How to survive as a beggar count

Chapter 19

[It doesn’t matter if I die.] Ian Impera himself wrote it.

“Is this enough?””Is this enough?”

“Uh…….”

“I hope you don’t test my patience any further.” Are you curious, by any chance? What will I look like when I’m angry?”How do I look when I’m angry?”

“Sorry, I’m sorry!” Then…

The guards carefully received the note and then opened the dungeon door.

Gugugugu…!

The heavy iron doors opened.

Beyond that, the dark and gloomy interior of the dungeon could be seen. I was about to pass by the guard and go in, but I hesitated.

“Just one favor, please.”

Yes! Anything you say!”Say whatever you want!”

“Don’t let anyone in here for the next week.” “I will come every morning.”

“Uh, a whole week?””One week?”

“…….”

“…Yes! Understood!Understood!

“Okay.” Then I’ll take it as agreed.

…Thud!

The thick iron door closed again as soon as they entered the dungeon.

The dark dungeon began to illuminate with bright light as soon as the iron door closed.

Then, the sight of the dungeon before them was a scene unimaginable from its exterior.

“Ho-oh.”

Unlike the outside, which clearly looked like an overturned bowl, the inside of the dungeon had a narrow gorge.

The earthen walls on both sides rose so high that their tops were out of sight.

As I stood up, the teahouse owner approached.

At one end of the canyon, there was the iron gate through which I had entered, and at the far end on the opposite side, there was another iron gate identical to the one I had come through.

The teahouse owner smiled faintly, as if relieved.

“The one who will do the calculations is that friend over there.”

And then pointed at Priana.

Priana was still standing there blankly for a long time, as if her mind was still in a jumble.

Opening the door over there and going down is the condition to clear the Valdig Dungeon.

Instead, I quietly left the teahouse and made my way to the mansion.

Priana hesitated with a somewhat dazed expression, paid for the tea, and then followed me closely behind.

“So…….”

I thought back to the novels I’d read and summarized the peculiarities of this dungeon.

Valdig Dungeon.

A catching dungeon where only miscellaneous monsters roam around now that the treasure has dried up.

And the dungeon where ‘the artifact’ is hidden.

It’s a simple dungeon where you just have to go through a canyon and touch the door on the other side.

In between, monsters guarded the path.

“Kerruk…….”

I entered the dungeon, but the distance didn’t attract the attention of the monsters.

Most of them were weak creatures like kobolds and goblins.

A monster the size of a Krood would be able to clear the dungeon in one fell swoop, but I, a cleaner with an average rank of 2.5, couldn’t take on more than three of them.

“So I brought this.”

A shield that’s deceptively large.

I don’t have a blacksmith rank, but I can’t make a decent artifact.

‘I wish I had a skilled craftsman somewhere…….’

So this is what I made.

An enormous shield.

It’s a crude skeleton made of thick wooden planks with a handle and finish.

You’d probably cringe at the thought of using it as a shield.

How do you use this as a shield? Unless you’re using it as a wall.

“Like this.”

…thud!

He threw the large wooden shield into the canyon. Its weight caused a loud vibration that reverberated through the dungeon.

“Keruk?”

My voice drew the attention of the demons who hadn’t even paid attention to me.

“Kii-yip!”

They roared at the intruder who had invaded their territory.

Then they charged down the narrow canyon path as if to tear me apart.

“Kkhhhh! Yes, come on!”

Their eyes began to fall on me like dominoes. Before I knew it, the ones at the other end of the canyon were also running toward me.

I had a rough estimate that there were less than a hundred of them.

“Hya……. That’s a lot of them.”

Because of the number of them here, it’s normal to attack in a party of at least five.

Even if it’s a coming-of-age ceremony, you don’t go alone. It’s a big deal if a valuable noble dies, so you’ll want to have a noble with you, along with four good vassals.

However, the more vassals you have, the less experience you’ll get. On the flip side, you’ll get five times as much experience if you do it alone!

