The following day, the css underwent a division introups, their fates determined by the bination of theoretical knowledge and practical skills dispyed in the assessments.

  In a spacious , Daisuke found himself alongside Elena, her circle of friends, Osten, apanied by his loyal ckeys, and a few others who had demonstrated exceptional prowess in the examination. They gathered before a beaming guild clerk, eagerly awaiting the phase of the sing.

  “gratutions on pletierday’s assessment at the top of the css, everyone. My name is Thalia Misthaven, and I’ve been designated as your homeroom teacher. Hiiiiiiiiiiiii~”

  Daisuke’s poker face twisted into a ge as the woman begahusiastically waving at him like an exuberant child. Osten and his panions looked on in disgust.

  “Before we proceed with the field test, the third and final phase of the exam, I'll be equipping you with essential information to aid you in your future endeavors.”

  Thalia paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in. “Let's start with the fuals. anyoell me the purpose of an adventurer?”

  “To defeat the bad guys, liberate the people, ahe girl in the end?” quipped a male student who seemed more fit to be on a theater stage rather than in the guild.

  “Sounds abht,” another adventurer chimed in with a grin, earning ughter from the entire css.

  Thalia couldn’t help but snicker, her delicate fingers hiding her small mouth. “Sounds more like a hero to me, but there’s ohing that a hero and an adventurer share: they primarily represent the people. The fual purpose of an adventurer is to cull and trol monster poputions on the surface, as well as to prevent dungeon breaks underground.

  The Adventurers’ Guild and its members are itted to proteg the people; that’s the guild’s mission statement. And since monsters pose the greatest threat to people, dungeons are a signifit part of an adventurer’s geographical assig.

  Before I delve into dungeons, it's crucial to uand the in of mana. Mana flows like the lifeblood of the earth itself, permeating every facet of nature—from the vibrant foliage to the creatures that roam, from the boundless expanse of the air to the depths of the sea, and even within the very heart of the mountains.

  Schors hypothesize that mana is geed from the p's core, its potencreasing as one desds to lower depths, hence expining the presence of stronger monsters deeper within dungeons.

  Unfortunately, there is no known record of when dungeons first appeared in the world. We simply assume they have always existed, regarding them as natural disasters that need stant surveilnd trol.

  Dungeons are scattered all across the world, with new ones popping up regurly, keeping the demand for adventurers high and ever-increasing. There are two types of dungeons: Hidden ur, and yur dungeons. The main thing to know is that Hidden Dungeons are like a quiack—up to 5 floors, and once you clear them, poof, they vanish and show up somewhere else.

  Normal dungeons, oher hand, they're more like long-term retionships. They stay put and have loads of floors. The monsters inside respawn after some time when killed, and some of these dungeons even experience what is known as a Dungeon Break.”

  Sighs of astonishment filled the room as Thalia tinued her expnation. “Let’s set Hidden Dungeons aside for now and focus on the characteristics of a normal dungeon.”

  ***

  Daisuke casually made his way toward his ary er of the cafeteria, a tray of food in hand. However, his once solitary table had undergoransformation, now bustling with activity as a group of Beastfolk surrounded Zephyr. Laughter and animated chatter filled the air as the girls took turns pampering and fussing over the fortunate e, who pped up every moment of attention with evident delight.

  Meanwhile, in hushed voiot far away—

  “Daisuke’s pretty cool,” a girl whispered to her friend, her gaze fixed on his retreating posterior. “But have you noticed? He hasn’t said a single word to anyone. Do you think he might be… y’know, gay?”

  Daisuke’s eyebrows furrowed in irritation at their specution.

  “Or maybe he’s just special,” the irl chimed in. “And Zephyr’s like his servipanion or something.”

  A vein throbbed visibly on Daisuke’s temple, but he mao keep his annoyan check. Instead of proceeding to his usual seat, he finished his kebabs, pced the empty pte on an unoccupied table, and quietly exited the room.

  ***

  “Hey, you,” Thalia greeted as Daisuke approached the ter in the guild’s main lobby. The din of the mingling adventurers filled the air. “Shouldn’t you be eating aing up for the css? I’m just c for Rae while she’s on her lunch break, then I’ll be right there.”

