Now that we have all cald down, let us proceed forward, Queen Filene announced, resetting the table after she cald down her husband and giving Tatsuya and a bit of ti to overco our slight depression.
Well, depression, of course, was an exaggeration. We were just flabbergasted and sad, really.
So, [Manethalas Greatest Gambit] was supposedly an Event Quest, sothing that had been ntioned in the initial unique Job update description. Funnily enough, we just talked about the earth drake a few days ago when we entered Broggarts hidden vault.
The history between Manethala the Avaricious and Revolution Queen Dravlia Kongun, also known as Goddess Chihiro, was a well known story in dwarven lands, due to the forr revealing their relationship. The latter had hidden her workshop deep inside his dungeon after they sohow beca friends, and the drake was now even protecting it in addition to all the dwarven laws considering it sacred and taboo to enter.
Now, after over 200 years after Chihiros mortal death and ascendence to godhood, the probably first Event Quest involved them. Not to ntion, next month on the 30th was also her Peolyncian birthday, and the Quest would officially be announced to the world and begin during it. This couldnt be a coincidence. It was clear the Origin Gods had this planned out.
King Fugnarus, would you explain this so-called Gambit System? I had heard from Duke Groushia that it involved the drake inside one of your dungeons, but I wished to learn the full details from you. I agreed with King Drangleics question.
Grimnir had only ntioned the Gambit System was there to increase the difficulty of a dungeon, and subsequently, also the possible rewards you may get. It was similar to adding challenges or restrictions to a rogue-like ga, but if you actually died in it, you were actually dead-dead. Although, you could think of dying and reincarnation as rogue-like, right? Yeah, too dark of a joke.
King Fugnarus nodded, already aware he had to explain everything properly. I assu all of you have heard about Manethalas Nest, correct? It is our only rank A dungeon, although that is only due to our special dungeon master, the rank A drake himself. If our ancestors hadnt made a pact with him, the dungeon most likely would have been graded rank S.
Oh, it has the sa situation as ours? King Fugnarus nodded to King Drangleics comparison.
Griffonpeaks rank A dungeon was once manned by the rank A griffon AssurfelR.I.P.who was also the beast ancestor of the Artorian royal family. King Drangleic, for example, was a griffon arvisian, and the great-great-great-grandson of Assurfel. Since the Griffonpeak dungeon was more a training ground and roosting spot for their griffon and hippogryphs, its guild-recorded rank didnt really reflect its true danger.
Looking over at him, I could see King Drangleics fists slightly shiver when he ntioned the dungeon. Assurfel, after all, was assassinated by the demonkins during the Griffonpeak attack. It was the Prince of Pride, from what we concluded. He had as much of a reason to go to war against the demonkins as I did, making us natural allies for the upcoming attack on the Prince of Envy. Although, if a rank A monster was defeated by a Prince, what chances did we have?
That was why I wanted Mom to wake up before then. She was my ace if the Prince of Envy was too strong.
But unlike Griffon King AssurfelIlsaphone have rcy on his soulManethala is more of a neutral force. If the dwarves were threatened with extinction, he would not even raise a hand, King Fugnarus grumbled, frowning at his description of the drake. Still, he is the best dungeon master we could have. He provides an ever-changing dungeon, perfect for training and to attract adventurers. If you saw our Hub, the outside part of the city, then you would understand it better. Inkoran-Tazul is as much of a dwarven city as it is a multi-racial one.
That was a major reason why so many smiths and craftsn were inside this city. With so many adventurers around, the more monster materials would circulate, aning more money. The sheer size of the city was already a representation of its wealth, not even including the tax money from the humongous Ankor-Nazta territory, due to dwarves making the best use of underground habitats.
While Inkoran-Tazul had four dungeons in total, Manethalas Nest was the most popular. However, since it was rank A, you had to have the appropriate rank before you could enter it. Not every dungeon was managed by the adventurer guildslike Griffonpeaksbut the ones in this city were. Thankfully, I just got promoted to rank B and I could get rank A at any ti to raise our partys rank, so it wouldnt be a problem.
King Fugnarus continued. However, since the hunters guild only allowed adventurers and parties above rank B, it isnt the most visited dungeon. However, since the treasure you could get in there could be sold off for hefty prices, it is still a gold mine to us. Not to ntion, all the materials you can get from it.
