Good Morning, to those in Anko-Nazta’s Inkoran-Tazul! Regardless of where you are or who you are, the Origin Gods wish all of you a fine WaterDay. Today marks the beginning of the first Event Quest after the implementation of the unique Job System. Participation in the rank A dungeon [Manethala’s Nest] will yield many rewards and bonuses. For the grand prize for those able to complete this challenge, you will be eligible to gain a unique Job.

Rules:

1. Your participation will be registered through your party the moment you enter the dungeon. You may not change members mid-way through, even if you lose a member by any means.

2. Betrayal of your group through any means will be scrutinized by the Goddess of Order, Plesia. In this revelry, punishment shall be the reward reaped for those willing to break the concept and theme of this Event Quest.

3. Victory goes to the party able to reach the last floor of the dungeon, where you will confront the rank A drake, Manethala. Your challenge will depend on the drake’s mood and decisions, scrutinized by Goddesses Crustacia and Chihiro.

4. The designated party leader may surrender at any time, meaning the party will give up further participation and be automatically transported out of the dungeon for their safety. You will still acquire a reward. The party leader will be scrutinized under rule 2.

5. Individual members may leave the party at any time by either leaving the dungeon through the front entrance, emergency exits within the dungeon, or through space-time. You may also call out your surrender, forcing the dungeon to expel you automatically for your safety. Your rewards will be determined by how far you made it.

6. Everybody has one entry. Once you surrender or leave the dungeon, you forfeit your right to continue in this Event Quest.

Event:

1. [Manethala’s Greatest Gambit] is the name of the Event Quest and involves parties to forge themselves through 15 floors of trials ranging from the physical to mental challenges— monster subjugations and puzzles.

2. Each party will face the same trials during this Event. You are allowed to help other parties.

3. Your reward will depend on how many floors your party manages to clear before Manethala’s last challenge is completed. The hard time limit for this Event will be this year’s New Year’s Eve.

4. Each member of a party will receive their individual rewards after the Event is over. Those with a unique Job already unlocked will receive a different reward if they become the victors.

This Event Quest is very difficult. The recommended level for the participants will be level 100, but during the duration of the Event Quest, anybody will be allowed to enter the dungeon as long as the rules are followed.

May you be blessed by the Origin Gods. Let [Manethala’s Greatest Gambit] begin!

And so, the day has come.

Raucous cheers coming from the filled streets of Inkoran-Tazul’s “Hub” entered my ears. The whistling of the wind was replaced by this tumultuous storm of sounds, ranging from shouts, to music, to just general fanfare. The sharp prickles of winter’s snow did not deter any of them for an obvious reason. The day of the Event Quest had finally begun.

Meaning, it was also time for me to fulfill my duty as Princess Hestia’s only [Hestia’s Imperial Guard]. As her second retainer after Miss Saori, it was my responsibility to lead our expedition force and make sure everybody survives in her stead!

My name is Tasianna Marina Silverpond, and I will not fail Princ—

“Tasianna.”

—Eyyyyaaah!

I snapped away from the window overlooking the streets, turning my body around in a panic. Once I realized who it was, I calmed down, trying to slow down my breathing and heart. “Princess Fargryneill.”

“… Sorry for scaring you.” My illustrious lady’s half-sister scratched her black lion mane-like hair as she apologized. Since Princess Hestia considered her an important person, I did as well. “I didn’t think you would be this worried about the Event. We got enough hard-hitters in the party after the diplomatic leaders handed us their representatives that we should have no problem. Relax.”

“T-that isn’t what I am worried about, Your Highness. My mind is more occupied with Lady Hestia’s absence …”

It had been over a week now since Princess Hestia went into the [Menagerie of Golems] dungeon with Tatsuya, Kyouya, and Rajah. While I had full trust in my lady, it still felt weird that I wasn’t by her side. No, it was worse. The fact she hasn’t visited us through her subspace made me worry. I wanted to serve her some tea again. Not being able to be her maid was making me anxious.

