I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[046] Gazes
Nothing ever unfolds as expected within a dungeon.
「We are approaching Layer 2! Exercise caution regarding falling debris!」
「A record-breaking downpour is upon us! If we fail to locate shelter promptly, the torrential waters surging through the valley will sweep us away!」
“Damn it!! Everyone, stop hesitating and run! If we get caught in that current, we’re done for!!”
I sprinted through the deluge, clutching my wind-resistant lantern tightly in my grip.
As we drew closer to Layer 2, the verdant grassland terrain gave way to bedrock and boulders, and simultaneously, the waters channeled through the valley transformed into a raging torrent.
“We need to climb to higher ground!! Follow me this way!”
“Gasp…! At this rate, I’ll drown on dry land!”
“Everyone, stay calm!! I’ll catch you, so just hold on!”
As I scrambled up the slope, slipping and floundering, Malton seized me with his brutal grip and hauled me upward.
Barely escaping the cascading waters, I bolted up the hillside and spotted a rock cave carved into the appropriate elevation ahead.
‘No signs of landslides, no traces of wild beasts.’
“…This way! There’s a cave here!!”
“T-thank goodness….”
The moment we found shelter from the rain, my companions and I rushed into the cave without hesitation.
As I wrung out my soaked backpack and squeezed the water from my clothes, Malton emptied the rainwater from his boots and spoke.
“We barely made it. We survived the monster army, only to nearly perish from floodwaters….”
“I never expected such a downpour. If we’d remained in the wetland waiting for the water level to recede, we’d have been in serious trouble.”
“Dungeon weather is notoriously capricious, so it’s best to prepare for anything. Besides, rain falling in an underground place like this is strange to begin with.”
A dungeon is a place where scorching heat might batter you one day, only for you to wake the next morning buried in snow.
As I finally caught my breath, Malton retrieved an axe from his backpack and headed toward the cave entrance.
“I’ll go outside and gather some wood.”
“…What? You’re going out in this rain?”
“If we sleep while soaked like this, we’ll ruin our health. At best we’ll catch a cold, at worst the flu. I won’t be long, so rest easy and get some sleep.”
“That may be true, but….”
It wasn’t for nothing that people in pre-modern societies would collapse from pneumonia after getting caught in the rain.
Especially when my body was already in poor condition.
“Ugh…!”
As I resigned myself and slumped into a corner of the cave, a needle-like pain surged through me.
Examining my wound in the lantern’s glow, Radi looked at me with concern.
“…Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“No matter how I look at it, you seem to be pushing yourself too hard… Why not return to the surface and receive proper treatment at a temple? That would be safer.”
“I can manage for now. Besides, by this point, people have likely discovered evidence of the massive battle that occurred in the wetland, so it’s best we avoid that area for a while.”
Among the crowd back then, there were those who witnessed us crossing the lake on a raft.
If we lingered and drew attention, they might discover that we were the cause of this catastrophe.
Moreover, I currently have a secondary Quest to reach Layer 2 within the time limit.
Having experienced this ordeal, I’ve come to realize just how weak I am within Belheim. Before the next crisis arrives, I must grow as strong as possible.
As I stared at my palm, recalling the helplessness I felt when we first encountered the Kokokuran Army, Radi approached with a sigh.
“Then let me examine your wound. Please stay still. Let me see….”
“It’s fine. I can handle it.”
“You can barely keep yourself upright, and you want to do this yourself? Water might have gotten in and made it worse. Hmm… it doesn’t seem infected yet, but….”
“…You can tell that just by smell?”
“Yes. When anaerobic bacteria proliferate deep within a wound, it produces a foul odor. Occasionally it smells sweet instead. This will sting, so bear with it.”
“Wait, let me prepare myself mentally…! Ugh!!”
The moment Radi poured disinfectant onto my wound, an overwhelming pain surged through me.
Without the adrenaline of combat to numb it, the agony was unbearable—truly a taste of death.
In the game, I’d scoffed at how characters whimpered over such trivial injuries, but experiencing it firsthand was no laughing matter.
As I barely suppressed my groans while she disinfected the wound, Radi murmured softly.
“At least we had potions on hand. If we hadn’t hastily sealed the wound with them, you’d be on death’s door from sepsis by now.”
“R-right… But what made you think to stock potions in the first place? Even low-grade potions are absurdly expensive, and their shelf life is short. Most people can’t afford to keep them around.”
“After seeing you become a bloody mess fighting the Night Stalker last time, I figured we’d need them soon. And I’ll be sure to bill you for the potion costs once we leave the dungeon, so prepare yourself.”
