A place called the Ancient Dungeon.
In an open field a short distance away, an awkward tension lingered.
Within that tension, the elites of the El Dorado Continent were divided into three distinct groups, keeping each other in check.
The knight orders of each nation, adventurers, and paladins of the White Church.
Their numbers barely exceeded fifty.
Even if they belonged to the same nation, knights who valued discipline and adventurers who were free-spirited were like oil and water, unable to mix.
“Hmph, to think they’d need so many lumps of steel just to explore one dungeon. They seem like people who know nothing of efficiency.”
Ludwig, an adventurer active in the Kalrn Empire and known as a genius mage, sneered, tapping the floor with his staff.
His arrogant gaze was directed not only at the knight order of the Kalrn Empire but also at the knight order of the Orbis Empire, which was impressively arrayed.
“Ludwig.”
Astrid, a knight of the Orbis Empire, responded coldly. Her voice echoed powerfully even within her helmet.
“The moment your esteemed magic fails, it will be those lumps of steel you scorn who lead the way. Don’t forget that fact.”
“Ha! The moment my magic fails? That moment will never come, so don’t worry about it, esteemed knight.”
Ludwig shrugged and retorted.
It was, in a way, natural for there to be friction between the knight orders and adventurers.
The values of the knight orders, who valued honor, and the adventurers, who chased money, were too different.
“Tsk, calling themselves adventurers while being so unrefined. It’s a miracle if they don’t stab each other in the back inside the dungeon.”
To the knights, adventurers were unpredictable beings.
Therefore, it was natural for their feelings towards each other to be negative.
Moreover, it was rare for adventurers and knights to team up like this to enter a dungeon, so many viewed the current situation with displeasure.
It was the priest of the White Church, Theodore, who calmed their commotion.
“Everyone, please stop.”
Theodore was the priest with the authority to lead the paladins in this dungeon exploration.
In essence, he was close to being the decision-maker for this expeditionary force.
“We are not gathered here to assert our trivial pride.”
His voice was low, but the Holy Power contained within it was enough to instill a sense of caution in everyone in the open field.
“We are here to confirm the unknown threat lingering in this ancient tomb and protect the peace of the continent. Under the gaze of the Goddess, it is time for all of us to become one.”
Upon hearing the priest’s words, the mage Ludwig closed his mouth, but his expression was still full of discontent.
Astrid silently turned her head, once again gazing at the entrance of the massive ruin.
The dungeon entrance, which looked like a gaping maw ready to swallow the living.
Its appearance was chilling to behold.
It was at that moment.
From the group of adventurers, two figures quietly walked out.
A pale-skinned handsome man and a mage with his hood pulled deep.
They were Dambi and Rills.
Dambi stood in the center of the open field, where a tense atmosphere permeated, and calmly, clearly opened his mouth.
“Apologies for the late introduction. I am Dambi, a Diamond-ranked adventurer, who will be serving as the guide for this joint expeditionary force.”
“I am Rills.”
Dambi and Rills each introduced themselves.
Dambi continued.
“We have been directly entrusted by Her Majesty Empress Irena of the Sail Empire with the entry route for the expedition and basic command authority.”
At his words, the atmosphere in the open field suddenly turned cold.
Especially from the knight orders, blatant sneers and anger erupted.
“What did you say?”
Norte, the knight captain of the Kalrn Empire, stepped forward and shouted. His face was flushed red with humiliation.
“Who decided that without permission? How dare a lowly adventurer attempt to command the holy knight order? Is Empress Irena in her right mind!”
Norte unhesitatingly drew the sword at his waist. The gleaming blade was aimed at Dambi.
“I don’t know how great you are, but it is the way of our knight order to teach those who don’t know their place with a sword!”
As he raised his sword to charge at Dambi.
*Swish-*
Everyone’s eyes widened.
Dambi, who had been standing in front of the knight just a moment ago, had vanished.
“……!”
Norte, surprised that his target had disappeared, looked around for a moment.
“If this were inside the dungeon, you would already be dead.”
A cold voice echoed from behind him. The chilling touch of metal dug into Norte’s nape.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Dambi had appeared behind him and pressed his sword close to his neck.
His movements were so fast and quiet that none of those present could properly perceive them.
“M-my…!”
Norte’s entire body stiffened, and he could only let out a scream-like groan.
The killing intent emanating from the blade touching his neck made his legs tremble, as if he were about to collapse.
Dambi, with emotionless eyes, looked down at the frozen knight and slowly retracted his sword.
As if nothing had happened, he returned to the center of the open field.
Everyone silently watched Dambi’s back.
“…….”
Especially the knight Astrid looked at Dambi with an interested expression.
“…Impressive.”
The mage Ludwig also muttered softly.
Magic and swordsmanship were different fields, but Ludwig felt a thrill at Dambi’s movements a moment ago.
An adventurer who could overwhelm a knight in an instant.
He must be someone born with the same genius talent as himself.
After what had just happened, no one could dare to dismiss Dambi as just an adventurer.
Overwhelming skill. That was the only language that would be understood in this expedition.
* * *
Although Dambi had crushed the knights’ spirits with his overwhelming skill, the rules of the expedition had not yet been decided.
As they were participating in this ancient dungeon, important issues remained, such as how the spoils would be distributed and who would enter first.
Of course, Dambi had foreseen all these situations and spoke the words he had prepared.