Princess Fargryneill, understanding this, couldn’t help but sigh at my response. “My hatchling sister isn’t weak. In fact, she’s far too strong for her age! If we were in Kargryx, she would be ruling over all the rambunctious whelplings of her generation. We still have [Hestia’s Retainer] and it hasn’t warned us about anything yet. She’s fine.”

“I understand, but why hasn’t she come to visit yet?! She hasn’t taken a shower for days now! Oh, Depth Goddess has mercy on her body odor! What is a mistress without her retainer?”

I have been serving Princess Fargryneill during Princess Hestia’s absence as a substitute, but it didn’t feel right. Nothing against her, she was a good mistress to serve, but not being by my lady’s side made me feel incomplete. I understood I was worrying too much, but I couldn’t help but compare her to Princess Schuri at this point. If something were to happen to Princess Hestia, I would never be able to forgive myself.

[“We understand your plight, Tasianna. We, too, struggle.”] A female’s voice entered my head as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

[“However, as her retainers, we have a duty to become stronger in her name.”] A new voice, this time it was a male’s. [“We have to rely on Svena, Haati, and Lorena to keep the Empress safe for our mission. You must, too, Tasianna. Rely on Tatsuya, Kyouya, and Rajah that they will keep our Princess safe.”]

It was Shay and Beth, the twin snow wyverns!

Once dragonkins we mistook for enemies, now they were loyal retainers to Princess Hestia’s mother, Empress Melloxtressa. Just like me, they’ve been worrying about our young mistress from a retainer’s perspective. Now they were telling me I should stop worrying?

Shay, seeing me frown, continued, [“Our mistress told us she wouldn’t be entering the subspace during her adventure. For the authenticity, correct? If she was in trouble, she would have entered the subspace already.”]

“But what if she ran into one of those anti-mana areas Grimnir mentioned? Or, what if her [Room] runes broke!” I tried to argue, but Princess Fargryneill brushed it aside.

“The Ankoran King gave her maps for every single floor. State-controlled dungeons rarely change, since the governments control them as money-makers, and that is especially the case for monster rooms and any trick areas. The maps will guide them … unless Hestia and the boys are completely dumb and decide to recklessly charge forward.” The princess massaged a temple, looking annoyed at the thought of that. “The [Room] runes getting broken is a concern, yes, but Hestia is smart enough to handle things. I believe she’s smart enough, at least.”

Well, that is true. She has her moments, but Her Highness would rarely risk the lives of her friends.

[“Also, weren’t there just some random adventurers and black mercs in the scout's report?”] Beth brought up. [“Aside from those otherworlders and Imperials, there shouldn’t be any issue for our lady. There's no hint of any dragonslayers entering.”]

That’s also true.

With the dragonewts’ and levianewts’ clear antagonism and constant patrols, any dragonkin slayers either had already fled the city or were hiding before the Event Quest today. We even made absolutely sure no dragonslayers would enter the [Megenarie of Golems]. Well, at least the Ankoran King made sure everything worked out.

Speaking of King Fugnarus, he has been quite stressed out recently. The big reason for this was due to all the representatives within the city and how he kept noting how he wished Princess Hestia would come back safely. The representatives of Loatryx have been pestering him how “irresponsible it was to send our young Princess into the dungeon without a proper guard.” Well, not like I could argue against that … but they also complained to our faces about it.

I sighed when I had that thought before shaking away my worries. The Event Quest had begun, so I had to start doing my job as this expedition force’s leader. I walked down the stairs with the three people I spoke with, while also noticing some gnomes flying around.

They were the earth elemental lesser fae, and these yellow little buggers were just as dutiful as their dwarven “cousins.” Cousins since they were created by the same Earth Elemental King who created the dwarves. Since I was a faemancer, I could see and interact with these little guys.

“Any problems?” I asked them.

Little, weird sounds inaudible to non-faemancers entered my ear. At first, they were indecipherable, but the System interpreted it for me to understand.

“Much action happening in golem farm. Much action and destruction.” One of them kept repeating a message I’ve been hearing ever since Princess Hestia entered the dungeon.

