Our next destination, huh?
I returned the question, but the village chief simply repeated like a parrot to do whatever he wanted.
I can't know what you're thinking.
In the end, I decided on a fate with a sigh, and the village chief said he would announce the decision at our next leaders' meeting. So he wasn't lying when he said he had no intention of interfering in our exploration and was content not to make any decisions about it.
«How has the investigation gone?»
Before I left, I asked him once again about the investigation, the project that had begun more than ten days ago, when the wizards said they could forcibly activate the dimensional tombstone.
«Hmm, hadn't they told you that the investigation had ended in failure?».
«I thought maybe they would get some results since they let them hold her for so long».
«A result, you say...» The village chief interrupted himself before suddenly saying: «It's not that we didn't achieve anything».
«...What was it?»
«I was able to gain the assurance that I could escape from this place using the Heretic Altar».
How did you come to that conclusion? Although he didn't give a detailed explanation, he was probably telling the truth. In fact, that was probably the reason why he gave the wizards more than ten days to investigate.
In the end, I just asked him directly: «When do you plan to return to the city?». In my mind, the only reason the village chief was still in the maze was because of the uncertainty factor.
Basement One Plant was a rather peculiar plant. Take for example what happened when the expedition group first tried to open the dimensional gate upon arriving here: the dimensional gate did not open. That is why there was so much discussion around the plant, an exercise in reflection on whether it could even be considered an ordinary labyrinthine field. Days of comings and goings between wizards and adventurers afterwards, and in the end, opinion leaned more towards «yes», and the main proof of this was the Stone of Honor.
The Great Barbarian Warrior, Bjorn Yandel, and his companions discovered Basement One Plant.
This place was special in many ways, but that single phrase removed all doubt that Basement One Floor was a place within the labyrinth. However, we were unable to discover why the dimensional door could not be opened. Well, it wasn't like this was the only special area within the maze where the dimensional door couldn't be opened.
«Can't you come back right now since you've gotten certainty?». I inquired, trying to move him forward.
The village chief only nodded his head sternly. «I haven't finished my preparation yet. I'm not sure I can avoid all suspicion if I come back now».
Well, that was true. If I were in the boss position, I would have stayed in the body for a long time to get as much information as possible about Jerome Saintred.
«It seems like you want me to leave as soon as possible», he observed.
«Heh, what made it obvious?».
«Because? Now we should be in the same boat».
Like why? Don't ask questions you already know the answer to.
«Don't try to put us in the same bag. You haven't told me anything about how to activate the dimensional tombstone», I complained.
«Well... it seems like you still don't trust me». The village chief nodded in understanding before tapping me on the arm like a company boss would. «There is no reason to worry so much. I will definitely leave here, and I will tell you everything when that time comes».
How ironic.
Did the town chief know? Every time he gave me an enigmatic confidence like that, I felt even more uneasy.
...Should I kill him now?
Although the impulse was tempting, I decided to hold back and watch the situation unfold.
The village chief stopped me as I tried to leave. «Oh, by the way, did you use the thing you took in the morning? That Lost Trust».
«...True, I almost forgot to give...»
«You don't have to return it. You'll need it more than me.»
Just curse me openly at this point.
I felt a flash of indignation at his subtle insult, but I still gained Wrong Confidence and left the building.
***
When I returned to the house we used as accommodation, Erwen and Amelia seemed to be doing something, as I couldn't find them anywhere. The same thing happened with Missha.
Instead, Versyl Gowland was waiting for me.
«You're back?»
«Come to think of it, I remember you said you had something you wanted to talk about».
It was obvious what he was going to tell me, but I pretended not to understand and sat down. Once the sound insulation barrier was in place, our conversation officially began, and it was as I expected.
«Rumor has it that the assembly of evil spirits has been closed».
Versyl first transmitted the most important information under the guise of a rumor.
To be honest, I was a little dumbfounded. «A rumor?»
«Yes, because... it's not that we have evil spirits among us».
No, but then where did you hear the rumor from?
A normal person would have asked, but I just feigned ignorance and nodded. Perhaps because I never asked him where he got the information from, Versyl seemed to have become complacent in talking to me.
I hope you don't do it elsewhere...
It was something that worried me as a leader.
In any case, after talking about the call «rumor», he naturally moved on to the topic of Missha. «By the way, about this morning... what happened?»
«Are you talking about Missha?»
«Yeah. The information that Miss Karlstein could be a traitor remains valid. Being too close to her...»
