Chapter 44, Potentially Delicious in Dungeon

Translator: Barnnn

 

The Sage’s Table, the inn where Ize and Hal were staying, stood a little farther from the Guild than most adventurers might prefer. But for those aiming to dive straight into the Dungeon without a detour, its location was ideal.

 

“There’s a Guild outpost near the Dungeon entrance,” Hal noted as they walked. “We can use that when we’re tackling the Dungeon seriously.”

“Got it. Oh–”

 

Ize’s voice trailed off as they neared the Guild. She suddenly stopped, her gaze locking onto a cluster of dots displayed on her Perception Map.

 

“Is it them?”

“…Yes.”

“Ugh, perfect…” Hal grumbled. “Well, try to look straight ahead and don’t make eye contact. Think you can manage, Ize?”

“I can.”

 

Hal stepped aside, brushing Ize’s shoulder as he guided her to his left — the side opposite the group of children now visible ahead.

 

“Thank you…”

“Don’t mention it. Let’s keep moving.”

 

With a reassuring pat on her back, Hal urged her forward. Ize quickened her pace, aiming straight for the Guild’s doors. As they walked, she cast a faint Stealth barrier — not necessarily to hide but as a subtle deterrent to avoid unnecessary trouble.

 

[I won’t let those brats get to me!]

 

The thought burned in her mind, a private rebellion Hal would have dismissed as sour grapes if he’d heard it.

Thankfully, no incidents followed — though with Stealth in place, there wasn’t a chance of one. Once they stepped into the Guild, they headed straight for the receptionist they had spoken to the day before.

 

“Hello,” Hal greeted.

“Good day, Hal and Ize.”

“First off, thank you for recommending The Sage’s Table. It’s excellent. We’ve decided to stay there through winter.”

“The food was especially delicious,” Ize added.

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear it,” the receptionist replied with a faint smile, her tone polite but inscrutable.

 

Ize glanced up at Hal, who returned her look with a slight nod before launching into his questions.

 

“So, about the Dungeon — are there any minimum party size requirements for entry?”

“There aren’t. It’s possible to enter the Dungeon alone.”

“Even for apprentices?”

“Ah, my apologies,” the receptionist corrected herself. “Apprentice adventurers must have at least one adult adventurer accompany them. Hal, you may enter alone, but Ize will need to be with you or another adult.”

 

Ize acknowledged the clarification with a small nod, though it wasn’t difficult to conclude that, for this winter, she wouldn’t be entering the Dungeon with anyone other than Hal.

 

“Got it. What about rank-based restrictions on how deep we can go? For example, apprentices only being allowed to the third floor, F-rank to the tenth, and so on?”

“Actually, yes, there are such restrictions,” the receptionist confirmed. “In your case, Hal, the limit would be the fifteenth floor. Ize may also venture as far as the fifteenth floor, you two are operating together.”

“What’s the reasoning behind that? And how would we go deeper if we wanted to?”

“The fifteenth floor houses a powerful Mystic Beast, the Blood Bear. While your current rank might suggest a restriction, exceptions are granted to adventurers who have demonstrated the ability to handle such creatures — such as yourself. Advancing to D-rank would also raise your limit to the thirtieth floor.”

“And if we go deeper than permitted?” Hal asked.

“…There are no penalties if it goes undiscovered. However, if an emergency occurs and a rescue request is made, being found beyond your permitted floor can result in fines or other consequences.”

 

As Hal bombarded the receptionist with questions, Ize couldn’t help but admire the woman’s unflappable professionalism. Her answers were clear, concise, and utterly confident.

 

“Understood,” Hal finally said before turning to Ize, his gaze inviting her to speak. “Anything you wanna ask?”

 

Ize leaned on the counter, her arms resting on its surface. It was just a bit too high for her, forcing her to tilt her head up to meet the receptionist’s gaze.

Their eyes met.

 

[Oh?]

