Chapter 82

"Craft! It's treasure time!"

Reifan ran over, her eyes sparkling.

When it comes to dungeons, it's all about the treasure.

And this time, it's a natural cave-type dimensional dungeon. There's a high possibility of finding mineral-related treasures. Reifan's excitement was understandable.

"Yeah! Use the dowsing tear drop, Reifan! It's your secret weapon for finding minerals!"

"Okay!"

Reifan immediately took out the tear drop and started dowsing. With her extensive knowledge of minerals, the chances of finding rarer ones increased.

Raidock motioned to Sollar.

"Sollar, please explore this room."

"Got it."

Sollar, a ranger, began searching for the hidden room, a common feature in dungeons. These rooms, often filled with traps and monsters, frequently hide treasures.

Camille, Marilyn, Bepp, and Shururu were tending to the lizardmen, while the rest of the party collected magic stones and materials.

I should help too.

I stabbed a nearby monster with my dagger, and Raidock came over.

"Craft, take a break."

"But..."

"You have too much to do. Leave the odd jobs to us."

"But you're the leader, you have a lot to do too."

"Don't lump swordsmen and mages together. Our training is different."

"I'm not a mage though."

"Don't joke around. An alchemist's fighting style is quite interesting."

He must be talking about the tridents and recovery items.

"Professor Javir is mainly a researcher and is terrible at combat. We have to figure out our fighting style through trial and error."

"Finding rare emblems is tough too."

"What? It's enjoyable hard work."

"Alright then. You should take a break."

"...Okay. I'll take a break."

I was about to sit down somewhere, but Sollar's voice rang out first.

"I found a hidden door!"

"What!?"

"Of course it's there."

Without even sitting down, I ran over to Sollar. Of course, everyone gathered around.

The lizardmen, already briefed by Shururu, knew we were collecting loot and watched with interest from a distance.

"There's a hidden door there?"

"Humans find them so easily."

"We would have missed it if it were just us."

"You're not just good at combat, but also at investigation. Are all humans this capable?"

"According to Shururu, they're special."

"They're scary, but reliable."

"Yeah. Even without considering that they saved our lives, we should be friendly with them."

The lizardmen, who had forbidden contact with humans, seemed to have a good impression of us.

I hope we can build a good relationship.

While listening to their conversation, I watched Sollar.

"...Yeah, no traps."

"The monsters in this room are the trap. If the door had traps too, it would be too devious."

Sollar shrugged at Raidock.

"It happens sometimes... It's open."

"Alright, Raidock and Camille, you two go in first."

Raidock, with his high combat power, and Camille, a fast-moving melee class, were immediately chosen. It shows how experienced they are.

In situations like this, with two or three parties, it's easy to rely on your own party members, but they already understand each other's abilities. Raidock definitely has the makings of an excellent leader.

The two entered the hidden door and checked inside.

"Seems safe. Sollar, it's up to you."

"Got it."

Sollar followed, checking for traps from a ranger's perspective. These hidden rooms are often dangerous.

"No traps."

I peeked in, and it was a room of moderate size, reminiscent of a conference room.

Unlike the natural cave-like environment, this room was clearly man-made. In dungeons, this is common, and often the endpoint with the most valuable treasure.

"Still, what's with this dungeon? Dungeons like this, which have been transformed into otherworldly places, almost always have hidden treasures."

Looking around the room, which resembled someone's study or laboratory with its solid stone walls, luxurious cabinets, and heavy desk, Jitaro opened a nearby drawer.

"By the way, who made dungeons in the first place?"

"According to the established theory, they are relics from the ancient magic era, but the purpose of their creation is unknown."

Raidock joined in, interested in our conversation.

"From what I've heard, they were like old vaults. Important things are guarded by monsters."

"Adventurers hear that at some point. It's the established theory, but it's a bit concerning."

"What's concerning?"

"Well, I don't know how powerful ancient magic was, but the effort to create such a dungeon doesn't seem to match the value of the treasures found there."

"Maybe the values were different back then?"

I scratched my head.

"Especially with small and medium dungeons that are occasionally found. Magic swords, wands, and youth potions... Were they really that valuable back then?"

"Now that you mention it... If magic was advanced enough to create dungeons, it seems odd that these items were the treasures to be protected."

"Right?"

"You two are overthinking it! What's important to us is whether there's treasure or not!"

Jitaro's straightforward statement made Raidock and me laugh.

Yeah. You're right. What's important is the treasure we have now!

"Kyaah! I found it! I found it, Craft!"

"What is it, Reifan?"

"Look! Look!"

Reifan's eyes sparkled as she found ingots of metal.

Three types.

One is obvious. Mithril. The high-quality magic power is noticeable even from here, which is rare.

The other one is probably...

"Is it Adamantite?"

"Yeah! It's high-quality refined Adamantite! I've never seen anything like it before!"

Reifan is holding the ingot in one hand, but it's incredibly heavy, so I shouldn't take it by mistake.

"Miss! Can I touch it? ...Huh?!"

Jitaro tried to snatch the Adamantite from Reifan, but the moment it left her hand, it fell to the ground due to its weight.

Jitaro had a firm grip on the ingot, but it backfired, pulling his upper body down and trapping his fingers between the ground and the ingot.

Yeah. That must hurt.

"Ow! It's broken! It's broken!"

"Jitaro, I'll use a healing spell."

Marilyn, one of the Casper sisters, calmly raised her staff.

"Please, Marilyn!"

Jitaro squatted in front of Marilyn, extending his hands. It looks like a perverted dog clinging to its owner.

Jitaro could have held the Adamantite, but he must have been caught off guard.

It's like receiving an empty pot, only to find it filled with magic stones and almost dropping it.

What?

You've never had that experience?

I see... It happens a few times at the adventurer guild and production guild.

"So, Reifan. What's the third one?"

Yes, there are three types of ingots.

Reifan took a deep breath before answering.

"Yeah. This... is Orichalcum."

The legendary magic metal!

Starting comic serialization from 5/29!