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nCh. 55: Selecting After Moving

n“Volf Adventurer Training School was built in honor of the achievements of an adventurer from about three hundred years ago, named Volf.”

nKlaus was giving explanations that no one asked for as he lead Loren and Lapis down the hall.

nLapis was listening quietly, thinking of it as more knowledge, but Loren couldn’t feel interested even if he was told the name of an adventurer from hundreds of years ago.

nMost mercenaries’ thought processes were impulsive or simple, and few of them thought in long terms.

nLoren had some of those tendencies as well.

nThe member that was in charge of his education constantly told him to fix it, so he reformed some of them, but this bad habit tended to show itself when he couldn’t seem to find any interest in the subject.

nWhile thinking that his financial situation was one of those, Klaus’ explanation continued.

n“I don’t need to explain anything about Volf, right? He has an innumerable amount of achievements, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most students here set him as their goal.”

n“What are some of his achievements? Unfortunately, I don’t know too much about common information because of priestess training and such.”

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nAlthough Lapis asked that, Loren guessed that it was a lie.

nIn the first place, Lapis was one of the demon kin, who lived in one part of the continent, and it was suspicious if she even trained to become a priestess.

nIt was also very unlikely that Lapis wouldn’t investigate information beforehand.

nSince she knew that their destination was Volf Adventurer Training School, it would definitely be strange if she hadn’t done any research.

nThen came the question of why she was making Klaus explain, so he asked Lapis why in a whisper.

n“It’s like checking to see if I’m right.”

nShe was comparing the information that she had to Klaus’ information.

n“Let’s see. I’m not sure if they are true or not, but there are countless stories of him slaying dragons, and countless discoveries or ruins. There is even a story about defeating and sealing an evil G.o.d.”

n“Don’t people think that they’re fake?”

nLapis asked him in a chilling manner.

nIf it was the Klaus from before, he would have been angry that she had called the deeds of an adventurer that he admired fake, but it seemed that he was indeed reformed, as he just let out a troubled laugh instead of lashing out.

n“It’s true that it sounds unbelievable just by hearing stories. But there is evidence that support a number of them. That evidence is the dungeon spreading under the Volf Adventurer Training School.”

n“What?”

nIf the subject was about the destination of their job, Loren was interested.

nKlaus was surprised at Loren’s sudden interruption since he had been silent the whole time, but he immediately showed a soft smile and continued his explanation.

n“The dungeon under the school is said to have been created by Volf.”

n“It’s not like he dug it, right?”

nLoren felt that itself would be quite a feat, but an adventurer’s achievement being that he dug a dungeon didn’t sound cool at all.

n“It’s said that he put the existing dungeon under his control.”

n“You can do that with dungeons?”

n“It’s also said that he solved the mechanics of the dungeon core, but there’s no record of that. But if you look at the dungeon, it would make you think that it might be true.”

nAccording to Klaus, there was a distinction in difficulty for each floor.

nIt was structured as a training ground for dungeon exploration, and it was said that Volf made it that way for the adventurers for later generations.

nEarlier floors having little danger and the danger level increasing for deeper floors was the same for other dungeons, and Lapis said maybe this dungeon wasn’t special, Klaus answered.

n“This dungeon has ten floors, but you can only go to the ninth floor. You need the princ.i.p.al’s permission to go into the tenth floor.”

n“So you’re saying that that’s where the evidence of Volf’s achievements are?”

n“Exactly. I’ve only been there once before I graduated, though. If the students can make it to the ninth floor during this exam, they could go to the tenth floor as a reward.”

nKlaus explained that they would get permission before the exam began.

nThat was a good piece of information to Loren.

nThe reason that they accepted the job was because a part of Lapis’ body might be located in the dungeon, and from Klaus’ explanation, he guessed that there was a high chance of it being in the tenth floor.

nThen it seemed like their goal would easily be achieved if they followed the students into the tenth floor after then managed to make it to the ninth floor.

nOn top of that, he now found out why this dungeon wasn’t open to the public.

