Chapter 30 - New City, Bad Omen (2)

~ First Person POV ~

I got out of there as fast as I could, although in the process, I did knock some of the soldiers out cold, but not all of them so they can have a chance to survive. If they saw me as a monster, then I must play the role of a monster, otherwise, they might have some suspicions. As it is now, even if I got out of the golem claiming I was trying to save them, what instead might happen was a sword to my head.

'In the first place, why did I think I could build a relationship with them when I was inside the huge golem that could be seen as a life-threatening monster…?'

If that was the case, then I needed to create something more human-like instead of this huge golem.

'How about a powered-suit?'

Back in Drake's homeworld, there weren't any powered-suits in reality, but in novels, games, animes, and movies, there were. Using that as a reference, I could probably create one using the Void Iron Golems [Parts Configuration] skill.

'But for now, that's on hold until I can find a city…'

The main goal of this outing was still information gathering, and I haven't gathered even an ounce of information… What kind of information I was trying to find was simple.

'What are dungeons considered to adventurers, and what is the basis of ranking dungeons…?'

That way, I can check whether my dungeon looks appetizing to adventurers so that I can lure in to get more MP, find some people that are willing to be , and also know how my dungeon is seen by other people.

The last one is important because if my dungeon is seen as extremely dangerous, then probably, strong adventurers that could easily destroy that Giga Void Iron Golem would enter. Once that happens, I'm screwed, so I need a way to calibrate my dungeon in order for the common populace to think that my dungeon is harmless.

For now, I got out of the golem and sent it back to the . Once I did that, I went back on the dirt path where the soldiers were, although I didn't try to meet them. I went around them quickly since they were still in the same place tending to the wounded. I also saw some of the bandits lurking around, but seeing that there target wasn't anywhere near them, they left.

They probably weren't bandits, since if they were they wouldn't pass on this opportunity to steal the weapons and armors of the exhausted soldiers. But I didn't pay too much attention to that. What I needed was to get to a city, so without causing much noise, I stealthily moved around and got far enough where the soldiers wouldn't see me.

"Now if I follow this road, I can probably reach a city, or even a village would be good…"

This was the road where the carriage speedily ran through. So with that, I summoned a Void Night Wolf to make my travel faster. With my small and light body, there wouldn't be any problems with it carrying me.

"Come to think of it, you're larger than the other wolves…"

When I said that, the wolf nudged its head on my body and licked my hand.

"… Are you an Alpha?"

The wolf wagged its tail intensely and happily nudged its head on my body. Before, I was confused since I wasn't able to buy Alpha Night Wolves in the , but if it was something that a wolf earned, then it was understandable.

The wolf lowered its back as if to say, 'Get on'. I happily obliged, and got on its back, and boy do I regret it.

'AT LEAST WARN ME!!!!"

When the Void Alpha Night Wolf ran, it was bearable, but when it used [Dimension Dive], that was another story. It's speed tripled… No, quintupled and when I took a look at my surroundings, everything was violet. The trees, the path, even the grass turned violet…

What's more, the trees were moving back and forth quickly, indicating the speed we were going. Thankfully, there was no wind here, as in the wind your body is going through when riding a motorcycle, something like that. Also, I wasn't sure, but I was able to breathe properly, even though there wasn't any wind or air.

But since my situation deemed it unnecessary to be thinking of stuff like that, I had no choice but to tightly grip the fur on the Void Alpha Night Wolf's back.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

A few minutes later…

When we stopped, I felt as if my heart skipped a bit.

'FINALLY!!!'

I wasn't able to yell that out loud, since I didn't want to hurt this wolf's feelings, but what I was feeling right now was extreme relief and joy that we stopped. I patted the wolf on the head while saying, "Good job," and sent it back to the dungeon. The wolf happily went into the portal while wagging its tail after it nudged its head on me and licked my hands.

In front of me was a huge wall. It was as tall as that of a two story building. A ways from here was a huge iron gate. Thankfully, it was still noon, so it wasn't that late, but I was hungry.

'Time to get some lunch.'

I told the wolf to find a secluded area, and this is where it took me. I found a nice tree, one where you wouldn't suspect a dungeon to pop up and placed a . I entered the portal, and of course, didn't erase the portal since if I did, I'll have to start from zero again.

"Welcome back."

When I got back into the dungeon or more specifically, the house in the dungeon, I saw a Mari with a blooming smile on her face welcoming me back from my not so long travel.

"I'm back."

The both of us hugged and separated, then proceeded to the dining area. We ate the food she prepared, which looked like food from Drake's homeworld. She probably used MP, but since it was delicious, I had no problem with it, but if I want to save, I'll have to teach her how to cook, but…

"Mari, do you want to learn how to cook?"

When I said that, her eyes beamed open and looked at me as if I was a saint, but then turned dejected.

"Yes I do… But where can I learn how to cook? I mean, you don't even know how to cook."

Yes, that was the problem. In Drake's memories he always ordered fast food, and also, he only knew how to cook rice, instant noodles, hotdogs, eggs, basically anything that could be cooked under 3 minutes, except for the rice. While Gren on the other hand, had no experience with cooking food, much less touching a cooking tool.

"…"

"…"

The two of us went silent, but then I had an idea.

"Mari, I found a city earlier, so there might be a school that teaches cooking to their students, or even if it wasn't a school but just a person who are taking students, would you like to learn from them?"

"Really!?"

When she heard what I said, her dejected look vanished from her face and was replaced by joyful one, but then turned dejected once more.

"But… I don't have any money…"

"Nah, don't worry about that."

I stood up then opened the portal leading outside.

"Just sit tight in here. I'll come back loaded and then you can use that money for cooking lessons."

"… But, isn't that your money."

"Mari, what's mine is yours, so don't worry. Even if you get some money, it's also mine, so aren't we even?"

"… Yes, probably…"

"Okay, then see you later. I'm off!"

"Come back safe."

With our usual seeing off skit, I jumped in the portal and arrived at the forest where I had the wolf bring me.

"Now then, the gate was over there right…?"