Volume 6 - CH 6.1

The place we were introduced to was quite a nice place to stay.

Although there was a bit of a struggle over the room assignment,…… we finally settled on me taking one room and the three women taking a slightly larger room.

Mabel and Ifa insisted that we all take one large room, or two people in one room, considering what we had on hand, but I rejected the idea because I didn’t want to be …… seen. Yuki is there, too, and there is some work I don’t want to be seen doing, and before that, any amount of attention would be too much.

The next day, after looking around town and buying all the necessary things, the promised three days came quickly.

“This is a dungeon called the Wandering Forest.”

Lloyd walks next to me and explains.

Together with Lloyd’s party, we were advancing through this forest early in the morning.

Lloyd’s party consisted of two front guards and two rear guards. Right now, Amiyu and Mabel are in the vanguard, and I and Eva are in the rearguard, and we’re progressing as an eight-member team.

Lloyd himself was in the rear guard as a healer and was walking next to me. He seems to be an all-purpose magic swordsman who can handle vanguard, rearguard, and support.

This is a forest for novice adventurers, and they were supposed to teach us various things while helping prevent accidents today.

I ask while looking next to me.

“I thought the term “dungeon” referred only to things underground.”

“Normally, that’s true. But most adventurers also call forests where monsters appear “dungeon”. To distinguish them from forests where monsters don’t spawn and don’t make money.”

Lloyd continues cheerfully.

“This wandering forest is a dungeon belonging to the southern mountains in terms of classification. It is close to the town, and the difficulty level is low, so it is suitable for beginners, but there are not many monsters, so the earning is not so good.”

“What do you mean by ….. belonging to the southern mountains?”

“The dungeons in and around Lakana are divided into three main areas. The northern mountain, the southern mountain, and the eastern mountain. Around these three mountains, there are forests and underground dungeons with monsters.”

“Heh…….”

“You’re going to be going to a lot of dungeons, so keep that in mind. Each one is a little different. Oh, just stay away from the dungeons belonging to the mountains north  …… for now.”

“Why?　Because it’s too difficult?”

“No, it’s the other way around. For the past ten days or so, the monsters have been almost non-existent.”

“…..”

Lloyd says somewhat annoyed.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. We don’t know what’s going to happen, so in case you’re wondering, it’s now off limits to all but the highest graded parties. Thanks to the fact that the northern mountains were originally only inefficient dungeons, the adventurers’ earnings haven’t been affected that much. ……”

“…… I see. Well, Mayor Silas told me that some of the dungeons have increased in difficulty. ……”

“Oh. The dungeons in the southern and eastern mountains seem to have changed in terms of the types and number of monsters that appear, which is strange to say the least. The guilds are also urging adventurers to be careful.”

“…… I see.”

In fact, I had a little idea of what he was talking about.

But there was no point in saying it now, so I kept my mouth shut and continued on my way.

Lloyd continued his explanation.

“The main monsters that appear in these forests are living mail monsters. Living Mail is …… that’s what they call them.”

Lloyd pointed beyond the trees. There were two moving shadows.

They looked like old, full-body armor of knights.

They were walking unsteadily through the forest, their shiny metal rattling as they walked.

That they were not human was immediately apparent from the fact that one of the helmets was missing its head.

“It is also called Wandering Armor. That’s where this dungeon got its name.”

At that moment, the two living mails seemed to notice us.

They were approaching us at a surprisingly fast pace with their unsteady gait intact. I was surprised that they did not fall down.

Lloyd continued to talk without changing mood.

“Living Mail is as hard as it looks. Especially, swords are a bad match. But ……”

Two vanguard members of Lloyd’s party then stepped forward.

A muscular female heavy warrior swung down her hammer and crushed one of the Living Mails to the ground.

A kick from the monk snapped the sword raised by the other one. A flowing palm strike blows the armor away, slamming it into a tree and breaking it apart.

“And, like this, it’s weak against striking attacks. If it’s magic, the earth attribute would be good.”

Lloyd explains in a matter-of-fact manner.

The two vanguard members are also chatting and laughing as if they can afford to. If it were true, they would not have come to such a low-level dungeon.

I muttered to myself.

“I see. Besides magical attributes, monsters have what you could call weaknesses. ……”

It’s not surprising when you think about it.

Come to think of it, I used poison myself.

“But it’s a different party with both vanguards hitting. Or isn’t that unusual for adventurers?”

“No, it’s rare”

Lloyd chuckles and says.

“The adventurers, after all, are more likely to use swords. And there are monsters that are less effective with blows, so it’s not a good balance. I just thought …… this living mail forest would be a good place to go first, so I called on those two for the day.”

“…… for today?”

I nod my head.

“Isn’t this party your normal party?”

“Hmmm …… what can I say?”

Lloyd looks annoyed.

“Everyone is definitely a member of my party. But this is the first time I’ve ever had this combination. Especially since I myself rarely dive in dungeons anymore. I’m inevitably busy with chores. …… In truth, I prefer to be physically active.”

Adventurers busy with chores ……?

As I was wondering, Lloyd looked up and said.

“Yes, of course, there are other monsters in this forest besides the living mail. Slimes, mandrakes, and ……”

At that moment, the archer beside Lloyd drew his bow.