LGHTNOVELBOOK 16 - Forbidden Tier Dungeon
“Are you Estel, the party leader?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Deep blue eyes pierced straight through me. Beyond those bright, star-like eyes flickered a sharp assessment, measuring me up.
Perhaps because of that experienced atmosphere, she didn’t feel like just a beautiful woman.
But, apart from that, I don’t understand why people here speak so casually to me.
She doesn’t seem much older than me either.
Apprentice adventurer versus veteran adventurer… maybe that’s where the difference comes from.
It probably felt even more strange because I had risen to the position of special-class warrior, the king’s royal guard, in the kingdom.
Well, I’ve come to a new place, so I’ll just have to get used to it. I’ve experienced similar situations several times before becoming a warrior in the kingdom.
“You came for a definite answer, right? That’s what Chamber said.”
“Yes. I heard you have the authority.”
“…”
Of course, understanding didn’t mean I needed to be submissive.
I showed respect to Chamber only because his face reflected years of experience.
This blue-haired woman… well.
The atmosphere, which had been quiet since I stepped in, sank deeper into silence after my single remark.
Simply put, the mood turned hostile.
“This bastard…”
Someone sitting nearby jumped to their feet, but Estel immediately raised her hand and firmly stopped them.
“Enough.”
The atmosphere that was about to boil over was suppressed again.
I felt a slight disappointment.
Such pride battles weren’t uncommon in the kingdom either. However, there, everything was eventually resolved with fists. So this kind of situation actually felt frustrating.
Estel put down her glass and stood up. Then, with a slight smile, she clapped her hands lightly.
“No wonder Chamber was upset. Worth calling just to put him in his place.”
So Chamber deliberately arranged this meeting after all.
What a nuisance.
My gaze shifted toward Chamber. I noticed him sitting in a corner with a hardened expression. Our eyes met precisely.
…Hmm, this is getting annoying. I wish he would stop with these troublesome games.
A slight irritation washed over me.
As I stared at him expressionlessly, Chamber suddenly flinched. Then his face quickly changed to a bewildered expression.
He seemed unaware of why his body had momentarily frozen.
Meanwhile, Estel approached me.
“Apprentice adventurers with this kind of spirit are rare… Or perhaps it’s just recklessness born from ignorance.”
“I came for a definite answer. Whether I can raise my adventurer rank by helping with your task.”
Estel looked at me for a moment, then readily nodded.
“It’s possible. But we need to see if you meet our standards.”
“How can I show you?”
“Metten, guide him.”
“Yes.”
A man sitting nearby quietly rose from his seat and gestured to me.
“Come out to the back.”
Where he pointed, there was a door different from the entrance I had come through.
Nodding, I followed him toward the door. Behind me, those in the inn got up one by one and followed in a crowd.
Opening the back door of the inn, a yard spread out. In one corner, large stone slabs were scattered here and there.
“We’ve been recruiting people for quite some time. This is something we created to establish our own standard. Stack as many stone slabs as you can lift. So far, the person who lifted the most managed 13 slabs.”
“…”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
…Are they joking?
I seriously wondered.
Even though they were called stone slabs, I picked one up to check if they were made of some special material rather than simple stones.
But it was too light. It really was just a stone slab.
The person who lifted the most only managed 13 of these?
The atmosphere was too serious for this to be a joke.
I scratched my cheek and began stacking the slabs one by one. When I finished, thirty stone slabs were piled up. The stack towered above my height.
“…Are you planning to lift all that? You shouldn’t overdo it.”
Someone muttered quietly. Whether it was concern or mockery… anyway, the tone was mixed with disbelief.
Without saying anything, I bent down and lifted the entire stack with one hand.
After shaking it up and down a few times, I placed it back on the ground.
Thud!
The stacked stone slabs collapsed with a rumble, raising dust from the ground.
“…”
Until the dust settled again, the entire yard was silent as if holding its breath.
Estel was the first to break that silence.
