novelraw Chapter 85 : My God Is Useless.
Chapter 85 : My God Is Useless.
My God Is Useless.
Miriam Dorne.
She hailed from Armandie, a small town in the Kerval Kingdom, and since childhood, she had been skilled at arithmetic.
Her memory was so remarkable that people would even call her "the guy who eats letters" when they saw her.
As Miriam gradually awakened to her talents, she had a thought.
Armandie, the small town, was a nice place to live but far too tiny for anyone with ambition.
That conviction grew stronger with age, and eventually, at fifteen, miriam set her sights on bigger waters and set out for Odheim.
She had neither noble birth, nor connections, nor power, but Miriam could still say she'd been rather successful.
She joined a merchant guild at fifteen as a scribe, where she quickly distinguished herself.
By around eighteen, she had caught the eye of Odheim noble Balthazar de Rancher and had come to handle a portion of his affairs.
It was, literally, a path that deserved to be called "meteoric rise" at such a young age.
― I have great expectations for you."
In the midst of it all, another opportunity came Miriam's way.
Her employer, balthazar himself, gave her a direct assignment.
The mission was simple:
Convince and recruit the adventurer party "Dungeon God", who had recently caused a stir in Odheim.
"Dungeon God adventurer party."
Before beginning, miriam made sure to briefly memorize all the information about the "Dungeon God" party.
A newly formed adventurer party—
But their skills were so formidable that they had reached the "Silver rank party" in record time.
Miriam was well aware of how to win over such proud individuals.
'Don't rush. Just slowly open the conversation first.'
Undoubtedly, since the party skyrocketed in such a short period, their members would be bursting with overwhelming confidence.
Miriam continued reflecting that Balthazar sent her because only she could bring such people to the negotiation table.
If she could seize this chance, she could truly solidify her position.
From a penniless commoner in a small town—
Surpassing the role of a nobleman's scribe, she might even reach a position to establish a new "merchant guild".
"C-cough."
Smiling unconsciously at that thought, miriam quickly composed herself and headed for her destination.
The current location of the "Dungeon God" party was the mansion of the Golden Chain merchant guild.
Arriving right in front of it, miriam tidied her clothing, braced herself with a cough, and knocked on the mansion's door.
Knock, knock.
Armed with composure, miriam rapped on the Golden Chain mansion's door.
Before long, someone appeared—no doubt a member of the Golden Chain merchant guild.
"I am a messenger sent by Balthazar de Rancher, noble of Odheim!"
Upon hearing the name of Odheim's noble, balthazar de Rancher, the Golden Chain member jumped in surprise.
"W-why would Lord Balthazar...?"
There was naked fear in the person's eyes. Miriam, savoring this glimpse of power, smiled wryly.
"I am here to speak with the 'Dungeon God' adventurer party. Where are they?"
"They're inside right now!"
"Take me to them."
With that, the merchant guild members bustled to obey. Miriam followed behind them as if it were her due.
It wasn't long before Miriam reached her destination: the Golden Chain's training yard.
Taking her first step in, she couldn't quite hide her astonishment.
Reinforced walls and floors, pitted like an underground vault.
Broken piles of wood and steel targets scattered about.
Unlike the lavish hallmarks of wealth elsewhere in the mansion, here was a space stained with blood and sweat.
"... Is this the right place?"
The merchant guild members could only nod in answer to her question.
At a loss, miriam peered deeper into the training ground.
A spacious yard—
And at the far end, an enormous man was slamming an axe into the ground.
"Wahahahahaha!"
A laughing man swung an axe as large as a child, again and again. Miriam could tell at a glance that this was the "barbarian".
The real issue was the overwhelming presence and aura radiating from him every time he swung the axe.
Monster.
That was the only word for this barbarian in a skull helm, and Miriam felt intimidated.
"That guy..."
Miriam recognized him instantly—this was the barbarian from the Dungeon God adventurer party.
The rumors of inhuman strength were true. Miriam thought to herself, cautiously approaching the skull-helmeted man.
"Who are you!"
A thunderous shout shook the training yard.
The merchant guild members flinched, but only Miriam managed to keep a faint smile, bowing in greeting.
"I am Miriam Dorne, envoy of Balthazar de Rancher. I've come to speak with the 'Dungeon God' adventurer party."
Barbarians.
