Chapter 6: A Dungeon’s Allure!

Dungeon exploration—the star attraction of adventurers.

Alongside monster slaying, it remains one of the most popular pursuits, drawing countless adventurers even today.

Not all dungeons are the same, however. They fall into three categories: Active Dungeons, Dormant Dungeons, and Conquered Dungeons.

Think of them like volcanoes—it’s an easy comparison.

An active volcano is an Active Dungeon, a dormant one is a Dormant Dungeon, and an extinct volcano is a Conquered Dungeon.

Just as active volcanoes are dangerous, so too are Active Dungeons. Their "activity" means monsters could spill out into the outside world at any moment.

Dormant Dungeons, on the other hand, lack that risk but still function as proper dungeons. Most adventurers delve into these.

As for Conquered Dungeons, they’ve completely lost their functionality as dungeons.

A dungeon’s core functions boil down to two things:

—Randomly spawning treasure chests.

—Regularly spawning monsters.

A "living" dungeon is essentially a massive ore vein in itself. That’s why most are deliberately kept dormant.

But just like volcanoes, dungeons can’t stay dormant forever. Once their activation becomes inevitable, they’re resigned to being "conquered."

The quest we’d been tackling until recently? That was one such dungeon conquest.

Naturally, it was an extremely high-difficulty mission—only a select few could pull it off.

Which just goes to show how damn good our party is.

And the strongest in said party? Well, that’d be Yousrid—the "Noble Prince" himself.

Once a dungeon is conquered, it stops spawning both chests and monsters.

That said, the ones already spawned don’t just vanish. You won’t see monsters disappearing overnight, at least.

Still, the number of adventurers diving in plummets compared to its dormant days.

At this point, barely anyone bothers with the place.

Add to that the fact that our whole crew is currently on vacation.

Not that there aren’t adventure-crazed idiots who’d dive into a dungeon even on break—but they’d only do it if the rewards were worth it.

Nobody goes dungeon-crawling just to kill time.

…Well, nobody except us, apparently.

"—They’re coming your way, Rina."

With a single swing, Yous mowed down a swarm of monsters.

True to his words, another wave was already closing in on me.

Beast-types—the classic kind you’d see anywhere, inside dungeons or out.

I raised my sword, quickly muttering an incantation as I did.

"Winds—strike!"

With a sharp declaration, my blade swept forward, propelled by the summoned gale—cleaving through the monsters just like Yous had.

That settled them all.

Glancing to the side, I saw Yous dispatching more monsters—slime-types this time—with swings so fast even I could barely track them.

Slimes are a pain for frontliners—slicing them with a sword doesn’t do much.

Then again, the monsters around here are the kind even D-rank adventurers could handle.

Frankly, if they weren’t this weak, I’d be the one worrying about Yous.

"Hey, how’s it lookin’ over there?"

I called out casually.

No way he’d actually be hurt, but post-battle checks are mandatory.

"Honestly? Not much different from swinging my sword for practice."

"Damn right! Hell, that’s the whole reason we came—wouldn’t be any fun if you couldn’t breeze through this."

"Swordsmanship isn’t about spectacle, you know… But if you’re enjoying yourself, I suppose it’s fine."

"You bet!"

Right now, we were fighting in a laughably easy stratum for our level.

I said D-rank adventurers could handle these monsters, but honestly, even E-ranks could manage here.

(For reference, E-rank is the bottom of the barrel, A-rank is the top, and S-rank exists as a special tier above that. Pretty standard stuff.)

Generally, D-rank means you’re competent, and C-rank means you’re elite.

"Man, the receptionist’s face was priceless."

"Yeah, that was a gem. We did pay hush money, so hopefully she keeps quiet."

Our current getup consisted of date-ready stylish clothes, topped with rental chest guards and rental swords.

Normally, this kind of gear is loaned to fresh E-rank adventurers right after registration—but technically, we could borrow it too.

