Chapter 2: Gathering Information at the Adventurer’s Guild

After confirming their acceptance to the Academy, Allen and his friends boarded the magic train—which cost one silver regardless of distance traveled between stations—and headed for the Adventurer’s Guild.

When riding the magic ship, Allen had seen that Academy City was essentially a large circle. One train line traced the circumference of that circle while other lines ran north-south and east-west. Convenience of public transportation was not much of a concern for residents living here.

Given its name, one might expect Academy City to be mostly students, but that was apparently not the case. Maybe it was because of the numerous dungeons in the city’s vicinity or simply because Allen was on the line heading toward the Adventurer’s Guild, but there were a lot of adventurers also riding on their train. Soon, they came to a stop.

“This must be it,” Allen said, standing in front of a five-story building bearing the same emblem as the branch in Granvelle City: a sword, staff, and shield.

“Welcome.” A pretty older woman greeted them when they walked in. “How may we help you today?”

“We want to register as adventurers,” Allen replied.

“Are you perhaps students?”

“Yes, our classes begin in April.”

“Do you have the numbered tag you received when you passed your Appraisal?”

When the group produced their tags, they were told that students could register on the second floor. They climbed the stairs, only to be told they would have to wait a while as the counters were currently full.

Allen looked around and found the floor absolutely packed with students. In all likelihood, these were ones who had passed on some other day. Farther back in the room were ten counters designed similarly to customer service kiosks in banks in Allen’s memory. Seeing as how the facilities were nicer on this floor than on the first, students seemed to be receiving rather favorable treatment, indicating the Adventurer’s Guild’s willingness to cooperate with Academy City.

After a while, Allen and his friends were finally called forward and invited to take their seats before one of the counters. Allen and Cecil sat at the front while Krena and Dogora took the back. One of the staff members, a woman who appeared to be in her twenties or thirties, brought over four crystals.

“To register as adventurers, each of you take one of these crystals and place your hands on it.”

The children obliged, and the crystals all gave off a soft glow.

These crystal balls are used for the Appraisal Ceremonies too. I guess they’re just standard for processing personal information in this world? I wonder if someone’s making these?

“Next, please fill these in.”

The lady then passed out sheets of parchment with fields for their names, birthplaces, Talents, and so forth. When the group had finished, the staff member retreated into another room with crystals and forms in hand.

She then returned and said, “The process for making your adventurer cards will take some time. During that time, I will now give you some basic information about being an adventurer.”

Allen got out his grimoire to take notes.

• Adventurers are managed by the Adventurer’s Guild
• The Guild is an organization independent of the nations
• Adventurer ranks go from “E” to “S”
• All adventurers start at Rank E
• Adventurers accept quests (e.g., from the Guild, feudal lords) to complete in order to receive rewards
• There are three kinds of quests: normal, emergency, designated
• Only adventures Rank C and higher can accept emergency and designated quests

Okay, all of this checks out with what Raven told me.

Back when Allen was eight, he had gotten acquainted with an adventurer named Raven who had taught him quite a bit about adventuring. There were a few things that Allen was hearing for the first time, but for the most part they were extensions of what he had already learned.

“And that about covers it. Do you have any questions?” the woman asked.

“I have a lot, actually,” Allen answered. “Do you have time?”

“Naturally. After all, being an adventurer is dangerous. Please ask me anything you wish.”

“What are the conditions for entering dungeons?”

“There are several. First, because all of you are currently Rank E, you will only be able to enter Rank C dungeons.”

“What can we expect in a Rank C dungeon?”

The woman nodded and went into detail. Of course, Allen took notes:

• There are 20 dungeons within Academy City
• The breakdown of dungeon ranks: Rank C x 10, Rank B x 6, Rank A x 4
• Rank C dungeons are the most beginner friendly, containing only Rank E to C monsters
• Rank B dungeons are medium difficulty, containing Rank D to B monsters
• Rank A dungeons are the most dangerous, containing Rank C to A monsters

Below were the conditions for accessing successively ranked dungeons and ranking up as an adventurer:

• One has to reach Rank C as an adventurer to enter Rank B dungeons
• One has to reach Rank B as an adventurer to enter Rank A dungeons
• Upon doing a full run of 1 Rank C dungeon, one becomes a Rank D adventurer
• Upon doing a full run of 3 Rank C dungeons, one becomes a Rank C adventurer
• Upon doing a full run of 3 Rank B dungeons, one becomes a Rank B adventurer
• Upon doing a full run of 3 Rank A dungeons, one becomes a Rank A adventurer

I see, I see. Now it’s time for the real questions.

