Irin took the lead as she led Jake and the others toward the location of the dungeon. It wasn’t as simple as Jake had thought it would be to get there. He had kind of just assumed it would just be another gate, and then boom, they would be teleported straight in front of it.
However, reality was a bit different. They went through a gate and appeared in a small waystation of sorts within an utterly massive damp cavern with the gate itself within a structure carved into the stone walls.
“We are currently within the first layer of Primordial-4. This part of the layer is usually safe in this area, and we shouldn’t expect any C-grades to appear. The dungeon itself is placed deeper within this cavern. In case any of you are wondering, then not placing the dungeons in natural environments more suitable for the dungeon in question would just be moronic and waste resources unnecessarily. You need the mana density to reach a certain level, too, for the dungeon core to operate properly. This dungeon is also on the older side, making its placement a bit more inconvenient than usual,” the succubus explained once they made it out of the small waystation. Jake saw that only a single person was present there, inside a hidden meditation chamber of sorts. While he could not be sure, he had a feeling this person was firmly in the C-grade and acted as a defender of sorts.
Not thinking deeper about the issue, Jake followed Irin as they began making it deeper into the cavern. The place was utterly huge, and when they made it out of a small cave system, they came to an even larger chasm-like cavern where Jake couldn’t even see the ceiling. Below them were blue pools of water with beasts and monsters of all kinds everywhere, fighting and bathing in the water.
Jake felt that the water was some kind of natural treasure or perhaps the by-product of one. But this trip was not to collect water or fight beasts but to head to the dungeon. Besides, the beasts below were only around 120 to 140, so they were not worth his time at all.
“The blue water in the pools may look attractive but is actually completely useless by itself when it comes to alchemy. Instead, we allow the beasts to soak in it and refine the energy so that when they are killed, their cores can be harvested,” Irin explained once more, as both Reika and Bastilla looked curiously at the happenings far below. “Ah, but some members of the Order with heritages that allow them to make use of the pools also come by once in a while, so do watch out if you ever go hunting here. Would be unfortunate to kill another member of the Order.”
Irin gave a few more explanations of the local environment and what one could expect to find there if one decided to go exploring at one point or another. Jake considered if he should go at some point but probably wouldn’t.
On the topic of getting to the dungeon, they had chosen to fly there as that was faster. There were some flying creatures in the cavern too, but none were threats. Hell, none of these flying monsters even bothered the party for one simple reason – Jake wasn’t trying to hide his presence at all. The beasts all avoided them as they instinctually knew not to mess with them. Not that it was necessarily even needed for Jake to be the one to scare them off. Draskil’s aura was plenty scary all on its own.
“The dungeon is located at the end of this cavern, pretty much just straight ahead. It shouldn’t take us more than half an hour to an hour to get there,” Irin said with a smile. “I do not expect us to meet any beasts or foes that are of any danger to us.”
Draskil turned to Jake once he heard this and smiled. With a toothy grin, he spoke: “So, how fast is your flying speed?”Jake wasn’t surprised in the least as he smirked in response. “Are you looking for a race?”
The dragonkin didn’t even respond as his wings began glowing with energy. Jake, in response, slightly raised his foot and got ready to step down. “No one says it needs to be flying, right?”
Draskil shook his head. “Loser owes a drink.”
With those words, he exploded with power and took off. Jake threw a glance at Irin and got a nod in response as he stepped down and warped through space. He appeared over half a kilometer away before stepping down again. Slowly building up momentum, he chased after Draskil, who had a small headstart.
Irinixis sighed as she saw the two of them run off like two children let loose. She had been working in the Order for a long time now and had managed many individuals… but this was her first time getting such important people as two black tokens that even had a Malefic Dragonkin with a Divine Blessing among them.
Quite honestly, it was all luck. Then Humanoid Resources assigned managerial staff to those from the ninety-third universe; the groups they would manage were chosen entirely at random. Most others who handled groups from the new universe had gotten mediocre to slightly above mediocre groups. Having a few gold tokens would be considered exceptional, and a few of her colleagues had bragged about it.
