Chapter 23

Midday in the capital city.

Lilicia and I came to the Adventurer's Guild to report the discovery of a dungeon entrance in the shop we rented.

As we entered and headed to the reception on the first floor, the adventurers were whispering to each other, glancing at me.

"That's him, that's him," "Isn't that the one who killed Hellrich?" "I heard he inflicted unbearable pain on Barial, making him wish for death," "That's intense," "He's even walking around with a beautiful woman," "No wonder, he is the one who broke the crystal ball."

It seems I've become the subject of rumors. It's a bit uncomfortable.

The only fortunate thing is that no one is trying to confront me.

Lilicia, perhaps out of fear, clung to me.

But her cute cheeks were relaxed, as if she was happy.

When we reached the reception counter, a receptionist with glasses rushed over before we could speak.

"Oh, Mr. Alex! We've been waiting for you!"

"Huh? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, based on the diary you brought, the Adventurer's Guild and the Royal Knights conducted a joint investigation. It was confirmed that Falbour was indeed Hellrich and that he repeatedly conducted human experiments."

"I see... What about Barial?"

"Barial was the evidence of the human experiments. He confessed to everything. However, it seems he had a severe allergic reaction, and his internal organs began to rot... He writhed in pain and died this morning."

"I see. Well, he got what he deserved for gaining power through inhumane methods and acting tyrannically."

"Right, and this is the reward for the 'Capital Dark Doctor Forbidden Spell Incident.' Please show your card."

Two large gold coins and five gold coins were placed on the counter. 250,000 goats.

I looked at the gold coins and asked,

"Does this have a name now? By the way, I already received the reward for killing Hellrich. Is it okay to receive this much more?"

"Yes, this is... the bounty for the search request made by the family of the kidnapped person."

"I see..."

I took the gold and put it in my bag.

The family probably didn't expect such a tragic outcome.

At least they were able to bring their loved one home.

Lilicia, standing next to me, frowned in sorrow.

I changed my mood and got to the main topic.

"So, we found a dungeon entrance in the capital."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The dungeon in the eastern part of the capital has expanded under the city. The entrance is about five minutes from here."

Lilicia interjected from the side.

"There might be other entrances besides the one we found."

"I understand! That's dangerous! I'll have it investigated immediately!"

The receptionist, wide-eyed with surprise, hurriedly stood up and headed to the waiting room.

She quickly called some familiar adventurers to form a party.

They returned with them.

"Mr. Alex, please lead these people to the entrance."

"Got it."

We left the Adventurer's Guild, and I led them to the shop.

Afterward, the adventurers investigated the shop by diving into the floor.

Based on the dungeon's structure and the monsters that appeared, it was determined to be the dungeon in the eastern part of the capital.

Parties of thieves and explorers were also called to investigate the entire capital.

Six more entrances were discovered in addition to my shop.

When we returned to the Adventurer's Guild, the first floor was bustling.

The receptionist, seeing the investigation results, frowned deeply.

"This is an emergency. The Adventurer's Guild alone can't handle it."

"What will happen then?"

"The Royal Knights will join forces to tackle the dungeon. I'll inform the kingdom."

The adventurers murmured among themselves.

"A dungeon in the capital? This is going to be a large-scale guild battle," "Thankfully, the number of forest monsters has decreased," "I heard the one who found it is the one who killed Hellrich," "Who is he?"

Various rumors and speculations flew around.

As people predicted, a large-scale dungeon expedition by the Adventurer's Guild was decided.

Regular requests would not be accepted for a while.

Instead, missions would be assigned.

The details would be decided in a meeting and announced the next day.

I received three gold coins as a reward for discovering the dungeon. 30,000 goats.

It seemed cheap, but since I found it by chance, I considered it lucky.

Money is never enough, after all.

Lilicia and I left the guild and headed to a cheap inn with rooms on the first floor.

We talked as we walked down the street.

"It seems we've gotten ourselves into a big mess."

"Yes. However, with a dungeon expedition, we can't help much... We don't have anyone in our party who can disable traps."

"We couldn't create an entrance from the shop because we might be discovered by the enemy dungeon. What should we do?"

"I remember there were books about dungeons in the collection Falbour gathered. Reading them might give us some ideas."

"Right, I fixed the broken core. Maybe I have some of those books."

"Maybe we should ask Kou."

"Kou?"

"The dungeon core, Kou... I thought it would be inconvenient not to have a name."

"Well, Kou is hard to say, so Ko is fine."

"Okay, Ko it is."

It's a simple but cute name. We don't even know if it's male or female.

We stayed at the inn and had a sub-device create a passage from the room to the dungeon.

The accommodation cost was 3,000 goats for both of us.

