Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka Gaiden – Sword Oratoria - Volume 2 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 INCIDENT 

Aiz’s battle party entered the Dungeon through Babel Tower at noon as planned. 
Goblins and kobolds attacked them within moments of entering the first floor, but they were quickly dealt with. With Aiz and Tiona acting as scouts and the front line of their formation, it didn’t take long for monsters to realize they didn’t stand a chance. In fact, the path in front of the two girls was practically clear from that point on. Other adventurers also noticed their presence and were careful not to get too close. 
They breezed through the upper levels and proceeded all the way down to the seventeenth floor. 
“Ahhh, I feel like myself again with Urga in my hands.” 
“Miss Tiona, has your weapon been remade?” 
“Yep, this is her! Urga, the second! Still hot off the anvil~!” 
Tiona casually spun the hulking double-bladed sword Urga around in her right hand as she responded to Lefiya’s question. She had picked up the made-to-order weapon from Goibniu Familia just before their excursion began. She looked like a kid who had just left a candy store with the biggest lollipop imaginable. 
It was a little bit thicker than Urga the first, and most likely sharper, too. It required a ridiculous amount of time and resources for the High Smiths to create, more than even Aiz’s Desperate. Tione used the fruits of their efforts to recklessly dive at an oncoming liger fang, slicing through the beast like a knife through butter. 
“Goibniu Familia’s smiths must’ve worked half to death…” 
Tione sighed to herself as she pulled the magic stone out from what was left of the monster’s body. Although Lefiya had been assigned the role of supporter for this journey, Tione joined her in collecting the stones and drop items, placing them into long, tubular backpacks. 
Finn and Riveria enjoyed the show as Aiz made quick work of another liger fang. The blond swordsman then collected its magic stone and a drop item, liger fang fur, by herself. She had to aggressively engage monsters in combat in order to earn enough money to pay off the rapier, but the real money was waiting in the Dungeon’s lower levels and Deep Levels. 
In general, as one ventured deeper into the Dungeon, they would find stronger and stronger foes. And as the monsters got more powerful, the loot after defeating them would also become more valuable. That’s why, for the strongest adventurers like Aiz, it was much more efficient to get to the lower levels as quickly as possible. 
The path to 40 million valis was going to be a long one. Aiz treated this as a warm-up as she cleared the way to the deep levels for the rest of the battle party. 
“The Goliath’s not here. Someone take care of it?” 
“Hmm, most likely the adventurers of Rivira slew it. Bad for business if no customers can get through.” 
The battle party had arrived at the very back of the seventeenth floor, a cavern that was large enough to allow large groups to pass through it all at once. Tiona and Finn couldn’t see the floor boss—a category of monster known as Monster Rex—that could slow down the advance of adventurers indefinitely. Instead, comparatively smaller monsters like Minotaurs roamed the open space unhindered. 
Aiz and the others advanced straight through the boss-less cavern. Tione and Finn jumped into the fray to help finish off a few aggressive Minotaurs. Even though Lefiya was not very good at close-quarters combat, she managed to get in a few hits using staff-fighting techniques she had obtained thanks to Riveria’s instructions. 
The group pressed forward until they arrived at a tunnel at the end of the cavern—the entrance to the next floor. 
“All right~. Break time~!” 
Tiona, the first out of the sloping, curvy tunnel, stretched her arms as high she could. As the rest of the party emerged, they were greeted by warm light shining down from the ceiling of the eighteenth floor. There were only a few trees in their immediate vicinity, but a lush forest spread out in front of them. 
Light and clean air like this was completely out of place in the middle of the Dungeon, which was crawling with monsters. It was hard to believe they were deep underground in this safe point, similar to the one that was on the fiftieth floor, where Loki Familia had made camp on their previous expedition. 
“No matter how many times I come here, this floor is always beautiful.” 
“Yes, it is…” 
Elves were known for their love of nature, especially forests. Lefiya’s cheeks flushed a light pink as she spoke and Aiz nodded in response. 
The group made their way into the forest, beautiful moss-covered trees and intertwining streams reflected in their eyes. 
“I believe…it is the ‘afternoon’ now.” 
Riveria shielded her eyes with her left hand as she looked up through the foliage. 