Allen had a major goal that he wanted to achieve within his three years in Academy City. In short, he wanted to find an MP Recovery Ring.

This was the answer he had arrived at when brainstorming for ways to increase his Skill Levels even faster. He wanted to raise them as high as possible before he was to head to the battlefield in three years. As such, he needed to increase the rate at which his MP recovered.

Back when Allen had attempted to foil Cecil’s kidnapping, he had been knocked out by some sort of gaseous agent. After this incident, Allen had headed to a magic tool store in search of something he could equip to gain immunity to the Sleep debuff. The storekeeper had told him that they sold nothing like that there and that he should go to a magic gear shop instead.

Allen was surprised to hear of such a store, but he found one in short order. Sure enough, the merchant there had known of what Allen sought: the Anti-Sleep Ring. However, Anti-Sleep Rings were extremely rare and almost never appeared on the open market. Whenever they showed up once in a blue moon, they would be snatched up almost immediately by royals, nobles, or tycoons looking to protect themselves. Due to this, it was said that they could only be found in the royal capital and Academy City. Allen had asked the price for reference and was told that the market price for one Anti-Sleep Ring was a hundred gold.

Since he was there, Allen had also asked about a ring that helped recover MP. However, the store owner said he had never heard of such an item. Instead, he had heard of an HP Recovery Ring before—an accessory that would heal someone as long as they had it on. One had been found in Academy City long, long ago. The merchant was not sure, but if one were available nowadays, it would be worth a thousand gold at least.

Despite what the store owner had said, however, Allen figured that if HP Recovery Rings existed, so did MP Recovery Rings.

Pushing thoughts of the rings out of his head, Allen asked the Guild staff, “I’ve heard that you can find precious items in the dungeons. How exactly do they appear?”

“Here are the two ways you can expect to encounter items in a dungeon.”

• There are treasure chests scattered all throughout
• When the boss on the lowest floor is defeated, a treasure chest will appear

“Hmm... How many floors can we expect for each dungeon rank? Also, roughly how long would it take to proceed through a dungeon if we don’t get lost?”

“It’s different for each rank.”

• Rank C dungeons have 4 to 6 floors
• Rank B dungeons have 10 to 12 floors
• Rank A dungeons have 15 to 20 floors
• Rank C dungeons require around 6 hours for each floor
• Rank B dungeons require around 12 hours for each floor
• Rank A dungeons require around 24 hours for each floor

In other words, even the easiest dungeon could take twenty-four hours to clear.

“They sound very spacious,” Allen said. “By the way, I’ve heard that an HP Recovery Ring was found in Academy City. Is that true?”

“I’m surprised you’ve heard of that. It’s true that someone found it in a dungeon once. It’s said that it was dropped by a Rank A dungeon boss seventy years ago.”

Ugh, that’s before the Demon Lord strengthened all the world’s monsters, which means it’s a lot harder to do the same thing now. But, oh no... Just the thought of searching for a rare drop in a dungeon is making my heart race.

Thanks to the Demon Lord, every monster was now one rank stronger than officially designated. Consequently, dungeons were much more dangerous. The boss of a Rank A dungeon was presumably Rank A, making it effectively Rank S in fighting strength. Killing it was beyond Allen’s and his companions’ capabilities at the moment, but Allen now had confirmation that there was a possibility of obtaining an MP Recovery Ring. This alone made it worth coming to Academy City.

With the previous topic concluded, Allen said, “I still have more questions. May I?”

“O-Of course,” the woman stammered, slightly weirded out by the boy.

Although another staff member had already carried Allen and his friends’ adventurer cards over, Allen was nowhere near finished with asking all the questions he had. Cecil and the others had no choice but to quietly listen as Allen and the lady continued talking earnestly.

“Do monsters in dungeons drop magic stones?”

“Yes, they do. Ah, I should say this ahead of time: you are only able to obtain magic stones from dungeon monsters, to be exact.”

“So their bodies don’t remain?”

“That is correct. If you need monster materials, you will have to head to the forest or mountains a few days’ walk from Academy City. There are both Rank C and B monsters in the area.”

