Chapter 24
Minotaur’s Secret Resting Place
As the name suggests, the boss of this dungeon was none other than the Minotaur.
Minotaur.
A monster with the head of a bull that walks on two legs, it was stronger than an ogre.
To quantify it, it was approximately at the level of 1.2 ogres. Furthermore, since dungeon bosses receive stat boosts, it would be a more powerful entity than the average bull-headed monster.
Despite having such a formidable boss monster, there was a reason for choosing this dungeon.
‘First of all, there are no traps.’
Moreover, the level of the monsters appearing here wasn’t very high. Excluding the boss monster, there was nothing much to worry about. Additionally, this dungeon could be considered quite rewarding given its difficulty level.
Starting from swords and staves, it also offered rings and necklaces that increased energy recovery speed as rewards.
Thus, it was one of the popular dungeons among users.
Sword of the Ogre.
Staff of Valor.
Frantel’s Ring.
Ruwell’s Necklace, and so on.
Recalling the representative artifacts dropped here, a smile naturally appeared on my face. If I could get just one or two of those, this dungeon run would be a tremendous success.
While pretending to look around a flower garden, I began guiding my party toward the dungeon’s location.
‘It should be around here.’
Observing the terrain, I started to spread my mana.
Now that mana had built up in the circle, a substantial amount was flowing from my right hand.
Normally, it’s not easy to feel a different type of energy from one’s own, but considering that, Leonhardt, being a skilled practitioner, should be able to read the amount of mana present.
However, his expression remained nonchalant.
For the past five days, I had been training to spread mana even while inside the carriage.
This was actually one of the training methods used by magicians.
As I was spreading mana all around, I noticed him tilting his head in curiosity.
“… Huh? What is it?”
“… Yes?”
“No, it feels like something is there. Wait a moment.”
Immediately, I cast the digging spell Dig and activated it at the location where I anticipated the dungeon might be hidden.
The ground began to sink.
Seeing that, the two people walking beside me tilted their heads in confusion.
“Master? Why suddenly dig…?”
“Because it feels like there’s something below.”
At my words, Leonhardt focused his energy and began to spread his aura.
Thanks to Heart Eye, I could faintly see his aura branching out in hundreds of directions, penetrating into the ground.
Soon after, he frowned.
“There’s an unknown energy blocking my aura. It definitely feels like there’s something down below.”
“Is it deep?”
“Not very deep. It seems to be about twenty meters underground.”
I was relieved to find the dungeon located in the same place as I remembered. If it were a hundred meters deep instead of twenty, it would have been a real struggle to dig through.
“Do you know what it is?”
At my question, Leonhardt shook his head.
“I can’t tell. It seems like it has some sort of rebound property since it’s blocking my aura…”
“Then let’s check it out.”
“… By the way, are you planning to dig here, Master?”
“That’s the plan.”
“It could be dangerous. We should leave it for now and bring the soldiers…”
What on earth is he talking about?
The very reason I hadn’t brought soldiers was to hoard the dungeon for myself.
If I were to bring soldiers as he suggested, everything about the dungeon—its existence and location—would be laid bare.
Consequently, it would attract a horde of greedy wolves drooling over it.
The dungeon.
This was a place that rewarded you with high-priced artifacts just for clearing it.
‘Then they’ll take a cut.’
Even if I were to be acknowledged as the first discoverer, I wouldn’t be able to claim a hundred percent of the rewards.
The vassals within my family wouldn’t just sit idly by.
I could end up experiencing the bitterness of being powerless.
Naturally, I had no intention of doing so at all.
“Not really. Just confirming something shouldn’t be that dangerous.”
“Hmm…”
“If there seems to be something, it wouldn’t feel right to just overlook it. We should check it out.”
My strong insistence finally made Leonhardt raise the white flag.
“…Understood. Then I will…”
“Forget it. I think this is something I need to handle.”
Leonhardt was indeed a formidable knight, but that didn’t mean he was skilled at digging.
He would probably just use his immense strength to smash the ground without care.
There’s no way it wouldn’t make noise.
If that happened, monsters might swarm us, so it was better to quietly mine using my magic.
While we were talking like that, Erciel, who had been quietly listening beside us, looked at me.
“Can I help a bit?”
“Are you going to provide light?”
“Yes.”
“Sure. Thank you.”
Since it could purify mana, increase recovery speed, and strongly activate positive emotions, having that light would make the tedious task of digging much more enjoyable. Light was indeed optimized for such labor.
Once the light penetrated my body, I began using magic to excavate the ground.
It didn’t take long.
Thirty minutes.
As I took breaks in between digging, the shape of the dungeon slowly began to emerge.
The visible structure of the dungeon looked very simple. There was just a single door that seemed to lead underground, awkwardly lying on the ground.
Like the entrance to a basement.
“…A door?”
Seeing is believing.
As soon as I opened the door, stairs began to appear.
The stairs weren’t deep.
