When I rushed into the Adventurer’s Guild, for some reason there are no other adventurer there except me. It was as if I arrived first, like usual.
“Eh……?”
Did I get the date wrong?
No. That can’t be. Based from the calendar hanging on the wall, it is indeed the second day of the third month. It’s clearly a guild working day. But what is puzzling is that there was no line at the counter, and no one is in front of the bulletin board where requests were posted. It was so quiet that only the sound of papers shuffling through the cold air could be heard.
“Good morning! You’re early as always.”
The receptionist was impressed.
Even when I accepted the request and went to the counter, the sense of unease did not go away.
It’s kind of weird. It was as if I had never run, and strangely, I wasn’t even out of breath. When I put the adventurer request form on the counter, the lady asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“But what’s the matter with you today? You came in so fast, I was surprised.”
“F-fast? I thought I was going to be late….…”
“Fufu, Rion-san is doing well. You are not late at all, you’re the first here as usual.”
Apparently, I really arrived at my usual time.
“I’m grateful to you too. Because Rion-san is the only one who enters the dungeon early in the morning.”
“…… It’s all for a living.”
I’m just doing it desperately for the money.
The Adventurer’s Guild is an organization that manages dungeons and adventurers. They distribute rewards, buy materials, and even provide meals.
Well, I’m grateful for the acknowledgment, but it’s a little awkward.
“Your persistence is commendable—here, go ahead! As always, I’d like you to defeat monsters on the first and second floors and gather medicinal herbs! …..This is an important role, too.”
I knew she just added that last line to encourage me.
Let’s talk about the dungeons. There is one dungeon in each side of the Royal Capital, the north dungeon, south dungeon, east dungeon, and west dungeon. It’s like four big labyrinths surrounding the city. Each of them is an ancient underground ruin, and there are monsters inside. However, ancient relics are also sealed away there, some of which still retained their power. The dungeon I always dive into is the eastern dungeon, the most suitable dungeon for beginners.
Went I arrived at the dungeon, I said hello to the guard I am familiar with before heading down the stairs. It’s underground, but it doesn’t feel like a cave. It has the feel of a stone building with smooth walls. The only difference from the ground is that there are no windows here and the ceiling is faintly glowing.
First one in the morning.
The dungeon is very quiet. Only the sound of water splashing and the rolling of stones echoed softly. The breath I exhaled is white. It’s cold.
“Alright.”
Let’s start the collection.
I have a short sword that my father gave me, but there’s hardly any fighting force in it. Thus, all I do here is put down the backpack that the guild lent me and fill it with medicinal herbs.
After a while of collecting materials, adventurers come down the stairs in droves.
“Oh, Failure is still at it.”
“Why are so surprised? That’s the only thing lowlives can do.”
“Most of the requests for the bottom level of this Eastern Dungeon is exclusive to this guy, right?”
Sneering laughter came from my side.
It’s frustrating, but I’m going to hold it in and focus on collecting materials.
“Hey Failure! Don’t you think today’s herbs tastes good?”
“Stop it, you’ll get the odor of the lowlives.”
Patience. Patience.
In fact, there’s nothing I can do about it. My skill is weak and useless, so I make a living by defeating monsters in the lowest level of the dungeon and in gathering materials there. My father was very skilled, so people around me made fun of me a lot.
Adventurers have an image of being free and lively, but that’s not the case for us. The dungeons on the east side of the royal capital belonged to the nobility. As a result, it is a closed-off place where many adventurers try to please the nobles. And once you’ve been targeted, it’s a workplace that makes life difficult for you no matter what.
However, the East Dungeon is the least difficult one. With my “useless skill”, diving in this dungeon is the only way for me to make money.
“It was different when Father was around……”
I simply changed location to escape their taunting and start collecting medicinal materials again.
Father was a good adventurer who could lead a large-scale subjugation. When my father and his comrades were alive, the East Dungeon had the kindness to raise beginners. But then, also because of that, my father and his friends caught the eye of a nobles.
They said they are being insolent.
So, when my father died two years ago, the power of the nobles in the East Dungeon suddenly became stronger. My father and his friends are gone so all decent adventurers moved on to the other dungeons. The only ones left here were the nobles, the adventurers sucking up to them, and the weak ones like me who had nowhere else to go.
Dungeons for beginners have been transformed into dungeons that exploit beginners.
“…… But I have to live.”
I immersed myself in my work. I told myself that this was the reality. I feel like the mysterious event in the back alley was really just a dream.
When my backpack was half full, I heard the sound of water splashing.
“…… A slime?”
It looks like a green jelly but it’s an impressive monster. It is about the size of a tub after all. It is said to be the weakest monster. But I don’t have any combat skills, so I can’t let my guard down.
If I want to finish it off, I need to do it in one shot.
“Fu!”
Slash. The slime was cut in half. The bright red nucleus, which is considered to be relatively hard, was shattered by the blade.
“Ah? I’m more powerful than usual……?”
The slime disappeared as if it had soaked into the ground. In fact, slimes drop an item called a magic stone, but since I crushed the core, the profit will be zero. Still, it’s the first time I’ve ever broken its hard core.
I patted my right arm.
“Something’s strange with me after all……”
My strength is kind of odd. Or rather, my power itself is strange.
The entrance becomes noisy again. A large number of adventurers are probably descending into the dungeon. Let’s change location. I want to avoid trouble as much as possible.
Then as I tried to move, I stumbled over something.
“Uwaa—”
I almost fell over.
I picked it up and found that it was a stone rod that had tripped my foot. It was a rough, long, flat rod, about the size of a log. My toe that hit it hurts a little.
“Ouch….. Eh? A relic….…?”
It was common for ancient items to be found rusted and lying around in dungeons. Such things are called relics.
“Maybe the slime from earlier swallowed it.”
This one can’t even be called a dropped item though. It’s complete junk. It must have weathered away while being sealed in the dungeon.
Normally, I would have ignored it. But now—a thought suddenly came to me.
If it’s something that’s been “sealed” in a dungeon, maybe….
“Alarm”
Just to test it out, I used my skill, Alarm.
The stone rod was enveloped in a dazzling light.
| Skill 『Alarm』 was used. Executing 【Unseal】 |
The rusty rod glowed gold as the dirt was slowly removed. A blue crystal appeared first, then the blade emerged. The exquisitely carved handle fits in my hand as if it is coming to life.
It was a short sword.
| 【Blue Crystal Short Sword】 has been unsealed. |
I shuddered.
It was an ancient item I had never heard of or seen before. The diamond-shaped crystal embedded in the hilt sparkled just like the blue of the sky. The double-edged blade was black and had a glistening look.
“I-incredible……!”
What a sharp sword! N-no, it’s more than that!
There are crystals embedded in it, so this might be a magical item…!
I wanted to be able to look at it forever, but I couldn’t do that because I heard footsteps behind me. When I turned around, a humanoid with a dog head is slowly approaching me.
Another monster. It’s alone. But it is about the same height as me and its red eyes glares at me.
“K-kobold ……?”
The enemy roared briefly and swings the dagger in its hand.
My voice trembles with fear.
“……W-why is there one here?”
This specie is relatively strong. It only appears at full-fledged combat layers, the floors below the third level, so I only met one about half a year ago.
I almost screamed out, “Someone!”. But I felt that the gold coin I had in my pocket is heating up and I felt like it is encouraging me.
“Don’t give up”, I felt that it was telling me that.
Feeling the sun in my chest, I stopped in my tracks and faced it.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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