Thousands upon thousands of crystals covered every inch of the ceiling just beyond the shady, wide leaves of the forest’s thinning canopy. 
A large group of white crystals in the center of the ceiling shone like the sun. They were surrounded by a vast sea of other minerals emanating soft blue light that spread out in all directions. Each formation emitted a glow that looked like mums in bloom, and all of it coalesced to create a “sky” deep underground. It was a mystery of the Dungeon that took many an adventurer’s breath away. 
This sky changed with the passage of time, creating “morning,” “afternoon,” and “night.” However, the intervals were not equal and varied slightly from the ones on the surface, meaning that there were times when the cycles were almost identical and times when they were totally different. 

It was safe to say that these crystals were the eighteenth floor’s most distinctive feature. They not only covered the ceiling, but also sprouted from anywhere and everywhere on the ground, trees, and rocks. Even the crevice in the floor running along Aiz and the others’ path was filled with indigo blue crystals. 
“Hey, hey. Any thoughts? We gonna go straight through to the nineteenth floor?” 
“We’re stopping at Rivira first. If we don’t sell the stones and items we’ve already collected, our inventory will be completely filled in no time.” 
The Amazonian sisters exchanged a few words as the battle party proceeded from the southern forest and toward the “town” in the western portion of this floor. 
The eighteenth floor was the first safe point adventurers came across in the Dungeon. The scenery was so beautiful that it was often called the “Under Resort.” 
Continuing north out of the forest, the first thing that came into view was an open prairie dotted with crystals of various sizes and shapes. 
In the very center of the floor was a colossal tree, standing proudly in the middle of the vast, blue-green plain. It was called the Central Tree, and some of its roots created the tunnel that led to the nineteenth floor. 
The northern region was a marshy wetland, while the large forest stretched from the south toward the east. A break in the plain lay to the west, a midnight-blue lake with a large island in the middle. This magnificent scene of nature, wrapped in a beautiful azure “sky” and decorated with magnificent crystals, was a sight that one could not find outside the Dungeon. This view had quite the reputation—great enough that wealthy people on the surface would hire adventurers to take them there so they could see it with their own eyes. 
The eighteenth floor itself was shaped like a big dome with steep cliffs forming the edges. It created the sense that one was inside a miniature display. 
Aiz’s party made their way to the edge of the lake and crossed a massive tree that had been cut down to make a bridge to reach the island. Each of them enjoyed the scenery as they made the climb toward their destination. 
“I can barely remember the last time I came here!” Tiona said as she made her way to the top of the island that looked as though it had once been part of the main continent and somehow wound up in the Dungeon. The town of Rivira was constructed on the top of its steep cliffs. 
Two connected wooden pillars and flags over the main path bore the words TOWN OF RIVIRA. 
Simply put, it was a relay town for resupply, rest, and transportation of goods, operated by upper-class adventurers who were strong enough to make it down here as they pleased. 
It was originally part of the Guild’s plan to make exploring previously unknown floors easier for all adventurers, intended to serve as a frontline base. However, constant waves of monsters coming in from other floors required a considerable commitment of manpower—including hired adventurers who were Level 3 or higher—and of course, everyone needed to be paid. The cost of keeping the station up and running far exceeded the benefits, so the Guild scrapped the plan. Adventurers, however, had had other ideas and moved in to create the Dungeon town of Rivira. 
“Um, I have always been curious about this, but…The number engraved into the wood, ‘three hundred and forty-four,’ does that mean…?” 
“It does. That number represents the number of times Rivira has been rebuilt. This is the three hundred and thirty-fourth version…which indicates that Rivira has been destroyed three hundred and thirty-three times before.” 
“Th-three hundred and thirty-three…” 
Lefiya couldn’t take her eyes off the numbers even as she followed the group through the wooden archway while Riveria explained. 
Monsters were never born inside a safe point, but this was the Dungeon. No one knew when an Irregular would appear. Rivira was wiped out whenever one of those unexpected monsters reared its ugly head. 
In the event one did show up, all adventurers would evacuate the town and return to the surface rather than stand their ground. 
As soon as the storm passed, they would immediately return to rebuild. 
That was the main difference between the Guild, which had been forced to maintain a constant defense, and the adventurers running the town now. Rivira had come to represent the tenacity of the shadiest adventurers. Some referred to it as “the world’s most beautiful rogue town” in a mixture of contempt and praise. 
