030 – Victor, looking for a party. #3

TL/ED: Lolz

━Keung, Ke-eng!

Ice Fang screams and falls.

The creature's body, as if melting away, gradually left behind a broad leather and a jingling Rene pouch.

It was a bizarre sight, with creatures leaving items instead of corpses.

However, Melvin and Dearmid seemed completely unfazed.

"Dearmid, I got one more during your talk."

"I killed two while you were talking."

Such scenes were probably common for them.

When I played games, I also considered it natural for monsters or beasts to drop items.

Anyway.

As we delved deeper into the maze, more Ice Fangs appeared.

As far as I remembered, there were about five Snow Rabbits and seventeen Ice Fangs in this "Snow Mountain Labyrinth”.

"So far, I've got four, and Dearmid, you've got seven."

"Why am I excluded? I also caught six."

The party members' banter suggested that they had probably caught all seventeen Ice Fangs by now. That meant there were no more opponents in this maze.

"The Ice Fang just now was probably the last one."

"Really? Well, if that's true, it's a bit disappointing. I was starting to feel a bit loose."

Melvin breathed heavily.

He spoke confidently, but his stamina seemed to be reaching its limit.

Dearmid, who had overcome seven monsters, was in a similar state.

He sheathed his sword into an invisible pocket and flexed his fist.

"...It was tough for a walk. I'm a bit tired."

Even Megaira, who had been chattering non-stop since we first met, seemed a bit quieter now. However, she still occasionally asked me questions.

"Is there a boss or something in this dungeon? The dungeon owner, I mean."

"There is."

Tension emanated from everyone as I answered.

It was natural to feel nervous at a time like this when facing the dungeon owner in our fatigued state.

"But the goal of this dungeon is not to defeat the owner. As we are now, we are far from being able to defeat him."

What I felt entering this maze.

Melvin, Dearmid, and even Megaira were similar to what I knew, but at the same time, slightly different.

The difference was that they seemed a bit weaker than what I remembered.

Perhaps in a world known for the danger of dungeon exploration and monster hunting, the development of their abilities lagged behind the characters in the game.

So, it was impossible to take these guys and defeat the boss of this maze.

There was a way, but there was no need to endure it.

After all, the place I wanted to go was opposite of the boss monster, and the probability of encountering the boss now approached zero.

In front of me, the room I had been aiming for appeared.

A stone door covered in ice.

As I reached out to it, the door opened with a deep sound.

It was when everyone bowed their heads due to the chill blowing from inside.

"As expected, a lot of them were blooming here."

I could see flowers blooming between transparent and clean ice walls.

Lilies that looked like transparent glass.

With such things blooming in the room, even in this emotionally rigid world, it seemed like the corners of my mouth loosened a bit.

When I reached out and grabbed them, I felt a cold sensation.

「Snow Lily: An ice flower that blooms with mysterious magic. It is almost like a beautiful piece of art in itself. If handled well, it could be useful in various ways...」

This was also a tier 2 material in its own way.

As the description suggests, it seemed to be used in various places.

"What's this... It's a Snow Lily, isn't it? I can't think of anything else based on its appearance."

"Melvin, do you know anything?"

"This... It's a story that was famous in my hometown, Draheim. There was a legend that ice flowers bloomed somewhere in Ludens. I never thought that the legend could be true..."

Melvin was impressed by the flowers. Considering his appearance like a Viking warrior, it was unexpected to see him being sentimental. While I was thinking about that, Megaira reached out.

"It's pretty..."

Swoosh.

Megaira broke off one 「Snow Lily」, nestled in the cold.

I spoke to her.

"Bring one to Enio. She'll like it."

This Snow Lily was an item often used to raise Enio's favorability.

If the game and settings were the same, Enio would probably be pleased to receive the flower.

"Well, let's all grab flowers and go back to where we came from."

I decided on the direction when I spoke briefly.

Megaira asked, tilting her head.

"Aren't we going to conquer the dungeon?"

"We're not. If we conquer it, we won't be able to come back here anymore. Give it a day or so, and the Snow Rabbits and Ice Fangs we encountered here will reappear."

It's a place where you can endlessly gather materials.

Why would I split the golden-egg-laying goose?

* * *

"Well, then, I'll give you all the wolf skins and snow rabbit hides. You can divide those among yourselves. Instead, I'll take the Snow Lilies. Is that okay?"

Just before leaving the dungeon, I distributed the settlement money with everyone.

We obtained a total of 5 Ice Fang skins, 4 fangs, 5 snow rabbit hides, and the Rene earnings were a total of 120,000 Rene.

All the materials were tier 3 items.

Selling them wouldn't fetch much Rene.

Isn't the income a bit underwhelming considering the one-hour ordeal in the cold?

It would have been nice to get at least one tier 2 item like 「Ice Crystals」.