nHe wasn’t sure what kind of protection there was, but it seemed like there was a mechanism that prevented outsiders to break into the tenth floor and steal those evidences of Volf’s achievements.

n“By the way, the exam will continue until the students give up, so you should be prepared for being down there for a while. The longest I know of is one month.”

n“So you would have to stick with them the whole time. It’s not much of a profitable job, huh.”

n“Yeah. That’s why graduates are mostly the ones that take this job, but why did you guys decide on this job?”

nLoren wondered how he should answer Klaus’ question.

nHe couldn’t straight up say that they had business with the dungeon.

n“We were interested. Both Loren and I aren’t proper adventurers, so we were interested in what kind of place a training school was.”

nUnlike Loren, Lapis was able to answer the question immediately.

nAt her answer, which was so smooth it seemed scripted, Klaus looked convinced, while Loren away to hide his exasperation at Lapis’ reaction, which seemed prepared beforehand.

nThey finally reached the princ.i.p.al’s office.

nThe job was from the school, but their client was none other than the princ.i.p.al.

nSo of course they would go meet him, and when they arrived, Klaus opened the door to the office.

n“Welcome! I’m the princ.i.p.al of Volf Adventurer Training School, Volf the Tenth!!”

nKlaus stiffened at the sudden loud sound that came from across the doorway, while Loren covered his ears and Lapis swiftly hid behind him.

nLoren saw Klaus’ knees shake from taking the full brunt of the sound, while he and Lapis were able to react him time, with a chill going down his back, but the chill got even worse after he saw the person who was supposed to be the princ.i.p.al.

nAcross from them was a man like a small mountain.

nHe was wearing formal clothing that matched his t.i.tle of princ.i.p.al, his scale was way different than ordinary people.

nLoren was on the tall side as well, but the man sitting down at the desk across the room was so big that his line of sight didn’t differ from Loren’s even though he was sitting down.

n“What are you standing there for! Hurry up and get inside!”

nLooking at the walls shake with his ears still covered, Loren pushed Klaus, who was frozen in place, with his elbow, while wondering if it was really necessary to shout like that.

nKlaus slowly stepped into the princ.i.p.al’s office, with a stretched smile on his face.

n“I-it’s been a while, princ.i.p.al. You look well, as usual.”

n“Glad to see you’re in good health as well!”

nHis voice was still loud, as expected.

nLoren flinched at the voice, which he could still hear clearly even though he was covering his ears.

nLapis, who was still hiding behind his back, had her hands on her head, trying to endure the loud sound.

n“H-hey princ.i.p.al. Could you lower your voice a little bit please?”

n“Shut up Klaus! Do you think I haven’t heard of your deeds after you graduated this school!”

n“I’m sorry about those cases…”

n“Hmm? You are? It does seem that you’re a bit different than from what I’ve been hearing about you.”

nThe tone of his voice dropped slightly.

nIt was still loud, but it was bearable without having to cover his ears, so Loren put his hands down and Lapis popped her head out from behind his back.

n“You’ve had a change of heart, Klaus. Looks like you’ve learned some humility.”

n“Sorry for worrying you.”

nThe princ.i.p.al snorted as Klaus bowed his head.

n“If you were still the same as I’ve been hearing, I was going to teach you a lesson or two before the job, but it doesn’t seem like I need to anymore.”

n“I’ve been blessed with the opportunity already.”

n“You were lucky.”

nKlaus and the princ.i.p.al were having a conversation that Loren didn’t understand, but it seemed that they came to a settlement.

nAntic.i.p.ating that, Loren called out to the princ.i.p.al, who was looking at Klaus with a satisfied smile, while shifting into a position that he could run away at any time.

n“Hey, is it alright if we talk about the job now?”

n“Oh, sorry about that. I heard that one of my former students was causing trouble, so I thought there was a need to give him a warning, but I didn’t need to.”

n“Happy to hear that, but don’t get your voice up again.”

nAfter hearing Loren’s words, which he said thinking that the princ.i.p.al might be the one who needed a warning, the princ.i.p.al looked at Lapis, whose head was peeking out from behind Loren’s back, and looked back at Klaus.

