Chương 105: 102. He did… didn’t he?

"That's a dungeon?"

"Well, yes…" Adolin said as he shrugged.

"It's not a dangerous or corrupted one. So, you don't have to worry about it repeating the same thing that happened last time." Clay's hand rested on the hilt of his sword. The boy wasn't even dressed in his leather armor, just casual black clothes. Well, maybe he should have informed him before they left the city. The boy couldn't really fight much without his armor. It wasn't really a smart thing to do. Clay nodded slowly and took a deep breath.

"I kind of need to enter one. Sooner rather than later. So, this is perfect." Adolin wasn't sure what to think. Was Clay scared of entering a dungeon or… excited? Perhaps a little bit of both? He really wasn't sure what was going on in his head.

"You sure you're okay with it?" Adolin asked.

"Yes."

"What's with the holdup?" Eury shouted, still standing below the giant X with his hands on his hips.

"Coming," Adolin said. Before he even turned toward Clay, the boy was already walking toward Eurynomos. He shrugged and followed behind him. Below the marked spot, a huge cave entrance stood. It was large enough for four, maybe even five people to walk side by side. The beginning was brightly lit by the Light spell, while deeper inside, the light was suffocated, struggling to exist. The portal, Adolin guessed.

"Where is your party?" Adolin asked.

"How am I supposed to know that?" Eury said, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I left them here three or four days ago. What they did afterward, I have no clue. They are probably already in the dungeon." He said the last sentence with a slight change in tone. Hurt? Adolin wasn't sure, but he already threw the thought out of his mind. He didn't plan on involving himself in Eury's party, just like he wasn't planning on involving himself with whatever had happened to his own party. They could all take care of their problems, or not. He didn't really care.

"After you," Eury said to Clay, his hand pointing toward the entrance of the dungeon. Clay didn't enter immediately. It took the boy a few seconds and a few deep breaths. Just as Eury was about to protest, Clay took his first step, then another. In just a few seconds, he vanished into the darkness. Adolin didn't waste any time and followed behind him, leaving Eury last. The experience inside the cave was the same as the first time he entered, and just as he passed the lit area, everything turned dark.

In moments, he felt his body being teleported. His vision changed. He appeared in a brightly lit… forest? Clay stood a few steps away from him, looking around the area, his sword already a few inches out of its sheath. There was a slight tremor in his hand as well. The boy was terrified, or maybe just afraid. Adolin really was bad at judging other people's emotions. It could also have been the teleportation, as he was doing much better than the last time.

The first room smelled like any other forest he'd been in, of mud and something else. Little chirps came from everywhere around them, though he didn't see any birds. The trees around him were filled with red fruit that looked like apples. Well, they probably were. It was his first time seeing a fruit tree in a dungeon. Eurynomos appeared moments later, a step away from him. He took a deep breath as he studied the area around them.

"Better," he muttered.

"None of that corrupted bullshit."

"Corrupted?" Clay asked as he turned toward them. His sword was halfway drawn. Well, even though he was really bad at reading emotions, Clay was definitely afraid. Even a blind man could see it. Adolin gave Eury a strong look.

"Corrupted? What's that?" Eury said. The Demon King didn't even twitch when he told the lie. He really was a great liar, Adolin thought. Clay nodded and sheathed part of his blade. A portion of it was still drawn.

"So, what now?" Eury smiled and puffed out his chest.

"You clear the dungeon slowly. I'll just watch your experience!" Adolin tilted his head.

"And why would we do that?"

"So I can learn how it works, dummy! How else am I going to make clearing the dungeon a great experience?"

"What about your party?"

"Hopefully, they haven't killed themselves and will help you clear the dungeon." Eury smiled.

"Okay! Let's start!" He glanced at Clay.

"Boy! You're going to lead the way." Clay let out a nervous chuckle.

"Do we really need to listen to the kid?"

"Not really. We can do whatever we want," Adolin said. He never promised he would do the Demon King's bidding, only that he would help him acquire ownership or control of the dungeon. It didn't really matter to him what the definition was. But he also didn't want to waste his time, so he strode forward.

"Let's go. I'll lead the way." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"You sure?" Clay asked.

"You are a mage?"

"I'll manage," Adolin said.

"I'll manage," Eury repeated and chuckled.

"Sure, sure!" Adolin didn't comment. Instead, he focused on exploring the dungeon. This could just as well be his first time exploring a dungeon, since the last one didn't operate like a real dungeon. Most of the stuff in the later parts had already been cleared by the corrupted, and instead of fighting a boss monster, they fought corrupted morons. He was also curious about what the corrupted had done to that dungeon, but he didn't really plan on exploring that, at least not yet.

That could be left for the future, when his goals were already accomplished. Like buying a house by a river. With Eury, his business, and all the gold he'd gotten and was going to get, that dream was really close. If he had to guess, it was only a few months away. That was, if he could find a house to buy and wasn't forced to wait for one to be built—or build it himself. Well, now that he thought about it, building one didn't sound so bad, maybe it could even be fun.

It was too early for that, so he focused on the present. Clay jumped and caught a fruit from the tree. He flipped it in his hands, studying it.

"Dungeon fruit," he said as he threw it into the air, catching it before it could fall.

"It's weird."

"What's weird?" Adolin asked. He had learned a few things about dungeons, but because of the corruption, everything he had experienced in the first dungeon couldn't be applied here. So, he would have to rely on Clay again, and this time, hopefully, the boy would be inclined to share more.

"Well, usually, you need to be extremely lucky to get dungeon fruit in the first room of a dungeon. And only high-tier ones usually have them." Clay looked around at the trees.

"Here, the whole first room is filled with them."

"Are dungeon fruits important?"

