Chapter 13

Dungeon appeared in Delophin.

We stood in front of it with other adventurers.

To summarize the dungeons in the game, it’s roughly like this:

Monsters appear.

You go and defeat them.

Receive rewards.

Endless loop.

According to the investigation, it was no different now. You could earn money by selling magic stones or byproducts that monsters dropped when defeated.

There was a profession for adventurers who made a living by hunting monsters, and you had to join an adventurer’s guild to sell items.

“I signed up long ago.”

Of course, I couldn’t use magic or wield a sword. I could barely defeat a single cute goblin.

Yet, I joined the guild to enter the dungeon. Unlike in the game days, you now had to meet the qualifications of a knight, mage, adventurer, or cleric to enter the dungeon.

Moreover, this was no longer a game where you could rely on slaves for automated combat.

“If you’re not careful, you could get seriously hurt or even die.”

Unlike in the past where you’d get healed after time or treatment, you could suffer permanent loss. In severe cases, you could die. How could we send our cute slaves into such a place?

I needed to join in and use all means available, such as information and item shops.

“The danger level of this dungeon is rated from F to G. Everyone can enter.”

The guild staff assessed the danger of the dungeon using magical tools and rated it. As expected since it was the first dungeon in the story, the difficulty was at its lowest.

If the difficulty is low, the monsters that appear are also weak. That makes it difficult to earn money. Perhaps that’s why adventurers aiming for big scores had dropped off, leaving only newbies behind.

“That’s a relief.”

I would have had a headache if I had to compete. If I had to seize the reward we were aiming for, I would have to buy it back with extra money.

Of course, I couldn’t rest easy. There were still remaining adventurers.

“Miss Mirabel, let’s go in quickly.”

“Yes.”

We stepped into the dungeon, and a moment later, a feeling of floating enveloped my whole body.

When I regained my senses, instead of an open field with a view of the city, I found myself in a dark cave devoid of any light. The wall blocked behind us.

To escape, we would need to find a teleport stone located somewhere in the dungeon or use the one that appears after defeating the boss.

I turned on the portable magic stone lantern I had bought earlier to illuminate our path.

“I can use magic for this.”

“No, I’ll handle it. Miss Mirabel, just focus on combat.”

I had to fight with everything I had. Only Mirabel could handle real combat effectively. I had to create an environment where she could focus entirely on fighting.

You have to do this much if you want to take a bus.

“Let’s move out.”

We began to progress through the dark cave.

The structure of the dungeon was a maze.

Since it had just emerged today, it was completely unexplored.

For the record, I didn’t know either. After all, it wasn’t RPG-related, and in a tycoon game, it wouldn’t go into detail about the geography of the dungeon.

Exploration had been a turn-based 2D sidescroller. The experience from auto-combat I ran thousands of times was useless here.

If there’s any luck in this, it was:

“Let’s turn right.”

Other than the fact that the characters were real-life-like, it was truly useful that there was an item shop.

Not only for slave training but also selling various useful items for every situation. I had purchased one item before entering the dungeon.

[Dungeon Map]

This is a dungeon map.

Very simple description.

Upon entering the dungeon, the structure and geography would be detailed on parchment.

It was only a 500-point item, but in this situation, it was extremely useful. Only I would be able to know the path through the dungeon.

For reference, it cannot be sold. Items from shops are typically one-time-use.

“That’s amazing, Master.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Mirabel gave me a rare look of admiration. Such looks are always welcome. I hope she gives them often.

With the power of the map, we moved ahead without encountering any dead ends. Then Mirabel signaled me to stop.

“Wait a moment. There’s a monster ahead.”

The first monster we encountered after entering the dungeon.

Kekrek.

It was a short, green goblin. The kind of monster that appears along with slimes in fantasy settings like games or web novels.

“Can you defeat it?”

“Of course.”

Confidently replying, Mirabel aimed her heavenly arrow. The azure magical arrow infused with Mirabel’s magical power burst the goblin’s head.

Yikes.

A grotesque scene as blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

Fortunately, it was merely disgusting and didn’t make us vomit. At times like this, I feel grateful for syncing with Carami’s spirit.

We encountered several more goblins after that, and each time Mirabel disintegrated them with magic.

