Drake turned around after she killed the final Hobgoblin in the room to the stunned faces of the combined groups, with the exception of Aurora, who smiled as she floated over too Drake’s side.

“How many more fights like that do you think there will be?”

Drake shrugged.

“I have no clue, I hope a hundred, but I assume we will probably get at the very least a few more just like this one.”

“Yeah I figured the same, we haven’t come across that size number yet, but now that we have there are probably at least one or two more rooms this size or maybe a little larger on the next few floors from what Lilith said, a lot of what she described is starting to make much more sense,” said Aurora. Drake’s brow furrowed, and she tilted her head slightly.

“What do you mean?”

Aurora waved her hands around them after an exaggerated shrug.

“Its almost like she couldn’t tel us that their were an absurd amount of goblins down here or something, any time we asked for numbers of any kind, we got answers like, more than the amount of skeletons you all killed, or a dungeon full, or—“

“I get it, I wonder why she didn’t just give us an answer?”

“Because she couldn’t,” said Amber approaching Drake and Aurora.

“Why not,” said both Aurora and Drake at the same time.

“Because she is an alumni of one of the academies, none who ascend while attending an academy can talk to potential students or non ascended ones who haven’t already tried to complete whatever instance that may be being spoken about.”

“I see,” said Drake, nodding more to herself than in response to Amber.

“You guys haven’t started attending an academy yet have you,” asked Amber, looking between Aurora and Drake. Both girls shook their head no, and Amber nodded slowly as if confirming a thought of her own.

“That makes sense, Aurora has been spot on when calling out information for every room before this, but didn’t state the Hobgoblins that this room nearly entirely consisted of before we entered,” said Amber.

“So that is what a Hobgoblin looks like,” said Aurora, looking around at the many dead examples.

“Yeah, but did either of you notice that we didn’t fight any casters, or ranged magic users I mean,” said Drake as Amber’s face scrunched at her use of an RPG term.

“Yeah, they all fled as soon as we began to kill the Hobgoblins,” said Aurora.

“Hmmm, that may not be good,” said Drake, remembering the times that enemies in RPG’s fled only to show back up later as a unified force.

“Why, what are you thinking,” asked Amber.

“Nothing, just know that a collection of magic users in anyone place never turns out well, I mean look at what we just did,” said Drake, gesturing back at the combined group of Cultivators having discussions of their own not but a few yards away. The group surrounded by a ring of ash tall enough to reach their ankles seemed unaffected by the masses of dead around them.

I guess this is just what it is to be a Cultivator.

“I see your point, what do you think we should do,” asked Amber.

“Honestly I think me and Cortez should scope things out alone, but I have a feeling that my idea may back fire, so I figured I’d talk it out with you and Aurora first, and then with our groups to see what we should do.”

“What is wrong with you two scouting things out,” asked Aurora, while Amber seeming to have the same question.

“Back where I come from, we have a saying that goes like this, never, ever, split the party, it always seems to lead to death of every member either in smaller groups or even one by one.”

“There is logic in that saying, we are obviously more powerful together, I’ve never seen my team fight as skillfully as they just did, and even the sapling was an incredible aid,” said Amber wit a glance away, her eyes widening as if she was surprised by what she’d just admitted.

Ha, that must hurt, but Cortez is obviously one of the strongest here, I didn’t even see him for half of the last fight, thought Drake laughing internally.

“So, what were you thinking then,” asked Aurora.

The girls spoke about what their best moves could be, and they eventually settled on a plan, breaking off to speak to their groups alone.

“I don’t see any issues with that,” said Vanish.

“Me either,” said Cortez.

“Seems simple enough honestly, you and the others take point, and we cover the rear, whats so complicated about that,” asked Vanish.

“We just don’t know if there is something we are missing, we could be flanked, we could have to fight elite monsters, we could even have to fight more than one boss, who knows, we just need to be prepared.”

“Agreed,” said Aurora with a smile.

“I’ll make sure that we get a heads up, and remember to tap Aurora when I feel like we have monsters incoming.”

“Okay, sounds good to me,” said Drake.

Should be as easy as eating pie…

…

“So we get the hell out of here if the odds are too much, what about them,” asked Victor, jutting his chin out toward Drake and the rest of her group.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“If things go wrong in here, we’ll never see them again, just stick to the plan, but if I give the signal, make bait out of them and get out,” said Amber.

Brice and the twins all nodded in agreement, and Amber looked over to see Drake’s giant skeleton seemingly staring her directly in the eyes.

Hmm, I wonder?

She ignored the sensation of being watched that trickled down her spine, seeing Drake and her group all speaking excitedly.

