Chapter 28

This is the second part of today's two-part posting.

If you haven't read the first part, please start there.

□ Duel City Gideon 【Paladin】Ray Sterling

"Wow..."

I passed through the entrance of Duel City Gideon and let out a sigh of admiration.

Gideon is surrounded by a circular wall that encircles the entire city, with multiple entrances set up according to their purposes.

Many of the major cities in the Altor Kingdom, including the capital, have circular walls.

These walls are not only essential structures to prepare for monster attacks and wars with other countries but also serve to separate the inner and outer worlds.

Once you pass through the city walls, a completely different landscape unfolds.

It was the same when I first logged in and entered the capital, Altea.

Back then, I was moved by the fantasy atmosphere of the town that felt so real. Now, in Duel City Gideon, I was experiencing that same sense of wonder again.

The air is different.

It's different from the outside and the capital.

The air here is filled with the energy of people.

It must be coming from the Central Arena, located at the center of the city, where my gaze is directed.

The Colosseum in ancient Rome was about 200 meters long and 50 meters high.

However, the Grand Arena in Gideon appears to be about twice as large.

According to the booklet distributed at the city entrance, there are also twelve smaller arenas evenly spaced throughout the city, where duels and competitions are held daily.

The Central Arena is used for special events.

By the way, I got this booklet from the entrance, where it was being distributed at a low price for tourists. It seemed to be selling well.

The city is very lively.

It's hard to believe that this is part of the Altor Kingdom, which has suffered a major blow from the war and is on the verge of defeat.

Looking around, there are many races that I rarely saw in the capital.

Races with animal ears, races with dragon-like horns, and races that are about the height of my knees, resembling fairies.

People known as sub-humans in fantasy works were everywhere.

Observing them, it seems that there are both tourists and those who live and do business here.

Including the residents, this city is different from the capital.

As Figaro said, it is full of the vitality of living people.

"What a lively city."

I nodded in response to Luke's words.

"This area doesn't border the Dryf of the north. There are borders with Legendaria and Cardina nearby, but we have a trade treaty with Cardina, and Legendaria is an ally, so there are many tourists from both countries."

Marie showed me a map.

The simple map had Gideon in the center, Cardina to the east across the mountain range, and Legendaria to the south.

Incidentally, to the west is the sea at a certain distance, and to the north is, of course, the capital.

"Thanks to the geographical safety and the ability to count the gladiators participating in the arena as military forces, Gideon can be called the strongest city in the kingdom."

I see. So it's the safest city in the Altor Kingdom.

That means people must have fled here from the capital.

The guild in the capital received many such requests.

On the other hand, there are also merchants who travel from Gideon to the capital.

This is something I heard from Alejandro on the way.

The items obtained from the divine dungeon, the Tomb Labyrinth, in the capital are rare specialties of this country and sell well to tourists and foreign merchants.

However, recently, due to the problem of players from other countries leaving the country, which started with the defeat, the number of explorers in the Tomb Labyrinth has decreased, and the production has inevitably decreased.

To make matters worse, the recent PK clan blockade has caused the prices of Tomb Labyrinth items in Gideon to soar.

As a result, immediately after the blockade was lifted, some merchants went to the capital to secure valuable items.

By the way, I parted ways with Alejandro just before the entrance to Gideon, but he asked me to visit his shop during my stay as a thank you.

"Shall we head to the Adventurer's Guild right away? We need to report the delivery quest and the defeat of [Galdolanda]."

In response to Marie's words, we headed for the Gideon Adventurer's Guild.

◇

The building of the Gideon Adventurer's Guild had a higher ceiling and larger doors than the capital's guild.

This is probably because the guild in this city, which has many sub-human users, including some large-sized races, is considerate of them.

Now, regarding the settlement, the delivery quest was completed without any problems.

The reward was 30,000 ril.

Divided equally, it's 10,000 ril each. Not bad.

However, there was a problem.

It was with [Galdolanda].

As Nemesis checked at the capital's Adventurer's Guild, [Galdolanda] is a bounty monster, and a reward is given to the slayer.

The proof of slaying itself was easily verified by showing the MVP bonus [Zang Flame Gauntlet Galdolanda] at the guild's special window.

The MVP bonus for slaying a <UBM> is a non-transferable item with a name that matches the <UBM> and a form that suits the MVP.

In other words, the fact that I have the [Zang Flame Gauntlet Galdolanda] named after [Galdolanda] means that I was the most active in the slaying of [Great Miasma Demon Galdolanda].

Of course, this is easy to prove, but it can also be verified through a more detailed investigation.

There are also bounty monsters that are not <UBM>, so it makes sense.

So, the reward was successfully obtained, but the problem was the amount.

The bounty for [Galdolanda] was 1,000,000 ril.

That's 10 million yen in Japanese currency.

And now, we were sitting at a table inside the guild, arguing over the distribution of the reward.

It went something like this:

"Come on! One-third each is fine, right?"

"No! After I get the cost of the medicine, there's no reason for me to get more! I didn't participate in the battle at all! Ray and Luke, you two should split it 50-50, right?"