“Chamber, could you do this right now?”
“…I could if I used mana.”
“But did this man use mana just now?”
“…No.”
Chamber’s answer was dry, as if reluctantly spitting out unwanted words.
Estel silently lowered her eyes, seemingly lost in thought, then raised her head to look at me.
“Have you trained your body separately?”
I’ve been consistently training my body since opening my eyes in this place.
When I nodded, Estel fell silent again.
At that moment, the man called Metten who had brought me here approached her and spoke.
“With this guy, I don’t think we need to gather any more people.”
“Indeed…”
Estel nodded slowly and then looked at me again as she spoke.
“Come back in a week.”
“The promise…”
“I’ll keep it. Thanks to you, we don’t need to find more people. I’ll guarantee you the rewards that would have gone to them as well.”
Standing there like a foreigner, unable to relate to the atmosphere flowing between them, I turned away without lingering once she clearly made her promise.
Even until the moment I left, the surroundings remained oddly quiet.
♦♦♦
Forbidden Tier dungeon.
Among the 72 dungeons classified by the Empire, it ranked as the third tier.
While the previous two tiers, Anomaly and Threat, could be conquered relatively stably with a well-organized party, things changed starting with Forbidden Tier dungeons.
Forbidden Tier boasted dangers that one or two parties couldn’t handle, so on average, at least three parties would cooperate in conquest attempts.
Among these, the “Cliff Ruins” that Estel’s party was preparing to conquer had been preliminarily evaluated as high difficulty even among Forbidden Tier dungeons, resulting in a total of five elite parties being mobilized.
In addition to the regular parties, they hired 50 more people to serve as extra manpower.
These individuals weren’t party members, but Estel’s party had agreed to pay their wages collectively and control them. In exchange for taking on such troublesome work, Estel’s party would receive a larger share of treasure discovered in the dungeon.
“Haven’t you gathered too few people?”
Standing beside Estel was Rohan, the leader of the “Silver Moon” party and a high-rank adventurer.
Estel shook her head at his words.
“It’s enough.”
“I heard you found one extremely strong man.”
“You’re well-informed.”
“Well, if you say so, then it must be true.”
Rohan shrugged and turned his gaze to observe the approximately 80 people gathered around.
They were adventurers belonging to the five parties participating in this conquest.
Among them, there wasn’t a single top-rank adventurer.
When multiple parties joined forces to conquer a Forbidden Tier dungeon, hiring top-rank adventurers wasn’t practically efficient.
To call them, enormous compensation had to be paid. Shares, equipment, and even decision-making authority would all have to be handed over to them.
In contrast, the skill levels of top-rank adventurers varied greatly, and excluding those with renowned names, there were quite a few top-rank adventurers who weren’t much different from high-rank adventurers.
After looking them over, Rohan also examined the 50 people gathered in a separate location. They were the manpower needed to lift the stone door to reach the upper level.
After confirming the scale that easily exceeded 100 people, Rohan spoke.
“You know we must succeed this time, right? The pride of Central Continent adventurers is at stake.”
“These days, pride isn’t the issue.”
“…That’s true.”
Rohan’s expression darkened as he agreed with Estel’s words.
The current period was extremely chaotic.
This was because magical beasts from Calamity Tier dungeons that had remained unconquered for a long time, and even further, from ancient dungeons classified as Apocalypse Tier, were indiscriminately emerging onto the continent.
While such “breakout” phenomena had occurred occasionally in the past, the current situation was excessive.
Recently, a city in the Western Continent had been completely annihilated by a group of Calamity Tier magical beasts. The noble’s soldiers, holy knight orders, and adventurers who went to support the city were all wiped out.
Such incidents were becoming commonplace. The situation was deteriorating to the point where even the Empire felt a sense of crisis.
“There’s no need to be dejected from the start. Anyway, we should focus on our current situation. We’ve prepared so much for this day.”
Rohan exhaled briefly and nodded.
