**Chapter 108: Novice Town**
Exiting the dungeon, the outside was a scorching summer day, the ground shimmering with heat waves.
Novice Town’s Adventurer’s Guild was thronged with people, the line stretching a kilometer from the entrance. Even the sweltering heat didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.
The Adventurer’s Guild looked quite old, its doorframe weathered and the hall bearing marks of long-term use as a tavern – the floor showed distinct patterns where table legs had been placed.
However…
The adventurers inside looked like fresh recruits, a stark contrast to the aged building.
Those wearing brand new adventurer outfits were relatively new, while some sported expensive, fashionable gear that looked more for show than function. Even more surprisingly, some had arrived in their student uniforms.
Their weapons were equally varied, ranging from newly purchased Beginner Silver Swords at the entrance to household frying pans.
This eclectic mix was entirely out of sync with the rustic charm of the old Adventurer’s Guild.
The noisy chatter within further revealed that most of them were adventurers for the first time.
“What’s going on? This question, 7-4-5-2-1-9. The BOSS floor doesn’t appear until after C?”
“The BOSS floors in dungeons only appear every ten floors!”
“Huh? If you don’t take the loot from the dungeon, it’s gone next time you come? How can that be?”
“Obviously! Do you want the people after you to have nothing?”
“The dungeon with the most floors right now is… who can even answer this?”
“Right, I’m just here to play around, I won’t encounter the dungeon with the most floors anyway.”
“Hall of Death. Choose C, you’re welcome.”
Will couldn’t stand it any longer. As he passed by two people, he directly gave them the answer.
“Oh, the next question will probably be about floors, 150 floors.”
“Th-thank you?”
Will had initially assumed that adventuring teams formed haphazardly from students and teachers would be the most inexperienced.
Apparently, that wasn’t the case at all!
This town was swarming with various groups forming new adventuring teams. Many seemed like tourists, making Will’s group appear the most normal and serious among them.
The entire town was overcrowded, reminding Will of a trendy tourist spot he had visited in his past life.
It was hard to believe that just a year ago, this town was an obscure, remote village.
However, while an increase in population was generally good, the town was now struggling to handle such a massive influx of people.
Fortunately, not far outside the town, land was being cleared to construct a new commercial district specifically for adventurers.
The reason for this…
Was because the dungeon “Green Wilderness Trace” had appeared two kilometers outside Novice Town a year ago. Of course, despite related parties researching it, no one could definitively explain why the dungeon had materialized.
A month later, the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters announced that the Green Wilderness Trace dungeon would become the new “mandatory dungeon for new adventuring teams.” Any newly formed team was required to clear the first ten floors of this dungeon before their application would be approved.
This announcement directly designated Novice Town as the “Novice Village” by the Adventurer’s Guild.
As is well known, Novice Villages are usually the most crowded places.
For the town, it was akin to striking it rich overnight.
“So crowded… so hot… I can’t take it… we’ve already waited this long outside, and inside…”
Among the group, Liya, who was clearly the least accustomed to crowds and the heat, was suffering the most.
She tugged at her robes, trying to get some air into the stuffy atmosphere.
“Teacher Liya, you can take off your hat. It will be cooler.”
“This is the pride of a witch… never mind, I’ll take it off. It really is much cooler.”
With her Magic hat removed, Liya seemed to shrink a bit, but her exposed crown and Twin Tails made her look even cuter.
“Young Master… things don’t look good.”
Ia’el! A god of heat resistance!
She had seen this kind of situation many times before.
Despite the heat, the crowds, and the slightly insufficient oxygen, she remained completely unfazed.
“Ia’el, don’t you need to stick out your tongue to cool down?”
“Eh? Why? It’s actually alright. But… when I go to the sauna, I do occasionally stick my tongue out.”
“Wolves are indeed canids, it’s all the same.”
“Wha-what?! Wolves are canids… does that mean I’ve been Young Master’s dog… dog all along?!”
Liya was not doing well, while Ia’el was energetic. As for the remaining person…
Will looked towards Treya with some concern.
“Treya, how are you?”
Treya showed none of the airs of a Princess. When they came out, she had asked Will not to treat her like royalty and to keep her identity hidden until she achieved something.
Although Will knew she was quite resilient.
Still, her light armor was thicker and heavier than that of others.
“Mmm, I’m fine.”
Even as sweat drops trickled down into the gaps of her chest, she remained remarkably calm.
Looking down, Will could see her stockings… half soaked, half slightly damp. The soaked parts were a darker color and were slowly spreading to the other half.
How lewd!
No, how bad!
She was sweating a lot, perhaps even worse off than Liya.
“Uh… in that case…”
Will looked troubled.
His hand was tightly gripping the card in his pocket.
Carver had actually given him a green card – a genuine green card, a pass issued by the Adventurer’s Guild printed with the Hysterm family crest.
In Carver’s words, if he wished, he wouldn’t even need to do the novice missions, he could form an adventuring team on the spot.
By showing this card to a staff member, they should be able to go directly to a room to process their paperwork.
However…
Will didn’t want to do that.
Of course, if there were no specific reasons, someone like him, who would always choose the most convenient path and exploit all connections…
Would have no need to suffer in any dungeon, but instead would happily walk into a cool office, form an adventuring team, and be done with it.
But!
This matter involved his dignity.
BECAUSE!
The original story’s pathetic, useless, cowardly, foolish, knowledge-lacking, and physically weak Young Master Will…
He didn’t even use that green card!
Back then, he relied on his own abilities… and with this group of barely competent teammates from the original work, he struggled through the novice village trials and formed an adventuring team through his own strength.
So how could he, a Transmigrator who had painstakingly nurtured his teammates, honed his abilities, and diligently studied knowledge, lose to the original work at this stage?!
Will developed a strange sense of competitiveness.
“Young Master… their condition… is not good!”
“Mother, long time no see, how are you?”
“I… I can still hold on…”
Speaking of which, when the original work described the formation of this adventuring team, it only mentioned Will’s choice. The original Ia’el also didn’t receive special training, so based on that… the others…
Could they have actually gotten heatstroke?!
To be honest, he had seen many people being carried away after suffering heatstroke while waiting in line.
Considering Will was always slacking off, even going without equipment, but the others were fully geared up for the dungeon. He had it much easier than them.
If the Young Master Will from the original work, for the sake of his dignity, let them all get heatstroke… that would be too cruel.
Will’s mindset was very different from his.
He truly couldn’t bear to see these three “underdogs” hurt, sick, or unhappy. He couldn’t stand it at all.
He had worked so hard to nurture them! It took a tremendous effort!
Was dignity more important than these three being at full health?! No!
Will took a deep breath, as if preparing himself mentally, and took out the green card from his pocket.
“Hello, staff member? I have something to show you~”