Versyl carefully made her concern known, and so I severely cut off her misconception right there. «You don't have to worry about that anymore. I myself confirmed that I was not a traitor a while ago».
«...Sorry? Really? Then why didn't you tell me?»
«It wasn't anything serious. When I found out about his situation, it didn't seem like he wanted to hurt us either».
«I understand that you want to trust Mrs. Karlstein, but how can you be so sure?».
Hah, I knew I was going to ask this. «I used Wrong Trust. I also confirmed after hearing his situation that he was not hiding anything else».
When she heard that I used Lost Trust, Versyl immediately closed her mouth and fell silent. If she kept insisting that we couldn't trust her, she would be forcing the situation. Of course, he was probably curious to know what it was that I considered «nothing serious», but I wasn't going to tell him.
«In any case, now there is no problem with Missha Karlstein. You don't have to keep an eye on her, so treat her like a normal ally from now on.»
«... Sí. Use haré.»
Alright, so that was the end of that topic.
I then asked Versyl to gather the rest of Temporary Squadron 4, and when everyone gathered, I ordered them to start packing up to leave the island today.
«Ah! Are we going to resume our expedition again?»
«So it seems that the dimensional tombstone investigation failed...»
«Hah... My family is probably worried about me».
Some people were sad that they couldn't immediately return to the city, but the atmosphere was not too gloomy.
«Honestly, I was getting bored. This is good».
«We still have a lot of places we haven't been yet.»
Everyone here was an adventurer.
***
Splash.
Four ships sailed the silver waters, with the small and beautiful ship of the Anabada Clan in the rear, behind the large military ships.
Sitting on the bow, I stretched as I watched the military ships in front of us.
How much more money do I have to earn to get a boat like this...?
Honestly, it wouldn't be a problem if he only sold the Aegis Wall and the Giant Verdurous Spear, but he would end up being poor with a ship. Even if I bought something like that with cash, without a powerful base of wealth to back me up, there was no point in buying a boat like-.
«Mr. Yandel! What are you doing there?!» As I blinked from thought to thought from where I was sitting at the front of the ship, a high-pitched voice coming from behind me cut through the haze. He was the vice-captain of the Third Magic Troops, Raven. «It's dangerous! Go down quickly».
She quickly ran towards the deck while shouting in an angry voice, and since she didn't even reach my chest in height, she looked like a girl when she looked at me.
You know, you'll only make me laugh if you keep looking at me like that.
«Hey? What is that look in your eyes...?»
«...Nada.»
I stretched my arms toward the sky as I looked around on the deck and saw a few more familiar faces: Melend Kaislan, Sven Parav, and some of the knights I approached during the battles on Library Island. From now on, they were also part of Temporary Squad 4. He had asked the village chief before leaving, and he allowed it without problems.
«By the way, Raven. There is something I want to ask you».
"...¿What are?"
«Did something happen during the investigation of the tombstones in the village? Weren't you part of that?»
«Ah, #eso?»
Since we had free time while sailing, I asked him something he was curious about, and Raven passionately explained it all to me while using all kinds of jargon.
I didn't understand anything he said.
A phenomenon of dimensional separation, spatial coordinates and all kinds of nonsense that a modern person dressed in the skin of a barbarian had no hope of understanding. As I sat there and let the words enter one ear and out the other, Raven seemed to notice my condition and, embarrassed, tried to change the subject.
«Ahem! I guess my explanation was too difficult for you... But Mr. Yandel, could I ask you something too?».
«Clear».
«Where are we going right now? I thought you would know».
«Oh, you weren't part of the last leaders' meeting.»
«All magicians were exempt from it. We needed to quickly collect all the research data».
I took out the map I stole from Hamsick's house and pointed. «This is where we're going». An unidentified island a week away from Library Island. Since it was quite close to Rainbow Island, I decided to explore that area first. The village chief also had something to say when I asked him if he knew anything about the place.
«It is a quite mysterious island. And very peculiar».
«¿Peculiar?»
«You will know when you arrive. I'll tell you the rest when we dock».
I didn't know what the peculiarity was, but it definitely looked like a mysterious island from the way I explained it.
«Hmm... I'm looking forward to knowing what it will be like there. I hope we get a clue to reveal the secret of this apartment...» Perhaps because it was an unidentified island, Raven didn't ask what kind of place it was or any other such question and ended our conversation there.
«Captain! The lead ship stopped!»
«We have received a sign that we have reached our destination as well.»
After a week of traveling, he could now understand why the village chief had said that the island was peculiar.
«...¿Eso es and the same?»
There were no trees or land.
