Why Won’t It Break?

In the end, Rowen apologized to me and stepped back.

At times like this, Barkal’s way of handling things didn’t seem so bad.

Watching Rowen’s retreating figure, such thoughts came to mind.

“Ar- are you calm now, brother Dmihtan?”

“I’m fine.”

It wasn’t that I was angry at Rowen or anyone else in particular. I was just bristled at what Thrag had put me through all this time.

“I’m truly relieved. This is the first time I’ve seen you so upset, brother Dmihtan.”

I couldn’t even remember if I had lost my temper that much. Or rather, not remembering it somehow made her words sound even more convincing.

But the same went for Serena.

“Are you not on good terms with the Hyrat Order?”

I asked bluntly. After all, Serena, who was usually the most composed among us, had shown such a reaction.

“There’s no way we can be on good terms!”

Serena said, clenching her fist tightly.

“If you’re a believer in the Holy God, you should love everything and act as a mediator. But the Hyrat followers… You know, right?”

I knew.

It was no coincidence that ‘Judgement’ was attached to one of Hyrat’s epithets.

Witch hunts and the inquisition of heretics. All sorts of religious terrors in this world were overseen by ‘Hyrat’.

“Also, because the followers of Hyrat make uncompromising judgement into doctrine, they often clash with us believers of Liberas.”

So, it was only natural for her to dislike them.

“Oh, but of course, I still love those Hyrat followers, too! That’s what we Liberas followers do!”

Serena said with a smile. For all her talk, she had looked like she was about to crush Rowen’s hand earlier.

“But wasn’t that red light just now from the jewel?”

In response to Serena’s question, I took out the ‘Right Eye.’

It had settled down now, but what was that light earlier? I had moved far from the ritual circle by then.

One way or another, if it kept acting up like this, it was bound to cause trouble while I had it in my possession.

I wanted to offer it as a sacrifice as soon as possible. With that thought, I decided to try breaking the ‘Right Eye.’

Destroying the item would count as an ‘offering’ too.

Clang—!

Placing the ‘Right Eye’ on the ground, I immediately tried to pierce it with the Blood-Colored Awl.

No, to be exact, it only went as far as an attempt. The ‘Right Eye’ didn’t even have a scratch.

It didn’t work.

As expected, an item of ‘divine rank’ wouldn’t break.

Still, I had hoped. The Blood-Colored Awl was ‘divine rank’ too. I wanted to see which would win between shield and spear.

“There’s not even a scratch on it……”

Serena also seemed flustered.

After all, she had just seen the Blood-Colored Awl, which had even wounded that ‘Black Knight’, do nothing. Unsurprisingly, not knowing the circumstances, she could only be taken aback.

So now, how should I handle the ‘Right Eye’? It felt wasteful just to throw it away.

Ah, right.

Let’s find a Pantheon.

In 《Dungeon God》, one way to gain faith is ‘innate faith’, but most get religion by praying at the Pantheon.

You could offer sacrifices directly to statues of the gods at the Pantheon, so maybe even items that can’t be physically destroyed could be dealt with that way?

“Are you thinking of destroying the jewel?”

“That’s right.”

“Let me try.”

I doubted she’d succeed.

Besides, if she did break it, it would increase Serena’s faith, not mine.

But seeing her confident face, I handed her the ‘Right Eye.’

She placed the ‘Right Eye’ between her palms.

“Hrrraaaaah……!”

She began to wring it as if squeezing it, but unsurprisingly, it didn’t budge.

“Nnnngh……!”

Perhaps pricked in her pride by the unscathed state of the ‘Right Eye’, Serena put even more strength into it.

“That’s enough, Serena.”

“No! Just a little bit more!”

I said that was enough! To stop her, I shook Serena’s shoulders.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

Serena panted hard, sweat beading on her forehead from her useless effort.

Even with that gorilla’s grip, she couldn’t break it. As I thought, it was impossible to forcibly destroy a ‘divine rank’ item.

“Can I try just one more time!? Just one more!”

Serena kept begging. I barely managed to stop her.

* * *

“Brother!”

Serena and I returned to the Bearded Cat Inn after our promised private time, only to find Barkal waiting for us.

He looked so happy, his emotions could be read even through his skull helmet.

From the look of him, it seemed he’d been off to the Adventurer’s Guild to get a big boost in confidence.

“Kahahahat, now the honor of the Red Wolf Tribe has been spread to all! I did it to help you pass the Journey of Proof!”

Come to think of it, there was the Journey of Proof. To be recognized as a true barbarian of the Red Wolf Tribe, one had to build social prestige.