“Well, let’s go inside already. I wanna lie down, not stand out here all day.” 
Tione urged the rest of the party to pick up the pace. They entered the main street moments later. 
The town was built on the east side of the island, atop a two-hundred-meder cliff that looked out onto the lake. They used the natural formations of crystal and rock to ring the town with a rough wall. While not the prettiest of sights, it was sturdy enough and tall enough to repel most monster attacks. 
After walking through the arch, Aiz and the others immediately saw lines of tents, wooden huts, and small shops that would pass for street stands anywhere else. Many had been built into the side of rock walls with cheap materials in order to reduce expenditure—and for ease of reconstruction. So many corners had been cut that hardly any of the structures in town could really be called a building. 
Despite the simplicity of this town, little more than a village, pillar-like crystals and small clusters of minerals reflected the rays shining down from above, making the light dance on everything. Along with the deep blue lake below and its beautiful vantage point overlooking the entire floor, it became much more stunning than the average town. 
Passing by taverns that had been established in naturally occurring caves, Lefiya inquired as to their plan moving forward. 
“We’ll exchange our magic stones and drop items for money, and then…?” 
“Where should we stay? Should we make camp in the forest like we always do?” 
“Hmm, maybe we should stay at an inn this time? We didn’t bring any camping supplies with us, after all.” 
“But General…Spending a week here is going to cost a considerable amount of money! This is Rivira, you know…” 
Apart from the weapon and item shops, there was also a place to sell hard-earned loot. It went without saying that a town composed solely of adventurers would only do business with adventurers. At the same time, prices were so high it was almost scary to ask. 
Simple packs of rations and pre-owned longswords carried price tags with more than four zeros. It was enough to make the average customer feel like they were being scammed and want to scream in frustration. But there was a reason that all these goods were all at least twice as expensive as they were outside the Dungeon: the sellers knew their customers didn’t have any other choice. That was the harsh truth behind adventurers selling to their own kind. They knew how valuable water was in a desert. 
Of course, the lodging business was no different. 
“Tione, don’t be so stingy! It’s okay to live it up a little every now and then.” 
“Who you calling stingy?! You’re just careless with money!” 
Finn smiled as he listened to Tiona and Tione trade verbal blows before making a suggestion. 
“Why don’t we stay at an inn? I’ll pay for everyone. I know a few of you need to save up some money.” 
“…Sorry, Finn.” 
The members of Loki Familia had always passed through Rivira without stopping to avoid paying an arm and a leg for accommodations. Thanks to their leader’s generous offer, the group decided to spend the night this time. 
Knowing that Finn was referring to her, Aiz was quick to apologize. 
“Times like this are the only ones I get to spend money. So don’t worry,” Finn responded with a lighthearted smile. 
“…” 
“Riveria…?” 
Aiz thanked Finn just before looking up and noticing that Riveria had been silent all this time. 
The elf’s eyes were drifting between the beautiful white and blue crystals scattered throughout the town. She opened her mouth to speak. 
“It’s the town. Something feels off.” 
“Now that you mention it, the streets are much emptier than normal…” 
Lefiya took a look around as she echoed Riveria’s concern. 
They could count the number of people on the main street with one hand. The lack of travelers passing through the gate wasn’t cause for concern, but when the main square was just as sparse, they couldn’t help but feel something was wrong. 
Many adventurers used Rivira as a base of operations for traveling below the nineteenth floor for the simple reasons that monsters were never born at the safe point and that it was the only “town” inside the Dungeon. Equipped with shops, taverns, and places to sell loot or buy luxury goods, the town’s very existence meant they didn’t have to return to the surface for anything. It wasn’t perfect, but many adventurers were thankful it was here. 
Normally, the Dungeon town was bustling with people taking a break from the labyrinthine hallways and the dangers that awaited them on other floors. But now, it was practically deserted. 
In a plaza carved into a rock outcropping, surrounded by a small fence made from rusty old swords and spear shafts, Aiz met the gazes of Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya. 
“Well, um…What now?” Tiona asked. 
“First things first; let’s visit a shop. Talking to a local is the best way to gather information,” Finn answered. Spear balanced over his shoulder, the prum led the group away from the observation point and down the main street. 
