-The Strange Dungeon With Too Many Restrictions.-

“With that state of your body, you sure it's alright to raid something like a level 10 dungeon?” Joy looked through all the level 10 dungeons closest to their place as he browsed the home page of the DCB.

“I will be alright. Now that I have become weak, I will depend on wits and skillsets rather than brute force to win the battles.” Kenshin too was browsing through the DCB sites on his mobile while munching on some rice crackers prepared by Miss. Yui.

“I see. Well, to be honest, you didn’t become weaker. This strength is what a hunter of your level should have. You were just too overpowered!” Joy retorted, “Ah, look I found something nice!”

“What is it?” Chiba hovered over Joy’s shoulder and looked at the computer screen where details about a place were given.

“Look at this!” Joy clicked on the map to show what he found interesting, “This is a Level 10 dungeon that was discovered a few months ago. Its location was a few kilometers away from Kyoto. What do you think?”

“Let’s see…” Chiba adjusted her reading glass and continued to read through the article. A frown soon appeared on her face, “What the hell? There is not enough info about it!!” She then gave Joy a dirty look and continued, “Not only that but this dungeon also wasn’t cleared even once yet, therefore not much was known about it. What are you thinking?”

“Huh? It was not even cleared once, what does that suppose to mean?” Kenshin found this statement absurd. It should be known that a new dungeon is always attractive to a hunter. Not to mention the sense of adventure one would experience when going through the ordeal, the rewards they would gain could make anyone green with envy. Forget about those below level 150, even some of the level 200 hunters would be interested to venture into a new dungeon.

“Look, the comment section is also turned off. What the meaning of this? We can’t even comment on this dungeon?” Chiba complained seeing that there were no comments after scrolling down the page. Often, the comment sections should be filled with people who had already ventured into that place. It was supposed to be filled with useless information and also people’s contact details who wanted to sell important info. However, it was the first time she had seen something like this.

“Hmm, let me ask Yuki about it.” Kenshin dialed Yuki’s number and asked about this particular dungeon’s details. With her identity, there was nothing she couldn’t have access to which were not DCB top secret. After talking with her for a while Kenshin hung up the phone and looked at the two hopefuls with a smirk.

“You are indeed right, Joy.” Kenshin lazed on the sofa looking at the ceiling fan that was doing its job nonstop absentmindedly, “That dungeon is indeed interesting.”

Turns out, it was really an interesting dungeon. From Yuki’s words, it was a special dungeon with a lot of restrictions. First, no hunter above level 150 could pass through the portal connecting to the dungeon entrance. Second, a person who had already ventured into it is no longer allowed to do so once again. She didn’t know the details, but, if a person who was already in that place wants to pass through the portal, they would suffer the same kind of backlash after encountering a barrier as a hunter above 150 who wanted to go inside.

That’s not the end of it, however. To make matter worse, the number of monsters appear inside the place depends on the average level of the hunters going in as well as the number. If a group of ten hunters, which was the standard for a level 10 dungeon, with an average level of 140 has to go inside, they will face no less than 140 monsters with an average level of each monster being 100.

“Unfortunately that’s the extent of information she knew as no one yet to even go through the first checkpoint. The dungeon was speculated to have a total of two levels and each level has 5 checkpoints. However, after this dungeon’s appearance, no one ever passed through the first checkpoint. That’s how difficult the place is.” Kenshin showed a grin reflecting the excitement he felt about that place.

Joy mirrored the grin of Kenshin and started to clench his fist tightly in anticipation. The desire to hunt already awoken inside their heart after hearing the information about the dungeon. Regardless of dangers, regardless of difficulties, the desire to conquer an unconquered place… that’s the true nature of a hunter. This nature further enhances as the hunter grows stronger and stronger.

“Are you guys serious?” Chiba didn’t share their enthusiasm, however. Although a hunter’s desire was strong, in the end, nothing stronger than the rationale of a human’s conscience. This was what separating humans from other creatures who only follow their instincts and also what makes them stand at the top of the food chain, despite being as fragile as glass before some of the formidable creatures of nature.

Another reason she didn’t understand their enthusiasm was that she lacked the same courage as Joy and Kenshin. This didn’t mean she was a coward, on the contrary, she was quite brave. It’s just that she lacked the courage that was born from the experience of surviving through many battles against enemies stronger than them. Compared to the amount of battle they had gone through as well as the strength of their enemies, Chiba was still a greenhorn.

“Don’t worry, we are very confident that we can clear the dungeon.” Joy laughed and patted Chiba’s head, earning a frown from her. Giving him a pout she asked, “From where do you get all this courage?”

“Experience!”

“Experience!”

Both Kenshin and Joy answered at the same time. They had the same smile as they said that. Understanding dawned upon Chiba at that instant. Although she lacked experience, she was a smart girl and at the end of the day, a hunter through and through. How could a new place not attract her?

“Alright. I will go. Although I might not be of much help, but, I will try my hardest to be not a deadweight to drag you guys down.” Chiba clenched her small fist and declared with determination. She had promised herself that day to always try her best to catch up to the two people whom she started to cherish as her family. She knew she was nowhere close to even Joy forget about Kenshin. However, wasn’t she growing every day? Wasn’t she getting stronger every day? It’s not even two months since she had decided to stick with Kenshin and return to Mito, and she had already leaped all the way to 91 from 45. In just a short two months, her level leaped twice of her initial.

This rate of growth was alarming, and she knew Kenshin and Joy were responsible for this growth. Without them, she might still be struggling with oppression in that place, suffering from her friends turned enemies. Forget about her current level, she might not even have reached level 50 had she not met Kenshin that fateful day.

“That’s a good response. Alright, everyone, pack up! We are leaving for Kyoto today.” Kenshin smiled and declared, “Ena, can you go inform Miss. Yui that we are going to Kyoto and she should prepare quickly. We are leaving tonight.”

“Yes” nodding her head, Ena walked away, leaving behind a flabbergasted Chiba who couldn’t comprehend why Kenshin was taking Miss. Yui with him.

Seeing her confused look Kenshin smiled and said, “We are going to a place just shy away from Kyoto. I think, while we raid the dungeon, we can also go for a little vacation.”