Geology Exploration

It had been about three days since I arrived in the Dungeon City to attend the Geology Exploration class.

Ethan and I, having finally confirmed that the queue had shortened enough for us to wait our turn to enter the dungeon, decided to head into the dungeon this evening.

-Swoosh.

“Hmm…”

Since it was a gift I received after a long time, wouldn’t it be better to wear this one if possible?

Ethan would probably prefer me to wear the one I gave him as a gift.

But if other students also wore cat ear headbands in front of the dungeon, it might draw a bit too much attention.

‘…Well, for today, I’ll go with this.’

After contemplating between the white Head Dress and the cat ear Head Dress, I ultimately decided to wear the one I usually wore.

Since there were quite a few students from the same Academy gathered here, and some people I knew were taking the same class, there didn’t seem to be any good reason to draw attention to myself by doing something strange in front of them.

Besides, I had been wearing it diligently for the past few days since he gave it to me as a gift, so Ethan wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t wear it just for today.

“Ethan-doryeonnim, please wake up. Today is the day we enter the dungeon.”

“Ah, ungh… I’ll get up…”

Ethan woke up with slightly messy hair from just waking up and sleepy eyes.

As I watched him get up, Ethan suddenly turned his head towards me and smiled.

“Did you sleep well, Lillith?”

“……Yes.”

For him to suddenly smile with such a clear expression first thing in the morning…honestly, it felt like cheating.

Of course, I had somewhat anticipated such a sight in my heart, so having achieved my goal, I merely composed myself, trying my best not to reveal my surprised emotions with a short, curt reply.

“Time flies so fast. It’s already been three days since we arrived here.”

“That’s right.”

“It was fun being with Lillith, but it definitely wasn’t a good place for a leisurely date.”

“…I concur.”

Considering that most of the people gathered in the Dungeon City were adventurers or merchants, one could roughly guess the atmosphere.

A noisy, boisterous place where people whose own interests were paramount gathered.

Naturally, the city’s inhabitants who dealt with such people couldn’t help but resemble them, so the city’s public safety was certainly poor.

During the three days I spent dating Ethan, we were targeted by pickpockets five times, and we even encountered highwaymen twice at night.

…Well, the level of petty criminals found in such places wasn’t worth bothering with, so it wasn’t a big problem.

“Next time I travel with Lillith, I think I’ll go to a city with better public safety. From what I know, cities with a grand cathedral are usually quite safe.”

“That’s a good idea. When would be a good time for the trip?”

“It’ll be hard to make time to go far while we’re at the Academy… How about the spring after we graduate?”

“…After we graduate, you say.”

“Yeah. My father probably won’t tell me to take over the territory immediately. I’ll have a few years of leisure after graduation.”

“…….”

By that time, I probably wouldn’t be in the Blackwood Territory.

“Understood, Ethan-doryeonnim. I will remember that then.”

I was remembering a promise in my heart that would likely never come true.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“It’s cleaner inside than I expected.”

“That’s probably because it resets every time someone exits, Ethan-doryeonnim.”

Ethan and I finally entered the dungeon after finishing preparations for food and Holy Water in the morning.

I had thought we’d be able to enter by evening today, but as it turned out, Ethan and I couldn’t get into the dungeon until it was almost midnight.

‘It seems our turn got pushed back by the amount of time Karaham and Gwyn took to clear it.’

The reckless Sword & Spear Duo who boldly charged into the dungeon without any preparation on the first day of class.

To be honest, I thought even those two, who were among the top five strongest physically in the Academy, wouldn’t clear it easily, but I later heard that Karaham and Gwyn had cleared the dungeon at lightning speed on the very night they entered.

‘No doubt they just broke through all the traps and monsters with their bodies as they advanced.’

The reason dungeon clearing takes a long time is because one has to navigate winding paths, avoiding traps and dangerous monsters scattered throughout the dungeon.

Conversely, it also meant that if one didn’t avoid those traps and monsters but instead broke through them head-on, they could proceed much faster.

Of course, an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to withstand traps where blades shot out from all directions and Fire Magic erupted in enclosed spaces, but since they were physically strong and militarily powerful, they seemed to have simply ignored all that and pushed through.

Thanks to them, the record they set was an absurd time attack score that even I, in my previous life, had never achieved.

‘It’s better to just give up on an A+.’

Since grades were assigned differentially, starting with the party that had the shortest clear time for each dungeon, A was the limit even if there were no other teams between Gwyn & Karaham’s party and my & Ethan’s party.

Well, a 0.5-point difference doesn’t mean I can’t graduate. Besides, the Geology Exploration class is one where most students fail to even get a D, so just passing it means you’re halfway there.

It was more rational to take a full day to clear the dungeon, even camping inside leisurely. No need to overexert myself trying to chase after an Ogre like a Goblin and end up getting torn apart.

“This is the first fork in the path… Where does the map say we should go, Lillith?”

“Either way is fine. If we turn right, there’s a trap with some monsters, but we can get a small reward. If we go straight, it says we can reach the next fork without combat.”

“What do you want to do, Lillith?”

“Considering how long you’ve been with me, Ethan-doryeonnim, don’t you already know what answer will come from my lips?”

“…You’re right about that.”

With those words, Ethan and I turned into the right fork, entering a slightly wider cavern.

As soon as the two of us entered, the door to the first Trap Room immediately closed, and the hidden monsters revealed themselves.

-Squish.

-Squish, squish.

“They’re Black Slimes.”

“Should I handle them?”

