Volume 4 Chapter 33 Returning Home
Eiosnight, with only his upper body exposed from the chest up, smiled con10tedly.
"...It was truly a magnificent battle. I never expected that my final battle in this lifetime would be so in10se."
"You're still breathing quite well, Eiosnight."
"Don't worry about me. I... I can no longer be revived."
As I cautiously approached Eiosnight, he chuckled softly.
"Transcendent 1, what is your name?"
"...I'm Wade."
"I see. Then Wade, I have a question for you. Will you defeat me and reach the Underworld?"
I pondered and replied,
"I have no intention of doing that right now. I only came to defeat you, Eiosnight."
"I see... Then I have another question for you."
Eiosnight continued,
"Wade, when you reach the Underworld, do you plan to plunder?"
"Plunder?"
"Yes. You must have learned from the Mocker. Will you plunder in the Underworld just like them?"
"I can't say for sure because I don't know what kind of plunder you're referring to."
"Let me be specific. Will you kill the Demons (Majin) residing in the Underworld, regardless of good or evil, and seize their assets?"
"No, I won't."
I answered firmly,
"I won't engage in such trivial acts. Do Mudi and the others do such things?"
"They are pure plunderers. They have crossed hell, surpassed the demon world, and appeared in the Underworld. Faced with the weak and the strong, they have repeated plunder and slaughter."
Eiosnight's tone weakened.
"We are enemies of humanity. The creator brought us into existence like this. Therefore, when we meet, there is no path to reconciliation. However, Wade, I have a request for you."
"Do not take from me," Eiosnight said.
"I ask you, who have connected with me through battle. Please do not plunder. The Demon King of the Underworld is still young and may not dream of the surface world for hundreds of years. By that time, you will likely have passed away. So, please, will you let this go?"
"..."
I glanced at Sandra. Demon King. I feel like she mentioned it casually before, but honestly, I don't fully grasp it.
"...I don't really understand, but if I'm facing an opponent who isn't strong and I'm not directly fighting them now, I won't engage."
"I see... I appreciate it. Then, as a token of gratitude, please accept this..."
Eiosnight's body gradually turned into a pale blue mist. In the end, only the blue crystal that had been in place of his eyes remained.
"Is this it?"
I reached out with my left hand and grabbed it. Suddenly, a burning pain shot through me.
"Ouch...!"
"Wade, are you okay?"
"It hurts, but if it's just this much..."
The pain gradually subsided, and I took a breath. The blue crystal had disappeared. However, when I felt a sense of discomfort and removed the gauntlet from my left hand, I found that Eiosnight's crystal had been embedded in the palm of my hand.
"What is this?"
"A mystery..."
We tilted our heads in confusion. But for some reason, I naturally understood how to use it.
I clenched my right fist and struck my left palm. With a sharp sound, the crystal shattered.
The remnants scattered, transforming into a crystal sword.
"Wow..."
We both let out a low cheer. It might be quite useful. When I looked at my left hand, the crystal that should have been shattered had already been restored. It seemed like magic power was consumed in the process.
I used gravity magic to play around with the sword. Not only did it have a sharp edge, but when infused with magic, it emitted a pale blue light.
I swung it, and it turned into a beam of light.
"This is fun. Sandra, this is really fun!"
"Interesting weapon, acquired."
We both cheered excitedly. Moreover, it seemed that the crystal sword could be summoned as many times as it was shattered. It automatically unfolded around me, and being able to unleash beams made it powerful.
As I confirmed these things while having fun, a figure fell from high above.
"Hey, you guys did quite a show. Judging from your appearance, it seems like you won."
The person who shrugged his shoulders and approached us was Mudi. He said he would chase us from the third day, but did he already catch up? Too dangerous...
"Did we pass the exam?"
"Yeah, you guys passed. It's the first time in my life I've said something like this. You guys are so weird."
Laughing loudly, Mudi said. He always says strange things and confuses people, I narrowed my eyes.
Then, Sandra spoke up.
"Mudi, give me a gift for passing the test. You said you would give me a hand-me-down weapon."
"Oh... then I'll do this. Share it nicely."
Mudi handed us 2 bracelets.
"What are these?"
"Bracelets."
"I know this. I mean, I want to know the effects too."
"There's nothing like that."
Sandra looked unusually displeased as she looked at Mudi. Mudi clicked his tongue and explained, "I get it. It's a lie. There are effects."
"I got this from looting in the demon world in the past. When you infuse it with magic, it releases magic when you unleash the next strike. I used it to boost my attack power when I hadn't mastered the attack-type Siddhi yet."
"Let's try it."
Sandra immediately put on the bracelet and infused it with magic. Then she chanted.
"Thunderbolt."
A moment of pause. And then lightning struck as usual.
But the scale of it was beyond the usual.
Just to clarify, Sandra's usual lightning has about 1/100 to 1/10 the power of natural lightning. Sandra probably decides the power for each situation.
However, this time, the power was a bit different.
Or rather, it was probably like a full-scale natural lightning strike.
"Ouch."
I covered my eyes and couldn't see anything in the completely white vision, and I also smelled a burnt air. After a while, my vision returned, and Sandra said.
"Wow."
"It's not 'wow,' don't use it so recklessly!"
Sandra unconsciously dodged Mudi's strike. It seems even Mudi finds it troublesome to break through the opponent's Siddhi.
"Alright then, here. Wade."
Sandra handed me 1 of the bracelets. However, after thinking for a moment, I shook my head.
"No, Sandra, you keep both. I received the Crystal Eyes from Eiosnight."
"...It's a matching set."
"Huh, like that?"
"I thought it was good. Wade, you still don't understand a girl's heart."
Feeling a bit sulky, I was at a loss. Then, Mudi came to the rescue.
"Well, this should be fine. Let's head back for now."
"Oh... going back up again. Such a hassle..."
"Huh? You're not going to do something so troublesome."
"Eh?"
Mudi walked off briskly somewhere. Sandra and I exchanged glances and followed him.
After walking through a pile of rubble for a while, Mudi plunged his hand into the rubble and swung his arm forcefully.
With a Crushing sound and with Mudi's strong arm, a staircase leading to the lower floor is excavated.
"Mudi, that way is down."
"I know. There's something useful down here. Just follow me quietly."
We followed as we were told. A dark and long staircase. After descending for 10s of minutes, it was empty down there.
"...Huh?"
"Haha! It's been a month since I've been to the Underworld! ...But today, I'll just look and hold back."
I saw a deep, cold blue sky. We stood on a platform that was only slightly built in such a terribly high place. Looking down from the edge of the platform, a vast blue land spread out.
"...This is the Underworld."
"Yeah. The dwelling place of demons that spreads directly below the Greek mythological realm. The god of the Underworld, Hades, watches over this underground world. That's here, the Underworld."
It's a gloomy place, but there are plenty of mythological artifacts. Saying that, Mudi licked his lips.
"...Hey, Mudi. Earlier, Eiosnight said you were going to plunder in the Underworld."
"Of course I will. They are enemies of humans. Demons that climb up from the dungeon to the human realm do the same. It's a mutual thing."
Mudi spoke calmly. And then continued.
"What's the deal? Are you saying I'm a bad guy who plunders?"
"...I don't know. Both Mudi and Eiosnight say that humans and demons are enemies. Why is that?"
"Because the creator has ordained it."
Mudi speaks.
"All lands, all worlds, all living beings, all powers. The creator of this world ordained and created all of it. 'Humans and demons cannot understand each other. Humans believe in gods, demons believe in the Demon King. Therefore, gods incite humans against demons who blaspheme the law, and the Demon King, driven by insatiable greed, leads demons to invade the human realm.'"
"Do you know," Mudi looks at me.
"If you become friendly with demons, you will be abandoned by the gods and unable to use magic. Demons are the same. They lose their sorcery. That's why. No matter what, it's impossible for us to be friends with demons."
"..."
I ponder about the creation of this world. Humans. Magic. Demons. Demon King. ...The creator.
Then, I hear a voice calling out to us.
"Oh, Mudi-san. Are you already attacking the Underworld... Oh my, oh my, oh my! My, my, my! How impressive that you've come this far!?"
"Huh?"
As I turn around, there stands a receptionist girl who claims to have become our exclusive, named... Nai, or something like that.
"Well, well! You guys are amazing! Already looking at the sky of the Underworld. Ha... Truly a party that leads the current younger generation. There's no room for underestimation."
"Um, Nai-san? Is that okay? ...Why are you here?"
"Well, it's because I handle adventurers of the gold rank or those who can reach the gold rank! There's no torch adventurer greater than gold in the dungeons. Most of them rampage in the Underworld."
"...I see."
In short, she deals with those who rampage in the Underworld, so the reception is also done in the Underworld. Perhaps the Adventurers Guild is more powerful than I thought.
Nai then raises a doubt, placing a hand on her chin.
"But being with Mudi-san. Mudi-san, you didn't force them here, did you?"
"Do I look that kind?"
"No, not at all. So, what's the actual situation?"
Nai looks at us. I answer with a deadpan expression.
"We were asked to conquer up to the 100th floor in 3 days..."
"Ahahaha! What!? In 3 days!? And by conquer, you mean defeating the demons on the upper floors too?"
"It was tough. Indescribable."
Sandra adds, "Well, I had a feeling the dungeon would suit us, but I didn't expect this." Then, Nai says.
"But if you're together, it's as expected, right? Wade-san, Sandra-san, learning from Mudi-san?"
As expected?
"Yeah. That's right."
"Reluctantly. So, Nai. We want to return to the surface. Can you teleport us?"
"Oh, if that's the case, it's no problem. There's a magic circle over there, use it."
"Alright, thanks."
As we exchange words and head towards the magic circle, Nai calls out, "Wait a minute, wait a minute!"
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, I almost forgot. Wade-san, Sandra-san, could you hold out your hands?"
We tilt our heads and extend our hands, and Nai hands us something.
We open our hands. There lies a gold torch adventurer certificate.
"Oh."
"Finally."
"Normally, you need to be assessed by the 80th floor, but since you've come this far, I'll give you provisional approval on the spot! Take good care of it."
I gaze at the gold torch adventurer certificate. Slowly, a sense of reality wells up within me.
"Sandra."
"Yeah."
"We've become gold adventurers, hey..."
"We have."
We look at each other's faces. Then, overwhelmed with joy, we embrace each other. "Wow, you guys are so close," Nai teases, while Mudi shrugs silently.
After that, we step confidently onto the magic circle. Light rises, and the scenery changes.
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