Chapter 4: To a New Town – 05
The next day, I finally set off towards the E-Class Dungeon. I had prepared with a guide, so now it was just a matter of testing my skills in real combat. The main concern was whether I could conquer it solo.
There are two E-Class Dungeons, but the first one I would challenge is located about an hour outside of town, by the riverside.
Upon arrival, I found a pile of small stones by the riverbank, with a gaping black mouth opening into the dungeon.
Several adventurer parties were loitering nearby, but I ignored them and entered the dungeon.
Inside, the air was cool and humid, with walls that resembled a stack of small stones.
As I followed the map’s route for a while, I detected a presence with my Presence Detection skill. There were five monsters on the first underground level.
Although the E-Class Dungeon has the same five levels as the F-Class, the quality and quantity of the monsters that appear are said to be significantly higher. It seemed I was about to face a baptism by numbers.
The monsters that appeared were Fishmen, bipedal creatures with limbs resembling fish. They were taller than Goblins and wielded short spears.
Fshshsh!
As soon as the Fishmen noticed me, they let out strange sounds and formed a line, advancing towards me. They seemed to be more coordinated than Goblins.
In response to the spears thrusting at me, I swung my mace in a counterattack. Thanks to the Honshin skill, my strike was sharp, and I shattered all five spears in an instant.
From there, it turned into a melee. The Fishmen swung the remaining spear shafts at me, but as soon as they entered my mace’s range, their heads exploded.
Even though they were F-Class monsters, my strikes were enough to instantly take them down. There was no way these weaklings could withstand such power.
The dropped materials included a Magic Stone and large scales. The scales looked glass-like at first glance. I stowed both in my backpack and continued onward.
Before reaching the stairs to the second underground level, I encountered groups of three to five Fishmen about six times.
As long as I stayed alert, I wouldn’t even suffer injuries, but occasionally a spear would pierce through my Steel Body and leave a small wound. Their attack power might be higher than I expected. Of course, any injuries were quickly healed by my Regeneration skill.
Upon descending to the second level, I found a party of four young adventurers: one man and three women. Was this a harem party?
As I nodded and tried to pass by, an older woman among them called out to me.
“Are you here all alone, mister? Did your wife run away or something?”
“No, I’m just adventuring solo. I’m not in despair or anything,” I replied, though her comment about my wife running away wasn’t entirely unfounded—at least in my past life.
“Still, it’s dangerous to be alone in an E-Class Dungeon.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here on the second level because I can handle it. The Fishmen are no match for me.”
“Hmm… It looks like you’ve taken quite a few hits, but if that’s all you’ve got, you must have Steel Body. Then you probably won’t drop dead anytime soon.”
While the woman spoke, a timid-looking man behind her fidgeted nervously. Ah, he must be the one struggling in this situation. I silently apologized for the harem comment in my mind.
“Well, the next monsters you’ll encounter are Stone Tortoises. If your mace doesn’t work on them, it’s better to run away quickly. They can bite off your leg, you know.”
“Ah, thanks for the warning. I’ll be careful.”
It seemed that adventurers in this world were generally friendly.
Thinking about it, adventurers are randomly assigned their roles through Awakening, so it’s unlikely that roughnecks become adventurers. That might have something to do with their demeanor.
As I progressed through the second level, I soon encountered two Stone Tortoises. They were large, turtle-like creatures covered in stone shells. They moved slowly but had high defense, and their necks could extend suddenly during an attack, making close combat dangerous.
I approached them head-on, using my Honshin skill to feint and circle around one of them. As it extended its neck, I brought my mace down upon it, and its head exploded effortlessly.
I decided to test my strength against its shell as well, but while the surface stone shattered dramatically, it didn’t seem to inflict much damage. Instead, the impact reverberated through my arm, so I resolved to keep targeting the extended neck.
After defeating it, I collected a Magic Stone and a piece of its shell. The shell looked somewhat like tortoiseshell, but I wondered where the stone aspect had gone.
In any case, I managed to clear the second level without much trouble. I did miss a dodge once and got bitten by a Stone Tortoise, but thanks to Steel Body, it only left a bite mark.
