“What? Gringore has been abducted?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Who the f—“ Siegfried was about to exclaim and bang his fist on the table, but he stopped himself just in time.
“Goo! Kyaah!”
“Kweee! Kyuuuing!”
He couldn't raise his voice in front of Verdandi and the Fairy Dragon. After all, it was common sense for a parent not to say cuss words or destroy things in front of their own children.
“Argh...” Siegfried gnashed his teeth before squeezing out the words. “T-That is inzee disturb... news... Ahem...”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
“Y...”
“Your Majesty...?”
“My m... ey...”
“P-Pardon me, but I cannot understand what Your Majesty is saying.”
“My money...”
“Your Majesty’s money?”
“Who dares to steal—I mean, abduct my money...?”
“...”
“Do they know how much he's worth?!”
The chamberlain was speechless at Siegfried’s reaction. ‘D-Does Count Gringore look like money in His Majesty’s eyes...?’
It would sound offensive to others, but it was the harsh reality. Gringore was like the goose that laid golden eggs in Siegfried’s eyes, and he was an excellent investment that yielded excellent returns.
Gringore was the continent’s most famous celebrity, and all the Proatine Kingdom had to do when they needed money was to force—no, send Gringore on a continent-wide tour.
Gringore also had the Hidden Class, Phantom Singer, and his class had this strange mechanic where he would gain experience points the more audience he had. In other words, Siegfried could kill two birds with one stone by forcing—no, sending Gringore on a continent-wide tour, as it would encourage the latter’s growth and earn the kingdom some gold.
And that was why it wasn't strange that Siegfried saw Gringore as money.
“Who dares to...”
“Ahem... This does not seem like the appropriate place to discuss this, Your Majesty. Shall we move elsewhere?”
“Sure.”
Siegfried placed Verdandi in Brunhilde’s care and headed to Michele’s office.
***
Siegfried met up with Michele and discussed the incident.
“Welcome, Your Majesty.”
“Who is it? Which fucking bastards did it?” Siegfried asked immediately as soon as he entered the office.
Michele shook his head and replied, “We are yet to pinpoint the mastermind, but this is a clear provocation to our kingdom—no, this is no different from an act of invasion, plundering, and destruction of our property! Therefore, we will have to prepare to retaliate as strongly as possible and make them pay.”
“Huh? Invasion? Plundering? Destruction of property? I thought this was about one of our nobles being abducted?” Siegfried said while tilting his head in confusion.
“Haa... Your Majesty...” Michele let out a sigh and shook his head. Then, he proceeded to explain, “Count Gringore is a one-man company who brings in massive revenue for our kingdom. He is an excellent human resource that is no different from a physical gold mine. Someone daring to abduct him can be taken as them trying to plunder our kingdom, right?”
It turned out that Michele had the exact same impression of Gringoire as Siegfried, with just a slight difference.
Siegfried nodded in agreement and said, “Oh, you’re absolutely right. I also thought that someone stole my money—”
“I apologize for interrupting Your Majesty, but Count Gringore is an asset of the kingdom.”
“Eh? Uhm...”
“So please refrain from any thoughts of using his talents for Your Majesty’s personal benefit and instead focus on saving him.”
“H-He’s mine!”
“I believe I clearly told Your Majesty he is not.”
“Sniff...”
“Anyway, please read this letter first.”
“Letter?”
“The kidnapper has sent their demands.”
“Let me have a look.”
Siegfried took the letter and read its contents.
Gringore is with me.
Bring the Demon Sword: Avenger to the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth in a week.
Come alone.
“Daedalus Great Labyrinth...? Hey! How the fuck do you expect me to go there, you crazy shithead!” Siegfried screamed the moment he read the location demanded by the kidnapper.
The Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth was a dungeon no Adventurer had ever conquered—no, not a single Adventurer managed to return alive after going down the dungeon’s basement.
Some would think that it was not a big deal, as an Adventurer could simply respawn at the nearest respawn point, but the Adventurers who dared to venture into the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth never returned. In fact, most of the Adventurers gave up and quit the game altogether after getting stuck in the dungeon for months.
Interestingly, there were some who persevered and were still wandering around the dungeon to this day. One example of it was an Adventurer with the ID TigerGrills, who had been livestreaming his adventure stuck in the dungeon for two years now.
