The monster was a giant spider exceeding four meters in length. With a protective camouflage that allowed it to blend into the surrounding rocky desert, it was a troublesome creature that waited in ambush while mimicking a stone, striking the instant prey entered its range. However, that Rock Spider now lay dead on the ground before Rei’s eyes, several parts of its anatomy shattered.
Rei approached the corpse, gripping his Mithril Knife.
As one could guess from its mimicry, the Rock Spider's hide was remarkably hard—perhaps not quite as solid as actual stone, but close. Because of this, the ordinary knives Rei typically used for stripping materials would never have pierced it.
Under normal circumstances, one could harvest the hide for armor or the legs for weapons. In this specific case, however, Rei’s share was strictly limited to the Magic Stone. He had no intention of helping strip materials for an adventurer who, despite having been saved by Set, had the gall to assert ownership of the kill and demand compensation.
Rei channeled Magic Power into the Mithril Knife, slicing through a gap in the Rock Spider's hide to remove the heart and gouge out the Magic Stone.
To a casual observer, the Rock Spider looked largely intact, bearing almost no wounds other than those inflicted by Set. For Rei, who lacked finesse when it came to dismantling materials, it was a surprisingly clean success.
"Phew."
Having extracted the heart and Magic Stone more skillfully than he had anticipated, Rei let out a sigh of relief. He drew the Dagger of Flowing Water from his Misty Ring and used its conjured water to wash his hands and the stone.
The man with the sword—who had been busy retrieving the weapon he’d dropped when the monster blew him away—and the man with the spear stared at him in wide-eyed shock as he pulled the dagger from thin air. Rei ignored them, finding any further interaction a chore. He wiped the Magic Stone clean with a cloth and stored it in the Misty Ring.
"Alright, we’ve taken our share as promised. You two can do whatever you like with the rest."
(Assuming you can actually carry it home, that is,) he added silently.
He glanced at the bodies on the ground. Among them was the Porter Corpse. Without their porter, the two remaining adventurers would have to haul the materials from a four-meter-long spider out of the dungeon by themselves. They could probably manage if they pushed their limits, but it would undeniably leave them vulnerable if other monsters attacked.
(It’s a shame to leave the materials and the Proof of Subjugation Part behind, but I got the Magic Stone I wanted. Besides, I don't really want to feed spider meat to Set.)
Rei was content, but Set seemed to have actually wanted to sample the Rock Spider. The gryphon emitted a slightly displeased aura as it looked toward the two adventurers.
"Elena, shall we get moving? It’s getting late. I’d like to find the stairs and get back to the surface."
"I agree. To be honest, I find sharing the air with those who debase themselves so thoroughly for profit quite repugnant."
Elena’s gaze held no hatred, no disgust, and not even pity. It was certainly not a friendly look, either. She looked at the man with the spear as if he were a common pebble on the roadside—as if she didn't even recognize him as a living being. Her tone was entirely devoid of emotion.
"What?! You insulted me! I demand an apology!"
The man with the spear shouted, finally realizing she was talking about him. But Elena had already looked away, as if further contact was beneath her. Rei simply nodded and turned his back on the pair.
"Wait! Are you just going to leave us here?! Since you saved us, take some responsibility and escort us to a safe area!"
Hearing that voice at his back again, Rei couldn't help but turn around with a wry smile.
"Saved you? I thought we 'stole' your prey? Why are you suddenly talking as if we rescued you? Have you already forgotten what you said a few minutes ago?"
"That’s that, and this is this!"
The man with the spear spoke without a hint of shame. Rei gave a derisive snort and prepared to leave with Elena.
But another shout followed.
"Don't you have any compassion?! Are you going to leave these corpses behind? If they’re left here, they’ll just become monster bait!"
The man with the spear gestured toward the three corpses on the ground—the former members of his pickup party.
"You’re an Item Box User, aren't you? You should be able to take these bodies with you."
"...I see."
It wasn't unusual for adventurers to die in a dungeon. Because of that, the guild encouraged survivors to bring bodies back if possible. This wasn't merely for sentimental reasons; corpses left in certain areas of the dungeon could turn into undead.
Even so, unless it was a fixed party, most survivors rarely bothered. A pickup party was just a temporary alliance for profit. Unless someone was exceptionally principled, they would usually abandon the dead, perhaps taking only their Guild Cards back for a meager reward of a few copper coins. Taking up space with a corpse was rarely as profitable as carrying monster materials or magic stones.
(He doesn't strike me as the 'principled' type.)
Rei didn't have to think hard to guess the man’s true motive. Elena likely saw through it as well.
The corpses were still wearing their equipment and carrying their packs. The man didn't have enough hands to carry everything himself, so he was trying to use adventurer etiquette to pressure Rei into carrying the 'loot' for him. One of the dead was a porter; that man’s backpack likely contained all the materials they had gathered so far.
"Well? We can't carry three people to the surface, but it should be easy for someone with an Item Box, right?"
"...Let me ask you one thing. Are you making me carry these bodies because you want to keep their gear and belongings for yourself?"
