Chapter 26 - The Guild Template

"So this is a provisional dungeon exploration license, huh?"

Since it was called a license, I had imagined something card-shaped with a photo, like a driver's license. But the actual item was a piece of parchment with various things written all over it.

It looked more like a document than anything else.

"Magic processing has been applied to it, so if anyone other than you tries to use it, they'll be caught immediately. In short, fraudulent use is impossible. Keep that well in mind yourselves," said our homeroom teacher, Instructor Whip. She was a career woman who looked like she would suit a crisp, tight pencil skirt perfectly.

"Even if it is provisional, now that you have obtained a license, you can dive into official dungeons located in various regions. You will be able to gain far more abundant, high-quality experience than you did in the training dungeons, which were nothing more than a playground after all. That is the significance of this system. However, precisely because of that, it comes with danger."

As an educator, Instructor Whip threatened us to the maximum extent possible to prevent her students from dropping their guard.

"The academy must protect the safety of its students as its highest priority. Therefore, the training dungeons had safety ensured through every possible measure, but official dungeons are naturally not like that. They will ruthlessly bare their fangs to claim your lives." 

"Traps and monsters, right?" 

"Those are not the only things you must be careful of. No, what you must be even more vigilant against are, in fact, the adventurers who will likely be diving into the official dungeons alongside you."

Hm? What did that mean?

"As you dive into an official dungeon, let me drive this point home. Dungeon exploration is originally an adventurer's job, so they are naturally exploring in official dungeons as well. You may end up making contact with them. At times, they are a distinct threat specific to dungeons that is far more severe than any monster." 

"Um, could you give us a slightly more detailed explanation?" 

"Giving you all the answers will hinder your growth. Pluck your lessons with your own hands by actually entering the vortex yourselves."

Ehh...? To threaten us that much and then hold back now...?

"However, just to be safe, I have arranged for an adventurer to accompany you on-site as your supervisor. She is an acquaintance of mine and one of the few adventurers who can be trusted. If anything happens, you would do well to seek her judgment."

Despite her words, she was a teacher who still exercised the utmost care to protect her students' safety.

Having received flawless consideration, we immediately headed toward the dungeon. To an official dungeon, where real danger and romance—incomparable to the training sessions—awaited us.

There are numerous dungeons scattered all over the world, but since it was our first time, we decided to head to the dungeon post town closest to the Royal Capital. It was a town that had apparently developed right next to a newly discovered dungeon to serve as its base of exploration.

It was close, but still further away than the location of the training dungeon, so we utilized a carriage for transit this time as well. During our previous journey, I had exercised self-restraint because I hadn't yet formed a deep relationship with Bloom or More, but this time, every single passenger had already been sampled by me. Without any hesitation, the inside of the carriage transformed into a highly depraved orgy venue.

Big sis Calibur, Lady Staff, More, and Bloom. A massive amount of semen overflowed and spilled from the vaginal holes of all four women.

That delightful time passed by in a flash, and the carriage arrived at our destination.

The town that thrived because of the dungeon: Singroom.

---

"Let's see, to enter the dungeon, we first need to go through the procedures at the Guild...!"

Following the instructions we had received in advance, we arrived at the Adventurers Guild of Singroom town.

"So this is the place that handles dungeon management. They screen the adventurers entering for exploration and issue permits..." 

"Dungeon yields are precious resources, after all. They must be strictly managed to ensure no illegal smuggling takes place. Alternatively, a leader like the Guild is necessary to unite everyone for defense when a stampede occurs."

I see, I see. While I had intended this dungeon practical to be a test of skill, it was starting to take on the significance of a social studies field trip.

"Then let us actually enter the Guild and carry out the procedures. Once we enter society, we must get used to these kinds of things." 

"This is highly educational...!"

Myself, Big Sis, the Young Lady, More, and Bloom. The five of us lined up and crossed the threshold of the Adventurers Guild.

The moment we stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted completely. It was a dry, stinging, underground kind of vibe.

"The reception desk... is over there."

I called out to the receptionist, who looked exactly like the kind of receptionist girl you'd find in a fantasy setting.

