Where should we go next?
I asked the village chief for his opinion on a good destination, but he just repeated, like a parrot, that it was up to me.
‘I have no idea what he’s thinking.’
Finally, I sighed and decided on a destination. The village chief said he would announce it at the upcoming leadership meeting.
It seemed he truly had no intention of interfering with the exploration, content to play the role of a figurehead.
“So, how did the research go?”
Before parting ways, I brought up the research again.
The research that had been ongoing for over ten days, which started with the possibility that the mages might be able to forcibly activate the dimensional monument.
“Hmm, didn’t I say it was a failure?”
“I was wondering if there might have been some results since you held onto it for so long.”
“Results…”
The village chief, who had been trailing off, uttered a meaningful statement.
“Actually, it wasn’t a complete loss.”
“…It wasn’t a loss?”
“We were able to gain confidence that we could escape this place through the [Heretical Altar].”
How did they reach that conclusion?
There was no detailed explanation, but what he said was probably true. No, that’s probably why he gave the mages over ten days for research in the first place.
I just asked directly.
“Then when are you planning to return to the city?”
In my opinion, the real reason the village chief was still in the labyrinth was ‘uncertainty.’
The first basement floor was a very peculiar level.
For example, when the exploration team first came down here, they tried to open a dimensional gate, but it wouldn’t open.
So there was a lot of controversy.
Should this be considered a normal labyrinth field?
There were numerous debates among mages and explorers, and in the end, the opinion leaned towards ‘yes.’
The decisive evidence was the Stone of Honor.
[The great warrior of the Barbarian tribe, Bjorn Yandel, and his companions were the first to discover the first basement floor.]
It was a peculiar place in many ways, but this one phrase left no doubt that it was within the labyrinth.
Although it was unknown why the dimensional gate wouldn’t open.
Well, it’s not like there aren’t any special spaces within the labyrinth where dimensional gates can’t be opened.
“Now that you’ve gained confidence, shouldn’t you just go back?”
I asked, urging him, but the village chief firmly shook his head.
“The preparations are not yet complete. I don’t have the confidence to return immediately without raising any suspicion.”
Well, that’s true.
If I were in the village chief’s position, I would have stayed in that body for a while, gathering information about Jerome Saintred.
“You seem to want me to leave quickly?”
“Huh, do I even need to say it?”
“Why? We’re in the same boat.”
Why? Does he really not know?
“Same boat my ass. You still haven’t said anything about how to activate the dimensional monument.”
“I guess… it’s natural that you don’t trust me.”
When I grumbled, the village chief nodded as if he understood, then lightly patted my arm like a superior.
“Don’t be too anxious. I will definitely leave this place, and when that time comes, I will tell you everything.”
It’s a little funny.
Does this village chief even know?
That every time he says something so meaningful, it only makes me more anxious.
‘……Should I just take him out first?’
I had such an impulse for a moment, but I decided to watch the situation a little longer.
It was then that I was about to leave.
“Oh, by the way, did you use that thing you took this morning? The Misplaced Trust, I mean.”
“……Ah, I forgot to return it—.”
“There’s no need to return it. It seems like it’s more useful to you than to me.”
He’s practically cursing me.
I was annoyed for a moment at his sarcastic remark, but I still took the Misplaced Trust and left the house.
***
When I returned to the mansion that served as our residence.
Erwen and Amelia were nowhere to be seen, and neither was Misha.
Instead, Bersil Gowland was waiting for me.
“You’re back?”
“Come to think of it, you said you had something to say.”
I knew what he was going to say, but I pretended not to know and sat down. After using magic to block out sound, we began our conversation in earnest.
As expected, it was as I had predicted.
“There’s a rumor that the gathering of evil spirits has been shut down.”
Bersil was conveying the most important information through the word ‘rumor.’
I was a little dumbfounded.
“There’s a rumor?”
“Yes. Well… it’s not like we don’t have evil spirits among us.”
No, I mean, where did you hear that rumor?
A normal person would have pressed for details, but I nodded again, pretending not to know.
Perhaps because I had never asked for the source of information, Bersil was a little too complacent when dealing with me.
‘He shouldn’t be like this when he goes somewhere else…’
It’s a bit of a concern as a leader.
Anyway, after talking about the ‘rumor,’ Misha naturally came up for discussion.
“But what about this morning… what happened?”
“You mean Misha?”
“Yes. The information that Mr. Karlstein might be a traitor, is that still valid? Getting too close to him is…”
Bersil cautiously expressed his concern.
However, that’s why I cut him off more firmly.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I directly confirmed the circumstances that could be seen as betrayal a while ago.”
