Chapter 48
Upon waking up, I got out of bed slowly. I was careful to not wake Coa. I wanted to let her sleep for now. I pushed her a bit too hard with the game I think.
After getting back to the inn the previous night and acquiring a late dinner, I had set up a simple matching game for Coa to see how she’d respond to it. I had pulled out some slips of paper and then marked two of each of them with something that looked distinctive. I placed them face down, mixed them up and while Coa watched I played the game. I did it a few times on my own before I communicated to her that she should try. Flipping thin pieces of paper over was beyond her motor skills, so she would nudge one and I would flip it over. She stared at the symbol before nudging another.
She actually did quite well. She never erred on remembering the right location for the match if she had seen it previously. I was pretty impressed considering she’s still only seventy or so days old.
While this had been happening, I had taken advantage of the obvious distraction I was creating for any would be watchers, to set up the tiny security cam. I had used my psi to skim it slowly along the ground hiding it in the shadows of objects before sliding it up the wall behind the door and onto the ceiling slightly away from that wall. From there, it would be able to watch the entire room.
That was last night, now It was time to get ready for the fun times I’d be having today. The innkeeper knocked right on time and provided me the warm water I had requested last night. I wiped myself clean. Regretting not for the first time that I didn’t have a real bath. I miss Lullaby’s comforts.
Before leaving the room, I scooped out the pouch of the monster stones I had collected from the forest dungeon and tossed it on the bed. A small trap and test for my watchers. I would be dreadfully disappointed if they acted on it.
I ordered breakfast and then sat with the group from a couple days ago. A few of the group gave me nods, but they were more interested in watching the argument going on. Coa was awake and alert as if her sleeping state just a minute ago was a lie.
“I’m tellin’ ya, that guy is just plain lucky this year.” The demon man was saying.
“No way. His use of spells has shown he’s definitely a top tier sorcerer.” A young male elf retorted. I think he’s the one that was attracted to me?
“If Glacier and Quake were participating, his little fire tricks wouldn’t amount for much. That brat wouldn’t have a chance at winning.” The older demon man shot back.
I handed a piece of meat to Coa and then turned to my neighbor. “What are they bickering about?” I asked quietly.
“The Magic Tournament is coming down to the finals today. Vulmar is a fan of Flare, so he’s happy that he’s the current favorite for winning. On the other hand, Habboch is old enough that he recalls when he first appeared.” The human woman answered.
“And Glacier and Quake?” I queried.
“One of them is always the winner with the other the runner-up of the tournament.” She said and then added. “When they show up anyway.”
“Neither did though this year? That seems weird to me.” I remarked.
“Not really. The two of them are actually married. Glacier is probably just pregnant again. Last time she was, they stayed home.” She explained.
“So they’re married, yet they still come to fight each other in a tournament every year?” I questioned. That seemed like a bit of a waste of time. Couldn’t they fight each other whenever they wanted?
“Yep. Apparently they met on opposing sides of a battle sometime in the past, so they come to relive their first meeting by trying to kill each other all over again.” Why do I feel like I just learned of some very elaborate foreplay? “In a safe environment that is. If they really went at it outside of the measures of the coliseum, the destruction they’d cause would be quite extreme.” She laughed.
Our conversation attracted the arguing pair. “Oh, the youngin is here! We missed you yesterday! Didn’t we, Vulmar?” He threw the elf a smirk.
The elf had a slight blush, but didn’t rise to the bait otherwise.
Don’t tease him, you damned old man! Now he’s working up the courage to take some kind of action. I started eating quicker. I would really prefer to not have to quash some guy’s heart this morning. Seri’s done it before, countless times at that, but I don’t feel comfortable doing the same.
I will if I have to, though.
The conversation had gone back to the mage tournament and I was paying attention to some of the descriptions of the earlier matches. Even if it's just gossip, it’s still information about spell slinging. That Flare guy does seem pretty competent since it sounds like he can accurately use his fire magic to consume the oxygen around his opponent to knock them out while casting more noticeable spells to distract them. Something like that might even work on me if I let myself get caught in it.
I finished, so I got up and picked up my tableware. “Thanks for the company. I have errands to run. I’ll see you all tomorrow possibly.”
Right as I was about to leave though, the elf, Vulmar I guess, spoke up. “Wait!” Damn! I turned my head back around. He had stood up. He faltered upon receiving the frown I directed at him before rallying grandly. “Would you like to come to the tournament finals with me?” He managed to get it out in a rush.
While it was an intriguing event to go see, I’m not going to go about encouraging any romantic aspirations, so my response was predetermined. “No.” I coldly stated.
“Ahh.” Was all he could eek out before collapsing back onto his seat.
