Chapter 5 — Dungeon Discovered?

 

It’s been a week since I came to this world. Not an Earth week though. I decided it was finally time to return to the Adventurers’ Guild. On my way there, I paid for another week at the inn.

 

The Adventurers’ Guild seems to be way more active than usual…

 

“Ei! Come over here!”

 

Luna is calling out to me so I might as well head over. 

 

“A party called ‘J.E.F.F.’ found a dungeon! Everyone is trying to get news on where it is!”

 

Interesting party name. Luna then drops her voice to a whisper.

 

“Don’t tell anyone I already found it. J.E.F.F did a really bad job at covering their tracks. Wanna take a look?”

 

I agreed of course. A dungeon could be very interesting. Or very troublesome. I’m not sure yet. Following Luna, we returned to a normal talking volume.

 

“Even if a dungeon has been found, the guild won’t let anyone in it. Some rubbish about ‘finders keepers,’ and yet it always opens up to everyone eventually. Also, life is going to get a lot more busy so be prepared, Ei.

 

Cities are always swarmed once a dungeon is found. Oh! It seems we’re here. We can’t move close but who cares! If you look closely, you can see some orcs in that cave!”

 

Cities being swarmed makes sense. I guess whoever the lord is is going to be happy. And swamped with paperwork too, probably.

 

“So, Ei, do you want to go dungeon diving with me once it opens?”

 

“Sure.”

It seems fun.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

The Adventurers’ Guild was just as busy as before when we returned. The dungeon wasn’t noteable, just some cave from what we saw.

 

“Get your ‘here before the dungeon’  pins!”

 

“Premium weapons at my shop, five blocks north of here!”

 

“What did you say you bastard?! Gold’s shop is better!”

 

“Selling rations! One copper per piece!”

 

Everyone seems to be trying to turn a profit. It’s annoying. I head to the request board to see if there is anything interesting. Some of the C rank requests are interesting but I’m still F rank. I guess I’ll have to settle with a few D rank requests.

 

Request: Owlbear Elimination

 

Boring.

 

Request: Gather wood (200lb)

 

Boring.

 

Request: Eliminate a pack of goblins. (Estimated 15)

 

Oh, that seems interesting. I’ll ask Luna if she wants to help out.

 

“Luna! Wanna help me with this request?”

 

“Eh? Goblins? 15 of them? That’s easy! Well, unless they aren’t goblins. If they’re hobgoblins we’d be in trouble. Let’s do it!”

 

Heading over to the receptionist desk, we had to stand in line. For an hour. It was hell. Finally, we reached the desk.

 

“Aaaahhh! It’s the Bloody Mage! Don’t slice me please!”

 

What kind of a nickname is that… although maybe I did slice too many of the wolves in half… and some diced ones… and most of them were dripping blood. What? Did you expect me to drink all of it? I can’t be that conspicuous. Slicing them decreases the value? I can’t hear you. Try speaking louder.

 

“That’s not my name… my name is Ei.”

 

The receptionist stands there. I think she stopped working… even though it’s the same one as last time.

 

“I-I’m C-Celes.” (A/N: Pronounced “seh - les”, not “seals”. I dunno which one is emphasized. Take your pick)

 

“I’m not going to hurt you. Can you please process this request? I’ll be doing it with Luna.”

“A-are you a p-party?”

 

“No…?”

 

“Would you like to register as one?”

It seems that Celes finally recovered. I don’t really have any intentions of forming a permanent party right now.

 

“Is there a way to make a temporary one?”

 

“There is! Celes! Register our temporary party as Moon’s Shadow!” (A/N: haha funny pun based on names)

 

Luna seems to have taken charge. I’m not against it so let’s go with that.

 

“Alright. Request processed.”

 

The location we need to go is a few miles to the north. It shouldn’t be a problem to get there today, but I don’t wanna walk. Too tiring. I could run but then I’d have to carry Luna. I suppose that isn’t a problem though? I could also fly, but then I’d have to tell Luna I’m a vampire so I’d rather not. Wait, can I put her into my item bag? That’s really wrong though so let’s not. Oh… maybe I can use magic? I’ll have to experiment.

 

“Luna, go make any preparations you need to, then meet me at the north gate at noon. I have some things to do.” (A/N: Noon = 10pm here)

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

I ran to my usual spot in the forest. Well, let’s see what some wind magic can do. I have no idea if I can cast multiple spells at the same time though.

 

“[Gale Burst]”

 

I launched myself into the air. Now I need to try and hover, but that isn’t easy. I have so somehow manage the air current around me, or maybe I can compress ai-

 

*crash*

 

I hit the ground before finishing thinking. Alright let’s try compressing the air under me so I fall really slowly.

 

“[Gale Burst]”

Then I imagine the air coalescing into a really dense water-like fluid.

 

“[Create Aerofluid]”

 

That seems to have worked. I’m falling at a rate of about half an inch per second. I think if I practice I could make it even better. For now, let’s work on propulsion. I can probably just use [Gale Burst] again.

 

This time I landed softly.

