Ossan Saikyō Chapter 14 Part 10
After finishing breakfast, I left the Marquis’ residence and headed into the city.
My first destination was the Adventurer Guild. According to the Marquis, the Guild in Raghantz’s territory was operating normally. That said, the movement of both adventurers and merchants was heavily restricted, so the branch’s operations were apparently being affected to a considerable degree.
As far as I could tell from walking through the streets, the people living there were quite lively, a stark contrast to Mekkela.
However, I occasionally saw people who appeared to be soldiers transporting goods on carts, giving the place an unmistakable sense that preparations for war were underway.
When I entered the Guild, around a 100 adventurers were milling around the lobby. It seemed like a lot compared to the size of the Guild, but perhaps adventurers from the Capital were flowing into this area. Dunken had mentioned something along those lines in our conversation.
I went to an empty counter and spoke to a young male staff member.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Soushi, and I’m a B-Rank adventurer. There’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Yes... Eh, B-Rank? You certainly managed to make it to this city well, sir.”
“Yes, I had my reasons. More importantly, I heard that adventurers are unable to leave the country. Why is that?”
The staff member lowered his voice before answering.
“Actually, it’s said that a civil war may break out between the current King and some of the nobles, including the lord of Raghantz here. Rumor has it that the current King took the throne by rather forceful means...
…
On top of that, his policies are quite terrible, and the people seem to be increasingly dissatisfied. The king has also hinted at invading Orz, so it seems that the border is currently half-closed because of that.”
“That’s quite something... I see. Thank you.”
I thanked him and left the counter.
I had asked partly to confirm what I had heard from others, and it seemed the situation really was as I had been told.
A civil war, huh? Personally, I needed Marquis Raghantz’s side to win, and if my participation would increase the chances of that happening, then I probably should cooperate. But apparently I needed a little more time to get my head around it.
At times like this, the only thing to do was dive into a dungeon like a proper adventurer.
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After reading through the guide, I left the Guild.
Apparently, there was one dungeon of each rank from E through B in the area around the city, so I decided to go through everything up to C-Rank for the time being.
First, I headed to the E-Rank dungeon. It was the large-tree-type dungeon I had entered before. I reached the lowest floor in about 2 hours, punched the Boss, a Kobold Leader, to death, and cleared it.
The skill I obtained was【Heat Resistance】, so it was lucky that I acquired a skill I wanted.
Since I still had time, I entered the D-Rank dungeon in the afternoon.
It was a 10-floored dungeon on a plain. The mid-Boss, an Armored Minotaur, was a Rare, while the Boss, a Gigant Tortoise, was Normal. I crushed both with a single blow from my mace.
It took just under 4 hours to defeat the Boss, which was actually less time than when I entered with my party, because far fewer monsters (small fry) appeared.
A ring came out of the silver Rare treasure chest, but with Mariane not here, I couldn't use【Appraisal】on it. My【Fire Resistance】skill leveled up, though. Resistance skills are difficult to level, so that was quietly appreciated.
It was evening by the time I left the dungeon.
I thought that meant I could easily handle the C-Rank dungeon alone as well, but as I watched the setting sun, I was suddenly overcome by a feeling of loneliness. I had apparently become completely accustomed to traveling with my party.
I strongly felt that I needed to reunite with them as soon as possible. Freynil in particular had me worried.
(E/N: Don't chop onions, man!)
I asked one of the Guild’s male staff members to appraise the ring I had obtained earlier, and it turned out to have【Poison Resistance】『+3』.
“Accessories with high-level【Poison Resistance】are extremely valuable, so there is strong demand for them among nobles, as a result, they can be sold for a high price.”
“Is that so?”
Apparently, items with this sort of supplementary effect worked on ordinary people as well, and it was not uncommon for nobles and others to wear them. Still, hearing that nobles wanted【Poison Resistance】left me feeling somewhat uneasy.
I also spoke with some of the other adventurers at the Guild, but basically all I heard was criticism of the current King.
I heard stories about being unable to leave the country, people’s lives worsening due to restrictions on distribution, acquaintances being turned into slaves, and so on.
“He says he’ll conquer Orz, expand the country’s territory, and make life better for the people, but nobody believes that. Besides, the last war only just ended, and ordinary folks are finally starting to settle down.
…
Fighting a war just to win popularity is nothing but stupidity. Everyone wants the Marquis to do her best and drag the King off the throne as soon as possible. I’d say the people in the Capital especially feel that way.”
That was what one veteran local adventurer had to say, and the other adventurers were saying much the same thing in their own words.
When I returned to Marquis Raghantz’s residence, her trusted aide, Arslin, was standing in front of the entrance. It looked like he had just returned from somewhere.