If you just know the strategy, you can definitely beat it. That’s the hard part.

Kugugugu…….

Dozens of monsters surged in.

However, since it was firmly blocked by the shield, the already narrow canyon path became even narrower.

A gap just wide enough for a small kobold and goblin to barely squeeze through. That was the only path allowed between them and me.

“Yeeek!”

Before I knew it, a swift kobold had dashed right up to me. But it was only struggling against the barrier that blocked its way.

No matter how heavy the shield is, if dozens of them charge at once, it will inevitably fall.

To prevent such things, I drove iron nails into the bottom part of the shield and near the handle.

The shield, now with a sturdy support, didn’t budge even when the monsters slammed their heads against it.

“Screech!”

A beast that had been repeatedly smashing its head found an opening.

A small gap just big enough for his head to barely fit through. It was strange enough to notice, but it was still too small for a kobold or goblin’s head.

The goblin’s bloodshot eyes squeezed through the gap.

…Pugak!

Soon, as a cold sword pierced his forehead, his eyes, filled with rage, revealed the whites.

“Growl!”

Even though one of my colleagues just died, another one stuck his neck out again without a care.

Every time that happened, they would follow the one who went first and die together.

Dududududu…….

“Hmm…”

I succeeded in handling it easily, but there are too many.

The iron nail embedded in the shield couldn’t hold and flinched. If we leave it like this, it seems even the thickest shield will be destroyed.

“Then…….”

The ‘this’ that I had prepared.

Inside the prepared bottle was the poison gas I had collected over the past few days.

To enter this dungeon, I learned poison magic and then stored that magic in a bottle.

It’s still rank 2 magic, so it took several uses just to fill the bottle.

Since my magic power is too weak to use spells on-site, I had to prepare like this to be ready for any danger.

I covered my respiratory system with a cloth and threw the bottle far away.

The bottle shattered, and purple smoke billowed up.

“Keruk?”

The effect appeared immediately. The guys who inhaled the smoke trembled and gasped for breath.

“Kyah!”

Kagagagak!

I tried to quickly scrape the shield to escape, but since I had inhaled the poison, my strength was even weaker.

“Kerurrrk…!”

Before long, the first ones to inhale the poison staggered.

…Bang!

“Done!”

Only then did the group that had first appeared suddenly turn to dust and disappear.

From then on, it was a piece of cake.

It was enough to endure until the venom subsided and deal with those who occasionally peeked through the gaps.

What happens when the venom subsides? If you throw one more, that’s it.

After a tedious cycle of repetition, the monsters that once filled the canyon have vanished without a trace.

“Phew!”

Only after all the surrounding monsters were wiped out did he catch his breath.

Since I knew the strategy, I finished it without a single scratch. If I had to estimate the time, has it been about ten hours?

“Ugh….” Still, it ended before that Selen guy’s influence showed up.

After the sun sets, it is the time of the moon’s evil god, Selene. From then on, the monsters become even stronger.

The poison emitted by the pure water of Magic Rank 2 would have been fine even if I inhaled it all day long.

Crunch!

I munched on the snacks I had prepared in advance to quell my hunger. My mouth was so dry that I couldn’t eat the jerky.

The fruit that looked somewhat like a cucumber was quite tasty.

With its sweet and juicy flavor, it’s perfect for eating after a workout like now.

As soon as all the fruits I had brought were gone, my strength returned once again.

“Hmm.”

The shield, firmly embedded in the ground, was covered with scars obtained from the slain monsters.

By the way, taking this shield back is quite a task.

Should I just throw it away?

First, let’s clear the dungeon and then think about that later. We should collect the rewards first.

Swish!

I gathered the odds and ends left behind by the dead monsters. They weren’t particularly strong, so it was hard to expect any magic stones.

Mahak is a crystallized form of mana that only comes from monsters of a certain rank.

The only ones who would come out to those much lower in rank are the likes of Ma Jeong-seok.

