They woke up at dawn and continued their journey. It was the third day; they were halfway through their trip. They skinned the bear and took what meat and hide they could carry. What they couldn't store they ate for breakfast. If they sold the hide and meat at Fundum, they could get decent money. Bear hide was tough and could keep one warm during the winter.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, with no notable story. They arrived at the town of Fundum at midday. The guard at the entrance tried to comment about the girls, but was stopped by the boys. A man nearly died that day...
Their first stop was at the Adventurers' Guild. They were told to ask for the head of the guild, Magnus Taurus. Not even 30 seconds after the letter reached his office, he ran down the stairs to them. Filia whispered, "Does anyone else feel a draft?" The four tried to contain their laughter. Magnus Taurus lived up to his name. He was taller than anyone in the building and appeared to have lifted elephants in the past.
His low voice shook the building and incited fear in those that heard it. "Are you the group sent by Mrs. Strondom?" They all nodded their heads in unison. They never heard anyone refer to her that informally. Most would be arrested. He immediately got a wide smile. "It's been so long since we talked! How's everyone doing. Huh? What's wrong? Yur eyes are gonna pop out of ya skulls!! Haha"
They walked upstairs to his office. The door was very ambiguous, but the inside was furnished for a king. Even the chairs looked like national treasures. He pulled up four chairs and sat behind his desk. His hands were cupped as if he was contemplating something. "I guess your parents never talked about their past. I guess I should explain, then... We started out as a group of four, and eventually seven, adventurers who were bored with our lives or wanted some money. Iris, your mother was the team's thief and your father was a tank. Amary, your mother was the 'Killing Healer', and was one of the most violent healers in the world. Marcus, your father was a heavy swordsman. Filia, your mother was a mage and your father was a light swordsman who used a rapier."
The group stood there not saying a word. They knew nothing of their parents' past. It did explain why they were proficient at magic. They were the children of some of the strongest in the country. The guild-master broke the silence. "I was a martial artist. The group stopped partying about...16?17? years ago. You were all born shortly after. From our journeys we gained fame and fortune." They sat in silence, just trying to process all this information.
Magnus broke this silence after several minutes. "The letter says that you are to defeat the dungeon Terra. This dungeon may be easy, but it's still a dungeon. Dungeons and monsters can be graded in several ways. Every country has their own specific criteria and system, but most use either the standard numerical or alphabetical systems. The alphabetical is based on difficulty and time to conquer. It ranges from F->A. If the average low-ranked adventurer can beat it in one month than it is F. The time will multiply by two each level, i.e. F1, D2, E4, C8, B16, A-unbeatable. The number system is complicated but easier to read. It uses the difficulty of monsters. The general rule is to fight a monster 5 levels below your own. The average level for a person is ~20-25 or F-Rank. Only 10% try to level up and 1% become full time adventurers."
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>Is it over yet? (￣□￣) I finished updating the leveling system.
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'Yes, the rant is over.'
A small white disk popped into existence in the corner of the room. From the disk an orange and black mass jumped out. It was a cat... The four teens were in silence. Magic that advanced was nearly unheard of, with only creatures with the power to annihilate a small country having it. The spell used by humans is a 'Spacial Magic' spell, [Travel]-connects areas in space to allow for traveling of great distances (requirements: prior visitation). A spell only seen in 1/100,000 high-level magicians, and a house cat just used it.
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>Is that a cat...
...
...
>I need to pet it! GIVE ME A BODY NOW!!! ◝₍ᴑ̑ДO͝₎◞
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'I can't and calm down you hysterical chunk of rock.'
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>But, I want to pet it...(;*△*;)
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'I don't care. Just how did it use that spell?'
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>idk (／・ω・)／
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'useless. I need a map. It should list volcanoes.'
Magnus looked surprised. "Oh, you're back early. Since your here already I'll introduce you." He introduced them all to the cat named Mavros. "Meow" A cute high pitched voice came from him. They all resisted the urge to pet him. Magnus looked at Mavros and scolded him, "No, you can't have dragon meat. You almost drove them to extinction last time." The cat brushed him off and pouted. "Just go eat a whale or something." They argued for several minutes before he turned and faced the group. "You're probably confused, but Mavros is actually one of the most powerful beings on the planet. His level is in the thousands, but despite that he still acts like a normal cat, stuck up" A description of their shocked faces wouldn't do the scene justice. They were standing in front of a being who uses the planet as their plaything. "He managed to evolve through several decades of fighting high level beings, like dragons and 'demi-gods'. Everyone let's him do his thing and he doesn't want to destroy the planet. Despite this he seems to have taken a liking to a few people like me."
Mavros sat on the desk full of papers cleaning himself. *sshhhphff smack* A stack of papers fell on the floor. He sat ignoring anything that happened. Magnus stared at the floor for a few seconds before talking. "You can stay at an inn tonight if you wish; I know of a few you can stay." Magnus directed them to an inn where they could stay. They had some money to spend after the bear incident.
They booked a single room with four beds. They had been camping together for a while now. In the morning they were all tired. They didn't get much sleep. Being teenagers they all imagined dating each other. They arrived at the dungeon by mid-day. It looked like a large mountain with a cave.
Entering the cave was odd though. The cave had glowing stones and fungi. They walked for a few minutes before encountering their first enemy.