Volume 1 Chapter 19 Graduation Exam
"Next up! Team Wade!"
"Yes!"
As the party leader, I stepped forward and replied loudly.
"You all have been an outstanding party. Some of the members have already met the conditions for the Copper Adventurer's License. Furthermore, the leader, Wade is just one step away from reaching Copper with a full adventurer's license."
As the instructor spoke, the surrounding trainees murmured in admiration. It's embarrassing to be praised in public.
"While this is a graduation exam, knowing your teamwork, I don't have much to say. If I had to say something, remember that no matter how far you go, this is still a dungeon. Don't push yourself too hard or get too careless. Even veterans can die in the shallow levels. Remember that much."
"Yes! Thank you!"
"Alright, go for it!"
"Yes! Team Wade, let's go!"
I give orders to Clay and Ice, and stepping into the entrance of the dungeon. It was dark and chilly as usual. I light a torch on the dungeon wall.
"Alright, let's go, both of you. Our goal is the 5th floor. It's fine to be cautious on the 4th floor as usual until we reach it, so there shouldn't be any problem. When you find the stairs going down, let's go down and immediately return."
"Yeah..."
"Yeah, that's safer."
I don't plan on being greedy and saying "We've made it to the 6th floor." That might earn us respect from those around us, but in return, it's a matter of life and death. It's not worth it.
We proceed calmly. The enemies on the 1st floor are no longer our enemies. Nor are those on the 2nd or 3rd floor.
And when we reach the 4th floor, we have to fight a little more seriously.
"Throw."
""Roger that.""
I quickly say and throw the torch forward. But this time, I don't take the time to see the enemy's reaction as I did before.
I charge in for a rapid close-quarters attack before the torch even hits the ground.
I close in with [Weight Reduce] and pick off the last one from [Weight Increase]. Even in the darkness, I could tell there were multiple enemies.
Hobgoblins. They're monsters taller than goblins. They're almost human-sized, and people could even mistake them for armed humans if it weren't for their lack of intelligence.
There are four of them. I swiftly took care of the one at the back, so now there are three left.
They shield their eyes from the torchlight, and while they're distracted, my fist takes out the one at the back without them even noticing.
―――If it's just this much, it might be faster for me to take them all out.
"I'll do it!"
Giving a signal, I leaped into the bosom of another goblin with a Weight Increase uppercut. The goblin's jaw was thrust up, its skull crushed, and it died. Then, I landed a Weight Increase body blow on another goblin, blowing it away beyond the torchlight.
The last one left. The hobgoblin was frozen in place as it faced me. I grabbed the goblin's neck while using Weight Reduce, then lifted it up.
"K-Ki! Ki!"
"Alright, here we go!"
I threw the goblin into the air and delivered a powerful straight punch. It was powered by the acceleration from Weight Reduce and the increased power from Weight Increase combined.
My fist pierced through the hobgoblin's torso. The gauntlet became bloody, and the body turned into particles of light and disappeared.
"Phew... Sorry, I took all the fun."
"No, it was easy and we're all good over here."
As I was finishing off the hobgoblin that had barely any breath left as it was sent flying, Clay approached. Ice picked up a torch and handed it to me, saying, "Thanks for your hard work..."
"Thanks, Ice. You seem to have quite a bit of energy left, don't you?"
When I said that, Ice gave a wry smile and replied, "Y-yeah, I guess so," while Clay added sarcastically, "After all, you took care of everything, huh?"
"Anyway, we've been wandering around cautiously on the fourth floor... What do you think?"
"Uh, well..."
"What do I think? Do you think we're being too cautious? Shouldn't we aim for the fifth floor or higher? If that's what you mean, then of course I agree."
I raised both hands in a gesture of surrender to Clay's blunt way of speaking.
However, Clay continued, saying, "But..."
"That's right, whether it was the correct answer or not, no one knows, so I won't tell you what you should do. You're the leader, Wade-kun. We'll follow you if you decide."
"Yeah... as Clay says, that's right. We're here to follow the leader...!"
When I heard that, I felt determined too. After thinking for a bit, I said,
"So as we decided at first, we'll find the staircase to the 5th level and return directly once we arrive. The reason and intention behind it is that there's little benefit in delving too deeply from the perspective of trainees."
"Is that so?"
At Clay's urging, I responded,
"If we're going to take risks anyway, isn't it more profitable to go for the guild's quests? It's foolish to risk your life out of pride, isn't it?"
"Hehe... that's just like you, Wade-kun."
"Ahaha! I see, that makes sense. That's good, Wade-kun. Lead with confidence."
We nodded to each other as we wandered through the 4th floor. Occasionally encountering enemies, they easily crumbled under my swift attacks, or the follow-up strikes from Ice and Clay.
And finally, we found it.
"...The stairs leading down to the 5th floor."
It was no different from the stairs we had descended before. But it was a standard set by the training facility. It wasn't strange at all to feel a faint chill.
We looked at each other and took one step, then another down the stairs.
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