Chapter 19

"Yumiera, how about coming to my territory during the summer vacation if you're free?"

Patrick invited me to visit the Ashbotten March, but unfortunately, I had plans during the vacation.

"Sorry, Patrick, I have a place I want to go this year."

Last summer vacation, I spent my days going back and forth between my room and the library. Now that I have Ryu as a means of transportation, I plan to travel far.

Ah, so Patrick just wants to ride Ryu to go home, huh? That makes sense why he asked me.

"It's not about Ryu. It's only natural to invite a friend to visit, right?"

He seems to have seen through my thoughts. Upon thinking about it, he hates flying.

"Patrick is afraid of heights, isn't he?"

Patrick's unexpected weakness is his fear of heights. He says everyone is afraid, but Fil got used to it quickly and enjoyed the flight.

On a different note, Fil and Ryu have been playing together recently.

"No, that's not the case... Well, where are you going? Are you going to slay dragons again?"

"I'm thinking of going to Barias."

"Barias? Ah, the dungeon city."

As he said, Barias is a city with a dungeon. Or rather, it's a dungeon surrounded by a city.

The treasure chests in Barias' dungeon are known for their high-quality contents, which is why people gather there, and the surrounding area became a city.

"I want a sword from the dungeon."

I've been learning swordsmanship at the academy for a little over a year. I've been focusing on technique as well as raw power, so I've started to want my own sword.

"You don't need a dungeon-made one, right? You're not planning to fight primarily with a sword, are you?"

I don't consider the sword my main weapon, so I'm not particular about it.

"Commercial swords break when I use them seriously."

"…That's a problem."

As usual, Patrick was taken aback.

"So I bought a dungeon-made sword, but it broke too. I thought it would be faster to get one myself if I wanted a better one."

Weapons from dungeon treasure chests are often made of unknown metals or have additional effects, making them highly performant.

"So you're going to Barias. The items there are of the highest quality, right? Be careful."

In the game, the Dark Dungeon in Dorkness was the best for leveling up, and Barias' dungeon was the best for gathering equipment. Since the performance of the equipment is random, you have to repeat the dungeon until you get the desired attributes and effects.

The summer vacation of dungeon runs begins.

On the first day of the summer vacation, I arrived in Barias on Ryu. To avoid a commotion, I had Ryu drop me off outside the city and walked in.

Barias is bustling with mercenary groups, soldiers from various places, and merchants who cater to them.

After securing a place to stay, I headed straight for the dungeon. The entrance was crowded with people about to enter.

"Excuse me, I want to enter the dungeon."

The lady at the entrance frowned.

"You can't enter without a permit. If you're just here to cause a commotion, please leave. I'm busy."

I had forgotten, but Barias' dungeon is permit-only due to its popularity. I showed her the permit I had prepared.

"Sorry, I forgot. I have a permit."

"His Majesty's signature!? Um, Yumiera Dorkness... the level 99 Yumiera?"

She seemed to know who I was. I'm not sure how widely known my existence is.

With the permit, I entered the dungeon.

Barias' dungeon is home to monsters of all attributes except light. This is why it was considered unsuitable for leveling up in the game, but that doesn't matter to me since I'm already at the level cap.

My goal is the treasure chest in the boss room on the 50th floor. In the game, this chest was guaranteed to contain equipment of a certain quality, so I'm aiming for that.

I saw a few other adventurers in the lower floors, but after the 20th floor, I saw no one.

I found a few untouched treasure chests, but they all contained low-quality equipment. Well, that's to be expected outside the boss room. There's no convenient item box like in the game, so I didn't bother taking them back.

First run

"Hehehe, well done for coming. I didn't think anyone would reach the deepest part of my dungeon..."

The boss of this dungeon is a demon with a goat's head. Unlike the usual silent Dullahan bosses in dark dungeons, this is the first time I've encountered a monster that can speak.

"Please give me a good weapon, Black Hole."

As I attacked while making a wish, the demon disappeared, leaving behind a large magic stone. The treasure chest contained a fire-attribute sword of moderate quality, similar to the one I broke before, so it's a miss.

After defeating the boss, the dungeon allows you to teleport to the entrance. I don't know the logic behind it. Dungeons are full of mysteries, like the endless spawning of monsters and the automatic replenishment of treasure chests.

