Chapter 33

Two adventurers were walking through the city of Rondalum.

Klein, a Swordsman, and Reese, a Thief.

They were the two former members of Ruche's party.

"...Two of us really can't cut it. Damn, our efficiency's dropped through the floor. After subtracting the cost of preparations, we actually lost money this time."

Klein walked down the street, scratching his head.

He'd originally planned to bring in a third member after Ruche left.

But there weren't many solo adventurers who didn't cause trouble.

And even when they did find one, the person's class, level, and reward demands never quite fit what they needed.

Klein, as the one recruiting, wanted someone useful for as little pay as possible, but the other person needed to make a living, too.

Since they both focused on the terms that favored them, their conditions never quite lined up.

And because everything was so clearly visible, differences in party members' levels and equipment could cause arguments during negotiations, too.

Neither side could compromise easily, and Klein wasn't the sort of person who could accept taking a loss, either.

So the two of them had been working together, but to adventure safely, they had to target monsters in a level bracket below the one they usually hunted.

The value of a monster's magic stone rose exponentially with its level.

So lowering the level of their targets meant their expected rewards dropped sharply.

"At this rate, we can't explore the 〈Dungeon〉 without bringing in a new member. We're wasting too much time and money on travel, and the deeper we go, the more we'll lose."

Reese sighed.

"We were just unlucky. Usually, something would drop after we killed two, but I can't believe nothing dropped at all. We even killed four Matango, and not one of them dropped a single 〈Heal Mushroom〉, even though I thought that was practically guaranteed."

Klein clicked his tongue.

〈Heal Mushrooms〉 had an HP recovery effect and could be sold for 20,000 Gordo. They were useful items, and you could always just use one yourself to recover.

Since Matango themselves were weak, Klein often hunted them when he was short on money. It was an easy, efficient way to earn some.

This time, he'd tried hunting Matango to make back their losses, but not a single thing had dropped.

"...Maybe Ruche's 〈Great Luck〉 was at work? It didn't look like any other adventurers were going out of their way to hunt Matango. You said people who knew about them kept quiet so they wouldn't get hunted too much, Klein, but maybe they just don't drop anything unless you get lucky, so they're not worth the effort..."

"Tch, it was a coincidence. Maybe it made a little difference, but could it really change things that much?"

Even as he said it, regret showed on Klein's face.

Adventurers who were both agreeable and willing to work for good terms were hard to find.

In that respect, Ruche had been a blessing: she could handle both odd jobs and combat for a low fee.

Her level was low, but her Agility was fairly high, so she could at least throw enemies off balance and draw their attacks in battle.

If they'd split the previous drop's reward and bought her a decent weapon, that would have made up for some of her lack of Attack, too.

Klein had also come to admit that Ruche's 〈Great Luck〉 had probably affected their item drop rate during their last 〈Dungeon〉 exploration.

"If she hadn't started demanding a share of the 〈Bloodstained Sword〉, I would have let her stay."

The 〈Bloodstained Sword〉 was a rare drop with a market value of two million Gordo.

Klein couldn't stand the thought of Ruche, who was so much lower level than the others, walking away with a share of it.

"Why not ask her to come back? Ruche would probably return right away if you called her. We could even sweep the rare-drop reward under the rug."

"Look, Reese, I've got my pride, too. After saying all that, how can I turn around and tell her to come back? I'd rather die than bow my head to her. Luckily, that sword means we have some money to spare, so there's no need to rush. If people around our level keep making greedy demands, we can take our time and find someone lower level who's easier to deal with."

As Klein spoke, he reached for the door of the Adventurers Guild.

Reese noticed the commotion inside the Adventurers Guild and frowned.

"Did someone defeat a high-level monster or something?"

The two of them looked toward the center of the commotion.

"A newly promoted E-rank adventurer and an F-rank adventurer cleared the 〈Angel's Toy Box〉, with its recommended Level of 50?! We've already received a report that the 〈Dungeon〉 disappeared, but that can't be..."

The receptionist sounded astonished.

Standing before her were the two they'd parted ways with the other day: Ruche and Elymas.

"Th-Those two?!"

Klein could hardly believe it.

Elymas was supposed to be around 【Lv: 20】, just like him.

Ruche's level was so low that he couldn't imagine her being any use in clearing the 〈Angel's Toy Box〉.