Our tablemates were laughing at his misfortune or patting him on the back, but I didn’t pay any more attention and passed the plates and mug to the inn lady. The best option for shopping would probably be the giant market stall line up that I visited before. I had an amusing idea for a mask, but I wasn’t positive if I’d be able to find something like it. If I did though, I was sure to make quite a splash! It would be the first occasion that I really intended to do so on this world, if I ignored the spur of the moment decision back at that inn. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was a good idea or not, but I felt like I was drawing things out enough already. If showing up in the limelight to nobility was what it took to get what I wanted, then I’ll do it and get it over with.
If even this doesn’t work, then there’s always another level to escalate to. A level that involves lots of mysterious deaths appearing in a certain capital city. Not the most pleasant option really. I’m just feeling really damn impatient.
It wasn’t long until I was once again in the thick of the frenzy of shopping mayhem. I took advantage of the acquaintance I had made with that accessory merchant, who I noted was still selling that necklace, and asked if he was aware of anyone selling masks. He gave me some directions after I passed him a few copper coins.
The first location was a flop. Not at all what I was looking for. They were more like hanging hair accessories.
The second was exactly what I was looking for. It was an actual shop for one thing, which meant the selection was much greater than some kind of stall would have. The problem was that while the masks were neat and some were even like masquerade style masks, they didn’t really have what I was looking for either. Irritating really.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Mistress, why not that mask to the left and up?” Lynn chimed in.
I had already noticed the one she had pointed out. It looked slightly dragon or serpent like in design with feathery wings on the sides. The comparison to Coa was pretty obvious. While it looked nice, it still wasn’t the kind of mask I wanted.
[I’m looking for something else.] I wrote back.
“What kind of mask are you looking for then?” Lynn asked. “I could always put one together.”
[I was hoping to find a solid blank face with no features at all. That includes no eye slots either.] I explained.
I heard Lynn sigh. “Mistress, I understand that you want to make an impression, but I think that would be a bit much. How would you explain the fact that you could see with that kind of mask. Sure, if we were somewhere where psi is known, then it would be a simple answer, but this world doesn’t seem to be aware of it. They’ll likely know you are not using magic to accomplish it so there will be questions.”
Ohh. I was focused on making an impact that I had forgotten something really simple like that hadn’t I? I resigned myself and purchased the winged dragon mask. Since I was nearby I stopped and visited that clothing shop for that fitting check they had told me to come back for in a few days. The finished pair of pants were a tiny bit off, which sparked a complaint from Lynn about shoddy tailors. I don’t think that was very fair of Lynn considering the advantages she had to work with. They informed me that I could return in a few more days to pick up the completed order.
That business concluded my errands, so it was time to visit that school. I hope the fact that I only know the name ‘Rie’ isn’t going to be an issue.
“There’s no student by that name here.” One of the four guards at the gate told me. None of the ones on duty were the ones that had been here that evening when we delivered the kids.
I cursed my earlier thought. Of course it was a nickname. I can’t recall if I ever learned her brother’s name either. “Rie is about this tall.” I took my hand and placed it at about neck height. “She has shiny silver hair too. If you could just tell her that Seri is here to visit her, I’m sure she’ll tell you it’s fine if you pass along my description to her.”
The guards eyed me suspiciously. “What is your connection to the supposed student?”
“I’m one of the adventurers that rescued them and helped bring them here some days back.” I supplied.
He looked at one of the guards. “Brynn, report to the Professor on duty for verification and instructions.” The guard, a woman, saluted and went through the gate and toward the nearest school structure. “Now we’ll just wait here for her to return.” He added, focusing on me.
I was kind of amused that the remaining guards were positioned in such a way that they could subdue me should the need arise without getting in each other's’ way. I didn’t have anything to do so I started scanning around. The guard around the school was pretty impressive. There was magic running along the walls and even the gate that the female guard just went through has some weird effect at the opening. A magical version of a fingerprint scan maybe? Is this really the level of security a school requires?
That’s kind of a stupid question given I’ve visited academies before that had auto turrets, anti-air emplacements and even mechs on standby. Those academies defenses made sense given what I knew of their environment and other factors. I don’t know enough to decide if that is the same in this case. It does seem excessive compared to the protections I’ve seen elsewhere here.
The guard came jogging back. “The professor verified her story, but regrets to inform you that you are unable to meet with Valerie today. The lessons will be going through the afternoon and into the evening. They request that you return tomorrow at this time and you will be able to have a meeting.”
I considered my options. Other than breaking in to see Rie, this was satisfactory. As long as they do let me see her tomorrow without more excuses. “That’s fine with me. I’ll come back then.”
