I Smell a Jackpot

“The skull helmet” is a symbol that points to a criminal among the Red Wolf Tribe.

However, there was no way Darsan would be wearing the “skull helmet”. Barkal’s family became “criminals” because of Darsan’s mistake, after all.

Despite that, the newly discovered “barbarian undead” was reportedly wearing a skull helmet.

Could it be that some remnants of reason persisted within the undead “Darsan”? That guilt from killing his own kin made him choose to don the “skull helmet”?

That must be why Barkal was agonizing about it. Maybe he was worried that his older brother had regained his reason.

“Brother, this has nothing to do with reason.”

Huh? Is that not it?

I could see through the gap of his skull helmet that his gaze was unwavering.

“We simply follow the Dungeon God’s ways.”

Our way?

“I mark it.”

Then Barkal pointed a finger at me.

“You do the thinking.”

The guy’s eyes were resolute. No longing, no hesitation.

“Darsan is already dead. Even if he has reason left, once you’ve killed your kin and fled, whatever is inside that body is no longer Darsan.”

The guy ran his hand down the blade of World’s Precipice.

The cold, sharp sensation could be felt just from looking at it. He must have decided that he’d one day strike his brother with that axe.

“So I mark it.”

“If that’s what you’ve resolved, I have nothing to say.”

The reason he was lost in thought must have been because, if his brother was alive, he was considering whether to perform the Red Wolf funeral rites.

No, that’s definitely it. Even Barkal can’t help but hesitate on such a matter.

“Did Edmund perhaps tell you Darsan’s location as well?”

“He did.”

See? He knows the location too, so it’s impossible not to be conflicted.

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know the exact place. But Edmund gave me this.”

Barkal dug through his inner pocket, fumbling, and pulled out a small piece of paper.

“He said he wrote it here.”

Wrote it down?

It seemed Barkal hadn’t read it, judging by how he spoke.

It must have been meant for Barkal, yet here I was, reading it first.

I unfolded the note I received from Barkal to check it.

The note had both an inscription and a simple map drawn on it.

A familiar topography bordered by three rivers.

Wait a minute?

Isn’t this Belhaim, the capital of the Kerval Kingdom?

I could never forget this terrain. In Dungeon God, it’s the main square where even more Players would gather than in Iushil.

I went in and out of this place hundreds of times in the game. It’s a nostalgic place where I formed parties and exchanged info.

“Brother, is it a place you know as well?”

“I know it.”

“What kind of place is it?”

Barkal didn’t seem to know, so I decided to explain briefly.

“We’re currently in a place called the Kerval Kingdom.”

“I know!”

“It’s the biggest city there.”

“Oh…!”

Adjusting the explanation to Barkal’s level, the guy nodded as if he understood.

“So it’s like a tribe’s village chief’s town, right?”

“Exactly.”

He’s not wrong—since there’s a king in the Kerval Kingdom, that makes sense.

But that means Darsan is somewhere near here?

“Wait.”

“Hm? What is it?”

I looked again at the map. The geography seemed familiar, yet something felt off.

I couldn’t put my finger on the reason yet. If it’s around Belhaim, I should know it inside out.

“Ah.”

I let out a sigh. Looking closely, I noticed one thing different from when I played Dungeon God.

There were three rivers running to Belhaim.

Back when I played the game, there were only two rivers leading to Belhaim.

That’s because a nearby active volcano, lagmor Mountain, would eventually erupt and change the topography of one river.

Of course, it’s just a sketch, so maybe it’s not entirely accurate.

So I called out to Serena.

“Serena, has there ever been a volcanic eruption near Belhaim?”

“A volcano?”

Serena paused to think.

“I think I heard Lagmor Mountain is a volcano, but I don’t think there’s ever been an eruption.”

That means the “volcano” hasn’t erupted yet. Which means…

“The dungeon in Lagmor Mountain hasn’t been revealed yet either.”

The dungeons that appear in Dungeon God are all random.

But there are some special cases—dungeons that appear as “events”.

Clearly, when I played, this event had ended, and Belhaim’s terrain had already changed.

But in this timeline, it still hasn’t happened.

Wait. A brilliant idea struck me.

The dungeon in “Lagmor Mountain” is one of the few event dungeons. In other words, a “fixed dungeon,” not a random one.

