Is It Wrong For An Assassin To Be In The Dungeon? V1 (Danmachi Fanfic)

Chapter 3: Dungeon Hunt

As I approach the Dungeon, I see groups of adventurers pouring out of its gates, finished with the day's work. Some of them exit by themselves, but most adventurers tend to go to the dungeon in teams to cover more ground and increase their firepower. Many of them have pouches tied to their belts, all full of magical stones, their spoils of war. Doning magnificent armor and brandishing powerful weapons, they happily make their way to the Guild to exchange them for money, cheering and laughing about their exploits that would surely make great tales in the local taverns.

Then, there are other adventurers exiting the dungeon, the ones bleeding and bruised all over, their armor shattered and weapons broken. The ones that barely made it out alive. Adventurers both rookie and veteran. They must have bitten off more than they could chew, as they have the look of terror in their eyes, fearful of their next encounter in the Dungeon. I could see them weakly grasping onto the few magic stones they hold in their blood-stained palms. Slowly, they too make their way to the Guild like the rest of the crowd.

Silently I realize that there is a fine line between successful adventurers, the ones barely getting by and those stuck in between. Being an adventurer isn't an easy job, it seems. Though I have lived my life hunting rogue and rabid beasts, both animals and criminals alike, I'll have to proceed with caution.

As I make my way down to the first floor, a group of adventurers exiting the Dungeon knocks into me, spilling their magic stones all over the staircase, with some tinkling over the edge and all the way down to the bottom of the stairwell. As I regain my balance, one of them rushes to me and immediately threaten me.

"Oh, sorr-"

"Watch where you're going you fool!" he yells. The other adventurers in his group joins in and surround me.

They seem ordinary, but keen eyes managed to pry out small hints of irregularities that point to the fact these aren't your regular Orario citizens. Brandishing weapons still tucked in their belts, a nasty grin on their faces as well as a menacingly threatening aura that envelopes them. Trouble, I could sense, seems to be their knack. 

I worryingly look at the other adventurers returning to the surface. They simply turned a blind eye and hurried along their way.

Mercenaries, I think, or perhaps conmen. I had my fair share of run-ins with their kind. They try to trick and swindle you out of your every coin. If you were too smart to fall for their tricks, they would resort to violence. Extortion, kidnapping, hit-and-runs, murders are all parts of their modus operandi. Thankfully, any deemed too dangerous or a menace to society that had the displeasure of encountering us were caught and executed discreetly in quick fashion, as demanded by the creed of our Order.

In short, they're not the best bunch to hang out with. You'd be better off teaming up with a log.

"You got a lotta nerve bumping into me. It took us 7 hours gathering all that." Says the one who first yelled at me. He grabbed my coat and pulled me close, his figure towering over me. I was barely up until his shoulder. You could smell the wisps of alcohol in his breath as he breathes onto me. I try my best not to gag. Hygiene does not seem to be one of his perks, nor is his sense of personal space.

"That's 30000 valis' worth of stones we just lost, boy. How're you gonna pay for that?!" 

I contemplated ending this quickly with my rapier, but with so many adventurers exiting the Dungeon I'll have many eyes on me if I try to act now, and gathering attention on myself on my first day here isn't exactly a bold move. So, let's wait a bit and see where this takes us.

"You're gonna pay for that, boy." He continues, pointing to the scattered stones. He raises his fist and prepares to throw a punch. I silently brace myself for the ompact when one of them taps on the shoulder of the brute holding me.