ALL NOVEL Chapter 122
122. The Revealed Truth
The day after the deadly battle with the King Basilisk, I was heading to a certain place.
When I entered the building and completed the procedures, a staff member guided me to the intended location.
Walking down a corridor with sterile white walls, I was led by the staff member to a particular room.
The room’s exterior looked like an ordinary cube. However, in the center of the room was a glass partition, with two chairs placed on either side.
After waiting in one of the chairs for a while, the door on the other side of the partition opened, and a man walked in.
“Long time no see. How’ve you been?”
“What do you want, you lowlife?”
A sharp gaze glared at me. His blue hair was even shorter than before.
The black-and-white striped prison uniform suited his pale skin so well that I couldn’t help but laugh.
The person in front of me was Barry.
This is Ortia Prison. I requested a meeting to talk to him.
Barry, arrested after the Hero Tournament incident, was confirmed to be held here after finishing his treatment in the hospital. It’s been a while since we last met.
“Don’t call me out, you lowlife. Seeing your face pisses me off.”
“Quite the greeting. Also, I’m stronger than you, so could you stop calling me ‘lowlife’ already?”
“You’ll always be a lowlife. Once I get out of here, I’ll crush you first to prove I’m stronger.”
His rabid dog-like attitude remained unchanged, which strangely comforted me.
“What’re you grinning about? Get to the point.”
“Alright. What I want to ask you about is— the Assault Team.”
Barry’s expression briefly shifted, as if caught off guard. Bingo.
I wanted to investigate the cryptic words Laura left behind. So, I decided to talk to this S-rank adventurer.
I thought he might know something about the Assault Team. Even if not, he might know something I don’t.
“…Why are you snooping around about the Assault Team?”
“The Assault Team is in town now. I want to join them and explore the depths of the dungeon. But when I told Laura, she…”
I told Barry the whole story. He then sighed loudly.
“…So, do you know anything?”
“That’s exactly why you’re always a lowlife.”
For some reason, he seemed disappointed.
As I was about to ask what he meant, Barry spoke.
“…I’ll tell you. The Assault Team already has the power to clear beyond the 43rd layer.”
I didn’t understand what he meant. The Assault Team came to this town to conquer the 43rd layer of the Ash Dungeon.
“You saw Laura’s strength, right? Do you think she’s only capable of handling the 43rd layer?”
Honestly, I had thought that.
Previously, Raize and I conquered the 25th layer together. Laura easily defeated the now stronger Raize and me alone.
“So, what Laura said means—”
“Yeah. The current Assault Team has enough power to conquer the 43rd layer. They’re deliberately stalling.”
That answer was exactly what I suspected.
Therefore— I paradoxically wanted to deny it.
“If that’s true, why!? The Assault Team is supposed to conquer the dungeon, right!?”
“Yeah. But think about it. What would happen if they conquered the dungeon and disbanded?”
“That’s— oh, they’d lose their jobs!”
The Assault Team is organized by the state. They’re treated as civil servants, probably earning substantial salaries.
If the team disbands, they’d stop receiving their salaries. Without equivalent earning power, their lifestyle would decline.
In other words, someone is intentionally slowing down the dungeon conquest to avoid disbanding the team.
That person will age and become unable to continue as an adventurer. And he has a role that lets him control the progress of the dungeon conquest.
“Gerda— it’s his doing!”
“That’s right. As long as he’s in charge, the Assault Team won’t achieve anything substantial.”
Everything connected. Laura had realized this and warned me to avoid getting involved.
The one corrupting the Assault Team is the leader, Gerda. He’s slowing the dungeon conquest to continue unjustly receiving state rewards—!
“Well, if you figured it out, you should stay away from the Assault Team. Despite the monstrous strength of its members, their leader makes them ineffective.”
“—No, I’ll do it.”
“What!?”
If Gerda is corrupting the Assault Team, then we need to remove him from the top.
And I know the perfect way to do that. I should be able to do it.
The only question is whether Laura will help— but she surely will.
I’ve decided. I’ll join the Assault Team and unleash their true power—!