章 162: First dungeon cleared

We all come back. Fiona greets all of us. The residents of the singularity came with us. I was a bit curious about Tiana but couldn't ask her there. So I brought everyone out. It has been a while since everyone has gathered at one place.

Thankfully I had already modified this house. Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough room for anyone to move around. Dad and mom will take some time. I think I can go ahead and put Aldo on a bed.

I go through the portal connected to Aldo's house. I put him down on the bed and come back.

"He will probably sleep for a while. Check on him every now and then. I will be going to the guild. I have a few things I would like to ask Ms. Maria. Tiana, will you come with me?"

I ask Tiana. She was talking with Eden and Alyssa. Seems like they can get along pretty well. Probably due to their ages.

But Tiana beams with happiness when she hears it and runs to me. She is pretty excited.

"I will take that as a yes. Anyone else?"

But everyone declined. They said that I should spend some time with Tiana as well. It's true that I haven't spent much time with her. It can be a good thing.

We both leave for the guild. I should keep talking with her.

"Tiana, how are you feeling? You haven't been outdoors much. Is it bothering you?"

"No, master. I don't feel anything displeasing. But there are many humans around." (Tiana)

"Well, we are in a country which has mostly humans. Even I haven't seen other species here. Elves, dwarfs, spirits..I know that they exist. But I haven't seen them here. The most I have seen are a few beastkins."

It did come to my mind. So I had asked Fay about it. She said that this country is advocating human supremacy. So other species tend to avoid this country. There is a bit of a history between the humans of this country and other species.

The beastkins couldn't go anywhere else so they went deep inside the forest to avoid human contact.

I was explaining what I had heard from Fay. Before long, we had reached the guild.

I open the door and find Ms. Maria at her usual place.

I ignore the gazes and take Tiana with me.

"Good morning, Ms. Maria."

"Good morning, Mr. Belmont. Who is this young lady?" (Maria)

"She is Tiana Belmont. My contracted spirit and daughter."

Yeah. If I go with the logic that your child is someone you give birth to then she is my child. She was born from me.

Tiana is a bit flustered. But Ms. Maria has a dead look on her face.

"How can she be your contracted spirit and daughter? Rather, how many spirits do you have a contract with?" (Maria)

"Currently I have contracted 3 spirits. You have seen them all. And she is born from me. So she is my daughter. Anyway, we can talk about that later. I have something to ask you."

"It boggles me how nonchalant you are about this. So, what do you want to ask me?" (Maria)

She changed her gears quickly. She is a professional after all.

"Do you know of any adventurer named Reed? He should be missing since last year."

I didn't know Aldo's father's full name. But he should have the name Reed.

"Ah..Steven Reed. Yes, he was an A rank adventurer. He did live in this town and had a good record. It's a shame that he went missing. He has been pronounced dead already. But why do you ask?" (Maria)

"I have taken in his kid. You know, the one who came with me yesterday."

"I knew that he had children but he was the one, I didn't know that. Do you want to specifically know what happened to him?" (Maria)

"If possible."

I think sharing these kinds of details are forbidden. These are confidential information.

"Normally I would not. But it also involves a certain job that he was doing at the time of his disappearance." (Maria)

"So he went missing during a job. What kind of job was it?"

"It was a dungeon reconnaissance job. Last year, a new dungeon was found west of this town. We put out a job. Normally a single A rank adventurer is enough for it. Steven took the job. But he went missing.

We dispatched several search parties. But no one ever found him or his body. Even his belongings were not found. It was like he was spirited away from there.

After that, the dungeon was conquered and is now open to all. But we still haven't found Steven or his body. So he was declared dead 6 months ago." (Maria)

So we went missing during a dungeon reconnaissance. So many things can happen that I can't pinpoint just one.

"I see. Thank you for the information. Can I have the dungeon's location? I will go and check it real soon."

"Well, that dungeon is a C rank dungeon so you are more than qualified enough. I will give you a map of the dungeon. I hope nothing happens again in that dungeon." (Maria)

She hands me a parchment. It's probably a map. I thank her and leave. I should go and take a look.

"Master, why did you call me your daughter?" (Tiana)

"You are born of me. So that makes you my daughter. You can call papa like Eden does."

Tiana is flustered. She looks like she in deep thoughts. But she says this.

"I can not call you papa. It's too embarrassing. I will call you father instead." (Tiana)

"I see. Then, let's go and take a look at the dungeon."

"Yes, father." (Tiana)

Her new way of addressing me is fresh. So many people already call me master. Calling me father is a welcome change.

I teleport to the dungeon. Nowadays I can go anywhere I want. I don't even have to know the coordinates. It's convenient and easy for the author.

I see two guards guarding a cave. I approach them.

"Halt. Only qualified adventurers are allowed to enter."

One them says. This is my first time at a dungeon. Didn't know it has guards at the entrance.

I show them my adventurer card and they let me enter. They did ask about Tiana but I told them she is my contracted spirit. I don't know if they believe me or not but they didn't stop me.

"Tiana, this is my first time in a dungeon. So let's be a little vigilant."

I tell her this and she nods. We shouldn't talk too much in a dungeon.

We are walking through the dungeon but I have yet to see a monster. Did they run away from me?

(Clive, the monsters have gathered at one place. They are waiting for you.)

(Gathered at a place? Do they have any intelligent monster leading them?)

(Yes. An oni is leading them. It's the boss of this dungeon.)

(I see. By the way, what happened to Steven?)

(Steven actually stepped on a trap and fell into a pitfall. He couldn't get out from the pit and was killed by the oni after he was weakened.)

So Steven just had bad luck. Well, I will go and conquer the dungeon. We keep walking through and arrive at a door.

It's a big stone door. I push it open and go inside with Tiana. I can see a lot of monsters inside.

Goblins and orcs, I can see some skeletons and zombies as well. The only one who is intelligent is the black skinned oni. That oni is sitting on top of a pedestal and giving orders.

I prepare to attack. But Tiana stops me.

"Father, let me deal with such pests." (Tiana)

I also wanted to see her growth. This might be a good opportunity.

I step back and lean on a wall. It didn't take her much time.

Tiana is a blood spirit. The first of her kind. She should have the ability of manipulating blood. Goblins and orcs have blood flowing through them. The goblins and orcs exploded.

She reversed their blood flow and increased the velocity. The result was a gross explosion.

Those that don't have any blood charged at her. But Tiana dealt with them with magic.

Even if she is a blood spirit, she can use other elements. She used fire to burn the skeletons and zombies. They are probably weak to fire. Nothing remained of those.

The last one was the oni. It wasn't even a fight. Tiana lifted the oni up and threw it to a wall. She probably used the blood in it to control it. The oni was splattered onto the wall. It's a gross situation. Blood everywhere.

But her growth is impressive.

"Impressive. You can manipulate blood remotely as well."

"I was training hard, father. Amaryllis taught me about this. The dungeon has been conquered master." (Tiana)

I pet her head. She did a good job. I can see a small treasure box on the pedestal.

"It's probably a reward for conquering this dungeon. Shall we take it?"

I go ahead and open the box. It has a dagger inside. The dagger isn't that special and I have practically no use for it. I ask Tiana if she wanted it but she doesn't either.

I can give it to Aldo. He might need it for now. We should go back and report to Ms. Maria about our investigation. But the monsters of this dungeon were weak. Yet they didn't lose heart and attacked together. I guess they are aggressive as well.