The dungeon's first floor boasted it's darkness as the vines encroached the walls and moss ate the ground.

It was unclear as to how many floors this dungeon had.  There were rumors that it was about 10 floors deep.

Saying its approximately ten floors means it would take over two weeks to finish conquering it.

They say that this is the biggest raid that ever happened in the kingdom and that the king has personally sent some of his knights to aid the leader.

The four walked through the darkness. The entrance is so narrow that two people won't fit side by side.

They had to walk in a straight line to proceed.

The floor's slippery due to the moss and smooth rocks that are plentiful in the floor.

It'd be too embarrassing if Reeve were to slip so he walked while staying cautious.

In front of him was the girl that saved her before. He's still wary of her movements so he stayed at the back until they make it to the wider rooms of the dungeon.

He didn't know if he could trust the girl. He knew that she saved him but it's far too suspicious.

She's too kind, and that's not something an otherworlder would do in his eyes.

While they walked through the tight path, they placed torches that would light the way for the raiding party.

This was a common practice for scouts. Reeve was still surprised by Jeor's proposal of scouting with him.

They reached a wide room that may surprise many because of how narrow the opening was.

"The map says that there's a goblin's nest near this place. We best be silent."

With a group this small, being surrounded by goblins would not be a good way to start the raid.

During the introductions, he learned that the girl's name was Hekate or Katie for short.

The one besides him was Alas, the boy who was recruiting yesterday.

It seems like he was the son of the blacksmith who provided the weapons for the raid.

Alas seemed too tense for his own good. Maybe it was his first time to scout?

His weapons showing signs of being new supported Reeve's hypothesis.

Katie on the other hand wasn't bothered by the warning. She placed the torches and walked casually.

It looks as if she wasn't in a dungeon at all. This struck a nerve to Reeve even he was kinda anxious.

He had been almost killed by goblins but that was because of his overconfidence about the situation.

He convinced himself that he looked forward to fighting the goblins.

"Hey Reeve have you been to a dungeon before?" Alas whispered as they walked through the darkness.

"No this is my first time. You?"

"This is the first for me as well. I'm kinda worried that something might happen but excited at the same time. Hehe"

His face clearly did not show his excitement. Beads of sweat can be seen in his forehead while he whispered that.

"I see, there's a chance that we'll encounter goblins soon so look forward to that."

"W-What?! Are you serious? We need to retreat!" Alas accidentally shouted making everyone looked at him with a surprised face.

"I was clearly joking. Relax for god's sake."

"I-I see. Hehe. I knew that." A sense of relief was shown in his face after I told him it's a joke but the chance of encountering some is truly high.

"Can you both keep your mouths shut?" Katie looked at us with agitation as she followed Jeor obediently.

She might also be scared of encountering goblins in the dungeon. Goblins are known to be much stronger in dungeons.

Jeor didn't seem to care about Alas' scream it even made him chuckle a bit.

A few hours passed and the first floor seemed like it'd go on forever. Before reaching the end, they encountered something unusual.

A garbled noise was heard from afar. Reeve's detection skill activated and warned him of hostile enemies.

Jeor hurled his torch over to the source of the noise and there showed goblins with their sharp nails and nasty looking teeth.

"Cave Goblins." Jeor said as he took the axe from his back and readied himself for battle. Reeve noticed an aura covering not only Jeor's body but also his weapon.

He guessed that it was Battle Aura. Following Jeor's actions, he also activated his Battle Aura.

The other two prepared as well, Alas raised his sword and shield while Katie as the healer and mage stayed in the back lines.

Reeve and Jeor will serve as the vanguard while Alas protects the back line. This was the typical formation of dungeon parties.

Cave Goblins are known for their ability to attack even in the pitch black darkness.

They were born in caves so they rely heavily on their sense of smell and hearing.

They attack in groups and are known to be smarter than the average forest goblin.

These goblins lead to the death in the majority of dungeon parties raiding this place.

"I see that you also know of Battle Aura so do be careful okay boy?" Jeor then charged to the enemy there are approximately 20 in front of them.

