On the 17th level of the "Forest Dungeon," Sebasta''s men were desperately trying to stop him as he was about to plunge into the deepest part of the dungeon.
He was about to plunge into the deepest level of the dungeon. Let go of me! Let go of me!
That''s not how it works.
Please calm down, Captain!
How can this be calm? You''ve been given a head start on the dungeon attack. The "Guardians of the Magical Tree"! We, the Sebasta Corps! This can''t be happening! Absolutely not!"
But what are you going to do if you go to the deepest part now?
It''s a known fact. We will put to death the thieves who have taken our credit.
If you do that, the quest office won''t stand idly by.
Even free dungeons forbid private fights between adventurers," he said. If, to top it off, they refuse to leave the dungeon after the attack or assault the attacker, ...... even we cannot escape severe punishment.
You could face the maximum penalty.
You think they''re the attackers? Don''t be silly. What are you, an attacker! You''re using such cowardly tactics to snatch the credit! You think those guys are the attackers? Heaven may forgive you for that, but I won''t!"
If you think so. I think you should return to the city.
Shouldn''t we be looking for ways to expose them for the fraud they are?
You will only make things worse for yourself if you throw a tantrum here and lay out more charges.
Gnu. Gnu.
Sebasta''s face turned red and he shushed for a moment, then shook off his men''s hands.
Let go of me! No, no, no. Every one of them!"
Captain! Where are you going?"
I''m going back to the city. I''m going back to the city, and I''m going to find out everything they''re up to.
Sebasta said this and began to backtrack through the dungeon, his footsteps rough.
His men followed him, relieved.
After defeating the boss, Monica and her men were cleaning up the mess.
As promised, they handed the item "Turtle Dragon''s Shell" to Yugan.
And the management rights would belong to the "Guardian of the Magic Tree".
Yugan chanted a spell against the crest of the "Knight of the Crescent Moon" engraved on the wall.
The emblem instantly disappears.
Monica retrieved the "Ring of the Dungeon" from the treasure chest.
It is a ring that controls all the comings and goings of the dungeon.
With this, the dungeon became the property of the "Guardian of the Magic Tree" in both name and reality.
Are you sure? I''m taking the Turtle Dragon''s shell.
Yes," he said. That was the deal in the beginning.
Monica handed the item to Yugan without question.
...... I see."
The two returned the emblems they had exchanged with each other.
It was a sign of termination of the contract between the guilds.
''Yes! Dungeon attack!"
Banzai!" Banzai for the Guardian of the Magical Tree!
Some of the members were already in a celebratory mood.
Some of them were clasping their hands and shoulders and doing little leaps.
Monica. The magic circle of return has appeared!
Now you can go back to the city."
Yufine and Shakuma both waved at Monica.
A magic circle of return was set up at their feet.
Then, Mr. Yugan," said Monica. We''ll leave you to it.
Are you leaving?"
Yes, we were able to conquer the dungeon, and there is someone who needs to be the first to tell you about it.
So you''re the ...... appraiser?"
Yes. He is the one who has always guided us. I think it''s my way of repaying him by showing him that I''ve grown, even if just a little."
Monica''s eyes were pure and unclouded as she said this.
It was something that Yugan had long ago cut off.
Phew."
(What kind of appraiser is adored by A-class adventurers? What kind of a guy is he?)
Yugan had to laugh.
''Mr. Yugan?
No, it''s nothing. I heard you are very good at what you do. That appraiser."
Yes, I am.
I''d love to learn from you.
How about this? Why don''t you come down to the Guardian of the Magical Tree when you''re done sleeping?"
I like that. We have come to know each other in this way. Please come. The Guardians of the Magical Tree will welcome you with open arms.
Shakuma was also eager to get on board.
No," he said. My work here is done. I have to go to the next town.
I see."
Monica looked a little sad.
''Ah, what the hell. Give my regards to that appraiser guy."
Yes, sir." I''ll let him know that thanks to Mr. Yugan, we were able to conquer the boss.
