Intermittently brimming with ambition, persistently making active efforts.
A Dungeon endowed with a "Soul-type" attribute, once deconstructed—was nothing more than an alternative real-life soul-like game that could only be logged into once per day.
As a purely novice adventurer, he was able, even with an elite monster blocking the entrance, to successfully kill it after consuming uses of "Revival."
In Ron's view, this already counted as a fairly decent result. Following the complex spiraling stairs of the starting floor, he once again left the Tower of Babel.
The warm sunlight was particularly dazzling.
In the fastest-escape challenge of the Soul-type Dungeon, successfully held out for half an hour.
After all, without enough Soul Shards to exchange for Revival uses, if he were to encounter an elite goblin again, or some other monster strengthened by the Dungeon, a single moment of carelessness could very well mean being completely finished off inside the Dungeon.
"This is actually pretty good as well."
"First, I'll head to the Adventurers' Guild and exchange the dropped magic crystals for Valis!"
Living off the gods by working for them made Ron feel uncomfortable all over.
Although he was unclear about their exact value, filling his stomach definitely would not be a problem. Thinking this, he headed off in a direction completely opposite to that of most adventurers.
He set off toward the Pantheon.
Meanwhile, the Adventurers' Guild in the early morning seemed somewhat empty. Looking around, there were only a few figures wearing guild uniforms cleaning the hall.
Finally—
Ron's gaze locked onto the half-elf girl standing at the counter, processing documents.
"Miss Eina, good morning."
"Oh."
The busy girl raised her head. A slightly puzzled look crossed her eyes, but when she clearly saw Ron's refined features, a gentle smile gradually spread across her delicate face.
After finishing organizing the documents, she smiled and asked, "Mr. Ron, are you preparing to head into the Dungeon to explore?"
"…"
"It's already over."
The young man added this without changing his expression.
After receiving a definite answer, Eina raised her head and looked toward the clock hanging on the wall. The hands were neatly fixed at eight o'clock: "So fast…"
"Did you run into some trouble while exploring the Dungeon?"
"I wouldn't really say it was trouble."
"It's just that, from a safety standpoint, continuing Dungeon exploration for now is a bit unsuitable."
Ron could only give a vague explanation.
After all, he couldn't very well say that he had just entered the Dungeon, hadn't even truly begun exploring yet, and had already run into an elite monster that understood combat techniques and was comparable to a goblin with the physical conditioning of a trained fighter, right?
Clear about his purpose in coming to the Adventurers' Guild, he took out a magic crystal from his pocket, slightly larger than an adult's thumb: "May I ask, Miss Eina, how much Valis can this magic crystal be exchanged for?"
"Please wait a moment."
This indeed matched the steady personality she had left him with.
It was just that Ron's level of caution was truly a bit excessive—after all, monsters encountered in the shallow floors should not be able to pose too much of a threat to novice adventurers.
However...
All of these conjectures vanished into thin air the moment the girl saw the size of the magic crystal.
The strength of a monster determines the size and purity of the magic crystal it drops, and the one Ron had brought over was clearly far from ordinary!
"This is…"
Judging by its size, Eina was unable to determine the exact type.
But among those that fit the criteria, she racked her brain—and could only think of the powerful monster that began appearing after the fifth floor, the so-called "newbie killer," the War Shadow.
The girl stood up from behind the counter.
Immediately afterward, what entered her view was Ron's defensive armor, pierced straight through. Eina opened her mouth, only to realize that she had no idea what to say.
"Are you okay?!"
"If something were really wrong, I'd be lying in a hospital right now, not standing here chatting happily with Miss Eina."
The Revival skill could indeed bring someone back to life.
But this kind of revival did not rewind the timeline; it merely healed the fatal injuries suffered by the body, and had no effect on external items such as weapons or armor.
Ron spoke in a relaxed tone, trying to brush it off as a joke.
But unexpectedly, the usually gentle half-elf girl adopted a rare seriousness: "I know Mr. Ron doesn't want me to worry."
"But this kind of joke really isn't something you should make lightly."
"I know."
"This set of armor was produced by the Hephaestus Familia. Its defensive performance is very good—it's just damaged, so it looks rather frightening."
Ron said this with a gentle, open smile.
Only after confirming that the adventurer under her responsibility had no problems with his body whatsoever did Eina finally let out a breath of relief. The concern in her eyes was unmistakably genuine.
"Did you run into the newbie killer, the War Shadow?"
"Probably."
"The monster's strength really was quite high, and my stamina was almost completely spent. If I continued exploring the Dungeon, I was worried the worst-case scenario might occur."
"Your strength—and your luck—are both very good."
The girl looked at Ron in disbelief. Her memory was still stuck on yesterday, when he had asked her about detailed information on Dungeon monster distribution.
At that time, Eina had even felt that—
Ron was different from other adventurers, steady in a way that didn't seem like a newcomer.
But now the result was right in front of her:
What kind of novice adventurer goes around saying, "I need to be steady, safety should come first in the Dungeon," and then runs straight into the dangerous area beyond the fifth floor the very next day—and even kills the newbie killer, the War Shadow?
Setting aside the adventurous act itself, Eina truly saw in Ron a kind of potential that the vast majority of Orario's novice adventurers simply did not have!
Her expression turned somewhat helpless: "And also."
"This is what you meant by putting safety first in the Dungeon?"
On the road of growth, misunderstandings are always unavoidable.
Ron nodded without changing his expression. If he hadn't been considering safety issues, he would probably still be in the Dungeon right now, fighting elite monsters.
"As your guide, I hope you can give more thought to your own safety."
"Or maybe also think about the people who care about you," the girl added in a muttering tone. Only after saying it did she realize the ambiguity in that sentence.
Eina reached up to push her glasses frame, using the motion to conceal the turmoil in her heart.
"If too many novice adventurers under my responsibility fail to return smoothly from the Dungeon, that would also cause some trouble for my work."
"I'll pay attention."
Seen this way, Eina's special concern suddenly seemed reasonable again.
Barely counting as a half-competent soulslike game expert, Ron knew how to stroke the fur the right way: "I absolutely won't go adventuring recklessly in the future and make Miss Eina worry."
"All right."
"I'll go help you exchange the Valis first. If you want some tea, you can go to the rest area and pour yourself a cup."
The girl's expression finally softened.
She went to the counter area, briefly spoke with the staff at the exchange desk, and then handed the exchanged Valis to Ron, who was waiting.
Eina explained, "The magic stone dropped by a War Shadow can be exchanged for 1,000 Valis."
"However, this kind of monster also has more valuable material drops. Still, I hope you won't joke with your life just because you're short on money!"
"Thank you, Miss Eina."
The Valis exchanged from the drops exceeded expectations somewhat.
Judging by the spending level of Orario's affordable restaurants, today's exploration gains were at least enough to solve the dinner problem for both himself and Hestia.
Just as he was about to leave, wanting to make sure Ron had really taken her words to heart, the girl raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Then could you tell me—what is your next exploration objective?"
"Mm."
This time, Ron's attitude was extremely sincere: "Under the premise of guaranteed safety, do my best to clear the first floor of the Dungeon!"