Ghost Knight King's Dungeon Project

Chapter 16 [Assassin Elliot and the Overly Arrogant Twin Knights]

In a workshop in a white-walled building opposite the barracks of Fallenthorne.

Scattered on the table were messy calculation sheets and task lists, interspersed with a few material lists and price lists, each marked with charcoal pencils and scribbles.

Four people were sitting around the table.

A young, silent swordsman and a tall, female mage in robes sat quietly, watching the two people at the table locked in a tense standoff.

The room echoed with Rondar Riska's weary voice:
“I have already sought advice from the Alliance Guards, who were once professional sergeants.” He quietly looked at the people at the table. “Bandit suppression missions require a sufficient number of excellent armored melee units, and at least for this mission, these two knights must be included.”

"Why don't you do the math? How big is the difference between seven people splitting it equally and five people splitting it equally? And how will the spoils be divided?" A tall, thin man in black sat at the table and sneered, toying with a large skull-shaped gold coin between his fingers. "This mission is profitable only if there are fewer than five people. The more people there are, the harder it is to make money on average. We only took on this big job because we're short of money lately. If you just randomly recruit people like this, you'll only lose money. We'll only get poorer and poorer."

He appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in a clean and crisp black leather outfit. His equipment was lightweight; aside from thin chainmail and leather armor on his joints, he was almost entirely unarmored. A dark red wide scarf was tied around his neck, and two small, poisoned, snake-shaped swords and a bundle of darts were tucked into his waistband. A strange and lightweight set of multi-functional tools, including ropes, grappling hooks, and hand drills, were strapped to his body.

Chainmail, while lightweight and offering decent protection against sharp blades, is complex to manufacture and quite expensive. This adventurer in black is clearly among the more successful adventurers out there.

“Elliott, this is experience from the Alliance Guards. Without frontal units, fighting the bandits could very well end up killing us as well,” Rondar replied.

"You believe whatever they say, Rieska?" the man known as Elliott sneered.

“I trust them because they have experience fighting bandits. I don’t trust you because you’ve never faced bandits head-on. It’s that simple.” Rondar slammed his hand on the table. “Even though you’re a level four assassin, your experience fighting humanoid enemies is definitely inferior to that of an Alliance guard who was once an Imperial soldier…”

“Oh, really? I’ve already killed over twenty bandits. This gold coin is a trophy from one of their raids.” Elliott calmly toyed with the skull-shaped gold coin between his fingers, watching it roll back and forth on the back of his hand. “Bandits, pirates, northern raiders—I’ve killed them all. I’ve killed over a hundred in total. Am I inexperienced? You can take my adventurer’s identification tag to the Alliance database to check my record; every single mission is recorded.”

“But…” Randall was about to say something, but was interrupted by the assassin Elliott:

“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with you thinking things through, Rondar Risca. The reason I initially joined your team was because you’re thoughtful and willing to listen to advice—that’s your strength. I appreciate that.” Elliott flipped his wrist upward, his eagle-claw-like fingers gripping the skull coin between his fingers.

“I just think you’re a bit too cautious, too panicked—overthinking to the point of losing your way.”

"You value other people's advice so much that you've almost forgotten that they are different from us."

"Yes, of course. The Alliance Guards are very skilled at fighting humanoid enemies. Because they are not adventurers at all, but retired professional Imperial soldiers!"

"The soldiers have a powerful and wealthy empire backing them up. They don't have to spend their own money on daily life and weapons. They can just pile up equipment, ammunition, and numbers, and crush everything in their path like heavily armored knights—this is pure military thinking!"

"You need heavily armored melee units for head-on combat? Are you out of your mind to go and fight bandits head-on? Are you a knight? Do you have to follow some bullshit knightly etiquette and invite the bandit leader to a one-on-one duel like a nobleman?" Elliott sneered.

"An adventurer's strategy is to use the environment to flank the enemy. Who told you to face them head-on?"

"What kind of bullshit heavy armor warriors are these... Can heavy armor warriors even cross the Kanas Plain and hike all the way to the bandit camp? Forget about fighting, just trekking to the bandit camp would wear down half of their kneecaps!"

"If heavily armored warriors are so useful, why is the Erdrick Empire reducing its military and developing adventurers? Why not just send all its soldiers to the wastelands and the Demon King's dungeons?"

“Get your facts straight, Riska.”

"We're not sergeants, we're adventurers. The Alliance and the Empire won't pay you for being an adventurer, and you'll have to pay for your own daily life and equipment! Equipment, items, and party size all need to be carefully calculated—especially party size, which seriously affects the average income per person!"

"Why do high-level adventurer teams usually have a stable number of five or six people? Because apart from special area quests like demon dungeons, which are extremely rich in resources and full of opportunities, most mid-to-high-level quests require five to six people to share the rewards—but you've stretched your team to seven people!"

Silence. Randall was subjected to a severe dressing-down.

“I…I can give up my share of the payment,” Rondar hesitated.

