Rei and his party encountered several adventurers on the way to the dungeon.
Among them, some wore dissatisfied expressions, while others sported happy smiles.
What that meant was obvious when one considered the dungeon's location.
(In other words, those who managed to secure the corpses of monsters that fell from the dungeon, and those who didn't. Even among those who did, there's quite a difference between Goblins and Orcs.)
As he walked and thought about this, Vihera, who was strolling beside Rei, let an exasperated expression cross her face.
For Vihera, who craved battles against powerful foes, obtaining materials and Magic Stones from the corpses of monsters she hadn't defeated herself was, quite frankly, not something she found enjoyable.
"So, we're heading into the dungeon. Let's just hope the adventurers waiting below don't cause us any strange interference."
Understanding Vihera's mood, Rei shifted the topic.
...Though, in truth, he hadn't really managed to shift it at all.
"Right. To those waiting for monsters to fall, we're an unwelcome bunch for diving into the dungeon."
Marina, who said this, was unusually wearing trousers.
If the dungeon had been on the ground, her usual Party Dress would have been fine.
However, the dungeon was set into the cliff face, and reaching its entrance required grabbing onto Set's legs for the flight up.
Under those circumstances, wearing her usual Party Dress would expose her underwear to anyone below.
If it were Rei seeing her, that would be one thing, but Marina had absolutely no intention of showing such a sight to any other man, so she had reluctantly put on trousers.
"Well, any adventurer should know who we are, and any idiot who'd pick a fight with us..."
Rei was about to say there probably wouldn't be any, but upon seeing several adventurers approaching their group, he was unable to finish the sentence.
"Hey, you're the ones about to challenge the dungeon, right?"
"Yeah, that's us. Is something wrong?"
The one who replied to the Adventurer Trio was not Rei... but Reliu.
Judging that Rei's youthful appearance would likely invite contempt from the men, Reliu, who could exude a presence befitting his rank at a glance, stepped forward.
Seeing Reliu, the Adventurer Trio momentarily stopped in surprise... but the next instant, the man at the front spoke again.
"Is that so. Then, good luck."
"...Huh. I figured you'd tell us not to conquer the dungeon."
"Well, I can't say I don't feel that way at all," the man said, but there was no look of regret on his face.
The man directed his gaze toward the dungeon, which was visible even from here, and continued.
"But even I can tell what'll happen if the dungeon keeps growing as it is. ...Golts doesn't have the resources to sustain itself as a Labyrinth City."
There were several Labyrinth Cities in the Kingdom of Mireana.
The reason there were only a few was, naturally, because establishing one as a Labyrinth City was difficult.
At the very least, the man who had spoken to Reliu understood that with the abilities of the adventurers in Golts, operating as a Labyrinth City was impossible.
And if operating as a Labyrinth City was impossible, the dungeon had to be conquered before it grew too large.
Right now, low-rank monsters like Goblins were conveniently falling from the dungeon on their own and dying, but there was no guarantee that would last.
In fact, just yesterday, bird monsters called Yellow Birds had emerged from the dungeon.
Even seeing that, the fact that some still opposed conquering the dungeon was largely because, given the current situation, they could earn easy money.
Naturally, those who thought that way were not particularly numerous, but it wasn't as if there were none at all.
Fortunately, the man who had approached Reliu was not that type.
"In other words... I just wanted to say, good luck with it."
The man told them with a slightly embarrassed air.
Seeing him like that, Reliu thought that perhaps he had only said it because Reliu had stepped forward, but from the man's current demeanor, that didn't appear to be the case.
"I see. I'll gladly accept those words of support. ...So, we're thinking of heading to the dungeon now, if that's alright?"
"Yeah, the dungeon's in your hands."
With that, the Adventurer Trio departed.
"I really thought we'd get hassled."
Rei muttered once the Adventurer Trio was out of sight.
Based on past patterns, this sort of situation usually involved getting hassled.
That was why he had expected more of the same this time... but as it turned out, Rei's expectations were completely off.
"Well, it's only natural that there are people who think a dungeon is dangerous. There might be some who want to make Golts into a Labyrinth City like that man was saying, but... considering Golts's current situation, they'd be a minority."
Building a Labyrinth City naturally required the strength of many people.
Doing it in a rural place like Golts was not impossible... but it was difficult.
(Well, I've heard this is territory governed by a Neutral Faction noble, so if it weren't for the Expansion Construction in Gilm, maybe... just maybe, there might have been a possibility.)
As he thought about this, the cliff gradually drew closer.
There were several adventurers dismantling monsters nearby, but even they naturally had their gazes stolen toward Rei's party upon seeing them.
Of course, with Set, who measured over three meters in length, present, no matter how focused they were on dismantling monsters, it was impossible not to notice his presence.
If someone was so absorbed in dismantling that they neglected their surroundings, surviving as an adventurer would be difficult indeed.
However, Rei's party arrived at the base of the cliff without appearing to mind such gazes at all.
"Now then, it's finally time to conquer the dungeon. Everyone ready?"
At Rei's words as he stroked Set, everyone nodded.
