Chapter 261
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Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
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After hunting the Cave Monkeys until they gave up and stopped coming out, my level increased by one. The quality of the enemies matters, but every little bit adds up. You can also earn experience by grinding through large numbers of enemies. It's tedious work, but if you can endure it, you can level up relatively safely.
This method doesn't suit my temperament, though. Not because I'm starved for powerful enemies like Jigoro, but because I feel that fighting nothing but weaker opponents dulls my instincts when I face a stronger one.
Unless the situation makes it essential—such as needing a large quantity of some item or wanting to gain even one level before everyone tackles a dungeon—I doubt I'd go out of my way to grind experience against enemies this weak.
"Whew, you were a big help. I would've been fine on my own, but Columbus definitely would've been eaten."
"Hey! Keisuke-kun! You all right!?"
As Keisuke-kun thanked me, the other person whom Eiji and the others had rescued called out to him loudly. I hadn't noticed before, but on closer inspection, the player called Columbus appeared to be a woman. Her avatar had a magnificent mustache, and she waved at us nonchalantly.
Though the voice was feminine, the avatar looked like a tall, slender gentleman with an impressive Kaiser mustache. She wore a round hat and clothes with numerous pockets, all while hanging from a rope. Her appearance embodied the stereotypical image of an explorer.
"Quite a unique person."
"Hahaha. That's what I like about her, though."
"What, are you bragging about your relationship?"
"You can think of it that way."
Hmm, hmm. So, the two of them were enjoying adventures as a couple. They might know each other in real life, but I wasn't so tactless as to pry.
"By the way, are you two also headed for the bottom?"
"That's right. It's a classic method, as you can see, but you seem to have it easy."
"That's true, but we can't airlift you, either. I don't have the strength to fly while carrying a person, and Mossan doesn't have any room to spare, either."
Keisuke looked at us enviously, but we couldn't carry the two of them. I wanted to hide my extra arms as much as possible, so I didn't want to use them. Besides, while an avatar as light as Ruby was practically weightless, I probably couldn't carry a grown man and fly.
Mossan didn't have any room to spare, either. He was carrying Eiji, who was already a heavyweight and was clad in extremely heavy equipment to boot. Mossan was a strength-focused pugilist, which let him manage somehow, but he probably couldn't carry one more person any more than I could.
"Ah, I see... Then could you at least escort us while we descend? As for payment... how about thirty thousand Zel upon successful completion?"
"Hey, isn't that below the going rate? If you're going to lowball us just because we're monster players, we can leave you here and go."
"Oops. You noticed?"
Of course, I had no idea what the going rate for an escort quest was. I was bluffing. Keisuke-kun looked mild-mannered, but I sensed something shrewd and not to be taken lightly about him. It was purely a hunch, but apparently I hadn't been wrong.
He had some nerve. Did he take a monster player for a country bumpkin fresh from the sticks in the big city? Fine, then. I'd negotiate with him in earnest.
"Then, at the going rate, fifty thousand per person..."
"Have you already forgotten that you don't know how far the destination is, and that you tried to skimp on our reward because you took us lightly?"
"Ugh... Then sixty..."
"Eighty thousand, including compensation for the trouble."
"Eighty thousand!? That's too much, no matter how you look at it..."
"I wasn't planning to tell that Columbus over there that you tried to deceive me, you know?"
"Then eighty thousand..."
"The hush money is a separate charge, you know?"
"Aaargh! Fine! I get it! One hundred thousand! Is that enough!? I'm short on money right now..."
Leaving beginner Columbus aside, one hundred thousand Zel was hardly a significant sum for a high-level player like Keisuke. I'd suspected he might be short on money when he balked at paying it, and apparently I was right.
It was just as I'd expected, but I would have him pay it as tuition. This was the price of treating us lightly because we were monster players.
"It's a deal. I'll earn my pay."
"Ugh... Since I'm paying that much, make sure you protect us properly, okay!?"
Keisuke-kun said that with something close to desperation. My personal irritation had been assuaged, so I supposed I should do the job properly. First, I would tell the other two that I had accepted the request.
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Your 【Staff】 level has increased.
You learned the 【Staff】 martial technique, Magic-Coated Strike.
Your 【Magic Precision Control】 level has increased.
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About an hour had passed since Eiji, Mossan, Keisuke, Columbus, and I began descending the vertical hole while escorting the two of them. The hole was far deeper than I had imagined, and we were attacked by monsters besides Cave Monkeys, including insects and bats.
None of them were particularly strong, so it wasn't a big deal, but their numbers made them troublesome. Also, the two Humans couldn't see in the dark and had to rely on the feeble light of the lanterns at their waists, so until recently our pace of descent had been extremely slow.
"You've been a big help, Izamu-kun."
"Who'd have thought a new martial technique would double as a torch..."