Taking a closer look, they could see that many shop owners had up and left their stores. Eventually, they found a place that would buy their magic stones. The shop wasn’t much more than a tent, with a few pieces of wood for a counter, but the group made their way toward it. 
“You open for business?” 
“Huh? Ahh, Loki Familia, huh? You customers?” 
The Amazonian owner looked bored out of her mind as Finn approached her. “That we are,” he responded. 
Only the counter divided the inside of the “store” from the outside. An inventory of monster teeth that resembled elephant tusks, bottles filled with precious stones, and other items bought from adventurers were lined up inside the tent behind the owner. 
As Lefiya and Tione handed over the loot, Finn began questioning the Amazon under the guise of small talk. 
“The town seems different than I’m used to. Something happen?” 
“…Ahh, so you guys just came in, then.” 
The owner looked up from meticulously counting the magic stones and cringed. 
“There was a murder. An adventurer’s body was discovered in town.” 
Finn’s eyes went wide. None of them could hide their shock and surprise. 
Even without being asked, the Amazon scratched the side of her face and recounted what she knew. 
“They found it just a little bit ago. It’s a small town, so word travels fast. Now most people are up there gawkin’. No one’s died around here since that time two drunken idiots had one hell of a brawl and offed each other. That was quite a while ago, so this is big news.” 
The Amazon, wearing little more than a dancer would onstage, picked at one of the braids in her hair and sighed to herself. 
Finn decided to ask another question. “Are you sure someone killed this adventurer?” 
“I ain’t got a clue. All I know is what I heard as the droves hurried by. The details are beyond me.” 
“Do you know where the body was found?” Riveria asked. 
“Up the cliff from here, at Willy’s Inn. There’s bound to be a crowd of people up there by now. It’d be impossible to miss, so why not go and see for yourself?” 
The owner fell silent after that and focused solely on calculating the value of the items on the counter. Writing the number on a piece of paper, she placed it in front of the group. After the discount she had taken for the information, the figure was surprisingly low. 
Aiz and the others sold all their loot and left the tent behind without complaining. 
“…What should we do, General?” Tione asked. 
“Since we’re going to stay here, we can’t exactly pretend this isn’t our problem. Let’s go check it out,” Finn replied, beginning to walk. 
They followed the shop owner’s instructions, ascending the cliff past all the other shops crowded at the edge. 

Willy’s Inn was located at the top of the slope and opened toward the lake on one of the highest points on the island. Considering that Rivira was built on the flattest parts of the cliff face, visitors to the town had to deal with the steep gradient. Surrounded by sea-blue crystals and green foliage, the band climbed a stairway of wooden logs that had been installed by the town residents. 
Now that they were away from the center of town, they saw a large group of adventurers. 
All crammed into a rather narrow passageway, every one of them had gathered at the entrance to a cave. A billboard attached directly to the cliff wall read WILLY’S INN in big, bold Koine letters. 
This place matched their information perfectly. 
“Ah damn, how the hell are we going to get through all of them…?” 
“Is it really possible to go inside?” 
The mass of demi-humans created a living wall that had no obvious weak points. All their voices created a continuous din inside the passageway. Tiona and Lefiya strained their necks, trying to get a look inside, but Finn kept walking forward. 
“I’ll go have a look. All of you, please wait here.” 
The savvy prum made use of his small frame, quickly disappearing into the mob and vanishing from sight. “Ohh!” Tiona and Lefiya were thoroughly impressed, but there was one who couldn’t accept his decision: Tione. 
“General, wait for me!—Hey, all of you! Out of the way!” 
“Holy sh—! Loki Familia…?!” 
Tione’s threatening yells got their attention. One look at her clenched fists and the fire in her eyes, and the crowd hastily made a path for her right to the front. 
Feeling embarrassed for causing a scene, Aiz and the others quickly dashed through the opening and caught up with Tione. A few strong adventurers, serving as lookouts, stood in front of the main entrance. Apparently, Finn had made quite an impression on them, and they allowed the girls to pass without attempting to get in their way. 
Willy’s Inn was a natural cave that wound its way deep into the rock. The cavern itself was surprisingly wide and tall, spacious enough that the five girls could easily walk side by side. None of them felt the claustrophobia that normally accompanied entering a dark space like this. 
