MTLNOVEL Chapter 65
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Oh! Erik, long time no see!”
Dressed in my explorer’s gear, I arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Thomas-san, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Ah, no problems here. And we’re all set and ready to go!”
“Sorry for making such a selfish request.”
The same members who had accompanied me during our last dive into a Rank IV dungeon waved at me in greeting.
“Don’t worry about it. We were just thinking it was about time to challenge a Rank V dungeon anyway.”
They didn’t seem the least bit anxious about taking on a higher-ranked dungeon.
“So… were you able to find a dungeon that fits the conditions? Specifically, one with a flowing water field?”
“Yeah, we found a perfect one. We’ve already mapped it out, so all that’s left is getting there.”
Hearing that, I felt a wave of relief.
“Thank you. Then, I’ll be tagging along as a porter again today. I appreciate your help.”
With that, I bowed my head slightly to Thomas-san.
“Haaahhh!”
A monster lunged at me, but I swiftly cut it down with a single stroke of my crimson short sword.
“Wow, Erik… That was a D-rank Aqua Elemental, you know…”
As I picked up its magic core, Thomas-san spoke to me, sounding slightly astonished.
“Really? Well, this weapon has a pretty high attack power, so even someone like me can take them down in one hit. That’s good to know.”
Although I had originally joined this expedition as a porter, I had ended up participating in combat due to time constraints.
Normally, it took about two weeks to clear a Rank V dungeon.
Since our objective wasn’t full completion this time, we wouldn’t take that long, but the academy only gave us two days off.
If I returned late and missed classes, it would inconvenience Thomas-san and the others, who had hired me as their porter. To avoid that, I decided to fight as well.
“You’re as much of a mystery as ever. At this rate, we barely have anything left to do…”
A warrior in the party quipped, looking bored. Since I was practically one-shotting the monsters, they had little opportunity to fight.
“Sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you next time, I promise.”
I apologized sincerely, but—
“It’s fine, Erik-kun.”
“Whoa?!”
I suddenly felt someone hug me from behind—it was the mage.
“Thanks to you drawing all the monsters’ attention, things are a lot easier for us!”
“Exactly. And besides, it’s always best if no one gets injured. Now, please let go of Erik-san, you’re making him uncomfortable.”
The healer scolded the mage while the other members watched with an exasperated yet amused expression.
This was probably just how this party usually was.
“Alright, we’re here!”
Nearly a full day had passed since we entered the dungeon when we finally arrived at our destination.
Upstream, a gentle river flowed down into a waterfall, forming a clear pool at its base. My objective was to collect water from this source.
“Thanks, everyone. I’ll start drawing the water right away.”
Saying that, I retrieved several barrels from my storage and activated a magic tool to begin filling them.
“Huh, that’s a pretty handy magic tool. And with an item box to carry everything, retrieval is a breeze,” Thomas-san remarked as I dipped my right hand into the river.
“Yeah, I got this from an alchemy shop.”
It was from the same shop where I had sold water before—I had them order it in advance for me.
“There are ten barrels in total, right? As we agreed, I’ll take two, and you all get the remaining eight. Is that okay?”
I reconfirmed the arrangement we had made when preparing the barrels.
“Are you sure that’s enough? If it weren’t for you, we’d have had a much harder time getting here. You could ask for more, you know…”
Ignoring his words, I continued switching out the barrels one after another, dipping my right hand into the water, filling a barrel, then retrieving it.
“No, I know I’m the one making an unreasonable request here. Without your help, I wouldn’t have been able to enter this dungeon in the first place.”
The Adventurers’ Guild’s qualification system was meant to prevent inexperienced individuals from recklessly getting themselves killed.
That was a fair and reasonable policy.
But if I had to go through the proper channels, it would take years before I could officially enter a dungeon like this. And I couldn’t afford to wait that long.
Once I had filled all the barrels with water and stored them in my fake room, I turned to the others.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
With that, I suggested our return to Thomas-san and the party.