Chapter 244: Water Axe
———Lynda———
<1: 56 pm>
“Argh! I’m sour all over!” I complained as I lay down on the hard ground.
“It’s what happens when you get too worked up.” Glery said as she collected the drops. “I know you have been on a high since you got that axe, but surely you could slow down a little.”
“What? And not try to get used to it as soon as I can? We have been slacking on dungeon runs for a while too, so we might as well compensate for that.” Maybe I am a bit too eager today, but I just want to make sure that yesterday’s performance wasn’t a fluke. “Anyway. Let’s leave.”
I then activate the function on the band that stores the axe away somewhere. An absurd ability to have, but it looks like Emmie already has something similar, which is why she’s even willing to give it away.
I got up and walked over to the teleport circle, waiting for Glery to finish collecting.
“All done. Let’s go home.” Glery said and the two of us walked into the teleport circle.
*Zoom*
And we’re back. Hmm… Looks like we weren’t in there for too long. Considering the floor count we got, it’s pretty darn impressive. Still clearly pales in comparison to that group, but an improvement is an improvement.
“Hm? Oh. Hey, Luik, it’s rare to see you stroll into the dungeon personally.” I called out to her as she was about to enter the dungeon.
“Hi, Lynda, Glery… Did you two just come out?” She asked, still maintaining the rather stoic face that contrasts with two floppy bunny ears on her head.
“Yeah. It’s pretty darn exhausting, we go in a bit too deep this time.” I said, still feeling like I can barely stand. “You’re going in solo?”
“Indeed.” She said, clearly not intending on stopping for a long chat.
“Good luck with that then. See you later.” I said before the two sides went their separate ways. “...She has been kinda intense as of late, don’t you think?”
“Her choice of attire already made that clear.” Glery pointed out. It’s not actually that complicated, just a long sleeve gray shirt and sleeves black coat and pants, but it is more elaborate than most. People just mostly use their old clothes that they won’t be crying over if they’re damaged. It’s kinda embarrassing to be wearing just a normal shirt and pants, but it’s not like we could all afford armor.
“...Anyway. Let’s go back and cash in. Then we can… Eh. We haven’t been there for a while, how about we go to that doctor for some bread?” I don’t really have any plan on spending it on anything at the moment, or even to save for something.
“That’ll work.” Glery answered as we walked into the guild. She is the one to put down the loot we have for the staff to count. It’s a lot, so it’s gonna take a while before we get our pay. “Go take a seat, you really need a break.”
“Yeah yeah. I know.” I said before finding a place to sit, at a table with no one else around. Who would’ve thought that a strong weapon could cause someone to get carried away? I think a lot of people are in the camp that a weapon beyond its baseline function isn’t really needed. That seems to be extremely wrong. Obviously that thing didn’t make me tens of times stronger, but everything about the fight just feels a lot more… efficient, I guess. There is a saying about the conversion rate of mana, which a special weapon helps with.
“…Say. You are okay, right? Keeping up with me going on that power trip probably doesn't do you too good.” I ask one more time just to be certain she’s not keeping up appearances.
“I’m fine. You’re the one doing most of the work today anyway.” She replied. Guess I’ll believe her. “…There are a lot of people here today.”
“It’s Sunday, why shouldn’t there be people here? Some guys want to get some thrills while making a buck or two out of it. Can’t really blame them.” It helps that this dungeon is so well-documented that everyone already knows what to expect going in. The training area is also bustling with strong fighters willing to help train for chump changes. I can’t really tell if they’re a scam or not, but I’d imagine the staff here will let that slide if they figure that out. “I guess you never like a place with a lot of people.”
“I don’t like staring.” She explained. Is it about her snake hairs? I think she ought to ignore them instead of staring back with the snakes. I don’t think the others quite realized that she can actually see through their eyes.
“Just close your other eyes and be done with it. No need to make a fuss.” I said while also looking around. Not sure what they’re all doing right now outside of waiting for a freelancing job. Those things don’t come by often with how little problems go around in this neighborhood.
*Beep* *Beep*
“Huh?” I exclaimed in surprise as the speaker in the lobby rang out as it churned out white noises.
“<Attention, dungeon explorers. I have received an exclusive intel that there will be an increase in dungeon instances starting tomorrow midnight. Thank you for your time.>” The familiar voice said before everyone started to begin discussing what in the world that even meant.
How did she even get access to… When did we have a speaker in here, actually? This isn’t exactly such a big place that someone shouting wouldn’t do the trick.
“This is… very odd.” Glery remarked. That’s quite an understatement. If this means what we think it means, then suddenly there are gonna be a lot more people able to feasibly get good loot in the dungeon. I’m kinda surprised that there is even a warning for something like that, instead of a calamity occurring like last time.
