Chapter 8: Reliable Silver Thorns
[Golden Sun Wood Tavern]
As one of the two taverns in Yafeng Town, the town closest to the Purple Crystal Dungeon, unlike its competitors that sell inferior alcohol and are always crowded with all sorts of people, the Golden Sun Wood Tavern always serves high-quality alcohol with a rich aroma and smooth taste.
Accordingly, the higher prices attract adventurers with some means.
However, today, the adventurers who should have been scattered around the tavern were oddly clustered on the right side, making the four people sitting alone on the left seem to have taken over half the place.
After all, that was the Silver Thistle Squad—a diamond-tier adventurer team where every member was above LV50.
It's not that the Silver Thistle team is particularly domineering, but anyone with eyes can tell that something is off about their atmosphere, and no one wants to risk provoking them at this moment.
Everyone on the other side drinks in silence, their hearts filled with both fear and curiosity, hoping to overhear a bit of gossip to discuss over the next few days.
The most striking member of the Silver Thistle team was the half-dragon Gal, standing at 2.3 meters tall even when seated, towering over ordinary people. Combined with his reinforced heavy armor, he looked like a wall.
In fact, he was indeed a wall protecting his teammates, having repeatedly charged to the front in countless battles to block the surging enemies and create a safe space for his teammates to attack.
The only downside was that Gal hadn't inherited his dragon mother's breath attack ability. Otherwise, when blocking enemies, a sudden breath attack would have been enough to defeat even a barbarian warlord on the spot.
However, the words coming from this half-dragon's mouth now betrayed no trace of bravery:
"It's over, it's over. The United Kingdom is probably no longer safe.
"Boss, in my opinion, this mission is impossible to complete anyway. Why not take advantage of their lack of preparedness and slip away to the archipelago?
"Once we emerge from this dungeon, there will be no chance to escape!"
Clang—
The sharp blade bounced off Gal's chest armor and landed on the table. The Shadow Walker Night Owl casually played with the other two blades on his fingertips.
This elf, who had slit the throats of countless monsters with his throwing knives, now stared at his own front row with the same disdainful gaze one might reserve for goblin excrement.
"Did you forget that last time you almost threw up your guts after just two days on the river?
You want to go to the archipelago? You'll probably die on the ship halfway there.
Besides, the mission hasn't even started yet, and completing it could get us a city!"
Night Owl's eyes sparkled when he mentioned the city. Who knows why a pure-blooded elf would be so interested in obtaining a human city?
"But you have to complete it first!
You said you had to bring the person back unharmed, but it's already been half a month!
Don't tell me you don't know what happens to adventurers who get trapped in the Purple Crystal Dungeon but survive.
It's just the parasitic trees on the fifth floor and the tentacle nests on the ninth floor. Even if you manage to rescue them, their brains will be rotted. Do you think the duke will accept that as 'unharmed'?
The best-case scenario is that they've been captured by roaming barbarian tribes and turned into reserve meat supplies—by now, their limbs are probably already dismembered.
And we still have to pray she hasn't snapped from despair.
This mission is practically impossible to complete!
When the duke comes to settle the score in person, Night Owl, you can slip away with a Shadow Shift, but the three of us will be hammered to death!"
No wonder Gal is so afraid of Duke Amara. Ten years ago, when everyone here was still at the Gold and Silver levels, Amara was already a Level 70 powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of humanity.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the four of them are all in their fifties—they're only a dozen levels below Duke Amara. In reality, even if you tied them all together, they'd barely be enough to warm up a full-level powerhouse like the duke.
The gap between levels becomes more evident as you go up, and let alone someone like the duke who has been maxed out for years, his skills are undoubtedly numerous and of a high level. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the empire's pressure at the border for so many years.
"Stop, stop, stop, Gal, don't say anymore."
Seeing that Gal was about to continue spreading defeatism, Captain Nova had to interrupt him:
"There's still a chance to save them. If their brains are damaged, there's nothing we can do, but we can amputate a few limbs and inject them with limb regeneration potions."
"The risks are indeed high, but the rewards are also substantial."
"We can't give up before we've even seen them."
Let's take a gamble. If we end up saving someone who's gone mad, I'll go report to the duke alone, and you guys can escape while the opportunity presents itself."
In truth, Nova knew his warrior was speaking the truth. If this had happened ten years ago, he would have chosen to flee as well, hiding out in the Western Islands or the territories of the elves and dwarves, where even the powerful Duke Alama couldn't touch him.
But now it was impossible. The United Kingdom and the Hermit Empire were in constant dispute, and war was imminent. At such a time, neither the elves nor the dwarves would casually allow foreign elite forces to enter their territories.
The only place he could go was the Western Islands. After all, as a human, he couldn't just go to the Hermit Empire and become a blood servant to those vampires.
But the Western Islands aren't exactly a safe haven either. The mist to the west is constantly expanding, devouring the islands, and the slave owners there are all panicking.
At this point, if a desperate diamond-level adventurer were to go there, they'd definitely be forced to use that as leverage to make them fight against the mist.
That job is far more dangerous than exploring a dungeon.
Weighing the options, it's better to take a gamble—either successfully rescuing the duke's daughter, or even if we only rescue a fool, the duke won't kill us outright.
However, the team isn't a dictatorship; ultimately, the decision must be made collectively.
"As usual, let's vote. I'm voting to go into the dungeon."
"I want to be the city lord!" Night Owl also voted in favor.
"I still think we should run now." The half-dragon clearly didn't want to gamble.
"Ivan?"
The three of them turned to look at the fourth member of the team, Ivan Nets, who had remained silent throughout and was fiddling with something under the table.
The halfling's small frame was almost swallowed up by the edge of the wooden table, and he didn't stand out much when he was quiet, but as the team's main mage, his opinion was naturally just as important.
"Finally got it out!"
A broken, deformed magical crystal was flung in front of the group. Ivan eagerly pulled out a brand-new B-rank magical crystal and snapped it into the empty slot in his abdomen.
Magic surged in from all around, flowing through the magic crystal into Ivan's limbs and bones. The violent magic current washed over every nerve synapse, plunging him into a dazed haze.
"Ahh..."
The entire tavern heard the halfling mage's contented moan, and the others' gazes grew strange.
Night Owl clenched the knife blade in his hand, barely restraining himself from flinging it into his embarrassing teammate's neck.
"This magic-addicted fool..."
Looking at the archmage across from him, whose eyes were rolled back and who had even begun to drool, Nova felt that leading the team was exhausting.
"The mission can't be delayed. Let's go with 2 to 1. Gal, you carry Ivan. The first few floors will be enough with me and Night Owl."
Gal sighed and didn't argue further, simply extending his hand to Nova.
"?"
"Magic resistance potion! Did you forget how he nearly killed both of us last time with a magic blast at point-blank range while on my back?"
"…"
(End of chapter)