"A-ahem, anyway… back to the topic at hand."
After the two prominent Adventurers had chewed Richard Lysth for a considerable length of time, and had gotten their fill, he could finally proceed with his pertinent discussion.
"First things first, after this meeting, all three of you will be publicly declared as Heroic Rank Adventurers."
They already had their badges, but this was an unavoidable ceremony.
"Now, for the important issue for discussion. I already briefly spoke to Britta and Noah about it the other day, but with all five of you here… I'd like to talk about the Dungeon Conquest."
Even though it would be impossible for none of the parties present to not have heard of the Grand Calamity Class Dungeon already, Richard reiterated it for all to hear.
There were various kinds of Dungeons, classified in the order of difficulty; Normal Class, Special Class, Chaos Class, Disaster Class, Calamity Class… and the final one… Grand Calamity Class.
The Royal Dungeon in the Capital was estimated to be around the level of a Disaster Class Dungeon, as most top-ranked Dungeons were.
Calamity Class Dungeons were rare, but there were quite a few of them. They had a similar status as Dead Zones, so most Adventurers never passed the first couple of Floors to grind Levels.
With the appearance of the first Grand Calamity Class Dungeon in over three centuries, it was pertinent to make a swift decision regarding it.
"Nearly a thousand Adventurers have already ventured inside as we speak. None of them have been heard from since. It's safe to say that it's a very dangerous mission."
Of course, the Adventurers who ventured in could be considered fodder compared to the likes of Heroic Rank Adventurers. They were simply desperate for some kind of benefit and wished to try their luck.
No high-ranked Adventurer worth their salt would be so careless.
"In order to maximize the benefits of this Grand Calamity Class Dungeon, and prevent any further unnecessary deaths, it's better we organize a Dungeon Conquest where we go in massive numbers and take on the Dungeon."
In order to account for the number of participants, and to ensure it wasn't too crowded, Richard would have recommended that only five thousand of the most competent Adventurers participated, but that wouldn't work.
A lot of new blood would want to join as well.
"We can't stop the people that desire to try their luck, so we can only ensure that the mission yields the highest amount of results."
Richard already did the numbers, and he estimated that about nine thousand to ten thousand Adventurers would participate in the Conquest.
'There's safety in numbers… even though most of those numbers are fodder.'
As a general rule, Dungeon exploration was a selfish task—every man for himself. That meant the participants were responsible for their lives.
Party members only assisted one another because not doing so would be detrimental to their own survival. It was a harsh truth about the trade, so even if the fodder were to join the Conquest, no one would be too distracted by them.
There would be no such thing as them being 'slowed down,'
Anyone who couldn't keep up would be abandoned. Those who were weak would naturally be culled.
"Is that really alright? I mean, wouldn't that reduce the overall number of Adventurers in the City?" Sebas asked with a raised brow.
In response to this, Richard and the two older Adventurers cracked a smile.
"You're right. But it won't get to that point." The Guildmaster answered.
"How so?"
"The Dungeon is always open for those who desire to leave. I actually stepped in myself, and I watched others do the same. The doors remain open regardless."
Since that was the case, once the weaklings realized how helpless they were, and that they couldn't possibly keep up with the strong… they would dip.
Such was the nature of the weak.
"They just have to witness it with their own eyes or they'll keep trying. The goal is to make them experience enough despair to stay away."
Of course, this plan would still have casualties, but they were necessary sacrifices. These people chose their path, despite knowing what kind of Dungeon it was, so they had to be prepared for the consequences.
"And what will you do about the Miasma?" Jet asked, his arms folded
"Well, it hasn't been confirmed to be Miasma since that is really rare and can come in various forms."
"But what if it is?"
As he pressured the Guildmaster, the older man knew he would have to answer the question.
"We'll make add that to the announcement, telling people the details and possibilities of Miasma. If they don't want to get Miasma Poisoning, then it's up to them to take the appropriate measures."
The Adventurers Guild wasn't some sort of parent, so they weren't responsible for the Adventurers in the City. In the same vein, the Adventurers didn't really answer to the Guild.
Other than activities involving the Guild, Adventurersdidn't need to have any kind of interaction with the body.
All they had to do was pay their dues, and the symbiotic relationship continued.
"Miasma Poisoning is very rare and difficult to cure—especially in severe cases—but it's pretty easy to prevent."
Since the poisoning occurred when Miasma—that is, corrupted Mana—entered a person's body and interfered with the natural flow of Mana within them.
If a person had a higher amount or density of Mana compared to the Miasma that invaded the body, then they were safe.
The Miasma would simply be purified by their internal Mana, the same way the Immune System protected the body from germs and diseases.
However, just as with the Immune System, the problem arose when the resistance level of an individual wasn't as strong as the infection.
If that happened to be the case, they would fall sick.
There were, however, ways to prevent this situation from happening.
"If they take the proper measures, then we should be fine."