So when Irinixis had been assigned two black tokens, she was ecstatic. Not to misunderstand, she still was ecstatic to be their primary contact person. This was a huge opportunity for her. There was just the minor issue that she felt completely out of her depth with both of them. She was used to powerful young masters throwing their weight around and caring about face above all else, but these two just did whatever. They were more like children than highly talented geniuses blessed by the Malefic One.
Perhaps their laidback attitudes are part of the reason for their growth, Irin thought, unsure if that could be the case. Either way, understanding Draskil seemed impossible at the current time, but as for the human? She had a great opportunity right there and then.
“So girls, I guess it is just us till we reach the dungeon. Better get going so we don’t make those two wait too long,” Irin said to the two of them with a smile.
“Let us,” the woman called Reika agreed. She began condensing a board of ice that she stood upon as a mode of transportation, having just flown using pure mana before. The beastfolk woman followed as she primed her wings with energy, Irin doing the same.
The three of them set flight, Irin being the fastest, but not by much. She was surprised at the level of magic deployed by the human, especially considering her limited time to train. She will advance to a silver token within not that long simply due to her talent in magic, Irin reckoned. I should not doubt the judgment of a black token… Jake believed she was worth bringing along and knows things I do not.
As for her beastfolk companion, she clearly had an Agility-focused race due to her feline heritage, making her on the faster side. She was about as fast as Reika, which in reality was just proof of Reika’s talent, considering she was firmly in the mage category.
While flying, there was no reason not to get to know one another as they would spend some time together in the dungeon anyway. It wasn’t like they were in a real hurry either, as Jake and Draskil could just spend some guy time together while they spent some girl time.
“Man, those two sure are something,” the beastfolk woman commented as she looked at Irin. “I am called Bastilla, by the way; a pleasure to meet you. Are you one of those management demons?”
“I am,” Irin replied, not thinking it worthwhile to further elaborate.
“Damn. That dragonkin one of those you help manage? What is he anyway, a gold token like that Jake guy?” Bastilla asked, confusing Irin.
“Neither of them has gold tokens?” she exclaimed, noticing Reika looked a bit embarrassed.
“Wait,” Bastilla said, glaring at Reika. “You said he was gold, though. With his own residence and all that.”
“I… didn’t want to… you know…” Reika muttered, Irin finding it a bit endearing as she smiled, fully understanding the situation immediately.
“She didn’t want to come off as a braggart and downplayed her connections. To clarify, both Jake and Draskil have black tokens and are both blessed by the Malefic One, the dragonkin – as you rightly pointed out – a Malefic Dragonkin carrying a Divine Blessing,” Irin explained.
Bastilla looked weird for a moment before she opened her mouth. “For real? Isn’t that like… a big deal? A super big deal?”
“Anyone with a black token is considered extraordinary and big deals, as you so eloquently put it,” Irin said in confirmation.
“I am beginning to feel the pressure here,” Bastilla shuddered. “Why am I part of this group again?”
“That I am not certain of,” Irin answered as she looked at Reika, who had some time to collect herself.
“As Irinixis said before, I didn’t want to show off, you know? It is also a bit embarrassing he is so much more skilled than me despite us spending an equal amount of time doing alchemy and learning energy control,” Reika confessed. “It is infuriating…”
Irin just shook her head. “Listening to all of you complain is infuriating. That you managed to get bronze tokens is already more than the vast, vast majority of the multiverse can ever achieve, and you are both early on your Paths. So just keep working hard, and you can go far. Meanwhile, I am hoping to make those two black tokens my ticket to C-grade as, currently, it is still a toss-up if I will make it.”
And wasn’t that the truth. Irin had been D-grade for close to a century and had only recently gained a single level. The path to C-grade was even harder, and while she did have some confidence, it wasn’t a sure thing. She downplayed it a bit to the two girls, but she was truthful that she wanted to make Jake and Draskil – or at least one of them – her ticket to C-grade. It was what her profession was all about, after all. As for if she would also progress her succubus race… now that was a whole other question.
