The Unexpected NPC

Chapter 30 Dungeon (1)

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Early Saturday morning, I was at the Area 1 Exchange Hall. The atmosphere was bustling with lively discussions about contribution points and rare items. This was not only a place for trading but also a hub for information about exciting missions issued by the academy and mysterious dungeons waiting to be explored.

Students could enter the dungeon and hunt monsters if they met certain conditions. After all, the academy allowed it. They believed that allowing students to enter the dungeon at school age was also a way for students to quickly increase their strength.

It sounded risky, but the students of Hollis were all provided with certain life-saving measures. Even though they entered the dungeon at a relatively young age, the mortality rate was almost zero. The odds aren't zero, but it's rare for a Hollis student to die in a dungeon, at most they'll just be seriously injured.

Today I'm planning to go to the Exchange Hall and pick a Dungeon to enter, I'm free on the weekends anyway.

This is the first time I've seen the Exchange Hall with my own eyes. In my previous life, I only wanted to live as an NPC, so I didn't bother going in here to earn points. After all, contribution points are just a supplement, and the academy doesn't require students to have points to move up a grade or graduate.

'It looks really cool'. I exclaimed.

The Exchange Hall is a large building with a futuristic architecture. There are many baseball-sized assistant robots flying around in the air. Their job is to assist students in providing mission information, as well as exchanging contribution points. It's smart enough to replace humans in those tasks.

"P-Assi". I looked up at one of the empty assistant robots and called out.

P-Assi was the name of this assistant robot, it was short for "Point Assistant". The student just had to call its name and an idle robot would immediately fly towards the caller. It would support everything the student needed, of course only within the scope of things related to contribution points.

[How can I help you?]. The mechanical sound of P-Assi rang out as it flew in front of me.

Let's see, I'll probably use these 50 points to exchange for recovery potions. I was planning to enter the Dungeon, without them I wouldn't be able to increase my monster hunting efficiency to earn points.

"I want to exchange for 2 stamina recovery potions and 2 mana recovery potions. Get the medium ones." I said to the assistant robot.

[Understood. Do you need anything else?]

"Hmmm, another low-level healing potion please."

The healing potion was more expensive than the other two, so I only had enough to exchange for one.

[Understood. Please wait a moment]

As soon as he finished speaking, P-Assi flew closer and scanned my iris.

[Confirmed. Student Danz Grayson, Class 1-A. Used 50 points to exchange for 2 medium-level stamina recovery potions, 2 medium-level mana recovery potions, and 1 low-level healing potion. Remaining balance: 0 contribution points]

P-Assi worked very quickly. It confirmed my identity and the item to be exchanged, then deducted the contribution points I had. After deducting, it flew away, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the crowd.

It didn't take long for P-Assi to return with a bag containing 5 vials of potion. The vials weren't very big, and they looked like sealed test tubes.

I reached out and grabbed the bag, then put it in the luggage behind me. The luggage looked quite bulky, but I really had no other choice. I didn't have enough points to exchange for a Storage Space.

[Do you need any other help?]. P-Assi asked mechanically.

"I want to see the list of F and E-rank Dungeons." I asked decisively.

[Understood]

A projection immediately appeared before my eyes, showing the list of F and E-rank Dungeons that the academy was managing.

After a while of sorting, I picked out 3 dungeons.

- Name: Red Desert. Difficulty: F. Description: Desert with blood-red sand and hot air. Hidden under the sand are many dangerous monsters. Sandstorms often appear. Party requirement: 3 people or more.

- Name: Sethek Forest. Difficulty: E. Description: a tropical jungle with many mutated animals, plants, and insects. The diverse ecosystem comes with many hidden dangers. Party requirement: 3 or more people.

-Name: Colupia Ruins. Difficulty: E. Description: An ancient relic of the Colupia civilization. The architecture is a maze with narrow paths. There are a lot of dangerous traps. Party requirement: 3 or more people.

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At first glance, only the Red Desert is the most suitable for my level, the other two are 1 level higher than me. But thinking about it, I don't think the Red Desert is a reasonable choice.

There are many dangers lurking under the sand. I don't know when I'll be attacked. It'll be hard for me to find a place to rest and recover since the sand is everywhere. Not to mention that there will be a lot of sandstorms. And the desert will be very hot, I'll have to stock up on water while my luggage is limited. Bringing too much water will make it impossible for me to pack other things.

And most importantly, I have a bad impression of hot air... I don't think I'll be able to concentrate in that place.

"Hmmm...". I put my hand on my chin and thought.

"Alright, let's pick this one."

After a long moment of hesitation, I made my decision and registered to enter the Dungeon.

As for the request for party members? I already have one person in mind. And the other...I think I'll just invite a random person to fill the spot.

