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Legends and Dungeons, Merfolk and Fishmen – Part 03

It didn’t take Paula long to pay her respects to the fallen adventurers. Using holy magic, she prevented their souls and bodies from transforming into undead monsters.

A subtle golden glow emanated from Paula’s body, and particles of light cascaded like snow onto the two female adventurers. Their lifeless bodies also shimmered faintly.

A beam of light rose through the massive rock concealing them. And with that, the spell was complete.

“Thank you for your patience, Lord Hikaru, Freya. I believe this should be enough.”

“Paula.” Freya rose. “Thank you for holding a service for the fallen adventurers. On behalf of the Adventurers Guild, we express our deepest gratitude.” She offered a deep bow.

“Ah,” Paula gasped in surprise. “Don’t mention it. I’m glad I could be of assistance.”

The two exchanged glances and shared a laugh.

This is great, Hikaru mused as he observed the scene. I’m glad Paula and Freya are getting along well.

Paula’s friends were in her home village, Cotton-elka, not in the royal capital or the satellite town Pond, where she worked as an adventurer. This friendship was without a doubt a priceless reward.

“Shall we head back, then?” Freya proposed.

Then, the sound of commotion reached their ears—voices of several people. They were coming from deep within the passage that led to the second floor.

“Hurry up!”

“Stop pushing, you idiot! This passage is narrow!”

“Why is the fatty leading the way?!”

They stumbled out into the expansive chamber where Hikaru and the girls were. It wasn’t just a handful; there were a lot of them. One by one they poured out, their numbers quickly reaching double digits. They plopped down on the ground, gasping for breath.

Freya hurried toward the adventurers. “Wh-What happened?”

As soon as they identified her guild uniform, they said, “It’s dangerous down there. We had no idea there were so many monsters!”

“Many are wounded.”

“Some may not have made it.”

“And those traps were insane.”

“Are you saying the monsters on the second floor are ferocious?” Hikaru asked.

“Yeah. They’re on a whole different level, but the real issue is their sheer numbers. There’s just too many of them.”

“How many adventurers are down there?”

“I don’t know. Scorching Goblet claimed they’d wipe them all out, but who knows. Capable parties joined them in fighting off the monsters.”

“We don’t stand a chance against those things,” another adventurer chimed in.

Realization came to Freya. “D-Did you see Angela? She’s a receptionist like me.”

“I did see a receptionist. She acted like everything would be fine with Scorching Goblet around.”

Freya glanced at the passage leading to the second floor.

Initially, a group of adventurers emerged together, but soon more trickled out. They were bleeding from their arms and legs, seeking treatment in this expansive chamber. Paula moved around, applying healing magic and assisting with first aid—tasks that wouldn’t draw too much attention.

She should use her discretion to save a life if someone severely injured arrived, Hikaru thought.

“Freya, what’s your plan?” Hikaru asked.

“I… I need to go back to the surface immediately. If something happens, I’m the only one who can contact the guild with the Linga Quill Pen.”

“That makes sense.”

“…”

“Freya?”

“But… Ah, no, I have to go back.”

“But you’re worried about Angela?”

“…”

Hikaru took her silence as a yes.

“Why? She seems to see you as a rival.”

“You’re right… But Angela is doing an outstanding job as a guild staff member. Her report to the Vireocean’s capital guild was impeccable. Losing someone so capable would be a major blow, not just for the guild but for all adventurers.”

This girl, Hikaru thought. She’s too kind-hearted.

She didn’t care about what others thought of her. She prioritized the guild and the well-being of fellow adventurers.

“All right. I’ll go check up on them,” Hikaru said. “If possible, I’ll drag Angela away from Scorching Goblet and bring her here.”

“What?! B-But it’s dangerous!”

“I’ve learned a lot from Unken. Besides, I’m capable enough to kill a Hell Tarantula.”

“Oh…”

“Take care of Paula for me. Right now, someone who can use healing magic is extremely valuable.”

“Okay, but… Wait, Hikaru!”

Hikaru turned and started running.

Even now, Freya saw Hikaru only as a rookie adventurer, which was somewhat funny and frustrating. Still, it felt nice to know that Freya was worried about him.

Hikaru rushed down the narrow passage to the second floor. Fortunately, he didn’t bump into other adventurers on the way. As soon as he arrived, he immediately sensed a change in the air.

“What is this?”

It felt stagnant. Hikaru briefly considered that the ventilation magic might not be working, but if that were the case, they would collapse from oxygen deprivation before monsters got them.

“I sense an ominous presence.”

Even the appearance looked different. While the first floor exuded the ambiance of a natural cave with exposed rock surfaces, the second floor’s walls were marred with what looked like soil or powder. Approximately half of it had flaked off and gathered on the floor near the walls.

Hikaru raised the magic lamp and started walking. The first floor was quite spacious, but the second floor seemed even more massive. The passage was larger, linking to various small rooms.

Come to think of it, I don’t have a map, Hikaru thought. But with his Mana Detection, he could easily identify dead-end passages, and there was no issue as long as he moved toward the direction where adventurers were coming from.

“Hey, where are you headed? Beyond that is hell.”

Hikaru ran into an adventurer dragging his feet and a duo supporting him. They were wounded all over, requiring urgent treatment.

“I’m here on orders from the guild, so there’s no problem,” Hikaru replied. “How’s the situation?”

“Thanks to Scorching Goblet, we’re managing somehow, but there are just too many hostiles.”

“What about the receptionist, Angela?”

“She’s being protected.”

“Thank you. There’s a fellow Healer of mine on the first floor. You can go to her for treatment.”

“Thanks. We owe you one.”

They sluggishly headed towards the first floor.

Hikaru hurried to the end of the second floor. There were more piles of ash here, all belonging to fishmen killed by adventurers.

Some of the rooms along the way contained bodies of adventurers. The second floor featured traps. Floors opened like pits, and some people had arrows sticking out of them like they were hedgehogs, likely having triggered the traps.

Hikaru wondered if these bodies were left behind because their companions were already dead. Their armor and clothes were left intact, but there was no luggage.

Either they were stolen, or their companions took them.

Dungeons were like lawless zones, so it was understandable. Still it was too bleak.

Fortunately, traps were marked, and Hikaru could sense them clearly with his Mana Detection. Did Scorching Goblet leave these marks?

“The traps are marked, but people still triggered them. Were they panicking when trying to escape?”

If so, they tried to flee from the monsters, only to fall victim to the traps. Hikaru couldn’t help but feel bad for them and the unfortunate circumstances they found themselves in.

“Gotta hurry. Hmm?”

There was a side path that led into a dead-end. Hikaru noticed feet on the ground ahead, just around the bend.

“What is this?”

Being a dead-end, it didn’t lead to the first floor, so there was no reason for someone to escape that way.

He should have ignored it, but Hikaru found the feet—the dirty boots—protruding from the corner intriguing. His gut stirred. It must be the Instinct on his Soul Board.

Hikaru cautiously advanced. The light of the magic lamp illuminated the corner. As he drew nearer, it became clear that someone had collapsed there. He shone the light ahead.

There was a male adventurer lying there. Given the situation, there was no doubt that he was dead.

But the problem was how he died. The man’s throat had been slit. A large amount of blood spread from his neck to his chest. The pungent smell of blood permeated the air. He didn’t need to check. It was clear that not much time had passed since this adventurer died.

“The same wound as the female adventurers on the first floor. The same culprit, then.”

They were still here. The adventurer who killed them was on this floor.

There was a possibility that they returned to the first floor. If so, it could be someone who fled into that large cavern, or perhaps someone he passed by earlier.