"We didn't clear it. The 〈Dream Lord〉 attacked us during its 〈King's Wandering〉. We have its magic stone... If you don't believe us, you can look for the other adventurers who got caught up in it. I saved two of them."

"Understood. Since the city was offering a reward for clearing the 〈Angel's Toy Box〉, we'll have to verify your report first."

Sometimes, the city or a village would post a quest to clear a nearby 〈Dungeon〉.

The longer a 〈Dungeon〉 was left alone, the more likely monsters were to emerge from it, and the more likely it was to cause unusual events that led to monster disasters in the surrounding area.

The difficulty of a 〈Dungeon〉—its recommended Level—tended to vary from one region to another.

Some regions consistently produced easy 〈Dungeons〉, while others were more likely to produce high-level ones.

There were various theories: that it had to do with the mana flowing through the region, or that the differences were caused by the sleeping god Alzaros, who created the 〈Dungeons〉. But no one knew for sure.

High-level adventurers tended to work in cities where dangerous 〈Dungeons〉 were more likely to appear.

The rewards were better, and it benefited the kingdom, too.

As a result, there were no adventurers in Rondalum capable of defeating the 〈Dream Lord〉 of the 〈Angel's Toy Box〉. Fearing that the 〈Dungeon〉 would be left alone, the city chief had offered a reward for clearing it.

"Huh, there was a reward for clearing it? I figured it had nothing to do with us, so I never checked. How much is it?"

"Ten million Gordo."

Klein had been listening from a distance. When he heard the amount, his mouth fell open.

"Ten million?!"

That was five times the market value of the 〈Bloodstained Sword〉, the rare drop that had started the whole incident that got Ruche kicked out.

"I see. Ten million Gordo. That's a welcome sum to get here."

"I suppose we should be happy, but after all those drops, my sense of money's so warped that I'm not sure how to react."

Ruche murmured under her breath.

Klein didn't miss it.

Those two weren't the least bit fazed by ten million Gordo.

"G-Great Luck...? Did they somehow get a rare drop from a Level 50 〈Dream Lord〉...?"

The moment that man named Elymas learned that Ruche had 〈Great Luck〉, he'd suddenly come forward to recruit her.

And then, right afterward, they'd gone after a big target.

On top of that, they hadn't shown the slightest sign of being intimidated by ten million Gordo.

They'd probably gotten a drop worth even more than that.

Klein hadn't wanted to admit that Ruche had made a difference, but he had no choice now.

If they'd hunted for drops in the depths of the recommended-Level-50 〈Angel's Toy Box〉 with the drop rates they'd enjoyed while earning money by hunting low-level Matango, it wouldn't have been surprising for them to make several million Gordo—or even tens of millions—with ease.

"The investigation shouldn't take long, so we'll be able to give you the ten million Gordo soon. Also, according to Guild regulations... the two of you will be promoted to D-rank adventurers. Ruche, that'll be a direct promotion from F-rank. Um, promotions for defeating a high-level 〈Dream Lord〉 are very rare... I've never handled a case like this before, so I'll check the details of the precedents first."

The receptionist flipped through some papers.

"Ruche's... D-rank..."

Klein had only recently managed to earn recognition as an E-rank adventurer after a lot of hard work.

Reese was still an F-rank adventurer.

The barrier to D-rank was considered especially high. There were only about ten D-rank adventurers in the city of Rondalum.

That was the level of an adventurer who could hold their own as a seasoned professional.

"I guess Ruche's become someone way out of our league before we even realized it. I thought she might be doing all right, but I never imagined she'd be doing this well. Sigh... Maybe the fish we let get away was bigger than I thought."

As soon as Reese said that, Klein dashed toward Ruche and Elymas.

"...Klein? Hey, what are you doing?"

"Ruche... I was wrong! I've had a change of heart. Will you come back?! Let's split the sale price of the 〈Bloodstained Sword〉 three ways after all!"

Klein bowed so low his head nearly touched the floor as he pleaded with Ruche.

Ruche and Elymas stared coldly at Klein's bowed head.

"Let's go, Ruche. It sounds like the investigation will take a while."

"...Yes."

Ruche and Elymas walked right past Klein as he bowed his head.

"W-Wait! Can't you at least hear me out?!"

Klein hurried after Ruche.

"Yikes..."

Reese was appalled, too.

Apparently, Klein had already forgotten what he'd said about rather dying than bowing his head to Ruche.