“Understood.” Allen now shifted from asking questions as an adventurer to asking questions as a quest giver. “I am currently gathering Rank D magic stones. If I were to issue a quest, is there an upper limit to how many I could request?”

“How many are you thinking?”

“At least two million.”

“I’m sorry, t-two million?!”

Dogora and Cecil were equally surprised. The former cried, “Hold on, two million?!” as the latter rounded on Allen with, “What do you mean by two million?!” Krena was the only one who did not seem to quite get what was going on.

“That is the number I want to gradually work toward,” Allen explained, “but I’m thinking of asking for ten thousand each time. I currently have a hundred gold—can I register the quest right now?”

He produced a bag of a hundred gold coins that made a heavy clunk as it thudded onto the counter.

“O-Of course. There is a large supply of magic stones here in Academy City. However, I’m afraid it would take a while to meet those numbers...”

As Rank D magic stones normally went for one silver apiece, ten thousand of them would be worth a hundred gold. The staff explained that the guild processing fee was ten percent. I guess it makes sense for the middleman to take a cut, Allen thought as he stacked ten more gold coins next to the bag.

“Roughly how long do you think it will take?”

“Well...a week should be enough, I believe.”

Before coming to Academy City, Allen had tried placing the same quest at the Adventurer’s Guild in Granvelle City but was told gathering ten thousand would be nigh impossible. In the first place, the Granvelle fiefdom was facing a slight shortage of Rank D magic stones thanks to Allen practically decimating the realm’s goblin population. In contrast, Academy City housed twenty dungeons, every last one filled with monsters. As long as he provided the gold, there would be plenty of monsters to kill and plenty of adventurers to go kill them. Allen intended on pushing the limit of how many magic stones he could obtain throughout the three years he would be spending in this city.

Good, that’s about everything I wanted to ask and do here. All that’s left is to visit a dungeon in person. If I have anything else to ask after that, I can just come here again.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“No, that is enough. Thank you very much.”

“In that case, here are your adventurer cards.”

With a wry smile and a shrug, the lady handed over four jet-black plaques the size of business cards. They bore each person’s name and rank in silver font.

The color theme of my grimoire and the Appraisal Ceremony display are also silver text on black. Are the gods of this world purposely sticking to a design? Not that I mind, though; I actually appreciate the sense of uniformity.

“Thank you for the cards. Is there anything else we have to do for the registration process?”

“One last thing: would all of you here be registering as a party?”

Oh right, that’s a thing. I guess we might as well.

Allen recalled Raven telling him about the system where adventurers who often worked together officially registered as a group referred to as a party. Adventurers in parties were seen as more trustworthy and would therefore receive more designated quests. Although Allen had no intention of accepting such quests, he figured it would not hurt to register.

“Yes, please.”

“Have you decided on a name for your party?”

Allen looked at Cecil, to which she responded, “You decide for us.”

Upon seeing Krena and Dogora nod agreement, Allen turned back to the staff. “Please write us down as ‘No-life Gamers.’”

“What does that mean?” Cecil asked, her curiosity piqued at the unfamiliar phrase.

“A no-life gamer is someone who thoroughly masters the path they choose. It is a title only for those who dedicate everything they have to dive as deep as they can into something.”

“That sounds pretty impressive. Sure, let’s go with that.”

Allen nodded. “Then No-life Gamers it is. Miss, please register us.”

“Understood. Please wait a short while—this will not take long.”

The staff member stood up and headed to the back again. Allen turned to his friends and lowered his head. “I’m sorry for taking up so much of everyone’s time.”

Cecil waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. We also learned a lot thanks to you. So, what are we going to do after this?”

“It’s gotten quite late already. How about we go look for a property first thing tomorrow?”

“Sounds good to me. After we decide on a place, let’s all discuss what we’ll do going forward,” Cecil said, looking at Krena and Dogora in turn.

“‘What we’ll do’?” Krena parroted, tilting her head. “Allen, what does that—”

“That’s right, Krena,” Allen nodded. “We have a goal for the coming three years. I’ll go into more details after we first get a hou—”

Whoosh!

“Wah! A big book!” Krena exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she reached for the grimoire that had suddenly appeared in front of the group.

Wait, what?! Allen looked down at the cover and saw new lines of silver text.

<Krena has joined your party.>

<Cecil Granvelle has joined your party.>

<Dogora has joined your party.>

Oh...

