The group stood listening to the receptionist as she explained their next move. Miri, curious, broke the silence, "What's in it for us?"
With a confident smile, the receptionist replied, "The Chief will reward you handsomely if you accept and complete this urgent quest, young adventurers!"
Intrigued, they agreed to meet the village chief on the upper floor. The receptionist led them to the Chief's room, announcing their arrival. The chief, a commanding woman, introduced herself as Village Chief Dornias Seturia and wasted no time explaining the village's dire situation.
"A dungeon appeared near our village ten months ago," Dornias began. "Five months ago, a group of highly skilled B-ranked adventurers—the strongest known party in Seturia—set out to conquer it. They haven't returned since. We fear they may be gone or in serious trouble. We need you to investigate the dungeon and, if possible, clear it. Your help would be invaluable to us."
Miri, skeptical, raised an eyebrow. "We're new to this. Why ask us specifically?"
Tobe chimed in, more direct. "And what do we get out of helping you, huh?"
Before Dornias could respond, Jun interrupted with a playful jab to Tobe, "Kusakabe-senpai, this isn't the time to talk about rewards."
Dornias, unfazed, continued, "Am I wrong in assuming you were the party that reported this?" She unveiled a large, jagged horn.
Yuka's eyes widened. "Wait... isn't that Scale's horn?"
Dornias then responded "Who?"
Miri quickly interjected, "Nothing! Uh, yes, we did take down that Wind Wyvern."
Tobe, ever the scatterbrain, muttered, "But we didn't actually—" Then Miri clamped her hand over his mouth, shutting him up.
"That was no ordinary Wind Wyvern," Dornias said gravely. "It was a Great Wind Wyvern, one of the most powerful beasts known in our world. And you, young adventurers, defeated it with ease!"
Miri and Yuka exchanged surprised glances, their jaws nearly on the floor, while Jun looked at the two in disbelief. Then, Tobe, still oblivious, asked, "What makes it so special? They just put 'Great' in its name—" This time, both Miri and Jun silenced him.
Miri, trying to regain composure, smiled nervously. "We see your point. We'll help, but as my friend said, what's in it for us?"
Dornias leaned back thoughtfully. "How does 50 silver coins, 3 gold coins, 2 Great Heal Potions, and a rare Revive Potion sound?"
The three adventurers' faces lit up in disbelief, but before Tobe could ruin the moment, Miri, Jun, and Yuka all silenced him at once.
Yuka and Jun, their eyes sparkling, exclaimed in unison, "You can count on us, ma'am!" Miri simply gave a thumbs-up.
Pleased, Dornias handed them a purple orb. "Oh, use this when you're ready to enter the dungeon."
Miri, confused, asked, "What's this for?"
Dornias explained, "It's a Monitoring Orb. It records and broadcasts battles and displays them live on mana screens. Just add a bit of mana, and it will activate. Give it a try."
So Tobe poured mana into the orb, and it hummed to life, floating in the air. Dornias pointed to a wall where the live feed from the orb displayed on a mana screen. Showing the live broadcast on where the Monitoring Orb was facing.
Yuka, Jun, Miri and Tobe muttered "so it's just a floating video camera..."
Then they left the guild. While watching the four leave, she muttered to herself "Good luck, young adventurers. You may be the last hope to save those lost souls. My faith now rests upon you."
They knew the dungeon ahead was no joke, so each of them split up to train and prepare in their own way.
Yuka headed to a field swarming with wolves, pushing both herself and her summons, Blubby and Scale, to new heights. Blubby trained to absorb, block, and counter incoming attacks, while Scale worked on firing off skills and spells with greater speed and accuracy. After hours of honing their abilities, Yuka leveled up to 20 and unlocked a new skill, "Encouragement," boosting her summons' performance. Blubby reached level 26, and Scale leveled up to 33, each stronger and more precise than before.
