Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 393

Chapter 393 – Delivery

(Jerusalem)

Aleyn Flintwater could not believe his luck! He had gone into the Adventurers Guild looking to see what jobs were available, and he hadn’t been hopeful. His combination of Plant Mage and Alchemist was a potent one, in theory. The kinds of things Plant Mages had done in the forests during the Grimbough War were legendary, after all, and as an Alchemist, being able to grow herbs with magic ought to be a boon, right?

Wrong. Unfortunately, conjured plants didn’t work for alchemy. They were just mana, after all. And plants that had been rapidly grown with magic might be great for a Chef or other professions, but growing herbs like that meant they did not retain enough of their natural magic to be more than mid-grade ingredients. That was fine for simple recipes, like the basic healing or mana potions, but for the recipes with more complex formulas or more expensive ingredients? The best that could happen would be a sub-par potion.

That would have been fine, if he’d been in an area where he could find a plot of land, get some seeds, and use his magic to ensure that the herbs grew strong, healthy, and abundantly, while keeping the soil fresh and ready. Then, he’d be able to sell his potions, and make the kind of steady, reliable income that would see him all the way to old age. It wasn’t ‘heroic glory’, or anything like that, but as dreams went, he thought it was one of the more attainable ones.

The problem, of course, was money. Plots around Voldan were not cheap, even when they were more rock than soil. Given that they were in the Kaldor Mountains, that made sense, since any plot capable of being tilled had already been taken and put to work growing food long before. He could try traveling to another town, certainly, or even a village out, away from the cities. But that came with its own problems.

Cheap land wouldn’t make a difference if he had to pay more for supplies, and he was further away from any adventurers or other groups who would make best use of his potions. Having to travel any reasonable distance back and forth whenever he went to market was not sustainable, in the long run. It would only take one bad run-in with bandits to ruin that scheme.

Since he did not have the gold to rent facilities for alchemy work, nor did he have the funds to buy the good ingredients, Aleyn had turned to Adventuring, which was more socially acceptable than banditry. However, he was only Level 13, which meant that most of the monsters around here were far too powerful for him, as was the Labyrinth of the Dishonored Knight dungeon. Parties weren’t looking to take on a burden of someone too low-level to make a difference when they were running a dungeon.

Gathering and delivery quests, along with the few Alchemy quests he qualified for, were what kept his head above water. It was honest work, but unreliable in frequency and the pay was always less than he felt it ought to be. But it was all he could do, until and unless he scrounged enough coin to go somewhere that would better suit him.

The Transport Quest that caught his eye was too good to be true. And yet, it was real. A simple delivery, releasing a captured monster on another world, and then making his escape while the monster went and made a lair. Even better, it came with an up-front payment of five thousand platinum pieces, and the [Tier 4 Capture Ball] would be his to keep, afterwards!

Clearly, the other adventurers had only seen that the quest was a Transport one, and stopped reading. If they’d read the whole thing, the quest would have been accepted by now, if not for the coin and the item, then for the fact that this whole thing was apparently part of a Divine Trial.

To be part of a Divine Trial, even a minor part, like this one, was to be a part of history. The System itself would take note, and even the minor players, like he was, would find exciting rare options when they advanced to the next Tier, possibly even unique options. More integral parts of the trial would gain titles, loot drops, and even better options in advancing to the next Tier. Being tapped to be part of a Divine Trial was a major boon. And he was getting PAID to do it!

Obviously, he had accepted the quest immediately, before anyone could realize the gem that had just been sitting there, waiting. Normally, a Transport Quest did not dictate or even suggest what means of travel the quest-taker should take. These weren’t Escort or Guard quests, after all, and it was assumed that whoever was doing the transporting knew their business well enough not to need harrying each step of the way.

That did have a tendency to change when gods were involved, or when the item to be transported was to be taken to another world. Not often, but often enough that it was common knowledge that such things happened. This was especially true for a Divine Trial. So, seeing a ‘suggestion’ on how to get to Earth meant he immediately went to the nearby Temple of Kuronoth, which had recently incorporated another deity from that Earth place.

And wasn’t that a thought. A God of Dungeons forming an alliance with a Goddess of the Hunt? Interesting pairing there, like moveran leaves and athyk honey in a good tea. Didn’t look like it would work, on the face of it, but once you tried it? Hard to get anything better.

As he signed the System Contract that would allow him to use the portal network, Aleyn chuckled. This Kuronoth got around, that much was obvious. Everyone had seen the System Notice about the two goddesses from that Atlantean pantheon popping out his kids. The fact that the two were sisters, and one was a former Goddess of Freedom turned into a Goddess of Willing Slavery? That spoke volumes about the kind of god this Kuronoth was.

