They didn't encounter any trouble along the way, much to the merchants' relief, and two days later, the caravan arrived in Ashbert around noon.
Nickel observed the town as they approached.
Ashbert wasn't a particularly large town, though it wasn't small either. The caravan passed a low stone wall that ringed the town's fields.
Among the fields that went right up to the wall surrounding the town proper, there were a few farmhouses, likely there so that those tending the fields didn't need to travel too far during the growing and harvesting seasons.
The main wall of Ashbert was much taller, constructed with a stone base and a wooden upper half.
The caravan travelled through the gate and down the main road.
Looking ahead, Nickel could see the town square. There, he laid eyes on the dungeon. The part of it that was above ground.
It was a well maintained building, yet it still appeared to be of ancient architecture, like all dungeons. And like most dungeons, the only part of it above ground was the entrance.
Nickel thought back to what he'd learned about this dungeon.
It was F-Rank, of course. It had the appearance of man-made stone halls, and was populated by different types of goblins.
The monsters in any F-Rank dungeon were always the same species, just different types. Once an adventurer started to challenge E-Rank dungeons, they would start to see more variance within a single dungeon, among other changes.
Nickel was shaken from his thoughts when the cart stopped moving. Glancing around, he realized they had come to a stop in front of an Inn.
Hopping out of the wagon, Nickel joined the other adventurers gathering around Thomas.
"Welcome to Ashbert, everyone. You're all free to go about your business."
Nickel turned to walk away, but was stopped by Thomas.
"Before you go, Nick, what're your plans now? Are you planning to stay here for a while?"
Nickel shook his head. "I'm going to clear the dungeon. Then I'll need to find another caravan to get to Loram."
"Well, if you're interested, we're gonna be heading to Loram after Brady finishes business here." Thomas gestured to the wagons that were being unloaded. "He likes to spend a week in each town. You're more than welcome to ride with us."
Nickel considered it for a moment.
It shouldn't take him more than a week to clear the dungeon. It was only goblins, after all. And traveling with a group he was already acquainted with would be much easier than trying to get in with a new caravan.
"Alright," he nodded. "If I can clear the dungeon within the week, I'll take you up on that."
Waving goodbye to Thomas, Nickel made his way to the town square, and the dungeon.
—
Now that he was closer to it, Nickel took a deeper look at the building housing the dungeon entrance.
It was entirely constructed of marble, a row of columns ringing the outer facade.
Inside, he found a staple of all low-rank dungeons. Adventurers looking for pick-ups.
If a dungeon was located within or nearby a town, the Adventurer's Guild stationed a team there, to ensure that only those who were properly prepared entered.
Part of that effort was recommending a minimum party size, for adventurers entering a dungeon of the same rank.
For this dungeon, dubbed the [Goblin Halls #152](due to there being a multitude of other Goblin Halls), a party of four F-Rank adventurers was recommended.
Fortunately for Nickel, it wasn't a requirement. He could dive solo.
A party would only slow him down.
There weren't just adventurers seeking pick-up groups, though.
In one corner of the dungeon hall, Nickel found several merchant stalls.
These stalls sold everything an adventurer might need to tackle this dungeon. Including a map of all eight floors.
The best part was that, unlike any dungeon equipment bought outside of the hall, only merchants verified by the Guild were authorized to sell here. Nickel was assured that anything he bought here would actually be helpful.
Nickel got in line at the merchant selling maps.
After a few minutes, Nickel stood before the counter.
"What can I get you?" asked the elven man behind the counter.
"How much for the complete map?"
"Ho, the complete map, eh." A look of interest appeared in the merchant's eyes. "If you want the complete map, that means you haven't bought any others… feeling confident, young man?"
Nickel's face remained expressionless.
"The price, please."
The elven merchant chuckled.
"Of course. That'll be twenty gold. Coin or card?"
Pulling out his Guild card, Nickel held it out to the merchant.
Cards had another feature, in addition to serving as a means of identification, communication, and access to the Arcomnet.
Each card was also equipped with a sub-space specifically designed to store gold.
The map merchant held up his own card and tapped it against Nickel's.
A small ding sounded from each card, signifying the transfer.
After checking to make sure the gold went through, the merchant handed a small engraved coin to Nickel.
"Do you know how that works?" He asked with a sly grin.
Nickel nodded.
"Excellent. I wish you luck, young adventurer!"
As Nickel walked from the map merchant to the dungeon's true entrance in the middle of the room, he pressed the coin into the center of his card.
The engraved coin he'd bought was called a packet coin, designed to generate and store map data. By performing the same process with an empty coin, one could create a map of anywhere they traveled through, within reason.
The coins had data limits, and there were devices designed to interfere with the coins' ability to collate location data.
All in all though, they were handy devices.
Sending a small surge of mana into it caused the coin to meld into his card, completely disappearing.
He pulled up a newly accessible tab on his card. The map tab. Within it, he found the map he just bought.