For the completion reward, I already wasn’t really expecting much considering how easy the dungeon was but even then I was disappointed.
Katsuki received a wooden bucket of all things…
I realised I didn’t get anything and Sebastian explained that because I didn’t participate in the fight, the dungeon had not given me a completion reward.
Feeling unsatisfied with that, I asked to fight the boss as well so we left the boss room to allow it to respawn before entering it again, this time with just me fighting it by myself.
The fight against the boss couldn’t even be called a fight as I simply charged up my [Laser] as much as I could before firing it off, killing the boss instantly.
And… The reward I got was a comb.
At least it was still better than a bucket but I didn’t really need it so I gave it to Katsuki, who seemed over the moon to receive it for some reason.
We then stepped onto a magic circle that appeared at the very end of the boss room that teleported us back to the entrance.
With the exploration done, we returned back to The Guild.
“We’re back~” I reported to the receptionist cheerily.
The completion rewards may have been disappointing, but I was still excited to complete my registration as a Dungeoneer since there’s still other dungeons to dive too!
The female receptionist nodded, “Congratulations Miss Aster and Miss Katsuki on your safe return.”
Sebastian then stepped forward and dropped the Mana Crystal of the Dungeon Rat Matron on the counter, “They were exemplary Dungeoneers. They even managed to defeat the dungeon boss.”
“… Eh? … EHHH?!”
I was taken aback by the receptionist’s response, which also startled quite a number of others within the Guild.
Ignoring them, she turned to me with wide eyes, “Miss Aster and Miss Katsuki managed to complete the Dungeon on your first try?!”
I tilted my head, “Umm… Yes? Was that not supposed to happen?”
“It usually takes new Dungeoneers a few weeks before they advance far enough to even think about conquering that Dungeon,” Sebastian explained helpfully.
I swivelled to face him, “Huh? What about people with combat experience?”
“Most would not be able to deal with traps like you have, Miss Aster. Even an experienced Mercenary would take their time with the traps in their first dungeon and those that don’t usually fail.”
But… They’re kiddy traps though?!
“And you didn’t stop us from advancing? I thought we had to conquer it since you never told us we already passed!”
The Wrunch grinned at me, “My role is only an observer, Miss Aster. I had already deemed that you had passed on the first floor itself. Both of you have the ability to defeat monsters and deal with traps while Miss Aster also possesses good leadership skills too. There are no problems with you being Dungeoneers.”
“Ummm… I… Err… Thanks?”
“No need for thanks, Miss Aster, I was merely stating facts,” Sebastian nodded at me before turning to the receptionist. “You can go ahead and process their applications.”
“Y… Yes! Right away!” She squeaked, obviously still in shock about the revelation.
We sold off the Mana Crystals that we got which included the two bosses, earning us a total of… Twenty Decreas.
The Dungeon Rat Matron’s crystals were only worth five Decreas each… No wonder no one was even hunting them… The drops there really suck…
Then again, I suppose if we actually bothered to pick up all the Mana Crystals, we could earn more than an average labourer would earn in a day, the difference being that you’re putting your life on the line here.
Putting that aside… We’re Dungeoneers now!
I looked at my card and there it was! ‘Dungeoneer Rank F’!
…
Wait a minute…
I turned back to the receptionist, “Umm… This might actually be a little late but… What does being a Dungeoneer do for me and how does the rank work?”
I mean… I know as a Mercenary I get to take quests according to my rank, but what benefits does signing up as a Dungeoneer do for me? Judging from my experience so far… I can just enter dungeons without being one, right?
The receptionist blinked a few times at me and I sort of understood she was wondering how someone like me who could clear a dungeon on my first try didn’t know these things.
Nevertheless, she managed to keep her cool unlike before and explained, “There are dungeons that only allow Dungeoneers of certain ranks to enter and some also have a restriction on how far a certain rank can descend within that dungeon. As a Dungeoneer, you would also have an easier time finding parties of similar experience to dive with than if you aren’t one.”
Oh? I’m not too interested in the parties but the fact that some dungeons were rank restricted was news to me.
Apparently that wasn’t all as the receptionist continued, “Being a Dungeoneer also allows you to take the Dungeoneer quests.”