“Y-yeah… Well, thanks.”
Should I start buying them regularly from now on?
I smiled bitterly as I gazed at the wound on my forearm where fresh skin was beginning to form.
The potion had helped, but it was merely a temporary measure.
The best solution would be to recruit a priest from the Agatha Order who could use healing magic….
‘If that were possible, I wouldn’t be suffering like this now.’
To freely use healing magic, one needed a priest of considerable rank.
Dispatching a valuable priest to an ordinary adventuring party risked their death, which would be a significant loss for the Order. Hiring one without considerable wealth and reputation was nearly impossible.
Back when I was a ranker, I’d employed dozens of them, but now such dreams were beyond reach.
“But… will this be enough?”
“Enough for what?”
“The trial. I’ve heard that some of the gods can be quite vindictive… What if they immediately impose another trial, or send assassins to kill us…?”
“Ah, that… I think we’ll be fine.”
They won’t make another move right away.
Not because I trust the gods’ character, but because the vast data I’d accumulated playing Belheim suggested that after overcoming a major ordeal, there’s always a period of regrouping and preparation.
Of course, since the world changed upon my transmigration, things could be different now.
I’d learned that the gods, whom I’d thought were mere data fragments or AI, were actual conscious entities.
But having directly experienced a god’s trial, one question gnaws at me.
‘Why did they impose the trial at this particular moment?’
Vulcanus was eccentric and stubborn, but he wasn’t the type to torment adventurers without reason.
Moreover, why would the very ones who summoned transmigrators to this world do such a thing?
It’s fortunate it was me. Any other adventurer or transmigrator would surely have died.
“…Never mind.”
The more I delve into this world, the more contradictions emerge.
What is the nature of this sense of incongruity?
In truth, there’s only one entity that could resolve this mystery….
「Updating Main Quest….」
‘…This is hopeless. There’s no point in trying.’
Even as I stared at the log window, all I saw was dry text and a spinning loading icon.
As I pressed my throbbing head and half-resigned myself to the situation, Radi, who had been replacing the bandages on my limbs, finally spoke.
“Well then… I’ll disinfect your head and neck now, so please remove your hood.”
“Understood. Wait—what did you just say?”
“I said remove your hood so I can examine your neck as well. That area is injured too.”
“No, no—that part is fine. I’ll handle it myself later!”
“”
Radi fixed me with a sullen glare.
Then she delivered a blunt statement without warning.
“If you’re hiding because you’re afraid your hair color will be exposed, that’s pointless.”
“Huh…?”
“I already know you have black hair, Doran.”
“What—when did you figure that out?!”
“I had a hunch from the first day. The way you refuse to take off your hood even during rest is obvious. And honestly, last time I nursed you in the same tent for over a week—did you really think I never caught a glimpse?”
“”
“If you’re serious about hiding it, you need to be more thorough. Someone like me can tell just by looking at your eyebrows. You’d be better off wearing a full helmet or something—people might still suspect, but at least you wouldn’t be caught red-handed.”
“Ugh…”
I was rendered speechless by such a cutting remark.
I thought I’d been doing a decent job of concealing myself, but apparently I’d been exposed from the very beginning.
“But… are you really okay with it?”
“With what?”
“Well… black hair doesn’t have a good reputation here. Not that I should be the one saying this, but…”
“Evil spirits? Reincarnators and all that?”
“”
I nodded quietly, and Radi spoke with a dismissive tone.
“I don’t pay attention to such superstitions. Not everyone with black hair is an evil spirit. I know how foolish it is to discriminate against people based solely on their innate characteristics.”
“I… I see.”
I nodded in relief, but I detected something subtle in Radi’s final words—an emotion I hadn’t expected.
Having gone through so much together and grown familiar with her, I could read between the lines.
Which meant, perhaps…
“…You always wear a hood too. Do you have a similar reason?”
“”
Radi hesitated for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh.
“Sigh… Since we’re on the subject, I’ll show you. But don’t tell anyone about this.”
Radi stood up, turning her back to the lantern’s light.
As she slowly pulled back her hood, what emerged beneath was—
“Ears?”
Small, adorable animal ears.
Round, crescent-shaped ears covered in soft, fluffy ash-gray fur.
‘So it was a beastkin after all.’
But beastkin are fairly common in this world.
The real question is what kind of beastkin….
“A rat….”
“Hm?”
“A rat beastkin. A pouch rat.”
With those words, all my lingering doubts dissolved at once.
“Ah, so you’re an elephant shrew beastkin!”
