Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 88: Whenever You Are With Me, Always Expect The Worst

The next day...

From a distance, Alex and Cairo watched a teenage boy practice his sword swings in the backyard of his house.

As a Swordsman, Cairo could tell that the teen at least knew the basics of holding a sword.

His strikes were strong and steady, making the Catkin smile faintly in approval.

”He might have been trained to hold the sword from a young age,” Cairo said.

”Yes,” Alex replied. ”His adoptive parents were both Adventurers, and his father taught him how to wield the sword so he can protect his sisters.”

The young man had already told his Master that Charles’ parents had died during their last dungeon expedition.

It was a very common tale among children whose parents made a living by risking their lives to hunt monsters both outside and inside the dungeon.

The life of an Adventurer could end with just a single mistake.

This was also why there were different Ranks for Adventurers. That way, they were restricted to only tackling missions within their abilities.

”Master, do you think he is now a Ranker?” Alex inquired.

He was still unable to gauge how powerful someone was just by looking at them.

Only experienced warriors like his master would be able to tell if someone was strong or not with a glance.

”He is very close to becoming a Ranker,” Cairo answered. ”Perhaps he will become one a few days before the trial inside the Dungeon of Beginnings starts.”

Alex nodded in agreement.

Even in the game, the time allocated for Charles was just enough for him to become a Ranker.

Charles was a Swordsman, and his goal was to become a Knight.

His adoptive father had once been a Knight. However, the lord he was serving died in a tragic accident. To continue supporting his family, he could only shift to the life of an Adventurer.

Using his knightly abilities, he gained enough fame to make a name for himself.

That was also how he met his wife and formed a family with her.

Charles was the son of one of their party members, who later died in an escort mission.

Since the party members treated each other as family, the couple decided to adopt Charles and raise him as their own child.

For many years, they lived happily with each other.

But those happy days came to an end a month ago.

Charles and his sisters were forced apart by their aunt, who didn’t recognize the teenage boy as part of their family.

However, she had given him a chance, perhaps out of pity.

She would recognize him if he was able to become a scholarship student of Frieden Academy and survive the Dungeon of Beginnings.

Charles didn’t know if his aunt meant her words or simply wanted him to die at the hands of monsters.

However, since he didn’t want to part with his sisters, he had agreed to the condition and was now training hard for the upcoming trial.

”Are there things we need to pay attention to once inside the Dungeon of Beginnings?” Cairo asked. ”You said we would be facing Rank 4 Monsters. While I think they are indeed a problem, we can just run away if we meet them inside the dungeon.”

”Master, let me just say something,” Alex said with a serious expression on his face. ”Whenever you are with me, always expect the worst.”

”Huh? What do you mean?”

”Um, just think of me as someone who raises the difficulty of anything I poke my nose into. For example, instead of Rank 4 Monsters, we might encounter Rank 5 Monsters inside the dungeon.”

Since Alex couldn’t say that something called ”Difficulty Level: Hell Mode” was attached to him, this was his way of preparing Cairo for the dangers they would face later.

”Is this that so-called flag that you mentioned in the past?” Cairo asked. ”That Murphy’s Law?”

”In a way, yes, Master,” Alex replied. ”When you are with me, think about Murphy’s Law, and it will come to pass.”

”Alex, remind me not to take you with me when I dive into High-Level Dungeons.”

”Okay.”

Alex was very tempted to say that taking him was still better than taking Charles. But since he didn’t want Cairo to look at him with pity, he decided to keep his silence instead.

”Have you already thought of a strategy we can use inside the dungeon when the monsters start to head in our direction?” Cairo crossed his arms over his chest.

”The strategy is simple, Master,” Alex answered. ”Run as fast as we can for as long as we can. If we find the exit first, we win.”

”Then what of the other trial takers?” Cairo arched an eyebrow. ”Won’t they be in danger too?”

”I have a solution for that, Master.” Alex smirked. ”We just need to delay entering the dungeon. Let’s give everyone a day as a head start. By then, they will have already found the exit.”

Trial takers were allowed to form a party of five when entering the Dungeon of Beginnings.

Some Adventurers would sometimes accept missions to escort trial takers inside the dungeon, just like Efa had a year ago.

For most people, entering the Dungeon of Beginnings was merely a formality because they had the means to clear it with the resources available to them.

Hiring a group of Adventurers was still cheaper than enrolling in the academy without a scholarship as the school fee was ten thousand gold coins per student.

Only noble families could afford the tuition, so commoners had no choice but to be more resourceful when taking the trial of the academy.

”I think that’s a good plan.” Cairo nodded. ”As long as no innocents will be involved, we can simply focus on finding the exit.”

”Right.” Alex shifted his attention back to Charles, who was still practicing his sword swings.

Once upon a time, he had stood at that same spot, repeating the same sword swings again and again just to raise his sword proficiency in the game.

Seeing Charles’ diligence in person only made Alex more determined to help him.

Now that he had confirmed that the teenage boy wasn’t neglecting his training, it was time to familiarize themselves with the monsters inside the Dungeon of Beginnings.

Leaving Charles to his training, Alex and Cairo headed to the dungeon to get a better idea of what enemies they would be fighting in a few weeks’ time.