You an, not to ntion the amount of equipnt you export, King Drangleic smirked, causing the dwarven king to crackle a bit. He then turned to to explain what was happening. My equipnt was made with rank A monsters from Inkoran-Tazul. I was once an adventurer before my fathers death, so it made sense to spend so of my allowance on it.
What rank? I had never asked him that, nor could I really rember his armor during the Griffonpeak attack.
Rank B. I am level 79 although, I have beco too rusty over the years.
Well, that is why you have royal guards protecting you, dear. Although, if you are complaining, you may find visiting the training grounds once in a while a good pasti, instead of your endless naps. His wife kept smiling throughout that burn!
You say that, but the amount of work we must do cant be handled by a single person. His eyes drooped a bit as he looked at Queen Filene, letting go of so of his regality. Our dinners will only get worse if I were to do so.
Gahahaha! King Fugnarus burst in laughter. I can understand that, my fellow king and husband! My love would flay if I were to go around, training and playing around, instead of helping her with paperwork. If you have it bad with Artorias, imagine with Ankor-Nazta! Gahahaha!
Well, that is why you had your mont in Gazahan-Orn, dear. At least, you dont have to deal with the Church. Queen Tragaya gave a pretty dark smile, unnerving her king. She then turned to Neill and . Pray, enjoy your younger years, Princesses. Once the ti cos, fighting wont be the biggest challenge for you.
I will take that to heart. I forced myself to smile, finding myself already swamped in paperwork and managerial work. Everybody in Aurora was helping out with their parts, but it still fell on to give the final say on the more important tasks.
Oh, I am! On the other hand, I couldnt help but give my sister a stink eye. She had zero bureaucratic abilities at all.
Returning to the topic at hand, King Fugnarus explained how the Gambit System could be set for each individual party. The dungeon was only 15 floors, which was quite short considering how the Griffonpeak one had 40 stages. Still, overcoming only 15 stages was still a challenge of endurance and resource managent.
Every five floors there was a floor guardian, aning a mini boss, with Manethala presiding on the 16 floor. Due to the dungeons protective status, though, trying to fight the dungeon master was considered a cri by the adventurer guilds, and subsequently the nation itself. Not to ntion, stepping into his roost was a religious taboo due to Chihiros workshop behind it.
Mhmm. That is why I wasnt kicked out of the hunters and rc guild after what happened, Grimnir stated with a bit of pride, clearly annoying the other dwarves in the room. Since he and Broggart only avoided Manethala, they didnt break the instructions from the adventurer guilds.
Now, with all of this as the foundation, the Gambit System itself was sothing like a challenge run, allowing you to set restrictions and derits to increase the rewards you can get on each floor. For example, setting a set ti to clear a dungeon before a dangerous force appears to kill you, increasing the amount of damage you would receive by a percentage, or even increasing the amount of traps.
There were even styles to customize your dungeon dive. You could have a zero trap dungeon or one without a single monster inside, only puzzles. Due to the high variance, Manethala didnt even bother with the environnt. aning, there wouldnt be any lush greenlands or forests, similar to the dungeons Ive visited up until now; it was all just caverns. It sounded dull, but less variations in the environnt might help people survive better.
Also to note, according to his pact with the dwarves, the dungeon couldnt be impossible to clear. There always had to be a chance that, if you were properly prepared, you could finish it all Sadly, luck and mont-to-mont actions could determine if you rolled death or life for even the strongest contenders.
But, you dont know what this greatest gambit will be, right? The System ssage doesnt say anything about it, Tatsuya asked, imdiately understanding it like a rogue-like, just like .
King Fugnarus shook his head. No. It can be anything really. We havent been able to ask the wisewon and the Church of Crustacia yet for their opinions.
That is unlike you, though, Your Eminence, Grimnir aid the statent at Tragaya, considering how fastidious she was in our first encounter.
Not at all, Grimnir. The problem lies with the fact we had just received this information about four days ago. Exactly on the night we arrested everybody in Gazahan-Orn and your little adventures through Broggarts hideouts, she stated to our surprise. Our ssenger may have reached the capital before us, but we still needed to give everybody so ti to contemplate everything.