However, the kidnapper was actually asking Siegfried to come to such a place? This could end up as a dangerous journey that could potentially force him to quit the game.
“Those bastards have no shame! There are so many other places on the continent, but they chose that place of all?! Why?! Who the fuck are those shitheads?! Wow! What a bunch of crazy bastards!” Siegfried roared and unleashed his pent-up frustration.
***
Meanwhile, at the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth...
“I think Siegfried van Proa has read the letter you have sent, my lord,” Chaos reported.
The shitheads who dared to kidnap Gringore were none other than Metatron and his subordinate, Chaos. Of course, Siegfried totally had no idea of it.
“Yes, he should have received my message by now,” Metatron said.
Chaos frivolously nodded in agreement and added, “My lord just has to wait for Siegfried van Proa to bring Avenger here!”
“But something is bothering me...”
“What is it, my lord?”
“Anyone that steps foot in this place won’t be able to leave for eternity. Well, it’s different for you and me, as we have the ability to find our way here. But will that greenhorn come to such a place? Don’t you think he will be scared of getting trapped in here for eternity?”
“Ah! Truly discerning and insightful of my lord!” Chaos exclaimed. Then, he grinned and said, “But based on what I have found out, my lord does not have to worry about that.”
“How so?”
“Siegfried van Proa is someone who would not hesitate to sell his soul for money if he could.”
“Really? Let’s suppose he is indeed obsessed with money, but do you really think he will risk it all just to save this... clown?” Metatron said while looking down at Gringore, who was bound and gagged.
“You need not to worry, my lord! He is infamous for being crazy—no, obsessed over money that some people suspect he died from poverty in his previous life!”
“Oh!”
“Also, that greenhorn possesses the artifact Inzaghi’s Compass, so he will find it probable to challenge venturing into this place.”
“I see...”
“Please trust your humble servant’s judgment. That brat obsessed with money will definitely come here to save that clown.”
“Alright.”
In the end, Metatron decided to trust Chaos’ judgement and waited for the money-crazed brat to come.
***
“Hmm... Should I just abandon him? Yeah, money is important, but my life is more important, right? What if I can’t come back from there? What am I going to do with money when I have to kiss my life goodbye?”
Siegfried seriously contemplated abandoning Gringore, as going down to the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth was just too dangerous. Well, he would not have thought twice and run for the dungeon if either Brunhilde or Verdandi were the ones who got kidnapped, but it was different for Gringore. He was one of Siegfried’s most precious subordinates, but he wasn't as precious as Siegfried's wife and kid.
Of course, he would run over without a second thought if it were anywhere but the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth.
“Ah... What should I do? I still have to save him...”
“Yes, we do have to...”
The two were now in a dilemma, and it was then...
“Ah!”
Siegfried gasped upon thinking of a brilliant idea.
“There was that option!”
“Have you thought of something, Your Majesty?”
“Yeah, I think we have a solution,” Siegfried replied with a nod.
“What is that solution?”
“Wait here. I have to go somewhere,” Siegfried said as he rushed out of the office.
***
Three days later, Siegfried stood in front of a cave located in the northern region of the Nürberg Continent, and a message popped up in front of him.
[Nürberg Continent Northern Region: Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth]
In the end, Siegfried came to the dungeon to save Gringore, but he was not alone.
“Kyuuu! Why did you bring Hamchi with you?! Hamchi doesn’t want to rot here forever! Let go of Hamchi, you fucking owner!” Hamchi screamed and thrashed.
Siegfried dragged Hamchi with him, and the reason he did so was...
‘It’s going to be lonely if I get stuck here alone.’
Siegfried knew it would be very lonely and boring if he had to wander the dungeon on his own.
And having a buddy to chat with was the beauty of a long journey, right?
“Kyuuuu! Let go! Go rot alone!”
“Hey! I already told you we’re not going to be trapped! Don’t you trust me?!”
“How can I trust you?! Kyu!”
“...”
“I’d rather trust a scammer than trust you! Kyuuu!”
“Oh? Is that something you should be telling me?”
“Shut up, crazy bastard! Why the hell will you go in there?! Just let Gringore rot in there alone! Kyuuuu!”
Siegfried dragged Hamchi with all of his strength and ran toward the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth.
“Kyuuuu! Let me go! Hamchi doesn’t want to go in there, you crazy bastard!”
“Shut up!”
