The Never-Go Meeting Square

A special-grade mana stone?

The time I had spent playing 《Dungeon God》 was so long I couldn't even count.

If you ask me how much, I would just say I even got "circle-banned" after going at it with the admins.

Even so, I have no idea what a 'special-grade mana stone' is supposed to be.

A mana stone is just a mana stone.

Isn't it just an item you can exchange for money?

"A special-grade mana stone? Where did you get such a thing?!"

Serena, who had been listening beside me, opened her eyes wide and stared at me at the words 'special-grade mana stone.'

"Serena, do you know about special-grade mana stones?"

"Yes, I do."

Good. Barkal looks like he wouldn't know at all.

"A special-grade mana stone! I've heard that it's a rare mana stone with several attributes mixed in, and it's harder to find than ordinary mana stones."

"Several attributes?"

"Yes! So I heard it's used differently than normal mana stones."

Used differently.

Is that why the Adventurers' Guild doesn't buy them?

In the world of 《Dungeon God》, mana stones are intimately intertwined with daily life.

From streetlights to the compass used earlier to find the dungeon.

Even magic users sometimes utilize mana stones in their spells.

Thanks to that, the better the quality, the more expensive the mana stones sell for, and a nation's mana stone reserves can even represent its national power.

But a special-grade mana stone with different uses?

Wouldn't that actually make it harder to sell?

"Where can I sell it?"

"Ah... You can sell it at the market, via auction."

Market, auction?

Oh, the street market.

Put simply, the market is a marketplace for adventurers.

What regular people want and what adventurers need are worlds apart.

The auction is located within the 'market.' If you can't offload something, you can hand it over for auction there.

If I can sell it at a high price, I wonder how much it would go for.

Surely it can be sold for more than the mana stone given by 'the Slave of the Balanced God.'

"Can you tell me the location?"

When I asked the receptionist, he went into the back of the guild. It seems there's a map.

"But, brother! Where did you get that mana stone?!"

As the conversation ended, Barkal asked me. I turned and looked at Barkal with a hard stare.

You got it together with me.

Now, it's been revealed that the mana stone from 'Scar Claw' was a special-grade mana stone, but honestly, there's no real reason to rush to auction it off.

I still had the 30 silver coins left from before,

And the 20 coins I got from selling the mana stone just now.

So with a total of 50 silver coins, I didn't have to worry about money for now.

"Erindal, endure the pain a bit longer!"

Barkal blew on the blade of his axe with concern. As if that would heal it.

Though I wasn't worried about money, the problem was Barkal's axe. Maybe because it had been exposed to spores in the dungeon, the blade was corroded.

But can spores really corrode a blade that easily? I asked Barkal for permission and checked the axe.

Crude AxeGrade: Low

【Dull Blade】2【Corrosion】1【Low Durability】1

Barkal's axe. It was genuinely a piece of junk.

Even if you are the apostle of Thrag, you managed that much performance with such an axe?

Well, the best thing in the tribe's storage was 'rare' grade at best.

There's probably no skilled blacksmith in a village where all the barbarians gather.

'Should I get Barkal new equipment?'

It was slightly troubling.

Barkal is an apostle of Thrag.

If I offend Thrag, Barkal would come at me with all his might.

If I gave him a new weapon, does that mean he would chop my head off with it?

If not for this issue, I wouldn't even think twice.

Hmm.

Alright.

Let's just do it.

Making Thrag angry isn't an immediate problem, but if Barkal's axe becomes unusable and the party gets into trouble, that would be an immediate issue.

* * *

I decided to sell the special-grade mana stone and get Barkal a new axe, but I didn't head to the market right away.

The sun was setting, and today's schedule had been way too exhausting. My body was craving rest.

"Good work, Serena."

"What should I do now?"

"Rest until our next commission."

She's asking about the obvious.

Saying that, I turned to head for the inn where we were staying.

"Wait!"

Serena grabbed my hand.

"... You're not going to run away, are you?"

Run away? What does that mean?

"The last adventurer party I joined did that. They told me to wait like this, but then they disbanded quietly without a trace!"

So she was abandoned too.

No wonder she's saying this—it must be another side effect of being a 'fake cleric'.

"D- Brother Dmihtan, you wouldn't do that, right?"

Her golden hair quivered, and her blue eyes were full of confusion.

No, 'confusion' wasn't enough—a whole earthquake was going on in those eyes.

"Barbarians do not lie."

"... Phew."

Relief flooded Serena's face. I spoke so grandly, as if representing all barbarians, but I'm actually a necromancer.

I have no intention of abandoning Serena and running, of course.

You saw it back at the dungeon. How desperate she was. Whatever her story, she's also pretty skilled.

Thanks to her, I ended up being the support, but that's life.

"I believe in you, brother Dmihtan."

The trembling in Serena's eyes faded away and they returned to normal.

"But I'd like to trust you even more—could you sign a contract?"

Guess she wasn't back to normal after all. She held out a piece of paper to me.

At the very top, the word 'Contract' was written, and as the guarantor, 'Liberas, God of Love and Good Will' was printed.

"Barkal."

"What is it, brother?"

"We're going back to the inn."

Who puts down their own god as a guarantor? Ridiculous.

As I tried to leave the Adventurers' Guild, I heard a desperate cry of, "Wait!" from behind.

A cleric with separation anxiety. First time I've seen one in my life.