“Yes, you’re right.”
Soon, the Forbidden Tier dungeon conquest team departed.
Their destination was the dungeon known as the “Cliff Ruins.”
Heading west from the Central Continent, a massive mountain range forming the boundary with the Western Continent appears.
And in that mountain range, there existed a cliff that rose so high its end couldn’t be seen.
At the bottom of the vertical cliff, near ground level, a hole pierced through—this was the destination for the conquest.
The dungeon was discovered when someone passing by the area by chance reported sensing magical beasts inside. After preliminary investigations, part of the dungeon’s structure was mapped, and it was classified as Forbidden Tier.
Estel stood at the very front as she entered the dungeon. Though she was also a high-rank adventurer, there were differences in skill even among adventurers of the same rank. Estel possessed skills that clearly stood out among the five party leaders.
From the beginning, Estel’s party, “Blood Blade,” was much more famous than the other four parties.
Not only the party leader but also a significant number of party members in Estel’s party were high-rank adventurers.
The difference in strength was so evident that comparison with other parties seemed meaningless.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason she stood at the front.
In dungeon conquests, taking the lead meant assuming risks while also gaining the opportunity to access treasures first.
Since this conquest involved five parties, the distribution of treasures found inside the dungeon would be divided according to contribution.
It was all an action to increase their share of treasures and mana stones discovered in the dungeon.
According to preliminary investigations, the magical beasts that appeared immediately after entering were Stoneskin Ogres, ogres with very hard outer skin. Occasionally, medium-sized magical beasts called Cliff Spiders would also appear.
That was the information surveyed before reaching the upper level, and it matched reality.
The conquest team, already familiar with this information, advanced forward without major difficulties.
Then they encountered the stone block where the survey team had been stopped. It looked like an ordinary boulder, but the unidentified pattern engraved in the center immediately changed that perception.
The boulder was much taller than a person. Of course, compared to the size of the cliff, it was small, and not impossible for people to lift. If it had been, they wouldn’t have gathered people in such a crude way.
The survey team predicted that the path to the upper level would open behind this boulder.
They had no choice but to think so because there was only one path, and the only thing blocking this sole passage was this massive boulder.
The passage wasn’t wide enough to push the boulder aside, so they had to lift it upward.
Breaking it wasn’t an option. The survey team had already tried such convenient methods. Blades and magic all either reflected or were absorbed, disappearing uselessly.
In the end, as if lifting it was the only method, this was the first gate of the dungeon designed that way.
Estel signaled to a party member behind her, Metten. Understanding her signal, Metten called for the manpower waiting at the very back.
They were all sturdy men selected through various tests. Each had a robust physique.
Of course, compared to the size of the rock, the gathered manpower might seem insufficient. Estel had also planned to recruit many more people originally.
What changed her mind was that man with long, faded white hair.
Estel spotted the man with a clueless expression among the group of 50. His somewhat blank face suggested he was lost in his own thoughts.
Metten brought them in front of the boulder and began explaining what to do.
“I assume you didn’t gather here to show off individual strength, so I’d appreciate it if you followed instructions and concentrated your power. First, align yourselves with the center and all at once…”
If they couldn’t lift the boulder with these men, the conquest team would also join in. In such a worst-case scenario, the advance party would enter first, and the remaining personnel would have to recruit more people and return, which would complicate matters.
They could only hope that those they hired would perform well.
But before the explanation ended, the white-haired man stepped forward alone.
As Metten, who was still explaining, tried to stop him in confusion.
The man bent down, placed his hands under the boulder, and stood up.
Boom!
And the boulder was lifted with surprising ease.
The entire conquest team, which had been bustling about, froze in place as they witnessed the dark passage that had been hidden behind the rock revealing itself.
Meanwhile.
Bell, who had observed the conquest team’s fierce battles against magical beasts from behind as they fought their way forward, thought after lifting the boulder:
‘No matter how I look at it, something seems off.’