In short, this was all we found in the secret room:
A golden book containing the story of two unidentified brothers.
Well, that didn't help me much right now. But the other loot we got was another story.
Seven books of invocation.
They were not normal summoning books. Each book was one we hadn't seen on the shelves outside. One had ten rare Mimics inside, while in another, images of the monsters in blue, red and other colors instead of just black and white. Another still had pages in which the art of the monsters inside was replaced by «???».
Seven books, each one with something peculiar.
And a suspicious fountain pen.
There was also the pen on Hamsick's table.
«(Hamsick, how do you use this fountain pen?)»
«(B-Well...)» After hesitating for a long moment, Hamsick seemed to conclude that we were indeed friends and decided to be honest. «(If you use this pen to color over the drawings in the books... you can get an essence of that specific color)».
"(¡¿What?!)"
«(Don't scream! You scared me!)»
Well, say it in a less surprising way.
A fountain pen with which I could get the essence of the color I wanted? Was an object like that allowed to exist? It was so powerful that that was the first thing I thought of, but unfortunately, it had its limitations. It could only summon those of rank three or lower, and could only be used twice.
Yes, it was impossible to use something like that an unlimited number of times.
I could feel the disappointment, but since this was Dungeon and Stone, the excitement died down. I was the fool for having gotten my hopes up. In this game, an item like this was already quite amazing on its own.
Is this what it feels like to be the first to set foot on uncharted territory...?
Now he understood why all those adventurers went crazy upon hearing that Basement One Floor was open. The fifth, sixth and seventh floors... When they first opened, there must also have been objects as powerful as this hidden there.
«(By the way, Hamsick)», I started, »(how do you know how the fountain pen works? Did you use it before I arrived?)».
«(No way!)»
«(Hmm, but your explanation was pretty detailed)».
«(I knew it! I've known it since I was born!)»
He hadn't used it, but Hamsick already knew how to use fountain pens.
«Why do you put it in your pocket?!» Hamsick screamed furiously as he tried to boss her around nonchalantly. «That fountain pen is also something I have to give to the right person...!».
Oh really? «(But can't you use it twice?)»
«(Sí...?)»
«(How about I use it once and then you give it to that qualified person when they come?)»
«(But that's ridiculous!)
«(Or is there any rule that says this thing must be given with all its burdens?)»
«(Uh... Not that I know of...)»
«(Then no problem!)»
Alright, so the fountain pen problem was solved. After using it once, I could think long and hard about what to use next and then try to convince Hamsick to leave me.
With that, I turned my attention to the last piece of the loot.
«A map...» I murmured to myself.
We had found a map of Basement One Floor, with Stone Island as the starting point in the center and a whole series of islands drawn around it. Although the fountain pen was pretty good, this map was amazing. It would save us a lot of time that we would otherwise have spent wandering around creating a map on our own.
«It seems like there are two islands here that we haven't been to yet».
When I asked our navigator, Auyen, he informed me that one of them was a week away from Library Island. It would take us a month to get to the other one.
«One month... This apartment is bigger than I thought».
«Yes...», he said, interrupting himself. «However, there is one thing that worries me about that island... The location is in the direction we saw that rainbow that time».
«So could this island be what was at the end of that rainbow?».
«Well... I can't say for sure, but I don't think it's a coincidence».
I was thinking the same thing. As such, I hereby nicknamed that particular island Rainbow Island.
«(Hamsick, do you know what's beyond this map?)»
«(I don't know!)» Hamsick snapped as he looked dejectedly at the mess we had made in his room. He seemed upset, but he didn't seem to be lying.
Then you probably don't really know...
For now, the wisest thing to do would be to assume that the map didn't include all the things on this floor.
My curiosity grew. What would we find if we tried to venture beyond the limits of the map? Was it possible to go further? He sympathized with people from the past who believed the world was flat; I could understand why they were so interested in finding the edge of the world.
Anyway, I guess I'll find out when we get there later...
«Mr. Yandel, look at this part», Versyl said, pointing to a point on the map. It was a part of the Giant Island; To be exact, it was a mark right above the cave we stayed in while we were there. «Do you see this symbol on the map?».
«It seems... that it marks the location of the portal stone there».