It also meant that he was most definitely going to keep to what the Quest Notice said. No trying to get tricky on this. Whatever was locked up in the [Tier 4 Capture Ball] was likely to be powerful, and pissed as hell. Only the temporary command period would keep him safe. Which meant he was going to do exactly what the Quest ‘suggested’.

Through the portal, into a large room, with more portals, all leading to different worlds. He followed the line of aliens heading to a doorway marked ‘Earth’ in Dungeonscript, which translated so that anyone could read it, thanks be the System. From there, he had to ask one of the dungeon creatures for direction, as there were hundreds more portals leading from this single room.

Most of those in this room were not aliens, but the local species, humans. His own species, the Fenari, were human-like, with bluish skin and hair in shades of green. It only took a simple use of his [Glamour Stone] to change his appearance to look like these humans. The effect reserved a tenth of his MP, but it was worth it to not be the center of attention.

The portal deposited him in a building that had the look of an Adventurers Guild building. Well, not the architecture, which was strange to his eyes, but the counters, the armed and armored people either in line or lounging in what looked like a sitting area? Yes, he’d know this scene anywhere.

He paused a moment to purchase a [Translation Charm] from a counter near the portal. The simple item would translate any spoken language into something he could understand, and translate his words, in turn. However, the charm only lasted for one local day, once activated. Still, for a single gold piece? Worth it to any stranger in a strange land. If he decided to stay on Earth longer, he’d find a System Shop and get a more permanent solution.

Technically, the moment Aleyn stepped out of the building, he could have opened the [Tier 4 Capture Ball], and completed the quest. However, he was fairly certain that the creature, whatever it was, would not be best pleased when it was released, and, after being bound against attacking or restraining him, the thing would take its anger out on others. And a man standing in plain view ordering the creature around was going to become very unpopular, very quickly. Or, perhaps, very popular, of the more unwanted, more fatal type.

Aleyn Flintwater was not a fool. He understood what kind of chances he would have, as a Tier 1, in a world of Tier 1s and 2s, if they decided that he was a problem that needed solving. It was nearing night, which would be a far better time to complete the quest. He just needed to find somewhere to do the deed, and then escape back through the portal. Somewhere like this stadium, which looked to be used for sports, for instance.

(Godly Realm)

“Why go to such lengths, if you might as well have signed your name to the quest form?”

I chuckled at Artemis as we sat by a scrying pool in her godly realm. Part of binding our two faiths meant that she noticed when someone was sealing a Contract with me, and, when she looked at him, she noticed the orb containing the dragon. To say that she was curious would be a bit understated.

“Because, my dear Artemis, there are rules and expectations that must be upheld. Free will, and all of that. I could not do it myself, or command someone to do it on my behalf. However, simply placing a quest, and allowing someone to act on their own free will, especially as they are no worshipper of mine? That is not my responsibility.

“There is a chance, if the Fenari stays on Earth for some time, that some mortal group will catch him, and they’ll learn that he took a quest. If they ask me about him, I can say, completely truthfully, that I never saw the man before this day, and had never contacted him or asked anything of him. All completely true. If they send investigators to Atara, and ask around at the Guild, or the System Shop? Both are bound by their Contracts not to reveal the identities of those who use their services legally.”

As night fell in Jerusalem, we watched as the alien made his way to a soccer stadium that was not in use. There was a flash of light, and then the dragon, nearly as large as an aircraft carrier, appeared. Aleyn spoke quickly, in his own tongue, commanding the dragon to halt before the light had even faded. Which was good, since the dragon’s claws were already an inch from his face when it stopped, as though frozen in the air. The Plant Mage spoke again, and put down the two orders, giving himself immunity for the temporary command period, and then ordering Kithenin to make a lair in the city.

The dragon laughed, and then turned to fly off, with promises to kill Aleyn if they ever crossed paths again. Aleyn Flintwater took that about as well as could be expected, as he started running the other way, heading for the Jerusalem Adventurers Guild. He did not stop running until he was through the portal, down the stairs of the portal nexus back in Swamptown, and safely back through the portal to Atara.

That was the right call, of course. Get as far away as he could, before things hit the fan. It did not take a tactical genius to understand that unleashing a dragon in the city was going to have people looking for him, hoping to get answers. I was impressed that he didn’t drop the glamour hiding his face until he was safely back on his home world.

Looking over to Artemis, I grinned. “That’s the thing with using mercenary labor. Because they’re mercenaries, they understand the limits of what they’ve been paid to do, and when they don’t want to stick around for the fallout.”

Artemis just shook her head. “You were counting on whoever took the quest not being a Hero.”

“The types who get called Hero rarely go doing jobs as glorified couriers,” I grinned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to contact Patriarch and the others to let them know the dragon is in play, and then speak with the Great Sage to ensure he doesn’t interfere by hunting dragons before he has a chance to truly establish himself.”