I left and my attention was drawn toward the tower that stretched into the sky. This hadn’t taken as much time as I had expected, so I’ll take a quick detour.
I went to scope out the location of the brothel for later which turned out to be a complete waste of time. The barkeep had said it was overlooking the harbor, but this mansion and its grounds were gigantic. It was pretty much the only lot here. Sure there were smaller mansions around, but this was the only one that had ridiculous security measures like he had warned me about.
Hmm? That guard looks familiar. Or would he be a bouncer instead in this case? Whatever. Anyway, I can’t place him, though I’m sure I saw him somewhere before. Recently at that. I could get closer, but there was a quicker method. [Lynn, that guard at the brothel, I swear I’ve seen him before. Can you identify?]
“One moment, Mistress. Oh!” The image of the guard magnified and was cleaned up. A second image came up next to it. It was that knight guy that was with that noble girl. What the hell was he doing watching the gate of a brothel? I feel like I just got a hint about what kind of trouble I might run into tonight.
I’ll leave it for later me to deal with. The tower was beckoning! It’s time for some stress relief!
The dungeon was located at basically the dead center of the city and there was a very spacious plaza surrounding it. No one was doing business here, which somewhat surprised me. You would think that adventurers going in and out of the dungeon would be a good market for certain types of goods and services. Instead the plaza was decorated more like a park with artificial streams and flowering trees and bushes. I walked along one of the pathways leading toward the tower. There were a number of stone arches I had to pass under. As I got closer, I saw that the water for the streams was actually flowing out of the tower like small waterfalls. Maybe this park is something like the lobby of the dungeon?
Due to what I had heard at breakfast a few days ago, I wasn’t all that surprised to see the large number of soldiers near the giant door of the tower. They were using those status orbs to check everyone going in. They’re taking this examination a bit more seriously than I expected them to. They’re supposedly doing this to recruit talented individuals to serve in the military. Does some mythical villain really necessitate this? Is some kind of hokey prophecy that trustworthy?
Regardless, there was no way I could sneak by thirty to forty soldiers on a sunny day in an open area without overusing my psi, so I adjusted my classes to Beastmaster with no subclass. I pulled out my bow as well. If they inquired about why I was going in alone with this class, I’d just tell them I was planning on unlocking Hunter at the first floor. That should satisfy them given what I learned about the level of the monsters.
When I arrived, I was ushered through the crowd toward one of the status orbs. I followed the instructions to place my hand on the orb like usual. Unlike the orb I saw used before this one had the information appear written in the orb. Another soldier jotted down the information.
“Thank you for your compliance.” The soldier said. I just nodded. I was a bit confused that he didn’t ask for my adventurer card. He didn’t have the slightest reaction to my classes either! “There are currently a few companies traversing the dungeon. We ask you to be courteous and defer to them if you cross paths.”
Just great. Even my relaxation time is coming with hassles. I simply nodded again. I went past the guards and toward the large door. Next to the door, I noticed another door, but this one was plain weird. Inside of the door, I could only see the stone exterior of the tower, except there were ripples every second or so along the surface. Was this the teleportation gate that had been mentioned? I’ll find out later when I return I suppose.
“Mistress, be safe and good lu-” She was cut off as I strode across the threshold.
*You have discovered the Dungeon
A four star rank huh? That means it’s the same level as that cave I found back in that mountain range. I survey my surrounding before I started walking casually. Just like the notes detailed. The first ten floors had the appearance of a simple labyrinth with a torch every five meters. The path is pretty wide being about five meters from wall to wall. The guide said that can vary though and that not all the walls were solid stone. Some had holes large enough to crawl through, or that monsters could use to get at you.
Speak of the devil. A large rat came around a corner ahead of me and leapt with its mouth wide open. I took a step back and lightly spun and kicked it against the wall. It died on impact. Just like the monsters back at the forest it then dissolved, leaving only a tiny stone behind. Not like one could expect much from the first floor monsters that weren’t above level ten. I wouldn’t be having any fun until floor seven or eight when the monsters began to reach the forties and beyond.
Sadly, the notes had no directions for the stairs leading upward. The tower changed its inner configuration every single day, apparently. I’d have to wander around until I locate it.
When I arrived at an intersection, more rats came from both the left and right paths. It felt like stepping on bugs as I disposed of them. Literally, since I stepped on and crushed one of their heads and then knocked the other away. I wonder if Coa could handle these? I glanced at the serpent that even now was once again dozing around my neck. I don’t really want to wake her though and I’m not sure I want to risk her fighting when I don’t really have a way to heal her if she gets seriously injured. I guess pass for now. Was I babying her too much?
I took the route that a rat hadn’t come from with the fervent hope that it would be the one that led to the stairs.