Chapter 2: How It Begins:
I stepped down from serious adventuring two years ago.
I always enjoyed the profession and the freedom it provided, but once I leveled up to 50 and the system announced I had maxed out, I realized I would never reach the heights I once foolishly dreamed about.
The System worked in ways no one could truly understand. Every person had a unique maximum level they could reach which was unknown to them, with the highest recorded level being 100 – a feat achieved by only a select few adventurers in the entire world. Two of them were in the Tepan Kingdom, my kingdom.
Considering I hit my ceiling at the very young age of twenty-one, I just stopped grinding so hard and turned my attention to smaller quests like escorting merchant caravans, hunting down low-tier monsters threatening the village I now lived in, or gathering herbs for local alchemists. These types of quests helped me at least make a living, as I was pretty much average at everything else I did.
Another reason for stepping down was Yana. She was my childhood friend and lifelong crush. We’d been adventuring together ever since we got our adventurer’s license when we were teens. But while I stopped leveling up, she didn’t. And since I didn’t want to hold her back, I moved away from the city to a small village – Sandrest, it was called. If I hadn’t, she would’ve stuck with me out of obligation, feeling she would betray our friendship if she didn’t. She never adventured without me in the past.
It was painful for me as well, but it had to be done. And eventually, it worked in her favor too. In her last letter, she wrote that she had reached level 70 and was still leveling up. Perhaps she would be one of those handful of adventurers to reach the highest level of 100. Either way, she was already ranking pretty high compared to the rest of the kingdom.
Then, after two years of my “humble” life as a small-time adventurer, Yana knocked on my door, surprising the hell out of me.
Apparently, there was a large quest the kingdom was sponsoring, sending its greatest adventurers to lead. They set a quota of a hundred adventurers to participate, all of them had to be level 50 or above.
The destination of the expedition? The Tomb of Gaelith.
As soon as I heard the name, a shiver ran down my spine.
Now, to explain why Gaelith brought such a reaction from me - and anyone else, for that matter - I would have to take you back about a thousand years.
Back then, Gaelith was a knight and a great hero, betrayed by the king of Tepan himself. The king wrongly accused him of treason and ordered his execution. Gaelith, being the honorable man he was, accepted his fate without fighting back. Before he was executed, he uttered these final words:
“I have given everything I had for this kingdom, and yet it has turned its back on me. Now, heed my words: when the truth of my innocence comes to light, and regret and shame fill your heart, the land where my body is buried shall suffer as I have suffered. It will rot, and wild animals and beasts unlike any you’ve ever seen will overrun it, exacting my revenge upon anyone who dares set foot there. And you, dear king? Your legacy shall crumble, just as I have fallen unjustly. Once you realize your mistake, you won’t be king for long.”
Or something along those lines.
The king, still convinced that Gaelith was guilty but fearful that his words might become a curse, ordered that Gaelith’s body be placed in an abandoned underground tomb near the village of Moonvale, rather than buried it the earth. He thought this would outsmart the possible curse.
The best part? The king eventually learned that Gaelith was innocent. In a desperate attempt to make amends, he sent many treasures to the tomb, hoping to appease Gaelith’s spirit. But no one who ventured into the tomb ever returned. Over time, the tomb was sealed entirely and declared a Level 100 Dungeon.
And Gaelith’s curse did come true - well, at least half of it. Since no one ever returned alive from the tomb, it’s impossible to know what really lurks there or whether it’s truly rotting inside, but the king in question, Edmund the Third, was usurped by his own cousin a year after discovering Gaelith’s innocence. Turns out it was his cousin who he should’ve been worrying about all along, not his most loyal knight.
“Why in the world would the kingdom decide to explore this dungeon again after so many years? And send a hundred adventurers, no less?” I had asked Yana at the time, and she simply gestured with her fingers the universal sign for money, while having a goofy smile on her face.
“They say King Edmund the Third commanded half of his treasury to be brought inside Gaelith’s tomb, as a token of apology.” Yana paused, nodding slowly. “And that’s quite a lot, Aidan.”
