CH 10

-Just two weeks had passed since the accident.

They were still fighting a war of exhaustion, but they surely were making their way down the dungeon's only path.

There were several branching paths along the way, but they were all fake, and all but one was blocked.

They had no choice but to follow the single path as the dungeon led them.

They had already crossed the 50th floor.

There was still no sign of an exit.

They took turns keeping the watch and making the camp.

Their food supply had already been reduced to the point where they could not even be counted on to divide. They were in a constant state of exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

Today, Godo decided to prioritize sleep for the students and the badly exhausted explorers after a long time. The number of mistakes due to lack of sleep began to increase.

Therefore, Godo divided the 27 less exhausted explorers into three teams and instructed them to keep watch for two hours at a time. And spend the remaining four hours sleep. However, they decided that students and heavily exhausted explorers should spend all six hours of sleep.

Being left stranded was challenging in terms of food. Still, more than that, the team leader, Godo, did not want anyone to die due to a lack of sleep, which would disrupt the coordination.

Tenji and Asagiri, who were unable to sleep deeply for the first time during such an encampment, were gazing at the warm lanterns in a daze without any conversation, not even sleeping moderately.

Then Godo, who had just woken up, appeared and sat down on a nearby rugged wall.

"Tenji-kun, Miss Asagiri, are you hungry?"

"No, I'm fine, since I'm not fighting."

"Me too, I just used my abilities, so I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."

"If you say so. Well ...... you're tougher than I thought, you're an explorer and high school student. Still, if you get pushed too hard, you should tell me right away, patience is the worst thing you can do in a situation like this. There are so many dependable adults nearby."

Godo smiled and said to cheer up the two frustrated-looking students.

Seeing Godo like that, the two felt a little cheered up.

"Yes, I intend to."

"Yes, I understand."

"Oh, and don't think that I'm not helping you, okay? The presence or absence of a calling certainly raises the value of an explorer, but I hired students because I know what it's like. And I'm looking forward to seeing great things from both of you."

Godo flashed a smile to brighten the almost darkening atmosphere.

But the context was so messed up that they had no idea what it was about.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your future, you know. It's very encouraging that you can have this kind of experience while you're still in school. I've been an explorer for more than 20 years and I've never experienced anything like this. If you all return safely, I'm looking forward to seeing what your calling will be."

"Hahaha," Godo laughed.

Tenji was impressed that even in a situation like this, Godo could afford to think of others instead of losing his ego.

[Thinking that this was an explorer fighting on the front lines of the world, I instantly felt more dependable, and the figure of Godo looked even more significant than usual.]

Tenji suddenly wondered.

"Speaking of which, ......"

"What's wrong? Tenji-kun."

"Since it's a time like this, I have to ask, how did Godo-san obtain this calling?"

[I think there are some personal things that I can ask him now because of this situation.]

Thinking this way, Tenji decided to ask a question in the manner of an explorer high school student to pass the time.

Godo answered without showing any sign of hesitation.

"Me? I'm from the 'Tenshokuju' group."

"Heh, so you were a 'Tenshokuju'? By the way, may I ask how your brother acquired it?"

"Flame Brother....... That's the 'Quest' crew."

"I see, I didn't know that. Thank you for telling me."

Tenji was happy that the answer was unexpectedly quick, even though he had only asked it as a way to pass the time.

In most cases, acquiring a calling is often kept secret. Or, in many cases, it is not known.

It is said that there are roughly three ways to obtain a calling.

One is the method of using 'calling gems.'

'Calling gems' (Tenjutsuju) is a gem the size of a baseball, an item that appears very rarely in the dungeon.

They appear when monsters are defeated, unearthed from treasure chests, or even growing out of walls.

They are often put up for auction because they are equally expensive. They are sold for billions of yen at the lowest price and hundreds of billions of yen at the highest price.

However, many of them will be used by the owner or his friends if discovered. Perhaps this is the case with Godo.

And the second type is completing "calling quests" like Inagaki Flame, a first-class explorer and Godo's brother.

It seems that one day, suddenly, you get an announcement in your head that says something like, "You have completed your quest."

