—
What Shuna said wasn’t just speculation—it was real.
After all, the original story was about defecting to the enemy’s side. If the dungeons were just empty shells ant to be cleared like simple ga levels, how could the story have unfolded?
This was sothing revealed to the “readers” outside the story right from the beginning.
To the adventurers outside the dungeons, it was a ga of tower-climbing and clearing levels.
But for the creatures inside the dungeons, it was a tower-defense ga against waves of incoming adventurers.
However, the mont in the original story when the protagonist defected and the Dungeon Queen revealed the “great secret of the world” was sothing Shuna had casually guessed, as if it were a joke. That felt a bit too much.
So!
Will decided not to tell her the truth.
Letting her stumble upon such a massive secret so easily? That would be too convenient.
If she wanted to know, she’d have to dig it up herself.
“How could that be? You’re overthinking it. If that were true, your high-level status would light up like a beacon, and the dungeons wouldn’t even let you in.”
“That’s true. I was just making stuff up.”
This offhanded rebuttal seed to convince Shuna.
“But, Will, I’ve been thinking about sothing.”
“Hmm?”
“I cleared that dungeon about a month ago. If a town doesn’t have a new dungeon and has been without one for a month, theoretically, the Adventurer’s Guild shouldn’t be this crowded, right?”
“That’s true.”
Will glanced around.
The air was filled with the aroma of grilled fish, mingling with the scent of freshly opened beer.
This guild was slightly larger than the one in Novice Town. While it wasn’t as overwhelmingly crowded, nearly every table was occupied.
For a town “without a dungeon,” it was unusual for the Adventurer’s Guild to be this busy.
Unless…
“It looks like a new dungeon has appeared here recently!”
Shuna’s eyes lit up as she spoke.
“It’s not impossible. Places that have hosted dungeons before are more likely to spawn new ones.”
The appearance of dungeons was a subject of advanced geography in this world, and this theory was widely accepted.
Unfortunately, the original story chose not to explain this phenonon!
“Eh, it’s just random spawns. What are you gonna do about it?”
As Will and Shuna pieced together information about their current location—
“Huh? You two seem interested in our new dungeon? If you’re curious, you should give it a try. This dungeon is rich in fire-elent materials…”
A server from the Adventurer’s Guild, sensing an opportunity, approached them with a promotional flyer.
“They’re even handing out flyers for dungeons now? Fancy.”
Without hesitation, Shuna grabbed the flyer.
It was dominated by vibrant shades of red, fitting the typical “fire-elent” aesthetic. The design featured plenty of lava, giving it a fiery and intense vibe.
Shuna was so engrossed in reading the flyer that she paused her fish-eating.
“Hmm, the flyer is flashy, but it doesn’t provide much information. This dungeon only goes up to 30 floors so far, so it’s definitely new.”
When a dungeon is first discovered, it typically starts with 20 floors.
If it remains uncleared for a month or two, it might expand to 30 floors.
Within about six months, it could grow to 60 or 70 floors. However, growth beyond that becos unpredictable. So powerful dungeons might reach 100 floors within six months, while weaker ones might stagnate at 60-70 floors for a long ti.
Three years ago, 60-70 floors were considered the upper limit.
But not anymore. Now, 60-70 floors were just the mark of a mid-tier dungeon.
“A dungeon that’s only a month old and already has 30 floors is impressive. Though it might not be challenging enough for you.”
“The na is ‘Ironfire Bastion.’ A defensive-type dungeon, maybe? It’s rated B3, so it’s mid-tier.”
“B3, huh. What’s your rating?”
“Hmm… I took the evaluation a few days ago and got recognized as S-rank.”
As expected!
Will had guessed that Shuna’s level would be at least A-rank—after all, even the three “losers” he trained at ho could easily approach S-rank with proper training. Soone as naturally talented as Shuna would undoubtedly excel.
With an S-rank rating, she could easily join any team and solo dungeons.
Will was even tempted to recruit her into his own team.
“So, what did you choose to specialize in? You seem like you can do everything.”
“Let think… What did I pick… S-rank Swordsman? S-rank Mage? Oh, and S-rank Healer…? I pretty much passed all the professions available.”
“Was it fun taking all those tests?”
“It was a blast!”
“One would’ve been enough.”
“Didn’t you say logistics should be well-rounded?”
“So it’s my fault again?”
Will said, snatching the flyer from Shuna’s hand.
The flyer didn’t provide much information, but it was beautifully designed—perfect as a travel advertisent.
However…
If it’s a fire-thed dungeon…
“What a sha.”
Will sighed.
“Why the sudden lant? Do you think the flyer’s poorly made too?”
“If it were a dungeon with a similar the to the last one, there might’ve been a chance to encounter the sa type of monster and obtain another piece of that enhancent material… Green Wraith Stone, was it? But with such a different the, it’s unlikely.”
“Oh, I thought you’d stopped caring about that.”
Shuna paused, deep in thought.
“You might have a point. But if the material cos from an external source, then it wouldn’t matter what the dungeon’s the is.”
Shuna seed intent on drawing Will into the dungeon.
“Hmm… Still, the rules for material drops are based on years of experience. There’s always the chance of encountering sothing unusual.”
Will, on the other hand, leaned toward the “let’s not bother” mindset.
Will didn’t notice the contradiction in their conversation, but Shuna, after hearing his response, squinted at him thoughtfully.
“Enough talk. Let eat so more—this is really good.”
Will picked up his fork.
And then he realized…
While they had been engrossed in their academic discussion about dungeons…
Shuna had finished the entire grilled fish!
All that was left on the plate were cleanly picked bones—how had she managed to eat every bit of at and leave behind such a pristine skeleton?
“My fish? Where’s my big, beautiful fish?”
“Hehe, it was delicious! Let’s order another one!”
“No need. I’m almost full anyway. I’ve been trying to cut back on dinner portions lately.”
Since forming his adventurer team, Will had been working on adopting a healthier diet.
He had resolved to make so sacrifices for his health (though he hadn’t stopped staying up late).
“Co on, after a day like today on the train, you deserve it! Plus, you’re paying.”
Shuna waved to the server, ordering another plump grilled fish.
“So you’re just taking it for granted that I’m paying, huh!”
But…
As Shuna had said…
He had already run off with a delinquent girl. There was no point in pretending to be a goody-two-shoes now.
He was here to indulge.
Ti to dig in!
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