Morning sunlight streamed through the small window of the inn room, casting a warm glow over Jayde's face. He stirred, opening his eyes to see Torin already awake, sitting at a small desk, polishing his sword.

"Morning," Jayde mumbled, sitting up and stretching.

"Morning," Torin replied, not looking up from his task. "Ready for our first quest?"

"Yeah," Jayde said, swinging his legs off the bed. "Let's see if the girls are awake."

"Alright then," Torin responded, getting up from the desk.

When they opened the door, the girls across the hall happened to be doing the same thing.

"Good morning," Celestia murmured, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning," Zenith also greeted.

"G'mornin," Flarez slurred, still looking half asleep.

"Morning," Torin and Jayde responded in unison.

After their greetings, the group headed downstairs to the tavern. When they arrived, there were adventurers chatting, eating, and taking quests off the board.

"We should sit and discuss what kind of quest we should take," Torin suggested, motioning towards an empty table.

"I think we should pick a quest that involves combat," Flarez proposed.

"I second that," Jayde added.

"I don't think any of us would be against that," Zenith remarked. "But I wonder how they sort the quests based on difficulty."

"The quests are sorted by rank," Navel interjected, approaching from her station. "E-Rank adventurers can only take E-rank quests if they have less than three party members, they can take D-Rank quests if they have at least three members, and they can take C-Rank quests if they have at least 5 members. Taking a quest two ranks above your own is highly discouraged though."

"I suppose that makes sense," Zenith concluded.

"Would you like some food while you think it over?" Navel inquired.

"Yes!" Celestia replied immediately.

"Okay, I'll be right back!" Navel exclaimed cheerfully.

'Should I suggest that we take a C-Rank quest? Maybe not, I don't wanna drag the group into something we can't handle. But the rewards are probably much better,' Jayde pondered internally, a thoughtful look on his face.

"We are not taking a C-Rank quest, Jayde," Zenith chided.

"Uhh… how did you know I was thinking about that?" Jayde questioned, staring at Zenith with interest.

"It was all over your face," Zenith answered before her cheeks slightly flushed. "And stop looking at me like that."

'Why's she acting weird all of a sudden?' Jayde thought in confusion.

Flarez giggled. "Looks like I was right, Z."

Zenith scoffed. "As if... Anyway, what do you think about a D-Rank quest, Torin?"

"I believe we can handle that, but we should still pick one that is not too dangerous," Torin replied.

"Let's go look at the quests board!" Celestia exclaimed, standing up from her seat.

"Wait, we should eat first," Torin spoke, motioning towards the approaching Navel. She was carrying several plates of food.

"Here you go," Navel cheerfully remarked, placing a plate in front of everyone.

As they were eating, Jayde found his eyes drawn towards the quests board. With the use of his Eagle Eye, he was able to read the quests clearly.

'I'm glad we decided on a D-Rank quest, most of the E-Ranks don't involve fighting. I think the best D-Rank is the dungeon raid. While the base reward is the lowest, we get to keep anything we find,' Jayde decided internally.

"Are you guys done yet?!" Celestia complained after finishing her food first.

"Yeah, let's go," Flarez remarked, rising from her seat.

The others followed suit, standing up and walking towards the quests board. The group radiated excitement, drawing a little attention from their peers. When they arrived, Celestia and Flarez eagerly looked over the options on the board.

"We should take the dungeon raid quest," Jayde suggested.

"But the reward is only 1000 novas; the others are at least 2000," Celestia argued.

"You're right, but we also get to keep whatever we find in the dungeon," Jayde responded.

"The dungeon is also unexplored, which means it could be dangerous," Zenith remarked. "And it's an estimated D-Rank; the difficulty could be higher."

"I think we should take a chance on this dungeon; the rewards could end up being the best, and I've always wanted to explore one anyway," Flarez reasoned, a determined look on her face.

"I agree with Flarez," Torin added.

"Okay," Zenith conceded. "But if it gets too dangerous, we need to retreat."

"Understood," Torin replied, grabbing the quest off the board.

With the quest in hand, the group made their way to Navel, handing her the quest to make it official.

