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Places known as Dungeons existed in this world.

These structures were made of materials that are not of this world. They took on a variety of forms, including towers, temples, and ruins. Dungeons were constructions that were impossible to construct with the strength of modern living beings.
　
No one knew when they were built, and their builder was listed as unknown in even the continent’s earliest documents. There were countless Magic Beasts inside these Dungeons that were known to obstruct invaders’ paths and spawn endlessly even if they were slain.

The strength of these Magic Beasts varied from one Dungeon to the next. In addition, the location and layers of these Dungeons varied. However, there was a tendency amongst all Dungeons in which the Magic Beasts became stronger the further one ventured into them.

Exploration of Dungeons was, of course, dangerous, and even experienced adventurers could be slain due to negligence or a catastrophically powerful foe. Within the continent there were even some kingdoms that entirely banned the entrance into these so-called Dungeons.

Nevertheless, people still chose to venture into them.

That was because the Dungeons might hold a plethora of hidden riches, valuable Magic Stones, and unusual weapons with unique properties.

Many individuals still challenged these dungeons as a result of those. However, the Dungeon of Probation that Merc was about to enter was different from other Dungeons.

The Dungeon of Probation huh… Just what is that idiot doing there…

The Dungeon of Probation was the name given to a set of underground ruins near the City of Logholt. There were only five layers to the Dungeon, and only one species of Magic Beast emerged inside. Furthermore, all of the valuables within this Dungeon had long been taken, and the only reason to enter was to acquire the Magic Stones, which reappeared on a regular basis.

The only people who came to this Dungeon were those who enjoyed it or who had recently learned to fight and wanted to put their skills to the test. In any case, unlike other Dungeons, not many people came in the hope of finding a weapon that would make them wealthy.

Which is also why this Dungeon was known as the Dungeon of Probation. It was commonly known that it was merely a dungeon to put one’s skills to the test.　

It was, understandably, less popular than other Dungeons in other nations. There was no one else near the Dungeon save a man in a suit who stood at the entrance, looking bored.

“Is he really here?”

Merc pondered to herself as she was about to enter the Dungeon. However, just as she was about to end the man in the suit quickly appeared before her.

“Hey! Wait a bit! Just what are you trying to do, young miss?”

The man didn’t appear to be anything remarkable, yet his moves had been rather excellent just now. His stare, which was fixed on Merc, had an unmistakable honesty about it.

“What do you mean?”
“Can’t you see that this is a Dungeon? I can’t let you go any further.”
“What? Why? From what I know, there shouldn’t be a prohibition on entering the Dungeon of Probation?”

In a perplexed tone, Merc inquired.

According to what she knew, anybody could enter the Dungeons at their own risk. Naturally, certain Dungeons had prohibitions or restrictions, but apart from that, most Dungeons could be explored.

One of these explorable Dungeons was the Dungeon of Probation, labeled the smallest Dungeon on the continent. Even in her past life Merc had visited it numerous times to train. She couldn’t understand why someone would restrict access to this Dungeon based on her previous experiences and viewed the man’s actions as strange.

“You’re wrong on that. After that disaster ten years ago, exploring the Dungeons became known as Adventurer Work in practically all kingdoms. Nowadays, only adventurers are allowed to access Dungeon. This also applies to this small Dungeon.”
“Disaster? Adventurer Work?”

Due to words she was hearing for the first time, Merc was rendered speechless. The man saw her confusion and asked,

“Don’t you know about them, young miss? Work that can only be done by adventurers is referred to as Adventurer Work. This involves, for example, entering the Dungeon as well as receiving and submitting requests from the Adventurer Work.”

The man’s tone clearly indicated that he was criticizing Merc for her lack of knowledge on such common stuff. These facts appeared to be rather commonly known, based on what Merc gathered.

“Only adventurers can enter Dungeon? There’s no way something as ridiculous as that is real. Nobles’ and a kingdom’s troops should be able to enter as well, right? If not, I can imagine a slew of kingdoms filing complaints.”
“You really don’t know about the disaster 10 years ago?”
“Yea. I’m from a small village… Could you tell me what happened 10 years ago?”

Merc inquired, politely. When he noticed this, the man sighed and began telling his story.

“I’ll roughly go over it then. A kingdom on the verge of famine dispatched its troops into a Dungeon some ten years ago. The kingdom’s plan was to send its most formidable knights into the Dungeon to collect all of the riches. However, because the kingdom’s troops were only used to battling other humans, the Magic Beasts and traps inside the dungeons annihilated them completely. In the end only two or three of the knights managed to get back.”
“That really is a disaster…”
“That’s right. It’s known as the Disaster of the Anti-Darkness Dungeon.”
“Anti-Darkness Dungeon? Could the kingdom on the verge of famine you talked about be the Kingdom of Aratan? What happened to the kingdom?”
“Wait… Why are you familiar with the Anti-Darkness Dungeon but not with the disaster? Whatever the case may be, the Kingdom of Aratan, which was already suffering from a corrupt top echelon and bad crops, was dealt a tremendous blow. They were eventually swallowed by the Chulice Empire.”
“I see…”

After hearing the man’s narrative, Merc’s head was filled with many questions. However, now wasn’t the time to ask them. She could simply ask the Great Sage, who was within the Dungeon in front of her.

Having realized that Merc quickly changed the topic.

“In other words, it’s now considered risky for anybody other than adventurers to enter because of that disaster, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Are the kingdoms and the nobles really okay with that, though? Doesn’t this mean that their troops can’t enter?”

Merc had witnessed numerous nobles and royals send their soldiers into the Dungeons to earn money on a regular basis in her previous life. She believed that having that taken away from them would be extremely detrimental to them.

“There’s a loophole to this regulation. The thing is, as long as one member of a group is an adventurer, the entire group will be allowed to enter.”
“What?”
“To put it another way, if you employ only one adventurer, your entire army will be able to enter. Even now, numerous nobles employ adventurers and send their troops into the Dungeons on a regular basis.”
“Is there even any point in this regulation then?”

With a puzzled gaze, Merc inquired.

“I believe that there is. You see, as long as the group has at least one adventurer who has passed the adventurer exam, the group’s chances of survival skyrocket. Furthermore, in the past, many farmers and common folk entered the Dungeons despite their inability to fight. The number of deaths within the Dungeons has decreased dramatically as a result of keeping those folks out.”
“I see… I finally understand why only adventurers are allowed to enter. I now understand what you’re doing here as well.”

Merc said, nodding. After completing the exam, Merc believed it would have been nice if there had been an explanation on Adventurer Work, but considering how widely known it was, it was probably unnecessary.

She also remembered Jonahim telling her that many of the nobility now aspired to be adventurers rather than knights. It was understandable that nobility would choose to become adventurers who could easily build a reputation for themselves within the Dungeons over knights who couldn’t even enter the Dungeons on their own.

Even if Merc didn’t accept the situation entirely, she now understood that most kingdoms only permitted adventurers into the Dungeons.

“Really? That’s great then. So, could I ask you to go back then?”

The man inquired. Merc, on the other hand, just showed him her Adventurer License.

“That won’t be necessary. You see. I’m an adventurer.”