A counter was set up just inside the entrance, a reception desk of sorts. The walls were decorated with high-quality magic lights styled to look like lit candles. Three decorative daggers were hung on the walls like paintings. A rug with very thick fur was spread underneath their feet, most likely a drop item obtained from a monster that lived farther below in the Dungeon. 
The group knew, just by looking at the spacious entrance, that Willy’s Inn was one of Rivira’s best accommodations. The girls made their way past the stone walls and the glinting blue crystals that grew in their cracks as they caught up with Finn and went deeper into the inn. 
There were several wide holes on both sides of the path, with drapes hanging over them—the dark red cloth served as doorways to the guest rooms. Taking a glance behind one of the drapes, Aiz could see a bed and a few other amenities. 
It didn’t take the group long to find a room that was being guarded by three adventurers. They were let inside after exchanging a few words with the guards. 
“…!” 
Words left Aiz the moment she stepped past the drape. 
The room in the heart of the cave was dyed a deep red. The headless body of a man lay sprawled out on the floor, accenting the tragic scene. 
The body’s lower half was still clothed, the burgeoning muscles on his upper body giving contour to his dark, wheat-colored skin. The positions of his arms and legs spoke to the pain and suffering of his final moments. What was left of his head had been crushed underfoot, the remains looking like smashed fruit above his neck. There was no way to tell what his features had been before the incident. Small bits of flesh and brain tissue floated in the pool of blood that surrounded his body. 
“Don’t look, Lefiya.” 
Aiz refused to explain as she used her body to block the elf’s view of the room. After convincing the confused girl to stay back, she once again went inside to take a better look around. 
The rug that had originally been red was now dotted with dark black blotches. A wicker basket, a bookshelf, and the bed had all been splattered with blood as well. Magic-stone lamps that had been brought in to the rectangular room illuminated every bit of the aftermath of the atrocity. 
The crystals adorning the room looked as if they were weeping tears of blood. 
“Gory…” 
Tiona’s nose scrunched up as she made her remark. Two men who were already inside the room turned around as they suddenly realized they weren’t alone. 
One of the two adventurers kneeling beside the body and inspecting the crime scene frowned at the moment that Aiz and Tiona came into view. 
“Hehh? You two, you can’t be in here! It’s off-limits! The hell are my lookouts doing?!” 
“Hey, there, Bors. Sorry, but we’re coming in.” 
Finn addressed the angry human as if they’d met several times before. 
He was a hulking man with muscles to match. His threatening aura, strong enough to make anyone who saw him flinch, was topped off by a black eye patch. His upper body was protected by a sleeveless battle cloth that accentuated his wide shoulders and massive biceps. 
Bors Elder. 
An upper-class adventurer, he ran one of the main exchange shops in Rivira. He was the kind of guy who would say, “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is also mine,” right to another adventurer’s face without hesitation. He was, without a doubt, the most powerful resident in Rivira. 
Among the adventurers that gathered in Rivira, people with close ties to the Guild or legal power of any kind simply didn’t exist. The ones who ran businesses down here had grown tired of jumping through all the hoops of rules and regulations on the surface. The only thing they needed to become successful was the ability to keep others quiet. Power was king in this “rogue town.” 
At Level 3, Bors was the strongest adventurer in Rivira, and therefore the person in charge in times of emergency by default. Holding this position also meant that he often interacted with the leaders of familias that stopped by to use the town’s facilities. 
He had already stepped in and taken charge of this situation. Finn approached him, both hands up in an effort to be as unthreatening as possible. 
“We’re planning on staying here for a while. In order to focus on our own matters, we’d like to help settle this one as quickly as possible. That work for you, Bors?” 
“Heh, you sure talk the talk, Finn. Doesn’t matter if it’s you guys or Freya Familia, you always show up acting all high and mighty just because you’re strong.” 
“He should look in the mirror, don’t you think?” Tione muttered arrogantly under her breath as she listened to their conversation. A bead of sweat rolled down Lefiya’s neck as soon as the Amazon’s words reached her ears. “P-please be calm!” she said in a hushed voice, desperately trying to prevent a scene. 
“So then, what happened here? Any clues to this adventurer’s allegiance or the one who did him in?” 
