Kapitel 19: Chapter 18 - The Orcus Grotto
"Mm...this isn't too bad, considering the quality of the ingredients, or the lack thereof. It's definitely better than anything I bought from a restaurant or food stall," I remarked, as I munched on a sandwich while walking.
"Then why not open your own restaurant? You could probably make a killing, mortals do like good food," Pointed out Arkiela.
"I'd rather literally make a killing. I feel like I've already said that before. Hm, but maybe I can sell recipes to restaurants or something, that could be a potentially lucrative side gig, and it's never a bad idea to have more than one stream of income to rely on," I mused, as I took another bite.
About a week has passed since the incident with that Elf, uh...what was name again? Icaro something or other. Whatever, doesn't really matter.
While that battle didn't exactly go too well for me, it actually had some positive effects for me. Some of the Adventurers and Knights now have a better opinion of me, a few had regained consciousness and witnessed me fighting against Icaro, and I guess the fight I put up earned their respect.
The Knights didn't pay anyone since the mission to kill that Elf ended in failure, but they did offer me some money since I got closer to killing him than anyone else did.
But since I didn't succeed in completing the job, I reluctantly turned down the money. I don't really consider myself a person who has strong morals or principles, but I don't like the idea of accepting money for a job I failed to accomplish.
However, I did request that they recommend me for a promotion in the Guild to compensate my efforts, which they were more than happy to do. The Knights have a high level of authority, and I figured I might as well make use of them while I had them feeling like they owed me something.
And, as a result of their recommendation, I got bumped up to B-Rank, giving me access to a wider range of Quests, much to the displeasure of the Guildmaster. He was definitely not too pleased about promoting me, but there wasn't much he could do about it, since refusing to do so would be going against the Knights.
Following my promotion to B-Rank, I then took a simple herb gathering Quest to make some quick money so that I'd be able to afford another night at the inn, and I've continued taking a few other minor, easy Quests over the last few days.
Unfortunately, there weren't any high paying Quests available in the Astaroth Guild, that's actually why the top ranked Adventurers of the Guild had been away when the Knights showed up to request assistance.
The highest ranked members of the Guild had gone to other cities in search of better paying and more challenging Quests, so the Adventurers who were available during that incident were either low-ranked or inexperienced.
Anyway, I was currently heading out on a Quest, a resource gathering job. Specifically, I need to collect these objects known as Mana Crystals, which are key ingredients in Magic Potions.
Magic Potions are made using various herbs and other common ingredients, and the properties of those ingredients are then enhanced using Mana Crystals, which are crystallized chunks of natural Mana.
Mana Crystals are found in deep caves known as Grottos, which are home to many Monsters. Grottos are considered the most valuable sources of resources in this world, as Magic Potions are a vital part of everyday life, not just for Adventurers and Knights.
After all, since hospitals aren't a thing, Healing and Remedy Potions in particular are extremely coveted and in high demand, and there are also Magic Potions that are used for similar purposes as drugs like antidepressants and aphrodisiacs.
For this Quest, for every kilogram of Mana Crystals I gather and bring back, I'll be paid 5000 Erons per kilo, or one gold coin.
I also took on an additional Quest flyer for Monster extermination, since there's almost certain to be a large number of Monsters in the Grotto I'm headed for.
This'll be my first time killing Monsters...I won't kill any that leave me alone, only the ones that attack me, and the ones that don't look like animals.
I'd probably hesitate to kill Monsters that resemble normal animals even if they attack me, but there are Monsters that are more humanoid in appearance, the most common of which are Goblins.
I was traveling on foot, my destination was the Orcus Grotto, which was about a kilometer to the north northwest of Astaroth City. I bought myself a bunch of ingredients yesterday, including a large amount of meat, and cooked it all up devilled style, with a lot of spices.
Once I was done cooking, I stored it all in my Item Box in Preservation Mode, and bought some bread this morning and made a couple of sandwiches using the meat I'd cooked. And I can confidently say that it's the best food I've eaten since coming to this world.
Which isn't exactly saying much, I suppose, but still...
"Oh, I think that's it, up ahead," Remarked Arkiela, as the entrance to a large cave came into sight.