"What do you mean?" Reeve shouted as he also ran following Jeor's lead.

"Katie! Light!" Jeor ordered as he started battling three goblins simultaneously.

"Yes! Blinding Light!" Katie raised her staff and with it came a flash of light that blinded the goblins.

Being used to darkness became their weakness as they all cowered back from the intense brightness.

The spell gave Jeor and Reeve the opportunity to defeat several goblins while they were blinded.

If Reeve had looked back, he'd also be blinded by the spell and thus be the end of him.

Using his cross cut skill, he defeated many monsters one by one. The Battle Aura also helped a lot.

He easily tanked all the attack because of the aura enveloping him.

Battle Aura is the primary buff used by warriors of Erelest to combat mages and monsters.

It significantly raises both defense and magical defense that the person has.

Furthermore, the aura also increases your attack depending on how strong the aura enveloping your body has.

It's crucial for dungeon parties to have these kinds of people in the group but having a battle aura is uncommon even for experienced fighters.

And that's why Jeor was assigned as the leader of the left wing and the scouts. He excelled in using Battle Aura after years of training.

He's also an ex-knight of the Kingdom of Alarus, which is the kingdom where they are in.

The goblin slaughter was inevitable with the light magic aiding Reeve and Jeor, the battle become so one sided that the enemies retreated.

They quickly eliminated those who are escaping to prevent them from gathering reinforcement for a possible ambush in the future.

The goblins didn't stand a chance and couldn't recover from the initial shock and them being blinded by the light.

These factored in to their defeat. The fight ended with no injuries, it would be considered a great success for a scouting party.

Jeor had also marked the area on the map he was carrying to serve as a warning next time they pass through here.

After the battle, Reeve's body suddenly became heavy as his breathing got deeper and deeper.

It seems that using Battle Aura takes a toll of one's own body.

"Haha! Hey boy tired aren't you? Are you just starting to get the hang of using Battle Aura?"

Reeve has no clue if Jeor's voice was condescending or was merely joking.

He didn't know that the skill would deplete his stamina after just one battle.

"Is this normal?" Reeve asked knowing that the person he is asking was an expert.

"Well yeah, I remember when I first started using the skill. I can't even move a muscle after just one battle.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It's a surprise that you can even talk. Let's rest here for a few minutes then head back to camp."

Reeve saw that he has a new message that popped up. He was about to check it out when.

SLAP!

Reeve shocked from what happened looked at the person who slapped him.

The one who slapped him was the otherworlder, Katie.

When he looked at her, he saw her face that showed a stressed out demeanor.

"IDIOT! IDIOT! YOU REALLY DO HAVE A DEATH WISH HUH?!"

"What are you talking about?" Reeve felt clueless about the situation.

He din't know why she had to slap him.

"You're too careless! If you didn't know how to use something properly, then practice without any danger!

What you're doing will be the death of you. Don't you have anyone that worries about you?!

Dying like this is idiotic! If we weren't here, and you used that skill then what would've happened?

YOU'D BE DEAD WHERE YOU STAND!"

All became clear to Reeve, this girl didn't want him to die. The girl that he hated for the sins of others.

He ignored every bit of kindness she had shown him. In front of him was a girl who treasured life.

Someone who would help a dying stranger whom she shouldn't even be approaching.

With that understanding, he finally talked.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but all of them are dead by the hands of you otherworlders.

They let them be killed as they let me watch from afar. I saw women and children die.

I saw people who treated me like family call out my name as they get murdered by monsters."

Reeve reminisced with pure hatred shown in his face.

She now knew that he wasn't like them. He wasn't from another world.

He is from this world but has awakened on his own and is now seeking revenge that much is clear.

If it continues on like this, he would live for vengeance and more people will die.

"We're not all like that." She wanted to convince him of that but she also knew the darkness that comes with the power given to them.

Without the hud, all of them would've died already.

In this world, people without magic or strength would be equivalent to pigs waiting for slaughter when fights are involved.

The first days of having been transported here was rough for them. They didn't know where to go and what to do.

