Rolland pov

We really shouldn’t be doing this. As much sense as Leah made at the entrance, we should have at least gotten May and Liam before coming back. But we’re here now, so we might as well continue. Peering through the massive stone doors into the dungeon, all I see is densely packed forest. Leah and I carefully make our way inside. We spend a few minutes quietly walking through the woods, occasionally spotting a few regular animals.

“I’ve never heard of a dungeon like this one—so open and expansive. From what I’ve heard, they’re usually dark tunnels or decrepit castles. And no monsters yet… Stay alert, Leah.” (Rolland)

Leah nods in agreement.

Several more minutes pass when suddenly we hear rustling from a nearby bush. Leah pulls her greatsword from her back, and I prepare a simple attack spell, both of us watching the bush intently. Seconds go by, then two long ears slowly pop out from behind the leaves, twitching slightly as if aware of our movements.

“What? Is that… a rabbit?” (Rolland)

I watch as the rest of its head emerges from the bush, its small nose twitching as it looks at us.

“Aww, it’s so cute!” (Leah)

Leah lowers her greatsword and begins approaching the fluffy little bunny.

“Leah! Don’t approach it—something’s off!” (Rolland)

The rabbit glares at me, seemingly irritated by my suspicion. To my surprise, it pulls out a makeshift bow from under the bush and aims directly at me.

Caught off guard, I hastily fired an [Arcane Bolt] while leaping to the side. The rabbit releases its arrow just as I hit the ground, the arrow whizzing past my head. I tumble to the ground, feeling my glasses fly off from the impact. Through my blurred vision, I see Leah charging toward the rabbit, swinging her sword.

Frantically, I sift through the foliage, searching for my glasses as the sound of combat intensifies. Finally, I find them, but when I put them on, I realize they’re cracked. With my vision fractured by the broken lenses, I raise my staff and notebook, trying to focus on aiming another [Arcane Bolt].

As I prepare my spell, I spot Leah’s armor. It’s covered in small cuts—some from arrows that barely missed, others from a flint knife the rabbit had pulled from its hip. Seeing my opportunity, I release the spell and watch as it connects with the rabbit. In an instant, the creature disintegrates into light particles.

[Level up]

“What happened to it? Where did it go?” (Leah)

I walk up behind Leah, glancing at the spot where the rabbit once stood.

“It’s fine. Dungeon monsters turn into pure mana when they’re defeated. That’s why it disappeared.” (Rolland)

I reach into my robes and pull out a spare pair of glasses, discarding the broken ones onto the dungeon floor, thinking to myself ‘I should really get those things enchanted.’ Looking down, I see a system pop-up displaying the loot dropped by the rabbit:

Rabbit Hide (Common)

- A soft hide, useful for crafting basic armor or selling for a small profit.

Sharp Flint Shard (Uncommon)

- A slightly magical shard from a flint dagger, useful for crafting or as a basic tool.

I dismiss the notification and collect the loot, placing it in the small satchel at my side. Turning to Leah, I speak with a hint of concern.

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“Are you hurt, Leah? I saw the rabbit get a few good hits in with that flint dagger.” (Rolland)

Leah flushes slightly, her expression shifting to one of worry as she frantically checks on me.

“No, no, I’m fine, only a few scratches. But what about you? Are you okay? The arrow—did it hit you?” (Leah)

I put my hand on her shoulders and push her back slightly.

“Im fine, we should probably leave though, I think we have enough to make a decent report to the guild, I even leveled up from that.”(Rolland)

With that exchange, we quickly make our way out of the dungeon, finding the entrance after only a few minutes of running. On the way back, me and Leah discuss what we're going to say to the guild during our report. After an hour of walking, we finally reach town where we immediately start heading towards the guild. I tell Leah that she should go and get the rest of the group and get her cuts checked out by Liam while she's there. As she does that, I go and talk with one of the female receptionists and soon meet with this guild branch's leader, Dorin.

Sitting in front of Dorin is... well, intimidating. For one, he’s built like a giant—he’s got to be about 6’8”, though it’s hard to tell with him seated behind a fancy oak desk overflowing with stacks of papers. His beard is neatly kept, and his slicked-back brown hair only adds to his imposing presence. Above him, mounted on the wall, is a massive spear, easily as tall as he is. It looks more like a hunk of iron shaped into a spear than an actual weapon—but who am I to judge?

Second, from what I’ve heard, Dorin used to be the leader of a veteran adventurer group called Dawn. Apparently, they all retired... all except Dorin, from what I can see. After sitting in silence for a moment, I begin telling Dorin about what Leah and I found.

“So, let me get this straight... You found a dungeon an hour's walk into the forest south of town, and you thought it was a good idea to just dive right in without telling anyone? And then... you were attacked by a rabbit monster with a bow? You Seriously expect me to believe this?”(Dorin)

I lean over the desk, frantically searching through my satchel.

"It's true! I have proof—I got a few dungeon drops from that rabbit monster!" (Rolland)

After finding what I was looking for, I pulled out the Rabbit Hide (Common) and the Sharp Flint Shard (Uncommon) from my bag and placed them on the table.

"Check them yourself, and you'll see they're dungeon drops." (Rolland)

I slide the items across the table in front of Dorin. He grunts in amusement and reaches below his desk, pulling out a fancy-looking monocle. I recognize it as a magical tool the guild often uses to identify items and monster parts, much more accurate than my simple [Identify] spell. I watch as he brings it to his eye and examines the items for a good few seconds.

"Well, they're definitely dungeon drops, so I'll believe you for now. I'll have a scouting team sent out in a day or two to confirm if a dungeon has manifested in the area. If it’s real, you and your adventuring party will get finders' rights." (Dorin)

"This means you and your party will be given priority access, skipping the queue to enter the dungeon at any time. You'll also be exempt from the entry tax and receive a small post-tax cut at the end of every 2 weeks. Does this sound agreeable, Mr. Rolland?" (Dorin)

As I ponder the benefits of finders' rights, I conclude that this offer is better than most.

“Sure, that sounds great! It’s a bit better than usual, actually. What made you decide to give us a cut of the entry tax?” (Rolland)

“Dungeons are rare, and as far as I know, this is the only one within a month's travel by carriage! I’d be surprised if people didn’t start flocking to our town because of this dungeon. So, it’s the least I can do for what could be a figurative goldmine.” (Dorin)

After a bit of small talk, I leave the guild master’s office and head down to the lobby, where I find the rest of the group. Leah now has a small bandage on her cheek from the cut she got during the battle. I walk up to them and greet everyone.

“Good news, everyone! The guild master is sending a scouting team to check out the dungeon soon. Once they confirm it, we’ll get our finders' rights—and we even got a better deal than usual!” I say enthusiastically.

“I can’t believe you two found a dungeon after we got rid of—uh, I mean, after you two went to level up,” May says with a grin.

“Yeah, you should have been there,” I reply, throwing a little venom into my tone as I glare at her for letting me get dragged off in the first place.

“So, what was the dungeon like? Think we stand a chance?” Liam asks, sounding curious.

“I think we’ll be fine. Leah and I were caught off guard the first time, but now that we know what to expect, we should be okay. Plus, we’ll all be there together. We just have to wait for Dorin’s team to scout it out before we can delve in.” I reassure him.

“Are you sure?” Leah asks, a bit uncertain.

“Yup! So let’s get some rest and start preparing for the next few days,” I say confidently.

With that, we all split up and head to our respective accommodations to rest and recover.