We made our way into the forest and arrived at the dungeon entrance.
Originally, dungeon entrances simply formed in empty, desolate clearings.
The Adventurer's Guild and the kingdom had developed the site, installing a sturdy gate.
Incidents where monsters multiplied excessively within the dungeon and overflowed outside had occurred numerous times in the past.
According to Reina-san, the gate had been built as a safeguard against precisely that.
Soldiers stood guard at the entrance, so we presented our adventurer cards and went through the procedures to enter.
"It's pretty strictly guarded, huh?"
"It's close to the royal capital, and the floors go quite deep, right? It's a national treasure, so they seem to manage it with extreme care."
Apparently, coming and going would be much easier from our second visit onward, but the initial registration took quite a while.
After spending about thirty minutes on the formalities, we finally stepped inside.
"O-Ohhh! Amazing! To think a cavern like this would appear after going down the stairs!"
"Alan. I understand being excited, but keep your shield raised properly, okay? Even if only low-tier monsters appear here, it's still a dungeon. You never know what might happen."
"Ah, sorry. I got carried away and forgot..."
With that, Alan raised his shield and began walking.
"Even so, this passage is quite wide."
"With this much room, it'll be easy to fight."
"However, that also means there are more angles to defend."
Philia, Alan, and Leticia-san voiced their impressions as we walked along the dungeon path.
"Just like in the forest or grasslands, let's keep watch not only ahead and behind, but to our left and right as well. Let me know immediately if you notice even the slightest anomaly."
When I said that, Philia and the others nodded in agreement.
As we pushed further in, the first monster appeared.
It was a single slime.
At first glance, it looked no different from the slimes found outside.
However, there was one unmistakable distinction.
"It's carrying a magic stone."
I spotted a second small object, entirely separate from its core.
At my words, a wave of tension swept through the group.
"Let's just fight like we always do. Stay calm."
Monsters that carried magic stones were slightly stronger than their ordinary counterparts.
That was because magic stones possessed the ability to store mana.
While that boosted their baseline abilities, there was no need to be overly cautious against a simple slime.
"—!"
Noticing us, the slime lunged forward with tremendous force.
Alan braced behind his shield and absorbed the charge, though he was shoved back a fraction of a step.
It lacked the sheer impact of a wild boar, but it packed power on par with a horn rabbit.
Keeping that in mind, I stepped out from behind Alan and brought my sword down toward the slime's core.
With its core shattered, the slime lost its form and collapsed, leaving behind its core and fluid as harvestable materials.
And unlike our usual hunts, a magic stone lay among the remains.
"Erik-kun, what rank is this magic stone?"
"It's the lowest rank. Even so, just one of these is worth ten copper coins."
Much like adventurers, magic stones were classified by rank.
The scale went from one to ten, with ten being the lowest tier.
This particular stone was neither especially large nor exceptionally pure.
Observing those traits, I gauged its rank without relying on Appraisal.
"Still, we're pretty lucky to run into a magic stone carrier on our very first encounter."
"Yeah. This alone is worth five horn rabbit carcasses."
Having gathered the materials, we set off once more.
Most adventurers pushed deep into the lower levels, leaving very few people lingering on these upper floors.
Thanks to that, we were able to encounter plenty of monsters.
"That makes thirty."
Over the course of an hour's exploration, we had defeated twenty-one slimes and nine goblins.
A few among them carried magic stones, bringing our current haul to three.
"We've already earned about as much as our usual daily reward... Magic stones really are incredible."
"...Though that's just because luck was on our side. Normally, you don't find this many."
Our very first dungeon dive.
And we had already collected three magic stones in a single hour.
Because of that, greed threatened to take hold.
If we hunted on the lower floors, we could obtain even better magic stones.
To keep myself from being swayed by such reckless thoughts, I made sure to voice the warning aloud.
"Erik-kun, look. The stairs."
Continuing our exploration, we eventually reached the 5th floor.
We came to a halt right before the staircase leading down to the 6th floor.
"Let's discuss whether we should go any further."
Saying so, I initiated a party check-in before the stairs.
"Now that we've cleared our way to the fifth floor, how is everyone feeling?"
"To be completely honest, I feel like we can hunt safely down to the fifth floor. We're clearly strong enough to handle everything up to this point."
"I agree with Alan. I think our capabilities are already well above what's needed for the first five floors."
"Slimes and goblins are monsters we've dealt with plenty of times outside. We fought versions carrying magic stones of both types, and we handled them without any real danger. I believe we're ready to try our hand against the skeletons next."
Listening to Philia, Alan, and Leticia-san, I nodded.
Having explored this far alongside them, I felt the exact same way.
"All right. Let's head down to the next floor, then. But remember, this will be our first time fighting skeletons. If we spot one, we approach it with extra caution."
When I laid out the plan, everyone gave their ready assent, and we started down the stairs toward the 6th floor.