Chapter 32
Embryo fell to the floor.
Ruche landed beside it.
“W-We did it... I really...”
Ruche still seemed unable to believe she’d defeated Embryo.
【You acquired 2,170 Experience Points.】
【Your Level increased from 33 to 41.】
【You acquired 8 Skill Points.】
The message announcing my Experience Points echoed in my head.
I’d leveled up far faster than I’d ever expected.
At this point, I should rank among the stronger adventurers in the city of Rondalum.
I’d been seriously mistaken about one thing.
When Ruche used 〈Dice Thrust〉 on Embryo, I’d only prayed her luck would hold.
But even when fortune turned against her, Ruche had wrested victory through her own strength.
“I’m really glad I invited you to join us, Ruche. Klein really made a terrible mistake letting you go.”
“E-Ehehe... You think so? I feel like this 〈Dungeon〉 exploration has given me a lot of confidence, too! People have always told me my class was useless, but we got so many items, and I even managed to use 〈Dice Thrust〉...”
“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s because you’re Ruche.”
Even in this world, I’d been judging people by their Level and class.
In that sense, I wasn’t any different from my father or Klein.
The only difference was what we used as our criteria.
Ruche had come back to help me, even though I’d stubbornly stayed behind in a life-or-death situation... Then, with a quick-witted move in the heat of the moment, she’d turned things around and defeated Embryo.
She was loyal and dependable, and could surpass her own abilities when lives were on the line.
Could I ask for a more dependable companion?
“N-No... Elymas-san, that’s far too much praise.”
Ruche blushed bashfully and fiddled with the ends of her hair.
【You acquired the Title 〈Upset〉.】
I’d acquired a Title.
It was awarded for defeating a 〈Dream Lord〉 at a low Level.
I’d planned to get it someday, when I could meet its requirements more safely. I was glad I’d managed to obtain it now.
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〈Upset〉【Title】
Proof of defeating a 〈Dream Lord〉 with a party of two or fewer, at less than 70% of the recommended Level.
When fighting an opponent with a higher Level, your Attack and Agility increase by 15%.
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To reach the top in 〈Magic World〉, you always had to hunt opponents with higher Levels than yours.
〈Upset〉 was a powerful Title that gave you a major advantage in doing so.
Getting it at this stage was a big deal.
Embryo’s corpse faded away, leaving a large green magic stone behind.
It was a Wind-element magic stone.
“...That alone should be worth a million Gordo.”
“S-Seriously?! My sense of money is getting all messed up...”
After all, it was a magic stone from a Lv. 50 〈Dream Lord〉.
The magic stones from the Tin Knights should fetch over 500,000 Gordo apiece, too.
We’d stumbled into some unexpected spoils.
I searched the Tin Knights’ remains, picked up their magic stones, and put them in my 〈Magic Bag〉.
One of the Tin Knights’ swords had remained instead of dissolving into mana, so I picked it up.
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〈Tin Sword〉 (Recommended Equip Lv: 35)
【Attack: +9】
【Market Value: 2,400,000 Gordo】
A sword used by a Tin Knight.
Its bonus is a little low, but it’s sturdy and cheap to repair.
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Expensive items were dropping with surprising ease.
The Lucky Jester’s luck—which had made it an essential class in 〈Magic World〉—seemed to be just as powerful in this world.
I often chose a more reliable class with the 〈Great Luck〉 Skill Tree, but the Jester’s higher base Luck made a big difference.
Every time 〈Great Luck〉 doubled your Luck, the gap created by that higher base value grew wider and wider.
“I found an item! A 〈Tin Sword〉!”
Ruche swung around a sword with a toy-like appearance.
“No way...”
Two of the three Tin Knights had dropped a 〈Tin Sword〉.
It might not be long before I got my hands on 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉.
...But a 〈Tin Sword〉 and a 〈Bear Shield〉.
They were pretty strong for my current Level, but I’d need some courage to walk around wearing them in this world, even if I wouldn’t have hesitated in 〈Magic World〉.
Now I couldn’t help hoping for a good drop from Embryo.
It wouldn’t be worth as much as 〈Larna’s Shining Ornamental Sword〉, but Embryo could drop powerful weapons, too.
The odds weren’t high, but it could drop a bow with a unique Skill that imbued it with Wind.
Its market value was around six million Gordo.