Oh, for God''s sake."
Moniker. We have to go quickly. I''m going to leave you!
Oh, I''m coming. Good bye, Mr. Yugan. Until we meet again.
Yeah, see you."
The group returned to the city and each went back to their homes or guild headquarters.
Yugan headed out of town.
As soon as Yugan reached the outskirts of town, a huge circling bird landed beside him.
(Those guys had great skills, but their status was flawed. If they had raised it to A class in a short period of time, it would have been ....... Totally. There was a hell of a guy. In such a small town ......)
The world is a big place."
Yugan said in a muttered voice.
(I haven''t had a party in a while either, huh? (Kuk)
Yugan jumped on the circling bird.
The circling bird flew off into nowhere.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Roland had awakened after the rebound sleep characteristic of returning from the dungeon.
He headed for the quest reception station to see if the dungeon had been cleared, just in case.
He said, "Good afternoon. How can I help you today?"
I''d like to check the status of the dungeon at ......."
I will be in touch with you soon. Let''s go to the Astrology Department.
Once ushered into the Astrology Department, the astrologer checked the condition of the dungeon.
He was able to verify all information about the dungeon through the view from the crystal.
He could see which quests had been completed, new quests, and whether the dungeon had been conquered.
As of ......, the highest level of the forest dungeon is 17, which is the highest level that adventurers have reached.
Which means ......
You haven''t been cleared yet.
(Hmm. The dungeon hasn''t been cleared yet. I thought it would have been cleared by now. ......)
Is there anything else you would like to ask?"
No, thank you."
Roland left the quest reception area and headed for the "Arsenal of Spirits.
(Well, well. Now comes the moment of truth.)
When Roland turned up at the workshop, as expected, Lange was running around looking busy.
Oh, Mr. Roland. Welcome back.
Ranju. Status: ......"
The end of this week is the limit."
Lange responded immediately.
It''s ......, isn''t it?"
''It''s today, isn''t it? Dinner with Count Elsen."
Yeah. Yeah."
Good luck.
Oh. I''ll do my best."
Roland was getting nervous.
It is always nerve-wracking to meet with great people.
But this one thing Roland had to do on his own.
（I''m already the head of this workshop. I can''t do it just by being nice. For the sake of the workshop, I have to do the dirty work as well.)
When Roland arrived at Count Elsen''s mansion, he was shown into the drawing room.
They were going to have dinner with us.
He said, "Hi. "Hi, Roland. Long time no see.
I''m not sure if that''s a good thing or not. It''s been a while.
No, no, no, it''s okay. Please sit down. We got some nice fish today. And wine.
Count Elsen continued to talk incoherently like an aristocrat until the meal was ready.
He would talk about how his daughter was doing, or about a hunting trip he had taken earlier in the day.
Roland was stiff and stiffened by the unfamiliarity of dining with clients.
When should he broach the subject?
He wasn''t even sure if his behavior was appropriate for the occasion.
After a while, the wine and food arrived.
The wine was poured into silverware.
Oh, this is .......
''It''s silverware that just came up from your guild the other day. I try to serve it whenever I have visitors, and it''s been well received."
Thank you.
We aristocrats have a lot of socializing to do. We want to have the best furnishings possible. By the end of this year, I intend to have all the silverware in this house made in the Arsenal of the Spirits.
It''s ...... a real honor."
I''m sure your silversmith is getting better and better," he said. In the past, it was largely due to the quality of the silver, but nowadays the designs are becoming more sophisticated.
Count Elsen squints at the silverware and the wine in it.
He has a good eye.
The topic of conversation turned to food.
Count Elsen showed off his knowledge of the subject.
From time to time, he would ask the butler about his knowledge of wine.
Then, after the dishes were finished, he finally got down to business.
So, about that silverware fair, you''ll join us, right?
That''s what ...... is for."
Not enough silver?"
Yes," he said. I''m embarrassed to say this. ......"
