01. Becoming an Adventurer.
01. Becoming an Adventurer.
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The woman who became my guardian is someone named 'Lee Yuna', a member of the all-female guild 'Spicy Rib House'.
At first, I thought my adventurer life was ruined because such a weird person became my guardian, but surprisingly, she handles her work quite snappily.
"This is a beginner's bow. People who've learned useless romanticized notions from movies or games usually try to use swords from the start, but they end up getting their throats pierced and dying within an hour, so don't use a sword."
Yuna handed me a crude bow and a quiver.
If you ask why we use things like this in the modern era, it's because modern weapons don't work inside the dungeon. Only cold weapons imbued with 'Demonic Energy' can deal damage to monsters inside the dungeon. In short, it means only equipment dropped in the dungeon or weapons made from byproducts work.
"Yu-eun-ssi's role is to shoot the bow from behind while I'm drawing aggro in front. That's how you accumulate experience and level up."
"B-but I've never shot a bow before? What if I end up hitting Yuna-ssi..."
"Do you think I'd get hurt by an arrow shot by a mere beginner? I'm not acting as a guardian for nothing, so don't worry about that."
Unexpected.
Is she... someone with a sense of responsibility?
She rummaged around and handed me something else.
"This is a beginner's leather armor. It only has 1 defense, so don't rely on it too much."
She, who had been taking care of this and that like a mom, suddenly held out the leather armor.
"Here, I'll put it on you, so spread your arms."
"What???"
W-wait.
Put it on me? What is she talking about??
Seeing my shocked expression, she let out a sigh.
"Don't misunderstand. It's annoying. You can't put on this kind of armor by yourself at first."
"Ah... I see..."
"This is why I said I hate men."
She grumbled while helping me put on the armor.
It was quite complicated, but I think I'll be able to put it on by myself next time.
Once I had roughly put on the armor, she started rattling off various explanations again.
"As I said before, for the time being, your role is to provide support from behind. Don't go out of your way to draw aggro and die; just quietly do as I say. Got it?"
"Yes."
"And as you level up and accumulate stats, you'll get a class. It varies from person to person, but personally, I think a ranged class is good."
"Why?"
"The first reason is that the mortality rate for melee classes is overwhelmingly high, and the second reason is that it's easier. Time and stats will solve the accuracy issue, and judgment will improve as you gain experience, but it's not easy to get used to dealing with monsters growling with hideous faces right in front of your eyes."
"That might be true... What class are you, Yuna-ssi?"
"I'm a Warrior."
"...You're melee yourself."
"I'm not a beginner. And I have a clear motivation."
She clenched her fist tightly.
"Beating up Hannams! If I think of the monsters as pathetic Hannams, strength I didn't even know I had just surges up. Hehe."
"...."
As expected, this woman is a lost cause...
"Anyway, try to get a ranged class if possible, and if you really want to do melee, join a guild or something and get professional training. Unless you want to die."
"...Yes."
Well. I don't really have any fantasy about melee combat anyway.
What's important to me is that.
Getting stronger and building a harem!
.
.
Yuna rattled off various explanations, gave me the basic supplies, and headed straight to the dungeon.
'Time is precious, so let's go right away. Let's just have a light taste today,' she said, burning with enthusiasm, which was slightly different from what I heard from the guide noona.
They say there are quite a few people who do it half-heartedly since the pay doesn't increase just because you work hard as a guardian, but this person seems to be doing it properly. Even if she is a radical feminist...
For reference, dungeons are located all over the world, and their difficulty levels vary widely.
First of all, there are a total of 7 dungeons in our country, and 4 of them are in Seoul.
The place I am now is the dungeon with the lowest difficulty in Korea, the dungeon in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Of all places, the name is Hannam-dong... Is that why it became the base for the Spicy Rib House?
Quite a few people were stationed at the dungeon entrance.
There were shops including various restaurants, and adventurers exploring the dungeon, but most were soldiers.
They can't enter the dungeon, but they can deal with the monsters that come out, so military units are stationed here. Well, unless a new dungeon appears, monsters rarely come out, though...
Beep.
Beep.
There is something like a subway turnstile at the entrance, and you pass through by tapping your ID card here. And...
Click.
"Please return alive."
I receive salutes from the surrounding soldiers.