Ignoring Serena's shouts, Barkal and I headed straight to the inn.

The Bearded Cat Inn.

That's the inn we'd been lodging at.

The outside looks shabby, but the inside is decent enough, and above all, the price is cheap.

Other inns would charge at least 9 copper for a day and a night, even if you just use the stables, so this place isn't bad.

"... Urgh."

"It's those barbarians."

As we entered, the adventurers eating in the hall began murmuring as they noticed us.

I hadn't realized, but Barkal and I had become pretty well-known figures in Iushil.

I guess it's no wonder, since we beat up Silver-rank adventurers on our first day here.

At any rate, the adventurers seemed to be calling us the 'Rude Newbies'.

"Hey, you two barbarians, you're back."

Crossing the hall, a middle-aged man sitting at the counter called out to us.

He looked well over 40. His name was Hordi, and he was the innkeeper.

"We'll stay tonight."

As I handed over 5 copper, Hordi snatched it up quickly.

"Barbarians like you are always welcome. Anyone who beats up the noisy Endal family is always welcome here."

Then Hordi grinned.

On the first day we stayed here,we were picking fights with some other adventurers eating on the first floor.

They were talking about "teaching us some manners" or whatever.

They rolled up their sleeves and came at us, but Barkal provided a quick lesson in etiquette.

"Don't you have to welcome all who pay?"

"There are some I wouldn't take no matter how much money they paid."

Hordi clicked his tongue.

"Those who believe in Hyrat. They're a gloomy bunch. Kill in the name of god without batting an eye. Complete psychopaths."

As if creeped out, Hordi shook himself all over.

Hyrat, God of Judgment and Virtue. Most 《Dungeon God》 players don't particularly dislike the 'benevolent gods'.

Is there some difference here?

After finishing up a brief chat with Hordi, we headed up to the second floor where our room was.

* 〈Thrag is watching you.〉

Now what.

* 〈Thrag desires new proof.〉

Hey, I just got back and you want another proof already?

* 〈Thrag wants the Rune of the Abyss.〉

I'm looking for it! Just didn't find it in this dungeon, that's all.

* 〈Thrag's wrath subsides.〉

So you do understand how much we struggled this time, huh, big bro Thrag.

Climbing the stairs, I opened the door to the room we'd rented, revealing a shabby interior.

A place to put our baggage and two beds. Nothing in the room but that—completely bare.

But still, it's home!

Throwing myself on the bed, I began to rub my face against the rough blanket.

"Brother."

Barkal spoke.

"Don't let your guard down. You never know when an enemy might appear!"

"My back is yours, Barkal. I trust you, brother."

"Trust me, brother!"

Barkal replied in a confident voice.

"Brother."

Barkal spoke again.

"Wasn't the special-grade mana stone that of Scar Claw?"

"That's right."

"Our brother Urak came to mind."

Urak.

The first barbarian killed by Scar Claw.

"Urak was a great warrior. I'm sure he's watching over our journey by Thrag's side."

"... In that case! We must complete the Journey of Proof safely!"

I feel like I'm getting the hang of handling Barkal.

"Brother."

What else now. Ask me anything, I'm used to it by now.

"Serena has arrived."

"What?"

I left the bed and looked out the window Barkal had been staring through.

Just as Barkal said, Serena was at the entrance to the inn, dragging in all sorts of baggage.

Please.

I just want to rest in peace at home. It's enough having Barkal say weird things!

* * *

At high noon under the blazing sun of the wasteland, an adventurer party named "Judges of Light" arrived at the desolate site.

The party of five were all devotees of Hyrat, and their armor bore the symbol of a sun and a sword crossing.

"Something's off, Captain."

Rowen, the tracking expert, knelt to inspect the ground.

"The Waruk fruits are scattered around here. Almost as if someone deliberately threw them away."

The party leader, balder, dismounted and surveyed the area.

Green fruits were strewn across a wide area, and a dried bloodstain was visible on the sand.

"Captain! There's a corpse over here!"

Balder approached where the member was pointing.

Beyond the sand dune, in a shadow under a large boulder, two bodies had been found. But when everyone saw their condition, they gasped.

"Lord Hyrat, what is this..."

Balder frowned.

The corpses were completely desiccated. Their skin was cracked like paper, and their eyes were sunken in.

They looked like mummies centuries old, but their armor and weapons were clearly new.

"Judging by their insignias, these are the mercenaries who left with the merchant."

"How is this possible? Seems like all their blood's been drained."

Rowen carefully examined the bodies.

"Even scavengers or insects wouldn't leave them like this..."

"This was done by a necromancer. No doubt about it."

At Balder's words, everyone's attention snapped to him.

"But wouldn't a necromancer reuse the corpses?"

"Not all necromancers operate the same way."

Balder's voice was filled with certainty.

"This is the remnant of a blood-harvesting ritual. Blood serves as a powerful catalyst for their magic."

"Don't tell me the necromancer from the dungeon escaped..."

"Yulans, take a few Waruk fruits and return to Beldoa. The Merchants' Guild needs to be informed about the investigation."

"What about you, Captain Balder?"

While a member asked, balder looked around for the carriage the merchant had been using.

There was no carriage. Only the tracks left by its wheels.

Those tracks stopped not far off, but the direction was at least clear enough to guess.

"We'll pursue the necromancer—to Iushil."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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