Chapter 1: The Search Begins

“Careful there. If you touch that plant in front of you, it will spew toxic spines.”

“I see. I’ll be careful,” said a man, nodding as he took a large step forward. He was wearing very thick leather armor that looked stifling.

The group had been walking through a forest—the stark rays of the sun burned their skin even amid the foliage—and they finally stepped out of the brush. They were an unlikely group to be out on a hike.

“Is this the place?” muttered a man riding a horse at the head of the group, scowling as if stepping out into the sunlight dazzled him.

His eyes were directed at an abnormally large dome-shaped structure in the center of the forest. The weeds on the ground disappeared the closer one got to the dome and farther away from the trees, making it appear as though nature itself was rejecting the building.

Stetch nodded. “Yes, this is one of the oldest dungeons in the kingdom.”

A dungeon.

Dungeons were underground labyrinths that randomly appeared when the dark and wretched energies—energies that were the makeup of every monster—coalesced to their absolute limit.

The area surrounding a dungeon was filled with monsters created by this harmful energy, and at the center of every dungeon was said to be an artifact—an object that served as the core of the dungeon. The size and depth of a dungeon, as well as the power of the artifact at its core, grew over time. As rumor had it, in recent times, many kingdoms had turned their attention to the discovery of these artifacts, dedicating more energy and manpower into the management of the dungeons in their territory than even to the safety of their subjects.

The man at the lead, who was the only one mounted, spoke, “Valstock, have everyone put down their packs. Let the soldiers drink. We will enter as soon as we are ready.”

“Right away... sir?” Even Valstock, ever the obedient soldier who never failed to carry out any command given instantly, raised his thick eyebrows this time.

“It took us a full week to get here. A round trip of two weeks is more than enough to allow my two brothers to devise some kind of plot. We haven’t a moment to lose.”

“All right, sir...”

How filthy rich is this man, that he has a unit of private soldiers serving him?

Stetch wondered as he listened in on the exchange between the noble and his soldiers. He soon thought better of harboring any further questions, however.

Stetch was an A-rank explorer from a nearby village. He had been born with good physical capabilities and enough courage to forge outward into uncharted territory. Luckily enough, he was also prudent enough not to place too much trust in his own abilities. It was thanks to this fact that he’d built up a career of sorts as he made the rounds of the nearby villages, consistently proving his abilities. This was the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

This group, an obvious bunch of aristocrats who seemed to trust their flimsy disguise, had entered the village one day out of the blue. They had then contacted Stetch and requested that he guide them to the dungeon.

I have no reason to refuse, not when they offer me a good share of the spoils.

There was something about dungeons made them irresistible to people. Dungeons had the perfect self-enhancing bait; they were strengthened proportional to the number of those who died in it—through the energy the dead produced upon death. Though dungeons were the perfect gold mine for those capable of fending for themselves and taking the bait without triggering the proverbial trap, not even Stetch with his abundant experience could hope to lay his hands on the artifact; that involved an immensely difficult task—the completion of the entire dungeon. Not only that, the dungeon they were about to enter wasn’t one of the humble ilk found commonly throughout the world; this one was a Special A-rank dungeon, and the dangers it posed were on a completely different level.

With this much manpower, however, the task was surmountable.

Stetch didn’t like the haughty way the noble held himself, but considering the many soldiers he’d brought with him and the way they were armed, they would serve as an excellent shield at the very least while Stetch and his client accomplished their purpose.

“Hey you! Let’s get a move on!” shouted a soldier.

“Oh, all right!” said Stetch, breaking out of his reverie. He hurriedly picked up his bags, which were partly open and strewn on the ground.

* * *

《Active Skill: Pathfinding (Lv 7). Use this skill to find the shortest path to your destination in any maze, no matter how complicated it may be.》

“Pathfinding” was the first skill that Stetch activated as soon as he entered the dungeon. The biggest drawback to using this skill was that the route found was not guaranteed to be safe. Only those who could make up for this failing with other techniques could be regarded as A-rank explorers, however.

《Active Skill: Animal Instinct (Lv 6). Enhance your sense of touch in your fingers and toes. Maximizes your sense of hearing as well, empowering you to use echolocation.》

With this skill active, Stetch became able to detect sound waves much like bats did and discern vibrations through the parts of his body that touched the ground. The resulting effect was like that of a mage’s clairvoyance spell. In fact, when used in very tight, sealed spaces, this skill could be even more potent than that.

“Watch the ceiling.” Stetch, who was leading the party, pointed upward. Some soldiers who were right behind him and a young, fully armed noble looked up to where Stetch was pointing.

