The carriage stopped on West Main Street, not far from the Dungeon entrance beneath Babel Tower at the heart of Orario—right in front of the tavern called "The Hostess of Fertility."
"Don't you dare break it again!"
Before he left, Cecil tightened the arm-guard straps around Evan's arm one more time.
The girl still wore that deliberately angry look, but honestly… it wasn't like it was his fault her armor kept getting wrecked.
In the Dungeon, anything that jumped out at you could basically smash your armor with one swing—two at most.
Why wear armor at all if it was like that?
Because if you didn't wear it, you'd die in one hit.
If you wore it, at least it could block one or two blows.
"I know. I'm going."
"Mm."
After saying goodbye, Evan quickly headed toward the crowded plaza in the distance, while Cecil remained where she was, watching his back as he walked away.
Truthfully, she'd always wondered why Evan came home every night with his armor completely trashed (sometimes even the undershirt underneath was torn to rags), yet he himself never had a scratch on him.
So weird.
Clearly, the only explanation was that the armor she forged had amazing defensive power!
Hmph!
That's why the monsters' attacks could only destroy the armor, and couldn't leave any wounds on him afterward!
With that thought, Cecil couldn't help but proudly puff out her not-at-all-small, soft chest—
"Stop staring already, meow! He's completely gone, meow!!"
The sudden voice exploding beside her ear nearly made Cecil jump. As always, her chubby cheeks heated up instantly, turning a bright, translucent cherry-pink.
"Anya, what are you doing?! Wh—who's staring?!"
"Heh heh heh~ This kitty saw it all, meow! From the very beginning—perfectly clear, meow!"
The adorable catgirl, with short brown hair and a pair of cat ears, bent them slightly as she made a fake "binoculars" shape with her hands and pressed it to her face—acting like she'd observed everything.
That immediately made Cecil bristle.
"Hurry up and carry the goods! If you keep slacking off, Mama Mia will beat you up!!"
"No rush, meow, no rush, meow~ We don't have work at noon anyway, meow."
Anya was a waitress at The Hostess of Fertility. These past few days, whenever Cecil delivered ingredients, the two girls—about the same age—naturally got familiar.
(Though mostly because Anya loved slacking off.)
So even when the job was clearly "carrying things," this girl would still drag Cecil into chatting just to kill time.
And just like that, they became good friends.
"Don't worry, meow. The Dungeon is dangerous, sure, but Evan is only a Level 1 adventurer, so he'll be fine, meow."
Anya was being honest. Orario had a huge number of adventurers, and the vast majority were Level 1. Among them were plenty who spent their whole lives hovering around the upper floors, living off beating up low-level monsters.
In a way, it had become their "day job." Accidents did happen, but very rarely.
"And besides, didn't you say it yourself, meow—Evan hasn't even been to Floor 2 yet! What danger could there be, meow? Pffft—pffft—pffft…"
Covering her mouth as she laughed, Anya wore the expression of a seasoned veteran and continued comforting the girl beside her.
The real danger of the Dungeon… didn't that start at least around Floor 5?
When killer ants and battle-shadows started appearing in groups—monsters that were genuinely threatening to newbie adventurers.
"It's just normal goblins and kobolds, meow. Those are easy, meow! A kitty can blow them up with one punch, meow!"
"Really?"
Cecil had never been to the Dungeon, and had never been interested either—she was a blacksmith. Back in Solingen, everything she knew came from rumors told by adventurers who'd come from Orario.
After arriving here, everything she heard about the Dungeon came from Evan.
But what Evan described and what Anya described were completely different!
Watching the catgirl seriously clench her soft little fist, Anya didn't seem like she was lying… but Evan had no reason to lie to her either.
"Evan said the Dungeon is full of…"
Blah blah blah blah blah.
Cecil recounted everything Evan had run into these past few days in the Dungeon—so much that Anya's face filled with disbelief.
"No way!"
"Why is it 'no way'?"
Cecil tilted her head slightly, then suddenly asked the catgirl:
"Anya… are you an adventurer?"
"Meow?!"
That question completely froze her.
The waitress's face turned bright red. She mumbled and fidgeted like she wanted to say something, but couldn't.
And just like that, Cecil understood.
So dumb Anya didn't actually know anything either…
…
That afternoon, Central Plaza was still packed with people.
Standing at the Dungeon entrance beneath Babel Tower, Evan felt like he was an office worker lining up to enter a subway station.
Which… was basically true.
Around noon, some adventurers came out of the Dungeon to grab lunch, while others—having finished eating—headed back in to show off their skills.
Pretty much the same as an office worker's lunch break.
So Evan stayed in line, followed the slow-moving crowd down the spiral stairs. Faint glowing lights illuminated the vast space. If you looked up, you could even see a mural on the dome ceiling depicting a bright blue sky—so realistic it almost felt real.
Was that the bottom of Babel Tower?
Probably.
When he reached the end of the spiral stairway, he arrived at Floor 1 of the Dungeon. Most adventurers would go straight down the Guild-confirmed routes, heading toward Floor 2.
Dungeon monsters grew stronger as the floors went deeper.
And the stronger the monsters were, the more magic stones they dropped.
Collecting magic stones and handing them over to the Guild for buyback was the most basic way adventurers made money.
So in a sense, adventurers really were like office workers employed by the Guild.
That was also why even brand-new rookies rarely stayed on Floor 1—there was just no profit here.
Only the weakest kobolds and goblins spawned here, and only in small groups of two or three. They appeared slowly and infrequently.
Even a newbie would get bored waiting around.
Before long—
Because there were so many branching passages connecting Floor 1 to Floor 2, the crowd quickly split up. Evan, who had come in with everyone else, suddenly realized the other adventurers had already gone far ahead, leaving him alone among the tangled maze of cave junctions.
Alright.
Time to move.
Rolling his shoulders, Evan didn't stride boldly toward the Floor 2 passages like everyone else.
Instead, he carefully slipped into a certain tunnel.
And, as expected—
Very soon, from deep inside the empty cavern ahead came a chilling sound of canine barking.
"Grrr… grrrr…"
A grotesque grinding sound echoed from the darkness.
Then what appeared in Evan's view were kobolds crawling low to the ground—bodies twisted, minds fully warped into madness.
They had skinny, exposed torsos, and something grotesquely oversized and out of proportion, covered in filthy, matted fur.
Inside their gaping jaws, sharp canine teeth gleamed coldly, while stinking saliva splattered heavily onto the stone floor.
One… two… three…
Of course.
Facing three dogs right out of the gate, Evan drew the long blade at his waist.
Starting with a high-difficulty match—better play this one seriously.
-------
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