Chapter 19

Ruche and I left the city of Rondalm together and headed for the first 〈Dungeon〉 in this world.

Since getting there would take some time, we stayed overnight in a village near the forest's edge before continuing on to our destination.

In 〈Magic World〉, 〈Dungeons〉 are the nightmares dreamed by the sleeping god Alzaros.

Originally, Alzaros was the god of creation, capable of making his imaginings reality.

Over an impossibly long span of time, he created gods in a world of nothingness, then fashioned the world itself.

But over the course of an eternity, Alzaros, once an absolute god, lost his sanity and was sealed away by the very gods he had created.

Even so, Alzaros's nightmares still affect reality.

His nightmares create gateways in the real world that give birth to monstrous beings... monsters.

Those are 〈Dungeons〉... hence the name, Dream Holes.

Monsters are unstable beings, so when they die, their bodies melt away.

All that remains are their cores, magic stones, and items transformed from fragments of Alzaros's mana.

Once a 〈Dungeon〉 appears, it can't be made to disappear unless its heart, the 〈Master〉... in other words, the Dungeon Boss monster, is defeated.

If left alone for too long, it will keep sending monsters into this world.

However, 〈Dungeons〉 that appear near cities are often conquered by adventurers in no time.

That's why adventurers generally travel from cities to remote villages, then head from there to 〈Dungeons〉.

The countries and political situation were different from the 〈Magic World〉 I knew, but it seemed the gods were the same.

Maybe this was a different era or place, but I couldn't find any mention of the countries from the game era, so I didn't know any more than that for now.

Well, in a world like this, the collapse of a civilization didn't seem particularly unusual.

It was a painful thought, though.

"As I already explained, we're going into 〈Angel's Toy Box〉 this time."

"Um... I'm not doubting you, but are you sure we'll be okay? The recommended Level was 【Lv: 50】 or higher, right?"

Ruche asked me anxiously.

"We'll be fine. That's the recommended Level for clearing it. I've memorized all the information on the monsters that appear in 〈Angel's Toy Box〉."

I pointed to my head.

There are no dungeons unique to 〈Magic World〉.

They appear randomly from a pool of nearly a hundred different 〈Dungeons〉.

The maps are generated randomly, but the monsters and items that appear don't change.

From what little I've investigated, those details seem to be the same in this world, too.

"We're only going to hunt monsters on the lower floors that are good for leveling up. I'll draw their attacks, so you take them down with that knife... the 〈Iron-Piercer〉."

"R-Right...! You bought me something this expensive, so I have to do my best...! I can't let myself get cold feet!"

Ruche slapped her cheeks a few times, psyching herself up.

The weapon Ruche had with her now, the 〈Iron-Piercer〉, was one I'd spent the 800,000 Gold I earned from the large-scale 〈Raid Quest〉 to buy.

I couldn't find one in a legitimate shop, so I had to rely on a back-alley shop like the 〈Tattered Grimoire〉. It cost a little more than its market value, but the 〈Iron-Piercer〉 was worth every coin.

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〈Iron-Piercer〉 (Recommended Equip Level: 18)

【Attack: +3】

【Market Value: 550,000 Gold】

This knife makes it easier to land attacks against tough opponents.

When your attack hits, reduce the target's Defense by 【15%】 when calculating damage.

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The 〈Iron-Piercer〉 makes it easier to deal damage to enemies with high Defense.

That makes it ideal for defeating monsters above your Level to gain Levels.

However, its performance is well below that of other weapons in its rank when used normally.

On top of that, surviving against an enemy above your Level is far more difficult than simply getting your attacks through. So while it has a useful effect, it's not a weapon that's commonly used in 〈Magic World〉.

Still, I decided it was the ideal weapon for Ruche's Skills, my Skills, and leveling up in 〈Angel's Toy Box〉.

At first, Ruche said, "I can't accept something this expensive!" But I honestly needed her to equip it, so I begged her to take it.

Ruche had to equip the 〈Iron-Piercer〉 for us to hunt our target this time.

The 〈Iron-Piercer〉's special ability synergizes with one of her Skills.

Even if I equipped it myself, I wouldn't be able to defeat our target this time.

After some persuasion, I managed to get her to accept it.

"Um! I'll fight for my life to pay you back for the 800,000 Gold I borrowed! If, um... even if I die, I'll protect this 〈Iron-Piercer〉!"

Ruche gripped the 〈Iron-Piercer〉 tightly in both hands and declared that to me.

"...I'm glad you want to take good care of it, but I can replace the 〈Iron-Piercer〉 anytime, so take care of yourself first."

"B-But I never thought you'd just buy me an 800,000 Gold weapon when I'd only just been kicked out over a dispute about my share of 500,000 Gold..."

Of course, a person's life was more important than Gold, but with a Lucky Clown around, earning 800,000 Gold would be a piece of cake.

Honestly, I wasn't sure whether the old woman at the 〈Tattered Grimoire〉 would really hold on to the 〈Skill Book〉 for me.

Ruche was my only hope of getting 〈Smoldering Fangs〉.

If Ruche got away, I probably wouldn't get another chance to team up with someone who had 〈Great Luck〉.

Once you got past the early game, it became almost impossible for a Heavy Knight's low damage to take down enemies above their Level.

A Heavy Knight's high performance only came into its own with 〈Smoldering Fangs〉.

It was difficult to save money as a solo Heavy Knight, and leveling up would soon become a struggle, too.

If I formed a party, my share of the rewards would shrink with each additional member, and it would become harder to do things my way.

I'd probably run into relationship problems like Ruche had, too.

On top of that, 〈Smoldering Fangs〉 was so expensive, and if it sold, who knew how long it would be before it showed up in the shop again?

If I let this chance slip by, I might not be able to get 〈Smoldering Fangs〉 for years.

"I'm counting on you, Ruche. You're the only one I've got."

"E-Elymas-san, what do you mean by that?! Um... I'm not very good at this sort of thing, so if you don't say it more directly, I won't understand... Um, uh...! B-But this isn't a good way to put it, is it? Is it kind of unfair?"

Ruche's face turned red as she nervously twirled a lock of pale blue hair around her finger.

"What are you talking about?"

...I hoped she'd take this a little more seriously. Was this going to be okay?

I lifted my head from the map and looked down the road ahead.

"I can see the entrance to 〈Angel's Toy Box〉."

Deep in the forest, I could see a swirling rainbow-colored vortex.

That was the entrance to a 〈Dungeon〉.