Reincarnated into a World Filled with Dungeons, But My Blessing Turned Out to Be the Most Challenging Dungeon

“Hmmm… This is going to take some time.”

Wearing a white lab coat over her turtleneck sweater, Eve stared intently at the iridescent core in front of her as she spoke.

“As expected, a Rank VII core is on a whole different level.”

As usual, I had asked Eve to analyze the core, but the higher the rank, the longer the analysis took.

Up until now, she had managed to complete her analysis while I took care of other tasks, but judging from her tone, this one was going to take a while.

“Got it. Then focus on the analysis, Eve.”

“Understood! What will you be doing in the meantime, Master?”

I thought about it for a moment.

Eve would be tied up with the analysis, which meant returning to the academy wasn’t an option.

After all, if I used [Flight], I’d need her to maintain a wind shield for protection.

Although I still had some time before my schedule became tight, I should return to the academy soon—who knows who might have visited my dorm room while I was away?

Since it’s right before a long break, there’s a high chance that Ares or Eclair had sent me invitations. Angelica might have come too.

If I refused, her entire family would probably look heartbroken, so I should at least show my face before heading to Astana Island…

That said, the priority right now was analyzing the Rank VII core.

“In that case, I’ll go to a magic shop and see if there’s a way to repair this staff.”

“Understood. Would you like me to cast an illusion spell?”

The fact that she asked meant she was already juggling a lot of tasks.

After a brief hesitation, I replied,

“No, I’m just selling small items like orichalcum flakes and minor trinkets. I don’t think I need a disguise for that.”

After all, I had already bought Rank VI cores in this form before.

Since this was a neighboring country, I didn’t see the need to burden Eve with maintaining an illusion.

“Alright then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

With that, I stepped out of The World.

“Thank you for waiting, Lord Erik.”

“Oh, yes.”

A well-dressed man in a crisp suit addressed me.

Rising from the comfortable sofa, I turned to face him.

“We have appraised the orichalcum you entrusted to us, and I can confirm it is indeed genuine. Our bank would be honored to purchase it from you.”

The man in front of me introduced himself as the branch manager of this bank.

“That’s great news! I found it while cleaning out my family’s storage and figured it might be valuable… I was hoping to use the money to build a new lodge, so this is a relief.”

I put on an expression of relief, playing my part well.

The reason I came to a bank was simple—rare metals like orichalcum were often converted into currency through banks.

Technically, blacksmiths also dealt in rare metals, but very few people actually used them to craft equipment.

One ingot alone was worth enough to build a house, so most shops preferred not to keep such valuable stock on hand.

Because of that, banks were usually the best place to sell rare metals.

“Indeed… If I may ask, Lord Erik, is your family a wealthy merchant house or a noble lineage? We do hear of cases where orichalcum ingots turn up in estate storage, but rarely in such quantities.”

“My grandfather was an adventurer who took on high-rank dungeons in his prime. It seems he stored these in our warehouse and then forgot about them.”

It wasn’t uncommon for S-rank adventurers to challenge Rank VII dungeons with their clans.

A lie of this level was unlikely to be exposed.

“I see… That makes sense. Now, would you prefer to receive your payment in cash? Given the amount, we can also open a free account for you if you wish.”

I could tell he was subtly urging me to open an account.

If I deposited the money, the bank could use it for loans and investments, earning a profit while also providing me with interest.

However, I needed immediate cash for upcoming expenses.

“I appreciate the offer, but I plan to visit the construction guild right away to arrange for the lodge. Perhaps another time.”

“I understand… In that case, I will have the cash brought to you shortly. Please wait a moment.”

With that, the branch manager left.

I exhaled and sat back down on the sofa.

With a moment to relax, I took the opportunity to glance around.

This was the bank’s back office.

Unlike the front, where small cash transactions took place, the staff here were engaged in routine banking operations.

Everyone was bustling about, likely because it was working hours, and given that money was involved, it was clear that their jobs were demanding.

As I observed them, I overheard a conversation between two men.

“Hey, isn’t it about time to dispose of that thing we recovered?”

“Yeah, I think in about three days?”

“We have to transport it to the volcano crater, right? Sounds like a hassle.”

“Yeah, but there’s no other way to get rid of it.”

I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but their conversation piqued my interest.

The two men seemed to be discussing the disposal of some kind of waste stored in a box.

“It’s just a nuisance at this point, and we’ve already drained its magic power, so it’s useless now.”

As one of them spoke, he took something out of the box—something that made my eyes widen.

“If it were just a low-rank core for household use, we could dump it anywhere, but high-rank cores don’t need to be replaced often… which makes disposal a pain.”

Without thinking, I started walking toward them.

“Huh? Can we help you?”

The two men, noticing my approach, stopped talking and turned toward me with a questioning look.

In response, I simply asked,

“If you don’t need that core… could I take it off your hands?”