Rei asked the question point-blank, tired of the games.
Because he had hit the bullseye, the man’s face flushed red with anger and agitation—or perhaps shame, if he was capable of feeling it.
"D-don't be ridiculous! I want to bring them back out of respect for the adventurer’s code! How dare you suggest I’d steal from my own dead?! I demand an apology and compensation!"
"...So, if I do take these bodies to the surface, you have no intention of claiming their equipment or belongings as your own?"
"..."
The man with the spear fell silent, clearly unwilling to commit to a statement that would bar him from his prize. His silence spoke volumes about his intentions.
"Enough. I’ll keep an eye on him. Could you please take the bodies? Even for a pickup party, I can't stand the thought of people I fought beside being discarded in a hole like this."
The man with the sword spoke up, realizing they were at an impasse.
"Guruuu."
Even Set let out a low rumble while looking at Rei, as if suggesting it was time to move on from this tiresome conversation.
Rei yielded to Set’s judgment. With a small sigh, he began storing the corpses in his Misty Ring. The man with the spear wore a triumphant smirk as he watched, but Rei had already categorized him as someone who only brought unpleasantness. Once the three bodies were stored, he signaled Elena and Set to move.
"Wait! What about guarding us while we strip the materials?!"
"Not my problem. Why should we look after you that far? Figure it out yourselves."
Rei threw the words over his shoulder and continued toward the stairs marked on his map.
The man with the spear stomped his feet in a fit of rage, his face turning a fiery red.
"You've got to be kidding me! If you're going to help, you're supposed to see it through to the end! That guy... Damn it! When I get back to the surface, I’m going to tell everyone about this and make sure he’s isolated!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man with the sword said, finally breaking his silence.
"Why not?! He should have protected us—"
"You're being pathetic. Besides, you're the one who insisted he didn't save you, but 'stole' the Rock Spider. Demanding a guard after that is beyond shameless. If you try to badmouth Crimson, you'll be the one who ends up isolated, not him."
"What are you talking about?! It was only because I negotiated that we got any of the Rock Spider at all!"
"Personally, since my life was saved, I wouldn't have minded giving him the whole thing. ...Anyway, how do you even plan to get the materials back?"
The man with the sword gestured toward the Rock Spider Corpse.
The monster was over four meters long; its parts were massive and heavy. The hide alone, meant for armor, was larger than a human. Even the swordsman could easily imagine the sheer weight they would have to carry.
"That's exactly why! If we could have used his Item Box—"
"Sigh. Whatever. Forget it. Teaming up with someone like you was my mistake, even for a pickup party. You can have all the materials. I'm going while I still have my life."
He gave the man with the spear a look of pure exasperation, sheathed his sword, and walked away. He headed in the same direction Rei’s group had gone, breaking into a trot to leave both the spider and his former teammate behind.
Left alone, the man with the spear kicked the ground in a fury.
"Damn it! I negotiate a prize for him and he doesn't even say thank you? What the hell is wrong with everyone? I'll make him pay for this once we're out of the dungeon. ...Fine. I'll just strip the hide myself. If that kid had just listened to me, I could have taken the whole thing."
Still fuming, he pulled a spare knife from his belt and tried to stab it into the Rock Spider’s body.
There was a sharp metallic clink, and the knife was deflected. Not only had it failed to penetrate, but the tip part of the knife had chipped off by about a centimeter.
"Dammit! My luck is absolute trash today. I get stuck with a useless party, run into monster-stealers who won't listen to a word I say, and then get ditched by the last survivor."
He kicked the corpse in frustration, only to be met with a surge of agonizing pain that reminded him exactly how hard the hide was. However, the materials from a Rock Spider would fetch a high price at the Guild, and greed wouldn't let him walk away.
"Fine. I wanted to use a knife, but I'll have to do this the hard way."
With a sigh, he began to use his spear to dismantle the corpse.
Because Set’s attacks had torn the hide in several places, and because the spear was a weapon meant for war, the spear tip was able to slice through the hide with some effort. Rei, of course, had known this, but he had only cut what was necessary to get the stone.
For the next twenty minutes, he worked feverishly with his spear. He had managed to strip about half the hide when he suddenly leaped to the side, abandoning his weapon.
He was a B12F adventurer, after all; his instincts were just sharp enough to save him for a few more seconds.
"Wh-Where did this come from?!"
Looming behind him was a massive creature with grey, rock-like skin. Another Rock Spider. It was slightly smaller than the one Set had killed, but still nearly twice the man’s height.
"Kikiki! Kikikiki!"
It was unclear if the monster sought vengeance for its kind, but it lunged at the man with terrifying speed.
"Damn it! Why is this happening?! Hey! Somebody help me! Help! If I die, it'll be a massive loss for Exil! Help! Somebody help meeeeeee!"
His screams echoed through the desert, but no one came. As a reward for his own bottomless greed, the man with the spear met a death as cruel as any human could imagine—being devoured alive by a Rock Spider.