“How much are you going to give up, Rieska?” Elliott asked. “5000 divided by 5 is 1000 per person, 5000 divided by 7 is 700 per person. The four of you are short 300 gold coins each, which is 1200. Even if you don’t take a single 700 gold coins after you complete this mission, you still won’t be able to make up for the difference for your teammates—what? You’re going to pay out of your own pocket 500 gold coins? You’ve finally saved up some money, and you can’t wait to spend it on something like this?”

He snorted.

"I'm older and higher level than you, so you don't need to pay me anything. Forget about the 300 difference. Don't worry about me, go discuss it with your teammates, Riska. If the other three agree to take 300 less for no reason, then go ahead and do it." He leaned back in his chair and lazily left the discussion. "Or, you can tell those two damn knights to get lost right now. What kind of adventurers wear heavy armor? They can't even walk properly in heavy armor!"

Randall sighed.

“I hope… everything goes perfectly.” He glanced at the swordsman Gerard and the mage Serena on either side of the long table. “I’ve seen too many adventurers die because they weren’t prepared enough… I, I value all of you here, I… I hope we can be a team for life.”

"Every mission is fraught with danger, and accidents can happen at any time."

"Just like how I always habitually buy a lot of extra supplies before each trip, such as beast-repelling torches, antidotes, and arrows, it's better to not have them than to not have them when you need them."

“Elliott, you are a level four assassin and thief. Perhaps for you, you can use many methods, such as stealth assassination, to kill bandits from the side or from the shadows, but you are not the whole team. I have to consider the others in the team. They don’t have your experience or your ability. They are still newcomers when it comes to dealing with bandits.”

“If the mission fails… as a level four assassin and thief, you have the skill to protect yourself even if the mission fails. But it’s different for the others—I have to take care of the whole team, and the weaker ones can’t be left behind.”

"Bandits are ultimately a dangerous and unknown enemy. These two knights are also a safety net, at least ensuring our safety."

"If any of you are short of money or need money, feel free to take from my share of seven hundred. If that's not enough, I'll take another two hundred out of my own pocket. I just hope everyone stays safe and sound."

He looked around the long table.

“No need.” The greatswordsman shook his head. “Seven hundred is fine.”

“You’re always like this, Rondar… Seven hundred is more than enough, everyone can make a profit.” The mage said cheerfully, “Besides, you haven’t even included the spoils from the bandit camp—even just old, secondhand weapons have plenty of merchants willing to buy them, or even sell them as scrap metal to blacksmiths to melt down and recast! Add up the spoils here and there, and you can easily add another one or two thousand.”

"Thank you." Rondar took a deep breath. "Next, we just have to wait for Ruby to bring those two knights back..."

He thought for a moment.

“Also, Elliott, I think you’ve underestimated the strength of those two knights,” Rondar chuckled. “Although they’re wearing heavy armor, they move with ease even after a long journey. You’ll see for yourself when you see them.”

Knock, knock, knock. A rhythmic knocking sound rang out.

“Ruby has brought them here…please come in!” Rondar greeted them as he rose to greet them.

The studio door opened.

"Welcome, [the... uh, Trash Beast of Fallenthorn City] welcomes the two knights." Ruby awkwardly assumed a leading posture, trying her best to pronounce the quirky name calmly.

"Welcome to the two knights," Rondar clapped lightly. Swordsman Gerard and mage Serena followed suit, rising to applaud.

The assassin Elliott snorted but didn't move.

However, the next second, the two figures behind Ruby lowered their heads slightly, reduced their height, and squeezed their tall bodies into the doorway. Elliott was stunned, squinted and looked them up and down, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly stood up and clapped.

“Welcome… to the two knights.” He gazed at the two knights thoughtfully, then turned and gave Randall a deep look.

Rondar smiled.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, good morning everyone... Actually, you don't need to be so enthusiastic, I'm a little embarrassed..." The sword-and-shield bronze-armored knight in the tattered cloak greeted them one by one, nodding in return, like a clawed bird pecking at grains of wheat.

The slender, black-armored knight did not move, but merely nodded slightly.

"Please, knights, have a seat." Rondar reached out and pulled out a chair beside him. "I apologize. Something happened this morning. I had a discussion with my teammates, which took up some time. I'm truly sorry."

“Before we begin with any pleasantries, we need to make one thing clear,” Talia suddenly said. “We are monks on a pilgrimage, with our own travel routes and purposes, and we won’t be staying in your group for long. We’ve joined your group simply to earn some travel expenses and, incidentally, to repay the kindness of this latrine-collecting team leader.”

“Or, if any of you have accepted a mission that requires you to travel to the Erdrick Empire, we can travel together and offer assistance.” Samael rubbed his hands together and added, “But once we enter the Erdrick Empire, we will probably have to part ways—it has been a great privilege to have spent time with you all, and the thought of our inevitable separation in the future is truly heartbreaking.”

