"......"

  Half-price entry tickets were certainly tempting......

  Hulim Heyerar had a hunch that she would be venturing into the dungeons quite frequently in the future. A discount like this would definitely ease her financial strain.

  Of course, being an adventurer came with not just benefits, but also corresponding obligations. If mandatory quests were issued, the Guild had the authority to require all Rank C and above adventurers to participate. Refusal would result in severe penalties.

  "In that case, please register me as an adventurer."

  Mandatory quests were not all that common, and even if she did encounter one, Hulim would not back down. So she decided to go ahead with the registration.

  "Right away!"

  The receptionist beamed as she processed Hulim’s registration.

  Her enthusiasm was understandable—if Hulim went on to become a high-rank adventurer in the future, the receptionist, as her registering officer, would receive a generous bonus.

  After all, every student at Manacos Magic Academy was a prodigy with at least Rank B talent. Which meant every single one of them had the potential to rise through the adventurer ranks. To the receptionists of the Adventurers' Guild, there was no better pool of new recruits than this.

  In no time at all, the receptionist handed Hulim an Adventurer’s License emblazoned with the Guild’s exclusive anti-counterfeiting mark.

  Hulim glanced at the details on the license, then frowned in confusion.

  "Um, is there a mistake here? Why does my license say I’m Rank D?"

  The adventurer ranking system was not based solely on strength—it was a combination of strength and quest completion rate.

  No matter how powerful you were, a newly registered adventurer should always start at Rank E. You had to fulfill a certain number of quests to climb up the ranks.

  "No mistake at all, ma’am," the receptionist explained with a smile.

  "Thanks to the agreement between our branch and Manacos Magic Academy, all students from Manacos who register as adventurers start at Rank D—skipping the Rank E rookie phase entirely."

  So that’s how it was. That saved her quite a bit of trouble......

  "Thank you!"

  With a quick thanks, Hulim took her freshly minted Dungeon Pass and Adventurer’s License and left the Adventurers' Guild.

  "......It’s getting late. I’d better head back to the academy for today."

  Standing outside the Guild, she checked the sky. Instead of wandering around further, she made her way straight back to Manacos.

  As usual, she spent the rest of the day studying Magic Circle Theory in the Grand Library, returning to her dormitory only when night fell.

  "Hulim, you’re back!"

  Today, Miko Kedar had returned before her.

  "Yeah, just came from the Grand Library."

  Hulim nodded, closing the dorm door behind her.

  "By the way, Miko, what were you up to yesterday? You came back really late."

  "Huh?! Oh, that’s...... well......"

  Miko stammered, looking distinctly guilty.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Seeing her like that, Hulim knew she wouldn’t get a straight answer, so she decided not to press the issue.

  "Anyway...... as long as you’re safe. I bought some pastries—want some?"

  "Really?! Yes please!"

  Miko’s eyes lit up instantly, her earlier awkwardness vanishing without a trace.

  And with that, Hulim ended her day chatting casually with Miko.

  ......

  ......

  Clink~! Clink~! Clink......

  In a dim, ancient stone corridor deep within the dungeon, a skeleton soldier clutched a rusted iron sword, scanning its surroundings warily. The faint green will-o'-the-wisps flickering in its eye sockets bobbed up and down every now and then.

  It sensed something nearby, yet no matter how hard it searched, it could not pinpoint the source.

  Clink! Clink!

  After coming up empty-handed, the skeleton soldier resumed its patrol along its fixed route.

  But no sooner had it taken two steps than a sharp whoosh sounded behind it. A Wind Slash sliced through the air, shattering the skeleton into a pile of bones.

  Clatter——!

  The rusted iron sword clanged to the dark stone floor, its echo ringing through the corridor.

  Immediately afterward......

  Clink! Clink! Clink......

  The sound of countless skeletons shuffling echoed from every direction.

  "So I’ve drawn their attention, huh......"

  "Fine, might as well face them head-on!"

  From the shadows of the dark corridor, a figure emerged.

  Hulim Heyerar, wielding a silver wand in her right hand and a long sword strapped to her back, stood in the empty corridor, clad in her Manacos Magic Academy student uniform.

  "Fireball!"

  The moment she revealed herself, Hulim unleashed a spell at a cluster of approaching skeletons.

  Boom——!

  The fireball exploded in a burst of flame, illuminating the dim surroundings for an instant.

  The commotion only attracted more skeleton soldiers, who swarmed toward her from all sides.

  Faced with the oncoming horde, Hulim remained calm, raising her wand steadily.

  Magic light flared to life at the tip of her wand once more.

  "Fire Arrow!"

  "Rock Pellet!"

  "Wind Slash!"

  "......"

  Bursts of colorful magical light erupted continuously in the corridor. More and more skeletons were lured in—and more and more were reduced to dust by her spells.

  After what felt like an eternity......

  "【????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Lightning Orb!"

  Boom!

  A brilliant flash of light filled the corridor, and then silence fell.

  Hulim let out a sigh of relief, pulling a Mana Potion from her backpack and downing it in one gulp.

  "Ugh, that’s disgusting......"

  She stuck out her tongue in distaste.

  As vile as it tasted, potions that restored mana quickly were essential for dungeon delving. The dungeon was no safe place—running out of mana could easily mean death.

  Fortunately, Hulim knew healing magic, so she didn’t need to carry healing potions as well. That lightened her load quite a bit.

  "The difficulty level here isn’t high enough. I should head down to the next floor......"

  Glancing at the piles of bones scattered across the floor, Hulim was not satisfied. She felt that this challenge was nowhere near pushing her limits. Training against foes this weak wouldn’t help her improve at all.

  She turned to leave, pausing only to point her wand at a dark corner.

  "【??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Light Sphere!"

  A sphere of blinding light shot forth, striking a Heavy Armor Skeleton hidden beneath a mound of bones.

  The intense light flooded the corridor, turning the darkness into day. The Heavy Armor Skeleton let out a silent shriek as it slowly vanished into nothingness under the light’s purifying power.

  Ding~!

  A glistening stone clattered to the ground.

  "Hmm?"

  Hulim walked over and picked up the stone.

  "This Mana Stone...... No wonder it survived this long. So it was a Rank C after all."

  She tucked the Mana Stone into her backpack, then set off toward the lower levels of the Echo Maze......

  It was nearly dusk by the time Hulim emerged from the Echo Maze and returned to the surface.

  She made her way to the Adventurers' Guild.

  Clatter~!

  Hulim emptied the contents of her backpack onto the counter.

  "Could you please tally these up for me?"

  "Certainly! One moment!"

  The same receptionist who had registered her as an adventurer earlier smiled as she began sorting through Hulim’s haul of Mana Stones.

  Mana Stones were high-concentration mana crystals condensed within the bodies of magical beasts. They typically only formed in Rank C or higher monsters—lower-rank beasts could produce them too, but the odds were extremely low.

  Rich in pure mana, Mana Stones had a multitude of uses. Magic item shops and other merchants were always eager to buy them, and the Adventurers' Guild was no exception.

  "Thank you for waiting! Your total comes to eighteen thousand four hundred Kohl!"