"W-what just happened?"As the skin-prickling chill and horrible wails vanished in an instant, Chloe, still trembling, asked me as if it was all strange.Instead of answering, I dismissed the notification window in front of me and gave a small nod.'In the Mir’ellin Saga, evil spirits are defined as beings who, having harbored resentment, become wandering souls and drift through the nine heavens.'If evil spirits cannot resolve that resentment, they do not fully pass on.But when they come into contact with a higher grade of magi than themselves, their resentment is wrapped in darkness, sublimated to a higher tier, and disappears.Literally, they become one with the darkness.This shares a surface resemblance to an exorcism that borrows the power of a god, but its fundamental nature is different.If exorcism “comforts” resentment to help a soul pass on,this sublimation rite “transfers” that resentment to a higher magi.It is closer to entrusting the release of a grudge one could not resolve alone.In that process, it is true that I take on the “karma” of the souls that have passed on.'But it has no effect on me.'I checked my body here and there and nodded.Because within the body called Loen, a new soul — “me” — has already taken its seat.There is no room for anything else to enter.Instead, their karma condensed into an item and remained in this world.That is this [Orb of Karma].It is a requisite item later used in high-grade alchemy for [Homunculus] creation — in short, the soul that will enter an artificial body.In any case, my plan succeeded perfectly.I had trusted the Half-Human, Half-Demon trait of Loen — assumed to be descended from a high demon — and the singularity of being a Player, and it fit like a glove.'…Even so, it is not exactly a pleasant feeling.'Things unfolded as I’d expected, and I obtained a usable item, yet rather than feeling good, there was a strangely bitter aftertaste.As I briefly checked the acquired title and item, Chloe stammered and spoke up."Wh-why did this happen? The atmosphere changed all at once. The ghost sounds are gone, too. What did you do, exactly?""That’s what you should find out with a thorough investigation. Isn’t that your role?""Uh… I mean, yes, but you’re the one who strode in so confidently like you knew something.""It wasn’t any great certainty. I just thought maybe they were longing for the touch of others, and went in."Thunk—.When I rapped lightly on the stone gate and said that, Chloe frowned."You went in with that level of basis? What if something serious had happened…""It ended well, so that’s enough."When I shrugged, Chloe let out a deep sigh as if she couldn’t help it."Don’t do that again. It’s dangerous.""I’ll keep it in mind."I glossed over my words and stepped inside.We’d dealt with the worst nuisance in ruin exploration — the ghostly wails and yin energy.'There’s nothing else to hold us back.'What remained in the dungeon were just the monsters that had settled here, drawn by the magi.Let’s clear them quickly and finish the exploration.As I strode in, Ciel followed close behind."Slow down a bit! Hey!"Chloe, carrying her heavy backpack, hurried after us.After that, the dungeon exploration proceeded smoothly.A few monsters dwelling within the ruin rushed us as we advanced, but—Thud—.They died, skewered by the throwing daggers Ciel hurled.If you ask why a thud came from a dagger— it’s because the monsters struck by the thrown blades couldn’t withstand the force and were blasted into the dungeon wall.Daggers embedded in the wall, with monster corpses dangling, skewered upon them.It was closer to the power of a crossbow or arbalest than ordinary dagger throwing.Ciel approached the dead monsters, retrieved her blades, and wiped the blood with a cloth.Swish—.Black blood smeared the cloth, and the daggers regained their gleam.Watching that grotesque yet oddly reassuring sight, Chloe asked:"Where do those daggers even come from?"In response, Ciel showed the dagger sheath strapped to her thigh."I keep them here.""That’s pretty hardcore. Are you some kind of assassin? Does the Union have classes like that?""No, not something learned at the Union. Dagger-craft is one of a maid’s basic accomplishments.""What country’s maids are like that?"Having swiftly scouted the interior, we finally reached the last room.A sealed space made of stacked yellow-brown bricks.In the center stood a stepped altar, and atop it lay something like a jewel box placed with care.Chloe looked around and snapped a photo."This is at least a thousand-year-old architectural style, isn’t it? Impressive. I guess there’s no Dungeon Keeper.""Seems that way."The dungeon’s final boss, the “Dungeon Keeper.”Since it only appears in at least intermediate-grade dungeons, it doesn’t exist in the Spooky Dungeon.I climbed the steps and opened the jewel box.Click—.As the lid opened, a bright light flared and a notification window appeared before my eyes.[You are the first to clear the Spooky Dungeon. Selecting a reward.]Rattle—A roulette spun wildly in front of me.After a moment, it stopped, and a notice appeared that I had acquired a trait.Ting—.You have acquired the trait [Overload].'Oh-ho.'[Overload] was a trait I knew well — it temporarily amplifies one chosen stat.You can raise Strength to display brief superhuman power, or amplify Mana to rapid-fire spells.In exchange, when the effect ends, a massive backlash follows.Use it once and, for a set time, all Health and Mana are halved — you droop like a half-dried squid.Normally it’s too risky to use, but viewed purely as a power-boosting option, it’s handy in emergencies.'…Not bad at all.'I gave a small nod.If I could get this much even when public interest in the Seven Great Mysteries wasn’t that high yet, then once interest rises, I should be able to obtain much better things.I lowered my gaze and examined what else was inside the box.A neatly rolled scroll — the blueprints for the Carbonated Water Generator.And—"…!"My eyes widened when I saw a green-yellow gemstone emitting a soft glow.