“What’s your name? I’m Alice.”

Hmm, he’s skittish. Alice noted when the boy jumped at her question and scuttled off a little before scurrying back to her side. He threw her an uneasy smile, rubbing the back of his head with clearly forced cheer.

“Huh? Oh, right. I just realized we haven’t introduced ourselves. Ha!” He barked a laugh that was overflowing with false enthusiasm, shooting her a couple of anxious glances before hastily averting his gaze back to the path in front of them.

A bemused smile with a tinge of annoyance pulled at her lips. It had been amusing to watch the boy stumble over his words at first, but it was quickly becoming draining. Did he not want her aid, and had just agreed because he didn’t want to risk offending her? Alice had been so gung-ho about taking another step in helping others that she’d neglected to take into account the boy’s feelings.

“Do you not want me to come?” Alice prodded. The boy stalled and almost stumbled over a rock. He rotated his arms in a desperate bid to regain his balance before sighing heavily.

“No, we—I mean, I’m grateful. Really grateful. Honestly!” he scrambled over his words. “It’s just…this doesn’t happen.”

“Nobles picking on commoners? Trust me, that happens no matter where you do,” Alice commented darkly. It was like she couldn’t escape the cloud of death that was nobility no matter where she went, and now she was down running. “Don’t worry, I’m not scared of the nobles. They’re really just bastards who had too much power when they were children and never grew out of the tantrum stage.”

A laugh spilled forth from his lips before he clamped his hand over his mouth, looking surprised at the sudden bout of laughter and glancing around furtively as if he was a fugitive on the run. Still, his eyes were twinkling with amusement and his shoulders shook with barely restrained joy. Alice cracked a small smile at the positive reaction she’d provoked, though a miniscule part of her curdled in offense. What was so funny? That was what she believed in.

The boy finally regained control of his bodily functions and beamed; no hint of the previously guarded and anxious looks remained. Once again, he was the kind boy Alice and Lily had met in the streets of the city.

“Sorry about that. I was worried you were trying to test my loyalties—snoop around after he left and make me lower my guard. I say something slightly provocative and boom!” He snapped his fingers. “I spend the rest of my life in a dingy dungeon, sharing a cell with ten other men twice my age.”

Alice’s stomach churned at the injustice of it all. “And nobody protests? Nobody says anything?”

“Of course they do!” he snapped. Alice flinched at the venom in his voice. He took a breath, chest shuddering as he calmed down. “But what can we do? Any protests are shut down before they gain any traction. Nobody wants to say anything in fear that they’ll be the next to be taken away. It’ll be great if we could expel the nobility, but this village is dependent on them. The nobility’s been here since the beginning, and they’ll stay here until the end. Even if we do manage to force them out, we’ll struggle to maintain our economy. We’re trapped.”

Alice pursed her lips. Just like with the nomads, this was another instance where brute strength wouldn’t amount to much. Alice wasn’t rolling in money; she couldn’t supplement the nobility in their role of providing the village with cash and boosting their economy. If she pushed the nobility out forcibly, she would essentially be condemning them to a slow and painful death as they failed to support themselves.

She could easily say that wasn’t her problem—it was their responsibility to maintain themself—but that’ll hardly make her any better than the nobles. Alice gnashed teeth; she’d failed the nomads and had been forced to flee. She wouldn’t fail this time.

“By the way, my name is Alphonso,” he offered a crooked smile. Taken off guard by the sudden interruption, Alice felt her lips twitch up.

“My name is Alice. This is Lily,” she motioned to the elf who was still clinging resolutely onto her arm. If Alphonso found her possessiveness peculiar, he didn’t mention it. Alice found herself grateful for that small gesture as he continued leading the pair through the city, maneuvering the well-worn cobbled streets with an expertise that was only acquired through years of experience.

The village was larger than Alice anticipated; by the time they’d arrived at the destination, the sun had already begun setting on the horizon, casting orange-golden hues over the sleepy town. But there was one place that remained stark, cold, and dead: the dungeon.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Coincidentally, the place we were going.

