Chapter 151 – Zestbar (4)

“So that is why you only encountered Wisps until now?  Actually, I’m more curious about where we are, Artpe-nim.  I came here on a whim, since it was possible to transport myself here.  Once I entered this place, I felt the Mana in the atmosphere, and it is making me lose my nerve.”

They were in front of a staircase that lead down to the second floor of the Ocean’s Grave.  It had been awhile since he had met the Dungeon merchant Mycenae.  She still talked a lot.  Artpe put on a faint smile as he spoke.

“First, you should repair our equipment.”

“At the very least, it would be great if you said you are happy to see me.”

Mycenae grumbled as she gathered the party’s equipment.  The party members, who had experienced at least one Dungeon run with Artpe, didn’t react at all.  They just handed their equipment over to Mycenae.  On the other hand, Elrick freaked out.

“D…Dark Elf!?  This is my first time meeting an actual Elf!”

“Oh my.  What a cute customer.  Isn’t that armor too heavy for you?”

“I’m an adult!”

“You are good at telling jokes.”

This was how Mycenae gloriously pushed the wrong button on her first meeting with Elrick.

“Those that judge people by their appearance are the worst!”

“It doesn’t matter if you try to deny it.  Outer appearance has a big influence on a person’s relationship with others.  In truth, didn’t you think I was very pretty when you saw me?  As if by instinct, you didn’t say any harsh words towards me.  Customer, you should learn how to use your appearance as a weapon.  It would be more beneficial for you to do so.”

“On top of that, you are a bitch!”

Elrick growled.  While he faced off against Mycenae, Artpe searched the ruin’s 1st floor for any treasure chests.  Vadinet followed Artpe as she helped him.  As she did so, she looked around her surrounding.  She raised her voice as if she found her surrounding to be marvelous.

“I never expected the inside of the a whale’s stomach to be subdivided by floors.”

“When Arpte told me that I asked a very good question, I speculated this might be the case.”

Since they had entered into a dimensional pocket, it didn’t matter what form the entrance took on.  There was no connection between the size of the interior and the outer appearance of the entrance.

“I’m fed up with the Wisps.  It feels as if a hole will form on my shield.  I really hope a different monster shows up on the 2nd floor.”

“Sienna, shall I give you another shield?”

“No, oppa.  It’s ok······.”

In a flash, the equipment repair was done.  In the process of repairing the equipment of the party, Mycenae realized that a Dwarf had worked on their equipment.  Her eyes twinkled as she firmly grasped Artpe’s hand.

“Artpe-nim, it won’t be long before the Demon King’s army makes it appearance.  I just had a great idea.  It will considerably raise the overall power of the human realm if…..”

“I already told Silpennon’s party about the location of the Dwarves.  You can meet up with him after he enters Diaz.  Once he weaponizes his trade relationship with the Dwarves, it’ll help him establish his bid for the throne.”

“As expected, there is no one like Artpe-nim!”

Since their trade relationship had lasted for a long time, they could omit the first and last word to a sentence, yet they would understand what the other was talking about.  It was a harmonious relationship between a man and a woman.  Maetel looked displeased by this, but she knew that it was a transactional relationship.  Therefore, she couldn’t undercut it.

“Also, I want you to do some travel work.  I’ll give you as much money as you like.”

“······what?”

He wanted to give her travel work, and he’ll give her as much money as she liked!

Artpe’s excessively manly statement made Mycenae’s cheeks turn red.  As an Elf, she was still in the bloom of her youth.  All kinds of fantasies were spreading through her mind when Artpe continued to speak.

“I want you to join Silpennon’s party.”

“······.”

If a person’s emotions could be turned into poison, Artpe would probably melt on the spot.  There was a fierce anger in Mycenae’s eyes as she glared at him.  Artpe understood what was going on, yet he acted ignorant.  He continued to speak.

“If a long range sniper is added to Silpennon’s party, I believe they won’t be pushed back by the Demon King’s army.  I’m sure the Anywhere company is also coming up with plans to deal with the invasion of the Demon King’s army, right?  You have a transactional relationship with the future king of Diaz.  You can use that as bait to get approval for helping Silpennon.  Your superiors won’t object.”

“Artpe-nim······.”

“In the end, you’ll fight against the Demon King’s army.  You should think of it as joining an elite party to raise your level and ability.  The big fishes like the Four Heavenly Kings will be taken care of by us, so you don’t have to be too worried about them.”

“Hoo, hoo hoo hoo······.”

Her rage had gone past the critical point, and it allowed her to regain her composure.  She glared at Artpe once, then she glared at each member of Artpe’s party.

Then she nodded her head.