Of course, I came here not for these random items but for the 「Snowflake Lilies」. If I had those, it would be enough.

Still, Melvin and Dearmid were very pleased.

"Amazing! To gather this much loot! It's the first time since I enrolled in Ludens that I've had such an unexpected harvest!"

"Indeed, it's a considerable gain. I feel like I've accumulated quite a bit of experience."

For these guys, who had significantly less experience in dungeon exploration, such rewards seemed quite impressive.

I cautioned the excited guys.

"I'll tell you this now, we need to keep the location and entry method of this dungeon a secret. If you promise to keep it a secret from others, I'll provide you with maps to enter this place for hunting in the future."

"Got it!"

"In return, bring the Snow Lilies to me."

Dearmid nodded.

"Okay, anyway, even if we have them, they're just pretty flowers. But Victor, are you really okay with this? Sharing this secret dungeon with us. It must have been hard to find. I mean, this place is not easy to discover."

"As long as you keep your promise, I don’t mind."

If they consistently supplied me with 「Snow Lilies」 from this annoying maze, it was actually beneficial for me.

And to clear this maze of Snow Lilies, my ingeniously concocted Spring Sauce was absolutely necessary.

At first, I just gave them away, but now I'm going to sell them for money, you know?

In other words, it was a strategy of killing two birds with one stone: increasing my customer base and utilizing them for material supply.

Dearmid and Melvin, who had no way of knowing this, looked at me with eyes like innocent teenagers.

"Viego, you. You were quite a manly guy!"

"I'm not Viego, I'm Victor."

"Right! Victor! I won't forget your name now! If you ever need help, just let me know! This Melvin swears on the honor of Draheim to help you!"

I seemed to have unintentionally gained Melvin's favor.

Judging by his reaction, he might readily help when I need to fill the party for dungeon conquests in the future.

Dearmid, Melvin's dungeon duo, also expressed gratitude.

"Victor, to be honest, I think I misunderstood you. When rumors circulated that you broke up with Miss Arkwright because of another woman, I honestly thought you were trash."

"That's understandable."

"But being with you today, I understand. There was something wrong with the rumors about the breakup with Miss Arkwright. You are not the kind to be unfaithful."

Was saying I'm not the kind to be unfaithful a compliment or an insult?

Was it because I'm morally upright, or is it because I can't flirt with women?

I was momentarily confused, but looking at Dearmid's expression, it seemed like his praise in his own way.

Was this how Victor's negative reputation is slightly improving?

It was not a bad deal.

"Well, now that the effects of the spring sauce are starting to wear off, let's go out."

* * *

The clock tower in the park pointed to seven in the evening.

This surprised Melvin.

"The time hasn't changed at all from when we entered the dungeon. Not even pass ten minutes have passed."

He was right.

We had been in the dungeon for over an hour, but only about ten minutes had passed outside.

Regarding this strange situation, Dearmid, the honor student, evaluated it as follows.

"It's a spatial anomaly where time flows differently. The gods' technology truly surpasses understanding."

There was no other way to explain it.

Anyway, the fact that it was not yet seven was a good sign for me.

It meant I had enough time to start the next dish using the Snow Lilies I acquired today.

"But why are you following me?"

Returning to the club room, Melvin, Dearmid, and Megaira followed behind me.

Since this place was toward the teacher's quarters, the direction was different from the dormitory where these guys lived, right?

To my question, Melvin replied.

"We're escorting you. Lately, there are rumors about these Fimblevet extremists, right? It might be dangerous for you, living near the old school building."

"Yeah. Anyway, we have nothing to do with time just hanging around. Just going for a walk."

Although he said that, there seemed to be some hidden intention.

I sensed something vaguely, but decided to let it pass without mentioning it.

"Victor, you. Have you been living in this backward place? I've heard that the treatment of those expelled from the student council is harsh. But isn't this too much?"

Upon reaching the club room, Melvin shivered as he looked around where I lived.

Was it so shocking to see just one blanket laid out with no furniture?

Even though there was only one blanket hanging there, it was a palace compared to when I was homeless.

Then Dearmid added a word.

"Above all, this place is famous for being haunted by ghosts. Victor, a fellow student from the same class, had a hard time living around here..."

"Everyone seems to have misunderstood, but it's a warm and calm place. It just looks empty because there's no furniture."

I explained briefly.

However, both Melvin and Dearmid looked at me with a feeling of 'you don't have to say more’.

In Melvin's case, he even casually said, "I’ll give back my share of wolf leather, two pieces!" and laid the leather in the club room.

These guys were annoying.

I'll take it if they're giving it for free, but they were quite presumptuous.

Rather than having my time taken away by these guys, it seemed better for me to do what I needed to do.

My real work started from now.

"If you guys have nothing to do, eat what I make before you leave. After all, you followed me for that reason, didn't you?"

Access 10 Chapters ahead of the Novelupdates release on our Patreon. <3