BXBX NOVEL Chapter 24 – Uncharted Dungeon (2)
Chapter 24 – Uncharted Dungeon (2)
Chapter 24: Uncharted Dungeon (2)
In the end, Kasan couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
Thus, he once again became a member of Ketal’s party.
Rosa spoke up as if things were going well.
“Since it’s come to this, should we call the others who used to party with Ketal?”
“Oh? Is that possible?”
“Yes. They’re all mercenaries.”
“I see. I thought they found other jobs since I’ve never seen them before.”
Kasan vaguely guessed.
They probably all avoided the barbarian.
It was obvious what would happen if they met again.
But their circumstances were none of Rosa’s concern.
Ketal was a capable and outstanding mercenary.
Moreover, he was considerate and courteous towards her.
There had been no complaints about their missions so far.
Initially intimidating, he turned out to be a very likable person as she got to know him.
Three F-grade mercenaries.
Sacrificial lambs were acceptable.
Rosa got up from her seat.
“Then please wait a moment. I’ll fetch them.”
And not long after, two familiar faces to Ketal entered through the entrance.
Ketal approached them with a bright smile.
“Oh oh oh! Alexander! Heize! It’s good to see you again! Welcome!”
“Eek!”
“Ack!”
Startled by Ketal’s sudden approach, the two jumped back outside.
After a little commotion, the four gathered in one place.
Ketal was smiling very satisfactorily.
He had reunited with old comrades.
And once again, they became a party.
What more could one ask for in such a situation filled with romance!
Ketal was ecstatically happy.
And in contrast, the other three had gloomy faces, shaking their heads.
Ketal, blinded by happiness, didn’t notice this fact and asked with a grin.
“It’s been a while. How have you all been? I heard you’ve been working as mercenaries, but how’s life been?”
“…Just, solving quests and living modestly.”
The priest’s words were echoed by the other two.
Ketal observed their faces and murmured.
“Your complexion doesn’t look good. You seem thinner than when I first saw you.”
“Unfortunately, we’re not cut out for mercenary work.”
The priest scratched her cheek with a sheepish face.
Not just her, the others looked the same.
They were all misfits, unwelcome in the group.
They couldn’t properly execute missions.
They were barely scraping by.
Ketal, noticing this, chuckled.
“Don’t worry. This mission will give us some leeway. Of course, the rewards will be distributed equally.”
Continuing his words, Ketal suddenly remembered something and said calmly.
“Oh. Of course, if you have circumstances or don’t feel like it, you can refuse. I won’t force you.”
“Oh, no.”
“To refuse…”
All three shook their heads.
Ketal sighed with relief.
“That’s a relief. It would’ve been a bit awkward if you refused.”
“There’s no reason to refuse…”
The priest, Heize, said calmly.
It wasn’t because they were afraid to refuse the barbarian’s proposal.
There really was no reason to refuse.
Looking at it calmly, the barbarian wasn’t violent or rude.
He actually showed consideration and respect to them.
It was hard to find someone as courteous among mercenaries.
He wasn’t someone who would cause trouble.
Sure, there were some quirks, which were scary, but it didn’t happen often.
Moreover, aligning with a strongman who could defeat a Skeleton Knight in one blow was a stroke of luck.
‘It’s actually for the best.’
Kasan thought inwardly.
For some reason, Ketal held genuine favor toward them.
So, it would be better to maintain friendly relations rather than forcibly distance themselves as they did before.
“Great.”
Ketal grinned satisfactorily.
“Then, Rosa. Please make the request.”
“Yes.”
Rosa, as if she had expected this, took out a request form prepared in advance.
“There are various requests, but… you’re thinking of something related to dungeons, right?”
“Yes.”
Exploring dungeons was a very enjoyable task.
Rosa handed him the request form.
“Here. There are requests related to dungeons. Take your time and choose.”
“Oho.”
Ketal’s eyes gleamed.
