"Hey..." I said half-heartedly. "I'm guessing you're here because you have some answers," I asked.

"Well, sort of," Gaia replied. "That black gem that you have there, it's very similar to a monster core. There isn't really a term for it right now, but the best way to describe it is a monster-soul. Its purpose is also different," they stated. "It looks like you can consume this monster-soul; if my theory is correct, it should make you stronger. The only problem is, there are most likely side-effects, and we can't know what will happen," they continued.

"I see, so is that the soul of Beast King Baal?" I asked.

"Not exactly," Rei chimed in this time. "If what we observed is correct, there was a different Boss monster inhabiting that dungeon. It must have bound its soul to Baal for some reason; that's as far as we can tell."

"Interesting, so the Demon Kings must be using some sort of resurrection skill using the souls of strong monsters?" I asked.

"Precisely, but there must be something or someone that is activating this skill. Whoever that is may be the same person that tried to sabotage you. Maybe they're connected to Alexander's group," Gaia replied.

"That seems plausible, but we don't have enough information yet. I'm going to speak with President Kim tomorrow and have him assign me to more dungeons. I think I may be able to find a clue there," I replied.

"Sounds good. Either way, if you do decide to consume that monster-soul, contact me using Soul Connection first. I may be able to interfere if things go wrong," he told me.

"Gotcha, thanks," I replied. "I guess I'll see you guys soon," I said as my consciousness returned to reality.

"Whew~" I sighed, "It seems like things are starting to piece together. But I get that same ominous feeling every time I take a step forward..."

Slap

I clasped my hands around my face, making a loud, snapping sound. "Now's not the time to think of those things. Let's just get going," I said to myself aloud. I decided to head back to the F.C.F. to speak with President Kim again. I need to clear as many dungeons as possible. "Something tells me I'll find something by doing so," I thought.

After traveling a short distance to the F.C.F., I went to speak to President Kim. I quickly maneuvered through the building to his office.

"No! That was my one favor to you. Never again, I won't work with him again!" I heard a woman's voice yelling out from the office.

Slam

The door swung open and hit the wall. From the other side walked out Ghislaine, who glared at me momentarily, then turned away and rushed out of the building. "Why did he have to be here now..." I could barely hear her say under her breath as she walked away.

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"Ah, Vernon. How much of that did you hear?" President Kim asked.

"Just the end of it. What was that about?" I asked.

"Well, it's complicated. Ghislaine doesn't want to work with you anymore. She has her reasons. It's not your fault, so don't get too hung up on it," he said.

"Oh... I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I'll try to speak with her sometime and work things out," I replied.

"It's okay. You don't have to. Like I said, she has her reasons. She probably won't talk to you," he said.

"If that's the case, there's nothing I can do," I said awkwardly.

"With that out of the way, did you have something to talk about?" He asked me.

"Uh, yeah. I know you warned me about someone coming after me and to be more careful. Despite that, there are things I need to do. Please, assign me more dungeons, as soon as possible," I requested.

"Ah, if that's the case, it shouldn't be a problem. What rank are you at the moment? C-?" He asked.

"I should be around B-Rank, actually," I replied to him.

"Wow, B-Rank already? There are very few cases of guardians with your growth speed. Congrats," he said. "That's fine then. I have a few dungeons that need to be cleared around C and B rank. Just let me know in advance which you are going to clear, and there shouldn't be any problems," he explained.

"Yes, of course," I replied. "Then, can I go to this one as soon as possible?" I said as I pointed to a folder on the table.

"Hm, are you sure? Solo?" He replied.

"Yes, please," I replied.

And with that, I was on my way to the infamous B-Rank dungeon, "Labyrinth of Despair." Most B-rank and lower dungeons get cleared eventually. This is one of the few that has never been cleared. The main reason this dungeon has never been cleared is because of a mysterious power. Every guardian that has entered and lived to tell the tale has given a completely different description of its design. Due to this, many guardians have died attempting to clear it, only to be met with despair. I will be going into this dungeon solo and blind. If someone is trying to kill me, then this is the time.

After driving for over an hour, I arrived at the Labyrinth of Despair. It was a tall, oddly designed tower. It looked as if it was built by cubed stones randomly stacked on top of each other. "This should be fun," I thought to myself as I entered the dungeon. After a few minutes of walking, I was met by two doors, one black and one white. "So it's this type of dungeon," I thought. I flipped a coin, heads for the black door, tails for the white door. It landed on heads, and I went straight in. When I entered the room, all I saw was a single, large chest on a pedestal. "That's a trap," I immediately assumed. "I'm guessing the only way to leave this room is to open that chest and fight whatever comes from it," I continued. Before doing so, I decided to walk around the room. I noticed a couple of things. First, there were patterns on the floor, and second, there were torches along the walls aligned with these patterns. I decided to light the torches before opening the chest, and nothing happened. "Damn, I guess I should just get this over with," I said aloud. I opened the chest, and a loud click could be heard. All of a sudden, the wall opposite the door that I entered suddenly shifted, revealing a passage. Inside the chest was a note that read, "Congratulations, you passed the first test. Darkness is the only path to light, as they say." I felt like I could hear someone laughing at me as the chest closed and disappeared.

"Well, that's one room down. Might as well go for the whole thing," I thought as I walked down the path. What I saw next made me instantly change my mind.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR

The sound of a blood-curdling scream could be heard throughout the dungeon. The monster that created that sound was standing one hundred meters in front of me. It looked like multiple monsters stitched together, with a giant gem holding it together in the middle. "Some sort of Chimera," I said. "This is going to be troublesome," I thought as I charged forward.

"Oh well, Mana-manipulation," I said. Screams were heard once more.