Nim finally made the decision to enter the dungeon alone. Before entering, he would have to make some preparations.
First, he would take on a mission. There were some available for adventurers below level 10. These were mostly simple, as the maximum floor they involved never exceeded the third.
While searching through the enormous mission board, he found one that suited his preferences.
This mission only required the elimination of 10 Hobgoblins. These were a stronger version of regular goblins.
In the dungeon, monsters could evolve and become more dangerous. These stronger versions typically appeared on deeper floors.
Boss monsters themselves were also evolved versions of their species. But these were in a much more advanced stage of evolution.
To prove that you had completed a subjugation mission, you had to cut off a part of the monster and bring it back to the guild. By doing so, you could claim your reward.
After waiting in line for a while, his turn came. The receptionist looked at the mission and accepted it without any problem.
After leaving the guild, he went to buy a few more things, such as food to take with him, a backpack specially made for adventurers, and a new set of steel swords.
During his shopping, he noticed a strange little cube. Out of curiosity, he asked about it and was told that it was a storage cube: an item that allowed things to be stored in a space separate from the physical world.
Nim was surprised to hear that. He only knew that when a mage reached a certain level, they could use some spatial magic to create a small separate space to store objects.
After asking the price, he decided to buy just the backpack—this storage cube cost its price in platinum coins.
He mentally decided to buy one of those cubes in the future.
Then he went to the inn and informed them that he wouldn't be coming back for the next few days.
After doing all that, he grabbed his city map and headed toward the dungeon, located in the center of the city.
Walking at a quick pace, he arrived at the dungeon in an hour.
The dungeon was located in an area surrounded by many trees. In front of it, there was a large empty space where many adventurers gathered.
Some groups of adventurers entered through the main entrances of the dungeon, while others used nearby portals. These portals allowed them to go directly to floors they had already visited before, such as the fifth or tenth.
Nim also noticed that there were some portals no one was using, but he didn't think much of it.
Besides the adventurers, there was also a group of people wearing similar outfits.
Seeing this, he decided to ask a lone adventurer sitting under a tree.
"Hello, sir, I'd like to ask who those people are," Nim said, pointing to the group of similarly dressed people.
The adventurer turned and saw a young man with a huge backpack, wearing only simple leather armor. Upon seeing his appearance, he smiled to himself: (This kid's a rookie).
Realizing that, a distant memory came to his mind—back when he was just starting out as an adventurer.
"Sir..." Nim repeated, seeing that the adventurer wasn't responding.
"Ah... those people are students from the Grand Magic Academy," the adventurer was pulled out of his memories and answered Nim.
"The Grand Magic Academy," Nim had heard that name from adventurers at the restaurants.
"Yeah, that place where the nobles and aristocrats of the city send their children," the adventurer made a grimace of disdain.
The group of students wore red uniforms with white details. They also carried light armor and swords at their waists. At a glance, all of their equipment was of good quality.
Additionally, they were being guided by two middle-aged adults who also wore light armor. They were the teachers who had come to protect them.
"Every so often, a new group of students comes to gain experience and obtain a class."
Nim listened to the explanation, and after asking a few more questions, he said goodbye to the adventurer.
Leaving aside what the adventurer had said, Nim moved toward one of the dungeon entrances. The important thing now was to enter the dungeon.
...
After Nim entered, he observed his surroundings carefully.
The first floor was somewhat dark; there were only a few torches and magical stones lighting the way.
The walls were made of some kind of stone, and the ceiling was very high. Nim had an idea and unsheathed his sword, then struck the wall—but the wall didn't get a single scratch.
After seeing that, he didn't try again, or he might break his sword.
Nim's plan was simple: kill monsters and level up while continuing to descend through the dungeon floors.
With that in mind, he moved forward holding his sword. He had no idea where he was, since entering through one of the dungeon's entrances or portals would send you randomly to some part of the floor. Unless, of course, the group entered together holding on to each other.
For that reason, floor maps existed. Moreover, those maps were updated from time to time, as the dungeons expanded little by little.
Nim hadn't bought a map for this floor, since he knew he wouldn't stay long.
He had considered buying maps for floors beyond the fifth, but in the end, the prices were too high and he didn't buy any.
Now he would have to find his own way. Thinking about that, Nim felt movement in a corner of the room.
Upon looking, he saw a giant rat. When it saw him, it jumped at him in an attempt to attack.
Swoosh
With a single sword movement, Nim sliced the rat in half.
Seeing the rat's death, Nim made a sound with his mouth (Did it again).
Nim sometimes had a bad habit. That was brutally killing monsters.
Uncle Smith had pointed out that trait of his. He had advised him to control that way of killing or it might cause problems when teaming up with others.
Making a mental note of that, Nim continued forward. Along the way, he ran into a small group of goblins, which he simply decapitated without much effort.
Human-sized spiders also appeared. He eliminated those quickly, since they could bite with venom. Nim knew that due to his special physique he might have some resistance, but he preferred not to take the risk.
There were also a few more monsters he killed, but none gave him any trouble.
Even this first level was that vast.
After nearly two hours of non-stop walking, Nim arrived in front of a door.
Throughout his exploration, he had already come across many, but crossing them only led to more rooms with monsters waiting for him.
But this door looked different. Thinking it might be the door leading to the next floor, Nim opened it and entered.