“No. Slime-type Monsters take reduced physical damage… No, anyway, they’re a species that takes less damage from swords, so I will hunt them. Ethan-doryeonnim, please conserve your strength.”

Immediately after finishing that last remark, I used Triple Casting of Magic Arrow, creating a composite magic that added a Shockwave to the tip of each Magic Arrow. Each Magic Arrow then intercepted the swarms of Black Slimes that emerged from various places, one by one.

‘Pruruk!’

‘Pruk!’

Three Black Slimes burst apart instantly after being hit by the composite attack of magical and physical damage.

At the same time, the now-familiar level-up message briefly appeared in my mind before vanishing.

『Lillith has reached Level 30!』

…It seemed the experience points needed for the next level were just barely enough. Starting with a refreshing level-up from the very first hunt, I could begin with a rather pleasant feeling.

‘Even so, the reward is just ten Silver Coins. It’s truly a minor reward.’

Still, engaging in combat was more profitable. Anyway, I had an abundance of Mana, so ten Silver Coins for casting a few spells was a decent deal.

“So this is how a dungeon works. How fascinating.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, Ethan-doryeonnim, is this your first time in a dungeon?”

“…Lillith, isn’t it your first time?”

“…Of course, it’s my first time as well, but according to the materials I read in the Magic Department Library, they operate in this manner. The principle of dungeons is said to be the authority of a different god, not the current Aurelia Church.”

“As expected, Lillith is smart.”

Once again, I glossed over it with a suitable excuse, collected the Silver Coins that appeared in the treasure chest, and moved to the next room with Ethan.

I thought that I should at least clear up to the 3rd floor before going to sleep tonight if I wanted to conquer the dungeon by tomorrow.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Ethan Richard Blackwood, Lillith Rosewood-Blackwood. 1 day, 2 hours, 13 minutes.”

“What’s our rank?”

“Based on this two-person dungeon, it’s 2nd place. Of course, that means ‘still’ 2nd place.”

“Thank you.”

Although the professor said it was still 2nd place, that record probably wouldn’t be broken. The Geology class was originally a subject where most students, except for the protagonist’s party and a few named characters, ended up with ‘failed to pass.’

Despite that, the reason there were so many applicants every time was because the Geology Exploration class itself had a high credit unit count, and it offered a double benefit, including rewards from within the dungeon.

‘In truth, even that is just breaking even if you properly prepare for the dungeon raid before entering.’

Many students mistakenly thought, ‘Anyway, if I just clear the dungeon, won’t I get credits and rewards?’ But to properly clear a dungeon, you need to make corresponding preparations, and that costs money.

Just Ethan and I alone had spent at least ten Gold Coins on map costs, food, lodging, camping gear, and magic tools to enter the dungeon, one way or another.

Of course, if we combined all the rewards obtained inside the dungeon, we could recover the expenditure of about ten Gold Coins, but ultimately, the Geology Exploration class itself wasn’t a lecture worth taking for the purpose of ‘profit.’

…However, there was just one secret trick that guaranteed a profit from this Geology Exploration class, so I naturally approached the couple at the very front of the line of people waiting outside the dungeon, where Ethan and I had just exited.

“Excuse me, couple, you’re waiting to enter the small dungeon, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yes!”

“…That’s right.”

“Just in case, I wanted to ask if you’ve acquired a Dungeon Map? It’ll probably be difficult to explore without one.”

“Oh, yes, we did! They were selling them at the general store in Dungeon City.”

“Ah… *that* map…?”

As I deliberately trailed off my words and put on a slightly dubious expression, the couple looked at me with uneasy faces.

Towards the man and woman, I subtly presented the Dungeon Map we had just used and returned with. I didn’t forget to slightly unfold it to show them the inside.

“Perhaps, isn’t this map much more detailed?”

“Oh, oh?!”

“What is this…? Were we scammed…?”

“Rather than a scam… it’s probably just that the map is old. Old maps don’t have the internal structure of unexplored dungeons written on them. Nor do they show Secret Rooms that can only be opened by special methods.”

“Ah…”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t worry. Since we’ve just finished clearing the dungeon, I’ll sell this map to the two of you for just five Gold Coins.”

“……Huh?”

“Five Gold Coins…?”

Four eyes stared at me with a hint of doubt at the mention of selling a used item.

The two of them cautiously observed me, seemingly a bit flustered by the price of five Gold Coins.

“If you collect all the rewards from the hidden rooms shown here, you can probably get at least eight Gold Coins, you know? Buying this is definitely a profit.”

“Uh, b-but… five Gold Coins is a bit…”

“Isn’t that too expensive? And it’s a map that’s already been used once…”

“A map isn’t exactly a consumable item, is it? Does its value change just because it’s been used once?”

“Th-that’s not what I meant, but…”

“For your information, this is a map that the Information Guild sells for ten Gold Coins. I’m offering it to you at half price because I’ve used it once and come out.”

“H-half price, huh…”

“And besides. If you use this map to quickly clear the dungeon and come out, you can sell it to the next person for the same five Gold Coins, right? Wouldn’t that essentially make it free?”

“…I-is that so!”

“You’re right! Th-then we’ll buy it!”

…Well, I didn’t lie.

Although I acquired the map for one Gold Coin, it was currently being sold for ten Gold Coins at the Information Guild.

And finishing the raid quickly and selling it to the next person wasn’t theoretically impossible either.

Anyway, with this, the final reward Ethan and I obtained from clearing the dungeon became five Gold Coins.

Earning money and getting credits. This is sex.