I head to the weapon store in the morning, and sell the bottom of the magic mirror armor.
I take the money and use it to pay what I owe.
I give up.
I was fond of the magic mirror armor, so I really didn’t want to sell it, but the armor I bought the other day put me in debt.
The owner said I could pay when I wanted, but I don’t feel right about having debts.
A bad guy would jump the bill or go to a different store, but I can’t do that.
It’s not like it’s because this is the only place with a skill checker. I just want to do business with the owner on equal ground.
If there’s a debt between two people, one will end up being reluctant and be at a disadvantage. I don’t want that, if I’m going to keep coming here.
So… I almost died because of your defective item!
It had a hole in no time when a monster attacked!
Both the protector and shield are in the cooling off period!
I complain while showing the equipment the hobgoblin destroyed.
Of course, grievances break out after the money changes hands. If I didn’t give him the money, he’d just say I didn’t have to pay that part and leave it there.
There can be no debts when one is complaining.
Hn? What kind of monster was it?
A hobgoblin. One with a spear.
Armor? Yes, it did have it.
Horse? Yes… You know it!?
No? Then don’t talk like you do. Who cares then!?
I want my money back for this equipment!!
I smack the counter, demanding my money back.
The owner gets closer and glares while telling me to take it easy, but he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at the protector with holes and shield.
He takes them and starts touching them. He’s not even glancing at me, he touches the damaged parts like he’s checking something.
Then he exhales deeply, and turns my way.
“I won’t give you your money back, but I’ll give you new equipment. So do a quest for me.”
He says plainly, looking at me like he’s testing me.
I’m not saying yes to something that fishy, but…
“Bring it on!”
My mouth moves faster than my brain.
I can’t complain if I’m getting something for free!
◇ ◇ ◇
His quest is to take down the hobgoblin that opened holes in the protector and broke the shield, and bring back its spear.
And he’ll pay me separately for the spear.
I tell him to leave it to me, because I won’t feel satisfied until I take it down. I tell him with a strong tone that I’ll look for it and beat it.
I rotate my arms as I leave. I’m motivated, so maybe I’ll head straight to the dungeon.
Needless to say, I enter the dungeon and go back to get armor.
◇ ◇ ◇
The thirty-first floor.
I hide in the grass and wait for hobgoblins to pass.
I slowly get up and hold up the greatsword of fortitude to attack them from behind.
But I’m spotted. It looks like they detected my presence.
It shouldn’t be because I didn’t silence my footsteps or held back my bloodlust.
These monsters always take the initiative to attack, but look reluctant. It’s like someone faced with a vicious beast.
Haha, no way. Monsters aren’t scared of people.
I start hunting, clearing my frustration from the other day.
◇ ◇ ◇
I keep walking, destroy hobgoblins on sight, and keep walking.
I have to keep taking them down as long as I’m hunting that detestable thing.
Also, I want to record the path with mappingool, so I wander around like a walking corpse.
The dungeon looks idyllic from the thirty-first floor onward.
The paths go up and down, and are flanked by tall grass and trees. There’s a river and bridges, clearly man-made.
I think there’s ruins of a village up ahead, and a lot makes it feel like there was civilization here.
I have no idea who made this. In the dungeons, man-made objects are eaten by pill bugs and disappear, but for some reason, bridges and buildings remain. That implies they were already here, and are a part of the dungeon.
I really don’t get the dungeon. I see why Toufu was so interested.
Mappingool records the path, and I think of something as I stain the ground with hobgoblin blood.
What did the ones who lived here look like? How did they live? What did they think?
And where did they go?
Maybe the dungeon is just copying somewhere on Earth, but that just makes me wonder even more what the dungeon even is.
I’m not that smart, but won’t someone investigate that? That wish might go unanswered, because seekers are all muscle brains.
There are seekers who investigate as a hobby and bring back materials for experts to study, but I don’t think they’re reaching any conclusions.
At the very least, not that I can see.
If someone’s purposefully hiding things, I’m not going to know.
As I think about this pointless stuff, I reach the ruins.
These ones still have proper buildings, with several wooden ones standing. They’re a little deteriorated, but people could live in them with a bit of work.
…Property.
I asked Ai, but was that okay?
Should I look for myself?
Worst case scenario, I could live here. I think about this nonsense as I go in.
I see a kitchen with a table and chairs, and three big kilns. Deeper, there’s a living room with storage like drawers.
I take a look, but they’re all empty. Maybe other seekers took what was here.
I don’t have the time to go around all the houses, so I pick three at random, but there’s nothing in any of them.
I’m sure someone already took what was inside.
There’s nothing for me to find here, but at least I’m leaving convinced that whoever lived here wasn’t different from us.
I feel satisfied, and start walking back when it starts to get dark in the dungeon.
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