No, to be exact, there was no ground for such things.
¡Splash!
It was just a huge monolith that stood high in the air with silver water splashing around it.
***
After anchoring our ships near the monolith, I approached the lead ship and had a private chat with the village chief.
«Okay, we're here, so explain it to me. What's up with that huge monolith?». The village chief looked at me in disbelief as I entered the room. It was because I activated Wrong Trust as soon as I saw it. «That? Didn't you say I would need it more?».
«I didn't mean that...»
«It doesn't matter, answer me. We are wasting our time».
He wasn't going to let him escape with a vague, random response, and the village chief had probably noticed too. It was the only reason I could think of to explain why he answered my question so easily.
«That's not a monolith. It's a door».
«A door...?»
«It becomes a door when you put your hand on it and you can enter an unknown space».
«What's inside?»
The village chief took a moment before answering. «I don't know either».
It wasn't the answer I wanted to hear. «You... don't know?».
«No, and it was also impossible for me to open that door with my previous body».
«So how do you know it's a door?».
«I have tried it. I used the survivors who happened to end up in this place, not like you. Oh, and I'm telling you now, but it was impossible for me to enter that area, so I have no idea what could be inside. And those who entered never returned alive».
Leaving aside that inexplicably creepy answer, I focused on what I needed to confirm first. «What do you mean 'survivors'?».
«I have already told you that there are humans who sometimes end up here. There were some who survived among them».
«I do not understand. Why didn't you steal their bodies?».
At that question, the village chief took out a black stone from among his clothes. «Back then, he had not gathered enough sacrifices for this stone. Actually, I just got enough recently. As you know... a lot of people have come this time, right?».
He was referring to the Silver Lion Clan who disappeared in the village and was found dead in the basement.
For some reason I couldn't name, those eyes of his that didn't see people as people bothered me more today than any day before, but I controlled my expression and continued listening.
«The adventurers who entered the place alone were as strong as you, but they were not able to return. These two are the only things I can tell you. I'm not even sure how many people can get in at once. Do you still plan to explore within that place as you planned even after knowing this?»
Maybe it was just a hunch, but it seemed to be testing me. Well, no matter what I said or how I said it, my answer remained the same.
«Of course, we will also investigate the interior».
He had decided not to leave any stone unturned on this floor.
Before I turned off Wrong Trust, I asked a few more things. However, the village chief was only silent about all that, and I had to settle for what I got and return to my ship. There, I chose how many crew members and who would enter first before informing the village chief.
«I will organize the members as you told me, but... will you be okay?».
«What do you mean?»
«With this, you will enter first. To a dangerous place where you don't know what can lurk».
«It's because it's a place like that that I need to get into first».
«Hmm?» The village chief just looked at me in amazement and said nothing more.
After returning to my boat again, we finished the final preparations and boarded a smaller boat before approaching the huge stone gate.
¡Splash!
The reconnaissance group we had sent ahead of us had already opened the stone door. Inside the door, a changing mirage filled the space. It was something that any adventurer would instantly recognize.
A portal.
However, it was the first time he had seen such a large portal. I stared at him in amazement.
«Yandel, how about you reconsider?», said Amelia, who had gotten on the same boat as me. «We are one thing, but for you to come in first seems too reckless to me».
«What are you saying? Your body is weak». Most people knew this, but the barbarians did not usually listen to those weaker than them. «I will enter first. Like I said, come in after waiting a minute».
After looking my allies in the eyes one by one, I took a position to jump off the boat.
What was in there? Honestly, I was a little scared and nervous. However, I decided to trust my experience. Although Dungeon and Stone was an unfriendly game, it was usually never the case that there was a monster or trap waiting right behind a portal.
With that, I jumped up and threw my body into the huge portal.
¡Vwoong!
A rainbow of colored light embraced me. Strangely, I felt like my body was rising into the air.
Grifo.
When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded by darkness, but there was no reason to take out a candle and go into barbarian-candle mode.
My level was quite high now.
¡Fwing!
I took out the flare I was wearing on my belt for situations like this and fired it in a random direction.
¡Fwoosh!
My surroundings lit up and I could see.
First of all, I'm somewhere.
The floor was smooth marble. It had walls on both sides and a roof over my head. And he was surrounded by monsters, well, stone statues in the shape of various monsters.
Death Knight, Slime King, Lycanthrope, Iron Cavalry...
After reviewing each stone statue from front to back, I quickly realized what these monsters represented.
Guardians of the Rift.
The long hallway was filled with stone statues in the shape of a Rift Guardian.