Chapter 9: Reunion and the Footsteps of the Demon – Part 02
Having successfully secured a room at the inn, we gathered in the dining hall to discuss our plans moving forward.
“For now, there’s one unexplored D-Class Dungeon here in Euron and another in the neighboring town of Tolson. The Euron Dungeon has 15 floors, while the one in Tolson has 10. I think we’ll need to spend at least one night in either dungeon. What do you think?”
As I posed the question, Sfenia nodded in agreement.
“With our skills, we could potentially clear the 10 floors in a single day, but it would be wise not to push ourselves too hard. I believe we should plan for at least one overnight stay.”
“That makes sense. So, the question is which one to tackle first. I think we should start with the 10-floor dungeon since the difficulty of the 15-floor one seems to be higher.”
“I feel confident about that, but caution is always important,” Larni chimed in, with Freinir and Sfenia agreeing.
“I share that sentiment.”
“I think that’s a good plan. We must avoid rushing things.”
“Alright then, let’s focus on training tomorrow and prepare for our journey afterward. My mace should be ready for pickup, so we’ll collect that… and then we need to consider your sword and armor, Larni.”
“I think I’ll be fine for now. Besides, dungeons with more than 10 floors tend to have treasure chests, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Indeed, in dungeons with more than 10 floors, there are bosses every five floors, but skills can only be acquired on the lowest floor. However, that doesn’t mean the intermediate bosses are without rewards; defeating them can yield treasure chests. Of course, if luck is on our side, we might even acquire powerful weapons, which adds an enticing thrill to the adventure.
“Then let’s hope for some good weapons from those chests. You can handle it, right, Soushi?”
“Is that really the case?”
Sfenia tilted her head at Larni’s words. She still didn’t know much about our unique traits. However, it was uncertain whether the ‘Bad Luck’ skill would affect the contents of the treasure chests.
“Is it possible that two treasure chests could appear?” Freinir asked, her ears twitching at the thought.
“Oh, if it’s Soushi, that might actually be a possibility. Ah, I’m getting excited just thinking about it! Let’s sprint to Tolson!”
“Is that really a thing…?” Sfenia pondered, tilting her head again. While I felt it might be unfair to raise expectations too high, I couldn’t help but feel quite excited myself. I knew we could enjoy a comfortable night outdoors, and I just needed to ensure I didn’t let my guard down against any monsters.
The next day, I set out alone for the weapon shop while the three girls went off to shop for clothes and supplies.
Upon entering the weapon shop, a dwarf greeted me with a broad grin.
“Hey there, kid! The order you placed is ready. Come on back!”
Following him to the back, I was greeted by an unusual-looking mace resting on the floor.
The spiked iron ball at the end was similar to my current weapon, but this one was significantly larger, and the handle was astonishingly thick—about the width of a 500-milliliter bottle. It was also a bit longer, measuring around 1.5 meters to the tip.
“I’ve packed plenty of Dark Metal into the head as you requested. I had to make the handle thicker to prevent it from breaking easily. It’s got a nice weight to it, but honestly, it’s heavy enough that it would take five people to lift it. Give it a try.”
I gripped the handle as instructed. For an ordinary person, it would be impossible to hold, but thanks to my ‘Grasp’ skill, I could grip it firmly. I lifted the mace, feeling its satisfying heft. This would definitely be a weapon worth swinging.
“You’re able to lift it so easily? You’re going to be quite the adventurer, aren’t you? How does it feel to swing?”
I gave it a light swing, and the sheer power it possessed was palpable. This might be a bit too much for the monsters we’d face.
“It’s impressively balanced. It feels easy to swing.”
“Well, I did put some thought into it… but to see you swing it so effortlessly is truly surprising. Here, give this a whack.”
He pointed to a sturdy piece of armor on the floor, clearly damaged and rendered junk.
I drew back and brought the mace down upon the armor. It crumpled without resistance, as if I were crushing paper.
