I had to travel for three days to reach the area of the dungeon… that had been pretty annoying. The border with the Aeloria Dominion was pretty rough, filled with mountains and trees. I could understand why since this world was a bit far behind in some aspects if compared to Earth… but perhaps that was for the best.
Whenever people tried to clean the area to obtain more visibility, the elves would come and attack them. Still, when the trees were left alone, they rarely did do anything. I wondered if they would hunt me if they saw me practicing with my grappling hook on the trees and damaging them a little.
In any case, at least the snow and cold were starting to fall behind me. The elves used their magic a lot to control the weather and keep their territory green, so I was getting close.
“I still don’t know what I should do for my disguise here… keeping a helmet all the time would make me a weirdo. Dying my hair? I had to buy dye pretty often and that would make me stand out too. Since the cold was slowly weakening, I didn’t have a reason to keep my hood and cap on all the time.”
I considered using a wig as well, but fighting and keeping one from falling would be difficult… I felt like sighing, wondering when it would come the time I wouldn’t have to worry about that kind of thing.
Before I could find a solution to that problem, I eventually reached the last city in this area before the border with the Aeloria Dominion. I could see it well from a distance since I had halfway climbed the last mountain in the area. It was another walled city, it was pretty large and robust, and it was also completely free of snow as well… I could see a lot of people heading there despite being close to the border.
Beyond the city, I could see a massive land filled with green. That was already the Aeloria Dominion… I couldn’t see much else aside from the trees. Further North of the city, I could see the mountain where the avalanche took place, and the dungeon happened. It was only five hundred meters away from the city, but it was closer to the Aeloria Dominion than I expected.
“The dungeon will belong to the ones who clear it first… better hurry up.”
I began to climb down the mountain in a hurry. I had to find an inn, but with so many people coming to the city, it was hard to believe that finding one would be easy. The place was called Frostkeep, even though it didn’t have any snow in it… apparently, when it was founded, it had a lot of it, but thanks to the elves’ actions, that changed.
The place was pretty similar to Ironcliff. Maybe that was why they had such strong names. They had been designed to be war fortresses. They had some guards at the entrance, but they were mainly talking with each other without a care.
‘If they aren’t wary about the elves, then they probably had their own base somewhere else.’
It was well-known that Elves had disdain for other species, they had even more disdain against half-elves than any other type of half-humans. Those who had children with humans could never live with other elves again, and some of them were even hunted. I had read about some of their organizations as well.
They had the Silver Bow, a faction rooted in the belief that elves should remain a pure and insular society, free from the influence or presence of non-elves. They view their race as superior, with a unique culture and history that must be preserved at all costs. To the Silver Bow, the incursion of other species is not only a dilution of their heritage but a direct threat to their way of life.
The primary objective of the Silver Bow is to expel all non-elves from their lands. This banishment is driven by a sense of superiority and the desire to remain untouched by outside influences.
There was also the Unseen Arrow, unlike the Silver Bow, which operates in the open and pursues its goals through overt actions. The Unseen Arrow works in the shadows. They believe that elves must protect their interests by any means necessary, even if it involves assassination, sabotage, or other forms of covert warfare. While they share a sense of Elven superiority, they are less concerned with isolation and more focused on eliminating anyone or anything that threatens the prosperity of their race.
The Unseen Arrow sees themselves as the protectors of the Elven race. However, rather than banishing non-elves, they believe that selective, covert actions are needed to ensure the elves remain in control of their destiny. They might have a good logo, but I knew it better that these types of groups would stop at nothing to reach their goals.
Both groups were trouble, and I wanted to stay clear of them. Still, both elves and humans are in a race to clear the dungeon, so I probably would meet a few of them. In any case, there were some people walking around with hoods, so I didn’t stand out that much.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
‘It is crowded in here… will I find an inn?’
This kind of place usually would have a certain population, they rarely would have visitors. Still, some people could end up renting their homes or turning them into inns, thanks to the arrival of the dungeon. I looked for those kinds of places.
Fortunately, I found some houses with those boards in front of them saying that they were renting the place or renting some rooms. All of them were already full as well… I wondered if they would be safe to be, but since I had my magic bag and I was going to make others, I could keep my stuff with me all the time.
