Construction Mage - Chapter 17: Dangers of Delving

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Time was ticking quickly as Clay debated with himself whether to intervene with the game of cat and mouse taking place below. From what he heard so far, the pursuers didn’t seem to be up to any good, but that didn’t mean the lone runner was any better.

He couldn’t deny that his first instinct was to help the escapee, though. If what he said about how his pursuers were murderers was true, it wouldn’t bode well for him if he got captured. However, was he really in a position to do anything?

From what he saw of the Delvers, it wasn’t their first day in the dungeon. They were experienced and had proper equipment. In contrast, he was just a beginner in his first month and was all battered and bloodied. Even with the greatest of intentions, his ability to interfere was likely abysmal.

I can probably try to distract them at best, but that will make the situation complicated for me. What if they lay in ambush for me next? However, if I succeed, it’ll make great headway in gaining influence with other Delvers. The question is if I can stomach the risks.

A myriad of memories suddenly filled Clay’s mind as he recalled various instances of unruly or dangerous customers in his time as a retail worker. His young co-workers weren’t the best at handling these situations and would often offload the issue to him. He would then futilely try to reason with the source of the disturbance before calling the police. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option right now—or was it?

Sorry, buddy. I don’t have the ability to do anything for you right now, considering my condition.

Clay relaxed as it soon became clear to him what he should do. He settled down, sitting up against the tunnel, and took out some provisions. Despite recovering his stamina and mana, humans still had to eat and drink. It had been quite the mess of a day. Having decided not to get involved with the pursuit, he slowly ate an early lunch while he waited for the troublesome characters to head further away.

During the break, he carefully monitored his wounds visually and through the status screen. As much as he tried to ignore it, the pain persisted, and his health even went down by one percent to fifty-five percent.

It didn’t take a genius to realize having arrows embedded in your body to know it wasn’t healthy, but it did increase Clay’s sense of urgency. His medical knowledge amounted to putting pressure on the wound to stop bleeding. Too bad it didn’t exactly fit his situation. He was eager to exit the dungeon to get proper treatment.

Once he had double-checked on his bandages and he prepared to start descending into the greater chamber below. Things had quieted down, and he had no idea what had happened to the pursuit anymore. It may be crude, but Clay was relieved about it. The higher the chance of returning to town along with the skill book, the better.

The slope down was steep, but it was possible for him to slide down as long as he didn’t go too fast. He searched around for a foothold or anything to hold on to, but the rocky cavern didn’t wasn’t that generous. Shaking his head, he took out the Kobold Longsword instead and stabbed it into the wall beneath him. It was a precious weapon of the uncommon rarity, and he could see why. 

The thrust felt like the weapon was helping him, pulling along the momentum, producing a surprising amount of power. It stabbed into the walls with no issue, and he could pull it out just as easily. 

He then gingerly slid down the steep slope, using the sword to stab into the walls in order to slow down. The two dozen-meter drop down didn’t take long, and he was soon standing in the middle of the colossal cavern. He could feel a nice breeze coming toward where the Delvers had run. It was safe to assume they were racing for the way out, so he followed.

Walking down such a spacious passageway with nothing in sight was quite eerie. It didn’t help that the path soon split into three. Before he could think too hard on which way to take, he noticed some traces of blonde coming from the middle path. He sighed as he mustered up the resolve to continue.

There was a good chance he would be walking up to a crime scene, but his situation didn’t allow him to detour. His wound was still stable for now, but it could change the longer he didn’t get proper treatment. The entire place was also a maze to him, so this was his only hint of the way out.

The way forward rose with a gentle incline. Just as Clay reached a part that leveled out, a scent of blood assaulted his nose. It didn’t take long for him to notice two Kobold Sentries lying still ahead of him. They each had a huge cut on their torso that threatened to bisect them.

He slowly approached the corpses and inspected the handiwork of what was likely to be the work of the Delvers he had seen.

Yep. I made the right choice by not interfering. They did this in the middle of a chase. They didn’t even bother to loot it!

