Chapter 2: Accepting the Quest. Into the Fresh Verdure Dungeon

The day after I allocated my SP, acquired new skills, and leveled up existing ones, I came back to the Dungeon Association branch.

Right now, I’m sitting in front of one of the computers installed in the branch's entrance. Multiple computers are set up, all partitioned by wooden dividers.

These computers are provided by the Dungeon Association and allow explorers to accept and search for quests and requests from corporations, organizations, and individuals.

These computers are equipped with the same scanners as the display cases in the weapon area, and anyone with an Explorer’s License can use them to accept quests.

The reason I’m here today is to accept one of those quests.

All the quests viewable on these computers are managed by the Dungeon Association, so they are all guaranteed to be safe.

Thus, I shouldn't inadvertently end up participating in a crime... or at least that’s the idea. I can’t guarantee it now since my trust in the Association has been shaken lately.

Apparently, you can also exchange quests directly between individuals online without going through the Association.

However, according to the receptionist, since there are people who haggle over the reward or try to scam you, it’s generally safer to stick to quests that go through the Association.

Now then. Which one looks good...?

Quests come in various types: collecting and delivering specific monster materials, or gathering designated items.

For higher-rank quests, there were also escort quests for researchers diving into Dungeons.

And the simple reason I’m looking to accept a quest now is, simply put, to earn some money.

It’s not like I’m in desperate need of cash, but it’s always better to have more, right?

I tend to spend a lot when I do spend.

Even though I haven't done it with the Swiftstrike Dagger yet, I’ll likely need to do maintenance, and in the worst-case scenario, have it reforged.

Honestly, I can't even imagine how much money I might end up spending, so I want to earn as much as possible.

Besides, quests sometimes include bonus items as a reward.

Also, leveling up in the Hellhound Dungeon had become pretty slow.

So, I figured I might as well earn some cash while I’m at it.

“Alright, I can only select D-rank quests and below. Let's see what looks good...!”

Quests also have a ranking system, just like Dungeons.

The Association assigns a rank to a quest based on various factors, just as they rank Dungeons based on where they appear.

Well, you can probably guess what I’m about to say.

Yes, that’s right. Quests C-rank and above also require the Silver License.

Since C-rank and above quests require entering a C-rank Dungeon, it’s only natural, I suppose.

For now, I used the mouse to scroll through the list of quests, looking for a good one.

Hmm. Even for quests below D-rank, which one offers a good deal...?

I scrolled, skimming the reward, content, location, and remarks for each quest.

“Oh? This might be a good one?!”

In the list of quests, I found the one that looked best for me.

The quest’s name was ‘Healgrowth Collection’.

The request was to bring back as much of the medicinal herb called Healgrowth as possible. The reward was determined by the quantity of Healgrowth collected.

I checked, and the nearest Dungeon where Healgrowth could be gathered was the E-rank Fresh Verdure Dungeon.

The Fresh Verdure Dungeon is quite close and somewhere I can go starting today.

I honestly wondered about the reward being based on the amount of Healgrowth collected, but the E-rank Fresh Verdure Dungeon should be a breeze for me.

I don’t want to push myself too hard right now, either.

And above all...

“Two hundred yen per stalk... This Dungeon is easy, and the price is just right!”

The price per stalk of Healgrowth has gone up considerably.

I remember it only being about 100 yen if you sold it to the Dungeon Association.

Considering that, the raw price is double.

I even wondered if there was a catch with such favorable terms, but after looking at the company that posted the request, I dismissed that thought.

The company that posted the request was ‘Astral’, the same company Yua-chan is affiliated with.

Even though my trust in the Association is dwindling, ‘Astral’ is a famous corporation, though I wouldn’t call it trustworthy, so it should be fine.

Wait, looking closer at the remarks, it says they need the herb to make Potions for the purpose of improving skill technique.

“I see... So that’s why.”

The reason is solid, and it makes sense that they didn't specify a required amount if it's for skill level-up practice.

Basically, a skill isn't fully usable just by acquiring it.

