Roy took out the treasure map. It had already turned into an utterly ordinary parchment, completely useless.
He couldn't help but sigh in amazement. With the gods descending to the lower world, the mystery of this world far exceeded imagination. Although Orario was known as the "center of the world" and the Dungeon was one of the three great mysteries, that still wasn't enough to explain everything.
Roy reined in his thoughts. He was only a Lv.2 small fry. Until he possessed strength to match it, it was better not to know too much.
Since the bizarre cave and the silver-haired goddess had disappeared, Roy turned around and left without the slightest regret.
He set off on the road back to Orario.
More than three thousand kilometers—back in his previous life, even riding a high-speed train would take dozens of hours. Roy shook his head with a chuckle. But when he looked at his new skill, "Elf King's Authority," and the Holy Sword of the Elves on his back, it felt like everything had been worth it.
Just as the silver-haired goddess had said, there wasn't a single household within several hundred kilometers.
Living off wild fruits and hunted animals along the way, Roy traveled on foot for more than three hundred kilometers, passed through a forest, and finally saw a small town appear before his eyes.
"Uncle, a few loaves of bread, a portion of beef, and some hot soup!" Roy tossed over a 100-valis coin, which spun on the counter.
The restaurant owner's eyes lit up. He hurriedly called to the staff, who immediately got busy in the kitchen.
There weren't many residents in the town—probably only forty or fifty thousand people. Everyone knew everyone else. When Roy first entered, he drew quite a bit of attention and was even questioned by the guards.
But now, the owner and the staff were bustling around him. This was the charm of money.
Roy casually asked the owner for information.
What he learned startled him.
Roy had thought he'd only spent about half a day in the cave, but in reality, a full five days had passed. No wonder the silver-haired goddess's first words to him were that she thought he'd died inside. It really was bizarre.
The food Roy ordered was served quickly. He devoured it ravenously—days of wild fruit and unsalted roasted meat had left his mouth so bland he felt like a bird could nest in it.
After eating his fill, Roy left the restaurant and headed for the town's only merchant guild, based on the information he'd gathered.
Though the town was small, it had plenty of specialties. Every month, a caravan transported goods to Orario. Rather than trekking back on foot by himself, Roy figured it was better to work as a hired guard for the caravan. It might be slower, but it beat wandering around alone.
After all, he'd already gotten lost in the mountains—what should have been a three-hundred-kilometer journey had taken him several days.
When Roy entered the merchant guild, he learned the caravan would depart in two days. Quite a few people had already come to apply—much like rookie adventurers in Orario, they wore flashy, impractical armor and kept pulling out their weapons to show off.
Roy honestly lined up at the back.
As expected, many applicants were rejected on the spot and left dejectedly. Some argued their case indignantly, and that was when the caravan's professional guards stepped in and threw them out.
The caravan was pragmatic. In these chaotic times, monsters, thieves, and bandits were everywhere along the route. They didn't need pampered soldiers—they wanted people who could genuinely protect the caravan.
When it was Roy's turn, he stepped up to the counter.
"What monsters have you killed? Do you have a blessing from a god?" The receptionist lifted her sleepy eyes. Seeing Roy looked only fifteen or sixteen, she immediately lost interest and asked lazily.
"I'm a Lv.2 adventurer," Roy said.
In an instant, the noisy hall fell silent. Everyone turned to look at Roy.
"Are you serious? That joke's a bit much," the receptionist said, glaring. The strongest adventurer in this town was only Lv.1, with overall abilities just over 200—and even that was enough to crush most people.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Roy didn't waste words. He extended his right hand and activated his magic. Golden lightning surged forth, arcs of electricity baring their fangs as brilliant light filled the entire hall.
"Magic?!"
The receptionist sprang to her feet. Her drowsy expression vanished without a trace, replaced by utter shock.
The others didn't fare any better—they were completely stunned.
Putting aside whether he was truly a Lv.2 adventurer, the mere fact that he could use magic was terrifying enough.
The moment word spread that a Lv.2 adventurer with magic had applied, the guild's owner rushed over at top speed.
This massive, obese man—whose weight rivaled that of the Guild Master Royman—personally poured tea for Roy, wearing a sycophantic smile. "Mr. Roy, how does a reward of five thousand valis sound?"
As he spoke, the fat man cautiously studied Roy, afraid of displeasing him.
Roy wasn't surprised by this treatment. In Orario, Lv.2 adventurers were common, but outside, they were as rare as giant pandas.
Even among Lv.2 adventurers, those tempered in the Dungeon were far stronger than those from the outside world.
"That's fine," Roy replied.
Five thousand valis wasn't much. In the Dungeon, he could earn that in ten minutes.
After living in this world for more than ten years, Roy understood the situation outside Orario well. This amount was already the absolute limit of what the other party could offer.
"Thank you very much!"
The fat man bowed deeply, gratitude written all over his face. Hiring a Lv.2 adventurer with magic for five thousand valis was practically the same as getting him for free.
He didn't even dare treat Roy as an ordinary guard.
Feeling guilty, the fat man treated Roy like an honored guest—arranging the town's best inn for him, and having his own professional chef prepare three meals a day.
From the fat man's explanations, Roy understood why he was so enthusiastic.
Every delivery run cost them at least twenty percent of their goods. On top of that, they had to pay all kinds of "tolls," suffering constant, sustainable plundering by mountain bandits.
But what choice did they have? They couldn't just let their specialties rot. Selling them elsewhere carried similar risks, so they might as well choose Orario—at least the profits were higher.
Now that Roy was guarding them, any monsters or bandits who dared show up would be courting death.
When word spread that a high-level adventurer had come to town, people swarmed in droves, surrounding the inn so tightly it was watertight, treating Roy like a national treasure.
To deal with the overwhelming enthusiasm of the townsfolk, Roy didn't even have time to run the Dungeon.
At their request, during the waiting period before departure, Roy casually cleared out the monsters around the town, spreading the name of justice of the Astraea Familia.
The monsters Roy slew piled up like mountains.
The townspeople celebrated wildly. For quite some time afterward, safety outside the town greatly improved, making it much easier for them to gather specialties.
Two days later, the caravan set out for Orario.
With roughly a dozen wagons packed full of goods and Roy as their protector, this journey was bound to be exceptionally safe. To maximize profits, the fat man spent those two days running all over the place, gathering large quantities of specialties.
Roy was assigned to the rear of the formation as the rearguard. Bandits were crafty and always tried to cut off the rear first—something the caravan was very experienced with.