Even at a glance, the request form was not small in quantity.
“Can I take a look first? With your permission…”
“Oh. Yes.”
“As you please…”
Ketal chuckled as he examined the request form.
Seeing him like that, the other three withdrew with slightly tired expressions.
To like battles that much…
Indeed, a barbarian was a barbarian.
Ketal carefully examined the requests.
Various dungeons caught his eye.
The Lizardman’s Dungeon.
Trap-focused dungeons.
Undead dungeon.
Goblin dungeon.
They were all diverse and distinctive, and all looked fun. The laughter didn’t stop. He continued to flip through the request form.
And then he found something strange.
“Hmm? Rosa.”
“What’s wrong?”
“From here on, the difficulty isn’t indicated?”
The dungeons were usually measured by difficulty like E-rank, D-rank dungeons, and so on.
But the form Ketal was looking at now didn’t have any difficulty levels.
Rosa raised her head and made a sound as if she made a mistake.
“Oh. I didn’t include that. These are uncharted dungeons.”
“Uncharted dungeons?”
“Exactly as it sounds. Dungeons where the difficulty hasn’t been confirmed.”
Dungeons naturally occur near where humans live.
Then guards or mercenaries explore the dungeons and roughly check their difficulty.
Although they don’t explore deep inside, it was enough to determine the difficulty of the dungeon.
But there were dungeons where such measurements weren’t made.
There were several reasons for that.
There might not be enough manpower to explore the dungeon, or it might be a dungeon that requires certain qualifications to enter.
Or it could be a dungeon where you can’t return until you clear it.
“Ho.”
Ketal’s mouth curved up.
His party members sensed unease for a moment from his smile.
Ketal leisurely examined the uncharted dungeons.
Among them, there was a dungeon that caught his eye.
“Labyrinth of Infinity? What’s this?”
“…Ah. Exactly as it sounds. The dungeon itself is a maze.”
“A maze! Is it really a maze?”
Ketal was extremely excited.
When it comes to mazes, the most famous one is the Labyrinth of Minotaur.
It was a story from Greek mythology that he had read with great interest.
Not only in Greek mythology but also in most fantasy-related literature, maze-related content appeared at least once.
Ketal also cleared several maze-related games.
Mazes that could only be cleared under certain conditions.
Mazes with structures that continuously changed.
Mazes where you had to solve riddles to escape.
Very diverse and fun mazes.
And naturally, he thought to himself.
‘I want to experience a real maze.’
And the opportunity has already come!
Ketal decided right away.
“Shall we choose this?”
“Yes, yes? Is that okay?”
“Of course, it’s okay! What’s a maze? Is the dungeon itself implemented as a maze?”
“Oh, no. It’s said that when you enter, a being appears. And from that being, you can choose whether or not to take on the challenge of the maze. I don’t know more than that.”
“No one who took the challenge returned.”
“…Yes.”
Ketal grinned.
“Great. I like this. What do you all think?”
“Yes?”
Kasan was startled.
An uncharted dungeon.
And one where no one returned!
In essence, it was a suicidal act.
Who would want to go to such a place!
Kasan wanted to refuse immediately.
“I’m not forcing you, of course. We’re comrades. If you don’t like it, I’ll choose a different dungeon. But I want to go here.”
Ketal said with sparkling eyes.
“Uh, um.”
Ketal was considerate and courteous to them.
As long as things didn’t go wrong, it wasn’t scary.
But now things had gone wrong.
“Uh, so…”
He wanted to refuse.
He didn’t want to go to an uncharted dungeon.
But he didn’t want to refuse.
It wasn’t scary, but he was afraid.
“I-I’m fine.”
In the end, Kasan said with clenched eyes.
And prayed.
Please let the others refuse.
Deep in his heart, he prayed to a god he had never believed in.
And a few minutes later.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Ketal shouted energetically.
The other three followed behind him with faces as if they were going to die.
* * *
Why couldn’t they refuse?
