I awoke just before dawn and stepped outside. It was still pitch dark outside. All the others were still asleep so I left the shield with Stephen rather than waking him or the others up. My plan for the day was to spend the last silver coin I had on hand for breakfast, preferably enough food for the others as well, and then visit the smithy from before to see if they sold the dog beast yet. I was promised more money after all even though I would have accepted the four silver in an instant.

The only pity was that I had no money to purchase clothes if I grabbed something to eat. If I bought clothes and then the trade wasn’t done then I wouldn’t have any money for food or even entering the dungeon, forcing me to wait until the others got up to ask for money. Unless I sold the swords I got but those were back in the room and we planned on selling all the swords together later on. Money management was hard at times and it just didn’t feel right constantly using the group’s funds.

Sure, I had helped build up some of those funds and had every right as the captain to take some of it. However, I preferred to have my own personal funds that I could do as I wish with while contributing some of my dungeon finds to the group. As soon as I started putting all my money into the group while taking out cash for personal things, it’d feel more like my own personal bank than money going towards making us a proper knight order.

As I walked through the streets, I noticed that there were fewer people but it was just as cramped. The fact that it was still dark out did nothing to discourage early risers from going about their day. There were many carriages going back and forth on the streets, making things even more cramped than during the day at times. They brought all sorts of goods to and from the city and when I arrived in the food markets I found several of these carriages unloading fresh produce, bread, meat, and other products to the stands. As for the people who made the cheap stews and such, they hadn’t even started cooking. I recognized some of them, walking around to stands that had just restocked and picking up their old inventory at a hefty discount no matter the condition they were in.

It was tempting to do the same as them, buy up a huge amount of food about to go bad with my silver coin and lug it back to the room as a quick detour. And that was exactly what I did. No matter how much of a big deal I made about clothes, entering the dungeon, and responsible money usage, this was too good to pass up. The others would not fault me for asking for a coin when they woke up if they woke up to enough food to last them the entire day and perhaps tomorrow.

One of the larger stands, which was a wholesaler, seeming to sell everything that could be found at a slightly higher price, the cost of convenience, was in the process of ditching bad stock and seemed the best place to buy from. If I spent a silver coin at a tomato stand, all I’d get is a huge amount of tomatoes, no balance whatsoever. I like tomatoes, but not enough to chomp down on ten of them and call that the meal for the day. There was one of the people running a stew already there buying up some miscellaneous things, a few potatoes, a loaf of stale bread, some meat that was more grit than cut, and what not before moving on. There was plenty more there and they only took what they needed, paying in exact change with the local currency, not even bothering to take out a silver.

The local currency could not be used to pay taxes and fluctuated constantly so someone like me from the countryside distrusted its use immensely and preferred silver transactions only. However, it would be worth it in the city to have some for smaller purchases or haggling for even a slightly better price. Not at that moment, as I decided to just show the food salesmen the silver coin and asked for whatever I could get for it. He more than happily took the coin and loaded me up with as much food as I could carry, even throwing in a bag to carry it for free.

For sure, I came out at a loss compared to the salesmen, but it was better than the deals we normally got and more cost-effective than the stews and soups or something found in a restaurant. Hell, our group didn’t even know where the local tavern was in this city despite practically living in it back in town, mostly thanks to me finding that barrel of beer. Sometime I should check that out in case they were selling anything nice once I had the leeway to spend a bit.

With all this stuff in my arms, I couldn’t head to the smithy district anymore and headed back to the inn. There, I was forced to knock on the door and wake the others up to get inside and drop off the food. Only Matt and Stephen got up with the former opening the door and helping organize some of the food in the room. Jerry stayed in a deep sleep so I couldn’t ask him for any cash and soon enough I was off again with a couple strips of gritty beef jerky to fill my stomach until later.

Back at the smithy district, I once again entered the luxurious shop that I sold the dog corpse to with a bit of embarrassment. Sure, I had business here and managed to sell something, but wearing rags in such a high-class place was admittedly unnerving, especially since I could have used that silver to get some better clothes but chose food instead. Food is more important than clothes for sure but if all went well I would have money for food by now. Oh well, not like I could have afforded nice clothes in the first place so there wouldn’t be any change in reception.

Like last time, there were no other customers, just the old man watching over the shop. I assumed he was either the owner or managed it for some rich guy elsewhere. One new thing was the dog beast’s skull all cleaned up and sitting on a shelf. The black substance on its surface was polished off, leaving behind a metallic sheen. Going off the fact it was still here, I assumed it hadn’t sold yet.

“You’re back and I see you haven’t bothered cleaning up at all. If I give you another advance, will you promise to wear something better and bathe before you come back?” asked the old man.

I understood the clothing part but bathing? I’ve already bathed this month so it should be fine but I suppose washing weekly or perhaps even daily might be the norm for wealthier people. Unless there was someplace I could bathe inside the city, I might have to leave and find a spot of water outside the walls. However, I didn’t see any water close to the city so I might have to exit the city on the other side from where I came in to find some. Best to ask around later.

“Yes, I’ll make sure to do so,” I said. Another advance would be welcome because it would give me the cash to make a quick stop in the dungeon on the way back if it’s not too busy and dropped back to a two silver entrance fee.

As for getting new clothes, I suppose I could do that if I got more than one silver in this advance. Which it turns out, I did, as the old man laid five silver on the counter for me to take. I took the coins and left. The old man seemed happy about me not sticking around to chat and there was nothing more to say since the dog hadn’t sold yet.

