"So, you're finally here," Matty said in an annoyed expression. "What took you so long? I've been waiting here for twenty minutes already!"
"Sorry, I woke up a little late from my nap," Lux apologized. "Where is Colette?"
After scanning the faces of the Dwarves in front of him, he found that only the adorable little girl was missing. As if waiting for that cue, the sound of hurried footsteps was heard in the clearing.
"Sorry, everyone!" Colette shouted as she ran towards her party members. "I overslept. Did I make you guys wait for too long?"
Matty smiled as he looked at the object of his affection. "No. We just arrived here a minute ago. You're not late at all."
"Really? I'm glad. I thought I made you guys wait."
"No. I also overslept a bit. Hahaha."
Lux looked at the fawning Dwarf boy and forced down his urge to spit on Matty's face.
'When I was the one that was late, you got angry.'
'But, when the one you like is late, you turn a blind eye.'
'What's this? Discrimination much? Double standards!'
"Big Brother, did I make you wait for long?" Colette shifted her attention to Lux and held his hand. "Sorry. It won't happen again."
"I just arrived as well," Lux replied. "Don't worry about it."
This was the first time Lux would explore a Dungeon with a party, so he didn't want to create a commotion and clash with Colette's friends. For now, he decided to turn a blind eye to Matty's behavior because he understood that the little Dwarf was a simp.
'This is really like a game,' Lux thought as a row of words appeared in front of him.
< Do you want to join the Golden Slayers Party? >
< Yes / No >
Lux accepted Colette's request and formally joined the Dwarven Party. Although there was no option to see each other's Health Points like in games, forming a party allowed everyone to share team buffs that increased their stats.
This was similar to the skill War Cry that Lux didn't get because he chose Mana Drain instead.
The moment he joined the party, he felt as if a refreshing breeze blew over him.
Seeing his reaction, Matty immediately smirked and decided to tell him what was happening.
"Colette changed her profession to Paladin," Matty explained. "Everyone that is in her party gets a passive regeneration boost that heals minor injuries. However, if you get a fatal injury, don't expect it to save your life."
"I see." Lux nodded in understanding. "You are amazing, Colette!"
The little girl smiled after being praised by Lux. Due to her good mood, she grabbed Lux's hand and dragged him towards the entrance of the Bronze Crypt.
"Big Brother, take a look at this," Colette said as she pointed at a bronze slate located right beside the entrance of the cave. "The names of the Top Three Party that have cleared this dungeon in Hell Mode are all written here. The rankings are based on their individual performance. But usually, the party who clears the dungeon faster will get in the Top Six spots."
"I see." Lux glanced at the Bronze Slate and focused on the name that held the top spot. 'Aina Van Goldenslayer… wait! Goldenslayer? Isn't that the name of our party?'
Lux blinked once then twice before shifting his attention at the adorable little girl that was looking back at him with a big grin on her face.
"Aina Van Goldenslayer is my Big Sister!" Colette said with pride. "Ever since she cleared the dungeon in Hell Mode with her party members, her record has never been broken for the past four years. Isn't my Big Sister amazing?"
"She is amazing," Lux agreed, "but we can be more amazing than her! How about we beat Hell Mode and put our names on this slate as well?"
"Hah? Are you stupid?" Matty, who suddenly appeared beside Colette glared at Lux. "Don't you know that the boss in Hell Mode is a Rank 2 Berserker Barbarian Draugr? If you want to die, you can go in there by yourself! We're just challenging the Normal Mode!"
The rules of Dungeons in Elysium were different from the rules of the outside world.
In Elysium, all dungeons had two modes. Normal Mode and Hell Mode.
Hell Mode was, of course, the hardest mode, but it also gave better rewards. However, it was very dangerous to choose this mode without proper preparation. Many parties had died for this reason.
Fortunately, the penalty for dying inside a dungeon was more forgiving than dying in the open world.
Those who died inside the Dungeons in Elysium wouldn't really die. They would respawn in the nearest town. But as a penalty, a quarter of their Status Points would be taken away.
After dying, they had no choice but to regain their deducted experience points or consume Beast Cores to recover these lost points. Even so, this was still a better outcome than challenging an unknown Dungeon and dying in the process.
Lux was just teasing Colette when he said that they should challenge Hell Mode and let their names be written on the bronze slate.
The Half-Elf was aware that with his current strength, he would still need a bit more preparation before he could challenge the Hell Mode of the Bronze Crypt.
"I'm not saying that we should challenge it now," Lux replied to Matty. "Before we leave Leaf Village, most of us will be in the Apostle Rank. That is the perfect time to challenge the Hell Mode difficulty. Are you sure you don't want to leave your mark here to be seen by future generations?"
Matty turned quiet after hearing Lux's words. Of course, he wanted to leave his name on the Bronze Slate, so others would know that he had once been here in the Leaf Village and had accomplished an amazing feat.
"That's right!" Colette said as she gazed at her sister's name in the Bronze Slate. "Before we leave this village, we should leave our mark here. Although I'm not confident that we can beat my Big Sister's record, taking second place is not impossible!"
The members of Colette's party also nodded their heads in agreement. They also wanted to leave a memento behind. Having their names recorded on the Bronze Slate was the best thing they could do to preserve their legacy.
"Okay! Let's do this!" Colette placed her hand on the Bronze Gate which would lead them inside the dungeon. The adorable dwarf chose Normal Difficulty. A second later, the gate in front of them opened wide.
"Please, listen to my orders once we're inside," Colette reminded everyone. "Although this is just the Normal Difficulty, we might still be killed if we're not careful."
Everyone, including Lux nodded in agreement.
Seeing that no one had any complaints, Colette led the way and everyone else followed behind her.