01. Becoming an Adventurer.

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After eating and going to a cafe to talk about this and that, everyone except Yuna-ssi and I returned to their abodes.

 

“I’m saying this just in case, but I only stayed to give you a rough idea, so don’t misunderstand that I have any feelings for you or anything.”

“I won’t.”

 

 

Yuna-ssi led me and started walking near the dungeon.

 

 

“How much do you know about dungeons?”

 

She suddenly asked like a teacher.

Since she asked like this, I can’t think of anything to say.

 

 

“Um…it’s very dangerous, but you get a lot in return? They say it’s high risk, high return.”

“That’s really basic.”

 

Yuna-ssi nodded.

 

 

“Well, yeah. Ordinary people wouldn’t know much. Only a part of the dungeon is open to the public.”

“I’m a proper adventurer too, you know.”

“Puhut. It’s only your first day? You’re still no different from a civilian.”

 

 

She laughed, treating me like a greenhorn.

Tch. I should be upset…but she’s so pretty, I don’t really feel bad. Isn’t this cheating?

 

 

“It might just be a means of making money for individuals. And it actually is. But dungeons are by no means that simple. Their very existence is like a revolution.”

 

Yuna-ssi pointed to a building on the main street. It was about three stories high, and the entire building was a butcher shop.

 

“Do you know what they do in that building?”

“Since it’s a butcher shop…don’t they sell meat?”

“Yes. But if you look closely, there are no display cases.”

“…That’s true.”

“That’s where they butcher the ‘meat’ that comes out of this dungeon.”

“…Huh?”

 

Wait a minute. Meat from this dungeon…could that be….

 

 

“Wild dogs, goblins, and other beast-type monsters. They butcher their corpses to create high-quality meat at a very low price. Remember when we sold the wild dog skin earlier?”

“Yes.”

“One skin was 50 cents. How much do you think a wild dog corpse would be bought for?”

“I don’t know.”

“$1.50. That means a chunk of meat almost the size of a person is worth less than $2. Even including labor costs, it’s dozens of times cheaper than what’s sold on the market.”

 

I see.

That’s definitely true.

Even a wild dog is half the size of a person, and weighs at least 20kg. But something like that is less than $2. Even if they butcher it and 10kg remains, that’s 20 cents per kg. 200 won in Korean currency….

 

 

“But even if it’s a wild dog, isn’t it a bit much to eat goblin meat?”

“It is for us. Not just goblins, but also wild dogs, and stray cats and rats on the third floor, etc. They’re quite repulsive for ordinary people to consume.”

 

 

Not quite, but it seems incredibly difficult…. Honestly, there are a lot of people who don’t even eat dog, right?

 

 

“But would people suffering from famine feel the same way?”

“Are you talking about places like Africa?”

“Yes. It’s not being distributed on a full scale yet, but the Dungeon Cooperation Organization is buying up all the cheap meat from butchered monster corpses and distributing it to poor countries. Fortunately, low-level dungeons like Hannam-dong Dungeon are everywhere, so it’s easy to secure corpses.”

“Wait a minute. Yuna-ssi, you only peeled off the skin and sold it earlier, right? In that case, shouldn’t we be carrying the corpses as they are?”

“We’re adventurers, after all.”

“???”

 

 

What is it? I’m getting more and more confused. What is she trying to say?

 

 

“We’re individuals. There’s no need to bring the corpses all the way here with poor efficiency. If we only peel off the skin, the price drops to a third, but the area and weight occupied by byproducts are reduced to a few dozenths. Naturally, it’s more profitable to only peel off the skin.”

“I…see. Then what about that…?”

“Adventurers who have received special requests, hired mercenaries, or armies armed with low-level equipment sometimes bring them. Anyway, the important thing is not that,”

 

 

She stopped right there and looked at me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Even the most common F-grade dungeon in the world has this much utility. How do you think dungeons of higher grades will be?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

It feels like a halo is shining.

It was night, but she was shining. She really was shining.

 

 

“In Gangnam right now, there’s a D-grade dungeon. Undead appear in D-grade dungeons. If you grind their bones into powder, it becomes ‘Mana Powder’ containing ‘Mana’. If you add this to items in the right proportions, you can create products with special effects. For example, furniture that raises your Health stat.”

“Huh?”

“Imagine how much money things that raise your Strength stat by 30, raise your Stamina, or have special magical effects would sell for to rich people. No, can you imagine how much profit you could make if you just mass-produced those things and sold them?”

 

I had no idea. I didn’t know there was such a thing…because on TV, they only show adventurers exploring dungeons, getting equipment and items like in a game, and making a fortune by selling byproducts.

 

 

“Even though the performance isn’t uniform or consistent, ‘items with effects’ themselves can be mass-produced as much as you want. You just have to sprinkle the powder. Then you can roughly guess how much more the world will change in the future, right? And that’s not all. Besides these direct things, there are also indirect things…you can get ‘stats’ by coming into contact with the magic of the dungeon, right? Now, the physical differences between men and women don’t matter anymore, as long as your stats are high. Even a child can beat several adults in a fight if their stats are high enough. The rich cover themselves in countless items and grow into the strongest and best humans from a young age, but the poor can’t even open their stats unless they become adventurers. That difference. The changes that creates….

Dungeons have only been around for 5 years. The Dungeon Cooperation Organization was created 3 years ago. The world will change beyond comparison in the future. If you can’t read this, you’ll be completely left behind.”

 

 

I get it now.

Yuna-ssi is trying to broaden my horizons.

She’s telling me that it’s not as simple as just going in, collecting items, and selling them like in the games I’ve enjoyed so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Just thinking about becoming rich by selling byproducts or items without any thought-. You can only be second-rate at best.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Wake up~~Wake up wake up wake up~~~~!!

