Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 265

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Chapter 265 – Treasure Hunter

It’s deeper than I imagined.

Of course, there are differences depending on the location, but it’s clear that the drop exceeds the elevation difference of the plateau at the base. The depth is certainly more than 200 to 300 meters.

Without the ability to fly, climbing up would be impossible, and despite my fear, my expectations grew.

If you fall, your body will never recover.

So there must be something at the bottom.

“Unbreakable, light orb, fly!”

When I launch the four orbs downward, they bounce off the rock walls like Super Balls and illuminate the area ahead.

This is the magic technique Zeo taught me.

They’re not unbreakable, but in situations like this, it’s easy to understand their internal structure and use them.

The balls that bounce off and fall all roll in similar directions.

As I descended, I carefully used Investigation to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

Then, about 10 minutes later…

The bottom of the valley, whose depth I couldn’t estimate, was definitely there.

There was no special square or hidden passageway.

It was simply the bottom of a real valley surrounded by rock walls on both sides and filled with ordinary bats flying around.

There wasn’t even a single human bone, which should have been there if someone had fallen, so there was no sign of the object I was looking for.

So, no conclusion could be reached yet.

The only thing I knew for sure was that no one had fallen here in years.

(The hunters’ voices I heard earlier must have come from that direction.)

Keeping that in mind, I moved across the valley floor.

Then, while carefully examining the objects with Investigation, I finally detected a reaction.

I couldn’t see any monsters, but I didn’t know what was there.

I moved cautiously through the valley.

(Oh…)

I found bones illuminated by light.

This is probably where the cliff drops off.

Beyond that point, the number of bones increased, and there were areas where they appeared to be piled up quite far ahead.

A little further ahead, I found what I was looking for.

I can’t identify the material due to my low level of Appraisal.

But it was definitely a mineral-made weapon.

It was rust-free and beautiful. The contrast with the white, broken corpses made it seem unreal.

I looked at the weapon for a moment and…

“I’ll gladly take it.”

I stored it away.

I wasn’t going to wallow in unnecessary sentimentality or feel guilty about taking the dead’s equipment.

I had already abandoned such Earth-like feelings; doing so wouldn’t benefit anyone in the end.

Instead, I thanked them properly and took everything they had left behind.

In exchange, if they had been killed by monsters, I would take down 100 times their number.

The scattered items were varied; some were caught on the edge of the cliff, and others were buried among the bones.

There were not only weapons, but also many discolored ornaments and coins that I had never seen before.

However, all the leather armor was destroyed.

Many pieces were unrecognizable, as if they had been fused with the rocks.

Leather is easy to obtain, though, and unless it’s S-rank or higher, it’s not that rare, so it’s probably fine to leave it as it is.

I collected all the valuable items I could find. Once I was done, I continued hunting monsters and moved on to another valley.

I had planned to collect everything, but the volume was overwhelming, so I decided to sort through the items I had collected first. Then, I headed to the dismantling site in Rosberia.

“Hello~.”

“Ah!”

The guy at the dismantling site was startled to see me.

There were more people here yesterday, but today, only this guy is at the counter.

“Oh, are you the only one here today?”

“Everyone else has been working all night since yesterday because of you! We can’t leave the warehouse because we haven’t finished sorting the materials!”

“Oh, that’s great. The guild will make a lot of money.”

The guy’s face twisted, but that’s probably just how work is.

“Are you still doing it today?”

“Of course! But today, it’s the two types from the underground. It’s not as much as yesterday, though.”

“Really…?”

“Really.”

“Then please take them directly to the warehouse.”

I noticed yesterday that the hunter guild in this town is unusually large. It turns out that half of it is a material warehouse.

Apparently, many guilds that manage hunting grounds where large monsters exist have warehouses like this one.

If 5-meter-tall monsters were brought in one after another, the dismantling site would quickly become overwhelmed.

I headed to the back warehouse and looked at the space, which was as big as a gymnasium… Hmmm?

There are clearly more people than yesterday. Did they hire some part-timers?

About ten people were frantically working on the dismantling. As about fifty new monsters were released into the empty space, the man from earlier turned pale and immediately started counting them.

Ah, that’s better.

After all, it’s best to just do it openly.

Not wasting time is best.

Some of the workers are screaming and looking desperate, but honestly, this is just the beginning.

Once the treasure hunt in the valley is over, things will get more serious, so don’t get discouraged.

Well, even so…

“Just to confirm, are you sure you’re okay?”

When I asked him, he looked exhausted but nodded weakly.

If that’s the case, he’s not likely to “break down” anytime soon.

After depositing the reward at the guild, I immediately headed to Lodge-san’s place.

He was doing something at the long table in the back, but he must have heard the doorbell because he noticed me right away.

“What’s the rush? Are you here to report that it was impossible?”

Even as he said that, he seemed restless and uneasy.

After all, Lodge-san knows that I can fly.

He must have thought my proposal was possible.

I didn’t rush him and placed an axe on the counter.

Mithril is used for weapons, but the core material isn’t visible. Damascus steel has been embedded in rings and swords, like the one I saw today in the dark.

As an amateur, I’m unable to identify the metal just by looking at it, so it would be quicker to have a professional take a look.

“What about this?”

I asked him straightforwardly.

Did he take that as “I’m confident”?

“…Loki, I’m afraid this is mithril. It’s a high-quality piece with a very high purity, though.”

Lodge-san said it wasn’t bad, but he was clearly disappointed.

I quickly moved on to the next one.

“Then what about this?”

“Huh?”

“Which one is this?”

“Th-this is also mithril… Do you have several of these?”

Ah, I see.

Lodge-san knows I can fly, but he doesn’t know I use Spatial Magic to store things.

That’s why he saw me without a heavy load and thought I didn’t have anything worth identifying.

In that case, I’ll let him know.

I want to rely on him for equipment in the future.

I’ve already decided to be upfront, so to gain his trust, I have to start by being honest with him.

With that in mind, I answered.

“I don’t know the exact number, but I think I’ve stored about five stores’ worth of equipment.”

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