Several men and women are walking along a passage made of stone.
The passage must be an old building, and if you look closely, the corners of the stone are chipped and chipped.
I don't see any trace of it being maintained for hundreds of years.
Sometimes there are dark stains on the walls and floor, and there are also spots on the ceiling that have turned black in spots.
In addition, there were scratches on the walls that looked like they had been scratched with a hard object.
Here, among the underground ruins, there are traces of blood left by the adventurers who explored it, as well as scars left by their weapons in battle with the monsters that appeared.
Six men and women were standing in such underground ruins.
One of them, who seems to be the leader, seems to be thinking about something, and the five people around him are listening.
(Today, we headed out to subjugate the monsters in the underground ruins of the desert. We were able to successfully defeat the monsters. We were also able to obtain the target number of monster cores.)
The man who seems to be the leader checks the magic tool's pocket watch, it's still early, but the goal has been achieved, and the six party members have safely achieved their goal without any major injuries. A cerulein is satisfied.
"Hey, we've achieved our goal today. It's early, but let's raise it with this today. Why don't we spend the remaining time in the guild meaningfully?"
"I can feel the five members' faces softening."
"Adventurers are fighting monsters."
"Even if it's a monster, adventurers are exchanging lives."
Since he lives such a bleak life, as a member he seems happy to be able to return to a life that doesn't care about life or death.
Adventurers make a living by selling monster cores that are dropped from defeated monsters, in addition to rewards for completing requests from the guild.
It is said that monsters' bodies are made up of magic essence that is said to float around, using the monster's core as a catalyst.
What is called magic essence is smoke-like particles that do not touch or stick to your hand, are neither hot nor cold, and are emitted from the monster's body when it is defeated.
"Monsters possess the core characteristics of preying on living things."
"Monsters attack animals to survive."
"Of course, they also attack and eat humans."
Monsters do not cook and eat the meat they buy like humans do, but they attack and eat livestock and animals in the same way that carnivores prey on herbivores.
"And people can eat it too."
"Monsters instinctively quench their hunger."
"Monsters are the most appropriate words to describe them as enemies of mankind."
The difference between monsters and animals is that humans and animals retain their bodies even after they die, but when monsters die, a black fog-like haze emerges from their bodies.
It looks like it's flickering like a black flame.
The black haze appears, and the body gradually disappears, leaving a crystal-like substance called the core.
It is commonly called the monster's core.
Also, when monsters are defeated, sometimes other things are left behind, but rarely are they left behind other than cores.
When Serrain checked the pocket watch of his magic tool, it seemed that the sun had not yet set, and that it was a little past noon.
So far, he's been hunting monsters in order from the entrance to the back, but it's unclear if the situation ahead will be monsters that can be defeated as easily as before.
Moving forward, in the unlikely event that you are attacked by more than 10 strong monsters, even monsters you've encountered so far, you'll have a tough fight.
Some of our members are good at exploring, but in a special place like the underground ruins, it's not always possible to overlook something.
If you encounter such a special case of monsters that take up your time and get home late, you will have to leave the desert where the underground ruins are located and move through the desert at night.
In that case, you will need to be extremely vigilant in preparation for monster attacks.
At night, monsters become more active, and monsters that are active only at night also appear.
Even while you are being attacked by a monster, another monster may be preparing to attack under the cover of darkness, so there is a high chance that you will be attacked by another monster while fighting.
It's common sense for fellow adventurers who use the desert to avoid traveling through the desert during nighttime when monsters increase.
"It's common to return while the sun is shining when moving through this not-so-wide desert."
The five members agreed with Serlein's words to "return".
"If you go home while the sun is still up, you can do things you normally wouldn't be able to do."
If you can return early, you can go a little farther to maintain your weapons and equipment and replenish your depleted consumables.
"Adventurers aren't just wielding swords and weapons."
Weapons and equipment will also be exhausted, so you need to be prepared with weapons and armor on a daily basis, not just when you go out to hunt monsters.
"Weapons and equipment that have been broken need to be replaced with new ones."
"During battle, if both weapons and armor break, it means death as an adventurer."
"In order not to die, the weapons and armor you use are maintained."
"If you think it's no good, buy new equipment before it breaks."
"Buy a new one."
"If you don't have enough money, buy second-hand goods."
Purchasing equipment that isn't cheap is a big loss for adventurers as the monsters they hunt in the Southern Kingdom don't cost much money.
For this reason, adventurers who hunt around here take care of their main equipment.
"Is the blade of the sword chipped, the damage to the armor, the tension of the bow string, is the string damaged?"
"Weapon and armor damage will lead to your death."
And the death of one person can lead to the death of the entire party.
A party is someone you entrust your life to, and you are fighting with your own life as well as the other's life.
"That's the party."
Anything that worries me in my daily maintenance is repaired each time, but I put off things that are likely to take a long time unless it's a fatal flaw.
"If you can go home early like this, you can use your time to repair the parts you were worried about."
Also, you can make time to do things that are not in time in your personal life.
Each of them thought about such things, and everyone probably agreed with the leader's plan to return home.
"Being greedy and taking risks can lead to death, so avoiding it as much as possible is a good party."
With the consent of the members, Serrain decided to go home a little early, but since the number of monsters subjugated today was higher than usual, he decided to go home early.
We often hear stories of adventurers who were too greedy and didn't return or were seriously injured.
"Because we are exchanging lives with monsters, we avoid unnecessary risks as much as possible."
"That's what you need to do to protect yourself and the members."
"Now that I've accomplished my purpose, I'm heading home without doing anything beyond my purpose."
Serrain believes that this is the condition of a good adventurer.