Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

She stretched out her hand, holding a blue-purple crystal in her palm.

"Huh, a 'magic stone'? That's strange."

I turned to look at the pouch hanging above my hip. I had put all the "magic stones" I had obtained from defeating monsters into this fist-sized pouch.

I usually wear the strap very tightly, but it probably loosened for some reason. Yesterday when I exchanged money, I should have given all my magic stones to the guild. Did I have any left?

Besides, people who aren't adventurers shouldn't have magic stones... Hmm, I probably lost mine.

"No, I'm sorry. Thank you."

"No, please don't worry about it."

She gave me a gentle smile. My eyebrows furrowed in guilt, but I couldn't help but smile back. Being touched by someone's pure kindness eased my tension.

"Are we heading to the dungeon so early in the morning?"

"Yes, I'd like to go and check on the situation..."

The shop assistant struck up a conversation with me to avoid an awkward silence. I was just wondering how to end the conversation, thank goodness. I'll chat for a bit before saying goodbye.

...Just as I was thinking this, my stomach let out a weak "gurgle".

"..."

"..."

The shop assistant's eyes widened.

I blushed deeply.

She burst out laughing quickly. The painful blow made me lower my head, white smoke rising from my forehead.

"Hehe, are you hungry?"

"……yes."

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

I was so ashamed that I wanted to disappear. I didn't dare to look the shop assistant in the eye and just nodded.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly ran off. She ran towards the outdoor cafe... passed through it and went inside, then soon turned back.

Her slender arms held something she hadn't left behind—a small basket containing small pieces of bread and cheese.

"If you don't mind... the shop isn't open yet, so this isn't the food served there..."

"Oh! I'm so sorry! And isn't this your breakfast...?"

The shop assistant looked a little shy.

Waaah... She's the type who naturally exudes a pretty charm.

Although she isn't as stunningly beautiful as Miss Wallenstein or a fairy... the more you get to know her, the more you'll be drawn to her charm—that's the feeling.

How should I put it? If the gods saw this, they would definitely say, "Here comes the girl next door!" and give it high praise.

"I'd feel guilty letting you leave hungry like this. So, sir adventurer, would you please accept this?"

"So, so cunning..."

How could I refuse her after she said that? That smile and those sweet words were just too despicable.

As I racked my brains, unsure how to answer, the shop assistant closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened her eyes again, this time she gave me a mischievous smile and brought her face close to mine.

So close...

"Adventurer, this is beneficial to both of us. Although I will suffer a small loss, you can now fill your stomach, and in return..."

"Relatively speaking...?"

"...Tonight, you must come to the tavern where I work and have dinner there."

"..."

This time it was my turn to open my eyes wide.

It took me a while to slowly understand what she meant.

The awkwardness between me and the smiling shop assistant completely dissipated when I met her for the first time.

I broke into a smile.

"Sigh...you're really cunning."

"Hehe, here, please accept this. My salary today will definitely jump."

The shop assistant told me not to be polite.

Oh, this person is actually quite shrewd...

"...Then I'll go to the store and bother you tonight."

"Yes. We look forward to your arrival."

The shop assistant kept smiling at me until the very end. Although I felt like I'd fallen for her tricks the whole time, I actually felt quite comfortable, like drinking a cup of black tea. Suddenly, I felt incredibly embarrassed.

I carried the basket in one hand and let the shop assistant watch me leave.

Ahead on the long avenue, in the heart of the city, skyscrapers rise straight towards the clear morning sky. The underground city lies beneath that.

I took a few steps toward the white-walled skyscraper, then suddenly remembered something and turned back.

I looked back at the shop assistant, who was staring at me incredulously, and said:

"My name is... Bell Craney. What's your name?"

She widened her eyes slightly, but immediately smiled and replied:

"My name is Hill Frova, Mr. Bell."

We exchanged smiles and names.

❧

Dungeons existed even before the gods descended to the mortal realm.

Although it was not as large as it is today, a city had already been built above the maze, and it is said that there was an organization there that served as the precursor to a guild.

What I want to say is that as early as ancient times, there were people who cooperated with the old guilds and were able to fight monsters without receiving the "blessing" of the gods.

