As the evening light filtered into the Guild Hall, Eina finally caught sight of Yoru stepping through the entrance.
Seeing the boy seemingly unscathed, the beautiful half-elf advisor let out a long sigh of relief.
His first day adventuring had taken nearly the entire day, nearly giving Eina a heart attack—she had seriously feared something might've happened to him in the Dungeon.
After all, it wasn't unheard of for unlucky rookies to die on their first dive. Rare, yes—but not impossible. For a moment, she truly thought she was about to deal with one of those tragedies.
But even though she was relieved, Eina's tone remained sharp as she confronted Yoru with a stern expression.
"Didn't I tell you to come back after killing one goblin? Why did it take you so long?!"
Goblins were cowardly and weak monsters—barely stronger than a normal child. Unless they appeared in a group, they rarely had the courage to attack humans.
The only troublesome part of fighting goblins was catching them before they ran away.
Eina didn't believe for a second that goblins could've delayed Yoru this long. In her mind, there was only one explanation: he had gone deeper into the Dungeon.
While the second or third floors weren't drastically more dangerous, the monster density increased. Goblins and saplings often appeared in groups, which made things trickier for beginners.
"I'm sorry…"
Under Eina's scolding, Yoru lowered his head apologetically.
"As long as you made it back safe… you're lucky, I guess. Which floor did you go down to?"
Seeing his earnest apology, Eina sighed and stopped herself from pressing further. She waved her hand dismissively and asked calmly.
"I didn't really keep track… maybe below the fifth floor?"
Yoru scratched his head as he answered, not sounding entirely sure.
The teacup Eina had just lifted to sip from nearly flew out of her hand.
"Wha—Wha—What did you just say?! You went down to the fifth floor?!"
With a loud slam, Eina slammed her cup on the table and practically screamed, drawing everyone's attention in the Guild Hall.
Realizing her outburst had drawn too many eyes, Eina quickly composed herself. She grabbed the still-confused Yoru by the hand and dragged him into a private consultation room in the back.
It was one of the small rooms used for one-on-one guidance. Just yesterday, she'd lectured him in this very room for hours on end.
(Ah—well, maybe calling it "nagging" is a bit rude… Let's go with "instruction.")
Yoru sat down at the little table, still dazed, while Eina slammed the door shut behind them. Spinning around, she locked eyes with the boy and glared at him, barely suppressing her fury.
"Did you forget what I told you?! I said never—never—go to the lower floors alone! And you went to the fifth floor?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
She marched toward him, leaning aggressively over the table, almost pressing against him.
Faced with the half-elf's beautiful yet furious face, Yoru turned his head awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable.
"Umm… it's just that… there weren't any goblins on the first floor, so I figured I'd check out the lower floors."
Yoru confessed honestly, earning himself a stunned silence.
"Even if the first floor was empty, there should've been something on the second floor, right?! Why go even deeper?!"
The first floor being empty wasn't unusual—countless adventurers passed through it every day. But no monsters on the second floor? That didn't make sense. And this guy had gone all the way to the fifth floor?!
The fifth floor, where even adventurers with a month of experience hesitated to go?
"Because… there were no monsters on the second floor either."
Yoru's honest reply made Eina blink.
"Don't tell me… there were no monsters on the third or fourth floors either, so you just kept going until the fifth?"
She stared at him, trying to determine whether he was lying.
"Exactly. I didn't see a single monster on the third or fourth floors either."
Yoru nodded calmly, making Eina pause and reconsider.
It actually made sense. That would explain why there wasn't a single scratch or speck of dirt on him—he hadn't fought anything all day.
Of course, there was another possibility… Maybe Yoru had never gone into the Dungeon at all and had just wandered around somewhere else before returning to mess with her.
But Eina quickly dismissed that theory.
She'd seen far too many adventurers come and go. She could tell when someone was lying—and Yoru wasn't.
That meant… the only possible explanation was that this lucky fool had blindly wandered down to the fifth floor, stayed there all day, and still hadn't encountered a single monster.
This wasn't just luck anymore… It was absurd.
Eina stared blankly at the innocent-looking boy in front of her. All her scolding died in her throat. She opened her mouth… but nothing came out.
"Anyway…"
Feeling a headache coming on, Eina massaged her temples and resumed her lecture in a much gentler tone.
"Just don't ever do that again. The fifth floor is no joke. You got lucky this time and didn't run into anything, but adventurers die in the Dungeon every single day."
Yoru nodded like a bobblehead, listening intently.
"Alright, alright. Let's just move on. Try again tomorrow and hunt a goblin, alright? And remember—don't go into the lower floors alone. If there are no monsters, just wait a while in place. That's how monster spawning works—keep moving, and sometimes you just get unlucky and miss all the spawns."
With that, she waved him off.
"Got it."
Yoru gave a quick nod and turned to leave. He had already delayed so long today—Hestia was probably worried sick by now.
Meanwhile, Eina remained seated, staring quietly at his retreating figure.
He made it all the way to the fifth floor… without encountering a single monster.
Was it really just luck?
Or was it something else entirely…?