.
They were Ghosts and Wraiths.
Compared to Ghosts, which were just spectral forms, Wraiths differed by carrying weapons.
’I only intended to see ghosts, but I feel power surging. Goddess, you’re the best!’
In addition, I could see Wisps, which were spirits, flitting about.
There were more monsters left than I expected. No, it seemed they hadn’t even been touched. That’s even stranger?
’What? Why did they proceed without eliminating the monsters? And there are no signs of them being attacked either?’
The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Anyway, I proceeded, eliminating every monster I saw.
I drew my sword and cut down the Ghosts and Wraiths that charged at me.
My sword wasn’t an ordinary one, so these guys were simply cleaved apart. Wisps were cute, so I killed them as painlessly as possible.
I steadily cleared the monsters and navigated the labyrinth well. After all, it was a place I already knew. Besides, this dungeon, unlike others, wasn’t about killing a named boss.
’It’s not difficult. The left-hand method works here.’
That’s right. This dungeon was a labyrinth.
In a labyrinth, random branching paths appear, and you can only choose one to proceed.
As you continued, at the final section, the dungeon’s objective would appear, or sometimes a trap or monster, which could be considered a dud.
Finding the real path wasn’t difficult. You just had to keep one hand on the wall and keep moving forward.
Monsters kept appearing with every step. The advantage of spirit-type monsters was that they weren’t restricted by location.
So they would appear from everywhere. I cut down every single one I saw.
While hunting them, I collected quite a few special byproducts that only these monsters dropped.
[Wisp’s Remnant]
[Faint Trace]
[Orb of Nothingness]
’They say these are used in place of enhancement stones. Let’s try them out later.’
I shivered slightly at the thought of enhancing my equipment with these later.
Around the time I had cut down dozens of monsters,
I acquired a title.
[Ghost-Catching Rookie (Ancient)]
Type: Title
Effect: Can see and detect spirits, and inflict physical damage.
Hmm, it’s a bit bland for an Ancient grade. Should I try enhancing it?
I spent 20,000 points and attempted to enhance it.
[Ghost Busters (Epic)]
Type: Title
Effect: Can see and detect spirits, inflict physical damage, and strike the opponent’s soul.
Yes, this is it. Soul strike, huh?
Now my basic attacks will get stronger and stronger.
After going a bit further, I understood the intentions of the people who had entered here.
’From what I can tell, they just want to snatch the item and leave. I can’t let that happen.’
If the dungeon’s objective was just to find a special item, it was indeed possible to just grab it and flee.
However, that’s for dungeons without a watchman. I thought there was one here?
No, the settings could change, so it was premature to jump to conclusions.
But still, it was a bit surprising that there were people who actually intended to take the loot and flee.
Especially in a low-level dungeon like this.
’First, let’s see who they are and then decide. Hah, really. How absurd.’
I arrived at the final location. Upon arriving, four adventurers, two men and two women, were huddled around a chest.
"Try opening this with a key."
"Argh, I told you it won’t work! You saw it earlier!"
"Don’t get angry, you’ll get wrinkles on your face."
"Is there some kind of password?"
I knew this would happen.
’They don’t know how to open it, do they? If they just open it, it’s cleared.’
I decided to watch for a bit. Still, they were here to take the loot and flee, so there must be something.
I waited for 10 minutes, but...
"So... if we flip it over, it’ll open?"
"Will that even work...?"
"Let’s just break it!"
"Your hammer broke when you tried to break it earlier."
Ah, this is so fucking frustrating. Fuck, I’ll just do it myself.
I’m so frustrated, I’ll do it!
I stepped forward. I began my act.
"Oh, are you adventurers too? Hero Candidates?"
"Huh? How did a kid get here...?"
"I’m a Hero."
"Hmm? Ah, you’re playing Hero, huh?"
As expected, I was immediately utterly dismissed. Yes, ignore me.
I calmly squeezed through the people. Then I looked at the chest and tapped it a few times.
Clunk, click!
The chest opened at once. As the people stared in shock, I looked around at them and said,
"I told you I’m a Hero, didn’t I?"
At my single remark, the people just stared at me speechless.
They’re really idiots.
"Wait, you opened the chest at once?!"
"Did a riddle come from this chest?"
"Uh, yeah. It said to recite the spell that summons wealth."
"Yes, the answer to that is showmethemoney."
I knew it well. I fucking laughed when I first saw this too.
It’s a spell that doesn’t just summon wealth, but makes it abundant, truly. Hehehe.
The adventurers were all astonished.