A skill only truly takes effect when it’s utilized, and it requires the user’s personal technique in addition to the skill itself.

Even when I was leveling up my ‘Dagger Arts’ skill, it was only after I had physically adjusted my body to it.

For example, when the skill level of ‘Dagger Arts’ rises, the sharpness of my swing dramatically improves, and my body follows through smoothly. I think you'd only understand how amazing that is if you actually tried it.

But you only truly feel that when you're actually doing something related to that skill.

In my case, ‘Dagger Arts’ and ‘Archery’.

As you use a skill, you intuitively figure out things like, ‘I should do it this way’ or ‘This is easier’, and it gradually becomes easier to use.

That's why when I rapidly leveled up my ‘Dagger Arts’ and ‘Archery’ skills, my body was thrown off by the skills for a while.

So, in the end, when it comes to skills, practice, practice, practice is the only way.

Even if the skill level doesn't go up from using it, your technique improves.

Even so, gathering Healgrowth for the purpose of improving skill technique... I wonder if the person using it has ‘Compounding’ or ‘Alchemy’?

I’m sure there are explorers affiliated with the corporation, but you can never have enough for practice.

Healgrowth is used in Potions, so the demand is incredibly high, and if they didn’t do this, it would just be sold off to the Association.

“Well, this should work.”

There's nothing particularly strange about it, and I understand the reason for seeking out Healgrowth so badly.

I moved the cursor and hit the ‘Accept Quest’ button.

A message appeared on the screen saying, ‘Quest acceptance complete.’

“Alright, guess I should head out right away.”

While I was at it, I accepted another quest related to the Fresh Verdure Dungeon—one asking for Kobold Claws.

Regarding the Kobold Claws quest, I immediately completed it by taking Kobold Claws out of my ‘Item Box’ and handing them over to the receptionist.

After that, I headed for the Fresh Verdure Dungeon.

By the way, the reward for the Kobold Claw quest was 30,000 yen for ten sets of claws.

Surprisingly expensive.

I took the train and arrived at my destination, the Fresh Verdure Dungeon.

The entrance to the Fresh Verdure Dungeon is right in the middle of the city, and the surrounding area is firmly paved with concrete. In addition, there were two people who looked like security guards standing in front of the entrance, which I hadn’t seen before.

Well, there have been a lot of Dungeon-related incidents lately, so something like this must have become necessary.

I thought there might be some kind of procedure for entering the Dungeon, so I watched from a short distance.

But apparently, there was no such thing, and explorers were just entering the Fresh Verdure Dungeon one after the other.

“...!”

The security guards were just silently standing still, scrutinizing the explorers as they went in.

They look rather intimidating, which gives off a lot of presence. Oh well. If it doesn’t stop me from entering.

Now then, I guess I’ll head inside too.

“Thanks for your hard work!”

I felt like I should say something, so I did.

“...!”

They didn't reply, but the two men gave a slight bow with their intimidating physiques.

I returned the bow and then entered the Dungeon.

Inside the Dungeon, trees and plants were overgrown, like in a forest of magical trees. Light struggled to enter, but it wasn't completely dark.

There were a lot of bushes, and it felt very much like ‘The Forest’.

Seriously, Dungeons are a mystery. All the Dungeons so far have secured light somehow.

Even now, a sunlight-like glow shines through the gaps in the trees.

Dungeons really are a mystery. (Second time saying it)

“Well, setting that aside!”

I need to find Healgrowth to complete the quest.

I think I need to pull out the Healgrowth root and all.

Following what I’d researched, I started looking for Healgrowth.

Healgrowth has heart-shaped leaves. So, it shouldn't be too difficult to find if I just look out for that...

...Or so I thought.

“Can’t find any.”

I’ve been searching in the forest for about thirty minutes, but I haven't found any! Where the heck are they?!

I poked my head out of a bush and looked around, but there wasn't a single Healgrowth plant growing anywhere.

No way. I didn't think there would be none around here.

