Chapter 47
Chapter 47
Procuring Materials (2)
After boldly leaving the chapel, I headed toward the academic bulletin board.
There was nothing special about why I came here, where all sorts of requests were posted. If there happened to be a request worth taking on in the place I was planning to visit, I intended to do it together.
Scanning the sections divided by area, I found a familiar name. [Swamp of Gehenna]. Commonly referred to as the Poison Swamp.
It was an extremely troublesome dungeon, which was why the largest number of requests had piled up there. Because of the toxic fog, you had to layer on all kinds of protective gear just to barely set foot inside.
For safety reasons, the amount of time you could remain there was limited. Compared to the cost of preparation, the schedule was far too tight. No wonder it wasn’t popular.
There was a lot to worry about, and it was troublesome in many ways. A place like that carried an extremely high risk, making it difficult even to enter.
“Are you looking for a requ—est.”
After I had been staring for a while, an academic staff member approached me. Wearing a faint smile that carried the experience of a seasoned civil servant, she began to speak but had to stop midway.
Only then did she realize that the person she had personally addressed was me. I was currently in combat attire, my grown-out hair tightly tied back.
Well, if she didn’t recognize my sea-colored hair, she could only blame her own eyes.
“I’d like the most recent request related to the Poison Swamp, please.”
“Ah, yes.”
Perhaps she hadn’t expected me to speak so calmly, because her eyes widened into circles.
Soon she regained her composure and began searching for the request, an inexplicable enthusiasm visible in her movements.
“Would you prefer one with more people? Or something closer? What about the difficulty? A shorter deadline?”
“No. The most recent one.”
“…Yes.”
She handed me two sheets of request forms. After briefly thanking her, I looked them over.
“Hmm. The Poison Swamp is dangerous, so you’ll need to go with someone you work well with. Do you have a party?”
“No. I’m alone.”
“Ah~ alone. Yes? Alone!?”
It wasn’t unreasonable for her to be surprised. The Poison Swamp was that dangerous of a place. But for me, it was different.
The toxic fog—the greatest nuisance of the Poison Swamp. If it was liquid-based, then it was useless against me.
The Duhein Family’s inherent resistance to water, along with the additional liquid resistance granted by the skill Anaye had given me.
Mediocre poison wouldn’t even be able to penetrate my body. And the toxic fog of the Poison Swamp fell into that mediocre category.
“Um. If you’re alone, it won’t pass the review.”
“Review?”
“Yes. The Poison Swamp is extremely dangerous. It’s the place with the highest number of casualties, so you need to prove you have the ability to return safely.”
“…To whom?”
“Of course, the academy. If someone ends up dying because of a mistake, it becomes a headache.”
I hadn’t known that. In the game, you just applied and entered the dungeon. Considering the danger, though, it did make sense.
“How does the review work?”
“I’ll help you. I mean—no. It’s dangerous alone. It almost never passes the review.”
“So you’re saying it’s not completely impossible.”
“Th-That’s true, but…”
She seemed to have figured it out. Realizing I had no intention of listening to her, she let out a deep sigh.
I had no intention of backing down either. Entrust my back to people I didn’t even know? The Poison Swamp was dangerous and troublesome enough even without the toxic fog.
In a place like that, nothing was more dangerous than incompetent allies. Unless it was someone on the level of Soloven Rahorakti. But someone that high-caliber had no reason to come to the Poison Swamp.
It was more comfortable alone.
“How is the review conducted?”
“You just need to get permission from the person in charge of the review. Usually, prestigious families contact them in advance.”
“Hmm. I see. So there isn’t any particular fixed method?”
“No. Of course, it would be best if you didn’t do anything problematic.”
Since I was already here, I wanted to get it settled. If I received permission in advance, I could just enter freely next time.
In the game, it had been such an annoying dungeon that I hadn’t even thought about it. But thinking about it now, there was probably no one better suited for it than me.
“Then let’s go to the review office.”
“…Yes. I’ll guide you.”
“Ah, by any chance, do you have any poison collected from the Poison Swamp?”
“Pardon? We do, but…”
“Please lend me some.”
She tilted her head at my sudden request. I merely shrugged.
She handed me a bottle of poison from the administrator’s table. Then, telling me to follow her, she began walking. I followed behind her.
—Knock, knock.
—Come in.
The place we arrived at was the duty officer’s office. What? They even had a duty officer for this? A small hand knocked promptly. The deep voice from beyond the door sounded vaguely familiar.
“Duty Officer.”
“What is it?”
Inside the duty officer’s office, I saw a gorilla standing upright while working on paperwork. The same gorilla professor I had met once over the suspension issue.
The gorilla let out a deep sigh upon seeing me enter behind the guide. He sighed before even hearing the reason.
Being treated like this. It was new.
“What kind of trouble did you cause this time?”
“Me?”
“…What’s with that expression like you don’t know?”
The gorilla scolded me without further questions. Of course, having nothing to hide, I remained confident. As his eyes twitched, the gorilla turned to look at the guide.
The guide forced an awkward smile.
“The student is requesting a review.”
“A review?”
“Yes. It’s for entry into [Swamp of Gehenna].”
“Hah.”
At the guide’s words, the gorilla let out an incredulous laugh. Then he beckoned me over. I approached with a puzzled expression.
“Davide.”
“Yes.”
“If you want to die, tell me. I’ll crush your skull for you.”
“……”
Was that really something a teacher should say to a student? Perhaps my chilled gaze felt genuinely sincere, because the gorilla’s face twisted slightly.