"A dungeon raid for your first quest..." Navel began. "That's quite ambitious, but I'm sure you can handle it. Make sure to be cautious, this dungeon hasn't been mapped out, and it was formed recently."

"How do we find the dungeon, and how do we prove that we've cleared it?" Jayde questioned Navel.

"The dungeon is located to the east; it is just outside of the forest surrounding Aria. The massive stone doors of the dungeon are protruding from the ground; it is incredibly hard to miss, and you have to bring back the magic crystal from the dungeon's ruler to prove that you cleared it," she answered.

"Understood, we thank you for all of your help, Navel," Torin declared, giving a slight bow with the others doing the same.

As Jayde traversed through the forest, he glanced at the others to gauge how they were feeling. 'Celestia looks a little nervous, Torin has his constant look of determination, Zenith looks as calm as she always does, and of course Flarez looks excited. I suppose I'm feeling excited too, and I hope the monsters within this dungeon are stronger than those goblins we fought before. I also want to get better at using this bow... perhaps I could shoot from close range, then my accuracy wouldn't be an issue,' Jayde monologued internally.

"I see the edge of the forest!" Flarez pointed out, looking even more excited than before.

"Jayde, let us know when you see the entrance, your eyes are better than ours," Zenith directed.

"Will do," he responded, vaulting up into the trees.

When he reached the edge of the forest, he scanned the terrain. After a few seconds, Jayde was able to see the stone structure in the distance. He scaled back down the tree to inform the group of his findings.

"Follow me, it's not that far away," Jayde told the group, walking in the direction of the dungeon.

After about thirty minutes of walking, the adventurers stood before the imposing stone doors, their sheer size dwarfing the group. Intricate carvings of weapons and arcane symbols adorned the surface, hinting at a battle that took place.

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"Wow," Celestia murmured, her eyes wide with wonder. "This is amazing."

"Focus, everyone," Torin said, his voice steady, "We need to be prepared for anything once we step inside. Zenith, we need you to take point, you are the best at perceiving traps."

"Understood," Zenith replied, a serious look on her face.

"Let's get started already," Jayde spoke, walking towards the doors and placing his hands on one. "Torin, can you give me a hand?"

"Sure," Torin replied, walking towards the other door.

They pushed both doors simultaneously, a deep rumble emanated as the doors slid across the ground. Inside, the air was cool and damp, a stark contrast to the warmth outside. The corridor was lit by bioluminescent moss, casting an eerie green glow.

The adventurers proceeded cautiously, their footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The corridor soon opened to a vast chamber, its ceiling disappearing in the darkness above. In the center stood a stone pedestal, and around it were four stone statues, their arms oriented in a way that made it look like they were supposed to be holding something. There were four different stone weapons laid out on the pedestal, a sword, an axe, a spear, and a bow.

"This looks like some kind of puzzle," Flarez observed, her heterochromatic eyes sparkling with interest.

"Maybe we have to place the weapons in a certain order," Torin suggested, examining the statues.

Zenith stepped forward, wracking her mind for the solution. "Let's think this through. Getting the order wrong could have dire consequences. What if we base it on the order of their appearances in historical battles?"

Flarez shook her head. "Or it could be something simpler, like the length of the weapons or their range."

Jayde recalled the symbols on the door. 'The carvings on the door portrayed the different stages of battle. On the left side, there was a long range battle, and on the right side, there was a close range melee battle.'

"What if it's about the progression of combat? Start with long-range and move to close combat?" Jayde questioned.

"That makes sense," Celestia remarked. "Let's try it."

They began with the bow, carefully placing it in the hands of the first statue. Next they positioned the spear, followed by the axe, and finally the sword. As the last weapon was placed, there was a low rumble, and the statues began to glow.

"We dit it!" Flarez exclaimed, her excitement contagious.

The ground beneath them trembled, and a section of the wall began to slide open, revealing a passageway leading deeper into the dungeon. The group exchanged determined glances and pressed forward, their confidence somewhat boosted.

