As Fran chatted with Nel-san, the number of adventurers slowly grew.

『There’re a lot of adventurers.』

There were likely over fifty adventurers inside the guild.

This was my first time seeing so many adventurers together in one place.

“But they aren’t that strong.”

『I guess Dunadrond is the strongest.』

Dunadrond was only rank C, but apparently he was well known for being a training instructor for beginners.

Besides him, there were a few C rank adventurers, but Dunadrond was acting as the leader and n.o.body objected.

“Hey, why’s there a kid here?!”

But it seemed they did have objections to make about Fran. Well, Fran was inevitably going to stick out as a little girl surrounded by lots of tense adventurers. Some of them were likely to get mad since this was no place for kids.

“What’re you planning on doing with that sword of yours?”

I wanted to retort, “Your a kid, too!” because he looked like a slim little boy. His armor was still clean, and he gave off the sense that he was a beginner.

They said G rank adventurers couldn’t partic.i.p.ate so everyone should be F rank or higher…

It didn’t look like he could beat even a goblin.

Stats-wise, he was a little stronger than a goblin, but the difference really was minimal.

He likely ranked up because of domestic requests like delivering packages and moving furniture rather than anything involving combat.

His skill, Sword Wielding 1, was by far the weakest skill I’d seen so far among the adventurers.

There really must be a shortage of people if they’re even calling for people like him.

“I’m going to exterminate the goblins.”

“This is a fight vital for the safety of Alessa. A kid like you will just get in the way! Only F rank and greater adventurers can take part in this, anyway. Go home, kid!”

He was making a seriously unhappy face.

But Fran was s.p.a.cing out, ignoring the boy in her “my pace” style.

“Hey. Are you listening?”

“Un?”

“Tch. Hey, look here. This isn’t some playground for little kids. If you want to play adventurer, then do it somewhere else.”

I had to worry about what would happen if this boy had to face a hobgoblin mob. Because those hobgoblins will definitely be way stronger than him.

So he was likely picking on someone who looks weaker than him to hide the fact that that he was nervous.

The nearby adventurers reacted in a variety of ways.

Some of them looked entertained, some of them didn’t care and just ignored them, and some of them thought the boy was being a bother as well.

The latter-most reaction made sense considering the two of them looked like noisy children who didn’t belong in this place.

“Un.”

“s.h.i.+t, stop moving around!”

The boy shouted in frustration as Fran continued to dodge his attempts to grab her.

They might get yelled at, so maybe I should tell her to stop. None of the other adventurers, however, had any intention of interrupting them directly.

No, a few of them got angry and yelled at them to stop, but the other adventurers stopped any dissenters.

“Hey, stop it!”

“But why?”

“She’s that girl, the one who’s rumored to have——.”

“For real?!”

It looked like news of the incident ending in over a hundred goblins dead had spread among the adventurers.

But some of them didn’t realize the importance of that information and didn’t pay attention to what the others were saying.

Besides that boy, there were an adventurer who shouted commandingly at them.

“Hey, you s.h.i.+tty brats! Quit making so much noise! You’re being a bother so get out! We have enough supplies carriers!”

“I-I’m not a supplies carrier! I’m a full-fledged F rank adventurer!”

“New F rank adventurers are no better than G rank adventurers!”

“But I’m still an F rank. I have the right to partic.i.p.ate!”

“I’m also an F rank.”

“What’d you say?”

The young man was surprised and looked down at Fran.

He probably didn’t think she was a legitimate adventurer.

“Hahahahahaha. You mean you two are F ranks? If two small-fry brats like you are F ranks, then I’m an S rank!”

“Wait, wait. You mean those two really F ranks? It must be super easy for adventurers to rank up.”

“Well, they’re only excavators, anyway.”

I could tell they were talking smack about adventurers, but was it a bad thing to be an excavator?

Did it have the same meaning as calling all mercenaries hyenas?

“I joined because I thought there’d be lots of work, but it looks like it won’t be hard to become a high ranker!”

Were they those aforementioned mercenaries?

Based on what I heard before, there was a war in the neighboring country, but it ended sooner than anyone expected so there were lots of mercenaries looking for work.

I looked at their statuses, but they weren’t anything special.

How could they act so big-headed when their only this strong?

“Hehehe. You got something nice there.”

“Huh? That’s a d.a.m.n fine looking sword.”

“Hand it over.”

They’re smarter than I thought, realizing what a good sword I am.

Though it was a mistake to extend a hand to try and take me.

Because his awareness of danger was abysmally low.

The boy who was picking a fight with Fran must have felt intimidated because he backed off with a scared look on his face. That was a smart response.

Because he sensed the bloodthirst exuding from Fran.

On the other hand, the good-for-nothing mercenary continued to reach for the sword with a vulgar expression on his face.

“Mm——.”

“You all, stop right there!”

This was right before Fran made her move. Dunadrond stood between Fran and the mercenaries.

And he gave them a good talking to.

“You idiots! Don’t start a ruckus right before we leave!”

“No, but we didn’t…”

They were cowed by Dunadrond’s presense. Their faces were grim.

“I saw everything, so don’t give excuses. Just focus on exterminating the goblins! Do that, and I’ll ignore what just happened.”