So you''re saying you can''t participate?
Yeah, I''m not going to let this happen."
Count Elsen looked visibly disappointed.
I don''t know if this is a good time to ask this, but I was wondering if you know of any silver ore holdings on Count Elsen''s side?
I''m not sure I''m supposed to say that. ...... I don''t know anything about alchemy either. That''s why I''m relying on you guys.
I''m not sure what you mean by that. Yes, that''s right."
Can''t you do something about it?"
Count Elsen sighed when he saw Roland toddling home.
The dinner had turned out to be rather awkward after that.
Count Elsen''s eyes pleaded with Roland to do something about it, and Roland looked apologetic.
Silence reigned from beginning to end, and no conversation blossomed.
The only relief was that it was after they had finished their meal.
(Oh dear. This is the difficulty of a small guild. They are so inflexible.)
Count Elsen rang the bell and summoned the butler.
"You wanted to see me, master?"
Letter.
What is the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed?
It''s Lucius.
While Roland was dining with Count Elsen, the competition between Lilianne and Arik to conquer the "Mine Dungeon" was fierce.
They were in a dead heat, overtaking and overtaking each other, until they finally reached the 22nd level.
But that was not the deepest part of the dungeon.
(Is it still going on?)
Lillianne pours down her throat for who knows how many more bottles of potion.
Arik, too, is fed up with the depth of the dungeon, which could end at any moment, but he continues on with his troop.
（I''ve never been in a dungeon this long before.)
Even Alik, a seasoned adventurer, could not hide his fatigue.
It had already been more than a week since he had dived into the dungeon.
His fatigue was reaching its limit.
（d*mn it! How long is this going to last?)
But Arik did not let up.
Or rather, he could not.
Originally, the quality of Lilianne''s unit and Arik''s unit were too different.
Moreover, since they had been weakened by Lukius (Jill, who had been assigned to them at the beginning, was reassigned to another unit), the gap between Lilianne''s unit and Arik''s was widening.
Arik had adopted the strategy of following closely behind Lilianne as a desperate measure, but he was approaching the end of his rope.
The distance between him and Lilianne was gradually growing.
(So much for ......)
But the end comes abruptly.
When we reached the 24th level, something unusual happened.
The monster''s presence disappeared!
Lillianne used her skill "levitation" and went up into the sky to look around.
Indeed, there were no monsters.
Arik also noticed this.
(The monsters are gone!)
But looking back at the troops, no one had any strength left.
We would not be able to break into Lilianne''s troop now and snatch the boss fight.
(No?)
Arik is about to give up.
But Lilianne, after looking across the hill in the air, never wants to take on the boss fight.
She starts talking to the members of her troop about something.
(What?)
Suspiciously, Arik catches up with Lilianne.
There he too could see the other side of the hill.
At the foot of the other side of the hill, he could see fluffy floating armor, shields, and swords.
They were wandering around the plain as if they were equipped by a human being, maintaining the arrangement of the armor in the center, the basket hand on the arm, the sword in the right hand, and the shield in the left hand, but there was no body there.
They were armored ghosts.
They were silent dead men possessed by armor.
"Is that ...... an armored ghost?
I''d say there are about 50 of them. ......
（Normal attacks are ineffective against armored ghosts. That''s why Lilianne was stalling.)
Ghosts in armor (armored ghosts) could only be damaged by weapons with spirit attributes.
Unfortunately, neither unit had the items to change the weapon to a spirit attribute.
(Saved ......?)
Arik patted his chest as he realized that he had just received a reprieve from an already decided loss.
But there was no time to be relieved.
Alik, too, was unable to defeat the armored ghost.
He had to hurry and procure the item "Reikoishi" (a stone that temporarily gives a weapon a spiritual attribute).
But to do so, he had to return to the city once.
Rozian. Please deliver this to Mr. Roland."
Lilianne gave the "Ring of Shortcuts" and a message to the archer who had learned the skill "Silent Run".
