Advisor

The next day, I have breakfast and finish my Daily Quest.

Then, I head out for the guild. I stand in the lobby before the reception, 'Who should I choose?'

New adventurers usually have an advisor from the guild to give them information and guidance in raiding the dungeon. I don't have an advisor, I'll change that today.

I see a lot of Guild employees, I can recognize only Eina, Misha, and Rose. Misha is childish and doesn't do her job well and Rose cares too much and would intentionally withhold information from me.

In the end, I'll go with Eina, she cares but not too much and will do her job professionally even if she doesn't like it.

"Good morning".

"Welcome, how can I help you today, sir?"

"I've been an adventurer for quite some time now, but the guild hasn't assigned an advisor for me yet". Let's play it stupid.

"Mhm… Actually, the adventurer is supposed to come to the guild and find an advisor, not the other way around".

"Oh, is that so?" I fake a confused look on my face.

"No problem sir, what is your name and Familia?"

"Rick Stark, Miach Familia".

"One moment Mr. Stark". She stands up, leaves her desk, goes through some archives in the corner, and then she comes back with some paper in her hand.

"Okay Mr. Stark, my name is Eina Tulle. Do you accept me as your advisor?"

"Of course Ms. Eina, I'll be in your care". We shake hands and she makes me sign some papers.

"So, you've been here for a month. How far did you reach? Fourth Floor?"

"No, far deeper … I'm actually about to level up".

"WHAT?" She raises her voice more than she should. Some adventurers and employees turn around to see what's going on.

I don't say anything and give her a reproachful look. 'If we're going to work together, she'll have to control herself'.

"Oh, I apologize. I shouldn't have lost my composure like that".

"Please don't let something like this happen again. I appreciate my privacy".

"Yes, it won't happen again. I sincerely apologize".

"Anyway, I had a headstart. When I first got my Falna, my Basic Abilities had an average of (D-rank). And now, the only thing missing for my level-up is an Adventure".

"Um, were you a soldier or something?" She's inspecting my body from head to toe with her eyes. Well, I'm about 180 Celch tall with wide shoulders and a lean body. So, my form is even better than soldiers'.

"Yeah, something like that … I came here today because I have two questions". She is writing down everything I say so I change the subject quickly.

"To have an adventure, I have to slay a monster with abilities superior to me. As a Level One adventurer, what are those monsters? I want to know their strong and weak points?"

In reality, I want her to tell me about my future soldiers. Since the limit is only five and they can die permanently, I have to choose my soldiers wisely.

"Beating a stronger opponent is the simplest yet the hardest way to have an adventure … It's very remarkable that you came here to ask before rushing to fight some strong monster unprepared".

'Ha-ha, you know nothing Eina Tulle'.

"My motto as an advisor is, (Adventurers shouldn't go on adventures). But since you came here to for this exact reason, I will break my own rule and guide you to the safest adventure.

First, you'll have to be in a party. Are there any Upper-Class Adventurers in your Familia?"

"Yes, the only other member in my Familia is a Level Two".

"Good, you will accompany that member's party if you want to have your adventure. With them, you can go to the Middle-Floors without worrying about your safety.

As a Level One, your adventure should be beating a Level Two monster alone. Your party shouldn't interfere in the fight unless your life is in danger.

The monsters you can choose from are Infant Dragons, Lygerfangs, and Minotaurs.

1. Infant Dragon is a type of dragon species that doesn't have wings. It's a four-legged monster with a muscular body, thick amber-colored scales, a long tail, sharp claws, and a ton of fangs.

It's only about 150 celch at its height, but it's more than 4 meders in length including the tail.

It's a rare monster that only appears on the 11th and 12th floors of the Dungeon. It takes a considerable amount of luck to encounter one of them.

I think they are the perfect choice for you since it is categorized as a Level Two monster while being weaker than most of the Level Two monster.

2. Lygerfang is a tiger-like monster with a body that's solid as a rock. It has armor-thick fur and it would take something longer than a knife to penetrate. It's just as aggressive as Minotaurs and it's even faster than Minotaurs.

They should be your second choice if you couldn't find an Infant Dragon. Although, you'll have to be extra careful of its high speed.

3. Minotaur is a large-category monster with the body of a muscular man and the head of a bull. It usually uses a landform Nature Weapon found within the Dungeon.

Minotaurs are known for their head-on bull-rush attacks but they are strong, fast, and have high defenses. They are known to be the strongest Level Two monsters, so you should avoid them and stick with the other two monsters".

Huh, so she's saying that Minotaurs would make the best soldiers overall, Lygerfangs would make the fastest soldiers, and Infant Dragons are useless. Copy that.

"Okay, I will do that. Thank you".

"It's my job. Please remember, your safety comes first".

"I have another inquiry … I've practiced taming and I succeeded a few times already. But by the end of my raid, I don't know what to do with them so I just kill them … Is there a way I can bring them with me to the surface?"

"Don't bother… Even Ganesha Familia isn't allowed to bring monsters to the surface. The only exception is for Monsterphilia Event. And after what happened last time, I think the event might be canceled.

Usually, tamers from big Familias 'like Ganesha' have a Taming Camp in the 'Safe Zone on the 18th Floor of the dungeon'.

