How to survive as a beggar count

Chapter 20

It was during one of the great upheavals. A tower had appeared in reality. A place where one could grow stronger by hunting monsters.

That place, one of Ashtar’s schemes, was the perfect location for cultivating the Valhalla System.

The awakened ones climbed the “tower” to grow stronger.

“A tower, huh…”

Dungeons had many similarities with towers.

Once you clear them, you get rewards, and the outside world can’t see what’s inside.

But there was one key difference.

The principle behind dungeon creation.

Both towers and dungeons were created by consuming restless souls.

Endless hostility toward living creatures. When this hatred grows and eventually reaches a critical point, a dungeon is born right there.

“The tower was like that too.”

Once a dungeon is created, it doesn’t easily disappear.

Even if the dungeon master is defeated in an advanced dungeon, the dungeon remains in place.

Naturally, people are highly reluctant to the creation of dungeons. They’re like cockroaches—once they appear, they’re hard to get rid of.

Here’s the problem.

What’s required to create a dungeon is not monsters, but restless souls.

Because of this, there’s another way dungeons can be created in this world.

A being that emits endless restless souls toward all living things. There’s another such being.

“Blank.”

The discrimination against the Blank wasn’t just because they were unpleasant.

Not all Blanks were like this, but among the Blanks, there were those with restless souls stronger than monsters.

For example, those who had been high-ranking beings before becoming Blanks.

In fact, several dungeons had been created due to the Blank phenomenon in the stories.

“This is it.”

The Valdig Dungeon. A legacy of a high-ranking knight named “Hecate” from long ago.

“Tch.”

There were many things that bothered him about this dungeon.

The fact that it was born from a knight who fell to become a Blank, and that Ian would die because of the fortunate event gained here.

“That shouldn’t happen.”

He decided to push aside the complicated feelings. Now was the time to rejoice. The protagonist was about to seize the fortunate event that was meant for him.

Having dealt with all the monsters, there was nothing blocking his way to the far end of the canyon.

Occasionally, dust was blown up by the wind, but it was only a little irritating to the eyes.

“This is it.”

Before, it had been too far to see clearly, but right next to the opposite door, a statue had been erected.

The large faceplate covered the face, obscuring it completely. This statue was probably of a Hecatean knight.

“…….”

I stared silently at the statue of Hecate in front of the door.

The knight’s figure was posed with his sword resting on the ground and his hands clasped together. It seemed to be a tribute to a glorious past, preserving the image of a loyal knight within the dungeon.

Countless people had stood before this statue.

They must have been curious about the identity of this knight, and eventually, they would learn the name Hecate.

But the emotion they all shared was one of disgust.

It was only natural for him to receive such a gaze, being the one who caused the Blank phenomenon and even created this dungeon.

But I was different. I understood better than anyone how contradictory the Rank system was after reading this novel.

I carefully placed my hand on the statue.

The method to obtain the hidden artifact in the Baldig Dungeon was simple but tricky.

You only had to touch the statue near the exit.

It was something no one in this world could possess, given with sympathy for the Blank.

…Clunk!

Something fell at my feet. It was a small faceplate, with holes poked through it.

[Hecate’s Faceplate: A faceplate worn by Hecate, the knight of Dover. It purifies the air coming through the faceplate.]

Maximum applicable rank: 5.

“…This is it.”

The artifact that defeated Iaan, the dark wizard, in the novel.

If it was just about combat skills, Iaan wouldn’t stand a chance against the protagonist.

Iaan had become Rank 5 by sacrificing his soul to a demon, while the protagonist, Dia, had spent many years training at a knight school.

But their match-up was poor.

The two first fought in the ruined mansion of Count Impera.

It was practically Iaan’s home turf, and he filled the mansion with deadly poison, pressuring Dia.

Dia almost died, but being the protagonist, he managed to survive by escaping through the sewers.

Then, in the Baldig Dungeon, he obtained this artifact, which rendered Iaan’s poison useless, and he was defeated.

“Not bad. It purifies all poison below Rank 5.”

It was quite useful.

I wondered if it was okay to just take it, but… it wouldn’t wear out with just a few uses. Once I was done with it, I could just put it back where it belonged.

“……”

I looked at the faceplate that had fallen from Hecate’s face.

Though his eyes were tightly closed, I could feel the sorrow on his face.

“…I’ll use it well.”

Fwoosh!

As if my farewell had worked, the statue guarding the door crumbled into dust and scattered away.

Now, I couldn’t return it to its original place.

“Well, I’ll just bury it somewhere nearby.”

The protagonist would probably handle it just fine. After all, that’s what protagonists do, right?

***

The next morning, I visited the Baldig Dungeon again.

Even though I had obtained Hecate’s faceplate, nothing had changed.

The dungeon was still there, and every morning, monsters filled the place.

The statue that had been at the door was gone, but the dungeon remained.

After repeating the same hunting routine day after day, I grew more accustomed to hunting monsters.

So I tried another method.

I entered the dungeon after sunset.

Under the influence of the moon’s evil deity, Selene, the monsters were much stronger.

Their size had increased, and occasionally elite monsters appeared.

But the stronger they were, the more experience I could gain.

Though hunting in other dungeons would be more efficient, I only had the Baldig Dungeon, and traveling to other noble estates to hunt wasn’t worth the trouble.

Anyway, I could fully monopolize Baldig Dungeon.

After a few days, a change occurred.

[Your rank has changed. Would you like to check it?] “Finally!”

The rank-up I had been waiting for!

I eagerly opened my left hand to check my rank.