 

The woman’s expression, calm and composed the whole time she’d addressed Hal, wavered — almost imperceptibly — as her eyes settled on Ize.

 

[Hmm…]

 

Curiosity flickered in Ize’s mind, but she quickly pushed it aside. She couldn’t afford to keep the woman waiting.

 

“How long can we use this New Registration counter?” Ize asked.

“There’s no formal time limit,” the receptionist replied smoothly. “But most adventurers transition to the general counter after two or three Dungeon expeditions.”

“What if we wanted you to handle our requests specifically?”

“This counter is staffed on rotation. Starting next week, I’ll be working at the general counter, so you’d be able to request me there if needed.”

“That’s good to know,” Hal said. “You’ve been so helpful; we’d love to rely on you going forward.”

The woman’s lips curved into the faintest smile. “Thank you. I look forward to assisting you again.”

“By the way,” Ize ventured, “could you tell us your name?”

There was a slight pause before the answer came. “…My name is Kikuno.”

“Miss Kikuno… I can call you that, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“That’s quite an unusual name,” Hal commented. “Do you mind if I ask its origin?”

“It was given to me in honor of one of the Sages.”

“Ah, a Sage’s name…”

Ize’s curiosity deepened. “What kind of Sage were they?”

“The Sage of Writing.”

“I see…” Hal nodded. “Thank you, Miss Kikuno. That’s all for today.”

“See you again, Miss Kikuno!” Ize said with a cheerful wave as Kikuno inclined her head slightly in parting.

“Yes. Take care.”

 

As they turned away from the counter, Hal led the way to the board displaying job requests.

The array of postings covered a range of tasks. Dungeon quests rarely involved mass Mystic Beast hunts; instead, special assignments like targeting specific Beasts and culling outbreaks, or gathering materials for the Crafters’ Guild took precedence. There were also non-Dungeon-related jobs: Beast exterminations outside the city walls, escort missions, or tasks requiring adventurer expertise within the city. Completing these non-Dungeon assignments was also a requirement to advance their adventurer ranks.

 

“No suitable quests for us right now,” Hal remarked after a brief scan.

“Wait, look at this,” Ize said, pointing to a notice. “A request from the Wizards’ Guild. That’s new to me.”

“They’re a Guild focused on magical tool development and research,” Hal explained. “Why they call themselves the Wizards’ Guild, I have no idea.”

“It has that… edgy, second-rate fantasy vibe…”

Hal chuckled. “You’re not entirely wrong.” He straightened and gestured toward another part of the hall. “Anyway, let’s move on to the archives.”

“All right.”

 

The archives were a treasure trove of knowledge for adventurers, containing materials for Dungeon exploration as well as books on Jasted’s history, defense systems, and political landscape.

On days without Dungeon expeditions, it could easily serve as the place to spend hours poring over texts.

As Ize scanned the spines of books lining the dimly lit shelves, the room reminded her of a library.

Her curiosity lingered on the Sage of Writing that Kikuno had mentioned, but there didn’t seem to be any copies of Sage Encyclopedias here. Not that it mattered — today’s priority lay elsewhere.

Together, they selected books that seemed relevant and carried them to a reading desk. Settling into the quiet space, they divided the task: mapping Mystic Beast distributions and charting the layout of the Dungeon floors down to the fifteenth — their intended range of activity for the time being.

 

◆

 

“Ize, Ize. There’s something called Velveteel on the thirteenth floor. Sounds promising, don’t you think?”

“What’s with that name? Is it supposed to be… like, an eel?”

“Probably. Says here they’re slippery and hard to catch. Oh, and sometimes they give off a little shock. Maybe they’re electric?”

“Catching them’s pointless if we can’t grill them with sauce.”

“Well, we could always ask Miss Etta to experiment with some recipes.”