"As long as they wear masks to protect themselves from inhaling the Miasma, they should be good."
Some eyes were sensitive to Miasma, so it was better for the mask to cover their faces completely. That way, they could protect most of the openings that allowed stuff into the body.
"Wearing basic Adventurer wear should also protect the body, though Miasma is only dangerous to a person's health if it is taken into the system, where the Mana network really is."
It had such a simple prevention method, yet Miasma Poisoning was one of the most difficult things to treat. Of course, depending on the severity of the poisoning, the difficulty could go down a few notches.
The reason for it being so complex was due to the Mana Network being corrupted.
In a simple case of Miasma Poisoning, simply ingesting a potent Mana Potion to boost your Mana by introducing new and fresh energy to the body would cure it. However, depending on how far the corruption went, it would only serve to make the matter worse, as the Miasma would simply corrupt the foreign Mana, compounding the issue even more.
Eventually, the entire body would be corrupted, and since the human body wasn't built to handle Miasma, such a person was bound to die.
Even those with Miasma-related Skills experienced side-effects from using them due to the weakness of the body itself.
Perhaps, in the future, the human body would adapt to Miasma, but since the stuff was so rare, that didn't seem like a prospect that would happen anytime soon.
"I'll make a few recommendations to the audience, so the Guild should have done its due diligence in that regard. Is that fine?"
Jet nodded upon hearing the words of the Guildmaster, and so the discussion continued.
"For this Conquest, I want the Heroic Rank Adventurers to form a separate Party from the rest." Richard said, his tone as serious as possible.
As one would expected, the audience was a bit surprised to hear this.
"We're going to lead the front lines, hence taking on the first blows and facing the biggest risks."
Thinking about things objectively, this would drastically reduce the mortality rate of the other participating Adventurers.
If the Heroic Rank Adventurers were to lead the charge, that would take a lot of heat off the rest.
"Will the others accept this, though? I mean, it might look like we're hogging all the good stuff to ourselves." Sherlock asked, his tone as casual as his expression.
"It doesn't matter what they think. Even if they try to whine about it, the truth is that they would do the same if given the opportunity." Britta responded with a cold tone.
"Britta is right. Besides, considering the risk we're taking by taking the front, it would be foolish for them to try to raise such criticisms."
"Okay. Fair enough." Sherlock said with a mild shrug.
"So, what do you say? Is that an agreement? All of us forming a separate party."
For a moment, there was silence. Jet glanced at Lux, and the two nodded at each other. The others also took a moment to consider it.
Then—
"I don't mind. Sounds fun." Sherlock grinned with excitement.
"I would also like that very much." Sebas added with a smile. "It would be a great privilege fighting alongside you all."
His words of reverence felt a bit misplaced and overly formal, given the mood, but since he was a newbie, everyone understood where he was coming from.
"It's not a big deal. No one should steal my kill, though." Britta said with a slight frown on her face.
She especially glared at Noah, most likely due to an incident that she just happened to remember at the moment.
"We agree to that." Jet spoke on behalf of him and Lux, and the latter's nod was proof of her agreement.
With all five of them in agreement, Richard nodded and smiled with satisfaction.
"That's good. Now, I'll explain the formation in more details to you…"
*******
[Moments Later]
The meeting finally ended, and it was finally time for the ceremony.
All the Heroic Rank Adventurers ascended the stairs until they reached the very rooftop of the Guild Building.
It had a barricade surrounding the flat surface, and from the top of this massive structure, one could see pretty much every facet of the city.
That is, if they stayed at the edge.
If all the denizens had superhuman vision, they could also all witness what was happening at the edge of the building's peak.
"Alright now…" Richard stepped on a particular tile in front of him, causing something like a thin pillar to rise from beneath the ground.
It resembled an Enchanted Item, because it was one.
"It's imbued with Sound Magic, so it should amplify our voices. Also, it has Image Capturing Magic, so it'll project our image to the sky."
While Richard was explaining, the Item warbled and began to scan the area. It needed about a minute of calibration to begin its function, so everyone waited patiently for the time.
Excitement was rife in the air, especially on the part of the older Adventurers.
It was very rare to see a Heroic Rank Adventurer, though the fact that they had done this very thing just two weeks ago still felt surreal.
Sherlock had become such an integral Adventurer that it felt like he had been around for longer.
~FSHIIIIIII!~
Finally, the pillar completely came to life, beaming with such radiance that it instantly shrouded the bodies of the six Heroic Rank Adventurers present.
This was a scan to fully capture their image.
Before long, a massive projection shot up to the sky, instantly drawing the attention of everyone who was going on with whatever business they had.
No one could resist the urge to look up and see the real-time projection of the Adventurers on stage.
Then… the roaring sound came.
"THE TIME HAS COME, EVERYONE!" It came from Richard, and his excited voice reverberated across the city.
"I PRESENT TO YOU… THE NEW HEROIC RANK ADVENTURERS!"
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