“Scaly, scaly always barely therie. Always scary, scary for scaly, scaly,” another answered, probably speaking about the dragonkin slayers inside the city.

This was one of the challenges of speaking with these faefolk. You rarely got any clear or concise information, but since they could exist everywhere and be undetected to the normal person, they made perfect spies. If only they could speak properly, instead of in these riddles.

While gnomes were less of a hassle to interact with compared to spirits and spriggans, they were still quite mischievous. I guess it was the nature of all faefolk—lesser, fairies, or elementals—to be a bit of a bother.

Well, I guess they will be useful once we enter the dungeon. They should be everywhere there.

Whether they would answer me was a different question.

Nevermind them, we were currently relaxing inside the Loatryxian embassy. We were scheduled to meet everybody here due to the safety of the place, especially for Princess Fargryneill. We were still worrying about some extremely strong dragonslayers, especially the rank S slayer called Galg, finding our two dragon princesses. As such, the dragonewts decided to host us here as we prepared for our trip.

Once we reached the lobby, I couldn’t help but smile as the rest of our group greeted us. Grimnir was making the last few equipment checks, Ellaine was checking on the manatech equipment she made for our members, and the students kept reviewing the possible trials, or “gambits” as they called it, and what to expect.

Ellaine, Grimnir, Nishio, Misaki, Kazumi, Kohaku, Shay, Beth, Princess Fargryneill, and I; we were the first to be chosen for the party. Meaning, we already had ten people going from the get go. Afterwards, we got confirmation from Saint Kushlek’zar, Krim-Slak, Grazlahta, and Akasht, bringing our crew up to 14.

Now, the issue was that, while we all wanted for us to win and gain a unique Job, the same could also be said about everybody else. Specifically, the different countries stated to join the summit. In addition, we also had nobles and people from outside of the summit, like Atadoro, Astraford, Rakatheen. Surprisingly, there weren’t officials from the Folschreck Empire, the Alliance of Carmaniate, or the church of Aurena. You only had “randoms” from those latter three.

Regardless of the reason, seeing so many political parties visiting Inkoran-Tazul for the Event Quest was a sight to behold, even to me. The tension between different countries and factions, though, was quite severe. Artorias and Atadoro were mortal enemies, the elves of Saelariel were not fond of humans, and vassal countries from the Empire were hostile with any non-human. Well, at least the vampires of Purchigchia weren’t here, or we would have some problems with Aleistunum, too.

Nevertheless, the point of these quarrels was the Event Quest. Monarchs and leaders wanted their people, their country, to benefit the most from this Event. And since the rules clearly stated there could only be one winner, everyone's competitive nature was heightened to the point the Ankoran King probably had a headache keeping it all from boiling over at this point.

As such, to accommodate people and make sure we didn’t anger Princess Hestia’s future political allies, we had to leave room open for their representatives. Due to modern party bracelets allowing up to twenty people in a party, we still had space for six more members.

I stepped towards the side of the room, where the reception of the embassy was located. Due to our presence, the lobby was kept mostly empty for our, or rather Princess Fargryneill's, usage. Along with Ellaine, Grimnir, Saint Kushlek’zar, and the princess, I walked towards the people waiting there for us.

These six people were not only their country representatives, but also our bodyguards. Honestly, I couldn’t help but be nervous in their presence.

The first to greet us was a tall, but slim, high elven man in a beautiful, silky green-white suit. He bowed, letting some golden hair strands fall onto his face. “Honor to the Wind Mother, Tasianna Marina Silverpond, my na—”

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“Princess Fargryneill!” However, the poor man was immediately interrupted by a strongman-built, black-scaled dragonewt knight. He shoved the elven man aside and kneeled down before our kirin-dragon princess. “‘Tis an honor for a dragoknight like me to become your shield, my princess. Allow this body of mine to bleed in your stead as we journey into the depths. As a member of Kary—Grwwah!”

