3 bar menu

91. Golden Land of Crimson Luxury

「Welcome to the dwarf’s dungeon, “Golden Land of Crimson Luxury”.」

Who would have imagined a clear stream of pure gold gushing forth inexhaustibly? The dwarves stared intently at the gold river, unable to breathe due to the intense heat.

All of us were temporarily speechless before the sea of treasure that rivaled anything and everything else in this world.

「J-Just a little bit…」

「Hey, wait! Don’t go near the light, you’re not a moth!」

One of the dwarves, a young female who joined midway, stepped forward with a dazed look. She gently inserted the iron ladle in her hand into the golden river, and scooped it up, ignoring the voice which called out to her.

「O-Oh?」

「Don’t go down! You’ll burn to death just from the radiation!」

No, she didn’t scoop it up yet. The ladle, which was made of iron up to the handle, melted away as soon as it was inserted into the river, leaving only the handle behind. The scoop lost its shape as it slowly drifted downstream into the red-hot river.

「Angelina.」

「It’s hot enough to melt iron instantly. It’s a magma of gold hotter than any volcano. If we step inside as we are, we will become the grilled meat tonight.」

「I wonder what will actually happen if I step in.」

As I took a step over to the entrance, I could hear the sound of the soles of my shoes burning. It felt like I was inside a bread oven, even if it’s just a metaphor.

「It’s impossible. A dwarf-san might be able to move around for about a day, but a human’s lungs will be scorched and they’ll die in half a bell (about 30 minutes).」

「…I understand why the dwarves tried to hide it.」

Angelina nodded, sweat rolling down her forehead.

It’s not hard to imagine what would happen if humans or the Knights Order discovered this. They will send the dwarves in with earthen buckets to pump out gold until their throat burns.

With the treasures obtained in this way, the Knights Order will further strengthen their power. Leading to the creation of a country where the Knights Order hold the greatest power.

「The whole country would be set on fire and turned into grilled meat.」

「Grilled meat is something to eat, not a place to live in. If the Knights Order is going to come here soon, then we will attack them first. Even better if Kirmiji himself takes command and heads down here…」

As I was giving instructions, Chunaru suddenly shouted from behind.

「Wait!」

The dwarf from earlier was drawn in by the flow of gold. I remember hearing that dwarves love gold, but to this extent? Angelina also expressed with her eyes that “It’s dangerous even for a dwarf.”

「[Asura’s Six Arms], activate.」

An invisible arm stretched out from near the entrance of the dungeon and grabbed the dwarf by the scruff of her neck. She almost jumped into the river of red-hot gold.

「It’s calling me. Calling…wha…?」

「What’s wrong?」

「!! Master!」

Right when I thought that the dwarf I grabbed was muttering something, Koe-san’s urgent voice echoed. As I quickly turned around, the molten gold was rising up behind me.

It’s fast.

「Mast……!」

「Uh, [Vajra Barrier], activate!」

I straight away threw the dwarf out of the cave.

At the same time, I stretched my defense skill to myself and Koe-san because she was running towards me into the dungeon. I shielded her from the heat and managed to pull her in despite being showered with molten gold. But as I did so, the entrance had already been reduced to the size of an apple.

I can’t make it in time for [Space Jump] anymore. What and to whom should I tell?

「Angelina.」

「Skill Lender-san!?」

「Protect Shizuku and Azula.」

「Wait, that’s…」

The wall was blocked without allowing Angelina to reply. Even when I tried hitting it with [Asura’s Six Arms], there was no reaction at all.

「Temporarily release protection. [Subspace Rupture], activate… It doesn’t work.」

If I punch it, it becomes harder than iron, but if I cut it, it becomes as soft as water. It was a strange situation, with molten gold blocking the entrance as if it had its own shape. I had never heard of a magic nor a skill like this.

「The heat is blocked by the protection of [Vajra Barrier], so I don’t think my skills have weakened. Koe-san, what did it look like from the outside?」

「I did not see any signs from the outside. The flow of mana was also all from the inside, so I think it’s a function of the dungeon rather than a plan by the Knights Order.」

「A trap where the entrance suddenly disappears and you can’t escape. That’s quite shocking.」

It’s unheard of for the entrance to be a trap, even if it’s the room of a “King” or a “General.” Even in the “Abyss Where Evil Comes From”, the area near the entrance was used as a training ground for budding adventurers.

This extremely harsh environment and the group standing in front of me clearly exceeded the common sense of a dungeon.

「Master.」

「Yeah, stand back.」

There are monsters inside the dungeon. It seems that the Golden Land of Crimson Luxury is no exception.

The monster that immediately crawled out was a red bronze giant lizard, and if I remember correctly, its name in the books was “Salamandra”. This is probably the only environment where its red-hot scales can camouflage into the surroundings.

It stuck to the walls and ceiling, baring its fangs at us. Its body length was five times that of a human, making it larger than any recorded specimen of its species.

Even in an S-class dungeon, it is a class of monster that appears in the deeper regions. They are reasonably tough, and their movements are agile and cunning. So if you were to chop them up one by one, no matter how much time you had, it still wouldn’t be enough.

「Are you going to use the same move as before, master?」

「The ground is a little too soft for [Great Ram]. [Asura’s Six Arms], reactivate. First we grasp a gold nugget and crush it.」

I picked up a gold nugget from the riverbank and held it up with my six arms, breaking it into small pieces.

「[Shadow Inactivity] [Space Jump], activate. Transfer destination specified, center of enemy group.」

I swung my arms.

If the enemies are many, then you just increase the number of bullets. If you want to counter their agile movements, just attack from the front, back, left and right with invisible bullets.

「[Blunderbuss].」

At the same time as the gold bullets were thrown, it was transferred to different directions and positions. Like fireworks, debris flew in all directions and rained down on the Salamandras. Ugly shrieks, like the sound of a stringed instrument, reverberated. But it was quickly drowned out by the sound of the bullets landing.

Because of the softness of the gold bullets, it did not penetrate the body. As soon as it hit the monsters, it broke further apart and widened, increasing its destructive power as it embedded the monsters into the wall and crushed them to death.