บท 16: Our First Intruders [Part 1]

"Are you sure that there is a dungeon this far out? I'm pretty sure there is nothing but forest for miles", Emily said.

"According to the guild, they got word that another dungeon arrived a few days ago. Since it's still new, this is a good opportunity to map the dungeon's layout for the guild", Ronan said.

"Who cares about that stuff! Think about the untouched treasure that's inside! I heard we can get a nice amount of coins if we destroy the Dungeon core!", Miller said.

Ronan, Emily, and Miller have been on a research expedition to find the newest dungeon, which arrived 3 days ago. They left their town of Ravenscar and have walked 3 miles to find the dungeon. According to the church, the new dungeon could be found in this direction. Their orders were to report back what they find and leave the dungeon as is.

"I can't believe the church would send one of their newest healers on such a long expedition! May the Gods bless my legs with more strength!", Emily prayed.

"Stop whining! This is what we have to do if we want to get the treasure that awaits us! Think about it! If the dungeon is new then we should be able to raid it for loot! The mobs in there shouldn't be more than a C-rank!", Miller said.

"I already told you, Miller! Our orders were to leave the dungeon as is! Use your brain more than your muscles and you would know that every dungeon is different. We don't know what to expect from this dungeon, so we should move carefully once we find it!", Ronan said.

In this adventuring party were a group of three adventurers who were working together for the first time. Since the Guild marked it as a C-ranked quest, newbie adventurers were encouraged to accept it. Fresh from their training, they decided to have their first quest to be the easiest one to complete.

Ronan was a sophisticated Mage fresh out of the Ravenscar Magic Academy. Despite being highly intelligent, he was still a beginner in the ways of magic. However, he was able to control multiple types of magic despite only being 18. His current rank was C+.

Miller was a 19-year-old Brutish Warrior who was good at what he did but exhibited unfavorable characteristics. After years of training his body, he was officially able to get the title of Warrior from the guild. He was currently a C+ rank.

Emily was a 17-year-old Holy Healer from the Ravenscar Church. Since she was a beginner in the ways of healing, the church sent her out on daily minuscule tasks. This was the first time she was assigned to help out adventurers, despite exhibiting lazy tendencies. She was also a C+.

After walking through the forest for 3 days, they finally saw something other than trees: a large and circular grassland. It was currently 1 PM in the afternoon.

"Grassland? That's not on the map. This is too large to just be a cartography error! This must be what we are looking for!", Ronan said.

The group of adventurers walked out of the forest and onto the grassland, where they saw a large mountain in the middle of the circular field. Upon looking at the top of the mountain, they noticed a large Griffin's nest. Judging from the way the nest was made, it seemed that it was a new nest that housed at least two large Griffins. However, the Griffins in question were nowhere to be found.

"Oi! Isn't that a Griffin's nest, Ronan? I thought you said it was rare to find one?", Miller asked.

"Yeah! That's because it is rare! We have to start recording this right now! The Griffin hunters have to know about this!", Ronan said.

As Ronan, Miller, and Emily began to walk around the mountain, they couldn't find a way to scale it efficiently. However, while walking around the mountain, they happened to find the double-doors of what looked to be a dungeon. The Dungeon doors featured a Griffin Emblem in the center and were made out of stone. The name of the dungeon was also placed above the door, which was on a stone plate with gold lettering on it.

"The Dungeon of Constrictor? I've never heard of that dungeon before", Emily said.

"This has to be the dungeon the guild was talking about. It also roughly matches the coordinates of the church. I think we should prepare before entering", Ronan said.

As Ronan and Emily took off their backpacks, they took out the items needed for a Dungeon Crawl. Meanwhile, Miller decided to ignore them completely and walk into the Dungeon by himself. Before Ronan and Emily could warn him, Miller swung the doors open.

"I'm sure we'll be fine! We don't even need that gear! How advanced can a 3-day old Dungeon really be?", Miller said.

As Miller swung the door open, Ronan and Emily were surprised to see that the beginning of the dungeon was... a rest area? Training Dummies, Archery Target stands, Campfires, Water Fountain decor, benches, and more were surrounding the rest area. The dungeon (deceptively) seemed to be pretty safe at first glance.

"See? Nothing to worry about! Let's hurry up and raid this dungeon already!", Miller stated.

As the other two adventurers hesitantly entered the dungeon, they noticed that a man with white hair was practicing his archery. He was donning matte black armor and weaponry, which seemed to be strong.

As the adventurers called out to Krotos, he began to smirk.

At the same time, a certain Dungeon Master and Core were planning their entrance.

It was time to put Hidarus's lessons to the test.

First up?

How To Deceive An Adventurer.