Chapter 69 | Survival Guide for the Otome Game's Villain

“Dungeons are the birthmarks of this world.”

Erich couldn't remember where he had read those words, but he found them exceptionally fitting.

Dungeons of all sizes were scattered across the world, hidden in deep mountains, barren deserts, ocean depths, and even beneath cities, like unhealing scars on the earth. Scholars had argued for centuries over their origins without reaching a consensus. Some claimed they were creations left by the demon race, clumsy imitations of the Abyss, while others insisted they were natural wonders, no different from oceans or volcanoes, which just happened to spawn both monsters and riches.

To adventurers, what a dungeon actually was didn't matter. What mattered was what lay inside, and how much it could be sold for.

“As for Vaughan's Devourment, the most common legend around here is...”

By the campfire, Marcus poked a dry branch into the flames, the firelight casting flickering shadows across his face. This was the evening of their second day inside Vaughan's Devourment. The teleportation array leading to the third floor was just ahead, and the group had stopped to make their final preparations.

“In the distant past, the evil ancient serpent god, Vaughan, was slain here by the Lord of Dawn and the Earth Mother. The serpent god's massive fangs pierced the earth, and his death throes warped the life and laws of this land. That was how Vaughan's Devourment came to be.”

Marcus wiped his shield and added, “Legends aside, it gets more dangerous with every floor down. Those snakefolk aren't easy to deal with.”

Erich had run plenty of dungeons in the game, so he was fairly familiar with such places. However, he had never heard of Vaughan's Devourment. Most of Starspire's main storyline revolved around the academy, the Royal City, and a few famous ruins. Storylines further away usually headed north toward the Abyss. This dungeon, located at the southernmost tip of the empire near the sea, had never even appeared on the map.

Taking advantage of the break, Erich decided to ask everything he wanted to know.

Rift City, the city directly above the dungeon, was located in Greenstone Province, which belonged to the Haver family. In name, Vaughan's Devourment was Haver territory, but in practice, it was managed by the Adventurers' Guild year-round. Anyone with the skill could go down and harvest its treasures; the guild took a cut, and everyone got what they wanted. The commission the Gray Fang adventuring party took this time was to complete a trade with the snakefolk on someone's behalf, and incidentally try to find out why snakefolk activity had been unusual lately.

“Completing a trade deep inside a dungeon,” Erich clicked his tongue. “That doesn't sound easy.”

“Which is why the pay is high,” Marcus grinned. “High risk, high reward, kid. That's the adventurer's way.”

Erich silently calculated the distance. Rift City was at the southernmost tip of the empire, while Radiant City was deep in the empire's heartland, with more than half the empire separating them. Even if he recovered and wanted to return, just traveling there would take a long time. Furthermore, inside a dungeon, any form of long-distance communication was useless. He had absolutely no way of knowing what was currently happening in Radiant City.

How was the young princess's injury? Who was behind the attackers? And just how much did Isabella know? These thoughts surged up, only to be suppressed by Erich. It was useless to think about them now.

“What are you thinking about?” A head leaned in, pink hair catching the warm glow of the campfire. Lilith stood before him, hands on her hips. “Snap out of it, Mr. Swordsman. The captain is handing out supplies.”

Mr. Swordsman.

Speaking of this title, it went back to two days ago. After deciding to accept Erich into the party, Marcus had asked about his plans. Erich had originally intended to join as a mage, but when he honestly admitted he only knew first-tier magic, Lilith had visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

“First-tier?” Lilith had sized him up, most of the wariness in her voice vanishing. “Well, that's quite... a solid foundation. Fine then. From now on, you'll listen to me regarding magic matters in the party. I won't look down on you.”

As she spoke, she had patted Erich on the shoulder, acting like a senior mentoring a junior.

Lilith was only a year older than Erich, and at most, she was at the second-tier level. In terms of power, she might not even match Erich's max-leveled first-tier magic. But Erich had thought about it and ultimately decided not to expose her. Having just joined their team, he couldn't very well crush the young girl's self-esteem right off the bat. So, he took the opportunity to borrow a spare longsword from Marcus and acted as a swordsman.

The first weapon he had picked up upon coming to this world was a sword. After a long detour, he had returned to his old trade.

With Erich's addition, the party's progress went smoother than expected. The main monsters on the second floor were various creatures infested with fungi, which the Gray Fang adventuring party called “mycobeasts.” These things didn't have high attack power, but the trouble was that they traveled in packs. When they swarmed all at once, the pressure on the frontline was considerable. But to Erich, they were practically a godsend.

A mycobeast's individual attack wasn't high; the corrosive spores they emitted were the real trouble. But to Erich, these low-attack, high-frequency-attack monsters were the perfect nourishment. Over the course of two days, his shattered body had actually recovered by seventy to eighty percent.

He didn't tell anyone about this. The party assumed he was just a destitute student with decent swordsmanship, and he was happy to play along.

“Thanks,” Erich said, taking a small piece of dry ration from Lilith. The ration was hard enough to chip a tooth, but he had grown used to it over the past two days.

Sitting on the other side of the fire, Grace said without looking up, “Lilith, stop teasing the newcomer. Erich, let me look at your hand wound again.”

“It's much better, really.” Erich raised his right hand and shook it slightly. The wound on his palm, which had been pierced by the black dagger, had already healed. With Grace's healing magic, it had recovered much faster than expected.

“Nasha is back,” Marcus suddenly stood up.

Extremely light footsteps echoed from the darkness. The pale green-haired elf stepped out from the shadows and nodded to everyone. “I checked the teleportation array; it's still functional. There are traces of snakefolk activity near the entrance to the third floor. They're very fresh, and there are quite a few of them.”

“Just as I thought.” Marcus rubbed his chin. “Those reptiles really are restless. Alright, you all heard her. Past this point is snakefolk territory. Are you ready?”

Grace packed her ointment back into her belt pouch, Lilith patted the dust off her skirt, and Erich swallowed his last bite of dry ration, standing up and brushing his hands off.

Marcus was the first to extend his hand. Grace placed her hand on top of his, followed by Nasha, and then Lilith, whose hand sat at the very top. She looked back at Erich and nudged her chin.

Erich blanked for a moment. He had thought he was just an outsider tagging along, so he wouldn't be included in this. But Lilith had already freed a hand, grabbed his wrist, and forcefully pressed his hand onto the stack.