01. Becoming an Adventurer.
01. Becoming an Adventurer.
The year 2030. The world went through a rough patch.
It was none other than because of 'Dungeons'.
Dungeons, harboring immense magical power, appeared all over the world and marched ferocious monsters into cities, which was enough to cause panic.
The monsters were very tricky to deal with using ordinary modern weaponry, but countries classified as 'advanced nations,' or those with powerful military might, suppressed them quickly.
However, there weren't even 20 such countries, and the rest had their entire territories brutally ravaged. Afterward, the advanced nations that overcame the dungeons, specifically the top 10 countries among them, established the Dungeon Cooperation Organization and supported other countries.
Somehow or other, 2 years after the dungeon appearances.
The world barely calmed down, and the monsters were trapped inside the dungeons.
Ironically, while the monsters that came out of the dungeons could be dealt with using modern weaponry, albeit with difficulty, modern weaponry didn't work on the monsters inside the dungeons. Thanks to that, the armies that entered the dungeons were either annihilated or forced to retreat.
The D10, which established the Dungeon Cooperation Organization, realized a new countermeasure was needed and conducted research, and in the process, they discovered that dungeons had the characteristics of a 'game'.
Using this, the D10,
"is stationing management agencies and armies where each dungeon is located and fostering adventurers."
"...I feel like you skipped some explanation."
In front of me, a pretty noona is smiling with her eyes.
She is a guide.
She's the one who gives this background explanation to those who want to become adventurers for the first time.
But the explanation feels a bit half-assed.
"Hoho. Honestly, if you've played 'games', you get the gist of it, right?"
She says something irresponsible without a care!
"I might not have played games, you know."
"Eh... You look like a game addi... no, someone who works hard at it. Plus, you have that 'nerdy otaku' vibe."
"...."
She hits hard, this noona.
She should've used a turn signal before cutting in.
"You shouldn't judge a person solely by their appearance."
"Hoho. I'm joking. Actually, I also worked as an adventurer for a while."
She leaned in slightly and pointed to her left eye with her index finger.
"I have a talent called [Observation]. I can roughly tell what kind of personality the person in front of me has, and what they've been doing."
"Ahem.. hmmm. I.. see."
"For your information, last night you were exploring numerous computer girlfriends..."
"Argh!!"
What are you talking about!!
"Hehe."
She's laughing as if it's funny...
"I just guessed, but I didn't know it would be true."
"...."
"Ah, but I can get a rough feeling of what kind of person you are. That part is true."
"...Hmph, even so, skipping the explanation like that. Isn't that too half-assed! Isn't that dereliction of duty??"
"I just live life loosely, you know."
"...."
What is this woman.
She's too much.
I'm a customer, in a way, isn't she revealing her true self too openly?
"Well, let's stop the joking here."
Did my feelings get through?
She wiped away her playful smile and revealed a serious face.
"You're really not going to regret this, right?"
"Yes."
"Becoming an adventurer means being prepared for death. You can be harmed not only by monsters but even by people or colleagues you trusted. In such situations, the company and the state will try their best, but I can't guarantee 100% rescue. It's actually a low probability."
"It doesn't matter. I have a dream."
"Inside, there isn't even common CCTV. There's no military, no police. Only the black box that the adventurer carries functions."
"It's fine. I'm already prepared."
She asked several more times after that.
For someone who skipped the explanation, she was actually quite kind.
"Lastly, Yu-eun-nim, you applied to be an adventurer without having completed your military service, and if you wish, you can get a military exemption on the condition that you adventure for at least 2 years. Of course, if you give up before the 2 years are up, you have to go to the military, and in this case, even if you gave up after 1 year and 10 months, you would still have to complete the 18 months in the military."
"Ah. The military is terrible."
"Hoho... I think it's better than being an adventurer."
She laughed as if it were absurd.
Of course, the military is hard, but it might be better than an adventurer who really risks their life fighting monsters. Because this thing called a dungeon is a place that produces deaths every single day.
But I still think the military is harder.
Why, you ask?
Because there are no women..;
No, what more needs to be said. There are no women....
Don't give me that nonsense like 'But there are female soldiers?'. They are soldiers, not women.
The military is a place without women.
And it's a place without fantasy.
You are confined,
exploited,
despised,
and bullied by those in power,
It's truly a place that is of no help in life.
If you're unlucky, you even come out crippled.
Compared to that, dungeons?
The probability of becoming crippled is significantly higher,
the probability of dying is significantly higher,
you get ignored if your level is low,
ignored if your specs are low,
and you get bullied by those in power too, but,
at least the rewards are generous.
If you manage to get one good item, your life opens up just like that.
But the military?
Ha....
"I will be an adventurer for 2 years and get a military exemption."
"...Understood. Then I will proceed with the procedures like that."
.
.
.
Adventurer registration is finished.
She led me somewhere in the building, probably to do the tutorial.
Since being an adventurer is a very dangerous profession, each state agency and company cooperates to conduct a tutorial program. Naturally, it is mandatory to participate, and the duration is one month.
"During the tutorial period, you cannot enter the dungeon alone. You must be accompanied by a designated guardian."
A guardian is either someone who has retired and switched professions to this entirely, or an active adventurer who acts as a guardian for some kind of compensation.
If you're lucky, you can meet a decent person and build a solid foundation, but if you're unlucky...
"...I said I didn't want a man, didn't I?"
You could meet the worst kind of opponent, like this woman in front of me, glaring with eyes full of hatred.
Seriously, if that's the case, why did she apply to be a guardian... she could just adventure with a colleague??
The noona was sweating bullets in front of her and clasped her hands together as if praying.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. Currently, the others are full... couldn't you just let it slide this once, Yuna-nim?"
"Tsk."
The woman clicked her tongue and turned her head.
Her face is pretty... and her body too...
"Instead! I'll add 10% more to the compensation!"
"...Only this once."
The noona expressed her gratitude repeatedly with an expression of having lived through 10 years of hardship, left a word to take good care of him, and left the room.
"...."
"...."
What's left is me and this woman.
Age is, hmm... she must be older than me.
"How old are you?"
"Yes?"
"I asked how old you are."
She asked abruptly.
"Twenty... I'm twenty."
"...Is that so? That's at least better."
Her expression softens slightly.
Is she happy because I'm young?
"Since it's come to this, it can't be helped. Watch and learn well. Don't become a useless Han-nam for no reason."
"...Yes?"
Whoa.
Did I hear that wrong?
"Since you're twenty and don't know anything yet, I'm telling you this. I'm fixing you so you don't end up becoming a typical Han-nam trash, jaded by society."
"...."
"Ah, if you're twenty, you haven't even gone to the military, right? They say they exempt you from the military if you complete 2 years as an adventurer? It's really become easy these days. Well, I guess. Being an adventurer is a hundred times harder than the military."
"...."
I'm screwed....
This woman....
She's a radical feminist....
What's the point of having a pretty face.
What's the point of having a good body.
She's a radical feminist!!!
What's a radical feminist, you ask?
Hmm. I'll explain it in two words.
Nuisance.
Yeah. That's it.
Nuisance.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Ah... it's nothing."
I swallowed my tears in despair.