Mash woke up early. When Jill and Red had returned, they had decided to spend another night in the dungeon before leaving. Once they left, they would go on their separate ways and enter their own trials to reach the next advancement. While it was an exciting prospect, some trials were known to last around a year. On average it took people several months, though some got out in a few minutes. Plus, the dungeons they entered could have altered time proportions making it feel even longer or shorter than it actually was.
He left his room to eat a quick breakfast of the strange fruits. He had received some in a magical container that made food stay good for longer periods of time. Even still, he wanted to eat his fill while he could. The fruits were good and extremely filling. It was one of the things he would miss, though he did have the ever-filling sap in his storage space.
Aifell had already arrived looking a little sad to see him. She wore her usual work attire. Her clothing was covered in glyphs and made from the leaves of the tree that were the basis of the city. Their city heavily relied on what the tree provided, though there were a few places like that back home too. Mash and the others had told her and Kirk that they would be leaving, but she didn’t seem like she was glad to hear it. Kirk was obviously relieved, but it seemed like Aifell was dissatisfied with something. He had an idea of what, as she pulled out several sheets of paper.
“Let me copy down your glyphs. It should only take an hour or two. “
She didn’t sound like she particularly cared if he left or not, she just wanted to keep his arm. Honestly, she would probably be happier with his disembodied arm than with him staying longer. Thinking about the glyphs, he thought of a better idea.
“Wait, I think I have a better solution.”
He made a copy of his arm out of wood, using Priscilla’s help to make the details exact. He was surprised at how easy it was. It felt like something he had done thousands of times. The confidence he had spoken with was proved justified as the replica of his arm was far better than any drawing. Plus, his wooden creations would last a long time, and Aifell could make whatever drawings she wanted using it as a reference.
“Thank you, you are free to visit whenever you want.”
She spoke quickly snatching the wooden sculpture from him and leaving with quick steps. He heard the sound of a door opening and closing quickly and knew that she was gone. Apparently, she really didn’t care about their presence all that much. It seemed like his time here had affected her image of dragons, and he was happy to lose the baseless reverence.
Mash went and got his breakfast, eating his fill while the others woke up. Once they were up, he went to the bathroom to go through his morning routine before they left. The others didn’t eat a big breakfast, and it didn’t take long for them to be ready. While Mash was in the bathroom, Kirk had come by and was waiting to take everyone to the dungeon exit. He had apparently scouted the surroundings outside and confirmed that it was another world. Although, he couldn’t know if it was their world. However, it was something he could enter and exit at will, so it wouldn’t matter too much. That was unless it started their level 100 trial. It was a risk, but one they needed to take if they wanted to escape the dungeon.
The portal was actually hidden beneath the ground, and it was mixed with the entrance of a tunnel. Seeing it, Mash could feel his heartbeat quickening. Despite his many problems with the class system, he wanted to advance. It was something everyone was excited about, and he had dreamt of the power it would give him. He stepped through eagerly, the others following. Kirk’s people didn’t seem to have traditional goodbyes and had just said the same thing as Aifell before prompting them to leave. As Mash’s foot entered the portal, he was prepared to face another dungeon. To be thrust into his trial without warning. It didn’t happen though, and he was greeted by a bed of grass.
Grass covered the ground around them, seeming to stretch into the distance. It was a plain of some kind, and he noticed hills slowly rising and falling across the ground. The wind pushed the grass towards them, making the ground sway towards them. it was mesmerizing, but only for a moment. He had bigger concerns and sent a message through the body of Priscilla he had left with his siblings.
[Hey we’re back.]
It took a few seconds to receive a response, and he was surprised to find out that it was his sister.
[Mash! How did the dungeon go?]
Mash started telling her what had happened, and the presents he had found for Arthur. She similarly shared what had been happening in the capital, and he was glad to hear that there hadn’t been any major incidents. Other than the one he caused by giving Arthur hundreds of capable individuals to suddenly join their family. Mash winced, realizing that he had actually forgotten about that. They talked for a while, as his sister called for his brother. He learned that they had only been gone for two weeks which meant that there was barely an alteration of time within the dungeon.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Eventually, Priscilla informed him that Arthur had arrived and taken the body from Luna. A moment later, Mash received another message.
[Good, you're back. Was there anything to report?]
Mash repeated a story of the events, however, he put special emphasis on mentioning how the Vians were peaceful people. They would not fight with adventurers, so long as there wasn’t a good reason for it. Also, he mentioned how they had extremely good magic items, and that he should consider trying to set up trade with them.
