Chapter 55
“S-So huge... that magic stone...”
Luche found an earth-element magic stone among the Mithril Golem’s remains and picked it up.
“Elymas-san... It looks like the magic stone alone is worth two million Gordo... Upper-level adventurers must hunt lots of monsters stronger than Mithril Golems. Just how much money do they have saved up...?”
Luche seemed to have checked the magic stone’s market value. She asked me timidly.
I was rummaging through the chest of the Mithril Golem’s remains.
The Mithril Golem had lost its life and was reverting to a mass of mana, vaporizing away.
Amid all that... I noticed a large rectangular block of metal still firmly lodged deep in its chest.
I gripped the metal block and pulled it out.
A beautiful ingot of metal, gleaming blue-green.
〈Mithril Ingot〉 was stamped on its surface, along with a stylized Golem emblem.
“It’s kind of anticlimactic, isn’t it? The Mithril Golem wasn’t a cute little monster like this at all.”
Luche said with a wry smile.
“Well, its price isn’t cute.”
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〈Mithril Ingot〉
【Market Value: 25 million Gordo】
An ingot of mithril.
A magical metal infused with the radiance of potent mana.
It is sometimes called magical silver.
An expensive, rare metal. Any adventurer who owns mithril equipment is sure to earn the respect of others.
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“T-Twenty-five million Gordo?! D-Does this 〈Dungeon〉 really drop expensive items left and right like this?!”
“Mithril Golems are genuinely rare monsters. That’s exactly why I wanted to take one on, even if it meant pushing ourselves a little.”
It was safe to say that mithril equipment was among the strongest available at our level.
It was far better than Blacksteel equipment.
If made into a weapon, it would be a trusty companion we could use for a long time.
Selling it would be lucrative, but I’d rather have it made into a weapon.
Once we got back to Lacolina, I wanted to find a skilled blacksmith and commission it.
To have a good weapon forged, we’d need to hire a blacksmith with a fairly high level.
But this was Lacolina, the city of adventurers.
Surely we’d find a suitable blacksmith.
The question was whether to have them make a sword or a knife out of the mithril.
A shield or armor was also an option, but... well, I think a knife would be best.
Luche was quick on her feet, and her 〈Dice Thrust〉 let her hold her own against enemies whose stats outmatched hers. Giving her a better weapon would make our fighting style more reliable.
...Besides, with the fifty million Gordo for 〈Smoldering Frenzy Fang〉, I wanted to give Luche some expensive items to help even things out, if I could.
That was how I felt, at least.
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〈Mithril Ingot〉: 25 million Gordo
〈Destruction Rune〉: 20 million Gordo
〈Blacksteel Hammer〉: 4.6 million Gordo
〈Blacksteel Sword〉: 4.5 million Gordo
〈Blacksteel Knife〉: 4.3 million Gordo
〈Blacksteel Ingot〉: 4 million Gordo
〈Mithril Golem Magic Stone〉: 2 million Gordo
〈Cry Magic Stone〉: 900,000 Gordo
〈Smile Magic Stone〉: 800,000 Gordo × 4
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At this point, we had 68.5 million Gordo.
We’d finally surpassed what we’d earned in 〈Angel’s Toy Box〉.
The Lucky Clown’s effect really was incredible.
Last time, our total had shot up thanks to the Gilded Rana and its rare drops, so I’d thought it would be tough to beat that by our next haul. But we’d surpassed it with ease.
At this rate, it might not be difficult to set aside enough money for the 〈Skill Book〉 for Luche’s 〈Reaper’s Cruel Hand〉.
“Still... we’ve come pretty far in. I hope we don’t get attacked by any troublesome monsters on the way back.”
“Well, if we could take down the Mithril Golem, there might not be any monsters in the 〈Centipede Tunnel〉 that can give us much trouble. The Mithril Golem might even be more dangerous than this place’s 〈Dream Lord〉.”
There wasn’t much difference between the Mithril Golem’s level and this place’s 〈Dream Lord〉.
Besides, with its reach, toughness, and high attack power all working together, the Mithril Golem was a vicious monster that was far harder to deal with than its level suggested.
We’d both leveled up after defeating it, so it wouldn’t be surprising if we beat this place’s 〈Dream Lord〉 with ease.
“Luche, there’s a way to get to the 〈Dungeon〉’s exit instantly without walking all the way back.”
“Huh...? There’s a way to do that? I’ve never heard of it.”
“You’ve already experienced it once. Defeat the 〈Dream Lord〉.”
Hearing that, Luche’s expression stiffened.
“I-Is that really okay...?”
“The 〈Dream Lord〉 drops some nice items, and... this 〈Centipede Tunnel〉’s 〈Dream Lord〉 isn’t that strong. Honestly, I thought the Mithril Golem would wear us down more, but we’ve got more strength left than I expected.”
I’d planned to use 〈Smoldering Frenzy Fang〉 in the fight against the Mithril Golem.
But the somewhat brute-force combo of 〈Shadow Treading〉 and 〈Shield Bash〉 had worked well to hinder its movements, and Luche had managed to roll a 【Six】 with 〈Dice Thrust〉 at just the right time, so my HP hadn’t been depleted too much.
Even with 〈Healing Potions〉, taking damage and healing repeatedly would build up physical and mental fatigue.
If I’d been pushed to the point of activating 〈Smoldering Frenzy Fang〉, I’d planned to return without hesitation. But in our current state, there was no reason to back down from this place’s 〈Dream Lord〉.
“Let’s take it down quickly and claim one more bonus treasure.”
“What kind of monster is this place’s 〈Dream Lord〉?”
“What kind...? Well, it’s just like the name 〈Centipede Tunnel〉 suggests. A Rock Centipede... also known as a Stone Centipede.”
“...A Stone Centipede.”
Luche’s face twisted in obvious disgust.
“Want to leave it, after all? We’ve walked a long way... and the Mithril Golem was a pretty grueling opponent.”
“N-No! Let’s do it! I’ll be fine! It’s only... a slightly big bug, after all! Yeah!”
Luche said, as if trying to encourage herself.