229th
Prepare thoroughly, pack light
229 ? Prepare thoroughly, pack light #3
Hippolyte said.
“There is no training today. Instead, starting tomorrow, we will close the Abyssal Crack.”
What is the Abyssal Crack?
As I was wondering what it was, the one who reacted the most was Antiope, who was curled up on the bed and groaning.
“Aren’t you saying you’re going down to the bottom of the valley? Are you crazy?”
“It’s crazy. Someday, someone had to do it. I kept putting it off, and eventually, what was meant to happen, happened.”
“What happened?”
In response to Antiope’s question, Hippolyta seemed to be looking at the scenery outside through the window.
“A party of Silver Tier adventurers have gone missing. I have been assigned to search for them. I am the party leader.”
Is the adventurer’s party missing?
I thought of Delphina and the other members of the Silver Rose, including her. Honestly, I couldn’t remember much besides Delphina and Elfriede.
I had a strange feeling that those guys had eventually disappeared into the abyss.
Is Delphina missing?
It’s a funny world where people go missing, but I still can’t help but feel uneasy when a familiar face disappears.
That’s why Elfriede came to see Hippolyte.
I don’t know why Elfriede didn’t join them, but I have a feeling she knew why she asked Luna to find Hippolyte.
He was going to ask Hippolyte, a gold tier adventurer, to rescue his party from the abyss. And it seemed like Hippolyte had accepted.
However, Antiope asked as if she could not understand the fact.
“Isn’t that place designated as a restricted area where no one can enter? Did you report it to the Minerva Guild?”
“No, if you had reported it, you wouldn’t have been granted entry. It seems you entered the abyss without telling anyone.”
“Were they guys thirsty for public service? It’s a common occurrence. Isn’t it common for an adventurer party to go missing? Why can’t we just leave them alone?”
The story of Antiope contained an extremely realistic element.
Did she not want to see her older sister, Hippolyta, put in danger while going to a place forbidden by law to rescue the missing adventuring party?
But Hippolyte shook her head.
“If it was just an adventurer’s party, I would have left it alone. But while Calcata and Sodomora were trying to establish a friendly relationship, the fact that an adventurer team invited from a distant city went missing is a bit…”
“I know full well that my sister doesn’t move like that. It looks like she got paid? How much did she get paid?”
“120 gold.”
At Hippolyte’s answer, the small room was enveloped in silence for a moment.
“Wow, wow-. That’s amazing. Why did you get so much?”
“They said it was all the assets of the comrade who made the request. With all that assets, they were saving their lives.”
120 gold.
I had no idea how many bowls of noodles I could buy for 5 coppers each. If you roughly convert gold into ten million won, it would be over 1 billion won in Korean currency alone.
For Hippolyte, who was struggling financially for many reasons, this must have been a life-changing amount of money.
Of course, it was Elfriede who paid the money. Elfriede is trying to save her party with all her wealth, 120 gold.
“Well, then do whatever you want. I don’t think someone like you would die there.”
“You help too, Antiope. You’re going with me. You have nothing better to do anyway.”
“No, why am I there?”
“If you think about it, it was all because of you. The Pluto priests you surrendered were all transferred to the prison city, so there were no more administrators to close the rift.”
“I, I just worked hard at my job. The only good socialites are the ones in prison…!”
“Well, anyway, you and I, Hassan of Samaria, and the remaining one will be the party, so the four of us will set off. Actually, you and I, the two of us, would be enough… .”
Swish-.
Hippolyte looked at me with narrow eyes. Her eyes seemed to be looking at Pluto’s eyes hanging around my neck.
“Samaritan has resistance to hell magic, so it will be helpful in situations where you are being consumed by the abyss.”
“Hmm, indeed, that could be possible. There is resistance to hellish magic. Very strong resistance.”
Antiope nods in agreement.
“Then who’s the other one? The four of us set off as usual, right?”