Well, it doesnt really matter in the end, right? Neill brushed aside the difficulty of the gambit. At the end of the day, we need to get through it if we want to get our unique Jobs. There is no going around it. You need to take the plunge if you want to get sothing that impactful.
Neill knew what my unique Job was giving , in addition to the four special skills I could get from my developnt Jobs [Idol] and [Fletchling Tyrant]. Without a doubt, she was aiming for the power they would give her in her dragonewt form, since she was more reluctant to fight with her kirin form.
HestAhem, Princess Hestia, Tatsuya corrected himself since he was in a formal setting. He then tapped his party bracelet. Your party can hold up to 20 people right? The Quest stated the party to clear the Quest would get the unique Jobs.
King Fugnarus snapped his fingers, pointing at Tatsuya with a smile. Good eye, lad. Thats what we also thought. Sadly, we still havent been able to make a bracelet that can hold more than 20 people in a single party. Too many mana signals for the mana battery inside to handle.
A normal, standard bracelet could only hold onto five people inside a party, while the ones Tasianna, Mom, the twins, and mine could hold onto twenty. They were reserved for royalty mostly, to not only hide their true Profiles but also party up with all their retainers and guards.
Looking over to the two kings and queens, they all had a similar model to mine, outside of the crest, which represented their nations. Neill had a cheaper version which only hid her Profile, while Tatsuya had a Church of Aurena-issued one. Ellaines and Grimnirs were standard bracelets.
After King Fugnaruss little tidbit on the advancent of party bracelets, King Drangleic nodded his head, before flapping his wings a bit. Well, since only one party can win this, it would be in our best interest to not conflict with each other, right? As such, let
Rejected. Queen Filene ca in with the marriage veto!
I am of the sa mind, Your Majesty. Even Ulquint, their advisor, gave his opinion to the mix without even being asked first.
Y-you, two?! And it was super effective! King Drangleic was flabbergasted by his wifes and advisors daring move!
We, the Kingdom of Artorias, cannot lose you, my King. You are not risking your life when the kingdom itself is currently in need of a ruler, especially with the upcoming political and religious uncertainty. The Queen was looking into the future after the summit and the attack on the Prince of Envy. Our son is not ready yet, and I dare say, you wouldnt want to place the sa amount of stress on the young prince as you just went through, correct?
Drangleic groaned, setting his wings down to his guards and retainers relief. King Fugnarus nodded to his disappointnt, looking like he could understand it, too.
Admirable work, my fellow queen. I havent had the ti, but you should co and et the council of wisewon with . We have a tradition of inviting foreign female rulers or leaders to speak and exchange ideas. Queen Tragayas impression of Queen Filene seed to have improved, which the latter gladly accepted. She then turned to her husband. Sadly, and rather quite fortunately, my husband isnt allowed to join. Since he will have to monitor everything, he will receive his unique Job through the completion of the Quest. Which ans, if we wish to create a joint party, then Princess Hestia
I want to go with them! I stated without a single hesitation, turning everybody quiet. The royals especially looked at with widened eyes, while Neill just smirked.
They didnt know I had my unique Job yet. Their astonishnt was cause of what had just happened to King Drangleic.
Tatsuya also looked at in an uneasy manner. H-hey, you know why we shouldnt be joining, right? Also, shouldnt we tell them about it?
My face twitched when he suggested that, since I knew he was correct. Right, so, uh, I got my unique Job already.
??? Even more bafflent filled the room as I nonchalantly inford them of sothing pretty rare, at this mont. Even if they knew I was in Elyonda for a divine Quest, they couldnt have guessed what my reward for it was.
As such, I was forced to give them a quick summary of everything, including what unique Jobs were. Although not in depth, it gave them a good idea of what to expect. Consequently, they were now even more vehently against joining the expedition party.
You are the most important mber of the summit, you cannot go and risk yourself! The Loatryxians will only fu if we allow this! King Fugnarus was slowly returning to his forr mood, even looking at in the sa way when we spoke about the upcoming battles.
Then, will you stop my sister? I countered, causing the dwarven king to flinch. Because, unless you do, she will go.