Crouching down, he pocketed the wax candles in their pockets and then confiscated their spear tips. He counted his good fortune for the free loot and escort and continued his journey out of the dungeon.

After walking for another fifteen minutes, a bright white light shone down from the path ahead. His steps quickened and soon emerged onto the surface.

Glancing around, he couldn’t help but feel relieved upon seeing the familiar withered trees. He turned around to find the hole he had crawled out of was at the base of a larger tree that had a radius of over two meters. A small distance behind it was an even larger tree, the giant that threatened to reach into the skies, and also the landmark of the first layer.

Without wasting any more time gawking, he swiftly headed away. Now that he knew the way to the exit, his steps had more spring to them. He couldn’t wait to put this nightmarish adventure behind him. It was too much excitement compared to what he signed up for. He’d rather leave it to the other Delvers.

I could really use a hot bath after this mess. Life just isn’t the same without it.

***

By the time Clay reached a white pagoda, his health had ticked down to fifty percent. The strenuous activity of trekking through the forest, along with combating any kobolds he encountered, only worsened his wounds. Thankfully, he didn’t encounter too many monsters. The Delvers who had gone ahead of him cleared most of the way.

When he placed his hand against the altar within the pagoda, he didn’t select the option to view his status and spend his free stat points, but chose to exit immediately.

Everything changed within the blink of an eye, and he found himself back in the Delver enclosure within Ravenhold.

He quickly walked out toward the marketplace, ignoring the looks he got from other Delvers, as he searched for a medical treatment. From his previous tours of the marketplace, he didn’t remember any doctors or healers, so he thought they were in the more secluded corners. However, he soon realized they didn’t exist anywhere. 

Fed up with his misfortune, he approached the next guard he saw.

“Sir, I have something to report,” he called out.

“You—are you okay? Did someone attack you?” the guard asked as he stared at the arrow sticking out of Clay’s thigh. “Do you know the name of your attacker, or can you recognize them?”

“Well, these are from the dungeon. If you can point me to a healer, I’ll appreciate it as well.”

“No one in your party knows how to dress wounds?”

“Umm, no. I’m new.”

The guard raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

“Not my business, I guess. If you want treatment, there are plenty of healers in the greater parts of the second ring. If you got the coin, you can head to the church for their holy priests to cast their healing spells on you for more immediate results. Anyway, what did you want to report about?”

“Oh, right. I wanted to report seeing a group of three chasing a young man within the first layer for their possession. From what I overheard, the young man accused his pursuers of being murderers. I’m not sure if they exited the dungeon yet, though.”

Contrary to what Clay had expected, the guard shook his head upon receiving the news.

“You only overheard their conversation from afar without witnessing anything? That’s hardly something we can take action on, especially when you’re not even the aggrieved party. In the first place, were you even close enough to get a good look at their faces? We can do anything if we don’t have anything to go on.”

“What? I witnessed them chasing after the young man with the intention of robbing or even killing him. Is that not enough for you to investigate?”

“For dungeon disputes, any allegations made are quite serious, as investigations involving Delvers cannot be taken lightly. The accuser will risk facing a hefty fine or even imprisonment if their claims fall through. I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but are you willing to put yourself on the line to accuse people whose identity you’re unsure of? All for circumstances that you are not even clear on?”

“When you put it that way—maybe that isn’t something I should get involved with.”

Memories of the incident where he was accused of being a bandit flashed in his mind. The Delvers who had lodged the accusations against him had to give him the Meditate skill book as reparation. 

From the way the guard explained it, it seemed like his hands were tied, too. They didn’t have the power to casually investigate every Delver, which in hindsight was to be expected, considering the importance and strength each of them had. The guards had to be sure before taking any arbitrary action against these superhumans.

Clay had thought he could at least report the crime he had witnessed to get an investigation going, but it appeared he was sorely mistaken. His efforts were futile, and after a short conversation with the guard, he had to give up. It made him feel that there were a lot more dangers to delving than he had initially thought. 

With a heavy heart, he made his way out of the Delver enclosure to search for a healer.

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