Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 34

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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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Episode 34: D-Rank Dungeon – Blood Tide’s Banquet Hall (4)
Blood Tide’s Banquet Hall was merely a manifestation of a portion of a real mountain range, yet even so, the distance from end to end required a full day of steady walking to traverse.
As a result, terrain beyond the mountains existed as well.
“Here we are.”
Thanks to Rosalia leading me without pause, I arrived at our destination refreshed and at ease.
A cliff face overlooking the sea.
It was a point perilously close to the dungeon’s boundary region.
“Please affix this to your mouth.”
I drew out the Seashell from the leather pouch and handed it to Rosalia.
It was a magical artifact we’d used in the Fire Ant Anthill as well—it enabled underwater respiration and conversation.
“I’m going first!”
Setting the leather pouch down nearby, I leaped from the cliff without hesitation.
Splash!
“Ugh, it’s freezing.”
The water was unexpectedly cold, but I kept my composure and opened my eyes to survey the seabed.
The bottom was carpeted with the corpses of bestial soldiers discarded by the Imperial Army, and thanks to that, delighted fish were holding a buffet gathering.
A sight that would force anyone with a weak stomach to squeeze their eyes shut.
For someone as timid and delicate as myself, it was no easy trial, but I gritted my teeth and swam downward.
Slash.
Rosalia, gripping the Dagger of Red Blade, approached a large fish that had drawn near out of curiosity and cleaved it in two.
“That’s excessive. It’s just an ordinary aquatic creature, not a Monster….”
In reality, these were docile creatures—even if they attacked first, they’d flee rather than counterattack.
“…….”
The merciless, brutal assassin lingered a moment, staring down at the bisected fish, then quietly sheathed her dagger.
“Over there.”
As we approached, the fish scattered frantically in all directions.
After descending to the bottom and clearing away some arms and lower bodies of bestial soldiers, a corroded metal handle jutted up from the center of the sandy floor.
《A door that leads to a passage somewhere. Its condition is so poor that had more time passed, it would have fallen away completely.》
A mechanism that would lock out inner access once the door handle disappeared.
It lay too far away, and since the dungeon’s inception, every Exploration Party had been so fixated on hunting Blood Tide that no one had ever discovered it.
《So you’ve found another Hidden Piece. I won’t bother being amazed anymore. 😐 》
“Ah, why not? Please do express amazement.”
I pouted petulantly at the disappointment, but the merciless Eye of Truth Discerning didn’t even deign to respond.
I covered my right eye with one hand and made a request to Rosalia instead.
“Would you open this door for me, with all your strength?”
Crack-crack-crack!
The corroded iron door screeched open, and a passage leading downward was revealed.
After descending a ways, I soon found footing on solid ground.
“Here it is.”
A massive rectangular chamber illuminated by the bright glow of a Mana Stone Lamp.
Throughout the entire space—as large as a modest school gymnasium—glass tubes containing submerged bestial soldiers suspended in blue liquid lined the walls.
《:O 》
Every one of them was mutilated beyond recognition.
Subjects with severed arms, gouged eyes, tentacles driven into their backs, legs where hands should have been.
The marks of prolonged agony were etched across every inch of their bodies.
《The laboratory of some nameless sorcerer. Cowering in a place like a rat, conducting vivisection experiments on bestials in secret.》
《Even Cult Members in this day and age obtain sacrificial prey only with the permission of the Goddess of Hypocrisy’s congregation. Such a thing could never happen now.》
Since the sight was far from pleasant, I steadied my heart by recalling that the master of this laboratory had been executed in actual history for the atrocities they’d perpetrated.
Peace.
I removed the Seashell and pocketed it, then slowly brushed back my bangs.
The masked elf, removing her shell in turn, tapped my ribs and gazed into the interior space.
“You’re asking what reward comes from here, yes?”
Nod, nod.
“The fruits of the experiment visible around us are contained in Secret Tome Books. They’re Warrior Class exclusive, so we can’t learn them.”
Zone 3 is a starting point for Warrior characters, so quite a few of the Hidden Pieces are Warrior-exclusive.
Still, the reason a sorcerer came to investigate this insidious laboratory was because of a certain prodigious swordmaster who would soon be joining our Exploration Party.
“Since it’s a superior Secret Tome, let’s take it and give it as a gift to Pendrick. After all, they’ll be recruited soon anyway.”
As we navigated between the glass tubes, I spotted a single Secret Tome Book resting on a desk fixed to the innermost wall.
《2nd-Tier Secret Tome – Resisting Body》
《The body can temporarily transform in response to attacks that inflict wounds, enabling resistance.》
A secret tome that shines brighter the longer a battle drags on.
Not strictly necessary, but quite useful for the warrior class.
It would be a good skill to add to my cult member build, but I couldn’t learn it due to class restrictions.
