Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Dungeon
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"Hmm, now you finally look like a swordsman."
"Really?"
A month flew by in no time. Shit.
Before I knew it, a whole month had passed in a blur. Just feeling the muscles on my body and hearing the whoosh of my sword swings told me how dramatically different I was from a month ago. It was a level up. The moment when an adventurer makes their first job change to become a swordsman.
"Yeah... To put it in perspective, you're like a rookie mercenary who's just starting to get the hang of it?"
"That example doesn't really resonate with me."
"Someone who's getting used to blood and killing..."
"Please explain without using the word 'killing.' Actually, let's avoid violent words altogether."
It seemed like Karin's expressions, full of violence like that, came from her life as a mercenary. Professional mercenaries who fought in wars were true masters of murder and violence—monstrous bastards. They were the real deal, psychopathic killers who only went to battlefields for money and slaughtered people without a second thought.
Personally, these guys scared me the most. They were ruthless killing machines that transcended good and evil. They didn't value human life much, so they were always ready to kill if needed—literal demons.
If you see someone in a tavern who looks like a mercenary, it's best to just leave. As expected of people who went around killing, their personalities were probably rotten to the core. If they picked a fight, you'd end up with broken bones at best.
"Can't do that. You're going to become a competent serial killer someday. Becoming a mercenary wouldn't be bad either."
"Why do you keep cursing your disciple? It's not pleasing at all—it just gives me chills. And you're trying to paint me as a murderer, but I hate killing people. Becoming a mercenary sounds really bad too."
Every time I'd killed, there had been a perfectly valid reason. I never killed for fun, hobby, or profit. Only in situations where I had no choice, had to, or would die otherwise would I even touch someone's neck. I'd killed up until now because there had always been those valid reasons.
I was righteous. Moral. And a modern person with common sense and normal sensibilities.
But despite my feelings, Karin grinned and said,
"It's not a curse? It's a compliment? And didn't you say that armor was taken from bandits you killed?"
Her smile was so beautiful that for a moment, a crazy thought like Oh, it really is a compliment, hehe crossed my mind, but I quickly erased it. The violence of appearance itself. Humans were creatures who gained persuasiveness just from their looks.
"Probably only the Guild Master would see that as a compliment... Of course, acquiring this armor was unavoidable too."
"Such a delicate guy. Men talk too much. Doesn't the Guild Master's words make sense? Just accept it!"
"Ah, yes."
With that, Karin pulled something from her pocket and showed it to me.
"Here, put this on."
"What's this?"
"It's the mark of our guild members."
What Karin held out was a plain round black piercing with no distinctive features. Come to think of it, Karin and the other guys I trained with all wore these. I thought it was some fashion trend, but it turned out to be the guild member's insignia.
"Come here, I'll put it on for you."
Karin approached with the piercing. For a moment, I was seized by fear. Piercing my ear? Without proper tools and treatment, it could get infected!
"No, no! What if you pierce it wrong and it gets infected or something!"
"You think I haven't done this before?"
"Wait a second!"
"Gotcha."
I resisted, but I was subdued in an instant. The difference in strength and skill was dozens of times greater, so the only effective protest was screaming.
"Arrrghhh!!!"
"There, done."
Unlike my vigorous scream, the procedure was over in a flash.
"All set. You're such a wimp. Don't scream like that in real combat. The moment you show fear, you're dead."
"Uh, huh? Already done?"
I touched my ear, and the piercing was there. No pain at all, and no blood—it was clean. The black piercing was perfectly fitted to my ear.
"It's simple if you apply Sword Aura when piercing."
"Pardon? What?"
She used Sword Aura to pierce it? I decided to just accept this superhuman feat. With the power of Sword Aura that could split rocks and cut steel, shoving in a piercing would be a piece of cake. Shit, now I've got my ear pierced here.
"...There are quite a few of our guild members in this city, so if you get in danger like last time, try calling out. Who knows, some guys nearby might come running."
It was the only swordsman guild in the area, and above all, the Guild Master was a stunning beauty, so they had a decent number of members. If there was a culture of guild members helping each other in crises, I wouldn't have to get beaten down like that. Those damn martial artists. You're all dead.
"Thanks for the advice."
She seemed to have some consideration after teaching me for a month.
"And you're absolutely lacking in equipment. Now that you've learned swordsmanship, earn some money and get geared up. Greaves and gauntlets are essential. And shoulder pauldrons, helmet—shield if possible. A good swordsman is defined by good equipment."