“Shut it, you idiot.” Out of nowhere, a dragonewt woman with white-snow scales kicked the dragon-headed dragoon, pinning him on the ground with her foot. The snow-haired dragonewt smiled at Princess Fargryneill, grinning mischievously. “Not as bad as Pradreo or Skardrvo, but still pretty annoying, right, Your Highness?”

She nodded to the woman, looking already exhausted. “… Always is, Yorshka.”

Artorias, Saelariel, Ankor-Nazta, Loatryx, and Caedhul, had all sent their representatives. Estralia and Yeos were allies as well, but the former rejected joining our group since they had no strong fighters, while Yeos could not spare anybody, even if they had somebody equally as strong as the people before us.

However, that left one spot open, meaning the remaining five could bring one more person on. Decided by a very anti-climatic game of drawing straws, the one who drew the longest one was the Loatryxian. As such, they decided on bringing another dragonewt and that was Yorshka. Although she hadn’t visited her home country in years, she was still considered one of their best dragoons. In addition, she had synergy with the rest of us already, so that helped her case amongst her countrymen.

Still, I presumed this was more a political move from the Loatryxian, not due to foreign but inner diplomacy. As this party was organized by Princess Hestia, having one black-scaled Kargryxian dragonewt and one from Nordor was to essentially appease the latter clan. Well, I wasn’t too privy to all the political details, so that was just my presumption.

Regardless, that wasn’t why we were here.

“Oi, we ain’t got much time. Get the introductions over with, bladdarg.”

From the side, a Taz dwarf came forward with heavy steps, practically creating small quakes with each step he took. On his back was a large tower shield and a polearm with a curved cleaver head—a voulge—that looked far too broad and stocky that no normal person should be able to carry it. This, however, didn’t surprise me too much as I had seen such a warrior already in Gazahan-Orn; this person was an Earthshaker, the dwarven term for a warrior who wore armor so heavy and imposing, they looked more like golems or mobile foretresses.

“Rudigan Vagunyga. Earthshaker and Champion of Crustacia.” The Taz then grabbed the facemask of his helmet, causing his manatech armor to create mechanical noise as the metal plates pried themselves open. He stared at us before he glared at Grimnir. “Grimnir … Ya ain’t here to besmirch your new mistress, right?”

Grimnir, in his own manatech armor, scoffed at him and began stroking his growing orange beard. He eyed him up and down, before shaking his head. “Hope that armor of yours won’t die on us during battle. Earthshakers without their runes are sitting ducks.”

“Ha! That’s why I have you here, right? Runesmith of clan Luedbrumdar? With what my cousin did to ya clan, they need a heroic feat to bring them some honor now that they were stripped of all their wealth and privileges.”

“Ha! I’m a Luedbrumdar only in name. My place is by Dragon Princess Hestia, Lord Rudigan.”

“… Let the Earth Mother be the witness to your new life.” He closed his mask before taking a step back.

Clan Vagunyga, one of the major dwarven clans and also the family of Ankoran Queen Tragaya. This person was her Majesty's cousin and a Champion of Crustacia, meaning we not only had Saint Kushlek’zar on our side, but someone to represent Goddess Crustacia. In addition, from what I heard, Gazahan-Orn was under the rule of clan Vagunyga, so Grimnir and Rudigan seemed to have a history.

“Then let me continue.” A human man with a unique polearm called a swordspear stepped forward, stretching his shoulder. His flaring red hair and eyes reminded me a bit of Princess Hestia, but unlike her, this man was quite a bit older. “Farron Nordor. I’m a bit rusty from an old wound, but I used to serve as a knight for Artorias. I’m not as reputable as the rest of you, but here is to a new friendship between our races.”

The representative of Artorias was none other than Farron. From what I heard, Duke Lecartiglio’s son and the leader of King Drangleic’s royal order were both candidates for the role, but in the end, Farron was chosen due to the former two’s importance. Meaning, they weren’t allowed to die. A bit callous of a reason to choose Farron, but since Yorshka was to be chosen, he was just the best candidate even if he still hadn’t gotten rid of all his rust.