What’s going on?

Has all the Healgrowth in this area been picked already? Or am I just unlucky?

Well, there’s also the possibility that my eyes are just useless, I guess.

Still, it hurts that I couldn’t check where the Healgrowth grows during my trip to the Fresh Verdure Dungeon.

Next time, I need to make sure to research and memorize those locations. Otherwise, this is going to be too tough.

“Haa, guess it can’t be helped. I’ll have to go a little deeper!”

I’ll try going deeper in, and if I can’t find any there, I’ll give up for the day and take care of other quests.

I still have time until the quest deadline. I can just research where it grows and come back later.

Thinking that, I ventured deeper into the first floor of the Fresh Verdure Dungeon.

In the end, I couldn’t find the Healgrowth I was questing for, but I did find a variety of other things.

For example, other medicinal herbs.

While searching for Healgrowth, I found herbs with healing effects that weren't Healgrowth.

There were some poisonous plants, too, but I don’t need those.

I stuffed the medicinal herbs—excluding the poisonous ones—into my ‘Item Box’, thinking they might be useful someday.

But even after searching this much, I still couldn’t find any Healgrowth.

Even if someone else accepted a similar quest and gathered Healgrowth, it should grow back quickly, so maybe it's better to assume there's simply no Healgrowth here.

“Can’t be helped... I’ll finish the other quest first.”

I'm running way behind schedule, so I want to wrap up the other quest quickly.

Thinking that, I concentrated my awareness on the ‘Enemy Detection’ skill, which I was using to search for my target monster.

Then, the ‘Enemy Detection’ skill reacted.

“Oh, there it is!”

I headed straight toward the reaction, and there was a spider-type monster hanging from a branch by a thread.

That monster is a Killer Spider.

Each of its eight legs has a sharp claw at the tip, and I can see tiny, fang-like structures in its mouth.

And the size of that spider is about 30 centimeters.

That’s nothing but horror, and frankly, it’s disgusting.

“...!”

But there’s no point in running away now.

And since that thing is my target, I can’t exactly escape.

Truthfully, I wanted to run away without thinking about any of that.

However, today's quest is to collect the Killer Spider’s thread.

When I handed over the Kobold Claws, I proved I accepted the quest at the counter and received three wooden sticks, like dowels.

I need to wrap one monster’s worth of Killer Spider thread onto each stick, collect three of them, and submit them to complete the quest.

The reward, by the way, was 300,000 yen, and the requester was a famous fashion company.

It makes sense that the reward is so high.

“Well then, let’s get this done!”

I steeled my resolve and dashed toward the Killer Spider dangling from the tree.

To collect the Killer Spider’s thread, I first need to get it to stop dangling from the tree.

So, for that—

“Hah!”

—a preemptive strike.

I closed in and swung the Swiftstrike Dagger at the thread, cutting the line it was using to dangle from the tree. As expected, the cut Killer Spider fell to the ground.

But this is a monster spawned in a Dungeon to fight explorers.

The Killer Spider skillfully adjusted its posture in mid-air and landed cleanly.

“...!”

Without even a cry, it glared at me with its massive black eyes.

Honestly, it’s terrifying.

But it’s been a year since I became an explorer.

My body isn’t paralyzed by fear, and my thoughts are clear.

“Come on!”

I sheathed the Swiftstrike Dagger and pulled one of the wooden sticks I’d received from the Association counter out of my ‘Item Box’.

As if in response to my words, the Killer Spider moved. It instantly closed the distance between us and attacked with its long legs.

In response, I took a back-step to create distance and dodged the Killer Spider’s attack.

However, the Killer Spider was only using two of its legs to attack. The remaining six were still firmly on the ground.

Using that advantage, it pursued me as I back-stepped, attacking continuously.

So, I couldn’t let my guard down, but I was managing to evade with some leeway.

For now, this is good.

The objective this time isn't to kill it, but to collect the Killer Spider's thread.

Since the Killer Spider is an E-rank monster, defeating it would be easy, but to collect its thread, I first need it to use its thread for an attack.

