Chapter 134: Undead? Guild Commission!
Deep within a cave where faint phosphorescence flickered, a dimensional portal opened out of thin air.
As soon as Arthur stepped out, he ran straight into a team of Lizardmen guarding the nearby mineral deposits.
Ga-ha!
After a brief silence, a deafening roar erupted!
Dozens of monsters, brandishing rusty swords, charged at him with incredible speed!
Arthur instinctively raised his hand, preparing to clench it into a fist, but his movement suddenly paused.
He changed his mind, stomped his foot, and the ground cracked open in a spiderweb pattern!
A humanoid brute, transforming into a destructive hurricane, swept wildly through the narrow cave!
There were no superfluous movements, only precise, lethal kicks!
Each time he lifted his leg, it was like a heavy whip striking a Lizardman's chest, the violent force piercing through its entire ribcage, shattering it into a shower of dust!
Arthur abruptly stopped.
Only then did a series of 'ding-ding-dang-dang' sounds of objects dropping ring out behind him.
"Heh, kicking people actually feels pretty good. Maybe I should get a pair of combat boots like Bete?"
"Fuwu?"
Fou, obediently tucked into his collar, whimpered softly, her furry paw pointing towards the fire crystal ore vein, which was constantly flickering with a dark red glow.
"Yes, yes, thank you for the reminder. Time to mine."
Arthur walked towards the ore vein with a smile, effortlessly breaking off chunks of ore as if snapping biscuits, then used the fallen Lizardman hide to tie them into two bulging packages.
After he finished all this, he turned to look at the empty space outside the cave, a slight frown on his face.
"Strange, has the monster spawn rate on the middle floors decreased?"
Or had an adventurer party already swept through this area?
Or perhaps, this area had been completely occupied by Lizardmen, deterring other monsters.
He didn't ponder too much; after all, the Dungeon's temperament was always unpredictable.
Arthur, familiar with the route, arrived at the eighteenth floor via the stairs, but as soon as he entered Rivira Town, he acutely sensed a pervasive anxiety and unease in the air.
...
Arriving at the central plaza, Arthur glanced at the weapons of varying quality in Old Bill's shop and asked the old man, who was counting his spoils:
"Did something happen in town again? Why do all the passing adventurers look like they've lost their souls?"
Old Bill stopped stretching the Lizardman hide, looked up, his eyes full of confusion.
"Sir, didn't you just come up from the middle floors? Didn't you hear anything along the way?"
Arthur shook his head: "Let alone rumors, I haven't even seen a shadow of other parties along the way, and the monsters in the tunnels are pitifully few."
"Pitifully few?"
Old Bill clicked his tongue, then pointed to the already empty potion shelves in his shop.
"Last night, several adventurer parties returned in a sorry state, saying that the 24th floor was experiencing a monster surge, even more exaggerated than a Monster Feast!"
"They grumbled and bought up all the recovery potions, clamoring to ask the Guild for support. I even thought the situation had become so serious it was out of control."
After listening to Old Bill's account, Arthur's eyes flickered, and he raised a hand to lightly tap his chin.
"Monster surge? They only asked for help last night, the Guild couldn't have solved it that quickly... But the monster count on my way up doesn't add up..."
Before he could finish, a strange gaze, subtly probing, suddenly pierced him from the shadows!
Arthur's heart tightened; someone was spying on him!
His eyes darkened slightly, but his expression remained unperturbed, as his perception spread out silently like a tide.
Target, locked!
He stepped into the shop, casually picked up a fine steel longsword, and nodded to Old Bill.
"I'll take this. For the rest, issue a receipt for the Valis."
With that, he dropped the two large bags of fire crystal ore from his back onto the ground with a "thump."
"The fire crystal ore, keep it here for now. I'll come back for it later."
Old Bill, well-versed in the ways of survival, dared not ask another word. He quickly wrote out the receipt and handed it over, then immediately bent down to sort the valuable ore.
Arthur took the receipt, habitually folded it, and turned to walk towards the forest outside the town.
The outline of Rivira Town gradually shrank behind him, and the sound of flowing water was clear to his ears.
Soon, he stopped in an open space and spoke coldly.
"Come out."
"If you hadn't carried any killing intent, you would have ended up like those Lizardmen I just kicked to pieces."
The forest was dead silent.
A moment later, a shadowy figure, wearing a hooded robe that completely obscured their face, slowly emerged from behind a tree.
The person spread their hands, indicating harmlessness, and a neutral voice, indistinguishable between male and female, drifted out softly.
"As expected of Orario's most dazzling supernova. My disguise should have been flawless, how did you discover me?"
An indescribable sense of incongruity lingered about the person, a strange aura that made it hard to tell if they were alive or an undead.
Arthur raised an eyebrow: "I have no obligation to answer your question. But you, are you an undead?"
The head beneath the black robe shook slightly, and the person spoke calmly.
"No, I am merely an insignificant Magus, working for the Guild."
"The Guild?"
Arthur's lips curved into a playful smile, his gaze sweeping over the strange and abundant magic power emanating from the person.
"Is it really alright to tell me such a thing? The Guild publicly claims that all its members are unarmed."
Fels was clearly taken aback, and a hint of ripple finally appeared in their calm tone.
"You... you just believe that? Without any proof?"
Arthur waved his hand dismissively: "Stop beating around the bush. What exactly does the Guild's private army want to do by specifically following me?"
Fels was silent for a moment, then spoke with a hint of admiration.
"Uranus was right, you truly are extraordinary."
"Regarding the shadowing, I apologize. But after this, I hope you can accept a request."
Arthur raised a hand to rub his brow, his tone as if he had already seen through everything.
"Let me guess, there's another hidden reason behind the monster surge on the 24th floor? And the situation is so serious that the Guild dares not publicize it, only able to find someone to solve it privately?"
Fels scratched their head through the hood, speaking in a helpless tone.
"As you said."
"I hope you can help us resolve the abnormal situation on the 24th floor, preferably... setting off now."
Seeing Arthur with his arms crossed and a look of disinterest, they immediately added.
"I know the Loki Familia is raising funds for their next expedition, and I have the authority to apply for the highest possible mission reward for you."
Upon hearing this, Arthur's eyebrows slightly raised.
He believed that; the Guild, which monopolized the magic stone and most material businesses, had no shortage of money.
"Not so fast." Arthur held up a single finger, "Regarding the abnormal situation on the 24th floor, how much information does the Guild have that you can disclose?"
"If you want me to risk my life, you at least have to tell me how dangerous this enemy is, right?"
Arthur's difficult nature clearly exceeded Fels's expectations, leaving the Magus, who had not engaged in interest negotiations with others for a long time, momentarily speechless.
After a brief silence, Fels could only continue to reveal confidential information.
"We are also investigating the origin of the new monster species. The abnormal situation on the 24th floor is actually not the first time."
"Not long ago, a similar incident occurred on the 30th floor. At that time, we entrusted an adventurer to assist with the investigation. Her name is..."
"Hashana Drullia."
Upon hearing that name, Arthur's conjecture was finally completely confirmed.
The curve of his lips became colder, and he nodded slightly.
"Very well, I accept this request!"