The magic stone came out to about two fists. They’re not as valuable as the Mahek, but they should be enough to earn some pocket money.

“Well.” If these guys can get a magic stone, it wouldn’t be expensive.

As a consolation, I scraped up all the magic stones and packed them into my backpack.

“Ma Jeong-seok has had enough.”

It’s not like I came to the Baldig Dungeon early in the morning just to collect magic stones.

One of the fortuitous events that the protagonist, Dia, experiences.

Even so, it becomes a terrible curse for Ian.

Hecate’s mask.

I came to get that.

“It was an artifact that increased poison resistance.” And that was…

It was also the artifact that would kill me.

Please provide the text you would like to have translated.

“Ahh…!”

“Lord Count!””Lord Count!”

Count Vener felt as if his blood was boiling.

Damn the Impera Count family!

I thought we were finally going to fulfill the family’s long-standing wish! To some knight whose origins are a complete mystery!

“Ugh…!”

“Pl-please hold still!” If you lose consciousness again like last time, it will be a big problem!”Last time, you lost consciousness again, and it was a big problem!”

“This… because of that idiot knight…!””Because of that… idiot reporter…!”

Benner wanted nothing more than to crush Priana.

If only he had won the duel trial.

You were so stupidly confident!

However, as soon as Priana recovered, she left the Count Benner’s territory.

“Hmph!” You idiot! He’ll probably just roll around somewhere and starve to death! Yeah! Of course! That damn bastard must die like that!That damn bastard must die like that!

Bener poured out every curse he could think of.

If I didn’t do it that way, it felt like I would go crazy.

The fact that he barely got out of bed was thanks to the fact that the arrows of blame were directed at him, which somewhat eased my mind.

“Ugh…….”

His butler Alberto, sweating profusely, tried to reassure his master.

In Benner’s age group, there are countless cases of dying from anger.

Now, when our family’s future is already at a standstill.

If Vener dies, the family might be thrown into turmoil. In this situation where other nobles are eagerly waiting for an opportunity, such a thing must never happen.

“…How long was I unconscious?””How long have I been passed out?”

“Uh, it’s been a little over a week.”

“Sigh…….”

The head of the household has been absent for a whole week.

If it were normal times, it wouldn’t be a problem, but during a time like this, it’s quite a long time.

He had to pull himself together quickly.

That’s what the head of the family has to do.

“…Report what has happened during that time.”

Bener tried to regain his peace.

Despite his efforts, the report submitted by the butler was quite shocking.

“What, what?””Wh-what?”

The only son of Count Impera, Ian Impera.

I saw that guy going into the Baldig Dungeon he stole. Is he planning to tackle it properly, even carrying around those bizarre artifacts?

Benerne felt the dizziness that made her mind go blank once again.

“Ugh…!”

Alberto felt a pang of realization.

I was trying to delay the report as much as possible to avoid this kind of situation.

“The article written by the Impera family…” Did you find out who it is?”Did you find out who it is?”

“Ugh…” I tried to find out, but… no matter how much I asked around, I couldn’t find out who they are. He seems to be a wandering knight.

“…Ugh!”

“Ah!”

“You idiot!” Of course, he’s a wandering knight! A guy who helps that kind of family can’t be a proper knight, can he!?”Helping that family, is he even a proper knight!?”

“Sorry, I’m sorry!””Sorry, sorry!”

“…….”

“Sir, my lord?””Lord Count?”

“…sigh.”

Fortunately, he didn’t end up losing consciousness again.

Rather, he regained a cold gaze as if he had made up his mind about something.

A single word slipped out from between his lips.

“Romulu.”

“…Yes?”

Alberto doubted his ears.

Romulu? That crazy dark sorcerer guy? Why the hell is he looking for him?

…No way?

“I need to meet Romulu.”

The butler swallowed his words inwardly upon hearing Benner’s remarks.

But I couldn’t refuse.

If it is the master’s will, I will definitely follow it. Even if it is the path of an evil person.

“…Understood.” “Then I will prepare right away.”