Jun, meanwhile, worked his magic in town, hopping from shop to shop, gathering materials and brewing potions. He created an arsenal of status-effecting liquids—hallucination, sleep toxin, vision blurring, and even anger-inducing potions. After coating needles in these deadly concoctions, he gained access to a variety of tools: hallucination needles, sleep needles, blur needles, and anger needles. He also spent time refining his combat techniques, integrating his Rope Hook and dagger skills. By the end, Jun had reached level 23, unlocking two new skills: "Disguise" and "Snatch."
Miri focused on strengthening her defenses. After some combat training with a combat dummy in the training grounds, she leveled up to 27 and unlocked the skill "Shield Rush." To bolster her protection further, she visited the blacksmith in the neighboring village of Tifryk and bought light iron armor and plate coverings for her arms, chest, and legs. This newfound armor granted her the skill "Defense Up." While in Tifryk, she also stopped by the Healers' Guild to recruit a healer for their upcoming dungeon raid.
As for Tobe, he ventured far outside the village, to a dangerous area teeming with monsters from F to C rank—wolves, goblins, slimes, and big bats. He dedicated himself to leveling up, practicing dodging, blocking, and unleashing powerful spells. His efforts paid off when he learned two new spells: "Aqua Control," allowing him to shape water into any form, like a pressurized blast for example, and "Reconstruct," which lets him manipulate physical surfaces with a mere touch of his hand. By the end of his grueling training, Tobe had grown to Level 30, now stronger and more confident, ready for the challenge ahead.
Once they were all prepared and ready, the group gathered in front of Seturia's guild. Tobe was the last to arrive, greeting the others with his usual bright smile. His eyes quickly landed on someone new—a figure carrying a massive backpack.
"Who's the new guy?" he asked, nodding toward the stranger.
Miri stepped forward and introduced the newcomer. "This is Elma Drifwood, our temporary healer. She's also a C-ranked adventurer."
Elma gave a warm smile, bowing her head slightly. "I'm Elma Drifwood, a Human and a C-ranked Alchemist. I specialize in healing and inflicting minor debuffs. I'm glad to be joining and helping you on this dungeon."
Tobe flashed a cheery smile and extended his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet'cha, new buddy!"
Elma reached out to shake his hand, but as soon as their hands touched, she felt an overwhelming surge of mana radiating from him. Elma's unique passive skill, Mana Sense, allowed her to detect the strength of a person's mana—and Tobe's was the most powerful she had ever encountered.
After the handshake, they got straight to work, making final preparations for the dungeon. Elma drew her trusty hammer and stocked up on healing, slowness, and confusion potions. Jun checked his pockets, filled with needles ready for quickdraw access. Miri was fully armored, while Yuka and her summons stood at the ready, boosted by her new Encouragement skill. Tobe, as always, brimmed with energy and positivity.
Once everyone was set, Tobe activated the Monitoring Orb, which broadcasted their journey. With a sense of purpose, they headed toward the dungeon doors, ready for whatever awaited them inside.
Just as they were about to enter the dungeon, seven cocky bandits and thieves leapt out of hiding, and ambushed the group.
The Thief Leader, grinning smugly, stepped forward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, there! You can't just waltz into the dungeon without paying the entrance toll, y'know?"
Tobe scowled, pointing a finger at him. "What the hell!? That's total BS!"
Miri drew out her blade with a serious glare. "Get out of our way!"
Elma, her eyes narrowing, quickly explained, "They're part of the Grey Veil, a notorious crime syndicate. These guys ambush adventurers near dungeons and force them to pay up... or fight back. And we're unlucky that this dungeon entrace was their target."
Tobe smirked, cracking his knuckles. "And they're unlucky because they messed with us! I'm not giving them a single coin. Let's knock these guys down!"
Weapons drawn, the young heroes prepared for battle, tension crackling in the air like static before a storm.
The first bandit charged at Yuka, dagger gleaming in his hand. But before he could get close, Blubby shot forward, blocking the attack with a ripple of slime. In a flash, Tobe unleashed Explosion Impact, sending the bandit flying to the side with a pained yell that followed.
Another bandit engaged Miri in a fierce swordfight. He held his ground for a moment, but Miri was too quick. With a swift Halo Flash, she blinded the bandit, then knocked him down in a blur of movement.