Its probably nothing…

…

Drake focused on looking around as much as possible. Her nerves grew increasingly sensitive as they didn’t come across any more monsters, just empty room after empty room.

Something isn’t right here for sure.

The group was now silent, their entire collective all suspicious. Drake looked back toward Aurora, seeing a frown on her face as her mapping rune still picked up nothing; the girl having had used the tool almost eight times without picking up a single monster by this point.

mmm

Finally their group came up to the widest set of stairs downward that they had come across inside the instance.

The light of the ceiling in this area was brighter, and the illumination that came up from the floor revealed far more of an intricate pattern with every step down they took.

The patterns were obviously rune work, the details made more easy to discern as they began to weave up the wall and toward the ceiling, covering everything with magical formations.

By the time they got down the stairs, Drake could sense the tension rolling off the gathered Cultivators. Everyone of them were obviously on high alert, expecting an attack at any second.

The area they walked into held two massive doors even larger than the ones that lead into Lilith’s manor. Both doors were open and covered with a beautifully carved mural that held a battleground full of goblins fighting a multitude of different raced monsters and humanoid beings.

“Woah,” said Drake, caught off guard by how majestic a visual had been captured; the scene carved so perfectly that it seemed that a real battle had been used for a reference to create the art.

Amber and the other’s keep giving each other strange looks, they are giving me the vibe that they are on the verge of running.

Drake tore her eyes away from the mural, and looked over to take in the appearances of the group that had joined her own. Nothing seemed to be entirely off, Drake could tell that they were obviously scared, but nothing more.

Keep an eye on them for me, will ya?

“On it!

Drake brushed her hands against the carved door she stood closest too, feeling power vibrate through the door as her hand made contact with the surface. As she blinked, she found herself standing on a mountain top, that overlooked a valley. The very same valley that held a battle of unequaled violence.

She spun slowly, trying to figure out where she’d been taken, finding an older woman carving the battle below on what seemed to be a massive tablet. Drake glanced back over her shoulder to see that though the battle seemed to be in full swing, and a cacophony of sound roared up to her ears, everything moved in slow motion.

“Well… that isn’t normal.”

“Oh, its you, how did you get here, we aren’t supposed to meet for tens of thousands of season cycles,” said the beautiful woman. Drake turned back to look at the woman she could only describe as a goddess.

Her hair was long and curly, not in the same way that Lilith’s natural curls were, but more as if she’d had her hair done in a salon. Drake couldn’t pin point what color the long strands were, believing them to be black at first, until a deep purple light seemed to ripple down the length of her curls.

Her hair framed a perfect set of brilliant irises that’s purple was like that of a ruby and a sapphire fused, holding the light of a sun at their centers.

She wore an elegant black sun dress, and smiled at Drake.

“Well are you going to keep staring or are you going to join me?”

Drake simply nodded, stepping closer to the woman as she worked.

“So you have reached your first dungeon maybe, or slain a celestial monster that is well above your current rank?”

“The former I guess, how did you know?”

“Well, that is a long story, but what I can tell you is that since becoming a god, my future, present and past are all linked, anything that I will come to know, I may already know if I want or have the need to know, whatever that may be, and I’ve seen you occasionally in my future.”

“Well that is interesting, but you said we aren’t supposed to meet yet, when are we supposed to meet if not now, I mean I’ve seen what this looks like finished, so are we in the passed?”

“You must have touched one of the doors in my first dungeon then, and you have already met my older self, I believe just after you died, or ascended, its distant and if I’m being honest I’d rather not look that far into my own future, it often comes with hiccups…”

“After I died, wait are you the god that sent me to Imperial?”

The woman simply smiled and nodded.

“Oh okay, well I don’t know if I should hug you or try and slap that smile off your face,” said Drake nearly under her breath.

“neither would surprise me child, you have and will always be a volatile one, but tell me, how are things going, we don’t have much time together I’m afraid.”

“Hmm, well you dropped me into a fucking ritual sacrifice, then I fell into a strange cavern, which lead directly into a dungeon world and I’ve been fighting for my life ever since, and it’s only been like a week, so there is that.”

“Wow you seem to be doing well for yourself even with the slight hurdles in your way thus far.”

“Slight hurdles woman are you crazy?”

The goddess just nodded.

“of course dear, you have to be to become a god, otherwise you more than likely fall short of the position, and are more than likely fated to never reach the heights beyond godhood.”

“Beyond godhood, what could possibly be beyond godhood?”

The goddess gestured toward the sculpture she had been completing.

“gods are nothing more than immortal foot soldiers for the system, above them are many positions of power, some are so mighty that they are fated to overtake the system itself, and take over responsibility for the progression of time and space, controlling all the laws of creation and destruction.”

