Chapter 41: Dungeon 1

The day after seeing the dragon, I woke slightly later than usual.

The first bell had finished ringing when I opened my eyes.

I carried my basket of laundry into the backyard, but Amanda hadn’t arrived yet.

I began washing alone. A little later, she appeared looking sleepy.

“Good morning… Erik.”

“Good morning, Amanda. This is unusual. I’ve never seen you looking sleepy before.”

Her steps were slightly unsteady. After setting her laundry basket on the ground, she sighed.

“I couldn’t fall asleep easily after that commotion in the middle of the night. Did you manage to sleep immediately?”

“I stared into space for a little while, but I fell asleep soon afterward. I knew I’d need to begin moving early again today, so I had to sleep properly.”

“You’re incredible. It was my first time seeing a dragon, and my heart kept pounding. I was too excited to sleep.”

We finished the laundry while talking. There was no time left to train, so I went straight to breakfast.

After eating, I changed and went to the Adventurers’ Guild.

The closer I came, the more crowded the streets became, and the guild itself was overflowing with adventurers.

Even Reina’s counter, which was normally quiet, had a long line.

I joined its end.

“Reina, is this crowd here because of yesterday’s dragon?”

“That’s part of it, but something even more astonishing happened. You know the forest close to the royal capital, the one you visited frequently? A dungeon formed there.”

“What? A dungeon?!”

Dungeons.

They were known as places where the gods presented trials to humanity.

Nobody had discovered when, where, or how they appeared.

However, once formed, one remained until someone destroyed the core serving as its heart.

A dungeon produced various kinds of monsters.

Just like monsters outside, those could be harvested for materials. Dungeons also generated ores and herbs within themselves.

“The royal capital already has other dungeons, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, but those are highly difficult and accessible only to advanced adventurers. From what we presently understand, however, even novice adventurers may be able to enter the upper floors of this one.”

“Hey! If you aren’t going to complete a procedure, move! We want to reach the dungeon quickly!”

While Reina and I spoke, the adventurers waiting behind me shouted complaints.

I hurriedly apologized and decided to accept a city request.

The dungeon interested me, but I didn’t want to enter badly enough to endanger myself.

I could wait until there was more information. If I never managed to visit, that wouldn’t be a serious problem either.

I accepted a household-assistance request and left the Adventurers’ Guild, which remained crowded with adventurers.

“Unlike this morning, it’s almost empty now.”

I completed the city request without any particular trouble.

It paid only ten copper coins, but the job involved nothing more than clearing dishes, so I finished quickly.

Since that hadn’t taken much time, I also cleaned the garden.

The client was elderly and said maintaining it had become difficult.

I told the client that this counted as work too and cleaned it before completing the request.

The client was delighted and gave me an excellent evaluation in the report.

When I returned to the Adventurers’ Guild two hours later, it was quiet, unlike that morning.

Even the adventurers who ordinarily chatted inside were nowhere to be seen.

“Reina, you look exhausted.”

“Processing all the adventurers who wanted to enter the dungeon tired me a little. Good work on your request too, Erik.”

I’d never seen Reina this utterly exhausted.

She said she’d worked continuously without even taking a break.

The newly discovered dungeon stood extremely close to the royal capital.

The guild had already stationed people at its entrance.

Apparently, adventurers couldn’t enter a managed dungeon without completing a procedure at the Adventurers’ Guild.

That explained why so many people had gathered that morning.

“Erik, aren’t you interested in the dungeon?”

“I am, but not enough to endanger myself. I already earn enough to support myself, so I’m satisfied.”

“Hee hee. You truly never waver, Erik.”

Reina said that and processed my completed request.

“But what should I do from now on? I could handle outside requests only because that forest suited me…”

“That is troublesome. There isn’t another place suited to your style of fighting. Why not accept city requests until the dungeon situation settles down? Once it does, you should be able to hunt slimes around the same area again.”

“…It sounds like my only choice. I need money to survive.”

After answering Reina, I asked her to find my next request.