Nearby, a thief attempted to steal Jun's weapon but ended up swiping the wrong item—a pile of dense stones Jun had gathered earlier. Without hesitation, Jun used his Rope Hook to yank the thief toward him, then delivered a swift kick to the face, sending the thief sprawling.
Another thief targeted Elma, rushing at her with a blade. But Tobe was faster. Using Mana String, he and Jun with his Rope Hook combined their skills to pull the attacker toward them instead, slamming him to the ground. Before the thief could recover, Tobe cast Reconstruct, trapping him in the earth.
Meanwhile, Miri found herself facing the Thief Leader and another bandit. Activating Defense Up, she deflected their strikes with ease. Just as the second bandit prepared to strike, Tobe leapt into the air with his newly learned race ability "High Jump," then used Mana String to reel the bandit in the air, and then smashed him back to the ground with a thunderous Fall Lightning.
The last thief, desperate, lunged at Jun, but Jun dodged the attack and threw a blurring needle at the thief's back, distorting the thief's vision. Stumbling, the thief was quickly immobilized as Yuka commanded Blubby to fire sticky slime shots at his feet, trapping him in place. Just as the thief regained his vision, Elma appeared with a hammer in hand, delivering a comical yet brutal bonk to the head with her hammer, dropping him instantly.
Now, only the Thief Leader remained, circling Miri with a vicious grin. He had managed to wear her down slightly, but Miri wasn't done. With a swift strike, she landed a powerful slash, wounding him. Activating both Agility Up and Strength Up, she unleashed a flurry of slashes, cutting through the Thief Leader's defenses.
As the Thief Leader staggered, Tobe propelled himself forward with Mana String and unleashed a controlled Explosion Impact, sending him spinning in a circle while still on the ground. Jun followed up with a well-aimed blurring needle, distorting the leader's vision. Elma hurled a confusion potion, leaving the Thief Leader stumbling blindly, his senses in complete disarray.
"Now, Blubby!" Yuka commanded. Blubby shot more sticky slime at the leader's feet, immobilizing him. Finally, Yuka used Half-Summon and summoned Scale, who launched a charged Wind Cannon directly above the Thief Leader, knocking him brutally down to the ground.
With the fight over, Tobe used Reconstruct to trap the Grey Veil members, including their leader, in the ground. Jun quickly used Snatch to relieve the bandits of 75 bronze coins and 25 silver coins, splitting the loot evenly among the group.
Tobe then arrogantly told the Grey Veil members and their leader "If you ever escape, remember our faces! Because we wont be holding back on knocking you guys to the floor if we ever see you, or any member of your damn syndicate!"
(Note: The Monitoring Orb was actually recording the whole fight, and lets just say that from this point, Dornias, who is currently watching the live broadcast (and which was extremely impressed) decided to broadcast this to the rest of the world, so now, what the Monitoring Orb of Tobe and Miri is currently recording, is now being broadcasted live to many parts of this world, reaching many villages, towns, capitals, and even kingdoms.)
Elma and Miri then contacted the village guards to arrest the bandits and drag them to the guild. After the dust settled, Elma handed potions of stamina recovery to Miri, Jun, and Tobe. She didn't give one to Yuka, knowing she hadn't exerted much energy thanks to her summons doing most of the work.
With the interruption behind them and their strength restored, they turned once more toward the looming dungeon doors. This time, they entered, ready for whatever dark challenges awaited within.
End of Chapter Stats of our Young Adventurers:
Tobe Lvl 30 - (Spells: Mana String, Explosion Impact, Fall Lightning, Space Space, Aqua Control, Reconstruct)
Miri Lvl 27 - (Skills: Strength Up, Defense Up, Agility Up, Slash, Pierce, Block, Bash, Rush)
Yuka Lvl 20 - (Skills: Contract, Summon, Half-Summon, Encouragement. Summons: Blubby Lvl 26, Scale Lvl 33)
Jun Lvl 23 - (Skills: Disguise, Silent Step, Snatch, Stab, Slice, Pull, Needles)