Glory's Steps

“Here you go, Tort. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Whoa, thank you!”

“Dungeon again today, right? Good luck out there.”

The man who brought over my breakfast was Brass. He was the cook at the Wildcat Inn and Nina’s father.

Today’s breakfast was a meat and vegetable stir-fry made with Giant Rat meat. I had provided the meat myself after it dropped in the dungeon yesterday. I figured I might as well donate it, since it wouldn’t fetch much of a price if I tried to sell it.

I used to have this image of rats carrying diseases, but apparently, you don't have to worry about that with dungeon drops. Giant Rat meat from the First Floor is a staple for the commoners of Cygnil because it’s cheap and reasonably tasty.

Even with humble ingredients, the food became remarkably delicious once Brass got his hands on it. He must have a high level in the [Cooking] skill. Though it wasn't exactly a trade for the meat, he’d agreed to teach me how to cook whenever he had some spare time. I did have [Cooking Talent] as a trait, after all. Since I had the aptitude for it, I might as well put it to use.

Once I finished breakfast, I got my gear ready and headed to the Adventurer's Guild. My meeting with Rei and the others was at the Second Bell. I might have had a little time to spare, but since I didn't have a way to track the exact time, I didn't want to risk being late.

Despite the early hour, the Guild was already buzzing with energy. This was probably the busiest time of day. Many people were there to pick up requests for gathering materials before heading into the dungeon. Most of the crowd likely fell into that category.

As I watched the bustle, Rei and the others arrived.

“Hey, Tort. You’re early.”

“You too, Rei. Mil, Sally, good morning.”

“Morning!” Mil chirped.

“Mornin’...” Sally mumbled.

In contrast to the crisp, alert forms of Rei and Mil, Sally looked half-dead. I wondered if she just wasn't a morning person, but Mil quickly filled me in.

“She got a little too excited after seeing all those magic tools yesterday. She stayed up late reading books about them and barely got any sleep.”

“Only a tiny bit...” Sally protested, her voice soft and slurry.

She was practically swaying on her feet. I wondered if it was actually safe for her to be diving into a dungeon in this state.

“Don’t mind her,” Rei added, seeing the concern on my face. “She’s always like this when she’s sleep-deprived, but she’ll snap out of it in a bit.”

Since Rei and Mil didn't seem worried—and they’d known her much longer than I had—I figured it was fine.

“Oh, right. About that pitcher from yesterday—it sold. Though, technically, my father was the one who bought it.”

Rei handed me a leather bag. Judging by the shape, there weren't many coins inside, yet the bag felt surprisingly heavy. As I was wondering what the final price had been, Rei leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“It went for forty Gold Coins.”

“For—!?”

I almost shouted the number out loud and barely managed to clap a hand over my mouth.

That was significantly higher than I’d expected. Forty Gold Coins meant ten for each of us. Since Rei’s father was the buyer, it might have been a "celebratory price" to support his son’s party, but it was an incredible sum nonetheless.

Right. I don't want to be seen holding this much money.

I pretended to tuck the bag into my usual burlap sack while actually slipping it into my Storage Ring.

“That gave me a heart attack...”

“Not a bad haul for our first trip, right?” Mil said with a playful grin.

"Not bad" was an understatement.

We stopped by the counter to officially register our party. The name they’d chosen was Glory's Steps. It had a nice ring to it.

After that, we headed straight for the dungeon. Our goal for today was to explore the Second Floor. Since maps for the shallow levels were widely available, we used the most direct route to breeze through the First Floor.

Monsters on the first level were stingy with their drops, after all. They were weak and low-risk, but the rewards were just as small. If you had the strength for it, it was much more efficient to make your money on the deeper floors.

We made quick time and soon reached the Second Floor. The environment was the same labyrinth style as the first. The only real difference was the monsters; the creatures here were supposedly a bit more formidable.

As we pushed forward, we encountered a group of monsters in one of the small rooms. There were five humanoid creatures with the heads of dogs—Kobolds.

They were supposedly more agile and better built than Goblins. They also outnumbered us five to four. However, Rei and the others didn't look the least bit bothered. Given their skill, I doubted the Kobolds posed much of a threat. They’d handled the Goblins on the First Floor with effortless ease.

Following our plan, we timed our entry and stormed the room. Rei took point.

“Hey! Over here, you mutts!”

Rei used a provocation to grab their attention. Three of the five immediately locked onto him. Even with three enemies attacking from the front, Rei’s defense didn't budge. Blocking with his shield and parrying with his sword, he completely dictated the flow of the engagement. He didn't have many openings to counterattack, but that didn't matter—his job was to draw their ire and keep the rest of us safe.

Of the remaining two, Mil took one. She moved with a fluid grace that left her opponent baffled. The Kobold was already covered in deep gashes, and it looked like the fight would be over any second.

Alright, I’ll take the last one—

“Here I go! <Fire Arrow>!”

Before I could move, an arrow of flame shot past me at high speed. Sally’s chant had been incredibly fast. The spell struck the final Kobold dead-on, incinerating its head. The monster slumped over and dissolved into mist before it even hit the ground.

At this rate, I wasn't going to have anything to do!

Panicking, I scrambled to get behind the Kobolds Rei was keeping busy. I stayed completely out of their peripheral vision, which allowed me to attack with total safety.

I lunged and slit the throat of the nearest Kobold from behind. The angle was key; if you did it right, you could kill them without getting drenched in the resulting spray of blood.

The moment I struck from their blind spot, [Shadow Strike] triggered. This was the skill I’d picked up from Dolga’s training yesterday. It increased the power of any attack made from outside an opponent’s field of vision. It was an Assassin Skill, through and through. Part of me wanted to go back and ask Dolga why he’d taught me that during a "Dagger Lecture," but I couldn't complain when it allowed me to drop a Kobold in a single hit.

Riding that momentum, I took out another one using the exact same method. Almost simultaneously, Rei delivered a powerful diagonal slash that finished off the final Kobold he was holding. The sheer force of the blow was incredible—his physical Strength had to be on a completely different level than mine.

By the time I looked over, the Kobold Mil had been fighting was already gone. Every monster in the room had been returned to the dungeon.

Well, that was easy. My teammates were way too strong!

Their gear certainly helped, but even to my amateur eyes, it was clear they were naturally talented fighters. The way they moved... they’d clearly been training long before they ever stepped foot in the Guild as adventurers.