"Hm, just looks like an ordinary cave...I figured there'd be a bunch of Monsters outside of it, but it looks deserted," I replied, tossing the last bite of my sandwich up and catching it in my mouth.
"Monsters that live in Grottos only start spilling out of them if it becomes overpopulated in there. Since Adventurers regularly visit Grottos to gather Mana Crystals and exterminate any Monsters that grow too large in number, those Monster populations are kept in check.
There's plenty of underground water streams that run through the Grottos, and Monsters, like animals, will attack and eat other Monster species, so they don't really need to leave the Grotto under normal circumstances," Explained Arkiela, as I took out a few weapons and equipped them.
A katana, a few throwing knives and needles, a couple of daggers, and a fully loaded handgun. I used up a lot of bullets in vain against Icaro, so I'd prefer not to have to use any against whatever Monsters I come across in this Grotto.
But that said, I can't be too stingy or overly cautious with my bullets, I'd rather waste bullets than end up dead because I was too concerned with using up too many bullets.
"Hey, you have a sensory ability, right? Let me know if any Monsters approach," I instructed Arkiela, as I approached the entrance of the Grotto.
"Yeah, okay, I suppose I should. How many Mana Crystals do you plan on gathering, by the way?" She asked me.
"Well, the reward is capped at 50,000 Erons, so ten kilos at most, maybe less if I come across the rarer and more valuable Mana Crystals. Though I'm kinda gonna have to eyeball it since I don't have a scale. They're so fucking expensive," I sighed, as I entered the Grotto and put on my goggles, switching them to night vision mode.
Naturally, it's pretty dark in here, most Adventurers enter Grottos in groups, with members who possess Magic that can illuminate their surroundings, like Fire Magic or Solar Magic. That, or they use flaming torches.
"And what about Monsters?"
"Low Level Monsters are worth 500 Erons each, Lower Mid Levels are worth 2,000-3,000, Upper Mid Levels are worth 5,000-6,000 and High Levels are worth 10,000. And in the unlikely event that I run into a Critical Level Monster and kill it, that'd be worth 50,000 Erons. I don't plan on venturing too deep down into the Grotto, so it's unlikely that I'd run into anything above Low Level, maybe a few Lower Mid Levels at most," I shrugged, keeping my eyes peeled as I surveyed my surroundings.
Grottos are caverns that go deep underground, a Grotto can have anywhere between fifty to a hundred levels, and the deeper down you go, the more dangerous Monsters you're likely to encounter.
Since Monsters are creatures that naturally possess Magical energy in abundance, the air in Grottos are heavy with Mana.
That strong concentration of Mana in these caves is what results in the crystallization of Mana Crystals. The deeper down you go, the more plentiful, potent and concentrated Mana Crystals you find, since there's a stronger concentration of Mana the further down you go.
But that also comes with the risk of coming across a Crystalline Overload, a rare and dangerous phenomenon that results when the crystallization process becomes unstable by a excessive influx of Mana, resulting in a Mana explosion that can have unpredictable effects on those caught up in the blast.
They're not necessarily fatal, but can still leave you with serious and potentially permanent injuries or disfiguration. Definitely want to avoid that.
"Hm? Hey, I'm sensing something up ahead," Arkiela informed me, as I made my way deeper into the Grotto.
"Monsters?" I inquired warily, drawing out my katana.
"Probably. Didn't that cat girl receptionist say that no other Adventurers have taken any Grotto Quests recently?"
"Hm, good point, for once. Yeah, she said something about how there was high demand for Grotto Quests about a month ago, and as a result, the upper levels of this particular Grotto had been cleared of Mana Crystals and Monsters. But it's been some time since then, so it shouldn't be totally empty in here," I replied, quietly making my way forward as I asked her, "How far ahead are the Monsters?"
"Seventy-...I mean, sixty-nine...-meters now."
"Nice."
"I've never understood how humans get so much amusement out of that number."
Eh, don't think about it too hard.
I slowly and quietly sunk into the shadows as I heard some noises up ahead, sticking by the wall as I silently made my way forward, before the Monsters came into sight, six of them...
"Are those...?"