“All right.  I’ll do as you say.  I’ll join the red-haired customer’s party, and I’ll calculate the balance at the end.  I’ll receive compensation based on how active of a role I took part in the fight.”

“Please do so.”

“Shall we make a contract?”

The contract was extremely reasonable.  There were clauses that spelled out what she would make when she saved the lives of Silpennon’s party from danger.  It put a price on how much she would make when she killed a monster or a Demon.  She had spelled out even the smallest detail, and the maximum amount she could make was enormous.  However, it was an acceptable sum of money to Artpe.  There was also reciprocal agreement that allowed him to give her items of similar value instead of money.  She took in Artpe’s situation into account when forming the contract.

“······so why am I feeling a chill?”

“I want you to read over it several times before you sign it.  Of course, a great merchant made this contract, so there should be no error.”

Something felt out of place, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.  Artpe had no choice.  He signed the contract.  Mycenae put away the contract.  She put on her game face as she turned around.

“Then I’ll be leaving immediately.  Do not be surprised if another merchant shows up starting from the 2nd floor.”

“All right.  I’ll leave everything to you.”

Mycenae disappeared from that place.  Elrick stared at the empty space as he spoke.

“Is this what a hero does?  Is it a Class where one seduces every woman one meets?”

“It is limited only to Artpe.”

“No.”

Artpe smacked the back of the heads of Elrick and Maetel.  Maetel covered her head in pain.  She spoke to Artpe.

“Artpe is really too kind.  Why do you have to take care of that annoying redhead?”

“At the very least, you should call Silpennon by his name!?”

Silpennon would cry if he heard you!

However, Maetel complained when she heard Artpe’s words.

“I really dislike him.  I really really dislike him.”

“At some point in time, you’ll be fighting back to back with him.  You should be courteous to him from now on.”

“Mmm······ Since Artpe is insisting on it, I’ll do as you say.  I’ll be polite to him until we defeat the Demon King.”

“Yes, you are kind.”

Atpe stroked Maetel’s head as he spoke to the entire party.

“Let’s go forward.  I want to clear this place within the week.”

A level 400 Demon King had soloed this ruin within a week, and he had returned to the Demon King’s castle.  It would be unreasonable to fight the Demon King with their current level of power.  However, he thought the hero’s party wouldn’t fall behind in terms of how fast they could clear this ruin.

There was a time when he had thought this to be true.

A week passed.

A month passed, and the party was unable to exit the ruin.

When half a year passed, he had no idea how long this ruin was.

“What floor are we on right now?”

“We are on the 39th floor.”

Sienna spoke with a calm voice.

“No matter how I think about it, something is twisted about this ruin, oppa.  It has always been like that when we enter a ruin!”

“Ooh-ooh.  I’d like to enter the Demon world sooner rather than later.  Artpe-nim·····.”

“Artpe, it’s the staircase leading to the next floor!”

Maetel was the only one overflowing with energy!  On the other hand, the rest of the party was sick of fighting the Wisps.  This was a rare break, and they weren’t even thinking about going down the staircase.

“Well, we’ll do this here then……”

Artpe spread a mat on the floor.  He placed a birthday cake, which he purchased from the Dungeon Merchant(It wasn’t Mycenae.), on top of it.  When she saw this, Sienna’s expression suddenly relaxed.

“Uh?  Oppa, now that I think about it….”

“Yes.  Sit here, Sienna.”

“Ah.  Yes!”

“Let’s hurry up and go to the next floor….   Ah!”

It was a very special day.  It had been exactly 3 years since Artpe’s party had met Sienna.  Sienna knew her age, but she didn’t know her birthdate.  This was why they had decided to celebrate this day as her birthday.

“Hurry up and sit here.  You are 15 years old.”

“Hoo-hue-hue.  I’m of marriageable age now?  Didn’t I grow a lot, oppa?”

“Marriage······.”

“M…marriage….”

For a brief moment, a cold wind blew when Sienna spoke in joy.  Artpe quickly changed the topic before Maetel and Vadinet said something weird.

“On top of that, I want to congratulate you for reaching level 370.”

“You guys are a cheat.  No matter how I think about it, you are a cheat.”

Of course, Artpe, Maetel and Regina had pushed past level 370.  Vadinet and Elrick was lagging a bit behind, but they were around level 365.  Aside from Elrick and Vadinet, the average level of the party was 310 when they had initially entered the ruin.  Basically, they had leveled up once every four days.

In the past life, the hero was level 374 when she attacked the Demon King’s castle.  Finally, they were getting close to that level.  If one compared the time it took them to level up, they were leveling slower than the past life’s hero.

