Deathwhisper part II
Part 3
After about twenty minutes on the main road, they arrived at the outskirts of the town, where they saw signs of a lively community area with fields, animal farms, and residential houses.
The road traffic increased significantly, causing Sandro’s carriage to slow down.
Sandro’s destination was the city of Linz, the main city in the Lentia region, which also hosted the local Adventurers’ Guild.
“How is the dungeon doing?…
Check the dungeon map…”
When Sandro asked, Zal unfolded the three-dimensional model of the dungeon.
This model showed several monsters that had already entered the dungeon.
“Wow~ it even shows the monsters inside the dungeon!
It’s like an aquarium!
Awesome!”
“Three, huh…
More will probably come…
But this is good enough for now…”
Soon, the carriage reached the entrance to the city of Linz, a large city that offered a completely different atmosphere from the cities in Ejis.
The city was surrounded by high walls and large, sturdy towers, making it look more like a massive fortress than a city.
Most of the buildings were made of stone and slate, robust and durable, unlike the European-style buildings made of brick and wood in the Ejis region.
Thus, Zal paid special attention to them.
“Wow~ the atmosphere of the western cities is very different from the east.”
“Yes…
because the west is close to areas that were previously invaded by the Doombringer…
Even the gates of hell are still located in the Crozis kingdom, to the southwest…
Thus, both the people and architecture from the western side of Juris to the kingdoms of Enzis and Crozis are more rugged and emphasize durability over the aesthetic beauty of the east…”
As they spoke, Sandro seemed to remember something and pulled out fluffy, animal-like ears that resembled dog ears from her storage and put them on Zal.
“Huh?
What’s this?”
“Golden eyes are distinctive among humans, but for Half-Beasts, yellow or orange eyes are normal…
Wearing these ears to look like a Half-Beast means even if people see the color of your eyes, they won’t suspect anything.”
“I see.
But why didn’t you give these to me to wear before?”
“I didn’t have them with me at that time…”
“Huh?
So, this is something Sandro keeps at the keep?
Why do you have something like this?”
Sandro did not answer and continued reading her book, leaving Zal to furrow his brows in confusion.
At the city gate, the guards conducted strict checks on travelers entering the city.
For the eastern regions of Juris, such scrutiny was only typical during emergencies, but for the west, it was the norm.
They did not check everyone, but nearly every carriage or cart trying to enter the city was stopped for inspection, including Sandro’s carriage.
As the guards approached the carriage, Sandro opened the window curtain.
As soon as the guard saw her face, he smiled respectfully and allowed Sandro’s carriage to pass through.
Though Zal was a bit curious, he was more focused on the city of Linz and did not ask anything.
Inside the city, Linz was bustling, though not overly crowded, due to being the central city of the Lentia region in the west, attracting traders and adventurers from all directions.
After the carriage delved deeper into the city, they reached a large building in the city center.
This imposing, fortress-like structure was the Linz Adventurers’ Guild.
Sandro got out of the carriage and walked straight into the guild, with Zal following closely, glancing around excitedly.
It was his first time in such a large city and his first visit to an adventurers’ guild, adding to his excitement.
The Linz Adventurers’ Guild was quite busy.
From the entrance, several groups of adventurers of various classes bustled in and out.
Despite the large hall inside serving as a reception area, the sheer volume of adventurers made the space feel cramped.
Sandro bypassed the adventurers’ service area and headed straight to a public service counter, the place for commoners to submit requests or news to the guild, which was noticeably less crowded.
Zal continued to watch the adventurers bustling around the guild, standing near the center of the hall with eager eyes, observing everyone around him.
Sandro let Zal take his time while she went to speak with the clerk at the counter.
“Can I help you?
Oh~ it’s you, Sandra!
Long time no see.”
Upon reaching the counter, the young female clerk with short brown hair greeted Sandro excitedly, seemingly familiar with her but under a different name.
“Hello, Relica…
I’m here to report some news…
and also to submit a request…”
“You have news and a request?”
“Yes, a dungeon has emerged in the northwest forest…
Some villagers have asked for help, hoping someone can take care of it…
Here, forty silvers…”
“Oh, you don’t have to trouble yourself.
Dungeons in this area are mostly level D and higher, so the guild already offers at least eighty silvers as a reward for clearing them.
Tell them to take their money back.”
“It’s okay…
It seems they want someone to handle it quickly.
Maybe if we increase the reward a bit, adventurers will be more inclined to take on the quest immediately…
Please register it as follows…”
The clerk hesitated for a moment but finally smiled and agreed to Sandro’s request.
“Alright, I’ll add the quest into the system right now.
Then I’ll send someone to scout the dungeon to determine the appropriate level for the mission.
It should be up on the board by this evening.”
“Okay…
thanks…”
“You’re welcome…
And do stop by again sometime.”
The clerk bid her farewell with a shy gesture, and Sandro nodded with a neutral expression before walking away from the counter.
She returned to the central hall to look for Zal and found him standing in front of the adventurer mission board.
“What are you dawdling for…
Let’s go.”
“Hey, Sandro!
Let’s do a mission together!”
Sandro frowned and lightly tapped Zal’s forehead with the side of her hand.
“Don’t say silly things…
Have you forgotten our purpose…
It’s not the time for that…”
“Oh right, what are we doing here again?”
Sandro’s eyelids twitched slightly, realizing that Zal had not listened to anything she said in the carriage.
She flicked his forehead sharply.
“Ouch!”
“We’re here to report about the dungeon…
and to set up the quest rewards…
so that adventurers can go to the dungeon quickly…”
“Oh, right, that’s why we’re here…
I forgot.
