Adventuring Couple

Deepvein kingdom was known as the kingdom with the most dungeons that produced metal ores. As such, it was common for dungeons to have [Monsters] like goblins or kobolds who could carry pickaxes or gargoyles and golems who could easily blend in with the dungeon's environment. While a dungeon master could, potentially, go a different route and build something else, that didn't stop the majority in this particular kingdom from trying to capitalize on the surface dweller's desire for such rare and precious metals.

Of course, nowadays metals aren't as rare as they once were. Even with adventurers being unable to mine more than they could physically carry, the metals were too common thanks to the dungeons providing an unlimited supply. The metal had long ago been exported to other kingdoms where the resource was rarer, but it was only able to help things so much.

As such, when adventuring couple Avorn and Camellia heard about a particular unnamed slime dungeon, they excitedly planned out a trip to Millstone. They lived a good few cities over, but it wasn't that big of a deal to spend a week straight traveling. They were adventurers, after all, and it was normal to travel from place to place conquering each dungeon one came across.

Now, they were only D-rank adventurers and it was a bit expensive to travel too far by carriage. However, everything they had heard about the dungeon during their trip only confirmed their hopes. A dungeon full of slime [Monsters] with abundant resources and unique challenges with valuable rewards. What more could they possibly ask for? So long as they could complete a few challenges, they'd easily be able to earn back their investment and then some. Plus, the easy experience would be truly invaluable.

After spending most of their savings just to make the trip over, there was no money to rent an inn room. Instead, they merely packed up their camping supplies and made their way into the dungeon. Seeing the first room, Camellia's eyes lit up as she exclaimed

"Wow! It's true, look, honey! There's an acorn tree, all these flowers, and nothing but a single slime in sight!"

Avorn looked lovingly at his wife. The sight of a large, muscular, half-giant woman beaming with joy was somehow both intimidating and yet ever so endearing. As an elf, Avorn was much slimmer, but he was still taller than most human men. So the differences in body type weren't a big setback to their love. Instead, Avorn just preferred to enjoy his prideful and happy warrior wife's company.

Camellia grasped her daggers tightly, preparing to attack. She had the dancer class and so wore an airy outfit that was half dress half armor. Avorn readied his bow, ready to step in if anything should jump out while his wife was busy with the slime. However, nothing happened and he was free to watch as his wife spun gracefully through the air, slicing her daggers through the slime one after another in a flurry of attacks. All too soon the slime was dead and Camellia frowned, clearly disappointed the fight was already over.

Many dancer classes had buffs and debuffs they could apply during battle. However, they were both still quite low level and so Camellia had yet to unlock very many useful class skills. She had a buff to boost her agility and strength, but that was about it. Even then, they were hardly worth using on mere slimes.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm sure there will be more [Monsters] deeper in. If nothing else, we have enough time today that we can sit here and farm this slime for a good while before we have to leave."

Even a few experience points could add up over time. The slimes were more suitable for children than they were for even F-rank adventurers. However, no one could deny the fact that they were easy experience. Camellia just gave her beloved husband a sweet smile in reassurance as she replied

"Should we collect some flowers before we move on then? I'm not good at processing acorns and I haven't heard anything about there being any restaurants or grocers in town. So it might not be worth the effort to collect those."

It didn't help that they only had normal bags to collect things with. Many of the more experienced adventurers would quickly invest in magic bags so they could carry more. The magic bags had weight limits that varied depending on how high the quality was, but they tended to be quite expensive. So there was no way the two of them could afford such a luxury. With the camping equipment already taking up space in their bags, they'd have to be careful about how much they carried along.

After collecting a good number of each type of flower in the room, the couple moved on. The next room they came across was the floodplains meadow.

"This room feels even more lively than the last one! There are so many trees and bushes. Look! There's even a river!"

Avorn just smiled adoringly at his wife. The dungeon felt devoid of life and it was more than clear to him that the sun shining overhead was artificial. There weren't even any creatures in this room, just a few slimes who seemed to hop away the second they noticed their presence.

"Do you want to attempt the challenge sweetheart?"

Camellia looked unsure as she looked over the system prompt. After a moment of thinking it over, she shook her head.

"No, it's fine. We should just explore the dungeon today. It's not like we will be leaving town anytime soon anyway, so we can always come back again."

Avorn just nodded in acceptance. He'd happily stay and attempt every puzzle every single day, if that's what she wanted. However, it was probably for the best to become familiar with their surroundings first.

After collecting a good bit of fruit, they moved on to the next room. After getting knocked down by an invisible force, Camellia screamed in fright. Avorn looked around, his mind racing as he looked for the threat. It wasn't until a few more times of getting knocked over by the slimes that they found out what was going on. A green, scaly slime materialized before them before hopping into the grass, disappearing once more. The slime almost seemed playful and soon others joined the first.

"It's alright sweetie, they're just slimes so they can't hurt us too badly. We can just leave this room and go try one of the other ones, if you'd like?"

Camellia looked around nervously before nodding. She wasn't exactly afraid of the slimes, but she certainly felt uneasy after being taken by surprise. Backtracking, they ended up entering the garden meadow room next. Bees buzzed in the trees and tiny little frogs hopped about. Avorn sighed in contentment. The wildlife and plants made this room feel more like home than any of the others had.

"Honey? There's a sign over here that says we're supposed to leave a tribute to use this room..."

They had already left the meat and hide of a rabbit as a tribute at the entrance of the dungeon. This room was too deep within the dungeon to be meant as a space for leaving the initial tribute. It was likely that this was a space with an alternate path or some other service being offered by the dungeon master in exchange for tribute.

Walking over to read the sign, Avorn frowned before digging through his bag. Soon enough he pulled out some chickweed. He tossed it into the well, hoping it would be sufficient for the dungeon master.

"It's alright sweetheart. It seems this is just supposed to be a safe space for us to relax. We can spare some of the wild greens we foraged earlier, so just relax."

Chickweed was a nice alternative to salad greens like lettuce as it could easily be foraged in the wild and only had to be rinsed off before it could be consumed. As poor adventurers, it was easier to hunt and forage their own food. It saved them a good bit of expense and meat was easy enough to cook over a campfire.

The duo explored the dungeon for just a short while longer before calling it a day. It was still early, but there was no use in staying too long. It didn't seem likely this dungeon had a second floor yet and it wouldn't be wise to upset the dungeon master by overstaying their welcome.