Chapter 4

Writing a novel is difficult...

Since registering as an adventurer, Node has been receiving requests at the Adventurer's Guild every day.

The jobs were as usual, not what one would expect from an adventurer, but doing them every day did earn him a little money.

It was just enough to cover his food expenses, which would quickly disappear, but even a little extra meant his younger siblings could eat a bit more.

However, with so many mouths to feed, it was like pouring water on a burnt stone.

Within a week, Node achieved a rank promotion. Now, he was officially a First-Class Slate Adventurer.

Although he had only just reached the starting point of being an adventurer, the wooden piece hanging from his neck had transformed into a proper stone slate – a stone guild card, which gave him a sense of growth.

The Slate Adventurer's card was made of stone, unlike the makeshift wooden guild card, and it was said to have undergone magical processing.

From the Slate rank onwards, even if one achieved a rank promotion, the basic design and function of the guild card would remain the same, though the material might change.

Being a Slate Adventurer meant being treated as a proper adventurer.

While Slate Adventurers were of a lower rank, they could take on requests like monster hunts, which were typical of adventurers.

Naturally, these targets were considered too risky for the requesters to handle themselves, and the risk of injury or death always accompanied such requests.

Node felt the cold, smooth texture of the stone slate guild card in his hand, which made him tighten his resolve.

§

One of the daily routines Node quickly got used to at the Adventurer's Guild was the morning job scramble.

High-reward requests, those with rare items as rewards, or those with enticing descriptions.

The request boards were filled with a variety of jobs, each with its own balance of rewards and conditions.

Jobs that seemed to offer good value were sought after by everyone, while those that didn't were avoided. Of course, there were exceptions, like the "weirdos" who took on specific jobs that weren't profitable, but generally, everyone tried to get the best jobs, leading to a natural competition.

Since adventurers were fundamentally about strength, the competition for jobs was fierce.

As the ancients said, an adventurer fights three great enemies in a single request.

Namely –

One, the adventurers competing for jobs in the morning.

Two, the monsters fought on the job.

Three, one's own desire to spend the reward.

Most typical adventurers couldn't overcome the third enemy.

Getting back to the topic.

Until yesterday, Node could only take on jobs from the free board, so he just looked at them. But today was different.

Even as a First-Class Slate Adventurer, the jobs he could take still varied in profitability.

To aim for the next rank, it would be more efficient to take on profitable jobs to earn money and improve his equipment.

Naturally, this was something Node wanted, so he threw himself into the morning battlefield of fierce competition.

§

After a fierce struggle, Node finally managed to tear a request off the board.

It was a "Monster Hunt in the Dungeon."

In the world, there exist places called dungeons, which are inhabited by many monsters.

However, these monsters are known to have different properties from ordinary ones.

To explain, ordinary monsters leave their corpses behind when they die, remaining in the place they fell unless they rot or are eaten by slimes.

But in dungeons, something different happens.

When a monster dies in a dungeon, its corpse is immediately absorbed and disappears, leaving behind a "magic stone" – a crystallized form of magic power.

Magic stones are crystallized magic power, which can sometimes be found outside dungeons, but this is extremely rare. For a long time, it was a mystery why such a strange phenomenon occurred inside dungeons.

However, this mystery was recently solved by the research of the Kingdom's Magic Academy.

According to the Academy, dungeons are a kind of magic that produces the "shadows" of monsters. When a dungeon is created in a place where magic power naturally concentrates, called a "magic pool," it begins to produce the "shadows" of monsters, with magic stones as the core.

The "shadows" of monsters are copies of the original monsters, so their strength is consistent. This hypothesis also explains why the strength of monsters inside dungeons is uniform, unlike those outside, which can vary. (This information was taught to him by his eldest brother, Albiore.)

Dungeons have been discovered in various places on the Ilva continent, and it is known that great treasures lie deep within them.

It is theorized that these dungeons are treasure vaults created by ancient mages, with monsters serving as their defense mechanisms.

What is important is that the researchers of the Kingdom's Magic Academy focused on the feature of dungeons producing monsters – and by extension, magic stones.

Originally, magic stones produced in large quantities from dungeons had many uses. For example, the magic stone lanterns in the Felis family's house. These lanterns, which use the magic power of magic stones to emit light, are much more convenient than oil or candle lamps because they produce no smoke or odor and pose no fire risk.

There are also various magic devices that use magic stones, such as stoves that don't use fire and boxes that keep food from spoiling. These magic devices are highly valued for their convenience and are found in the homes of wealthy nobles and major merchants. (Unfortunately, Node's home only had one magic stone lantern.)

However, magic stones stop being produced when the dungeon's guardian, which protects the treasure deep within, is defeated.