They even thought that this was just a game that would resurrect you if you die. It wasn't the case.

People that died never came back. It was a game set with a permadeath status, many thought.

Lots of people killed by monsters before they mastering the basics of the hud.

Some who survived got enslaved by kings and other nobility by means of contracts.

They provided food and resources but it's just a way of luring them in.

Katie was one of the lucky few to have survived the first months.

She was transported to a town that welcomed her and educated her about the world.

After gaining enough strength, she traveled all over the kingdom in order to gather information about people like her.

It's there that she realized what had happened to those who are unfortunate.

Even today, some are hiding from the general populace but some who grew in power went on a power trip while destroying every town they encountered.

The latter victimized Reeve's town and in turn awoken him. This was the way of the world right now.

People call this era, the Age of Others.

A worldwide power struggle between nations will happen soon after they amassed an army of otherworlders.

Rumors of war can be heard all over the place. They knew that with this much disturbance in the world, war was inevitable.

With great power comes the yearning for it. Human's greed will play a part in this world's destruction if people aren't careful.

Thinking about it made Katie tremble with fear knowing that they'd be used as weapons.

The amount of lives that will be lost is too unbearable for her. She wanted to run away but she knew she had to do something.

That was when she encountered Reeve in a near death state. She even followed Reeve on this raid in order to watch over him.

She thought that if she could even save a few lives then she won't feel useless about the situation.

She didn't know that who she saved might end up hunting people like her.

Even though she now realized what she had done, no regret came across her mind.

To her, every life is precious and there are already too many that have been sacrificed.

"Now that you know my reason for hating you then don't come near me. Seeing you otherworlders makes my blood boil.

I'll send you guys back to your world and make you think twice from ever coming back."

All Katie could do was silently follow as the four of them make their way out of the dungeon.

They successfully completed their mission but the atmosphere was too heavy for a celebration.

By the time they got out, night had already fallen and the mood outside was completely different.

Alcohol was overflowing, everyone enjoyed their last day of camping cause tomorrow will be the day that the group will start the raid.

Reeve finally opened the message from the hud.

He had forgotten to check it out while they were making their way out of the dungeon.

You have gained a level!

+3 Strength

+1 Constitution

+2 Dexterity

+3 Magic

+2 Charisma

+1 Skill Point(s)

Skills levels updated!

Cross Cut gained 2 level(s)

Battle Aura gained 1 level(s)

Intermediate Sword Mastery gained 1 level(s)

Basic Shield Mastery gained 1 level(s)

Detection gained 1 level(s)

After realizing that he has many unused points, he browsed the Skill Shop to see if there's anything he needs.

But much to his disappointment, there was no skills that can be bought by the skill points he has now.

Reeve wasn't at the camp when he opened this. He was training at a forest clearing away from the camp.

He practiced using his Battle Aura so that next time he won't run out of gas when fighting continuously.

Morning arrived and Reeve was woken up by Alas who was rounding up people to prepare for the raid.

The mood was tense as the leader of the party stood at the front lines.

It was the first time Reeve had seen him. He can tell that the leader was in his prime.

He can walk with ease even though he carries a huge sword in his back.

"Men of Erelest! We of the kingdom of Alarus will now take part not of a journey but of a struggle!

A struggle to- Fuhahahahaha! Sorry I can't! Hahahaha"

Alister can't make a straight face and can't even finish three sentences before he straight up laughed his heart out.

Other veterans laughed as well. Reeve was astonished by the fact that their leader is somewhat carefree.

"Anyway, I don't have any kind of speech that will bolster your morales any more than I've given already.

I provided alcohol and weapons and armor. I can even provide women if you survived this raid.

You are in the best possible condition before raiding a dungeon so I will only say this once.

Don't disappoint me." He stretched out his hands to the troops like he was offering victory already.

What he said was true. There's no excuse for them not having the best state imaginable.

He showed no emotion other than confidence. It was clear that he would not retreat even in the most dire situations.

Everyone knew that they were entering a life or death situation once they are inside.

This is the man they call Alister Greyheart, the dungeon conqueror.