“So. What method?”
“If I can safely return from there, that’s enough, isn’t it?”
“Right.”
I took a few steps back, putting some distance between myself and the gorilla. With that monstrous physique of his, he would definitely try to interfere with what I was about to do.
Their gazes tangled as I suddenly moved away. Even when I pulled the bottle of poison from my pocket, neither of them reacted.
“What’s that?”
“Just a moment.”
The gorilla’s question continued, but I opened the bottle before he could say more.
As the toxic fumes rose from the bottle, the gorilla frowned. The guide, on the other hand, looked at me with keen interest.
“Kyaaah!”
“What are you doing!”
I gulped it down in one go. The startled gorilla lunged at me, but it was already too late.
It tasted like bitter, astringent anchovy fish sauce. The strong fishy stench made my brow furrow instinctively. At my outrageous act, the guide screamed.
“Urk.”
My stomach felt heavy, so I thumped my chest a few times and let out a belch. The guide grabbed me as I stood there, burping nonchalantly.
“The infirmary! The infirmary!”
“I’m fine, though.”
“The infir—… Huh?”
Thank you for the cute reaction. The guide stared blankly, and the gorilla looked completely dumbfounded.
“If I stay like this for about thirty minutes, that should be enough, right?”
“……”
“As for combat ability—what was it—Soloven Rahorakti and I sparred, and I won. You can confirm with her directly.”
“Hah.”
The gorilla repeatedly rubbed at his eyes, as if suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue. He wore the face of a weary salaryman.
The guide shuffled her feet anxiously, but after looking at my calm expression, she seemed to relax a little.
“Please stop doing things like this.”
“You wouldn’t have approved it otherwise.”
“Ha.”
The gorilla let out a deep sigh from his dantian and headed back to the desk where he had been working on paperwork.
“Whether you live or die, that’s your problem. Just go. If I keep looking at you, I’ll lose my temper.”
“Thank you.”
As he handed me the permit, I immediately bowed my head. I led the guide out of the duty officer’s office.
“…I didn’t think you’d pass.”
“It wasn’t much.”
“Drinking poison like that isn’t much?”
“So you can joke too.”
“…A joke. Ha ha.”
I was starting to notice the attitude of people who had simply given up. She seemed curious about how I remained perfectly calm even after drinking the poison.
Of course, I had no intention of telling her. I focused on the academy map hanging beside the bulletin board. Since the island was quite large, I kept in mind the possibility of getting lost.
“You’ll at least listen to the safety guidelines, right?”
“Yes.”
“Protective suit… you don’t need one…?”
“No. I don’t.”
“A gas mask…?”
“No. I don’t.”
“But you must keep to the time limit. If you don’t return within ten hours after entering, a rescue team will be dispatched.”
“Hmm. Can’t you extend it to twenty-four hours?”
“No.”
How firm. Not that I planned to stay there long anyway. In the game, the Poison Swamp had been described as damp and unpleasant.
A swamp was not exactly an ideal environment. Staying too long would only make it more uncomfortable.
“You have to come back safely.”
“Yes?”
“Otherwise, both the duty officer and I will get fired.”
“…Ah. Right.”
I was momentarily puzzled by her sudden goodwill, only to learn the truth behind it. She looked at me with an expression that felt faintly desperate.
It was the kind of desperation that made it impossible to say no. Not that I had any intention of dying.
“May I see the monster distribution map?”
“Ah! Just a moment.”
While she briefly stepped away, I fell into thought. I had already roughly planned my route, and there was nothing special to prepare.
The monster I was targeting was the [Swamp Ant]. With tough, resilient exoskeletons and the habit of moving in swarms, they were troublesome creatures.
But before lightning, all were equal. Their weakness attribute was fire and lightning.
However, due to the swamp’s characteristics, fire damage was reduced, while lightning was actually amplified. It was a perfect counter.
I planned to hunt those ants and cut off their antennae. Compared to other hides, they were tougher and far more elastic.
“What monster are you planning to hunt?”
“Swamp Ants. There’s a request for them.”
“Ah, that one. Mm. The one posted by the academy.”
“Yes.”
“…It’ll be hard alone.”
“I don’t think it looks that difficult.”
She grew restless again. Of all things, an ant swarm. Even the academy had only posted the request as a formality. It was practically considered a commission for the Imperial Knight Order.
She stared into my eyes, then shook her head. Quickly giving up, she clasped her hands as if beginning to pray.
“Please don’t let me get fired.”
“With a prayer like that, I doubt anyone would listen.”
Of course, that wasn’t something I, who didn’t pray at all, should be saying. I checked the monster distribution map she handed over.
Some were spread widely across the area, while others, like the ants, were densely concentrated in a single location.
The one referred to as a named monster was in the center of the swamp, so as long as I was careful around that area, it should be fine. There didn’t seem to be anything else particularly concerning.
If I followed the route I had originally planned, that would be the end of it. Estimated time: about eight hours. Since I didn’t have to worry about the toxic fog, travel time was drastically reduced.
“What kind of magic is primarily detected in the Poison Swamp?”
“Water attribute. And quite concentrated.”
My physical condition from the Sea Temple was still at its peak. That sticky sea magic had instead invigorated my body. I didn’t know whether it was because it was the sea, or simply because there was a lot of water around.
I would find out during this expedition. If I was indeed affected by water, then it was something that could be used strategically.
There was some concern, but even more anticipation. After politely saying goodbye to the guide who had treated me kindly, I left the place.