Dambi, who became an adventurer.
He was originally a mixed-blood, born between a vampire and a human. Despite being a mixed-blood, it was natural for him to live in a vampire dungeon.
However, among vampires, his treatment as a mixed-blood was not good. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the worst.
He was treated worse than insects within the dungeon.
In fact, captured humans received better treatment than Dambi. Humans were valuable beings who provided blood to vampires, but Dambi was useless to them.
Even with this cold shoulder, Dambi did nothing. He didn’t raise his voice, nor did he run away from the dungeon.
He simply accepted it, thinking he was a failed being who didn’t belong there.
He was too different from them.
Even his appearance was closer to that of a human than a vampire.
So he thought he was born into the world as a failed byproduct.
He spent his days there meaninglessly. He thought this life would go on forever.
Then, one day, an event that would shatter his daily life suddenly occurred.
Paladins had invaded the dungeon.
They didn’t just invade the dungeon Dambi belonged to. They invaded all the surrounding vampire dungeons.
But even in such a situation, Dambi survived.
More precisely, he managed to survive among the humans who were kidnapped into the dungeon.
Dambi’s appearance was closer to a human, and it was such a chaotic situation that no one had time to consider him a mixed-blood vampire.
Thus, Dambi was able to leave the dungeon.
Although he had found freedom, he felt an emptiness.
There were no longer those who tormented him or ignored him, but something felt vacant.
That’s right. Dambi had lost his life’s identity.
Even though he was discriminated against by his own kind, he had a sense of belonging to the dungeon.
But that disappeared when the dungeon was purged.
Now, where should he go?
Dambi walked and walked, trying to forget his anxiety.
When he was hungry, he ate the blood of wild animals or monsters in the mountains.
Sometimes he went to the city and blended in with the humans.
It was during this aimless wandering.
Suddenly, a voice was heard from somewhere.
“Act for me.”
The unknown voice shook his existence, like a ringing bell echoing in the darkness.
And he intuited.
If he agreed with the meaning of that voice, his life might change.
Thus, Dambi came to serve the Great One.
***
“Congratulations, Dambi! You’ve perfectly completed your first request, you’re truly amazing!”
Katharine, the receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild, greeted Dambi with a bright smile.
A little while ago, Dambi had successfully completed a request to capture a zombie.
Bringing a live zombie intact to the client.
This was quite a demanding task for a novice adventurer. Yet, Dambi had accomplished it perfectly as soon as he registered as an adventurer.
Katharine couldn’t help but be impressed by his performance. She thought that perhaps Dambi might become the next ace of the Adventurer’s Guild.
Of course, it wasn’t difficult for Dambi.
He had simply brought a zombie from the same dungeon.
“This is nothing. I am ready to take on any request for the Great One.”
Dambi replied in a firm tone.
Thanks to the Great One, Dambi had gained a new life goal.
Moving forward for someone who needed him. That alone was enough.
Katharine nodded at Dambi’s words.
She sensed his piety. She mistook him for a devout follower of the Church that believed in the Goddess.
“By the way, did you do too well in capturing the zombie? The client was so satisfied, it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this.”
Usually, novice adventurers struggle even to hunt zombies. But Dambi didn’t just hunt them; he captured them alive.
Katharine handed Dambi three gold coins for completing the request.
“Originally it was one gold coin, but the client gave two extra gold coins.”
Dambi now had three gold coins in his possession.
Of course, since it was a large denomination, one gold coin was exchanged appropriately for copper and silver coins.
Immediately after, Katharine lowered her voice.
“This is a secret, but the branch manager is keeping an eye on you, Dambi. If you complete a few more requests, you might receive a copper badge soon.”
Copper badge.
Currently, Dambi is an iron-rank adventurer with an iron badge. The rank after iron is copper.
It was an exceptional benefit for Dambi, who had just become an adventurer, to rise to the copper rank after completing a few more requests.
“That sounds good.”
Dambi also welcomed such special treatment as per the order given by Celia.