[Stone of Truth]'To think it would drop right away.'This Stone of Truth can determine whether what the other party says is true or false.Of course, whether it’s an “objective” truth is unknown, but at least you can clearly discern whether the target’s statements are true or lies.There’s the hassle of feeding it the target’s blood before use, but if I process it into a ring and set a tiny needle inside, it would be easy to use.Staring at the green-yellow gem, I pondered.'The drop rate of this Stone of Truth is 0.05 percent.'Even if you ran this Spooky Dungeon hundreds of times, there’s no guarantee you’d ever get it.'It’d be too convenient to chalk this up to mere luck.'Since this world doesn’t have a “farming” concept of repeatedly running a dungeon like in a game, I suspect it appeared as a first-clear reward.The rewards didn’t end there. Beneath the blueprints and Stone of Truth lay several yellow gold bars.Being ancient artifacts, each should fetch hundreds of millions of krone if sold.Curious about the rewards, Chloe scampered up the steps to peek into the box."What did you get? Hm?"But—Click—.I shut the lid so she couldn’t see the contents."Wh-why are you closing it? Show me!""I’ll appraise the dungeon clear rewards precisely and divide them according to contribution. But I won’t disclose the contents.""How is that fair! We split evenly! One-third each!""Fair, my foot. I led this expedition, and my contribution was the greatest. You were the one who suggested we quit midway; I forced us to continue.""…….""And if we’d assembled dozens for a ‘proper expedition’ like you said and split it evenly, your share would’ve been effectively nothing. Do you admit that?""Th-that’s…""Take what’s given when someone says they’ll give you something. No backtalk.""…Okay."Chloe drooped her shoulders and accepted my terms."Let’s head out, Ciel.""Yes, I’ll guide you.""W-wait, let me take a few more photos!"Click—.Chloe recorded the interior of the dungeon, inspecting the place here and there.Then she found something in a corner of the room and tilted her head."A pickaxe? Why is this here?""……."I closed my eyes without a word.With that, a long-if-long, short-if-short dungeon exploration came to an end.***Around lunchtime the next day.Knock, knock—"Ugh, my head."At the sudden knocking, Chloe rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up from the top bunk.Her roommate was already gone.The sun was high.Having come in late at dawn, she’d slept like a zombie and ended up skipping morning classes.But it was fine. Using the photos she’d taken by the heap during yesterday’s exploration, she could write a report and more than make up for any attendance points.On top of that, if she wrote an article about this exploration, the paper’s subscribers would increase, and her name would spread far and wide.And this wasn’t just some gossip piece — it was content worthy of her reputation as an archaeologist, so the expectations were beyond question."Hehehe."With this, even Pelluna’s little clique that looked down on her would shut their mouths.She couldn’t help but smile, her mood rising.But if the knock had woken her…Chloe slipped on slippers, rubbed her eyes, and opened the door.Creak—She looked left and right, but the dormitory hall was empty.'Huh. Was someone pulling a prank?'As she was about to close the door, she noticed a white envelope at her feet.Chloe picked it up.Too heavy to be just paper.She read the writing on the envelope.This is your reward for the dungeon exploration. If you want it converted to cash, come find me.'Converted to cash?'Puzzled, Chloe opened the envelope.And—"Uhk."She gaped at the heavy lump gleaming a sickly yellow inside.'G-gold bar!'Her heart pounded, and it felt like the blood drained from her body.She stood there in a daze, clutching the envelope, then hastily lifted her head to check that no one was around the hall.'N-no one saw, right?'"Huff, huff."Chloe pulled the gold bar from the envelope, breathing hard.That weight she felt in her palm—Market prices varied, but even a common Imperial gold bar went for close to 100 million krone.And this one wasn’t just a mere bar — it was an ancient relic.Add the latent value and rarity as an artifact to the bar’s base price, and ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) it might fetch several times that.In short, a value of several hundred million krone!Chloe gulped, then carefully hid the bar under her pillow.There wasn’t anywhere obvious to put it right now.'But… is it okay to accept something this big?'He said he’d divide the rewards according to contribution, but honestly, she hadn’t done much.She’d solved a simple Sudoku and handed out masks, that was all.Loen had disabled most of the dungeon’s gimmicks, and it was Ciel who had acted as the combatant.Sure, the ghost sounds had spooked her a little, but judging by the dungeon’s difficulty, the reward shouldn’t be that grand. Yet he’d cut this much as her share.'…Maybe he’s actually a good person.'His way of talking was obnoxious and the rumors about him were bad, but maybe he was actually kind.No one who gives you money is a bad person.Or… does he have an ulterior motive for me?"……."Chloe, having entertained that ridiculous thought for a moment, lightly slapped her own cheek and nodded.If she had to guess why he was looking out for her, it was probably hush money for that time Loen coughed blood and collapsed.For this amount, she’d keep quiet and then some.But why had Loen coughed blood and collapsed?'Could he be terminally ill?'They say people change before they die. Maybe the slight shift in Loen’s recent behavior was because of that.After mulling over various things, Chloe sighed and looked at the pillow where she’d hidden the gold bar.'For now, let’s not sell it and just leave it.'She wasn’t strapped for cash at the moment, so converting it felt wrong. Better to use the bar to do some research.It would be worth studying the casting method of ancient gold bars and the engraved patterns on them.Gulp—Chloe swallowed again as she looked at the resplendent bar.Just seeing it made her feel reassured.Now, there was nothing left for Chloe to fear.

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