However, the new martial technique called Magic-Coated Strike solved our problem with the darkness. As its name suggests, it was a martial technique that cloaked my staff in elemental magic I could use. It was limited to my own staff, but its mana efficiency was better than 【Enchantment】.
While using it to fend off weaklings, I realized that imbuing it with the fire element let me use it as a makeshift torch. It was much brighter than I'd expected, and it increased the pace at which the two could descend.
If fire did this, I wondered what light would do. Would it turn into a glow stick? I wasn't using it for now, since it would be troublesome if people found out I was Undead.
"Oh! I can see the bottom!"
"It's much easier to tell with a light."
The light from my torch-like staff finally reached the bottom and began illuminating it. Once they could see the goal, the two seemed more motivated, and their movements visibly improved.
My escort job was finally coming to an end. I had thought it would be fairly easy since there were only two people to protect and one of them could defend himself adequately, but it hadn't turned out that way. Every enemy that appeared came in a swarm, while there were few of us acting as guards. One hundred thousand was starting to seem cheap, but whatever.
"We've arrived! Goodness, you can really smell adventure in the air, can't you, Keisuke-kun!?"
"Yeah, Columbus."
"Our job is over now. You know that, right, Keisuke-kun?"
"...Yes, Izamu."
He replied cheerfully to the excited Columbus, but his voice dropped noticeably when he spoke to me. At some point, he had even dropped the honorific and started calling me just Izamu. Well, that was a natural reaction.
Keisuke-kun silently handed me a drawstring pouch full of money. After confirming that it contained the agreed-upon amount, I gave 130,000 Zel each to Mossan and Eiji. They both laughed and said it wasn't necessary, but I had taken this escort job on my own. Since I had dragged them into it, I should give them a little extra.
"You didn't have to go that far..."
"Even among close friends, courtesy matters. This is a token of thanks to the two of you for forgiving me for accepting the request on my own."
"Eiji-kun, let's accept it. Money is never unwelcome... and besides, Izamu-san looks like he'll keep trying to persuade us until we do."
Eiji accepted the money with a troubled look, while Mossan took it with a wry smile. Relieved, I dispelled Magic-Coated Strike and returned my staff to its normal state. The light illuminating the bottom of the vertical hole now came only from Keisuke and Columbus's lanterns, so it suddenly grew much weaker.
The two might have trouble with the unfamiliar darkness, but we had no problem thanks to our night vision. I looked around the bottom of the vertical hole for now and found a passage that seemed to lead farther in.
"Is that our destination?"
"That's right. Let's go."
"I'm sure you'll like it."
What could be in the place they had teased me about so relentlessly? My expectations swelled whether I wanted them to or not. I followed Eiji and Mossan as they went ahead, with Keisuke and Columbus coming along behind us.
"You're coming with us?"
"What else can we do? It's the only path!"
It was only natural, since there was just one path. I had asked despite knowing the answer, but apparently it had annoyed them. Perhaps I had teased them too much.
In the end, the five of us proceeded single file through the narrow passage for about a minute. Then it opened into a spacious area—and there were countless tents pitched there!
The presence of tents naturally suggested that there were nearly as many players here. I had thought it unusual for anyone to aim for a place like this after enduring such troublesome attacks as Keisuke and Columbus had, but apparently that wasn't the case.
"What is this place?"
"This is... Oh, perfect timing! Pop-san!"
Eiji waved and called to someone, and the figure glided toward us. From the way it moved and its appearance, I could more or less tell what kind of people were gathered here.
"I-it's transparent!?"
I see. So the people here are Undead players—one could even call them my relatives.
The player called Pop was semi-transparent and turned out to be a Ghost-type monster. I see. I had nearly forgotten, but Undead were weak to light. It was difficult for them to act during the day, and they could only walk around outside at night in game time.
That didn't mean it was fair for Undead players to be able to visit the event area only at night in game time. So this place had probably been chosen as somewhere they could act even during the day.
"Oh, Eiji-kun. And Mossan, too. Welcome!"
"Let me introduce you. This is Popcorn-san, a Poltergeist. Pop-san, this is Izamu-san, the leader of the clan we belong to."
"I'm Popcorn, a semi-transparent beauty! You can just call me Pop, Izamu. Nice to meet you!"
"Yeah, likewise."
Popcorn the Poltergeist, huh. I was surprised that such a Race existed, but we exchanged greetings. Despite being a Poltergeist, Pop seemed to have a cheerful personality. She struck a pose in midair with an innocent smile on her face.
As she said, she was semi-transparent, but her avatar was so well-proportioned that she truly qualified as a beautiful girl. Perhaps she had many fans, because other players had somehow gathered around us after we came up from below and were applauding. I was a little concerned by the hard clacking of bones and the oddly watery sounds mixed in.
In any case, this was our destination. Guided by the two of them, I had reached the deepest part of the event area, commonly known as 'Undead Resting Place.'