Of course, it’s not normal for us, hence the shock.

Hell, just diving into a dungeon dressed like this was enough to raise eyebrows.

We had to explain we were just killing time and really didn’t want to be recognized. Somehow, we got through to her.

"…Hush money? My face isn’t merchandise, you know."

Well, to be precise, it was Yousrid’s dashing smile that bulldozed the negotiation.

Thanks, receptionist lady! That smile’s a rare sight—usually only comes out when he’s drinking.

"Says the guy who sweet-talked her like a damn pro."

"That wasn’t my intention! Besides, it’s not my fault if it works every time."

"Pffft—who said I was complainin’? Not me, that’s for sure~."

"You’ve been real prickly lately, you know that?"

Ugh, shut up.

Right now, all that matters is wandering the dungeon aimlessly.

"Speaking of which—we’ve been moving randomly, but do you even have a map of this area, Rina?"

"Hm? Oh, relax. I’ve got an old one from way back."

"Huh? Really?"

"Wait… don’t tell me you forgot?"

We kept moving forward, me and Yousrid, with no real plan.

By now, we’d probably been in the dungeon for about two hours.

Nightfall was still two hours away, so killing one more hour here would be enough. The last hour would be for cleaning up and slipping back out unnoticed.

That said, no matter how much stronger we were than the monsters, not mapping the area would guarantee getting lost.

Yous seemed worried about that—but it wasn’t a problem.

We already had a map.

I rummaged through my item box and pulled out a worn-out old map.

Looking at it now, the details were laughably crude… but it clearly marked the path from our current location to the exit.

"We’ve been here before, remember?"

"Have we?"

"Back when we were just starting as adventurers."

Roughly five years ago, fresh-faced and clueless, we’d taken our first steps as adventurers in this very city.

"We waltzed straight into the deepest floor an E-rank could handle, all full of ourselves."

"Hah? Oh… now that you mention it, maybe we did."

"We did. You really do forget anything that doesn’t matter to you, huh?"

It wasn’t that his memory was bad—Yousrid just wasn’t the type to dwell on the past.

Or maybe it was a past he’d rather not remember.

"And then we spectacularly screwed up. We’d been strong even before becoming adventurers, so we figured this’d be a breeze."

"…Yeah, that’s right. The monsters we fought on the way here were no trouble, so we thought the dungeon would be the same."

—Except it wasn’t.

In adventuring, the biggest gaps in rank were between E and D, and B and A.

The difference between half-baked and competent, elite and peak.

A wall of talent.

To go from half-baked to competent, you needed aptitude.

Without it, no amount of effort would get you there—sooner or later, you’d die.

Hard work could make you elite, even exceptional… but to reach the top, you needed talent and luck.

Back then, we’d been the former.

We knew nothing about how dungeons worked.

Sure, even back then, we could’ve taken on this stratum’s monsters one-on-one.

But dungeons don’t stop at one fight.

Without supplies, you’ll eventually hit your limit—and we, in our arrogance, had brought next to nothing.

"—So we ended up running for our lives, mapping as we went, barely stumbling our way out."

"Ugh… embarrassing. I didn’t just forget—I wanted to forget."

"Wish I could. Humans remember the bad stuff way clearer than the good."

I clapped him on the back and moved ahead, muttering, "Unlike you, Mr. No-Brains."

I could feel the glare drilling into my back, but I ignored it.

Bet he forgot what happened after we ran too.

No way I’m humoring his complaints now.

"Anyway, here we are."

I stopped, checking the map.

The spot looked like some kind of sacred shrine.

This dungeon was mostly rough-hewn tunnels—but this one area was weirdly ornate, like a ruin.

A safe zone.

I don’t remember the mechanics, but dungeons sometimes had these.

"This is where we holed up—monsters right on our tails."

"One step slower, and we wouldn’t be here now, huh?"

I nodded and stepped inside.