“Still, it’s a Level 100 Dungeon. What are they thinking, setting the entry bar so low at 50?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“Well actually Lady Mikaela already ventured inside the first levels of the tomb and reported back.” Yana replied. “She said that the monsters she encountered were nothing serious, and extremely low-leveled. Now, there’s no reason to believe that’s the case all the way down to the lowest level where Gaelith’s body was put to rest, but she thinks that low-leveled adventurers – from level 50 to 65, like you - could help clear the first levels and keep the higher-level adventurers rested and prepared for the dangers in the depths.”
Recognizing the opportunity to tease her, I spoke. “So, you’re basically just calling for me to be your meat shield? Gotcha.”
“Oh, no, no, no! That’s not what I meant.” she retorted, naïve as ever, before her expression suddenly turned a weird combination of shy and serious, making something in my heart twist. “We just haven’t adventured for so long, and now there’s finally an opportunity, and I just thought…”
“I was joking, Yan.” I said immediately, my heart racing. “Of course I’ll go.”
Her eyes lit up in excitement. “You mean it?”
I nodded, though inside I was asking myself the same question. Well, it was too late to back down now. The way she looked at me right now had reignited all my feelings for her.
And now here I was. The big day.
I got out of bed and prepared some breakfast for myself: a simple toast with peanut butter and jam, just like Mom always used to make, and a cup of green tea.
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Then I donned my lightweight armor – a simple black chestplate over a plain tunic, fitted leather bracers, and worn but sturdy trousers.
[Durability Increased by 10%]
[Agility Increased by 10%]
After that, I grabbed my sword, Nightfall, from under my bed, and secured the scabbard above my left hip.
[Weapon Equipped: Nightfall. Agility Scaling: C]
[Agility Increased by 10%]
[Critical Hit Chance Increased by 10%]
It gleamed in my hand, imbued with magic. Both the blade and the handle were crafted from the same silvery metal. The blade was slender and slightly curved, long enough to strike at a distance but also perfect for close ranged precise strikes, complimenting my agility-focused build.
It was the last valuable thing I’d ever gotten out of a quest, right before I leveled up for the last time. Needless to say, Nightfall was both a good and a bad memory.
Yana arrived late as usual, punctuality was always her weakness, and we set off to the Tomb of Gaelith.
***
“And anyways, so this level 63 Bloodwretch just ambushes us out of nowhere, and no one hears him coming because he had some stealth skill activated. No one, but Lady Mikaela.” Yana paused for a second to take a breather in her story about her last quest, where she accompanied her guild master – Lady Mikaela, on of the two level 100 adventurers in the Tepan kingdom. “She just darted from her spot instantly using Shadow Step and impaled it to death with one move. Gods, I’m not doing it justice describing it half-assedly like this. It was just...wow. It was wow, Aidan! Wow!”
“Okay, okay, chill, you little fangirl.” I chuckled, focusing on our path. We still had a bit of time until we reached the tomb.
She smiled shyly. “Sorry, I got a little bit carried away. It’s just she’s so...she’s so...”
“Wow?” I completed her words.
She laughed. “Exactly!”
“How’s life in her guild treating you anyway?” I asked, genuinely curious. “You don’t write much about your other guild members.”
Yana shrugged. “There’s really not much to say about the rest, honestly. They’re all decent fellas, some more than others. But Lady Mikaela is everything you’d want in an adventurer: strong, compassionate, fearless, and a great leader. She asked me to join her on quests plenty of times in the past month. I think she likes me.”
I smiled at her words. “Good. You deserve the recognition.”
“Thanks, Aidan.” She replied, looking away.
There was an awkward silence between us until she spoke. “What about you? You barely even answer my letters. How’s your guild master? What was his name? Something with a C....”
“Christian.” I replied, chuckling at the thought of the man.
“Christian! That’s right!” Yana snapped her fingers before laughing too. “Did he give you permission to leave for this quest?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “He did, actually.”
You see, Christian Renner was indeed my guild master, and to participate in any quest outside of the ones the guild provided me with, I’d need his permission. The thing was, we were the only two members of the only adventuring guild in Sandrest - and he was only level 37.
“Why won’t you just take over the guild?” she asked, her laugh subsiding but still smiling. “You’re higher level than him...”
“And deal with all the paperwork? No, thank you.” I raised an eyebrow at her, chuckling again. “Besides, Christian’s doing a fine job as guild master.”
“You can always return to the city, you know?” Yana said suddenly. “You always refer to level 50 as low, but it’s fairly decent. And you’d have a lot more job opportunities there.”
