Chapter 46

The usual guild training ground.

I finally managed to meet the members of Brave Blade without any interruptions.

"Sorry, I haven't been able to check on you much lately."

It's been two weeks since we cleared the "Rainbow Lava Cave."

I thought the initial week of status appraisal work would wrap up, but as soon as I released information about the classes, things reverted to the state they were a week ago.

Not only was the status appraisal itself busy, but I also had to negotiate conditions with the guild, verify and compile accurate information, educate guild staff, and write promotional comics. I had a mountain of tasks that couldn't be postponed, leaving me no time to rest.

Rad responded to my apology.

"It's fine. If you become famous, it'll benefit us too."

He said this with a nonchalant attitude, but...

"Lex would be happy to hear a compliment, you know."

"Hey, Prana!"

Prana immediately shot back.

Seeing Rad and Prana's banter after so long gave me a sense of reassurance.

"Anyway, old man. What do you have in mind for us today? You must have called us here for something special, right?"

Rad quickly changed the subject, but his tone betrayed a hint of caution.

(Rad is surprisingly perceptive.)

Rad and the others, along with Reesia, had been exploring suitable dungeons in addition to training.

Thanks to that month of training, Rad and the others maintained high ability values relative to their levels.

I knew the locations of dungeons with potential pitfalls, and if they were going to a regular dungeon, my supervision was no longer necessary.

...If they were going to a "regular dungeon."

After level ten, the amount of experience needed for growth skyrockets, so even clearing a dungeon within their level range wouldn't significantly increase their levels.

In a typical RPG, you could just grind the same dungeon for days or camp out there, but in this world, monsters don't respawn immediately.

You'd need to explore another dungeon until enough monsters gathered, but most of the main dungeons in this area have already been cleared.

In that case, moving to another region would be the standard approach, but that would waste travel time.

So, I decided to use a tried-and-true trick from games to give us a boost.

"This time, we're going to tackle a dungeon, but it's a bit more challenging. That's why I'm coming along."

"A dungeon that even you need to join us for? ...Heh, my arm is itching!"

Rad spoke with determination, and the other members seemed more pumped up than scared.

"Alright, let's start by looking for a quest at the guild, right?"

"No."

Rad, looking like a seasoned adventurer, suggested this, but I shook my head.

"We're not going to the guild. The dungeon we're heading to doesn't have any quests. After all..."

I told them with a hidden smile as they looked puzzled.

"---We're going to a 'guild-undiscovered dungeon.'"

※ ※ ※

(I'm sure there's a hedge here, and behind it...)

Following my memory, I found it easily.

An entrance to a deep abyss.

A path leading to a new dungeon that, in this world, no one has ever discovered.

"...This way."

I called over Rad and the others, who were waiting.

"Here...?"

"Seriously? A new dungeon near this town...?"

Seeing the cave entrance before them, Rad and the others exclaimed in surprise.

"I see, it's designed so you can't notice it unless you get close. Mr. Rex, you really found such a place!"

Nuek, the most research-minded of the group, said excitedly, but I chuckled inwardly.

(Well, I did walk through this dungeon countless times.)

I felt a bit guilty for deceiving them, but I didn't say anything.

Glancing to the side, I met Reesia's eyes, the only one who knew the truth, and we both smiled wryly.

In Brave Blade, most dungeons start undiscovered, except for those important to the story.

Most of these have hidden entrances in inconspicuous locations, but with game knowledge, finding them is easy.

The real challenge comes after discovery.

"So, old man. Shouldn't we report this dungeon to the guild?"

This is a choice with pros and cons, no matter which way you go.

If you report the dungeon to the guild, you get a reward based on its importance, and the guild will start issuing quests related to it.

However, other adventurers will also start exploring it, reducing the number of monsters and potentially looting the treasure chests.

On the other hand, if you keep it secret, you can monopolize the monsters and treasure, gaining more experience and items, but you won't get the side benefits of completing quests, and the high number of monsters can make it more challenging to focus on the boss.

In this case...

"Let's explore it once and then report it."

Unfortunately, most undiscovered dungeons are eventually found and reported by other adventurers over time.

Since you can't keep them secret forever, the standard approach is to explore them thoroughly and then report them to get the reward.

(Well, I didn't discover this dungeon on my own, anyway.)

The Brave Blade world is vast.

Finding dungeons by wandering the vast fields is quite a challenge, so in the first playthrough, you usually explore dungeons discovered by other adventurers.

However, the locations of undiscovered dungeons are fixed, so if you note their locations in your first playthrough, you can claim to have discovered them in subsequent playthroughs.

"Hehe, so we're the first ones here!"

Rad exclaimed innocently.

On the other hand, the cautious Nuek asked anxiously,

"Is it really okay? No one has been here before, right?"

There's no problem with that.

"Don't worry. I've explored it, even though I haven't reported it."

"Oh, I see. Then..."

Nuek sighed in relief, and I added silently in my head,

(Well, in the game, anyway.)

The game and this world are almost the same, but not exactly identical.

I shouldn't get too complacent.

"However, this dungeon isn't easy. The monsters are level twenty-five. They're mostly skeleton-type monsters, and there are many ambushes. It's not a place you should explore at your current levels."

"Level twenty-five..."

The members of Brave Blade swallowed hard and gripped their weapons seriously.

Rad and the others have grown to surpass the average level twenty adventurer.

However, even with their excellent stats, clearing this dungeon will be challenging.

But this time, we don't need to seriously tackle the dungeon.

"So, don't think about clearing the dungeon this time. The goal is to level up. Kill as many low-level monsters as possible, and retreat when you reach your limit."

Hearing this, Nuek and the others seemed to relax a bit.

On the other hand, Rad's fighting spirit was ignited.

"Hey, old man. 'Retreat when we reach our limit' means we can clear it all if we can, right?"

"Sure. ...If you can."

"Heh! I'll show you how much we've grown!"

Seeing his confident attitude, I suppressed a smile.

(Sorry for deceiving you, but...)

Unfortunately, this dungeon run won't be as easy as Rad imagines.

I chose this particular dungeon not just because it's level-appropriate and undiscovered, but because it has something more significant.

It's home to the most famous "grinding spot" in Brave Blade, one that has even been said to fundamentally change the game's strategy.

"Alright! Let's do our best!"

Unaware of my intentions, Rad and the others headed into the dark cave with high spirits.

---Here begins the hellish level-up grind!