Chapter: 18
“Go into the dungeon?”
“Well, that’s great for me!”
“Perfect. Since everyone has worked hard, I’ll just say we’re going in with Karl from now on.”
“The team can just be the people here. It should be just right with me, Karl, Pervi, and the four ladies.”
“Uh, that’s a bit problematic.”
“I mean, it’s not like you can leave out Porsel, right?”
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t just ignore you.”
“So…”
“Is it really necessary to have that many people?”
“Normally, it’s typical to enter a dungeon as a team of four.”
“Yeah, I know that. We formed a four-person party with NPCs in Soul Academy.”
“But that’s only when it’s a dungeon of appropriate level.”
“That’s excess firepower! Excess firepower!”
“Evans’ dungeon is a medium-scale dungeon that can be tackled early on.”
“If just Karl goes in, he could annihilate it all by himself.”
“Now add Porsel, who’s even stronger than Karl, and the balding knight Pervi?”
“That’s not training; that’s just my sightseeing!”
After venting like this, Porsel chuckled and added some words from behind.
“Don’t worry. Young lady. We won’t enter the dungeon just once anyway. From now on, you’ll be bored stiff, so think of the first time as an experience.”
Relieved by the thought of not having only one chance, a chill suddenly ran down my spine.
“Bored stiff? How many times do you plan on going in and out of this dungeon?”
“Evans’ dungeon isn’t suitable for farming!”
“The structure is complex, and the rewards from the monsters that appear aren’t worth it, so after farming Ruel’s weapons, there’s no reason to revisit!”
“Working hard in such a place!”
As a seasoned player, I couldn’t accept it!
That thought simmered in my mind, but I couldn’t voice it.
I couldn’t say things like farming, rewards, or grinding to people living in a game.
The knights have started to polish their image a bit lately; I really don’t want to be treated like a crazy woman again.
So I silently nodded, not saying anything.
Well, it’s a dungeon after all.
Let’s just level up and go.
*
As soon as we crossed through the dungeon’s entrance, the scenery changed.
The bright meadow swaying in the autumn breeze was gone, replaced by an all-consuming darkness where you couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Only when one of the knights lit a torch did the ominous and dreary cave come into view.
Was it because I had seen too many images of dungeon landscapes on the monitor?
Even entering the dungeon in reality didn’t evoke a sense of wonder.
All I felt was a tedious sense of familiarity.
“Alright, young lady. We’ll take care of the front and back, so you keep an eye on the dungeon from the center.”
The knights, including Porsel, had been exchanging trivial banter until entering the dungeon.
But once we stepped inside, they wore serious expressions, as if their personalities had changed.
It felt awkward seeing their stern faces as if they were completely on guard.
Wouldn’t you guys be able to break this dungeon with just your feet?
Do you really need to be that tense?
Oh. Is it because I’m here?
“Commander, do you know the way?”
“Foolish Porsel. Do you know the way?”
“I don’t know it exactly yet, but I’ll figure it out. Young lady, remember this: Even though it’s the same dungeon, the patterns can differ by dozens. Even if it’s a dungeon you’ve conquered before, you shouldn’t overestimate your memory.”
I know that.
I’ve written guides for all the dungeons in Soul Academy, so I’m well aware.
At the time, I penned them with the hope of drawing in a few more newbies to this trashy game, but who knew those experiences would come in handy later?
“There are a total of nine patterns in Evans’ dungeon. The way to distinguish them is…”
No.
Though a few paths may look similar and could easily confuse you, if we’re talking pure pattern, there are actually twelve types.
Out of those, two have higher difficulty but give better rewards.
It feels like this dungeon might just be one of those higher-difficulty cases, doesn’t it?
“The monsters that appear are mainly goblins. However, you shouldn’t dismiss them. When they gather in groups, they’re terrifying.”
That’s certainly true.
While there are occasionally bizarre critters that pop out, the main focus in Evans’ dungeon is goblins.
Unlike the ones you see out in the field, the goblins in this dungeon are a serious threat.
While individually, they might be the weakest of monsters, the situation changes when they gather as a horde.
Knowing how to hunt in groups, goblins are merciful creatures that offer a refund opportunity to unsuspecting newbies.
“Since it’s your first time today, think of it as learning by watching us.”
“Got it.”
“I understand.”
Hmmm. Given that, it seems right to give up on facing Ruel’s Trial today.
With Porsel around, spontaneous actions would be difficult.
Considering the high difficulty of the map, who knows what variable might pop up?
I have to settle for experiencing the dungeon quietly.
I should check how different the actual dungeon is from what I remember.
The way the knights tackled the dungeon felt more like slaughtering than exploring.
Whenever a goblin appeared, they split it in half, armor and all.
The traps laid out by the goblins? They just barreled right through them!
As if magic and arrows weren’t even worth considering, they simply let them bounce off their bodies.
It was a blatant show of strong-arming based on stats.
