"I know this might be hard to believe, but it’s the truth," Alex asserted. "I am a seer, so I can see bits and pieces of the future. The reason I want to go to Briarwood Village is to minimize the damage."
Alex didn’t know what would had happened to the monsters that usually gathered on the first floor of the Dungeon of Beginnings.
He only knew that Rank 4 Monsters had appeared when Charles Lambert was midway through his quest to look for the exit that led to the City of Harmonia.
After his death, there had been no other information about the monsters. Alex didn’t know if the monsters had returned to their respective floors or emerged to the outside world and rampaged to their hearts’ content.
It was only an IF scenario, but it was one that had a high chance of happening in this world.
With that many monsters gathered on one floor, a dungeon outbreak was likely going to follow. If that happened, all the exits leading to the various cities, towns, and villages would be in danger of being overwhelmed by their numbers.
Reality was different from a game, and what Alex wanted to do was to help Charles find the exit as soon as possible to minimize the damage.
The sooner he left the dungeon, the faster things would return to normal. However, the young man knew this wouldn’t be an easy task.
There was also one more thing that made Alex feel nervous.
It was none other than the level of difficulty that had been forced into him during his transmigration.
Difficulty Level: Hell Mode.
When he had entered the Etherion Domain, a Mutant Boss Monster had appeared.
He wanted to shrug it off as mere coincidence, but doing so would only leave him unprepared if something similar happened again. And next time, he might not be as lucky.
Alex was certain that if he accompanied Charles inside the Dungeon of Beginnings, clearing it might even become harder.
This was why he didn’t want Elaine and Efa to accompany him. He truly cared for his first close friends in the Town of Thaloria.
"If a dungeon outbreak is going to happen, we need to report this to the guild at once, so they can send an expedition team to check the condition of the Dungeon of Beginnings," Dahlia said seriously.
"Frieden Academy should also be informed since the ones who will be in great danger will be the trial takers who plan to enroll in the academy."
Alex agreed with her line of thinking, but even if the Adventurer’s Guild sent a team to investigate, they wouldn’t find any signs of an impending outbreak.
"It’s no use, Dahlia," Alex said. "Even if a team does investigate, they won’t see anything. There’s a condition that will trigger this dungeon outbreak."
"A condition?" Dahlia furrowed her brows. "Then, can we prevent that condition from taking place?"
"We can’t." Alex shook his head. "But don’t worry. Like I said earlier, I am thinking of ways to prevent it from ending in the worst-case scenario. So, Dahlia, do me a favor and don’t tell this to anyone.
"If your superiors were to conclude that I was spreading misinformation to cause panic to the people, my Adventurer’s License would be revoked."
Elaine pressed her hands together and held Alex’s gaze. "Is this the reason why you don’t want us to accompany you?"
"Yes," Alex replied. "It is very dangerous. I don’t plan to fight the monsters inside the dungeon. My goal is to find the exit, and that is what I will prioritize."
"But, are you sure that you and your master will be enough?" Efa asked. "Elaine and I might just be Rank 2 right now, but we are only a step away from becoming Rank 3. We’re still stronger than you, so if you can do it, then why can’t we do it?"
"Efa, it’s just best that you and Elaine don’t get hurt at all," Alex replied. "After all, it’s not your battle to face."
"That may be true, but we still owe you a debt for rescuing us from those Goblins," Elaine pointed out. "We won’t feel at ease until we repay that debt."
"That’s right." Efa nodded. "Our fate would’ve been worse than death if you hadn’t come to our rescue. If you plan to risk your life for this mission, we’ll also gladly risk our lives to help you clear it."
Alex wanted to say more, but Efa reached out to press her finger over his lips. The Scout gave the young man a mischievous smile to tell him that whatever he planned to say would be of no use.
"Even if you don’t agree for us to accept our help, we will still go to Briarwood Village when the test of the academy starts." Efa smirked. "Until then, Elaine and I will steadily increase our strength and raise our rank to Rank 3."
The young man sighed because there was no way for him to prevent Elaine and Efa from going to Briarwood Village and following him.
"Okay, but you can only accompany me if you and Elaine become Rank 3," Alex stated. "If you still haven’t reached that rank before the trial starts, then don’t bother going to Briarwood Village. Do we have a deal?"
"Deal," Elaine replied before Efa could reply.
Alex settled for a compromise because he understood that the two Adventurers were serious about repaying their debt.
Suddenly, Dahlia clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
"Now that the issue has been settled, let’s put it aside for now and continue our feast!" Dahlia suggested before pouring some fruit juice into Alex’s cup.
"This is a fruit punch," the receptionist said. "Don’t worry, I only put a little alcohol in it. Elaine and Efa have said that you are a lightweight, so this shouldn’t knock you out completely."
"Thank you." Alex gratefully tried the drink. To his surprise, it tasted really good.
He could feel the faint trace of alcohol, but it was so light that it was almost negligible.
The party continued until the late hours of the night because Alex and the girls exchanged some stories of their adventures.
As Alex talked about his first battle with Goblins, the ladies regarded him with endearment, amused by his hit-and-run tactics.
Elaine and Efa also shared their stories, as well as the reason why they had decided to become Adventurers.
To his surprise, Dahlia also used to be an Adventurer, albeit only for a brief time.
After her friends died during a mission, she had decided to switch jobs and become a receptionist in the hope that she could give sound advice to newbies like Alex, so they wouldn’t try to challenge quests that were out of their league.
Although there wasn’t much alcohol in the fruit punch, Alex drank so much that he felt drowsy.
Soon, he had fallen asleep while sitting on the couch.
"He really is a lightweight, huh?" Dahlia lightly poked the young man’s right cheek to see if he would wake up.
But Alex was sleeping deeply. The hostess shook her head helplessly.
"Don’t worry." Elaine chuckled. "We’re already used to carrying him. I’m going to take him to the guest room. Is that alright?"
"Yes." Dahlia nodded. "Efa and I will clean up first, then we’ll follow you later."
The receptionist picked up the sleeping Dim Dim and placed him on a small basket with a cushion, which would become the Dim Sum God’s bed for the night.
Just like Alex, the little one had drunk a lot of fruit punch and was sleeping soundly without a care in the world.