“What’s with this book that suddenly appeared?” Cecil asked, somewhat calmer than the others. She turned to Allen, who looked entirely unsurprised at the phenomenon. “Explain, Allen.”

There’s no doubting it—they can totally see my grimoire. Oh, heck yeah! Wait, could it be... Allen opened the book without paying his friends any attention. Their Statuses are here! Yes, my four months of praying have paid off!

Right after Allen’s own Status page, three new pages had been added in. Allen looked for another letter from the gods, but there was none this time. Finally feeling everyone’s stares boring into him, he smiled sheepishly and said, “Um, I’ll tell you all about it when things settle down, okay?”

Just as Allen managed to placate his friends, the staff returned. After the party registration was complete and the quest for ten thousand Rank D magic stones had been processed, the group left the building with the intention of looking for a house the next morning.

＊ ＊ ＊

The next morning, Allen and his friends visited the Real Estate Guild.

“Welcome. How may we help you today?”

Hmm, they’re still treating us courteously even though we’re showing up as a group of four children. Is this how it’s like everywhere in Academy City?

The service level here was markedly different from that of Krena Village. Just like at the Adventurer’s Guild, a staff member guided them to a counter.

“What kind of a property are you looking for?”

“A single house large enough for five or six people, please. Preferably close to multiple dungeons and a magic train station, with easy access to the Academy,” Allen replied with the casualness of asking for a place in Tokyo near a train station and a convenience store.

“I see, I see,” the staff replied, taking down notes on a parchment while flipping through what looked like a catalog of properties.

After returning from the Adventurer’s Guild, Allen and his friends had shared what they each wanted from the property. Just in case, Allen had also stressed the point that they would be living together as both boys and girls, but everyone confirmed they had no issues with the arrangement. After all, he had lived in the same house as Cecil for four years now and had even slept with Krena in the same room when they were younger. Dogora, for his part, simply went, “I see.”

“In regard to the dungeon requirement,” the staff asked, “would Rank C suffice?”

“It would be even better if there were Rank B and Rank A ones close by as well.”

The sound of flipping pages continued for a short while longer.

“Hmm...the ones that fit that condition are mainly located along the major avenues running through the areas where dungeons are clustered together.”

Tell me more; that sounds perfect.

Cecil also seemed satisfied. “That sounds like what we’re looking for,” she said.

“However, those properties are all quite large...”

To sum up the staff’s explanation, those wanting to challenge higher-ranked dungeons normally did so in parties of twenty to fifty people. Consequently, the closest properties were all rather sizable. None were small enough to house only five to six.

“We don’t mind the size,” Allen said. “Prioritize the other conditions, please.”

“In that case, here is one for twenty.”

That might work. Let’s give it a visit.

Allen proposed seeing the property in person first before making a decision. The other three expressed their agreement. The staff then escorted them onto a magic train and brought them before the house.

“Here it is,” the staff said. “What do you think?”

Allen nodded. “It is indeed close to the station. Which way are the dungeons?”

This prompted the staff to go into detail regarding the location and features of the building. Allen listened to her while sending a Bird E into the air to confirm the specific locations of the nearby dungeons for himself.

Is that three-story building a dungeon? It really is close by, and so is the train station. I see quite a lot of eateries nearby too.

No one in the party knew how to cook except for Allen, who had only learned the most basic of basics from the head chef during his time as a manservant. Besides, he was hardly going to waste time cooking multiple meals for everyone when there were dungeons right in front of his nose.

Well, gamers who cook for themselves aren’t real gamers. They wouldn’t have the time.

Without further ado, the group walked through the heavy front doors into the house. It was a large, three-story building with a yard.

“The first and second floors of this property have ten bedrooms each. What’s more, there is an underground area as well.”

On the first floor was a common room, parlor, two bathrooms, and two toilets. This city had a proper sewage system, so the toilets were flushable and the baths were drainable, with taps installed that drew water heated by magic stones. The basement served as both an armory and a storage area for items found in the dungeons.

“The monthly rent for this place is ten gold, you said?” Allen asked.

“That is correct, yes,” the staff member confirmed.

Allen turned to his friends. “What do you think, guys? This place works for me.”

Dogora looked somewhat anxious at hearing the price of ten gold a month but stayed silent. Allen told the staff lady that they would be taking the place, so they returned to the Guild to fill out the necessary paperwork and ended up receiving the key that same day. On their way back to their new home, the group bought dinner and the bare minimum in daily necessities.

