Dungeon of Precious Stones
"”Good morning~ Wake up~"”
"...Mmm~"
The next morning, I was once again awakened by the children early. Well, it's still a bit lighter outside than yesterday, so it seems like a little later.
"Good morning. You're up early again. Did you sleep well?""”Slept well~"”
"What are we~”
"Doing today~?”
They seem full of energy, having gotten enough sleep.
"Phew~... right. Near this town, there's an advanced dun—"
“"Let's go!"”
"...-geon, so……… of course, you'd say that."I was about to ask if they wanted to go to the dungeon, but they answered before I could finish. I understand they want to go, but I'd like them to let me finish speaking.
"Kaiser, too... Do you want to go to the dungeon together with us?"
"Yes, going together is good."
Kaiser, who was lying in the bed next to mine, was also awake and had an excited expression.
So, we decided to head to the 80th labyrinth, known as "Precious Stones."
"What kind of dungeon is it?"
"It's of the Earth element. Considering it's called the ‘Dungeon of Precious Stones,' maybe we can find gems and such?"
Since it was right near the town, we walked towards the dungeon without calling Joule and the others yet.
“”Nniyu?””
"N?"
"Umu?"
As the place that seemed to be the dungeon came into view, for some reason, a large crowd had gathered there.
“”Many people?””
"Yeah. It's a huge crowd. Wait... not everyone there is an adventurer, right?"
"Hmm? There are people wearing fancy clothes, not just those in adventurer-like attire, but also people in regular clothes and others dressed like nobles."
As Kaiser pointed out, there were people in outfits resembling adventurers with armor, as well as those in everyday clothing and individuals dressed in high-quality noble attire.
"Is that... the reception?"
As we approached the entrance of the dungeon, there was a tent-like structure with a line formed in front of it.
"Oh, excuse me! I'd like to ask something..."
"Hm? What is it?"
"We're adventurers from the Guardia Kingdom, and we're a bit curious about the situation here. This is the entrance to the dungeon, right?"
For now, I decided to catch someone who seemed like security and ask them about the situation.
"Oh, adventurers from elsewhere. You must be surprised by this situation."
"Yes, we're quite surprised by the number of people. We were wondering what's going on here.”
"Of course you do. If you're from another place, you'd find this situation surprising. The first floor of the Dungeon of Precious Stones hardly has any monsters, and it's a remarkably spectacular place. That's why it's turned into a tourist attraction."
"A tourist attraction!?"
"Yeah, that line is for the entrance reception."
Surprisingly, the "Dungeon of Precious Stones" had become a tourist attraction.
"So, does the entrance reception mean we have to go there before entering the dungeon?"
"That's right. This dungeon is completely managed by the country."
"Wow~"
Moreover, it was fully managed by the country, and it seemed you couldn't enter without going through the proper procedures. Well, if they don't keep track of the number of people entering the dungeon, they might face difficulties were something to happen.
“”Can't enter?"”
"No, it seems we can enter after we go through the reception, but..."
It's only the first floor that has become a tourist attraction, right?
"Excuse me. How can we proceed to the higher floors beyond the second floor? Is it not allowed?"
"No, it's fine for adventurers. However, there's always someone at the teleportation gate between the first and second floors, confirming those who want to proceed."
Seems like they're making sure that ordinary people don't accidentally go to the second floor.
"Oh, by the way, it costs two large copper coins to enter the dungeon."
So, they're collecting an entrance fee. Well, when you think about it, two large copper coins... that's about half the cost of a meal. It's actually a reasonably cheap entrance fee considering they have reception and security personnel stationed at both the entrance and the teleportation gate. The staffing costs for that many people, especially considering it's a 24-hour operation, would add up.
"But... I feel like two large copper coins wouldn't cover all the staffing costs and such."
"It's impossible to cover all of it. However, not managing it and having numerous incidents would be more of a problem, so it's a necessary expense."
"... I see."
It seems like it's a remarkably challenging dungeon to the point where leaving it unattended could lead to numerous incidents.
"This dungeon is worth a look. Since you've come all this way, you should definitely check it out."
"Yes, you're right. We'll make sure to see it. Thank you for telling us about it."
After expressing gratitude to the security personnel who informed us about the dungeon, we headed towards the reception line.
"Putting aside dungeon capture for now, I plan to enter and explore the first floor of this dungeon first… Is that okay?"
“"Yeah, that’s fine!"”
"I'm fine with it, too. I'm curious about a dungeon that attracts this many people."
Since the children and Kaiser were okay with it, we paid the entrance fee at the reception and finally entered the "Dungeon of Precious Stones."
“”””Ohhh~””””
As we entered the dungeon, we couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
“”Amazing~””
"This is really incredible."
Inside the dungeon was a forest-like area, but it was a forest made entirely of gem-like substances.
"Are these all crystals... or maybe diamonds?"
As we were told before entering the dungeon, it was truly worth seeing.
"Niichan, is this your first time in this dungeon?”
"Yes, it is. We're just amazed. Oh, sorry! We were blocking the way, weren't we?"
Perhaps because we were standing still right after entering and marveling at the surroundings, a fellow adventurer who came from behind us spoke up.
… Well, I think it was because we were blocking the path.
"No, it's fine. No problem at all. If it's your first time, everyone reacts like you guys."
"Hahaha~"
"But, don't be amazed so soon."
"Huh, why? Is there something even more amazing further inside?"
"No, this dungeon periodically changes. Right now, it's the Diamond Forest, but it can become a forest of a different gem, like Ruby Forest, Sapphire Forest, Emerald Forest, and so on."
"Eh!?"
Today, it's the Diamond Forest with translucent crystals, but on different days, it might swap with a Ruby Forest in red, a Sapphire Forest in blue, an Emerald Forest in green, and so on.
"That makes me want to come back to see the other forests."
“”Want to see, want to see!"”
"Yeah, that's intriguing."
I see, so that's why the entrance fee is affordable, even for common people. They can come multiple times.
"If you can get diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds on the first floor, it makes sense for the country to manage it."
"You can't harvest the gems on this floor."
"Eh? You can't!?"
“”Can’t pick?””
"Yeah, no matter what you do, this forest won't break. Feel free to try hitting it with a pickaxe or hammer. Oh, you were probably told at the reception, but magic is prohibited, so don't use it."
"Oh! Is that so!? We weren’t told that!?”
Whether you can harvest gems or not aside, it would have been nice if they mentioned at the reception that magic is prohibited.
"You weren’t told!?"
"Is it common to be told that?"
"Of course! Is what I would like to say, but most adventurers who come here are locals, so they probably assumed you already knew, and that's why they might not have mentioned it to you~"
"Ehh..."
Rather than being explained or worried about like regular adventurers, we were actually overlooked here.
“”Oniichan, are you okay?””
As I absentmindedly looked up at the sky, the children huddled around me, looking concerned.
"I figured it out because of your reaction when we entered, but the person at the reception might have thought you were the guide or hired adventurer for this guy and the kids, thinking they were a family on an outing or something."
"I see..."
Since Kaiser’s appearances, such as hair and eye colors, were strikingly similar to the children, it's understandable. After all, Rebecca-san mistook him for their father.
"Adventurers who come here multiple times don't usually want to hear the instructions, so they probably thought it was unnecessary to explain."
"Hahaha~"
I thought I should suggest separating the reception for first-time visitors and those returning to avoid this in the future.
