[Arc 4] Chapter 9: Mansion of Mysteries

Five days after we crushed the Haunt and we're ready to rumble again. Considering our usual pace, we've gotten quite the rest period.

The merchant-guy had done a good job in finding us a Dungeon to conquer. I told him to look for a Dungeon that wasn't in need of being destroyed since it could be attacked by the imperial army after we take over the place. 

This dungeon is a huge mansion-type Dungeon (western one, dammit!!) that's several floors high. The Dungeon must be at least Lv.5 if I have to judge based on the number of floors alone. And it's located far from the nearest village without anything fancy nearby. Meaning, most people won't go out of their way to get here except to visit the mansion itself. 

People won't care if we crush this place or not... is not the deal. Apparently, the mansion is emitting some sort of "presence", as the merchant-guy called it, that scares away the nearby monsters, which makes them come closer to humanoid settlements. 

"There's no great need to destroy this place. Just make it less... scary." - Akemiyama

"Most people would think of crushing the place as the answer to that though?" - Mira

I'm repeating myself here, but this is the perfect place for us to make our base. Just conquer the place and turn off the Fear-thingy that scares the local scaredy-cats, and voila. 

"And why has no one done anything about this problem?" - Noire

"Well, the samurai have tried, but no one's cleared this stupid waste of wood yet. All attempts ended with the samurai being thrown out without any of the items they had when they entered. Even their underwear was taken! The weirdest part is that those guys have no memories of what happened," said the merchant-guy while reading from a set of documents. 

Let me see... all sorts of progress recorded by the invaders are halted the moment contact with them was lost? All written journals and such were stolen, of course, but racial-, class-, and even skill levels haven't been improved at all? There's even one guy that bought several low-tier skills that's easy to gain proficiency within the mansion right before entering it and they were still at Lv.1 when he was thrown out.

"See? This place's weird, right?" - Akemiyama

It's still better than a death trap. We can just re-enter after being thrown out.

We don't have Karnel, Iron, Ciara, or Flint with us this time. Karnel was asked by some friends of his to help with the farms. Iron's been named an honorary member of the city guards after we busted some thieves, meaning he's helping those guys out. Ciara needs to study so she can unlock an "incredible class", or whatever she's planning. And Flint managed to borrow a forge from the local smiths. 

In short, everyone's busy with their respective training. Even Alf here had been fishing the bay empty... that's the biggest reason he's here with us today. 

"*Sigh*, then, shall we start...*sigh*..." - Alf

Being banned must have hurt...

After saying our goodbyes to merchant-guy and his escorts, we entered the mansion. So... how do we open the door... why's there a doorbell here? 

"Adventures, here we come!" said Mira as she pushed the bell- Hey! Be careful-

*Ding-dong*

---

...My head... where am I?

I looked around and saw that I was in a cellar. Or, maybe a dungeon? Not the one with a capital D. There are lots of chains and bars, and I'm even in a murky old cell... wait, am I captured!? Let me-*crash!*-... out? 

The cell's door was so rusted that it tore off its hinges when I pushed it a little. Wow, that scared me... 

Okay, think Garami, think. How did this happen? I remembered Mira pressing the doorbell, then... it gets foggy. I remembered feeling the floor suddenly giving away. So, were we dropped... hey, where are the others!? The other cells are empty, so were they taken somewhere else? I hope that's the case...

And what's up with this getup!? Someone's changed my clothes while I was unconscious. This getup seemed like it would fit a certain famous detective from Baker Street. Honestly, they're kinda cool, but this isn't the time to cosplay! 

Carnwennan's nowhere either. Nor any of my other items. And I can't open my Storage skill either! Did I catch some whacky ailment? Better confirm what I can do at the moment before looking for what I don't have.

...Huh? Wait, WHAT?! My Skills!! My stats!! My classes!! All gone!

The only thing I have left is [Aura of Darkness] and those skills I got from the "proofs" of the other Ultimate Gods! Plus... [Identification] and some other skills at Lv.Max? I've seen some of them before, but I'm sure I've never had the [Clear Mind] skill.

Phew, I can still bring out the Kigal-Note. Let's see, Detective, Detective... there! I knew it, those new skills are those you get from the Detective class. And they're all maxed out even... 

Hmm, does this mean I have to solve this "mystery"-thing? Oh great. Can't I get a better explanation here? Like being handed a Quest or something? No? Damn...

I've got no desire to stay in such a gloomy place, so I started to make my way out of the dungeon. There should be an exit somewhere... I hope. The other cells are, for better or for worse, empty of people. If only the other guys could be here, then things would go smoother...

And I finally reached the end of the road... a dead end. I walked the wrong way...

What's that? Something about the stone wall caught my interest... or rather, due to the [Discovery] skill. But still... just knowing there is something strange here but not knowing what... damn, I want my high-quality skills back! Is there some kinda button? Here... no. This rock here... another miss. Then what about... yuck! Wet moss! Stupid wall.

*Kick*

*Click*

Huh-, I mean, all according to plan!

The wall separate from the middle to reveal a secret room... Actually it's a storage closet? Just some old mops and brooms. What a letdown. Couldn't there be a machinegun or something that I could use here?

The only object that looks to be of some worth is the huge painting resting against the wall. An old butler is pictured in it, dusting off a bust. It's well-made, but honestly, not worth much anyway. Maybe the frame could score you some coins...

*Knock, knock*

Whooooo...