“...At least it’s good for the rest of us? Less likely to have dungeon resources drained out for the rest of the day even with one of those guys running amok.” This should help with other people getting some loot no matter what time of day they go in, and… “With how dungeons work, this seems like an extremely monumental task, ain’t it? Whoever created them basically had to put in the same amount of effort as the first time they created the dungeons.”
“We don’t know who even created it and abuse the concept of multiple dimensions to allow them to exist without overwriting underground human-made structures. For all we know, this person can even be hardly quantified as one.” Glery pointed out. I personally think it’s weird they even think about the possibility of the disruption caused by creating dungeons in the same physical space as our world already told us enough that they are at least someone who knows how to be mindful of humans.
“I think they’re someone who can be personable. I know they introduce all kinds of whacky things, but like… we’re not in complete chaos anymore, right?” Even the first few months weren’t actually that bad last I checked.
“For us, maybe. Remember that our town and the surrounding area to a smaller extent is a territory of certain powerful individuals lording over us like kings and queens, outside of here and other few locations, the world was almost lawless for a week, which is a week too many.” Glery said, clearly unconvinced. “You do know why there doesn’t seem to be many extraordinary individuals to talk about? Most of them killed each other during that one week. It becomes a world of the strong eaten by the stronger. It’s something the public at large seem to callously forget.”
“...Do you really have to talk about that grim stuff again?” It really isn’t something we should care about. That particular story is already over, and there’s nothing we can really do about it. “You have always been a bit of a downer, but this is a bit much ain’t it? You need a chill pill.”
She doesn’t seem to take too kindly to that, considering her expression, but she kept it to herself. Eh. I’ll make up to her later on. I was planning on giving her some gifts for sticking to me for two days now anyway.
“...Kind of an awkward timing for Luik. I don’t think all the monsters and rewards had refreshed by the time we left. If it had been today that the change happened, maybe she could’ve gotten more stuff to sell.” I shift the topic since it doesn’t look like she has much else to add. “She has been keeping things to herself lately, it feels like. Especially in regards to her fighting ability. You think she came up with a trump card that we didn’t know about?”
“Who’s to say? It does feel like there has been a shroud of secrecy amongst the students in regards to their fighting prowess. I suppose they’re fighting for at most a second place. The Perfect Class simply outstripped everyone in terms of raw power for any esoteric techniques to make much of a difference.” That’s quite a pessimistic take on it. I mean, there is that guy…
“I think we ought to be a bit more optimistic on that front. By the way, why have your parents been letting you sleep at my house nowadays? I know they’re kinda cold towards you, but even they know better than to let their kid stay outside the house for multiple days.” I said while also asking something I want an answer to for a while.
“I think they just got desensitized to it. Nothing worth analyzing.” She explained. I can’t sense any falsehood in that, so I’ll roll with it. Sometimes things are just that simple with no strings attached.
“Alright then. That’s good.” There’s not much to say with the answer being so simple.
…Hm? What’s this article? I haven’t checked the news since morning, but apparently there’s an earthquake happening in West Virginia? A sighting of an explosion in a war zone…
This sounds… really bad. Looks like something similar also happened two days ago. Weird, and certainly concerning.
Hopefully it’s someone who came in and destroyed the culprit and not that whoever destroyed the place keep rampaging.
I wonder if Glery already read about this… Maybe we can talk about it and speculate further.
A staff member then walked up to us, and Glery followed him and went to get the cash. Guess it’s time for us to go get something to eat.
“Alright, let’s go out. How much did we get this time?” I said as both of us left the building.
“...Almost a hundred bucks.” Whoa, seriously? In this economy?
“That’s way more than I would’ve thought. I guess we did get lucky and got a good amount of potions, but…” Miracle cures are gonna be invaluable. They obviously sell a lot more on the black market, but selling these kinds of items could land you in trouble, so most do it through official channels that give way less pay… “Just count ourselves lucky and leave it at that. I wonder if he got any new bread in stock.”
We both entered the building and were immediately hit by the strong smell of fresh bread, which is obviously quite hard to resist.
There are also three people sitting there with visible wounds. Looks like he is busy right now. Quite a bad time to arrive for us.
“Alright. Your friend is all fine now. Now with you three, I ended up still having some spare mana left, so here.” The weird doctor walked out of the operating room and approached the three.
*Shine* *Mend*
He then blasts a healing spell on the three, helping close the still open wound, though they are obviously not completely removed.
“I’ll not charge you three for that. I’m feeling generous today. Your friend will need at least a few hours of rest.” He explained to the three who looked quite relieved, he then gave them a piece of paper. “Here’s the bill. Make sure to pay it on time.”
A few small exchanges later and the three left.
“You two seem to be doing fine.” He remarked.
“Just got paid and I’m here for the bread. Got anything good today?” I get straight to the point.
“Of course. No super special produce today, however.” Ah, that’s a bit of a shame.
“Whatever, let me take a look.” I said before walking over to look through the display. Now what am I gonna pick today…