“I can’t believe I made something so incredible…”
The dwarf muttered as he stroked his beard. If someone were to see me swing this weapon for real, they’d likely be left speechless.
In any case, this would significantly boost my power. My next goal would be to train until this mace felt light in my hands. If I were to specialize in physical strength, it would be interesting to pursue that to the fullest. I was genuinely curious about how I would evolve in the process.
On my way back from the weapon shop, I stopped by the guild to inform Mariane that we would be heading to Tolson the next day.
Mariane flipped through the pages of the quest ledger and paused at a particular entry.
“There’s a monster extermination request near Tolson. It’s for a ‘Gigant Viper,’ a high-ranking D-Class monster. I believe your party can handle it.”
“A ‘Gigant Viper’? Is that a large snake monster?”
“Yes, it can grow up to about 20 Rido in length. Its skin and meat are both valuable materials, so if possible, please bring them back.”
Twenty Rido is roughly 20 meters—a truly monstrous snake. However, the crocodile Golem we defeated recently was about that size too. Honestly, if it’s a physical monster, it would likely become nothing more than fodder for my new mace.
“Understood, I’ll take the job. Please provide me with more details.”
According to the information, it had been spotted a bit off the main road. The witnesses were villagers from the same area where we had previously defeated the Moon Wolf. That village certainly seemed to have its fair share of bad luck.
“If we manage to exterminate it, can we take the materials to the Tolson guild?”
“If possible, we’d appreciate it if you could bring the skin here. Ultimately, it will be handled in Euron.”
While it sounded a bit unreasonable, I assumed it was based on the fact that I possessed an Item Box. I agreed and left the guild.
As I approached the inn, I spotted Freinir and the other two girls.
That was fine, but I noticed a party of three young male adventurers standing in front of them, persistently chatting them up. Larni, who was at the forefront, had her tail standing straight up, indicating that the interaction wasn’t going well.
From the outside, the three beautiful girls were quite eye-catching, so I could guess what kind of things were being said. When Freinir noticed me and looked at me with pleading eyes, I hurried over.
“Sorry about this. Is there something you need from my party members?”
As I spoke, the young men began to respond, “What’s up, old man? We weren’t—” but their eyes widened when they caught sight of the unusual mace slung over my shoulder.
“Oh, uh, it’s nothing. We just thought they were cute, that’s all. Later!”
With that, the young men hurriedly retreated. So, this mace has that kind of use as well. Now that I thought about it, the adventurers at the guild had been glancing my way, and I understood why.
“I’m glad you came, Soushi-sama.”
Freinir approached and grasped my arm.
“Ugh, I’m so tired from dealing with those guys all morning. From now on, you’re coming with us, Soushi.”
Larni pouted while Sfenia chuckled softly. Sfenia likely realized that she was partly responsible for attracting some of that attention, but acknowledging it would seem overly self-conscious, so she couldn’t apologize.
“I can see why you three stand out. The fault lies with the men, but there’s not much we can do about that.”
“I’m not interested in weak men, anyway. Should we just cover our faces when we walk around?”
Larni said with a huff, but depending on the location, that might actually be necessary. This world doesn’t seem to have a strong sense of human rights.
Sfenia nodded in agreement, her gaze drifting to the mace I carried.
“By the way, is that your new weapon, Soushi? It certainly doesn’t look like something a human could wield. I can understand why adventurers would flee at the sight of it.”
“It’s really huge. You’re becoming even stronger, Soushi-sama.”
Freinir’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Well, it’s not like I can swing it around easily just yet. But it seems like it’ll make for a good talisman.”
“Absolutely. From now on, you should carry that mace whenever you walk through town. It’ll be a great bug repellent.”
Her words were harsh, but Larni had a point. It would be a hassle to deal with every single person, and if showing the mace could protect them, then that would be worthwhile.
However, if I walked around with this mace all the time, I felt it would draw even more attention. That could lead to a whole new set of problems.