When the Familia isn't on an expedition, they leave all their familiars in the Camp under the protection of a few guards from the Familia.

But that is only available for Familias with a large number of adventurers.

Tamers from small Familias either do what you did (use the familiar then kill it) or they pay to keep them in a Taming Camp that belongs to a big Familia. Some adventurers leave their familiars in a storage facility in the town of Rivera on the 18th Floor.

For your case, as a Level One, you can't even reach the 18th Floor. Your only option, for now, is to kill your familiar".

So, I can store them in Rivera. Eina, you have been more helpful than you can imagine.

"This is very useful, I should've come to you much earlier. Thank you, Ms. Tulle".

"Please don't hesitate to come if you want to ask something, again I apologize for my mistake earlier".

"Okay, see you soon Ms. Tulle".

"May the fortunes of war shine upon you".

-------

I leave the Guild and head to Fernard's workshop. He must've finished smelting the orcish shield into two swords by now. Also, I want him to rework the armor I looted from my class quest.

I enter the smithy and before I can greet Fernard, he shoots up and says,

"OY, if it isn't my new best friend Ricky!" Did he just call me Ricky? Okay then, you started it.

"Hey, Nard-dog. How are you today?" Let's see how he reacts to that.

"Couldn't've been better, my friend". Don't tell me … he liked being called Nard-dog?

"I just sold a sword from the two I made from yer shield, earned me 10 mils".

"What?" I gave him the material for a few useless throwing knives and he sells it for 10 million?

"Here ye go … I call it Heartseeker". He hands me the sword. It's a beautiful dark gray blade and the black handle that rippled like a wave is impressive.

It's nothing like the crude scary-looking orcish greatsword, which is made from the same material.

[Heartseeker

Rarity: B

Attack Power: +100.

Can inflict a "Critical hit" effect.

Critical Hit: When your attack hits the weak spot of your enemy, your enemy will receive double the damage you dealt.

A longsword made from orcish metal by a high blacksmith.]

Whoa, that's twice the damage of the strongest weapon I have. And it has a chance to double even that with a Critical Hit. This is wonderful.

"Wow, this is beautiful. Great work, Fernard".

"Hehehehe… Them two swords are of my best work yet". What kind of accent is that? He's proud and happy, alright.

I take out 'Orc Berserker Helmet, Orc Lord Greaves, Koffac's Cloak, Ancient Breastplate, Ancient Boots, Ancient Gauntlets' and put them in front of him.

"I will sell you the helmet and greaves, they are from the same material as this sword. This ancient armor set is rusty I want it nice and shiny.

As for this cloak, I want to wear it but it's too warm for the weather in this city. Can you do something to fix that?"

"Sure I can. I will coat the cloak with Undine Tears, makes the wearer feel nice an' cool. My son Balkin here will take care of your armor. And I'll buy the helmet and the greaves for 5 mils".

"Okay, 5 million vals a piece is an acceptable price for me".

"Oy, I meant 5 mils for both of them".

"Huh? No way, you know they're enough for a greatsword or a longsword and a dagger. And you just said that you sold a longsword for 10 million vals".

"You're not selling me no weapons, this is a helmet and those are greaves".

"Okay then, 9 million vals".

"8".

"Okay, but throw in a big steel shield for me".

"Deal".

-------

I enter the Blue Pharmacy with my new weapon, my new shield, my renewed armor, and an 8 million vals Payment Contract.

Then I enter a long exhausting chat with my Familia.

I tell them that I want to stay in the dungeon for a week or two to train my Tamer Ability and gain some strong familiars.

They don't like it, they think that I'm too weak, sleeping in the dungeon is suicide…etc. I tell them that I plan to camp in the Safe Zone.

They think it's impossible for me 'a Level One' to reach the 18th floor. I tell them that I already did 'I hadn't told them before because I thought it would be a pain'. Well, I'm telling them now.

They don't believe me, I give them the loot (Minotaur horns and Lygerfang Fur) that I didn't give to Nahza.

In the end, I barely manage to convince them that I can take care of myself and they shouldn't worry about me.

Thus, begins my long grind in the dungeon.

*****

[*Name: Rick Stark *Miach's Blessing (Level: 1)

*Level: 51

*Class: Ruler *Army Status: None (0/6)

*Title: Beast Lord - Transcendent of Predecessors

*HP: 34,170 *MP: 3,978 *Fatigue: 0

*Stats:

Strength: 115 Endurance: 67 Agility: 115 Intelligence: 78 Sense: 67

(Available stat points: 0)

*Damage Reduction: 47%

*Skills:

- Passive Skills: Unknown (Level: MAX), Advanced Sword Technique (Level: 2)

- Active Skills: Swift Strike (Level: 2), Whirlwind (Level: 1), Ruler's Hands (Level: 1), Stealth (Level: 1)

- Class Skills: Light Magic (Level: 1), Purify (Level: 1)

*Equipment: - Ancient Supreme Helmet 'S' (15%, +20 Strength, +20 Agility), Koffac's Cloak 'A' (10%), Ancient Breastplate B (12%), Ancient Boots B (5%), Ancient Gauntlets B (5%), Ancient Magician's Ring B (+5 Intelligence)

*Gold: 2,468,270]