  “I was just curious, I sell monster materials here?”

  Thalia nodded, her eyes refleg the geerest of someone passionate about their work. “Yes, but including Mana Crystals, we only accept a few kinds of materials at this ter,” she responded as she rouhe ter to join him. “Follow me. I’ll take you to the butcher shop.”

  A backdoor at the eastern wing of the lobby led to the aforementioned room. A hulking man in a bloodied pair of overalls paused his work on the goblin carcass that y spyed on his table to greet his guests.

  “Oh, Thalia… to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he called, one hairless eyebrow raised iion. “And who do we have here?”

  Thalia made the introdus, her voice warm with friendliness. “Cleave, this is Haxks. Haxks, Cleave.”

  Cleave greeted Daisuke with a jovial demeanor, extending a gloved hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

  Daisuke’s gaze flickered to the bloodied hand with little i.

  Cleave chuckled heartily at the slight awkwardness. “Bahahaha! Sorry about that; my mind is still partly engrossed in my work. So, what brings you both here today?”

  “Haxks here was asking about selling monster materials, so I figured I would bring him to the specialist,” Thalia expined.

  “Is that right?” the man grinned, his white teeth in stark trast to his chestnut facial hair.

  “I o get back to the ter,” Thalia expined as she scooted for the door. “Cleave, I’ll leave him in your care. And, Haxks, I’ll see you in css.”

  “Hahaha! Leave it to me!” ughed the man, bloodied hands cupping his hips. “She’s quite the looker, isn’t she?”

  “So will I be able to sell the materials here?”

  The man’s grin faded disappointedly. “You’re pretty uptight for a youngster.”

  “I o get back to css soon, so I’d rather get straight down to business.”

  Cleave pyfully sighed, theatrics oozing from his voice. “You’re no fun. So, where are they?”

  Daisuke walked over to a vat table, summoned his iory with a simple gesture, and then began to y out the materials he had acquired, one by one.

  [Slime Essence x4]

  [Troll Essence x3]

  [Horned Rabbit’s Hide x16]

  [Malevocroak’s Legs x16]

  [Forest Imp’s Tail x19]

  [Exiled Hilitroll Chief’s Tusk x2]

  [Lipanthyer’s Fang x16]

  Cleave briefly sed the materials, his arms crossing his chest. “Okay, but where’s the rest of the monster?”

  “Eh?” Daisuke was baffled.

  It was only after Cleave’s question did his eyes widen in realization. The truth hit him like a lightning bolt. He had always assumed that monsters simply disappeared over time after being killed, and their drops magically whisked away into his iory. But that was only the case for a standard pyer, and it had bee painfully obvious he was much more than that.

  He had been on such a crazed aless killing spree that he never ohered to check what could be salvaged from a carcass after a monster fell. Even the Hilitroll Field Boss had bee abandoned in that gaping hole without a sed thought.

  Cleave’s suggestiht Daisuke back to the present. “The ime you sy a monster, bring the entire corpse to me.”

  Daisuke nodded, his gaze ptive. In this virtual world, monsters were akin to the animal popution of the real world—sure they were ugly, but most of them were edible and surprisingly very delicious. Their meat was called monstron.

  “I’ll separate the meat from the materials,” Cleave tio expin. “Both be sold here or on the market. Now for the items you currently have, I’d suggest selling the Slime and Troll Esseo the apothecary; they’ll pay more for items they actually use in potion-making.”

  Daisuke listetentively, abs the information.

  “I don’t mind taking the Forest Imp’s Tail and Malevocroak’s Legs off your hands,” Cleave offered. “But I would suggest you sell the others to a Bcksmith, or have him use them te ons or equipment. That Hilitroll’s tusk, in particur, is a retively rare material. Field and Dungeon Bosses are notorious for yielding great materials for f equipment.”

  Daisuke stroked his in ption. I didn't really get anything hy from the Elemental King, but I did receive the tusks from the Exiled Hilitroll Chief. Maybe I should sider hunting it one more time—and, while I’m at it, there are a few experiments that I’d like to test out.