[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 85 – Raid Dungeon (2)
“I’d like to take on a request.”
“Are… Are you a mercenary?”
“Yes.”
Ketal handed over his mercenary badge.
Tiana received it with trembling hands.
When she checked the badge, her eyes widened.
“What?”
The rank on the badge was C-rank.
The barbarian in front of her was a C-rank mercenary.
“Is it fake?”
She inspected the badge thoroughly, but it wasn’t fake.
The barbarian was indeed a mercenary.
“…Alright.”
She calmed her trembling body.
Even though the barbarian in front of her was intimidating, he was ultimately a mercenary.
He was a person bound by the rules and laws of society.
There was no reason for her to be scared.
“Do you have a specific request in mind…?”
But she couldn’t help but speak in a voice as small as a crawling ant.
It was more of a mumble than actual words.
However, Ketal seemed to have heard the mumbling clearly and asked,
“I heard there’s a request for a raid dungeon.”
“Oh. Yes, there is.”
Tiana fumbled as she pulled out the request form from under the desk and handed it over.
[Requestor: Kingdom of Denian.]
[A-rank Dungeon.]
[Raid Dungeon.]
[Conditions: C-rank or higher. Must be able to cooperate with others.]
[Reward: Varies based on performance and contribution.]
Reading the request form, a smile spread across Ketal’s face.
“Can you explain it to me?”
“Yes, y-yes.”
Tiana stuttered as she began to explain.
“It’s an A-rank raid dungeon. There are a total of four entrances leading into the dungeon.”
Four entrances.
Four paths.
Each path led to the center of the dungeon.
Each party would enter through one of the four entrances and clear the path.
Then they would meet up with the other parties at the center of the dungeon.
“After meeting the other parties, you will solve the dungeon’s gimmick and take down the boss. That’s how you clear the raid dungeon. The detailed instructions will be given by the raid leader.”
“That’s how it works.”
There were different types of raid dungeons.
The main types were either a mob of people swarming in to beat the boss or each party splitting up to solve the dungeon’s gimmicks.
This time, it seemed to be the latter.
Ketal nodded in satisfaction.
“There are still spots available, right?”
“Yes. There are still openings, but…”
“I would like to take on this raid dungeon request.”
“Ex-Excuse me?”
“I believe I meet the conditions.”
“That’s true, but…”
Tiana was flustered.
Ketal was a C-rank mercenary, just meeting the minimum requirement.
But there was one more condition.
“Have you ever formed a party before?”
Raid dungeons weren’t like regular dungeons.
They required cooperation among dozens of people to clear.
With so many people involved, one had to have good social skills.
They had to be able to follow orders from strangers.
But a barbarian, who was notorious for splitting heads and dueling even among their own kind, couldn’t possibly have such social skills.
Seeing her worried expression, Ketal confidently said,
“Don’t worry. I’ve formed parties and led them several times. I’ve also completed escort missions, so there won’t be any issues. I promise.”
“Is that so…”
Of course, she didn’t believe him.
One of the most useless things in the world was a barbarian’s promise.
Normally, she wouldn’t allow a barbarian to join a raid dungeon and would reject him right here.
But she was scared.
If she rejected him, he might suddenly snap and cleave her head with his axe.
In fact, she had read several novels in her childhood where barbarian protagonists did exactly that.
Back then, she admired those ruthless barbarians, but now that she was the target, her body was shaking.
She realized that novels were best left as novels.
“We, we’ll need to assess you first. The guild master will review and make the final decision. You’ll get the result within a week, so please check back then.”
In the end, she shifted the responsibility to the guild master.
“Understood. I’ll check back.”
Ketal nodded and left.
Tiana, who had been standing there for a while, collapsed onto the desk.
“…I’m getting rid of them all.”
All the novels about barbarians and mercenaries she had collected since childhood.
She decided to throw them all away.
* * *
That night, the guild master was sitting at his desk, sorting through documents.
He reviewed the ranks and specialties of the mercenaries who had applied for the raid dungeon.