Ah, this is kind of scary.
"Keep your wits about you."
She warned with a stern face and drew her sword.
It looks like a pretty good weapon. It can't be compared to the one I'm holding, right?
"As I said before, it's important, so I'm repeating it. Don't go out of your way to draw aggro. You'll really get wiped out. Got it?"
"Yes."
How many times is she going to say that? I'm not an idiot, so I know at least that much...
"Move!!"
Just then, 3 men came running from the front, carrying a person on their back. They were moving incredibly fast.
Yuna immediately stepped aside, pushing my chest with her hand and shoving me back.
"Whoa!"
Almost simultaneously.
The men zoomed past in front of me.
It looks like some blood dripped.
"Tsk tsk. How pathetic."
Yuna clicked her tongue while looking at the backs of the men.
Calling an injured person pathetic... isn't that a bit too much?
I feel a bit choked up.
"Let's go. Ah, and cases like that happen quite often, so if you see it, step aside as quickly as possible. If you hesitate and the patient dies, it ruins the mood and causes fights."
"Yes...."
"Be grateful that I'm your guardian, Yu-eun-ssi. If you had met a Hannam with no skills and only full of bluff as your guardian, you'd end up like that beginner you just saw. They let you die while being careless, thinking it's a beginner dungeon. Stupid bastard."
"Ah... then 'pathetic' meant..."
"That guardian. If they don't have the skills, they shouldn't do it. It's the same with companies. To have such an idiot as a guardian. Even if there's a labor shortage. As expected of a Hannam. The way they handle work is just..."
She endlessly complained.
Fortunately(?), it seems she wasn't calling the injured person pathetic, but still, her personality doesn't seem very good...
Thud thud.
Had we walked for about 5 minutes?
The narrow entrance shows no signs of widening.
Besides, the floor is uneven like a cave, so it's quite annoying.
"If we move quickly in a place like this, won't our soles get scraped?"
"Yes. It's easy for that to happen with subpar equipment."
She answered vaguely while scanning the surroundings.
Fortunately, there are torches here and there, so visibility is quite decent.
"I'll tell you this while I'm at it. This dungeon has a total of 5 floors. The 1st floor mainly has wild dogs, and if you go down to the 2nd floor, there are disgusting little Hannams."
"Little... Hannams?"
"Goblins. They're ugly, just like Hannams."
"Ah yes...."
"And on the 3rd floor... wait."
While explaining and walking, she suddenly raised her hand. I stopped reflexively.
"There are 10 wild dogs ahead."
"What? I don't see them."
"I can see them."
She extended the longsword she held in her left hand and crept forward.
"Don't forget what I said earlier. Yu-eun-ssi's role is to shoot the bow from behind. And don't draw aggro."
"Yes... but it's too narrow, isn't it?"
"One more thing. Don't talk back to me. We don't have time for that. Just do what I tell you."
"...Yes."
She's really picky.
Anyway, I also picked up the bow and nocked an arrow.
The passage is narrow, so if I mess up... no, it feels like most of them will fly towards Yuna-ssi... but let's just try it.
-Grrr!
A moment later, a pack of wild dogs started running from the front.
It's just as Yuna-ssi said.
"I'll only defend. In the meantime, shoot them with the bow to take care of them."
Repeating the words several times, she swung her sword.
The wild dogs that were rushing in hesitated at the momentum.
"Sword Barrier!"
Whether she can block 10 wild dogs alone... that was a groundless worry.
The sword she swung carelessly created a blue barrier and slammed into the dungeon floor with a bang.
-K-yung!
The wild dogs try to body-slam it, but the barrier shows no signs of breaking.
'That's amazing! Isn't this just a carry?'
I, who had expected some kind of flashy battle from a senior, felt completely deflated.
But....
'If she has this kind of ability... I won't get hurt like that person earlier.'
I took a deep breath, looking at Yuna-ssi, who was glaring at the wild dogs with her sword hanging down, and the pack of wild dogs going crazy in front of her.
Strangely, I'm not nervous.
My hands aren't shaking either.
I lift the bow, pull the string with the nocked arrow, and aim.
Kkii-ik.
The target is the wild dog on the very edge. It's just growling, not actually attacking the barrier.
In other words, a stationary target.
I released the string towards that guy.
Piyung!