Total money: 44 large gold coins, 30 gold coins, 11 large silver coins, 28 silver coins.

4,713,800 goats.

◇ ◇ ◇

The dungeon corridor was brightly lit by a bluish-white light.

We quickly reached the large room, and Lilicia headed to the library while I spoke to the white spherical core, Ko.

"Dungeon core, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"What's up, master?"

"First, your name is Ko. Lilicia and I decided on it."

"Wow, thank you, master and mistress! A named dungeon is born!"

The surface of the sphere was covered in blue light, showing how excited it was.

—By the way, mistress... Is that okay...?

I regained my composure and explained the current situation.

"So, the guild and the knights are teaming up to tackle the dungeon."

"Wow, a large-scale expedition. I hope they beat it up... Are you participating, master?"

"I want to, but I'll probably be forced to. I don't think I'll get an important mission, though. My party doesn't have anyone who can disable traps."

"Then why not tackle a dungeon without traps?"

"Huh? Is there such a thing?"

I almost missed it, as I was talking casually.

Ko, the sphere, glowed brightly as it spoke.

"Yes, there is. When you set traps, the areas beyond them become inaccessible to your minions. If you want your minions to go to the edges and collect materials, you need to set up trap-free passages."

This was very useful dungeon information.

High-ranking adventurers might know this from experience, but it was new to me.

If that's the case, the passages that have extended under the capital should be trap-free.

People and items have reportedly gone missing, so...

I asked about the types of monsters.

"I've heard the dungeon in the eastern part of the capital has goblins and orcs..."

"That's a decoy dungeon. The main dungeon has golems as minions. About 1,000 of them were sent in, and the core was beaten up. No doubt about it."

"That must have been tough."

Golems are slow but hard and powerful.

They don't drop good items, and the only way to cash in is by selling the core.

Moreover, weapons can break or become dull when attacking them, making them unpopular.

I scratched my head and said,

"Clay golems would be easy... But if there are rock and iron golems... Oh, that's why the dungeon extended to the mountain range for materials."

"Right. With four cores, it can summon Tier 4 minions—golems."

"Tier? Like levels? Golems Level 4?"

"No, it's different. In human terms... For example, Tier 1 is Clay Golem, Tier 2 is Stone Golem, and Tier 4 is Iron Golem."

"I see. So it's not levels but monster ranks. In our classification, skeletons are E, and B is High Rich."

"Right. And if you pay, you can summon Tier 5 minions—your own rank up."

"What's a Tier 5 golem?"

"Magic-resistant and super hard Mithril Golem, and a completely physical attack-proof Iron Sand Golem."

Just hearing about them made me frown.

"Sounds pretty troublesome."

"But if you defeat them, you'll get great materials. Especially mithril!"

"Right, I'll do my best... It'll be hard to carry them back, though."

"Then I'll make the sub-device absorb the materials when it touches them. I'll return it to you."

A thin, long slit appeared on the surface of the white sphere.

I inserted the thin, board-like sub-device I had.

After a while, it made a "pico pico" sound and the sub-device came out.

It was still thin but had grown to the size of a man's palm.

The surface of the board was polished to a shine, and the screen read "KoPhone SE."

"I added a camera function, so you can take pictures."

"I don't understand, but it seems to do a lot. It can make calls too—Is there a manual?"

"Just use it by feel."

"Well, it's good to know. I learned a lot from you."

"Yes."

—Being able to ask the dungeon core about the dungeon is a huge advantage.

Then, Lilicia came out of the library.

She spread her white wings and instantly came to my side.

"Master, I found something interesting."

"Lilicia, too. I just heard some good information from Ko."

"Yes, I was listening with my angelic powers. This is different, though."

She showed me the book.

The title was about the mechanisms of the dungeon core.

The traps created by the dungeon core depend on the types of monsters that appear.

For goblins, it's spears and pits. For golems, it's falling rocks and pits. For ghosts, it's poison gas, etc.

"Knowing the types of traps makes it easier to tackle the dungeon."

"Yes, and... Other things..."

Dungeons with multiple cores can have multiple types of monsters.

"I know that..."

Ko told me the general classifications and specific types of minions, as well as the materials needed.

The conversation continued.

This way, we shared our knowledge about the dungeon.

I started to think that if things go well, I might be able to strengthen Ko and benefit from it.

We reached 24th place daily and 77th place weekly!

Thank you for the bookmarks and star ratings!

I thought yesterday was the highest, but I'm happy!

Thank you also for the typo reports and comments! They help a lot!

Today is a ranking commemorative update.

The next chapter will be updated in the evening.

→ 24. Comfortable Dungeon Expansion