Chapter 90

With little room for HP and MP, we decided to proceed to the rendezvous point.

It was much closer than turning back.

Moreover, once we reached our destination, we could leave the battle against the Nightborne, the master of this dream, to the other adventurers.

The Nightborne was an opponent that Carlos could handle with ease.

Additionally, the number of monsters was not as large as we had expected.

We thought it would be more difficult since Carlos couldn't deal with them, but it seemed that the monsters had been dispersed due to the sudden influx of high-level adventurers.

...However, running into two Patchworks was nothing but bad luck.

Kelt, who had been leading the way, returned.

"This way is to the right. There's a group on the left, so don't make any noise."

"Kelt, aren't you pushing too far ahead?"

"I have Enhanced Hearing and Sixth Sense. I also have Stealth, so it's safer for me to keep a distance from you guys. The risk of monsters approaching unnoticed is lower. If it weren't for the stupid map, I wouldn't have ended up in such a predicament."

Kelt answered my question.

Enhanced Hearing is a skill that allows you to roughly locate distant monsters, and Sixth Sense occasionally alerts you to the presence of dangerous monsters or items.

"...I get why you were so eager to grab the map. If you had a reason like that, you should have told us beforehand."

Meabel sighed.

"I wouldn't have said anything. If I had been sent to the front lines all the time for that reason, I wouldn't be alive now. My HP is low, and in the narrow Dream Hole, even if I know the positions, I might not be able to escape. The hunter's role is outside the wide Dream Hole."

Kelt glared at Meabel.

"That... I'm sorry for saying it so lightly."

Meabel is a cleric, but she must have had her reasons.

Watching the adventurers in Lacorina, I realize that whether they are swordsmen, hunters, or clerics, everyone hides their strengths and weaknesses and tries to maneuver accordingly.

"With our current MP, it would be tough if we were surrounded by low-level monsters. If we all fall apart, we might end up wiped out. So, this time, I'll take the risk. I've made a big favor... It's been a while since I've teamed up with someone I can trust with my life."

Kelt said this, scratching his nose uncomfortably.

"Besides... Elma, with someone as amazing as you, it wouldn't look good if I kept maneuvering on my own. I didn't expect you to take it down so easily."

"It wasn't that easy, you know."

It was a hard-fought victory, knowing the Patchwork's weaknesses and attack patterns, and finding a stable way to win.

"I envy you, Elma. You can fight so confidently and comfortably. Honestly... I'm jealous."

Kelt sighed and smiled wryly.

Luca, seeing this, suddenly turned pale and clung to my arm.

"I won't let Elma go to Kelt!"

"What are you thinking?"

Kelt narrowed his eyes and glared at Luca.

At that moment... Kelt's left eyelid twitched.

He quickly turned to look down another passage.

"What's wrong?"

"Sixth Sense is reacting. There seems to be a rare item nearby. The anomalies in the Dream Hole not only cause a surge in monsters but can also drop unexpected rare items. However, we don't have much spare capacity now, so I'll leave the decision to Elma. Personally, I think it's a good idea to go since there are no signs of monsters on the way."

A rare item... huh.

"Given the unpredictable nature of this place, I think we should hurry to the rendezvous point."

Under normal circumstances, Meabel's words would be correct.

However, Kelt's judgment also takes into account the current situation.

I am closer to Meabel's opinion, but...

"Kelt, lead the way."

"Surprising. I thought you'd choose the safer option."

"If it's a valuable item, it might be the remains of an adventurer who entered earlier. I want to recover it. Besides... no, we can check it immediately."

Originally, the exploration of the Tomb of Lament was to investigate the cause of the increased anomaly rate in the Dream Hole.

It's possible that some item caused it.

However... if that's true, it could also mean that human hands were involved.

Following Kelt, we moved for a while.

The target item was found quickly.

It was half-buried on the floor.

"What is this gem...? It doesn't seem to be a magic stone. To think it's a rare item..."

Kelt picked up a black, irregular polyhedral gem.

It was about the size of a fist.

Given the dim lighting, we might not have noticed it without Sixth Sense.

"It's an item of unknown use, Elma, but it seems to be worth a lot!"

Luca said happily.

But I wasn't in the mood for that.

"Kelt! Give it to me!"

"W-What? What's wrong?"

I took the item from Kelt... the Weeping Trapezohedron, and threw it against the wall, shattering it with my sword. The fragments emitted a black miasma and gradually disappeared.

"Hey, Elma! What are you doing? It was a valuable item!"

"...This is something that should not be left. Understand, Kelt."

――――――――――――――――――――

Weeping Trapezohedron

[Market Value: 25 million gold]

A high-purity dark attribute mana and monster souls synthesized and crystallized by necromancy.

It harbors strong resentment and can attract calamity if exposed.

Very difficult to store.

――――――――――――――――――――

In short, it's a powerful magic stone.

The anomalies in the Dream Hole occur when a substance with strong mana accumulates inside and exceeds the Dream Hole's capacity.

It mainly appears from the bodies of powerful high-level adventurers and monster corpses.

The Weeping Trapezohedron is a magic stone that has been forcibly purified.

If someone is maliciously scattering such items inside the Dream Hole, it would explain the sudden increase in anomalies.

However, one or two wouldn't cause this.

At least ten or more must have been scattered.

The perpetrator must have used items worth 200 million gold to cause this anomaly.

"Given that this has appeared, the situation has changed significantly..."

The perpetrator wouldn't easily accept the large-scale quest to conquer the Dream Hole.

They must have been monitoring the adventurers' movements.

They must have taken some action.

The battle against the Master of Dreams is too dangerous.

"...Hey, I can hear screams from far away... and something is running towards us at an incredible speed."

Kelt's face was pale.

His Enhanced Hearing and Sixth Sense must be alerting him to the abnormal situation.

"We should have headed to the rendezvous point...!"

Kelt shook his head awkwardly in response to Meabel's words.

"It's coming from the rendezvous point. Given this, it's impossible to meet up."

I felt a chill down my spine.

I thought the appearance of the Weeping Trapezohedron was the worst-case scenario, but an even worse one was approaching.

The rendezvous point is near where the Master of Dreams is located.

"It's the King's Wandering..."

"No, that's impossible! The King's Wandering... If that happens now, it will be disastrous!"

Kelt's eyes widened as he shouted.

The King's Wandering is a phenomenon where the Master of Dreams escapes from the boss room and temporarily roams the Dream Hole.

If the scattered adventurers encounter it before they can gather, the advantage of the large-scale quest is lost.

The Master of Dreams has high recovery, so unprepared adventurers will be defeated one by one.

The King's Wandering can be easily triggered by attacking the Master of Dreams and then fleeing.

While the King's Wandering usually doesn't last long, if the timing of the adventurers' entry is known, it can be triggered just before they arrive.

There would be no warning.

Reincarnated Heavy Knight, I managed to achieve the top spot in the annual ranking in less than half a year of serialization!

Thank you so much to all the readers for always supporting me! (2021/09/10)