Surviving the Dungeon with an EX-Rank Trait

As soon as I returned to the inn on the carriage, I was scolded.

“They said they would be playing for a few days, and while I took care of El, what’s this after just one day?! Really… I’m so upset!”

Though the internal and external injuries were thoroughly treated, the state of my armor and hair was hopeless.

As I opened the door and walked in, Yeriell, who had come down to worry, looked at my appearance with a teary face.

“Bee! Beeeee!”

Knock. Knock-knock.

Eira, too, seemed shocked by my changed appearance in just a day, and pecked at the torn chest of my armor with her beak.

Being so small, it was just cute.

‘By the way, El? Did you give her a nickname already?’

“Yeriell. Are you talking about Eira? To have given her a nickname means you must have gotten pretty close in just one day, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s easy to call her with one syllable, and it sounds cute, right? She likes it too! ─ But that’s not the important part right now!”

“I know. I get it. But Yeriell, I’m all healed up from my injuries, and both of us have no problems. How about we calm down a little? Let’s take a deep breath together. Hoo─Ha.”

Hoo-ha. Hoo-ha.

“⋯Ugh. I heard from my sister that an apostle of the Evil God appeared in District 5, where you and Lumia are. Do you know how surprised I was?”

From Yeriell’s perspective, it must have been a bolt from the blue.

It wasn’t a few days later but less than a day after they had gone out that they were supposedly fighting somewhere grandly. Had the situation been reversed, she would have run straight to that location.

“Oh my. We were surprised too. Don’t worry, we won’t set foot near the Coliseum for a while. Nothing happened here?”

“Uh-huh. Just a bunch of armored soldiers running around, but there was no major issue.”

It seems that while one apostle was drawing the attention of several hundred people by taking them hostage, they wouldn’t have tried to pull off a flanking operation in another district!

‘We managed to resolve things well, so I’m relieved. But where is Lumia?’

“Yeriell, I clearly heard that Lumia was going back to the inn, but she’s not here. Is she resting in her room?”

“Well, right after she got back, she collapsed and fainted. Grandpa Rotten was surprised and moved her to her room immediately, but he said she doesn’t have a fever or anything serious. Since he cast a heal on her, she’ll be fine.”

I immediately tried to dash up to the 2nd floor upon hearing that she had fainted, but held back after hearing the rest.

“He said she probably experienced severe mental shock in such a short time. Aren, do you know what happened?”

Yeah. I know. The problem is that I know too well.

At the time, it seemed like I consoled her after taking down those guys, but after everything ended and the tension eased, it seems the reaction kicked in.

The fact that the apostle of the Evil God appeared, the circus was wrecked, and people got hurt—there were those who attributed all of it to Aral’s Lumia.

“What, what? No matter how hopeless the situation is, that’s ridiculous. How could they blame everything on one person just because they have nothing else to blame?”

I certainly didn’t just stand by; I took down a few right away, and they told me I did well, relishing the satisfaction.

Indeed, Yeriell has shown more emotional expression and conviction than when we first met.

Well, the drop in emotion could be a bit excessive, but what’s good is good, right?

“Anyway, since the incident has been resolved, I’ll just take a nap.”

It turned out to be an unexpected reversal of night and day, but it couldn’t be helped. After treatment, both my body and mind felt light as air, but as soon as I got to the inn, my eyelids kept drooping.

“You must have been worried and stayed awake all night. Is it okay if you don’t sleep?”

“Don’t worry about me. Go rest upstairs quickly. No, wait! Before that, I think you should stop by Lumia’s room and show your face to Grandpa. Can you do that?”

“Sure. I’ll do that. By the way, should I call you Eira, or El? Anyway, El, what will you do?”

“Bee!”

Without any hesitation at all, El jumped onto my shoulder, as if to say, “Why are you only asking now?”

Yeriell looked at her with a dumbfounded face, but El didn’t care.

“Bee? Beee!”

