Chapter 54 – Kazusa the Guide
It was early in the morning before the market opened, and the sky was still dim.
As the sounds of stalls being prepared, and the smoke from the workshops rose around them, they met up with Sety in front of the Adventurers Guild.
“There you are! Is that all you brought?”
Sety was carrying a stuffed backpack, but when it came to Menew’s party, they just had their gear and a pouch.
“Sety. I can carry your belongings if you want.”
They were going to travel together. So there was no point in hiding things.
“Do you have some kind of spatial type skill…?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you then. But don’t die while carrying my things.”
Sety said as she handed her belongings to Menew. It seemed that she was quite used to traveling, and kept essential items on her person.
Menew put the rest into his pouch.
“Well, let’s go then.”
Sety said as she entered the Adventurers Guild building.
“Huh?”
“Hmm? You didn’t know? The entrance to the dungeon is inside of the guild.”
“WHAAAT!?”
Ralph covered Menew’s mouth with a look of annoyance.
According to the maps and documents he had seen, it was supposed to be near the Yan valley.
But when he said this, Sety laughed.
“That’s a bluff. While people have dreams of making a fortune in the dungeon, it is also a very dangerous place. Sometimes, people who failed a quest that was above their rank, will enter the dungeon without permission. And so while the relatively safe first floor remains, the stairs leading to the rest was blocked off. You can only go deeper down through the Adventurers Guild now.”
That did make sense.
Totto furrowed his brows with a worried expression.
“But…doesn’t that put the town in danger?”
“The monsters do not come out of the dungeon. The mana is thick down there. And they cannot live without it. Also, even if they tried, the guild would stop them. After all, this is a place where Adventurers gather together. The monsters would not stand a chance.”
If Adventurers could not stop them, then it wouldn’t matter where they attacked from.
“You sure know a lot.”
“I have a lot of experience.”
Sety said with a confident laugh.
There had been no one at the counter a moment ago, but there was someone standing behind it now. She wore the guild uniform and held a large staff.
“Welcome, everyone. I will be your guide, Kazusa. Please follow me.”
She had long green hair and…long ears.
Apparently, she was an elf. As she did not show her status, perhaps she was secret personnel within the guild.
They silently followed her to the back room. She then opened a trap door and descended a staircase.
Menew was about to take out a lantern, but Sety stopped him.
And then the point of Kazusa’s staff began to glow. It was bright enough for them to see the floor.
“The dungeon is this way. You will get lost if we get separated. So please follow me closely.”
As they followed her, Menew felt that something was strange.
Though he was not cold or wet, it felt as if he was passing through a watery membrane.
Menew tilted his head and wondered. And then Kazusa turned to look at them.
“I see that you have spatial type skills, Mr. Menew. I can sense the effects.”
She said as they walked.
“Is this a similar skill?”
“Yes. I am making shortcuts within the tunnels. Without me guiding you, it would take an entire day to just reach the dungeon. Either that, or you would just get lost forever.”
Ah, so this was a safety measure.
“You said it’s affecting this place. Is that dangerous?”
“It is fine. When it affects it, you can touch that ability. And so I realized that you have some kind of spatial skill. That is all.”
An item storage skill was not particularly rare when it came to parties that were taking on the dungeon.
“When it comes to similar abilities, the one with more magic energy or higher skill rank is prioritized. If you used a teleportation skill, and it was stronger than mine, then it would overwrite my ability.”
“Ah, I see.”
As they talked, they went through several other water membranes.
And then there was a door to the right, and a downwards staircase in the front.
“This is as far as I go. I will be waiting in the room over there. So return here when you are finished. A bell will appear after ten days. Please ring it.”
Ah, so we will also help them on the return journey as well.
Apparently, there were some Adventurers who asked to return after just one hour.
“By the way, how many floors does this dungeon have?”
“As this is the Kanon Labyrinth, each floor is very big. In terms of depth, there are about ten floors. Of course, since this is a labyrinth, sometimes you think you are going down, but end up going up. Or you end up on the same floor. And there is no map.”
Considering that the last person to make it to the bottom floor did it a hundred years ago, it must be very complicated indeed.
Menew was anxious.
This was the ‘another world’ he had been thinking about. A world that was different from the civilizations built by humans.
He was anxious and excited.
Perhaps it showed on his face, as Sety laughed and pointed to the stairs.
“Thank you, Kazusa. Well, shall we go?”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
Then they went down the short staircase and opened a stone door. When they looked back, Kazusa was smiling and waving at them.
Then they stepped through the door and…
“Woah…!”
Totto said in amazement.
“What a sight.”
Ralph muttered.
“Smells like treasure.”
Sety licked her lips.
Menew’s eyes were blinking.
He never thought the day would come. Where he would see something like this underground.
The space was so bright, it looked like there was a sun.
Indeed, it did smell like treasure. Though, treasure merely meant something that had value for that person.
“A forest…town…!”
In front of them was an abandoned town made of bricks, and a white castle in the distance. And as if to swallow all of it up, was a sea of plants.
Thanks for the chapter!