CH 172

Half a day north of the royal capital.

Babylon, one of the largest dungeons in the country, is surrounded by double and triple walls, and its gates are tightly closed, as if to repel all comers.

“The walls are as high as the city itself…….”

Tauro said as he looked up at the gate.

“The barriers seem to be extremely tight and multi-layered, and they seem to be very strong as well.”

Aeris joined Tauro in looking up at the dungeon.

“The dungeons are full of hidden treasures, so there are people who want to break in and get rich quick. Also, a lot of monsters sometimes come out of dungeons, so they are very strict.”

Taichi, our second in command, explained.

“From the dungeon?”

“Yes. A stampede of monsters. My father told me before he died that there is a mass outbreak of monsters in the dungeons every few decades or so, so we have to protect the area.”

Aeris explained on Taichi’s behalf.

“You know your stuff, …… Yes, these outer walls are for intruders from the outside, but all the walls inside are for the monsters from the dungeons. There are sometimes mass outbreaks of monsters in the natural world, but the same thing can happen in dungeons.”

As Tauro was listening to the explanation from Taichi and Aeris, the large, thick castle gate began to open with a dull thud.

“Wow! It is very powerful.”

The gate, thicker than the one in the capital, stopped after opening a little.

“It’s so thick, it rarely opens all the way. We’re going in.”

Captain Tsuyoku led the way through the gate, followed by Tauro and Aeris, with Taichi at the rear, and the other guards followed.

After passing through the gate, a large, well-maintained road led straight to the next wall.

The side of the road was lined with buildings and seemed to have a tavern attached to it, in addition to the soldiers’ quarters and various stores that dealt with the soldiers.

It was a bit like a town, but almost all the residents were soldiers and their families.

“Let’s have lunch here once and then go into the dungeon.”

Captain Tsuyoku gave the group a suggestion, or rather, an instruction.

“I understand,”

Tauro replied with a nod to Aeris.

The group entered one of the small restaurants used by the soldiers and decided to have a meal.

During the meal, they heard that the room that was their destination at the first level of the dungeon they were going to dive was located by the stairs leading to the second level, and it would take several hours to get there.

The monsters in the first level are not so bad, but they are a bit special, so you need to be prepared.

If you dive without preparation, you will have a hard time.

Taichi, who explained the situation to us, looked at Tauro’s small sword and said

“With your weapon, you should have no problem at all.”

He gave a drumbeat of encouragement.

“?”

Taichi didn’t explain further and said it would be fun dive, so Tauro could only imagine, but his own small sword has a light (holy) attribute.

Tauro understood somehow that that was what he meant.

“I know what’s on that layer. Do you want to know, Tauro?”

Aeris, of course joins in.

“Maybe a weeping ghost or a skeleton warrior?”

Tauro’s shoulders slumped in disappointment as he replied.

“How did you know? Don’t you know that girls don’t like it when you have too much intuition?”

Aeris wanted to tell Tauro, but he guessed easily and she complained.

“I’m suprised! Most of them are skeletons, but very occasionally there are ghosts, too. How did you know that? Incidentally, ghosts don’t attack directly, but they sometimes cast status-lowering curses, which can be quite annoying.”

Taichi was surprised that I even guessed that ghosts appeared.

“Well, it’s because you gave me a hint. You noticed that my small sword has a magic attribute, so you said it wouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Right you are. Because both ghosts and skeletons are weak against magic or magic-enhanced weapons. I only found out about it because of the benefit of my skill. But strangely enough, I don’t even know what Tauro’s weapon is. I have to ask, what attribute does your small sword have? If it’s not dark, it will work.”

“Well, it has a light (holy) attribute.”

“…… This is a surprise. It’s the most valuable attribute. …… It must have been made by a master craftsman. By the way, do you know who made it?”

“A dwarven blacksmith named Angus, who lives in the city of Saisii.”

“Ah! The up-and-coming genius blacksmith who is the talk of the town right now? …… I see, he’s even better than the rumors say. I’m going to take some time off and go see him to have a sword made.”

Tauro was surprised and happy that Angus was so famous, but when he remembered Angus’ appearance, he thought that he was more of a skilled blacksmith than an upcomer…….