CH 217

The next day, I go to the Adventurers’ Guild in the morning.

The Adventurers’ Guild is busy in the early morning and crowded with people.

It would be difficult to talk to the adventurers or the receptionist in this chaotic situation, so I decided to head upstairs to the reference room until things settled down a bit.

I wade through the adventurers up the central staircase and enter the library at the end of the corridor. I bowed lightly to the archivist and checks the books from one end to the other. However, the books in the Adventurers’ Guild’s archives are all very similar, and all of them are things that he has read. There are very few books that I can refer to now, but—

“Hey, here it is.” (Rook)

Documents related to Aluppo’s dungeon.

The Adventurer’s Guild’s archives in the area where the dungeon is located always have materials about the dungeon there. But still, the fact that there are no people in this place means that many people may not be using it. Or perhaps they can get information by word of mouth among adventurers without having to read these materials.

I flipped through the pages and read on.

“Um, Aluppo’s dungeon is mainly a Rift Dungeon where undead appear. Is that so?” (Rook)

Total number of levels unknown. Uncleared. Seriously, there is a village built on the fifth floor of the dungeon…? A village in a dungeon? Is such a thing possible?

“There is a forest, a river, the sun, and a natural environment inside the dungeon. …Hmmm?” (Rook)

It’s a little too different from the dungeons I’ve seen before, and I’m confused.

It seems like a world rather than a dungeon, doesn’t it?

There was a map of the dungeon, so I made a copy of the first floor.

“The monsters on the first floor are goblins, slimes, and Mud Toads. Goblins, if left too long, will swarm and breed and produce stronger individuals, so you need to be careful.” (Rook)

…Do dungeon monsters breed?

The dungeon monsters I know are more uniform… For example, the goblins in the Beginner Dungeon never swarmed and seemed to only act within a certain range. There was always only one monster in that dungeon at a time.

I still feel that there are many fundamental differences between a Labyrinth Dungeon and a Rift Dungeon. I don’t know what it is, but I will actually go into the dungeon to confirm and verify this.

After finishing my research, I returned to the first floor.

The Adventurers’ Guild had passed its peak hours and was beginning to settle down.

I crossed the counter to the bulletin board.

Here, general requests are basically posted for anyone to take, so it’s easy to see local problems and demand.

“Let’s see… Mud Toad Leg Meat, 5 copper coins for two, brought directly by the inn “New Wind Pavilion” in the south of town. I can buy up to 30 pieces every day.” (Rook)

It was written earlier that Mud Toad is a monster that appears on the first floor of the dungeon. I believe that yesterday, a food stall at the south gate was selling some kind of dish that was “smashed and grilled”.

I checked the requests around it and found several similar requests. The rewards seemed to range from two copper coins to one silver coin for two leg meat. But I guess there is an upper limit to the number of pieces each store can buy, and I guess they often have no choice but to sell them at a low price. It is difficult to preserve them because they are perishable, and it is better than letting them rot.

Then I look at the other requests.

“Acid frog leg meat, Acid Frog stomach juices, Skeleton skull, Ogre blood, Zombie… eyeballs!?” (Rook)

Eyeballs… what are they used for? I’ve at least heard of tuna eyeballs being eaten as a delicacy, but zombies are those undead things from people that died, right? They wouldn’t eat them, would they? Stewed zombie eyeballs. …No, before that, I don’t want to do a job where I have to hollow out an eyeball from a zombie and bring it back…

When I checked the clients, most of them were from the Alchemists’ Guild except for the Acid Frog leg meat.

Somehow, I think I’m beginning to see why the Alchemists Guild is so hated in this town.

As I returned to the counter, I could hear the gossip of the adventurers coming from the bar.

“Hey! Did you hear that? Yesterday the fifth son of Duke Almeil came to register as an adventurer and suddenly became C-rank!” (Adventurer)

“Seriously? Where did you hear that?” (Adventurer)

“Damn! Suddenly getting to C!” (Adventurer)

“The Noble Bonbon-sama is amazing!” (Adventurer)

Several men are talking about such things around a high table for drinking.

Yesterday? The fifth son of the Duke of Almeil? You don’t mean the shiny man from yesterday?

“Can I hear that story too?” (Rook)

I then bought ale for all the adventurers at the table and asked them about the story.

I was sure that the shiny golden man I saw yesterday was the fifth son of the Duke of Almeil. The source of the information was a bit of a muddle, but from what I heard, I felt sure of it.