I crossed the whole city looking for a place to rent. I found some inns, but they were all packed. It looked like I would have a lot of competition exploring this dungeon. This was a first, so I had to be cautious. When the sun was about to set, I finally found a place that had rooms to be rented. It was in the poor part of the city, and the smell of sewers was strong in the air, but I didn’t mind, since I was only going to use the place to sleep.
I knocked on the door and then soon I heard some slow footsteps approaching it. The house was small and simple, but while it looked old, it didn’t look like it was falling apart. It had been repaired a few years ago. I saw a bunch of those with the same design and they looked a lot more run down.
“Yes?”
The door opened and a granny wearing common villager clothes showed up. She was probably over seventy and her body was a bit curved, too. She probably worked hard with manual jobs to look like that. All her hair under a piece of cloth was gray, and she looked exhausted, too. I felt like a whinny bitch comparing my life to hers.
“I read that you are renting a room here. I am interested in it. How much is it, ma’am?”
“It is twenty Breeze coins per night, fifty if you want three meals a day. I guarantee that my cooking is the best in the city.”
I smiled at her proud commentary. If she had the Cook of the Chef class for over fifty years, perhaps she wasn’t joking. Still, the cost was pretty good for a city filled with adventurers and with a dungeon that just emerged, and no one knew how deep it was yet. Perhaps it was because of the location.
I stopped to think for a moment. I wanted to pay a month ahead, but I didn’t know if the lady would do her part of the agreement or if the food would be that good. In the end, I decided to pay for a week ahead of time.
“I believe this is enough for a week, ma’am.”
“Indeed it is, thank you very much. Please, enter.”
I got inside the house only to find a pretty neat and simple place. It looked like an ordinary house. The furniture looked a bit old, but it was in good condition. The living room, kitchen, and dining room were all connected, but it gave a feeling of being spacious enough. There were four rooms on the side. They made me recall the size of my workshop while working for Ovelia.
“You can choose either of those three. Dinner will be ready soon.”
The first belonged to the old lady. She didn’t seem like she lived with anyone… it was hard to believe that she built all those rooms and that they never had anyone using them. It was hard to ask about it.
I chose the one at the end since it was close to the bathroom. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that… either way, I wasn’t going to use it that many times. The room had a bed, a closet, a table, and a chair as well. It was well-equipped enough.
I sat on the bed and let out a sigh… I finally could use a bed again. Still, I had to make another magic bag before going to sleep. I also had to eat.
‘I should have enough mana cores to reach the gold rank… but should I trade all of them immediately? That will get me some attention, after all. Maybe I should take it slowly…’
I was fine when it came to money for now. My reserves were more or less the same as I left Ironcliff, but I needed to buy a bunch of things to make the things I projected and new enchantments too. I had to make money soon… fortunately, the cost of the new materials should be on the rise and remain like that for a while.
My goals were the combat classes… I needed as many of them as possible. The only problem was that combat classes could mostly be found in difficult dungeons. At the same time, I didn’t have any information about this dungeon, so I had to improvise a lot.
While I was thinking along those lines, I heard a knock on my door and then I found the old lady there.
“Dinner is ready.”
“Hm, I would like to eat in my room.”
“No need to be shy, just come to eat at the table. It is proper manners.”
If that was true, then the people back home forced me to learn some bad manners. Insisting against that idea would make me feel bad, so I decided to accept the offer. Dinner was a spicy kind of chicken soup. There was a good aroma in the air and there was a certain sweetness in the food as well. Surprising enough, her boastful remark wasn’t unfounded.
“It is pretty good, ma’am.”
“Of course it is. Did you think that I was lying just to get some coins?”
I smiled wryly… I couldn’t deny that it was a common sales pitch tactic. It was better to stay quiet or change the subject rather than lie.
“You made a lot in a short amount of time.”
“Force of habit.”
Ugh, I stepped on a difficult topic, so I decided to keep my mouth shut instead of risking doing that again.
“Don’t make that face. I just make a lot every day because I keep waiting for my foolish grandson. He decided to become an adventurer when the dungeon appeared. I didn’t allow him to do that, and then he ran away. Well, he must still be in town. So, it isn’t exactly running away. I just hope that gives up soon before he becomes two pieces.”