When it comes to quests, the conditions are usually not revealed. Or rather, even those who have cleared the quest often don't know how they met those conditions.

The method of obtaining this can not be targeted very well. It is pretty mysterious that explorers are willing to throw their hands up in the air and surrender. It's almost entirely up to luck and what one has done so far.

That said, there are exceptions.

Third, you pay money to the World Explorers Association (WEA) to complete certain calling quests.

The calling obtained in these ways is roughly from the fifth to the third grade. Only those whose conditions for obtaining calling quests have been found through years of exploration can be brought in this way.

Currently, there are twenty-two known callings, and the higher you play, the more they will help obtain a higher graded calling.

Well, it is not generally known that loopholes exist.

It's a pattern where the guild figures out the quest requirements but keeps them secret. This is a way to give this personal calling to talented explorers and improve the guild's strength.

Of course, there are several personal callings in the Chariot. The third-grade calling called [Guided Shieldman] acquired by three shieldmen is one of these.

In this way, there are several ways to acquire a calling.

Tenji and Asagiri both had a childlike twinkle in their eyes to hear such a story from an excellent explorer.

"What kind of calling do you want, Tenji-kun?"

"Me? Well, ...... I don't have much confidence in my athletic ability, so either a [supportive archer], a [strengthening technician], or a [weak conditioner], any of these would be ideal. They are all fifth graders, can be bought cheaply from the association, and would suit me."

"What the heck, be more greedy. What's an explorer to do if he doesn't want more?"

"Greed ......?"

"Ah, yes. An explorer is a greedy creature. If I wasn't greedy, I wouldn't be doing this dangerous work. I want to be popular, I want to be strong, I want to be rich, ...... whatever. Anything....... And Of course, wanting to protect others is also a noble desire."

"I see, I had never thought of it that way before because I had only thought of money. If I have to say again,......, I'd still say it's money. I'd like to feed my sister more nutritious food."

"That's fine, that's the way it is. Don't be vague about it, but say it out loud enough that you can verbalize it in your mind."

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."

"Ha-ha-ha, it's hard! I'm more easygoing than that. There are a lot of serious students at the high school these days! So what about you, young lady?"

Godo took his gaze away from Tenji and turned to Asagiri, sitting next to him.

Asagiri groaned and slowly opened her mouth.

"I haven't taken classes at school yet, so it's hard to say for sure."

"Well, Miss, you are more likely to get [Support Type] or [Enhanced Type] in all possibilities."

"...... is that right?"

"No, it's just what I would do. If you can have such powerful unique abilities, it is easier to do your job as an explorer if you continue to develop those strengths. In your case, I think the best course of action would be to strengthen your teammates."

"I see. I'm learning."

"Well, we would love to have you, missy! What do you think? I can't say it too loudly, but there's a 'calling gem' in Chariot that would be perfect for you."

To Godo, they were just simple words of encouragement, but to the two students, they sounded different.

That famous Guild Chariot Masaki Godo personally asked for Asagiri.

The guild has a strict requirement for joining, a third grade calling or higher, so it is as if the secret calling gems are also guaranteed to be a third grade or higher.

Third-grade calling.

"The third grade calling, which is said to be in less than 0.1% of the explorer's population, is dangled right in front of you."

The sound of spit being swallowed from Asagiri's throat was heard.

"So, is it safe to interpret that as a ...... request?"

Asagiri asked back in a slightly hushed voice with a sense of reluctance.

Godo's body reacted to this situation.

"Oh, it is. The quota and the work is harder because of that. At any rate, we don't have many supportive explorers. If you make it through this, I'll talk to the Kujo Commander. He'll probably give his consent with two words if he hears about your unique abilities. I'm sure he'll give you his blessing in return."

"I'll do my best!"

An important thing to remember is that the best way to get the most out of your time is to work hard to be a winner.

The reality is that just by possessing the unique abilities of a natural-born winner, one can be recruited by famous guilds. Although he knew this, he was still envious of her.

"I love it... the promise of a third grade calling for free."

[What kind of calling will my future self be given?]

Tenji couldn't help but think so.

"I'm sorry to bother you at a time like this. I'm going to the bathroom."

Tenji stood up to urinate.