n“Seems like this year we’ve got people who are quite skilled. Klaus, are they the cause of your reform?”

nKlaus looked down in embarra.s.sment as the princ.i.p.al glared at him again.

n“It’s embarra.s.sing to say, but yes they are.”

n“Hmm. Hey big guy, it seems that I need to thank you.”

n“I’m pretty sure I lose to you in size, but I don’t care much about being thanked, so can we talk about the job?”

nAt Loren’s urge, the princ.i.p.al put two stacks of paper on top of his desk.

nAlthough the papers were normal sized ones, Loren thought it interesting that they looked like little bits of paper in the hands of the princ.i.p.al, then walked up to the desk and took one of the stacks.

n“This is the roster for the students that will take the exam next. There will be two groups, one with Klaus’ party, and the other with yours. You will enter the dungeon with them.”

n“My name is Loren. The one behind me is Lapis. It’s the pair of us that received the job.”

nFrom behind Loren, Lapis softly slid the doc.u.ment that they had received from the adventurer’s guild in Kauffa in front of the princ.i.p.al.

nAfter going through it, confirming that there were no mistakes, he put it in one of his drawers.

nThis meant that it was accepted, and it would be returned to them with the princ.i.p.al’s stamp after the job was done.

n“The job description is accompanying the testers. a.s.sisting them is not allowed in general, but if they ask you for advice, you can do so. Everything that happens down there is their own responsibility, and even if they lose their lives, the responsibility won’t fall on you.”

n“You don’t mind rescuing them, right?”

n“Of course. But if that happens, come straight back up. The testers will have to make maps as they go, but I will provide a map of the dungeon for you beforehand.”

nSince the exam was already done many times before, they were able to make a close-to-complete map, and in the case of an emergency, they were to use it to return to the surface.

nIf the testers received help from the proctors, it was impossible to measure their skills.

nWhich meant that the exam would end when it is deemed that they need a.s.sistance.

n“The exam is over once they get past the fifth floor, but it is fine to go as far as they can. Of course, the number of floors they get past ties in directly with their evaluation. To put it backwards, the exam won’t end until they get past the fifth floor. If they give up, that’s where the exam ends. Any questions?”

n“I heard from Klaus that if we reach the ninth floor, you’ll allow us to enter the tenth floor. Is that true?”

n“It is indeed. You’ll reach the stairs to the tenth floor if you defeat the keeper on the ninth floor, to be exact. The place is usually sealed, but I’ll give the pa.s.s to the students.”

n“Isn’t that kind of shabby to be called a reward?”

n“If you could take something, that is allowed as well.”

nThe words of the princ.i.p.al, who said it with a grin, was unexpected to Loren.

nHe thought so because permission to take something from where things related to the adventurer Volf was an exceptional reward.

n“The same goes for the proctors. If you could take something, I dare you to try. But I won’t take responsibility for anything that happens, so keep that in mind.”

n“Oh, so there’s some good-for-nothing trap or guardian, I’m guessing.”

nThe princ.i.p.al’s att.i.tude told Loren that there was something down there that would prevent people from doing so, and it wasn’t something that students or low rank adventurers could face off against.

nIt must be that when encountered, if you didn’t take anything it would let you through, but if you did you would have to defeat it or get past it to leave the dungeon.

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n“So, out of the two parties, who will be in charge of which?”

nLoren looked at Klaus, but he told Loren to pick first.

nSince Klaus was a graduate, he must have the confidence to do fine with any party he ended up with.

nAfter thinking so, Loren looked back and forth between the stacks of papers with the information of the parties on them, and then took one of them in his hand.

n“Let us be in charge of this party.”

n“Very well. But…any basis behind your decision?”

nWhen the princ.i.p.al asked Loren, he answered with his eyes scanning the surface of the papers.

n“I guess this is what you would call fate.”

nLapis, who was still hiding behind Loren’s back, peeked over his shoulder and took a look at the papers in Loren’s hand.

nLapis saw that the party leader was Ain, and the descriptions of the other party members, and realized that it was the party that Loren had helped the night before at the bar, and knew that was why Loren chose them.

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