Siegfried jumped into the dungeon with Hamchi.
A minute later, Siegfried felt nothing beneath his feet.
“Huh?”
Swoosh!
Siegfried suddenly found himself in a free fall.
“Kyuuu! Are we going to crash to death?!”
“So you’re already pulling tricks from the start?!” Siegfried lashed out at the labyrinth's designer. Who would have imagined the start of the labyrinth would be a trap that would make those foolish enough to challenge it fall to their demise?
However, Siegfried wouldn't get done in by something like this.
Vroom! Whoosh!
Siegfried activated his thrusters and slowed down his fall enough to not die from it, but that wasn't the end of his problems.
“W-What...? Just how much deeper are we going to fall...?”
He was in a freefall with no end in sight. Yes, his fall was slow, thanks to his thrusters, but it seemed that the hole was endless.
One minute, two minutes, five minutes, and ten minutes...
Siegfried was in freefall for ten minutes now, but there still seemed to be no end to the hole.
‘Don’t tell me... Am I falling to the world’s core...?’ Siegfried could not help but wonder if he was going to fall until he reached the core of the planet.
Twenty more minutes passed, and he finally landed after a total of thirty minutes in freefall.
[Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth: Entrance]
A message notifying him of his current location popped up in front of his eyes.
“Is this it?”
“Hey, owner punk... Let’s just go back up if you value your life... Kyu...”
“I don’t want to.”
“You’ve really gone mad! Kyu!”
“I already told you it’s going to be fine!”
Both of them bickered while walking into the dungeon, but...
Crack...!
He could feel something crack under his feet.
“Huh...?” he looked down at his feet. Then, his face turned ghastly pale as he screamed, “W-What the hell is this?! Why are there so many of them?!”
He was stepping on bones, and there was a mountain of bones in front of him. These were the people who died after venturing into the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth, only to fall to their deaths the second they stepped into it.
“Just how many people had died here—Hmm? What’s that?”
Siegfried noticed there was something that resembled a handle buried among the bones. He took out a torch from his inventory and lit it up.
Fwaaah! freewebnovel.c om
The torch illuminated his surroundings, and...
“Aaaaack!” Siegfried screamed.
“What? Gringore has been abducted?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Who the f—“ Siegfried was about to exclaim and bang his fist on the table, but he stopped himself just in time.
“Goo! Kyaah!”
“Kweee! Kyuuuing!”
He couldn't raise his voice in front of Verdandi and the Fairy Dragon. After all, it was common sense for a parent not to say cuss words or destroy things in front of their own children.
“Argh...” Siegfried gnashed his teeth before squeezing out the words. “T-That is inzee disturb... news... Ahem...”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
“Y...”
“Your Majesty...?”
“My m... ey...”
“P-Pardon me, but I cannot understand what Your Majesty is saying.”
“My money...”
“Your Majesty’s money?”
“Who dares to steal—I mean, abduct my money...?”
“...”
“Do they know how much he's worth?!”
The chamberlain was speechless at Siegfried’s reaction. ‘D-Does Count Gringore look like money in His Majesty’s eyes...?’
It would sound offensive to others, but it was the harsh reality. Gringore was like the goose that laid golden eggs in Siegfried’s eyes, and he was an excellent investment that yielded excellent returns.
Gringore was the continent’s most famous celebrity, and all the Proatine Kingdom had to do when they needed money was to force—no, send Gringore on a continent-wide tour.
Gringore also had the Hidden Class, Phantom Singer, and his class had this strange mechanic where he would gain experience points the more audience he had. In other words, Siegfried could kill two birds with one stone by forcing—no, sending Gringore on a continent-wide tour, as it would encourage the latter’s growth and earn the kingdom some gold.
And that was why it wasn't strange that Siegfried saw Gringore as money.
“Who dares to...”
“Ahem... This does not seem like the appropriate place to discuss this, Your Majesty. Shall we move elsewhere?”
“Sure.”
Siegfried placed Verdandi in Brunhilde’s care and headed to Michele’s office.
***
Siegfried met up with Michele and discussed the incident.
“Welcome, Your Majesty.”
“Who is it? Which fucking bastards did it?” Siegfried asked immediately as soon as he entered the office.
Michele shook his head and replied, “We are yet to pinpoint the mastermind, but this is a clear provocation to our kingdom—no, this is no different from an act of invasion, plundering, and destruction of our property! Therefore, we will have to prepare to retaliate as strongly as possible and make them pay.”