«That's what I'm thinking too.»
The map seemed to include a symbol for the portal stone in the cave. However, there was also a symbol below that that was quite intuitive.
«An arrow pointing down...»
What could that mean?
Basement Floor Two.
Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing, but no one said it out loud.
Versyl broke the tense silence as she slid her finger to another point on the map. «...So, shall we take a look at this one too?».
The first person to notice where he was pointing was Auyen. «This... is the boss's island...»
«That's right. There are only two portal stones drawn on the map, and one of them is here».
When my eyes landed on the spot Versyl was pointing to, I felt my breath stop.
I didn't know if it was good news or bad news.
«At least we have found the way out».
Below the portal symbol was an arrow pointing up. We had officially found the exit. Well, to be more precise, we found a place that we assumed could be the exit. Still, it was great news for us, considering we had been wandering aimlessly and without any clues.
But it had to be Boss Island...
That little fact was enough to make me lump in my throat. That meant that if we wanted to get out of here, we would have to face the village chief, whether we wanted to or not.
«So can we go back to the city?
«We are free! Yes!!»
Some of the members shouted for joy at the prospect of an exit, but there were, unfortunately, quite a few obstacles still standing in our way to use it.
«But... will it really work? That stone portal on Giant Island was not activated at all...»
«That's true. It seems that we have to meet some kind of condition, just like when we first went down to this floor.»
As some of our wisest members were pointing out, we were not safe just because we had discovered where the exit portal was. First we had to find a way to activate the portal stone. Moving on to the boss would be another problem.
«The rainbow! The island in the direction of that rainbow! Maybe that island is the key?»
We had a few things we could try. It wasn't like we were easy targets or anything.
Rainbow Island has the best chance of having some clues, but even if there's nothing there, we should be able to figure out a few more things as we clear the other islands.
In that sense, I asked Hamsick one last question. «Hamsick, what monsters appear on the highest shelves?» In other words, how much stronger would we have to be to clean up Library Island? Hamsick's answer to this question would help set the record straight.
He didn't respond using ranks that favored us adventurers, but...
«(Tol-Lapupa, Kashan, Leviatán, Plahel, Ridger...)»
I sighed. So in the end we would have to defeat rank one monsters, after all. I figured I should consider myself lucky that we only had to fight one at a time.
«(What will happen after we defeat them all?)»
Hamsick's tone took a sharp turn toward seriousness. «(I don't know.)»
«(Is that maybe the 'rating' you were talking about?)».
«(I'll say it again, but I don't know. I have no knowledge of what will happen)».
I see. So that was all I was going to get clear, and I needed to figure out the rest for myself.
«Hamsick, what do we have to do to get out of here? Can I get through that portal thing?)».
We had finished investigating, and I concluded that we weren't going to find anything else here.
However, at my question, Hamsick tilted his head. «(Hey? You cannot leave this place after entering it.)»
«(...What? Why the hell didn't you mention that before?!)»
«(Eep! I'm kidding! You can go out there!)»
Wow, that really scared me.
As I let out a bewildered laugh, Hamsick smiled with apparent amusement and let out a pleased screech! «(Friends joke with each other!)»
I couldn't even get angry seeing how happy he seemed.
I smiled satisfied and left the room with the rest of the members of my group. The wide-open stone door continued to glow until Hamsick emerged last. Then, the light disappeared and the door closed.
«(But Hamsick)», I asked, "(do you need to open the door every time you want to enter?)".
«(Sí?)»¿
«(That room seems to be the place where you live. Isn't it annoying, having to open it like this every time you want to enter?)»
«(Not really? It's usually not annoying at all. But then you showed up while I was organizing the books, so I couldn't go back to my room at all!»
Oh, so that's why she had been hanging around our camp: she was trying to get to her room and they ended up catching her. He probably chose to take a chance at night because that was when most of us slept.
«(We're planning to take a nap and then hunt some more, so what are you going to do now?)»
«(¡Careful!)»
«(Aren't you going to organize the books?)»
«(When there is no one... I will do it when you all leave)».
«(Why? Oh, and I'm not trying to say you should do it now or anything like that. I'm just curious. You have already revealed yourself to us, so can't you do it while we are here?)»