On my way back, I noticed that the lines to the dungeon wasn’t too bad but decided it was best to go back to the inn to fetch my shield and eat a meal. Nothing was worse than being stuck in the dungeon while hungry or sober for that matter as I also drank a brew of beer. By this time the others had fully awakened, most likely due to my interruption sadly, other than Jerry who was still out cold. Matt discussed going back into the dungeon again after selling off some of the ores with me over breakfast but decided to wait until Jerry got up. I pushed the job of selling the ores off to them and headed out alone again.

Nonetheless, it didn’t turn out to be a usual wait in line then enter the dungeon kind of day as a group of seven approached the line off to the side rather than getting behind. Were they trying to cut in line or something else? They looked to be a mismatch of adventurers and knights with mixed weapons and armors that prioritized quality over fashion. In comparison, a knight group often had matching equipment and the symbol of their divine out in the open on one such armor or weapon. These people did not belong to a knight order but were obviously in some sort of group. A group that was well respected from the reactions of the other people in the line.

Everyone in the line and even a few people in the streets rushed over and faced the group, not speaking a single word, silently waiting for the group to say their part. I was swept into this rush and chose to keep my mouth shut as well out of curiosity. The fact that even full plate armor knights with divine items were quietly waiting just next to me signaled just how big of a deal this was.

“Everyone, we have a device that can cause an artificial convergence for nine people. If your little brain can do math and you can see, we are seven members, two down. That means this is a chance for two of you to join us. Unfortunately, every person that enters a dungeon in a convergence increases the difficulty of each room, meaning we can’t just have any person. We need two quality members. Please step forward if you have been in a convergence before,” stated one of the seven, a woman donning a silver chestplate and thick leather covering with rest of her body with a rapier at her side and a halberd on her back.

She probably meant people who have been in artificial convergences but surely a natural convergence was more of a milestone and it’d be interesting entering a dungeon in such a large group. So I took a step forward out of the crowd alongside maybe ten other people, mostly knights and a couple odd adventurer types like me. I imagined that two of the knights were the most likely to get these spots. They looked to be the most reliable out of this bunch and even I wouldn’t chose myself off appearance alone if I was on the other side.

“Ten? Well this is unexpected but welcome. We’re going to have to narrow things down a bit more. Who here has an elemental or divine item, preferably one that can be used offensively,” said the woman as she walked past each of us, looking into each of our eyes, including mine. Her eyes betrayed no emotion and she didn’t even react to my appearance. Perhaps just having the chance to be in a convergence was enough to garner respect regardless of outer appearance.

With this new condition, a few of the knights stepped away and so did one of the other adventurers. I, of course, had multiple elemental items and even a divine one and stayed up. Meanwhile, most of the knights had divine items to no one’s surprise. Not counting me, the most surprising part was that the other person dressed who was more of an adventurer, dressed in simple leather armor, also had a divine or elemental weapon.

“Fine. Who here has made it far enough to reach a rest area on their own?” asked the woman, surprised that she had to even narrow it down this far it seemed as she was becoming more blunt.

The other adventurer and all the knights but two stepped down, leaving three standing in front including me. I was surprised that reaching the rest area on my own narrowed things down more than having an elemental weapon. Most likely those knights had made it to the rest area using artificial convergences only as I seriously doubted they lacked the skills to get that far. The two knights next to me seemed to be a part of the same order and glared at me.

“Hey, step down already. Didn’t you hear when she said that the divine item is preferably an offensive one? What are you going to do with that shield?” asked one of them while pointing at my divine item. Having both their members in this group would be preferable to only one so they of course wanted me gone even before the group stated the next thing to narrow things down. Too bad they focused on my shield and brought up a losing argument. Simply by pulling out my sword and showing it catch alight with flames was enough to shut them up.

Before they could say anything else, the woman spoke up again, “Stay in line if you’ve fought and won against a unique monster before.”

Like that, one of the knights was forced to step down and it was just me and the remaining knight who happened to also be the one that questioned my shield. I sheathed my sword and turned to face the group of seven, ignoring the knight beside me’s glare as I cost his order a spot in this group. They didn’t stay here nor explained anything, they just started walking away from the dungeon. For a second I was confused, but then followed along while remembering that there were two more private dungeons in the city. No wonder everyone wanted to be a part of this group as they could avoid the entrance fee and enjoy the safety of the group.

Or lack of safety as the dungeon’s difficulty would ramp up with nine people. If anything, we could just re-enter the dungeon until we face an easy enemy or I could rely on the others if things go awry. One of the private dungeons in the city wasn’t too far from the public one. I thought it’d be farther out, with dungeon entrances a bit more spaced out, but it was at the end of a side street two buildings away from the public dungeon. The street was relatively empty but well guarded with armed men standing off to the sides every so often, none of them being guards, all adventurers or knights.

The actual dungeon was inside of a building that might as well be a small fortress with thick stone walls and a metal gate. Once inside, the gate closed behind us and the group of seven finally explained how things were going to go. They went on for what felt like an hour saying the same things over and over so I barely paid any attention. The important bits was that we only had one shot at this and couldn’t exit the dungeon, planned to reach at least the rest area before turning back, and that as guests, the knight and I had to stay in the front and do the brunt of the fighting.

The last part seemed to put the knight a bit on edge and he asked if they would support them at all. For me, it wasn’t anything new throwing myself up and close to the monsters, if not with a bit of caution with my spear until I knew what they were capable of. The knight was simply told that they would support us if they deemed it necessary then took out the item used to cause the artificial convergence, unwilling to talk things out anymore. What a relief thought the knight probably didn’t take that too well as he eyed the closed gate leading outside.