“Ahh…The guy pushing up daisies wore full plate armor and brought some chick wearing a robe in here. His helmet covered his face, so I have no idea who he was. But the chick is gone, so there’s no doubt she’s the killer…Ain’t that right, Willy?” 
“Yeah, those are the only two I let in, Bors.” 
The other man in the room, next to Bors, was an animal person: the owner, Willy. He was of medium height and build, but his hair was an absolute mess. Stripes of red war paint on his face ran down both cheeks. 
The owner of the inn added to his story. 
“The two showed up last night. Both of ’em kept their faces hidden and asked me to rent out the whole place.” 
“Two people wanted the entire inn to themselves…? Oh.” 
“Yeah, exactly. My inn doesn’t have doors or anything like that, so voices tend to travel. Anyone could have one hell of peep show, if they wanted to.” 
Finn was thinking out loud when Willy jumped in to confirm his suspicions. Lefiya’s mind started racing as she, too, connected the dots, causing her entire face to blush bright red. 
“I could tell that was his plan from how giddy the man’s voice was. I couldn’t care less and had them pay up front…I walked away, half wishin’ he’d go to hell, only to have him end up like this. Gave me some pause.” 
The tone of Willy’s voice was like he was discussing the day’s events over drinks, but salty lines of dried sweat covered his face. Rubbing the back of his neck with a shaky hand, he knew he had messed up. A long sigh escaped his lips. 
Riveria, clearly mourning the loss of life, walked over to the body and placed the cloth over the remains of the man’s head. Finn took his eyes off her and asked another question. 
“Did you happen to catch a glimpse of the woman’s face?” 
“Her hood was so low, couldn’t even see her eyes. Same with the guy, couldn’t see either of their faces…Ah, but you know, I could tell one thing. Even with the robe, that lady had one fine body. One look at her and I was on the verge of grabbing at her without thinking.” 
“Ohh, actually, I caught a glimpse of her in town, too…Damn fine. Didn’t see her face, but no doubt about that.” 
Bors corroborated Willy’s statement, the two of them energetically describing her figure like an object of envy. 
As their breathing came harder, Tiona and the other women in the room stared at them with unamused, ice-cold gazes. 
“…But you know, this is your place, isn’t it? How could you not know something happened in one of your rooms? Aren’t you at the counter out front all the time?” 
“Gimme a break. Knowing that a woman like that was in the back, hearing her voice would’ve driven me crazy. Since I couldn’t be the one back there with her, I put up the ‘no vacancy’ sign and hit up the bar right away.” 
Willy shrugged his shoulders as he answered Tiona. 
Claiming he wouldn’t have made it through the night without alcohol, he said he spent the time with a bottle. Other adventurers who were at the bar were able to verify his story, giving him an alibi. 
Willy hadn’t come back to the inn until early morning. By then, the man was dead and the robed woman nowhere to be found. That much was certain. 
It wasn’t hard to figure out what the man had had in mind just before his death, based on the clothes on the floor and his minimal attire. Most likely, he had been caught up in the moment and slain with his guard down. 
Tione, who had been looking around the room out of boredom, came back to the group and made eye contact with Bors. 
“By the looks of it, no one saw the robed woman leave this place, did they?” 
“That’s right, not a soul. Got a few of my underlings out gathering info, but everyone’s come up empty-handed so far.” 
“Did either of them provide their familia’s emblem at the time of transaction?” Speaking for the first time, Riveria approached Willy from beside Tione. 
“Sorry, but no. He just dropped this enormous bag of magic stones on the counter and said he didn’t need change. There didn’t seem to be a need to ask for more.” 
Willy’s head drooped in apology. 
It was extremely uncommon for adventurers to bring large amounts of money into the Dungeon—there was no use for the bulky extra weight in battle. Therefore, the purchase of weapons, items, and accommodation was carried out using familia emblems. The business owners prepared documents similar to IOUs that became valid when an adventurer signed his name and stamped their emblem onto it. A shop representative would then go to the surface at a later date and collect the money from said familia. 
If Willy had conducted business as usual, they would have the names and the familia of either the victim or the perpetrator on hand. However, the transaction had been completed with a trade. There was no paperwork, no proof. The man who died must have been a solo adventurer—no one at this point had come to Rivira looking for a lost ally, and no one in town claimed to know him. And with no face to go by, it was highly unlikely anyone ever would. No one knew who he was. 