Despite knowing how fast the past life’s hero had leveled up, Artpe judged that his party’s progress was truly exceptional.  The reason why he thought this was extremely simple.

‘The average level of the hero’s party from my past life was high, but Maetel was unrivaled amongst them.  There were over 30 level difference between her and her other party members….’

However, that was no longer true this time around.  Maetel’s Innate ability Acceleration was being applied to all her party members.  In truth, Artpe and the other party members possessed similar levels as Maetel.

The past life’s Maetel had traveled around the world doing good.  She felt pain of others as if it was her own.  In comparison, the current Maetel was filled with selfish desires.  The current Maetel should be way behind Maetel from past life.

For some reason, it seemed her Innate ability was more developed in this life.  It was easier for her to share her Innate ability with others.  Artpe couldn’t comprehend it, but it was a good thing.  He decided to leave it at that.

“Since our levels are rising fast, it is time for us to exit this place.  If the Demon King’s army start their conquest before we enter the Demon world, it is all for naught……”

“Is the ruin this long, because the reward is amazing?”

“I’m not sure······.”

Artpe was already sure that this place was different from the ruin from his past life.  Even a Demon King wouldn’t be able to clear this terrifying ruin in one week.

“However, it is time to eat right now.  Sienna, let me congratulate you on your birthday once again.”

“Yes! I like oppa so much!”

Amongst the party members, she looked and acted the most mature amongst the party members.  However, at times like this, she was completely a kid.  She received the biggest slice of cake from Artpe.  When he saw her be happy, he was filled with pride as he smiled.  When Regina saw all of this, she grumbled.

“Artpe, you don’t care about my birthday.”

“You have to tell me when it is for me to arrange a celebration.”

“Even if I don’t say anything, I want you to notice it.  This is what a girl wants.”

“Wouldn’t it be scarier if I did know about it?”

“From now on, today will be my birthday.”

“Alright, alright.  Happy birthday, Regina.”

“Satisfied.”

Regina followed Artpe and Sienna by sitting on top of the mat.  Vadinet was the next one to sit on top of the mat.

Maetel wanted to immediately head down to the next floor, but she was powerless in front of a cake.  For a change, Elrick took off his armor, and he started eating his slice of cake.  The image of him eating a cake was more fitting than him eating a drumstick.  However, if such an opinion was voiced, Elrick would probably get angry.

At the end of clearing a floor, there was no danger to the party.  This was an absolute rule for a Dungeon and ruin.  This was the only place where they could get a proper rest.

“Artpe, A――”

“Nope.  It has been awhile since we’ve had a break.  Don’t stir up any trouble.  Please…..  Mmmm?”

At some point, the ruin started to experience a minor tremor.

Artpe had no choice, but to respond to Maetel’s urging.  He had been speaking when his expression immediately stiffened.  He activated his Mana.

Everyone could hear a loud vibration ring in their ears.

[Your power······ Similar power as me·····!]

“Ah.”

Regina spoke in a low voice.

“It seems it is an Elemental.”

“Elemental?  Wait a moment.  That…..”

[Me······ Are you here to persecute me?]

When Artpe felt the overwhelming Mana within the vibration, he quickly got up from his seat.  The party members, who hadn’t eaten all their cake, started stuffing their mouth with cake.

At that moment, the staircase heading towards the next floor collapsed!

[Me······ You came here to persecute me!]

Of course, the hallway they were sitting on was affected by the destruction.  Artpe quickly extended his Mana Strings, and he was able to secure his party members.  Then he used his support magic.  He had been in a hurry, so he couldn’t secure the mat, which had been placed on the floor.

[Me!  Persecute!  Came here!]

“······.”

The 39th floor was forcefully combined with the 40th floor.  The being, who had been waiting for the party in the floor below, raged.  It started to activate its Mana.

The party members gulped as they raised their weapons.  The boss battle had finally arrived.  However, only one person remained frozen in place.  It was Regina.

“Cake······.”

Regina vacantly mumbled to herself.  Her mouth was small, and she ate very slowly.  Over half of her slice of cake had remained, yet it was set flying alongside the mat.  It had fallen, and it was crushed against the floor.

[Me!  Persecute······!]

“Unforgivable.”

Regina spoke with an ice-like voice, then an overwhelming cold erupted from her.  The Mana of destruction, which had been rushing towards the party, froze in place.  The frozen Mana crashed to the floor!

“Unforgivable!”

“It is the first time Regina used an exclamation point!  She did it over a cake!?”

When Regina raised her head, her eyes were colder than ice.  She glared at the 40th floor boss.  It was the moment when the boss battle of the Ocean’s Grave commenced!