Three days after arriving in Dungeon City for the Geology Exploration Class.

Ethan and I confirmed that the line had diminished enough to finally wait for our turn to enter the dungeon, so we decided to head in tonight.

• Swoosh.

 

“Hmmm...”

Since I received it as a gift, maybe it’s better to wear it when I go out? I think Ethan would like it if I wore the one I gave him. But if others see me wearing cat ears at the dungeon entrance, it might stand out a bit.

‘...Well, for now, I'll go with this today.’

After contemplating between the white head dress and the cat ear head dress, I ultimately decided to stick with the one I usually wear. Since there are people I know among the academy students gathered here, it wouldn't be good to draw attention for wearing something unusual in front of them.

Besides, I had worn the gift quite a bit over the past few days, so missing it for today wouldn’t disappoint Ethan.

“Master Ethan, it's time to wake up. Today is the day we enter the dungeon.”

“Oh, yeah.... I’ll get up....”

Ethan woke up with slightly messy hair and sleepy eyes. As I watched him wake up, he suddenly turned to me and smiled.

“Did you sleep well, Lilith?”

“...Yes.”

His bright smile in the morning was, honestly, unfair. Of course, I had been somewhat expecting this reaction, so having achieved that, I tried to keep my surprise under wraps with a brief response.

“Time flies, huh? It's already been three days since we got here.”

“That’s right.”

“I had fun being with Lilith, but this really isn’t a good place for a relaxing date.”

“I agree.”

Considering that most of the people gathering in Dungeon City were adventurers or merchants, the atmosphere was pretty predictable. It was noisy, chaotic, and filled with self-serving individuals.

Naturally, the townspeople dealing with such adventurers resembled them, and the city’s safety was not great. Over the three days of dating Ethan, I had already encountered five attempts at pickpocketing and faced two muggings at night.

...But really, the petty criminals here weren’t worth worrying about.

“Next time I travel with Lilith, I think we should go to a city with better security. I’ve heard that cities with cathedrals tend to be quite safe.”

“That sounds good. When would be a good time to travel?”

“It’ll be hard to find time to go far while attending the academy.... Maybe we could go in the spring after graduation?”

“...After graduation, huh.”

“Yeah. I doubt my father will demand I take over the territory immediately. I should have a few years of freedom after graduating.”

“......”

By then, I probably wouldn’t be at Blackwood territory.

“Understood, Master Ethan. I will remember that.”

I tucked away the promise that probably wouldn’t come true in my heart.

“The inside is cleaner than I expected.”

“That's likely because the environment resets every time someone exits the dungeon, Master Ethan.”

After finishing the preparations for food and potions in the morning, Ethan and I finally entered the dungeon. I had thought we would get in by this evening, but we ended up entering the dungeon nearly at midnight.

‘It seems like we got pushed back in line because of how long Karaham and Gwyn took to clear it.’

The reckless duo who boldly entered the dungeon unprepared on the first day. To be honest, I thought that no matter how strong those two were at the academy, they wouldn’t clear it easily. But later, I heard that Karaham and Gwyn cleared the dungeon that very night they entered.

‘Of course, they probably bulldozed through all the traps and monsters.’

The reason dungeons take a long time to clear is that you have to avoid traps and dangerous monsters while navigating the maze-like interior. Conversely, if you charge straight through without avoiding the traps and monsters, you can progress quickly.

Naturally, most people can’t withstand the traps that spring from all sides or the fire spells in hidden rooms, but since those two were physically strong, they likely ignored those hazards and just pressed on.

As a result, their record became an outrageous time attack score that even I never achieved in my past life.

‘Better to give up on that A+.’

They grade based on the quickest clearing times for each dungeon, so even if there’s no other team between Gwyn & Karaham’s party and my party with Ethan, an A would be the limit.

Of course, just because there’s a 0.5-point difference doesn’t mean I’ll fail to graduate. After all, the Geology Exploration Class is known for most students not even getting a D, so simply passing would be a win.

It would be rational to spend a day leisurely exploring the dungeon, rather than risk getting torn apart by goblins or ogres.

“Here’s the first fork in the road... What does the map say, Lilith?”

“Either way is fine. If we turn right, there’s a trap with a few monsters, but we can get some small rewards, and if we go straight, we can move to the next fork without a fight.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Given how long we’ve been together, I think you know what answer would come from me, Master Ethan?”

“…That’s true.”

With those words, we turned right into a slightly larger chamber.

As soon as we entered, the door to the first trap room closed behind us, revealing the hidden monsters.

“Black Slimes.”

“Shall I take care of them?”

“No. Slime-type monsters are resistant to physical attacks... So, I’ll handle this. Please conserve your strength, Master Ethan.”

