#1194 First Blood is Naivety 

Kak-ka-ka! I’m one stellar adventurer! 
I mean, who else can brag about camping out at B‑Rank for six straight years? 

Today, I’m sightseeing-slash-challenging this brand‑new dungeon that just popped up! 

Word is it spawned out of nowhere in a country that’s still wet behind the ears! 

They say this place is full of washed-out dropouts who couldn’t cut it as adventurers! 
Totally useless in the field, they had no choice but to change careers just to get by. 
 A lot of them ended up here, fleeing to this godforsaken corner of the world as “pioneers.” 

All the more reason for me to pay them a visit!  
I’m going to stride in as a fearless pro adventurer and really rub their failures in their faces!!! 
Losers have to live every day knowing they’re losers! 

With that, I finally step into the dungeon.  
This is the same one those losers have been tiptoeing through, right? 

What might look like a decent challenge to amateurs is nothing but a breeze for us pros.  
I’ll clear the whole thing in a single day and show everyone exactly what it means to be a professional adventurer. 

So, I step inside… 
And there’s absolutely nothing noteworthy.  
Just a perfectly ordinary dungeon. 

“Pfft. I was on guard for a minute there, but that was wasted caution. Not a single sketchy spot in sight,” comes the voice beside me, another adventurer with about the same resume as mine.  

His record overlaps mine enough to be annoying, but he’s right... 

But it’s exactly as he said. 
It’s eerily quiet and utterly unremarkable. 
 

No sign of any monsters anywhere.  
Well, it’s not like you get ambushed the second you walk in… 

“Kind of anticlimactic, huh? ...Then again, a dungeon in loser-land is bound to be a loser dungeon.” 

That figures.  
Let’s clear this dungeon in under five minutes and completely blow those dropouts outside off their feet. 

“Yeah! That’ll really teach them how pathetic they...Bwaaah!” 

? 
Huh? 
What just happened?  

Out of nowhere, my fellow adventurer goes flying! 
What in the world?! 

Before I can even make sense of it, my companions start getting blasted one after another, helpless on the ground. 

An attack?!  
Or is it a trap?!  

I have no clue.  
There aren’t any monsters in sight, and I sense nothing coming at us. 

What is going on?! 

My head spins, panic rising like nothing I’ve ever felt in any dungeon run before. 

And then, a sudden impact, and everything goes black. 

Next thing I know, I’m unceremoniously dumped outside the dungeon. 

*** 

“Well, well, well. How odd! Weren’t you hotshot adventurers supposed to be so great~?” 

The moment I step out, a little girl taunts me. 

Grrr…!  
Who is this brat, talking trash at professional adventurers?! 

“Pros, eh? Getting wiped out in ten seconds flat and booted? If that’s all it takes, I could become an adventurer today! Adventurers sure are a joke!” 

Nghhhhhhhhhh!!! 
What’s with this sassy kid?! 

Huh? The dungeon’s master?  
A dragon in human form? 

…Oh. Right... 

“Either way, the fact you lot got one-shot is still the same. Tell me, how does it feel? Acting all high-and-mighty only to end up miserable losers?” 

Shut up, you littleeeeeeeee—!  
This is downright cheating! An invisible, undetectable attack is straight-up unfair! 

“Unfair, you say?” 
“What are you talking about? Dungeons don’t play by neat rules.” 
“You adventurers think this is some game? You really had that kind of attitude?” 

 
Shuddup, you dropouts!  
All you former adventurers turned settlers, whispering behind my back! 

“Most folks here are ex-adventurers and ex-mercenaries. They’ve stared death in the face on battlefields. Your sweet little notions must look downright strange to them.” 

Grr…  
E-Even so... This rule-breaking attack…! 
What kind of trick is that? Spill your secret! 

“I just made the monsters invisible.” 

Invisible?!  
You can do that?! Is that why—? 

“And I silenced every sound they make… then spiced it up with a few extra effects. No wonder you had no clue what was going on if you dropped your guard.” 

Y–You did what?! 
No wonder we couldn’t tell what was happening!  

So, we got one-sided pummeled by invisible, silent monsters?! 

You coward!!! 

“Me? A coward? Hardly. I’m actually being generous.” 

Generous how?! 

“I only took away sight and sound; I left the smell intact. If you’re real adventurers, you can at least sniff out if an enemy’s near. And there’s touch, too. Monsters have to make contact to land a blow. You should be able to reflexively dodge that, right, pros?” 

Wh–What?!  
You can’t just do everything you want…! 

“Oh? You can’t? All that bragging and you couldn’t handle them going invisible and silent? Adventurers are so puny! Puhahahaha...!” 

This dragonnnnnnn! 

Fine, you wanna play rough? Invisibility’s no big deal! I’m a seasoned adventurer, I’ve got ways to deal with thaaaaaat…!!! 

But everyone else around me is clearly chickening... 

“Hey... You really gonna talk that big…?!” 
“Unless you’re some Silver Wolf–level wolf therian, there’s no way you can sniff out enemies!” 

...They try to shut me up.  
Screw that! If you’re adventurers, at least have some pride! 

We’re adventurers, too! There’s got to be a way!  
If we just map the dungeon, figure out the shortest path to the goal, and bolt through before bumping into any monsters… 

“...Oh, I almost forgot, this dungeon reshuffles itself every time you enter.” 

Whaaaaaaaaaat?! 

“Who said it doesn’t? If you’re a pro adventurer, you need to be ready for the worst. Oh, and don’t expect any nifty weapons or items lying around. Every single floor is a monster house. But for pros like you, this is still probably a walk in the park, right? Good luck!” 

Hold on a second! 
You’re not even trying to let anyone clear this place! 

This is straight-up cheating. 
What kind of dungeon is literally impossible to beat? 

“Huh? What are you yapping about? From the dungeon master’s perspective, you’re all trespassers. Of course she plans to not let you leave alive.” 

Yeah, well, still... Aaaaarghhhh! 

“If you think I’m out of tricks, you’re way too naive. From the entrance to the exit, every floor is lined with instant-death traps! Touch the ceiling or the walls—instant death! Breathe the air inside—instant death! But come on, as pro adventurers, this is cake for you, right?!” 

Gugyaaaaaaaah! 
Oeeeeeeeeeeh! 
 
I can’t! I can’t, can’t, can’t, can’t!!! 

Even professional adventurers stand no chance here! 

I hate it! I hate this dungeon soooooooo much!!!