Since I’m planning to master a superior version anyway, it doesn’t matter.
“I’ll just take this.”
I found the Artificial Model Heart beneath the desk.
《An artificial model heart of a beast-man created by an unnamed mage through experimentation. It emits the thick scent of blood that only monsters can detect.》
Rosalia, who had been staring intently at the heart I picked up, tilted her head slightly.
“What use is trash like this? Just watch. Do I look like some cult member who would waste time doing meaningless things?”
…….
“Why did you nod without hesitation? How disappointing.”
In any case, I’d now collected all the hidden pieces.
Next, when I lightly touched the wall near the desk, a magic circle that had been invisible suddenly blazed with light and activated, transporting our bodies to the top of the cliff.
Thump.
As I picked up the leather pouch again, Rosalia approached quietly and tapped my back before scanning the sky.
“So we’re going to hunt down the Blood Tide. That sounds necessary.”
Since the sky was still blue, the Blood Tide hadn’t been caught by any other exploration party yet.
It wasn’t a bad choice to also claim the reward for defeating the boss before leaving.
“This time, we won’t need to search for it ourselves.”
I had a partner who could serve as bait directly.
“Right eye.”
— Caw-caw-caw!
My right eyeball leapt out at once, transforming into a blind raven that soared upward.
The ability of the Eye of Truth Discerning, now at second rank.
Now it could eject from my eye socket even without conducting a feeding ritual beforehand.
Regrettably, when transformed into a raven, I couldn’t display messages in my vision, but for reconnaissance it was perfect.
“Find the Blood Tide with this and bring it back here.”
I placed the model heart I’d just taken from the lab into the blind raven’s beak.
“It’s probably somewhere near a mountain with unusually sparse trees by now.”
— Caw-caw!
The creature flapped its wings and shook its body, then flew off in the direction I’d indicated.
Rosalia, unconvinced of the model heart’s usefulness, watched the departing blind raven with skeptical eyes.
In moments like these, I could resort to a cheat key.
“Ridni told me that the model heart would help lure the Blood Tide over here.”
…….
The assassin, who rarely trusts others, finally showed signs of understanding.
“Now we simply need to calmly prepare for combat. For now, let’s just wait.”
Tap-tap.
As I was doing warm-up exercises in place, Rosalia tapped my back and pointed to a distant spot.
It was her way of saying the battle was dangerous—that I should stay back and let her handle it.
“No. An assassin shouldn’t be the one fighting head-to-head, should I?”
An assassin’s true power only manifests when there’s a companion to engage the enemy.
Usually a warrior serves as the tank, but I could fill the same role.
My cult member build was designed from the start with the premise of not dodging all attacks but taking the hits.
“Besides, if Rosalia strikes and the Blood Tide doesn’t die in one blow, it’ll panic and fly far away. We need to kill it to clear the dungeon, so that would make things extremely complicated, wouldn’t it?”
If the Blood Tide fled to the sky, as an explorer without flight ability, I’d have no way to meet the clear condition.
Worse, the Blood Tide’s Banquet Hall has a reset cycle of only four days.
If I don’t defeat the Blood Tide within three days, I’m trapped in the Rift of Spacetime forever—and since it flees when things get dangerous, difficult situations occur frequently.
That was why the dungeon was ranked D-grade despite spawning only a single monster, the Blood Tide.
“And there’s one more reason I can’t have you handle the entire battle alone.”
I pointed out the most crucial factor to the assassin, who tilted her head slightly.
“If we fight together, won’t only your soul rank increase, given that you’re much higher level than me?”
…….
Truth be told, that mattered most to me.
“Just hide for now and come out only at critical moments to help. Provide support, but absolutely don’t deal lethal damage.”
Rosalia studied me intently, then spoke a mere three words.
“…Take care.”
Her tone was clipped and her voice cold, yet it was warm concern—a plea not to get hurt, to be careful.
“Of course. I, Karl, happen to value my life quite highly, being a cult member and all.”
How much time had passed after that?
Ting.
I was waiting lazily, perched on a flat-topped boulder, when a dull ache suddenly bloomed in my skull.
The effect of Insight of Chaos Foresight, a vague forewarning of danger.
Caw!
A blind raven came fluttering back in panic, returning to its eye socket.
Screeeee!
In its wake came a massive bird resembling a swan, its body blazing crimson save for its head, snorting as it descended.
《Blood Tide Blurrive (Level 3)》
《A monster that delights in feasting on the hearts of corpses. There is a deaf assassin here, so it will not go unchallenged, but make no mistake—it is a formidable foe.》
Screee!
The only monster to appear in Blood Tide’s Banquet Hall.
Blood Tide. Blurrive.
Its beak was caked thick with fresh scarlet blood, as though it had just finished gorging itself on another explorer’s heart.