“Huh? Invasion? Plundering? Destruction of property? I thought this was about one of our nobles being abducted?” Siegfried said while tilting his head in confusion.
“Haa... Your Majesty...” Michele let out a sigh and shook his head. Then, he proceeded to explain, “Count Gringore is a one-man company who brings in massive revenue for our kingdom. He is an excellent human resource that is no different from a physical gold mine. Someone daring to abduct him can be taken as them trying to plunder our kingdom, right?”
It turned out that Michele had the exact same impression of Gringoire as Siegfried, with just a slight difference.
Siegfried nodded in agreement and said, “Oh, you’re absolutely right. I also thought that someone stole my money—”
“I apologize for interrupting Your Majesty, but Count Gringore is an asset of the kingdom.”
“Eh? Uhm...”
“So please refrain from any thoughts of using his talents for Your Majesty’s personal benefit and instead focus on saving him.”
“H-He’s mine!”
“I believe I clearly told Your Majesty he is not.”
“Sniff...”
“Anyway, please read this letter first.”
“Letter?”
“The kidnapper has sent their demands.”
“Let me have a look.”
Siegfried took the letter and read its contents.
Gringore is with me.
Bring the Demon Sword: Avenger to the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth in a week.
Come alone.
“Daedalus Great Labyrinth...? Hey! How the fuck do you expect me to go there, you crazy shithead!” Siegfried screamed the moment he read the location demanded by the kidnapper.
The Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth was a dungeon no Adventurer had ever conquered—no, not a single Adventurer managed to return alive after going down the dungeon’s basement.
Some would think that it was not a big deal, as an Adventurer could simply respawn at the nearest respawn point, but the Adventurers who dared to venture into the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth never returned. In fact, most of the Adventurers gave up and quit the game altogether after getting stuck in the dungeon for months.
Interestingly, there were some who persevered and were still wandering around the dungeon to this day. One example of it was an Adventurer with the ID TigerGrills, who had been livestreaming his adventure stuck in the dungeon for two years now.
However, the kidnapper was actually asking Siegfried to come to such a place? This could end up as a dangerous journey that could potentially force him to quit the game.
“Those bastards have no shame! There are so many other places on the continent, but they chose that place of all?! Why?! Who the fuck are those shitheads?! Wow! What a bunch of crazy bastards!” Siegfried roared and unleashed his pent-up frustration.
***
Meanwhile, at the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth...
“I think Siegfried van Proa has read the letter you have sent, my lord,” Chaos reported.
The shitheads who dared to kidnap Gringore were none other than Metatron and his subordinate, Chaos. Of course, Siegfried totally had no idea of it.
“Yes, he should have received my message by now,” Metatron said.
Chaos frivolously nodded in agreement and added, “My lord just has to wait for Siegfried van Proa to bring Avenger here!”
“But something is bothering me...”
“What is it, my lord?”
“Anyone that steps foot in this place won’t be able to leave for eternity. Well, it’s different for you and me, as we have the ability to find our way here. But will that greenhorn come to such a place? Don’t you think he will be scared of getting trapped in here for eternity?”
“Ah! Truly discerning and insightful of my lord!” Chaos exclaimed. Then, he grinned and said, “But based on what I have found out, my lord does not have to worry about that.”
“How so?”
“Siegfried van Proa is someone who would not hesitate to sell his soul for money if he could.”
“Really? Let’s suppose he is indeed obsessed with money, but do you really think he will risk it all just to save this... clown?” Metatron said while looking down at Gringore, who was bound and gagged.
“You need not to worry, my lord! He is infamous for being crazy—no, obsessed over money that some people suspect he died from poverty in his previous life!”
“Oh!”
“Also, that greenhorn possesses the artifact Inzaghi’s Compass, so he will find it probable to challenge venturing into this place.”
“I see...”
“Please trust your humble servant’s judgment. That brat obsessed with money will definitely come here to save that clown.”
“Alright.”
In the end, Metatron decided to trust Chaos’ judgement and waited for the money-crazed brat to come.
***
“Hmm... Should I just abandon him? Yeah, money is important, but my life is more important, right? What if I can’t come back from there? What am I going to do with money when I have to kiss my life goodbye?”