“Yes. I’ll have to think about the remaining one for a day or so. Anyway, this is an official Gold Tier request from the Mars Guild. It’s more of a mission than a request. Everyone should be thoroughly prepared.”
Are you partying with Sister Hippolyta?
Well, it would be like getting carried by a bus. But I couldn’t see what I could gain by getting involved in something so dangerous.
“Do I have to go no matter what?”
“You may refuse. It’s an empty spot, so we can just fill it with someone else. However, the contribution value for this task is quite high. According to Daphne’s calculations, if you finish this request, Hassan’s contribution value will be full.”
“If my contribution quota is full, can I be promoted to the Silver tier?”
“Yes, as long as your karma level is over 30.”
oh-.
Just by raising the level, I could immediately upgrade to the Silver Tier. That wasn’t a bad thing for me.
“Anyway, you wouldn’t have died in the dark. Why are you pretending to be weak now?”
Then Antiope spoke to me. Her brown eyes were dim, visible beneath her ashen hair.
“Pretending to be weak? What are you talking about, Antiope?”
“Huh, there is something like that.”
* * *
“Hassan, you decided to go into the abyss?”
Back at the cabin, I explained the situation to Luna.
The disappearance of an adventuring party from Calcata.
And to save them, the Mars Guild’s mission is announced-.
Something like that.
“It’s a mission worth 120 gold.”
“Wow, wow, that’s amazing. 120 gold is more than I’ll ever earn in my entire life!”
In fact, the reward for this quest is 120 gold plus alpha.
That also meant that in a party of four, each person would receive at least 30 gold as their share.
30 gold.
A pocket full of gold coins.
Big money.
Of course, money is money, but it was also a good thing that I could make Elfriede owe me a debt.
With Antiope and Hippolyta by my side, I will be in no danger.
“Can I come with you?”
“Luna, you?”
“I’ve been into the Abyss before. There are many rifts of Erebor in Ideophee. I, I can help!”
However, Hippolyte reacted coldly to Luna’s story.
The fully constructed Mars Guild office.
In it, Hippolyte said, gathering her weapons.
“With Noxdotty? No. Five is too dangerous. This task is not about subduing the monsters, but about finishing it quickly in the shortest amount of time.”
“I, I, I’ll be of help, too? I, I’ve already defeated you, Hippolyte!”
“Know your place, Knoxdotty. Even though you are strong, it is limited to the person I am. Increasing the number of people without any reason is just a burden. It is better to carry a light load.”
“load….”
Luna seemed speechless, as if she was shocked by Hippolyte’s evaluation. Hippolyte’s words were so cold-hearted.
“Me too, I can help too….”
“No. This is not a plan that is wide enough to escort you from Erebor. It has already been three days since the missing people entered the abyss. The human personality can only last five days. I have to lead those guys out within two days.”
Hippolyte seemed to be attempting a time attack.
Time attack.
As something like a symbol of the old, the key is to attack with the bare minimum elements by removing unnecessary things.
“… .”
Luna, who seemed to understand, said nothing more.
He just looked back and forth between Hippolyte’s face and my face, then nodded helplessly.
“Okay… Then, I’ll help you prepare.”
“Noxdotty, I want you to know that I’m not saying this because I hate you. This is- this is a mission. There’s no room for personal feelings.”
Hippolyte was trying to console Luna, who was feeling down, in a slightly softer and more relaxed manner. Luna responded with slightly deflated words.
“No, I know. I’m sorry for asking too much, Hippolyte.”
Although Luna has been getting stronger and stronger lately, she is still not skilled enough to be able to make a gold tier request.
I too was against Luna following us into the deep darkness.
If it were just a regular thing like subduing or hunting goblins, then I guess it wouldn’t matter.
I didn’t want to put Luna in danger by taking her to a place where there were a lot of manticores and wyverns and stuff like that.
So we went around the market to prepare for the abyss entry that would take place tomorrow.
Even though the gold-level mission has just been announced, the market is as bustling and lively as ever.