They know it in their heads.
Even if they refuse, this barbarian wouldn’t harm them.
But even with such reasoning, an inevitable sense of pressure engulfed them.
Regardless of the reason, once a choice was made, there was no turning back.
Rosa also tried to stop them somehow, but ultimately failed.
They had to conquer the maze, the uncharted dungeon, with the barbarian, whether they liked it or not.
“Is this the place?”
There was an entrance made of bricks a little away from the territory.
In front of it, there was a signboard stuck in the ground.
[Danger: Uncharted dungeon. No survivors.]
“Then let’s go in.”
“Yes…”
They entered the dungeon with faces of impending doom.
As Rosa said, there were no traps or monsters in the dungeon.
And that made the party members, except for Ketal, even more uneasy.
It seemed to imply that minor risks were unnecessary, as if true despair was waiting, and no one had ever returned.
And after how long they walked, they saw it.
A single monument.
“Is that it?”
As Ketal approached the monument, a figure appeared.
It was a translucent being like a ghost.
Ketal felt a slight excitement at the sight.
A ghost appeared from a monument.
He had directly witnessed something commonly found in countless stories.
[Are you challengers of the maze?]
A low voice echoed.
The ghost glanced briefly at Ketal, who seemed excited, and then continued its duty silently.
[I am the guardian and guide of this dungeon, challengers. Who among you will challenge the uncharted maze, or will you retreat like cowards?]
The party members thought Ketal would immediately declare his challenge.
That’s how strong his interest in the maze seemed.
But instead of nodding, Ketal asked.
“What form does the maze take?”
[I cannot answer.]
“How large is the maze?”
[I cannot answer.]
“Does the maze deform?”
[I cannot answer. All answers can be found once you enter the maze.]
“Is there no information available from outside?”
Ketal stroked his chin.
And then, as if making a decision, he nodded.
The party members thought Ketal would finally declare his challenge and prepared themselves mentally.
But Ketal turned around.
“Then let’s go back.”
“What?”
[Are you giving up? That’s fine too.]
The ghost said calmly as if it had expected that.
Ketal grinned.
“I’ll be back soon, so wait for me.”
Ketal left the dungeon.
Kasan, bewildered, asked.
“Weren’t you going to challenge?”
“What are you talking about.”
Rather, Ketal looked at Kasan with eyes that seemed to say he couldn’t understand.
With that look, Kasan felt a strange emotion.
It was as if he looked like a fool.
“For now, I came to gather information. Since it’s a maze, we need to prepare thoroughly.”
“P-prepare?”
Ketal went straight to a grocery store when he returned to the territory.
“Can we buy dried food? It would be good if it could last for at least a month.”
“And please give me some alcohol. Water may spoil, but alcohol doesn’t.”
“Oh. And fresh fruit if you have it.”
He purchased all sorts of groceries.
Most of them were long-lasting preserved foods.
He even bought a simple sleeping bag and a long rope.
He bought everything he could prepare.
Kasan, who was following him absent-mindedly, suddenly snapped out of it.
“W-what are you doing right now?”
“It’s preparation for conquering the maze.”
Ketal said as if it were obvious.
“Since we don’t know what form the maze is or how large it is, the only thing certain is that no one has ever returned.”
A maze of considerable difficulty.
“It’s likely to take a considerable amount of time to clear. So, shouldn’t we prepare for that?”
“Uh…”
Listening quietly, it seemed like the right thing to do.
When challenging something with no information, thorough preparation was the answer.
‘…But you’re a barbarian!’
He even received a lecture to prepare thoroughly from the barbarian.
Kasan’s head was spinning even more.
‘No. Wait a minute, then.’
Ketal wasn’t simply fascinated by the idea of a maze and recklessly charging forward against their thoughts.
He was aware that it was a dungeon with no information available, with a high probability of never being able to return.
‘…So you’re challenging it at the risk of your life?’
Isn’t that even crazier?