第四十四話 〈哀哭するトラペゾヘドロン〉
全員HP、MPにあまり余裕はなかったが、合流地点へと進むことにした。
それに目的地まで辿り着きさえすれば、ここの〈夢の主〉のナイトボーンとの戦いは、他の冒険者達に任せることができる。
ナイトボーンは、カロス一人でお釣りが来る程度の相手だ。
それに魔物の群れは思ったよりも多くない。
カロスが手を付けられなかった程だからもっと大変かと思っていたが、一気に上位冒険者が入り込んだことで魔物の方もかなり分散されているようだ。
......そんな中で、パッチワーク二体にぶつかったのは不運だったとしか言いようがないが。
通路先まで先行していたケルトが、引き返して戻って来た。
「この先を右だな。左は群れがいるから、足音立てるんじゃねえぞ」
「ケルト、先に進み過ぎじゃないか?」
「俺には〈聴覚強化〉と〈第六感〉がある。〈忍び足〉もあるから、斥候ならむしろお前らと距離を置いておいた方が安全だ。気付いた魔物が接近してくるリスクも低い。馬鹿な地図のせいで袋小路にさえなってなきゃ、あんな無様な真似は晒さなかったんだよ」
俺の問いに、先行するケルトがそう答える。
〈聴覚強化〉は遠くにいる魔物の大まかな位置を探るスキル、〈第六感〉は危険な魔物やアイテムの位置を稀に教えてくれるスキルだ。
「......地図強引に握りたがってた理由もわかったんよ。そういうのあるんなら、先に言って欲しかったんよ」
メアベルが呆れたように零す。
「喋るわけねぇだろ。それを理由に一生先陣に送り込まれてたら、俺は今頃生きてねぇ。HPも低いし、狭い〈
ケルトがメアベルを睨む。
「それは......まぁ、軽々しく言って悪かったんよ」
メアベルは僧侶クラスだが、思うところがあったのだろう。
ラコリナの冒険者達を見ていて思うことだが、魔剣士にしろ、狩人にしろ、僧侶にしろ、皆、自分の有利不利を隠して、どうにか立ち回っている。
「今のMPじゃ、雑魚相手に囲まれても厳しいからな。どうせ総崩れになったら、下手したら次は全滅だ。だから、今回は俺がババを引いておいてやる。デカい借りも作っちまったし......本気で命を預けてやってもいいって思えた奴と組めたのは、お前らが久々だからな」
ケルトはそう口にして、居心地悪そうに鼻の頭を掻く。
「それに......エルマ、お前みたいな凄い奴がいるのに、俺一人セコセコ立ち回ってちゃ格好が付かないからよ。一人でアレをあっさり倒しちまうとは思わなかったぜ」
「楽々ってわけでもなかったんだがな」
パッチワークの手の内と弱点、攻撃の動作、安定した勝法がわかっていて、その上でようやく辛勝だったのだ。
「羨ましいぜ、お前みたいに堂々と戦える、気持ちのいい奴はよ。正直......嫉妬するくらいだ」
ケルトが溜め息を吐き、苦笑する。
ルーチェはその様子を見て、さっと顔を蒼褪めさせて俺の腕に抱き着いてきた。
「ケ、ケルトさんに、エルマさんは渡しませんからね!」
「お前は何をどう捉えやがったんだ?」
ケルトが目を細め、ルーチェを睨む。
ふとそのとき......ケルトの左目の瞼が、びくんと痙攣した。
「どうした?」
「〈第六感〉が反応した。近くにレアアイテムがあるみてぇだ。〈
レアアイテム......か。
「ただでさえ何が起きるかわからないって触れ込みだったんよ。ウチは合流を急いだ方がいいと思うけど」
通常であれば、メアベルの言葉の方が正しい。
ただ、ケルトの判断もまた、その辺りを考慮した上での発言だろう。
「ケルト、案内してくれ」
「高価なアイテムなら、先に入った冒険者の遺品かもしれない。回収しておいてやりたい。それに......いや、すぐに確かめられることだ」
もしかしたら何らかのアイテムによって齎されたものである可能性もある。
ただ......本当にそうだとすれば、それはものによっては、人間の手が入っているということの証明にもなる。
ケルトに付いて、俺達はしばらく移動した。
目的のアイテムはすぐに見つかった。
床に、半ば埋めるように置かれていた。
「なんだ、この宝石......? 魔石......とは、ちょっと違うみたいだな。こんなのがレアアイテムとはね」
ケルトが拾い上げたのは、黒い歪な多面体の宝石だった。
握り拳程度の大きさがある。
ここが薄暗いこともあって、〈第六感〉がなければ、上を通っても気付かなかったかもしれない。
「使い道はわからないアイテムですが、かなりの値になるみたいですよエルマさん!」
ルーチェが嬉しそうに言う。
だが、俺はそれどころではなかった。
「ケルト! それを渡してくれ!」
「あ、ああ? どうしたんだよ」
俺はケルトから受け取ったアイテム......〈哀哭するトラペゾヘドロン〉を勢いよく壁へと投げつけ、剣の刃で砕いた。
「お、おいエルマ! 何してんだよ! 高価なアイテムだったんだぞ!」
「......これは、残してはいけないものだ。わかってくれ、ケルト」
〈哀哭するトラペゾヘドロン〉
【市場価値:二千五百万ゴルド】
高純度の闇属性のマナと魔物の魂を合成し、ネクロマンシーによって結晶化させたもの。
保管が非常に難しい。
要するに、強力な魔石である。
主に力を持った高レベル冒険者の死体と、魔物の亡骸から現れる魔石である。
〈哀哭するトラペゾヘドロン〉は、強引に純度を高められた魔石である。
〉内部にこんなものを悪意的にばら撒いている人間がいるとすれば、異常発生率の急上昇の説明が付く。
ただ、一つや二つではこうはならない。
犯人はこの異変を引き起こすためだけに、二億ゴルド相当のアイテムを用いたことになる。
「こんなものが出てきた以上、大分話が変わって来る......」
冒険者の動向だって探っていたはずだ。
何かしらの手を打っているに決まっている。
「......おい、遠くから悲鳴と......とんでもない速さで、何かが駆けてくる足音が聞こえる」
ケルトは青い顔をしていた。
恐らく〈聴覚強化〉だけではなく、〈第六感〉も現状の異常を訴えているのだろう。
「や、やっぱり集合場所に向かった方がよかったんよ......!」
メアベルの言葉に、ケルトはぎこちない動きで首を振った。
「その集合場所の方からだ。こうなった以上、合流は無理だ」
その言葉に、俺は背筋がぞっとするのを感じた。
〈哀哭するトラペゾヘドロン〉が出てきただけで最悪だと思っていたが、それを上回る最悪が訪れようとしていた。
〉はそう長引くものではないが、冒険者の突入タイミングさえ知っていれば、直前に仕掛けることも可能だ。
警戒情報を出されることもない。
Volume 2 - Ch 44
None of us had too much HP or MP to spare, but we decided to head for the rendezvous point, since it was much closer than turning back would be.
