Flaretalia, The Dungeon City

After spending a night in the hot spring town, Tōru and the twins were now heading toward their destination, Flaretalia.

It was a two-day journey by carriage. The closer they got to Flaretalia, the more monsters they encountered, along with an increasing number of adventurers fighting them off.

The main road was kept safe, but even so, small monsters occasionally darted across it.

“As expected, the carbonation is escaping.”

Mary studied the container of carbonated potion she had purchased for what she called an experiment, having just taken a small sip.

The container resembled a round-bottomed flask. Presumably, it had been designed to withstand pressure so the carbonation wouldn’t cause it to burst.

“Carriages do shake quite a bit, after all.”

“But it still works about as well as an ordinary potion, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. Even a shallow cut will heal in about half a day. With a carbonated potion, though, the wound closes so quickly it’s almost unsettling.”

From Tōru’s experience, it took roughly five minutes for such a wound to heal. Even when consumed during combat, with the body moving vigorously, the potion not only prevented wounds from worsening but gradually healed them as well.

Considering that such fast-acting potions could be purchased for less than ordinary ones, their distribution problems were a significant obstacle.

“We’ve entered the barrier.”

The moment Euphie murmured those words, Tōru, who was sitting toward the back of the carriage, grimaced at the sensation of breaking through a thin, gelatinous membrane.

“I still can’t get used to the feeling of passing through a barrier.”

“It can’t be helped. Without this barrier, monsters and Magical Mechanical Beasts would destroy the city.”

“I know that. It’s just that Flaretalia’s barrier feels somehow… stickier than the others.”

“Are you a barrier connoisseur now?”

Euphie giggled at Tōru’s observation.

“Flaretalia is a relatively new city, so perhaps they didn’t simply reproduce the barriers found in Ancient Civilization ruins. They might have modified the design.”

“Ah, that would explain it. Maintaining barriers is expensive, so I can imagine them sacrificing a little comfort for better efficiency.”

Barriers were a type of Magical Machine that had existed since the Ancient Civilization. Generating a barrier large enough to surround an entire city required an enormous amount of magical energy, so the high-purity magic stones found inside Magical Mechanical Beasts were harvested and repurposed for that purpose.

Defeating Magical Mechanical Beasts required adventurers of C-rank or higher, and even a single magic stone commanded a considerable price.

“If only there were a way to recharge magic stones with magical energy.”

“If someone figured that out, it’d be revolutionary.”

Although magic stones were used as power sources and fuel, no method had yet been discovered for replenishing the magical energy of a depleted stone.

“When I first arrived in this world, I thought they were like rechargeable batteries. Turns out they’re just ordinary disposable batteries.”

“Magical Mechanical Beasts themselves are out-of-place artifacts of the Ancient Civilization, after all. The same goes for their magic stones.”

Despite having a dungeon nearby, Flaretalia’s surrounding walls were relatively low, and its gates were enormous. Not only adventurers but also numerous merchants passed through them. Separate queues had been established because each group underwent different inspection procedures.

“You folks will get inside faster if you get off here.”

Following the driver’s advice, Tōru and the twins paid their fare and joined the adventurers’ queue. Just as the driver had said, it appeared that adventurers could enter with barely more than a cursory identity check.

When Tōru’s turn came, he presented his Adventurer’s Card. The guard apparently assumed the twins were members of his party and let all three through without any further inspection.

Having been caught up in a smuggling incident only a few days earlier, Tōru found the lax security rather troubling.

“What an incredibly lively place.”

Euphie looked at the crowds filling the main street with admiration.

Mary, who was holding Euphie’s hand, turned toward Tōru.

“Shall we look for an inn first?”

“No, we should buy weapons for you two and register you as adventurers at the Guild first. In Flaretalia, you can get cheaper accommodation if you have a referral from the Guild.”

“Is that because of the dungeon?”

“Exactly. Otherworld Relics and monster materials obtained from the dungeon are the city’s main exports. Without adventurers, the whole thing falls apart. It’s a pretty distorted economic structure.”

Tōru had good reason to frown.

The prevailing theory was that the Ancient Civilization had opened gateways to other worlds—dungeons—and attempted to invade those worlds, only to be driven back. The civilization had then been destroyed by monsters that came pouring through the dungeons in the opposite direction.

As a result, enormous numbers of monsters continued to emerge from dungeons. One of an adventurer’s responsibilities was to reach a dungeon’s deepest level and activate its barrier, shutting down its function as a gateway to another world.

Flaretalia’s economy depended on the dungeon as its primary source of income and could not survive without adventurers. Yet those same adventurers were responsible for sealing the dungeon. Once it was sealed, the city’s entire economic structure would collapse.

“Well, I’m sure the people living here understand that much. There’s no way the dungeon will remain open forever.”

“But I heard this dungeon hasn’t been sealed in fifty years?”

Fifty years had passed since the discovery of Flaretalia’s dungeon. Adventurers had explored as far as the seventh floor, but progress had stalled for the past ten years.

The eighth floor consisted of rugged mountainous terrain with dramatic changes in elevation. The abundance of flying monsters made it particularly difficult to overcome.

“Apparently, even B-rank parties are stuck on the eighth floor. It’s probably difficult without some way to attack airborne enemies, but by the time a party reaches the eighth floor, they’ll already have exhausted a lot of their stamina and magical energy. A sufficiently large group could probably manage it by rotating members and letting them rest, but considering the risk of injury and everything else, a small party wouldn’t stand much chance of clearing it.”

The twins followed Tōru as he started walking toward a street lined with weapon shops.

“Which floor will we use for our combat training?”

“I think the first floor should be plenty. Before that, though, I’d like to see how well you can handle weapons at the Guild’s training grounds.”

Their objectives this time were to train Euphie and Mary in combat and secure enough money for their immediate needs. Tōru had no intention of attempting to clear the dungeon.

They could also obtain information about the monsters inhabiting the dungeon from the Guild. With Tōru accompanying them, there would be no danger.

As they walked toward the weapon shops, the twins suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

Tōru followed their gazes and spotted a shop selling alcohol.

Flaretalia had a large population of adventurers and merchants, so demand for alcohol was high. The city even had wine cellars.

Remembering the wine they had drunk at the tavern in Darandy, Tōru addressed the twins.

“Want to stop by?”

“No, we don’t need to right now.”

“Alcohol isn’t what we’re interested in.”

Leaving Tōru wondering what else they could possibly want from a liquor store, the twins promptly resumed walking.

Still puzzled, Tōru decided there was no point worrying about it if they didn’t want anything and followed them.