CH 165

Episode 165 – Admission Procedure

The luggage I needed to bring for a Dungeon dive was pretty much the same as what I would bring to Mount Cornello. I left behind the bag I would normally use to carry gathered plants and herbs. It was best to travel light.

A Recovery Potion and a bottle of Angel Grass-imbued Slime liquid into the belt holder. Steel sword and Angry Wolf Dagger sheathed at my waist. And then, with the equipment I borrowed from the grandma, I was ready to go.

Dressed in full gear, I stopped by the reception desk to give the innkeeper my regards for the breakfast and leave my room key with them and then left Ponpokotei.

I headed straight to the front of the Dungeon and searched for the members of the [Azure Alliance] on the large screens. I first looked towards the Safe Area on the 30th layer, but there was no sign of them anymore, so I turned to look at the 31st layer and found the three of them clearing the Dungeon just like yesterday. It didn’t seem like they were going to return to the surface but were instead planning to continue clearing the Dungeon until they ran out of supplies.

As written in “The Dungeon of Landaust in One Book”, for layers deeper than the 10th layer, it usually took a few days to clear each one, so it was recommended to bring in as much supplies and equipment as possible so you wouldn’t have to return each and every time you cleared a floor. I didn’t know how much supplies the [Azure Alliance] had brought with them, but it was probably safe to assume that they wouldn’t be returning to the surface as long as they were staying the night at the Safe Area on the 30th layer.

After confirming that, I stepped away from the big screens and made my way towards the Adventurer’s Guild that was close to the Dungeon. In order to go down into the Dungeon, it was apparently necessary to go through a procedure at the Adventurer’s Guild, so I had to do that first. This helpful piece of information was also included in the Beginner’s Guide section of “The Dungeons of Landaust in One Book”.

The interior of the Guild in front of the Dungeon was almost exactly the same as the one I visited yesterday, with the only difference being a hollowed-out area. It seemed to lead to the Dungeon, but the entrance to the Dungeon was completely blocked off by Guild employees. In the end, I would have to go through the procedures as written in the book to enter into the Dungeon.

“Welcome. Are you headed to the Dungeon? If you have an Adventurer Card, please present it here.” (Receptionist Lady)

“Excuse me. This is my first time coming to the Dungeon itself, and I haven’t even registered as an adventurer…” (Lewin)

When I told the receptionist lady that, she grimaced a little. It was just a subtle change in her expression, but because she normally had a business-like smile plastered on her face, it was easy to notice. As I was noticing this, the receptionist lady pointed to the reception on my right and started explaining to me.

“In that case, please register as an adventurer at the reception desk over there. The Dungeon of Landaust is forbidden to those who have not completed the procedures at the Adventurer’s Guild.” (Receptionist Lady)

“Huh…? You can’t enter the Dungeon unless you’re an adventurer? In the book I read, it said you could enter the Dungeon as long as you went through the entrance procedures.” (Lewin)

At my reply, the receptionist lady’s expression warped even more. I couldn’t help but notice her attitude taking a turn for the worse, but it was probably true that from the receptionist’s point of view, I was probably a really troublesome customer.

However… that really was what “The Dungeon of Landaust in One Book” said, and I wasn’t willing to formally register as an adventurer until I got Ahmed’s approval. This was somewhat of a stubborn point that I wasn’t inclined to compromise on. It might have made me seem like a troublesome customer, but I guess the only thing I could do was make sure they understood that dealing with people like this was just part of their job.

“…..Yes. That’s fine, but every time you want to go down into the Dungeon, you’ll have to fill out an entry document and pay a Dungeon management fee of 5 silver coins. Is that okay with you?” (Receptionist Lady)

“Of course. I’ll take you up on that.” (Lewin)

In this way, I followed the instructions of the receptionist lady who looked thoroughly troubled, filling out the corresponding paperwork and handing over 5 silver coins. Then, I was finally allowed to enter the Dungeon. Having to pay five silver coins every time I wanted to enter the Dungeon was pretty detrimental to my wallet, but I could just make up for it later by selling plants I synthesized using [Plant Master].

The only concern was that I would have to force the receptionist to let me fill out the paperwork every time, but since I would be handing over five silver coins, they’d probably let me do it regardless.

“….I’ve confirmed your paperwork. This is your temporary Dungeon management card. Please keep in mind that if you are not seen in the Dungeon videos for a month and don’t return, you will be considered among the deceased. Then, I wish you the best of luck.” (Receptionist Lady)

After receiving a small card that they called a management card, I was allowed to pass through the entrance blocked by the Guild employees and finally entered the Dungeon. As I had seen in the videos, in spite of the fact that there were quite a lot of Adventurers in the Dungeon, the number of monsters was not normal.

I was about to enter the 1st layer of the Dungeon, so I slapped my cheeks a little bit to get myself fired up before venturing forth. The inside of the Dungeon looked a lot gloomier than what was shown in the projections, and there was an air of tension permeating the place. It was obvious, but compared to watching the bird’s eye view displayed in the projections, I now could only experience it in a first-person view. When I realized that fact, my body stiffened a little.

The fact that it was a space of poor visibility and was rampant with monsters heightened the feeling of apprehension in me. If I had been able to enter the Dungeon with a party instead of being solo, I wouldn’t have needed to be so cautious of every single direction. Thinking that as soon as I entered, I slowly made my way through the Dungeon.