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Heir of the White Lotus (Web Novel) - Chapter 1836: One at a Time
Chapter 1836: One at a Time
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
"Alright, ladies and gents, you know the rules."Hannibal arrived before the Hole, his hands clasped together as he gave the adventurers surrounding it a stern look.
He raised a finger, and on cue, the adventurers shouted in unison:
"ONE AT A TIME!!"
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
A halfling jumped onto a table by the wall and rang the giant bell attached to it, thus marking the start of the day.
The crowd erupted in cheers!
Adam was amazed by what had just transpired. He couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
"What’s going on?"
Ira took a seat by the bar, then playfully tickled Valerian’s bulging tummy, causing the little guy to wake up from his nap and blink at her in confusion.
"The adventurers are about to begin entering the Hole," she said. "Hannibal personally lowers the first party every day. It’s become something of a ritual."
"What’s the Hole?" Adam asked curiously.
"Go ahead. Take a look," Ira smiled charmingly.
Adam didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the little guy by the scruff and tucked him inside his tunic.
"Myu!!"
Ignoring Valerian’s indignant protest, he began weaving through the crowd of adventurers and pushed his way toward the front.
The deeper Adam pushed through the crowd, the more adventurers he saw in full gear.
Men and women clad in chainmail and plate armor stood shoulder to shoulder around the Hole. Swords hung from their belts, shields rested against their backs, and bows, staves, and spears were clutched in their hands.
Many carried bulging bags packed with supplies, while others checked potions, sharpened blades, and inspected pieces of equipment one final time.
The atmosphere was strangely intense.
At first glance, it looked as though they had gathered at a tavern for food and drinks. But the closer Adam got, the less that impression held true.
These people weren’t here for ale...
They looked like soldiers preparing to march to war!
Adam finally arrived at the so-called Hole.
It was the centerpiece of the common room on the ground floor. It took the form of a waist-high ring of stone, its surface covered in runes. More than ten meters in diameter, it dominated the tavern’s interior. As for its depths, only the adventurers who descended into it knew how far it went.
Suspended from the ceiling above was a massive block-and-tackle pulley system. The ropes stretched all the way up to the fifth-floor ceiling, where the mechanism had been anchored into the structure of the tavern.
Adam looked up and saw balconies on every floor overlooking the taproom. Though they were empty now, he could easily imagine them packed with patrons eager to watch the action below.
"Alright then, which party has the honor of greeting danger first thing in the morning?"
Hannibal’s basso voice echoed in the common room, eliciting a round of cheers again.
"Make way for the Red Runners!"
Another booming voice echoed in the space.
Adam turned to the source of the voice and saw an adventuring party consisting of a dwarf Paladin, a human Magus, a half-orc Paladin, and finally, a gnome Magus. All four of them wore red capes.
"Red Runners! Red Runners!"
"Red Runners! Red Runners!"
The small crowd gathered around the Hole began cheering for the party. And even Valerian, tucked comfortably inside Adam’s tunic, poked his head out and began cheering.
Adam laughed heartily and began to cheer as well. After months of suffering, this was the first time he’d had so much fun. Much to his fascination, he sensed that all four adventurers heading into the Hole were stronger than the Mana Core Rank.
The four adventurers approached the Hole carrying packs full of supplies. They checked their gear one final time before clipping themselves to the thick rope hanging from the pulley system overhead.
Hannibal took hold of the rope and gave each one of them a firm handshake. At the same time, he also collected a fee from them.
"Good fortune below," he said solemnly.
"Good fortune below," the adventurers echoed.
The first Red Runner swung his legs over the edge of the Hole. Hannibal gradually fed the rope through the pulley, lowering the adventurer into the darkness beneath the tavern.
The crowd watched in anticipation.
Slowly, the adventurer disappeared from sight.
Cheers erupted across the common room.
"Bring back treasure!"
"Don’t get eaten!"
"Ten silver says they return by sunset!"
"Hah! You’re on!"
One by one, Hannibal lowered the remaining members of the Red Runners into the depths. Each received the same farewell and the same wish for good fortune. As the final adventurer vanished into the darkness, the common room burst into excited chatter.
Some patrons raised their mugs and toasted their success before they had even begun. Others immediately began placing bets on whether the Red Runners would return at all. The coins exchanged hands with alarming speed.
Apparently, this was just another morning at The Rabbit Hole.
Adam was dumbfounded.
"What the hell is going on?" He murmured the words.
"Hm?" A female half-elf clad in tight-fitting leather and light armor turned toward him with a raised brow.
"Kid, is this your first time here?" she asked.
Adam gaped at her for a moment.
Is everyone’s station here greater than the Mana Core Rank?
He couldn’t gauge the half-elf’s true strength at all. Just that she was exceedingly more powerful than him.
"Uh, yes." He snapped out of his senses. "I’m new to this city."
He turned toward the Hole and asked, "What’s down there?"
Before he could listen to her answer, Hannibal grabbed his shoulder and dragged him away.
"Hey, kid, let’s get that hand of yours sorted."
"W-Wait!" Adam stumbled forward as the burly man marched through the crowd.
For a few steps, he was practically pulled along. Then he managed to regain his footing and match Hannibal’s place.
His eyes sparkled, and he exclaimed, "Already?"
He thought it would take the man some time to come up with a way to solve the problem. This was a pleasant surprise.
"In my youth, I was marked by a devil too," Hannibal said casually.
"You were?" Adam’s eyes widened. "Then how did you get rid of the mark?"
"Easy." Hannibal turned to him and smirked. "I went to Hell and killed that son of a bitch."
Adam froze mid-step.
For a moment, he simply stared at the innkeeper’s broad, retreating back.
Only one thought echoed in his mind:
How cool!
And then he snapped back to his senses, and he quickly followed behind the man.
"Wait, does that mean I’ll have to kill the devil who marked me to solve this problem?"
"There’s no other way." Hannibal shrugged.
He walked toward the bar and turned to Ira and said, "Honey, do you know where my handwraps are?"
Ira, who was smoking from a long pipe, raised a brow. "You mean the handwraps?"
"Yes."
"Hmm." Ira thought for a moment before saying, "You should check the chest in our room."
"The copper one?"
"Mm-hm."
Hannibal headed upstairs.
Meanwhile, Adam sat at the bar counter in a daze.
"So you’ve been marked by a devil too, huh?" Ira’s melodious voice echoed in his ears.
"Uh, yes, ma’am," Adam replied awkwardly.
Ira chuckled in amusement. "You men and your tendency to court death."
Adam really didn’t have an answer to that. So he simply sat there silently.
"That’s right." He suddenly turned to the woman and asked, "What’s the Hole? Where does it lead?"
"Are you new to the city?" Ira’s brows furrowed slightly.
Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I arrived just a few hours ago."
"Hm." Ira nodded as she exhaled a plume of smoke toward the ceiling.
"It’s an entrance," she said.
"An entrance to where?" Adam pressed.
Ira turned to the Hole and saw the adventurers descending one at a time. The corner of her lips curled into a light smirk, and she replied:
"The legendary dungeons of the Mountain Down Under."