“Her exceptionally merciful Majesty Empress Irena has emphasized that this joint exploration is a noble cooperation for the peace of the continent.”
Dambi paused for a moment, slowly scanning the eager eyes flashing with greed and anticipation.
“Therefore, Her Majesty has promised that ownership of all artifacts and treasures discovered in this dungeon will belong not to the empire, but to the first finder.”
As his words echoed in the open field, a suffocating silence fell.
And then, that silence transformed into a murmuring filled with suppressed excitement and greed.
“W-what? Whoever finds it keeps it?”
“Good heavens, is this real? The empire isn’t being greedy?”
Not only the adventurers who chased money, but even the knights who valued honor began to shine their eyes.
It was an ancient dungeon, after all.
Legendary weapons that might be sleeping here, lost martial arts manuals, or powerful magical artifacts.
All of it would belong to the one who obtained it first.
The same thought flashed through everyone’s minds.
‘I must go in first!’
Being the first to set foot in the unknown dungeon carried a great deal of risk.
No one knew what traps or monsters awaited.
But such risks were completely disregarded.
The immense wealth and honor flickering before their eyes had paralyzed all reason.
“Then how will the order be decided?”
The mage Ludwig asked sharply. His eyes were already fixed on the dungeon entrance.
Dambi smiled as if he had been waiting for this.
“You can decide the order freely. For your reference, Rills and I will go in last.”
He gestured towards the dungeon entrance.
“Anyone who believes they have the skill and confidence to enter first will not be stopped. However, all that happens within is each person’s responsibility.”
As soon as Dambi finished speaking, the first to move were a group of adventurers.
“Get out of the way! This treasure is ours!”
“Idiots! Don’t you know that the first one in dies!”
Pushing each other and spewing insults, several adventurers, blinded by money and greed, rushed towards the dark entrance of the dungeon.
Seeing this, Norte, the knight captain of the Kalrn Empire, could no longer delay.
“Maintain formation! We cannot fall behind those vulgar individuals!”
“For honor! Forward!”
The orderly appearance of the expeditionary force was nowhere to be seen.
Now, they perceived each other as rivals, scrambling to enter the dungeon as quickly as possible.
At the center of that chaos, Dambi and Rills quietly stepped back.
No one in the chaotic open field noticed the faint smile on Dambi’s lips.
It was the picture that Chief Administrator Celia had wanted.
The perfect state for them to be easily defeated one by one, by suspecting and competing with each other.
Everything was perfectly prepared.
* * *
“Kuhaha! You fools! Whoever enters first gets the spoils in a place like this!”
Borgo, the leader of the adventurer party ‘Red Blade Mercenaries,’ who entered the dungeon first, exclaimed with a hearty laugh.
Behind him followed his party members, like hyenas who smelled money.
One of them cautiously asked.
“But Captain, is it really alright? Frankly, being the first to enter seems a bit…-”
“Shut up, Rick! Wealth and honor belong to the brave! While those esteemed knights are posturing, we’re going to grab the real treasure!”
Borgo’s booming voice echoed in the damp corridor.
Unlike what it had appeared from the outside, the interior of the dungeon was made up of a vast stone corridor.
Ancient, indecipherable texts were densely inscribed on both walls, and rocks emitting a faint blue phosphorescence dimly illuminated the path from the ceiling.
It was clearly an ancient tomb that had been well-preserved for a long time.
However, Rick did not like the current situation. To be exact, he felt uneasy.
‘An ancient dungeon suddenly discovered? A dungeon of this scale?’
It seemed highly strange that such a massive ruin had not been discovered by anyone until now.
He couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling that it was like someone had deliberately laid out a meal, saying, ‘Here are the treasures.’
“Rick! What are you doing standing there blankly! Lead the way and find traps!”
At Borgo’s scolding, Rick had no choice but to put away his thoughts and draw his dagger.
He skillfully tapped the stone slabs on the floor and examined the gaps in the walls as he moved forward.
However, strangely enough, no traps were found.
Only the sound of their footsteps and ragged breaths echoed in the corridor.
“The path splits from here.”
As Borgo said, the path began to divide into two.
“Hmm.”
Borgo, after a moment of thought, chose the left path.
“Let’s go this way. I have a good feeling about it!”
After advancing for a long time, a small stone chamber finally appeared at the end of the corridor.
And in the center of that room.
“A, a chest!”
Borgo let out a cheer.
A large wooden chest, thickly covered in dust, lay all by itself.
“See, my intuition was right!”
Before Rick could even finish inspecting for traps, Borgo rushed forward and shattered the old lock on the chest with his heavy axe in one go.
With flying wooden fragments, the lid of the chest opened. And the golden light that burst forth from inside was so dazzling that it blinded everyone.
“……!”
Inside the chest, piles of dazzling gold coins were stacked high. Not only gold coins.
Various jewels such as rubies, sapphires, and emeralds emitted a brilliant light amidst the gold coins.
“K-Kwahahahahaha!”
Borgo scooped up the gold coins with both hands and laughed madly.
“See, Rick! This is the reward for the brave! Cowards who only doubt will never even see such a thing in their lives!”
He triumphantly turned to Rick and shouted.
Rick could not say anything. The immense treasure before him seemed to mock all his doubts.
‘Was I being too sensitive?’
Rick shook his head.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t shake off the lingering unease.