 

 

“….”

 

 

A terrible wake-up call rings.

 

“Ugh….”

 

 

The time is 6 AM.

The time I’m supposed to meet my teammates is 7 AM, so I still have plenty of time.

 

 

However, the problem is that I’m incredibly sleepy….

 

 

Yuna-ssi, who stayed with me last night, went around in all directions and spewed out a tremendous amount of information. Thanks to that, it was already dawn when her explanation ended….

As expected of a high-level adventurer, she seems to have stamina to spare.

 

 

“Some consideration for beginners…huhu….”

 

I stretched and got up.

A small room without even a bed.

It’s a dormitory built jointly by the Dungeon Cooperation Organization and a department of the South Korean government. Of course, it’s not free, and you have to pay about $300 per month.

 

 

“…Shibal. How many skins is $300?”

 

Should I get a part-time job?

 

 

I grumbled and went into the bathroom.

The bathroom was also very small, making me feel very much like a poor beginner adventurer.

 

 

“Hoo…still, I became an adventurer.”

 

Yeah. It’s just the beginning. What’s the big deal?

I can earn money. I may not be able to read the flow of the times that Yuna-ssi mentioned yet, but I can get items and sell them. At least that….

 

 

“Let’s open the Status Window first.”

 

 

 

Status Window!

The Status Window, glorious in name, can be opened from the moment you come into contact with the magic of the dungeon. According to Yuna-ssi, products containing the magic of the dungeon have already been released and are being traded at quite high prices….

 

 

 

 

 

Name: Yu Eun

 

 

Job: Beginner

Alignment: Neutral~Evil

 

 

Level: 2

 

 

HP: 105/105

Mana: 52/52

 

 

Strength 11

Agility 9

Intelligence 4

Luck 15

 

 

Stat Points 1

 

 

Critical Chance 10%

Critical Damage +105%

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s very simple.

According to Yuna-ssi, it opens additionally whenever you acquire a new stat or item. For example, if you acquire ‘Talent’, Talent will be displayed from then on, and if you equip an item that increases attack speed by 4%, attack speed will be displayed from then on.

 

 

Therefore, my Status Window, now that I’ve just become an adventurer, is simple itself.

 

 

“By the way, only 1 Stat Point…do they give 1 each time you level up? That’s too stingy!”

 

 

Who am I supposed to give this to…? Will they give me a lot when I change jobs?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Yo~!”

 

 

Sora-nuna waves her arm and walks over from that side.

 

Nuna was wearing a baggy robe, which looked much better than the beginner’s leather armor I was wearing.

And even a wooden staff that looks like it’s from a movie. It’s like she’s cosplaying.

 

 

“Hello.”

“Did you sleep well yesterday? Ah, maybe you two…? Hehe.”

 

Nuna makes a lewd smile and pushes her thumb between her index and middle fingers….

 

 

What are you thinking? Nothing like that happened.

 

 

 

“Did you sleep well, Nuna?”

“I always sleep like a log.”

 

 

She shrugs with a cool smile…Ooh…her chest is…beautiful. As expected of someone with a generous heart. She shows off her presence even inside the robe.

 

 

“More than that, you’re wearing something very simple. I guess it’s because it’s your first time.”

“Haha…well, yeah.”

 

 

My equipment is the same as yesterday.

Beginner’s leather armor, beginner’s bow, beginner’s quiver, and 35 arrows.

 

 

For reference, I bought those arrows…at 10 cents each, for a total of $3.5. I earned $18 yesterday, so this is quite expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

After a few minutes, the party members appeared one after another.

First, Chae-ah-ssi (I still don’t know her last name), wearing heavy-looking iron armor and carrying a one-handed sword and shield on her back, approached shyly and greeted me.

Next, Hana-ssi appeared with fairly high-end leather armor and twin swords.

 

Finally, Yuna-ssi appeared in a fantastic combination of defensive gear: a white blouse, a black vest, and a short miniskirt.

And she’s carrying a bundle of arrows on her back.

 

 

“Oh my. I thought you’d left the unprepared Han-nam at home. You brought it?”

 

It seems like she brought it to give to me.

I’m grateful, but it’s kind of…awkward.

 

 

 

Yuna-ssi led us to the front of the dungeon and had us gather in a circle.

 

 

“I explained it yesterday, but I’ll say it again. Hannam-ssi is joining us today, but just do what you usually do. And I’ll take care of any stray arrows, so don’t worry. Instead, please focus more on your respective roles.”

 

Everyone nodded in response and cheered softly.

 

 

Yesterday, there was Yuna-ssi’s magic barrier. Because it was just a taste.

But from today onwards, there isn’t. The real hunt begins.

 

 

‘From now on…it begins!’

 

 

 

 

“Ah, did everyone bring their lunch boxes?”

“Of course.”

“I brought it.”

“M-Me too.”

“…Huh?”

 

 

Huh? Lunch boxes?

 

The party’s gaze is focused on me.

 

 

“…Didn’t you bring it?”

“Ah…no…is that…necessary? Haha….”

“…Then did you think we’d just do a few hours like yesterday and come out?”

“I’m sorry….”

“…Cancel what I said earlier. You’re really unprepared.”

 

Yuna-ssi grumbled, saying ‘That’s why Han-nams are…’, then bought two lunch boxes and water from a nearby convenience store.

And then she shoved them at me.

 

 

“Even if I didn’t tell you, isn’t it common sense?”

“I’m sorry.”

“…If you don’t bring it tomorrow either, I’ll just let you starve.”

“Yes.”

 

I quietly received the bag she gave me.