[Name: Iaan Impera.] Rank: 3 (Magic), 3 (Swordsmanship)

“Hm…”

It wasn’t the swordsmanship that had increased, but my magic rank.

Magic and swordsmanship rank 3.

I had grown to an average level, but… it was still far from enough to compete with monsters like Krod or Priana.

“Well, at least it’s something.”

From Rank 1, barely able to do anything, I had reached Rank 3. I had spent the last few weeks hunting monsters with minimal breaks.

Thanks to that, I had almost no money left but had still earned 3 gold.

It wasn’t enough to pay off my debts, but it would help with living expenses.

Even if I made this much a month, it would only cover interest.

I could barely make enough to pay off interest with a month’s worth of grueling work.

Then next month, I’d be doing the same, only barely covering the interest again…

And the month after that, it would be the same…

The day will come when I have to pay back the principal.

“…Sigh.”

Suddenly, my mood soured.

“How long is it going to take to pay all this off?”

No matter how much dust you gather, it’s still just dust.

It was impossible to turn the junk in the Baldig Dungeon into a mountain of gold.

‘…Maybe I should try gambling to make it grow?’

Slap!

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I slapped my own cheek hard.

After all, it was because of alcohol and gambling that I ended up in this situation, and now I’m thinking about gambling again.

“Ugh…”

Did I hit my cheek too hard?

There was a strange taste in my mouth. A bitter smell tickled my nose.

“Tch.”

As I sucked the blood from my mouth, a rather good idea suddenly came to me.

Magic stones or small bone fragments from magical beasts.

The junk I sold to the Dungeon Guild.

Each one was pretty worthless, but they all had some use.

Cobalt claws could be used for tanning leather, and goblin bones, if properly refined, could be used as ingredients for low-grade potions.

So even though they seemed useless, there was steady demand for them.

If refined properly, they could sell for quite a bit.

“Well then… I could do that, right?”

Selling just junk to pay off the debt would likely take a lifetime.

The fruit I bought last time was a good product, but I needed to sell something that could fetch a higher price.

Weapons or armor artifacts would be a good way to raise some money…

“Hm.”

But I couldn’t just bring useless things and create artifacts with them.

Not only would they likely not be made properly, but it would be shameless to expect such half-baked artifacts to sell for a high price.

To bring in a proper craftsman would require paying a significant amount.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a craftsman just dropped from the sky?

“If only there were dwarves or elves…”

Unfortunately, elves don’t usually involve themselves with humans.

Even though the entire continent is engulfed in the flames of war, they remained aloof.

They live in seclusion in the forests they call home.

That’s the elves.

And if someone like Iaan, known as a notorious troublemaker, were involved, they’d likely never even look his way.

What about dwarves, then?

Dwarves were a different matter.

They were a race that enjoyed drinking, so maybe Iaan’s interests might align with theirs.

Occasionally, dwarves would come to human villages to drink.

But even with dwarves, the chances weren’t much better.

The dwarves live in the Zigelrond mountains, which are located at the far opposite side of the Impera territory.

They rarely leave their territory, making it hard to find them.

If a dwarf is found elsewhere, it’s usually someone who’s been exiled or has a wandering nature.

Even if I did find one of those, the chances of them coming all the way to the distant Impera territory were slim.

‘It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.’

Should I give up on creating and selling artifacts?

Maybe I should just settle for grinding down claws and bones and gathering what I can?

“…Hm?”

But suddenly, a dwarf’s face flashed in my memory.

Who was that?

I’d seen plenty of dwarves in the novel, but those were just words on a page.

I couldn’t remember a face from a novel so clearly.

That means I must have actually seen this one before…

“Ugh…”

I struggled to recall the identity of the dwarf in my memory.

After a while, I finally remembered the dwarf from Iaan’s old memories.

His face wasn’t very clear since he had been heavily drunk at the time.

‘I? They call me Bronze Beard! Kahaha!’

I recalled the dwarf laughing heartily, holding a full cup of alcohol.

Yeah, there was that guy.

A dwarf with a beard as dark as brass, fitting his name perfectly.

He was someone Iaan had met when he was drunk out of his mind.

Iaan found his boisterous personality amusing, and they clinked cups a few times after that.

But after some time, he disappeared without a trace.

Iaan, not being the deepest thinker, had quickly forgotten about him.

“Ho…”

I had thought he was completely useless, always drinking, but now it seemed like he might actually be helpful.

But I couldn’t relax just yet.

I had seen him in a tavern in a nearby territory, so if he had come this far out into the countryside, he was definitely a wandering dwarf.

It had been a whole year since I met him, so by now, he might have left for another continent.

“Hm…”

I tried to recall if there were any clues.

‘If you ever want a drink, come to the cave on Clannig Mountain! Of course, you’ll be paying for the drinks! Kaha!’

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like Bronze Beard treated Iaan as his personal vending machine for alcohol.

But what did that matter? If I could get a dwarf to work for me, what was a few drinks?

I’d prepare a whole barrel of ale for him.

‘Clannig Mountain.’

Clannig Mountain was located to the northeast of the Impera territory.

It was also the mountain that separated it from neighboring territories.

It was a solid stone mountain, and no one lived around it.

‘Why would they live in such a rugged place?’

Curiosity started to bubble up, but the answer didn’t come easily.

It seemed like I’d have to meet him in person to ask.

‘Maybe I can buy something delicious with the 3 gold.’

With 3 gold, I could probably have a feast of meat.

But what good would that do? After eating, it would just come out as waste.

Maybe I should just buy some expensive alcohol and prepare it as a gift.

Grrr

A count, contemplating between meat and alcohol.

The road to a comfortable life was still long and treacherous.