"We are students from the Royal Academy. We would like to enter the dungeon using this provisional license." 

"The Royal Academy? Isn't it a bit too early for the practical training period?"

Looking at our attire—the uniforms of the Royal Academy—the other person made an immediate assessment.

The receptionist girl... was a bit too advanced in years to be called a 'girl,' possessing an aura more akin to a hostess at a dive bar. Consequently, the run-down feeling of the place went up.

"Well, the license seems genuine, and if it's a legitimate procedure, there's no reason for us to refuse. However, the moment you take even a single step into the dungeon, it's a demonic territory with absolutely no rules. If you don't have the resolve, I wouldn't recommend it." 

"Please proceed."

This kind of intimidation was probably a type of rite of passage. I continued without flinching.

"Heh, what's this? A bunch of brats have come to play at the Guild?" 

"This place ain't a daycare. You brats who haven't even shed your foreskins can scram right back home!"

Before the procedures could even finish, some rough-looking men came over to pick a fight with us.

Judging by their appearance, they were likely active adventurers. However, their manners were atrocious.

"Ain't these the ones? The brats who came from that academy whatever-it's-called in the Royal Capital, trying to enter the dungeon with a playtime mindset!" 

"Don't look down on us! The dungeon is a place where we stake our lives! It ain't a place for soft-bred brats to mess around in!"

I had run straight into an absolute textbook scene...!

The protagonist, visiting the Adventurers Guild for the first time, gets underestimated and picked on due to his youthful appearance or low rank. The ones picking the fight are almost always rookie adventurers acting like common thugs! It was the ultimate template!

"Oho? Take a good look. I thought it was nothing but shitty brats, but there are girls here!" 

"And there's four of 'em! In that case, we'll teach you lot something way more fun than any dungeon. Come over here!"

Saying that, the thug adventurers reached their hands out toward the Young Lady and my sister. Attempting to plunge straight into a violation the moment they found an opening was also entirely true to the template.

In that case, I might as well follow the template on my end too.

Crack.

"Huh?"

Using my rolling pin, I smacked and snapped the hand of the man who was about to touch a girl first. The thug stared blankly at his own arm, which was bent in an impossible direction.

Because it was far too sudden, the pain probably hadn't even registered yet. However, he would never actually get to feel that pain. Before he could, I drove a second strike straight into his head, snapping his neck.

It was, of course, a fatal blow, and he collapsed onto the spot.

"Y-You bastard?!" 

"He killed him?! Just like that?!"

An act carried out with extreme ease, though it wasn't even all that nasty. After all, it was just disposing of a single piece of trash.

"No matter how true it is to the template, if I half-heartedly injure them and buy their resentment, they'll just ambush us later out of revenge, or get used as a pawn by some mastermind character to reappear as a monster. That kind of development is just tedious."

If that was the case, it was better to swiftly kill them right here on the spot to ensure there were no loose ends. It was an efficient pre-emptive strike born precisely out of my thorough understanding of the template.

The thugs who had picked the fight still formed a small crowd, completely thrown into confusion by the fact that one of their own had been killed in an instant.

"Shit, shit! What the hell is going on?!" 

"Anyway, it's revenge for our buddy! Kill him! Kill him dead!" 

"We'll kill the bastard and violate every single one of the women!"

Fine by me. Under a dystopian philosophy where breaking the rules results in immediate execution, I would carry out a one-sided slaughter under the guise of a private brawl! All to protect my harem!

"Stop right there!!"

However, the bloodbath that was right on the verge of beginning was halted by a sharp shout. Looking over, an adventurer who clearly possessed an extraordinary aura cut into the scene.

"Gurka...?!" 

"It's the A-rank adventurer, Gurka...?!"

At the intruder's intimidation, the thug adventurers visibly shrank back. It seemed they became instantly timid the moment they realized their opponent was stronger than them.

"I believe I'm always telling you not to pick fights with students. Why are your brains so pathetic that you can't even remember a simple warning?"

The adventurer who appeared was a dignified and beautiful female adventurer. However, the aura she exuded was unmistakably that of a high-level expert, leaving the thugs who could do nothing but bluster in a crowd completely speechless.

