Chapter 272

To the Dungeon Town
Once all preparations were complete, we finally set off for the dungeon.
This time, the group was two maids short compared to when we baited out the assailants.
Since they were excess combat strength, I reassigned them to guard Amira.
With the Kiblinki Saltas around, most ambushes could be thwarted, and Talat alone was more than enough for combat.
We didn’t need that many people, so I left them behind.
Neither Plum nor the maids objected, so it seemed to be the right call.

After finalizing the team, we met up with Melanie at the Adventurers' Guild, borrowed an armored vehicle, and headed for the dungeon.
According to Melanie, there’s a town near the dungeon called “Dungeon Town.”
Having a town so close to a dungeon… isn’t that dangerous?

"It’s not particularly dangerous. Many adventurers heading to the dungeon stay there, so there’s plenty of combat strength. Anticipating this, merchants bring in food and equipment, ensuring an abundance of supplies. The Vardmoi dungeon is easy to access, and the surrounding monsters are regularly culled, making it a relatively safe dungeon to challenge."

"I see. Melanie, does the dungeon have any specialties?"

"Materials from monsters are the main ones here. Treasure chests are sparse, but the number of adventurers entering is high, so relying solely on items from chests won’t yield much profit. On the flip side, the large number of people makes it a relatively safe dungeon."

I didn’t quite understand why having more people made the dungeon safer, so I asked for an explanation.
In dungeons with fewer people, there’s a higher risk of getting surrounded by monsters.
Here, however, the large number of adventurers means monsters are dealt with more frequently, making it safer in that regard.
That said, the abundance of adventurers also reduces the amount of materials you can acquire from defeated monsters.

"In other words, this is a low-risk, low-reward dungeon. Usually, dungeons are high-risk, high-reward, but this one’s different."

"I see. By the way, has anyone ever successfully obtained a skill crystal here?"

"Just a few per year. However, all of them are bought by nobles, so they never make it to the market."

Hmm, I guess I’ll have to find one myself.
We’ve allocated two weeks for this venture—hopefully, we’ll find one in time.

After about a week’s travel from Vardmoi, we arrived at Dungeon Town, and it really was like a proper town.
The outer walls weren’t as tall as Vardmoi’s, but they were solid and surrounded the town securely.
Upon entering, I was struck by how many merchants there were, with rows of bustling stalls lining the streets.
According to Melanie, the road leading to the dungeon itself is even more crowded.
I’m starting to feel a little excited.

Since it was getting dark, we decided to stay overnight and begin exploring the dungeon tomorrow.
During this time, Melanie planned to gather information at the local Adventurers’ Guild, which I’m looking forward to.
I really hope we can get a skill crystal!

What do you think about this chapter?