Chapter 14
Beneath the gloomy, colorless sky, the dense forest was wrapped in silence, broken only by the occasional cries of magical beasts.
The entire forest had been like that, so they naturally assumed this place would be the same.
Even if it was an area protected from magical beasts.
However, the sight before their eyes completely shattered that assumption.
“Whoa……”
“What in the world is this…?”
A large main road ran through the center, with countless shops lined up on both sides.
There were at least thirty wooden buildings of various sizes to the left and right, and at the far end stood a huge temple built from wood and stone.
Most of the people crowding the road were Sapiens, but there were also a few dwarves, elves, and Weres scattered among them.
Middle-aged men made up the largest group, but women and elderly people could also be seen here and there.
There were even children.
The busiest places were the stores selling crops and meat.
Nearly twenty people were gathered around one shop alone, buying magical beast meat that had been piled high on display.
The members experiencing the dungeon for the first time simply stared with wide eyes.
Seeing them, Danfos gave a bitter smile.
“Originally, everyone should've made it here without getting hurt… Damn those magical beasts.”
The expedition members crossed the main road and headed toward the temple deeper inside.
Dexter, unable to keep his curiosity to himself, finally spoke.
“But how did they manage to build a place like this inside a dungeon? I understand keeping the magical beasts away with divine protection, but building an entire village this complete is a completely different matter. And having this many people gathered in one place doesn't make sense either….”
Frank, one of the members on his second expedition, answered him.
“When you joined the expedition, do you remember the first thing the captain asked you?”
“…He asked if clearing the dungeon was my goal. Of course, I said no.”
“You, me, and even the captain all have circumstances we can't talk about. Everyone probably does. Those circumstances forced us to enter the dungeon, but that doesn't mean we all have to risk our lives trying to conquer it, does it?”
“Well….”
Dexter trailed off.
“People who need to enter the dungeon but don't want to die trying to conquer it. Think of this place as a base created by people like that.”
Dexter blinked.
“Wait. You mean there are… this many people like me?”
Frank smirked.
“Don't you think something's strange? According to the Four Great Powers, only two percent of expedition members officially return alive. That's a little over twenty thousand people.”
“…….”
“So you're telling me everyone else died inside the dungeon? Even though the average death rate across the first ten floors isn't even sixty percent?”
Dexter fell silent.
Frank shrugged.
“Those numbers about two-percent survival rates and five-percent survival rates are all complete bullshit.”
Dexter looked genuinely shocked.
Frank patted him on the shoulder.
“The moment you joined this expedition, you became an accomplice too. So try to understand.”
He lowered his voice slightly.
“If the Empire finds out the truth, the benefits given to humans who return alive from the dungeon will disappear too. This is about our livelihoods.”
Dexter could no longer think of anything to say.
He simply looked around the village.
The others who had overheard the conversation reacted similarly.
A few of them approached Frank and asked more questions about the Great Remains and the wish supposedly connected to them.
Of course, Frank didn't know anything beyond that.
He gave them some vague answers, and the conversation eventually died down.
Danfos glanced back at them, scratched his forehead, and let out a sigh.
After walking roughly five hundred meters, they finally reached the entrance of the temple.
Several monks wearing black cloaks and robes stood around the entrance.
Among them was a young man who wore no hood.
Instead, his long silver hair flowed freely down his back.
When he saw Danfos approaching, he spread both arms.
“Danfos Corsi… Has that much time already passed, Captain?”
“If you're relaxing around in a place like this, I suppose losing track of time is understandable.”
“Come now, relaxing? This is the only place that accepts those who are neither proper believers nor warriors, Danfos.”
“Because you charge enough for it.”
“…You really don't know how to take a joke.”
Even so, after not seeing each other for a year, the two exchanged a brief hug.
“Anything interesting happening outside?”
“Nothing you'd enjoy. Something interesting happened to me, though.”
“Oh?”
The silver-haired man smiled.
“Now you've got me curious. We can talk about the details later… Those must be this year's expedition members?”
Danfos nodded.
The silver-haired young man, Erich, turned toward them and politely bowed his head.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, expedition members. My name is Erich. I was once part of the 114th expedition of the Ascartier Empire.”
His smile widened.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable during your stay here.”
It was an excessively cheerful smile.
So cheerful, in fact, that it somehow made people uncomfortable.
Erich first assigned the expedition members lodgings where they would stay for the next three days.
He also explained the rules they needed to follow inside the village and how meals worked.
Most of it was information Danfos had already told them beforehand.
However, there were certain rules concerning the Black Magic Cult that even they hadn't heard before.
Erich smiled as he explained.
“Well, there are hundreds of people living here who aren't believers, so most of the rules aren't that strict.”
Then his expression became slightly more serious.
“Just make sure you obey the final rule I mentioned.”
“Never enter the temple basement.”
Afterward, Danfos and the expedition members held a brief memorial for the comrades they had lost on the journey.
Once they finished their unpleasant dinner of magical beast meat and potatoes, darkness had completely swallowed the village.
The temple was the only place illuminated by proper light.
Everyone else relied on dim lanterns as they returned to their homes.
Danfos ordered his men to rest.
Then he headed into the temple with Erich.
Looking around, Danfos whistled softly.
“Looks even more extravagant than last year.”
“More offerings come in from outside every year.”
Danfos stopped.
“Wait a second. There are people trading with you besides us?”
“Of course. More than a thousand Sapiens live here. How do you expect us to handle all that demand otherwise?”
Believers throughout the temple glared suspiciously at Danfos.
Erich ignored them and continued deeper inside.
Eventually, they entered a private room within the temple.
The moment Erich released a small amount of mana, luminous stones embedded in the room reacted and filled the space with light.
As soon as they sat down, Erich immediately returned to the topic Danfos had mentioned earlier.
“All right. Let's continue our earlier conversation.”
“You share your situation first, Erich.”
“Hm?”
“Once you hear what happened to us right after we came down here, you'll probably be surprised too.”
Danfos began explaining the desperate battle they had fought half a day earlier.
When he finished, Erich rubbed his chin.
“…Hmm.”
Danfos frowned.
“They're weaker than the members from your expedition, sure, but I personally selected every single one of them. They're not weak enough to be overwhelmed by magical beasts on the first floor.”
Erich narrowed his eyes.
“Meaning… the magical beasts were stronger than you expected?”
“That's why I'm asking you.”
Danfos leaned forward.
“To supply all the magical beast meat consumed here every day, you must hunt at least thirty magical beasts daily. If you're doing that much hunting, you should have some idea what's happening outside the village.”
But Erich still looked confused.
“It's true that those of us serving an Inner God have an advantage when hunting magical beasts… but I haven't noticed anything as extreme as what you're describing.”
He shook his head.
“We haven't seen magical beasts moving in organized groups either.”
Danfos crossed his arms.
“Then you're saying they became especially vicious only toward us… Is something like that even possible?”
“It is.”
Erich's answer came without hesitation.
“It's rare, though.”
Erich glanced toward the door before raising one finger.
“You may have angered an Inner God.”
Danfos' expression hardened.
