The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

Episode 27: New Adventurer Bern (25) – Dungeon

Episode 27: New Adventurer Bern (25) – Dungeon

Among the adventurers participating in the Lich subjugation, there were quite a few with their noses held high.

Even a Rank 3 adventurer was considered among the elite, and around Rank 4, they became talents sought after even outside the guild.

Though the nobles of the Virka Kingdom reeked of a particular kind of rot, normally at this level, most factions would treat them like quasi-knights, and the adventurers themselves were well aware of their worth. How could they *not* be stiff-necked?

But at this moment.

Before the aging man who had appeared in the plaza, even these prideful adventurers fell silent and paid their respects.

Guild Master Tarbon.

The leader of the Adventurer’s Guild of the Kingdom of Virka, its sole Fifth-Circle mage, a veteran of countless quests.

In position, in experience, in skill – lacking nothing to command them, the rough-hewn adventurers held him in their own brand of respect.

“There’s nothing dumber than long-winded speeches before facing the enemy. I’ll get straight to the point.”

An address so blunt, so devoid of fanfare it bordered on barren. The adventurers listened, ears open.

“Stuffing too many bodies into a narrow dungeon doesn’t buy us much in the way of overwhelming force. Thus, we divide.”

Agents in black armbands, dispatched from the guild headquarters, stepped forward, clutching documents filled with names and ample leather pouches.

They began distributing armbands to the adventurers, not all the same. Some were red, others blue, still others yellow.

“Those who receive red or blue bands are the assault teams. Divided into two groups, they’ll alternate between rest and combat, conquering the dungeon. And those who receive yellow bands will secure the rear, ensuring our retreat and rescuing the assault teams should unforeseen circumstances arise.”

The red and blue armband recipients cheered. The yellow armband recipients wore sour expressions, their faces etched with discontent.

A massive undertaking, drawing on the guild’s entire strength. One that might not occur again for decades.

A chance to make a legend of themselves in the adventurer’s trade, and they were being relegated to the rear guard. No one would be happy about that.

If the Guild Master himself hadn’t issued the orders, complaints would undoubtedly have erupted.

Call it fortunate, Bern and his companions received blue bands.

With both red and blue teams combined, a force of approximately eighty adventurers plunged into the dungeon. Despite its size, the space felt constricting.

“Red team goes first. Blue team follows at a distance, close enough to observe.”

Following the Guild Master’s instructions, the red team, armbands flashing, picked up their pace. The blue team, conversely, slowed, widening the gap between them.

A moment later.

“Undead!”

“Prepare for battle!”

At the sound of the red team’s shouts, some of the blue team surged forward, eager to join the fray, but the Guild Master held them back.

“After all, not all of us can fight at once. You’ll be leading the charge next, so conserve your strength until then.”

Though some of the Azure Team adventurers momentarily wore disgruntled expressions, Bern nodded in agreement.

Dividing forces into multiple strike teams was generally considered a foolish tactic, but everything depended on the time and place.

When the dungeon’s depth remained unknown, and the precise strength of their enemies a mystery…

Instead of recklessly throwing their entire force into the fray and depleting stamina and energy, dividing into combat and rest groups to conserve power as much as possible was far more reasonable.

As the Guild Master had said, the space simply wasn’t large enough for all the adventurers to fight simultaneously anyway.

Still, watching the battle with the thought of intervening if the situation turned dire, he saw the Scarlet Team crush the undead horde without much difficulty.

“Ha! So much for a lich’s dungeon, doesn’t seem all that different?”

“More likely we’re just strong. Honestly, with this much firepower, we could wipe out the standing army of a decent territory, no problem. We have multiple knight-level fighters here, after all.”

Their clothing was dirtied and minor cuts and scrapes appeared on their bodies, but that was all.

No adventurers were critically injured, and none were on the verge of collapse from excessive stamina depletion.

Rather, they seemed relaxed enough to engage in light banter.

The Guild Master signaled the Scarlet Team, ordering them to rotate.

“Well done! The Azure Team will take the lead now, so follow from behind.”

The Scarlet Team and Azure Team switched positions, and this time, the Azure Team unleashed their might against the undead blocking their path.

Blanca’s performance, in particular, was truly overwhelming.

-Fwooosh!

Each time the mid-tier fire spell, ‘Stone-Scorching Magic’, was unleashed, the undead barring their way ignited like bundles of firewood.

It wasn’t the magic swordsman style she had trained with Bern, but a standard mage’s approach, and yet, Blanca alone wiped out more than half of the enemies.

The other adventurers, especially the mages, were dumbfounded as they watched Blanca’s combat for the first time.