Fran lost all interest after that, erased her bloodthirst, and moved away.

I told her that it was best to go somewhere less conspicuous.

Behind us, the adventurer boy grumbled to Fran

“Hey, you, are you not even going to greet Instructor Dunadrond after he saved you?!”

“Kuhahaha, of course she’s not. Fran wasn’t the one I saved!”

“Huh?”

“For real. We can’t have her tiring herself out before we leave.”

“What?”

Dunadrond, just how dangerous do you think Fran is?

Even Fran wouldn’t let herself get tired right before an important operation like this. Probably.

And no matter how much she exerts herself, we could always restore her with healing magic.

『There might end up being an aftereffect though.』

“Un?”

『It’s nothing. Let’s do our best on the goblin raid.』

“Un. Of course.”

After that, Dunadrond had all the adventurers line up.

No, it was more like he had them all bunch up together.

It looked like he was getting ready to explain how they were going to attack the den.

He started by telling people what roles they’d play and other information about the raid.

Next, he gave us information on the Dungeon itself.

“For a lot of you, this’ll probably your first time in a Dungeon. I’ll be explaining the basics of Dungeons!  For those of you who already know this stuff, listen and think of it as review.”

We had never been to a Dungeon before, but the same was true for many of the low rank adventurers here.

The majority seemed to have no experience with Dungeons.

It was a blessing that we were able to learn about Dungeons.

Well, in summary, he said not to destroy the Dungeon Core so that the Dungeon can still be used.

The nucleus of a Dungeon is its Core. Destroy the Core, and the Dungeon dies. He said that any living monsters in the Dungeon die off if the Dungeon Master dies. But the Core won’t be destroyed by any normal attacks because it’s protected by a highly dense covering.

The being connected to the Dungeon Core is the Dungeon Master. If the Master dies, then the Core will enter a dormant state and halt all functions. And when the Dungeon Core is destroyed, all the demonic beasts die off as well.

Though the Core is still the nucleus of a Dungeon even in a dormant state, a dormant Core, if imbued with enough mana, can be used by a human to control a Dungeon to a limited extent. This control was limited only to things that the Dungeon Master created when it was alive, but it was possible to sp.a.w.n items or demonic beasts within a dungeon. We were told that because these Dungeons can bring in lots of wealth for the Adventurer’s Guild, the guild’s goal is to take down the Dungeon Master without destroying the Core, and then take control of the Dungeon.

“But right now, we’re in crisis mode. In a worst case scenario, we are permitted to destroy the Core. I hope you all don’t forget that this raid is the most important mission.”

Two hours after the adventurers jubilantly headed off for the Dungeon.

“It’s the goblins!”

A person on watch shouted.

The adventurers were likely creating a base in front of the Dungeon using materials they brought there.

The goblins showed up from out of the Dungeon’s entrance.

Because we were out on patrol, we arrived late.

“Master, over there.”

『They still haven’t built a base yet. This is hectic.』

The adventurers and the hobgoblins were fighting in a ma.s.sive crowd.

With them like that, we couldn’t even use any area-of-effect fire magic.

The adventurers were backing up Dunadrond with all they had.

“I’m going.”

『Okay. But before we go into the Dungeon, we have to whittle down their numbers a bit. I won’t be able to sleep at night if the adventurers are wiped out.』

“Master doesn’t sleep.”

『It’s a figure of speech!』

Fran pulled me out of the sheath and ran at them.

We’ll need to start by supporting the beginners who were thrown into the fray.

Fran continued to run and slashed randomly at a hobgoblin.

Well, because it was a surprise attack from behind, it was defeated in almost a single strike.

“It’s weak.”

『Because even if they are hobgoblins, they’re weak individually.』

This was the status of the hobgoblin Fran just defeated.

Name: Hobgoblin Swordsman

Race: Demon

Lv: 8

HP: 69 MP: 28 Strength: 39 Agility: 25

Skills: Threaten 1, Dodging 1, Sword Techniques 1, Sword Wielding 3, Command 1, Speed 2, Collaborate 2, Energy Manipulation

Its stats were a little lower than those of the Goblin King that I fought before. But this one also had the skill Collaborate so it’ll be a pain if the whole group has that skill.

The good-for-nothing mercenary who tried to start a fight with Fran was already defeated and motionless on the ground.

It looked like he was too eager for glory. I could tell even at a glance from his heavily stabbed body that his life was already over.

Fran didn’t even spare him a glance. She might have even forgotten what he looked like.

“Hyah!”

『So you’re aiming for the ones that have knives!』

As Fran continued to swing me around, I shot out Aura Blades to surrept.i.tiously slay hobgoblins.

Every adventurer that Fran saved gave his or her thanks to Fran.

Though half of their voices sounded embarra.s.sed.

“Th-Thanks!”

“Who’d have thought such a cute young lady is actually this strong.”

“Huh? Who are you?”

Oh, he’s that boy from before.

“Th-There’s no way!”

He was fighting well and without too much difficulty. He may have totally forgotten about fighting when he saw Fran, but a senpai saved him.