Neill smirked. Oooh, you know too well, my little sister. Weve only known eachother for a few months, but you already know better than most.
Honestly, even if I were the one to ask her not to go, she wouldnt agree with it. She was the type of person to seek challenges to test herself, to show off her value as a person. Her draconic gluttony, her need and desire to strive forward, was to make her existence important. What better way to express this than striving for her own, personal unique Job?
So, whether the Loatryxians complain or not, just tell them how would you stop us? I shrugged. Yes, I know I am risking my life here, but what doesnt if I am to beco stronger? Will you stop from fighting people in the future just because I could potentially die? We are going in circles; its back to the war topic.
You have a unique Job already, though. Arent you taking a spot from soone who needs it? King Drangleic stated. From what I understood, this Gambit System pits everybody in different trials, correct? Even if you wanted to support them from the side, you wouldnt be able to, or, at least, you cannot be sure about it.
Queen Filene agreed with him. If we are talking about efficiency and a joint party, then it would be best if we support the otherworlders in their endeavors to beco stronger. We had also planned to add one or two of our people into the party, to not only aid you, but also have them gain a unique Job.
There is also the problem with the fact we are honor-bound to respect the words of Goddess Chihiro, Princess Hestia, Queen Tragaya stated. We will and must send notice to the different countries. Subterfuge would benefit our party the most, but wouldnt it just bring dishonor to my husbands na if people were to find out we kept this to ourselves? It will take a whole week for the people in the Empire to reach Inkoran-Tazul by train.
Her King nodded. Even if soone is allowed to join late, it still ans they will join. aning, adventurers, potential enemies, and the chance for dragonslayers aiming for Manethalas head. Yours and Princess Fargryneills head will also be on the line. Never underestimate the sheer insanity of a person dedicated to slaying dragonkins.
Those were all sensible argunts. Nothing I could argue back against. From a min-maxers standpoint, participating was a total waste. If we had Tasianna lead the main expedition crew, then we could have 20 more people with new unique Jobs for the upcoming battles.
There was also the fact the Empire was now sending people to kill , a fact both kings and queens knew about since that newspaper had already reached both Artorias and Ankora-Nazta. Apparently a second one had also arrived a few days ago, but I hadnt had the chance to read it, yet.
Regardless, once the notice reached them, the dragon slayers would convene in this city without a doubt. Whether they believed I would be here or not was a non-issue; they would co here for the chance to slay a rank A drake. If I participated in this, there was a huge chance I would run into at least one of their parties, perhaps more.
Realizing this, too, Neill was starting to look a bit unsure of her participation. She had a run in with so of them once before, so she was undoubtedly nervous cause of them. It did sound like if we were to participate in this, it would just bring us more than trouble. I had no experience with dragonslayers, but everybody was making a fuss about them, to the point I was unnerved.
If you want to train, then you can enter our second dungeona rank B one. The boss monster there is starting to get stronger, almost to the point of evolving into a rank A. Were planning on exterminating it for the experience. Take it for yourself. King Fugnarus was seemingly even begging at this point. 24 floors. Co on.
There went that plan out of the window. I thought I could join the main expedition, but I really couldnt say anything. In fact, if I tried to argue back without so godly reason, I would just make myself look like the sa naive girl when I was first dropped into the whole royal shtick. I wasnt about to let my growth go to waste.
I understand. Ill try to stay out of trouble.
In the end, I had to acquiesce. Neill, though, managed to gather her courage in the end and told everybody she would go. With things settled here, I told the kings I would submit a list of people from my side who would be going, and once the numbers were decided, they would add their representatives to the party.
Since it was likely the other alliance mbers wanted to join and get a unique Job on their warriors, I had to, at least, accommodate about five mbersArtorias, Ankor-Nazta, Saelariel, Loatryx, and Caedhul. There was also Yeos, but I wasnt sure who or if they would send sobody. Still, maybe keeping room for one more wouldnt be hard with 20 slots.
After my group left the royal palace, Ellaine and Beth let out so deep sighs, as they werent even able to speak one bit during the whole discussion, anwhile, Tasianna and Shay took it in stride. Wanting to cheer them up, I decided to take a foodie tour around the city before we notified the others about what happened during the eting.