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It had been an hour since I registered to enter the Dungeon. I was currently waiting for my teammates in front of the Hollis Academy gate. This Dungeon required us to travel a short distance by bus to get there.

While leaning against the gate, a small figure appeared. As soon as she spotted me, her eyes lit up and she immediately rushed towards me.

"Danny!!!"

Needless to say, everyone knew who it was.

"Liz". I smiled at her.

When she got closer to me, Liz immediately gave me an innocent, radiant smile. That smile made me feel at ease.

"Hey hey, are we really going to enter a Dungeon?" She said in an excited voice.

Hearing her question, I nodded with a smile on my lips, showing my agreement to her question.

"Ah right, you said you were going to invite another person to the team, where is he?" I asked.

"He said he would be here soon."

She said she was going to invite another person to the team, so I was somewhat relieved. I didn't really want to recruit randomly, except for the worst-case scenario. Teammates should still know each other a little bit to make it easier to cooperate in battle.

"And who is he?"

Liz smiled mysteriously and slyly when she heard me ask.

"You'll know soon. You already knew this person."

I frowned slightly when I heard Liz's words.

Someone I know? Who could it be then? Someone that both Liz and I should know...

"Hey! I'm here."

While I was lost in thought, a deep voice of a boy rang out, pulling me back to reality. I raised my head and saw a head of fiery red hair. Crossing his back was a long spear.

'So it's him'

To be honest, I was a little surprised. I didn't think Liz would invite him. Liz didn't join Karen's group in the virtual reality class in this life, so I didn't think she would know Briar. But that was a good thing, at least Liz knew one of the other main characters and wasn't completely clueless.

"Ah! It's you." Briar looked at me in surprise.

I frowned when I saw his reaction.

"Didn't you tell him you were going to team up with me?" I turned to ask Liz.

"Ehe." Liz just smiled mischievously and looked away, avoiding my question.

I could only put my hands on my head when I saw her expression.

"Haaaaa..."

Exhaling and regaining my composure, I looked at Briar and introduced myself.

"I'm Danz, Danz Grayson. We've met before in class, so I don't think I need to introduce myself anymore."

"Ah. I'm Briar Sharron-"

Hearing my words, Briar came back to his senses and spoke awkwardly. It seemed like he was surprised that the person who would be entering the Dungeon with him was me.

"Alright, I know who you are. You're famous." I interrupted Briar with a bitter smile.

"Today, we'll enter the Dungeon together as teammates. I'm counting on you" I continued and reached out my hand.

Briar was a little flustered by my interruption, but it didn't take long for him to regain his composure. He smiled brightly and replied.

"Um, me too." Briar reached out and took my hand, showing his friendliness.

"Me too, me too."

Liz saw that we were getting along well so she was very happy, she placed her small hand on ours. This innocent action surprised Briar and I a little. But we weren't upset by it, on the contrary, we felt quite happy and comfortable.

"Alright, to avoid wasting time, I think we should move. I've already let Liz tell you about the Dungeon information. If you have any questions, just ask me."

"Nope." Briar shook his head and said.

"Alright then. Let's go."

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Ever since the virtual reality lesson, Livy had a good impression of Briar. Later, she happened to meet him while walking in the hallway, so she took the initiative to talk to him and exchange contact information. Although she couldn't be as close to Briar as Danz, she still liked Briar quite a bit. He was just like Danz, not having any bad intentions when talking to her, making her feel comfortable.

When Danz called and asked if she wanted to form a team to enter the Dungeon, she happily agreed. Knowing that the team was still short one person, Livy immediately invited Briar. But she didn't say who the other person on the team was, which made Briar very curious. However, he didn't hesitate too long and happily accepted her invitation.

When Briar arrived at the meeting place, he couldn't help but be surprised to see that the other person on the team was the friend who was suspected of killing the hidden boss. He remembered Karen's words and became more certain of the hypothesis that Danz was the one who killed the boss with Livy's help.

After talking with Danz for a while, Briar had an indescribable feeling. He had felt this way since the first time he talked to Danz, but it wasn't that obvious. Now that he had teamed up with him and talked for a while, Briar felt like he was talking to an older person, not a student at all.

Danz gave off an air of maturity beyond his age, which made Briar confused. At the same time, he also felt familiar.

'Isn't he quite like Karen?'

Karen also spoke very maturely. But she gave off a very distant feeling, unlike Danz who was much more friendly. He spoke quite seriously, but it didn't give off a feeling of being unapproachable. And he also clearly saw the interaction between Danz and Livy, the two of them were very natural like siblings. Briar felt more comfortable talking to Danz than Karen. At the same time, his curiosity about Danz was very great.

"Alright then. Let's go." Danz's voice rang out, and he quickly walked away.

'I guess I should observe him slowly'. Briar thought and chased after his two teammates.

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