The C and D rank adventurers were frantically trying to block the cave entrance, so there were few strong adventurers near the base. Which is why the hobgoblins naturally noticed Fran who was taking such an active role in the battle.

“It’s a big catch.”

『It’s because they keep coming from over there for you. The more that come for you, the more adventurers you save so it isn’t that bad.』

I refrained from absorbing magic crystals here.

Because it’d be pain if someone found out that the hobgoblins Fran slayed didn’t have magic crystals.

That was why, by inspecting them with Appraisal, I only absorbed the magic crystals of the hobgoblins that had skills I really wanted. n.o.body should notice that little.

『Don’t you think they’ll be okay now? Let’s go to the Dungeon.』

“Un.”

If I absorbed the magic crystals and put the corpses in Dimensional Storage, any evidence of this place being the inside of a Dungeon would be gone.

Fran headed for the Dungeon.

A battle raged between the humans and the hobgoblins as they surged back and forth around the entrance.

“It’s a cave type just like they said.”

There are lots of varieties of Dungeons, like labyrinth types or cave types.

We were told that cave types are common among newly formed Dungeons, and though there are very few traps, the Dungeon’s path branches out in a complicated pattern like an ant’s nest.

We were also told that because magicians sent familiars to scout out the Dungeon, the inside was cleared of traps. Those traps would only have been a bother, though, since so many goblins walk through these pa.s.sageways.

In addition, we were told that there were no Special s.p.a.ces.

Special s.p.a.ces are rooms with special effects like seals, healing blockers, magic absorption, and others, and walking into the wrong one could spell death for an adventurer. Maybe they were able to detect whether those Special s.p.a.ces were here or not, because they guaranteed that there were no Special s.p.a.ces.

This was good news for us. Because this meant we only had to worry about fighting.

『Let’s go!』

“Un.”

『Yahoo!』

Fran leapt into the sky for the cave entrance, pa.s.sing over the wall that the adventurers were fortifying.

Dunadrond was shocked as he saw Fran do this.

He was staring at Fran, his eyes wide open.

Hey, geezer, if Fran was wearing a skirt, you’d be convicted.

“Is that Aerial Jump? Even though only Sky Knights should have that skill?!”

Huh? Was this a bad decision?

『Sky Knight? It sounds like an advanced high rank Job.』

I wonder how high up the job Sky Knight is. Sky also means heaven so it was almost certainly strong. We might have to refrain from using Aerial Jump in front of others based on his reaction.

“Master, what does that matter now?.”

『Ugh…I guess you’re right.』

Well, Fran had a point. Something like this was bound to happen again, so maybe hiding our skills was pointless. Then maybe it was best to just use it without worrying.

“More importantly, goblins.”

『Shoot, you’re right.』

“Master, please use magic. If it hits, I’ll keep hitting them as well.

『Okay.』

Fran used Buoyancy to jump even higher.

Syncing with her movement, I cast Tri Explosion.

Booom!

The hobgoblins that were crowding around the entrance area were sent flying.

The spell was only enough to act as a diversion against Dunadrond, but it was strong enough to be lethal against hobgoblins.

And after landing, Fran immediately struck them down one after another.

“Sonic Wave!”

The Sword Techniques 5 skill, Sonic Wave. It shot a frontal shockwave, but it was a good technique for defeating the hobgoblins in one strike.

“This is our chance.”

Fran sprinted for the cave entrance that was now covered by much fewer goblins.

“Ah, wait! Only D rank adventurers and higher can enter the Dungeon!”

We knew that already.

That was why we rushed ahead of everyone else, so that no one would try and stop us.

Dunadrond’s group was still fighting with the hobgoblins.

“s.h.i.+t! Follow the young lady!”

“That’s right. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I left such a little girl to die.”

“Dumba.s.s! That’s not it!”

“Pardon?”

“If we let that young lady go on alone, she’ll take all the good loot for herself!”

“You mean that little girl?”

“You saw her use Aerial Jump and magic! Ignore the young lady’s appearance. I’m telling you to think of her as a master adventurer disguised as a child!”

After everything’s mopped up, the guild takes inventory of all the loot, deducts part of it for the guild’s use, and divides the remainder equally among the adventurers.

But the guild accepted that adventurers who gathered loot and put them into their Item Pockets had owners.h.i.+p of what they took.

In other words, their profits increased the more demonic beasts they took down. The adventurers were trying to further their own gains.

Though I thought that people would cut in line or there’d be fall outs among prior comrades. Like when we rushed into the Dungeon.

“Master.”

『This is…an experience point farm!』

The inside of the Dungeon was swarming with hobgoblins.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

『Yeah! Flare Blast!』

The Blaze Magic 1 spell, Flare Blast.

A spell that shout out intensely hot flames. Its area of effect wasn’t particularly large, but it was stronger than anything Fire Magic could make.

Sheeeew——ba-bang!

The flames pierced through the goblins and the explosion defeated the remaining ones.

In a cramped place like this cave, the spell’s power was immensely enhanced.

Fran charged at the goblin mob, rus.h.i.+ng further into the fray.

『I used all our money to buy a Return Feather, so let’s go as far as we can!』 (tn: A Dark Souls reference.)