Among them, the one who was particularly fired up, without even changing her expression, was probably Byune.
For Byune, who possessed Thief Skills, a dungeon was the place where she should demonstrate her true worth.
...Though, given that Byune was a thief who specialized in combat, she might not be suited for dungeon exploration.
That said, within Rei's party, Byune was the only one who had Thief Skills.
And even if she specialized in combat, it wasn't as if that had lowered her other abilities as a thief.
(In games and such, it's common for specializing in combat to lower other abilities, but this is reality.)
Thinking such thoughts while watching everyone finish their preparations, Rei addressed Set.
"Alright, first I'll ride Set into the dungeon and confirm it's safe. Once I do, grab onto Set and come in. ...That alright with you?"
"If the party leader Rei says so, I don't mind... but are you sure? Normally, at times like this, I'd expect a hired hand like me to be forced into that role first."
"I can't exactly use an Alias Holder entrusted to me by Lord Daskar like that. Besides..."
"Besides?"
Reliu, feeling puzzled by Rei cutting off mid-sentence, asked, but Rei simply shook his head without saying anything in particular.
"No, it's nothing. It's just that after acting alongside you, I know you're trustworthy, but even so, at times like this, I want to go check it out myself. It's a dungeon no one has entered before."
Seeing Rei's face, which revealed a fair amount of curiosity, Reliu decided not to say anything more.
...No, it was more accurate to say that Reliu found himself unable to say anything.
Despite everything, Reliu couldn't deny that he too found the words "a dungeon no one has entered before" appealing.
"Alright then, Set, I'm counting on you."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry and, with Rei mounted on his back, immediately began to run and flap his wings.
It was exactly the expression "running through the sky" that was accurate, as Set reached the dungeon entrance in the blink of an eye.
Rei dismounted from Set's back after the griffon came to a stop.
However, rather than diving straight into the dungeon, he used his Sleipnir boots to kick through the air mid-descent... precisely so he could respond at any moment if a monster came out of the dungeon.
In his hand was not his usual Death Scythe, but only the Twilight Spear, since he had yet to determine how wide the interior of the dungeon was.
Entering the dungeon with the Twilight Spear in hand, Rei quickly scanned his surroundings... or rather, there was no need to, as he immediately noticed a presence charging at him.
Almost unconsciously, Rei thrust the Twilight Spear at his attacker.
"Gyoga!?"
The one that let out a scream while clutching its pierced torso was a Goblin.
With its belly pierced, the Goblin collapsed to the floor... and in the next instant, it was stepped on by another Goblin that had been closing in from behind.
Since the one stepping on it was also a Goblin, the one being stepped on didn't suffer a fatal wound from that alone.
But given that having its abdomen pierced was already a fatal wound, that wouldn't make much of a difference.
Rei, without paying particular attention to the Goblin clutching its stomach and collapsing, thrust his spear once more at the Goblin that had attacked from behind.
The speed of that spear thrust was not something a mere Goblin could deal with... and it met the same fate as the first Goblin whose torso had been pierced.
Having defeated the two attacking Goblins, Rei scanned his surroundings once more without letting down his guard.
But there were no other monsters approaching besides those two, and he finally lowered his readied spear.
"If I'd been a few dozen seconds later arriving, these Goblins would have fallen to the ground too. ...Thinking about it, we were definitely lucky."
If Goblins had rained down from above right as they were about to enter the dungeon, it would certainly have been a problem for Rei's party.
Their motivation to challenge the dungeon itself might have taken a blow as well.
(No, was that the optimal choice from the dungeon's perspective? Well, it's debatable whether the dungeon has a will of its own.)
If the dungeon could dampen Rei's party's motivation at the cost of two Goblins, that would undeniably be a significant gain.
However, as Rei himself had said, it was unknown whether the dungeon had its own will.
At the very least, nothing like that had occurred in the dungeons Rei had explored so far, but cutting a dungeon core granted the Terrain Manipulation skill and powered one up, that much was certain.
In other words, dungeon cores and Magic Stones were similar things... and if one considered that monsters had their own will, the possibility that the dungeon had a will could not be entirely denied either.
"In any case, it seems there are no problems other than those Goblins."
Judging that there was no danger around, Rei looked at Set, who was waiting outside the dungeon.
Set, watching Rei who had moved into the dungeon, showed no particular concern.
Set had been attached to Rei from the start, but having spent that much time together, it also meant he knew Rei's strength that well.
Given that, he didn't think for a moment that anything would happen to Rei even if he explored the dungeon alone.
...Well, if the monsters that appeared were High-Rank Monsters, the story might have been somewhat different, but so far the only monsters confirmed in this dungeon were Goblins, Cobolts, Orcs... and yesterday's Yellow Birds.
Given that, it was obvious that even if they attacked in a group, it would be difficult for them to so much as scratch Rei.
"Set, bring the others up. I'll stay here and keep watch inside the dungeon just in case."
"Gurururuu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry of understanding and descended to the ground.
Seeing Set off, Rei looked around once more... and reaffirmed his conviction that this was indeed a dungeon, not a cave.