He had to build up as many achievements as possible and raise his rank. Only then could he do more for the Great One, wouldn’t he?
Dambi showed no hesitation.
“Then I will choose one more request.”
Dambi found a suitable request on the bulletin board.
“Oh, that can’t be applied for alone. If you wish, shall I connect you with other adventurers?”
The request Dambi chose was the Goblin Dungeon subjugation.
He could have subjugated it alone, but Katharine stopped him.
“Those goblins mainly use bows, so it’s dangerous. I know you’re good at it, but it’s better to be careful. If you come back tomorrow morning, I’ll find a suitable party for you.”
If Dambi’s adventurer rank was higher, it would be different, but now Katharine was in charge.
Dambi had no choice but to turn back.
After all, if the promotion to copper rank was not far off, there was no need to rush.
Thinking so, Dambi walked towards the city with light steps.
The city was not far away.
“I’ll need a place to stay for the night.”
Upon arriving in the city, Dambi made a plan.
Since he needed to stay for the night, his first course of action was to look for an inn.
Until now, he had been staying at the Great One’s dungeon.
But now he needed a separate place to spend the night.
Although camping was an option, he couldn’t do that forever, so Dambi went in search of an inn.
As he walked through the city streets, a seductive smell of blood stimulated his nose.
‘Smell of blood.’
He turned his head and saw a pig dripping with blood.
It looked like it had just been butchered.
“As expected, meat would be good.”
Dambi, drawn by the smell of meat, walked towards the establishment.
“Welcome!”
As he entered the shop, the owner’s loud voice greeted Dambi.
The shop was not very large, and there were not many customers.
But Dambi didn’t care. He was solely focused on the smell of meat that stimulated his appetite.
“I want to eat that meat.”
Dambi pointed his hand towards the meat outside.
Then the owner replied with a smile.
“Your taste is very high. An excellent choice! We’ve just caught a good quality one, so the meat is very tender!”
The owner looked at Dambi’s appearance.
He didn’t seem like an ordinary person.
Adventurer? Wanderer?
Either way, as long as it increased the shop’s revenue, it didn’t matter.
“Have you found an inn? Our shop also has rooms where you can stay for the night, how about it?”
The pub also doubled as an inn.
Since he needed it, Dambi nodded.
“Please.”
“Haha, the meal is 10 copper coins, and accommodation is 50 copper coins per night!”
“With the remaining amount, please add more meat.”
Dambi replied, placing a silver coin on the table.
He had secured a meal and a place to sleep.
Now all he had to do was successfully complete the dungeon subjugation request tomorrow.
***
As the twilight of dawn began to recede, Dambi arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.
It was because Katharine had promised to form a party for the goblin dungeon攻略 the day before.
However, what greeted Dambi was not Katharine, but a man with a rough appearance, Warrior Drun.
“What? You’re bringing a novice like this into the dungeon? You’re not joking, are you?”
Drun snorted as if he didn’t want to accept Dambi as a party member.
The other adventurers gathered around nodded at the man’s reaction.
“And Iron rank?… This is unacceptable! Then who’s going to protect me!”
Rills, a female mage standing to the side, chuckled and mocked Dambi.
The dungeon is reality.
A world of the unknown where a single mistake could lead to the deaths of all party members.
Yet, they looked unfavorably upon a newbie who had just become an adventurer.
Furthermore, Dambi had no equipment, not even a common sword. Their dissatisfaction grew.
“I am strong even without weapons.”
However, Dambi was confident that he had no problem even without weapons.
While some considered his demeanor as boasting, Dambi was simply stating the truth.
In fact, the rank of the adventurers gathered here was copper.
With just a gesture from Dambi, they could all be killed.
“……”
As he pondered whether to show his strength, Katharine stepped in.
She praised Dambi’s skills and persuaded them for a long time, finally managing to form a party.
However, even with Katharine’s words, Warrior Drun issued a warning, not a warning, to Dambi.
“Shit. Today is going to be unlucky. Anyway, if you become a burden in the dungeon, I’ll just abandon you. Got it?”