As they traversed further, they encountered more puzzles, and avoided traps, testing their wits and teamwork. Things seemed to be going smoothly until Zenith spotted something, a group of monsters blocking their path. 'They seem to be around the size of humans, but they're incredibly skinny. Maybe they're skeletons,' she thought to herself.

"Guys, there's monsters up ahead, they look like skeletons, prepare to fight," Zenith warned, drawing her daggers.

"It's about time," Jayde said confidently, reaching a hand towards his bow before hesitating, 'should I really use this bow? I don't want to accidentally hit my friends. I'll just use my hands for now, but the fifty percent damage boost of my ranged attacks might be necessary for the dungeons ruler.'

"I will draw their attention," Torin spoke with conviction, drawing his sword and stalking forward.

"I'll protect you," Celestia added, casting a defense buff on Torin.

"Let's get started already," Flarez exclaimed, embers sparking from her hands.

The group moved forward, the dim light from the bioluminescent moss casting eerie shadows on the walls. As they approached the skeletons, the creatures turned, their hollow eye sockets glowing with a faint, malevolent purple light.

The first skeleton immediately lunged toward Torin, intent on ripping him apart. He countered the skeleton with a slash to its ribs. Jayde was approached by several skeletons, he attacked the first one with a lightning-fast kick, decapitating it, sending its head into the wall, shattering on impact. The other skeletons tried to land blows on Jayde, but they seemed to be moving very slow.

'This must be that new enhanced reflexes skill, it feels like I have all the time in the world to react,' Jayde thought, dodging a skeletons strike, and sending its head into the ceiling with an uppercut.

Zenith was decapitating skeletons from behind, showing off her assassination skills, her presence seemed to be fading in and out of existence. Flarez was using Torin as her shield, shooting streams of fire at any skeletons that got too close. Celestia healed any damage that Torin received, and applied an attack buff to Flarez.

The battle lasted around five minutes, the group slaying around thirty goblins in that time. After the last skeleton was felled, the wall on the right side of the corridor slid open to reveal a small room. In the center of the room, there was a treasure chest waiting to be opened. Flarez rushed towards it and threw it open.

"Flarez, you need to be more cautious," Zenith chided, walking up and peering into the chest.

"I agree, what if that chest was a trap?" Torin added.

"Well, it wasn't," Flarez remarked, struggling to lift a heavy shield out of the chest.

"What else is in there?" Jayde inquired, staring at Zenith.

"Just these two short swords," Zenith replied, holding up the swords for the others to see.

"Can I see them?" Jayde asked, holding his hands out.

"Sure," Zenith answered, handing the swords to Jayde.

Weapon Equipped: Lightning & Thunder - Two short swords crafted in ancient times; Said to be able to harness the power of lightning.

'I think these'll come in handy, I'll be much more lethal, especially if I can figure out how to use lightning,' Jayde concluded. "Are you guys okay with me using these swords?"

"Go for it, I only use daggers, Flarez and Celestia don't use weapons, and Torin uses a long sword," Zenith replied, "and Torin, you should use the shield."

"I was already planning on it," Torin stated, Flarez handing him the shield. "Let's continue down the dungeon."

The party walked out of the room, and headed deeper into the dungeon. Jayde, placed the two short swords in his inventory before following behind. 'I'm gonna need some sheaths so I can draw them quickly, pulling them out of the inventory takes too long.'

After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived at some stone doors, their design was eerily similar to the ones at the entrance. This likely meant the ruler off the dungeon was behind this door.

"This is it," Torin said, readying his new sword and shield combo. "Our final challenge."

Jayde pushed one of the doors open, and Torin walked through immediately after, shield up in front of him. The others followed closely behind Torin, a look of nervousness across their faces, not knowing what to expect. Inside, they were greeted with a massive room, and massive chair in the center of the room. In the chair, there was a humanoid monster, it had two large horns and was black in color. Its bright red eyes glared down with fury, the beast stood up and raised its giant axe into the air, roaring so loudly it made the room tremble.

Jayde readied his bow, and dashed to the left of the beast. Torin charged head-on, drawing the beast attention. The black monstrosity swung its axe with deadly precision, aiming to split Torin in two. His shield weathered the blow, but he was sent flying backwards, Celestia immediately tending to his wounds. As the monster was attacking Torin, Flarez readied her strongest spell, a giant fireball, and launched it towards their horned foe. The fireball struck the beast on its shoulder, leaving burn marks and causing it to roar in agony.