They gathered in the first-floor common room to eat their dinner.

“Now that we have a base of operations, let’s talk about what we’ll be doing here in Academy City,” Allen said, giving Cecil a look. She nodded.

“Meaning?” Dogora prompted.

“There’s something that Lady Cecil and I will be working toward over the next three years,” Allen replied. “To that end, there is some important information that we need to share with you. Please listen while we eat.”

And so Allen divulged the full details of Demon Lord history. Everything that the magic tutor taught him, he now imparted to Dogora and Krena—from the international effort against the Demon Lord to the true purpose of the Academy. It took about an hour with him speaking slowly.

“And that is why Lady Cecil will have to go to the battlefield three years from now; it’s her duty as a noble. And Krena, you’ll have to go too.”

“Huh? Me too?”

Apparently Academy students learned Demon Lord history in their second year after the summer holiday, although only those who completed the assignment over the break—clearing a dungeon—were taught. The students at Nobles College in the royal capital also learned about it around the same time during their second year. As a general rule, Nobles College never failed any students, so everyone enrolled there would come to learn Demon Lord history and what the noble duty was.

When Allen finished speaking, Dogora asked with a pensive face, “And you’ll be fighting to protect Lady Cecil?”

“No, that’s not correct,” Allen replied just as Cecil nodded.

She immediately whirled on him. “What do you mean by that?!”

“I won’t be fighting to protect her. I’ll be fighting with her, and we’ll be defeating the Demon Lord,” Allen said in full seriousness.

Krena laughed. “That sounds just like something you’d say, Allen!”

“That’s fine with you too, right, Krena? Let’s fight the Demon Lord Army together.”

“Sure!”

Seeing Krena’s bright smile, Cecil fell silent. Although she had been surprised to find herself co-opted into a Demon Lord-killing task force, she understood Allen enough to know this was just how he was. Allen turned to the other boy.

“What do you plan to do, Dogora?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Will you join us in fighting the Demon Lord and become a champion? Or will you enter the service of some noble and become their knight?”

“A champion or a knight, huh?”

“I described everything rather casually, but to be honest with you, I expect the fighting to be very dangerous and demanding. That’s why I won’t force you—you should make your own choice. Of course, not going to the battlefield after spending these three years with us is a totally valid choice too.”

“Nah, I’m going,” Dogora replied, crossing his arms and smiling. He looked up at the ceiling as if his worldview had just expanded. “Who’d have thought? Turns out wanting to be a knight was just a tiny dream...”

“So, what’re we going to do now?” Krena asked.

“There are several things.” Allen raised a finger. “First, we’ll be going through the dungeons so that we can all overcome multiple Trials of the Gods and get some better gear.”

“I see,” Dogora nodded.

“Also, I want to expand our party. Specifically, I want to find a Cleric.”

“A Cleric?” Cecil started as understanding dawned. “Ahh, because we don’t have anyone to heal us?”

Allen thought that their party now needed a dedicated healer. Although he had Grass-type Summons, using them burned through his magic stones, which he wanted to avoid if possible.

“So to that end, the second thing we’ll do is look for someone with a healing Talent, either at school or at the Adventurer’s Guild, and have them join our party.”

“By the way, what was with you asking about some ring and requesting a ton of magic stones at the Guild?” Cecil asked. “Oh, and tell us about that big book too.”

Yep, this seems like a good time to share everything.

“I’m saying this ahead of time, but I grow much slower than all of you. That’s why I almost failed the entrance exam the other day.”

“What’re you talking about? I’ve seen you fight. You’re way stronger than all of us.”

Allen responded by talking about how he had been burdened with the Trials of a hundred people and that, in order to overcome those Trials, he needed an overwhelming number of magic stones and MP Recovery Rings. Furthermore, he explained that his grimoire was a part of his abilities as a Summoner.

“You were doing all that while staying at my mansion?! But...Trials of a hundred people?! That just sounds impossible!” Cecil exclaimed.

In contrast, Krena said understandingly, “I see, so that’s why you’ve always been working so hard.”

“Huh?” Allen looked surprised at how easily Krena accepted what he said. She had been watching him closely throughout their childhood, much more than he had thought.

Dogora just nodded once.

Allen looked at each of his companion’s faces, then concluded, “This is why we will be very busy in the three years to come.”

In this way, Allen and his friends secured a house in Academy City and came to share a common goal for their coming years at the Academy.