“Honestly, she’s spamming intermediate spells like they’re mere cantrips.”

“Just how much mana does she even possess?”

These were at least Rank 3 adventurers, some parties even included Rank 4 mages. It wasn’t as if no one could unleash the same level of firepower as Blanca.

However, most of them were carefully conserving their mana, pacing themselves for the Lich fight. Blanca, on the other hand, was burning through mana like water, unleashing spell after spell. The difference in raw destructive power was undeniable.

The sight of it must have been quite something, as the Guild Master, who was overseeing the personnel of both Red and Blue teams, approached Blanca directly.

“You seem to be pushing yourself too hard right from the start. Are you alright?”

Blanca nodded.

“I’m fine.”

“And how long can you keep up this pace?”

“If it’s at the level of just now, I could do it more than ten times over.”

Truthfully, she felt like she could manage a hundred times, not just ten, but Blanca intentionally held that back.

She needed to keep the ‘Ring of Mana Absorption’, which allowed her to absorb mana during combat, a secret. Besides, Bern had advised her not to reveal her full power, just in case.

The Guild Master paused, lost in thought, before finally speaking.

“Blue Team will remain at the forefront without rotating with the Red Team. Does anyone require a break?”

The Blue Team adventurers shook their heads.

Enemies were incinerated before they could even swing their swords a few times. They, too, had plenty of strength left.

-grrrrrr…….

FWOOM!

Thanks to Blanca’s overwhelming firepower, the group rapidly cleared the dungeon.

After a while of that…

“A crossroads, is it.”

Left, center, and right – a trinity of paths.

A structure that stirred an odd déjà vu, a sense of fate perhaps, caused Blanca to narrow her eyes.

“I shall scout ahead, brothers.”

Renya and a few other adventurers, those skilled in reconnaissance, cautiously split up to explore each path.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before all the scouts returned unharmed, eager to relay what they had seen and heard.

“The path to the left opens into a vast chamber. The problem is, it teems with all sorts of monstrosities, undead among them.”

“In the center, there was a massive door! It seems to lack any handles or keyholes, suggesting it opens with magic, or perhaps a device hidden somewhere!”

“Ah, and to the right, there’s a cage-like enclosure packed with civilians! But, well, the floor of that chamber is inscribed with glowing glyphs; something feels like it’s about to happen!”

Every eye in the party snapped towards the scout who had explored the rightmost path.

Compared to the reports of the other two, this one was clearly the most urgent, so the reaction was only natural.

The Guild Master’s brow furrowed.

“Civilians and suspect glyphs…anything else? Guards, perhaps?”

“There were about ten figures cloaked and hooded, their faces obscured! They were surrounding the enclosure, chanting something, though I couldn’t make out the specifics!”

“We must go rescue them at once!”

Someone from the Blue Team cried out, addressing the Guild Master.

Alseus Burtrea.

A Rank 4 adventurer from the Eastern Branch, and a senior to Bern’s group, he delivered his impassioned plea with a gravely serious face.

“They are innocent civilians. If they are already dead, so be it, but if they live, we must rescue them at all costs!”

“You are aware our objective is to eliminate the Lich, are you not?”

“If the ritual completes successfully, there’s no telling what power that lich will seize! Morally speaking, strategically speaking, rescuing those victims must be our priority!”

As if echoing Alseus’ fervent plea, similar voices began to rise among the other adventurers.

“There’s no time for hesitation! If we dither, and they complete the ritual, it’s all over!”

“Forget those worthless nobles, we can’t abandon those people too!”

As the Guild Master wrestled with his decision, Vern stepped forward.

“I’ll go.”

The Guild Master’s eyes fixed on Vern.

“Your spirit is admirable, but acting alone will not be tolerated.”

“If you try to stop me, I’ll force my way through. Asking for your permission now is merely a matter of courtesy, understand?”

“Hmm.”

Seeing the Guild Master’s wavering resolve, Alseus’ eyes widened in alarm.

He cried out urgently.

“Absolutely not! How can you send Vern alone against such a force of enemies!”

“Then you intend to accompany him?”

At the Guild Master’s lukewarm retort, Alseus gritted his teeth.

He briefly exchanged glances with his companions, and then, as if left with no other choice, he exclaimed.

“Understood! Our party will go with him!”

“It’s settled then. Vern’s party and Alseus’ party will-“

“No, just myself is enough.”

Bern and the Guild Master locked eyes.

Before the Guild Master could utter a word, Bern bolted down the path to the right, the Alser’s party scrambling to keep pace behind him.

