They agreed to help him by sneaking him into the dungeons along with them. His safety was not guaranteed, as anything could happen inside, and everyone would have to look out for themselves if things went awry. He nodded at all their demands and rules. He appeared calm, but deep down, he was excited, he was going to enter a dungeon for the first time in his life.
"How much do you know about dungeons and monsters?" Jolly asked, pulling a book from her bag and handing it to him. The cover was handwritten and read: The Book of Monsters and Dungeons When he opened it, he saw a drawing of a monster titled King Wolf .The description stated that this monster was eight feet tall and possessed incredible speed.
"I don't know much. I only know about players. Information on monsters isn't easily accessible to normal humans."
"Then I should explain things to you. It will make it easier for both of us."
He was listening, but his attention was primarily on the information in the book.
"I'm going to guess you know how players are ranked since you asked for our ranks before. However, you should know that monsters and dungeons are ranked differently. Dungeons are straightforward, rank 0 is the lowest and rank 12 is the highest recorded so far."
He nodded, indicating that he was listening, even though he seemed distracted by the book. She continued regardless.
"Dungeons have two colors: from rank 0 to 8, they are blue, and above that, they are red. Players, even you, can easily determine a dungeon's rank using this device."
She showed him a small gadget resembling a compass. Its screen was pure black, with nothing else standing out.
"This little device was built using a special material found in the towers. Once you get close enough, it starts scanning the mana from the dungeon and displays its rank as a number on the screen. Simple, right?"
"Yeah, it's simple enough to understand."
"Okay, good. Let's move on. What's found in dungeons? This can vary significantly. Sometimes, you can find a rare-rank item in a rank 1 dungeon or a basic-rank item in a rank 9 dungeon. It all depends on luck. The important part is the monsters. Just like us, they have their own ranking system: FFF-rank is the lowest, and Supreme Being is the highest."
'So the ranks all revolve around Divine Rank even for monsters… just how strong are these beings?'
A nervous smirk crept across his face as he processed the information.
"Once a monster is defeated, you can remove its core, which can be sold for credits. The skin and other parts can also be sold, or you can use them to craft gear, it's entirely up to you. That's pretty much all the basic information you need to know."
"Oh, and be careful of other players. Sometimes, multiple groups enter the same dungeon and fight over drops, so that's something to watch out for," the smart guy said, also glancing at the book beside him.
"Hmm, I'm guessing the monster ranks are also shown by that tool?"
"Yes, but once you reach a certain rank, you won't need it anymore. We're using it because we're still weak."
"Okay, I think I understand everything now. Thanks."
He closed the book and handed it back to Jolly. He exhaled, looking up at the sky and the slowly setting sun.
"We've been here for a while. Can I ask you guys a favor? Would it be okay if I lived with one of you?"
None of them answered; they all hesitated to live with someone they found suspicious. Eventually, their gazes fell on Jolly, as she was the one who had agreed to help him, making him her responsibility. Seeing this, she felt a bit annoyed that they were dumping him on her, but she accepted that she had caused all this.
'Damn it, I don't want to live with a stranger. Does he really have nowhere else to go?'
"Uh, can't you find somewhere else to live?"
"I could, but I'm too broke to stay in a hotel. Could you guys help with that?"
Suddenly, they all felt their bank balances decrease quickly.
"Y-you know what? You can come live with me. I don't mind," the other girl said, clearly nervous. Since no one else wanted to, she had to step up.
"Really? I would really appreciate that."
"Yeah, it's no problem at all."
She glanced at them, hoping for support, but they all looked away, it was all on her now. She looked at Vell, who was tickling his weasel, and a strange calm washed over her. Seeing him smile eased some of her suspicions.
"Okay, it's getting late. Let's all head back and meet up here tomorrow. We'll go over our plan for which dungeon to enter, so don't be late," Jolly said, getting up and packing her things to leave.
The others also got up and prepared to leave. Jolly walked up to him and handed him her scanning device.
"Don't lose it. It's very expensive."
"Okay, thank you."
"Alright, see you tomorrow."
They all left, and only Vell and the girl remained. She felt awkward, unsure what to say or how to tell him they should go. He gave her a look and smiled.
"I know you don't trust me. I'm just a stranger claiming to know something, after all. But even knowing that, you decided to let me live with you. Thank you for that, you don't know how much I appreciate your kindness."
She could hear the sincerity in his voice; these weren't just words, and it made her feel guilty for not trusting him.
"I'm sorry."
He looked at her, noticing her slumping shoulders.
"Haha, it's okay. You're a lot more fragile than I thought."
'She seems like a nice girl. I'll watch for now and decide later.'
She blushed, embarrassed at being called fragile. She walked off quickly, telling him to follow her. He got up and followed her closely.
"So what's your name?"
"I am Yenna."
"Good to meet you, Yenna. I am Vell. I hope we get along."
"Nice name. I hope we can get along too."
They continued their small talk until they vanished back into the city.