They lifted torches to the dark ceiling and found glistening spearheads hiding in the cracks of the rocky surface and aimed at Stetch’s party, waiting to be launched. It was a simple but deadly trap that most people would never notice.

“Every time we take a step, the vibrations... they cause the springs in the walls to move. I can hear the creaking. I surmise that this trap was created in the early days of this dungeon and is showing its age. There are also pressure plates on the floor that act as triggers. Let us move a little bit to the side before heading onward,” Stetch said.

Soldiers used to fighting on the battlefield couldn’t be expected to have experience with the traps found inside dungeons. They marveled at Stetch’s accurate analysis and superhuman senses and sidestepped the trap tiles as they moved forward.

For Stetch, avoiding the traps in the dungeon was a non-issue. He detected the faint scent of a sticky, flammable liquid and found a set of flamethrower traps. He also noticed through the differences in sound which parts of the floor were hollow, and this let him find sections of floor that would give way when stepped on. The avoidable traps he sidestepped, and those that blocked their way he used wires and tools to forcibly disarm. The soldiers watched with awe as Stetch disabled and avoided the traps one by one. They had soon abandoned any distrust they might have had in his abilities and began to respect him.

But there were exceptions, too, of course.

“Hmm... Now this is a challenge.” Stetch, who’d been leading the group of soldiers deeper into the dungeon, paused for a moment and turned to look behind him with a thoughtful look.

He had stopped before a vast chamber. If his guess was right, the artifact—the core of the dungeon—lay right beyond the large space. The problem was that he did not know what would happen past that point. He liked to move alone, and had soloed many dungeons in the past. He’d never managed to get past the ultimate challenge in each of the dungeons he’d tried: the dungeon keeper, the protector of the dungeon. It was a monster placed by the dungeon as its last line of defense.

For Stetch Atelier—that is, Stetch—his role did not go beyond that of an explorer; he was no warrior or mage. If anyone asked him if he could not fight at all, he could confidently answer that he was better than most other explorers. For him, however, the artifact that lay dormant in the heart of each dungeon had always been beyond his reach. The dungeon guardian had foiled him each time. It made him wild with frustration to count all the times he’d failed with success within reach.

But things were different this time. Stetch gazed at the young noble and gave a slight nod. The noble gazed into the large recess and swung his arm broadly. “All shield bearers to the front. Move forward.”

“All men forward, defensive formation!”

The soldiers reacted at once to the noble’s gesture. Soldiers carrying huge tower shields formed a wall while crossbowmen took the rear.

Fwip!

Stetch waited for the soldiers to complete their formation before chucking a stone into the recess. At the same moment, dark energy so strong that it spilled onto the visible spectrum exploded outward from the center of the space.

“Do not take fright! March forward, men!” It was the man named Valstock who’d shouted at the faltering men. He was wearing thick plate armor, and had pulled out his sword. At his encouragement the soldiers gritted their teeth and pointed their shields and pikes forward. The dark energy billowed outward like a fountain, driving the shield wall backward. At the same time, a huge being began to rise amid smoke.

One of the soldiers identified the creature and shouted with a groan, “A tarask!”

The dark smoke cleared, revealing the maw of a giant lion. Hot flames surged toward the soldiers.

Roar!

Stetch, who’d never gone head-to-head with a dungeon keeper before—he’d always retreated at that point—backed away at the sight.

The tarask—with its lion head, six bear paws, the body of a bull, and the shell of a tortoise—was a dragon despite its rather confusing appearance. Anyone brave and foolish enough to approach without a strategy would be burnt to a crisp by the powerful flames. Not only that, the current party couldn’t even attack without getting close. Would the bolts even scratch the hard shell and scales?

The soldiers had withdrawn their pikes. They seemed appalled to see their shields glowing red with heat. The noble softly stepped behind the soldiers as if reviewing their formation and spoke coolly, “A well-formed shield wall does not fall even to hail and storm. Do not withdraw your shields! Crossbowmen in the back, aim at the creature’s mouth!”

“Activate Shield Wall!”

《Active Co-op Skill: Shield Wall (Lv 6). Forms a shield wall (requires two or more people) and grants the casters resistance to physical and chemical attacks.》

The soldiers adjusted their grip, and a faint layer of light formed around the red-hot shields, pushing back the encroaching flames. Though the shields would not be melting immediately, this skill would not be enough to keep the creature at bay.

In the meantime, the soldiers who’d been standing by at the back of the formation reached for small containers at their waists, pulling out something dark. They were bolts with shafts made of metal glinting black in the light of the torches.

While the front formation stalled the monster, the crossbowmen slowly loaded their crossbows.

“Fire!”