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Gold Grade adventurers are treated significantly better than Silver Grade ones. And I was experiencing that firsthand.

“Just fill it out as is.”

The receptionist, who had been speaking informally to me, instantly changed his attitude once he confirmed that I was indeed a Gold Grade swordsman. Even now, at this moment, he nervously offered me a basket filled with snacks while keeping an eye on me.

As I filled out my basic information, I checked the safety precautions for this request. Since the dungeon was managed by the royal family, it seemed that members of the royal family would participate in this quest. It stated that as long as basic etiquette was maintained, there wouldn’t be any problems, but I felt that something more would be expected.

“Aren’t dungeon explorations usually dangerous?”

“Yes? Ah, of course, it’s dangerous.”

The receptionist nodded at my question while wiping his forehead, and as I stared at his expression, I asked another question.

“Is it alright for royalty to accompany us into dangerous places?”

“Ah, that…”

“Please elaborate.”

The receptionist began to sweat profusely as he started to disclose information that hadn’t been mentioned yet. It seemed that the Third Prince, who had recently excelled in swordsmanship, insisted on exploring the dungeon himself.

Although he was far from being in the line of succession, he was still royalty. Because of his insistence, a dungeon exploration team was summarily assembled, which led the royal family to post this recruitment in order to assign a Gold Grade adventurer for protection.

“Then wouldn’t it have been better to recruit a bodyguard rather than a dungeon exploration team? Don’t we have strong knights in this kingdom from the start?”

“That was also the Third Prince’s insistence. He wanted to experience a real adventure without bodyguards…”

“So, instead of royal knights, you chose outside adventurers?”

“…That’s a little secret that only the Third Prince is unaware of.”

“Well, I get it.”

It may be a bit annoying, but considering the reward, this request was worthwhile. I nodded and finished signing the documents.

*

I felt sorry for the Nightmare, but I couldn’t take it with me into the dungeon. It was due to the nature of the dungeon’s structure. I patted the Nightmare on the head, which was left behind.

“I’ll be back soon, so just stay calm.”

Pyuheeeng-!

The Nightmare shook its head stubbornly. As it started to stomp its front and back legs, the stable seemed to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.

“I’m sorry. But there’s nothing I can do. They say there are a lot of narrow passages inside the dungeon.”

Purruk-!

Now it was throwing a tantrum and getting angry. The Nightmare snorted and kicked the door blocking its way. The solid iron door was bent out of shape, with the Nightmare’s footprints clearly imprinted on it.

“Ah…”

Pyuheeeng-!

The creature opened the door and prostrated itself in front of me. It seemed to beckon me to get on its back by tapping its back with its tail. I sighed deeply while looking at the crumpled iron door.

After a long silence, the Nightmare sneakily glanced at me, then opened the bent door and returned to its original spot.

It seemed to fear that I was angry.

“Alright. Just stay quietly.”

Pyuheeeng…

As I nodded and spoke, the Nightmare began to whimper. It looked at me with its big eyes blinking.

“When I get back, I’ll play with you a lot.”

In the end, I was only able to part with the Nightmare after promising to play with it. I handed over a pouch of money to the trembling staff at the entrance of the stable. It was for the Nightmare’s feed and compensation for the damaged door.

“I packed extra just in case.”

“Ah, thank you…”

After finishing my farewell with the staff, I headed to the massive mine located a bit away from the castle. The path to the mine was laid out with a road made for transporting carts.

At the mine entrance, I spotted a group of adventurers behind a flurry of busy workers. There were nine of them in total. As I scanned them one by one, I suddenly recognized a familiar figure.

With pink hair fluttering lightly, she gave off a peculiar aura. Surrounded by the other adventurers, her small stature stood out even more. The pink-haired girl was Terra. It seemed she too was a second Gold Grade swordsman.

“Oh?”

Just as I spotted Terra, it appeared she noticed me too. She turned her head and waved at me with a slightly surprised expression.

“Seris!”

It looks like I was the last one to arrive. I hurried over to join the party.

“Is that Seris? The Gold Grade swordsman, Seris, for sure?”

The one who questioned me was a man clad in full plate armor. His short-cropped hair gave him a cool impression. He glanced over the documents he held before questioning me.

“Can you show me your grade badge?”

There was a strangely dignified tone to his voice. I nodded and showed him the golden badge.

“Confirmed. Good. Your joining is accepted.”

I looked up at the man with a peculiar gaze. He had a demeanor that seemed to look down on everything around him as if he was naturally accustomed to it.

“Today we venture into the dungeon of the Evil Dark Mage…”

The man began the briefing once he confirmed that all party members were present. He started to list simple safety precautions and items to take before entering the dungeon. Most of the information spilling from the man’s mouth seemed to be things found in adventurer guidebooks.

