Chapter 5 – Kingdom

The rest of the journey through the forest went off peacefully, confirming that the Archer was truthful and that the bandit that ran away did not go to alert others to set up yet another ambush.

And so, the scenery quickly changed from an eerie and unnervingly quiet forest to seemingly endless green plains with large hills, some mountains in the distance and some trees here and there, a small river, and a massive ravine far in the distance.

“That’s the Deep Abyss Dungeon.” Meredith had told me as she nodded towards the ravine, having taken over the driving of the wagon to let Jacob get some more hours of sleep. “It’s a Platinum rank Dungeon due to how massive it is, and it’s also the main source of income for the Kingdom of Heligway. The War Company my husband works for is the one that explores and guards it.” She then went on and explained to me about how this Dungeon is possibly the oldest Dungeon in the vicinity of the Kingdom, and how even to this day it’s Dungeon Core was still not found.

The Dungeon is apparently an enormous underground cave lit up by natural crystals and filled to the brim with monsters of all types, the majority of which feast on the monsters that fall down the ravine due to being attracted by the Mana that is being leaked by the Dungeon Core or on the much weaker ones.

Luckily it only has one entrance, which is a fair distance away from the Kingdom and that is being constantly guarded, else the monsters inside would constantly swarm out and cause untold amounts of destruction and death.

I had asked Meredith if it was possible for me to join this War Company Jacob is affiliated with, but it would probably be some time before Jacob would hear back from them once they settled back down within the Kingdom, mostly because apparently the monsters within the Dungeon had been getting very rowdy, thus putting the War Company under great pressure.

That means that they are very likely looking for strong Mercenaries, and while I have no doubts that my class is possibly among the strongest ranged classes, I am very likely still far too low level to survive within the Dungeon being guarded by that War Company.

I would also love to have other Skills that are actually more powerful than just bullets. Healing Bandage is amazing, and I’ve experimented quite a bit with it recently.

A single hour was all it took to fully close and seal the wound perfectly, then it took another hour to fully remove the wound without leaving not even a scar behind. It was truly miraculous.

I also found out that the Healing Bandages do not fade away after being created and left aside, but I do not know if their healing properties have faded away or if they are still the Healing Bandages I create.

Healing Skills are truly among the best, but I’d love to have skills that are good can be used to deal with large groups of enemies, as I am sure that I’ll be facing such things within Dungeons. Or even outside of them.

Oh well, getting one such skill will all be due to luck.

I shook my head and drove those thoughts away, then rose my head to gaze towards the massive walls in the distance. It took a few hours, but we finally made it to the Kingdom of Heligway without troubles.

From what I can see, the Kingdom of Heligway is quite a lot bigger than the one I woke up in. Possibly three or four times bigger, with the walls being more massive and the royal castle standing high right in the back, sticking close to the mountains.

The place looked rich, with the walls and the land around it looking well kept other than some signs of battles still being visible on the walls and around them, possibly from monsters.

There are large mountains right at the other end of the kingdom, with the massive walls ending attached to them and the royal palace being built into the side of one of them.

The mountain chain isn’t that long, but it did give the impression of them being the spine of some giant beast with how strangely curved the peaks are.

“Home sweet home…” Meredith hummed from below me. “I can’t wait to give myself a nice hot bath.” She sighed, and I can tell that she had a large smile on her face right now.

Now that I think about it, I’ll need to find some lodging for myself once this is over. Though that all depends on how much I get paid at the end of my job.

…

Right, I still don’t know how money works here. Damn it.

“Now that I think about it, those clothes of yours need a thorough cleaning.” I blinked down at Meredith as she leaned her head back to look up at me with furrowed brows. “And you need a bath too… I doubt my clothes will fit you though.” I merely tilted my head while she scrunched up her nose and turned back towards the road. Is she… planning to house me perhaps?

I wouldn’t mind to be honest, but I do not wish to impose and abuse her kindness. But I also highly doubt that she’ll take a ‘no’ as an answer.

“I appreciate that, truly.” I nodded my head, a slight smile spreading across my lips. “Albeit these clothes are quite torn, so perhaps it’s best to just throw them away.” I mused as I poked at one of the many torn parts on my thick shirt. I’d rather not throw it away since it’s possibly the only type of clothing that can perfectly fit me due to my wings, but it has degraded far too much for it to even be wearable anymore.

“Nonsense.” Meredith sniffed. “I’ll probably need a Cleaning Crystal for both of them, and maybe a Repair Crystal for the shirt if it’s too damaged, else I can just sew it back up to tip top shape.” I just sigh at that and decide not to talk back or try to convince the woman otherwise. She probably is doing all of this because she feels indebted to me for saving her husband’s life, and then protecting them from the bandits some time ago.

“What are these ‘Crystals’ you speak of?” I shake my head and change the subject. These ‘Crystals’ she mentioned seem to be incredibly useful, so it might be useful information, especially if this ‘Repair Crystal’ can perfectly or mostly repair my rifle. It’s quite rusty so I’m afraid it’ll break with overuse.

“They are magical minerals with specific functions. They are found and mined within the Deep Abyss Dungeon, but also within other underground Dungeons.” Meredith started, but paused so to change the wagon’s course and dodge a large hole in the road, causing it to bounce and rattle a few times. “They are the biggest source of income for the Kingdom, especially the Health and Mana Crystals.” That indeed does sound incredibly useful. This world truly has a lot to offer.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of giggling and rustling coming from within the wagon, and I smile softly as I realize what is happening. The fond smile I see on Meredith face makes her appear even more beautiful.

“Right, keep your badge in hand, it’ll allow you to pass through the gates.” Right, of course I’d need some sort of identification to enter cities. Well, those that at least function well.

The importance of my Mercenary badge has suddenly skyrocketed by a great deal since it can grant me access into cities, and perhaps even allow me to step through borders in case there are some types of checkpoints there.

“Diaper emergency!” I perked up when I heard Jacob cry out from inside the wagon, but Meredith merely cackled and then flicked the reins, making the horses speed up, much to my growing amusement.

“Oh no! The horses are speeding up for some reason!” A snort escapes me while Meredith merely laughs, the sounds of despair and resignation coming from within the wagon being some sort of fuel to her joy. Poor Jacob.

I leaned back with a smile and took in the scenery around me while Jacob groans kept ringing out from below me together with Aisha’s giggles.

It’s strange how there are barely any monsters around here though. Were they cleared out by the Mercenaries within the Kingdom or was it built in an area with low monster population?

Or maybe they all fell down the ravine and into Dungeon since the Mana flowing out attracts them, thus sort of making the area safe.

If that’s the case, I wonder if there are even any monster extermination quests to take. I’d like to raise my Level a bit more before I try to join the War Company guarding the Dungeon within the ravine. Unless there are additional and weaker Dungeons nearby.

“Ugh! How do you deal with this?!” My lips twitch as Jacob groaned and retched down below, and I look down to see Meredith’s shoulders shake as she tried to hold back her laughter.

Oh well, I have time to find out about these things. Rushing stuff won’t help me at all.

Plus, I have a nice warm bath ahead of me!