The Two Newbie Adventurers; Times Passed (1)

(A Certain Group Of Newbie Adventurers' POV)

My name's Yonpoku, and I'm an adventurer. I might not look like it, but I'm quite the skilled adventurer myself.

Along with my brother, Bunpoku, we've cleared countless quests together and we worked very well together as a team. Recently, the Adventurer's Guild announced the recent findings about a dungeon for beginners called [Ordinary Cave] and the massive transformation it took after a huge Paradigm Shift.

This dungeon is pretty ominous, sometimes claiming the lives of some C-rank adventurers then at other times letting some newbie adventurers off the hook. There were rumours going around that people managed to find Magic Swords inside it so a lot of adventurers, like us, who wanted to get rich quick wanted to dive headfirst towards this dungeon which is now called [The Devil's Labyrinth].

Even the name sounds pretty ominous.

"Next…"

Currently, we are inside the Adventurer's Guild Branch which is located a few ways away from the said dungeon. Well, I'm not the one who will submit the quest completion but my brother Bunpoku.

"So you've exterminated some of the goblins on this mountain. Congratulations on completing your first quest as F-rank adventurer…" The one who said this is a bespectacled woman with piercing red eyes and a cold expression.

I heard that she was once a receptionist at the Tsia City's Adventurer's Guild Branch. Right now, she's the Master of this branch.

"Ow shucks. Thank you." Bunpoku was smiling from ear to ear after hearing such a monotonous congratulations.

"You're planning on going to the [The Devil's Labyrinth]?" The cold-faced woman ignored my brother and asked this question to us. It looks like adventurers like us trying to seek some fortune at this newly evolved dungeon was so common at this point that she recognized our intentions immediately.

"Since you are both newbies, please follow the guidelines the guild set for you. Don't touch anything unless it is an item that was in a specific location specified by the guild. Ignoring the guidelines might lead to serious consequences otherwise."

Although she meant well by saying that, I didn't really pay it any mind. What's on my mind right now is how much money I'll make if I could find a magic sword.

After Bunpoku received our rewards, we headed to our destination which was the [The Devil's Labyrinth].

"This used to be a dungeon that only summoned goblins, right? We're gonna be fine."

"Don't get cocky, Yonpoku. According to the guild investigations you can't get careless around this dungeon…"

"Sheesh, Bunpoku. You worry too much." Sheesh, Yonpoku's way too careless for a scout. Though I know that self-confidence is good, he's too confident for his own good.

"Hey, look at that, Bunpoku. That should the the Rabbit's Capsule Restspot, right? The guild was right. There's an inn right next to the dungeon's entrance…"

This is amazing. The owner of this inn really have some big pair of balls, building an inn right beside a dungeon where monsters live.

"Let's stay the night and check out the dungeon tomorrow. Sound good?" Bunpoko manages our earnings. He's good with money so I let him take the portion of my earning for safekeeping.

If money's with me, it would've been all spent on booze.

"Yep, sounds great."

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We stood at the inn's entrance, gawking at the well-built and beautifully decorated inn. Ah, enough gawking, let's go on in.

Behind the counter is an elf girl wearing a cute black and white outfit. The frilly design really catches my attention.

"Welcome to the Rabbit's Capsule Restspot. What business do you have with our inn? You seem to be newbie adventurers so I recommend renting our cheapest capsules…" The girl's beautiful but she speaks in a pretty monotonous voice, similar to the previous receptionist girl of Tsia City.

As expected of an elven girl, her face is shapely like a doll and… it's average. What's average? Her tits, obviously.

Even though her size is not my type, I gotta say, she's really really cute. Is this why they named the inn as Rabbit's Capsule Restspot?

Since Bunpoku is currently off to his own world, staring at the elf girl, I have to get myself together and ask for the price myself.

Fifty coppers per night, per person. That means one silver for two people. That's about a third of the total money we got from the guild earlier.

After taking the money from Bunpoku's pouch, I paid the elven girl and we got some uniquely shaped keys in exchange. Seems like we'll be staying at capsule number 156 and 157.

By the way, if you didn't know, a silver's actually pretty cheap for an inn this deep into the mountains. Newbie adventurers might struggle to pay for it, but it's nothing to me who's a seasoned veteran.

"Thank you for choosing to stay at Rabbit's Capsule Restspot."

"Hey, is meal not included in the fees?"

"No. Meals are totally separate from the room fee. However, you get to use the bathroom for free."

"The bath? Oh wow, this inn has a bath, huh?"

"Yes. It's called an onsen. Many people can go inside it at once." Baths are rare in Tsia so I've never been into one in my life.