As a result, the number of dungeons under the kingdom's control decreased with each conquest, and the production of magic stones within the country declined. However, the Magic Academy succeeded in reviving dungeons, creating artificial ones.

Thus, the kingdom had several artificial dungeons revived by the Magic Academy, from which magic stones were once again produced, ensuring a stable supply of this valuable resource – or so it seemed.

Unfortunately, the mages of the Magic Academy could only revive dungeons along with the monsters. Although research on dungeons continues at the Academy, they have yet to succeed in manipulating the "settings" inside the dungeons, beyond simply restarting them.

In short, the dungeon monster hunt Node had taken on was a job to kill monsters in an artificial dungeon and collect magic stones, much like a miner's work.

§

"Monster hunt... huh..."

When Node went to the counter to receive the dungeon hunt request, the Adventurer's Guild staff expressed concern.

It was understandable.

At this point, Node's appearance consisted of only cotton pants, a tunic, and a leather vest.

It was far from being called armor. In fact, it was just casual wear.

The only adventurer-like equipment Node had was a sword at his waist.

"At least get some... better equipment."

– Save up money from odd jobs and get some decent equipment.

The staff member advised him indirectly.

"I'm fine. No problem."

Node nodded confidently in response.

Node's confidence was well-founded.

After all, it was just a dungeon of the difficulty level assigned to a First-Class Adventurer. The enemies weren't that strong.

However, even weak monsters can become a threat in large numbers.

Fatigue accumulates, and concentration wavers as one fights one after another.

In that moment of distraction, a fatal blow can be received, leading to death.

This is the most common way to die in a dungeon.

Especially for new adventurers, who have little combat experience and poor situational awareness, and who lack proper equipment, even weak enemies can be dangerous.

So why did Node take on this monster hunt request? The reason was simple.

§

Holding a short sword, Node slashed at a green-skinned goblin that lunged at him with a high-pitched scream.

The goblin's corpse disintegrated and disappeared into the dungeon, leaving behind a magic stone.

Without pausing to watch, Node swung his sword again, cutting down a giant bat that attacked from above.

The bat's corpse also disappeared, leaving two magic stones on the ground.

Node had already defeated dozens of monsters.

As he tried to collect the magic stones into the bag tied to his waist, a shadow attacked from his blind spot, taking advantage of his fatigue and waning concentration.

"Keeeee!"

It was a different goblin from the one he had just killed. The goblin, screaming in delight, lunged at Node with its dagger.

However, Node remained calm despite the surprise attack.

Instead of counterattacking, he protected his vital areas, such as his neck, and

Crack

"Kee!?"

Indeed, the goblin's dagger – a rusty, chipped mess – was blocked by Node's armor.

Without flinching from the impact, Node took advantage of the goblin's exposed position and slashed it open with his sword.

After confirming that there were no more enemies around, Node collected the goblin's magic stone.

Node's confidence came from the armor he was wearing.

A steel plate protected his torso, and a chainmail suit covered his entire body, allowing for joint movement while protecting him from blade attacks.

While a monster hunt of the difficulty level assigned to a Slate Adventurer was indeed dangerous without proper protection, with solid armor, it was not a significant threat.

Like Node, who had just been attacked, it was possible to withstand enemy attacks and counterattack with the armor.

However, for a typical Slate Adventurer, who could only afford leather armor, such a strategy was impossible. It would take years of taking on requests to even get a chest piece, and full-body armor was prohibitively expensive.

§

Thanks to the armor, Node's first monster hunt was a great success.

Not taking damage from enemy attacks made a big difference.

The bag of magic stones he earned in a day was nearly bursting, and it fetched a decent amount at the buyback shop next to the dungeon.

This armor strategy was quite powerful, but it was only a temporary solution.

This was because the armor Node was wearing was not his own but belonged to the Felis Knight Family, and more specifically, to Albiore, the next head of the Felis Family.

Albiore was currently on vacation, and during this time, Node had borrowed the armor from his brother in exchange for a rental fee.

The rental fee was quite high, and after deducting his food expenses from the reward, he didn't have much left. However, this was unavoidable.

Armor wears out with use, and if it gets damaged, the repair costs are high.

In fact, lending him the armor despite the risk was a gesture of kindness from his brother, who had become an adventurer.

Moreover, Albiore, a graduate of the military academy, knew that the armor wouldn't be damaged by the monsters in the lower levels of the dungeon.

After all, it was Albiore who had taught Node this strategy, which he had learned at the military academy as a way for knight apprentices to earn pocket money. However, he didn't tell Node that the armor wouldn't be damaged.

Poor families produce strong individuals.