Shit, shit, shit! I was cursing in my head while walking back to the Guild’s main hall. Stupid imbecile. Why did I agree to it in the first place?

Only after I left Roland’s office, I have realized what kind of predicament I’ve actually put myself into. I’ve just involved all the people in my whole clan into this dragonkin problem. It’s not that I was planning to hide Lilfira or run away with her, together with Ranalaiya and Sylfrin of course, but the pressure of my bold decision had struck me harder than I thought it would. I hadn’t felt so anxious since I had become the vice-president of the company I used to work for. However, there was no backing down now. I had to suck it up and push through it.

Ok, get yourself together, idiot. You’ve done it now, so you better do what it takes to pull it off, moron. I used a few extra compliments towards myself as my peptalk before reaching the table where my clan members were waiting for me, managing to put a nonchalant smile on my face to pretend things were better than they actually were.

“Hey, I’m back,” I said, waving my right hand.

“Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya was the first one to come greet me.

“Rockin, hi,” Virghel greeted me.

“Virghel? Hi,” I greeted her back, not expecting to see her there.

“Yes, well… I spoke to Savirei and she told me you went to the Guild, so I came in hope to see you, finding everyone else being here as well,” she explained.

“Right, yes. Nice to see you, Virghel,” I said, adding a smile. Virghel was wearing a few new pieces of armor that looked to be of higher quality too. It looked to be made out of Rhaki’s skins for the most part, probably adding a few bonuses to her Agility stat as a result. She looked good in it too.

“So, how did it go, Furball?” Tarrion asked me.

“Well…” I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head, hesitating to answer his question.

“Master Rockin?” Lilfira asked, holding her right hand close to her chest.

“Humph, the Rites of Strength will be held at the Guild’s arena in two weeks’ time,” I said after taking a deep breath in.

“Two weeks’ time?” Lilfira gasped, becoming really worried and it showed on her face.

“Yeah, that’s the longest Sanokard was willing to give me,” I said before adding. “So, basically we have… what… twelve days to raise your level and help you become stronger, Lilfira.”

“Raise my level?” Lilfira asked, still looking worried about it.

“Yes, and for that we need to go to the dungeon. Like, right now. Sorry everyone, but time is precious, so we’ll be going now,” I said, about to turn to leave.

“Where are we meeting?” Tarrion asked.

“Huh? What?” I asked, feeling a little confused about his question.

“What do you mean ‘what’? I am asking where and when are we meeting, Furball?” Tarrion asked, squinting his eyes while looking at me.

“Wait, are you saying you want to go with us?” I asked, feeling perplexed.

“I am saying we are going with you,” Tarrion said, hinting who he meant by saying ‘we’.

“Ahm… well…” I mumbled, trying to think of an excuse of why they shouldn’t come with us.

“I’ll go too,” Virghel said.

“Wait, wait, wait. You don’t need to come. It’s not… your problem, really,” I said that, but then remembered I had made it my whole clan’s problem not that long ago myself.

“It is our problem and we’ve already talked it over while you were gone, Furball,” Tarrion declared in a serious tone of his voice.

“Huh? What?” I was having a hard time grasping what was going on.

“Master Rockin, while you were gone, Tarrion, Krisel and Virghel offered to go to the dungeon together with Lilfira to help her level up,” Sylfrin told me.

“You did?” I asked, giving Tarrion a weird look.

“Hey, don’t give me that look. I just want to teach those dragonkins a lesson, that’s all there is to it,” Tarrion grunted, averting his face away.

“I want to help too, Rockin,” Virghel insisted.

“Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya said, showing a happy smile.

“Ahm…” I made a sour facial expression, scratching my cheek with my right hand’s finger. “Ok, fine.” I finally said, dropping my shoulders down.

“So, what’s the plan, Furball?” Tarrion asked me, sitting back down at the table they were sitting earlier.

“The plan?” I said, rubbing the back of my head.