And at the bottom of those stairs, something that resembled a blue portal was placed.
“Sir, it seems that this place is… a dungeon.”
“It does seem like it.”
The portal was one of the characteristic structures of a dungeon.
Finding a portal in a place that’s hard to discover?
That could only be considered a one hundred percent indication that it was a dungeon.
Such portals were high-level magic that even great mages could not maintain for long.
That’s why NPCs in this game sometimes referred to dungeons as gifts from the gods.
The notion that such a portal could be maintained for an extended period was incomprehensible to them.
Even in this place where the game and reality seemed to have mixed, dungeons were still being maintained the same way.
“Let’s go.”
“…What?”
“Sir…?”
At my words, shock filled the eyes of both of them.
Soon after, Leonhardt began to speak to me as if trying to counsel me.
“Sir, I understand that you’re excited since it’s your first time discovering a dungeon, but… we must decide to enter carefully. No one knows what awaits us inside. Perhaps there may be powerful monsters that we cannot handle.”
“…I heard that once you enter a dungeon, you can’t leave until you defeat the monsters that rule over it. Isn’t it dangerous? Shouldn’t we enter with others…?”
What he said was true.
It was true that you usually couldn’t leave before clearing it and that you often didn’t know what monsters were dwelling inside.
But.
I already knew all about those things.
So, there was no need to hesitate.
“I’m not excited right now. To be honest, the three of us make a pretty decent party, right? Even if an ogre shows up, we should be able to take it down.”
I continued to argue, facing the silent expressions of both.
“Moreover, I’ve heard that clearing a dungeon brings valuable rewards. Things like precious artifacts. Those are treasures that can’t be easily obtained even with money.”
“Even so, taking risks is not really necessary…”
“Well, I disagree. You probably have a rough idea of how our family operates. We are largely divided into two factions.”
At my words, the group nodded.
This was a fact well known to everyone within the family.
“So far, both factions have managed to coexist without major conflicts, but how long do you think that will last? Eventually, one side will make a move.”
“Are you perhaps referring to the Second Prince?”
“Yeah. To be honest, I don’t trust that guy.”
“The Second Prince isn’t a fool, but isn’t that a bit of an overreach…?”
“I’m sure everyone in the family thinks the same way. You, too, think like that right now.”
“…”
“When I faced him, I definitely saw a glimmer of desire in his eyes. That was not the gaze of someone who was thinking of yielding.”
I continued speaking to the silent group.
“To be honest, I don’t feel good about this. The thought that we’re on the brink of a crisis keeps swirling in my mind.”
“…Hmm…”
“The succession ceremony isn’t far off either, right?”
“Do you truly believe something might happen, Young Master?”
“At least, I think so. And if something does occur… then power will become the most important thing.”
“…So that’s the reason you want to enter the dungeon.”
“Exactly. I feel a strong urge to enter now, even if it means taking a risk. If we call for soldiers as you said, it won’t be easy to get a complete reward.”
In response to my words, Leonhardt replied quietly.
“It could be dangerous.”
“With the three of us, we won’t fail.”
Leonhardt’s persuasion was absolutely necessary.
If he took on the Minotaur, we could ride comfortably.
After pondering for a while, he seemed to make a decision and nodded heavily.
“…Even if I try persuade you, I don’t think you’ll change your mind.”
“I’m sorry.”
“…It’s not that there isn’t a valid reason. It’s just…”
The knight, who met my gaze, spoke in a serious tone.
“Please be as careful as possible. We don’t know exactly what’s inside the dungeon. I will do my best to protect you, but it can still be dangerous.”
“Right. I’ll be as careful as I can.”
I replied seriously, and Leonhardt’s gaze turned towards the dungeon.
There was no need to look so solemn.
This wasn’t a dangerous place.
Not for someone with our level of skill.
Now that the knight’s persuasion was done, it was time to hear the maid’s answer.
“This is how I see it. Can you help me?”
“…If you’ve made that judgment, I will follow.”
“Good. You just need to support me from behind. But don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Understood.”
Since I was already planning to enter the dungeon, I had naturally brought the tools needed for exploration.
In my magic pouch.
So, there was no hesitation in entering.
Soon after, the two of us began to step into the blue portal.
The moment we entered the portal, the scenery changed in an instant.
I quickly lit a torch and looked around.
The place we had moved to was just like…
“This looks… exactly like a mine shaft.”
A mine shaft.
A passageway found within a mine.
It looked just like that.
The dark passage continued on endlessly. The only light came from the torch in my hand.
Looking at the ground, I noticed a dilapidated railway track that seemed on the verge of collapse.
It was quite a chilling sight, but there was no sense of tension.
Before long, we would surely be able to reap sweet rewards.
?
‘It’s finally starting.’
The Minotaur’s Secret Resting Place.
This was a dungeon that existed solely for the boss, without any minions.
Now, it was time to start our conquest of this place.
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