Chương 7: The Half-Elf's Gift

Cael jumped. He stared at Eina in alarm. A moment ago she had seemed kind and approachable, but now her expression had changed completely. She really was terrifying when angry. No wonder even Hermes had once been startled by her.

"You..." Eina said, her voice tight.

"Even a sheltered noble boy who knows nothing about the world should have some common sense. The Dungeon is full of monsters. Fangs, claws, bodies, abilities, every part of them is far beyond what a rookie adventurer can handle. Even veterans can lose their lives if they enter without proper equipment. Going in like this is no different from throwing your life away." Faced with Eina, who looked one step away from grabbing him by the collar, Cael wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Actually, I am not completely unprepared. The Magic I just awakened can change a weapon's material and strengthen an ordinary sword several times over." His final words came out as a mutter.

"And I am not a noble." Outside Orario, people had often mistaken him for a noble because of his smooth skin and hands that had clearly never done hard labor. Nobles meant nothing in Orario. Here, even a royal who entered the city was only another person.

"Magic?" Eina looked surprised. It was rare for someone to gain Magic as soon as they received a god's Falna. Magic was not guaranteed just because one had an empty Magic slot. Unless someone was born with it, gaining Magic later was something that depended on luck. But a moment later, her brow furrowed again.

"Even if you have Magic, you are still a rookie. You absolutely cannot enter the Dungeon like that. I do not want an adventurer under my care to lose his life on the very first day. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I completely understand." Pinned in place by that severe gaze, Cael nodded like his life depended on it. An angry woman really was frightening. Eina calmed down and studied the obedient boy in front of her. Then she seemed to understand something.

"Is it because you have no money for equipment? Were you cheated?"

"Ghk." Cael clutched his chest and looked up pitifully.

"Miss Eina, did you really have to stab me right in the scar?"

"Sheltered noble boys are so much trouble. You really do not know anything." Eina sighed helplessly.

"Wait here." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Her colleagues had been reluctant to take responsibility for him because he looked like he lacked basic sense and might not survive the next day. After a short while, Eina returned with both hands behind her back. Under Cael's gaze, she placed a chest guard, a shoulder guard, and a plain iron sword roughly two feet long in front of him.

"These were left with me by a rookie adventurer I used to advise. Unfortunately..."

"He never came back?" Cael asked softly. He felt moved that Eina, whom he had only just met, was giving him equipment. At the same time, his heart became heavy.

"No. Giving them to you may count as fulfilling his last wish." Eina looked at him seriously.

"I do not want you to disappear the next day too."

"Thank you, Miss Eina. I will use them well." Cael's gratitude was sincere.

"I have only just arrived in Orario, and you have already helped me so much." Thinking about it, he really was lucky in every sense.

"Honestly. Hurry up and go." Eina waved him off.

"Go have your first adventure. But do not go past the third floor." The moment her eyes met Cael's bright, star-like gaze, Eina's cheeks flushed. She quickly looked away and urged him on.

"Then I will be going, Miss Eina." Cael gathered the equipment she had given him and bowed gratefully. After leaving the Guild, he turned back one last time to look at her. He owed her a very large favor now.

"May your first battle go well, Cael," Eina said, waving kindly. After he left, a pink-haired girl leaned close with a mischievous smile.

"Eina, you treat that rookie adventurer differently. Did he catch your eye?"

"Huh? What are you saying, Misha?" Eina looked startled and immediately denied it.

"I just think he is different from other adventurers."

"Different how?" Misha asked, covering her mouth as she grinned.

"Not the way you are imagining. He is different because he did not become an adventurer for fame or money. That makes him feel special." Eina tapped a finger against her chin.

"I see. Hee hee."

"Honestly, it is not what you are thinking."... After leaving the Guild, Cael changed into the equipment Eina had given him. The chest guard and right shoulder guard were light and easy to move in, somewhat similar to Bell's equipment. As for the sword, it was forged from solid iron. Even if he hacked at stone, it would take a dozen strikes before the blade chipped.

"This really is completely different from my overpriced decoration." After that small but meaningful surprise, Cael spent his remaining valis on water and food along Adventurers Way, then finally arrived at the foot of Babel. He looked up. The tower's height seemed endless, and the feeling of his own smallness pressed down on him. Beneath Babel stretched an enormous plaza paved in white stone. Voices filled the air.

Adventurers carrying all kinds of equipment moved everywhere, and groups of several or even a dozen people entered the Dungeon one after another. Other adventurers came out of the entrance supporting one another, their armor damaged and stained with blood. They looked as if they had survived a brutal fight. The most noticeable people were the supporters mixed into adventurer parties, each carrying an enormous pack. The word supporter sounded pleasant, as if they existed to help adventurers.

In truth, most were too weak to fight and could only carry supplies, collect Magic Stones and Drop Items, and earn a small share from the monsters others killed. Adventurers and supporters should have been partners. Without supporters, adventurers could not gather as many drops during combat. But unless the supporter was a rookie from the same Familia, those who tried to survive alone were often targeted by unscrupulous adventurers. Some received no payment. Some had their belongings taken.

Some were thrown out as bait when danger came. Anywhere there was light, there were shadows. Human nature was complicated enough that even the gods could not fully grasp it.

"My first adventure. I am excited and worried at the same time." The sight made his blood race, but concern over the monsters still lingered. Once he had made up his mind, he stopped hesitating. Following the flow of adventurers, Cael stepped into the Dungeon entrance, which opened before him like the mouth of an abyss.