We exit the decently sized village, and not too far away from its boundary, a peculiar operation comes into view. There are basic buildings scattered around a grayish boulder. Train tracks terminate near the area. A number of open wagons—each one is completely empty—occupy a single railway. A mine. But there is no entrance nor shaft in sight. Instead, a dungeon gate is almost touching the village’s namesake.

Miv sneaks away once again—a check with the foreman—to see if everything is okay. The crew has their own guards that keep away the dungeon monsters. But occasionally, the dungeon needs to be thinned. It would become too dangerous otherwise. Soon, he returns.

“Everyone, gather up. Luci, I’ll go over our strategy. This is an elemental variant, relatively open, has these lumbering Lesser Earth Elementals. We’ll go in and get in formation. Me and Nex in the front, vanguard. Sini and Ery in the middle, utilizing their high range to thin the monsters. Pemik will be in the back, providing overwatch. You are one fast fella, right?” I affirm. “Then, you can stick near my brother. If you are needed somewhere else, I’ll call for you.” He looks at each member intently. “Understood?” We all nod.

With the plan cemented, we enter the dungeon and quickly get into the aforementioned formation on the other side. I am next to Pemik, my sword drawn and ready to strike. He is holding his bow in his left hand, his right is on the string, applying a small amount of tension. No arrow. He is scanning brown and red canyon walls, going high toward an overcast, almost stormy sky. There is not a single sign of life, no vegetation, no animals.

I spot something near the entrance. You have got to be kidding me. There is a spherical formation, almost resembling a wart, springing out from the sedimentary rock. The darker rock of the formation is skewered with sharp angular pieces of iron. One hundred percent iron. Not a smidgen of rust can be seen. Can you even classify this as ore? I mean, there is iron, inside stone... I try not to sneer at the civilization training wheels next to me and focus on the deep rumbling ahead.

Miv’s voice is steady, practiced, “Incoming.” We stop walking and tighten our formation.

Pemik jumps up and positions on a narrow ledge, around ten meters up a cliff. He pulls his string and a crystalline arrow materializes. At the same time, Sini conjures a ball of water—around fifty liters—above her head. Pemik lets the arrow loose. It paints a white streak in the air, flying toward the approaching cloud of dust. It impacts with the sound of breaking glass, quickly followed by tumbling stone. Sini takes the hit as a signal and unleashes her waiting spell. Small blobs are drawn out of the sphere, swiftly draining its volume. Each one elongates and forms a more aerodynamic form, resembling a bolt. They freeze. The levitating projectiles are then propelled. The staccato of crystalline arrows is joined by a rain of frigid icicles. In a manner of seconds, the stampede of elementals heading our way is reduced to a field of loosely scattered rocks and clumps of dirt.

Pemik softly lands next to me, and Miv gestures forward. We continue ahead, going deeper into the sprawling canyon. As we progress, more and more elementals fall, dispatched with lethal precision. After almost an hour, Sini appears to tire.

“Ery, your turn.” She stiffens again, imperceptibly, and then acknowledges.

The next encounter arrives soon after. There are thirty elementals, meandering after a bend in the canyon. They have not yet noticed us. The lesser variant of the earth elemental is around two meters tall. An amalgamation of earth and rock, resembling a humanoid. It has faintly glowing yellow eyes, made of small pebbles, and an expected mass of multiple tons. I detect a different material slithering inside their bodies. A sphere of... something—the core.

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Both Pemik and Sini have been targeting the cores with significant accuracy, in line with my data that people can train themselves to pinpoint the location. Advanced mana senses. Though that is only applicable for very specific cases. Feeling and recognizing spells by their mana patterns, discerning enchantments, and distinguishing higher concentrations of mana when dealing with dungeons and their monsters. But from what I’ve read and heard, the feeling is very vague. More akin to smell than sight, if you dare to even draw a parallel between the physical and the magical.

Erysis takes a slightly different approach. She emulates Sini’s volley technique, but instead of precise penetration, she favors a more explosive style. Thirty fireballs form around her. With a gesture towards the oblivious monsters, the crackling projectiles are launched. Each one strikes its intended target, and each blows a huge hole, outright destroying the core or disabling the elemental. Our archer puts down the unfortunate survivors before they can reform. The fire mage is visibly winded from the spell, outlining the sheer power and masterful control of her senior. That is further confirmed when they switch back after nine more encounters. Was Erysis aiming for a nice round number?

After another hour, we have destroyed 87.3% of the monsters in the dungeon. It might appear as an enormous canyon, gouged in the earth, but it is actually quite limited in its area and monster distribution.

We are in a wider section of the dungeon formation, having ample visibility in all directions. Miv takes the opportunity and stops the party for a rest.

“Take five, everyone.”

Sini points at the ground and then gestures up. Convenient, if a little hard, seats made out of stone rise from the earth. We sit down and relax, though Pemik is still subtly scanning the perimeter.

Miv slaps his knees and says, “Excellent job everyone. Especially Sini and Ery. This dungeon has been sufficiently thinned. After we rest up, we are heading to the next. If they all go like this one, we might be done before sunset!” He laughs.

Erysis speaks up, “Miv, the boss must be close. Why don’t we conquer it? It will make the dungeon safer for even longer.”

He sighs, looking disappointed. “Come on, Ery. We talked about this. Why take the risk? The boss is dangerous. What happens if one of us gets hurt. Or, Goddess forbid, dies.” His eyes briefly dart to his brother, Sini was in the path, and I detect a subtle linger not even he was aware of. “Who will take our place? A quarter of the village works here, collecting the iron. I know it must sound callous to you, not giving our best, but the reality is, in the long run, we are. You are young, you want to prove yourself, I understand that.” Erysis readies to protest but hesitates, uncertain. “Three more dungeons today, three more bosses, three more rolls of the die.” His cheery voice dips down a bit. “And I’ve never been the luckiest.” Then returns to normal. “Think of what is best for everyone.”

I chime in, “Miv is right, Erysis. We need to be careful, so many people depend on us.” She turns to me. Come on...

“Yeah. You are right, Lucius.” Phew. Nexen squeezes her shoulder reassuringly.

We finish our rest and head back to the gate, much more promptly compared to before. Our formation elongates. Me and Pemik are lagging behind. He slowed his pace.

“Lucius.” I turn to him. “Brother forgot to mention, we have some connections with a merchant. They give us a better price than the Guild. That won’t be an issue, right?”

I look surprised. “Better price? How much?” Slightly skeptical.

“Twenty-five percent more.”

“Twenty-five! Count me in! I’ve been making shit.” I blush and clear my throat. “What I mean is, I need the coin.”

“We’ll see.” I nod again, confused.

We catch up to the rest. Miv glances back, checking in on everyone. Pemik gives a subtle nod, intended only for his brother. The gate out is reached in record time, and we exit. The workers prepare to resume operations as we head to our next destination.