"I didn't participate in the battle with [Galdolanda] either, so I can't get the same amount as Ray! Ray should take it all!"

Everyone was arguing to reduce their share.

First, out of the 1,000,000 ril reward, Marie was to receive about 100,000 ril for the cost of the [Universal Healing Elixir] and the medicine for the carriage people, which was determined.

Marie said, "I used it without permission, so it's fine," but I made her take it.

The remaining 900,000 ril was the problem.

I argued that it should be divided equally among the party.

Marie argued that she only used the medicine, so she didn't need more than the cost.

Luke argued that he didn't fight [Galdolanda], so he couldn't take it.

I wanted to say that without them, we wouldn't have defeated [Galdolanda].

"Besides, I already got the MVP bonus, so I don't need the reward, right?"

"That's not just generous; it's illogical."

Is that so?

I thought it was fine, but Nemesis looked at me as if I were an idiot, and the two of them looked at me as if to say, "What is this person talking about?"

"Well, the performance of this MVP bonus is so strange. I think my share is gone just by getting this."

I held up the gauntlets on my hands.

These gauntlets, colored in red and dark purple, were in my item box after defeating Galdolanda.

The details are as follows:

[Zang Flame Gauntlet Galdolanda]

<Legendary Weapon>

A legendary weapon that embodies the concept of a three-faced demon of flame and miasma.

It has extremely high hardness and enhances the wearer's strength.

* Non-transferable, non-sellable item

* No level restriction for equipping

• Equipment Bonus

STR +100%

Defense +150

• Equipment Skills

《Inferno Flame》

《Hell Miasma》

《???》 * Unreleased skill

Yeah, the performance is strange.

The attack power is doubled, and the defense is higher than a full set of [Riot] gear with just this one item.

In terms of money, 300,000 ril wouldn't be enough.

It's probably worth more than the full bounty for [Galdolanda]. It's even labeled as "legendary."

"The system chose me as the MVP, but it's too much to take the reward as well."

Without Marie's item support, we would have lost the battle against [Galdolanda].

Luke also defeated many of [Galdolanda]'s subordinates before the battle and helped to subdue Audrey, [Galdolanda]'s mount.

Without them, we wouldn't have won, so my contribution to this quest is probably only about one-third.

"But Ray fought alone."

"That's not the point... It wasn't just my power..."

"I have a good idea."

Marie said this and tapped the table.

"First, Ray will definitely take 300,000 ril. If you don't take it, no one has the right to take it."

"...Okay."

"Next, Luke is hesitant to take the same amount as Ray, so please take half, 150,000 ril."

"Okay."

"And I will take 50,000 ril to avoid going back to the beginning."

That makes 500,000 ril. The remaining amount is 400,000 ril.

"Let's use the rest for the party."

"What do you mean?"

"For future studies, perhaps."

What does that mean?

"Please leave it to me for now. I would like you two to meet again in three days at around noon, if that's okay?"

In three days here means almost a full day in real life.

"Tomorrow, I don't have any plans, so it's fine."

"I have no problem either."

"Then it's settled."

"What are you planning to do?"

"That's a secret. If you don't like my idea, I'll refund the amount."

I don't want to take any more, so I'll leave it to Marie.

"Then, let's end the discussion on the distribution. Thank you for the quest."

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

Thus, our first quest as a party came to an end.

That day, we had dinner together, and I logged out because I was tired.

◇

When I logged out late at night in that world and returned to the real world, the sun was up.

"...I feel like I have jet lag."

In any case, I was tired from this experience, so I took off the <Infinite Dendrogram> equipment, blocked the sunlight with the curtains, and went to sleep.

I'll take a nap and log in again when the date changes in that world.

...I need to fix this time difference before the start of the semester.

As I closed my eyes, various memories came back to me, just like the day before when I received the penalty.

Still, it feels like I spent a very dense period of time, even though it was only three days in the real world.

Liliana's quest, including meeting Nemesis and joining with Kumani-san.

The day I became friends with Luke and was PKed by <Super Killer>.

Leveling up in the Tomb Labyrinth and meeting Figaro.

Meeting Marie and taking on guild quests as a party.

And the battle with [Galdolanda].

The events that have happened since I logged into <Infinite Dendrogram> flashed through my mind like edited VTRs.

They gradually focused on scenes where "lives were at stake."

...

The battle with [Demidragworm].

The attack by <Super Killer>.

And the fierce battle with [Galdolanda].

When I recalled being PKed by <Super Killer>, I didn't feel the strong regret I did right after the penalty.

Instead, when I remembered the people of Tien who were killed by [Galdolanda] and the goblins, my chest ached a little.

"People with intelligence comparable to humans."

My brother said that the people of Tien were described as such.

"...But"

As my brain gradually succumbed to sleep, the thoughts I had at the banquet on the first night resurfaced in my mind.

Liliana and Miriane... the people of Tien.

[Demidragworm] and [Galdolanda]... the monsters.

And...

"Nemesis..."

And the <Embryo>.

They felt so... alive.

"...Really..."

Is this really just a game?

Before I could form the words,