My success in the dungeon caused a stir, but I ignored it and started the second run. The magic stone and weapon sold for a good price.

Second run

"Hehehe, well done for coming. I didn't think anyone would reach the deepest part of my dungeon..."

The goat-headed demon said the same thing as before. It seems that the respawned monsters don't retain their previous memories.

"Please give me a good weapon, Black Hole."

The treasure chest contained a full metal armor. Unnecessary.

Third run

"Hehehe, well done for coming. I didn't think anyone would reach the deepest part of my dungeon..."

I started to remember the route to the 50th floor, so it took less time to get there.

"Please give me a good weapon, Black Hole."

A wind-attribute spear, a miss. I decided to stop here and sleep at the inn.

Tenth run

"Hehehe, well done for coming. I didn't think anyone would reach the deepest part of my dungeon..."

Since I couldn't get the weapon I wanted, I thought maybe I needed to change how I defeat the boss.

"Please give me a good weapon, Shadow Lance."

A water-attribute staff, it seems the way I defeat the boss doesn't matter.

Eleventh run

"Hehehe, well done for coming. I didn't think anyone would reach the deepest part of my dungeon..."

Maybe my greed for a good weapon is the problem, and the key is to have a desireless heart.

"Please don't give me a weapon, Black Hole."

An earth-attribute hammer, I knew it.

The magic stone dropped by the boss was initially very valuable due to its rarity. However, as I flooded the market with them, the price started to drop. The price of boss magic stones will continue to fall.

Twentieth run

"Hehehe, well done for coming... Wait? Have I met you before? No, a human shouldn't be able to reach this floor."

The goat-headed demon started to vaguely remember the past. Sorry, you have to die for my sword.

"Oh, this is it!"

The treasure chest contained a light-attribute sword. Its heavy appearance was different from the others. It might withstand my full power.

Using a light sword and dark magic as a dual-wield might be good. I picked up the sword with joy.

"Ouch!"

The moment I touched the sword, a tingling pain ran through my fingertips. The same thing happened when I touched it again.

It seems this sword is more anti-darkness than light-attribute. It's reacting to my dark magic. Normally, only monsters have dark attributes, so it shouldn't harm humans.

It's sad to be treated like a demon even by a sword.

When I mentioned that I only visit the dungeon during the summer vacation, the boss magic stones became a speculative target. People buy them when the price is low due to the oversupply and sell them when the price rises due to the lack of supply.

The price of magic stones started to rise again.

Fiftieth run

"Ah, stop it! Wait? What am I... I don't know you..."

The goat-headed demon never retained its memories. However, it seems to instinctively recognize me and is terrified.

I feel sorry for the demon, and since the vacation is almost over, I decided to make this the last run.

"Thank you for everything, Black Hole."

Since the last run, I haven't found anything that can withstand my power, like the light-attribute sword. I don't think I'm particularly bad, but my luck is terrible.

Thinking it would be another miss, I opened the treasure chest, and a familiar magic power overflowed.

"Is this dark magic?"

The treasure chest contained a dark-attribute sword.

It was shorter than a typical two-handed sword but longer than a one-handed sword. A bastard sword, which can be used with one or two hands. The blade, which doesn't reflect any light, exudes dark magic.

While the previous light sword had a sacred presence, this sword gives off a sinister aura. I hope it's not cursed.

Dark-attribute weapons are rarer than light-attribute ones. I was surprised when I learned of their existence, as they didn't appear in the game.

Could all my bad luck have been leading up to this? I'm not sure, but it's clear that I have a deep connection with dark attributes.

"Patrick, here's a souvenir from Barias."

"This is a magic stone? It's huge."

The boss magic stones, sought after by nobles and investors, were more valuable than when I first sold them. Possessing one is a status symbol.

"It's the last magic stone from the dungeon boss, which I kept as a memento."

"That's the one everyone's talking about? There's no way I can accept this—"

Patrick refused to take it, so I gave him a short sword from the dungeon that I brought back because it didn't take up much space.

Patrick suggested selling the magic stones for money or keeping them for emergencies. He also said money is important.

I have the money from selling 49 of them, but...