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008 First
Dungeon
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Translator : PolterGlast
On my fourth day after
being reincarnated, I became an explorer. At the Explorer's Guild, I registered
my name and they checked my record card.
I hadn't expected them
to be able to extract a record card from a living person, so when they said
they were checking it, I just said yes.
I had been told
beforehand that Level 1 Villager was unusual, so I had changed to Traveler.
There's no problem being Level 1 as a Traveler.
I planned to change my
job to Villager when entering the dungeon, but outside the dungeon, I'd be a
Traveler.
When the staff
chanted, "Show forth his karma into the light of day," my record card
emerged from my chest. The staff member checked it and returned it to me.
The returned record
card listed my name, gender, age, job, skills, and criminal history. Of course,
there was no criminal history.
It just hit me, but my
name was Toi. Since it was Toi on my status screen too, I felt that I was truly
going to live in this world as Toi.
Only Strong Legs was
listed as a skill. Just the Traveler skill. Why aren't unique skills listed as
skills?
Anneliese said that
the skills I'm born with are unique skills. Since they're innate, they're more
powerful than normal skills. Since they're not normal skills, they moved out of
the skill slot and became unique skills. That's why they're not listed under
skills. I'll just think of it that way.
But I don't have any
combat skills. It's convenient, but a little disappointing.
Speaking of which, I
had those bandit record cards, didn't I? Golteo-san told me they could be
exchanged for money at the government office, but I completely forgot.
"Do dead people's
record cards stay forever, without disappearing?"
I asked Anneliese.
"Record cards of
the deceased naturally disappear after one year."
I didn't need to cash
them in immediately, but if I forgot, I wouldn't be able to. It was too late in
the day to enter the dungeon today. I decided to go to the government office to
cash them in and then head back to the inn.
"What about
this?"
I showed her my record
card.
"Living people's
cards disappear immediately, so even if it's stolen, there's no problem."
It seems they
disappear naturally and can be re-generated. How convenient.
I didn't forget to buy
the dungeon booklet. It contained information on monsters from the 1st to 5th
floors and a simple map.
Looking at the map, I
was confused for a moment, but then I realized it was a map showing the route
to the boss room. I seriously doubted if you could even call this a map.
I entered the guild's
cafeteria. I was thirsty and wanted to order a drink, but the menu only had
three options: ale, wine, and water.
I ordered water, and
Anneliese ordered wine. The master gets water, but the slave drinks wine—how
absurd...
"I was surprised
that they charged money for water, but it's annoying that it's lukewarm even
though they charge for it."
"There's no one
in the guild's tavern who drinks water. If you want cold water, shall I fetch
some from the well?"
"...No, it's
fine."
Making an old woman
work like that is a no-go for me.
And about this being a
tavern. I mean, tough men were heartily gnawing on bone-in meat—I don't know
what kind of meat it was—and drinking alcohol. But you'd think it was a
cafeteria, right?
While I drank lukewarm
water in the tavern, my record card naturally disappeared in about 10 minutes.
It was a strange phenomenon, something that made me truly feel I was in another
world.
At the government
office, where Anneliese guided me, my record card was also checked. Since I had
no criminal history, there was no problem at all.
While waiting at the
government office, I read the dungeon booklet. It's still a mystery to me, but
I can read the writing of this world.
After reading the
booklet, the processing was complete, and I received the money. The booklet was
a good way to pass the time.
I received the money,
but I only got 70,000 Grill. No, that's 700,000 yen, so maybe it's a decent
amount, but it feels small as the price for five lives.
Instead of 10,000 Grill
per person, the small fry was 5,000 Grill each, and the bandit leader was
50,000 Grill.
On the morning of my
fifth day reincarnated, we headed to the dungeon.
Last night, I let
Anneliese use the bed again. I couldn't tell an old lady to sleep on the floor.
I thought about asking for a bigger room, but sleeping on the floor isn't a
hardship for me, so it'll be fine as is.
