v-rustl

#524 The Challenged S-Class Adventurers

Added 2022-09-12 21:55:56 +0000 UTC

Silver Wolf again, your local S-class adventurer.

The meeting resumed after cleaning up the window the dumbass Golden Bat broke.

“Can’t we just get on with the messy stuff and end this quickly?”

“Says the person who gave us more work to do!!!”

This is why I didn’t want to see Golden Bat!!!

But as much as I hate to admit it, he is a highly regarded adventurer and is considered by many to be the best.

No one is as passionate and original as him when it comes to seeking only the fruits of one’s adventures and not the cooperation of others.

His achievements are numerous, most notably discovering new dungeons.

An adventurer’s job is to explore and find dungeons that have yet to be confirmed to exist.

After all, a dungeon is a source of wealth, so just discovering a new one is plenty significant enough.

Of course, it’s an arduous task that cannot be accomplished by just anyone.

Nowadays, it’s a set rule that if someone discovers a new dungeon, they can be promoted to S-class immediately. Meanwhile, Golden Bat has singlehandedly found a total of 18 dungeons so far.

This record has never been beaten in all of history, garnering Golden Bat the reputation of being the most outstanding adventurer, much to the chagrin of a decent S-class adventurer like myself.

“The S-class adventurers are not expected to have personality. What is required of them is competence and achievement. I have the best of both worlds, so it’s only natural that I’m the best adventurer there is!!!”

“Man, this guy never fails to piss me off...!”

He spends all year round in the mountains and fields in search of undiscovered dungeons, so we rarely see each other.

I was expecting he wouldn’t respond to today’s summon. What made him show his unpleasant face?

“Hey, mutt. I may not be around human settlements for most of the year, but I still know the latest scoops. Bats are known for their keen hearing, after all. Didn’t you know?”

“Tsk.”

“I heard that, mind you.”

Golden Bat, a bat therianthrope, has the best hearing of all adventurers.

His ears can pick up everything that happens in his surroundings.

In the same way, a therianthrope can take over the abilities of a fused beast and effectively use them to do things that ordinary human beings cannot do.

It is no coincidence that most of the current S-class adventurers comprise such individuals.

“So, what exactly did your massive ears hear?”

“Purrhaps a geezer breaking wind?”

The fact that others are acting more and more sarcastic is proof that they don’t like Golden Bat either.

“I heard that adventurers will soon be able to operate in the Demon Kingdom.”

“Maybe you are quick-eared after all.”

He already knows...!

“What?! Fur real?! Are you saying we can explore the dungeons in the Demon Kingdom, purray tell?!”

“There are so many dungeons I’ve never been to there! That’s exciting news!”

Adventurers can’t help but be excited by such information.

We always dream of dungeons that we have never seen before and fantasize about conquering them.

For those of us born in the Human Kingdom, the Demon Kingdom is an inaccessible foreign land.

It is a frontier with countless dungeons we have yet to see.

“For those of us who have had enough of the existing dungeons, this is great news. We adventurers are willing to tackle the unknown. Explored dungeons can go rot away!”

“Don’t you dare say that in front of Lord Alexander.”

I’m glad he mostly spends his days out in the mountains and fields with that attitude.

“When the dungeons in the Demon Kingdom are liberated, it will be a new era for us adventurers! The Human Kingdom never deserved to exist, but now, being overthrown is starting to show its perks!”

“Why do you always go around making enemies out of everyone?”

“He sounds like a cocky comedian.”

I didn’t quite understand Kato’s remark, but strangely, it made sense to me.

“When will they make this official, I wonder? I can’t wait to purrowl in their dungeons!”

It’s hard not to be excited as an adventurer.

Likewise, I couldn’t stop my thumping heart when I heard this information.

However...

“Before our wish comes true, there is a problem that needs to be solved.”

“What?”

I tell them the story that the guildmaster relayed to me.

The dungeons of the Demon Kingdom are managed by their army. Similarly, opening dungeons to adventurers is also done at their discretion.

However, there is a feeling of antipathy among their troops.

