VIP Chapter 158 – A Complicated Dungeon
“Ugh… so… so hot…”
Actually, Will hadn’t felt “hot” at all these past few days.
Although it was summer, the train carriage had been cool, and in Nyseltse by the sea, the sea breeze was refreshing.
But…
Slightly inland, it had become quite sweltering.
This was probably the last bit of summer heat. After this period, when the drizzling rain started, it would become much more comfortable.
“Perhaps it’s because I listened… listened to what that Grand Princess said. It wasn’t hot before, but now I suddenly feel the heat.”
Will suddenly felt a coolness on his cheek.
He turned his head, and Shuna had picked up the glass filled with drinking water from the table and placed it against his face.
“How is it? Does it feel cooler?”
“Did you specifically use ice magic to cool down the drinking water?”
The glass was already so cold that it was even frosted with a bit of condensation.
A layer of ice had even formed on the surface of the water.
Although Will knew that this amount of magic use was nothing to Shuna, it was rare for someone to use magic just to cool down their drinking water.
“Yes, I did. Seeing that you were so hot, I specially made a glass for you, and I also like to drink cold water.”
“It’s great! Thanks!”
The two of them were currently…
Sitting in front of a resort umbrella at an outdoor drink shop in Yamik City.
It was actually their third day in Yamik City.
As for why they were sitting here…
It was because they hadn’t been able to get an entry ticket to the dungeon from the Adventurer’s Guild!
Yamik City was like a hot topic within hot topics, and the Adventurer’s Guild was swarming with people.
After finally queuing for a whole day and getting inside.
They discovered that the “key” to clearing from the 50th floor was not directly available to adventuring teams below S Rank. However, the “key” to clearing from the 40th floor was already fully booked. According to the description from the Adventurer’s Guild, if they were to be put on the waiting list now, it would take about two weeks to get it.
And…
The dungeon called “Moonlit Ice Extreme” had already been explored up to about the 60th floor. If they couldn’t get a “key” to directly access the 51st floor from the Adventurer’s Guild, they would have to slowly climb up from the first floor.
Of course…
They could also try to find a high-ranked adventuring team willing to let them tag along from the 50th floor.
But there was a problem…
Will was the “Captain” of their team, so he…
Could not join another team; otherwise, their team would have to be disbanded.
“I don’t know why, but the 40th floor is basically only challengeable by teams with A Rank or S Rank and above B Rank members. Why are so many people queuing for it?”
“Because… they don’t want this dungeon to be cleared too early?”
Will made a very bold statement.
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Look, the first ten floors of the dungeon are already full of ‘summer business’ opportunities, with people coming and going. If I remember correctly, because there aren’t many existing ice-attribute dungeons, the middle 20-30 floors are also a source of summer cooling products.”
“Hmm…”
Shuna crossed her arms again and began to ponder Will’s words.
“That makes sense. After all, your family… no, the Adventurer’s Guild, is no longer ‘pure.’ It’s… merchants who have infiltrated every aspect of our lives.”
“Right. Now they’re using this method—and it’s likely that A Rank and S Rank teams have also been implicitly told not to clear this dungeon, or even prevented from trying by B1 Rank or similar classifications that have clearing opportunities, to reduce the probability of this dungeon being cleared, right?”
—It was like the “Green Wilderness Trace” in Novice Village was designated as a Novice Village, prohibiting further exploration.
It was like…
A protective policy for this dungeon.
However, Will felt that this topic was too big. The original work didn’t extend to the underlying operational mechanisms until after he died.
He changed the subject:
“But, speaking of which, with just the two of us, we shouldn’t be able to beat the 60th floor, right…”
“Hmm, a dungeon from three years ago and me from three years ago, couldn’t beat the 60th floor…”
Shuna nonchalantly took a sip of her ice water, her eyes gazing towards the facade of “Moonlit Ice Extreme” in the distance.
The facades of dungeons of different levels were also different—although Will had read the original work, he knew that in reality, the dungeon king would secretly send people to renovate it when they reached higher levels with more resources.
“But now, the value of the 60th floor compared to three years ago is far less. Oh, and Moonlit Ice Extreme is also far behind Snow Abyss.”
“Are you saying with such confidence that the two of us can beat it?”
“We can hire a few mercenaries. See those freelance adventurers over there? Young Master~ this shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?”
“Uh… Actually, yes…”
Will’s “wallet” was with Iaar.
But he could now withdraw some of his “savings” from the Adventurer’s Guild bank—strictly speaking, it was “Young Master Will’s” savings, accumulated from the gold coins his father gave him as an apology when he was young.
With a two-person team, hiring a few muscle for support would definitely be enough.
*Clink.*
While Will was thinking, Shuna lightly clinked her cup against his.
Although they were drinking water—ever since Will discovered she got drunk easily, he never let her drink alcohol anymore!
“No need to rush. I remember you have the materials for making a staff, right? Let’s try to craft the staff first.”
“That makes sense. But… since we’re not going back for now…”
Will tilted his head.
He had a fleeting thought of calling over the three people from Novice Village to tackle “Moonlit Ice Extreme” together.
But…
The original work always mentioned that “Shining Star recruited Xiu the black-haired logistics member within a month of its establishment.”
The time was getting closer.
Because the “one month” in the original work was a vague concept, not an exact number of days. Approaching a month, for example, within a week’s difference, also fit the description of “about a month” or “within a month.”
In other words, those who joined two or three days ago could technically be considered to have joined Shining Star within a month!
The closer it got, the more Will hesitated to let those three people run away.
It wasn’t because he was obsessed with following fate—after all, he hadn’t been following fate himself lately—it was just…
Will felt that it was a terrifying thing to have that obsessive, dark, and ridiculously powerful protagonist outside of the “fate” he could control.
He wondered what more terrifying things “fate” would do to steer the plot back to its original course.
“I’ll write a letter to my old teammates later. This time, we won’t go through the Adventurer’s Guild, although it will be slower.”
“Oh? I thought you would call them over. Are you still reluctant to give up our two-person life~?”
Facing Shuna’s seductive remark,
Will pushed up his glasses, which even glinted.
“They have more important missions that concern the fate of each of us.”
“That serious?”
“However, since we can’t get a team slot for now, we can operate on two fronts. We’ll push forward from the first floor, and on the other hand, we’ll stake out the Adventurer’s Guild queue situation every day.”
“Okay.”
Shuna seemed quite happy, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.
She looked up at the clear blue sky.
“We can take our time exploring the first few floors.”
