Chapter: 179
The ones who entered the Menestel Dungeon were the same three as always.
Me. Karl. Alsatine.
Originally, I was planning to include a water-based wizard that Nick had found for us, but then a problem arose.
What happened with Meg spread across Menestel street like wildfire.
It was a disgrace for the firstborn of Count Georuk, so while it wasn’t openly discussed, there wasn’t a soul on the street who didn’t know about it.
Given the situation, naturally, those working in the Menestel Dungeon began to avoid me.
Meg may be a downright trash, but he’s still the firstborn of the Georuk family.
If I made his enemies, life in Menestel would be a pain in the neck.
I might be leaving soon, but the adventurers in Menestel are those who’ve set up shop and lived here.
They wouldn’t dare act in a way that would make Meg dislike them. Consequently, I failed to recruit a wizard.
It wasn’t a huge issue. I only needed a wizard for convenience’s sake.
If I don’t have one, I just have to struggle a bit more. Standing at the entrance of the 46th floor, I scanned my surroundings.
“Looks like we’re headed to the place where the Evil God is sealed.”
“Are you nervous, Alsatine?”
“Of course I am! It’s weird for you to be laughing like that, Karl.”
I had already explained to the two about where we were headed.
If we suddenly arrived at the place where the Evil God was sealed, they’d definitely be shocked.
When I told Alsatine about the revelation from the Lord Jushin leading us to the sealed place of the Evil God, his reaction was as expected.
He was clearly bewildered, but realizing he had to go there to meet his master, he nodded in resignation.
However, Karl’s reaction was unexpected.
I thought he would feel fear at the mention of the Evil God, but nope!
“Uh, the Young Lady is heading there anyway, right? Then this Karl will obviously accompany you!”
As he shouted that, Karl resembled a loyal giant dog, proudly shrugging his shoulders.
I nearly patted his head in admiration without even realizing it.
Remembering yesterday’s events, I found a clue that confirmed our location and nodded.
Alright. I more or less know where we are.
Let’s move.
The more we approach, the more malevolent energy intensifies.
While we were advancing to the location of the Evil God’s seal, Grandpa spoke up.
“Are you not used to this, Grandpa?”
He was someone who once faced the Evil God on the frontlines. I figured this would be a tiresome energy for him.
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not just familiar, it’s annoyingly familiar.”
His words were laden with a variety of heavy emotions tied to his past. They were so thick I could feel them without them being said.
“To be honest, I still don’t know if this is the right thing to do. It’s too dangerous.”
“The Lord Jushin revealed this to us. It will be fine.”
Grandpa worries too much.
The times I have faced danger were when unexpected variables came into play.
Have I ever been in danger after making thorough preparations without any variables?
Especially since in this case, I had prepared for contingencies, there shouldn’t be any issues.
“Well, hopefully that’s the case….”
“It will be fine!”
As I tried to reassure Grandpa and continued walking forward, before long, a wall blocked our way.
“Lady Allen is getting tense, how amusing. Making such a mistake.”
Seeing a dead end, Alsatine thought I had taken a wrong turn.
“It’s not a mistake.”
“With your shoddy eyes, it might seem like a mistake. Information peddler. You’re so pathetic.”
I had been here countless times trying to speedrun the true ending, so there’s no way I would forget it.
I shot Alsatine a light glare and pulled out a vial from my inventory.
Inside was the holy water blessed by Phoebe.
Although it’s true she was made a Saintess by the church, she’s got powers that wouldn’t seem out of place even if called a Saintess.
Her holy water demonstrates the utmost power in repelling the Evil God’s energy.
Opening the vial and splashing the water against the wall, it quickly began to dissolve and drip down like melting ice cream.
“What… is this?”
Alsatine blinked at the suddenly revealed passage.
As a thief, he proudly believed he could figure out almost any hidden door. He was surely shocked to encounter a gimmick he didn’t know about.
I felt the same way.
Even if you max out the thief class, you’d never find this passage. It’s a place you can only discover after completing all relevant quests.
When I found this place while racing to be the first to see the true ending, I was furious.
Isn’t it common sense that hidden passages should be at the last floor?! I was shouting about it until the neighbors filed a complaint.
In retrospect, it wasn’t a great memory. It was seriously infuriating.
Before going inside, I pulled out another item from my inventory.
Earrings that protect against the Evil God’s energy.
This too was something Phoebe made for me.
Originally, I would have had to purchase something of lesser quality at a high price, but when I asked Phoebe, she solved it in an instant.
This was something you couldn’t even do in the game.
The real-life Saintess is even more of a cheat character than in the game.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go.”
The dungeon where the Evil God is sealed is assessed as a separate hidden dungeon.
There are various implications of this, but the important thing is one.
There are no adventurers here.
That means I can control all the variables in this place.