In order to brush them aside and open the dungeons to the public, they would like to test the adventurers’ abilities.

...At least, that’s what the upper echelons of the army told him.

“The Adventurers’ Guild accepted the contest, taking the other side’s wishes into consideration.”

“A competition?”

“A dungeon-exploring competition. We will enter the same dungeon and compete with each other to see how much we can accomplish in our search. If we win, we adventurers will be allowed to explore the Demon Kingdom’s dungeons freely.”

I understand that the Demon King’s army has its honor and pride getting in the way, especially since they’re the victors of the war.

It would be humiliating for them to surrender the front line to a civilian group on the losing side.

I bet they would never want to admit that they’re not good enough, but the fact that they are willing to do so, albeit through a competitive process, is an admirable decision.

“Meh. Sounds to me like those incompetent demons want to pile shame on top of shame. They should have just surrendered the dungeons to us adventurers, or do they want a decisive defeat?”

“You better not be spouting the same crap out in the open, you hear?”

The Adventurers’ Guild also agreed and decided to stand up to the challenge with the best forces they had at their disposal.

In short, we S-class adventurers.

“We will form a team and compete in a dungeon-exploring contest against representatives of the Demon King’s army. Of course, we will definitely win. To win the right to explore their dungeons!”

“Naturally. All dungeons in this world are meant to be conquered by us adventurers. Let’s teach those incompetents in the Demon King’s Army that they are no longer needed in this world!”

Golden Bat, shut up!

Do you realize that the Demon King’s Arm can still enslave us should they see fit?!

“The dungeons in the Demon Kingdom look so fun! I want to go there!”

“I never imagined fighting against the Demon King’s Army even as an adventurer! Count me in!”

“It’ll be all right!”

The other S-class adventurers also announce their participation.

“Very well. We normally work alone, but on the day of the event, we will unite to win. For the adventurers’ and the human race’s future.”

“Oh, me, me, me! I’ve got a question!”

I was hoping to get them all together to do a group huddle, but I guess everyone’s only interested in their own personal desires.

“...What is it, Black Cat?”

“Where will this competition be held? As in, the dungeon?”

As expected of a top-notch adventurer. She asked an excellent question.

“If you want to win, you should do what you can now. If you know in advance which dungeon we’re going to explore, we can study its features and take countermeasures.”

“You guys sure are attentive when it comes to competition.”

Well, this does involve dungeon-exploring.

Doing prior research on the dungeon is basic.

Anyone who fails to do so is a failure as an adventurer.

“But if you think about it, isn’t this a tricky one?” says Pink Tonton. “As everyone mentioned, prior information about a dungeon can greatly affect one’s success or failure. Won’t this all boil down to an advantage or disadvantage in terms of the territory we’ll compete in?”

“If we do it in a dungeon in the Demon Kingdom, the Demon King’s Army will have the advantage. If it’s in the Human Kingdom, we’ll have the upper hand.”

In terms of fairness, this is a very difficult problem, but they have already found a solution.

Just before I came here, I received a message from a remarkable person.

“Let’s do it in a dungeon in the Demon Kingdom. It’s a natural handicap that we, as experts in dungeon exploration, should pay for. Let’s show the amateurs in the Demon King’s army how professional we are.”

I’ll let Golden Bat’s nonsense slide.

“Don’t worry, the dungeon will be an unexplored one.”

“What?” “Huh?” Pardon?” “Say what?”

They all reacted at once.

“Could you repeat that, Silver Wolf? An unexplored dungeon? Is there such a thing on earth?”

“There is, it seems. Even I find it hard to believe, but the one who told me about this transcends all common sense.”

So how can I not believe it?

“Where is it? Where is this dungeon?! Unexplored! Unknown! A dungeon no one has ever been in! I want to know! Tell us! Purrty please!!!”

“Nonsense! How can there be a dungeon I haven’t found yet? All the undiscovered dungeons in the world are not considered found until I find them!”

Adventurers love the sound of an unexplored dungeon.

They stir up our adventurous spirit, after all.

However, both parties are forbidden to do a preliminary search to ensure fairness.