“Not bad,” he muttered.
Raid dungeons weren’t particularly popular.
Even if the rewards were substantial, mercenaries with strong individualistic tendencies weren’t keen on working closely with others.
However, this time, a decent group of mercenaries had gathered.
This should be manageable without major issues.
As the guild master was flipping through the papers with satisfaction, he suddenly stopped.
“…A barbarian?”
Among the mercenaries who had taken on the raid dungeon request was a barbarian.
“Why is a barbarian here?”
Ketal was staying at Milena’s residence.
However, the people in the capital weren’t well aware of his presence.
The reason was simple.
Ketal left the capital when others were sleeping and returned at dawn when everyone was still in deep slumber.
The guards were the only ones who continuously saw him, but they were ordered to keep silent and tell no one.
“A C-rank mercenary. He must have gone through the assessment to get in. It must have been quite a hassle, so he must have really wanted to join.”
Naturally, the guild master thought this way.
He had no intention of accepting a barbarian who was uncontrollable into a raid dungeon.
Normally, the receptionist should have filtered him out, but it seemed she had passed the responsibility directly to him out of fear.
Just as he was about to discard the document,
“Hey.”
Crash!
The voice from the window made the guild master reflexively leap.
The chair toppled over with a loud noise.
“Who is it?”
The guild master grabbed the axe hanging on the wall, sweat dripping down his face.
The guild master was once a renowned mercenary.
Though he had retired, unable to withstand the passage of time, his experience hadn’t disappeared.
Because of this, he could tell.
The person before him was a monster.
He hadn’t noticed them entering the room at all.
A tense atmosphere filled the space.
The intruder sighed.
“Calm down. I’m not an enemy.”
The intruder approached. T
he flickering candlelight illuminated the room.
Upon seeing the intruder’s face, the guild master’s pupils widened.
“Ma-Master Maximus?”
Maximus, the Swordmaster.
He was the great sword of Denian.
The guild master hastily put down his axe.
“I came to see you. Calm down.”
“I understand. But why at this late hour…?”
And through the window, no less.
Maximus’ face twisted at the guild master’s questioning gaze.
“…You don’t need to know.”
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
“Understood.”
The guild master quickly nodded.
Maximus spoke.
“I saw a barbarian come to the guild. Is that correct?”
“Uh?”
The guild master was momentarily flustered but stammered,
“Yes, he applied for the raid dungeon request.”
“A raid dungeon?”
Maximus frowned.
“They’ll do anything, it seems.”
“I was just about to reject him, but…”
“Accept him.”
“…What?”
“Accept whatever he wants to do. Don’t put any restrictions on his actions.”
The guild master couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
Maximus.
The great sword of Denian and one of the swordmasters.
Such a person came secretly to say not to interfere with a barbarian?
The guild master’s confusion must have shown on his face because Maximus, with a wrinkled expression, continued,
“It’s not like I came here because I wanted to. It’s the will of His Majesty.”
“Hi-His Majesty’s?”
“Don’t ask anything further. I have delivered the message.”
Maximus disappeared as if he couldn’t stand to stay any longer.
The guild master, who stood in a daze for a moment, spoke.
“Did he really come here just to say that?”
The great swordmaster, Maximus?
The guild master looked at the scattered documents.
There lay the information about Ketal.
“…What is with this barbarian?”
* * *
A vast plain.
Mercenaries had gathered there.
Among them, a man with a sturdy build, clad in armor, sword, and shield, was sitting on a rock, chewing on some cheese.
A blue armband was on his wrist.
“Hey.”
Someone tapped his shoulder from behind.
The man’s face lit up as he turned around.
“Oh. Barak!”
“Good to see you, Gainert.”
“What? You’re in my party?”
“Looks like it.”
Said the man with the bow, known as Barak, as he patted his shoulder.
A blue armband was attached there.
A woman’s voice called out from behind them.
“I’m here too!”
“Oh, Marcy!”
A woman with a pointed hat and a staff approached them with a smile.
She also had a blue armband on her arm.
