Chapter 501: Episode 501
The carriage rattled onward. Since arriving in Tarados, Simon had grown weary of travel, but the sound of the wheels had at least become a familiar backdrop. The uncomfortable jostling, the water sloshing precariously in its glass—once he grew accustomed to it, the rhythm became almost pleasant. All he needed to complete the picture was a light book.
[Simon. Six o’clock.] Pier’s voice echoed in his mind.
"Right," Simon acknowledged.
Of course, the journey was not entirely peaceful. A chimera, a grotesque fusion of various animals, was pursuing them. The lands of Tarados were a paradise for abandoned experiments and chimeras. Simon gave the creature a long, steady look before his gaze returned to his book.
A volley of black arrows thudded into the chimera’s hide. Riddled with shafts, the creature limped for a few more steps before collapsing onto the sand with a heavy ’thud’.
Atop the carriage, the skeleton archers rattled their bones in triumph.
"Truly, as expected of necromancers!" the driver exclaimed in admiration. "I never dreamed I’d cross Tarados in such comfort!"
"Just focus on the road," Simon replied calmly. "Don’t worry about the chimeras."
Skeleton archers stood ready on the carriage roof while, farther out, Pier and Erzebet patrolled their flanks, dispatching any threats in advance. It was, all things considered, a comfortable journey. Lisa, the younger sister of their client, was sleeping soundly. Kajan was busy transcribing his gathered intelligence into a notebook. It was a fleeting moment of peace before the inevitable battle. Simon leaned against a cushion and turned the page.
’An easy read. I’m already this far.’
His father, Richard, had always taught him that whether on a mission or a simple dispatch, understanding the local culture and history was the key to finding a solution. Simon had asked the driver to share the story of Tarados, but the man had simply pulled a book from the luggage compartment, insisting it was better to get the whole story at once. The book was a memoir written by the former lord during Tarados’s golden age. The section on his childhood had just ended, and Simon had reached the highlight: the Gold Mine Dungeon.
’How strange.’
According to the memoir, the Gold Mine Dungeon that had appeared in Tarados would actually drop solid gold when its monsters were slain. This gold, tinged with a faint reddish hue, shone more brilliantly than any jewel on the continent, and its luster never faded, even outside the dungeon. Adventurers sold the gold in the markets, and accessories carved from it became a sensation among the high nobility, ushering in an era of unprecedented prosperity for Tarados.
’I still remember those days vividly. Lured by rumors of a dungeon that dropped gold, tens of thousands of adventurers flocked to Tarados, each dreaming of a windfall.’
’A town formed around the dungeon, bustling with people. I saw this as an opportunity. I invested money to expand and promote the town. In just a few years, it grew into the wealthiest city in the kingdom.’
’But at the time, I did not know what despair and suffering that dungeon would bring upon us.’
"Ughh."
Lisa, who had been lying down, tossed and turned in the cramped space. Simon gently stroked her hair, and she soon settled, using his thigh as a pillow as she drifted back to sleep. Simon returned his gaze to the book.
’The dungeon’s monsters are born from the dungeon walls and possess a strange regenerative ability. They can easily recover even when pierced by a spear, but they can be destroyed if the gold embedded in their chests is forced out of their bodies. One had only to pick it up and hand it to the merchants gesturing eagerly outside the dungeon, and a heavy wad of cash would be pressed into their hands.’
’People blinded by gold came to occupy the first floor of the dungeon, where no monsters appeared. Inside this dungeon, people’s wounds healed as quickly as the monsters’. Hunger was a distant memory, and even the heaviest drinking left no hangover. It was as if time stood still.’
’People ate, slept, and drank all day on the first floor of the dungeon. Since their bodies couldn’t be harmed, even drugs became popular. They did anything for pleasure, and the place became a den of debauchery that exposed the ugliest facets of humanity. We called the people who lived in the dungeon ‘Dungeon Addicts’.’
’The Dungeon Addicts never wanted to leave the dungeon. They would eat and drink all day, and when their money ran out, they would descend to the second floor to hunt monsters, exchanging the gold they found for coin. With that coin, they bought more alcohol, women, and drugs.’
"Tragedy is inevitable when men forget the value of labor," Kajan remarked abruptly from beside him.
"Haha, how long have you been reading over my shoulder?" Simon asked, surprised.
"I’ve been following since the first page." Kajan scratched the scar above his eye. "Knowing the history and culture of a region is as important as combat."
"You sound just like my father," Simon said with a smile, turning back to the book. It began with an ominous line.
’Something is going wrong. The number of ‘Dungeon Addicts’ grew, and conversely, the frequency of dungeon monsters appearing decreased. The ‘Dungeon Addicts’ started fighting each other with knives to claim the gold. Even if blood splattered and heads were split open, they would be whole again moments later. The ‘Dungeon Addicts’ now killed people as if it were a game to pass the time.’