“No matter. We’re going to get the guy’s body to tell us what we need to know—Oi, where’s that Status Thief?!” 
Bors yelled out into the hallway. Almost immediately, the hurried footsteps of a human echoed toward them. 
The newcomer stopped in front of the entrance before entering with a short animal person who had been stationed outside the room. He had a bottle clutched in his right hand—glass the same color as magic stones and filled with a clear liquid—and handed it to the shorter man. Bors then unceremoniously flipped the corpse onto its stomach with a dull flop as the animal person, his mouth and neck hidden by a long scarf, approached it. 
Pop! The animal person pulled the cork out of the bottle and set to work. Pouring the liquid onto the body’s back, he slid his fingers across the dead man’s skin in a precise pattern. 
“If I remember right, Status Thief is…” 
“An item that forces our Statuses to appear. It is needed because we cannot release a deity’s ‘lock’ on our own.” 
Riveria stood next to Lefiya, providing context to everyone who stood over the corpse. Her eyebrows sank to a scowl as she watched the man’s fingers move. 
Only those who had the Advanced Ability “Enigma” were able to produce this item that was created from the ichor in a deity’s blood. Its main ingredient made the substance illegal. Status Thief would never be bought or sold at a store on the street, but it was occasionally on the market underground. It was better to assume that the item could be found in Rivira. 
Being that it only had one purpose and that the number of chemists who could create it was extremely limited, the number of bottles on hand at any one time was quite low. And of course, they were incredibly expensive. 
It was normally used to reveal the true identity of assassins and other criminals. Statuses always displayed an adventurer’s full name as well as the name of their god or goddess. 
“Where does someone pick up a skill like that?” 
“It’s not as if adventurers only started doing anything for money last week, you know.” 
Tione’s eyes closed halfway in annoyance at her sister’s amazement as the two Amazons watched the animal person’s fingers pick up speed over where the slain adventurer’s Status was hidden. 
Using the item to help loosen the “lock” and tracing complex patterns and movements to “pick” it open, the man didn’t take long to bring forth a large jumble of characters and letters that resembled an epitaph on the corpse’s back. 
“Bors, it’s done.” 
“Ah, good work.” 
The short animal person stepped out of the way as Bors leaned in for a closer look. “Son of a b—,” he muttered and slapped his forehead. “Totally slipped my mind. Can’t read hieroglyphs…Oi, you there! Go find one or two really smart-lookin’ elves and bring them back here!” Bors yelled to another adventurer stationed outside the room. 
“Wait. I can read divine hieroglyphs.” 
“Me, too.” 
Riveria and Aiz were quick to speak up. 
Bors’s un-patched right eye went wide in surprise. Shrugging his shoulders, he stepped out of the way. The two women came forward to get a good look at the Status. 
Riveria knelt beside the body while Aiz stayed on her feet. Everyone in the room was focused on them as two sets of eyes, one jade and one gold, worked their way through the glyphs. 
Riveria slowly opened her lips after a few moments. 
“His name was Hashana Dorlia, a former member of…” 
“…Ganesha Familia.” 
The moment that Aiz finished Riveria’s sentence—a deafening silence filled the room. 
Every noise was gone in the blink of an eye. 
A sense of panic was quick to overtake the stillness. 
“Ganesha Familia?!” 
“Oi, you sure?!” 
Aiz and Riveria kept their eyes focused on the body even while screams of fright filled the room. Finn and the Amazonian sisters were quick to notice the intensity in their gazes. 
The victim had belonged to a powerful familia—one strong enough to compete with the top dogs like Loki Familia. That knowledge was enough to make Willy’s blood run cold. He wasn’t the only one. 
Bors quivered as he lost his sense of calm, and he yelled a fact that could not be ignored: 
“This ain’t no joke—wasn’t the Strong Fist Warrior Hashana a Level Four?!” 
Aiz and Riveria had revealed the death of a powerful adventurer. 
Everyone’s train of thought arrived at the same conclusion—the robed woman was powerful enough to take down at least a Level 4. 
What’s worse, this incredibly powerful murderer could still be among them. A cold shudder ran through the room.