By the time I reached the entrance to the third level, it seemed I had leveled up.
The third level was said to have an increased number of Stone Tortoises, but my backpack was nearly full, so I decided to call it a day.
My current mace was starting to feel insufficient as well. Since I was tackling an E-Class Dungeon, it might be time to upgrade my equipment.
I returned to the Adventurers’ Guild to sell my loot. I approached the notoriously unfriendly receptionist. Her desk was always empty, but perhaps her attitude was why. Still, she seemed to do her job well, so I didn’t mind.
“E-Class scales and shells, I see… Did you collect all of this by yourself?”
She shot me a skeptical glance, but I couldn’t blame her. There seemed to be no solo adventurers in Euron.
“Yes, I cleared up to the second level.”
“Excuse me, but how did you defeat the Stone Tortoises?”
“I struck them with my mace when they extended their necks.”
“Ah, right… You have skills, don’t you?”
She likely refrained from mentioning the name of my Honshin skill because there were other adventurers nearby. It seemed she was considerate in that regard.
“Yes, I managed just fine on my own.”
Normally, a strategy would involve someone acting as bait while another struck from the side. It was indeed a cumbersome opponent to defeat solo.
“I apologize for prying. Here’s your payment.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, carrying cash around can be cumbersome. From E-Rank onwards, you can deposit it with the guild.”
Ah, so this was the moment for that discussion. The guide had mentioned that the guild acted like a bank.
“Then I’ll take you up on that.”
“Please hand me your Adventurer Card.”
After I handed over the card, the receptionist stepped into a back room and returned shortly.
“I’ve deposited the funds into your card, Soushi. You can withdraw it at any Adventurers’ Guild, so just let us know when you need it.”
“That’s a great help.”
With that, I had managed to organize the clinking coins that had been a nuisance. She provided the necessary information with such thoughtfulness that I had no complaints about her unfriendly demeanor.
After leaving the Adventurers’ Guild, I headed to the weapon shop before my training.
The owner of the weapon shop in Euron was a stout man with a bushy beard, dwarfing me in width. He belonged to the renowned Dwarf race in fantasy lore. His beard made it hard to gauge his age, but he was likely around my age or older.
“You want a mace that’s heavier and sturdier, huh?”
He examined my mace closely, scrutinizing me from head to toe.
“You look like you’ve trained a bit, but you can’t swing this one properly, can you? What’s your adventurer rank?”
“E-Rank.”
“E? And you’re using a mace like this? Give it a swing.”
After he handed my mace back, I swung it in place. With my Strength, Stability, and Honshin skills working in tandem, it felt surprisingly light. In fact, it made a satisfying whooshing sound as I swung it.
“Hoh, so you’re E-Rank, huh? There’s got to be a story behind that. Well, if you’ve got that much power, it’s clear you need something better. Come this way.”
Despite the common stereotype of dwarves being grumpy and stubborn, it seemed I had passed his test.
Following him, I entered the storage area at the back of the shop. The adjacent room seemed to be a forge, and the heat from it made the air quite warm.
“We don’t stock many high-rank maces since they’re not commonly used. But I can recommend these two.”
He pointed to two types of maces leaning against the wall: one with a spiked iron ball and the other shaped like a hammer.
I picked each one up and swung them. They felt about fifty percent heavier than my current mace. The appearance and weight didn’t seem to match, so they might contain some Dark Metal.
Both felt comfortable in my hands, but after a moment of consideration, I chose the one with the spiked iron ball.
“I’ll take this one. I might need to thrust with it as well.”
“Ah, I see. That’ll be 500,000 Rom.”
When I handed over the money, the owner made a slightly strange face.
“Don’t you bargain at all?”
“I have no intention of haggling over something crafted by a skilled artisan.”
This was my personal policy… though it wasn’t anything grand. I just felt uneasy about trying to haggle over someone else’s skills. Perhaps it was a reaction from living in a society that thrived on competing to undervalue others’ skills.
“Hmph, you might just go far. Those who don’t haggle are either fools who die quickly or big-hearted individuals.”
“Haha, I’m not confident in my heart, but I certainly don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”
I thanked him and left the weapon shop.