But since we’re here, let’s try doing a mission!”
Sandro’s expression grew more irritated.
Zal, sensing his impending doom, quickly covered his forehead with both hands, but Sandro switched to pinching both his cheeks instead.
“Ow, ow, ow…”
“I told you, it’s not the time to be doing that…
Let’s get going back…”
Zal massaged his cheeks to ease the pain, small tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
“Oh man, I really wanted to try a mission…
but I guess Sandro can’t take on missions anymore, being a practitioner of dark arts.
Even though I have a junior adventurer’s card…”
“It’s actually you who can’t take on missions…
If you try to use that card, they’ll find you…
I don’t have that problem…”
“Huh?
You don’t have a problem?
Does Sandro have an adventurer’s card too?”
Sandro smirked while glancing down at Zal which made her smile seemed sardonic, before pointing to the ‘Wall of Fame’ on the guild’s wall.
The Wall of Fame, or the Wall of Honor, was where the names and faces of distinguished guild members were displayed.
It usually listed the highest-skilled adventurers in the region or those who had completed the most challenging missions ever offered by the guild.
At the top of the Wall of Fame, Sandro pointed out the name: Sandra Deathwhisper, an SS-class adventurer.
The face on display was of a young woman with long gray hair and emerald-green eyes.
“Sandra Deathwhisper?
That face looks familiar…
Is that?…
Eh!?
That’s…!?”
Zal turned back and forth between Sandro’s face and the face on the Wall of Fame, realizing that the person depicted was undoubtedly Sandro.
Under the alias Sandra Deathwhisper, she was an SS-class adventurer in the Linz Adventurers’ Guild.
“That’s Sandro, isn’t it!?”
Zal, wide-eyed and astounded, spoke to Sandro in the quietest whisper he could manage, though he could not hide his agitation.
“…So it is…”
“Why are you an adventurer? Get faster updates on g.com.
And a top-ranked one at that!”
“Well, there was a time when I wanted to learn more about the guild…
Where else better to gather information than from within…?”
“But why rise to top-tier!?
Weren’t you trying to avoid drawing attention to yourself!?”
“Well, there…
were many reasons…
Mainly, I just went with the flow…
Before I knew it, I was already an SS-ranked…
But being a high-rank adventurer is quite convenient in many ways…
And having done many good deeds as an adventurer…
no one would suspect that I’m involved with dark arts…”
Zal was stunned by the revelation, speechless.
Meanwhile, he noticed adventurers around them starting to whisper and look their way.
Sandro then led him out of the guild.
Once they were back in the carriage, the two resumed their conversation.
“I’m starting to wonder whether the Peace Keeper organization is as formidable as it seems.
They have no clue a dark arts practitioner like Sandro is a top-ranked adventurer…”
Zal voiced his doubts with a skeptical look.
Sandro responded with a neutral expression, but a slight smile could be seen.
“They say sometimes the safest place is the most dangerous…
Those guys just look in the shadows…
neglecting the places lit up…
Plus, I know how they operate…
As long as you don’t act suspiciously, there won’t be any problems…”
“Isn’t the surname ‘Deathwhisper’ kind of suspicious?”
“…Many adventurers use such names or surnames, you know…
Setting a cool name first doesn’t hurt anyone…
Actions are more important than names…
Those who act all secretive and sneaky are more suspicious…”
Zal still felt skeptical, but since Sandro had remained undetected for so long, he had to admit that her approach was effective.
Thus, he did not argue further.
The carriage quickly returned to the ruins where a hidden teleportation circle was located.
Sandro then got off the carriage and teleported Zal back to the tower of Malachite Keep using that circle.
Once back at the Malachite Keep, Sandro continued Zal’s magical training.
However, Zal was somewhat distracted, excitedly anticipating when adventurers would enter his dungeon.
When Sandro informed him that it would take at least another day for anyone to actually arrive, Zal could not hide his disappointment.
That night, Zal continued to watch the dungeon layout without taking his eyes off it.
By now, eight monsters had entered the dungeon.
These monsters included three monkey-like creatures with roots wrapped around their arms and legs, two forest boars with sharp tusks protruding from their shoulders, two giant lizards, and one bear covered in a stone-like armor on its shoulders and chest.
The dungeon model displayed the three-dimensional images of these monsters within it, making it look like a small zoo, which Zal found endlessly fascinating.
He watched the little zoo all night until he fell asleep.
Part 4
The morning training proceeded as usual.
Zal could now cast spells barehanded at Sandro’s ‘minimum’ standard level, so she shifted the focus to studying and memorizing the basic spells of apprentice mages, which involved rote learning of runes and patterns—something Zal found extremely tedious.
He could not help but complained,
“Do I really need to memorize all of this?
It’s so boring…”
“The first level classes for mages are meant to establish the basics…
In higher levels, you’ll need to learn more complex spells or even spell fusion…
So, if your foundation isn’t solid, you’ll encounter problems…”
Despite his complaints, Zal continued to memorize and practice spells as Sandro directed, without giving up.
During this time, he felt a faint vibration from the dimensional space.
Focusing, he realized that the vibration was coming from the dungeon he had created.
Zal opened the dungeon layout, and the vibration stopped.
As he scanned around, he saw the three-dimensional silhouettes of three people in red, standing at the dungeon’s green-framed entrance.
Sandro saw it too.
“Sandro…
Is this?”
“Um…
Adventurers have entered the dungeon…”
Read ‘Doombringer the 5th’ before anyone else with more chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en