Iik! I-I didn't do anything! The painting started to wail and spew smoke on its own!

Then, a figure appeared from the smoke. An elderly man with a goatee and smooth pushed back hair dressed in a black butler uniform. Or, it would be black, hadn't the guy been all-transparent. He's a Ghost! Worse, a Phantom! C-rank! I've seen enough ghosts to know that! And in my current state...

"*Yawn*, that was a good nap. Now, time to return to my duties...hmm? That is weird..." 

The Phantom looked confused for a moment before turning to look at me.

"Excuse me, miss, are you a guest of master Managand?"

"Ehm... 'Managand'?" - Garami

Crap, I can't think of anything on the fly! Why did I ask such a stupid question!!?

"Who? Why of course, he is the master of this mansion."

"You mean, this Dungeon?" - Garami

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!! He's the freaking Dungeon Master!!?

"Dungeon?"

"Dungeon...?" - Garami

Wait...

"You mean mansion-" 

"No, Dungeon." - Garami

"Dungeon... yes, we are in the dungeon-"

"No, Dungeon as in filled with monsters and ghosts, like." - Garami

"Ah, a capital D Dungeon... ghost? Me? ...I see..." 

Either this guy is really good at playing dumb, or he is... you know, for real...

"Now that is cleared, it is time for me to return to my duties. The master must be furious over my extended break." 

"Yes... if he's still alive..." - Garami

"Good point... I should go and make sure the mansion is in one piece before I take my leave. Have a good day"

And there went the Phantom... what was that all about?

I looked at the picture that airhead had emerged from and saw that the butler in it is gone... or, it was that Phantom-fellow from before. Trapping people in pictures... yikes.

After taking another look at the picture frame, I found nothing of value so I decided to leave the dungeon… by following the trail of the Phantom. I would end up lost again if I trusted my instincts. Damn, I miss [Auto-Mapping]...

It's easier than I expected, as the guy's cleaning everything he comes into contact with while moving from the looks of it. All the cobwebs and dust are cleaned away. Kinda want my own cleaning crew to learn from him.

---

*Wheeze...wheeze*... why...are there…so many… stairs!? I want...my stamina skills... back... already...

*Collapse*

D-damn it all... this body... is too... out of... shape. Breath in... breath out...

Okay, I'm better now. Better pace myself so I have the energy to clobber that guy-I'm-gonna-kill the second I see him!! Waning was horrible enough, now I gotta go through something even worse? Oh, I'm SO gonna kill them!

And... anger management done. Check. 

After fooling around to get my blood pressure under control, I started to walk down the corridor. It's a fancy place, with a red carpet on the floor and the feeling of a high-quality western hotel. Except for the bundles of beaten-up Living Mails that I sometimes pass. Did that butler-Phantom do that? If so, then all the butlers on this planet are bad news... it's probably only the ones I know.

After walking for a while, the path splits into two, and there are no more cobwebs (or better said, the lack of it) to use to track that butler down. What were the rules for clearing a labyrinth again... keep having your right hand to the wall?

...Lots of ruckus from the right corridor... we'll go left~. Demons don't follow the rules!

I came across several doors as I walked down the corridor, but none were unlocked. And when I finally found the one exception to that rule, I could hear some Living Mails running towards me. Ugh, they must be the reinforcements for the brawl in the right corridor... time to hide!

I quickly snuck into the opened room and silently closed the door. The Living Mails ran past without noticing me. Phew. Now, what is this place? A closet? Or a wardrobe? There are tons of clothes here... no, are these cosplay outfits? I can see something like a cheerleader, a wizard robe, even a set of bikini armor! This is not everyday clothing at least. 

My curiosity got the better of me and I started to look through the room-sized wardrobe. "Maybe our equipment is stored in here" is what I'm hoping for, but this place is huge. If our stuff's in here, then I doubt I could even find it. 

Seeing no further use for the wardrobe room, I left the place while the coast was clear. There are some loud noises of broken metal echoing through the halls and corridors, but let's ignore them. And the rooms are still locked. Tch. Should I have tried to look closer in that last... forget it! I found another open door! Let's see... oooh. The kitchen! I was starting to become a little peckish. Peek-a-boo...

You know what, never mind! I don't want a chicken/phoenix soup with meteor-ice bear meatballs! Why did those three get caught!? And what are Alf and Lily doing while their pets are about to turn into monster food!?

Wait, does this mean I have to save them? Hmm...I got the choice of facing a freaking ghost of a monster chef in my current, weak state, or I can face the combined wrath of Alf and Lily, probably after I've recovered all my stats and skills? ...Yeah, it's gotta be the ghost. Geeeez...

Greydra

Kigal-Note/Scout Classes: Detective

Description:

Detectives. The seekers of truth, the banes of thieves, and the bullies of the official law systems.

This Scout-line class focuses on gathering evidence and deducing how a crime had been done or predicting an upcoming crime. The class is more focused on working on what the clues they have gathered means than to actually obtain the clues, making it a more intellectual class compared to other Scout-line classes.

The class-unique [Deduction] skill is a skill that allows the Detective to use all of their INT stat to come to a solution to a problem they are facing. It is the most difficult skill for a Detective to master, as well as the most important one, being one of the main requirements for the Detective to evolve their class into the Master Detective class.

Lily's comment: Hmm, sounds like a difficult class for me. Even when it has [Close Quarters Combat]...