«(...I'll do it after you leave. So stop bothering me with that.)»
Well, in that case, I wasn't going to discuss it. With our investigation of the secret room finished, we returned to the library and rested for the rest of the night, and immediately afterwards began hunting again when we woke up the next day.
[You killed a Mimic.]
[You killed a Mimic.]
[You have killed a Mime.]
[You have killed a Mime.]
[Has…]
The first thing we invoked were the Mimics from the invocation book that we found in the secret room. Unfortunately, even after defeating a dozen Mimics, none of them released an essence. He hoped to get it so he could obtain an item from the Treasure Vault.
Still, I am unexpectedly at peace with this outcome.
Maybe because he knew that the best item in the Treasure Vault was only worth about thirty million stones. I couldn't help but feel indifferent about it. It wasn't the only summoning book we'd gotten either.
I started opening the remaining books.
«...¿Drake?»
The book with the entry «???» it summoned the rank four flying type monster, Drake. I was honestly looking forward to this book, so it was a disappointment. Was the monster the book summoned completely random? In any case, the only thing he released was a mana stone.
«The last ones are the color invocation books».
The remaining five summoning books had colored monsters. After reviewing them all, I noticed a similarity between the entries. The monsters released essences that matched the color used to color them: red essences of red monsters and blue essences of blue monsters.
The problem is that, except for one rank three, the rest are monsters rank five or lower.
Rank five and lower essences were discarded without much thought, and rank three essence was given to the Armin Adventure Group because they had a member who loved it.
We have already used them all.
We ended up going through all the summoning books we got in the secret room without much benefit. Well, I still had the fountain pen left, which was the highlight, so to speak.
But you should keep it until absolutely necessary.
My first impulse was to use it immediately to achieve the Bellarios essence, but I decided to be logical about it. Today was not our last day of hunting. You could end up getting the essence naturally, so using it now would be a huge waste.
[You have killed a Stone Clock.]
[You have killed a Mecharote. EXP +7]
[You have killed an Ice Guardian.]
[Has mortado a un Vol-Herchan.]
[You have killed a Mechanical Giant.]
[Has…]
Breakfast, then hunting.
Lunch, then hunting.
Dinner, then hunt until bedtime.
We followed this routine for days until we reached our ninety-ninth day in the maze.
It looks like the maze will open again tomorrow.
Once again, it was time for new blood to join the party.
***
«Vice-captain, did you hear the news?»
«Oh, right. That...» The vice-captain of the palace's Third Magical Corps, Arua Raven, smiled bitterly.
Basement One Floor, Records Files.
Wherever he went, that place was the only thing people thought about, since some pretty shocking news had spread through the city recently: Bjorn Yandel was still alive there, and he had also obtained two single-digit Numbered Items. It was unverifiable gossip that seemed to have been spread by evil spirits.
«Vice Captain... Do you think the rumors are true?».
«It doesn't matter if the rumors are true or not. We just have to do our job. I'm leaving».
Raven dismissed her subordinate's question, finished eating, and returned to her office.
For her, whether the rumors were true or not was not something that kept her up at night because, in any case, what she wanted remained the same.
I wanted the rumors to be true. That would mean you wouldn't have to spend so much time worrying every day.
Sigh. «But if it were true it would also be annoying».
Basement one was an unexplored area about which practically nothing was known. There were definitely a lot of secrets and mysteries to discover down there. It was only fitting that Bjorn Yandel was having an epic adventure with his comrades as he worked to find them all.
He let out another sigh and lowered his head, his eyes fixed on the insignia of the magical body he was wearing on his chest. He had gotten used to this uniform over the years, but for some reason, today it was uncomfortable and tight.
«Anyway, let's do what we have to do...»
He repeated the advice he had given to his subordinate and returned to work.
«Vice Captain! We have a direct order from the palace!»
That same afternoon, he received an official order from the royal family. She was plagued by all kinds of jargon and flowery language, but after doing this work for so long, she was able to condense the order into three lines.
One: The palace wanted to explore Basement One Floor.
Two: They needed someone with adventure experience.
Three: She seemed to be the perfect person for the job.
As soon as he reached the last sentence, Raven jumped up and hurried to pack her bags.