The dwarven capital looked amazing.

"Okay, kids, take care of yourselves, and don't forget, I can't teleport inside the dungeon." The Goddess sounded like a mother dropping off her kids at the playground. The way Emi stared at the ruins of the once great city, eyes sparkling and mouth left open, she fit the description perfectly. "Telepathy isn't possible down there either, so don't do anything reckless. I'm talking to you, Nati. You can withstand some serious attacks, but you are not immortal."

"Got it, I'll stay behind the others," I promised, looking at those others in question. As previously agreed, Lambert remained home, but Gitaut and the two witches came with us. My little sister refused to sit this out but has proven herself during training.

At least Alexandra gave her a strong body. She looked funky in her school uniform in this fantasy setting, but her clothes doubled as excellent armor. And talking about the setting, the city they called Baran amazed all of us, regardless of which world we came from. The dwarf escorted us with his Nightmares and the huge carriage and now pointed at the buildings around the square like a tour guide.

"This is one of those Gates that connected the seven capital cities of the Cranta Empire." He started his explanation, showing us the complicated runes at our feet. When Charlotte told me about them more than a month ago, I imagined an actual gate, a huge stone arch, or something, but these were merely drawn on the stones, as if mischievous elves had left them behind for the humans as a prank. "And this is where we fought the hellhounds with Fang and Captain Dioneras."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, dwarf?" Omerta asked him with a grin. "You seem to be well equipped for an adventure like that."

"Oh, no, my lady, absolutely not." Gome shook his head vehemently, pointing at a two-story building, roughly twenty feet. "I had my fair share of combat with those abyssal beasts, and their leader has three heads, that could almost reach the roof of that structure. And that is still just the guardian of the entrance. I can't imagine, what kind of horrors live inside."

"A Cerberus, you say?" The other witch joined in on the conversation. Ember wore her large pointy hat like usual, which didn't seem like the brightest idea inside a dungeon. "I hope that not all of the creatures are like them. I specialize in fire and they are well protected against it."

"Isn't that a great start?" Omerta laughed, but I could see Gitaut sweating already. The orc witch seemed to notice it too. "What's wrong, shaman? You left your courage at home?"

"Nothing wrong with expecting the worst." The Goddes interjected before he could answer. "As I said, I won't be able to help, and this dungeon has been here for a decade. Take it seriously, girl."

"Sorry, sorry, I will." She couldn't help but giggle. "Thankfully Gorgon allowed his men to volunteer, so we have two hobs and an ogre to bolster our strength. Emi was blessed with nearly similar muscles, and four fighters with four spell casters is a well-balanced party."

"To be fair I didn't have much time to practice with weapons..." My little sister confessed, and for a second, I considered canceling the whole thing. We reunited only recently, and I rather spend time with her in the village than risk our lives for some kind of adventure. "But I'm looking forward to it. This is like an RPG game I used to play."

"Ar-pee-gee?" The Fire Witch furrowed her eyebrows, readying her staff. Both witches managed to make one, although theirs grew smaller than my cherry branch. They couldn't summon and make them disappear at will either, so it filled me with pride that there was something, I managed to do better than them. "It's simple. You guys cover our backs, and we cull out any monster that threatens to harm you. If you get hit, Gitaut here will heal you, just let him know."

"What did I tell you about that name?" The shaman was finally able to talk and was already upset. That said, for once my heart seemed to be beating fast because of the impending adventure, rather than because the Goddess was standing next to me. She was about to leave but gave us her blessing first. Literally.

"May your luck hide all the weaknesses, and increase your chances to strike true. I wish you to find great treasures, and all of you return home safely." Alexandra said in a cheerful voice, and it looked like light particles floated towards us slowly from her snow-white body until they enveloped all of us. Even if it was only a placebo effect, I already felt better about our prospects.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

She disappeared with a sharp flash, so this was probably her farewell too. Gomel pointed out a few more buildings and explained the basic geography of the city before parting from us and driving his large wagon toward his shop a few blocks away.

"You can come and rest up before you enter the dungeon." He offered, but it's not like we had to travel here, and got tired from the distance. The Goddes brought us all with her strange song that tore holes through the fabric of reality, so we were well rested already. "Also once you return, don't forget to let me know. I'd rather travel back with teleport than playing hide and seek with the lizardmen in the area."

