The gloomy hall opened up into a wide corridor, three paths branching off from the central chamber. Camila led the way, her crimson spear poised for any threat. Zion took the middle, half-carrying, half-dragging Jura behind him, while Beth brought up the rear, her wand ready for instant casting.

“I suggest we start from right to left. Clear each section before regrouping here,” Camila proposed, pointing towards the rightmost path of the intersection. It seemed like a solid plan, as long as they didn't trigger monsters from every direction.

“Sounds like the best we can do with such a small group. Do either of you have trap detection abilities?” Zion inquired, receiving headshakes from both girls and a groan from Jura. At least the dwarf was still holding on. “Then we need to be extremely cautious. My dad told me stories about losing experienced adventurers to simple traps. I really don’t want to die in a pit on the floor.”

With a nod of agreement from Camila, the group ventured down the first branch. The corridor was lined with a dozen rooms, their doors slightly ajar, giving the impression that unseen entities were peering at them from within. Camila kicked in the first door, her spear poised for action as she entered. However, the room yielded nothing but cobwebs and dust.

They proceeded to check every room, each entry revealing the same emptiness, until they reached the seventh doorway. This time, as they entered, something caught their attention. Placed in the center of the floor sat a simple wooden chest, its exterior looking freshly crafted amidst the decay of the surroundings.

Beth squealed with girlish excitement, "Our first chest! How cool!"

Her enthusiasm elicited light chuckles from Camila and Zion, injecting a moment of joy into the dreary environment.

"Looks like it. Maybe we'll find something good in here. Let me set down Jura, and I'll open it with an arcane shield, just to be safe," Zion suggested, smiling as he gently eased Jura against a wall. The old dwarf seemed to be becoming more alert, his eyes tracking the movements of the others.

With an abundance of caution, Zion activated his spell and approached the chest. He took a deep breath before quickly lifting the lid, stepping back in anticipation. To his relief, no fire or poison spewed from the opened box.

Peering into the chest, he found a finely crafted bow with light zig-zag patterns burnt into the wood. The wood resembled the redwood trees found within the sphere, while the black bowstring stood out against its backdrop. As he tried to examine it closer, the bow was practically ripped from his hands.

Beth seized the bow, delight shining in her eyes as she hugged it tightly, much to Zion's confusion.

"What's going on? Why are you hugging that bow like it's a long-lost cousin?" he asked, perplexed by Beth's behavior.

Camila chuckled lightly. "She's excited because she wanted a magical bow to complement her spellcasting, but we couldn't afford one in Valor. Most of our gear is hand-me-downs, and neither of our parents used a bow," she explained, adopting the role of the doting sister. "We planned to go back once we saved enough, but finding this changes everything. It might not be exactly what she wanted, but it allows her to start refining her fighting style."

"It's rare to meet someone as focused on spellcasting as you who also wants to use a martial weapon. Wouldn't it be better to stick with the wand or staff?" Zion pondered aloud.

"Believe it or not, Zion, I wanted stats that revolved around strength and agility on the day of the ceremony. Instead, I ended up with higher magic stats," Beth revealed, pulling the string on her new bow experimentally. "Instead of complaining about it, I decided to use my journeyman bow to channel spells. Others have done it before me; I'm just building on the foundations laid by previous generations."

"Damn, journeyman skill level at tier one. That's impressive, Beth. You must have spent an unholy amount of time at the target field," Zion remarked, impressed by the news. It was rare to achieve the third rank in a skill before reaching tier two.

Blushing at the attention, Beth hid her face behind the riser of the bow. "Yeah, I really enjoyed shooting. Archery and wand handling were my only skills at level zero. I'm saving the rest for crafting skills."

"Alright, chatterboxes, let's move on. We don't have all day, and we still have five more doors to check," Camila declared, leading the way out and rapping her knuckles on Beth's head playfully.

Grabbing Jura, the four of them finished clearing the rooms. They didn’t find any monsters or other chests while clearing them, but they did find a room with a bed, even if it was filthy. They decided they would come back to this room once they had cleared the other branches.

Heading back to the intersection came with no surprises, and by this time, Jura had finally started to function a little more. He was now holding his own weight and trying to talk. After a losing game of charades, Beth pointed out that he wanted some water. Zion sat him down before proceeding, pulling a canteen from his belt.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Here, Jura," Zion said kindly, handing the canteen to the dwarf. Jura eagerly accepted it, holding it in both hands and guzzling the water greedily. Much of it spilled down his gray beard, dribbling onto his chest. When the canteen was empty, he handed it back to Zion, emitting a raspy sigh.

"Thank you, Zion," Jura said hoarsely, his voice akin to a desert wind. "For both the water and for saving my life. You owe me nothing, and yet you helped this old man out. You're a true Herald, lad."

"You're welcome, Jura. None of us could have just left you to die there," Zion replied, noticing Jura's slight glance toward Camila. She averted her gaze from the awkward stare, and Zion couldn't blame her. "How did you know I was a Herald? I didn’t tell those dirty bastards that info."