“Hahaha, and I toast to that, my friend! Farron!” The black-scaled dragonewt freed himself from Yorshka’s foot and jumped up, grabbing Farron over his shoulder. The tall dragonewt towered over the human, warmly embracing him before bashing his chest as he looked at us. “Here’s to a new alliance between us western countries under the watch of our newest dragon princess, Hestia Atsuko KARGRYXMOR! Do not worry, my friends, I, Midirn Rango Kargryxmor will be your protector!”

He then let go of Farron and kneeled back in front of Princess Fargryneill. “Heir to Clan Kargryxmor of Loatryx and a candidate to the position of commander of the Imperial Dragonflight. I greet you in my father’s and the kinkyuro’s place, my princess.”

“Stand. You know I don’t like this,” the princess ordered.

He did as she said before looking over at Ellaine, causing her to flinch back a bit. He grinned, showing off his razor-sharp teeth. “Yorshka said she trained you, little human. You’re a representative of not only our youngest princess, but also of Artorias, like my good friend Farron! I will watch over you, so impress me!”

“U-uhm, uhm! Yes, of course! As Princess Hestia’s knight, I have a duty to fulfill here!” Ellaine stuttered for a moment but quickly recovered, saluting him with as much dignity as possible.

“Graaaaaah!” he growled as he raised an arm in the air. “Good! Count me as your protector! A Kargryxmor does not shy from a fight—Awwrk!”

“Stop shouting!” Yorshka punched him on the head, only to sigh as she saw him grin at her. She then used [Humanize], changing back into her imposing white dragonewt form. “Yorshka Sirris Nordor. Former Knight-Captain of the Knights of Aurena, former platoon leader of an Imperial Dragonflight squad—Loatryx’s royal dragoons. They called me a genius back home, but in front of everybody here, I don’t think I really am. What do you say, Sir Champion?”

The fifth person of this wonder group stepped forward—No, slithered forward as he had no legs but a snake’s tail. He was a naga in a suit of thick metal, looking like a scary knights of the depths. His helmet opened, letting out steam as he revealed his human-like face. It was somebody we already knew.

“Tehmrayn. Champion of Zennithra, God of Tridents and Divers, and a depth’s adjudicator of the Depth Goddess. A pleasure.” He closed his mask. Just like our first meeting in Elyonda, this Champion of the Water Pantheon wasn’t much of a talker. “Saint Kushlek’zar, it is good to work with you again.”

“Aye, Champion Themrayn. Xohulotel bless us!” Our saurian priest prayed, slapping his tail on the ground in elation. “You should have stayed, my friend. The feast Champion Hestia gave was marvelous; you missed out on a chance to celebrate a victory!”

“I was needed elsewhere,” he answered bluntly. “I came here on Caedhul’s wishes. The unique Job shall be ours, so we may serve the Depth Goddess better. Tasianna, you too.”

“May the Goddess of Water keep us safe.” I gave a small prayer, unable to help myself as a fellow Depth Goddess follower. However, I still had to address one more person.

I turned to the last person waiting— an elf as tall as Farron, but shorter than the two dragonewts and the saurians. His golden blond hair was a sight to behold, not to mention his beautiful verdant-green bow made from a combination of wood and metal. His quiver was partially empty, but from the mana I felt from his gloves and bow, I guessed there was a trick to them.

He bowed before Princess Fargryneill before taking out his amulet to the Wind Mother, Goddess Zephira. He gave a silent prayer before turning over to me to do the same.

“Meoshaera roy Sheothrudra. Aifli. (Princess of Dragons. Fairy.) Azelfa Yungrun Groveshield.”

“Groveshield?” I immediately picked up on that name. I knew I heard it somewhere.

“Yes, my elder sister has sent me letters from your group. Muraina is her name; she acts as the hunter’s guild master of Griffonpeak.”

That quickly reminded me of the elf woman our group met in Griffonpeak. Muraina Yvetta Groveshield, an extraordinary archer and a member of the Haireti, the ranger’s corp of Saelariel. I remembered how she was a major part of how we managed to repel and kill the rank A geisenlarg king which attacked Griffonpeak. If she hadn’t held it back until Princess Hestia could fight it, the city would have most likely fallen.

