Chapter 34

When I woke up, Nina was sleeping next to me, so I slapped her face.

Nina screamed, "Hgya!" and woke up with tears in her eyes. Rena was still sleeping; she must have been really tired.

While washing my face and changing clothes, I noticed that Rena had also woken up, so I gave her the "Ring of Life" we obtained in the dungeon yesterday.

"Hey, put this on."

"...It's not 'Hey,' it's Rena. ...What is this?"

"It has an effect that permanently increases HP by 50."

"...It's one of the pieces of equipment that rear-line classes, who have low HP, would kill to have."

I noticed that Rena had a strand of hair sticking up from her head. It usually stays hidden but pops out depending on her emotions. It was moving back and forth, so she must have been happy.

"Nina, hold onto this."

Saying that, I handed her the "Steel Dagger" and "Item Pouch" we obtained yesterday.

"I already have an Item Pouch and a Steel Dagger?"

"Yesterday, when we explored the dungeon, we found out there are Salamanders. It's hard to deal damage with fire-attribute weapons, so use them depending on the enemy. You can use the Item Pouch for materials and recovery potions. Both are relics of adventurers who died in the dungeon."

The moment I said "relics," Nina flinched, but the effects are the same whether they are relics or not.

For breakfast today, we had bread, beef stew, and salad. The meat inside was so tender it could be cut with your lips, and the meal went down smoothly.

After breakfast, we headed to the guild to sell the materials we obtained in the dungeon and check for any quests available there. When we arrived, the guild was bustling with adventurers. The receptionists at the counter were busy, so I took the opportunity to check the quests, but I couldn't find any related to the dungeon.

The counter finally cleared up, so I lined up at Colette's station. After a while, it was my turn, and I greeted her.

"Good morning, Colette."

"Good morning, Colette!"

"Good morning!"

Colette was full of energy this morning. Rena, on the other hand, seemed to be a morning person, as her response was sluggish.

"I'd like to sell some materials. Should I wait a bit?"

"No, it's fine now that things have calmed down."

I took out the materials from the Item Pouch: Poison Grizzly fur, Magic Ape and Great Magic Ape claws, fangs, and tails, and Salamander skin.

"You were in the dungeon yesterday, I see."

Colette seemed to have realized where we had been from the materials I presented.

"Is this... Great Magic Ape material! Did you three take it down?"

"No, Yu did it alone."

"H, alone!? I see, understood. Please hand over your guild cards."

This time, Yu and I were promoted to E-rank. If Nina keeps this up, she'll be promoted to D-rank soon.

"Here are the prices for the materials."

The total amount for the materials we sold was 4 gold coins, 7 silver coins, and 8 half-silver coins. It seems the boss materials weren't particularly expensive.

"Colette, are dungeon-related quests usually rare?"

Since I couldn't find any dungeon-related quests, I decided to ask Colette directly. Nina was playing with Rena's hair, and Rena, still sleepy, didn't resist.

"Dungeon-related quests? There's a barrier around the dungeon, so monsters rarely come out. Therefore, there are almost no hunting quests. Next, the main focus is on materials. For Gorgo's dungeon, the stomach of the Benanthus, which appears from B21F, can be sold to the Alchemy Guild. However, for some reason, they don't request it as a quest. For C-rank and above dungeons, there are material collection quests."

It seems there are no quests for D-rank dungeons. Still, the Benanthus stomach? I feel like I've seen it somewhere... Ah! It must be in the Item Pouch materials. This is good information.

"Thank you, Colette!"

"You're welcome! I'm glad I could help."

"Wow, Yu's smile is rare."

Colette's face was bright red, and Nina was making impolite comments. I can smile when I'm happy too.

"Next, let's go to the blacksmith."

"Sure thing!"

"...Alright."

We headed to the blacksmith's shop, which, as usual, had little foot traffic, and it was unclear whether the shop was open or closed.

"Hey, old man, are you there?"

"What's up, kid?"

I took out the Ogre skin from the Item Pouch, and since it was from three of them, it was a considerable amount.

"Wow... Ogre skin, and even the subspecies is mixed in."

"Can you make shirts and pants with this?"

"Shirts and pants from Ogre skin!? That's a luxurious use.

More importantly, your boots are in tatters. Let me see your equipment."

The leather boots were worn out from using magic fists. When I handed the equipment to the old man, he was surprised at how much I had used them in just two days. Following his advice, I decided to have him make shirts, pants, and boots for me, a shirt and hot pants for Nina, and a shirt and shoes for Rena.

"Old man, how much will it cost?"

"Hmm... What about the leftover skin?"

"I don't need it, so you can have it."

"Really!? Then one gold coin is fine."

The old man was overjoyed and immediately started working in the back of the shop. We left the shop and headed to the dungeon entrance, where the enchanters and merchants were still doing business.

"Kid, do you need any enchantments?"

"Did you learn any new ones?"

The old enchanter chuckled, crossed his arms, and leaned back.

"I knew you'd ask! I've learned two new enchantments!"

(What a helpful old man... I hope he keeps learning more.)

"The new ones increase attack and defense."

"Put both on me."

I handed the old man two silver coins and received the enchantments. According to him, they increase attack and defense by about 5% each.

A little further in, I started casting the enchantments on Nina and Rena.

"Did you learn more?"

"I did, but don't say it out loud here."

Especially in the dungeon, where other adventurers are around, it's best to be cautious. Rena was checking her status increase on her guild card.

"...Yeah, the effects of the enchantments and the Ring of Life are reflected."

Rena's guild card was faintly covered in magic. Noticing my gaze, she explained with a smug look.

"...If I cover it with my magic, the guild won't get any information."

"Is that true?"

"...Of course, I'm a genius, so I can't be wrong."

Indeed, no magic was leaking from the guild card covered in magic. Hearing this, Nina immediately tried to do the same. She had apparently learned to control her magic at some point.

Nina and Rena seemed to have gotten used to the dungeon and were quickly defeating monsters. What surprised me was that Rena was using a magic barrier-like defense when her attacks were about to hit.

"...Hehe, just like frontline classes have 'Combat Techniques,' rear-line classes have 'Barriers.'"

Her smug look was annoying. While frontline classes enhance their physical abilities with 'Combat Techniques,' rear-line classes enhance their defense with 'Barriers.' Some high-rank adventurers can use both. With Rena learning Barriers, she won't die in one hit.

"Rena, that's amazing! I learned a new technique too."

Nina said this, dodged the Cyclops's attack, and in the next moment, the Cyclops's head was severed.

"Hehe, how was that? Amazing, right!"

"...Magic?"

Rena didn't see Nina's movement, but as expected, she recognized it due to her expertise in magic.

"Did you see it, Rena? I learned it from Larit. Apparently, it's usually done with steel spider silk, but since I don't use much MP, I tried using magic instead, and it worked!"

Nina extended her magic into thin threads, wrapped them around the Cyclops's neck, and cut it. Her movement was fast, and the thin threads of magic cutting through the Cyclops's neck were a terrifying technique.

That day, we safely reached B6F and returned. I spent the time updating the enchantments and making potions with alchemy.