The Second Son of the Marquis Wants to Laze Around-Chapter 38: Two Dungeons

Inside the spacious, well-furnished room of the second son of the Valmont family, Eren sat comfortably on his bed, casually munching on a thick beef sandwich with an entirely unbothered expression. His free hand held his game console, fingers skillfully pressing the controls as he navigated through Valoria Legends, his attention split between eating and playing. Crumbs from the sandwich occasionally fell onto his lap, but he didn’t seem to care.

It had been five days since he purchased the game from the System’s Shop, and in that short span, he had already unlocked seventy-two characters—an impressive feat. Only twenty-eight more remained, and as he continued exploring the vast world map, he was steadily making progress toward unlocking them all.

While playing, Eren had picked up a significant amount of useful information. Every new location, hidden area, and detail about the game world was absorbed into his mind as he progressed. However, any information he deemed useless was immediately skipped without hesitation.

What Useless—his system—failed to realize, however, was that Eren wasn’t just skipping information mindlessly. His ability to process details was frighteningly fast. If something caught his attention, all he needed was a brief glance—just a second—and the entirety of the information would be stored in his memory. To an outside observer, it would seem as if he was skipping through everything recklessly, but in reality, he was absorbing knowledge at an inhuman speed.

Furthermore, Valoria Legends had a convenient feature: the Archive UI. This archive stored everything he had encountered in the game—locations, books, historical lore, past dialogues, and even cutscene recaps. If there was ever a need to review any past information, all he had to do was open the Archive and browse through it.

Unfortunately for Useless, the System had completely missed this crucial detail. It had spent most of its time screaming in agony, lamenting the way its master rushed through every bit of dialogue and cutscene, completely oblivious to the fact that Eren had already absorbed all necessary details.

At this moment, Eren was scrolling through the Archive with a focused gaze. His fingers moved swiftly over the screen as he navigated to the Dungeon category, searching for a specific entry.

After a few moments, he found what he was looking for.

[Aberration Dungeon]

A smirk played on his lips. This particular dungeon had caught his interest during the Adventure Arc sequel, where he played with the white-haired protagonist. freewёbnoνel.com

In the game’s storyline, there was a critical moment when the protagonist got separated from his party members and ended up trapped inside the Aberration Dungeon, forced to conquer it alone.

Through his playthrough, Eren had learned a crucial fact about the dungeons in Valoria Legends. There were two distinct types:

1. Normal Dungeons – These were the ones adventurers commonly explored. They were open dungeons where players could enter, farm for materials, collect magic crystals, battle monsters for drops, and gain experience points. Leaving and re-entering was always an option.

2. Trial Dungeons – Unlike normal dungeons, Trial Dungeons were one-time-use. Once entered, there was no leaving until the dungeon was conquered. These dungeons weren’t designed for farming but for extreme growth. They offered enormous amounts of experience, powerful enemy encounters, and sometimes, a rare Artifact as a reward.

The difference between the two was clear—Trial Dungeons were meant for intense battles and forced development. while a Normal Dungeon is focused only for Farming materials.

So why was Eren interested in the Aberration Dungeon?

It wasn’t for the experience. It wasn’t for the challenge of fighting monsters. And it certainly wasn’t for the rare Artifact that might be hidden within.

If he truly wanted power or resources, he could simply buy them from the System’s Shop using System points

No, there was something specific inside that dungeon—something that had caught his attention when he played as the protagonist of Valoria Legends.

Something he needed to obtain because it was crucial for his future plan.

His crimson eyes gleamed slightly as he scrolled through the dungeon’s description, re-reading its details carefully. After a moment, he found what he was searching for—

Location: The Dry Forest

It was a hidden dungeon, buried deep within a remote region known as the Dry Forest, a desolate area that lay between the Human Region and the Dwarven Region in the southwestern territories.

A difficult place to reach because there is no roads that leads there except walking on foot.

But that didn’t matter for him, because he plans to there no matter what.

"Useless. You there?"

Eren’s voice was calm as he looked up toward the empty space in his room, addressing his system. Almost immediately, a green holographic screen flickered into existence before him, its glow dim and sluggish.

[Yes, Master. How can I help you?]

The system’s voice lacked its usual energy, sounding weak and drained. It was clear that Useless was still wallowing in despair after watching its master’s relentless, borderline sacrilegious approach to playing Valoria Legends. The sentience had spent the past few days witnessing cutscenes skipped, lore ignored, and carefully crafted game mechanics tossed aside as if they were mere obstacles. The trauma was evident.