''Please explain to Mr. Roland. The last boss is ''Armored Ghost. To defeat him, I need more than 50 ''Reiko-ishi'' (spirit stones) as soon as possible. So, please hurry up and bring them here."
Yes, sir.
After being entrusted with the ring, Rozian immediately turned back the way he had just come in a great hurry, taking care not to encounter any monsters by using "silent run.
Arik''s unit immediately noticed this move.
Captain Arik. Look at that!
That''s Rozhian. That''s Lothian, and that''s Silent Run!
Most of the monsters in this dungeon detect enemy positions with their ears rather than their eyes.
Therefore, by using "Silent Run," we could return to the return magic circle without being detected by the monsters.
（I see. So the idea was to let one of them get ahead of the others and then quickly turn back. It is true that we can procure the spirit light stone more quickly that way. If we wait in the dungeon, we can save time for rebound sleep. (That was a bold move.)
After some hesitation, Arik made his decision.
(No time to dawdle. Since we can''t come up with any good ideas, we have no choice but to go along with the other party''s plan.)
Arik also instructed those who could use "Silent Run" to hurry and turn back.
Arik bit his teeth when he saw that Rosian was ahead of those he had sent out.
(Ee-aye. (Oh, no, we''re always on the back foot. Even the largest guild in town means nothing if it doesn''t function!)
The day after his dinner with Count Elsen, Roland went to work at the "Guardian of the Magic Tree.
At the reception desk, he was surprised to hear that Monica and her colleagues had conquered the "Forest Dungeon.
Monica and her friends conquered the dungeon! And Miss Lillianne hasn''t returned yet?"
Yes," he said. That''s right."
It''s all over the guild.
(Great. I never thought I''d be able to conquer a dungeon.)
I had thought that Monica and her team were capable of conquering the dungeon, but I did not expect them to do it this time.
(I thought for sure Sebasta would take it this time. ......, did something happen with the "Golden Eagle?")
Where are Monica and the others now?"
He is sleeping in the napping room of the guardian of the magic tree. He just came back from the dungeon, so I don''t think he will wake up for a while."
At that moment, a guild member entered the entrance breathlessly.
Mr. Roland," he said. Thank God. You found me right away."
You''re ...... in Lillianne''s unit, I believe.
My name is Rosian. In fact, for some reason or another, I''ve been asked to join ......."
He described what happened in the dungeon.
That the boss was "Armored Ghost".
He needed 50 Reiko-ishi (spirit light stones).
Lilianne''s team is still in the dungeon.
50 Lingang Stones......
Roland ran off.
When Rozian finished telling Roland what he needed to tell him, he collapsed on the spot and fell asleep.
(Probably there is no stock of 50 spirit stones in the city. Then ......, there is no time! (I have to make it in a hurry)
Fortunately, the "Spirit Arsenal" had the best refiner in town.
At the same time, news of what had happened in the two dungeons was brought to the "Golden Eagle" guild leader''s room.
What? The Guardian of the Magical Tree has invaded the Forest Dungeon!"
Lucius was furious.
''What the hell is Sebasta doing! Cooter and the others!"
Lukius called representatives of the two units to question them, but neither was able to find out the truth at all, as both sides just shifted the blame to each other.
He called the representatives of the two units and questioned them, but neither of them could tell the truth. Enough! Anyway, now it''s the ''mining dungeon''! I will not tolerate any more blunders. Let''s go get the dungeon with the full might of the Gilded Eagle!"
Lukius ordered both units to prepare to launch, and then called in the alchemy guild to procure and refine the "spirit light stone.
At the same time, he also arranged for the "Arsenal of Spirits" to be locked down to prevent the spread of "Reikoishi" and its raw materials.
This time, however, Roland was quicker.
By the time Lukius''s order came through, Roland had already finished procuring the necessary amount of "Reikoishi" and rushed into the workshop.
I''m sorry. Lange. I have to jump in. More than 50 ''Reikoishi'' as soon as possible!"
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