So many explorers had ventured into this dungeon, yet it remained uncaught.
Certainly a formidable adversary—but there was no reason to fear.
Screeeeeee!
The Artificial Model Heart, a Hidden Piece, bore a special scent that aroused Blood Tide to an extreme.
Drawn by the aroma, Blood Tide’s senses were dulled, leaving it capable of wielding only half its usual strength.
As a Level 2 Cult Member, this was an opponent I could reasonably handle.
“…….”
Rosalia, who had been watching Blood Tide with widened eyes, turned toward me and silently gave a thumbs-up.
“Do you see now, sir? Just how vast a repository of knowledge you have bestowed upon me?”
Nod, nod.
As Rosalia’s head bobbed gently, brilliant red flowers bloomed across her body, wreathing her entire form.
Fresh Companion, the innate Secret Tome of the Wood Elf.
The flower’s true name was the Crimson Death Rose.
A blossom capable of dispersing powder infused with various poisons.
“How reassuring.”
In this battle, Rosalia would serve purely as a support.
Screeeek!
I held Blood Tide’s gaze even as its beak gaped wide. “So you’ve eaten your fill and you’re still hungry?”

Screek!
Offended at the remark about its voracious appetite, Blood Tide shrieked and drove its beak down in a vicious strike.
Simple, but powerful—a devastating blow.
Before the attack could reach me, Rosalia, moving as a shadow, flowed to the side and caught its neck with a fierce kick.
Thwack!
Despite the considerable force behind it, the creature barely flinched.
I examined its body more carefully—the frame was gaunt overall, but its belly protruded obscenely.
‘So it really did gorge itself.’
The dungeon was full of corpses, and explorers came to clear it.
With prey abundant, Blood Tide often fell into frenzies of overeating.
In such a bloated state, its physical prowess surged dramatically.
Especially its defense.
Whoosh!
The Crimson Death Rose burst forth with violet powder.
A toxin carrying hallucinogenic compounds.
While Blood Tide, struck true, turned its attention elsewhere, Rosalia quickly withdrew toward me and merged with my shadow using Shadow Folk.
Slide.
Like a Level 5 assassin should, she would execute my orders flawlessly—now it was up to me to perform.
Screee?
Perhaps confused that the elf who had hurt it vanished so suddenly.
Blood Tide, freed from the hallucination, looked around frantically, then spotted me and began advancing with a confident snapping of its beak.
To the monster, a Cult Member was clearly an easy, unremarkable meal.
“You’ve got good instincts, I’ll give you that.”
Screeeek!
Blood Tide shrieked and charged toward me.
The weight and pressure of a massive wall bearing down—an avalanche of force.
Of course, my body’s capabilities were not sufficient to dodge or deflect such a thing with finesse.
Hnngh!
So I just took it.
The beak pierced straight through my chest.
For an ordinary person, it would have been a killing blow.
“…Did I look that appetizing to you?”
But my life didn’t leave my body—it still held its ground.
《I trust you’ll offer sincere thanks. 😉 》
The Wound Deferment Barrier, which had triggered instead through the Eye of Truth Discerning evolved to second rank, drastically slowed the rate at which my life force drained.
“Eating scraps like Cult Members just gives you indigestion.”
Clinging to consciousness as it nearly slipped away, I activated the Ghoul’s Mobility.
As my stamina stat surged, the life force that had been slowly draining began to well back up.
Crackle-snap!
Simultaneously, I activated the Black Brain Flowering, metamorphosed the upper half of my body into dark matter, and wrapped the creature’s head in my embrace.
—Shreeeeek!
The paralyzed creature thrashed its head, trying to shake me loose.
A futile effort.
With the beak still piercing through my body, I clung on with stubborn desperation, like a lover clinging to someone pushing me away, and roasted the creature whole with black current.
《The filthy Secret Tome of the Seventh lacks the power to destroy the creature entirely.》
True enough.
Even as the creature burned in the lightning, it didn’t lose consciousness—its eyes remained wide open and sharp.
—Screech!
It continued thrashing violently, then hurled its head toward the stone wall.
……
Rosalia burst from the shadow and swept its torso away with a side kick, throwing it off balance.
Crash!
Paralysis powder erupted slowly, scattering toward me in the chaos, and penetrated the creature’s respiratory system.
—Gaaaaagh!
The assassin who had petrified the creature’s body vanished back into shadow, leaving me with a window for uninterrupted offense.
I felt for the trump card I wore on my left hand.
A ring inscribed with a red flame pattern.
The artifact Glorious Fire Seed—a Hidden Piece reward from the Fire Ant Anthill.
The effect was simple.
It unleashed fire.
“Creature.”
Drawing my lips into a grin, I thrust my left hand into the gaping space between its beak.
“Are you a spice coward too?”

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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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