“Yes, the plan,” Tarrion grunted, becoming impatient with me. “Or were you actually planning to go straight to the dungeon right now?”

“Aah…” I opened my mouth, wanting to say something but then let out a deep sigh instead. “Sorry, yeah. Let’s… talk it over.” I added, sitting down at the table with everyone else was already sitting.

“Is everything ok, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked, noticing me being a little beside myself.

“Ah, yeah. Everything is fine,” I said, showing a smile.

“Never thought I’ll see you become so nervous, Furball,” Tarrion commented, surprising me with his observation.

“Ok, ok. We won’t go to the dungeon today,” I finally gave in. It was past midday already and with the preparations we would need to make, we wouldn’t be able to get to the dungeon until evening. We’d have to spend the night on the first floor of the dungeon, because we probably wouldn’t be able to reach the third floor by the time it becomes dark and sleeping on the second floor of the dungeon full of Halluspiders was a no go. Taking our time to prepare properly was a wise thing to do. “Have you ever been to the eighth floor of the dungeon, Tarrion?” I asked him out of the blue.

“Huh? Eighth floor?” Tarrion’s eyebrows shot up. “You want to go to the eighth floor of the dungeon? Wouldn’t that be a little too dangerous for your… for Lilfira?”

“I am sure she will gain a level or two on the way,” I said, making a shrug.

“You’re joking, right? Floor eight of the dungeon has Lesser and Normal Stone Golems in it. Adventurers that are level fifteen and higher form parties to even have a chance to survive on the eighth floor of the dungeon,” Tarrion told me, furrowing his eyebrows.

“So, you’ve never been there yet?” I wanted to confirm since Tarrion never answered my question.

“No,” he blurted before crossing his arms in front of him.

“Ok. Do you know how much experience points those golems give after being killed?” I asked.

“Huh? You seriously want to go to the eighth floor of the dungeon?” Tarrion asked me again, giving me the ‘wtf’ look.

“Hey, I am not saying we should go there right from the very beginning, but farming Carnabbits wouldn’t exactly cut it, would it?” I asked him back, also giving him a similar look too.

“Lesser Stone Golems give sixteen experience points and normal Stone Golems give twenty,” Tarrion finally said.

“That’s thirty two and forty experience points for… everyone including Lilfira with each kill,” I wanted to say for Lilfira only, but then remembered my Overgrowth skill’s experience boost applied to everyone in the party. “I say we should aim to reach the sixth floor of the dungeon as fast as possible, farm Tarkees for a day or two then go to the seventh floor of the dungeon to hunt Goblies. Goblies give fourteen experience points per kill. That’s twenty eight instead of twenty compared to what Tarkees give. Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and I had been to the seventh floor of the dungeon already and we were doing just fine, so with all of you in the party, it should be a piece of cake.”

“Yes, Goblies shouldn’t be that big of a problem with all of us fighting together,” Tarrion admitted. “But do you seriously want to go to the eighth floor of the dungeon?”

“Yes, why? Are those Stone Golems actually that strong?” I asked.

“They are stone golems. They are tough as rocks, literally. We might be able to kill them, but our weapons will get a real beating really fast. How many spare weapons… or shields do you have?” Tarrion asked and it was a very legitimate question.

“Oh,” it finally dawned on me what Tarrion’s real concern was. Bashing, slashing and cutting stone would definitely take a toll on our weapons, and if they are broken and we don’t have any spares, our experience farming would end very soon. “We need to bring some spare weapons then. I still need to visit Alragus to deliver him the ore that we’ve collected from the mines, so I’ll ask him what he has. We’ll need lots of food and water with us too, especially water. We can visit that Secret Area on the third floor to get that healing water for ourselves. It’s not exactly on the way to reach the entrance to the fourth floor of the dungeon, but I’d say it will be worth it. I’ll buy some spare water containers after we leave here.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Ok, fine. We’ll get a few extra ourselves as well,” Tarrion agreed, but he still looked grumpy.

