VIP Chapter 152: A Couple in the Dungeon
“Whoosh.”
Confirming that Ribel had completely left and was out of sight, Will withdrew his hand.
“What? You’re not going to let me lick it clean? Although this kind of wound would heal quickly even without magic.”
“I… I’ll pass. Actually, licking wounds reminds me of some… unpleasant memories.”
To be perfectly honest, Will was reminded of Iaar when he had been burned before.
The process was actually quite enjoyable, except that Iaar always had trouble controlling her strength, causing him slight pain, which was a bit perplexing.
“But Shuna, why were you so resistant to Ribel just now? What’s wrong?”
“Ribel is likely one of the current S Rank Archers.”
“It’s reasonable to include those with guns as archers—wait, S Rank?!”
Although Will wasn’t entirely surprised, had he just witnessed an S Rank clashing with another S Rank?
This was a scene that had never appeared in the original work.
“He’s from Entak Second Academy and is quite famous there, but this is my first time seeing him in person.”
“Hmm… it feels like Shuna really dislikes him? Was there some past conflict?”
“No, this is my first time meeting him in person,” Shuna said, scratching her head. “It’s just intuition. I feel like he has ill intentions… especially since he showed up at such a convenient time.”
Shuna glanced back at the loot behind them.
Those iron blocks were secondary; the most important thing was the box, and the location mentioned on the box—
“I hope it’s just my imagination.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At this moment, at the entrance of the dungeon.
The Radiant Knights had just made their “triumphant return,” exiting the dungeon.
“Captain, you said that the most important task this time was to retrieve the box. Why did you leave?”
“What? Huh… Did I say that? I don’t remember.”
Ribel put on a troubled expression.
“…”
“Retrieving it was meant to reduce the information others could gather, but looking at them, they already know. Being more overt would only give them new information.”
Ribel tightened his white gloves.
“Killing that Emperor instead will make them mistakenly believe that what he didn’t say is what I truly want to hide. It’s a slight misdirection.”
He dropped the foolish grin from before, replacing it with a strange smile.
“After all, what that foolish BOSS was about to say wasn’t a ‘secret.'”
“Excuse me, what happened to this dungeon? Was it difficult to clear?”
Having only taken a few steps, Ribel saw the reporters who had thronged outside the dungeon.
The dungeon had now become the hottest topic, and any slight disturbance would become a sensational headline.
A “B Rank dungeon” that required three rescue teams to clear, like this one, was practically front-page news.
Ribel brought back his usual bright and sunny smile.
“How was it resolved in the end?”
“Why did three teams go in?”
“As the captain of the Radiant Knights, do you think this is related to loopholes in the Adventurer’s Guild’s management?”
Facing the tidal wave of questions, he simply smiled.
“Those are good questions, but… unfortunately, this dungeon wasn’t cleared by me this time.”
Ribel spread his hands, indicating that his hands were empty.
“It was a couple that looked quite sweet, so dazzling it made one a little jealous.”
“What?!”
“A sweet couple in the dungeon?”
“Coming here to be heroes?!”
Ribel understood what made headlines.
Besides crisis news, reporters were probably most interested in gossip and personal affairs. A captivating sight like a couple duo in a dungeon was unlikely to be missed by any reporter.
Moreover, the two were truly a perfect match.
“Yes, they defeated both the Cerberus and the BOSS on the final floor, hand in hand.”
“They’ll be coming out soon. You can interview them properly.”
“And find out how they can be so sweet.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Speaking of which, Will, you didn’t leave behind a single iron block.”
“And that red gem left by the Cerberus earlier!”
Will carried a backpack full of loot.
As for the backpack, it was near a chair, seemingly left by another adventuring team. He would exchange it for a new one after they got out.
“But it’s strange, why did the Emperor only leave scrap metal in this dungeon, while the elite monsters earlier dropped gems? Are his pets stronger than him?”
As soon as Will finished speaking, he remembered the implication of his words and fell silent.
“What? Do you have a use for this? I don’t recall you specializing in fire attribute magic.”
“These are very useful!”
Will took out a piece and played with it in his hand.
“These stone blocks have very active fire attributes.”
“Because they come from a fire attribute dungeon.”
“But we saw earlier, the Emperor used it for defense as external armor—it wasn’t weak at all. Unfortunately, his lava flow was too strong, easily knocking the stone blocks loose.”
“Mmm.”
“So, the iron blocks would be ideal for staffs that experience high wear and tear. Using the Cerberus’s red gem as the core, the energy output should be fine. These iron blocks, as the staff body, can divide the overflowing fire attribute energy. I tested it by baking it earlier, and the heating speed was much slower than normal iron blocks.”
Will became more excited as he spoke.
Perhaps because the Cerberus was a new monster that hadn’t appeared before, this red gem seemed quite durable. Even if a better core were found later, it could still serve as an outer shell.
These iron blocks were an even greater surprise. Metal would still have the best conductivity, but these were extremely heat-resistant and tough, not easily broken.
Although putting the two together was still far from the specifications of his ideal “Staff of Ancient Flames.”
But…
Getting closer, bit by bit.
After all, creating a weapon from scratch was not a simple task.
“Oh, hearing you say that, are you perhaps going to make a staff for that Little Witch?”
“Heh heh, you guessed it. Honestly, we wouldn’t have been able to challenge a dungeon of this level. It wasn’t easy to get these things.”
“…Oh.”
Shuna responded coldly, a stark contrast to her usual excitement when hearing about dungeons.
Meanwhile, Will was already imagining…
How much stronger Liya would become with this upgrade!
At least her stats (imagined) would increase her attack power by 60 to 70! What used to take two shots could now be killed with one.
It was a true regret in life not to be able to see the damage numbers.
“Wait, Will, be careful—”
Lost in his fantasies of nurturing and the future results, Will unthinkingly bumped into a reporter in front of him.
“How is there a reporter?”
“No, more than one…”
When did reporters surround the outside of the dungeon?!
Even though this dungeon was about to disappear.
What happened?!
“Quick—that couple is coming out! What are you waiting for, go interview them!”
“This newspaper must be printed tomorrow, front-page headline!”