“Ah…yes, of course.” Rondar was slightly disappointed, but still nodded.

It's obvious that a knight of that caliber wouldn't do much for a rookie team like theirs.

"Furthermore, we will not participate in any missions related to the demon dungeons," Talia added, "because...because..."

"Because we are just ascetic travelers, and the travel expenses are our main purpose. It would be too unwise for us to venture into the dungeon and provoke the Demon King just for travel expenses," Samael interjected to cover up the lie.

“Of course… You two think too highly of us. The Alliance has rules that only adventurers of level five and above are allowed to enter the Demon Dungeon, and we are not qualified yet.” Rondar chuckled. “Please rest assured. Our team mainly takes on intermediate-level quests on the surface of the wasteland and will not venture deep underground.”

“You may take on any high-level missions while we are in the party,” Talia said calmly. “We can promise that you will complete any high-level mission with ease. This is a reward for your captain’s kindness. However, we are clergy of a monastery, and following ancient doctrines, we have already dedicated our names and faces to the gods, so please do not publicize them.”

The four members of 【The Trash Beast of Fallen Thorn City】 were all startled at the same time!
The potion master Ruby stared wide-eyed, looking left and right in a daze.

The greatswordsman, Gerard, sat upright, his body straightening.

The mage Serena smiled and couldn't help but look at Rondar, her eyes filled with a hint of "As expected of you."

The assassin Elliott glanced silently at Randall, then at the two knights.

"Um... okay, thank you." Randall swallowed, momentarily at a loss for words. "It's like this, our team recently took on a bandit suppression mission issued by the official authorities of Fallenthorn City. I was wondering if you two could..."

“Location. Number of people,” Talia uttered two cold words.

"Near the Beastbone Hills, southeast of Fallenthorn City. According to the Alliance's mission manifest, there are more than fifty people," Rondar replied succinctly.

“The two of us can handle this. You just wait for the mission to be completed and then collect your payment. We only need enough for travel expenses to get to the Erdrik Empire. Just give us whatever you want.” Talia stated the facts calmly, then stood up, ready to go with Samael to crush the bandits right now. “Let’s go, Samo, let’s set off now.”

Elliott instinctively gasped.

“Uh…no, no, our team also needs to travel with you two…” This statement caught Randall off guard—although he knew the other party was very strong and indifferent to money, he did not expect it to be to this extent.

He subconsciously glanced around the long table and saw that his teammates were all dumbfounded.

“You’re in the way,” Talia said honestly.

If Rondar's squad were to accompany them, Talia and Samael would likely have to restrain their abilities, unable to use psionic powers, command wild monsters as warriors, or summon Nether Bronze equipment out of thin air. Samael's empty armor and immortality would also risk being discovered. This would significantly increase the difficulty of the battle.

“But… I can’t let you two risk yourselves for us, otherwise we would be unworthy of these mission rewards,” Rondar insisted. “We are adventurers, not beggars. Please allow us to accompany you, even if it’s just to offer some assistance.”

“Okay, let’s go now,” Talia said casually.

"No, no, no... We need... a little time to prepare supplies." Randall felt his worldview crumbling, and he didn't even know who these two knights were. "Don't you two need to prepare survival supplies?"

Even level seven or eight adventurers need to prepare a lot of supplies in advance before setting off in order to survive in the wasteland and barely ensure that the mission will not fail.

These two knights just left like that? They didn't even need to prepare food and water?
A soft, muffled thud. Samael stepped on Talia's foot under the table.

You can eat mutated plants and animals; I don't need to eat. But normal humans are different! They must prepare survival supplies before entering the wasteland! Samael gestured. Don't give yourself away!

“Hmm…” Talia stopped talking.

"Our supplies are all packed and ready, right here in the barracks, and we can leave at any time," Samael lied.

"Oh, I see! Sorry, we're the ones who held us back." Rondar snapped out of his reverie. "We need the morning to prepare our survival supplies, and we'll set off for the bandit suppression mission at noon. What do you two think?"

“Okay,” Talia said.

“Alright, then…” Rondar glanced tentatively around the long table, “Everyone agrees that these two monks should temporarily join the team, right?”

All four nodded in unison.

“Alright. Then, I’ll go take the two knights to complete their induction procedures first. The rest of you, go prepare the supplies now. We’ll set off at noon.”

"Yes." Everyone answered in unison, rising amidst the creaking and groaning of chairs being pushed aside.

Samael, who could still sweat, was now sweating profusely.

We haven't prepared supplies for the human adventurers yet! We have to keep up the act, so even fake supplies have to be prepared! But Rondar will be following us the whole time, handling the initiation procedures, so there won't be time to prepare fake supplies! He looked at Talia.

Talia shook her head.

After all, this was her first time disguising herself as an adventurer, infiltrating an Alliance outpost, and even teaming up with a group of adventurers. Who knew that disguising herself as an adventurer would be so troublesome?
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(End of this chapter)