Chapter 160
Class A dungeons were known to require an elite party of guilds to stop.
“Normally, the boss or other executives would go, but as you know, the boss is in Russia right now.”
With that, Consigliere snaps his fingers and chuckles.
“Let’s use this opportunity for your benefit.”
“You mean……for me?”
I scratch my head, struggling to comprehend the meaning, and Consigliere speaks with weight in his voice.
“It’s symbolism. The symbolism that the Outer Area is still guarded by Don Vito Corleone, and what would happen if you showed your face there?”
His explanation made sense to me.
Stomping his feet, Consigliere steps in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders.
“Naturally, the people around there will see you as the next owner. The boss would have rejected it because it would be too dangerous, but……the choice is yours.”
-Tsk tsk.
He patted my shoulder and sat back down in his seat, looking at me.
“What do you want to do? If you say no, I’ll just send in my guys, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
There was nothing wrong with what Consigliere said.
After all, it was a well-known story that Vito Corleone used to raid dungeons alone to bring stability to the region.
Worst of all, Parnello, standing steadfastly beside me now, said nothing.
He seemed to think it was purely up to me.
In other words, I wasn’t in too much danger.
Then…….
“If I do go, may I ask who will come with me?”
“Well, your safety comes first, so I’ll make sure the party is made up of solid people, and off the top of my head, I can think of about three people who could come.”
Three names out of his mouth like that.
“Parnello, Alessia, and……Antonio Bevalt, maybe him.”
Not Parnello or Alessia, but Antonio Bevalt, the boss of the closest family.
“Certainly, if it’s a member of the family, there’s no danger, but I doubt Don Bevalt will come, it’s not his territory.”
I asked that question because I knew his usual personality, but──
“──Of course he’ll come. Someone’s calling.”
Consigliere smiled brightly with a red glow in his eyes, and I immediately understood.
……Yes, he was a temperamental bastard, too.
“Besides, he’s also raising a successor these days, so I’m sure he’ll leave his territory to him, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Knowing that the heir was Jin-woo, I was even more worried, but I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to safely raid a Class A dungeon.
High Risk High Return.
It’s common knowledge that the higher-ranked the dungeon, the better the rewards.
“In that case, I’ll go.”
“Okay, then be ready to go. I’m going to call Antonio.”
I give a quick bow to Consigliere, who picks up the phone and we step outside.
“To be honest, I’m a little worried.”
As the door to the study closes, Parnello speaks up.
“If you’re so worried, why didn’t you say it inside?”
“Well, because I thought that if I said I was worried inside, it would cloud your judgment, and while I, like Consigliere, think your choice is important, so I stayed quiet…… I can’t help but be concerned.”
I shook my head in disbelief as Parnello gave me a wry smile as he said that.
“Who cares what a class A dungeon is…… whatever happens, Parnello, you and the others will protect me, right?”
I say that with a mischievous grin, and he eventually breaks into a fit of laughter.
“Yes. That’s right, Master, I will protect you, even if it means risking my life.”
“No problem then. Let’s go, raid a dungeon.”
It’s my first time raiding a Class A dungeon and my adventurous spirit began to rise.
* * *
When I arrived by car, the site was controlled by the members of the organization who had left in advance.
“Welcome, Master.”
As if they had been waiting, the car stopped and opened the door at the same time as the island, greeting them.
“Good work. The civilians?”
“Yes. We’ve evacuated all citizens in the danger zone to the hotel we’re running. I think you’ll find we’re the only ones in a 500-meter radius at the moment.”
Solid work, indeed.
I wondered if this was why people weren’t venturing out of the Outer Area.
“And Don Bevalt?”
“Yes. He’s currently standing guard in front of the dungeon.”
Consigliere had told me not to worry, that he would be there before me, and apparently that was true.
After making sure that Parnello and Alessia were out of the car, I slowed my pace.
“By the way, Alessia, have you ever been in a dungeon?”
“You mean me?”
Alessia, who hadn’t expected me to call her out of the blue, flinched at the mention of her name.
“I went there a few times when I was an apprentice, because it’s definitely the best place to get some real-world experience.”
“Apprentice?”
What do you mean, apprentice?
I was thinking.
“I was in charge of training most of the children the family took in and Alessia was a standout.”
“You were quite the teacher, too…….”
Alessia hides her face as if embarrassed by this sudden reminiscence.
The sight of her crossing herself in a black suit, not her usual maid’s outfit, but the one she wears when she goes on an important mission, was very refreshing.
‘It was always a situation when Alessia wore a suit…….’
Just then, she spotted a glimmer of light coming from the end of the dark alley.
“Ah, there it is.”
As soon as they confirmed the location of the portal, their expressions changed in an instant.
