In front of their sights lies a large silver metal gate. It was embroidered with a fancy carving of what seems to be some type of vine plant. Surrounding the gate stood a bismuth-like wall that prevails higher than most royal castles.
Within the cracks and gaps of the wall, you could see very bonsai-like trees. They were scattered and grown on some areas of the wall. Though the bark is made out of wood, the leaves bear a resemblance akin to soft metal. They were in the shape of normal leaves but they were in the shades of shiny purple and yellow.
It was a sunny day for these two buffoons. The skies were occupied by clouds, birds, and low-levelled wyverns.
"Is that the dungeon?" Shetland asked.
"According to our map..., yes!" Exmoor replied enthusiastically.
As they walk closer to the dungeon, they saw a remnant of a campfire. Although the dungeon is located near the town, the gate area of dungeons can often be used as a safe zone for adventurers who want to venture further into the unknown wilderness.
With a sword sheathed on their hips, a pouch attached to their belt, and a cheap leather armour wrapped around their body, they quickly venture deep into the dungeon.
The metallic dungeon is a 13 level dungeon with each floor representing one level of difficulty. The higher the floor number, the higher the level of difficulty. The first floor will have a difficulty level of 1, and the second floor will have a difficulty level of 2. Of course, there are also some dungeons with anomalies containing 1:2 ratio levels in which a floor can represent double the level of the previous floor. But, this occurrence happened quite rare. This type of dungeon will then be marked as a high-level dungeon by the guild, and F to D rank adventurers will be forbidden to enter.
The metal peppers are often located on the third floor of this 1:1 ratio dungeon. A level 3 difficulty fits perfectly on what the guild regarded as the mean abilities of D rankers. Shetland and Exmoor approach this mission with full confidence.
On the first floor, the dungeon is full of creatures harmless to men. Walking through the first floor with dirt as its floor, and dark, shiny metal as its wall, Emerdine Tortoises were seen to be dominating the plain. They are protected by a collection of shells that domed around their body. They often feast upon the myriad of bright metal grass that grows tall from the ground. The shells themselves were pointy creating many cones of octagons. Their massive shells are well known to be durable. They shine in bright green like a beautiful emerald, able to reflect the luminous crystal that provides light within the dungeon floor. The creature is weak to fire, often harvested for their shells since it can conduct heat very easily, craftsmen often forged their shells into cooking utensils. Rumour says if a man were to be armless, unable to see, unable to smell, his food will always be delicious if he cooked his food with a pan made from the Emerdine shells. The two newbies walked past these creatures and immediately headed towards the stairs to the second floor.
When they entered the second floor, it is as of they have been transported into a different realm.
"Woah...!" Shetland was astonished.
"It really feels like we're in actual savannah, eh?" Exmoor retorted.
They were greeted by a breezy flat land decorated with some trees and many short and pale grass. The wall was tall and the floor was vast, a giant luminous crystal was floating on top imitating the sun. A variety of creatures were more abundant than on the first floor. Winged rabbits with a gold horn and sharp golden teeth, cows with four pairs of silver horns, boar with fangs that are clattered with bronze, and a chicken with claws that are as sharp as a well-forged iron knife. These creatures will be aggressive only if threatened. Many adventurers were seen to be gathering on this floor since a lot of these creatures were in high demand. But again, They immediately walked towards the stairs leading to the third floor.
The third floor welcomed them with a humid and cold breeze. Shades were provided by tall trees and the lush light copper crown of the plant, shielding them from the blinding and hot luminous stone. Red and yellow bushes were plentiful. A variety of deer and moose with sharp copper horns and hooves camouflaged them into the forest scenery. Rivers were flowing and clashing with the river stone creating a serene and peaceful cacophony.
Metal peppers plant often grows near rivers. Their habitats allow them to consume the rich nutrients and waters of the river. These plants often rise in between the gaps of rocks near the riverside. With black coloured leaves and seeds, they are easy to recognise.
The two self-proclaimed geniuses walked across the side of the river, and without much effort, they found the plant forthwith.
"Ah! found it!" shouted Exmoor while excitedly pointing at the myriad plants in front of them.
They took a sack knitted from a rough cloth that was tightly folded from their pouch and harvested the seed right away. On the plants, there were seeds with ranging gradients of colours from silver to black. They carefully appraised the seeds and only harvested the black ones as the dark colour is a good indication that they are already ripened. They hopped from one plant to another as one plant was not enough to fulfil the required amount in the request. Metal peppers, though expensive, are still a sought after ingredient due to their strong and more complex flavour notes. Often used in stew or roast meat, metal peppers are also a staple ingredient for holiday dishes in Macbeldon, due to a legend in the past about a princess who managed to be awakened from the witches' powerful curse because she smelled a soup that was heavily seasoned by metal peppers.
As they gradually moved from one plant to another, and as their bag gets heavier and heavier, Shetland turned his gaze towards an anomaly.
"Hey!" Shetland said to gain the attention of his buddy.
"What? Did you accidentally provoke one of the beasts here?" Exmoor wondered.
"No, Look!" Shetland momentarily dropped his bag and immediately pointed towards what was a couple of meters away from him.
"Wait isn't that a human?!"
What they saw was apparently a woman who passed out near the river. Shetland and Exmoor quickly ran towards her as her head was fully submerged in the river. They managed to pull the woman from the river and evacuate her closer to the land.
She wore a black robe and a red scarf with a special insignia indicating she is from the Witch Association.
Why would a high ranking witch suddenly passed out in low ranking dungeon, they wondered.