Chapter 448 Night Before The Conquest [Pt 2]
The night was awkward after that.
They had to speak to Justin, who was just returning from his meeting with his Party Members when he saw them in that corner.
As expected, he poked jokes at them and tried to probe further into what they were doing alone in the dark, but none of them answered honestly.
Thankfully, Justin only caught about a second of it, so he couldn't make any concrete case.
"Well, I hope your Party meeting went well. I'm supposed to rendezvous with them at our Group Room later, so I'm just whiling the time away exploring the city." He explained with a casual smile.
It might have been casual information from his perspective, but both Rey and Alicia received a rude awakening the moment he said this.
'THE PARTY MEETING!'
The had completely lost track of time, and now the meeting was probably over.
Justin, being the perceptive guy that he was, observed their shocked expressions and cocked his head slightly.
"You guys okay?"
"Y-yeahh…" They both muttered, their heads hanging in disgrace.
Who would have thought that Alicia—the stern and disciplined one—and the Extra—who didn't cause trouble for anyone—would be the ones to default in the plan?ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Their heads were still spinning as to the consequences of their actions when Justin waved them goodbye.
"Welp! I gotta go now! You people can continue what you were doing back the—ouch!"
A slight jab from Alicia sent him hopping away, hurriedly waving as he ran off in both pain and fright.
"See you guys at the Conquest!"
As both Rey and Alicia heard his last words, they sighed simultaneously. Rey's sigh was louder, though.
'There's no way we can continue now…'
Not only was the mood not right, but they had to deal with their lateness to their respective Party Meetings.
Rey didn't know about Alicia, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't aware that time was passing and that he was supposed to be in his Party Meeting.
However, because of his time with her, he kept pushing it aside. He couldn't even use his Skill to create another duplicate to take his place, since that meant he would be momentarily disconnected from his current clone.
He didn't want to do that with Alicia—especially in the later parts of their evening together.
In the end, he messed up.
"W-well… I guess we better get going to our Party Meeting…" She muttered, causing Rey to slightly nod.
"Mine is in that direction."
"Mine is over there."
Both of them pointed to separate places, which clearly meant they would have to part ways at that particular spot.
The wise thing to do was to dash off, not wasting any time at all, but something about the atmosphere caused their feet to be planted in the ground.
"So… I guess we won't see each other till the Conquest. Maybe even until after."
"Yeah. We won't be able to talk until after."
They both stared away from each other in silence, feeling the awkwardness creep in on their skin.
Perhaps it was just reluctance, but it seemed like neither of them wanted to be the one to say goodbye.
'Damn… how do I…?' Rey swallowed his saliva and clenched his fist.
It wasn't right that they were still delaying despite how precarious their situation was. Before he could be the bigger person and tell Alicia goodnight, though…
"I should go now. Bye Rey!"
… She ran off, almost as fast as the gust of wind.
"B-bye…" He slightly raised his hand while mumbling.
Rey remained like that for a while, soaking in the disappointment that now filled his body at a massive rate.
'I was so close…' He closed his eyes, clenching his fist while his upper and lower teeth grated against each other.
'What will happen now? Will we forget this moment? Will we try it again?'
Rey wasn't sure.
There was one thing he couldn't deny now, though, and that brought him incredible relief.
'Alicia… I'm pretty sure she likes me!'
It made him so happy that he could scream at the top of his lungs in victory.
And that was exactly what he did.
"WOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Sound Magic blocked anyone else from hearing his thunderous shout of triumph, so he didn't really care how loud he was.
Rey just felt so happy!
'I'll definitely confess to her when we get back.'
He would have preferred doing it after the Conquest, but that time wouldn't be appropriate considering how many moving pieces there would be after everything was over.
'We'll be pretty busy. Plus, the most vital reason is the casualties…'
People were going to die in this Conquest, and he wasn't going to save them. No, it was more like he couldn't.
They chose the path that they desired, so it wasn't like it was his fault at all.
'If I want to cause no casualties, I could just try clearing it myself. Well, maybe with Esme by my side.'
But would that really be the best solution? Was that what the Adventurers wanted, or even needed.
The answer was no.
'A lot of them are going to die, but they wouldn't have it any other way.'
Rey wasn't saying that Adventurers were suicidal who simply desired to die. No, they were simply risk-takers who chose—for various reasons—to walk down a path that could lead to their demise.
'We all die someday. It's just a matter of how and when…'
He couldn't allow himself to be overly concerned with the mortality of the Adventurers in this Conquest, especially since more were going to die after he was gone from the city.
'Let's just stick to the plan…' Rey began walking away. '… And everything should be fine.'
A few more steps forward and he stopped dead in his tracks before swiftly realizing something.
… Something he hadn't thought of before.
Swiftly cupping his two hands around his mouth and nose,he heavily poured out his breath and smelled it.
'No bad breath? Whew…!'
After sighing in relief, he continued down his path.
*Chapter 449 Day Of The Conquest [Pt 1]
[Day of The Dungeon Conquest]
[Location: West of the City, Entrance Of The Grand Calamity Class Dungeon]
"YEAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The evening was bursting with life was every Adventurer in the area roared with incredible vigor.