"You can use some of our bathrobes for free. As for the good, our menu consists of A-Rank meals down to G-Rank. Which meal would you like?"

"Oh wow. I kinda want to try the A-Rank meal… wait, what?! Five gold pieces?!" There were people who came from inside the inn who heard my outburst and gave me a look as if I'm an idiot.

What? Am I the one who's weird?

"This meal and its price has been reviewed and verified by an A-rank adventurer. She guarantees that it tastes good. If you have any complaints with its taste after tasting it, you can say it to her directly, she said." An A-rank? That's insane. I never met one before. Ku-hum, I mean I obviously met one before, ha-ha.

A-Anyway, I-I don't care how good it is, I can't pay five gold coins for it. I wonder what kind of meal it is anyway?

I wanna know. I wanna know bad, but that's just way too much of a gamble.

I look at the prices chart and see that the prices are as follows: A-Rank, five gold coins; B-Rank, fifty silver coins; C-Rank, five silver coins; D-Rank, one silver coin; E-Rank, fifty copper coins; F-Rank, five copper coins; and G-Rank, one copper coin.

While I was looking at the price list, the elven girl continued speaking.

"If you avail a meal that is D-rank or above, you'll get a free and unique sweet called purin. It's taste is heavenly and a lot of adventurers who have tasted it could attest to that." That does it.

"Bunpoku, I've made up my mind. I want a C-Rank meal!"

"H-Hold up. That's too much! What're you thinking? That's pretty much everything you earned from the last three months! And I'm not lending you any of mine!"

"Hahaha. We can sell the magic Swords that we will find inside the dungeon for more money, y'know? I'll be fine."

"How about you, mister? What meal do you want? I recommend buying the D-Rank meal or above."

"…I'll… I'll have a D-Rank meal, please. That's still one whole silver, though. Your prices sure are expensive."

"It's expensive because the food is delicious. Thank you for your purchase. Please come to the cafeteria and give this meal ticket to our inn's employee to receive the food in exchange. Please don't lose it."

The girl gave me a slip that she calls a meal ticket. I can exchange it for the food by going to the cafeteria later. Makes sense.

After that, we were told which floor is our rooms. After putting my stuffs down, I think I'll try out this so-called onsen.

When we arrived at our 'rooms', or what they call a capsule, we both had to climb up some ladders to reach it. Once we were inside, I saw a well-arranged minimalistic room.

There's a small cabinet-like thing on the side, that's probably where we could store our things, a bed, and a small table. Man, the space is high enough that I could sit up without hitting my head. Actually, the ceiling of this thing is pretty high.

After storing my thing, I looked back and saw that I could see the outside pretty clearly. Wait, I could've sworn I couldn't see a thing when I looked at the black, plank like thing in the middle of the door.

Nevermind, it must be some item I don't know about. Anyway, I can't see any magic light tool, but there is a lamp. They must be trying to sell oil and make some cash from that.

Also, what's with this bed? Is it… made from cotton? I had prepared myself for a wooden bed but… ooh, my hand sinks right into this baby! This bed alone makes the room worth fifty coppers, easily.

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Right after we finished bathing, and I gotta tell you, the experience was absolutely heavenly, we headed to the cafeteria to eat our meal. Since my meal was literally four silver coins more expensive than Bunpoku's, I got to enjoy some beef, a delicious soup, and a really soft white bread to go along with it.

"Whew, I feel stuffed!" That meal was totally worth the price. It could've gone for atleast triple or quintuple of its original price, honestly, just by the taste.

"Oh whoops, it's about time for your dessert. Ikumei! Bring it out!" Did I mention that the inn employee at the cafeteria was different?

This time, she's a human girl that could rival the elf earlier in terms of beauty. What's more, she's got some huge melons on her!

I'm now convinced. I totally get why she's in the cafeteria.

"Right… away…"

In response to her call, a little girl who seems to be a beastkin came out of the kitchen holding a dessert. It's white… no, yellow.

It looks like a trapezoid, but from above it looks like a weird flower. Also, there's some brown sauce covering it.

"What is this…?"

"It's called a [Purin], and it's your dessert. By the way, it only comes with D-Rank meals and above. Get ready, boys. You're gonna melt in this sweetness…" I gulp after she whispers into my ear, holding my spoon at the ready.

The girl grins at me, amused. I push my spoon forward and dig into the purin, causing it to jiggle.

And so…

…That day, I saw a glimpse of what Heaven truly looks like.

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※~To be continued~※

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Author's Remarks:

※ First part of the skip. I can't put every little detail inside one chapter so it's a shame but, we gotta hurry. Many more worlds and arcs are waiting for us.