“Gah!”

"ha!"

Half of it was disbelief, and the other half was awe of the greatness of the ancients.

I was able to barely defeat the "Earth Spirit" only because I received a "blessing"; conversely, long ago in ancient times, there were people in this dungeon who were able to defeat ferocious monsters with their own flesh and blood.

"Ugh!"

“Oh!”

"Ugh!"

in case.

If those ancient sages were here now.

The true warriors who can drive out the enemy single-handedly are right here.

Could these incredibly skilled individuals manage to break through this situation while picking their noses?

"Guluga!"

"no way--!"

I really have no other choice.

"Damn it—! You're all so despicable!"

"Gaaaaaah!"

I ran as fast as I could with my back to the Earth Spirit Group. A total of six monsters were chasing me relentlessly.

The location is the first floor of the underground city.

The walls and ceiling, painted a light blue, filled the entire field of vision. This natural labyrinth, obscuring the sky, stretched endlessly in all directions. Forks in the road, crossroads, gentle downhill slopes. In this underground space, where neat paths were arranged at regular intervals, I ran, swinging my arms.

On the first floor of the dungeon, where there were no other adventurers around since it was still early, I was hunting monsters very smoothly, but I was unlucky and just ran into this group of earth spirits.

There were eight at first, and I managed to take down two before being surrounded, but those guys had set up a perfect encirclement. My only option was to flee.

To be honest, earth spirits rarely appear in such large groups. Those dog-headed monsters that use sharp claws and teeth as weapons are usually only seen in one or two roaming the dungeon. Perhaps I, a novice adventurer, shouldn't say this, but I've never seen anything like it.

I even encountered the Minotaur last time; I feel like I've been having a lot of bad luck lately.

Am I being secretly cursed by someone?

"!"

I sped into the right-angle bend, braked, turned around, and held my breath.

My chosen method is an ambush. I plan to launch a full-scale attack the moment the earth spirits turn the corner.

He couldn't help but feel uneasy about the actions he was about to take.

If other adventurers were present, would they scornfully laugh at my choice as "idiotic"?

However, the passageways on the first floor are wide, making it easy for a multi-on-one situation to become unfavorable. No matter how I tried to escape, I couldn't change the battle situation to conform to the theory of the dungeon, which is a one-on-one situation.

Running away relentlessly could lead to being attacked by other monsters.

If we're going to fight, we need to attack quickly.

(……!)

Thump, thump, thump—the chaotic sound of footsteps kicking the ground gradually drew closer.

Facing that moment that has not yet arrived, I glanced at my hands.

The five fingers were tightly gripping a small dagger.

Bell Crane wields a short sword. This dagger, with a blade of 20C (sergeant), is my only weapon.

My palms were sweaty as I gripped the knife hilt. Listening to the echoing howls of wild beasts, I desperately suppressed the pounding of my heart and took a deep breath. I hissed as I inhaled the air.

Then, in the next instant, a ferocious beast's face with bloodshot eyes appeared on the other side of the wall.

"Ughh ...

"Guye!"

The moment our eyes met, I had already kicked the ground.

In the eyes of the earth spirit running at the front, my figure grew larger and larger—assassination.

The dagger pierced the opponent's heart. The first one.

The earth spirit that came around the corner was clearly bewildered by this unexpected sight. As for me, I showed no mercy and continued my assault. I used the earth spirit I had just dealt with as a shield to charge into the group, dragging two more earth spirits down with me.

"Gah, gah!"

"snort!"

"Chirp!"

Unlike the two that crashed hard to the ground on their backs, I quickly got up using the technique I used to roll over.

He turned and plunged the white blade into the throat of a groaning earth spirit. The second one.

"Coo, coo-coo-coo!"

"!"

"cough!"

The three, stunned by the surprise attack, began to move.

I dodged the enemy who lunged at me, and in the process, kicked the head of the guy still lying on the ground like a ball. There was a "crack" sound of a broken neck.

The dog's head turned at an exaggerated angle in a direction it shouldn't have. The third one.

"I got it!"

“Ah!”