Thus, a 5-person party was formed, including Dambi.
Warrior Drun, Mage Rills, Archer Zairo, and Novice Priest Hieldon.
As soon as the party was formed, they left the Adventurer’s Guild.
The goblin dungeon to be subjugated was located at the entrance of the mountain range.
The adventurers who formed the party chattered amongst themselves and moved forward, but Dambi was thoroughly ignored.
“Ha! To think a mere iron-rank brat would join this party. The world is in its final days. Truly the end times.”
Drun shook his head.
“I agree. The difference between iron rank and copper rank is only one step, but the difference is as vast as the sky and the earth.”
Rills echoed Drun’s words.
Although they openly made discriminatory remarks, Dambi was unaffected.
He was already used to it.
After a considerable walk, the goblin dungeon finally appeared.
“Well, it’s starting now.”
Drun said with a malicious smile.
“By the way, this is your first time in this dungeon, isn’t it? As a senior adventurer, I feel obligated to teach you. Why don’t you take the lead?”
The other adventurers agreed with Drun’s words.
“You can’t get this kind of experience anywhere else. This must also be the will of the Goddess.”
Novice Priest Hieldon said with a hypocritical smile.
It was already tacitly agreed upon.
However, Dambi had no thoughts of his own.
He simply walked into the dungeon.
When Dambi confidently entered the dungeon, the remaining adventurers were surprised.
“Huh… Is he brave, or foolish?”
Archer Zairo, who was supposed to be the pathfinder, tilted his head.
But no one stopped Dambi’s actions.
If he’s going to be a meat shield voluntarily, why would they stop him?
They followed behind Dambi, thinking the request would be resolved quickly.
The inside of the goblin dungeon was filled with a chilling aura.
As they advanced along the corridor, goblin screams could be heard from somewhere.
“The atmosphere feels strange. It’s like mana is running wild.”
Mage Rills sensed the fluctuating mana within the dungeon.
It was clearly an ordinary goblin dungeon, but the atmosphere was strange.
“That’s right! There’s an evil aura!”
Novice Priest Hieldon also exclaimed.
The aura they felt now was not that of ordinary goblins.
But Dambi moved forward regardless.
The adventurers lowered their voices at Dambi’s behavior.
Hieldon spoke first.
“After all, if anything happens, that guy will act as a shield. We’ll get rewarded just by checking the dungeon and reporting it to the guild.”
Even if they just submitted a correction report stating that the dungeon information was wrong, there was a reward.
And even if monsters appeared, they could use Dambi in front of them as bait.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Warrior Drun also agreed, and everyone echoed Hieldon’s words.
They began to explore the dungeon again. How long did they walk?
Swish-
An arrow flew from the front.
“Careful! It’s an ambush!”
Starting with Drun’s words, arrows rained down.
“Kyaak!”
Mage Rills tried to cast a shield quickly, but an arrow pierced her hand.
“Damn it! Stay down until the arrows stop!”
Drun shouted, lowering his posture.
“Hieldon! Use heal quickly!”
Rills tried to reach out to Novice Priest Hieldon, but she couldn’t move due to the incessant arrow barrage.
Arrows kept flying.
They had never heard that goblins shot arrows like this.
It was as if someone was directing and controlling the goblins.
All their faces showed signs of panic.
They were desperately trying to cover themselves and dodge the arrows.
That’s why they didn’t see it.
The fact that not a single arrow was flying towards Dambi.
As if they couldn’t recognize his existence.
Dambi stood calmly amidst the chaos around him. As if watching an interlude scene on a stage.
Soon, he could see.
The Goblin Lord directing the goblins from the front.
At the sight, Dambi muttered in a voice filled with madness.
“As expected, the Great One has come to see me off!”
It happened that the Goblin Lord was organizing the surrounding dungeons with his scout team.
This was possible as the range of action of the dungeon monsters expanded to the Sail Kingdom.
As Warrior Drun had said, it turned out to be an unlucky day for the adventurers.