It happened so fast that I wondered if they were the same people who had seemed so warm just a moment ago.
They walked cautiously to the portal with frighteningly serious expressions on their faces.
The resonant sound that made them feel sick to their stomachs grew louder and louder, and the light around them began to grow brighter and brighter.
In the center of it all, a lone light emits a brilliant glow, fading and growing stronger.
“Welcome, Master.”
And at the portal’s entrance is a middle-aged man who stands as if waiting, then bends toward me.
“Don Bevalt. Long time no see.”
“Yes, it’s been a long time, Master.”
He was a sharp-looking man who resembled Jin-woo, with his usual easy smile and the head of the Bevalt family.
‘Antonio Bevalt.’
Although he didn’t have the heavy aura of the other bosses, he was all the more alien for it.
He looked so relaxed that it was hard to believe he was entering a Class A dungeon.
“Well, since you’re all here, I suppose we can go in, and I’ll take the lead, Lord Parnello?”
Thump-thump-thump.
Antonio craned his neck from side to side as he spoke and Parnello nodded as if it didn’t matter as he reached for his knife.
“Yes, let’s do it that way, Master,” he said, “since you have to go to the academy tomorrow, I think we’d better get this over with quickly.”
“I agree. I’m a little uneasy about the guy they’ve set up as my deputy.”
“You don’t mean…….”
“Yes, my son.”
Oh, my God, I didn’t think so, but they really did put Jin-woo in charge.
I could see why he was nervous.
“Well, I’ll go in first.”
Antonio stepped through the portal first, and a burst of light engulfed him.
In a blink, he was gone, followed by Parnello.
“I’ll go in next.”
Parnello enters after Antonio, who disappears into the portal.
“The mood seems lighter than I expected.”
Alessia laughs at the sight of the two of them.
“Maybe it’s because we’re not here to explore the dungeon, we’re here to close it down. We don’t have to go around the dungeon, instead we can just enter the boss room directly.”
Closing, not exploring.
Hearing that actually made it easier to understand the situation.
Does this mean we’ll be doing a speedrun instead of going after gear?
Well, the first priority is the safety of the area.
If that’s the case, we can’t just sit here.
“…… Should we sneak in?”
“Yes, in this amount of time, the two of them should have secured the entrance. I’ll take the rear, so you can go in first.”
I listen to her and slowly walk toward the front of the portal.
It had a rim of light around it, reminiscent of a human pupil, and a jet-black abyss within.
I throw myself into the abyss.
Huhhhhhh─
It was a sensation I’ve become accustomed to after many spatial spells and dungeons.
When the brief floating sensation ended, I was greeted by a forest that was pitch black, as if all light had been stripped away.
“Welcome, Master.”
And a figure approaching me.
I hear the voice and realize……is Antonio?
It’s too dark to see much.
I hear the sound of stepping on a slightly steaming liquid.
As I get a little closer, I start to see him clearly and I can’t help but gasp in surprise.
He’s wiping something off his fist with a handkerchief, as if he’s been in the middle of a fight.
“Did anything happen in that brief interval?”
“No. It was nothing, just some sort of welcome.”
……What a welcome, I don’t even want to ask what happened.
And then I realized something.
“By the way, where’s Parnello?”
Parnello was not here.
When I questioned the absence of Parnello, who was supposed to be with him, Antonio slowly raised his hand and pointed behind me.
“He ran out first, saying he was going to clean up a bit.”
“First?”
Kaaaaaaaaaah!!!
At that moment, I hear a huge boom in the distance, and the ground vibrates violently.
What the hell did he do to make the ground tremble like this……?
“He’ll be back soon.”
Antonio mumbles that while looking at his wristwatch as if he’s used to it.
A moment later, Parnello returns, holding a dagger dripping with black blood.
“It’s all the same around here. I don’t think we can go around and find another direction.”
A black liquid dripped from the dagger in his hand and judging by its viscosity, it’s not something ordinary.
“Don Antonio, have you found the way?”
Parnello asks Antonio, whose eyes are still closed.
“I’ve identified the exit, and I’m trying to figure out where the enemies are and how they’re moving.”
In a flash, they analyzed the dungeon’s features and watching them, I could definitely feel it.
It’s easy, too easy.
It’s like riding a school bus driven by a bus driver with decades of accident-free service.
“I was just giving the guy outside some extra instructions……but I see you’ve already started.”
Alessia, who’s been following me in, takes in the situation in a flash, as if she’s used to it, and then relaxes her body as she approaches me.
“Master.”
She pulls something out of subspace and holds it in her hand.
“Can I get you some coffee?”
I smile wryly as I stare at the hand-drip set in her hand.
“So good.”
I’m so happy to be you.