“I may be a Champion of Zephira, but I pale in comparison to my elder sister. Regardless, please, allow me to provide you with my bowmanship.” He was extraordinarily humble, considering you couldn’t become a Champion of a god for no reason or without any feats. Honestly, the fact he mentioned his sister, a rank A archer, at the very least, increased my impression of him.

Then again, how could it not? We had a blessed of Crustacia, Plesia, and Zephira in our twenty man party. This was, honestly, beyond excessive if this was just a normal Quest. Sadly, it wasn’t, and we had to make sure everybody got out of this alive and with a unique Job. This was just the minimum effort required.

“Alright!” I clapped my hands, drawing the students, wyverns, and saurians close to us. “Today marks the start of the Event Quest as all of you know. My name is Tasianna Marina Silverpond, and by the order of Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, I shall be leading this expedition force into [Manethala’s Nest].”

I then turned to the rest of this group. “Everybody, I assumed you listened to us. I shall be splitting our parties into smaller groups for us to coordinate better and to allow everybody some room to get to know each other better. Is everybody alright with this decision?”

“Yes!” Everybody nodded.

As such, I placed everybody into their pre-planned division.

First and foremost, we had our frontliners, our tanks, as Princess Hestia would say. They would consist of Grimni, Akasht, and Rudigan. Two stout dwarves and a saurian hulk who was the size of an actual rank C monster would act as our shields.

Our second line of defense were our fighters, those responsible to support the frontliners by fending off flankers or any agile enemies. The red and green saurians, Krim-Slak and Caszcur, would be the main unit of this group, while Champion Tehmrayn and Princess Fargryneill would further support them through sheer power. I would also have Kohaku in this group, to allow her to learn from her seniors.

The next were our skirmishers, responsible for get-in-and-out fighting styles. However, this was mostly a dragoon party, as the people inside this were Ellaine, Yorshka, Farron, and Midirn. In addition, Shay and Beth would join in, making this our main offensive force. Although the fighters had people like Champion Tehmrayn and Princess Fargryneill, they would be less involved in flanking and were there to draw people’s attention to them.

The second to last group were our archers and scouts, meaning Misaki, Kazumi, and Azelfa. Misaki was a talented archer, so she would benefit greatly from Azelfa’s help. Kazumi, after Grimnir’s gave her a new set of weapons, could contribute greatly as a harasser.

The last division were the mages and healers, meaning Saint Kushlek’zar, Nishio, and me.

Ellaine, Grimnir, and I were also responsible for secondary tasks like repairs, artificer work, and alchemy. Everybody had a sub-role, but those three were the ones I considered the most important.

“How is your eyesight, Miss Misaki? I am not aware of how otherworlders fight.” And right after everybody had met their teammates and introduced themselves, they immediately started talking. Azelfa, for example, was quite curious about his black-haired co-archer.

“Quite good. Peolynca’s System allows me to see further than I could ever imagine. My eyes are like a sniper scope. I will be relying on you, Sir Azelfa.” Neither were reacting much, but it seemed like they were building a fast friendship.

Meanwhile, there was a commotion with the dwarves.

“Guns?!” Rudigan raised his voice as both Kohaku and Kazumi showed off their new sets of weapons.

The red-tinted haired Kohaku grinned widely, wielding both her sword and a handheld projectile weapon called “gun.” “It’s just a prototype, don’t worry! It still needs some tuning, so I’ll mostly fight as a runeslayer.”

“This was our best option for a range weapon without impacting our equipment load. We can’t use [Storage Magic] everywhere,” the katzune-like Kazumi mentioned, showing off her bulky dual mana-pulsating guns before switching over to her knives. “Although … we’re not Americans, so I don’t think you should expect good marksmanship. Not to mention, they are so heavy without the runes.”

“ ‘American?’” Rudigan sounded confused. Since we had told everybody our secrets, people knew the students came from Earth.