"Of course. And if we find some exotic metals, you'll have to make something amazing out of it for us." Omerta demanded, confidently pushing her small chest out. "So it's that way, right?"

"Two blocks to the northeast, yes," Gomel confirmed heading towards the corner building. I already felt overwhelmed, with the eight of us in the main square.

Baran, this city was mostly abandoned in the last decade, and nature started to crawl back onto its streets. Some trees find their way into the buildings, peeking through the damaged floors, the scene reminded me of those adventure movies with the plot happening in ancient cities.

Here, the world was ancient compared to mine, but also full of life and the promise of adventure. It was hard to believe, I spent fifty days here already, and this was the first time I willingly started to explore it. I had barely been outside Nateaser, and now I was about to descend into a dungeon that people considered extremely dangerous.

"Don't worry, Nat, I'll be here with you the whole time." Emi grabbed my hand, and I felt embarrassed. As the older one and the man in our family, I had to protect her. Though I wasn’t a man anymore, her grin gave me the strength I needed, and our little group finally set out to conquer the dungeon. "I can't wait to see it from the inside."

"From what I heard, it's a world inside the world," Omerta explained, circling with her staff. Hers looked rough and spiky, the purple crystal sparkling at its end, while the one Ember grew herself resembled flames, like her red tunic. "When the dungeon core distorts the fabric of our world, first there is a mana wave, that can cause all sorts of disasters, then the abyssal creatures will start digging their way out."

"What kind of disasters?" I asked, a bit terrified. I knew the city wasn't abandoned because of the dungeon itself, but the scenery was already eerie without her saying such things. Still, I couldn't help asking about it, even if not knowing the answer felt the better option.

"Well, like dead men walking... Or mutations appearing. Earthquakes, plagues, all sorts of stuff." The orc witch listed them casually, but I felt she was exaggerating. She gauged my reaction with a grin. "But those were not that severe, the city guard dealt with them. They had to call in the Imperial Army for the dungeon itself though."

"Are we sure the eight of us will be enough to clear it?" I started to worry too late, but I couldn't help it. At least the two witches and the borrowed soldiers seemed confident and eager even, especially Emi. Gitaut on the other hand looked just as reluctant as I felt.

"Let's see... These guys survived a battle against ten times their numbers, our shaman is stronger than the Demon Lord himself, you and your sister got your bodies from a literal deity, and I already fought the worst enemy in existence, twice." There was no doubt about it, Omerta was confident in our combined abilities.

"Hey, praise me too." The Fire Witch complained, as we finally reached the block the dwarf talked about. The ruins looked way more ruin-y here. The buildings lost their roofs and some of their walls, and a few got torn down to their foundations. Whatever lived nearby left a terrifying scratch and bite marks on the white stones, and bones littered the area wherever I turned my head. "Oh, it seems like we are close."

"It will be impossible to miss an entrance guarded by a real Cerberus," Omerta noted, holding her staff up, ready to strike.

I summoned mine too, and once the branch appeared in my hand, I noticed jealousy in her eyes. The fact that I had this one thing over them gave me a little confidence at least.

I also spent the last days practicing, offensive and defensive spells, to replenish my mana or analyze other people's spells. They were right about something, once I got the basics down, everything seemed possible, as long as I focused and imagined it in enough detail. The crystal Fenna gave me was a tremendous help in both phases.

I thought about her with immense gratitude, but the sudden grumbling dragged me back into the present. The ground shook as something approached us, still behind the cover of the ruined buildings.

"Oh, here we go, get ready to strike." The orc witch played the leader of our party. We never assigned this role to anyone, and now there was no time to argue. She led the Twelve Champions for a short period, but knowing her track record, this hardly made her the ideal candidate. "Don't forget to look behind you as well, Gomel said the beast had an entire kennel with her."

As if on cue, I heard growling and barking from every direction and spotted the first dogs glaring at us from a balcony. At least a dozen soon followed, surrounding us. The ogre and the hobs raised their shields and spears, and Emi finally released my hand too.

"This is where the fun begins..."