“I actually enjoy the countryside.” I lied, a fake smile on my face.
“Do you now?” Yana asked, and I was pretty sure she rolled her eyes, though I only caught the gesture out of the corner of my eye.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “It’s peaceful.”
She muttered something under her breath, too low for me to catch.
“What was that?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Oh, it’s nothing.” She replied before pointing forward. “Look, we’re already close.”
I looked ahead, and in the distance, I could see the tomb - probably just ten minutes away. The entrance was massive. I’ve already seen the tomb from afar a number of times as it was fairly close to Sandrest, but this was the first time the doors were unlocked, wide open, darkness oozing from inside. The last bit sent a shiver down my spine.
We could also make out a large group of people gathered outside the entrance - the other ninety-eight adventurers on this quest.
We walked the rest of the way mostly in silence.
One we reached the group of gathered adventurers, I was gutted to see I was the only level 50 among us - the lowest level out of everyone gathered here. Judging by a quick glance, it seemed that most of those present were level 65 or lower, with only around a third being higher than that. Towering above all were, of course, Lady Mikaela and the second level 100 adventurer in the kingdom – Stephan Lorren, guild master of Ironfall Vanguard. They seemed to be discussing something, likely the raid’s plan.
Lady Mikaela noticed Yana fairly quickly and called out to her. “Yana, my darling! How are you?”
Yana rushed off to her guild master, while I felt a bit awkward following her, so I stayed with the rest of the adventurers, giving friendly glances and nods to those who made eye contact with me. Some of them returned the gesture, while others rolled their eyes. Assholes.
Then, unexpectedly, I saw Yana with Lady Mikaela in tow making their way toward me, and I immediately became anxious.
“Oh, so you’re the Aidan dear Yana can’t stop talking about.” The great adventurer addressed me, reaching her hand out.
Lady Mikaela was clad in medium armor, a mix of polished steel and reinforced leather that covered her entire body. Her chestplate gleamed, and her gauntlets and greaves were intricately designed. She wore a long, flowing cloak fastened to her shoulders, the deep crimson complimenting her short blond hair. In her hand, she carried a golden spear, her famous legendary weapon – The Stinger. Her green eyes seemed to shine as if she was assessing me.
I coughed out nervously, steadying myself before taking her hand and shaking it. “Oh, I doubt she talks about me that much, Lady Mikaela.”
She dismissed my words with a wave of her hand, then wrapped her other arm around Yana, pulling her closer. “Nonsense, she can’t stop bringing you into conversations one way or another.”
Yana, seemingly blushing, whispered to her guild master. “M’lady, please, you’re embarrassing me.”
My heart raced, and Lady Mikaela chuckled. “I like him.” She told Yana. “Seems like a good-hearted person, and well-mannered to boot.”
I coughed again at the compliment, smiling awkwardly. “Thank you.”
“Well, Aidan, I didn’t come here only for pleasantries. You’ll be in squad number four.” Lady Mikaela shifted the subject suddenly.
I raised an eyebrow, and before I could say anything, she continued.
“I believe Yana already told you I explored the first levels of the tomb?” she asked.
“She did.” I nodded, exchanging a glance with Yana.
“That tomb is a maze, so Lorren and I decided to divide the lower-leveled adventurers into balanced squads of seven to make sure we’re covering all our bases and exploring each level thoroughly.” She explained.
“Sound good.” I admitted, recalling the many stories I’d heard of unbalanced parties stumbling into dangers they weren’t suited to handle, eventually falling despite being high-leveled enough to deal with.
“It was Lorren’s idea, really.” She said, gesturing with her head toward her counterpart near the tomb’s entrance.
I exchanged another glance with Yana, who seemed as disappointed as I was. This wasn’t what I imagined when she said we’d finally get a chance to go on a quest together like old times, yet it made sense.
“Don’t worry about level disparity.” Lady Mikaela added, perhaps thinking that’s what was bothering me. “The highest level in your squad will be Jax, a level 65 mage, who is also the squad’s leader. The rest are all fifty-something.”
I nodded, and she turned away, leaving us.
“I swear I didn’t know they were going to split us, Aidan.” Yana whispered to me.
I believed her. She wouldn’t lie about something like that. Before I could say anything on the matter, Stephan Lorren called everyone over. “Gather around, everyone, we’re about to enter.”