As expected from a hidden boss’s lair, the monsters that spawn here are just as strong as those around floors 60–70.
Even Karl wouldn’t be able to handle the mobs alone.
But what’s the point of being strong? I’m not planning to fight them.
I’ll show you the route I developed after tons of research!
*
It was bizarre.
“Up ahead, a junky rock will lift its arm, just ignore it and run!”
Alsatine followed Lucy desperately, thinking that.
“There’s a trap where the ground collapses up ahead! Jump over it!”
Lady Allen talked about her master being in this place.
Hearing that, I assumed that her master was likely working to prevent the Evil God’s seal from breaking.
After all, he had pursued the light in darkness. If he’s still alive, he would certainly be working for the world.
“Shoddy ones! Freeze for 2 seconds! And then…”
I thought about the possibility of seeing my master’s corpse.
No, I was denying it, but in truth, I believed that was far more likely to happen.
The fact that any trace of someone who had visited the place where the Evil God was sealed had completely vanished must mean something.
There was also Lady Allen’s warning not to be surprised by whatever we might see.
In effect, I should consider that my master was likely dead.
“Run! Shoddy ones!”
Alsatine didn’t care which way to think.
If he were alive, it would be incredibly joyful, and if he saw his corpse, he would surely be sad, but he would lay him to rest and bring closure in his heart.
Either way, as long as he could meet him, that would be enough for Alsatine.
“On the count of three, jump down! You’re not going to fumble around like a cowardly shoddy are you?!”
Yet strangely enough, ever since entering this place, Lady Allen had not mentioned her master even once.
She only focused on navigating the dungeon.
Why was that? Alsatine’s first thought was suspicion.
Could it be that Lucy was using him, mentioning his master’s name?
However, Alsatine shook his head immediately.
If that were the case, she wouldn’t even bring up the topic of meeting his master.
Then the next thought was a question.
Could it be that Lady Allen didn’t know the exact location?
Alsatine shook his head again.
This woman had never hidden her abilities. There was no way she wouldn’t know about her master’s presence in the dungeon.
Then.
“Information peddler! What are you doing!”
As he was lost in his repetitive thoughts and lagged behind, Lucy shouted.
Only then did Alsatine notice the flames falling above him.
Oh no. It would be too late to dodge now.
He thought about minimizing the damage by using his arms to block it…
But just as he readied himself to take the hit, Lucy pulled his neck and shielded his front with a shield.
Boom!
The flames impacted the shield, creating a massive shockwave, but the shield held strong.
“Shoddy information peddler! You want me to roast you on purpose, huh?! You’re even worse than a pervert shoddy dog! Should I put a collar on you and lead you around?!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll focus.”
…For now, let’s focus on progressing through the dungeon.
I can’t afford to be worse than that perverted knight.
Thanks to Lucy Allen’s almost miraculous leadership, we reached the boss room without encountering a single fight, and after arriving, Alsatine approached Lucy, who was resting against the wall.
“What’s up? Dark information peddler?”
“…Lady Allen. I’d like to ask you something.”
“About your stupid master?”
“Yes. I’m not daring to suspect you, but…”
“You’ll see soon enough. Hopeless shoddy.”
Lucy spoke, gazing beyond the door to the boss room.
Alsatine was not so dull that he wouldn’t be able to grasp the meaning of it.
“Is my master beyond that door?”
“You can understand this much? Better than a dog. Although you’re still less than human.”
The notion that his master was beyond the boss room meant.
Oh. Is that so.
Did that person die fighting there?
Did he lose his life while pursuing his ideals?
Working for the world as a shadow.
…A foolish lady until the end. Always taught me to be cunning, and yet, what is she doing?
Understanding the situation, Alsatine didn’t press Lucy any further, and Lucy, for her part, didn’t feel the need to elaborate.
Instead, she explained what to do once they entered the boss room.
About how to take down the boss they were about to face.
About the various attacks the boss would use and how to counter them.
About what to do if unforeseen crises arose.
Her strategies, as a seasoned commander, were so clear that even Alsatine and Karl were impressed.
It seemed this attempt would conclude as smoothly as it always had.
“Shoddy ones. Get up. It’s time to move.”
With all explanations complete, it was time to enter the boss room.
Karl wrapped his aura around his sword and took a deep breath, while Alsatine chewed on his lips after checking his arrows and tools, and Lucy, with her usual impassive face, pushed open the door to the boss room.
“Useless fools. Have you come to obstruct me?”
At that moment, Alsatine found himself facing his master, just as Lucy had said.
He had no choice but to face her.
Of course, the woman standing in the center of the boss room was undoubtedly.
His master.
Karia.
“Lady Allen. What the hell is going on…”
“Shut up. It’s so noisy.”
Alsatine, taken aback and trying to speak, turned his head at Lucy’s sharp voice.
Lucy Allen was biting her lip.
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