"But Big Sis... to have our buddy killed and just stay quiet about it...?!" 

"The trainees from the Royal Academy are the children of noble lords, you know. Their guardians are elite choices. There's no way a bunch of D-rank thugs like you could ever match them, even in a pack."

The entire atmosphere of the place was instantly taken over by this woman.

"Furthermore, a noble's guardian is obligated to exert their absolute full power to protect their master. If you carelessly pick a fight with someone like that and get killed, you have no right to complain. To the eyes of the nobility, the lives of us commoners are practically worth less than trash anyway!" 

"That is not true at all! It is a noble's duty to cherish their subjects!" The Young Lady put in an immediate correction.

"In any case, choose who you pick a fight with. If you make a wrong choice and suffer the backlash, it's your own responsibility. We adventurers are people whose errors in judgment lead straight to death. Don't go whining about the consequences you brought upon yourselves."

The situation seemed right on the verge of being settled by this woman's mediation. However, I absolutely hated the idea of these thugs stepping down for now only to harbor a typical minor-villain grudge later, so I went ahead and used my rolling pin to shatter the arms and legs of the remaining ones. With this, I could rest easy.

"Thank you very much for stepping in to mediate during a dangerous moment. Thanks to you, we were able to get through it safely." 

"The sense that it's already far too late is incredibly strong, though...?!" the adventurer woman muttered, looking at the thugs who were wailing as their arms and legs bent in strange directions.

"As expected, a noble's guardian is completely remorseless. Thorough to the extreme when it comes to protecting their master." 

"There are things that can't be settled by simply saying 'I didn't mean any harm,' after all." 

"With that level of caution, you'll probably be perfectly fine inside the dungeon. I suppose my guiding won't even be necessary?" 

"Eh?"

Come to think of it, hadn't Instructor Whip mentioned that she had 'asked a reliable adventurer to act as a supervisor'? Could it be that this person was...?!

"I've received requests from Whip a few times, you see. She's a good customer who pays well. To ensure she keeps favoring me in the future, I was fully prepared to take on even a boring chore... but it looks like I've been tasked with entertaining a pack of absolute wolves." 

"No, no, not at all! We are mere inexperienced youths who don't know left from right, so we look forward to working with you!!" 

"This unhesitating humility is actually what makes you terrifying."

She was called Gurka, wasn't she?

This woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties, displayed a physique and presence entirely fitting for a veteran adventurer. While her clothing was casual and had an outlaw feel to it, her vital areas were securely protected by metal armor, letting her solid professionalism shine through.

And she was a beauty. Her breasts were large. Because she wore large cargo pants, her thighs couldn't be seen, and the size of her rear remained a mystery as well.

"Don't worry about those thugs. They're treated as eyesores by the Guild anyway, so it's a benefit to have them gone. Whether an adventurer dies inside a dungeon or outside, it doesn't make much of a difference." 

"It... it really is a harsh world, isn't it?!" 

"Whip told me to make sure I teach you that very fact thoroughly."

I see. When Instructor Whip said 'be most careful of adventurers in the dungeon,' that must have been what she meant.

Adventurers who live in a world of violence and possess a low awareness of the law will often break morals and act lawlessly. Since danger is a constant companion in a dungeon, even if trouble occurs, it's difficult to distinguish whether someone was attacked by monsters and traps, or suffered a foul ambush from a fellow professional.

I didn't want to think that all adventurers were like that, but in the end, the most terrifying thing in any location was always 'people.'

"Humans truly are terrifying..." 

"Especially guys who can kill a person without a single moment of hesitation for the sake of their goals...!"

Hm? I am just a timid person, so I simply want to eliminate dangers with strict precision, you know?

The ones I can kill without hesitation are at most playboys, delinquents, and filthy old men; if it's any other good-natured person, even I would at least hesitate before killing them. Especially women—I will absolutely never harm them!

"Well then, shall we dive into the dungeon right away?" 

"Let's do that."

Strike while the iron is hot. With a supervisor present, I thought it was the absolute perfect timing to make our challenge.

Plunging into a dungeon once again. And this time, it's the real deal, not a training session!

It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? The real deal.

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