"Goblins, among the weakest Monsters in existence. Shouldn't be too tough for you to deal with," She replied, as I drew out a couple of poison needles and flung them at the Monsters.
My projectiles struck two of them in the back of their necks, the two Monsters going limp and collapsing after a couple of seconds. The remaining four began chittering and screeching warily, on high alert as they looked around in alarm.
I drew out a throwing knife and flung it at one of them, hitting it through the middle of the forehead and killing it instantly, the remaining three turning in this direction and growling threateningly.
They're so ugly...they're pretty short, probably no more than three feet tall, with dark green, bumpy skin, long noses and pointy ears. They look more like humans, really, really ugly humans, than animals, so I have absolutely no qualms about killing them.
As I stepped out of the shadows and drew out my katana, the Monsters charged at me with vicious snarls, one of them leaping straight at me with its claws poised to strike as it closed in on me.
I swiftly swung my blade straight up at it, piercing through the middle of its torso and slicing up its chest before tearing through the middle of its neck and splitting its head vertically in half, spinning my body across to evade the spray of blood that burst out of it as I slashed its body open.
I then shot towards the remaining pair, both Monsters halting in fear and starting to scramble away as I closed in, before I drove my blade straight through the throat of one of them, yanking it out with a violent twist before taking a swift step forward as it collapsed and writhed on the ground in agony, unleashing a rapid horizontal slash at the last remaining one.
My blade struck and cut several inches through the back of its neck, just a couple of inches shy of decapitating it, as I quickly jumped away to evade the blood splatter.
"Are all Low Level Monsters this weak?" I inquired, swinging my blade across to get the blood off of it before sheathing it.
"Well, some have abilities that might make them more tricky to deal with. But they're ranked at Low Level because, regardless of whatever abilities they possess, they're ultimately not that great of a threat," Pointed out Arkiela.
"Hm, good to know. Now, then, be a good bitch and extract their Cores for me, would you?" I instructed her.
"Huh? You really think I'd do you a favor when you ask so rudely, shithead? I mean, I wouldn't do this even if you asked nicely, so-...," She began with a scoff, before trailing off as I snatched her out of the air and brought her towards my face, narrowing my eyes at her.
"How about this? Do it or I'll pop your head like a grape."
"C-come on, I don't wanna go digging around in their grimy fucking chests! I'm an Angel, this is beneath me!"
"If you'd prefer, I can put you beneath my boot. Your choice," I offered generously.
"Grr, you goddamn asshole...if I didn't need you alive, I would so kill you in the most brutal way possible," She growled, relenting as I let her go.
"Ohh, believe me, bitch, the feeling's very much mutual."
Monsters don't have hearts, instead possessing orb-like Cores in their bodies that sustain them. I need to Cores as proof that I killed them, it's not like the Guild can just take my word for it, I could easily say I killed more than I actually did.
The Cores also show the Threat Level of the Monsters I killed.
Monsters with dark green Cores are Low Level, the darker the green, the weaker they are. Lower Mid Level Monsters have light green to greenish yellow Cores, while Upper Mid Levels have yellow Cores. High Levels have orange Cores and Critical Levels have red Cores.
Arkiela grumbled ceaselessly as she extracted the Goblin Cores from the chests of the Monsters, which I then had her toss into my Item Box after she finished gathering all six.
With that done, I then continued on, making my way deeper into the Grotto, reaching a spot with a downward incline and going down it, heading down to the second level.
The uppermost level of a Grotto is unlikely to have any Mana Crystals manifested, since Adventurers regularly clear out the upper areas, you usually have to get down to around the third or fourth level before you start seeing Mana Crystals at regular intervals.
Hm?
"Hey, isn't that a Mana Crystal over there?" I inquired, as I spotted a dim, green glint on the wall.
"Yeah, I think so. It's kinda small though," She replied, as I walked over towards the wall and reached for the glint, grabbing it and pulling it out of the wall, a few bits of broken rock raining down on me.
"It's dark green, so it's got low potency. Oh, well, it's a start, I guess," I sighed, tossing the small chunk into my Item Box.