With a final word of “See you later,” I headed upstairs toward the room where Lumia was sleeping.

Click.

“Hmm? Whoa, what a sight! Are you hurt at all?”

“Yes. I stopped by the Holy District on the way. What about Lumia?”

“She’s sleeping soundly without any issues. I’m really grateful that both of you came back in one piece. You must be tired, so hurry up, unpack and rest.”

Seeing Yeriell sleeping soundly and Rotten, who was less flustered than expected, I felt relieved as I entered my room.

“Phew. This is what ragged armor looks like? Alright. Let’s take it off. At this point, it’s better to just wear everyday clothes.”

Was this made from savage boar leather? Anyway, after months of being attached to my armor, I finally let it go.

Considering it’s also an item filled with memories, I carefully put it in my backpack and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Thump.

“Let’s sleep early. From tomorrow, we need to get busy again.”

A break because I might get burnt out? After seeing Irmela, Shurika, and many of the friendly adventurers this time, I realized that I wasn’t ready to live worry-free in the city yet.

Oh, speaking of which, I definitely used a sword aura back then… now that I’m trying to use it again, I can’t get the hang of it… I need to find a clue.

“Bee. Bee!”

Before my eyelids could resist and give me any chance to hold on, I fell asleep.

*

Bright sunlight invaded the cracks between my eyes.

“Ugh. What time is it?”

Looking at the clock, it was 12 noon.

Huh? I feel too good to have only slept a little over 5 hours, right?

[Chaos mocks that you slept the entire day away.]

“Chaos! Did I get punished?”

[Chaos jumps around, telling you to forget about it.]

“Haha! How could I forget that? By the way, did I really sleep for a whole day? 24 hours?”

Did I really zone out for nearly 30 hours? Damn, I feel like I wasted so much time.

I got ready to go outside, oh, but I don’t have any armor to wear.

After a quick wash, I stepped out in casual clothes.

‘Where did El go? Did she go to Yeriell since I was sleeping so much?’

“Ha-ha! You finally woke up, huh? I was worried something was wrong.”

“I think I was just too tired from the intense fight. I didn’t expect to sleep this long… is it time for a meal yet?”

“Of course! Just a moment. I’ll bring it out right away.”

I sat at the table and after a little wait, the food came out.

‘The belly was about to stick to my back. Now I can live.’

The meal consisted of fluffy potato soup, rye bread, a piece of well-cooked meat, boiled eggs, and a drink.

I was able to satisfactorily finish my lunch.

“Rotten, it’s true they’re both not around right now? How’s Lumia’s condition?”

“Don’t worry. She’s not as fine as you, but after resting a bit, she woke up completely. Oh, by the way, she wants you to tell her something when you wake up.”

⋯From what he said, it seems that Lumia resolved to become more determined after this incident.

So she said she thought she needed to get stronger in various aspects and headed to the explorer training school near the martial arts union.

Though she said she didn’t aim to be a professional explorer, she wanted to use the advantages of her sensory traits to be more helpful to the party.

‘Yeriell probably went to the Knights or the Cathedral as usual. Now, it’s just me who needs to do what I have to do.’

“I’m glad to see you full of energy. Then I’ll take my leave. Since the party members are working hard, the party leader can’t just lounge around.”

“Sure. The mood in the city is quite tense, so please be careful.”

I nodded and answered, then left the inn.

*

As soon as I arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild building, I headed to the dedicated counter for carcass processing.

It had been a few days since I handed in the remains of Grielops and the Golem, so it should be time for my settlement.

“Let me see… Oh, Aren! You were one of the ones who made a significant contribution to taking down the apostle of the Evil God that appeared this time, right?”

“Eh?”

“Well, the whole city has been buzzing since yesterday. Whenever something related to the Evil God appears, whether it’s an object, a person, or any phenomenon, the city suffers considerable damage.”

The receptionist was chatty with no interest in the settlements, clearly more focused on gossip.

