Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World - Chapter 32

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 32: Loot (1)

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Gerik found a journal on the desk. The ink had not even dried yet, as though its owner had written in it until the very end.

"Whoa!?"

After taking the journal, he opened the drawer and spotted a box and a pouch. Gerik quickly took out their contents and examined them.

"This is insane...!! How much is this...?!"

Ten gleaming gold coins spilled out of the pouch, making Gerik's eyes widen. One gold coin was worth a hundred silver coins, and realizing that this haul had made him incredibly rich left him thrilled.

"...I won't have to worry about living expenses anymore."

His lodging in Stonecreek cost seven silver coins a month. That came to eighty-four coins a year, so this one mission had effectively earned him ten years' worth of lodging expenses.

'I should buy equipment with this money.'

During this expedition, Gerik had seen the Copper Plate party's high-quality equipment, especially Bruno, the heavily armored warrior, in action. It had driven home just how much of a difference good equipment could make on the battlefield.

He decided to boldly invest the money he had earned in good gear.

"Oh, a box...!!"

Hoping there might be more treasure, Gerik carefully searched the workshop. He found a cleverly hidden box beneath the desk, and inside it was a tiny emerald.

"This should fetch a decent price too, right...?"

It was very small, but as a finely cut gemstone, it looked quite valuable.

Encouraged by his valuable spoils, Gerik spent a while longer searching the workshop for anything else worth taking. Unfortunately, after the emerald, he found nothing else of value.

'It's a shame there wasn't more, but ten gold coins and an emerald are already a huge haul. I should be satisfied with this.'

The mage Gerik had killed was only a low-level second-circle mage. The fact that Owen had possessed this much money at all was impressive.

After convincing himself of that and finishing his search, Gerik opened the mage's journal and began reading.

The entries had been neatly recorded by year.

The early pages concerned Owen's personal history. His name was Owen, and he had apparently been the illegitimate son of a prosperous eastern merchant company, treated like an unwanted burden by his family.

Fascinated by magic and the power it granted, Owen had wanted to become the apprentice of a powerful mage. His family, eager to get rid of their troublesome child, had gladly funded him and placed him under the tutelage of a powerful mage.

『At last, I can learn magic. Here, I don't need a family like that.』

Yet contrary to his expectations, life under his master had been nothing but chores for over ten years. There had been no proper instruction in magic, only endless menial work.

The excited tone of the early entries gradually gave way to resentment and resignation as the pages went on. Then, from a certain point onward, the journal's mood changed sharply.

『One day, I noticed something strange about my master. On certain days, he always uses an outing as an excuse to secretly go to the Mage Tower's basement. He may have fooled the others, but how many years have I served under you?』

The following entries described how Owen had secretly followed and observed his master.

『Just as I thought! I found my master's secret workshop. It seems that bastard has been experimenting with an evil artifact for a long time.』

Several pages followed about a crystal skull.

At first, his fear was obvious, but as the pages continued, they laid bare how deeply fascinated he had become by it.

『The crystal is an incredible thing. I think I understand why my master studies it.』

『This item allows its owner to summon Rat Men and turn them into servants. It can even strengthen its power by accepting sacrifices!』

Several more pages described his analysis of the crystal's power. Then, at some point, the tone of the journal subtly began to change.

『Unlimited Rat Man servants?! With the crystal, I could secure all the labor and research funds I need and devote myself entirely to magical research!』

『Why should you have a monopoly on something this good?!』

Perhaps because resentment toward his master had become mixed into his thoughts, the journal gradually filled with excuses to justify his own actions.

『With this, I could build my own workshop without you. Why should I remain under you?』

『It's your own fault that I'm taking this! Would I have betrayed you if you'd given me even a little proper instruction?』

Gerik gave a bitter smile as he read Owen's journal. It seemed Owen had begun to be corrupted by the curse around this point.

The account of Owen's escape was brief.

After observing his master's habits for a long time and learning that there were certain days when he never visited the secret workshop, Owen had stolen the crystal skull, gold coins, jewels, and several damaged artifacts before fleeing.

『I can't even touch normal artifacts. Their security is too tight.』

『But the warehouse for damaged artifacts is different! I've been going in and out of that place for years, so I know better than anyone how lax its security is.』

『If I steal them and sell them off little by little without getting caught, I should be able to secure enough seed money to build a workshop.』

『In the damaged-artifact warehouse, there was an emerald enchanted with the magic my master had researched for a long time, along with his research journal analyzing it.』

『What a stroke of luck! Of course I took it! At a glance, it looks like an ordinary emerald inscribed with healing magic, but reading even a little of my master's journal reveals that this gemstone is no simple low-grade magic item!』

『The delicate design of engraving different magic into five different gems, then using the properties of the gems themselves to prevent them from clashing before placing them all in one ring!』

『The magic inscribed in it was ordinary, yet I think I understand why my master found it so interesting. But to store something like this in the damaged-artifact warehouse? I truly am lucky.』

The process of settling in Stonecreek was recorded in considerable detail.

