Demon Lord: Erotic Adventure in Another World

\'I am glad. This means they won\'t suffer if I keep it up.\'

Knight Alan then entered, interrupting his thoughts as Yumiko grasped his hand because she worried he might get sent on a dangerous quest again without her.

"Morning, Heroes! It is my pleasure to have spent a week with you all, training and guiding you forward. From this week onward. You will enter the dungeon at least twice a week and give progress reports. All so we can assess your abilities for the future test three weeks from now."

As he finished his speech, people flooded the training ground. Including the Heroes and their new mentors, along with knights who would guide them through the dungeons.

"The Hero party, Erika, Fuuka, Haruki, Kenta, and Yuki. You will enter the D-rank dungeon Visala and clear the first floor by Sunday." Alan smiled with his handsome face.

\'That\'s not the dungeon I went to, so they should be fine,\' Ryuji thought.

"Next are the Heroes, Heba, Sedeki, Lea, Suko, and Sena. You will clear the first level of the F-rank dungeon Thetis within one week."

Knight Alan spent several minutes giving each party their dungeon and a target while finally coming to Ryuji; Yumiko, Akari, and Ryo were just behind them, looking a little scared.

"Ryuji, Yumiko, Ryo, and Akari will enter the E-rank dungeon Vallos and the F-rank Terigosa and complete them within one week."

He paused for a second to think.

"Ryuji, I suggest you start with Terigosa, and when comfortable, move to Vallos."

Ryuji and the others nodded as they received the dungeon locations from an older knight waiting at the yard\'s entrance.

Some members of the main hero party looked at them with strange glances, while Erika\'s face was concerned, likely because they were the only group with two dungeons to clear.

\'I know this is the request of the king. He wants me to prove myself this way.\' While looking at the worried Akari and Ryo, Ryuji noticed their fear and slight shaking.

\'To be honest, this is like a vacation compared to the D-rank dungeon.\'

He smiled, a little confident because he was with Yumiko, this time with her new ability to learn his martial arts skills and him having her life-saving skill thanks to the ring; he wanted to boost their confidence a little.

"Understood. Thank you for the information. Before we leave, please let us meet with the merchant who sells weapons and armour?"

Alan had a confused look.

"What for?"

"The weapon and armour I received on the quest to clear the D-rank dungeon is perfect for me, but to enter the dungeon with those ranks, my party is barebones. I would prefer to give them a sense of safety in the least."

"I understand. I will ask the king to allow you access to the armoury on the third floor for today. Save your money, Ryuji; Simon told me just how valuable you were. Take one weapon and one suit of armour per person." Alan said a few words to a knight behind him before looking back. "Be careful not to overdo it with the armour and weapons since they are still new to the dungeon.

Plate armour isn\'t the best."

"Understood," Ryuji, Yumiko, Ryo, and Akari answered.

"One more thing, the alchemist should be here tomorrow morning, so if you want some healing potions or antivenom, be on time! After you finish your basic training, you can enter the dungeon or take normal classes."

Everyone walked forward, following Alan\'s instructions.

****

Today\'s training seemed more proactive than usual, with many people doing their best when they usually slack off. Erika and Fuuka tried approaching Yumiko and his party, but Haruki and Kenta, who stared daggers at Ryuji, took them away soon after.

"Wow, what a beautiful ring!" Akari said with a brilliant smile while they ate lunch.

Yumiko couldn\'t help but turn bright red as she wore it on her wedding finger like Ryuji. It wasn\'t very pleasant, but that was the only finger it would affix to them.

"Cough!" Ryuji cleared his throat. "Today is a shopping day; we can do whatever we want after. Alan told me that tomorrow would be a good time to see the alchemist he recommended. I plan to go to the armoury today and pick armour for each of you, although you might think heavy armour is the best. Remember, it will slow you down if you have no skill." He looked at Akari and Ryo.

"So tell me your request."

"Ah... well, I would like something fashionable or cute. I don\'t want to look bad. Maybe padded cloth or leather? I don\'t want something heavy, or I won\'t be able to dodge." Akari added her class was a weaver, so something in cloth made sense to Ryuji.

"I wouldn\'t mind something leather, a little durable, but nothing too strong. Because I am a barrel anyway, my ability to dodge isn\'t so strong, haha." Ryo joked, but Ryuji knew he wanted and would get something like a scale or light leather armour for him.

"Okay. I will get a little help from Yumiko." Ryuji laughed a little since he lacked knowledge about armour besides the ones he already owned and their functions. Although his mother taught him about their previous world\'s armour, this world had magic and special skills, so he didn\'t wish to be arrogant about his knowledge and became eager to learn more.

"Me, leather and cloth-type armour, light or padded, whichever is cheap and simple. I would prefer it to be easy to move and dance around, as the combat style you teach me is more about speed than power." Yumiko said while stroking the ring and whispering to Akari.

Ryuji felt this was a very intelligent idea; he planned to find her a dress or armour that gave protection rather than actual armour because beastkin gains armour naturally, so why limit her abilities?

"It\'s getting late now. Let\'s finish our training and head out. Akari, Ryo, you got the money from my work, right? Enjoy a nice hot meal. Tomorrow, we will dive into the dungeon!"

"Okie Dokie," Akari said with her radiant smile, while Ryo and Yumiko nodded.

An hour later, the party finished their daily training, and Ryuji with Yumiko followed an older knight towards the armoury.

"Welcome to the Armoury; I am Knight Captain Stevan. You can enter the first and second floors, but avoid the third; it is off-limits, and you will face punishment. Understood?" He looked at Ryuji and Yumiko.

"Understood, thank you for the directions," Ryuji and Yumiko bowed.

"Excellent!" He nodded and walked away.

"Ryuji..."

Yumiko\'s hand grasped his tightly. The walls were full of armour, from helmets to clothing, with shields, spears, swords, daggers, bows, and everything else lined on them.

"My god, how much does this cost?" he murmured, shocked at the number of pieces. The first floor held at least three hundred different armour sets, and he only counted from left to right, not back to front.

The room gave an eerie vibe because of the aura from the weapons: low light, dark stone walls, dripping water in the distance, and the taste of copper and bronze on his tongue.

"Why don\'t you look for the armour you think will fit Akari and Ryo, and I will look for myself. Is that alright?" Yumiko asked.

Ryuji nodded and turned towards the area with scale and leather armour. He thought about dealing with Ryo first, and at that moment, he saw a huge cleaver! It was like those Asian ones he saw online, almost 30cm long, but the blade was heavy and a huge chunk.

"If even a non-combat class hit something with this, it would die... especially a chef."

[Chef\'s Deadly Cleaver + 2]

Ryuji wore it over his shoulder before taking it to the next display case for scale armour.

\'This is it! Ryo told me he had no skill with armour, so this should be good.\'

[Lightweight Scale Armour + 1]

"I found everything for Ryo so easily. But what about myself and Akari... Let\'s find a robe or something; maybe there are some magically enchanted ones?"

\'I hope Yumiko is alright...\'