Chapter 5

"Is this dungeon really connected to the human world...?"

As they walked on and on without seeing the end, Edel began to doubt the old man.

The dungeon was neatly divided into levels, and they had already cleared nearly two hundred of them.

Edel thought resentfully that it would have been nice to know how many levels there were...

Fortunately, as they progressed through the levels, the number of vicious monsters and traps gradually decreased.

Thanks to this, the danger to his life had disappeared, and it had become easier to clear the levels.

The current level was so easy that he could navigate it with his eyes closed.

In about five minutes, he reached the stairs.

As he started to climb them, Edel exclaimed, "Ah!"

There were five people at the top of the stairs.

"Are they humans...? There's someone with really long hair... Could it be a woman?"

Edel had never met anyone other than the old man.

Naturally, this was the first time he had seen a human woman.

Excited to speak to them, Edel was about to call out, but a sharp voice interrupted him.

"Hey, boy! Stop right there!"

"..."

"Answer my question. ...Are you alone?"

"Um, yes, I am?"

"Nonsense. It's impossible for just one person to reach this level. This is the thirtieth level."

"Thirtieth level? So, there are thirty more levels to go."

This was good news.

Considering the difficulty of the current level, he could easily clear them in two hours.

After being asked a lot of confusing questions and feeling extremely guarded, he decided to move on.

"Still, I was able to have a proper conversation."

If they were demons, they would have tried to kill him before he could speak.

Edel thought that humans were indeed gentle, as the old man had said.

"I made it. This is the outside."

After clearing the thirtieth level in one go, Edel finally found the exit of the dungeon.

Outside, it seemed to be the bottom of a deep valley.

The surroundings were dim, but looking up, he could see a clear blue sky.

"The sky in the human world is blue."

In the demon world, the sky was often red, purple, or black.

And since there was no sun in the demon world, there was no concept of day or night.

"It's beautiful."

While lost in these thoughts, he climbed the cliff and emerged from the valley, discovering a small village.

"Perfect. I'll ask about the person this letter is addressed to there."

As he approached, he saw that it was protected by imposing walls, giving it more the impression of a fortress than a village.

A guard at the entrance called out to him.

"Hey, boy, did you just come from that valley?"

"Huh? Yeah, I did."

"You didn't go down into the valley, did you? It's dangerous! There are all sorts of dangerous monsters living there!"

"Dangerous monsters...?"

Edel tilted his head, thinking that while he had encountered some monsters, none of them had been particularly dangerous.

"After all, at the bottom of the valley is that notorious dungeon, 'Abyss.' Sometimes the monsters from there come out. If they move south unchecked, it can cause significant damage. This fortress was built to deal with that. It's also used as a base camp for the few crazy people who challenge the 'Abyss.'"

"Wow."

"Wow? You came here without knowing that?"

The guard said this in a bewildered tone, but Edel, who was new to the human world, had no such knowledge.

"Anyway, do you know a person named Maribel Halmar?"

"...Are you making fun of me?"

When Edel mentioned the name written in the old man's letter, the guard glared at him.

"Maribel is one of the Four Heroes. There's no way you wouldn't know her."

"Four Heroes?"

"...You don't know the Four Heroes?"

It seemed that the old man's acquaintance was indeed a famous person.

"Do you know where this Maribel is?"

"I believe she is currently in the Kingdom of Rhodes. She teaches at a school to nurture the next generation. She must be quite old by now..."

"Kingdom of Rhodes..."

Since he had never heard of it, Edel decided to ask for a detailed map.

The guard, despite his bewildered expression, surprisingly gave him the information kindly.

If they were demons, they would have demanded organs as payment.

"Maybe the old man was right, humans are kind?"

"However, going to Rhodes is no easy task. According to this map, there are several treacherous mountain ranges in between. You'll have to make a large detour."

"How much do these mountains move?"

"What? What are you talking about? Mountains don't move!"

It seemed that mountains in the human world did not move.

In the demon world, it was common for mountains to move or change shape.

Sometimes they even turned into golems, making mountain crossings difficult.

Edel had challenged some of the most difficult mountains in the demon world with the old man, and he had nearly died many times, not figuratively but literally.

"If they don't move, it should be easy to cross."

"Why would you think that!? Don't be ridiculous! There are even dragons said to inhabit these mountains. It's impossible to cross them alive unless you're a great warrior."

"Is that so? Well, if it seems too difficult, I'll turn back."

"Turn back...?"

Edel thanked the guard and decided to set out for Rhodes immediately.

It would be best to follow the valley for now.

"Hey, are you leaving already? Why don't you rest a bit... Huh? He's already gone...? ...What was that boy doing here...?"

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