I make my way to the Kobold dungeon with Damocles on the back of Cerberus as he soars through the sky, tearing through the clouds as he moves.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided that if I wanted to grasp the true abilities of the people I call my teammates, I'd have to put them against a real challenge, not just some low level weak Kobolds. Larien especially. I have a good grasp of what he's capable of, but if I want to test his abilities and full potential, Kobolds aren't going to cut it.
Now I just hope Cerberus is as good an actor as he claims he is. I have to make sure there is little to no connection between Aeolus and Alice. And since Cerberus, son of Aeolus and heir to Aeolia has somehow ended up in the low level dungeon the team the third prince of the kingdom is in, led by a mysterious and suspicious individual claiming to be the adopted son of a dragon slayer, intended to raid. The amount of coincidences I'm about to incur would bring a lot more attention on myself than I had planned for in these early stages, but that doesn't mean I can't use this to my advantage.
The story could be spun another way. "The team the third prince of Halrio is in, led by a mysterious yet powerful individual found to be the adopted son of a legendary dragon slayer happened upon a dangerous dragon occupying the low level dungeon they had intended to raid, fought said dragon, and still managed to make it out alive". Plot set. Now to clear the stage.
"Master, you need not lift a finger," Damocles begins to speak, as Cerberus lands a few kilometers away from the entrance of the dungeon so as not to spook the bronze class adventurers around. "Allow young master Cerberus and I to handle this matter swiftly."
"Yes father! There really isn't any need that you had to come to this filthy place in person," Cerberus agrees, turning back into his human form. "This close to a dungeon and I can't sense anyone with commendable strength. Just filth and worms as far as I can see. Smells rotten. No need to lift your glorious fingers to clear such filth away."
This vocabulary, I think he may be hanging around Vanir a little too much these days.
"We can't have you being seen for now Cerberus," I start, glancing at the adventurers that litter the dungeon entrance. "Any mage or priest worth a yen will sense the magnitude of mana you possess, and would suspect you of not being human. The slightly good ones will suspect you of possibly being a dragon. Since you can't conceal your mana yet, you'll have to stay out of it for now."
"Hmph! I don't see a problem with these worms knowing their place," Cerberus retorts, scrunching up his nose at the thought of being among the humans. "They should bow and worship those who are clearly superior to them."
"Yeah sure, but not right now," I state, not in the mood for a tantrum right now. "You'll have to wait inside my pocket dimension for now. I'll release you when we enter the dungeon, okay?"
"Fine~" Cerberus chimes. "If it's for father then okay. I'll tolerate the filthy human bugs for now."
"Good boy," I say, patting his head as I open
"Don't have too much fun without me," Cerberus sulks as he steps through the portal to my pocket dimension.
Now that that's done...
"Damocles, you might want to conceal your mana as well,"
"Yes master," He responds, his mana rapidly dissipating from the atmosphere as he takes a breath in. "Is this okay?"
Even with more than half of his mana erased, his presence is still enough to intimidate any adventurer lower than gold class.
"That'll do." I answer, then begin to make my way closer to the dungeon entrance.
From what I can see, there isn't a guard or knight in sight. I guess they aren't too worried about a mere low-level dungeon when Aeolia is landed just a few miles away. Agamemnon gives me a report of how many adventurers try to raid daily. From the numbers, it's clear that the adventurer's guild has their hands full, and is probably in a troublesome relationship with the Order of Knights, and the Ivory tower mages. Understandable. Their guild members die or go missing daily, the more they attempt a raid on Aeolia, yet more than half the time, the knights of the order and the mages of the tower come back just fine. It's almost like they're sacrificing the adventurers, which they are.
"Can I see your dungeon permit?" A single guard stationed before the entrance asks, pulling me from my thoughts. From the way he's looking at me, I guess he doubts I'm even an adventurer.
"I heard gold class adventurers don't need dungeon permits for F-rank dungeons?" I ask, pulling out the gold tag that hangs around my neck.
"Oh, yes of course," He utters, gazing at the gold tag I display, garnering the attention of the bronze class adventurers around.
"What's a gold class doing at an F-rank dungeon?"
"Isn't he just a kid?"
"You think he came because of the rumors about the kobold chieftain?"
"Idiot, that's just a rumor,"
Based on the whispers from the crowd, I guess there really is a kobold chieftain in there. I wonder if I should have them face off against the kobold chieftain first before they face Cerberus, or maybe both at the same time?
"And what about your companion?" The guard asks, glancing up at Damocles suspiciously. "He doesn't have a tag. Is he not an adventurer? Unless he is I can't permit his entry, even if it's just an F-rank dungeon."
"Oh him," I begin, sighing as I try to come up with a viable story. "He's a highly experienced mercenary I have hired to assist me. There are no problems with a hired mercenary right?"
"I see," He starts, moving out of our way. "If he's a mercenary hired by a gold class then I can't argue."
Huh, it worked. That was a shot in the dark, but I'm glad to know that dungeon rules don't vary much between the Teskor continent and Dremid. Just like in Teskor, if a mercenary about the level of a gold class adventurer is hired, they can accompany a party without a dungeon permit and adventurer's license.
Alright then, now to set the stage.