Chapter 4: To a New Town – 06
After purchasing new armor at the armory and stocking up on potions, I returned to the inn after completing my training.
I asked the innkeeper’s daughter to bring me some hot water to wash my body, and after undressing, I began to clean myself.
Euron has a public bath, but I still didn’t feel ready to go there. However, simply wiping myself down didn’t feel quite satisfying, so I planned to visit it soon.
That aside, as I looked at my arms, chest, and abdomen, I noticed how incredibly muscular I had become. It hadn’t even been a month since I arrived in this world, but my progress in training seemed unusually rapid. If this is due to the Awakening, then training might become even more enjoyable.
Feeling refreshed, I headed to the inn’s dining hall.
As I waited for my meat dish to arrive, I heard a voice from the side.
“Hey, Soushi! Mind if I join you?”
It was Gashi, the beastfolk youth I had met when I arrived in Euron.
“Good evening! Please, have a seat.”
“Thanks, I’ll take a seat then.”
Once seated across from me, Gashi flashed a friendly smile and asked, “So, have you already been to a dungeon, Soushi?”
“Yes, I’ve cleared the F-Class Dungeon, and now I’m challenging the E-Class.”
“Do you go to dungeons alone, Soushi?”
“Yes, for now, it’s more comfortable that way.”
“Wow. With that strength, I guess you can manage.”
“Well, there will be a limit somewhere. When that time comes, I might consider forming a party. By the way, are you heading somewhere soon, Gashi?”
“Yeah, I’m planning to go to Maneji next.”
“Is that another dungeon town?”
“That’s right. It has F-Class and E-Class dungeons. It’s smaller than Tolson, but it’s closer, so it’s convenient.”
“But I was wondering, isn’t it dangerous for just you and Nari to go together?”
“Ah, the area around Euron isn’t too dangerous. There are hardly any monsters or bandits. However, I’ve heard that there have been a few more monsters lately. They say there are more like the Moon Wolves we encountered before.”
“The ‘before’ refers to the Moon Wolves, I assume. An increase in field monsters is quite bad news for ordinary people.”
Now that I think about it, I hadn’t paid any attention to the subjugation requests on the guild’s bulletin board, assuming they weren’t meant for solo adventurers. Perhaps there has been an increase in such requests recently.
It seems that to rank up to D-Rank Adventurer, one must complete multiple subjugation requests, so it might be wise to actively take on any that I could handle solo.
“Are you planning to stay in Euron as an adventurer for a while, Soushi?”
“Yes, I intend to focus my activities here and explore as many dungeons as possible.”
“Exploring dungeons? Why would you want to do that?”
“The more dungeons I explore, the more skills I can acquire. I want to gather as many skills as possible to avoid dying.”
“I see. I’ve heard that strong adventurers tend to explore various places, but I didn’t know there was such a purpose behind it.”
“That’s probably the case. I’d like to visit Maneji, which you mentioned earlier. If there are E and F dungeons, it would be just right.”
“Then how about we go together? If you’re with us, we’ll feel safer.”
“That sounds good. When are you planning to go?”
“We’re set to leave the day after tomorrow in the early morning. How does that sound?”
“That might work perfectly. I’m planning to clear the E-Class Dungeon tomorrow. Should I head to the Merchant Guild around dawn?”
“Yeah, that works. We’ll stop for the night on the way to Maneji, so I’ll make sure to bring some drinks.”
“I’m looking forward to it. The drinks from the other night were delicious.”
“Right? Nari gets a bit upset when I buy those, but without them on the road…”
Thus, I found myself heading to another town shortly after arriving in Euron, but that was fine by me.
I wanted to explore any F-Class Dungeons I came across. To be honest, I was starting to enjoy gathering skills a bit more than I expected.
The next day, after a morning training session to get accustomed to my new weapons and armor, I headed towards the riverside dungeon.
I reached the entrance to the third underground floor without any issues. Thanks to my powerful new weapon, I could now crush the Stone Tortoises along with their shells.