Thanks to that, I am certain of how the environment inside the dungeon is set up.

“Br—Brother Dmihtan?”

“Brother, your expression is strange.”

Whether or not they knew what I was thinking, Barkal and Serena each commented as they looked at me.

“Is it about money? Brother Dmihtan, I’ve noticed you always make that face when something profitable is happening…”

Impressive, Serena. She’s sharp.

“This is it.”

“Huh?”

At my words, Serena tilted her head.

“It’s a jackpot moment, brothers.”

“A jackpot… What?”

“… What are you talking about, brother?”

It seemed they found my words incomprehensible, and both expressed their confusion.

But it didn’t matter. To my eyes, the opportunity was clear.

* * *

Through the window overlooking the capital of the Kerval Kingdom, belhaim, the distant Lagmor Mountain was clearly visible.

Normally it was a tranquil peak, shrouded in blue mist and wind, but a report had come in that for the first time this morning, red smoke had risen from the summit.

There were simply too many bizarre rumors for this to be dismissed as just a whim of nature.

The rumbling of the earth from the base of the mountain,

Animals fleeing in herds in the opposite direction.

Lagmor Mountain had begun to beat like a massive heart once more, and it was clear to all.

Because of this, tension settled heavily in the royal meeting room.

Chancellor Adbon was the first to speak. His voice was low, but carried a quaver appropriate for the current situation.

“There are crowds of people saying they’ve felt tremors around the mountain base.”

At Adbon’s words, the chief high priest Elian, seated opposite, nodded.

“If the volcano erupts as it did 500 years ago, lava will block the roads and rivers. Ash carried by the wind could even reach the capital.”

“Still, we can’t possibly stop an eruption from happening, can we?”

“Exactly. At best, we can try to protect people’s lives. That’s all that nature permits.”

Such is the way of natural disasters.

At Elian’s words, adbon touched his lips thoughtfully.

“… Perhaps, it won’t end with just a volcanic eruption.”

As Adbon and Elian exchanged words, a woman with long, green hair suddenly interrupted.

Her arms crossed, she gazed out the window before turning toward the room.

With those words from Belhaim’s Adventurer’s Guildmaster, alona, all eyes turned to her.

“The Adventurer’s Guild’s scouting party detected a strange energy at the mountain base.”

“A strange energy?”

The ominous remark prompted Adbon to inquire carefully. Alona replied:

“A dungeon’s traces. Inside the newly active Lagmor Mountain, a dungeon’s presence has been detected.”

At her words, silence filled the meeting room. The atmosphere grew heavy in an instant. Adbon gritted his teeth and muttered,

“We’re going to have to face both a volcano and monsters. I hope at least it’s a low-rank dungeon…”

“Upon hearing a dungeon was found in Lagmor Mountain, I remembered something…”

It was Elian who picked up Adbon’s fearful words.

“In the past, there was a saying: When the temple of fire awakens, the earth will collapse and the abyss will open with it…”

“Temple of fire?”

“Yes, that was Lagmor Mountain’s name 500 years ago.”

Adbon frowned at Elian’s words.

“It almost sounds as if the dungeon in Lagmor Mountain is undergoing abyssification.”

“The odds are high that’s actually the case.”

Alona began laying out the guild scouts’ reports one by one on the table for review.

“According to the scouting team, the dungeon is at least gold rank in difficulty.”

On hearing these facts, sweat began to bead on Adbon’s forehead.

“It’s not certain, but they detected an energy similar to the ‘Abyssification’ we once felt in Iushil’s dungeon.”

“Ahh…”

Adbon’s voice quivered.

“A volcano and an abyssification dungeon… Is the sky cursing us?”

“It’s not just the kingdom’s military that can control this situation. The guild is already preparing Adventurers to respond to the monsters and ensuing chaos.”

Unlike Adbon, alona’s attitude was unyielding.

“Still, it may not be enough, so we must prepare as thoroughly as possible.”

“What do you mean by full preparations…?”

“We will call in Adventurers from guilds in other cities and cooperate with them.”

For a moment, a heavy silence fell over the meeting room.

Adbon.

Although fear still clouded his face, as Chancellor, he realized he had to soon make a decision befitting his station.

***

**New Names, locations, skills, and Techniques**

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