Also, if we manage to get there, then we can leave Knight Bone, the Dream Lord, for other adventurers to fight.
Kalos should be more than enough for that by himself.
The number of monsters are fewer than I expected.
I expected there to be more, since even Kalos couldn't deal with them by himself, but since a bunch of high level adventurers entered recently, monsters should be pretty scattered right now.
.....bumping into two Patchworks at once despite that can only be called bad luck.
Celt returned after walking further down the corridor once.
"We will be going right on the next corner. There is a group of monsters to the left, so don't be making any noise now."
"Celt, haven't you gone too far ahead just now?"
"I have [Enhanced Hearing] and [Sixth Sense]. With [Stealth] in the picture too, it's safer to be farther away from you all to scout instead. The risks of a monster coming after me if it notices me is also low that way. If it wasn't for that stupid map leading us into a dead end, I wouldn't have ended up making a spectacle of myself like that."
Walking in the front, Celt answered my question.
[Enhanced Hearing] is a Skill that lets someone be aware of the general location of monsters farther away, while [Sixth Sense] sometimes lets the user know the location of dangerous monsters or items.
"....so that's why you were gripping that map so tightly. Although I would have rather you've told us about that before this."
Mabel griped with some exasperation.
"Like hell I would say anything about it. If you've used that as a reason to put me in the front, then I wouldn't be alive right now. My HP is low and, depending on the corridor, I might not be able to run away in the tight confines of the Dungeon, even if I know where the monsters are. Hunters work best outdoors, not inside a cramped Dungeon."
Celt was glaring at Mabel.
"That's....well, sorry about saying things without thinking."
Even though Mabel was a Priestess, she also had some thoughts on the subject.
It's something I've observed in the adventurers of La Colina, be they a Magic Swordsman, Hunter, or Priestess, everyone tries their very best to hide their strengths and weaknesses.
"With our current MP, even small fry monsters could be a problem, if they manage to surround us. The next time it turns into a rout, we might get wiped out entirely. So, I'll draw the short straw this time. I ended up making a huge debt too, and.... you guys are the first ones in a while who I think I can trust to keep me alive."
Celt said while scratching the bridge of his nose, looking uncomfortable.
"Also....I can't just keep being a petty asshole with someone as impressive as you in the party, Elma. I didn't think you would be able to beat one of those by yourself like it was nothing."
"I wouldn't call it easy at all."
It was a hard-fought victory even though I was aware of the Patchwork's hidden strengths and weaknesses, its ways of attack, and a reliable method to defeat it.
