Ruinblade ③
The next day.
As usual, I paid 300 Oro at the Dungeon entrance.
Then, the gatekeeper, Gauro-san, told me this.
“Woff. In three days, this Dungeon will be closed.”
“…Is that so.”
I thought it would happen soon.
An earthquake occurred, and Agaro-san came to subjugate the anomaly.
There’s no telling what might happen in the meantime.
As a safety measure, the Dungeon will be closed for a while. It’s perfectly natural.
Gauro-san sighed.
“Sorry about this.”
“No, it can’t be helped.”
I headed to the Junkyard. Today is the only day I can come.
I hope to find something good, at least.
“…Uwah…”
Seeing it, I couldn’t help but groan. The Junkyard had changed drastically due to the earthquake.
Most of the trash heaps had collapsed, and I couldn’t see anywhere to walk.
Even with the Relic [Danger Detection], the white safe zones were… scarce.
“…It’s mostly red…”
There are even black spots here and there, which weren’t there before.
There are still many children around, as usual.
“…Ooh.”
When I used the Relic [Wheel of Fortune], there were lots of green lights.
Moreover, there were more yellow lights than I expected. But no blue ones.
However, it was filled with even more danger.
Isn’t there somewhere white with green and yellow lights?
“Ouch!”
“Hey. You okay?”
“Just a small cut.”
“Hey, let’s just go home. We keep getting hurt and finding nothing.”
“Yeah.”
A trio of boys trudged away.
Behind them, two boys talked while scavenging.
These two. I’ve seen them before.
“Hey, what are you gonna do starting three days from now?”
“Did you know Koon Hunt is recruiting for live-in positions?”
“Ah, I heard something about that.”
“I’m thinking of working there as a Hired Pup until the closure is lifted. The pay is good too.”
“But it’s Koon Hunt, you know? There are all sorts of dark rumors about them.”
“That’s why I’ll quit right away if anything bad happens.”
“Maybe I’ll give it a try too. It probably pays better than taking care of horses.”
Live-in Hired Pups… huh.
In my past life memories, I think they called that ‘enclosure’ or something.
Koon Hunt.
That’s a total Black Company move.
Memories of my past life. I remember the Black Company I worked for.
Pulling all-nighters… after four days, things start flying in front of your eyes.
Working at a place that’s pitch black like that is practically death.
Well, I quit before it got to that point and found a job somewhere else.
Oh, this spot looks good.
A white safe zone point with green and yellow lights nearby.
“This is in the way.”
Worn-out leather armor. I cut its seams.
I gripped my Knife.
It’s the Knife I splurged 40,000 Oro on.
I guess I liked that its shape was similar to my old knife.
“Uooooohh!?”
“A-Amazing!”
“You did it, big bro!”
“Treasure… Real… treasure.”
What’s that?
Looking towards the commotion, halfway up a collapsed trash heap.
About four people were gathered, rejoicing. Are they all kids smaller than me?
At the center, I only caught a glimpse, but there was a luxurious Treasure Chest.
It shone gold and was studded with red, blue, and other jewels.
“…?”
I felt a sense of unease.
Despite such a Treasure Chest, there were no lights around that area.
“A-Alright. I’m opening it.”
“Be careful.”
“Rich! We’ll be rich!”
“Big bro. I wanna eat lots of meat.”
“Yeah, we’ll eat till our bellies burst.”
“Yay!”
Then, what about the Relic [Danger Detection]?
“!?”
It’s pitch black. That Treasure Chest!
“Gyaaaaaaaahhhhh!”
“This thing, guaaahh!”
“Big bro! Uwaaaaahhhhh!”
“H-Help…”
A stir went through the Junkyard.
Blood and flesh scattered from the Treasure Chest.
The Treasure Chest chewed. The four were devoured.
From the lid to the edges of the luxurious Treasure Chest, rows of teeth were densely packed.
They looked exactly like human teeth, arranged in double rows.
Disgusting. Why are human teeth so terrifying?
“It’s a Mimic!”
When someone shouted, the Junkyard erupted in chaos.
Screaming, shouting, running around in confusion.
Mimic.
A Dungeon monster that mimics Treasure Chests.
It seems to attack and prey on people, but I don’t know what it actually does.
Also, there are two types of Mimics. Stationary and mobile.
“Why is there a monster in the Junkyard?!”
“I-It stood up!”
“Of all things, it had to be a mobile type!”
“H-Hey. Something’s moving in the ground…”
From the surroundings, Mimics buried in the trash crawled out.
Several limbs sprouted from the Treasure Chests, and they started moving.
“Uoh, a Mimic!?”
“There are more?!”
“Run!”
“Guaaaahhhhhh!”
“Giiyaaaaaahhhhh!”
“S-Stop, don’t come closer, aaaaaaaahhhhhh!”
“Uwah! Uwah! Uwaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!”
Pandemonium.
There are various types of Mimics, but even the weakest is mid-Copper rank.
A monster that even a Class V Seeker can’t defeat solo.
Of course, it’s not an opponent a child can beat.
And there are several of them. Why are they in a place like this Junkyard?
Could it be they were buried here all along?
No, there’s no time to think about that. I need to run soon too.
“Big sister… Where’s big sister…! Big sister…!”
A small child was crying. A Little Girl. Did she get separated from her older sister?
Crying her eyes out like that, sure enough, a Mimic came towards the Little Girl.
“Big sisteeeer!”
The Mimic opened its Treasure Chest lid, or rather, its mouth, wide.
And just as it was about to devour the sobbing Little Girl— there’s no way I could just stand by and watch.
I whittled down the Mimic with [Vanish].
Carving out an arc about the size of a basketball, I erased most of the Mimic.
“Big sister…?”
The Little Girl looked bewildered.
I gave an awkward smile.
“I’m not her, but you should get out of here. It’s dangerous.”
“…O-Okay. But my big sister…”
Just then, a trash heap spectacularly blew apart.
A considerably large Treasure Chest revealed itself.
It’s a Mimic.
But isn’t it too big for one?
“So there was one like this too.”
“Oh. Oh. What the hell is going on with this thing?”
I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
Turning around, I saw the familiar drunkard.
It was Agaro-san.
He was looking up, holding a sake flask in one hand.