abcnovels
Episode 30.1
Episode 30.1
Episode 30.1
The Mediation Office is located inside General Information Desk building. General Information Desk is the building right in front of the dungeon.
This building consists of four buildings conjoined together.
The innermost building is the main office of General Dungeon Administration. It's a department that governs over all institutions here, holding enormous authority.
It's a massive stone building, and while the two front buildings are only one-story, it's got two or three floors as a whole. The General Dungeon Administration office is in the center back, an intimidating three story tall building with its second and third floor having a clear view on the dungeon's entrance as well as the row of buildings surrounding it.
Among the three front buildings, the center one is the Information Desk. It's where you get permits to enter the dungeon, purchase floor maps, send letters and items, store baggage, buy and sell information relevant to adventurers, and even look for an inn that suits your budget. Put simply, this is the place to go if you need to ask anything at all, so they were told in the first day.
The building to the left is the Dungeon Management Office. A department in charge of managing and maintaining order inside the dungeon, arbitrating fights between adventurers and sometime convicting them, the department also posts item or magic stone search quests. They sometimes even put up quests to maintain public order. This is also the place to deliver articles of the deceased you find in the dungeon yet don't want to claim.
And the building to the right is the Mediation Office. We're they're heading to.
They went in the center entrance and got greeted by a row of receptionist counters.
Due to the fact that it's early in the morning, there are uninterrupted lines of adventurers in front of every counter.
<Rats (Chirlan)> with watchful eyes are crowding around those lines. The age range of these rats start from 15 to 50s.
One of the officials behind a counter raised his hand and shouted out loud.
"Looking for a guide! Floor 15 to 18!"
Around ten <Rats> raised their hands at once.
The official stared at all those <Rats> and called out a name.
"Kogusun!"
The picked man went to the counter and greeted the official and the adventurers. His income would not be much considering it's shallow floors, but no matter so long as he can get a job. How much more he can get depends on the man himself.
Behind the numerous counters are many desks with officials working on it. Shelves with piled up boxes are placed here and there around them with a huge amount of documents inside.
And further beyond them, on top of a three step stairway, there's a huge luxurious desk, with a young woman wearing an outfit that just screams obvious authority sitting on it. You can overlook the entirety of Dungeon Management Office and the Mediation Office from there. A knight is standing by diagonally behind the woman. Behind them is a shut door that leads to the General Dungeon Administration.
The building may look like it's situated behind the dungeon, but this is the terminus of the huge road leading from this city's main gate, the west gate, so from the main gate's point of view, General Dungeon Administration building looks like it's got this aura of overwhelming dignity. And only nobles are allowed to make use of General Dungeon Administration.
Lecan and Arios walked to the right while taking a sidelong glance at the receptionists.
They passed through a row of stone pillars, and a gigantic arch located between Information Desk building and the Mediation Office's entrance.
They arrived at the Mediation Office.
Many adventurers hang around here. Most of which are solo adventurers. You can recruit people quickly here. However, solo adventurers tend to be a hit or miss. If you're looking for people you can trust, you want a party with good track records. Parties who apply for mediations put their request here and then either go back to their lodgings or go finish other businesses. Sometimes it could take several days to find a party that meets your criteria.
Lecan saw an open counter far in the back, so he headed there.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at >
He sat on a chair in front of the counter and spoke.
"We're looking for additional party members. Don't care if they're solo or a party, just need someone who can dive in right away."
"This counter is reserved for the depths just so you know. So, which floor?"
"Starts from floor 82's giant variant room."
"Hou."
The male clerk raised his face to see Lecan. It's an elderly thin sinewy man. Due to Lecan's tall stature, he had to look up.
"State your party name, number, and composition."
"Party name's <Willard>. There's two of us. What do you mean by composition?"
"Your class, weapons and skills."
"Both swordsmen. I can use <Recovery>."
"Hou, that's a rare one. I have eight profitable jobs I can offer to a <Recovery> user who can get to floor 80s."
"I'm not looking to get hired. I'm hiring."
"Hiring? Hired arms, not cooperative diving then?"
"What's the difference?"
"All members in a cooperative diving are treated equally. You discuss between yourselves to decide where to go, when to fall back, how to split the loot. We won't interfere with that stuff. Since you guys're a two-person party, you're gonna have to apply for a five to ten-person party request. Probably won't have any say though."
"And hired arms?"
"You gotta pay for hired arms daily. Don't matter you earned much or nothing. We set the daily fee. You're gonna have to discuss among yourselves for the loot split, and to report to us about loot, but naturally the hiring side holds the initiative."
"Hired arms it is."
"Got you. Tell me the party name you guys been working together with."
"We haven't worked with anyone in this dungeon yet."
"Tell me names of adventurers you've worked together with, just names you can remember's fine."
"I'm telling you we haven't worked with anyone in this dungeon."
The official man put down his pen and looked up, staring at Lecan.
"Are you saying you've delved in floor 82 with just two people?"
"Yeah."
The man looked enraged.
"Get out!"
"What?"
The official stood up and yelled out while pointing at the exit.
"This ain't no place for your kind! Get the hell out!"
(Ah, I see.)
(This man thinks I'm lying.)
(Even though dungeons like this one should've no shortage of capable adventurers.)
(Two of those guys would have no problem conquering floor 82s.)
Lecan wondered if there's a way to prove just the two of them have gone on floor 82 here, but he concluded that would be difficult. They can have their Grace Gear drops appraised and proved that those are floor 80s goods. But there's no way to prove that they've gotten them on their own. Let alone proving that it was done by just the two of them.
Lecan quietly stood up.
"Sorry for bothering you."
He turned around and walked off toward the exit.
The official who drove Lecan away went to speak to a knight before walking with that knight toward the woman sitting in the luxurious chair in the back. <3D Perceptions> saw that much.
(The past me.)
(Would have totally blown my lid here.)
(Wonder if I've gotten any closer to this Strong Sword Shira told me.)