[Are you trying to turn me into a king? First an army, now foreign alliances. You do know that I don’t actually want to be king, even if others think I should.]
Mash chuckled but knew that Arthur wouldn’t be able to see the reaction. Arthur didn’t stay on the topic for long though.
[Fine, I will inform the king and he can decide what to do. Also, what level are you now?]
Mash grinned and was about to whisper the answer, only to remember that no one would be able to listen in on the conversation. It was happening entirely with their minds.
[I’m level 100 now. Was going to re-enter the dungeon to advance.]
Priscilla told him that his brother was giving him a glare and that his sister looked similarly displeased.
[No, go to the dungeon closest to the capital. You still have the key too, right?]
Mash considered arguing, and just entering this dungeon, despite his brother’s request. However, he knew why his brother wanted him to do it. It was a lower-level dungeon and one that he could watch for his exit. He just wanted some additional security. Plus, some believed that easier dungeons would result in easier trials. Considering the request like that, he couldn’t come up with a good reason to refuse. The dungeon he was talking about was still a day out from the capital and would be well outside of the limits he set on himself. He wanted to hear what the others thought though.
[Let me check with the others, and I will let you know the plan.]
Bringing the discussion up with the others lead to a discussion on the best way to do this. Red and Jill proposed hunting a high-level criminal, but Mash thought that would be annoying. While it was true that they were particularly strong for their level and could probably handle a criminal above it. It was just too impractical to find four people to fit the bill. However, the decision was ultimately theirs, as they would need to fight the person alone. After discussing for a while, they decided to head to the dungeon that his brother wanted.
Checking his map, he was glad to see that it marked his current location. It was surprising to see that the dungeon exit had actually carried them a long distance. Even by flight, it would take two or three days to arrive at the dungeon. Mash sighed but told the others about their location. Soon the four of them were flying through the sky. Enjoying the beautiful sight of the sun setting in the distance. They flew with a little too much haste though and chose to fly through the night. None of them even suggested going to sleep on the first day. It was only the day before they arrived that they decided to sleep. The decision had only been made because there was a town along the way. It was a convenient place to stop and get a few more supplies for the dungeon.
The town was known as Archvale and was fairly large for a town. It didn’t have any large walls, but it had several large buildings. Everything was made of wood, but he was surprised to notice the telltale signs of some guilds. There were two churches too, though it was the lord’s manor that was really impressive. It was bigger than his brother’s house, and Mash wondered why the Lord would choose to live here. Although, none of them wanted to waste time exploring the city and went straight to the guild. There would be simple rooms there, and they could deposit some information on the dungeon. It would earn them some gold.
At the town, Mash was glad to see that there was an official adventurer’s guild there. It was a simple building but had the bustle of adventurers moving inside. The wooden structure seemed like it could break from the rowdy adventurers. Scratched and cracked wood covered the door, and the floor creaked loudly as they walked in. None of the adventurers recognized him, and he was glad to be anonymous at the moment.
Jill spoke with one of the guild's receptionists for a moment and had gotten them a meeting with the guild master. The guild master was old and had a long black mustache that curled around his mouth. It was distracting, and Mash barely noticed anything else about the man. Although, Mash did hear the clank of metal as the man moved. The man had a metal foot and bowed deeply as he introduced himself. His name was Cain, and he was somehow nondescript despite his odd features. It almost seemed like those two things were the only exciting things about him, though Mash knew that the only reason for a metal foot was for a skill. A guild master could easily get someone to regenerate his foot, so the metal alternative was obviously there for a reason. It wasn’t important though.
Mash told the guild leader there of the dungeon, and the peaceful people inside. Also, he exaggerated the Vians’ strength hoping to dissuade people from trying to harm them. Furthermore, he mentioned how the entrance was a desert, and water creation items wouldn’t work in there. Red mentioned the worms too and went on to talk about the enemies they had fought. The guild master looked a little disappointed at the news. He shared that he had been hoping that the news would offer a good place to train new adventurers but paid them for the information even if it was outside of this guild’s range.
After finishing with the guild master, Mash and the others found a room for the night. They were easily able to cover any expense, and the gold they received was small compared to how much they were carrying. It was enough to pay for the rooms and a good meal, and they used it for exactly that. This would be their last night together for a while, so they ate luxuriously that dinner. They would all be very different after getting the advancement and talking about the types of classes they wanted. This advancement was one of the major ones and would enable them to receive truly unique abilities, like his brother’s sword summoning or king title. That night he had needed to force himself to go to sleep, by relinquishing control of his body to Priscilla.