After finishing that last statement, I used a triple casting of magic arrows, creating a composite spell that added shockwaves to each arrow, targeting each of the black slimes that appeared.

Thud!

Thud!

With a combined attack of magical and physical damage, three black slimes burst apart at once.

At that moment, the familiar level-up notification appeared briefly in my mind before disappearing.

“Lilith has reached level 30!”

...It seems I barely had enough experience points to reach the next level. Starting off with a clean level-up from the first hunt felt pretty good.

‘Still, the reward is just ten silver coins. That's really a small reward.’

Still, engaging in combat was more beneficial. For me, who had plenty of magic left, earning ten silver coins through a few spells was a decent deal.

“So this is how dungeons work. It’s fascinating.”

“Ah, come to think of it, Master Ethan, is this your first time in a dungeon?”

“Isn’t it your first time too?”

“...Of course, it is, but according to the materials I read in the magic department library, this is how they operate. The principles of dungeons come from a power not belonging to the current Aurelia Church, but rather another god's authority.”

“Indeed, Lilith, you’re quite smart.”

I brushed it off with a suitable excuse, collecting the silver coins that appeared in the treasure chest and moving with Ethan to the next room. I thought that we needed to clear at least up to the third floor before sleeping tonight to ensure we could effectively navigate the dungeon tomorrow.

“Ethan Richard Blackwood, Lilith Rosewood Blackwood. 1 day, 2 hours, 13 minutes.”

“What’s the ranking?”

“According to this two-person dungeon, it’s second place. Although it still means ‘not yet’ second place.”

“Thank you.”

The professor said we were still in second place, but that record likely wouldn’t be broken. The Geology Class generally ends with most students failing, except for the main character’s party and a few notable names.

Despite this, the reason so many students enroll is the high credit unit for the Geology Exploration Class itself, as well as the ability to double-dip by gathering rewards inside the dungeon.

“Although, technically, if you prepare properly for the dungeon exploration, it balances out.”

Many students mistakenly think, ‘As long as we clear the dungeon, we’ll earn credits and rewards, right?’ However, to clear a dungeon properly, you need to prepare accordingly, which costs money.

Just Ethan and I alone spent at least ten gold coins on maps, supplies, lodging, camping gear, and magical tools to enter this dungeon.

While combining the rewards we got inside might allow us to recoup the ten gold coins, in the end, the Geology Exploration Class isn’t a course you take to ‘profit’.

...Except for one thing. There is one sure way to gain benefits from this Geology Exploration Class.

I casually approached the couple at the front of the line outside the dungeon we just exited.

“Hey, you couple there, are you waiting to enter the small dungeon?”

“Ah, yes!”

“...That's correct.”

“I just wanted to ask if you got a map of the dungeon interior. It might be difficult to explore without one.”

“Ah, we got one! They were selling it at the general store in Dungeon City!”

“...That map, huh?”

I deliberately trailed off, casting a slight look of uncertainty at the couple, who now wore worried expressions as they glanced at me.

I quickly flashed the dungeon map we had just used to them, making sure to show the inside slightly.

“Isn’t this map a lot more detailed?”

“U, uh?!”

“What is this...? Did we get scammed...?”

“Rather than a scam... it’s just that the map is outdated. An old map wouldn’t detail areas of the dungeon we haven’t visited yet, and it wouldn’t include secret rooms that can only be opened with special methods.”

“Ah...”

“Hmmm...”

“Don’t worry. We just finished navigating the dungeon, so I’ll sell you this map for just five gold coins.”

“......Huh?”

“Five gold coins...?”

The couple looked at me with four eyes filled with doubt at the prospect of buying something that had already been used once.

It seemed the price of five gold coins was a bit shocking, and they cautiously glanced at me for approval.

“Honestly, if you collect all the rewards from the hidden rooms shown on this map, you should be able to easily gather eight gold coins. It’s definitely worth buying.”

“Uh, uh, but... five gold coins seems a bit...”

“Isn’t that a bit expensive? Plus, it’s already been used once...”

“A map isn’t a consumable, right? Just because it’s been used once doesn’t diminish its value.”

“W-well, that’s true...”

“Just so you know, this is the same map the information guild sells for ten gold coins. I’m offering it to you at half price since I’ve just used it.”

“Half price...”

“And think about it. If you use this map to clear the dungeon quickly and get back out, you can sell it to the next person for the same five gold coins, right? So it’s practically free, isn’t it?”

“...Is that so!”

“Really! Then we’ll buy it!”

...Well, I didn’t lie.

Even though I got the map for one gold coin, it was currently being sold for ten gold coins by the information guild.

Flipping it quickly and selling it to the next person wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Anyway, with that, Ethan and I made a total of five gold coins from our dungeon exploration.

Make money, get credit. It's sex.