“So what does your carving over here have to do with becoming something grander than a god?”

“I am trying to become a Living Legacy, or system administrator if that helps you understand what I mean, it will eventually result in me creating a realm by constructing instances, dungeons, and everything in between.”

“Fuck thats heavy,” said Drake, looking over her shoulder to see the battle once more.

“Why are you telling me all of this, it honestly doesn’t seem like something that an unranked Cultivator should come to know, I mean at best I’m a seventeen year old teenager stuck in the body of a thirteen season cycle old girl, even If I could combine those ages, I still don’t think I’d be responsible enough to take on knowledge that fucking heavy?”

The goddess looked back at her mural, tapping her chin as she thought.

“To be honest, I, like you, don’t make friends very easy, and we end up becoming very close friends in the future, so I figured I’d just try and start somewhere,” said the goddess first pointing to herself and then to Drake.

“I make friends with a god, that doesn’t seem normal?”

“Its not, you end up making friends with many of us out of sheer luck and force of will, but don’t worry about all of that now, you don’t do that for an incredible amount of time, at least from what I can tell of your current state.”

Yeah, tell a girl she befriends gods, and not to worry about it in the same sentence, if that doesn’t prove your a god, then nothing will if you ask me…”

The goddess laughed, and Drake couldn’t help but join her.

“Well then new friend, what is your name?”

“My name is Lil—“

The goddess’s eyes went distant and her features shifted sharply toward concern.

“Something is wrong, you must go back now Drake,” said the Goddess.

“But,” tried Drake to ask another question before their time ended.

“Now!”

…

Aurora stared at Drake as everyone else did. Her eyes shown completely white, as her hair blew about wildly as if caught in a breeze. She floated a handful of feet off the ground, and the entire dungeon began to shake.

“Drake,” yelled Aurora, just before a notification popped up into her vision, and she could tell by the glances of everyone around her that they too received the same notification.

*Notification* - Instance Challenger Found -

A worthy challenger has been found. Ownership of this instance has been challenged and can be transferred to the Legendary Challenger. Leave now, or stay and acquire the rights to own the instance. Know that this instance will only remain active without any of its normal restrictions!

Warning - Any who do not leave immediately are at risk of being trapped within this dungeon, either every living monster within must be slain, or every living challenger will be killed by its inhabitants. Until one of these two objectives has been completed, nothing will enter or leave this instance.

You have been warned!*

Aurora looked around, and immediately tried to move forward as those gathered began to step away from the doors. Both the massive constructions starting to close quickly.

“Drake,” yelled aurora, but her path was blocked by ambers group, all of which who turned to flee at the warning of danger and the world itself seemingly shaking around them all.

She tried to push by them, pulling at her belt in hopes to become intangible and fly through the fleeing Cultivators in front of her.

She managed to get the belt off, and took flight, moving as quickly as she could to join Drake. Vanish by her side, pushing his cathedra to fly as fast as it could to enter the massive hall they had yet to enter.

A flash of movement caught Aurora’s eye as Drake’s giant skeletal minion, rushed underneath them, slipping between the closing doors with no time to spare. The doors closed, and a bright light flashed across the surface of the door, and Aurora though intangible, still collided with the door, a forcefield of mana stopping her from slipping through the solid wall.

“No no no!”

Aurora and Vanish banged on the door, both screaming their friends name with no results.

“Drake!”

…

Drake snapped back into her body, standing in front of the door she’ now knew the origin of. She didn’t get the name of the god, but knowing that she would one day meet the woman again somehow made her less afraid to die in the Dungeon of Vivarium, but simultaneously more afraid of what she would have to accomplish to complete the task of ascending.

Could still fuck up and die Drake, odder things have happened than fate being changed… .

Then she remembered her anger at the god who had sent her to Imperial in the first place, and knew that once again while she’d spoken to the woman, something had effected her mind. In the moment she’d been playful, docile even, but now she felt a growing anger that refused to die down no matter how much she tried to breathe slowly and concentrate.

“Drake, we have a problem!”

“Drake finally turned to look around and was alarmed by what she saw.

Somehow she was now in the hall she had just been standing before, the doors behind her were closed, and a brilliant gold notification sat in her vision. She read and cursed mentally, before the same voice that had drawn her attention the first time yelled again.

“Drake!”

She looked around and could only see her large skeletal minion.

Where is everyone?

“Hello?”

“Get ready, they are coming!”

Drake could recognize the voice the closer it got to her, realizing it was Cortez.

“Cortez what the fuck is—“

Drake stopped as a literal army of goblins, hobgoblins, trolls and a handful of ogres began to charge toward her in the distance.

“Mother…. Fucker…!”