Called a pouch rat in Belheim, an elephant shrew on Earth—a species known by both names.
Nimble and meticulous, with keen vigilance and an exceptionally sharp sense of smell.
On Earth, they’re so beloved for their adorable appearance that countless meme videos circulate featuring them.
‘Though I’ve heard their treatment in Belheim is rather peculiar….’
In truth, elephant shrews aren’t actually rats.
Nor are they shrews, for that matter—genetically, they’re far closer to elephants.
Precisely because they don’t clearly belong to any established race, lack considerable strength, and exist in small numbers, they’re frequently ostracized among beastkin.
Their reliance on venom for self-defense stems from this very reality.
Since their original forms subsisted primarily on millipedes and spiders, they’re naturally accustomed to handling toxins.
‘Now all the pieces finally fit into place.’
I’d seen beastkin occasionally even in Verastin, but never examined one so closely before. As I stared with unbridled curiosity, Radi spoke with a complicated expression.
“…You don’t seem bothered at all by the fact that I’m a pouch rat beastkin, Doran.”
“Hm? Ah… would you have preferred I showed more surprise?”
“No, it’s just… unusual. Most people look at me with prejudiced eyes once they learn I’m a pouch rat beastkin….”
“Those are terrible people.”
As someone not born into this world, I couldn’t comprehend such behavior.
｢Radi averts her gaze from you and quietly turns her head away!｣
｢For her, who has endured considerable discrimination throughout her life, revealing her true race must have required tremendous courage!｣
｢Radi happily swishes the tip of her tail. Luck increases by 1!｣
“Oh, that reminds me… do you have a tail too? I think I caught a glimpse of it once before.”
“Well, I do have one… You’ve seen it before?”
“Yeah, when I was climbing down from a tree after hunting the Selurian Golem.”
“That was… my carelessness.”
As Radi shifted slightly, pop! A cute little tail sprang out.
Covered in the same short gray fur, it was round and elongated like that of a short-haired cat.
“Normally I keep it wrapped around my waist or thighs to hide it. But just as you mentioned, when falling from high places, it springs out involuntarily so I can maintain my balance.”
“I see… that makes sense.”
Is it a sensation similar to how humans flail their limbs?
“…But what made you decide to reveal it now? It seemed like quite an important secret for you.”
“Well… I’ve been with you for quite a while now, and I’ll likely see you for a long time to come, so I thought it was time to tell you. I actually planned to say something right when we entered the dungeon, you know? But then various things happened, and I missed my chance….”
She looked at me with a reproachful gaze.
It was my fault.
I let out an awkward laugh to brush it off, when suddenly a strange sense of discord crept over me.
‘Wait… if they knew I had black hair, wouldn’t they have suspected me of being a transmigrator all this time…?’
Now that my hair color has been revealed, why haven’t they asked?
As if they were certain I wasn’t a malevolent spirit, or conversely, as if they’d noticed but deliberately chose not to mention it…’
Screeeech―!
“Huh?”
“…What is it, Doran?”
“No, didn’t you hear that strange sound just now?”
“A strange sound?”
“Yeah, it felt like… someone scratching a hard object with their fingernails.”
Wondering if it might be a bat, I shone my lantern into the depths of the cave, but all that greeted me was barren stone.
As I furrowed my brow, Radi shrank back and spoke.
“W-why are you suddenly like that? You’re scaring me…”
“No, I definitely heard something… it must have been my imagination…”
Scraaape―!
“J-just now too! This time I heard it clearly!”
That was when it happened―.
The moment I sensed another presence from somewhere and turned my head without thinking, I witnessed it.
Beyond the status window I’d kept in the corner of my vision.
Two pitch-black fingers jutting out from behind the blue window.
As those skeletal, elongated fingers slowly scraped down the status window, an eerie metallic screech tore through my eardrums and burrowed into my mind.
「Main Quest has been updated!」
「Quest Objective: Reach Dungeon 2nd Floor and complete the Portal Magic.」
「Time Limit: ???」
「Success Reward: ???」
「Failure: Death.」
「Complete the hidden condition and ■■ will be incorporated as a regular stat!」
「Current ■■ Value: 1」
Click!!
「The ■■ stat has awakened and the Rune Slot has been locked! You cannot equip any new runes besides [Antagon’s Rune]!」
「The World’s Fracture has detected your existence! You have become a target of demons.」
「The cursed beings will stop at nothing to seize your ■■ stat!」
「[Antagon’s Rune] has evolved, strengthening all stats and skills by one tier!」
The blood in my entire body ran cold.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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