Chapter 14: Exploiting the dungeon as a base for black slavery
Cid casually pushed aside Colton's headless body and began searching through the supplies being transported on the carriage.
"Mostly food, huh… what a shame… Why are there so many weapons? And these—are these firestones? What are they collecting so many of these for?"
The spoils from this raid were so plentiful that they would require several carts to haul away, which initially made Cid very happy.
But after looking through the contents of the carriage, he was left speechless.
Most of it was stuff he couldn't really use.
Food was inconvenient to carry in large quantities and couldn't be sold for a high price.
Weapons could fetch good money, but selling them in bulk was asking for trouble.
Any legitimate shop seeing someone try to sell that many weapons would definitely call the military police.
"So—why are you stockpiling so many weapons? Planning a rebellion, are you?"
If you wanted to sell weapons on a large scale, you'd have to go through shady, underground channels.
Cid couldn't be bothered to look for those—it was too much trouble.
Besides, these weapons weren't particularly high-grade anyway, just standard-issue gear for cannon fodder. Losing them wasn't a big deal.
As for the firestones, Cid had studied them before. The energy contained inside was extremely volatile.
With special methods, firestones could be detonated.
Once detonated, their power was roughly equivalent to a bomb.
Loading an entire cart full of such dangerous items—what were they planning to do?
Blow up the Dungeon?
Cid couldn't help but glance again at the bodies on the ground.
"Are they really planning to blow up the Dungeon? I underestimated you guys… I didn't think you had this kind of guts."
Cid had heard that the Dungeon was actually a living entity—that was why it could give birth to so many monsters.
If the Dungeon were blasted with this many firestones, wouldn't it get angry?
And if it got angry, wouldn't it start spawning even stronger monsters?
Maybe these firestones were actually meant for some powerhouse lurking in the darkness.
That person could no longer find monsters in the Dungeon capable of helping them level up—truly a case of drawing one's sword and finding nothing left to challenge.
Unable to complete a great feat, they'd have no way to continue leveling up—just like Cid.
So they planned to blow up the Dungeon and force it to spawn even stronger monsters!
Whipping it into working harder, treating the Dungeon like a black slave—this way of squeezing it dry honestly left Cid in awe.
"There's even a way to complete a great feat like this? Then wouldn't I be able to fight deep-floor monsters in the middle or upper floors? How did I never think of that?!"
Excited, Cid collected all the firestones.
These things might come in handy later.
Simulating a nuclear explosion could have a similar effect, but Cid's current mana pool wasn't sufficient to use that freely.
In the end, he was still limited by being only level 5.
"Still, there's quite a lot of gain—alchemy materials, gemstones, rare metals…"
Cid roughly calculated.
Selling all these spoils would earn him about five million valis.
One valis was roughly equivalent to four yen.
In other words, this single robbery netted him goods worth about twenty million yen!
"Robbing really is the fastest way to make money!"
As he counted, Cid practically fell headfirst into thoughts of cash.
For a fleeting moment, he genuinely wished this world were full of bandits.
If he could just run into robberies while strolling around, wouldn't he easily become insanely rich?
But when images of Alise and the others flashed through his mind, the thought faded.
If the world really descended into chaos, they'd not only be incredibly busy—they'd also be in constant danger.
Familias that represented justice were destined to charge straight into the front lines against darkness.
Alise and the others were too weak—they wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Everything else is fine, but what's this?"
Cid was holding a gem that looked like an eyeball.
This wasn't found on the carriage—it had been carried on the leader's person.
It looked finely crafted and contained an unusual energy.
Normally, such items were alchemical products with unknown purposes.
Cid would usually collect them, but not pay them much attention.
But this gem was different.
"Is this… a curse?"
Cid wasn't completely sure.
This world had divine power, and it also had curses.
Unlike divine power, which was relatively common, curses were extremely rare.
Over the years, Cid had only encountered one weapon imbued with curse power.
He dismantled and reforged that weapon, hoping to uncover the principles behind curses.
Unfortunately, while he gained a lot from the research, he never fully cracked it.
He hadn't encountered anything similar since—until today.
Cid stored the gem away, planning to study it slowly after returning.
"Speaking of which, what exactly is this Dark Faction? I think I've heard of them… Are they the guys giving Alise and the others headaches?"
Based on what that guy lying on the ground said earlier, Cid had robbed the Dark Faction plenty of times already.
Previously, Cid's robberies were completely random.
Anyone transporting massive amounts of supplies through the Dungeon clearly wasn't legit.
Normal adventurers only brought their equipment and recovery items—no one hauled that much material into the Dungeon.
If you were transporting supplies, why not use the surface routes?
Anyone using the Dungeon as a base was definitely up to no good, so Cid felt zero guilt robbing them.
He just hadn't expected that most of his targets belonged to the same organization.
"Hmph. They never learn—gathering so many people in the Dungeon to plot evil deeds. As Shadow, my presence shall eventually cover all darkness!"
Cid packed up the valuables and prepared to leave the Dungeon.
About thirty minutes later, a wildly styled woman appeared at the scene.
She was the overall leader of the Dark Faction, known as the 'Slaughter Emperor' Valetta, whose command ability was said to rival that of the hero Finn.
Seeing the corpse of 'Blood Fist' Brandon, Valetta's expression turned ugly.
Judging by the traces left behind, Brandon had been killed with almost no resistance.
He was a level 3 adventurer—anyone who could kill him so easily had to be at least level 4.
But all known level 4 adventurers in Orario were under strict surveillance—none should be able to appear in the Dungeon right now.
So who killed him?
It couldn't possibly be some random passerby, right?
Eliminating the impossible, Valetta reached a conclusion.
"Damn it… there's a traitor."
Cid left the Dungeon and, after taking only a few steps, froze in surprise—Iska was waiting for him at the entrance.
Since he hadn't officially left the Astraea Familia yet, Cid couldn't just pretend not to see her.
But he had a very bad feeling.
Could it be that even after leaving the Familia, Alise still sent people to keep tabs on him?
"Yo, Cid. Did you get anything in the Dungeon?"
Iska stepped forward to ask.
Before Cid could answer, she dragged him away.
"Dragging things out isn't my style. Come with me."
"Iska, what are you doing?"
"Giving you a gift. Mine's pretty special, so I didn't want to give it together with everyone else."
Saying that, Iska pulled Cid straight into a secluded alley.
Seeing that Cid was still confused, Iska didn't explain and wrapped an arm around his neck.
As her face drew closer and closer, Cid tried to dodge.
But Iska was fast.
Given his apparent strength, it seemed like he shouldn't be able to avoid this.
"Ah!"
So, at just the right moment, Cid's foot slipped.
On the surface, it just looked like Iska's movement had been too sudden, throwing off his balance.
Dropping the ball at such a critical moment—that's what it means to be a background character!
Cid was feeling smug about it when Iska easily supported his balance, preventing him from falling.
She didn't stop there either.
As an Amazon, she was perfectly capable of acting without regard for atmosphere.
That day, something important was taken from Cid.