The problem is that
the season is shifting from late autumn to winter. If sleeping on the floor
gets too cold later, I'll reconsider.
The dungeon is
slightly outside of town, in a small forest. A sudden black vortex appears in
the middle of the forest. Or rather, a gaping hole in space.
Around it, stalls were
set up among the trees. There were also many armed people, presumably
explorers.
Among those explorers
were people with the Villager job. Quite a large number. They must be entering
the dungeon as Villagers to meet the job change conditions for Swordsman or
other jobs.
I had been checking
Villager levels since yesterday, and some people were even around Level 15.
This was from checking not just explorers but also people in town.
It seems it's true
that you gain experience and level up no matter what you do.
The Villager explorers
carry either swords or spears. There are no bows. It's a choice between swords
or spears.
Of course, there are
no mages either. That's natural for Villagers.
"Why don't they
carry bows?"
Even if magic is
impossible, bows should allow for long-range attacks.
"Bows use arrows
as consumables, which cost more money than swords or spears, so no one wants to
use them."
So it's a financial
matter.
"Don't parties
buy arrows together?"
"They usually
don't."
If it's an individual
burden, the cost increases just for buying arrows. It would be fine if the
reward distribution was higher to compensate, but I guess that's not the case.
"If a grimoire
fortunately drops, who in the party gets to use it?"
"The leader or
the person who has defeated the most monsters gets it, or they sell it for
money."
"I understand the
leader, but wouldn't it be a decrease in combat power if the person who's
defeated the most monsters used it? I mean, defeating a lot of monsters means
they're closer to changing to a Swordsman or Lancer job, right? Wouldn't it be
more effective if such a person became a Swordsman or Lancer?"
"That kind of
thinking doesn't exist. Mages are powerful, so everyone wants to become one.
So, the person with the highest contribution gets it."
"Hmm. That's
inefficient."
"..."
I think it's
inefficient, but maybe that's how it is when people's lives are on the line.
While talking, I
bought a grilled pond squid at a stall. I bought one for Anneliese too, but I'm
worried she might choke on it since it's chewy. Can she even bite through it?
"I think the
tentacles of pond squid are more delicious."
She's probably
prompting me to buy tentacles too.
The old man chuckled,
but he stared at me because it was good for business.
"...I'll have two
tentacles."
"Alright!"
The old man replied
with a bright smile.
Anneliese's teeth
seemed to be still strong, as she quickly devoured the grilled pond squid and
grilled tentacles.
I hadn't even finished
my grilled squid yet. Anneliese's gaze was fixed on the grilled tentacles I
held.
"You can have
it."
"Without
hesitation."
Where does Anneliese's
appetite come from? Her movements are much slower than mine, so she shouldn't
be using that much energy.
Even for breakfast,
Anneliese ate her share and half of mine, which is truly perplexing.
Following a party of
five Villagers, Anneliese and I also entered the dungeon.
Everyone else was
entering, so I followed, but if no one else were there, I wouldn't have thought
of entering such an eerie hole.
I felt nothing, and in
an instant, I was inside the dungeon. It was a stone floor, stone walls, and a
stone ceiling. Even without fluorescent lights or torches, there was a dim
light.
"The inside of
the dungeon is artificially constructed, huh."
"One theory says
that a Demon Lord created the dungeon and is spawning monsters."
"Demon
Lord..."
It's a cliché word in
otherworld stories, but there's a Demon Lord in this world too. No, she said it
was just a theory. They don't say there is one.
As I walked, I asked
Anneliese about the Demon Lord.
No one apparently
knows the Demon Lord's true identity. No one has ever met them.
"If no one has
ever met the Demon Lord, how can you say there is one?"
"It's been said
that way since ancient times."
It's like they created
a non-existent entity called a Demon Lord through a pile of superstitions and
misunderstandings.
Maybe there really is
one, but I'm voting for no. I'd prefer to avoid a Demon Lord event if possible.
I hope this doesn't become a flag for it...
Well, this isn't idle
talk, but let's use my hands rather than just talking. No, first, my feet.
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