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Chapter 44

Arriving at the clock tower, I saw Thompson already there.

He was grinning as if something was very amusing...

"Oh? Mister, you\'re early."

I waved to him, happy to see him.

And then.

Thud!

"Mr. First Place!"

Thompson suddenly stood up and leaped towards me, even channeling his mana.

"What the..."

I almost attacked him reflexively.

I calmed down the mana I had instinctively raised and asked calmly,

"Mister, what\'s going on?"

"Ah, sorry. I was just so eager to show you this as soon as possible..."

Thompson scratched his head awkwardly and held something out.

"What is it?"

"It\'s a gift. A very precious gift."

"...A gift?"

It was definitely meant well, but coming from Thompson?

For some reason, I felt uneasy.

But I was wrong.

Clank.

"This is... no way?"

"Hahaha, as expected of Mr. First Place, you recognize it! This is a soul power artifact, one of the few in the world!"

A soul power artifact.

Its appearance was unimpressive, but there was no mistaking it.

It was that rusty iron ring I had carelessly given to Kayla.

"Mister!"

Unable to contain my emotions, I hugged Thompson.

Because of Thompson\'s large build, I looked like a rhinoceros beetle clinging to a large tree, but that didn\'t matter.

At this moment, Thompson was the most respectable person in the world.

"Hahahaha! I knew you\'d like it! I don\'t need to explain what this is, do I?"

"Of course! This is what I\'ve been looking for..."

As I was expressing my joy, a question suddenly came to mind.

"Wait, how did you get this? Kayla said she sold it?"

"Hmm? Kayla? What are you talking about?"

"I sold it earlier."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Kayla, who had arrived at some point, poked her head out from behind Thompson.

"It\'s definitely the same ring as before... How did you get it? Was there another one just like it?"

Kayla tilted her head in confusion.

Thompson also asked, still looking clueless,

"You sold it... so this was originally yours?"

"No, not that. The artifacts were distributed to each of us individually, remember? That ring was among the ones I received."

"What?"

Thompson\'s eyes widened.

It seemed like he finally understood the situation.

"Wait, to whom? And for how much did you sell it?"

"To a peddler I saw on the street. I got 300 gold coins for it."

"...300 gold coins?"

Thompson\'s wide-eyed face quickly darkened.

Seeing his expression, I could roughly guess what had happened.

"Mister, did you buy this ring from a peddler? One wearing a black hat?"

"...Uh, yes."

"How much did you pay for it?"

Thompson hesitated before answering.

"...600 gold coins."

"What?"

I couldn\'t help but be surprised when I heard the amount.

600 gold coins?

It was twice the amount Kayla had sold it for.

\'He got ripped off.\'

As I was thinking that, Thompson\'s attire finally caught my eye.

Unlike Kayla and me, who had completely changed from our appearance before we dispersed in the square, Thompson\'s outfit hadn\'t changed at all.

Ah, except for the large wooden shield he was holding in his left hand.

"So you spent all your money buying this?"

"...I did."

Thompson\'s face darkened.

It seemed he took my question as an accusation.

To clear up the misunderstanding, I immediately put on a bright smile.

"You did well. I really needed this."

"...Really?"

"Yes, and this is definitely worth 600 gold coins."

"...Is that so?"

Only then did Thompson\'s face gradually brighten.

To be honest, it wasn\'t a lie.

The soul power artifact was one of the items I absolutely had to acquire, no matter the cost.

Of course, thinking about the 300 gold coins that vanished into thin air made me feel bitter.

Whoever that peddler was, he was no ordinary scoundrel.

What kind of crazy person would make a 100% profit margin?

Perhaps Thompson felt the same way, as he gritted his teeth and cracked his knuckles.

"Still, that peddler... If I catch him, I\'ll crush him."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

"Of course, I got a good look at his face. I was suspicious he might be a scammer."

Thompson threw a punch in the air with an angry face.

Woosh-!

An unbelievable gust of wind from his bare fist tickled my nose.

"Just you wait. You scammer."

This was the first time I had seen such a side of Thompson, who usually only showed a simple and positive demeanor.

It seemed like he wasn\'t bluffing.

"Anyway, thank you so much, Mister. This will be a great help for the hunt."

"Haha, don\'t forget my kindness, Mr. First Place."

"Of course not."

As we were exchanging gratitude...

"But why do you need this anyway?"

Kayla, who had joined the conversation again, asked with a puzzled look.

"Well..."

Before I could answer the question, Mister Thompson grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer.

He spoke in a hushed tone.

"Mr. First Place, is it okay to tell her?"

"...Excuse me?"

"That you\'re someone whose soul grows. Is it okay to tell her? It\'s not a secret, is it?"

"Ah..."

Now that I heard it, I nodded.

It was understandable for him to think that way.

Thompson had witnessed the moment I leveled up, and it was probably the first time he had seen such a thing.

Naturally, he thought this fact should be kept a secret.

However.

\'Is there any need to hide it?\'

It was pointless in the current situation.

After all, I would be the only player in this world.

Moreover, since Kayla was my companion who would go hunting with us, she would see me level up countless times in the future.

Rather than being asked what it was all about then, it was better to tell her in advance.

"It\'s okay. It\'s just between us."

"Oh, I see. A secret among companions!"

Thompson seemed to be enjoying this situation itself.

He was someone who found it fun to have secrets.

As expected, unlike his appearance, Mister Thompson had a lot of innocence.