The space was eerily silent, the only feature a pile of firewood in the center. (Incidentally, if you burn it, it eventually respawns.)

No kindling, though—you’d need some way to start a fire.

—Back then, fire magic was all I had.

If I hadn’t been able to use it… we might’ve died.

I chanted:

"Flames—ignite."

Magic sparked the firewood to life, and we sat across from each other, warming ourselves.

I pulled foldable chairs from my item box—luxuries we hadn’t had back then.

"God bless modern conveniences! Not sitting on the damn floor is definitely progress."

"I suppose."

Back then, we’d plopped straight onto the cold stone.

Dungeons are chilly, cave-like places—so even with the fire, we’d been miserable.

Now?

Not bad at all.

"…Weird feeling, isn’t it?"

"How so?"

"Just the two of us in a dungeon—last time was when we nearly died here."

"Yeah."

There were reasons for that.

After barely escaping, we’d swallowed our pride and looked for a party.

Luckily, a newly formed one—Bronze Star—was recruiting in this city. We’d joined on the spot.

That was also when we met Anna.

The leader was only D-rank, but he was a seasoned adventurer. He drilled the basics into us.

One lesson stuck:

"Never go it alone in a dungeon."

"‘Adventurers don’t have to survive by themselves,’ right?"

We hadn’t argued. It made sense.

And so, for five years, we’d never adventured just the two of us—

"Kinda refreshing."

"Well, killing time in a low-level dungeon is a first too."

"We’ve been rushing through life, huh?"

Reaching A-rank in five years was unheard of.

Sure, the original members were all talented—but we’d also gotten lucky, time and again.

"‘Rushing’?"

Yous gave me a look—one I couldn’t quite describe.

The kind of look you give someone when you’re too exasperated to even say it out loud.

But then he did anyway.

"More like you keep dragging us into one mess after another."

"Oh, so now he’s directly blaming me, huh?"

I scowled, shaking my head.

Since when have I been some kind of troublemaker?

"Then allow me to clarify."

Yous raised a finger, his tone infuriatingly calm.

"The incident that got us promoted to D-rank? That started because you showed off for Anna, bit off more than you could chew, and ‘accidentally’ stumbled upon a C-rank monster."

"And if we hadn’t, a whole village might’ve been wiped out!"

"Same for B-rank. And A-rank. The only clean promotion we ever had was C-rank."

"We did our best in every situation! That’s not a crime!"

I wasn’t wrong—I was just the catalyst!

"And let’s not forget—"

Snap.

Yous’s finger jabbed toward me.

For a split second—everything went silent.

The crackling fire. Our bickering. Even the dungeon’s ambient hum.

A fleeting pause, shorter than a heartbeat.

Then—

…Drip.

"That time too—"

"—Shh. Quiet."

I cut him off.

Ugh, I know exactly where he’s going with this. Shut up and let me focus.

Silence.

Ignoring Yous’s disgruntled stare, I closed my eyes and sharpened my senses.

But—

…Damn it.

Not again.

A selfish hope bubbled up: Please let me be wrong.

—We finally had time alone, just the two of us.

Yet, as if mocking that thought—

…Drip.

There it was. Faint, but unmistakable.

"—You heard that?"

"…………Water. Coming from that direction."

Let’s be real—Yousrid’s senses were sharper than mine. If he focused, he’d hear it too.

But when we turned toward the sound—

There was no path.

We exchanged a glance.

Ohhh boy.

"…We found something again, didn’t we?"

Yous sighed—the most dramatic, I-told-you-so sigh imaginable.

Yeah, yeah. Here we go.

This scenario had played out countless times in my life.

The "goddess of luck" was anything but generous.

And just like Yous said—

I was a walking disaster. Hopeless. Incurable.

Our date was officially over.

—Just when we’d finally gotten time alone.

I didn’t say it aloud.

But I had a feeling…

Yous was thinking the exact same thing.