Chapter 15: Chapter 180 - The Eyes of Those Who Chase Dreams Are Always Burning
Krais crossed his arms and continued, his eyes shining brightly.
"The man named Dolph, who owned the treasure map, made the dungeon a long time ago."
Wondering what nonsense he was going to say next, Enkrid looked at Krais, who flashed a confident smile.
It was irritating, but there was nothing to say, so Enkrid just stared at him.
"That means this method didn't exist before," Krais continued.
Times had changed, and as the years passed, treasure hunters had become more cunning.
They risked their lives disarming traps to enter dungeons and obtain their rewards.
They focused on results, skipping over the tedious process of disarming traps.
This was the essence of the "Christraun Dungeon Breakthrough Method," as Krais had mentioned.
"It's a technique called 'retreating'."
It was a shortcut, but if it worked, it was a brilliant method, as Enkrid himself had experienced.
If capturing the leader of the monsters was a wall, why wait for him or sacrifice the village? Why choose a disadvantageous battleground? Instead, find a way around it.
"This is it."
Krais found a rock, about the size of an adult man, and said, "Please, Luagarne."
At that, Luagarne willingly stepped forward.
She pushed the rock, and with a loud thud, it toppled to the side.
Underneath, an old hole appeared.
Krais took out a shovel from his bag and dug a few times before speaking.
"This is the entrance, roughly speaking."
He began walking confidently. After about the time it would take a finger-length candle to burn, Krais smiled again.
"It should be around here."
Krais grabbed the shovel and started digging. Of course, this was no task he could do alone.
"Come on."
This time, it was Enkrid. He picked up a shovel and started digging.
What he meant was that they would bypass all the traps and make a hole to access the treasure hidden inside.
It wasn't a fresh idea, but in the past, when Dolph created the dungeon, it might have been an unimaginable method.
It was a shortcut, but far more efficient than risking their lives disarming traps.
Enkrid agreed and helped.
Esther prowled around, claws raised, but Enkrid shook his head.
"Rest for a while."
The leopard looked exhausted, its fatigue clearly showing.
"Kyarrr."
The leopard seemed pleased with the suggestion, letting out a cry before curling up in a corner to lie down.
It closed its eyes as if it were truly worn out.
Except for the sparring on the way here, Enkrid had carried it in his arms.
It looked completely drained of energy.
Anyway, Krais's words were right.
"Just pick up a few treasures on the way and we're done. Are we leaving this behind? Well, maybe there's nothing left. Someone might have taken it without the map, but that's unlikely."
It was the third time he had casually said that nothing much would happen.
As they dug, the dirt crumbled and fell away, revealing an artificial passage.
"See?"
Krais spoke. This was the result of taking turns digging with Enkrid.
A few gold coins rolled inside the hole, reflecting the light.
It didn't seem particularly dark deeper inside, but a handful of gold coins couldn't be all there was.
As Krais had said, it was easy.
"Wow."
Finn's eyes also sparkled. Krais had promised a share of the Krona, and Finn could take a few krona pouches with him.
Luagarne and Esther weren't interested, and Enkrid, seeing the broken sword, thought it would be good to find some krona.
They would go down, gather the treasure, and return. It was still an easy task.
It should've been. It should've been a simple task.
The sun was setting, and before long, the moon had risen. Krais glanced at the moon briefly and then spoke.
"Let's all go together. I don't think it would be bad to spend the night here. We might have more things to carry."
There didn't seem to be any real danger.
There were no monsters around, and they wouldn't be staying in there for more than a day.
The sun was already setting, wasn't it?
Since they had to camp anyway, if there was no danger inside, it would be best to stay the night down there and leave tomorrow.
Krais, having made these calculations, spoke up.
Rather than being bothered by pointless insects, it was better to stay the night and move on tomorrow, and everyone agreed.
"That sounds good."
Enkrid agreed too. As he did, he wondered if there might be anything else besides the gold coins.
"Could there be something useful?"
Though he didn't lack for Krona, his sword had taken too much damage in the recent fight.
Especially the sword made from Valerian steel and Norian iron—the blade was badly worn.
Apart from reshaping the edge, the core was also damaged.
"I can't use this."
For mercenaries, weapons were life. A swordsman who couldn't appreciate the value of his weapon was already starting off wrong.
Enkrid, of course, knew how to assess the condition of his weapons.
He had fought against hundreds of beasts and monsters. If the sword was still intact, that would be strange.
Both swords' blades had been ruined.
His armor was also torn in several places. The leather parts were ripped, and there were holes in some of the chainmail areas inside.
Thinking about this, Enkrid glanced to the side and saw Luagarne moving without much care.
"We'll be late returning, won't we?"
When Enkrid spoke, Luagarne puffed out her cheeks and responded.
"It's fine. I'm just enjoying it."
The atmosphere was warm and cheerful. Enkrid had handed over some seasoned jerky to Esther.
In the meantime, Finn tied a rope to a sturdy tree.
The ranger knot method was shining in its full glory.
"It won't come undone unless it's cut. And it's not something that can't be climbed."
It was a precaution for any possible situations. Very ranger-like.
After setting up the rope, they let it down through the hole.
Enkrid went down first, followed by Finn, Krais, and then Esther, who jumped and dug her claws into the wall as she descended.
Lastly, Luagarne coiled her feet around the rope and lowered herself down with a series of soft thuds.