Like Monster Cores, the potency of Mana Crystals is also determined by the color of the hue. Dark green is low potency, lighter shades of green have a bit more potency, and then, in ascending order of potency, it's yellow, orange and red.
Purple Mana Crystals are the unstable ones that result due to Crystalline Overload, they very rarely manifest at all though, let alone this high up in a Grotto. Because even when they do form, they explode before too long. If you do come across one though, your best course of action is to run away as fast as possible, before it explodes.
The Quest flyer stipulated that a higher proportion of orange and red Mana Crystals will afford me a bonus on top of the reward, but I doubt I'll come across any shades darker than yellow.
I'm not taking any unnecessary risks, I'll go down five levels at most, regardless of whether I come across an adequate amount of crystals or not.
I'm also getting paid for Monster kills, that gaggle of Goblins netted me a decent 3,000 Erons, so I don't need to get too greedy with this. And the deeper I go, the more Monsters I'm going to run into, so-...
"Hey, hold up. I'm sensing a couple more Monsters up ahead," Said Arkiela, as I reached the start of the second level of the Grotto.
"Got it. Let me know when they're close," I replied, as I quietly made my way forward.
I crept along the shadows as I slowly walked down the path ahead of me, my right hand hovering over the handle of my katana as I drew out three poison needles with my left, holding them in the gaps between my fingers. And it's wasn't long before the pair of Monster she sensed came into sight, a chill running down my spine as my gaze fell onto the abominations before me...
"Oh, those are Hellspawn. They're super weak, even weaker than Goblins, but I guess mortals are naturally averse to them," She remarked, as I stepped back apprehensively.
Hellspawn, they're just Low Level Monsters, but...they're also giant fucking roaches, each about a meter long and half a meter wide. I felt a shudder run down my spine as I got a clear look of them, my skin crawling.
"Hellspawn is right, fuck these monstrosities," I grimaced as I put away the needles and drew out my handgun, firing out a couple of bullets and killing the disgusting freaks of nature with pinpoint accurate headshots.
"Uh, don't you think that was kinda overkill?"
"Fuck no, I'm taking no chances," I replied with a shudder, as their innards oozed out of the bullet wounds in their heads.
"Hahaha! This is a good look for you, all scared and trembly. So many humans are so inexplicably afraid of roaches, even though they can't really harm you," She chuckled in amusement.
Bitch...
"Hm...I take it that means they don't bother you?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Hmph, of course not! I'm an Angel, why would literal fucking insects scare me?" She scoffed with a shake of her head.
"Good. That means you should have no problem extracting their Cores for me. Go on, we don't have all day," I prompted her, smacking her back to push her forward.
"...fuck, I walked right into that one."
...
...
"Okay, I think that should just about be enough. This haul should be somewhat close to ten kilos, so there wouldn't be much point in going any further. I've also collected plenty of Monster Cores, so I should get a pretty decent payload out of this. Yeah, this is a good stopping point, no need to push my luck...time to head back," I declared, stretching my arms up with a weary sigh as I tossed a handful of yellow Mana Crystals into my Item Box.
"It's about time...this place is so dark and creepy. Also, the air is so heavy with Mana, it's a little disconcerting," Arkiela sighed dramatically, landing on my shoulder and adding, "Huh, weird. It kinda feels like the concentration of Mana in the air is a bit heavier around you, shithead."
"Get off me, bitch," I frowned as I smacked her away, before adding, "I gotta say, the Monsters I encountered were kinda disappointing. Killing them almost felt like bullying, they were all so weak."
"Well, yeah, you only came across Low Level Monsters. Which isn't surprising, this is only the fourth level of the Grotto, stronger Monsters don't usually venture up this high. Though I am a bit surprised that you didn't encounter any Mid Level Monsters at all, not even any Lower Mid Levels, guess you got lucky," She responded with a shrug.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Alright, let's get out of here, best time to quit is while you're ahead, so-...," I began.
"Wait, hold on...something's coming this way. It feels pretty big," She informed me with a frown.
"That's what she said," I replied, turning around and drawing out my katana as I added, "Are you sure it's coming this way and not just passing through or something? If this is a fight I can avoid, then I'd prefer to avoid it."