"Important? Not really. They're just expensive," Clay said as he took a bite from the apple. His expression changed in moments. His eyes closed, and it looked like he almost let out a moan.

"That good?" Adolin asked as he used Mana Control, floating an apple from the closest tree into his hands. It looked like any normal apple. Well, maybe not. It was… perfect. There weren't any brown spots or other visible flaws that apples usually had. The color was deep red, and it almost glistened in the light. The apple smelled fruity, with a sweet aroma. Just as Adolin was about to take a bite—"Expensive? How expensive?!" Eurynomos asked as he stared at the apple Adolin was about to bite.

"Depending on their quality and what they do," Clay said, taking another bite of the apple. The boy chewed slowly and didn't say anything as he looked at Eury, pure satisfaction on his face.

"Go on," Eury said, motioning with his hands for him to hurry up. Clay didn't. After a few seconds, which probably lasted like hours to Eury, he finally spoke.

"The taste is divine," he said, nodding to himself.

"I also feel… more refreshed? If I had to guess… they would be around five to six gold."

"Each?" Eury asked, his eyes widening.

"Yeah."

"I'm rich!" Eury screamed as he started jumping from tree to tree, probably counting the apples. Adolin chuckled.

"Great investment." Eury turned toward him.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing much." Adolin took a bite from his own apple and froze. The apple was… phenomenal. It was sweet, but not too sweet, with a hint of savoriness and a crisp texture. A strange sensation spread through his body, followed by a refreshing feeling. Like he'd just woken up from the best sleep he'd ever had. He took his time with the first bite before taking another. The same feeling arose, and he didn't want it to end. The apples were addictive.

"Why are they so expensive?" Adolin finally asked, his gaze scanning another apple. He swallowed and turned toward Clay.

"Just because they are really tasty. The nobles and rich merchants buy them whenever they're in stock so they can serve them to important guests or at business meetings. It's just a luxury. Of course, there are a few types that can be used to grow your mana or any of the other stats. But they are almost impossible to find, and if anyone finds them, buying them is a different matter, since the Emperor and the Dukes usually buy them before they can be taken to market." Eury was staring at the apples.

He looked like he wanted to try one but was stopping himself.

"Go ahead. It's not like eating one is going to take a lot out of our wealth." Eury nodded as an apple floated toward him.

"You're right… it's just that… I haven't even seen what six gold coins look like together." He took the apple, laying it softly on his palm.

"And this thing… is worth six times everything I have…"

"Not for long!" Adolin said.

"True… but… what do you mean by our wealth?!"

"What?" Adolin said, already moving away from Eurynomos. Naturally, it was their wealth. Well, only twenty percent of the wealth was his, but that was still an enormous amount. So much so that he didn't even want to count the apples. It would just mess with his head knowing how rich he was. They didn't stay long at the beginning and started walking through the dungeon. Adolin took ten more apples and put them inside his inventory discreetly. He would want to eat one once in a while.

It wouldn't hurt his gold too much, and they really were the best thing he'd ever tasted. The whole dungeon was the same, a forest filled with trees. The only change was that the further they went from the entrance, the fewer apples there were on the trees. At the beginning, each tree had about five apples, while after a while, the trees barely held one, and then nothing. The trees were empty.

Eury did look sad about the whole thing, but when Clay mentioned the hundreds of apples at the beginning, the boy's mood was back to I'm rich! There were no monsters anywhere in the first room. Their guess was that Eury's party had already cleared the first room, which should have contained a few goblin nests. Eury also mentioned that when he first entered the dungeon, there hadn't been any apples. Clay had no idea what that meant. After more than half an hour, they finally found the entrance to the second room.

Eury's mood did look like it took a noticeable dip as soon as they saw it. The entrance was between two trees, and it looked like it was woven from thick roots that made an opening in the middle. There was enough space for one person to enter. Clay's fear also looked like it was gone, or almost. The boy was back to his natural self, and his blade stayed sheathed for most of their later walk. Now that he thought about it, what were the chances that he already knew he was much more powerful than he was letting on?

A lot, probably. Adolin and Edrin were the ones who defeated the Corrupted General, and they left the dungeon without any wounds. That was mostly because of his healing, but it didn't really matter. There was also the fact that Clay didn't even question their sanity when they mentioned they were going inside a dungeon. A mage, a young warrior, and a… kid.

There was no chance that Clay wouldn't have at least protested if he didn't know how powerful Adolin was, or at least how powerful he had been back in the last dungeon. That did make him wonder what was wrong with him. Just because he had left Zent quickly, that didn't mean Edrin's men and the others hadn't talked about their experiences there. Edrin as well. Whatever. It wasn't like the boy had said anything, so he wouldn't either.

He was now quite certain that Clay knew that he hadn't helped him, even when he could have taken care of every enemy they faced back then. Adolin decided that he would start the training as soon as they entered the second room. That was going to make him feel better, and get Clay strong enough that he wouldn't need to remember those embarrassing things.

"After you," Eury said, gesturing toward the entrance. Clay shrugged and, with a deep breath, passed through the entrance. As soon as his body touched it, he vanished. Eury took a few moments, during which he didn't even acknowledge Adolin's presence. He gulped, closed his eyes, and vanished as well. Adolin just stared at the entrance, wondering what was wrong with Eury. He acted worse than before they entered the dungeon, and now this.

"Whatever," he muttered and stepped through. As soon as he appeared on the other side, he saw Eury holding Clay back, the boy's sword already in hand. In front of him were three adventurer-looking individuals. Their weapons were already out. At first, they looked relieved. Moments later, after all of them glanced at Eury, their expressions changed. They looked scared and… constrained? Eury himself was avoiding eye contact with them. The whole room was quiet and very much awkward.

Did that fool use his magic at full power in front of them? He did… didn't he?