 

“[Gale Burst]! [Create Aerofluid]! [Gale Burst]!”

 

Ow. I put too much force into the second [Gale Burst] and ended up getting slapped by the air. I guess it makes sense since it was more dense, but I may or may not have crushed a few trees. Sorry trees. Luna would probably yell at me if she were here.

 

I still have a good 50 minutes or so before I need to head back, so I’ll practice some more.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆ 

 

Luna seems to have beaten me to the north gate but, oh well.

 

“Luna! Let’s head out!”

 

“Took you long enough! I was getting bored waiting for you!”

 

“I'm early…”

 

“Well I was earlier! Whatever, let’s go! I brought some rations for the road.”

 

“Heh. Did you really think we were walking? I have a way to move us way faster.”

 

Luna looks slightly frightened. Not my fault. I took the rations from her and stored them in my item box.

 

“Come to think of it, how big is your storage magic? You had so much in it the other day…”

 

“........ I don’t know.”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Well, let’s just get going.”

 

Once outside the gate, I prepared to present my masterpiece to Luna.

 

“Luna, behold. [Gale Burst]!”

 

“Kyaaa!”

Seems she doesn’t like being launched into the air. Too bad.

 

“[Create Aerofluid]!”

 

“What?! I’m falling slowly?!”

 

Yes, at a rate of around one inch per five minutes. I’m amazing aren’t I?

 

“[Gale Burst]”

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

 

Maybe I overdid the last [Gale Burst] a bit… I only accelerated us to around 100 miles per hour. We reached the village after about two minutes of travel.

 

“What was that Ei!?!? Do it again! That was awesome!”

 

Seems in the end she liked it.

 

“I’ll do it on the way back. For now, let’s meet with the village chief.”

 

“H-halt! Who g-goes there?”

 

Oh the guards spotted us.

 

“We’re adventurers here to take care of the goblins. Could you take us to the village chief?”

 

“Uhh… okay. But how did you get here?”

 

“I made us fly. Well more like gliding but whatever.”

 

“...” 

 

Is my magic too far out of the norm? Well, the guard let us in and we found out that the goblins had been marauding to the east and were spotted most recently there.

 

“Ei! Make us fly again!”

 

“Why? It’s close enough that we can walk this time.”

 

“But I wanna fly! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee?”

 

“*sigh* Fine.”

 

“[Gale Burst], [Create Aerofluid], [Gale Burst].”

 

And thus, we flew to the goblins. Huh they don’t look like your stereotypical goblin. They’ve got red skin and some black hair, but still have the same body shape. Approximately. Eh? Why does Luna look terrified?

 

“Those are… hobgoblins.”

 

Oh.

 

“And how difficult are hobgoblins to kill?”

 

“A single one is usually C rank, a pack like this would be either high B rank or low A rank… we should retreat.”

 

“But I wanna fight… I just got a new weapon…”

 

“Even if you did fight, there’s no way you wouldn’t get skewered! Those swords may be cobbled together scrap metal, but they’re still really strong!”

 

“Let me try one. If I can’t kill it, we’ll run.”

 

“But-”

 

“I’ll be fine, remember how I flew us here? I can do that to get away.”

 

“O..okay”

 

Ha! It is on! Prepare to die hobgoblins!

 

Monster: <unnamed> (Hobgoblin, 2y)

Condition: Good 

Status Ailments: None

Noteworthy Skills: Sword Usage

Info: <locked>

 

I pulled out my glaive.

 

“Eh? A sword on a stick? I thought you were a mage?”

 

“Nope! I’m an eldritch warrior!”

 

Well then… die you hobgoblin! I charged at it full speed, closing the distance of 50 yards in three seconds. Then, I sliced its head clean off. One down, 14 to go. They seem to have finally noticed me, but unfortunately for them, I’m a few steps ahead of them.

 

“[Frosty Footing]!”

I created ice under all of the hobgoblins and froze their feet in place. Then, I ran through the crowd, dodging swords left and right, slicing heads as I went. 

 

These hobgoblins are pushovers.

 

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

 

Oh, one survived? And this one is bigger. He must be the leader. He looks really mad.

 

Lifting his foot he rips the ground up along with my ice before throwing it at me with a kick. This one’s crafty, huh? Dodging to the left I jump above the sword he swings at me. Too slow! Then, he jumps.

 

“You really think jumping will help you? You’re wide open. [Air Blade]!”

 

I practiced [Air Blade] so this should kill him.

 

He moves his sword to parry the blade of wind, but it is futile. His sword shatters and he is sent flying. Ah… maybe I overdid it. 

 

I heard a crash as he slammed into the ground. I heard another smaller crash a few moments later. It seems I split him in half. …I’m really living up to that horrible nickname aren’t I? It’s even raining blood.

 

“Ei! What was that?!?”

 

“Target practice.”

 

“I didn’t know you were that strong! And what’s with that weapon? I’ve never seen it before but it looks really strong! And your magic abilities are ridiculous! How did you form everything so fast, and with that much power? A hobgoblin could easily break out of a B rank mage’s ice!”