“Still didn’t answer why I was asked to join,” Bastilla muttered, making Irin refocus on the conversation.
Reika just sighed. “In all honesty? I think the primary factor was proximity. Jake wanted a fifth, and there you were.”
Irin nearly flailed a bit while flying as she heard the reason. I truly don’t understand these geniuses… but I should take the chance to.
“Reika, I have been wondering about the planet you and Lord Thayne hail from,” she began with a smile. “I strive to know more of those I am assigned, so I would love to learn more about you two and your origins.”
It was a perfect time to learn about at least one of the two geniuses when he wasn’t within earshot.
The two “geniuses” managed to turn what should have taken half an hour into a less than a five-minute trip. Jake had used One Step Thousand Miles, while Draskil had a legendary movement skill related to flying. Jake won out in the skill department when it came to traveling as One Step was a line of skills used for traveling and not necessarily for combat, while Draskil’s skill was more combat-oriented with a focus on instantaneous movement to escape and attack.
However, the level disparity meant that Draskil could make up for it. He was just faster, and Jake failed to catch up in the short time it took to reach the dungeon. Without the headstart Draskil had, Jake could have likely caught up.
Ah, but Jake still won. The race was to the dungeon… and Draskil flew straight by it while Jake picked up the unique mana signature emanating from a hole in the ground. Draskil quickly noticed Jake hadn’t followed and put two and two together.
Which led to their current situation.
“I was faster,” Draskil said.
“That wasn’t what we were competing about. It was who would make it to the dungeon first. Which I did,” Jake argued.
“Who cares about who got here first when I was faster,” Draskil sneered, clearly dissatisfied.
“If it wasn’t about who got here first, then why get a headstart? And didn’t I slowly catch up to you?” Jake argued further, feeling like he had Draskil cornered.
“Does not matter. I was the fastest to pass by the entrance and won,” Draskil refused to back down.
“If you run past the finish line, it doesn’t count,” Jake smirked. “And if it wasn’t for me, you would still be flying right now.”
“She said half an hour,” Draskil then decided to blame a third party.
“Sounds like bad excuses,” Jake laughed. “Just take the loss.”
“I didn’t lose.”
Jake was beginning to believe that this was not an argument that could be won as the other party simply chose to deny reality. Okay, in some fairness, all Draskil had asked was how fast Jake was, and there were no formal rules, but Jake only found it reasonable that their race was to the dungeon.
Having decided to not pursue it further, he properly inspected the chasm the hole had led into containing the dungeon. The entrance to the dungeon looked incredibly out of place as it was just a black metal door embedded in a stone wall, and it looked like one could easily break it or take it away. However, with further inspection, it became clear the gates were somehow entirely locked in place.
Jake inspected them with Draskil still moping, proving that he did recognize his loss. He just was just too shy or prideful to admit it. At least that is how Jake chose to interpret the actions of the dragonkin. Feeling good about himself, Jake began to consider ways to pass the time as they waited for the rest of their party to arrive.
About forty minutes went by before the others made it to the dungeon, and in the meantime, Jake had time to craft a batch of health potions just for good measure. Draskil had also gotten bored and began to meditate.
“Sorry for the wait,” Irin apologized when she made it into the chasm along with Bastilla and Reika.
Draskil just made a slightly dissatisfied noise while Jake waved it off. Having no need to exchange more words, they all went over to the gate, and as Jake lay his hand upon it, a system message appeared.
Dungeon: Nine Floors of the Indigo Caverns.
Requirements to enter: D-grade
Requirements to enter met
WARNING: Only 5 challengers are allowed per party attempting the dungeon.
Enter Dungeon?
Y/N
Not a single one of them hesitated as all five entered the dungeon. Jake felt excitement as he was teleported by the system, but his excitement died instantly when he appeared in the dungeon.
His smile faded, and his eyes opened in horror as he gazed out upon the first floor and what they could expect this dungeon to contain. “Fuck me,” Jake exclaimed out loud, realizing this whole thing was a mistake. Because he saw them.
Mushrooms.
So many fucking mushrooms.