Things had always been like this, but this time, they said the early suppression was quicker, which minimized damage.

It seems that rumors about adventurers who made an impression among the surviving people had spread.

‘Last time, there were whispers about a private meeting with the Guild Leader, and now it’s even worse?’

What to do? Gaining a little fame and reputation isn’t entirely a good thing.

If I had that kind of power, that would be one thing, but since I’m just a low-tier adventurer who has barely reached the 4th floor… drawing too much attention could only bring harm.

Might end up attracting envy and jealousy from others unwillingly.

[Chaos suggests flipping the rumor around to use it to your advantage.]

‘That’s true. If I think of it that way, it’s an opportunity to recruit party members despite the stigmatization from Lumia’s curse.’

A tank. Our party needs a solid front-liner to protect the two at the back and draw enemy aggro.

Like Jacob said, three people are just too few. We’ve often been looked down upon due to our lack of numbers, so this time it’s crucial to secure them.

“The remains of the mutant and the dismembered Golem have been purchased at the Magic Tower, and the settlement has been smoothly completed. Here, a total of 3 gold coins and 15 silver coins. Please check.”

A settlement sum of a whopping 3 gold coins!

I had hoped they’d give a good price since it was a mutant, but as expected, most of it went towards recovering the costs of my armor repairs.

“Thank you. The amount is accurate. Well then, good day.”

“Yes, adventurer! Goodbye!”

With an uplifted heart, I checked my pocket and exited the reception desk.

Now all that’s left is… party matching.

Unlike the carcass settlement counter, there was a long line here, so I stood at the end of the relatively shorter line and waited for about 30 minutes until my turn came.

“Hello. How may I assist you?”

“I’d like to recruit party members. I just need to hand in my adventurer card, right?”

“Yes. Just give it here… and your identity has been confirmed. Please write your desired class and any specific recruitment conditions here!”

⋯

The finalized recruitment notice was as follows.

───────────────

[Party Recruitment Notice─Adventurer Aren’s Party]

Target Level to Reach: To Be Determined. Will decide later through discussions with all party members. Preferred hunting area is the same.

Highest Level Reached: 4th floor.

Average Party Member Ability Level: D- Rank.

Number of Recruits: 1 Defense Specialization Avant (Frontliner).

Current Members: 1 Close Combat Specialization Human Swordsman (Low Tier), 1 Human Priest Capable of Buffing, Protecting, and Healing (Low Tier), 1 Beastman Wizard Specializing in Dark Magic (Low Tier).

Special Notes:
─No restrictions on race or age.
─Settlement Funds Equally Distributed.
─Exploratory abilities can be substituted with sensory traits and basic knowledge.
─Nocturnal Watch can be substituted with magic.
─Ample resources due to space-expanding backpacks.
─The Beastman Wizard has certain negative traits, but can use the party leader’s traits to offset them, with no issues.

───────────────

I made sure not to miss any necessary parts. I also honestly mentioned Lumia’s curse.

“Registration complete! Please visit the guild later to check the status. Do you have any other requests?”

“No. Thank you for your kind assistance. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Goodbye!”

Leaving the cheerful receptionist behind, I exited the guild.

Clink. Clink.

‘Looks like the repercussions are quite significant.’

Due to incidents related to the Evil God, soldiers were diligently patrolling even in the afternoon.

Anyway, I really hope at least one or two decent applicants come forward.

Having already experienced a failed recruitment once, I felt a bit anxious.

I’ve done everything I can. Now, I just have to sit back and wait.

*

“Haah.”

Two weeks passed without any news.

It seems that since this is a world where gods, magic, curses, spirits, and all kinds of mysteries thrive, no matter how much I’ve tried to spread the word and mentioned that my traits offset Lumia’s curse, people still hesitated to join due to superstition and anxiety.

“Someone has expressed interest in joining the party!”

Finally, finally!

“⋯.”

“⋯?”

But the adventurer who applied to join is a bit, no, very peculiar.

---