The dungeon is scary!

The guild was quite considerate of new adventurers, thanks to Halrod I was allowed to buy a beginner's set for 4400 Valis. The entire set in a common store would fetch no less than 10 thousand, they basically sell it cheaper so that new adventurers can start their jobs immediately.

That of course, doesn't mean a new adventurer will have the money to pay for it right there. That's why they give you a full month to pay for the equipment. If you fail to do so, the guild will force you to work for them until you have paid the price for the gear.

The one I asked for is the most expensive one, although the set of leather armor is the same for every set, with this one I got a sword and shield to accompany me in battle. It was just a short sword and the shield was of the small round kind, but it wasn't bad, anything that could keep me alive was more than welcome.

Still, the price was quite a problem, I'm still pondering whether or not I should have chosen the dagger set instead of the shield-sword one.

Shaking my head I walked through the gates and stopped to admire the beautiful view. The entrance was a spiraling staircase that goes down into the darkness, you couldn't see the end even if you threw a torch from above, that, however, was more like an illusion rather than the first underground floor being too low below.

It was something about the Dungeon's illumination that made light behave like that.

That didn't change how beautiful it was though, just the first few steps feel like you're walking down a black hole surrounded by shining stars.

If I had to compare it with something, I would say it's pretty similar to Pandora Castle's Hell entrance in saint Seiya, where the bronze boys had to go down a hole to arrive at hell and fight Hades.

But there was no need for some special 7th sense in order to survive the trip to the underground.

After walking for some time I arrived on the first floor. The walls were light blue and there were already quite some adventurers gathering around the Beginning Road.

Based on what Halrod said, from the 1st to the 4th floor the only enemies one can find are the goblins and kobolds, I had some guesses on how they looked like based on my gaming experience from my previous life, but I couldn't be sure...

Kobolds were, after all, dragon servants in most of the games I had played, they wouldn't be wandering around like the ones here, instead, they would be like plagues infesting dungeons that worked as a lair for greedy dragons sleeping in piles of gold.

I was quite afraid of dying, not gonna lie. My legs felt like they would give in just from looking at any of the dark corridors leading to parallel paths beside the road leading to the second floor.

Most adventurers were working in groups and had no qualms about their safety, you could see it in their faces that everything felt like a holiday for them.

But I was alone, every monster was a possible threat to my life.

Should I try and work with some of those guys?

I looked around, searching for some good-looking newbies that felt receptive, but honestly... They all had a quite dangerous aura surrounding them. If you ever stood face to face with those motorbike gangs from dangerous cities, you would feel that they were quite similar. Very close and loyal while very hostile and ready to act on behalf of their fellow friends.

I threw away the idea and entered the first path that came to view.

It didn't take long for trouble to make itself visible.

"Guagaga!"

"Pfft! What the fuck?" From the turn ahead, a dog-headed creature covered in fur, the most realistic furry I had seen in my life, appeared and looked at me while baring its teeth.

The sound it made was honestly way too funny, it was like a goose was getting strangled or choking. If it wasn't for the claws and sharp teeth I would have started crying tears of fun.

However...

"Guggaagaga!"

"Ahhh!" The creature ran towards me and attacked me while I was trying to catch my breath.

I failed to avoid it and got punched in the head by the motherfucker's clenched fist!

"Damn you, now you made me angr-" I was shouting, trying to assert dominance, but the Kobold didn't seem to care about my manly aura and attacked me once more.

I tried hiding behind my shield but he was strong! The force of that slash pretty much bypassed the shield and directly hit my arm. It was like trying to intercept a pro-MMA fighter. The pain was such that I felt my arm going numb just from that as I fell on my back!

"Gaaaaaa!"

"Eeeeek!" This time I finally got some sense in my head and shrieked like a little girl. Too painful! Too strong! How the hell am I supposed to kill this!?

The Kobold had me in a state of fear as it jumped on me. I tried punching it away but the bastard bit my arm!

"Aaagh!" My shield fell and tears started falling from my eyes. Fuck! It hurts too much!

Desperate, I waved my right arm almost randomly to try and push him away, in the end, I managed to get a lucky hit in his head, the sword somehow managed to pierce his neck and blood gushed out from within it.

"Guck! Guaaaaagh!" The kobold let out a miserable cry and fell back.

After a moment its body disappeared leaving behind only a few purple magic stone shards which could be traded for Valis at the guild's HQ.

Even though I killed him, the adrenaline remained, It was embarrassing, even shameful, but I couldn't help but kneel and take some heavy breaths.

"How..." So pathetic! I almost died for that midget! Fuck!

I clenched my fist and hit the floor, but I couldn't stop shaking, no matter how angry I was, this was just too scary.

I hadn't thought about it during the fight, now that my head was a little bit clear, I could even see its eyes in my mind, those black and sharp eyes were no different than that of Death itself, looking at it, the last thing you would see was your own reflex as you get slashed into pieces.