"How I envy a guy like you who can just fight head-to-head, all bright-eyed like that. Honestly....it's enough to make a guy jealous."
Celt let out a sigh with a bitter smile on his face.
Seeing that Luce immediately went pale and grabbed one of my arms and kept clinging to it.
"I-I won't let you have Elma-san, Celt-san!"
"How the hell did you interpret what I just said to reach that conclusion?"
Celt narrowed his eyes and glared at Luce.
At that time....Celt's left eyelid twitched.
"What happened?"
"My [Sixth Sense] reacted to something. Apparently, there is a rare item nearby. A Dungeon acting abnormally can also create unexpected rare items, not just a massive number of monsters. However, we don't have too much leeway, so I'll leave the decision to Elma this time. I'm of the opinion that we should go for it, since I can't sense any monsters on the way either."
A rare item.... huh.
"We don't know what could happen even without that in the picture. I think we should prioritize meeting up with everyone else first."
Normally, Mabel would be right, here.
However, even after considering that, Celt thinks otherwise.
"Celt, lead us there, please."
"If it's an expensive item, then it might be something that was left by deceased adventurers that entered ahead of us. I would like to collect it if possible. Also.... nevermind, we will be able to see soon."
There is a possibility that all that was caused by some kind of item or items.
However.....if that really ends up the case, then it will also serve as confirmation that it was caused by humans.
The party followed Celt for a while.
We found the item we were looking for before long.
It was simply left there, half-way buried into the floor.
"What kind of gem is that....? It's somewhat different from a magic stone. I did not expect a rare item like this."
What Celt picked up was a black, irregularly shaped gem with many sides.
It was approximately the size of a clenched fist.
With how dark it is in this place, without [Sixth Sense] we may have just walked over it without noticing it at all.
"It's unknown what this item might be used for, but apparently it's quite valuable, Elma-san!"
Luce said in a cheerful manner.
However, I couldn't care less about it at that point.
"Celt! Give me that, please!"
"Ah, okay? What is it?"
I took the item, the Mourning Trapezohedron, from Celt and immediately threw it at the wall with all my strength, then shattered it with my sword.
"H-hey, Elma! What did you do that for! That was a valuable item!"
"....that's something that could not be allowed to remain whole. Please understand, Celt."
<Mourning Trapezohedron> 
[(Market Value: 25 million gold)] 
It was created by forming a crystallized mix of high purity dark mana and the souls of monsters by the use of necromancy.
It's especially difficult to store.
In other words, it's a very powerful magic stone.
Those usually mean the corpses of high level adventurers and the magic stones left behind after monsters.
A Mourning Trapezohedron is a magic stone with artificially increased purity.
If there are people who intentionally and maliciously leave such items within Dungeons, then it can explain the sudden increase in abnormal situations.
However, just one or two of these would not lead to this outcome.
That means that the culprit must've used items worth at least 200 million gold to cause this phenomenon.
"With this in the picture, the story changes significantly....."
They should be aware of the movements of adventurers too.
It's obvious that they would have a plan to deal with it.
".....hey, I can hear a scream from far away....and also, the footsteps of something coming closer stupid fast."
Celt's face lost its color.
It's most likely not just [Enhanced Hearing], but also [Sixth Sense] that are warning him right now about how abnormal the situation is.
"W-we really should've just headed for the rendezvous point first then....!"
Celt mechanically shook his head at Mabel's words.
"It's coming exactly from that direction. We won't be able to meet up like this anymore."
I could feel a shiver run down my spine from those words.
I already thought it couldn't get worse when we found the Mourning Trapezohedron, but it seems the world's about to prove me severely wrong.
Normally, a Wandering Lord wouldn't be roaming for too long, but if you know the exact timing of when the adventurers will enter, then it would be fairly easy to set up.
We can't even alert each other to the danger.
The Reincarnated Heavy Knight Who Was Exiled After A Supposed Big Miss Is Unparalleled With His Game Knowledge
大ハズレだと追放された転生重騎士はゲーム知識で無双する
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-reincarnated-heavy-knight-who-was-exiled-after-a-supposed-big-miss-is-unparalleled-with-his-game-knowledge/
Action Adventure Fantasy Romance Shounen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alchemy Arrogant Characters Artifacts Blacksmith Calm Protagonist Clever Protagonist Determined Protagonist Dungeons Fallen Nobility Fantasy World Game Elements Guilds Hot-blooded Protagonist Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Lucky Protagonist Male Protagonist Mystery Solving Naive Protagonist Nobles Poor to Rich Previous Life Talent Reincarnated in a Game World Romantic Subplot Skill Books Strategic Battles Strong Love Interests Strong to Stronger Sword Wielder Underestimated Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8465gx/
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