Book 3: Chapter 54

“Alright, Vur,” Tafel said. “Now that we have their cooperation, what’s the first thing you want to find out about the dungeon?”

“Is there anything tasty inside?” Vur asked, resting his chin on his two front paws. He blinked at the two guards with large eyes like a puppy staring at a ball.

“No! That’s not it!” Tafel said before the two guards could respond. “It’s the danger level! You have to figure out how dangerous the dungeon is before you enter! There are some dungeons that won’t let you out until you fully clear them. Many adventurers have lost their lives that way.”

“But these guys are still alive, right?” Vur asked. “Doesn’t that just prove how easy it’ll be to conquer the dungeon?”

“…We’re being called weak,” one of the knights said.

The other knight nodded. “Compared to a dragon, he’s not wrong. I wonder how strong she is though.” The knight’s gaze flitted onto Tafel. “She’s scolding a dragon.”

“Vur’s got a point, you know?” Alice asked. “I doubt there’s any dungeon that can force Vur to fall into dire straits.”

“That’s not true,” Tafel said, placing her hands on her hips. “Vur’s home is a white-ranked dungeon. He would definitely lose if he entered and had to fight his parents along with Grimmy, Prika, Leila, and Nova.”

“But those people made it out alive,” Alice gestured towards the knights. “Isn’t Vur’s point valid?”

Tafel snorted. “That doesn’t mean we can waltz right in without care. Before adventure, equipment, and money, the most valuable thing an adventurer has is her life. Safety first; an adventurer is always prepared.” She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the guards. “This dungeon should’ve had some kind of lights near the entrance that indicated the quality of mana inside. What happened to that?”

The three men exchanged glances. “Do you remember anything about that?”

“No. What about you?”

“Could she be talking about the glowing crystals?”

“Yes,” Tafel said. “Glowing crystals are a good indicator. What happened to them and what color were they?”

“Well, we sold ‘em off a long time ago,” the half-naked man said. “As for their color…. A faint yellow? White? If you go to the jeweler, I’m sure you’ll find some of ‘em.”

“They’ll lose their glow if taken away from the dungeon for too long,” Tafel said, shaking her head. “A faint yellow or white. Either the highest-difficulty dungeon or the lowest difficulty.”

“Wow, your initial investigation was so fruitful, wow,” Alice said.

“I wasn’t done yet,” Tafel said, narrowing her eyes at her diminutive companion. “You’re supposed to be a guild master! Why are you so lax when it comes to safety?”

Alice puffed her chest out as she crossed her arms. “With strength comes arrogance, and I’m quite confident in you and Vur.”

“You know you’re the party’s tank, right?” Tafel said, her expression darkening. “If there’s any danger, you’ll be exposed to it first.”

Alice’s face stiffened. “Hey,” she said towards the knights. “What kind of monsters are inside of the dungeon?”

The half-naked man hesitated. “That’s … a bit hard to answer,” he said. “We’re not sure what they are. The first room has a red man. The second room has a red woman. And the third room has two red children. All of them seem to be made of blood. They don’t speak or make any sounds. They’re very aggressive and will attack you on sight. After you kill them, they’ll respawn in three days or so.”

“Red people made of blood,” Alice said. “I’ve never tanked blood before. Sounds like Mary’s null-magic would be pretty useful here.”

“Well, she’s not here,” Tafel said with a snort. “Are the red people strong?”

“It takes a group of six of us to defeat one,” the half-naked man said, rubbing his chin. “And we need a squad of twelve to defeat the room with the two children. The man is a close-ranged fighter who sticks to physical attacks. The woman hangs back and casts spells. The two children are a combination of both. As for the rest of the dungeon…, the scout I sent to the fourth room came back almost dead and told us there was a group of four red people, so we stopped exploring further.”

“You stopped?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow. “Doesn’t Apollonia want you to clear the dungeon?”

“Well, she pays us based on a salary, not on a quota. To clear out that room, we’d need twenty-four people, but the rooms aren’t large enough for that many knights to maneuver in. We can’t do it,” the half-naked man said, scratching the back of his head as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. “As long as we ship her the crystals that drop from the first three rooms, we can pretend we’re exploring the dungeon.”

“Hmm.” Tafel stared at the man with lukewarm eyes. “I see.” She turned around and faced her party. “What do you guys think?”

Alora tapped on Vur’s head from where she was seated. His eyes were struggling to stay open, and a snot bubble was rising out of one nostril. Mr. Skelly readjusted his skull, which he was spinning around and around on his spine like a top, and cleared his throat. “I think we’ll be fine,” Mr. Skelly said. “He said they needed six people to beat one monster. Well, Vur here has the strength of a hundred, maybe a thousand people. With that logic, he can clear the first four rooms by himself in his sleep.”

“That may be true, but I’m more worried about the boss of the dungeon,” Tafel said, shaking her head. “Clearly, the dungeon isn’t a yellow-ranked dungeon. It’s a white-ranked one just like Vur’s home. Something stronger than Vur might appear.”

“Then … you’re going to run away?” Mr. Skelly asked, his head tilting to the side. “You came all this way just to be scared off?”

“…I was giving the rest of you a chance to back out,” Tafel said as she bit her lower lip. “Let’s start!”

“Uh, don’t I get a say in this?” Alice asked. “I’m the one who’s going to be taking the most hits.”

“If you back out, Mr. Skelly’s next in line to tank for us,” Tafel said, her voice flat. “You’re not going to hide while your husband’s fighting on the frontlines, right?”

“He’s not my husband yet,” Alice said, stamping her foot. “Who’s going to hide? Let’s start!”