Well now, we had successfully managed to put down the Special Individual, but I wondered how the all-important drop had fared.
"Oh, there it is!"
There was only a single drop item, but it was the very thing we were after: the key required to enter that shortcut area. I had heard that some members of the Gurna Warrior Group had obtained them, so I had expected we would find one if we defeated a Special Individual.
Even if it only worked every ten floors, the ability to teleport was incredibly convenient. I had been hoping to get my hands on one as soon as possible, so our timing couldn't have been better.
To make use of the Teleportation Door, we headed back to the campsite near the spring on the tenth floor. Since the men of the Gurna Warrior Group frequented this spot, the concentration of muscle was usually unnervingly high, but I didn't see many of them today. It looked as though they had packed up and moved on.
Well, it wasn't as if I had any particular business with them, so it wasn't a problem. We bypassed the camp and pushed a little deeper into the forest. There weren't any specific landmarks to guide us, but I had a general sense of the direction. Besides, the key would begin to glow once we drew near our destination, so there was no danger of overshooting it.
After arriving safely, we turned the glowing key and summoned the Teleportation Door. Once we stepped through, we found ourselves in a room lined with several other doors. So far, everything was exactly as I had imagined.
The unexpected part was being surrounded by a literal wall of muscle!
"Subdue them!"
"Whoa... wait, they’re just kids?"
"For now, just grab that man."
"Right. Let's do that."
The muscles surrounding us undoubtedly belonged to the Gurna Warrior Group. So this was where they had gone after breaking camp. Come to think of it, I vaguely recalled Masso-san mentioning something about standing guard here.
Presumably, they had been ordered to restrain anyone who emerged from the Teleportation Door on the off-chance they were brainwashed. Perhaps because he realized this, Lowell didn't put up a fight, simply wearing a look of weary resignation as the mountain of men piled onto him.
The only thing I could do was move things along so Lowell could be released as quickly as possible.
"We aren't brainwashed. If Masso-san is around, could you bring him here?"
"An acquaintance of the Commander? Hey, someone go fetch the boss!"
"On it!"
At the call of the man who seemed to be the captain of this unit, a man dressed in an outfit that looked straight out of a post-apocalyptic wasteland disappeared through a door leading further inside. He returned a moment later with Masso-san in tow. So, Masso-san really was the Commander.
"Oh, Tort-boy! Is that Lowell I see bundled up like a rug over there? My apologies. I gave orders to seize anyone emerging from the Teleportation Gate, no questions asked. Does your presence here mean you've managed to find a new key?"
"Yes. We got it after defeating a Special Individual Rush Boar on the 12th Floor."
"...I see. And the voice?"
"It seems that if you act before the Black Haze can possess anyone—right after the monster is defeated—Halfa’s Song of Soothing can purify it quite easily."
"Truly? That is wonderful news!"
I exchanged information with Masso-san while watching Lowell get untied.
Masso-san's group had already reported the situation to the Council, and through them, the other cities in Sazantgurna had been notified. They were currently in the phase of gathering clues. While they had investigated this space, they unfortunately hadn't found anything beyond the scribbled note we had discovered previously. Consequently, they planned to stake out this location to catch any involved parties and squeeze them for information. The Warrior Group was apparently providing the muscle at the Council's request.
"So, Tort-boy and his party are hunting Special Individuals? Based on what you've told me, you're the perfect choice for the job. Should you find yourselves tracking an individual beyond your capabilities, we shall lend you our strength."
"Thank you very much."
"If you're going to be hunting them, it will be more convenient if you can use this place freely. I'll put the word out to the men so you won't be jumped next time."
Masso-san promised to clear things with the rest of the Warrior Group. It would have been quite a hassle if Lowell got hog-tied every time we used the shortcut, so this was a welcome relief.
After parting ways with Masso-san, we stepped through the Teleportation Door leading back to the dungeon entrance. We followed the mist-shrouded passage toward Aingurna, and the cityscape soon came into view. It really was an incredibly useful way to travel.
"So, what's next on the agenda?"
"First, I'm heading to the blacksmith to have the steel refined. Once that's done, I can finally upgrade the Petit Golems."
We had been distracted by the seafood haul, but the original goal of this trip had been to mine iron ore. Now that we had it, I needed to turn that iron into steel.
"And after that, we start the Special Individual subjugations in earnest?"
"Exactly. Though, there's also something else I want to test."
"Hm? Did we have another errand?" Lowell tilted his head in confusion.
"No, I just had a flash of inspiration when we got that key."
Defeating a Special Individual triggered a mysterious voice that brainwashed the victor. And those Special Individuals were guaranteed to drop a key. That meant if I used my Item-finding Rod to search for keys, I could effectively ferret out anyone who had been brainwashed.