“We can always go back to the seventh floor if we see those Stone Golems are too hard for us to beat,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“I never said they are too hard to beat,” Tarrion blurted, making a frown.

“Humph,” I smirked sheepishly. “Ok then. Time is short, so how about we meet at Savirei’s diner right after the sun comes up?”

“Fine with me,” Tarrion said.

“I’ll be ready and on time too,” Virghel added.

“Ok, well, ahm… let’s go?” I sort of made it sound as a question at the end, waiting to see if anyone had any questions.

“Our clan’s identification badge?” Tarrion reminded me.

“Oh, yeah. Ok, I’ll… go talk to somebody about it,” I knew I had to do it, especially now since we’ll be leaving for the dungeon tomorrow and will be staying there for quite a while.

{after a short while at Alragus’ workshop}

“Hey,” I greeted Alragus the moment we entered his shop.

“You’re back,” Alragus said before noticing me acting impatient. “Something wrong?”

“Ah, yes, no… maybe. Never mind. Here, I got this ore for you,” I said, opening my storage box and emptying all the ore on the table for him.

“Wait, you have found hardened iron ore too and two chunks at that?” Alragus snorted, clearly not expecting to see those two chunks being presented in front of him.

“Yeah, well. We were lucky, I guess,” I said, itching to get it over with him.

“And you got more than six brown iron ores too, but… those are all ores. I need plain iron bars, remember?” Alragus said, giving me a slightly annoyed look.

“Yes, I know. The thing is…” I decided to go right to the point and explain to him what was happening, giving him the shortest version possible of course.

“I see. Ok, I understand,” Alragus said at the end. “I have some spare weapons that Ranalaiya and Lilfira could use, but the claw weapons I have are lower quality than her current Vicious Fangs, and the highest quality spear I have has an Equip Level of six.”

“That’s fine. I’ll take at least two of each. Do you have any shields for me?” I asked.

“You know I don’t have a Shieldcrafting skill, so the shields I can craft are of a very low quality,” Alragus told me.

“Ok, I’ll take three. No, make that four,” I said, changing my order when I remembered we might be fighting Stone Golems.

“I definitely don’t have four shields. Might have only two even,” Alragus said.

“I’ll take both of them then,” I said, making a frown.

“You can check other shops that sell armor and shields. I’m sure they’ll have a shield or two and probably better quality than I can offer,” Alragus suggested.

“Yes, will do,” I said.

“Now, regarding the hardened iron ore you brought back, you said you wanted me to craft a new armor for your?” Alragus asked me.

“About that, I’d like you to make armor out of the hardened iron ore for Lilfira instead,” I told him.

“Master Rockin?” Lilfira gasped in surprise after hearing me say that.

“You sure? Even with two chunks of ore you brought back, I will be able to make only one set of armor,” Alragus wanted to confirm it.

“Yes, I am sure. Speaking of which, do you have anything for Lilfira right now? She’s level five currently, but I can take armor pieces that are higher level too. Her main stats are Stamina, Strength and Magic Energy,” I shared some information about Lilfira with Alragus.

“Magic Energy?” Alragus snorted, touching his chin with his left hand to have a think about it.

“Yes, well…” I wanted to say something, but couldn’t explain the reason behind it.

“I doubt I have any armor pieces that give bonus to Magic Energy stat, but I have a few that offer bonuses to Stamina and Strength. How bulky are we talking about here?” Alragus wanted to know.

“Probably not too bulky. Lilfira’s class is Spear Knight, not sure if you know anything about it though,” I added some seemingly relevant information to help Alragus.

“A Spear Knight, huh? Can I take a look at her to check her measurements?” Alragus asked.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Lilfira,” I turned to ask Lilfira to come closer.

“Humph,” Alragus snorted, tilting his head to the side, measuring Lilfira with his eyes only. “Turn around.” He said, Lilfira turning her back to him the next second. “Ok, good. Give me a minute.”

