Chapter 88: Whenever You Are With , Always Expect The Worst
The next day...
From a distance, Alex and Cairo watched a teenage boy practice his sword swings in the backyard of his house.
As a Swordsman, Cairo could tell that the teen at least knew the basics of holding a sword.
His strikes were strong and steady, making the Catkin smile faintly in approval.
"He might have been trained to hold the sword from a young age," Cairo said.
"Yes," Alex replied. "His adoptive parents were both Adventurers, and his father taught him how to wield the sword so he can protect his sisters."
The young man had already told his Master that Charles’ parents had died during their last dungeon expedition.
It was a very common tale among children whose parents made a living by risking their lives to hunt monsters both outside and inside the dungeon.
The life of an Adventurer could end with just a single mistake.
This was also why there were different Ranks for Adventurers. That way, they were restricted to only tackling missions within their abilities.
"Master, do you think he is now a Ranker?" Alex inquired.
He was still unable to gauge how powerful soone was just by looking at them.
Only experienced warriors like his master would be able to tell if soone was strong or not with a glance.
"He is very close to becoming a Ranker," Cairo answered. "Perhaps he will beco one a few days before the trial inside the Dungeon of Beginnings starts."
Alex nodded in agreent.
Even in the ga, the ti allocated for Charles was just enough for him to beco a Ranker.
Charles was a Swordsman, and his goal was to beco a Knight.
His adoptive father had once been a Knight. However, the lord he was serving died in a tragic accident. To continue supporting his family, he could only shift to the life of an Adventurer.
Using his knightly abilities, he gained enough fa to make a na for himself.
That was also how he t his wife and ford a family with her.
Charles was the son of one of their party mbers, who later died in an escort mission.
Since the party mbers treated each other as family, the couple decided to adopt Charles and raise him as their own child.
For many years, they lived happily with each other.
But those happy days ca to an end a month ago.
Charles and his sisters were forced apart by their aunt, who didn’t recognize the teenage boy as part of their family.
However, she had given him a chance, perhaps out of pity.
She would recognize him if he was able to beco a scholarship student of Frieden Academy and survive the Dungeon of Beginnings.
Charles didn’t know if his aunt ant her words or simply wanted him to die at the hands of monsters.
However, since he didn’t want to part with his sisters, he had agreed to the condition and was now training hard for the upcoming trial.
"Are there things we need to pay attention to once inside the Dungeon of Beginnings?" Cairo asked. "You said we would be facing Rank 4 Monsters. While I think they are indeed a problem, we can just run away if we et them inside the dungeon."
"Master, let
just say sothing," Alex said with a serious expression on his face. "Whenever you are with , always expect the worst."
"Huh? What do you an?"
"Um, just think of
as soone who raises the difficulty of anything I poke my nose into. For example, instead of Rank 4 Monsters, we might encounter Rank 5 Monsters inside the dungeon."
Since Alex couldn’t say that sothing called "Difficulty Level: Hell Mode" was attached to him, this was his way of preparing Cairo for the dangers they would face later.
"Is this that so-called flag that you ntioned in the past?" Cairo asked. "That Murphy’s Law?"
"In a way, yes, Master," Alex replied. "When you are with , think about Murphy’s Law, and it will co to pass."
"Alex, remind
not to take you with
when I dive into High-Level Dungeons."
"Okay."
Alex was very tempted to say that taking him was still better than taking Charles. But since he didn’t want Cairo to look at him with pity, he decided to keep his silence instead.
"Have you already thought of a strategy we can use inside the dungeon when the monsters start to head in our direction?" Cairo crossed his arms over his chest.
"The strategy is simple, Master," Alex answered. "Run as fast as we can for as long as we can. If we find the exit first, we win."
"Then what of the other trial takers?" Cairo arched an eyebrow. "Won’t they be in danger too?"
"I have a solution for that, Master." Alex smirked. "We just need to delay entering the dungeon. Let’s give everyone a day as a head start. By then, they will have already found the exit."
Trial takers were allowed to form a party of five when entering the Dungeon of Beginnings.
So Adventurers would sotis accept missions to escort trial takers inside the dungeon, just like Efa had a year ago.
For most people, entering the Dungeon of Beginnings was rely a formality because they had the ans to clear it with the resources available to them.
Hiring a group of Adventurers was still cheaper than enrolling in the academy without a scholarship as the school fee was ten thousand gold coins per student.
Only noble families could afford the tuition, so commoners had no choice but to be more resourceful when taking the trial of the academy.
"I think that’s a good plan." Cairo nodded. "As long as no innocents will be involved, we can simply focus on finding the exit."
"Right." Alex shifted his attention back to Charles, who was still practicing his sword swings.
Once upon a ti, he had stood at that sa spot, repeating the sa sword swings again and again just to raise his sword proficiency in the ga.
Seeing Charles’ diligence in person only made Alex more determined to help him.
Now that he had confird that the teenage boy wasn’t neglecting his training, it was ti to familiarize themselves with the monsters inside the Dungeon of Beginnings.
Leaving Charles to his training, Alex and Cairo headed to the dungeon to get a better idea of what enemies they would be fighting in a few weeks’ ti.
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