The following morning, Rin and Percy arrived at the dungeon with time to spare. The boy was well hydrated, loaded with dried rations, and raring to go, bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement.

A bright yellow band was secured around his arm, provided by the town guard when Percy completed his registration the prior evening.

Rin was on “probation.” He’d been granted a temporary trial period to prove his worth. Based on his performance today, he might be graced with a more permanent solution.

The whole idea was ridiculous to Rin, who had been free to do anything and everything he wanted just yesterday. He was still the same person.

But not in the eyes of the general populace.

Superstitions here ran deep. To them, he’d committed a grievous sin of the worst kind. He must have. Why else would he be Cursed?

Despite how outlandish it seemed, Rin was on his best behavior. He’d done no wrong, but it would do no good to fixate on the injustice of the whole thing. Percy said his actions from now on should be nothing short of exemplary. Otherwise, Rin would surely suffer for the slightest offense. So, with gritted teeth, the boy tamped down his simmering anger, bottling it up deep inside his chest.

Percy insisted on accompanying him to the dungeon in case this imposing “Sergeant Ilks” showed up and threw a wrench in their plans. When they arrived, no one else was around except Gary Fletch, the dungeon guard, striding their way with a broad smile. He shook hands with Percy, nodding at Rin’s armband.

“I see’s ya got permission.”

“A trial period, yes,” said the tinker. “It’s up to Rin to perform now. A task well within his measure, I assure you.”

The guard nodded, leaning back and wedging his thumbs in his waistband, letting his belly bulge. “Glad to hear it. Ah, looks like they’re here.”

The trio turned to greet three novice mages who were right around Rin’s age.

“We’re here!” said the first, a confident young lady wearing a red robe that trailed along the ground. It was covered in runes that glowed softly in the morning light and matched the red staff she carried. Her brown hair was knit together in a tight braid that fell down her back. She stepped forward, offering her hand to Rin. “You must be our guide. I’m Deeya.”

He shook it earnestly. “Thank you so much for the opportunity. I truly appreciate it. Truly.”

Her smile seemed genuine, rising to her sparkling green eyes.

“Isn’t he an eager one?” said the next mage, a boy with cropped blond hair and a blunted square jaw. He wore a similar robe except it was green with cream-colored runes, and he carried a small wand, tucked into a front pocket.

“A potato farmer?” asked the third. She stared in disbelief at Rin’s status. She wore a brilliant yellow robe that highlighted her darker skin. She carried a similar staff to Deeya, except hers emulated the bark of a river birch. “Are we sure about this?”

Gary hmphed. “He solo’d the dungeon all by ‘is lonesome. Plus, he’s Cursed. He won’t steal a drop o’ yer experience, even if ‘e has ta fight!”

The boy mage frowned. Rin felt the conversation turning against his favor.

“I’ll give you a full refund if you don’t reach the very end,” he blurted.

“And you help fight the boss?” asked the yellow robe.

“Absolutely.”

There was a pregnant pause as something wordless passed between the three friends. Deeya was the one to break the silence. “Great! We have a deal, Rin.” She took something of an odd pleasure in saying his name. “This is Dex and Bayleigh, healer and mage respectively. Although you know that already from their statuses.”

Rin blinked. He hadn’t even thought to use Identify on them.

Deeya Rutterdam

Level 2 Mage

Dex Grizzam

Level 2 Healer

Bayleigh Laplace

Level 2 Mage

Fancy names. Only level two? They didn’t get very far yesterday.

“Lead on, guide,” said Deeya.

“Yeah, let’s see what you’ve got, potato boy,” said Dex.

Rin ignored the jibe, gave Percy and Mr Fletch a perfunctory nod, then tramped down the stairs of the dungeon’s entrance.

You have entered the dungeon: Bastion’s Boulder (Stone Type)

When they were out of sight from the adults, Bayleigh leaned in close. “So. How did you do it?”

“Huh?”

“The pit room. How did you get across? That’s where Marcus was offered his Healer class. He fell into one of the pits and disturbed a dungeon flower. There was a puff of pollen—it wasn’t much at all, but the tiniest bit got in his lungs. He almost died from the poison but managed to focus his Recovery at the last minute.”

Rin’s eyebrows rose high on his head.

Dungeon flowers in the pits? Now that’s interesting. Why would they be growing there?

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Rin was about to answer her, but Dex interrupted him.

“I know how he got across.” The boy stalked up to them, puffing out his chest. “That’s where he got his Cursed class.” Dex peered deep into Rin’s eyes, nodding to himself like he had Rin all figured out. “I was offered it too, y’know. The Cursed class. While the poison was taking my health down, point by point.” The boy sniffed. “But some of us know when to double down and fight with all they have, rather than cave.”

Bayleigh turned her face to Rin, unconvinced. “Is that true?”

He opened his mouth to defend himself, then stopped. A stubborn spark of indignation flared. He didn’t owe these strangers an explanation. They didn’t know anything about him. And for some reason, he felt a sudden compulsion to keep it that way. To keep his secrets well hidden and his reasons his own.

“Something like that,” said Rin.

Dex snorted. “Thought so.”

“Does that mean you’ll be no help in the pit room?” asked Bayleigh.

Rin carefully considered his words before answering. He wasn’t sure if he should tell them about the narrow side ledge. If it made the dungeon too easy, they might rethink the value of his services. Word might get around that having him as a dungeon guide wasn’t worth the money.

Let’s keep things challenging. Maybe I can save them a time or two. Then they’ll owe me a favor or at least tell their friends about me.

Rin locked eyes with her. He wanted her to see his conviction. “I’m Cursed. The dungeon flowers don’t affect me. And I’ll handle every last one of them if that’s what it takes to get you across.”