Karin grabbed my shoulder. Exactly as she said. When skills are similar, the one with better gear wins. Even if their skill was a bit higher, if my gear was superior, I could hold my own. Normal human strength couldn't breach iron plate armor.
The Swordsman Guild Paralldog was a realistic gang that taught only practical things like this. It matched perfectly with my philosophy of throwing stones before fighting, which was why my progress was fast.
"As I've said over and over, the unarmed can't beat the armed, the unlearned can't beat the learned, one can't beat two, and the unarmored can't beat the armored."
"Wise words."
"And in battle—"
"—no matter what bullshit happens, if you win, that's all that matters. Right?"
"Yeah, you get it. I'm relieved."
I felt a pang of regret. I wanted to learn more, but I had no money right now. I'd come back once I earned some.
"Use the training grounds freely whenever you have time."
"Got it."
"Of course, additional training costs extra."
"I'll pay for that once I make money."
And so, I said goodbye to my dear Guild Master.
"Then I'll head out today. Take care, Guild Master."
"Yeah, yeah. See ya."
Having received the black piercing as proof of guild membership, I left the guild. My strides were filled with an indescribable power and presence.
Now, which ballsy bastard dares to mess with me?
I'd received intensive swordsmanship training from Karin, former Royal Knight Order member, for a whole month. I was now skilled enough to punch a hole in the head of any back-alley thug with just a single sword.
Well, I hadn't become ridiculously strong overnight, but I was confident I wouldn't lose to enemies on my level. That was what mattered. I might not beat guys with more experience or tenure than me, but practically, my skill was around D-rank adventurer level or a bit higher. Not quite C-rank yet.
Anyway, I'd quit the sewer patrol part-time job. Now that I had time, I headed to the Adventurer's Guild to pick up a suitable quest. It had been a while since I entered the guild.
"Any quests?"
The guild was quiet during lunch hours. It got busy early morning and late evening, like rush hour, so lunchtime was relaxed.
Some guy was drinking beer in broad daylight, others clustered around the bulletin board. They looked like idle, jobless adventurers. Or maybe recruiting parties. And that guy playing guitar over there—is he a bard?
I was curious why people were gathered at the bulletin board, so I went to check it out. Since they were all short dwarves compared to me, I could see the contents at a glance.
[Dungeon Exploration Party Members Wanted]
[Seeking E-rank Adventurer Party]
[Recruiting for New Dungeon Investigation]
[Dungeon Porter: 5 Coppers per Day]
What? Dungeon exploration?
...Come to think of it, I heard something like that while escorting the merchant caravan. A dungeon had been discovered recently, drawing crowds. These must be announcements for that.
Looking closely, various people were forming parties to head to the dungeon. Dungeons always meant money, so greedy adventurers often rushed in like they were heading to their graves.
Even I nearly died in a kobold den back when I was F-rank. A few did die then, but I survived, so I'd learned my lesson: run at the sight of a dungeon entrance.
"Hmm..."
But.
I'd learned some swordsmanship now...
"Excuse me."
I pushed through the crowd to the front of the board. As expected, the notices were filled with names of adventurers applying for dungeon exploration. Not very meaningful, but if I gathered decent people and applied as a party, it should work.
I scanned for familiar names.
"What? Kobson? Same name?"
One of the names listed was Kobson.
Coincidence? Was Kobson a common name? He wandered everywhere, so he might have come to Isvant on dungeon news. If it was the Kobson I knew, maybe I could proposition him...
"Huh? Isn't that Katt?"
How long had I been standing there when a woman's voice, somewhat familiar, called out? I didn't know many women here, so after pondering, I turned and saw.
"No way, it's Meria?"
It was Meria, with her long brown hair, blue eyes, shield, and sword—striking features. She'd been a friend from the goblin subjugation a month ago. She was friendly enough to suggest dropping formalities, and since she recognized me first, it should be fine.
"Hmm, almost a month, huh."
"About that. How've you been?"
"Same as always. Looking at the board?"
"Ah... Yeah, dungeon party recruitment."
She was lounging in the guild at this hour, so probably free. From her violent performance during goblin hunting, she'd make a good party member again.
"Thinking of going to the dungeon?"
"Not out of the question."
"Really? Nice."
Meria nodded. Should I ask her to go together? Better than strangers. Her shield was a plus.
"I've been interested in the dungeon myself."
As I thought that, Meria smiled and said,
"Wanna go together?"
Meria made the proposal.