“Stop questioning it, Lord Rudigan. And, don’t even try to speak about Bleidla to them. They came from Goddess Chihiro’s world, so let them have the managuns. It took Ellaine and I too long to create those three beauts. Still too huge to my liking, and not enough power.”

“… That ain’t the problem. You made them using the stuff you stole from the Revoution Queen’s vault, right?” He looked at Grimnir, but since his mask was on, we couldn’t see what his expression was.

Grimnir shrugged before turning over to Ellaine, who was speaking with Farron. “Lass?”

“Got it, Master!” Ellaine nodded, before turning back to Farron. “Once again, I can’t wait to fight with you, Sir Farron. My father has spoken too much about you when you were still active. I apologize I didn’t bring it up, but, you know.”

Farron waved his hand, dismissing her worry. “Don’t mention it. I couldn’t fight much back then but … Mhmm, Lord Andre would be proud of you. You’ve grown, Lady Ellaine.”

“Thank you!”

I left everybody to gather some rapport while I turned to three students who wouldn’t be participating today. Haruka, Daichi, and Tamae weren’t as confident in their ability to fight, so they ended up staying back. As we couldn’t access the subspace due to the rules, they couldn’t support us, unless we had Princess Hestia around to circumvent it.

This included our other support staff like Rita, Svena, Haati, Lorena, Cernust, and Priscilla. They would all stay behind, wishing us luck and to come back safely. It was also my responsibility to ensure their wishes came true.

Once we all told them goodbye, we departed from the embassy and headed towards the dungeon located at the bottom of the Inkong mountain where the royal palace was situated. People were already entering the dungeon, as the fanfare had risen to the point of chaos. Soldiers were trying to keep everything in control, but the vast majority were too absorbed in the excitement to listen. If this wasn’t outside the city, a huge accident could have happened.

Our group didn’t say any goodbyes to our respective leaders, since it would be more of a bother with how crowded everything was. In fact, it would just put a target on our back. Instead, we met up with our support crew.

“Ready!” Pradreo and Skardrvo, the two dragonewts Princess Hestia met a few weeks ago, greeted us. “We’ve noticed some dragonkin slayers entering the dungeon. We will send in our troops before you, Tasianna.”

Playing the rules, as they say. Since the rules stated people gained rewards depending on the floors they reached, it was also important to our allies that we allow their troops to venture as deeply as possible. In response, they would also act as our support group while we delved, ensuring we made it to the end.

In other words, we had the help of a limited number of forces from the summit alliance. Meaning, we had an army helping us out. This wasn’t a solo expedition, this was essentially the alliance’s unofficial first mission together. All I could hope was that everything worked out, since not only dragonkin slayers but also hostile countries would be entering this Event Quest.

Things are about to turn chaotic.

I could feel the glares of some people on our backs, but where they came from, I wasn’t sure. There were just too many of them. For sure, it was clear Princess Hestia’s journey into her dungeon wouldn’t be the most eventful. Our dungeon dive was about to turn into something more, something based on diplomacy.

Gods have mercy on us.

Welcome to [Manethala’s Nest]. The Event Quest [Manethala’s Greatest Gambit] will begin in a moment … Welcome to my lair. For our first contest, let us cull some of these numbers.

As the robotic voice of the Divine System changed to that of a man’s, a chill went down my spine as I took a step into the dungeon’s stairs. In the next moment, my vision blurred, turning blue as that same voice continued.

How about some hide-and-seek? Try to find your party members inside a giant forest with a bunch of enemies. Not only monsters, but your competition. Only groups who assembled their entire party may proceed … don’t worry if some die, that is just a minus one to your total count! Huuuuhahaha! LET THE GREATEST GAMBIT BEGIN!

In the next moment, I was all alone in the middle of lush green trees. I looked around, unable to find anybody familiar, only to suddenly notice the look of three dirty, rancid-looking humans I had never met before. They glared at me, grinning with greed as they pulled out their weapons.

“… White flag? Until after we fuck her?” one of them suggested.

“Sure!”

… Tch. Humans.

An ice age upon humanity!