She then gestured at the wall and that’s when I remembered there’s also quests specifically targeted towards Dungeoneers.
Can’t believe I actually forgot about that one.
“And how would I raise my Dungeoneer rank?” I asked, trying not to look like I forgot about that obvious thing.
“The rank is judged by the highest difficulty dungeon you have completed and the card will automatically update once you do. Normally, new Dungeoneers that have passed their test would have the Dungeoneer affiliation printed on their card, but there would be no rank beside it until they completed their first dungeon. Since Miss Aster has already managed to complete one, you already have the rank beside your Dungeoneer affiliation.”
Oh, so there’s already an inherent ranking system for dungeons?
I thanked her for the explanation before moving towards the wall, curious about what kind of quests would be given to Dungeoneers.
Most of the requests seem to be party recruitment requests where Dungeoneers are looking for people to fulfil a specific role in their group, but there are also quests like Adventurers looking for Dungeoneers to escort them through a specific floor in a dungeon and also others requesting to search for missing persons or a specific monster’s Mana Crystal and parts too.
Looks like you can even put up requests to have another Dungeoneer give you a boost to deeper levels of a dungeon too.
Since it was almost dinner time, I decided to go back home for the day and maybe return some other time to check things out properly. I do want to go into a proper dungeon instead of that kiddy one, after all.
It was already dark outside though there were still lamps powered by Mana Crystals to light up the street, allowing one to travel at night without the use of lanterns.
I let Mary lead the way back to the mansion since I wasn’t very familiar with the streets yet, though I suppose to her it just meant going to a secluded corner for her to teleport us.
A few metres away from the Guild, however, Mary slowed down a little so that she could whisper to us and still be heard.
“Mistress… We are being followed, please stay calm and follow me.”
I almost turned around to look but I knew that would be the worst thing to do so I refrained myself from doing so.
I did, however, get ready to call out my summons if I needed them.
Still… This reminded me of the first time I went to register at the Guild, is this a similar thing where the veterans intimidate the newbies?
Mary continued to lead us through the main street until we turned down one of the smaller streets that weren’t as brightly lit.
It was then that I noticed that Mary’s mouth was moving slightly as she was turning, an indication that she was chanting for a spell.
As we were passing by one of the alleys between two buildings that looked like maisonettes, soft footsteps echoed in the darkness and I turned to see a male Mahun sprinting towards me with his weapon drawn.
At the same time several of them also leapt down from the rooftops, effectively boxing us in.
Ok, the fact that they already have their weapons out indicated they weren’t really here to make a social call… Thieves maybe?
I prepared myself for a fight when Mary suddenly exploded into an amalgamation of flesh, her arms splitting into four before transforming into what looked like mantis blades. As though that wasn’t enough, more arms also sprouted from her back which also transformed themselves into blades.
“Nullify the distance and send me there. [Blink]!” Mary chanted.
Her figure then disappeared and reappeared to my side, allowing her to thrust out her arms to impale all of our attackers with a blade of her own.
She then pulled the arms back and all of them were smashed into the ground in front of her, knocking them out.
Damn… Mary’s stats aren’t for show it seems.
Not going to lie… Her current form makes her look like some eldritch monster with how her arm blades join up with the rest of her body…
Kind of hot.
“Katsuki, watch the surroundings, not me,” Mary admonished gently while moving her arms to gather all the unconscious attackers into one pile.
“Ye… Yes, Head Maid!” Katsuki squeaked, quickly tearing her gaze away from her.
Mary then gestured to the alley, prompting us to follow her there.
“Who are they?” I asked.
“Most likely bandits or assassins, though we will find out once we get them back to the mansion for interrogation. My guess is that they were looking to kidnap you, Mistress, to send us a ransom for your safety.
“They… They know who I am?”
Mary giggled, “Most definitely not. They probably think Mistress is a young and naive noble lady out for her first stroll and thus an easy mark. I will now create a portal for us to return to the mansion, Mistress, please be careful.”
I watched as she chanted the spell to create the portal before being ushered through, my maids and the bandits following through a short while later.
What a way to end the day eh?