Iraira, though she'd been sent sprawling to the ground, wasn't actually hurt, so she naturally got back up immediately.

"You...You just casually countered all the techniques I've perfected with my dual-wielding style after years of training. ...It makes me mad, truly!"

Iraira was about to rage even more...

But then she suddenly softened her hardened expression.

"You're an interesting one. I don't understand. You don't look strong at all. You have no aura. Your swordsmanship is clumsy. But when we actually clash, all your attacks land. Who are you?"

It was true. Ryu was relying on the cheat abilities he had borrowed from the goddess, he had none of the spirit or mental fortitude of someone who had become strong through years of training. For those who had struggled and worked hard, this was incredibly unfair.

...

The surrounding trainees were buzzing with excitement.

"Hey Cairo, did you see what they were doing?"

"Nah, it was too fast, I couldn't see what they were doing."

...

"Hey Vale, did you see that?"

"The bastard, he was holding back against us like Iraira said."

...

"Whoa, that's insane."

"Heh, take that, Iraira!"

...

"Are you going to keep going?"

"Of course, things are just getting interesting."

But then a guild staff member ran in, looking flustered.

"A...a stampede!"

...

Dungeons have different types of monsters depending on the floor, and they don't normally move between floors.

But perhaps it's a safety feature of the dungeons, because when a dungeon gets overcrowded, all the monsters start moving out at once. This is called a stampede.

It's common for monsters to come out of the dungeon during normal times. But that's usually monsters from the shallower floors. It's rare for strong monsters that live in the deeper floors to come out.

But during a stampede, all the monsters in the deep floors move out at once.

The weaker monsters, driven out by the more dangerous beasts from the deeper floors, flee from the dungeon en masse. These include goblins, orcs, and kobolds, but the annoying thing is that these humanoid monsters usually move toward where humans live.

And then, following them, the monsters from the next floor, and then the next, approach human cities.

An endless number of monsters keep coming, getting stronger, like a wave of beasts. Once a stampede begins, it can't be stopped. Humans can only hide inside their fortified walls and wait for the storm to pass.

That's why most of the cities in this world are fortified cities. High, sturdy walls protect the city, and they have food stockpiles. Even if monstrous beasts attack, they are safe if they just close the gates and stay inside.

It would be foolish to try and kill all the monsters pouring out like a tidal wave. Stories about legendary adventurers or "heroes" who single-handedly quell stampedes are only found in fairy tales. In reality, such superhuman heroes are rare.

Eventually, the monsters that have spilled out will spread over a wide area, and the density of monsters around the city will decrease. Then, humans go out and exterminate the monsters.

The dungeon "Wairago" north of Bymark was known for the high-level monsters that appeared and its high difficulty level.

That's why newbies were forbidden from entering it. Only adventurers allowed by the Bymark adventurer's guild were allowed to enter.

But the required level for entering the dungeon was high. For adventurers who graduated from Bymark's training, it was E-rank or higher, but for adventurers who came from other towns, it was B-rank or higher.

Naturally, there was always a shortage of adventurers to go into the dungeon and kill the monsters inside. That's why Wairago was prone to stampedes.

Of course, the city's magistrate was aware of this situation from the guild's reports. He had stockpiled more resources than usual in preparation for this event, and they'd practiced simulations for when a stampede happened.

Especially for Wairago, the monsters that came out were more dangerous than in other dungeons. They had agreed to not take any risks and immediately close the gates and hide inside the walls if something happened.

As planned, the city's gates had already been closed by the guards, and the knights were patrolling the walls on high alert.

The adventurers were gathered at the guild. It seemed an emergency quest had been issued.

Training was temporarily suspended, and Iraira and the other instructors were headed to the conference room to participate in the adventurer's conference.

(The trainees had been ordered to wait, but Ryu had snuck into the conference.)

Nerina (Guildmaster): "An emergency quest has been issued."

Adventurer: "Is it a stampede suppression?"

Nerina: "No, we've already discussed it, we're going to wait for it to calm down, we won't take any risks."

Adventurer: "Then what is it?"

Nerina: "A rescue request."

Adventurer: "Someone was left behind outside the city?"

Nerina: "Actually...we just got word that the lord is currently on his way to Bymark by carriage."

Adventurers: "Whaaaat?!"

Next Episode

Bymark's adventurers rise to the occasion!

Stay tuned!