"Look at that monster!" Gavin pointed at a huge beast about twice as big as a horse. It was covered with fur, and had small horns on its head. Its legs were short, but it was very muscular.

"I wonder if we can kill it." Ian said.

"As long as we use magic, we should be able to."

"Magic is expensive. At least for early levels."

"Of course it is. But we should buy potions if we run out of mana."

"Will we be using potions?"

"Sometimes. They might save our lives."

Ian and Asuna continued walking through the forest. Their bodies glowed orange-red. This happened because of the heat of their rapiers, which kept their blades red hot.

"It looks like this place has a lot of monsters," Asuna remarked.

"Yep. And there are also a lot of people hunting them. I think we should give it a shot."

"All right."

"I hope you can kill one soon."

The two adventurers had been walking for some time, but they hadn't seen any monsters.

"Maybe we should go back," Asuna suggested. "If there aren't many monsters here, maybe we should search elsewhere."

Ian agreed with her. They returned to the city.

"I'm sorry we wasted your time," Asuna said.

"No, it's fine. We did learn something. We can head somewhere else if we want."

Ian nodded.

Then the two of them decided to return to the hunting grounds.

When they arrived, they saw a group of adventurers gathered around the biggest lizardman they'd ever seen. It was twice as big as any of the others. It was also quite strong.

The lizardman was trying to escape from the hunters when a group of goblins came at them. The warriors used their weapons to defend themselves, but the goblins were too numerous. Soon they were surrounded by the goblins.

Then a female elf appeared. She held a spear, and she was swinging it violently. The goblins flew away.

With a grunt, the lizardman collapsed on the ground. One of the adventurers cut off its head with his sword.

Gavin stood up from where he sat at a nearby table. He approached the fallen monster.

On closer inspection, Gavin noticed that the creature's skin had patches of scales missing. The reason for this was clear.

Several people were running toward the fallen monster.

One of them was a male half-elf who was wearing a strange outfit. He had green hair, and his face was narrow.

Another person was a dwarf with brown hair and beard. He wore a helmet and armor. A magical bow hung at his waist, and he carried a large shield.

The third of their group was a human woman. She was wearing light armor and carried a sword.

Ian and Asuna wanted to speak with the elves and dwarves, but Gavin stopped them.

"—You two should see this," Gavin announced.

Both Ian and Asuna looked at the fallen monster.

Once they finished inspecting it, Gavin explained what they learned:

The lizardman had been attacked by goblins before they reached the town. The goblins had wounded it with their tusks, and left several deep cuts on its neck.

This is why the lizardman's skin was damaged, and why it bled so much.

Ian and Asuna didn't think much of it, and return to the city with the monster parts along with the group of adventurers.

The town was packed full of people, and noisy beyond belief. People were shouting in different languages.

Some were singing. Others were playing musical instruments. All sorts of different people were moving around: old men and women, young boys and girls, and children of both sexes.

They walked inside the Adventurer's Guild, and sell the monsters. After splitting the profit, Ian and Asuna earned around 25 gold coins. With that money, they bought better gears and equipment.

Asuna was already satisfied with her rapier, so she only bought an armor for protection. Ian on the other hand bought a new sword. It looked sharp and fit his hand quite well. It was light too, so it wouldn't hinder his movement.

After buying equipment, they ordered food.

"It's getting night. We should look for an inn," Ian said.

Asuna agreed.

They both looked around the city, and found an inn.

The receptionist asked: "A room for two?"

"Ah, no. We would like to rent two separate room."

The receptionist was confused but kept her professional face. 'So they're not couple?' she thought.

"Ian, we should just hire one room."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we should save our money for better things. Going to the next city will cost us a lot of gold coins."

"That is true."

After renting one room, they entered inside and saw that there was only one bed.

Asuna blushed, but she kept her silent and lay on the bed.

Ian also did the same. It was quite an awkward situation for him.

"Ian, why did you try so hard to save me?"

"I don't know. Maybe I thought of you as someone... special."

Asuna was silent at first, but after a few seconds she replied: "I see."

Ian turned around and saw the she was asleep, but he didn't realize that Asuna was smiling sweetly.

The next day, they began their work again.

Gavin introduced Ian to the other adventurers.

Asuna and Ian were now part of the Red Hawks, and became friends with the rest of the group. Gavin explained their duties to them:

Within the next few days, they would receive permission to enter the dungeon. Then they were to go through the labyrinth. At the end, they were supposed to come out victorious. If they did, they would earn rewards equal to the amount they spent on purchasing the permit.

Ian and Asuna were excited to explore the depths of the dungeon.

At first, they were happy simply to wander around the town. They ate lunch at a restaurant, and explored the marketplace. They also visited the Adventurer's Guild.

Later, Gavin told them they could visit the dungeon if they wished.

Upon entering the underground world, they discovered many dangers and monsters. In order to survive the adventure ahead, they needed to train.

Gavin assigned each member of the Red Hawks a certain task within the dungeon. While they trained, they took on monsters one after another.

In their first battle, Ian and Asuna managed to defeat a large beetle-like monster.

A week passed. Both of them felt stronger. Now they were able to hold their own against larger enemies. There was still a chance they would die, but this was because of their lack of experience and training.

A large serpent-type monster attacked them, which was easily defeated.

Before they entered the dungeon, Gavin had taught them how to fight.

When they faced another snake-like monster, Asuna immediately thrust her rapier into its throat. She then pulled it out and let it fall to the floor.

Its blood spilled everywhere.

Ian watched as the monster's body twitched. He drew his sword and cut off its head.

The head rolled to one side of the room, and its eyes stared at Ian.

Blood dripped down onto the floor.

Neither of them seemed to notice. Asuna put away her rapier. Ian lifted his sword and chopped off its head.

The monster's head fell to the ground.