Since Inkoran-Tazul had such a deep Japanese subculture, I took this chance for the students to indulge in so nostalgia and also to introduce my partys native Peolyncians to it. With Tatsuya and Grimnir as our guides, we returned to the cavern city, so we could avoid the dragonewts in the outer part, and ventured through little Japan.
Master, please continue making more, alright? I reminded the noodle shop chef, to which he gave a loud affirmative nod. You ready?
Of course, lass! Grimnir responded loudly with his mask still on, to keep his beard status a secret.
Ti to beat your scrawny ass, little whelpling. Neill cracked her neck and hands, looking like she was about to get into a ring.
Dont think you can beat a true ran eater, Hestia-san! Youre going down! Tatsuya smirked, looking like he had an ace as he picked up his chopsticks. All-In!
Crazy! Hes using his unique skill for a ran challenge?!
Food ant food challenges, and the four of us couldnt pass this chance up. Who could eat the most bowls; it was clear this was a divine challenge!
Please, enjoy. anwhile, the rest of our group just took a small location and began to enjoy their al.
I ignored those party poopers; instead, I began the countdown. One! Two! Three, begin!
Suffice to say, our debt kept growing. However, it was all about having fun and making mories, right? What was money there for if you couldnt use it to have so fun.
After finishing our challenge, we started visiting shops for any delicacies and treats, and to our surprise, quite a number of Japanese ones were around! You could find mochi, dangos, even bloody rice balls! This area was just a small part of the city and you could see they added their Peolyncian twist to everythingas in, all of them felt a bit hard since they used tazlokwheat for everythingbut it sure was an experience. It had been so long since I, well, I felt like I was back on Earth.
After our tour, we returned to the inn to inform everybody about what happened. It quickly beca clear to everybody that not everybody could co, but it wasnt a problem really. Tatsuya, Kyouya, and I couldnt participate since we already had unique Jobs, while Haruka, Tamae, and, surprisingly, Daichi didnt want to join since they werent combatants.
I am a smith now. Im content with that if we can give the pure combatants a chance to get better. It was a pretty mature response from Daichi to everybodys surprise. Had he actually grown from his experience in Gazahan-Orn? O-oi, fuck you guys! Just let have my mont!
As such, our current roster consisted of Tasianna, Ellaine, Grimnir, Neill, Nishio, Kazumi, Kohaku, Misaki, Shay, and Beth.
Rajah didnt want to join since he felt he could beco stronger by being with instead of away. It felt like a waste, since if he could buy [Humanize] and get a unique Job, he could beco far stronger. Still, I respected his choice. Unless we needed him on the final roster to fill up a spot, I could let him have his way for now.
I also planned on asking Cernust and the saurians, since they were strong allies to have unique Jobs on. Not to ntion, Yorshka and Farron had to be asked, too. I also had other people in mind, like Muraina, the hunters guild master in Griffonpeak and also one of the few elves I knew, but I couldnt fill up every spot with my allies. I had to think diplomatically.
However, before I asked any of them, there was one person who had a right over everybody else. The first person I t in this world and also Auroras vice leader. When I brought it up to everybody, I pulled out my subspace and entered it, before going to the nexus location.
Im coming to visit you now! Saori!
I forcibly opened the portal belonging to Saori and entered through the portal with Tasianna, Ellaine, Grimnir, and Rajah first. The first thing that took us by surprise was how incredibly dark the place was, as in, there wasnt even a speck of fire or light around. I could still see with [Night Vision], but it was without a doubt scary.
Looking around, I saw so furniture scattered around, crudely-made ones, at that. It was clear people lived here, aning I got the correct place. Considering Saori had ntioned living inside the cave where Belzacs corpse was, it shouldnt have surprised we would be here.
[Who are you?]
Urgh!
A chill went down my spines as I snapped my head around, darting my eyes everywhere once that voice ca into my mind. Everybody else who followed here did the sa, even readying themselves for a fight.
[Intruders ] That low, deep voice echoed inside our minds once again, just as I noticed sothing black seeping out from a nearby cave entrance. They wafted around like flickering fires, before congregating together into larger beingsinto the form of wolves!
Onnikais! Tasianna called out.
[Grave robbers!] he growled once again.
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