At the end of the diverging path lay precisely the scene Renya had described.

People, penned in cages like animals, and surrounding them, robed figures chanting suspicious incantations.

*Shhk!*

With a sweep of Bern’s blade, one of the robed figures collapsed without so much as a cry.

Yet, despite their companion falling, the robed figures did not cease their chanting.

Furthermore, even the victims within the cages showed no reaction to Bern’s arrival, merely staring blankly up at the void.

Bern confirmed the appearance of the one he had just struck down.

Within the robes was no mage, but an undead creature, cold as the grave.

The next moment, Bern’s vision warped violently, his body shifting to another place.

A forced transfer trap.

Into the suffocating darkness to which he’d been transported, someone swung a blade.

A sudden shift in location, the severance of sight, and then this unexpected ambush.

Even a skilled warrior could be forgiven for faltering, but Bern effortlessly parried the attack, regaining his stance.

In the darkness, someone clicked their tongue, retreating to create distance once more.

The swift, unwavering movements suggested his opponent possessed some means of seeing through the gloom.

Facing the silent, encroaching malice, Bern spoke.

“A strange feeling, this. Knowing this was coming, yet hoping I’d be wrong.”

No answer came.

But Bern hadn’t missed the agitation rippling through the figures in the darkness. No, not figures—figure*s*.

“Wouldn’t you say it’s about time you opened your mouth? Level 4 adventurer from the Eastern Branch. Or rather, the lich’s disciple. ──Alsace Bertrea and company.”

A moment of silence hung in the air, broken by a reply thick with irritation.

“…Damn fool. I had my suspicions, but you’ve clearly spilled everything.”

Though he remained unseen, the voice, the intonation, were unmistakably Alsace’s.

He addressed Bern.

“When did you start catching on?”

“I lacked certainty. However, I did find your handling of things in Frensia rather…peculiar, once I heard about it.”

Bern continued calmly.

“One might forgive not knowing about sleep magic if you weren’t a mage yourself, but there are other means to forcefully lull someone to sleep, using drugs. Yet you seemingly made no investigation into such avenues.”

“Your proposed shared watch that supposedly failed is the same. If you were truly going to gather people to keep watch, you wouldn’t leave it to one person alone, but assign several at the same time, allowing them to watch each other. But you deliberately created gaps, and thanks to that, distrust spread through the city, making it even more difficult to deal with the culprit.”

“You claimed you abandoned the request because leaving it in the hands of incompetent people would only harm others, but isn’t the truth that you pulled in others to deceive the guild’s eyes? Saying you ‘wanted to help catch the culprit’ while obstructing the investigation or leading it to false answers. The result being, as new adventurers continued to chase ghosts, the guild would simply give up on the request altogether.”

At Bern’s explanation, Alsace replied with a voice that dripped with weariness.

“Ha, right. You saw through it all from the very beginning. And yet, you acted oblivious, played the innocent right in front of me?”

“That hardly compares to you, partnering with a lich in the shadows, selling people out, while playing the generous benefactor, the good mentor in the light.”

“……”

The killing intent emanating from the darkness intensified.

“You irritating little b*stard. That smug face of yours, like you know everything, predicted everything, it grated on me from the moment I saw it. But your arrogance was your undoing.”

Alsace let out a thin, brittle laugh.

“You probably knew the hostage was a trap, and jumped in thinking you could escape whenever you pleased, didn’t you? Thanks to that, a trap that was originally meant to obliterate a whole group of adventurers has been wasted on just you… but on the flip side, you’ve fallen into a trap meant to kill dozens of adventurers, all alone.”

A shuffling tread.

A guttural growl, beastly.

The click-clack of bone on bone.

“I’ll butcher you. Then parade your head before your comrades. Though, no need for us to lift a finger; other disciples may have already sorted them out, you see.”

Bern didn’t reply.

Alsace’s smile deepened, assured that he’d finally robbed him of his composure.

_Thwack!_

The next moment, a hand seized the back of his head, slamming his face forcibly into the ground.

“@%)($!?”

Confusion, bewilderment, horror.

Into his chaotic mind, Bern’s voice cut through.

“—Ah, pardon me. Resorting to violence mid-conversation is barbaric, yet I did so unwittingly.”

Not the usual courteous tone, but supremely arrogant, commanding.

“As atonement, I shall permit you to live until the others are dealt with, a special consideration. You shall not die, no matter what you attempt, so feel free to throw yourself at me.”

But, Bern added.

“When you are the last one standing, you *will* answer my questions with the utmost respect, accuracy, and swiftness. Lest what I am about to do to your friends befall you as well.”