By the way, I had also upgraded my backpack, so I was able to collect all the materials without any trouble. However, I knew it would be impossible to gather everything up to the fifth floor.
Once I descended to the third underground floor, three Stone Tortoises appeared, but they were no longer a challenge. I quickly moved on to the fourth floor.
Here, I encountered the new enemy: Slimes. A common monster in fantasy, but in this world, they took the form of a gelatinous, semi-transparent blob.
I could see a brownish core in the center, and it seemed that destroying it would defeat the slime.
The problem was that the core was covered by its highly viscous body, but it was utterly powerless against the violence of mass and speed.
As I swung my mace down, the jelly-like body and the core exploded into pieces.
Ordinary E-Rank Adventurers might need some clever tactics to crush the core, but I had apparently surpassed D-Rank in sheer strength, so this was to be expected.
By the way, although the slimes were poisonous, I had the Poison Resistance skill, so that wasn’t a concern.
The materials dropped included the “Slime Core,” which could be used as a potion ingredient.
The fifth underground floor was just more slimes. I collected a large number of cores, but since they didn’t take up much space, I managed to gather them all.
Now, it was time for my first E-Class Dungeon boss.
Given my tendency to encounter rare bosses or multiple bosses, I braced myself, but the one that appeared was the standard “Large Slime,” just as the guide described.
As the name suggests, it was a large slime with a diameter of three meters and a height of about one meter in the center. A volleyball-sized core was visible in the bulging center.
The Large Slime slithered toward me, extending parts of its body like tentacles. Its attack method seemed to involve capturing me and pulling me inside to suffocate me.
If I got caught solo, it would be fatal, so I countered its tentacles with my mace, shattering them.
After exploding a dozen or so tentacles, I noticed that the Large Slime had shrunk to about the size of a Medium Slime.
I approached and continued to chip away at its body with my mace. Once it had thinned out enough, I crushed the core, ending the battle.
I couldn’t help but wonder if defeating a boss this easily was normal, but if the opponent was weak to physical attacks, then strength was indeed justice. My main weapon being a mace likely played a significant role in that.
After a while, I felt the sensation of acquiring a new skill.
“Herculean Strength… This skill increases my physical power, doesn’t it? What is this, am I being told to play as a muscle-bound character?”
I couldn’t help but voice my thoughts, but receiving a power boost when I was already strong seemed a bit concerning. While a character focused on a single point could be optimal in some games…
If I continued to specialize in physical strength, I felt I needed to find companions and form a party soon, or I would inevitably face a dead end.
As I pondered this, I shouldered my backpack, which felt significantly lighter thanks to my new skill, and exited the dungeon.
“This is the Large Slime’s core, isn’t it? Did you really defeat it all by yourself?”
When I returned to the guild to sell my loot, the usual unfriendly receptionist asked me this with a suspicious look.
“Yes. My weapon was well-suited for the fight, so I managed to win.”
“Managed to… I believe you read the guide thoroughly, didn’t you, Soushi?”
“Yes, thanks to that, dodging its attacks was quite easy. I’m grateful to the guild for creating the guide.”
“…I see. You don’t seem to consider fighting alone at all.”
“Well, I thought I could win.”
As I said this nonchalantly, the receptionist let out a sigh and fell silent.
“Is it alright if I have all the payment deposited with the guild?”
“Yes, please.”
Just as I replied, I recalled Gashi’s mention of “an increase in field monsters” from the previous night.
“By the way, is there a trend of an increase in subjugation requests lately?”
“Yes, I believe it’s increased by about 20%. Are you interested in taking on any?”
“Only if they are monsters vulnerable to physical attacks. However, I will be heading to another town starting tomorrow, so I might request something afterward.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, by the way, if I happen to defeat a monster that has a subjugation request while traveling to another town, will the reward be null, and I can only sell the materials?”
“Yes, that’s correct. In that case, please remember the location where you defeated it. It will help determine if it was the requested monster.”
“I understand, I’ll be careful. Thank you.”
As I lightly bowed and turned to leave, the receptionist muttered, “Take care.”