What? He’s taken her measurements by simply looking at her? I was both surprised and impressed by it.

“Here you go,” Alragus came back carrying several different pieces of armor. “These armor pieces are from level four to level six, with the boots being level six. All of them are green quality and add bonuses to Stamina and Strength stats. Breastplate adds two to Stamina and one to Strength. Leggings add two to both Stamina and Strength. Bracers add one stat to Stamina and Strength each and lastly, boots add two to Stamina and three to Strength.”

“Ok, good. Thanks,” I said before turning to Lilfira. “Here, these are for you. How about you go change into that room over there?”

“Ok,” Lilfira said, picking up the armor pieces.

“Can I help her, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked suddenly.

“Can I go too?” Sylfrin added, probably not wanting to stay behind.

“Yeah, sure,” I didn’t mind.

“Let me go get the weapons and shields for you,” Alragus said before going around his workshop collecting them for me. “Regarding Lilfira’s armor, you have mentioned some time ago you had some Tarkee skins. Do you still have any?”

“Yeah, why?” I confirmed it, becoming curious too.

“I could probably combine Tarkee skins with the hardened iron to make the armor a bit more flexible. Tarkee skins are tough and is a very good quality material. They might add some extra stat bonuses too,” Alragus explained to me.

“Right, ok. How many Tarkee skins do you need?” I asked him.

“Four or five for the whole set,” he told me.

“Ok, here’s five,” I said, taking the skins out and passing them to him. “Anything else?”

“No. I’ll go calculate how much everything will cost,” Alragus said before going away to get it done.

In the meantime, Lilfira changed into her new armor, all three ladies coming back together. In all honesty, Plain Iron Armor pieces didn’t look that good on Lilfira, but the armor provided some stat bonuses, so I didn’t complain about it. I had to wait for Alragus to calculate all the costs, paying him the whole sum in advance after he did so. Time was short, so I thanked him and we have left his workshop the moment everything was sorted.

“Where are we going now, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked after we left Alragus’ shop.

“I need to buy some crafting supplies and we need to get extra water containers and lots of food too,” I told her.

“Lots of food? But aren’t we going to hunt Carnabbits and then later Rhakis for the meat inside the dungeon, Master Rockin?” Sylfrin asked next.

“Yes, we will, but we’ll be staying inside the dungeon for much longer this time and I wouldn’t want to waste too much time on chasing Carnabbits. Besides, it will save time if we have ready made food with us too instead of needing to cook inside the dungeon, so after we’re done with our shopping, we’ll go to Savirei’s diner to eat and ask her to prepare some extra food for us to take away,” I explained my reasoning.

“Ok, I understand,” said Sylfrin.

With what happened during the meeting with Roland and Lilfira’s father at the Guild, the rest of the day was hectic for me beyond belief. I was almost running around to check shops for the supplies I needed and to find extra shields for me as well. In all honesty, I didn’t need to rush around so much, but I was a little on edge and my head was not in the right place either. The worry about something happening to my clan members wouldn’t leave my head and thanks to me not thinking straight, I have definitely overpaid for some supplies, not that I cared about it right there and then.

Savirei noticed me being worried about something right away after we have entered her diner, with me denying it on the spot of course. I simply said I was hungry and asked for some food. Seeing how grumpy I was, Savirei didn’t pry. She must’ve been careful to not overstepping her limits, so I wouldn’t get mad at her like I did some time ago regarding the issue with Lilfira. It must’ve been food in the end, because I managed to calm down a little and explain to Savirei what was going on, asking her to prepare quite a lot of food for us to take away. She was sweet and very understanding, and said she will have the extra food prepared and ready for us tomorrow morning whenever we decide to leave. I thanked her for that and after the meal all four of us went directly to Navirei’s inn to finish our day earlier.

Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira were surprised to learn I wanted to spend the night separately from them. I insisted on us sleeping separately, so we could get a proper rest. I knew I would’ve been fine sleeping together with my three female companions by my side, but my head was in the clouds and my mind was overfilled with worry which made me think it would be better if I slept alone this time. I wished Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira a good night, reminding them to lock the doors when they go to bed and that we will be getting up very early tomorrow. They probably saw there was no point in trying to talk me into sleeping together with them, the three beauties complying with my demand sleeping separately, them going into our regular room to sleep and me going into the room right on the opposite side of the hallway.

Damn it. My head is killing me. I will definitely not be able to fall asleep anytime soon. I mumbled in my head. Worse yet, I gave our hammock to the girls, so now I had to sleep in the bed which I wasn’t used to. Oh, come on. Get some sleep. You don’t want to stay up late and then oversleep or not get enough sleep, and be too tired tomorrow. I tried reasoning with myself.

- ‘Knock, Knock.’ – Right when I was about to take a deep breath in to try and calm my mind, I heard a knock on the door.

Huh? What now? I frowned. As uncomfortable as the bed felt to me, I wasn’t very excited about getting out of it to check who was at the door.

“Who is it?!” I asked loudly instead of getting out of bed.

“It’s me, Sylfrin, Master Rockin,” I heard the familiar woman’s voice behind the door answer me.

“Sylfrin?” I sat up in the bed, quickly getting up and rushing to the door, becoming worried that something must’ve happened. “Hey, what’s goin- Oh, wow…” I wanted to ask what happened the moment I opened the door, but my jaw dropped when I saw Sylfrin in her alluring white lingerie set that she wore that night during the auction.

“Master Rockin, may I… come in?” Sylfrin asked, her cheeks sparkling red.

“Ah, yes. Ahm… come in,” I said, opening the door wider and letting her in. “Did… something happen?” I managed to ask her, my eyes not wanting to blink while looking at her.

“Actually…” Sylfrin lifted her eyes up, making direct contact with my eyes before stepping closer, wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a very passionate kiss. Obviously, I had no intention of resisting it. “I am worried about you, Master Rockin.” She whispered, Sylfrin pecking her nose at mine very gently, her lips touching and teasing my lips at the same time.

“Worried… about me?” I asked, my head spinning, but for a very different reason compared to the one I had not that long ago.

“Yes,” she said, giving me another short kiss. “You looked to be very tense from the moment you came back from your meeting at the Guild and you were not yourself for the rest of the day after that as well.”

I should’ve known they would notice. I let out a deep sigh.

“Yeah, sorry…” I had to admit it. “It’s… regarding Lilfira and the Rites of Strength. I’m worried about Lilfira and… everyone in our clan.”

“Lilfira appreciates everything you do for her, Master Rockin. Ranalaiya and I are very happy that you care about Lilfira so much as well. You don’t have to worry so much, Master,” Sylfrin tried to comfort me.

“Hah, thanks,” I said, squeezing out a smile. I honestly was feeling better right now. Obviously, it had nothing to do with the snow-white beauty hugging me or her delivering teasing kisses to me now while she whispered words to me in between them.

“You need to get a good rest, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin whispered again. “We should go to bed.” She added, sticking her tongue out and licking my lips just lightly, her eyes looking directly at mine.

“We?” I asked, not expecting to become surprised, but I was.

“Yes. I wouldn’t want you to sleep alone tonight, Master,” Sylfrin added. She was always bolder and more direct compared to Ranalaiya, one aspect of her I found to be rather attractive. It suited her character and she always made it sound so natural, maybe because she was that way. In addition to her looking the way she was and pressing herself against me the way she did, I had no guts to refuse.

“Ok, if you insist,” I said, hugging Sylfrin tighter before leaning to kiss her myself this time. Surprisingly, my head became cleared of any unnecessary thoughts and worries it had inside it not that long ago, with only one single thought lingering in it - looking forward to having a very good sleep tonight.