Eren, unfazed by his system’s pathetic state, regarded the holographic screen with dull eyes before giving his command.

"Search and confirm the location of the Trial Dungeon called ’Aberration Dungeon’ somewhere in the Dry Forest."

At that, Useless seemed to jolt slightly, as if snapping out of its miserable state. It hesitated for only a moment before beginning the search.

[Understood. Give me a moment.]

[Searching for the location...]

[Searching again...]

A few seconds passed in silence, the system diligently scanning for information. Eventually, it gave its response.

[Apologies, Master, but I am unable to pinpoint the exact location with my current low rank. However, I have confirmed that the dungeon is indeed located somewhere within the Dry Forest.]

Hearing this, Eren furrowed his brows slightly.

"And how big is the Dry Forest?" he asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

[I have confirmed that the Dry Forest spans an area of approximately 1,010 square kilometers.]

"..."

Eren exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose.

’So, I’ll have to search for it myself...’

The sheer size of the Dry Forest made it clear that finding the dungeon wouldn’t be an easy task. He would need a way to travel there quickly and efficiently.

He covered his mouth with his hand, sinking into deep thought.

Sneaking out of the mansion was always an option, but the idea of wandering on foot or relying on a carriage felt exhausting. He had no interest in wasting time on such trivial inconveniences. Not to mention, it’s to much moving for him.

’Should I ask my parents for permission?’

Logically, it would be the easiest method. If he acted pitiful and pleaded with them, they would undoubtedly allow it. After all, Eren Valmont was a spoiled child.

But there was a catch.

If his parents agreed to let him go, they would certainly assign knights to escort him for safety.

Eren’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’No, it wouldn’t be just some knights... it’d probably be a full escort unit. Maybe even a hundred of them.’

The mere thought of being surrounded by knights 24/7, constantly watched and guarded, made his skin crawl. He had no intention of playing the role of a helpless young master.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Tch. Whatever. I can just get rid of them when we arrive."

Yes. A simple solution.

Once they reached the Dry Forest, he could eliminate them all and fabricate a convincing scenario—something about a bandit ambush, a tragic struggle where the knights fought valiantly to protect him before being overwhelmed.

His parents wouldn’t question him. They never did.

’Those fat fools will believe whatever I say.’

A slow, sinister grin spread across his face as the plan formed in his mind.

Useless, still floating as a holographic projection, shuddered violently.

Seeing its master’s terrifying face, it could guess he was planning something ominous.

Just then—

–Knock! Knock!

The sudden sound at the door snapped Eren out of his scheming thoughts. His expression shifted back to its usual indifference as he turned his gaze toward the source of the noise.

A soft yet composed voice spoke from the other side.

"Young Master? The dinner is ready. Would you like me to bring your meal to your room?"

It was Marie, his personal maid.

For a brief moment, Eren remained silent, contemplating. Then, he asked—

"Are my parents in the dining hall?"

There was a slight pause before she responded.

"Hm? A—Ah, yes. The Marquis and Marchioness are already waiting there."

Hearing that, Eren hummed lightly before giving his answer.

"Then tell them I’ll be joining them. I’ll be there in a minute."

A stunned silence followed.

Marie hesitated before replying.

"U-Understood. I will inform the Head Butler and the Head Chef immediately."

Her footsteps faded as she hurried away, likely still in disbelief.

Eren Valmont, voluntarily choosing to dine with his parents?

It was an unusual occurrence.

The young master rarely ate with his family unless required. His sudden decision to join them was bound to cause some surprise among the household staff.

Eren, however, paid no mind to it. His focus had already shifted elsewhere.

His gaze returned to the floating System screen, his crimson eyes gleaming with a new sense of purpose.

"Useless."

The system flinched.

"Give me State Points to max out my Status."

For a moment, the room fell into complete silence.

Useless blinked rapidly, its data processing struggling to comprehend what it had just heard.

[...M-Master? Did you just say—]

Eren smirked.

"It’s time to awaken my Signet."

The air around him grew heavier, an unexplainable pressure radiating from his very words. making Useless make a gulping sound, despite not having a throat.

It couldn’t help but feel the same feeling when Eren revealed about the loophole in the quest.