Personal gear

I arrive at home and spend some quality time with my family but we are all too exhausted to do much. Mondays were made to ruin people's weeks!

The next morning I leave early and quickly arrive at work. I'm about to go to the VR capsule and continue improving my dismantling skills when Navi tells me to head to Darwin's office.

Darwin seemed more spirited than usual and he was shoveling sweets into his mouth at a much faster rate than usual.

"You're here awfully early, I wasn't expecting you for another hour. I have a mission for you and it will involve combat. One of the bigger dungeons we protect is about to become a battle zone.

"A large number of adventurers from both the native world as well as the alpha plane have gathered to clear it once and for all. They will be continuously launching squads to slowly work their way up to the dungeon core and destroy it.

"Your mission will be to accompany the other new member and confront the adventurers sent to deal with the first few floors."

"This all sounds kind of big."

"It is. Honestly, I'd prefer not to send either of you but we can't afford to hold back. I'd also like to ask you to try holding Jade back a little, her path of evolution seems to show tendencies of going berserk. Since this is a major war effort you can also go to the armory and get some gear for free."

So there are some positive sides to this mission. Hopefully, I can get some good gear and level up a bunch of times. After all, I was put on babysitting duty.

<Please don't call it that. Jade is bad enough without you pissing her off.>

Is she truly that much of a berserker?

<Not in the way you think. Sometimes she's completely reasonable and at other times she turns very ruthless and just does what she wants. If you can we'd like for you to try and guide that ruthlessness in the right direction.>

You make me sound like a psychiatrist. Sigh, I'll try but no promises. More importantly, Darwin said I would get free equipment, where can I go get it?

<Your optimism sometimes baffles me. Right this way, please.>

I enter an elevator in the reception area and Navi tells me to press the button for the second underground floor. The elevator smoothly descends and the doors open into a giant forging hall.

The only light inside is provided by the furnaces and forges standing around. The light given off dyes the darkened hall in an orange-red color and elongates the shadows of the figures walking around.

As I step out of the elevator a particularly large figure approaches. Three meters tall and built like a sumo-wrestler the creature is completely black safe for a singular large eye in the middle of its face.

<This is Hippo, the lead blacksmith here. He is an elder cyclops and excels at making weapons. On a side note, that isn't his real skin color, he just spends so much time next to his forge that he's always covered in soot.>

"GREETINGS GUY, I'M HIPPO THE CYCLOPS! WHAT KIND OF EQUIPMENT DO YOU NEED?"

His voice booms through the hall and reverberates everywhere. He's practically screaming. Are cyclopses all deaf?

<No, they just don't know how to hold back. Make sure to tell him that you want equipment with soul-bind and death-repair enchantments.>

Can I also ask for things besides equipment?

<Depends on the specifics of what you want but go ahead and tell him. He was told about your clearance level so he can tell you what's possible and what's not.>

Will do.

"Hi there, Hippo. I'd like a set of light armor and two daggers as well as a dismantling knife, all with soul-bind and death-repair enchantments. Furthermore, I'd like some light, disposable throwing weapons and traps that I can set up."

"HMM, THAT'S HARD."

As I thought asking for so much wouldn't work.

"I HAVE TO GO ENCHANT A DISMANTLING KNIFE MYSELF, WE DON'T HAVE THOSE IN STOCK. BE RIGHT BACK!"

With a brig grin that reveals his white teeth, he sprints off and vanishes behind one of the forges.

<I'm just saying this because I want you to know but killing monsters of the dungeon isn't a good idea. The dungeons take very badly to such actions and we might have to dock your pay.>

I figured as much but what about monsters that are already dead? The dungeon won't care if I dismantle them and use some things as long as everything stays in the dungeon, right?

<If all the materials stay in the dungeon then it shouldn't be a problem. The dungeons don't care about the state of a corpse as long as they can absorb it.>

Five minutes later Hippo returns and tries to hand me a big wooden crate filled with the equipment asked for. Naturally, my puny strength is completely outmatched by the crate and I nearly get squished. Thankfully Hippo is quick to notice and lifts the crate back up.

"A BIT HEAVY, YES? I'LL HAVE THEM BRING IT TO YOUR ROOM."

He walks off with the crate and quickly disappears from my view. What room is he talking about? He's not going to send it to my home, right?

<Not to worry, the room he refers to is in this building. Since we sometimes have emergency missions you might have to spend a night here so you naturally have a room. It's not big at the moment but if you get stronger or chose to live here permanently you'll receive a bigger one.>

Navi swiftly navigates me to the employee dormitory and I find my room. It's marked by a plastic plate engraved with Guy. The door is apparently installed with a mana lock and only my mana signature allows for it to be opened. Seeing the door I kind of doubt that it could keep out someone like Hippo. What use is a mana lock if the door gets smashed...