Did he memorize the entire book?

As I swallowed a chuckle and shook my head, Terra came closer to me.

“Do you know who that guy is?”

“Isn’t he the Third Prince? It’s obvious just by looking at him.”

“Yeah, that’s right. He thinks he’s perfectly disguised.”

Was the briefing finally over? The Third Prince lightly patted his chest and introduced himself.

“I am, uh… Alphonse.”

Once the introduction of the Third Prince, Alphonse, was finished, the introductions of the other adventurers followed. Naturally, the name Alphonse was a pseudonym, yet none of the party members addressed it as an issue. The party consisted of ten members in total, with two priests, two rangers, and the rest being swordsmen.

“We’ll be heading out immediately… Any objections?”

No one raised a hand. The party advanced into the mine under Alphonse’s lead.

Kaang-! Kaang-!

Even at this moment, the sound of clanking echoed from within the mine, as if workers were still busy at work. The air in the mine was thick with the mixed scents of sweat and dust, naturally stiffening the expressions of the other adventurers alongside me.

The party continued to move forward. We passed through a long corridor and descended a ladder that led down to a large chasm. Torches lit the way, illuminating the darkness in various places.

Before long, Alphonse, holding up a lamp and shining it into the dark, smiled and spoke.

“We’ve arrived!”

What Alphonse pointed to was the entrance of a dungeon that emanated a peculiar ominous aura. Rusty iron chains hung around, giving the impression that it was a place one shouldn’t enter.

As Alphonse excitedly discovered the dungeon’s entrance, I sensed a faint presence moving nearby. Two people were hiding behind a rock not far from here.

Just as I was reaching for my sword in case of an unforeseen incident, Terra approached quietly and grabbed my hand.

“Terra?”

“Shh.”

Terra shook her head while looking in the direction of the faint presence. Then, she glanced at Alphonse and whispered to me in a small voice.

“They’re guards keeping watch at the dungeon entrance.”

“Does that mean we don’t need to intervene?”

“Yep.”

I nodded at Terra’s words. It seemed she knew more than I did.

The dungeon exploration was carried out according to the standards laid out in the adventurer guidebook. Swordsmen with shields followed closely beside the rangers to protect them while the rangers began to check for traps set in the dungeon.

Terra and I maintained our distance to guard Alphonse. The rangers didn’t find any particularly threatening traps. Since there was no need to wait for traps to be disarmed, the pace of our advance was naturally quick.

After a while, a faint presence began to emerge from the pitch-black darkness ahead.

[Kiiyik-!]

[Kyayiik-!]

“Monsters! Prepare for battle!”

Alphonse shouted abruptly as he heard faint cries coming from the end of the passage. He wasn’t exactly reacting to the detection of monsters, but rather responding to the cries.

As every adventurer drew their swords, monsters revealed themselves. They had short stature and green skin. They were goblins.

I tilted my head, seeing them. I had expected skeletons to appear in the dungeon of the Evil Dark Mage, but instead, goblins showed up out of nowhere.

Ten goblins rushed in the moment they appeared. Even a Silver Grade swordsman could easily handle all ten of them at once. Considering the composition of our party, this was a natural outcome.

The lack of tension in this disappointing battle drained my energy, but it seemed Alphonse was quite excited. He checked over the party’s condition with a voice full of eagerness.

“Anyone injured, raise your hand immediately!”

Nobody was injured.

Once the party was all set up again, Alphonse stepped forward once more. After a while, another presence was sensed from the engulfing darkness.

[Growl!]

[Bark!]

This time the ones who appeared were wolves with white fur. I frowned at the sight of them.

Could it be…?

“A new monster has appeared! Everyone prepare for battle!”

There were five wolves that revealed themselves, yet a similar situation unfolded as with the goblins.

Alphonse skinned the wolf that he had taken down. He wore a faint smile, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

At this point, even a fool would realize.

With the dungeon’s state being free of dangerous traps, and the unexpected appearances of goblins and wolves. Considering the ecosystems of the two monsters, there was no way they should appear in such a location.

“This is ridiculous…”

It was clear that the goblins and wolves had been prepared by the royal family without Alphonse’s knowledge. This entire situation had been staged. All for the sake of one person.

I couldn’t hide my disappointment. I sighed deeply while watching Alphonse skinning the wolf.

As I let out a sigh, the moment my back leaned against the dark stone wall…

Kakak-!

With a sudden noise, I felt the flow of mana and then the ground beneath my feet vanished unexpectedly.

“Ah…”

What happens when the ground disappears? Naturally, I would fall down. Along with me, all the party members plummeted without even screaming.

 

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