Chapter 183 ā Majolica dungeonās survey team ā Part one
We spent two more days in the academy, and the girls all managed to learn some basic things.
However, Hikari said Yor does a better job explaining. Should I ask her to teach them some more when she has the time?
I took it easy reading books, but that would be easier if Celes didnāt constantly ask me about this or that. Is she just bored there?
It was quiet the first day, but after that she started asking me a lot of questions. According to her, she hasnāt been outside this city in years, so sheās curious.
āAre you taking this quest too, Sora?ā
Asks Fred.
Iām in the adventurer guild.
So itās Fred and the others who will be coming with us? It was all so sudden that I didnāt get to hear who it was, but maybe theyāre looking out for us because we donāt know a lot of people here.
So itās the six of us, Fred and nine more of his group, and ten miners. Twenty six people in total.
Our party was picked because Leila said we have an item bag, and for some reason because they were also told Iām a good cook.
They left everything up to me, including the ingredients, so I went out shopping with Hikari yesterday.
āIām surprised you took such a sudden quest.ā
āYou too Fred. I guess the person putting out the quest being who he is plays a part in it too.ā
āYou donāt look like you care about that sort of thing.ā
I couldnāt say no, but currying up some favor is no bad thing either. Not to mention that heās also Leilaās father.
āAre you the remnantsā party? Iām Murok, and Iāll be leading this survey group.
That said, I donāt know about dungeons, so we will be counting on you to give directions halfway through.ā
When I think of miners I think of someone rough, but this guy is pretty gentle-mannered. Even compared to the others, heās not really that muscular or anything. He looks like a normal guy.
But by looking at him more closely I can tell his body is slim and tight. Well, maybe.
āWeāll be going to the fifth floor. Weāll see how weāre doing when we get there, and decide if we want to keep going. Are you all right in terms of baggage?ā
I guess Fred is taking over as the leader of the adventurer side.
And so, the ones better suited for scouting go in front, Siphon and the others that are good at being guards stay close to the survey team, and our party goes in the back, except for Hikari and Rurika.
The passages in the upper floors are pretty narrow, so we always end up forming a long line.
It kind of reminds me of grade school students on a field trip.
Apparently Siphon and his party have been here a few times by now, so they answer the survey teamās questions. Siphonās replies are a bit weird though.
We reach the fourth floor two days later. The survey team members are miners, so they have good stamina, but the fact that weāve been getting lucky and finding the staircases quickly helps. Yes, itās really lucky.
āWolves appear on the next floor. There are a lot of them, but donāt get scared and stick with us. They might attack us from two sides at once, so please look after our backs, Sora.ā
He says, but he doesnāt sound worried. Especially with Sera here.
The miners on the other hand do look worried, because we havenāt fought once. Thatāll go away once they see Sera fight.
Sure enough, she easily takes down five wolves by herself. After that first battle, we give Chris and Mia a turn to show off too.
But since Iām not doing anything, Iām basically here to carry things and cook, in the eyes of the miners.
Speaking of cooking, the miners really like the food, especially since it feels exotic to them. The adventurers say that getting used to this is going to make future dungeon explorations harder.
Fred also tells Murok several times not to think that this is what people usually eat in the dungeon.
And so, we reach the fifth floor without much trouble, and agree to complete it.
Fred starts worrying if the miners arenāt more tired than they think because theyāre not used to this environment, but backs down when they tell him theyāre fine with a pretty energetic tone.
The fifth floor really is different from the rest. Apparently the miners heard about it too, but they open their mouths wide as they are taken aback by what they see.
Fred asks them again if theyāre fine, and the miners say once again that theyāre all right, even though they look embarrassed and kind of flustered.
I ask Murok if it wouldnāt make more sense if someone went around from the sixth floor, but he tells me that he doesnāt mind because this allows them to get used to the dungeon environment too.
And if possible, he wants to get food from the dungeon.
Apparently the merchant guild asked indirectly to pick it if they could.
Only a few people should know that itās possible to mine ore on the fifteenth floor. Iām kind of worried about their information control.
I tell this to Murok, and he sort of dodges the topic and says he was asked by someone he knows high up.
Iām sure he has his obligations too. Thereās no point in digging too deep into that.