I guess I did overdo it.

 

“This weapon I bought from a store and enchanted it… As for my magic, I can’t really deny it can I? I guess I just practiced a lot.”

 

“Seriously, where did you come from? You didn’t even know Common even though the entire continent and most of the demon continent can!”

 

Demon continent? Please tell me that I don’t have to fight a Demon Lord…

 

“Demon continent? That sounds bad… Is there a Demon King too?”

 

“Eh? You do know that we’re on really good terms with each other right? The current Demon KIng is really nice! She even helped us a few years ago during a famine!”

 

Demons are good? Interesting.

 

“Hm. Well, we should head back, I’ll collect the bodies.”

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆ 

 

“Ah you’re back already. Did you have trouble finding them?”

 

“Nope. They’re dead, and also they were hobgoblins, not goblins.”

“H-hobgoblins!? I’ll contact the guild immediately! I should be able to get some A ranks since there is a new dungeon nearby…”

 

“Are you deaf?! Ei just said they are dead! We can provide proof too!”

 

“E-eh? Wh-what? All 15 of them?”

 

“Yep! Ei, take out the corpses!”

 

I took out the corpses and I think the old man who was the village chief fainted. Let’s hope it wasn’t a heart attack. After a while we had him sign the completion form and add a note of the hobgoblins, we left, flying on our way back.

 

“Celes! We’re back!”

 

“Ah… let me guess, you-”

 

“You gave up, didn't you, you little children?”

 

The entire guild went silent. A big man blocked our path. Like seriously, he was probably eight feet tall and four feet wide. Pure muscle. Likely an idiot. And little? Really!? I mean, I might be a bit short but Luna isn’t.

 

“Nope, we’re done. Now please get out of the way.”

 

“Sure thing kid. Like hell I would. The Adventurers’ Guild isn’t a place for girls like you.”

 

This was bound to happen eventually, right? Especially with more people coming by. Thankfully, I prepared countermeasures. I may or may not have a “few” mutilated wolf corpses in my item bag. Hopefully this will shock him enough that he backs down.

 

“Haaaaah… and you say that without even knowing how ridiculous Ei is…”

 

“Here let me ask you this, muscle brain. Can you beat a wolf up like this?”

 

I then pulled out ten of my diced up wolf corpses. Fresh with blood. Some are almost perfectly rectangular, others cut randomly. Sometimes they explode from too much constriction. Nets are hard to use, you know?

 

“E-eh? W-what is-s this?”

 

“We’re competent adventurers. Now move.”

 

With that I shoved the man out of the way. Sending him flying, he almost hit a table but he hit a pillar instead.

 

“Celes, we’ve brought the completion certificate. However, they were hobgoblins, not goblins.”

 

“Hob…goblins?”

 

The crowd behind us is going insane… Not my problem. 

 

“Celes what rank would a subjugation request for 14 hobgoblins and a captain?”

 

“That’s B rank… high B rank…”

 

“Ahhh… that’s a problem. I’m only rank F.”

 

“I can process it as a few separate C rank requests… but then you’re not rank D. I’ll talk with the guildmaster. Please wait for a bit.”

 

While I was waiting I picked up the corpses and wiped the blood away with some magic. It’s a good idea to clean up after yourself, no?

 

“Ei, Luna, could you please follow me?”

 

It seems Celes is back. I guess we’re going to the guildmaster. 

 

The guild master is an old man. He’s like the eight foot tall guy, but only six feet tall and maybe two feet wide. Let’s see how he is…

 

Monster: Jouh (Human, 67y) (A/N: Pronounced “joe”)

Condition: Good 

Status Ailments: None

Noteworthy Skills: Greatsword Usage, Aura Sense

Info: A retired A rank adventurer. What? You wanna know more? No ;) -ENTITY

 

“So you two beat an A rank request. And you’re rank F and D. How very interesting. Well, I’m Jouh. I don’t know about the elf lady, but the half elf seems awfully powerful.”

 

Must be part of [Aura Sensing]. Good thing he didn’t figure out I’m not a half elf. This guy might be able to give me trouble.

 

“Well, I have a special request to ask of you. A designated request I suppose.”

 

““What?””

 

“Can you two map out the dungeon? We haven’t had any high rank adventurers arrive yet and people are getting antsy. The reward is 10 gold coins, under the condition you must stop before the boss door and you cannot take anything beyond monster drops. You’ll be allowed to try it when the dungeon opens to the public.”

 

Dungeon diving? Sounds fun. Let’s do it.

 

“Sur-“

 

“Isn’t the rule finders keepers?”

 

“It is. They get to go in before everyone, it’s just after the scouts. That’s why you can’t go through the boss or take loot.”

 

“Alright sure then. Ei?”

 

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

 

“Celes will process the request. Also, raise their ranks to C. It bends the rules a bit but they deserve it.”

 

“But I didn’t d-“

 

I slap Luna. Lightly of course.

 

“Don’t turn down the guildmaster’s kindness.”

 

And thus, we began preparing.