Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. – Chapter 24 – It’s About Time You Got Used to It

Author: Cireng

Chapter 24 – It’s About Time You Got Used to It

“…I wonder what kind of rewards we got…?”

With Marlin supporting me, I climbed the altar that was built like a staircase.

Between the splitting headache from overusing Mysteries and the aftereffects of enduring lightning with my bare body, I couldn’t even walk on my own.

“No matter what you’re expecting, it’ll be even better than that.”

“A Tenth-Tier Mystery Book!”

“That’s not an expectation… that’s a delusion, so it doesn’t count. Try imagining something a little more reasonable.”

If you used the Hidden Piece to raise the difficulty to its absolute maximum, you obtained the best possible rewards.

That was precisely because the boss, the Corrupted Statue of Meterd, became so powerful that even the Harmony Church had left it unexplored.

If some absurd mechanic that even high-level priests couldn’t handle happened to activate, they’d lose valuable personnel for nothing.

It was only natural that they had made that decision.

‘Even I wouldn’t have dared try it if I hadn’t experienced it firsthand.’

Remembering how to exploit its weakness with [Black Lightning Bloom] had been a tremendous help during this run.

That was the beauty of dungeons.

Even the strong could die meaningless deaths in low-rank dungeons.

And even the weak could accomplish incredible feats with the right methods.

That was exactly why I couldn’t help loving dungeon exploration.

“Careful, Kar.”

Steadying my unsteady legs, I finally reached the top of the altar.

On its flat summit lay treasures arranged like sacrificial offerings.

There were four kinds in total.

Before checking the rewards, I examined the surroundings as a whole and nodded.

‘Just as I thought…’

This altar, where the hidden rewards appeared, only manifested after defeating the boss at its strongest possible state.

Yet traces were scattered everywhere, showing someone had already been here.

‘Someone cleared it before us and took the rewards.’

No wonder Ermentaz had looked so exhausted.

However, that unknown challenger must have used a completely different strategy from targeting the true body, as I had.

Survive for thirty minutes.

The Corrupted Statue of Meterd was actually the type of boss that became incapacitated on its own if you simply survived long enough.

The rewards differed, but the difficulty wasn’t much different.

“…Kar, why are you suddenly smiling?”

“Something interesting happened.”

Who could it have been?

I had absolutely no clue yet… But I was looking forward to finding out.

Unexpected variables that didn’t threaten my life were always welcome.

“…You’re not losing your mind from using too much mental energy, are you…?”

Marlin whispered that while clinging to Rosalia.

I pressed down on the crown of her head a few times before turning her face to the side.

“Marlin. Look over there. There’s something you like.”

“…Huh?”

Her drooping tail immediately started wagging wildly.

“Gemstones!”

The first hidden reward was a collection of brilliantly colored gems.

Since they were always in demand for alchemy, magic, craftsmanship, and countless other fields, they sold for high prices.

“They’re so pretty!”

“You can have them all.”

“Really?”

Her eyes sparkled.

“When have you ever seen me lie?”

“Kar, thank you!”

Beaming happily, Marlin greedily stuffed the gems into her leather bag.

It was a pleasant sight.

Though I was beginning to worry.

She wouldn’t really grow up into a hopeless miser obsessed only with money, would she?

I’d rather she grew into a healthy little thief.

“Sis, this one’s yours.”

I handed Rosalia the pair of boots lying beside the pile of gems.

[Equipment – Soft-Stepping Boots]

[Prevents your feet from sinking into sand, mud, or soil. Reduces the sound of footsteps.]

Simple. Yet incredibly effective.

There was hardly better footwear for explorers, who needed to move as quietly as possible inside dungeons.

And if someone as skilled as Rosalia wore them?

Unless you were a tank… Nobody would be able to stop her assassinations.

“…”

Rosalia silently nodded before storing the boots inside her own shadow.

Her eyes clearly showed she liked them.

“May I take the remaining two?”

“Of course!”

Marlin answered energetically.

Rosalia silently agreed.

“Thank you.”

I had intended to take them anyway.

But receiving their approval made it much easier to accept the fruits of our expedition.

First, I picked up a softly glowing necklace.

It wasn’t flashy.

A small mirror surrounded by elegant decorations hung from it.

[Artifact – Copying Mirror]

[Copies the effect of one Mystery of Third Tier or lower. I can’t believe such an overpowered Artifact actually exists!]

This artifact was one of the reasons I’d been able to conceive the Immortal Cultist Build.

It was unfortunate that it only worked on Third-Tier Mysteries and below.

Even so, its applications were virtually limitless.

I’d already decided which Mystery I would copy.

‘Rolling Thunderclouds.’

The Mystery that strengthened another stat by half the amount of a lowered one.

Right now, due to the Nature God’s curse, Fertilizer Sprout, it only applies to Agility, which had been reduced alongside Strength…

But with this artifact… It could also apply to Strength.

And now… I also possessed a Mystery capable of increasing Strength itself.

‘This is the most important part.’

Finally, I slowly picked up the last hidden reward… A yellow Mystery Book.

After brushing off the sand clinging to it…

Unlike usual, no information appeared immediately.

Only after a brief silence did words materialize in the air.

[First-Tier Growth Mystery Book – Avatar of the Earth]

[Strengthens the body by absorbing the energy of the earth. This should have been the Earth Elves’ innate Mystery… Why does it exist as a Mystery Book?]

The lettering itself looked subtly distorted.

Its shock was practically overflowing from the text.

[Confused: Why aren’t you surprised? Don’t tell me you already knew about this too. Even the Wise One is blinking blankly!]

“You should get used to it by now. This is going to keep happening.”

I scattered the floating words with my hand before looking at my companions.

“Shall we head back now?”

I intended to return home and rest properly for a while.

***

A room furnished with luxurious furniture.

A long-haired man sat on a sofa, quietly watching the wine swirling inside his glass.

He silently swirled it for some time before finally speaking.

“How was it?”

Ripple.

A red-haired assassin emerged from the shadows.

Rosalia respectfully bowed her head.

“It was excellent.”

“…I see.”

Odilon paused briefly before letting out a chuckle and wetting his lips with a sip of wine.

“So. It exceeded your expectations.”

That elf rarely spoke, even when summoned by her master.

Yet the moment she was asked a question, she answered immediately.

Translated into the behavior of an ordinary person… It would have been like someone becoming so excited that they couldn’t stop talking.

“Better than I expected.”

The cultist Kar.

Ever since he’d discovered Hidden Pieces in two consecutive expeditions, Odilon had suspected something unusual.

As expected… He’d hit the jackpot.

“So then… If I build an expedition centered around him… Do you think it could surpass my brother’s and sister’s parties?”

“…”

This time, Rosalia didn’t answer immediately.

She pondered seriously for several minutes before speaking.

“It has sufficient potential.”

It was somewhat ambiguous.

But Odilon nodded in satisfaction.

Considering how incredibly strict the elf was when evaluating others… It was practically the highest praise imaginable.

She really liked him that much.

“I understand.”

No matter how he looked at it… Kar was a talent he absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

He had to secure him before the Harmony Church officially recruited him away.

Odilon took a neatly sealed envelope from his pocket and held it out.

“It’s an invitation. Deliver it.”

“Yes.”

Rosalia nodded before melting back into the shadows.

Watching the place where his assassin had disappeared, Odilon slowly drank more wine.

‘One assassin. One cultist.’

Excluding Kar’s two inexperienced wards…

Four positions remained before reaching the expedition’s maximum size of six.

If he wanted to assemble the ideal expedition…

What classes should he recruit next?

Odilon quietly sipped his wine, lost in thought.

Then suddenly frowned.

‘Her shoes changed.’

They must have been rewards from today’s dungeon.

So why hadn’t she reported them?

Did she think he’d confiscate them?

That only meant she liked her new boots that much.

“…Just what kind of person does she think I am?”

He irritably brushed back his long hair.

He truly had no idea what his subordinate thought of him.

***

Three days had passed since clearing the Earth Elf’s Tomb.

During that time, I recovered from the physical and mental exhaustion left by the previous expedition.

Which mostly meant lying around on the sofa doing absolutely nothing.

“Kar. Aren’t you staying inside way too much? You should at least go outside for a walk once in a while.”

Marlin, sitting beside me, reading a library book titled Even Slimes Can Understand Basic Dungeon Knowledge!, scolded me.

“How heartless. Your patron is lying here sick and suffering, yet you can say such cruel things.”

“I already know you completely recovered two days ago.”

“This is why I hate sharp little brats…”

As Marlin said… My injuries had already healed long ago.

Still… When you rest, you should focus entirely on resting.

That was how you had enough energy to work properly afterward.

Anyone who had survived under Department Manager Choi, the evil demon who’d call employees on their vacation days and dump work on them that had to be finished by evening, couldn’t help being protective of their days off.

‘Still… It’s about time I got moving again.’

I couldn’t forget.

If the highest-difficulty dungeon… Nightmare Dungeon wasn’t conquered within five years… This world would perish.

I’d rested for three days.

Time to get back to work.

As it happened, I already had plans today.

“Hello!”

Just as I finished getting ready to leave, a Dungeon Management Priest visited the house.

It was the same cheerful priest with admirable professional dedication who had overseen the Fire Ant Nest.

[Lay Priest Reina (Human, 23), a member of the Harmony Church’s Dungeon Management Order, “Seeking Lamp.” Bright and cheerful to the point your ears hurt. She’s so noisy that it’d be better to throw her somewhere far away.]

“Here’s your information fee!”

“The information fee!”

Marlin, who’d been watching from the sofa, lit up and ran over.

“Priest Big Sis!”

“It’s good to see you again, little tiger! You look healthy!”

After warmly exchanging greetings, Priest Reina smiled brightly and placed two heavy money pouches into Marlin’s arms.

“First! One pouch is payment for reporting the Hidden Pieces of Ghoul Stalkers’ Hideout and Fire Ant Nest! Fifty gold each! So that’s a total of one hundred gold!”

“One hundred gold!”

“And the other pouch is payment for discovering what happens when you fully activate the Hidden Piece that strengthens the boss of Earth Elf’s Tomb! That one’s worth eighty gold!”

A total of… 180 gold.

Converted into Korean currency, it was roughly 18 million won.

Since it came from an E-Rank dungeon, it wasn’t an enormous amount despite being Hidden Piece information.

But to a teenager whose eyes shone whenever money appeared… It was enough to make her heart stop.

“…”

Marlin stood frozen in place as if she’d fainted.

I lightly poked her to snap her out of it.

“Mr. Kar! Please keep bringing us information in the future!”

“Any rewards for loyal customers?”

“Of course there are!”

“Then I’ll continue selling to you often.”

“Wonderful!”