"No, it's heading straight this way, no doubt about that. The way it's moving, I think it might be sniffing you out," She responded, flying back a bit.
"Hm, if that's the case, running away might not be the best idea. Alright, fine, I guess I can do one more fight before heading back," I remarked, drawing out a throwing knife to launch as soon as whatever was approaching came into sight.
It wasn't long before I heard it, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, getting closer and closer.
"Here it comes," Said Arkiela, as the Monster finally came into sight, my eyes widening as it appeared.
"Is...is that a fucking dinosaur?" I blurted out in bewilderment.
"It's called a Viciousaur Rex, so kinda? Oh, and it's a High Level Monster, FYI."
Fuck.
Before me, was a massive reptilian creature.
It was standing on two legs, with thick, dark brown scaly skin, powerful legs and long, sturdy arms with two fingers, each with curved, sharp claws. It let out a deep, threatening growl, opening its jaws to reveal rows of curved, razor sharp teeth, whipping its tail against the ground and kicking up puffs of dust behind it as it narrowed its eyes at me.
It then got down on all fours, crouching low as it locked its gaze on me, before suddenly springing forward and barreling towards me rapidly with an ominous snarl, slashing its claws at me as it closed in.
I quickly ducked under the swing of its claws and leapt forward, going under it and slashing at its belly with my katana as I slid past it, the blade barely breaking through its skin before I swiftly got back up onto my feet as I skidded out along the groundbehind it, drawing out my handgun and firing a couple of bullets at its back, eliciting a roar of pain from it as it spun around in an agitated state.
Tch, it's got some pretty thick hide...I could only inflict a shallow cut on its underside, and my bullets didn't go in too deep, only drawing out thin trickles of blood from the spots they hit. I sprang back as it viciously swiped its claws at me again, narrowly avoiding them before it jumped straight towards me.
I quickly leapt off to the side as it snapped its jaws at me, just barely getting out of the way as I felt one of its teeth grazing my left shoulder, before my eyes widened in alarm as its tail came whipping out towards me with immense force.
I quickly pointed my katana forward in front of me as its tail closed in on me too quickly to dodge, the Monster letting out a pained snarl as it impaled its tail right through my sword, but the force of the swing of its tail was enough to knock me off my feet and send me flying back, losing my grip over the handle of my blade, which stayed lodged in the Monster's tail.
I grimaced as my back hit a wall with a painful thud, the Monster lifting its tail up in front of its jaws, biting down on the handle and pulling the sword out of its tail, before tossing it aside and charging at me with a deafening roar as the sword hit the ground with a clatter and skidded away, the Monster opening its jaws wide as it closed in on me.
"[O-Open Slot 31]!" I chanted with a pained grimace, pulling out my bazooka and driving it into the Monster's open jaws as they surrounded me on either side, quickly pulling the trigger before it could snap its jaws shut and tear me apart.
The recoil pushed me back sharply, its teeth tearing apart the fabric on the sleeve of my hoodie and ripping the skin on my arm to shreds, my back thudding against the wall again as I fired the rocket straight down it's throat, a muffled explosion bursting out and sending the Monster flying back a few meters.
Its eyes rolled back in its head as its body went limp and collapsed onto the ground, a cloud of black smoke gushing out of its mouth, along with a foul, burnt stench.
I let out a strained sigh as I put away my bazooka, the stinging waves of pain emanating from my arm and back fading as Arkiela flew over and healed me.
I got back on my feet with a slight grimace as I felt my fatigue spike a bit as she finished healing me, shaking my head a few times to keep myself alert. That was way too fucking close, had I taken even a moment longer to fire my bazooka, I'd probably be dead right now...
"Hey, not bad. You took down a High Level Monster by yourself, that's a pretty rare feat in this world. I have to say, your reaction time was impressive, practically superhuman. Guess it was because your life was in danger. I was watching in slow motion and was getting ready to intervene if you hadn't been able to counter before it snapped its jaws shut, but I guess-...ow!" She exclaimed indignantly as I interrupted her with an annoyed smack.
"Just shut up and extract its Core, would ya? I'm more than ready to leave now, I've just about had my fill of this place, so be quick about it."
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Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein