Chapter 37

The next day, we were guided to a stone castle situated about two hours by carriage from the estate.

This castle, located at the edge of the Treasure family’s territory, was famous. Dungeons that aren’t the “descending underground” type are quite rare.

From a distance, it truly looks like nothing more than an ancient castle nestled in the forest. However, as the carriage drew closer, the strange details began to stand out. Despite its age, the castle was perfectly preserved—no weathering, no chips, not even a single crack. Most notably, there were no entrances or exits other than the front gate.

It possessed the hallmark characteristics of a dungeon: a single entrance and a perimeter enclosed by an indestructible outer wall.

Once the carriage arrived, all the participants were gathered before Bent.

“Now then, as adventurers, you likely already know this place. This is the ‘Ancient Stone Castle,’ one of the few castle-type dungeons. This is where the qualifiers will be held.”

As soon as everyone was assembled, Bent started speaking, sounding as if he didn’t want to waste a single second. His booming voice vibrated from his gut, making the castle behind him seem to tremble as well.

“The rules for the qualifiers are simple. It’s first-come, first-served. My son is waiting at the deepest part of this dungeon. Those who reach him first will pass. I will not announce how many slots are available. I don’t need you all getting desperate and killing each other because the remaining spots are low.”

Bent swept his gaze over the participants with eyes glinting sharply.

“Listen well: I want talented individuals. Those who resort to murder during a qualifier are not the kind of people I’m looking for. Keep that in mind.”

“A question.”

A man dressed in indigo clothing that resembled a kimono spoke up quietly. Judging by his appearance, he could have been anywhere from his late twenties to his early forties—or perhaps even younger.

That outfit belonged to the people of Isu. In Isu, the traditional attire is the kinagashi. I remember being shocked when I first saw the data on it; it looked exactly like the Japanese clothing from my previous world.

Clad in an indigo kinagashi with a slightly paler indigo sash tied at his waist, the man had his messy black hair gathered loosely with a cord, draped over his shoulder. He had pale skin and a fox-like face. Though his build was small and thin, his arms protruding from his sleeves—especially his fingers—were unusually thick.

Contrary to his quiet tone, his eyes were filled with suspicion, moving restlessly and alertly. Arrogance flickered around his nose and mouth, and his voice carried a faint ring of condescension.

“The Ancient Stone Castle is a dungeon for intermediate-level explorers. Any seasoned adventurer could reach the deepest depths alone without much trouble. If this is a race, doesn’t it just turn into a simple footrace?”

While this castle was rare in form, that was effectively its only draw. The difficulty wasn’t high, and no rare items had ever been found there. It was a dungeon that had been thoroughly picked over by adventurers; there were no new discoveries left to be made.

“A simple footrace to the bottom, is it? Hahaha, I see. How confident.”

Bent’s stomach shook with laughter.

“Indeed, for elite individuals such as yourselves, this dungeon might not even qualify as an obstacle. Therefore, I shall add one condition to this conquest.”

His laughter vanished, replaced by a expression as ferocious as a wild boar.

“The use of Return Stones is forbidden. The moment you use one, you are disqualified.”

At that declaration, everyone—including the man in the kinagashi—gasped.

Impressive, I thought to myself. Combining a first-come-first-served race with a ban on Return Stones was a clever move.

Note: Return Stones

A Holy Relic always located near a dungeon’s entrance. It appears as a round, head-sized crystal sitting atop a pedestal that rises naturally from the floor. The crystal is fixed to the pedestal and cannot be moved, nor can it be scratched by blades or magic.

Its role is simple yet vital: Touching the stone to “sync” allows the user to instantly teleport back to the entrance from anywhere inside the dungeon. The psychological safety net it provides is massive—it is the very reason adventurers can bravely tackle dungeons in the first place.

If using the Return Stone meant disqualification, participants couldn’t afford to take reckless risks or “blind lunges” to get ahead, despite it being a race. It was a one-shot deal. You have to be cautious.

You have to balance speed with careful precision in an intermediate dungeon using only your own strength. It was actually a very effective test of an adventurer’s true caliber.

“Of course, if your life is in danger, you should use the Return Stone at your own discretion. Just make sure you sync with it first. Now… begin! Right here, right now!”

Bent’s abrupt signal left the participants stunned in silence for a split second.

But only for a second.

The next moment, with a roar, the adventurers surged toward the castle gates.

“Whoa… that’s intense.”

As I stood there half-dumbfounded, most of the adventurers vanished into the castle. Eventually, Eni trotted up to me.

“What are you standing around for?”

“I just didn’t feel like charging into that mosh pit.”

“Well, I agree with you there. Besides, winning or losing by a few seconds here doesn’t mean much. If a dungeon is long, you have to conquer it while camping for a month. Given this is intermediate and a race, I’d say the limit is a week—maybe three or four days.”

“Seriously? I brought about half a month’s worth of food just in case.”

My backpack was stuffed with rations, a sleeping bag, and various consumables.

“That’s pointless. Actually, the more experienced an adventurer is, the less they carry.”

As Eni said, no one else was lugging around a massive pack like mine.

“Is that how it works?”

“Well, usually that’s based on the assumption that you can go back via Return Stone whenever you want. Even though the rules are different this time, most of them are rushing in without realizing the shift in logic. Honestly, you might have been able to win this qualifier on your own. The golden rule of adventurers is that only the cowards survive.”

“Oh? Should we dissolve our partnership then?”

I said it as a joke, but Eni’s face immediately soured.

“Fine. See if I care.”

“Wait, I’m kidding! Just kidding!”

“Stop saying stupid things and let’s go.”

“Right.”

The two of us finally set off toward the castle together. Through the open doors—left ajar by the constant stream of participants—I could see the interior.

“Wait…”

Looking ahead, I noticed that none of them were touching the Return Stone before heading deeper inside.

“Everyone’s showing their resolve, huh? Basically saying they’d never use a Return Stone in a dungeon of this level. Impressive—even defying the employer’s explicit instructions. That’s some serious confidence and a rebellious streak.”

“Are you an idiot? You’re supposed to be a detective,” Eni sighed. “Most of the participants have cleared this dungeon before. They’ve already synced with the stone in the past. That’s all it is. I’ve already synced, too.”

“Ah… right. Still, it feels kind of cowardly if I’m the only one stopping to touch it while everyone else just walks past.”

“Ugh, what is with that vanity? That’s so lame.”

“Lame?”

“Super lame. You think acting reckless makes you look cool, don’t you?”

“When you put it that way, yeah, it is pretty lame.”

Agreeing with her, I made sure to sync properly before Eni and I finally challenged the Ancient Stone Castle.

And that brings us back to the start.

Day two in the Ancient Stone Castle.

After spending the night in one of the monster-free halls—referred to by adventurers as “camps”—Eni and I had been pushing forward, cutting our way through monsters.

Because I had bought a massive stockpile of items, we were able to act quite boldly, allowing us to overtake a significant number of other adventurers.

“Looks like we’re making good time.”

“Lower your guard and you’re dead,” Eni snapped, making me shrink back.

“Still, there seem to be a lot of participants getting lost.”

That part was unexpected.

Even if it looked like an old castle on the outside, it was a dungeon through and through; the interior was as intricate as a maze and packed with traps and gimmicks.

I was particularly surprised by the one-way walls. I’d heard stories, but seeing one in person was a first. They look like panes of glass—you can see the scenery on the other side and even hear voices. You can walk right through them, but once you turn around, there’s nothing but a solid wall. You can’t go back. Apparently, these one-way walls are a staple of dungeon design, used to make the labyrinths incredibly complex.

Still, most of these participants were supposed to have cleared this place already. It felt off that so many experienced adventurers were currently wandering around looking lost.

“It’s because they’re trying to take routes they didn’t use when they first cleared it,” Eni answered, her pace light and steady.

“Different routes?”

Dungeons often have multiple ways to reach the end, so it wasn’t strange for this one to have several paths.

“But why change the route they usually take?”

“Because the conditions are different. They’re in a hurry, and they can’t use the Return Stone. Some are trying to rush, others are taking long detours they think are safer. They’re idiots, really. The ironclad rule of the dungeon is to stick to the path you trust, no matter the situation. They must have been looking down on this place subconsciously.”

Eni, on the other hand, was steadily following the route she had cleared before, and we had been moving according to her guidance ever since we started.

“Oh.”

There was a small room ahead. But it already had an occupant.

It was a man with a powerful build and a thick beard. He wore leather armor dyed red; his long hair and beard were jet black. His skin was dark, perhaps reflecting Ogre blood, and I could see what looked like tusks.

The man was surrounded by over a dozen monsters: goblins, slimes, and wolves. They were all intermediate-level threats, but being cornered by that many alone would be life-threatening. For me, it would have been a total checkmate.

However, neither Eni nor I felt like jumping in to help. It wasn’t because he was a rival; it was simply because—at least for me—I was completely overwhelmed by the man’s sheer presence.

Even surrounded, the man bared his tusks in a ferocious grin and hoisted a sword over his shoulders with both hands.

It was no ordinary blade. It was a greatsword, longer and wider than I was tall. I probably couldn’t even lift the thing if I pushed my physical reinforcement magic to its limit, yet he gripped it firmly, laughing.

“Gih!”

A goblin wielding a knife lost its patience and lunged.

In the next instant, the goblin’s upper body vanished. The wind pressure from the swing reached all the way to where I was standing outside the room.

The man had swung that massive slab of iron in a heartbeat.

“Gugah!”

That was the trigger. Monsters lunged at him from every direction.

And he…

“Haha!”

Laughing, the man swung his sword like a whirlwind. Monsters were sent flying, torn asunder.

“Hah-hahahaha!”

On the man’s back was a metal case even larger than his sword—big enough to fit a person inside. It looked like a steel coffin.

As long as he was carrying that, no attack from behind would ever get through. And any monster that wasn’t behind him was being sliced into mincemeat in an instant.

“Hah-hah!”

Through some stroke of luck, a goblin’s arrow slipped through the storm of slashes and pierced the man’s armor. Simultaneously, the head of a wolf—already severed from its body—clamped onto his arm with sheer tenacity.

This is bad.

In that state, if he flinched from the pain even for a second, he’d lose his balance while trying to handle that massive sword.

I instinctively braced myself to jump in and help, but Eni held me back.

“Hahaha!”

As if he hadn’t even noticed being shot or bitten—or more likely, he was too high on adrenaline to care—the man continued to stir his whirlwind. A few seconds later, nothing remained but monster fragments.

“Hmph.”

With no enemies left, the man stopped moving. His intense grin remained as he finally checked his own body. His eyes fell on the arrow and the wolf head, and he scowled. Tossing the greatsword onto the ground, he reached into his vest and pulled out what looked like medicine. He yanked out the arrow, pried off the wolf head that was still locked on, and carelessly sprinkled the medicine over the wounds.

“Impressive,” Eni finally said, stepping into the small room.

“Hm? Oh, if it isn’t little Eni.”

The man looked up and flashed a smile at Eni, then at me.

But even with that smile—which, admittedly, looked more like an ogre’s grin—he moved subtly to maintain distance as Eni approached. I could see a level of caution that stood in stark contrast to his reckless combat style, where he seemingly ignored damage from monsters.

“You’ve made it this far already?”

“We’re a pair, after all,” she replied.

“Ah, and you’re Van, right? The detective.”

“Nice to meet you.”

I walked forward timidly, feeling like I might be attacked if I approached too carelessly.

“This is Brad,” Eni said by way of introduction. “You know him, right? He’s famous.”

“Ah, I thought so.”

I nodded, finally putting a name to the face. When I saw that greatsword, I had a feeling it was him.

Brad. A giant of a man who swung a massive blade against any monster, completely ignoring defense. Among adventurers, he’s a celebrity feared for both his high combat ability and his violent temperament.

Up close, Brad’s body was covered in countless scars, both old and new. I suppose that’s the price of his reckless fighting style.

“Perfect timing. Want to go together?” Brad asked, raising an eyebrow with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I’ll pass. We’re planning to take a steady pace. Knowing you, you’re going to charge through the shortest route even if you can’t use a Return Stone.”

“Naturally.”

Brad let out a loud laugh, then added, “But the fact that you caught up to me here means you guys are definitely in the lead group.”

“Hey, honestly, who do you think is going to pass?” Eni asked.

“Who knows. Since the number of winners isn’t public, it’s hard to say. But if it’s, say, the top ten… well.”

Brad bared his tusks in a thoughtful grin for a moment.

“Me, obviously. Then that man from Isu who was asking questions in front of the castle. You can tell just by looking at him that he’s got serious skill. Surprising someone like that has stayed under the radar until now. Then there’s Jin, who’s crawled back into adventuring. He’s the type who handles things flawlessly, so a test of raw ability like this is right up his alley. Oh, and Mora was there too. They’ll pass.”

“Wait, Mora was there?”

“Yeah. They change their clothes and hair on a whim, so you probably didn’t notice. That ‘Digger’ is definitely passing. And Shirona was there too, I think.”

“Yeah… I’ve only met her once, so I wasn’t sure.”

“There aren’t many women who are pure white from head to toe.”

I didn’t recognize the name, but I remembered the girl who was all in white. So that was Shirona.

“Um… what about Kijiitsu?” I asked tentatively, unable to suppress my curiosity.

“No clue about his strength. He’s a detective. I’ve heard rumors he’s crazy, though.”

Brad shrugged.

“Of course, you guys will pass too. Well, time for me to head out. See you at the main event.”

With a crinkly-eyed smile, Brad turned and left.

I didn’t feel much like following him, so I just watched him go.

“You have pretty good danger-sensing instincts,” Eni muttered as she stood beside me.

“Huh?”

“If you had approached his back carelessly, he might have cut you down.”

I looked at her, thinking it was a joke, but she was dead serious.

“The reason I turned down his offer to go together was because I was scared.”

“What? You guys seemed friendly enough.”

“On the surface. Despite his fight style, he’s incredibly suspicious of others. His philosophy is ‘if they look fishy, just cut them first.’”

What? That’s terrifying.

“To be blunt, as far as I know, he’s the number one adventurer you need to be wary of. He’s got the skill to back it up, too.”

Which means, if I pass these qualifiers, I’ll have to work with a guy like that during the actual job.

“Maybe I should just withdraw…”

Eni shot me a cold, sharp look as I muttered that half-seriously.

“Ah, j-just kidding!”

I flashed a forced smile, feeling a genuine sense of danger.

Lately, the girls around me are getting really scary.