“…Really? But why didn’t you tell me…”
“Well, it wasn’t a big deal. After hearing the circumstances, it wasn’t like he intended to harm us.”
“I understand that you want to trust Mr. Karlstein, but how can you trust that?”
I knew he would ask that.
“I used Misplaced Trust. After hearing all the circumstances, I confirmed that he wasn’t hiding anything.”
Bersil was speechless at the mention of Misplaced Trust. If he still couldn’t believe it, it would be nothing more than stubbornness.
Of course, he seemed curious about what the act of betrayal I said was not a big deal was, but I had no intention of telling him about that.
“Anyway, there’s no problem with Misha now. You don’t have to keep an eye on him, so from now on, just treat him like a normal colleague.”
“…Yes. I will.”
Okay, then this topic is over.
After that, I asked Bersil to gather all the members of Temporary Team 4, and after everyone had gathered, I told them that we would be leaving the island today, so they should prepare.
“Ah…! Are we starting the exploration again?”
“Then the monument research must have failed…”
“Haa… my family will be worried.”
Some were disappointed that they couldn’t go home right away, but the overall atmosphere wasn’t too bad.
“I was getting bored anyway, so this is good.”
“There are still many places we haven’t been to.”
They were all explorers as well.
***
Swish, swish, swish.
Four ships cut through the silver waves.
For reference, our clan Anabada’s ship, which was infinitely small and precious compared to a warship, was located at the very back.
Sitting on the bow, I stared blankly at the warships ahead.
‘How much more money do I need to earn to buy a ship like that…’
In fact, I could buy one if I sold the Aegis Barrier and the Verdant Colossus, but that would just make me a ship owner.
There’s no point in buying that ship unless I have enough financial power to not have any problems buying something like that with my spare funds—.
“Mr. Yandel! What are you doing there!”
As I was sitting on the bow, leisurely organizing my thoughts, an angry voice came from behind.
It was Raven, the vice-commander of the 3rd Magic Corps.
“It’s dangerous! Come down quickly!”
Her voice sounded somewhat angry, so I quickly climbed onto the deck, and Raven, whose eye level was smaller than my chest, looked at me as if I were a child.
It’s just funny when you look up at me like that.
“What is it? That look in your eyes now…?”
“…Nothing.”
I stretched and looked around the deck, and I could see familiar faces everywhere besides Raven.
Melrand Kaislan, Sven Farab, and a few of the knights I had taken note of when we were conquering the Library Island.
From now on, they were members of Temporary Team 4.
Well, I asked the village chief before leaving, and he readily agreed.
“By the way, Raven, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“…What is it?”
“What happened during the monument research in the village? Didn’t you participate in the research too?”
“Ah, that?”
Since we had time while sailing, I asked about the things I was curious about, and Raven explained it to me with great enthusiasm, even using technical terms.
And as a result.
‘I don’t understand a single thing.’
No matter how much she talked about dimensional disruption phenomena or spatial coordinates, there was no way a modern person disguised as a barbarian could understand.
As I was listening with one ear, Raven noticed my state and changed the subject, feeling embarrassed.
“Ahem! I think I spoke too difficultly… But Mr. Yandel, can I ask you something too?”
“Anything.”
“Where are we going now? I thought you might know.”
“Ah, you didn’t attend the last leadership meeting.”
“The mages were all excluded. We had to quickly organize the research data.”
“We’re going here.”
I then unfolded the map I had looted from Hamsik’s House and pointed to the destination.
An uncharted island about a week away from Library Island. Unlike Rainbow Island, it was relatively close, so I decided to explore this place first…
For reference, when I asked the village chief if he knew anything about this island, he replied like this.
[It’s a very mysterious island. It’s also peculiar.]
[Peculiar?]
[You’ll know when you go there. I’ll tell you the rest when we arrive.]
I don’t know what’s peculiar yet, but it certainly felt mysterious when he said that.
“Hmm… I wonder what it’ll be like here. I hope there’s a clue to the secret of this level…”
Anyway, perhaps because it was an uncharted island?
Raven didn’t ask what kind of place it was, and that was the end of the conversation.
After that, time flowed endlessly.
And.
“Captain! The flagship has stopped!”
“A signal has also been sent that we’ve arrived at our destination.”
After a week of sailing, I could see why the village chief had called it a peculiar island.
“…Is that an island?”
There were no trees or soil.
No, to be precise, there was no ground where such things could be.
Swish, swish, swish-!
Only a huge, stele-like object stood tall amidst the shimmering silver waves.
***
After roughly anchoring the ship near the island, I went over to the flagship where the village chief was and had a private meeting.
“Okay, now that we’ve arrived, tell me. What the hell is that… stele floating on the sea?”