Thousands upon thousands of Adventurers could be seen, all in their respective gear, as they roared with both exhilaration and determination.
The time had finally come—the climax that had been building up for the past few days.
Everyone's face, the ones that weren't hidden underneath helmets, masks, or hoods, depicted excitement.
Many had greedy looks in their eyes. Some appeared scared, while others just slightly unnerved.
Some Adventurers knew they were not qualified to enter the Dungeon, but held onto the hope that as long as the top-class Adventurers were present, they could just leech off them and enjoy whatever leftovers they could get.
They were especially glad to see that the Heroic Rank Adventurers were standing right in front of everyone—leading the march to collective prosperity.
The Scavengers were also present, though they preferred to stay at the rear.
Their approach was to wait and see just what kind of reward they could benefit once everyone had gotten their full or became complacent.
It astronomically reduced the risk on their end, and as long as they held out for long enough, they could gain a lot of spoils—all without hardly lifting a finger.
Just as Guildmaster Richard estimated, the number of Adventurers in the vast western desert was almost ten thousand.
A total 9,870 Adventurers were present for the Conquest—nearly twice the number that showed up during the last one of such a kind that took place three hundred years ago.
Not only did they have more members, but the number of Heroic Rank Adventurers was also astronomically higher.
All in all, they had surpassed their ancestors.
It was their duty to see this though to the very end and make them proud.
***********
"Looks like some people didn't listen and get their face masks…" Sherlock said with a sigh.
He stood among the rest of his peers, the Heroic Rank Adventurers. It felt a bit odd, seeing as he was the shortest among them, but he chose to ignore the fact and hoped everyone also did the same.
Thankfully, no one brought it up.
"They must be confident of their tolerance level. I mean, look at us." Richard smiled at Sherlock. "We're also not wearing any."
"That's because we're stronger, obviously." Britta sighed.
The quality of their Mana was a lot greater than Miasma that would be drifting in the air, so there was really no chance for them to be poisoned with such a method.
Besides, even though none of them went out and said it, all the Heroic Rank Adventurers had masks among the load they carried. Not only that, but they had Mana Potions of all kinds so they could treat Miasma Poisoning if it ever happened to them.
Of course, given the limited amount they carried, it was doubtful that they would share their goods with careless Adventurers.
"I suppose this is a good opportunity for peddlers to make some money." Sherlock shrugged. "I even saw a bunch of them on my way here."
It wasn't strange for peddlers to enter Dungeons, especially if it was a large scale operation like a Raid or Conquest.
That way, they could sell their goods at absurdly high rates. Depending on the difficulty of the Dungeon, and the desperation of the Adventurers inside, their rates could go from three times more than the usual market price to up to ten times.
The Adventurers involved would have no choice but to buy those items—whether it be Potions or Enchanted Items—due to their precarious situation.
That alone made it a profitable venture; enough for peddlers to risk their lives by entering dangerous Dungeons… just to make a lot of money.
"Well, there's no need to focus on those behind us. It should be the opposite, don't you agree, Jet?"
As the Guildmaster's words echoed amongst the strong, everyone cast their gaze on the man in his dark coat and gentlemanly hat.
Even now, he held his briefcase like a traveling businessman, and he gave off an air of formality.
More importantly, he had remained quiet for most of the conversation.
Until now.
"I wouldn't say I agree, but… I do know one thing." Jet glanced left and right, ensuring his eyes met every single one of his comrades.
Then, he stared ahead, at the massive entrance of the Dungeon.
"A Dungeon does not discriminate between the strong or weak. If we don't focus on the task at hand, we could be the ones to die."
His words had a grim tone attached to them as he spoke the grim truth.
There were cases of strong Adventurers dying in Dungeons, just as there were circumstances where weaklings were slaughtered.
Most Adventurers, strong or weak, perished this way.
As a result, the hubris of the strong was something that had to be cut off as soon as one possibly could.
Within a Dungeon, there were unknown creatures that lurked in the dark.
Human understanding could not comprehend them, just as they could not understand the nature of their home.
Till today, Dungeons largely remained a mystery.
"I have a question for you all." As tension rose in the air, and the moment of reckoning drew near, Jet's calm voice once again echoed out.
"What do you think is the most primal aspect of man? Our most base nature?"
The faces of many displayed surprise. Still, some attempted to answer, giving a unanimous answer that most would agree with.
"Fea—"
"Many will call it fear, but I disagree." Jet added, his voice somber and dark.
"Man's most primal nature is ignorance; a blank slate that knows nothing about the world or how it works."
Even babies had this integral, base nature of man.
"But, how then do we get to fear?"
The answer was simple. It existed in the process in-between
"Ignorance breeds curiosity… the desire to know more about the world… to understand how it works."
But it didn't stop there.
"Curiosity breeds knowledge. And that knowledge…" Jet cast his gaze on the Dungeon with intense eyes.
"… It leads to fear."