“Soushi-dono, did you spend the day in a dungeon after all?”
“Yes. I went to the D-Rank and E-Rank dungeons. What about you, Arslin-dono?”
“I was patrolling again today to make sure no slave hunters came around. I’m also concerned about those ‘Devils’.”
“That sounds exhausting. Do slave hunters appear that often?”
“We drove them off yesterday, so I don’t think they’ll come again for a while. But even if Marquis Raghantz is opposed to the King, the idea of trying to turn people from other territories into slaves is an act of barbarity beyond belief. Don’t you agree?”
“I do. There were also slave hunters in Vermillion who appeared to be agents of Mekalinan. Apparently elves and beastkin are being targeted.”
“I have heard that the number of elven and beastkin slaves has indeed increased over the past year or two. If they are committing such acts in other countries as well, then we can no longer afford to wait.”
“Will the civil war begin soon?”
When I asked that, Arslin’s eyes became somewhat sharper.
“It will begin without a doubt. King Giselpha wants the supplies in the Marquis’s territory. If you saw the state of the Capital yourself, you should understand.”
“That is certainly true.”
“The problem was that until recently, we had no just cause on our side. Defending ourselves after being attacked is one thing, but we need a proper justification to march on to the Capital. In that sense as well, the fact that you appeared in the capital at this particular time and brought Ryūsha-sama here is extremely significant.
…
And you captured Mazero as well, didn’t you? He was one of the trump cards of the King’s faction. The fact that he is gone is unquestionably good news.”
I had consciously involved myself in Ryūsha’s case, but apparently I had also been taking actions that helped the Marquis’ faction without even realizing it. Calling it coincidence seemed almost too convenient.
If all of this really was because of my【Bad Luck】skill, then that was quite a frightening thought. In fact, I felt like this entire series of events lately couldn’t really be explained without【Bad Luck】.
I might have to seriously investigate this at some point.
◇◆◇
The next day, I entered the C-Rank dungeon. It was a 15-floored dungeon located near a body of water, but according to the guide, only monsters with physical characteristics appeared there, so I judged that I would have no problems.
Since I was alone, a kind party waiting at the entrance tried to stop me, telling me not to go, but when I showed them my mace, they accepted it.
Since it was a waterside dungeon, many of the monsters were modeled after aquatic creatures.
The mid-Boss on the 5th underground floor was a giant slime called a Huge Slime. It attacked with poison and acid, so under normal circumstances it would be a difficult opponent without ranged attacks, but a barrage of【Shockwave】settled the matter.
The treasure chest contained a《First-Grade Potion》, an expensive item capable of healing even lost limbs. I already had several in my【Item Box】, but having more certainly wouldn't hurt.
The mid-Boss on the 10th underground floor was a Flying Shark, an actual flying shark. It was around 20 meters long, practically a whale, but one swing of my mace left it on the verge of death.
(E/N: The name is in katakana english, while the second instance is kanji, fyi)
Suddenly, an idea struck me, so I tried using【Plunder】, and unbelievably, I was able to steal a necklace made of coral. Apparently, some monsters also possessed【Item Boxes】, and I could steal items from them.
This might secretly be huge news.
Incidentally, the treasure chest contained about 100 kilograms of《Salt》. Needless to say, salt was an important commodity in this world as well, and salt produced by dungeons was apparently particularly prized as a luxury product.
I could sell it for money, but since I had obtained it anyway, I decided to use it when camping.
The Boss on the lowest, 15th underground floor, was a Tiny Kraken. It was a well-known fantasy staple on Earth, but the one in this world was a gigantic octopus.
Despite the “Tiny” part, its head alone was 7-8 meters tall, and with its 8 tentacles included, its size was overwhelming.
Apparently, it was a physically specialized monster with high defense and powerful regenerative abilities, making a prolonged battle inevitable. But once again, it was helpless before my mace.
I blasted apart the tentacles it extended to capture me, then dealt one blow to its head, and it was over.
The skill I obtained was called【Stalwart】, apparently an advanced skill of【Steadfast】. Even if I stood on one leg and swung the《Indomitable Bastion》around, my body would now remain completely fixed to the ground.
I could already stop that rampaging Devil head-on, but I had no idea just how far my specialization in physical strength would go.
Still, after entering the dungeon, I felt as though I had once again confirmed just how abnormal I was. If I possessed this much power and still held back, I might not even be able to face my party members.
I suppose this really was the time to make up my mind.
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E/N:
I love this plunder skill, wish it could be used against every monster encountered.
Also, it's the moment of determination, let's get this over with!
Stay tuned!
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