C343: Silver Wolf’s Adventurer Lessons: Hands-on Practice

And so, we’re here at Sensei’s dungeon.

“Mr. Silver Wolf, an S-class adventurer, will teach us the ropes of dungeon conquering. Take in the experience with all your five senses, and don’t miss a single moment!”
“YES, SIR!”

There are about 40-50 students in total, which is too many to enter the dungeon at once, so the class is divided into groups of ten.
This was suggested by Silver Wolf, who said entering a dungeon with many people amounts to suicide. “No matter how many dozens of people try, the dungeon will always win in terms of scale. Too many people will also restrict our movements and only increase casualties,” he adds. “I’ll teach you fledglings the secrets of dungeon survival.”

‘Don’t think about winning against the dungeon,’ eh?

“The dungeon is like nature, it’s not something mankind can challenge. Those who seek to dominate it will pay for their arrogance with their life. Remember, respect the dungeon. Don’t enter it with the intention of being a petty thief who snatches a small portion of the vast wealth the dungeon offers.”

Meaningful words from the get-go.

As expected of a top-class adventurer.
The humbler one becomes as they get closer to the top is what it truly means to be powerful.

“Without further ado, let’s enter the dungeon! We want to hear more of your lessons…” I say.
“Wait.”

Silver Wolf grabs me by the collar and pulls me back as I try to enter.
Thanks to him, I felt strangled.

“What kind of idiot just walks into a dungeon? You could’ve died once already!”
“Huh? No kidding!”
“Cave dungeons can be filled with stagnant mana. Inhaling it will have an adverse effect on the body and may cause death at worst. It’s important to be extremely cautious when entering a dungeon you just found!”

Saying that, he takes out a small box from his breast pocket, and from that box, he takes out a short, thin wooden stick with a red tip.

As soon as I saw it, I realized it was a match.
So, other worlds have matches too…

As is customary, he lights the match and tosses it into the cave.

“A burning fire is an indication that the surrounding atmosphere is safe. At least, you won’t fall unconscious with just one breath.”

The match continues to burn on the dungeon floor until it dies out on its own.

“…There are times when there is just a little bit of poison in the air, so it doesn’t pose an immediate threat. However, breathing it in for too long can be dangerous. This is what I would recommend in such cases.”

He takes out another thing from his pocket—a flower planted in a pot small enough to fit in his palm.

“This is called canary grass, an important item for adventurers. It reacts to the slightest contamination in the air and changes its petals’ colors accordingly. You watch it as you walk through the dungeon and look out for its color. This flower reacts not only to toxins in the air but also to malicious magic.”

The students ooh in admiration.
The wisdom of a veteran adventurer is amazing.

“Well done. It was worth inviting you,” says Sensei, applauding Silver Wolf’s lesson. “Well then, Lord Saint, students, I’ll be waiting for you at the deepest part as the last boss.”
“See you there!”
“I hope to rendezvous with you as soon as possible.”

Waving at everyone, Sensei enters the dungeon first and proceeds briskly.

Silver Wolf, silently watching Sensei’s vanishing figure, says seriously, “There is one more ironclad rule that you must follow when entering a dungeon…”
“What is it?”
“Never enter a dungeon that has a guardian! You’ll die if you do!”

The dungeon extracurricular lesson ended there.

…Of course, there’s no way that happened. The lesson goes on, considering how kind and gentle Sensei is.

We enter the dungeon in earnest and proceed inside.

But…

“What slow progress!”

The dungeon conquest led by Silver Wolf is indeed going at a snail’s pace.

Each dungeon section is checked for enemy ambushes and traps to ensure everyone’s safety.
We would check to see if the exit route had been cut off each time, which slowed our progress even more.

“Um… don’t you think we should pick up the pace…?”

I, accompanying the students as an observer, became impatient and interfered.

“At this rate, it’ll take us days to reach where Sensei is. We need to be back by evening so I can prepare dinner…”
“What do you mean? There’s no such thing as too much safety in a dungeon! You might die if you lack the slightest caution!”

This pro adventurer is getting redundant and unsophisticated in his techniques.
Then again, his techniques are probably the most advanced ones.

“Entering a dungeon the first time is when you have to be extremely cautious! You never know what it’s got in surprise!”

For us, it’s a dungeon we’re used to walking through, like a garden.
I guess he’s the first-timer in this case.

“If anything, we’re making faster progress than most adventurers. I can use my werewolf’s keen sense of smell to explore the surroundings. For example…”

Silver Wolf points his dog, or rather wolf nose, skyward and sniffs the air.

“This rotten mud-like smell… It’s here!”
“What is?!”
“A mimic monster called a skinstone. Its skin resembles a rock and blends into rocky terrain to hide from its prey!”

Huh? No way.
What is he talking about when I don’t see a single wharf roach, let alone monsters?
Sure, the cave dungeon’s walls, ground, and ceiling are rocky, which is a great place for such monsters to hide, but still…

“Can you check for us, Orkuma?”
“Roger.”

One orc accompanying us head towards the area where the monster might be hiding.

“What?! What are you doing? You’re not using a monster as a sacrificial pawn to see if there’s danger, are you?!”
“He’s not a sacrificial pawn.”

I would never treat my precious orcs like that.

Orkuma, one of our farm’s orcs, briskly walks forward.
Sure enough, as soon as he stepped into an area, he was attacked by countless tentacles.
The tentacles look like they’re growing out of the floor, but they’re actually from an octopus, rock-like monster.

The octopus tentacles entangle Orkuma’s extremities and are strangling him, but…

“Haa!”

With a single burst of energy, the rock octopus shatters into tiny pieces.

“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!” exclaims Silver Wolf. “Skinstone is a four-star monster! You can’t win if you’re entangled by it, so the basic rule is to keep your distance and fight! And yet… And yet!!!”
“Come to think of it, this rock octopus wanders around Sensei’s dungeon a lot. They always get blown away in one hit, just like now.”

Orkuma keeps moving forward at a brisk pace.
One after another, new rock octopuses attack him, to which he sends them flying.

“…?!”

Silver Wolf’s professionalism is astonishing, with his attentiveness to traps never falling short.
But none of that matters to our orcs, who can smash any and every trap.

“…Uh, guys?” I call out to the students on behalf of Silver Wolf, who is dazed. “Don’t follow what Orkuma did, okay? That would be impossible even for someone from the Heavenly Four of the Demon King’s Army. I want you all to learn from Mr. Silver Wolf’s methods.”
“If only I had that much power, I could casually go in and out of dungeons…”

I can hear Silver Wolf’s adventurer sense falling apart.

“My Lord, My Lord,” calls Orkuma. “There’s another monster here.”
“What?! Is that… Is that a five-star monster?!” shockingly says Silver Wolf.

Meanwhile…

“Huh?”

Orkuma smashes the five-star monster in a single punch.

“What? A vicious monster… A Calamity-level monster that, if discovered, would summon a Class A crisis… Defeated in just one hit?!”
“We’re used to dealing with them too since they often pop up.”
“What even is my purpose of being here when you guys have him?!”

Please don’t say that.

Your teachings will be a valuable asset to the teens… I believe.