How could such an inhuman creature exist... even the wild wolves I had met once in the past had better and more lively eyes even if they felt like having me for dinner back then!

God damn it! This dungeon is too scary!

I'm ashamed to say that it took me a good hour to recover to my optimum state. I came back to the Beginning Road to rest and calm down.

My hand was still shaking and all I had was some cotton wraps to put where my arm was injured. I wanted to go back to the inn but... The thought of going back in such a shameful state when my goddess was out there working just as hard to get a job and money was like a slap to my dignity...

As a man I couldn't allow myself to fall into such a pitiful state, I had to kill at least a few more Kobolds before leaving if I couldn't make about 500 to 700 Valis with this dungeon dive, this trip would be wasted with medicine and food alone...

I didn't realize before, but the adventurer life was quite harsh and complicated, a single mistake could negate any effort you put in the work for the day. It wasn't just about getting injured, although that played a huge role as well.

You had to bring ration with you inside, later you would have to repair your equipment, and only God knows what sort of diseases one might befall victim to down here.

Heh... my economy teacher would be proud to know that his student is finally considering how to spend his money wisely... ah... government assistance, how I miss you...

My vagabond life... will you ever come back to me? I shook my head and laughed at my naivety.

"What the hell am I thinking... grow up... this is the opportunity to grow you had been looking for... man up and fight them, kill them all!"

That's it, I shall not make another embarrassing mistake like that one again. Standing up, I tightened the cotton wrap in my warm and steeled my resolve to kill monsters.

I wouldn't leave this place until I had managed to kill at least 10 Kobolds!

###

While this all was happening, Hecate stood bashfully in front of a bakery, instead of her usual royal-like dress, she was wearing a pink maid attire with an apron tied from behind, in her hands was an arrow-shaped sign with the words, "Taste the sweet taste of dreams!", written on it.

From time to time a male would stop and keep staring at her before awkwardly going inside to buy something. This pattern was repeating itself constantly and it made her sigh helplessly.

"Hey, Hecate, you good out there?" A petite red-haired girl approached and patted Hecate's shoulder who turned towards her with a face that spelled the words "help me" as clear as day.

"Sister Ueno... this is humiliating, can't I just clean the floor or help with cooking the sweets and cakes...?"

Ueno giggled hearing Hecate's words. She took out her cooking hat revealing a set of cat ears and smiled towards Hecate. "Why are you sad with this job, I must say, if I was half the beauty you are, I would have very much liked to take your place. Here you can rest in the shadow of the building, you have a chair to sit on whenever you're tired, and your mere existence makes money fall in our hands... Why would you want to stay inside next to the hot furnace dirtying your hands?"

"But... they are only buying out of embarrassment for having stared at me for dozen of minutes..." Hecate felt helpless as she shook her head. Ueno's thoughts and views were too dirty for the naive and easily teased Hecate.

"So what? They are eating you with their eyes, it's only fair that they pay for the privilege to stare at our Sweet Dreams Bakery's new secret weapon! Mwahahaha! With your looks, I'm pretty sure they would be willing to just give us money without even buying our candies." Ueno patted Hecate's shoulder once more. "Besides, didn't you said you wanted to earn money to surprise your boyfriend or something? You can get much more than me just by attracting customers like you're doing now, I'm pretty sure the owner will give you quite the bonus today even though it's only your first time here."

"W-what are you talking about!? He's not my b-boyfriend!" Hecate panicked hearing her words and shook her head.

Having lived for so long among mortals, she wasn't privy to the matters between women and men, it's just that she never had the courage to get in a relationship with one, and while she did like her hero she couldn't think about... doing that kind of stuff with him... that would be too embarrassing!

"Hehe! You might say that now, but from the way you spoke of him, I bet he's already in your heart."

Hecate flushed hearing those words and turned her head away with a pout on her lips. She definitely had no feelings for him! Humph! Imagine if she, Hecate, goddess, and titan of Witchcraft and Crossroads was to do something so selfish as to summon a man because of her personal feelings for him! Never, whoever entertains such thoughts is definitely a person with a creative mind fit to create fanfics and nothing else!

"... HECATE!"

"Ahh! What?! Don't shout like that in my ears!" Hecate frowned slightly as the blush in her cheeks got deeper.

"Tsk! You were the one-day dreaming, not me!" Ueno shook her head helplessly. "Let's go inside, it's time to close, you can finally get your payment and flaunt it to your adventurer boyfriend."

"He is not my boyfriend!"

"Yeah, yeah, and I'm not a cat-girl, let's go." Ueno sighed and dragged Hecate inside as the flushed customers outside sighed helplessly. In their minds there was only one thought, to curse the bastard that stole her heart! If only they had met her earlier...