During his escape, the mage had slowly sold the artifacts he had stolen to minimize any trail while using the crystal skull to bring Rat Men under his control one by one.

His reason for settling in Stonecreek was also briefly noted.

As a frontier settlement, it had few permanent residents and frequent traffic from outsiders, making it easy to avoid notice. It had also apparently been ideal for throwing off his master's pursuit.

『Stonecreek is the perfect place to build my workshop!』

『As a frontier settlement, it's easy to obtain all kinds of unusual magical materials. Mages are scarce as well, so even the low-level magic I've learned can earn me money with ease!』

『And there are so many drifters on the frontier that it'll be easy to conceal my identity as a fugitive.』

『But the best part is that this town was built atop ancient sewers!』

『Through the sewers, I can not only command Rat Men from my workshop, but send them out to operate beyond it as well.』

『Since this is a frontier settlement bordering the Demonwild, even if Rat Men are spotted operating outside Stonecreek, no extermination order will be issued, and they will not arouse any serious suspicion. What place could be more perfect?!』

Yet even the mage's perfect plan had a problem. Guards watched the entrances to Stonecreek's Sewer, making it difficult to openly explore it or send Rat Men in and out.

As a second option, Owen had released Rat Men with excellent senses of smell around Stonecreek's outskirts and ordered them to find unexplored routes into the Sewer.

『With the Rat Men's keen sense of smell, they'll surely find one. The ancient sewers are old and extensive, so there must be places that have collapsed and been left abandoned.』

Sure enough, the Rat Men soon found the remains of an ancient sewer that had collapsed and been abandoned on the outskirts. Using that passage as a foothold, the mage had gradually explored the interior.

『At last, I found a suitable location. A run-down house on the outskirts. It's perfectly positioned to dig down into the abandoned sewer below. If I can only open a passage here, I'll be able to use Rat Men to do anything I want from now on!』

But contrary to his original intentions, perhaps because the curse had worsened, the mage seemed to have focused more on offering sacrifices at the altar to increase his Rat Man servants than on magical research.

One day, amid entries mostly about increasing his Rat Man servants, something unexpected appeared in the journal.

『Through an Adventurers’ Guild member I became acquainted with while running my magic workshop, I confirmed that my master had won an auction for a damaged artifact. I pretended not to know anything and probed for details, using my curiosity as a mage as an excuse.』

『The artifact seems to be the emerald's main body! Should I try seizing it...? I investigated just in case, and apparently five first-rank Copper Plate adventurers are escorting it. They're even expected to be promoted to Silver Plate...』

『If they're effectively five fifth-rank Silver Plate adventurers, then even if I mobilize every Rat Man I possess, I won't be able to subdue them. Regrettably, I must give up.』

Even after that entry, the journal remained focused solely on increasing his Rat Man servants. Gerik closed it.

It left him feeling bitter to see an ordinary young man who had wanted to learn magic being consumed by the Plague God's curse and driven mad.

'In the end, the curse devoured him.'

Only after reading the journal did Gerik understand why Mage Owen's assets had been poorer than expected, despite having commanded Rat Men and operated in Stonecreek for so long.

'Aside from the bare minimum, he must have poured all his money into the Plague God’s Altar to strengthen the skull.'

In a way, it was remarkable that ten gold coins and an emerald remained at all. As Gerik looked at them and pieced together the situation, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

"Wait... An emerald... An artifact...?! Interconnected...?!"

To confirm his idea, he picked up the emerald from the box and opened his status window to appraise it.

[??'s Emerald]

『Type: ??? (Damaged)』

『Rank: ???』

『Effect: ???』

"Just as I thought...!!"

Through the status window, Gerik realized that the emerald was the very magical research item described in the journal, the one the mage's master had treasured.

'Based on the date of the journal entry... it was about one or two months ago... Could this possibly be... related to Skyler's Quintet?!'

Based on the journal's contents, Gerik thought the artifact the mage's master had won at auction might have been Skyler's Quintet.

'It said five gems were linked together, and the timing of Lugos transporting the ring was roughly the same as the journal entry...'

The more he thought about it, the more certain Gerik became that the emerald was a component of the ring. Unable to hide his excitement, he hurriedly removed his glove and compared the ring with the emerald.

"It's there...!!"

Sure enough, one of the ring's empty gem settings was shaped to fit the emerald he had obtained perfectly. Gerik carefully brought the emerald toward it.

Click!!

To his surprise, the moment he held the emerald against the ring, it naturally attached itself with a click.

Thrilled that his prediction had been correct, Gerik inspected Skyler's Quintet with the emerald attached through his status window to see how its abilities had changed.

[Skyler's Quintet]

『Type: Ring (Damaged)』

『Rank: ???』

『Effects』

* Guardian

* Major Wounds

* ???, ???, ???

『Note: Want to become a great Rogue capable of even robbing a dragon's lair? Then cover yourself head to toe in items that can fool even dragons. That's all there is to it. - Skyler, Master Thief -』

Footnotes:

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