“Let’s revisit the idea if she happens to have an eel sauce recipe in her collection.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

◆

 

“Hal, this one isn’t a Mystic Beast, but… there’s a Mystic Plant called a Chestnut Bomber. It’s spiky and explodes if attacked. If you carefully scrape the outer shell from its mouth, you can find a seed inside. Apparently, though, it’s too tough to eat raw.”

“A chestnut?”

“More of a chestnut-like, maybe. The outer shell sounds tough, but I wonder what the inside’s like when cooked…”

“What floor?”

“Ninth.”

“All right, let’s mark that.”

“Mm-hmm.”

 

◆

 

“IZE! Thirty-second floor! We HAVE to go there!”

“Hal, you literally just said fifteen floors for now. Stop getting ahead of yourself.”

“Just look at this!”

“The thirty-second floor… Fire Lobster? LOBSTER!?”

“We have to go, right!?”

“Absolutely, we’re going!”

 

◆

 

Though their research was ostensibly focused on mapping floor layouts, the conversation inevitably wandered to the culinary potential of Mystic Beasts.

By the end of their session, they’d concluded that nothing particularly appetizing could be found in the first seven floors. Serious adventuring — and feasting — would likely begin from the eighth floor onward.

 

◆

 

After leaving the Guild, they quietly descended the staircase at its entrance and made their way to a Church near their inn.

With the Padre’s guidance, they stepped inside the sanctuary and knelt before the statue of the Goddess. Ize closed her eyes and clasped her hands together in silent prayer.

 

[Thank you, Goddess, for watching over us and keeping us safe on our journey thus far. We plan to stay here at least until spring, when my Coming-of-Age Ceremony takes place. I’ll come back to offer my reports regularly.]

 

When she opened her eyes, the Goddess’s serene face seemed to glow with a radiant smile.

 

“Huh?”

 

Ize blinked, her breath catching in her throat. But when she looked again, the expression had softened to its usual calm. And yet… there was something different now. That gentle smile seemed to carry a playful edge, as though the Goddess had just played some sort of harmless prank.

A laugh bubbled up in Ize’s chest, and she clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle it. Hal, who had been watching her subtle tremors, frowned in confusion. But when he glanced at the statue himself, he froze — and then his shoulders began to shake with barely suppressed laughter.

As the two struggled to control their inappropriate demeanor, the Padre passed by. Seeing them kneeling with tears in their eyes, he smiled warmly, mistaking their amusement for the heartfelt devotion of believers moved by their prayers.

 

◆

 

Ize and Hal’s suppressed laughter only subsided by the time they were back at the inn. With some time to spare before dinner, they sat down and cross-referenced the Guild booklet with the notes they’d gathered from the archives.

Among the crucial details they uncovered was the known extent of Jasted Dungeon — it stretched down to the eighty-ninth floor, home to a Dragon.

During the last Deluge, the subjugation team had managed to weaken the beast significantly, driving it out of the Dungeon. There, it met its end in a devastating, coordinated assault.

 

“There’s checkpoint registration every five floors, as well as a Jump Portal system,” Hal observed, his finger tracing the lines of text.

“What’s checkpoint registration, exactly?” Ize asked.

“I’m getting to that…” Hal flipped the page. “Ah, here it is. So the Jump Portals only allow return trips to the first floor. But for descending, you can select any checkpoint you’ve previously registered at.”

“I see. So, the Portals don’t let you skip around freely.”

“Still, it’s convenient. Though… I can’t help but feel some divine deal must have been struck to make this work.”

“Let’s not think too hard about that.”

“Heh… fair enough. Besides, the booklet says these features are unique to Jasted Dungeon, so things might work differently elsewhere.”

“Then we’ll have to keep that in mind when tackling a different Dungeon.”

 

With most of the essential information for their first foray into the Dungeon in hand, their next step would be acquiring the adventurer gear they’d need in town. Once that was done, their preparations would be complete.

The countdown to Ize and Hal’s more-official-than-ever adventurer debut — and their first steps into their first Dungeon — stood at just two days.

 

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