"...Yes, well."

I didn\'t bother to break his childlike wonder and nodded.

Just then.

"What are you two whispering about? So why do you need that thing?"

Kayla urged me to answer, sounding frustrated.

And Mister Thompson answered on my behalf.

"Miss, soul power actually exists."

"...What are you talking about? That\'s superstition."

"No, it\'s not superstition. And don\'t be surprised. Soul power is a power passed down only to chosen people, and Mr. First Place here is one of those chosen ones. Hehehe."

"What the... Yuhan, is that true?"

Kayla asked, looking at me as if I were crazy.

Wondering what to answer, I agreed since it wasn\'t exactly wrong.

"Well... yes?"

"Huh, so that\'s why you were making a fuss when I said I sold the ring?"

"That\'s why, if you find any soul power artifacts in the future, be sure to give them to me. Don\'t sell them."

"Even though it has no effect on me?"

At that moment, I noticed Kayla\'s eyes fixed on the ring.

Her eyes were gleaming with greed.

\'No way.\'

I quickly emphasized.

"Yeah, none at all. It has no effect whatsoever. It\'ll just be a burden to carry around."

"...Damn it."

Only then did the greed disappear from Kayla\'s eyes.

It seemed they clearly understood what I meant.

Just then.

"Ah, sorry I\'m late everyone. I had a lot of things to buy."

The last member, Barundel, arrived.

He was wearing a full set of heavy-looking equipment.

Every time he took a step, it echoed with a thump, thump! no less loud than Thompson\'s footsteps.

"...Barundel, are you alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your equipment. I was wondering if it\'s too heavy."

"No problem. This is the kind of preparation you need to hunt demons."

That\'s what he said, but...

\'It looks like it\'s hard to even move.\'

From my perspective, it was just an excuse because he wanted to have the equipment.

Even with preparation, there\'s a limit. There was no way he could hunt with such heavy equipment piled on.

"Sigh..."

I let out a deep sigh and looked around.

Kayla, the conspicuous red witch, even though it was nightfall.

Barundel, the dwarf whose appearance made you doubt he was a former demon hunter.

And Thompson, the mage who had to go to the front lines with only a shield.

It was a motley crew, but what could I do?

The party was already formed.

"Let\'s go now."

The only fortunate thing was.

I was a veteran among veterans, having experienced countless parties worse than this.

"Woohoo-!"

"We\'re finally departing."

"You demons, just wait!"

No matter what members I had, nothing could stop my hunt.

***

A manhole located in a secluded building in Sector 6.

We held our breath in front of it.

"...Shh, don\'t even breathe."

And for a while.

"Where is it?!"

"This way, this way, there\'s a trail here!"

Thud, thud, thud!

Soon, we heard the sound of the guards running fiercely after finding the traces we had deliberately left.

Only then did we exhale the breath we had been holding.

"Phew-! I thought I was going to die."

"...Barundel, we almost got caught."

"...Sorry. I tried to walk as carefully as possible..."

"Well, it\'s fine."

We almost got caught because of the rattling sound of Barundel\'s equipment, but anyway.

We managed to get here safely.

Creak-

I opened the manhole cover and beckoned the members to enter.

"It\'s still an unpleasant sight."

"Huh... to think there\'s a passage like this in a place like this."

"I\'ll take the lead."

Perhaps feeling a bit guilty, Barundel went down the ladder first.

After a short pause, Kayla and Thompson followed.

I also looked around to make sure there were no witnesses and then carefully went inside.

After successfully entering and closing the lid...

Whoosh!

The luminescent stones embedded in the walls of the passage lit up.

I wasn\'t surprised since I had experienced this once before.

"Amazing, amazing. Mr. First Place, are there many amazing stones like this in the original world?"

"Let\'s go down first."

I took one step at a time.

After going down without any problems, my feet touched the ground, and the party was waiting for me.

I did as I had done before and struck the wall with a different texture.

Thud, thud, thud!

"Ooh..."

Thompson, who was experiencing this for the first time, let out an exclamation of admiration.

Barundel, as someone who had experienced it before, started walking first.

"Follow me."

"Hurry up, hurry up. It stinks here so much I could die."

"...Alright."

"It certainly does smell awful."

The atmosphere was much more relaxed than before.

As we walked, the party members chatted with each other to relieve their boredom.

There was no problem. No matter how much noise we made here, it wouldn\'t reach the surface.

This meant that it was a safe zone from here on.

But then.

"Ugh."

"...I can\'t stand it anymore."

When we were more than halfway through, I couldn\'t help but frown and feel something was wrong.

\'The smell is a bit strong...?\'

This was a place I had definitely visited before for reconnaissance.

There was no such stench back then.

It was such a foul smell that just breathing made me want to throw up.

And what was even stranger...

\'This smell... from somewhere...\'

For some reason, this smell was familiar.

Soon, I recalled the memory.

Yes, this was definitely...

\'...Aldeon.\'

The top floor of Aldeon\'s magic tower.

It was the smell of rotting corpses I had smelled there.

At the same time I realized that...

I felt a shiver down my spine and a red light flashed in my heart.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A warning signal of danger.

Grrrr-

A beastly growl came from up ahead.

"Wh-what\'s that?"

"Why are those things..."

I spoke to the bewildered party members in a low voice.

"Prepare for battle."

I didn\'t know the reason...

But the underground passage had been breached by demons.