It was rare and useful, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it sold for even more in this world.
A shop would probably lowball me, but if I managed to sell it to the right person, I might get 500,000 Gordo above its market value.
“Come on... Embryo!”
I searched through Embryo’s body as it evaporated and crumbled away.
...But no item appeared.
A weapon that large should have been easy to spot if it had dropped...
“I guess I can’t expect things to go that smoothly... Hm?”
A book had fallen among Embryo’s remains.
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〈Skill Book〉 (Intermediate Wind Magic)
【Market Value: 20,000,000 Gordo】
You can acquire the 〈Intermediate Wind Magic〉 Skill Tree.
It includes everything from convenient single-target attacks that fire blades of wind to wide-area spells that call down lightning.
You can also use a tailwind to increase your movement speed.
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...A 〈Skill Book〉?!
〈Skill Books〉 had a far lower drop rate than weapons.
On top of that, nobles controlled and monopolized their distribution in this world, driving their value even higher.
If the Adventurers Guild found out about it, they’d take it off my hands for far less than its market value.
Honestly, in a world where 〈Skill Books〉 were hardly ever available and risky to handle, learning the fairly useful 〈Intermediate Wind Magic〉 Skill Tree was a perfectly reasonable option.
My MP and magic power were low, and I didn’t want to compromise my character build just to play it safe.
Even so, it couldn’t hurt to consider it.
You could get Embryo’s 〈Sylph Cutter〉 for a relatively small number of Skill Points.
“...What’s wrong, Elymas-san? You’re clutching that item like you’re trying to hide it...”
“N-No, sorry. I wasn’t trying to deceive you, Ruche, but I got an item that absolutely can’t be found by adventurers from another party or Guild staff.”
In my mind, I could see the shopkeeper of 〈The Tattered Grimoire〉 grinning wickedly.
There weren’t many shops bold enough to deal in 〈Skill Books〉.
I’d have to sell it at that old lady’s shop.
But this had turned into an enormous haul.
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〈Skill Book〉: 20,000,000 Gordo
〈Larna’s Shining Ornamental Sword〉: 17,000,000 Gordo × 2
〈Tin Sword〉: 2,400,000 Gordo × 2
〈Bear Shield〉: 200,000 Gordo × 2
〈Embryo Magic Stone〉: 1,300,000 Gordo
〈Tin Knight Magic Stone〉: 600,000 Gordo × 3
〈Moneybags Larna Magic Stone〉: 600,000 Gordo × 2
〈Patchwork Bear Magic Stone〉: 170,000 Gordo × 2
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That was about the sum of our rewards this time.
The total came to a staggering 63,840,000 Gordo.
Getting caught up in Embryo’s 〈King’s Wandering〉 had turned into something else entirely.
Honestly, I was shocked, too.
That was all based on market value, though, so the actual amount would probably be considerably lower.
The Guild bought and sold magic stones at their market value to support adventurers, but it could lowball you quite a bit on certain items.
As for the 〈Skill Book〉—something that couldn’t be handled through normal channels—that would depend on that wicked old woman.
Just then, the entire 〈Dungeon〉 shook violently and began to collapse.
The pillars and walls vanished as if they were evaporating.
Ruche shuddered and anxiously looked around.
“E-Elymas-san! What’s happening?!”
“It’s only natural to be surprised at first. Don’t worry... the 〈Dream Lord〉 was defeated, so this 〈Dungeon〉 is just disappearing.”
The surroundings would keep vanishing, and before we knew it, we’d be standing outside the 〈Dungeon〉.
“I see... That startled me. It was my first time seeing a 〈Dream Lord〉, and my first time witnessing one being defeated...”
Ruche stuck out her tongue.
Her figure was growing fainter, too.
I could see my own hand becoming transparent.
It was a strange sensation.
I found myself checking again to make sure we’d collected all the items.
“Oh, right. This might not be the time to bring it up, but...”
“Yes?”
“The total market value of everything we got this time is over sixty million Gordo. That’s just an estimate, though, so I can’t say for sure.”
Ruche’s legs went unsteady, as if she were dizzy, and she promptly toppled to the ground.
“H-Hey, Ruche, are you okay?! Ruche! What’s wrong?!”
“You really shouldn’t say that right now...”
Ruche murmured in a tiny, fading whisper.