Deeya abruptly shushed them. “We’re coming up on the first chamber. Get your heads in the game.”

“Alright, how do you want to do this?” whispered Rin. “Do you want me to do all the fighting? Or do you want to take point and have me play backup?”

Deeya blinked. “We’re not warriors, so … I think you pitching in would be fantastic.”

“Yeah, how about we cover the back and sides while you take point?” said Bayleigh, half-joking.

Dex snorted. “Not me. Stay away from my kills. Potato boy.”

“He can’t steal your experience,” hissed Bayleigh. “We could let him do everything, and we’d still come out ahead.”

“We’d lose the real-life experience of fighting together as a team,” countered Deeya. “Let’s stick with our initial thoughts: Potato boy on point, healer in the back, Bayleigh you on the left and I’ll take right. Standard diamond formation, nothing complicated.”

They’re gonna call me Potato Boy forever now. At least when Deeya says it, it sounds nice.

The team shambled forward as a loose unit, not at all used to working together. Rin found himself thankful he was at the front because he needn’t worry about accidentally stabbing them. He only hoped they’d pay him the same courtesy.

As soon as they stepped into the cavern, five stone ratbacks charged. Rin stabbed the first through its stone skin, a kill strike straight through the heart. Then, he borrowed a technique from his first dungeon run, slinging the ratback from his sword into the path of two others. A fourth leaped past him but he bisected it cleanly in mid-air. The fifth and final ratback attacked from the right side, only to get blasted by a weak fireball from Deeya.

The monster wasn’t quite dead and Deeya didn’t seem ready to fire another shot, so Rin stepped in and casually lopped off its head. Then he spun around and cleanly finished off the two remaining ratbacks. The entire fight was over within seconds.

That might be a personal best for me.

Multiple Stone Ratbacks defeated.

“Thanks,” said Deeya, grabbing his bicep and gasping for breath. “Fireball is my only ability and it has a five-second cooldown.”

Rin was stunned.

Five seconds? That’s an eternity in a fight. How did they ever hope to get through this dungeon?

Glowing smoke trails of mana surrounded Rin, then split into equal parts and swept into the others.

“Yes!” exclaimed Bayleigh, her face flushed as she pumped a fist. “I just leveled up! See, I told you. He did everything!”

Dex was silent, his face looking like he’d just sucked a lemon.

“Should we, uh, loot these monsters?” asked Bayleigh.

“There’s nothing worth a dog’s crap in these beginner dungeons,” replied Dex. “Our time would be better spent pressing on.”

Despite his misgivings about the boy, Rin heartily agreed. His father had often given him similar advice during his training. Even the boss was nothing more than a lemur. What would there be to loot, except perhaps its tail? Rin was confident even the most eccentric alchemist had little use for a level 7 lemur tail. The sorry fact was, no one considered loot from beginner dungeons remotely valuable. Not when fantastical monsters with much higher levels stalked the bounds of the country daily.

All told, Dex’s words easily swayed the two young ladies who were in no great hurry to skin monsters in the first place.

They departed for the adjoining tunnel into the next chamber with Deeya sidling up beside Rin. She no longer whispered, and he could tell she was beginning to relax.

“You know, I had my doubts,” she said. “The way the guard talked about you sounded too good to be true. A boy that attempts his first dungeon alone? Unreal.”

Rin blinked. “I didn’t think it was anything unusual. I’ve trained my whole life for this. Too bad I ended up Cursed.”

Deeya’s lips formed a thin line. She nodded at the doorway leading into the next chamber. “You’re up.”

Rin held his sword out in the weak light, checking its surface before flipping it over to examine the other side. Satisfied, he strode forward and began stomping on the broad pit of sand.

The boy began systematically taking out the cave wrigglers, all while Bayleigh turned to Deeya with her mouth hanging open. “Y’know, he’s kinda hot!”

“He’s a warrior type,” said Dex, shoving past them. “They have muscles and little else.”

“So you admit he’s a warrior now?” asked Deeya. “Not a potato boy?”

Dex sneered and pointedly walked away.

Thirty feet before them, Rin finished the final cave wriggler, and the wispy trails of magical essence, pure mana in gaseous form, flew into the others. When Deeya and Dex fell to the ground, trembling, he triggered Identify. They had both reached level 3.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to work. I do all the fighting, and they get all the experience? Something is broken here.

He knew he shouldn’t complain. He shouldn’t dwell on it or he’d become bitter. But it was next to impossible when his group contained people like Dex, who took such a personal dislike to him.

At least when he was fighting, he felt free. Even with these easy fights, his mind couldn’t focus on anything else. It was a paradox. His mind was shackled to the battle, yet it felt blissfully liberated.

Multiple Cave Wrigglers defeated.

His breathing calmed and Rin turned about, taking stock of the cavern. Bayleigh stepped up beside him. “Can we take a break?” Bayleigh jerked her head to where Deeya was still recovering from her leveling with a flushed face.

“Break? We just got started.” When he spied Deeya’s condition, one eyebrow rose in question.

“Big mana pool,” said Bayleigh simply. “We’re both plain mages and even the same level, but her total MP is twice the size of mine.”

“Huh. I didn’t know it varied that much between people in the same class.”

Bayleigh nodded with a tight smile. “Yeah, it’ll probably play out with different evolved classes when we get to level twenty. I was granted a faster Absorption rate though, so I guess that’s something. I can fire twice as many fireballs. They’re just way smaller.”

Deeya wobbled to her feet, stumbling. Rin took one look at her and shook his head.

We can’t move forward like this. She could get seriously hurt.

“Yeah, on second thoughts, I think you’re right. Let’s break for a bit.”

Bayleigh slapped his arm and gave him a wink. “Thanks, Champ!”

Rin watched her saunter away and huffed.

At least she didn’t call me potato boy.