Following Catherine's promise to abolish corruption and return the Adventurer's Guild to its original purpose, Ryu agreed to help revive the guild. However, Ryu had no intention of antagonizing the Commercial Guild, which had been so helpful to him.

Ryu believed that the Adventurer's Guild and the Commercial Guild could coexist, rather than choosing one over the other. He didn't think adventurers should be bound to one side or the other. Having more options would benefit adventurers, and competition between the guilds would lead to positive outcomes.

Ryu honestly shared his thoughts with Eil, the master of the Commercial Guild, who agreed. Eil had no intention of completely destroying the Adventurer's Guild and welcomed fair competition.

However, Ryu was forced to promise that he would occasionally supply materials to the Commercial Guild and accept their requests.

For Eil, the connection with Ryu was more important than the materials themselves.

Eil was confident that the Commercial Guild would not lose to the Adventurer's Guild, and Ryu understood the reason for his confidence. The Adventurer's Guild was currently at a disadvantage. The nature of adventurers meant that dealing with the Commercial Guild was more profitable.

Though Eil reluctantly accepted Ryu's help, he wondered if it would truly make a difference. Would adventurers find enough value in the Adventurer's Guild to return?

...

Meanwhile, Ryu revived the dungeon.

The disappearance of the dungeon had significant impact on both the Commercial Guild, the Adventurer's Guild, and the city as a whole.

While the Lord had made the decision to destroy the dungeon, its value as a resource was undeniable.

(The Lord had requested the Adventurer's Guild to conquer the dungeon, but with the condition to destroy the dungeon core. It seemed, however, that the Lord didn't fully consider the consequences of his order. Eil from the Commercial Guild informed Ryu that the Lord would likely make a different decision now.)

Ryu had reported that he had destroyed the dungeon core, but he had actually taken it away without destroying it, keeping it a secret from Daniel, the previous guild master as a kind of prank.

So, Ryu decided to claim that the dungeon had spontaneously resurrected.

While this seemed problematic, it wasn't impossible. No one seemed to question it, so Ryu decided to let it be.

...

When Ryu informed the Adventurer's Guild that the dungeon seemed to have returned, Catherine sent a research team to confirm the information. After verifying its truth, she released news of the dungeon's reopening to Adventurer's Guilds in surrounding cities. The dungeon's existence would attract adventurers seeking riches.

Following Ryu's advice, the Adventurer's Guild in Mimul announced their focus on "newcomer training".

Mimul had few young adventurers due to its history of using them as expendable cannon fodder.

The guild decided to start by spreading the message of "training newcomers" to attract and cultivate young adventurers, believing it would benefit the guild in the long run.

Training newcomers would require instructors.

They reached out to retired adventurers.

Many adventurers met an untimely end, while others suffered injuries that forced them to retire.

Of course, some adventurers became wealthy through their exploits and retired to live in luxury, but such cases were rare.

(Even those who succeeded often squandered their wealth and returned to adventuring, only to die or suffer a second retirement due to injury. Perhaps it was in the nature of adventurers to live life on the edge, making it inevitable to seek adventure in their very existence.)

Those who were broke and unable to continue adventuring had to find ordinary jobs.

Those who retired healthy had it easier, but many who had to retire due to disabilities found it difficult to secure well-paying jobs and ended up living in poverty.

The role of instructor at the guild was attractive to these former adventurers, and they quickly gathered, enabling the guild to smoothly implement the newcomer training program.

However, there were problems with the gathered veterans.

As Ryu had warned, many former adventurers in Mimul had a mentality of using newcomers as expendable, believing that only by surviving this kind of harsh training could they become high-ranking adventurers. (It was, in a way, a tradition of the guild in this city.)

But teaching newcomers under this mindset, where discarding them was the norm, was counterproductive to the goal of nurturing them into competent adventurers. The first lesson had to be about never abandoning one's comrades.

While it couldn't be denied that there would be situations where, in a dire emergency, someone might have to be sacrificed, that decision should only be made by a leader in a desperate situation. It was concerning that they had a mentality that easily embraced such practices.

Humans tend to feel superior when they are in a position of authority, so instructors needed education as well. A system like an auditor to oversee and educate instructors was necessary.

Of course, problems were inevitable when introducing something new. Catherine accepted that they would have to start and make improvements as issues arose.

Catherine decided to personally interview all applicants for the instructor position. Ryu also decided to attend. (Ryu had been continuously consulted by Catherine on how to revive the Adventurer's Guild.)

Ryu possessed the ability "Divine Eye," which allowed him to see into people's hearts. He could identify those who might cause problems.

However, Ryu had no intention of revealing this ability to anyone.

After the incident with Golan, who noticed the glow in his eyes and asked if he had a "Magic Eye," Ryu kept his abilities a secret. No one would suspect that his Divine Eye was far superior to a Magic Eye.

Ultimately, the scope of a Magic Eye or Divine Eye was only known to the user.

So, when asked for reasons why he thought someone might be problematic, Ryu could only answer "I just have a feeling." As a result, Ryu's opinions were only taken as suggestions, but those he had flagged as potentially problematic did end up causing trouble later, proving his intuition right.

-------------------

Finally, the first session of the newcomer adventurer training program had arrived.

It would start with classroom lectures. Newcomers needed a basic understanding of being an adventurer.

A conference room provided by the guild served as the classroom, where a dozen or so hopeful adventurers (some not so young) and new recruits gathered.

Catherine herself served as the instructor for the first session.

However, upon entering the room and scanning the students, Catherine let out a surprised gasp.

"Why are you here?!"

The reason for her exclamation was the presence of Ryujin among the students.

Ryu: "Well, I'm also a newbie adventurer, so I want to learn as much as I can."

Ryu had focused on herbalism after registering as an adventurer, and his knowledge of monster hunting and dungeon raiding was limited.

While he could handle anything with his overwhelming abilities, that wouldn't help him learn the essential knowledge needed by a normal adventurer.

So, Ryu decided to suppress his abilities and learn like a regular adventurer.

Catherine: "I wanted you to teach on this side!"

Ryu: "There's nothing I can teach. Well, except herbalism, I'm a pro at that."

Catherine: "That'll do, go ahead!"

Ultimately, Ryu ended up teaching a session on herbalism later. (This was exactly as Catherine had planned. It was part of her plan to gradually pull Ryu into guild work and bind him.)

Regardless of Catherine's intentions, Ryu's knowledge of herbalism was indeed valuable for beginners.

Types of herbs and how to identify them, where specific types of herbs grow, the distribution of surrounding herbs, how to find the most valuable herbs, preservation and processing methods, and even the types of beasts and monsters likely to be encountered in herb-growing areas. There was more to herbalism than met the eye.

Ryu's three years of dedication to herbalism had provided him with ample knowledge.

Herbalism was an important way for new adventurers to make a steady income.