Once everyone was down, they looked up.
By now, the moon had risen.
'It must be around midnight,' Enkrid thought to himself as he recalled the time.
"We'll camp here and go up tomorrow, perfect timing."
Krais spoke from behind.
Enkrid nodded. There could still be some lingering dangers, so he lit a torch and began scanning the area.
Behind them, where Krais had found the dungeon entrance, was a long corridor, but it was so narrow that they would have to crouch just to get through.
'If we go out through there, my back will hurt,' Enkrid thought.
It wasn't a real concern, but it was that tight. Fighting in such a space would make it difficult to react properly.
'Not a good place to use a sword.'
Enkrid judged it that way.
There didn't seem to be any other dangers. Everyone shared the same thought.
There wasn't as much dust as expected, and there were no traps that would burst when stepped on.
Esther yawned lazily with a "kyaar" sound. She looked more tired than usual, so Enkrid picked her up and passed the torch to Krais.
Luagarne, scanning the surroundings, murmured, "Old traces."
What would she look like as a scholar?
Enkrid also fell into thought for a moment.
'She knows ancient languages and is a talent reader affiliated with the kingdom too.'
Apart from her combat skills, the Frog was versatile, and her value was certainly not low.
Finn couldn't find any danger in the passage ahead or behind.
As a ranger, Finn wasn't quite a treasure hunter, but he knew how to spot traps.
'Everything looks fine.'
If it were a trap that she couldn't see, it would likely be related to a spell or a highly advanced trap.
Not a simple one like a tripwire or a pressure plate that fires arrows, but a kind that activates just by brushing against it.
Things that would be difficult to notice unless you're a professional treasure hunter.
'It would be excessive for a rich person to set up something like that.'
Such a trap would really be something that you'd only find in an ancient tomb. It would need to be tied to magic at the very least.
Finn saw Krais walking beside him.
Krais, having picked up a few gold coins that had fallen on the ground, was scanning the surroundings with the light of the torch.
So far, nothing had happened.
No danger, no special events.
The passage was short, and soon they reached a round tunnel. At the end of the dungeon, there was a pedestal and an old, worn chest.
On top of the pedestal, there was a sword, its blade covered in dust.
To put it nicely, it was antique; to put it poorly, it was a hopelessly old sword.
"We've come the right way."
Krais couldn't hide his excitement. They had dug properly and found the right path.
At this point, could they not call themselves treasure hunters?
Reading the 'Christraun's Dungeon Solutions' had been worth it.
Since his childhood, after learning to read, Krais had gotten his hands on all sorts of books.
He had thought that those books would be the way out of the swamp of poverty he had grown up in.
It had been the right choice.
And now, wasn't he finding treasure?
"Is all that much krona needed to open a salon?" Enkrid's casual question broke the mood.
"Yes, of course," Krais answered without taking a breath.
Really? Enkrid asked with a glance. Krais, after a long time, began to recount his dream.
"I'm going to open the most luxurious and extravagant salon in the capital, one that everyone will want to enter. I'll even have membership cards. But that's not all. I'll open branches all over the continent."
The eyes of someone chasing their dream always burn brightly.
Enkrid had no right to mock someone else's dream, and seeing Krais's eyes so full of light, he simply cheered him on.
"Yeah. Go for it."
Except for the worn-out sword stuck in the center of the pedestal, there was nothing special about the two chests.
Seeing gold coins scattered along the passage, there had to be something here.
With excitement, Krais approached the chests.
It was possible they might be rigged, with poison darts ready to shoot out if the chests opened. Krais stepped cautiously.
Behind him, Luagarne offered more valuable advice than gold coins to Enkrid.
"You're lacking if you only learn the basics. You need to properly learn swordsmanship, and train it into your body; then you'll be able to go further."
"For example?"
"Northern-style swordsmanship. You learned it from that guy, didn't you?"
The frog's sharp intuition was at work.
After glancing at Ragna and then at Enkrid, she deduced the connection.
She nodded.
Enkrid nodded back, and Luagarne spoke again.
"If you can learn proper Northern-style swordsmanship from that blond guy with red eyes, it would be great."
"Can't you teach me?"
"I'm bound by a pact. This is already an extraordinary vacation. I need to return."
Luagarne spoke with genuine regret.
The pact. A frog was easily swayed by desires and impulses. Because of this, they had made a vow of the heart.
The frog, who often avoided directly speaking of the word 'heart,' would refer to it as 'pact' instead.
That's why a frog's pact was not something to be taken lightly.
It was a rule that must be followed above all else, even before their own desires and impulses.
Living without adhering to the pact was rare for a Frog. It was almost unheard of.
For this reason, the term 'naïve Frog's swordwork' had come into existence.
It was said that a naïve frog could be deceived by humans or other species, selling their pact and starting a massacre with unwanted swordplay.
'That's true.'
Enkrid realized again that Luagarne's words about breaking the pact weren't trivial.
Was there even a need for that?
To swear such an oath, binding her heart to someone else?
Why? Why go that far?
Enkrid couldn't bring himself to ask her to revoke it.
There was no one who didn't know that the frog's oath was serious.
Everyone knew that frogs enjoyed severing the heads of those who insulted their pact.
Defeating someone in battle was one thing, but insulting them was a different matter, so Enkrid kept silent.
It was then.
"Kyah!"
Esther, who had been curled up on one side, suddenly let out a fierce cry.
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