So, just running around dodging is enough.

Eventually, it should get annoyed that it can't hit me and try to stop my movement with its thread. So for now, all I'm doing is dodging its attacks.

About five minutes later, the moment finally came.

“Gah! It’s coming!”

The sound I heard from behind—instead of the usual footsteps it makes when moving—was the ‘shlurrl’ sound of it shooting out its thread.

It looks like it finally decided to use its thread.

The thread emerging from the Killer Spider’s abdomen is adhesive and sticks tightly once it makes contact. It feels like the lateral strands a regular spider would use.

The Killer Spider shot the thread at me by pointing its abdomen my way. It must have used the thread to try and stop me from moving, but unfortunately for it, that was a bad move.

Since my objective is that very thread.

I intercepted the thread flying toward me with the wooden stick.

At this point, it’s a tug-of-war between the Killer Spider and me. A simple test of strength.

Of course, the one with the overwhelming physical strength is me.

“Well then... ‘Wind the thread, wind the thread, wind the thread~’”

Even as I sang, I firmly and powerfully wound the thread onto the wooden stick.

The spider, probably wanting to avoid getting closer to me—who is superior in strength, agility, and every other stat—kept shooting out more and more thread as I wound it up.

Well, this is helpful.

I had considered the worst-case scenario of swinging the Killer Spider around like a giant-swing to forcibly make it release its thread, but it seems I can collect it smoothly this way.

As I was steadily winding the thread, the Killer Spider suddenly stopped producing thread and was dragged toward me.

The speed at which I was winding must have finally exceeded the speed at which it could produce thread. I stopped winding for a moment and examined the wooden stick wrapped with thread.

The wooden stick was tightly wrapped with the collected Killer Spider thread, looking like a spool of sewing thread.

“Alright, this should be enough!”

I have a considerable amount of thread wound up; this should be sufficient for one monster’s worth.

“Thanks for the help! And good job!”

I restarted winding the thread, and as a final touch, I used the Swiftstrike Dagger to slash off the head of the dragged-in Killer Spider.

Normally, that would be the end of the fight, but not this time.

Insects, including the Killer Spider, generally have strong life force, so if you don't finish them off properly, they might attack again.

So, after cutting the thread connected to the wooden stick, I split the Killer Spider’s torso into four pieces.

You might think it’s overkill, but it's the safest and most certain way.

I mean, in a video I saw the other day, even after the head of a centipede monster was cut off, the torso was still thrashing around.

I could probably still defeat it without going that far, but it would take time and use up stamina. So, it's better to dispatch it quickly and surely.

I watched the slain Killer Spider, maintaining my guard, until I was sure it was completely lifeless, with no part moving.

“Phew...!”

Alright, that's one down. I need two more for the quest.

But seriously, what do they use Killer Spider thread for? Since the requester is a fashion company, it must be related to clothing.

“Hmm, I have no idea!”

I honestly can’t imagine how they would process this highly adhesive thread so it could be used for clothing.

Well, there’s no point thinking about it, and I should focus on collecting the thread for the quest first. Thinking that, I retrieved the Magic Stone from the Killer Spider, put it and the thread into my ‘Item Box’, and then left the area.

After that, I found and collected the thread from Killer Spiders two more times, as planned, and finished gathering the Killer Spider thread.

Yeah, well... that was exhausting. Mostly mentally.

I'd never dealt with insect monsters before, but seeing a bug that big moving around makes you jump a little.

I thought I’d gotten used to fighting the Killer Spiders, but it’s still not something I can get used to immediately.

But now I have the three Killer Spider threads required for the quest.

“Alright, now I just have to take this thread directly to the company.”

This quest requires me to take the thread directly to the company, not to the Dungeon Association counter.

Apparently, they want to start making a prototype as soon as possible, so they need it fast.

But the current time is already six in the evening.

If I head to the designated location now, I'll arrive around nine at night.

Well, tomorrow it is...

That can’t be helped.