The man known as Gainert whistled.
“This party looks pretty good!”
Raid dungeons typically required four-person parties.
However, some mercenaries didn’t have a party.
In such cases, the guild would form parties based on requests.
Before the party was set, no one knew who their teammates would be, which often resulted in mismatched groups.
In this context, they were lucky.
They knew each other and had worked together several times before.
There wouldn’t be any issues with this party.
Marcy laughed and said.
“It’s a raid dungeon, after all. Most other parties shouldn’t have problems either.”
“Is that so?”
“By the way, Barak, didn’t you have a party?”
“The leader got stabbed in a love affair.”
“Oh…”
They chatted idly while observing the other mercenaries around them.
“Indeed, it looks fine. There shouldn’t be any problems with this group. Who’s the raid leader?”
“Over there.”
Marcy pointed to the other side of the field.
A man with dark hair was standing there. Gainert’s eyes widened.
“Cartman? Really? He’s a First rate mercenary!”
Reaching the First rate as a mercenary was extremely rare.
Usually, those who reached that level signed contracts with nobles and became knights.
Thus, those who continued as mercenaries despite reaching the First rate were highly respected among their peers.
Cartman was one of them.
“This should be an easy win.”
“The internal layout hasn’t been fully verified yet, but it doesn’t seem particularly special. It should only take a few hours.”
They weren’t the only ones who thought so.
All the mercenaries present were at least C-rank, with ample experience.
There was a general air of confidence and a desire to finish quickly and return.
While they were idly passing the time, Marcy whispered,
“Speaking of Cartman, do you think that rumor is true?”
“What rumor?”
“That he escorted the Akasha family across the White Snowfield.”
“Oh, that?”
It was a secret that Milena had crossed the White Snowfield to sell weapons.
If it were known that she had traded with the Empire, it wouldn’t bode well for her.
However, mercenaries were generally talkative and liked to boast about their exploits.
One of the mercenaries who had escorted Milena had gotten drunk and bragged about his achievements.
Considering that Milena suddenly made a lot of money and revitalized the Akasha family, it seemed plausible.
But no one really believed the story.
The reason was simple.
“It’s an impossible story. The White Snowfield?”
The White Snowfield.
The largest demon territory in the center of the continent.
No one had ever managed to cross it.
The only person to have seen the monsters of the White Snowfield was an emperor from a long time ago.
Though Cartman was undoubtedly strong, he was still only at the First rate mercenary level.
He wouldn’t survive in the White Snowfield.
But Marcy whispered even more quietly.
“There’s another part to that rumor, you know?”
“…Oh. That he met the Ashen Barbarian?”
“Yes.”
Marcy nodded.
“The reason they survived was because the Ashen Barbarian helped them. Doesn’t that make sense?”
“It’s plausible, but…”
If the Ashen Barbarian really helped, then crossing the White Snowfield might be possible.
But that was also just a baseless rumor.
“Why would the Ashen Barbarian help outsiders? They’d be lucky if he didn’t just kill them.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Marcy didn’t argue further.
She knew it was just a fantasy.
She was merely indulging in some amusing speculation.
“But it’s an interesting story, isn’t it?”
“It is, but first we need to clear this dungeon. Barak, do you know who our fourth party member is?”
A party consisted of four people, and one spot was still vacant.
“No idea. Looking at the current members, maybe a warrior or a rogue?”
“Could it be Varian? He’s always complaining about being broke.”
“Not him. His family dragged him off a few days ago. Turns out he’s a noble from a small country.”
“Oh, really? That explains why he always tried to maintain appearances. It was a noble’s little adventure?”
As they chatted, more mercenaries started gathering.
Most of the group had arrived.
It was about time for their fourth party member to show up.
Marcy, staring down the path, suddenly looked surprised.
“Huh?”
“What’s up?”
“Over there.”
She hesitantly pointed with her finger.
Gainert and Barak followed the direction of her finger.
They could hardly believe their eyes.
“…A barbarian?”
A lone barbarian was walking toward them.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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