As soon as I entered, I activated ‘Misplaced Trust’ and asked, and the village chief gave me a dumbfounded look.
“Why? You said it yourself. That it would be useful to me.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Enough, just answer me. Time is precious.”
I had no intention of letting him slip away this time either.
And perhaps the village chief felt that resolve?
I don’t know, but the village chief readily revealed the answer to my question.
“That’s not a stele, it’s a door.”
“A door…?”
“If you touch it, the door will open, and you’ll be able to enter an unknown space.”
“What’s inside?”
The village chief paused for a moment before answering.
“I don’t know.”
It wasn’t the answer I was expecting.
“…You don’t know?”
“Yes, in the first place, it was impossible for my previous body to even open that door.”
“But how did you know that it was a door?”
“I experimented. Unlike you, I used a survivor who happened to drift here. Ah, I’ll tell you in advance, I couldn’t enter that door, so I have no idea what’s inside.”
“……”
“He who went inside never returned alive.”
A word that sounded somehow eerie.
However, I put aside the ominous feeling for now and quickly confirmed what I needed to.
“What do you mean by survivor?”
“Didn’t I say that humans sometimes drift here? Some of them survived.”
“I don’t understand. Then why didn’t they take their bodies and leave?”
At my question, the village chief took out a black stone from his chest.
“Because at that time, this stone hadn’t gathered enough sacrifices. In fact, it’s only recently that it’s gathered enough. As you know… quite a few came in this time, didn’t they?”
He must be referring to the Silver Lion Clan that went missing in the village and was found dead in the basement.
His eyes, which didn’t seem to see people as people, were particularly irritating today, but I didn’t show it and listened to the village chief’s words.
“That explorer who went in alone was as strong as you. But even so, he didn’t return. That’s all I can tell you. I’m not even sure how many people can enter it.”
“……”
“Are you still going to explore inside as planned?”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but his tone sounded like he was testing me. Well, whatever his tone was, my answer was already set.
“Of course, I’m going to explore inside.”
I had decided to uncover everything about this level.
***
After that, before Misplaced Trust turned off, I took the opportunity to ask various questions.
But the village chief just stubbornly remained silent, and in the end, I had no choice but to be satisfied and return to my ship.
And after selecting who would go in first, how many people, and in what order, I informed the village chief.
“I’ll arrange the personnel as you said. But… are you sure?”
“Are you sure about what?”
“If it’s like this, you’ll be the first one to go in. Into a dangerous place where you don’t know what’s there.”
“That’s why. That’s why I’m saying I’ll go in first.”
“Hmm?”
The village chief just looked at me with a curious expression and didn’t say anything else, and we, who had finished the rest of the preparations, returned to the ship and approached the huge stone door in a small boat.
Swish, swish, swish-!
The stone door, which had already been opened wide by the advance team we had sent ahead.
Inside the stone door, a dazzling haze was swirling.
A portal.
Something that any explorer would recognize at a glance.
However, it was the first time I had seen such a huge portal, so I was looking at it with a sense of wonder.
“Yandel, how about reconsidering?”
Amelia, who was on the same boat, spoke to me.
“We don’t know, but it seems a bit reckless for you to go in first.”
“What are you talking about? You’re weak.”
As those who know me well know, barbarians have the characteristic of not listening to those who are weaker than them.
So in that sense.
“I’ll go in first. As I said, wait one minute before coming in, just in case.”
After making eye contact with my companions, I took a stance to jump in front of the boat.
What could be inside?
To be honest, I was a little scared and nervous.
But I decided to trust my experience.
[Dungeon & Stone] is an unfriendly game, but there were hardly any cases where monsters and traps would pop out as soon as you crossed a portal.
Yeah, so…
Tap.
I leaped greatly and threw myself into the portal.
Whoosh-!
Colorful lights enveloped my body.
The unique sensation of my whole body floating.
Thud.
When I opened my eyes again, it was filled with darkness.
But there was no need to take out a torch and use the Barbarian Candle Mode after a long time.
I mean, what level am I now?
Whoosh-!
I shot a flare that I had stuck in my waist in preparation for this situation anywhere.
And at that moment.
Whoosh-!
The surroundings lit up and my vision was secured.
‘First of all, the place is indoors.’
The floor was smooth marble.
There were walls on both sides, and a ceiling above.
And…
“……”
There were monsters everywhere.
No, to be precise, there were statues made in the likeness of monsters.
‘Death Knight, King Slime, Lycanthrope, Iron Golem…’
As I checked the statues in order from the front, I quickly realized what these monsters meant.
‘Rift Guardians.’
Statues that were shaped like Rift Guardians were endlessly spread out along a long corridor.