Uncouth, obtuse, and impossible to reason with—
That's what Miriam believed, though she spoke as politely as she could.
But the dumber they were, the easier to manipulate. Miriam racked her brain to live up to Balthazar's trust.
"Hmmmm..."
As expected.
The airheaded barbarian sighed.
He must not know how powerful the name "Balthazar de Rancher" is in Odheim.
"Lord Balthazar de Rancher, noble of Odheim. I assure you we would never offer the Dungeon God party anything to their detriment."
"Oh!"
At the mention of "noble," animation brightened the skull-helmeted brute's eyes.
Did he finally understand?
"If you're a noble of Odheim, then I know!"
The barbarian in the skull helmet abruptly headed deeper into the training grounds.
Moments later, he returned, two people slung over his shoulders.
"These guys also said they were sent by a noble of Odheim!"
Uh.
At that moment, miriam had a thought.
Something was going terribly wrong.
* * *
A wrist that could house the "Rune of the Abyss" found in the Vampire Lord's coffin.
There was no doubt this wrist belonged to the Player.
But this individual lived three hundred years ago. There was no way to meet or question him.
Still, there were so many things I wanted to know—how he came to be in this world of 《Dungeon God》 like me.
And most of all, what exactly the "Rune of the Abyss" was, and what would happen if all seven were collected.
Of course, I doubted he knew all the details. But since he had lived far longer in this world than me, maybe he'd have a few more clues?
With that in mind, I headed for Odheim's Adventurer's Guild.
I wanted to check the records from when Odheim was still called "Silverwood", and find out about the incident with the Vampire Lord "Luminari."
"Unfortunately, we don't have records going back 300 years..."
But the guild receptionist could only provide a regretful smile and an evasive excuse.
Could it truly be missing?
Or did they just not *want* me to know?
To confirm, I stepped forward and spoke.
"I want to access the past records of the Adventurer's Guild."
At my words, the receptionist's face visibly soured. He just wanted to be rid of me.
I grabbed the receptionist by the collar and pulled him close.
"I'm the barbarian of the Dungeon God adventurer party."
Dungeon God.
Hearing that name made the receptionist swallow nervously.
"A barbarian doesn't repeat himself."
Realizing at last that I was serious, the receptionist suddenly sprang to his feet.
"I-I haven't sorted those records out in much detail yet..."
"I'll sort them myself. Show me where the archives are."
At my firm tone, the receptionist finally led me to the archives of Odheim's Adventurer's Guild.
As the door opened, the musty air and the smell of old books hit me at once.
This was probably the best they could do, given what they had. I headed deeper into the archives and spoke to the receptionist.
"I'll search on my own."
With a deep bow, the receptionist scurried away as if escaping.
Never thought I'd reach "Silver rank" so quickly, which lets me use the "Adventurer's Guild archive."
In 《Dungeon God》, it usually takes at least a year to reach "Silver rank."
Of course, there *are* ways to speed things up.
How? Money.
"Hm."
Putting that aside,
Which among these countless books would be connected to the Player?
Looking through them all, one by one, would be pointless.
Shouldn't the gods help me in a time like this? All you do inside me is eat up offerings—don't you ever do anything useful?
* 〈Thrag laughs at you.〉
Even if I grumbled, the gods I believed in only laughed at me.
Mortis, as always, is probably holed up in a corner.
* 〈Liberas gazes at you.〉
Huh?
That text caught me off guard.
Why is Liberas here?
Ah.
Come to think of it, I did establish some connection with Liberas in the dungeon last time.
If memory serves, that was an effect of the "Rune of the Abyss" reaching stage four.
* 〈Liberas expresses gratitude for what you did last time.〉
Gratitude, huh.
A god that actually displays its intentions clearly. Unlike the two gods I believe in.
* 〈Thrag frowns.〉
What are you frowning at, idiot?
* 〈Liberas expresses gratitude once more.〉
Expressing thanks again—seems Liberas truly appreciated my help with Serena.
* 〈Liberas tells you where to find what you're searching for.〉
The text appeared again.
Liberas says they'll tell me what I'm looking for? Do they even know what I want?
But just then, a faint particle of light appeared at the edge of my vision.
Following the speck of light, I spotted a solitary book perched on the highest shelf of the archive.
Could that be the book Liberas means?
***
**New Names, locations, skills, and Techniques Found:**