Chapter 386: The Greatest Gambit Event.

Chapter 386: The Greatest Gambit Event.

Now that we have all calmed down, let us proceed forward, Queen Filene announced, resetting the table after she calmed down her husband and giving Tatsuya and me a bit of time to overcome 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, something that had been mentioned 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 former revealing their relationship. The latter had hidden her workshop deep inside his dungeon after they somehow became 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 mention, 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 mentioned 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 game, 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 assume 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 same 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 mentioned 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 mercy 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 craftsmen were inside this city. With so many adventurers around, the more monster materials would circulate, meaning 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 time 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 mention, all the materials you can get from it.

You mean, not to mention the amount of equipment you export, King Drangleic smirked, causing the dwarven king to crackle a bit. He then turned to me to explain what was happening. My equipment was made with rank A monsters from Inkoran-Tazul. I was once an adventurer before my fathers death, so it made sense to spend some of my allowance on it.

What rank? I had never asked him that, nor could I really remember his armor during the Griffonpeak attack.

Rank B. I am level 79 although, I have become 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 pastime, 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 some 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 me if I were to go around, training and playing around, instead of helping her with paperwork. If you have it bad with Artorias, imagine me with Ankor-Nazta! Gahahaha!

Well, that is why you had your moment 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 me. Pray, enjoy your younger years, Princesses. Once the time comes, 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 me 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 management.

Every five floors there was a floor guardian, meaning 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 crime by the adventurer guilds, and subsequently the nation itself. Not to mention, 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 merc 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 something like a challenge run, allowing you to set restrictions and demerits to increase the rewards you can get on each floor. For example, setting a set time 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 environment. Meaning, 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 environment 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 moment-to-moment 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 message doesnt say anything about it, Tatsuya asked, immediately understanding it like a rogue-like, just like me.

King Fugnarus shook his head. No. It can be anything really. We havent been able to ask the wisewomen and the Church of Crustacia yet for their opinions.

Realizing this, too, Neill was starting to look a bit unsure of her participation. She had a run in with some 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. Come 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 some godly reason, I would just make myself look like the same 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 members wanted to join and get a unique Job on their warriors, I had to, at least, accommodate about five membersArtorias, Ankor-Nazta, Saelariel, Loatryx, and Caedhul. There was also Yeos, but I wasnt sure who or if they would send somebody. 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 some deep sighs, as they werent even able to speak one bit during the whole discussion, meanwhile, 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 meeting.

Since Inkoran-Tazul had such a deep Japanese subculture, I took this chance for the students to indulge in some 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.

Time 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 ramen 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 ramen challenge?!

Food meant 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. Meanwhile, the rest of our group just took a small location and began to enjoy their meal.

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 memories, right? What was money there for if you couldnt use it to have some 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 became clear to everybody that not everybody could come, 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 me have my moment!

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 become stronger by being with me instead of away. It felt like a waste, since if he could buy [Humanize] and get a unique Job, he could become 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 mention, 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 met 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 some furniture scattered around, crudely-made ones, at that. It was clear people lived here, meaning I got the correct place. Considering Saori had mentioned living inside the cave where Belzacs corpse was, it shouldnt have surprised me 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 came into my mind. Everybody else who followed me here did the same, even readying themselves for a fight.

[Intruders ] That low, deep voice echoed inside our minds once again, just as I noticed something 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.