“It’s not good that rumors are spreading, and it’s a top secret mission that was ordered in a hurry.”
According to Hippolyte, the contents of this request seemed to spread and there was nothing good to come of it.
Of course, the rumor that a team of adventurers from outside had gone missing and that the city’s key personnel had been deployed was only going to cause confusion.
Could this be seen as something like an embargo for this world?
“Hassan, here, this, take a bunch of these!”
At that moment, Luna, who had been walking around the market separately, approached me and placed a rather heavy bag on my palm.
I wondered what was inside, and it turned out to be a fruit that looked like an acorn, each one tightly packed and rattling.
“what’s this?”
“Lightning gummies! If you bite into one, it’ll be so bitter and sour that it’ll wake you up. It’ll be good to chew on one when you’re sleepy or tired in the dark!”
Is this something like chewing gum to prevent drowsiness while driving?
“Also, this is the dry weight, and the wildling elixir I made that I left behind…”
Luna handed me something like a large shoe bag that she was carrying on her back. When I picked it up, it was quite heavy and contained various things.
Hippolyte said at that sight.
“In the Abyss, it is best to carry only the bare minimum. It is best to carry only torches, materials for a campfire, first aid kits, and holy water.”
“But, but-.”
Luna looked hesitant as she looked at our packed luggage, perhaps worried that we were heading to a dangerous place.
I told him.
“I will take all of these. If Lady Antiope and Lady Hippolyta are here, I will have nothing to do.”
I don’t really feel anything for myself since I’ve already been through so much as a dungeon porter. When I said that, Luna’s expression also brightened.
“I like having them all! They’ll help!”
After that, it was a series of shopping sprees.
Purchase ten bottles of high-quality holy water, which is used to cleanse curses and rifts, costing 60 silver each, and also purchase a bottle of blessed pitch and sap, which burns several times brighter and longer than a regular torch, for 2 gold each.
I felt like my sense of money was going crazy because I spent more than 20 gold in one day.
However, neither Antiope nor Hippolyte seemed to care about such things, and they were even more picky about the quality of the goods.
Is this how a gold tier adventurer prepares?
Indeed, as the pay is good, the initial preparation and investment costs are also enormous.
* * *
That night, the events of the coming week were quickly discussed in Hippolyte’s office, a tent set up behind the Mars Guild.
“I will take the vanguard. Antiope, you will take the rear. When something comes up, you and Samaritan will take turns-.”
It was my first time seeing something like a strategy meeting between high-ranking adventurers and temple knights, so it was helpful in its own way.
When I explored Pluto’s dungeons with bronze tier adventurers, I just went in and started wandering around.
Hippolyte had decided from the beginning the positions and who would do what at unexpected times.
She may have been a bit picky, but it was clear that such carefulness was what had kept her alive until now.
“Samaritan, what did you say your role was?”
“Left guard. Also, in case of any trouble, I’m in charge of checking the spirit of Lady Hippolyte in the front. Be careful not to let the torch go out, and if you spot any monsters, report in a low and quiet manner…”
Why do memories of training during my military days come to mind?
When I thought about it, it didn’t seem that different.
“Okay, that’s pretty much it. I wish we had a little more time. That’s what emergency missions are all about. There’s always a shortage of time. There are a lot of things that we didn’t expect to happen.”
“But if my sister and I go together, it’ll be enough. It’s a luxurious force. Since there’s also Samaritan, I don’t think anything bad will happen. What about the other one?”
“We decided to meet at the North Gate tomorrow. Well, everyone, get some sleep for now.”
And so, time passed and dawn came.
Just before dawn.
In a time when there was not even a single person walking around the already deserted Bukmun Street, we quickly moved, wrapped in dark robes, in case anyone caught us.
“Hatsan-.”
As I was waiting to join the rest of the party at the north gate, I saw Luna, who had come out first.
“Luna, what brought you here?”
[Work Review]
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