Siegfried seriously contemplated abandoning Gringore, as going down to the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth was just too dangerous. Well, he would not have thought twice and run for the dungeon if either Brunhilde or Verdandi were the ones who got kidnapped, but it was different for Gringore. He was one of Siegfried’s most precious subordinates, but he wasn't as precious as Siegfried's wife and kid.
Of course, he would run over without a second thought if it were anywhere but the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth.
“Ah... What should I do? I still have to save him...”
“Yes, we do have to...”
The two were now in a dilemma, and it was then...
“Ah!”
Siegfried gasped upon thinking of a brilliant idea.
“There was that option!”
“Have you thought of something, Your Majesty?”
“Yeah, I think we have a solution,” Siegfried replied with a nod.
“What is that solution?”
“Wait here. I have to go somewhere,” Siegfried said as he rushed out of the office.
***
Three days later, Siegfried stood in front of a cave located in the northern region of the Nürberg Continent, and a message popped up in front of him.
[Nürberg Continent Northern Region: Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth]
In the end, Siegfried came to the dungeon to save Gringore, but he was not alone.
“Kyuuu! Why did you bring Hamchi with you?! Hamchi doesn’t want to rot here forever! Let go of Hamchi, you fucking owner!” Hamchi screamed and thrashed.
Siegfried dragged Hamchi with him, and the reason he did so was...
‘It’s going to be lonely if I get stuck here alone.’
Siegfried knew it would be very lonely and boring if he had to wander the dungeon on his own.
And having a buddy to chat with was the beauty of a long journey, right?
“Kyuuuu! Let go! Go rot alone!”
“Hey! I already told you we’re not going to be trapped! Don’t you trust me?!”
“How can I trust you?! Kyu!”
“...”
“I’d rather trust a scammer than trust you! Kyuuu!”
“Oh? Is that something you should be telling me?”
“Shut up, crazy bastard! Why the hell will you go in there?! Just let Gringore rot in there alone! Kyuuuu!”
Siegfried dragged Hamchi with all of his strength and ran toward the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth.
“Kyuuuu! Let me go! Hamchi doesn’t want to go in there, you crazy bastard!”
“Shut up!”
Siegfried jumped into the dungeon with Hamchi.
A minute later, Siegfried felt nothing beneath his feet.
“Huh?”
Swoosh!
Siegfried suddenly found himself in a free fall.
“Kyuuu! Are we going to crash to death?!”
“So you’re already pulling tricks from the start?!” Siegfried lashed out at the labyrinth's designer. Who would have imagined the start of the labyrinth would be a trap that would make those foolish enough to challenge it fall to their demise?
However, Siegfried wouldn't get done in by something like this.
Vroom! Whoosh!
Siegfried activated his thrusters and slowed down his fall enough to not die from it, but that wasn't the end of his problems.
“W-What...? Just how much deeper are we going to fall...?”
He was in a freefall with no end in sight. Yes, his fall was slow, thanks to his thrusters, but it seemed that the hole was endless.
One minute, two minutes, five minutes, and ten minutes...
Siegfried was in freefall for ten minutes now, but there still seemed to be no end to the hole.
‘Don’t tell me... Am I falling to the world’s core...?’ Siegfried could not help but wonder if he was going to fall until he reached the core of the planet.
Twenty more minutes passed, and he finally landed after a total of thirty minutes in freefall.
[Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth: Entrance]
A message notifying him of his current location popped up in front of his eyes.
“Is this it?”
“Hey, owner punk... Let’s just go back up if you value your life... Kyu...”
“I don’t want to.”
“You’ve really gone mad! Kyu!”
“I already told you it’s going to be fine!”
Both of them bickered while walking into the dungeon, but...
Crack...!
He could feel something crack under his feet.
“Huh...?” he looked down at his feet. Then, his face turned ghastly pale as he screamed, “W-What the hell is this?! Why are there so many of them?!”
He was stepping on bones, and there was a mountain of bones in front of him. These were the people who died after venturing into the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth, only to fall to their deaths the second they stepped into it.
“Just how many people had died here—Hmm? What’s that?”
Siegfried noticed there was something that resembled a handle buried among the bones. He took out a torch from his inventory and lit it up.
Fwaaah! freewebnovel.c om
The torch illuminated his surroundings, and...
“Aaaaack!” Siegfried screamed.
