16.- The price of Memories

Aurora and Sebastian were completely taken aback by the system's declaration. Being limited by the world was one thing, but being considered a threat by the entire universe didn't seem to bode well.

"Is there any way to recover Aurora's memories?" Sebastian asked the system, trying to maintain his composure.

[Aurora's memories could return at any moment or in any situation. There's no specific way to fix the memory issue since it's a random occurrence. She may even never regain her memories,] the system replied with its usual indifference.

Aurora, frightened by the bleak outlook of her future, turned to the system once again.

"System, do you have any way to help me?"

[You can also check the dungeon system's store. However, keep in mind that each item has a value measured in Dungeon Coins,] the system responded.

Excited by the revelation, Sebastian began searching through the items in the system's store. It took them five minutes until they finally found what they were looking for: the Elixir of Lost Memories.

"This is too expensive!" they both exclaimed upon seeing the price of the product.

Sebastian decided to inquire about the high price from the system.

"Why is this product so expensive?"

[As stated in the item description, the price depends on the quality of the product,] the system replied.

"Alright, system, I understand. Now, tell me how many Dungeon Coins we currently have," Sebastian said, wanting to know their budget before planning how to obtain more.

[You currently have 0 Dungeon Coins,] the system monotonously responded.

"What?!" Sebastian exclaimed, feeling his blood pressure rise. "System, there must be a mistake. You said Aurora hasn't even touched the orb, so we should have at least some Dungeon Coins."

Although Aurora's mind was blank, she could sense that the situation was not favorable for her and showed a certain level of concern.

[Upon observing the critical situation in which the dungeon master found herself, and considering the fact that she wasn't in full control of her mental faculties, the system decided to activate the self-defense protocol, thus generating the monsters and traps your group has previously slain,] the system explained.

Sebastian truly felt a headache coming on. He and the adventurers had caused the system to deplete all its resources, and now there was nothing left to use in this situation.

"So, how can we obtain Dungeon Coins?" Sebastian asked.

[Dungeon Coins can be obtained in various ways: by selling items to the system, selling monster corpses, killing monsters and humans, and through the emotions of beings inside the dungeon,] the system responded.

"How many Dungeon Coins will I get for killing monsters?" Sebastian inquired.

[—Humans and monsters:

From level 1 to level 9: 2 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 10 to level 19: 4 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 20 to level 29: 6 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 30 to level 39: 8 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 40 to level 49: 10 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 50 to level 59: 14 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 60 to level 69: 18 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 70 to level 79: 22 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 80 to level 89: 26 Dungeon Coins per level

From level 90 to level 99: 35 Dungeon Coins per level

Level 100+: 70 Dungeon Coins per level]

Though Sebastian felt uncomfortable with the mention of humans by the system, he didn't express his discontent. He knew that if

he wanted to protect Aurora, someday he might have to face the possibility of killing other human beings, although he sincerely hoped that would never happen.

"Will all the numbers you mentioned be the same if we kill monsters outside the dungeon?" Sebastian asked.

[Yes,] the system replied.

Now with a newfound understanding of the situation, Sebastian turned his gaze towards the young Aurora and exclaimed with excitement "Aurora! It's time to hunt goblins!"

Unlike Sebastian, Aurora wasn't as thrilled. Letting out a sigh, she decided to confront her cruel destiny.