’Since no more gold was coming out, the merchants were the first to turn their backs. Unable to earn money, the Dungeon Addicts could no longer afford alcohol, women, or drugs. Eventually, they rushed out of the dungeon and stole valuables and food from the good citizens of the city, even taking their lives. They retained the casual disregard for life they had developed within the dungeon.’
’I sent guards to control them. But the Dungeon Addicts who came outside would not die no matter how many times they were cut down. Their wounds regenerated, and they revived endlessly. It was true. Before we knew it, they had become the dungeon’s ‘monsters’.’
Simon was stunned. "People becoming monsters... Could this have really happened?"
"Yes, it did," the driver answered, glancing back from the front of the carriage. "When I was about five or six, my father was a ‘Dungeon Addict’. My mother was always sighing because he never came home."
"Oh..."
"The main incident is about to unfold," Kajan prompted. "Hurry up and turn the page, Simon."
"Right."
’The city burned and was destroyed. The great lords were terrified that those immortal Dungeon Addicts would invade their own territories. The kingdom sent an edict ordering me to resolve this situation by any means necessary. They said if I failed, they would have no choice but to seal off Tarados.’
’I hired skilled adventurers. The five most famous adventurers on the continent, who had never once failed to conquer a dungeon. This was the only option I had left. They would enter the deepest part of the Gold Mine Dungeon, kill the Dungeon Master, and completely destroy the dungeon.’
Simon could feel the lord’s desperation bleeding through the ink. He turned the page, his heart pounding.
’We did it! The adventurers. No, our heroes killed the Dungeon Master! The dungeon began to disappear, and the addicts both inside and outside finally came to their senses! The great adventurers saved Tarados!’
A powerful sense of joy radiated from the lord’s diary. But it was short-lived. His mood soured on the very next page.
’This is all a nightmare. I heard a terrible story. The ‘Dungeon Addicts’ who came to their senses were furious with the heroes who had saved them, demanding to know why they had destroyed their paradise. They brutally hacked the injured heroes to death with knives and desecrated their bodies. There’s a rumor that one of them survived, but I do not know for sure.’
’I have decided to step down as lord. I feel a deep sense of frustration and cynicism at the ugliness of humanity. Is this truly what it means to be human? If so, I can no longer lead them. A new lord will be dispatched from Langerstine. I wish him luck.’
That was the final entry.
Simon closed his eyes and shut the book. The revelation of this dark Chapter in the continent’s history left him with a profound sense of unease.
"Sir," he called out.
"Yes."
"What happened after that?"
The driver gave a bitter smile. "What could they do? The addicts who had known nothing but effortless pleasure in the dungeon... what could they do after it was gone? They starved to death, one by one."
He said nothing for a moment.
"The economy of Tarados, which had maintained prices three to four times higher than other regions, was shattered. When the dungeon was destroyed, the precious ores used as luxury items for the nobles all faded into worthless stones, and Tarados paid the price. Capital and people flowed out like an ebbing tide, and gangs raided the city, taking anything of value."
Simon nodded grimly. If Tarados’s entire infrastructure had depended on the dungeon’s income, it would have been impossible to suddenly change the system and force people to adapt. It must have become the impoverished domain it was today, and the new lord, sent by the kingdom, must have oppressed and exploited the residents. Then the Order, a group conducting horrific experiments, arrived. The Ganes Guild, sponsored by them, established a foothold, and everything spiraled out of control.
"Now, more than forty years later, I still harbor some resentment for the older generation," the driver admitted. "That disaster struck just as I was coming of age, and my generation had to pay for the mistakes of the adults and the Dungeon Addicts. In the end, after my mother passed away, I fled to Ebrun to find work."
"I see."
Kajan suddenly turned his head. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have arrived."
After passing through a wasteland roamed by the chimeras of failed experiments, Simon’s party finally reached a ruined city. Only the foundations of houses remained; the surroundings were desolate, utterly barren.
"Don’t tell me."
"Yes, this is the place from the story," the driver said, his voice heavy. "This is ‘Sogo,’ the city of pleasure where the Gold Mine Dungeon once stood, which enjoyed the greatest prosperity in Tarados’s history."
Absolutely nothing remained of the city of Sogo. It was a place where no one could live. It was, quite literally, a ruin, with only foundations and shattered pillars dotting the landscape.
"According to our intel, the Ganes Guild and the lord’s soldiers move all captured residents to these ruins," Kajan said.
"Is the Order’s headquarters nearby?" Simon wondered aloud. "Why here, of all places? It’s so unsettling..."
"Because the people of Tarados avoid it. It’s the perfect spot to conduct illegal experiments in secret. If not that—" Kajan’s eyes sharpened. "—then there must be an entirely new reason they had to choose this place."
As they spoke, the carriage passed through the ruined city.
---
Hiding behind a pillar, a pair of wide, stark-white eyes watched them from the shadows.