Side story: Lia's first Dungeon adventure II

"Hey! That kind of thing isn't something we can get involved in, so don't think about it too much... I heard the requirements are ridiculously high..."

"Mages wishing to join the Exploration Team must be at least Third-Class Mages, and adventurers must be highly skilled with over two years of experience and have completed dangerous quests."

"People like us, just trying to make a living, can only watch the show."

Two tall, burly men stood not far from Galan and Lia, discussing the association's big move with great enthusiasm.

But soon their figures disappeared into the endless stream of people. As soon as they reached the door, countless adventurers brushed past them, discussing, just like the two burly men before, the most sought-after commissions and the association's grand preparations to explore the Dungeon.

While still at war with the Demon King's Army, the association has never taken such a large-scale action before, except for recruiting soldiers from the public.

It seems that Serie's influence was undoubtedly crucial in this...

"This seems to be quite an operation, attracting so much attention."

For the first time in a long time, Galan felt a surge of excitement for the upcoming adventure. "Is this the Adventurers Guild?... How magnificent!"

Lia was completely captivated by the guild's magnificent hall, her face filled with astonishment. Outside of [Äußerst], it was rare to see a building of this scale, except for the Mansion of nobles and city lords.

"Although the threshold is high, Serie arranged a team for me in advance, so there shouldn't be any problems." Galan led Lia through the crowded central hall and arrived at a place with a large long table.

At the Adventurers Guild, these long tables are usually a place for adventurer teams to rest. Now, neat teams of all classes are standing around these tables, clearly participants in this Dungeon raid.

"They said they found me a team, but they didn't tell me where to find them..."

Looking at the densely packed line in front of him, Galan was somewhat speechless. He couldn't very well ask each line individually, could he? Couldn't that Serie have given him more detailed information...?

"Captain, hasn't that person you mentioned arrived yet? He's making such a big show of it, let's not wait for him! We have plenty of manpower in our team anyway."

A man with fiery red hair slammed his hand on the table in a rough voice and shouted at the blond man opposite him, seemingly getting impatient.

"Let's wait a bit longer... The association's leader told me that for this commission, we absolutely must bring that person along."

The blond man wasn't surprised by his team's excited reaction.

Frankly speaking, even he himself was quite dissatisfied with the association's meddling.

Your team members are all elite adventurers who have honed their skills and worked together for many years. If you suddenly throw someone into your team without thinking, wouldn't that disrupt everyone's teamwork?

Regardless, having another person would affect their pace of exploring the Dungeon and the battles they might encounter. He really wanted to refuse, but the other party was a high-ranking member of the association. As a working-class adventurer, even if he was the most elite adventurer, he was still just a slightly higher-level working-class person.

He still has no power to refuse management's decisions unless he wants to quit, but is that even possible?

All the reputation, wealth, and everything else I have accumulated so far has been earned through the struggles of an adventurer. Even if I wanted to be tough and abandon it all to show my dissatisfaction with the guild's domineering behavior, what about the rest of my team?

As the team captain, I should think about my teammates. "Hupas, calm down. When that person comes, don't be too impulsive. It wouldn't be good if you offended him."

After pondering for a long time, the blond man decided that he should inform the red-haired man in advance that, knowing the other man's fiery temper, a conflict was inevitable.

This is ultimately not good for the strategy of conquering this Dungeon; we can't let potential problems arise in the team before we even set off.

"So what if I've offended you? Every adventurer's livelihood is based on strength. If you're going to join our team, you'd better show me the strength that matches your skill!"

Pass was clearly unhappy; he was already somewhat dissatisfied just from hearing that some unknown kid was going to join the team.

He and his group were all adventurers who had worked their way up from the lowest ranks to the elite level, and he didn't want to take on some clueless rookies who would only get in the way.

"Who on earth is it? That someone from the association's top brass would personally get him into our team...? Could it be that they're trying to use this big commission to enhance their own credentials?"

Sitting in the corner of the long table, a girl wearing a purple magic hat raised her eyebrows slightly and said thoughtfully.

They knew that to become a high-ranking member of the association, one had to have practical experience as an adventurer. If the other party had only chosen their team to go through the motions or for safety reasons, wouldn't that just be adding a burden to everyone?

In this mission, it's inevitable that some of our players' progress will lag far behind the other teams.

It's important to know that the first team to complete the mission will not only receive the agreed-upon reward, but will also receive an additional bonus—reportedly, a personal reward from Lady Serie.

This is undoubtedly too tempting for adventurers, so the competition will inevitably be extremely fierce.

They already face difficulties simply by carrying a burden and ensuring the other party's safety, let alone any talk of competition.

Dungeon that requires the association to send out twelve teams to conquer at once is by no means an easy task.

The dangers involved are likely beyond their ability to handle.

"Well, things have come to this point, so let's not dwell on it too much. No matter what, we have no choice but to keep this person with us..."

"Hey! Is that you? Are you waiting for someone?"

As everyone was talking, an unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out, attracting their attention.

The group turned to look and saw a young boy who looked quite young leading an Elven Girl towards them, his face full of a relieved expression as if he had finally found his tribe.

Could it be him?

But this guy not only came alone, he also brought an Elf girlfriend?

Seeing this, everyone at the long table fell silent, their minds filled with nothing but "mmp" (a vulgar expression).