However, to register and suddenly become a C-rank… If it’s Template Thug A, “I’m E-rank, but this guy just registered and already a C-rank!? Are you kidding me?” I have a feeling that a bad flag is about to be raised, so I’m not going to do that.

In times like this, my [Intuition II] ability is useful, so I’m grateful.

So, is this kind of forceful approach the norm for a nobleman? If I recall, Rankfurts’ Guild Master also behaved like a nobleman, and the guild master himself may be an influential person with ties to the region who has been appointed him to the position, perhaps so they would curry favor with the local influential people.

“But why did the fifth son of a duke suddenly come to register with the Adventurers’ Guild?” (Rook)

“I don’t know. The duke is already old, according to rumors. The fifth son, who is still young, may be in a hurry to make a name for himself.” (Adventurer)

Damod-san answered. He is a middle-aged adventurer with a stout build and was the first person to bring me the information.

“What do you mean?” (Rook)

“The Duke is about to be replaced by a new one. It would be good if he could make an achievement during his parents’ generation, but it is difficult for a child born late to do so. Even if he is the son of a duke, he will become a nuisance when the duke changes.” (Adventurer => Damod)

“I see.” (Rook)

In short, while his parents are still alive, they can get support from the parents and prepare to stand on their own, but once their older brother takes over, it may become difficult for them to do so, so the children born late do not have enough time to prepare for it.

“But how can an adventurer’s accomplishments be the achievement of a duke’s bonbon? If he has the ability, it would be much better to become a knight.” (Adventurer)

Another adventurer sitting next to me asked.

It is true that the goal of most high-ranking adventurers is to become a knight or a nobleman, and the son of a duke does not have to go through the adventuring process to become a knight or a nobleman. For a typical adventurer, it would feel like a detour.

“Well… Is there any reason why the duke can’t make him a knight or an independent noble? Or…” (Damod)

Saying that Damod-san poured down his ale along with his words.

“By the way, about the dungeon—” (Rook)

I was about to ask him a question when the adventurer next to me interrupted him and said, “You’ve been asking me a lot of questions since we started. I’m thirsty.”

I see, okay, okay, I know!

If I want to hear what the adventurer has to say, buy them a drink. It’s a kind of etiquette or unspoken rule.

“Master! More ale for everyone! And meat too!” (Rook)

“Okay!” (Tavern Master)

“Hehe, now that’s what I’m talking about!!” (Damod)

After the ale appeared, they toasted again and continued talking.

“Regarding the dungeon here, what kind of dungeon is it?” (Rook)

“That’s a rough question, boy.” (Damod)

“Well, I just arrived here yesterday, so I don’t know anything about it.” (Rook)

After pouring down the ale with meat, one of the adventurers opened his mouth to speak.

“I see. This is a dungeon with a lot of undead, and the only floors that don’t have undead are the first floor and the fifth floor.” (Adventurer)

“There is a village on the fifth floor, and even though it is empty, it is a safe place to rest.” (Damod)

I see. I guess adventurers are listening to what adventurers have to say rather than reading in the archives. I’m sure they’re better suited for this.

“Well, what is your rank?” (Damod)

“D.” (Rook)

“D, huh? If you’re going solo, keep it to the second floor. If you want to go see something nice, you have to go to the third floor.” (Damod)

“What’s on the third and fourth floors?” (Rook)

“On the third floor, there are D-rank skeletons. On the fourth floor, there are C-rank ghouls. They move fast and are undead, so their durability is very high. The only way to beat it is to behead it or crush the head.” (Damod)

I wrote down the information I heard on a piece of paper.

This kind of unfiltered information is really important.

“That’s why. Change your weapon to a blunt weapon.” (Damod)

“A blunt weapon?” (Rook)

“Yeah, the skeletons, ghouls, and zombies on the second floor won’t be stopped if you cut and poke them. It is best to smash them with a blunt weapon.” (Damod)

I see! So that’s why the adventurers in this town were equipped with blunt weapons! 

I remember when I fought skeletons in the dungeons of Elem, the damage from the spears was terrible.

“Then there’s the… mask. You should also go to the church and buy some Holy Water.” (Damod)

“Yeah, that’s the most important thing.” (Adventurer)

“Absolutely…” (Adventurer)

“Uhuh.” (Adventurer)

For some reason, the four of them agreed.

Everyone is deeply nodding while chewing on something.

“…Why is a mask necessary?” (Rook)

They all looked at each other and then turned to me.

“““”It just is!”””” (Adventurers)

The voices of the four of them were in beautiful harmony.