We couldn’t collect the magic stones.

Mirabel, still struggling with precise power control, ended up destroying the magic stones too.

Well, it’s not a major concern. We weren’t in urgent need of money right away, and selling goblin magic stones wouldn’t yield much anyway. It would be better to raise a slave and set them free.

“Things are going smoothly.”

Although, it was like using an SSR character in the first stage. If it were difficult, that would be strange.

As we walked, we reached a small cavern.

It became a resting point.

“Miss Mirabel, do you need a rest?”

“I’m fine, so don’t worry, Master. Let’s keep going.”

“No. I’m the one tired. Let’s take it easy.”

“….”

What, why?

Do you think walking through a cave with thin air is easy for this frail body?

In the end, we decided to rest.

I was glad to be the master.

If I were a slave, I might have been beaten with a staff.

Although clear water was flowing from the clean-looking stream, I didn’t need to drink it. We had a mage in our party.

I refreshed myself with water made from Mirabel’s essence and washed my sticky hands.

After resting for a bit and before moving forward again, I shared information with Mirabel.

“I suspect this dungeon only has goblins. It might be a goblin lair.”

Mirabel nodded.

It seemed she already knew that.

But she likely didn’t know this. Just as I was about to add more explanation, Mirabel cut in.

“I sense a malicious power deeper within the cave. It seems there is a being that uses magic.”

Oh?

She can sense that?

I was surprised for a moment. Based on Mirabel’s assumptions, the boss of this dungeon was a goblin shaman that used magic. Our goal was to defeat it for a skill book that it drops with a low probability.

“I see. That’s very useful information.”

Perhaps pleased with the compliment, Mirabel smiled softly.

At that moment, a party different from the one we had come from entered the resting area.

“Don’t get scared, frontline! We almost all died!”

“You’re the one shouting and scaring me!”

A sharp exchange followed.

A mixed party composed of two men and two women. They were newbie adventurers who looked to be around Mirabel’s age.

As they bickered loudly enough to echo through the cavern, their eyes soon met ours.

“What? There’s another party? I thought we were the first.”

“It’s your fault for dawdling!”

“Why are you starting trouble again? What’s with that attitude?”

“What?!”

Ugh, so noisy.

This isn’t good for their emotions. I need to show Mirabel only good things.

“Haha, you all seem to get along well. Miss Mirabel, let’s step aside so we don’t interfere.”

“Yes.”

As we were about to proceed on our way,

“Wait! Take me with you!”

A boy with a wooden shield and a short sword approached us, spouting nonsense out of nowhere.

Mirabel, wary of the boy’s approach, pointed her staff at him. The startled adventurer boy couldn’t come any closer and kept his distance.

“What do you mean by ‘take me with you’?”

“I see you have a mage and a scout…? Anyway, there seems to be no frontline, so let me join. I’ll take on the frontline role.”

The boy, who blurted out such words, stared at Mirabel but instantly looked away. Then he peeked back at her, blushing.

“How dare this rustic boy try to approach our daughter?”

Just as I was about to say something, the adventurer girl who seemed to be the party leader shouted in response.

“Hey! What nonsense are you saying all of a sudden? What are we supposed to do without a frontline?”

“You keep complaining. You should realize how valuable I am this time.”

No, we have no intention of taking you along.

He’s the one playing both sides.

Mirabel looked at me as if to say, “Should I take him out, Master?” No way.

I forcefully shoved the boy’s back as he confronted my ally.

“Huh?”

The boy nearly fell over, barely steadying himself in front of the girl. He looked at us with the eyes of someone betrayed.

In between that boy and us, a stone wall suddenly rose, blocking our line of sight. It was Mirabel’s magic.

“You’re done for!”

“Huh! Wait a minute?”

And then the sounds of beating could be heard.

Leaving your party in a dungeon where life and death are at stake earns you what you deserve.

“Let’s move.”

I had Mirabel block every path leading to the boss room. This was in case we might lose the magic book.

We encountered various groups of goblins afterward, but as usual, the battles were one-sided to the point where it was hard to call them fights.

Finally, we reached the boss room.

As expected, the goblin shaman was in the boss room.

Along with a few regular goblins.

And.

“Oh?”

Two hop goblins as well.