Dungeon Renovation ch10-1: New Allies! (Part 1)

Ales, there's one over here!
Got it, Tina!

Flame Lance!

It didn't drop anything...
Zero magic crystals harvested today...

It'll be dangerous, but should we go check out the 2nd floor? We should be able to earn more than on the first.
But there's a goblin nest on the 2nd floor, isn't there?
We're just mages, so it's all over for us if they surround us.

The only reason we can even hunt on the first floor to begin with is because we just so happened to be able to use magic.
Most of the vanguard adventurers got done in by the slimes here,
and most of those who did go on to the 2nd floor never returned.

Even Miss Fiona got caught unaware by a trap and di-... has been missing this whole time.
And she was the strongest in this area, making it all the way to the 6th floor.
With no decent parties left, the nearby businesses had to close down.

Even the strong can be ended easily by a trap,
so everyone's too scared to even open treasure chests.
The treasure on the first floor is mostly junk anyway...

Maybe we should've gone to a different dungeon after all...
Even if we keep hunting slimes here, we won't earn any money or gain any acclimatization...
...I feel the same way.

Even so, there's not a lot of slimes today, is there?
Did somebody hunt them before us...?

As if. We're the only ones who still...
AWOOOO
!?
Wh-...
What the!?

Grrrrr

Rrr...

We're done for...
Ah... ah...
A monster...?
It's way too big.

Do I fight it...? No, I...
I would... definitely die...
There's no escape...

No... I...
I don't want to die...

Get up!
Run away, Tina!

I'll...!
Hm~? What's up, Pochi?

!?
A person's voice...?
Huh...? ...Ah!

It's Ales and Tina!
Long time no see.
Miss Fiona!?

Sorry for surprising you.
Don't worry. Those two are my allies.
Bad dog.
A-Allies...?

More importantly, you're alive, Miss Fiona!?
Thanks to her.
How about you two? Made any progress with your exploration?

No... We've kept to the first floor this whole time.
Fiona, are these two friends of yours?
Yes. I've partied up with them a few times before.

This is Maho.
The one who saved my life.
Hey there. I'm Maho Saeki!

By the way, you mentioned you've stuck to the first floor just now, right?
May I ask why?
Eh? Well...

There's a goblin nest on the second floor, so they'll attack on mass.
Tina and I are mages, so without a vanguard to defend us...
I see. A vanguard, huh?
Out of interest, how many is "on mass"?

...This should be common knowledge to the adventurers around here...

Is she not an adventurer?
But Miss Fiona said she saved her life, so she must be pretty strong...
I taught you all about the second floor, didn't I?
Well y'know~ Listening to your customers is very important.

She has a last name, so maybe she's one of Miss Fiona's noble friends...?
In which case that big dog...? Monster? Is her servant?
This makes no sense whatsoever...!

Thanks for your valuable feedback!

As thanks, lemme tell you something good!
Huh...?

p10

Try going down the path we just came from.
There's some somewhat peculiar treasure chests lying there.
There might be something good inside.

Treasure chests...!?
Yep! Perfectly safe and 100% trap free!
You can even take the whole chest with you!

You're telling us that right away?
It's a first-time service.
Gotta treat newbies with care when dragging them into the bog.
Bog...? Was there a floor like that...?

Ales. Tina.
This dungeon is changing from now on... No, we're going to change it.
Please believe in her.

p11

...There they go.
Was Miss Fiona always that cheerful?
I know. She may be like a commoner, but she always had a more serious vibe to her...

So, what do we do?
What do we do?
About the treasure chests... and whether we should stay here.

...

For now, let's look for those treasure chests.

Could this... be it?

p12

What kind of material is this?
It's smooth and light yet tough...
I can even pick it up.

She said... there were no traps, right...?
What's inside...

Gloves...!?

What are these...!? It's neither leather nor cloth. And it's durable too...!
Are these grooves to prevent slippage...? How were these even made...?
But with these, I won't have to worry about dropping my weapons during combat.

p13

What's more, these are pretty extravagant compared to normal cloth gloves.
If I were to sell these dungeon-produced gloves... made from an unknown material,
I could make a fortune...!!

Ales!
Ales!
Tina! Look at these!

It's amazing!
Alcohol!
It came out of the treasure chest when I opened it!

I think it's wine!

p14

Wine!?
Isn't wine like super luxurious? And it came out of a treasure box?
Yeah! I was really surprised!
And those are... What are those!? Gloves?

...Seriously?
Is this for real?

We earned this much from opening just two chests...!?
It makes all the struggles we've had up until now seem like a joke...!

Hey...

What should we do?

Could this dungeon really be changing...!?

p15

...Y'know what, let's stay here
and believe in what Miss Fiona and her friend said.

Think they opened the treasure chests?
Well, we'll find that out later.

Clearing the first floor was honestly pretty easy.

Well, normally it would've been fairly difficult, though.

Warning