Zenith faded into the background, waiting for her opportunity to strike. Jayde however, charged directly at the wounded monster, gaining its attention. As Jayde got closer, the beast reared its axe back, before swinging it at Jayde. He narrowly avoided the axe, sliding towards the creatures right leg and taking aim, before using his skill Piercing Arrow, firing a shot directly at the creatures knee. The arrow flew straight through the monsters knee, sending blood everywhere, and causing the beast to drop down to one knee.

Seizing this opportunity, Torin charged in full speed, and wedged his sword into the creatures other knee, causing it to drop down to both knees. Zenith jumped from the shadows, able to reach the creatures neck now that it was kneeling, she jabbed both of her daggers into the beast neck, causing blood to gush uncontrollably. She narrowly avoided the creatures hand as it tried to grab her.

"Clear out!" Flarez exclaimed, preparing another massive fireball.

Torin and Jayde quickly created distance between them and the monster. Watching as Flarez sent the fireball towards the crippled beast, cackling as she did so. The creatures roars were almost unbearable as it burned alive. When the smoke cleared, the monster was lying down on its stomach, reaching for its axe. Jayde walked up to the struggling monster, and aimed his bow directly at its head, using his skill Charged Arrow, he blew a hole in its head with an arrow comprised completely of mana.

"We did it... " Celestia stated in disbelief, a look of relief on her face.

"Yeah, we did," Zenith confirmed, sheathing her daggers, her purple eyes filled with joy.

"Burning that monster felt soooo good," Flarez said, her cheeks flushed, a look of ecstasy on her face.

"Uhh... is this normal?" Jayde questioned, looking towards Torin.

"Yes, she gets like this sometimes," Torin answered, a look of embarrassment on his face.

Jayde chuckled. "I see, it's kinda cute."

"Yeah, it totally is," Celestia added, laughing herself.

Zenith frowned. 'Is that what it means to be cute?' she questioned internally.

The group began to focus again when the ground began to tremble, they looked towards the center of the room, a treasure chest was rising out of the ground. Also, the was a shining light emitting from the back of the deceased monster. Deciding to check the monster first, they discovered a crystal protruding from the monsters back.

"This must be what Navel was talking about," Celestia stated, grabbing the crystal.

"Yep, looks like it," Jayde confirmed, before turning around and walking towards the chest.

Flarez rushed ahead of Jayde and opened the chest eagerly. Upon opening the chest, the group discovered that it was filled to the brim with novas, the golden coins shimmering.

"Whoa, there's so much money," Flarez breathed out.

"Indeed, we'll split it when we get back to Aria," Torin decided, closing the chest and picking it up.

As the group was preparing to exit the dungeon, Jayde decided to check his level.

[Experience Gained]:

Skeletons Defeated: 12

Rulers Defeated: 1

Total Experience Gained: 1600

Level 2 -> Level 5

Progress To Next Level: 200/1600

Stat Points Awarded: 20

New Skill Obtained:

[Quick Draw]: Allows for weapons to be drawn instantly from inventory for an immediate attack.

'Looks like I have a lot of stat points to apply, and this new skill negates the need for a sheath. I can draw the blades directly from my inventory now. I should probably use the novas we found to get some light armor and a new bow,' Jayde decided internally, before an immense feeling of dread hit him in his gut.

He anxiously looked around for the reason, and when he found it, he was too late. There were several bladed objects flying towards him and his friends. His Enhanced Reflexes kicked in, time seemed to slow down as the weapons approached. Jayde noticed that Zenith was slightly moving out of the way, but she was still going to get hit by one of the blades on the side of her gut. Looking towards the others, he saw that Torin was going to get hit by several blades, Flarez was somewhat shielded by Torin, but one blade was heading towards her left leg, and Celestia was poised to get hit by several blades as well. Factoring in his speed, Jayde knew he could only save one, and he immediately knew who he should save, dashing towards them as fast as he could.