Even while doing this, the knights kept informing me about various basic elements of dungeon exploration, but since they themselves weren’t sticking to it, their words were unconvincing.
“Teachers, I’m not skilled at teaching, but I think this is a bit strange!”
“Commander Porsel…”
“Foolish Porsel. Can you call this training if you’re smashing everything in sight?”
This was genuinely a question born out of curiosity.
Does breaking everything in a reckless charge count as training?
If so, wouldn’t it just be more beneficial for you to spar among yourselves in the knight order?
After all, your levels are high enough that you can’t even gain experience from this!
“It’s still the first floor of the dungeon, so we’re doing it like this. The dungeon is weak compared to our level, so we just breeze through the first and second floors.”
While the difficulty does ramp up from the third floor of Evans’ dungeon, isn’t there not much difference between here and there?
Well, if you guys are doing it this way as a matter of course, I can understand.
“Commander, since it’s come to this, how about we let the young lady gain experience in dungeon exploration?”
While I was talking to Porsel, Karl suggested something from the side.
“You mean the exploration of the first and second floors?”
“Yes. After all, experiencing things firsthand is the best way to learn. With us nearby, there’s no danger, and I think this is the perfect opportunity.”
“Hmmm. That makes sense. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a good suggestion. Young lady, what do you think?”
“Oh. So you want me to oversee the exploration of the first and second floors?”
Haha. Is that a request that’s too easy?
I’ve cleared Evans’ dungeon more times than I can count!
I mean every time I leveled up a blunt weapon character, I would come here and wreck things, right? I’m well above a thousand runs by now!
“Alright, let’s do it.”
“Great! I’ll be your director, so follow along, you losers!”
*
“There’s a pathetic trap on the right. Don’t step on it; just blow it away.”
“If you turn that corner, you’ll find four stupid, smelly goblins who don’t even know they’re caught. Foolish Porsel, sprint in like a beast and smash them.”
“Baldy, handle the creeps trying to ambush from behind.”
Leading the dungeon exploration, Lucy was a master tactician.
Flawlessly finding the right path every time.
She never stumbled over traps, and even the monsters’ ambushes didn’t escape her notice.
This wasn’t ordinary perception; it was more like prediction or prophesying.
At first, the knights didn’t trust Lucy’s leadership much.
How could a newbie tackle dungeon exploration effectively for the first time?
It was only natural to expect multiple trial and error encounters, along with failures.
That’s just the norm!
The very reason Karl had suggested leadership to Lucy was to prepare for those failures.
In a safe environment, it was a rare chance to experience failure and learn better methods from experts.
The knights had planned to sacrifice their own struggles for Lucy’s growth.
So when Lucy’s first command landed successfully, they regarded it as beginner’s luck.
They thought it was just fortunate chance.
However, as her successes piled up twice, thrice, what followed was only success after success.
It wasn’t luck.
No matter how fortunate you might be, it’s impossible to pick the right answer from multiple choices every time.
If a single success is a coincidence, continued success becomes inevitable.
In other words, sustained success clearly indicated Lucy’s capabilities.
“Hey, Karl. Is the young lady blessed with some sort of dungeon-related luck or something?”
Pervi, the bald knight, couldn’t help but be awestruck with every command Lucy made.
Such precise direction is something only a handful of seasoned knights could pull off.
And she’s showing that talent on her very first dungeon visit!
This couldn’t just be described with ordinary words.
Unless you considered it a miracle, a divine blessing, that’s the only way!
“That could be true.”
Karl nodded along with Pervi’s sentiments.
Receiving two types of blessings at once was an incredibly rare occurrence, but otherwise, it didn’t explain this situation at all.
If the young lady truly possessed two blessings, she could very well become a historical hero.
Among the countless famous heroes who made it into history, not many could brag about having two blessings.
Just as Lucy began her command and conquered half of the first floor, Porsel spoke up.
“Young lady.”
“What is it, foolish Porsel?”
“Would you like to participate in the combat as well?”
“You want me to fight myself?”
“Yes. I honestly thought it might be overwhelming for you just to observe the flow of the dungeon. But to be truthful, I’m impressed beyond my expectations. Your talent seems to surpass my own.”
“Foolish Porsel, is that because you’re such a loser?”
Porsel stiffened momentarily at Lucy’s jab before flashing a gentle smile.
Compared to the talent Lucy displayed just moments ago, there was no denying he felt like nothing.
“So let’s take it up a notch. I’ll tailor the battle level to suit you.”
Porsel, who appeared carefree and jovial, was vastly experienced.
A veteran who had survived numerous dungeons and battlefields, he was far from someone to underestimate on this continent.
Because of this, he typically doesn’t let those new to the dungeons experience actual combat.
You can’t display your true strength until you adapt to the claustrophobia and fear a dungeon brings.
But Lucy was an exception. Having adapted perfectly within less than an hour, she was now capable of holding her own.
“Let’s accrue experience against the goblins.”
Thus, Porsel decided to allow Lucy to have her firsthand combat experience.
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