Or bring back the head or traces of an equivalent monster.

Barkal had made a ruckus at the Adventurer’s Guild not for himself, but for my Journey of Proof.

“Thank you, brother.”

Honestly, I hadn’t even given it a thought. Sorry, Barkal. I hadn’t even planned to return.

“You are my brother! There is no need for thanks!”

Barkal let out a hearty laugh with a loud kahaha. Watching him laugh, I started to feel even more apologetic.

Even so, I had no intention of returning just yet. Surviving came first.

“By the way, while you two were out, this came!”

Stopping his laughter, Barkal rummaged in his things and pulled out two notes.

Looking closely, they weren’t really small notes. It had just looked that way because of Barkal’s huge frame; they were simply official documents.

Both bore the seal of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“What do they say?”

“I don’t know the details!”

He could read, so why?

What am I going to do with this brute? If you rely only on your body and don’t study, you’ll be in trouble. Although with a body like that, I guess you rarely need to use your head.

Casting a glance at Barkal, I began to read the documents he brought.

One was about the rank of the ‘Dungeon God’ party.

“What’s it say?”

Noticing that it had to do with the party, both Serena and Barkal perked up.

“Our party is currently temporary silver-grade.”

Both nodded.

I briefly explained the content of the document to them.

In order to formally reach ‘silver-grade’, we had to take on four or more copper-grade or higher dungeon requests.

Of course, there would be further exams later. But those were the requirements for receiving temporary silver-grade.

“We have completed two copper-grade or higher dungeons so far, right?”

At Serena’s words, I nodded.

Lurudan Forest and the Iushil Underground Dungeon.

The dungeon in Lormond’s Crypt wasn’t via the Adventurer’s Guild, so it didn’t count among our accepted requests.

“So basically, we need to accept at least two more copper-grade or higher requests to shed the ‘temporary’ label.”

As expected of Serena. She might not phrase it perfectly, but she understood immediately.

We enjoyed the benefits of silver-grade for now but couldn’t be satisfied being ‘temporary’ forever.

Not to mention, for the sake of reaching ‘gold-grade’.

“Aren’t we copper-grade? I like copper!”

That’s enough out of you.

Half-ignoring Barkal, I examined the other document.

This one was about the dungeon that appeared underground.

It stated that a banquet was being prepared for the adventurers who had saved Iushil.

The host was Edmund Steldian. The venue: Iushil Castle at the end of Iushil Hill.

He was going out of his way to cover up the desecration of his father’s grave. Good for you, Edmund.

“Are we, the ‘Dungeon God’ party, going to take part in this banquet?”

Barkal and Serena both craned their necks to read the document with me. Serena popped the question.

“Some adventurers say that a banquet hosted by the state is an adventurer’s final destination.”

Final destination? Why?

As I looked at her quizzically, Serena continued.

“A banquet in a city like Iushil would attract many nobles.”

“So what?”

“If you catch the eye of a noble, you could even become one of their private soldiers.”

After hearing her, I understood somewhat.

It meant that instead of risking your neck as an adventurer, you could secure a steady salary as a civil servant. Who wouldn’t want perfect job security?

“It could go even further, and you might catch the eye of royalty. Then you’d be even safer, and your life would really be set!”

Serena smiled brightly, happy with her own knowledge.

I wanted to reply, “Isn’t your family just as influential?” but decided to hold back since it was a personal matter.

“Safety! That’s not a word for barbarians!”

Barkal thumped his chest, making a loud thump! and made his bold declaration.

I did prefer safety. Frankly, I’d take a secure position if I could.

The problem was, given my circumstances, that ‘safety’ was just a pipe dream.

The Rune of the Abyss, which was slowly gathering.

And the God who would foam at the mouth if I did nothing.

On top of that, Barkal, who I couldn’t help but wonder how he’d react if I said I was quitting the Journey of Proof.

Moreover—

“Sitting around does not suit me.”

A necromancer stuck in one place had no idea what kind of trouble might find him.

“So, should we refuse the banquet then?”

Serena looked a little disappointed but didn’t seem opposed to skipping the banquet.

“That’s not it.”

I was rejecting a ‘secure job’, not the banquet itself.

“Isn’t it unfair?”

“Yes?”

“Even though it wasn’t an official request from the Adventurer’s Guild, it doesn’t count towards our record.”

We did get paid, but still. The 50 gold coins were for helping with the grave-robbing, not for keeping our mouths shut.

So—

“We’re going to the banquet.”

To blackmail Edmund.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep