An adventurer, as the word suggests, is someone who “takes risks in pursuit of a fortune,” but more specifically, their primary work involves venturing into dungeons, defeating monsters, and retrieving items and materials. (They may also receive requests to slay monsters that have emerged from the dungeon, escort quests, or even take on odd jobs.)
There’s a surprising amount you need to know to enter a dungeon.
What kind of equipment is necessary?
What should you prepare?
What is the optimal party composition for a dungeon?
Characteristics of the dungeon, gimmicks and traps, basic types of monsters that may appear in the dungeon, their characteristics, and weaknesses.
Information about dungeons located in places other than Mimul.
Examples of special dungeons in the world.
The importance of information gathering.
All the participants in the adventurer newcomer training program diligently take notes.
Well, there are always those who, like Gavin, yawn bored without even taking notes… It’s the same in any world.
The classroom training is over, and the time has finally come for the dungeon field training. Once this is done, the training will be complete.
The participants form temporary training parties and, together with a former adventurer acting as an instructor, delve into the dungeon.
It’s just training, so they’re planning to return after exploring up to the third level.
Ryu is invited to join a party formed by three girls who approached him on the first day: Sari, Meg, and Naomi.
They were already a party called “Pretty Pretty Ladies,” but since the training parties were recommended to have at least four members, they asked Ryu to join.
Reynaud is assigned as the instructor for Ryu’s party.
Reynaud, the “Sword Saint” who regained his lost leg thanks to Ryu, was already recovering his full strength.
Having both Ryu and Reynaud in the party is a bit overkill, but it also serves the purpose of having Ryu’s party enter the dungeon first to check if there are any issues.
Ryu’s party, the first group in the field training, departs on their quest.
First, they go to the reception desk and accept a goblin slaying request for training purposes.
The goblin slaying request is a permanent request, and it can be processed after a post-mortem report even after killing the goblins. But since this is training, they are doing it properly, starting from accepting the request.
Then, they head for equipment checks and to purchase supplies like food.
Even though it’s training, it’s treated the same as a regular request, so the guild doesn’t offer any financial assistance. It’s natural for adventurers to prepare everything themselves.
However, the completion reward and material buyback will be processed as usual, so they will receive some income when they return.
Ryu and the “Pretty Pretty” members pack the purchased food, potions, and other supplies into their respective backpacks.
Ryu has storage magic, so he can carry an unlimited amount of food and other supplies, but this is a training session where he’s playing the role of a typical rookie adventurer, so he’s decided to only bring what he can fit in his backpack.
Riu’s subspace storage stops time, so even if he stores dishes with food, they remain freshly prepared when taken out. He can even store pots with food and eat delicious, piping hot meals on the road.
But this time, he’s eating portable meals with everyone else. It’s all part of the experience.
The party members pack their backpacks.
This dungeon attack is planned to last a maximum of two to three days, so they don’t need to carry much. But if it’s a long-term attack lasting for several weeks, the amount of supplies they need to carry becomes massive.
If they’re going without someone who has storage magic like a magic bag, they’ll need to hire multiple porters to transport the massive amount of supplies, which becomes a huge hassle.
If there’s someone with a large-capacity storage magical tool, they become a highly valued asset.
After getting ready, they disperse for the day. They’re supposed to meet at the east gate of the town the next morning and head towards the dungeon.
But when Riu arrives at the meeting place the next morning, Gavin is there for some reason, talking to Riu.
“Hey, you… I forgot your name. I’m gonna join this party, so you can go back home.”
“What are you talking about?!!” Sari exclaims.
The Pretty Pretty members are baffled by his nonsensical statement, but Gavin insists on coming along, and they eventually relent. (Ryu also joins, of course.)
“Fine, I’ll let you (Ryu) come along, but I’m taking the front line, so you don’t have to do anything. Stay back and watch quietly. Got it? You’re not putting your hands on anything until I tell you to!”
Gavin says all this.
Ryu had no intention of actively participating in combat anyway — if he were to participate normally, there would be no role for the other members. This was perfect.
The dungeon is about a ten-hour walk. Even if they hurry, they won’t arrive until evening.
They don’t need to rush because they’re planning to rest outside for one night before entering the dungeon. But thanks to the youthful vigor of the adventurers, they arrive in about eight hours.
Reynaud, who used to have a prosthetic leg, has not only had his leg restored by Ryu’s time-reversal magic but also has rejuvenated physically, so he’s able to traverse the journey without any problem.
Reynaud seems strangely happy to be on a dungeon attack for the first time in over a decade.
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By the way, the dungeon east of Mimul, which was previously referred to simply as “the dungeon east of Mimul,” has been officially named “Earth Dragon’s Nest.”
This was done to attract attention as a dungeon where dragon-type creatures appear, drawing adventurers to the location.
The name was given by Guild Master Catherine.
She has already submitted the application to the guild headquarters and officially registered it.
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Upon reaching the dungeon entrance, the group prepares to camp in the nearby forest.
Gavin is demanding to go into the dungeon immediately, not needing any rest. Sari, Meg, and Naomi are dumbfounded by this, questioning why he’s demanding to come along.
Rest is important. Once inside the dungeon, they might be immediately thrown into combat and not get a chance to rest.
There are few places to rest inside the dungeon.
They were taught in the training that even if you can, you should take a rest, even if you still have energy. You should never push yourself. …If he had listened properly, he would have understood.
Allowing Gavin to come along was probably a mistake. They have a bad feeling that he’s going to cause trouble with his reckless actions. The group sighs.
Gavin is told to go ahead on his own if he wants to, as they are going to rest. He finally gives up.
He probably wanted to show off to the girls, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to go into the dungeon alone.
Gavin had been wandering around the Pretty Pretty trio since the start of the training. It seems he’s just “into girls.” This was conveyed to Ryu clearly, even without using his divine eye to its full potential.
It’s just that Ryu couldn’t understand why he was so desperate for women…
You see, Ryu, despite having a human appearance, was species-changed to a different creature (dragon-human) to fulfill the requested abilities. As a result, he doesn’t feel a strong sexual desire. Even in his past life as a human on Earth, he wasn’t particularly driven by sex, so he didn’t fully understand. But he remembers that there were occasionally guys around him who were extremely obsessed with women. He forces himself to accept it, thinking that all young men are like that.
They stand watch in shifts at night.
Though Ryu has prevented monsters from coming out of the dungeon, it’s been relatively safe lately, with only the occasional need to be wary of wild animals. But this is training, and there are plenty of dangerous situations that could arise if they go to other dungeons. As part of the training, they follow a proper shift system with everyone participating (except for Instructor Reynaud).
The next morning, they begin preparing to enter the dungeon as dawn breaks.
The dungeon is a cave, so the day and night outside don’t really matter. Most of the walls in the dungeon contain light-emitting components, so they could enter as soon as they’ve rested enough. But it’s difficult to prepare in the darkness, so they start after it becomes light.
Before entering, they confirm the formation.
The Pretty Pretty trio’s classes are: Sari as a “Swordsman,” Meg as a “Magician,” and Naomi as a “Priest.”
Magicians specialize in offensive magic, while Priests specialize in healing and holy-attribute magic. Naturally, Sari is in the front line, while Meg and Naomi are in the rear.
Gavin, filled with enthusiasm, volunteers to be in the front line with Sari. He’s a “Warrior.”
Gavin asks Ryu about his class.
Riu replies that he doesn’t have a class. “I don’t have a specialized class, but I can do anything,” he says. But Gavin cuts him off.
Gavin: “So the rumors were true! Hey everyone, you heard about this guy? He was supposedly a G-rank for years. He has no class, no blessings, and no mana, so he can’t use magic. That’s why he spent three years just picking herbs! So that’s how he became a herb expert!”
Riu: “Well, that’s pretty much it.”
Gavin: “What’s ‘pretty much’ G, you know it should be F at the start, right?!”
Sari: “Isn’t Ryu F-rank?”
Gavin: “He apparently passed the F-rank test recently! So he’s taking training to challenge a dungeon! He acts all important because he’s been here for three years, but he’s nothing special!”
Meg: “You’re also F-rank, right?”
Gavin: “I’m F-rank, but I have the skill of a D-rank! I have even been in dungeons! It’s different from someone who takes three years to barely reach F-rank!”
Gavin starts to say that Ryu shouldn’t even participate.
Since that’s not possible, they settle on Riu being in the very back of the rear guard, watching for attacks from behind.
Ryu says, “If it gets dangerous, I’ll help,” but Gavin doesn’t budge. “You don’t need to do anything, just watch quietly.”
Well, they were going to do it with four members anyway. It wouldn’t be a problem if Gavin replaced Ryu.
The girls were a little worried when they found out Riu didn’t have a class, so they agreed to switch him out for Gavin, who, despite his personality, has a Warrior class.
They don’t have a Scout or a Thief in the party, but it should be manageable for the first two or three levels.
Gavin insists that Ryu not do anything, but if it gets too dangerous, he can’t just abandon him…
They enter the dungeon.
They encounter three goblins almost immediately, but the two frontliners, Sari and Gavin, cut them down in an instant. Goblins are no match for them.
They continue deeper, encountering goblins occasionally, easily defeating them.
They collect the quest-required body parts and magic stones, completing the quest without issue.
Gavin walks around bragging about his performance.
He taunts Ryu for just tagging along. He probably wants to highlight his own strength by contrasting his performance with Ryu’s lack of participation.
The Pretty Pretty girls also seem slightly disappointed that Ryu isn’t doing anything, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He doesn’t get angry when he’s provoked, simply praising the four for their performance.
But as they pass the middle of the first level of the dungeon, something changes.
The chance of encountering monsters increases drastically, to the point where they are constantly fighting monsters without a moment’s rest.
The types of monsters they encounter also increase, with goblins, kobolds, and orcs appearing, even some higher-level varieties.
The four continue to defeat the monsters.
Sari and Gavin charge into the fray as frontliners, taking down enemies and buying time. Naomi supports them from behind with defensive and support magic. Meanwhile, Meg finishes her spell chants and unleashes powerful magic.
They are a surprisingly competent party for F-rank.
Ryu had previously checked everyone’s ranks with his divine eye.
Sari: Level 11
Meg: Level 11
Naomi: Level 12
Gavin was level 15. Saying he had the skill of a D-rank was an exaggeration, but they were all quite skilled for F-rank. It seems he was more than just talk.
However, with continuous battles without rest and the increasing number and level of monsters appearing, they begin to struggle.
Finally, they reach their limit when an Orc Lord appears.
An Orc Lord was a bit too much for F to E-rank adventurers…
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Next time
The party is about to leave the dungeon, but Gavin messes up right before the exit?!
Don’t miss it!