"Simple. Randan informed us all. Looking back on it, the man broke protocols by giving out that information," Jura answered, grabbing his throat as he coughed. "The party seemed nervous upon hearing it, and Randan appeared pleased to see them squirm."

"When we see that asshole, I'm going to shove my spear up his lousy gullet," Camila declared, slamming the butt of her spear on the hard floor, the noise echoing down the branching halls. She noticed the series of glaring eyes and sheepishly smiled before turning her attention back to monitoring their surroundings.

"We'll deal with him later. It's of little concern if we bite the dust here," Zion informed Camila, turning to face her. "Jura, can you walk along with us without assistance now? We don't want to leave you behind in case something comes from the path we don't take."

"Aye, Zion, I can. I'm in no state to fight, but I can walk well enough. I heard the plan and agree we need to clear this floor, though your reasons sound more compelling than mine. I'll assist wherever I'm able."

"Thank you for trusting us, Jura," Beth said sweetly, her voice carrying genuine warmth as she received a nod from the dwarf.

The middle path diverged sharply from the first, its atmosphere heavy with anticipation and foreboding. It stretched out like a tunnel into the unknown, walls looming ominously. As they ventured deeper, the corridor widened gradually, unveiling a circular chamber with a high-vaulted ceiling.

The room exuded an eerie grandeur, dwarfing even the guild base they had just left. Skeletons lay scattered across the floor, frozen in poses of eternal torment, their bony fingers pointing accusingly at the surrounding walls. Gaping holes punctuated the walls, hinting at unseen dangers lurking within.

In the center of the chamber lay a mysterious circle encircled by unlit torches casting long shadows across the floor. At the far end, a single archway beckoned, its stone steps descending into darkness—a portal to the next level of the dungeon.

"Damn, this is a boss dungeon," Jura exclaimed, his voice reverberating off the cavernous walls. The gravely nature of his voice returned. "Do you three know what that means?"

Beth nodded solemnly, her eyes reflecting the flickering light of the torches. "It means that to descend each level, a boss must be defeated. Bosses can only be summoned once every other creature has been vanquished on the current level.I really hope we have enough supplies for this Zion.”

"Less than that, lad, unless you plan to let me starve down here," Jura interjected, his tone grave. "You're also looking at this like we'll be done tomorrow, Zion. What the lass failed to mention was that all boss dungeons are a minimum of five levels. Two weeks of supplies might not be enough."

"We don't have two weeks of supplies, Zion. We only packed for one week. We didn’t have hand-me-downs by choice; it's because that's all our parents left us when they died," Camila added, her voice tinged with bitterness. "We need to hurry this up if we're actually to clear this place."

"Aye, she's right. Let's finish off that next branch and get to this first boss," Jura asserted, his determination unwavering as he led the way back to the intersection.

Once they reached the last branch, they wasted no time, their footsteps echoing off the walls as they hurried to find what they needed to clear it. This time, it was another hallway, but instead of rooms, only one thing lay within its confines: there was a single green gelatinous mass at the very end of the hall, its pulsating form looming ominously in the dim light.

"Of course, it's a jelly! One of the only monsters I can’t help with," Camila groaned as they approached. "Up to you, my magically inclined friends."

"You have magic, too, sis. You could pierce it with those phantom spears," Beth suggested with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Stop picking on her, Beth. Let's finish this guy off so we can move on to the boss," Zion interjected, his tone firm as he prepared for the battle ahead. “Let's try a Troll Daddy move.” He began channeling mana bolts, focusing on building up their power. Gellies were notoriously resilient, requiring significant damage to defeat.

“We are not calling it that,” Beth retorted sharply while Camila struggled to contain her laughter in the background, and Jura looked on with a mix of confusion and disbelief. “I can hold it for fifteen seconds, but I can’t exhaust all my mana here.”

An unspoken agreement passed between them as Zion's hands crackled with a deep blue hue, and Beth's glowed with a pure white light. When the moment arrived, they unleashed their attacks in unison. The combined force of pure mana and ice tore through the air, striking the gelly with a sputtering explosion of green goo, the body of the monster giving way to the combined force of the spell. However, their victory was short-lived as the hole quickly filled in.

“This might take a bit longer than I thought,” Beth admitted sheepishly. Her words met with a mix of frustration and amusement from the group. Jura sighed resignedly and settled down on the ground.

And so began the arduous task of whittling down the most stubborn mob any of them had ever encountered. They relied heavily on Zion's vast mana reserves; without them, defeating the creature would have been impossible while still having energy left to face the floor's boss.

“You know, if one of you grand mages had a fire spell, this would go a lot faster,” Jura remarked about two minutes into the onslaught of mana bolts. His comment elicited uncomfortable expressions from both Zion and Beth.

“By the Creator, I forgot how single-focused blessed can be,” Jura muttered, shaking his head in resignation.