Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

61 – The Beginner Dungeon Suffering from Financial Difficulties.

Points that Adventurers consider when selecting a Dungeon.

Tendency. What kind of Monster tends to appear in it.

Difficulty. If one doesn’t possess the Recommended Clear Level in the first place, they can’t challenge the Dungeon. Also, you can’t even schedule a broadcast until you see what all the strata are.

Reputation. Clearing a Dungeon costs money, so choosing to dive into an unpopular Dungeon is a waste of both time and money.

「This is the others and my place of work.」

Every Dungeon has its own theme.

The variety of Monsters in the Demon King Castle is extremely over-the-top, but that is solely because it is established as The Castle of the King of Demons.

There is a volcano-themed Dungeon where fire affinity Monsters appear, a labyrinthine Dungeon riddled with traps, a zero-gravity Dungeon, and so on.

There are many places that clearly layout their unique characteristic.

Knowing that fire affinity Monsters will appear, a water affinity party can challenge and Clear it easily.

If the focus is on mazes and traps, a party who isn’t confident in their combat capabilities could produce good results using their intellectual power instead.

In the case of the zero-gravity one, parties with wind affinity could handle mid-air battles.

Finding a Dungeon that suits the party, can be successfully Cleared, and on top of that, will entertain the viewers. That is key.

「Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon?」

We arrived at the front of a large plot of land, separated by a fence. There were trees spread out on the other side of the fence.

This time, we were dispatched to a Dungeon where the Recommended Capture Level is Dungeon Rank 1.

Dungeon titles generally come in two forms.

A simple form such as The Demon King Castle, and then there are those that follow a rule.

「XX-YY Dungeon」like this. XX being the difficulty and YY being the tendency.

Examples following that would look like「Advanced Level – Strong Blaze Dungeon」or「Intermediate Level – Pitfall Dungeon」and so on.

「To those from the glorious Demon King Castle, this may as well be a worthless Dungeon but…I beg you, please help us.」

「The difficulty of the Dungeon doesn’t matter. As I said before, I shall give it my all.」

In the case of Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon, its tendency leans towards parties just starting out which makes it suitable for elementary or beginner level Adventurers.

It’s unthinkable now but in the distant past, it is said that subjugating Goblins was the figurative way of popping your Adventurer cherry. I guess you could say that this is the modern-day version of that.

In order for ordinary people to become Adventurers, this is a place that gets them used to battles. A place where they can defeat Monsters and feel the joys of traversing a Dungeon.

A place to pop your Adventurer cherry.

「You have my thanks. From here, I shall lead you to my master but…he is currently in low spirits. He might seem unsightly but I hope you have it within your heart to forgive him…」

We are guided into the plot of land by a troubled Kei.

「If there was the possibility that someone might lose their Dungeon, I believe anyone would feel down about it.」

「You are kind, Sir Lemegeton. I just wish that my master would show more of his dignity, especially in a time like this.」

「Ahaha…」

In the dawn of the Dungeon Clearing industry, there were many Dungeons like this. When Monster and Adventurer jobs were brand new, everyone needed time to adapt. These types of Dungeons were in high demand.

But recently, the number of Dungeons like this one has been decreasing.

Even the Dungeon side had to change with the times, they clawed and groped their way to find means of surviving by raising their Dungeon Rank, thinking up new gimmicks, and so on but this Dungeon kept on being a Dungeon aimed at beginners, unchanged.

「Puzzling. Why did you not change your methods?」

Said Furcus, her mouth stuffed with skewered meat.

「My master inherited this Dungeon from his grandmother…the previous generation. It appears that my master does not wish to sully the Dungeon that she loved so much.」

「And the result of that…financial difficulties.」

「Therefore, we have to do something…」

「Is it possible…if your master is busy moping?」

「…」

「Carrying on, just for the sake of it, meaningless. Work on ways to carry on. If you can’t, you disappear.」

For a moment, Kei’s lips contorted in frustration, but she eventually nodded.

「I agree with you, Miss Furcus. We were tricked by that man because we did not think things through. We clung to his proffered hand because we lacked the will to move forward ourselves…but still. But still, is it meaningless to think about not giving up completely?」

「If all you are is persistent, then it is meaningless.」

「…You’re right. I suppose my master, too, understands that from the bottom of his heart.」

Furcus is right.

To the point that I couldn’t interject.

At the same time, I also understand the feelings of this Dungeon Master who I have yet to meet.

Even if it doesn’t suit the times, you can’t give up completely.

Just like Black Sorcerer Adventurers who never gave up completely despite being unnecessary in the industry.

Ultimately you have to think, decide, and act on your own.

All we can do is help. Although, the Dungeon Master has yet to decide whether to allow us to help or not.

「Whoa.」

Cashew gave a surprised gasp at the sight of it.

Up until now, the scenery was nothing but forest until it suddenly gives way, revealing a space where an enormous rock is enshrined.

A cave-like passageway is carved into the rock.

Incidentally, there were wooden signs all along the path we took to get here, probably to ensure that no one gets lost even if they didn’t have a guide.

「Right this way.」

We headed not for the rock, but towards a giant tree a little ways away from the rock.

We were all able to fit into the hollowed-out tree. Normally, a tree can be hollowed out when it starts to rot, but this seems to be man-made, somehow.

A pedestal with a Recording Stone on it. Familiar devices are found within.

「Due to the urgent nature of this discussion, we were not able to issue guest Registration Cards in time…」

Furcus nodded and put her hand on the body of Kei’s horse section.

Cashew was already on her.

Furcus stretched out her hand towards me.

「Here.」

In order to teleport together, you must be touching someone with a Registration Card or someone who is already touching said person.

In this case, that would be Kei, Cashew, or Furcus.

Even if it’s for teleportation, something tells me that I shouldn’t be touching the body of a female I just met.

I wonder if Furcus offered her hand after considering the same thing.

I grab hold of her small hand.

I catch sight of Cashew holding out her hand towards me a little too late.

I was already holding Furcus’ hand.

Just as I was about to say something to Cashew, Furcus whispers.

「Holding hands, lewd.」

「Eh?!」

「Kidding.」

Please don’t play games with my poor heart. You almost made Cashew whip out her notebook.

「Now then, let us proceed.」

With Kei’s calm voice, we teleported into the Beginner’s Dungeon.