The moment they got within eyesight of the dungeon, Alphonso hastily said something before speeding off, raising his arms and shouting over the shrinking distance. Alice was dimly aware of the tiny silhouettes located in front of the dungeon like dolls, but she was more focused on the dungeon itself.

Compared to the rest of the village, which had a more modern sense nestled within, the dungeon looked like something ripped straight out of the age of heroes and Demon Lords. It was a small thing; a collection of boulders nestled together to cover an opening in the ground which led to horrors far below the planet’s surface. It was completely indistinguishable from any of the hundreds of random holes that popped up around the countryside. The stairs that were faintly visible from Alice’s position were an outlier, but nothing to warrant such reverence.

What did require attention and respect was the people’s reaction to this seemingly inconspicuous hole.

The first thing to notice was how the assortment of boulders was completely isolated from the rest of the village. Turning around, Alice spotted the nearest building at least a quarter of a mile away from the dungeon. For a village which seemed determined to cram as many buildings and people into as little space as possible, even to the point of becoming a safety hazard, the dungeon was a lonely island.

There were two guards stationed on either side of the pile of rocks, each armed with a spear engraved with runes and a sword sheathed on their belt. Not that their presence meant much; other than Alice, Lily, Alphonso, and his friends, there was no one in sight. It was like they got paid to stand there stiffly for hours on end without even the promise of seeing conflict to rejuvenate them.

It was for this reason that Alice shot them a sheepish chuckle as she passed. Of course, they remained impassive.

The instant Alice got within five meters of the dungeon, she felt the air shift. On the surface, there was no visible difference but it was almost palpable; like shifting through a dozen layers of air, each one heavier than the last. Her ears popped and a tingle spasmed through her body, locking her limbs for a split second before releasing.

What the hell was that?

Furrowing her forehead, Alice turned around and outstretched a hand. She was met with an invisible barrier, unrelenting even after she tried pushing through it.

Before she could panic, Alphonso exclaimed, “It’s a defense mechanism. In case monsters ever escape the dungeon or the divers get infected, they won’t be able to escape until they’re checked by the guards.”

Someone scoffed. “She doesn’t even know that?”

Alice glowered at the person who said that. Flowing, blonde hair, striking green eyes, and a button nose that tied the whole thing together: the quintessential noble girl. If not for her ragged clothing and the bruises on her skin, it wouldn’t have been hard for her to pass as nobility; especially since she’d already seemed to master the haughty expression all nobles wore.

Next to her was a hulking brute of a teenager; his broad shoulders screamed ‘strength’ and that wasn’t taking into account his bulging muscles. He had a gentle face with wavy brown hair and similarly chocolate-lite eyes, creating an interesting dissonance between his intimidating build and kind face.

So these are Alphonso’s buddies, huh? Alice shot a glare at Alphonso, making it clear what she thought of them. Or at least the girl.

Alphonso sighed. “Please, Rachel? You promised?”

Rachel studied Alice’s face disdainfully. She refused to bend, returning the gaze evenly. Finally, Rachel broke first and looked away with a snort. “Fine. It can’t hurt to have some backup. She’s not getting any money from this though. She better not ruin the mission either. And that goes for your little tag along too.”

With those less than stellar greeting words, Rachel turned on her heels and descended into the darkness with the ease of someone who’d done it a dozen times. This, more than anything, earned her a modicum of respect from Alice. To enter the dungeon so fearlessly showcased some amount of bravery……or overconfidence.

The big teddy bear smiled apologetically but didn’t say a word before following his partner into the dungeon.

Rachel’s words, although rude, struck a chord with Alice. She looked down and Lily looked up. They locked gazes for a couple of seconds before Lily glanced towards the dungeon; a clear invitation to enter the dungeon.

Alice was fairly certain that bringing Lily into one of the most dangerous places on the planet was not what Blanche had in mind when he’d entrusted Lily to her. But it wasn’t like she could return Lily to Blanche either; she had no clue where the dwarf was, and she doubted the guards would take too kindly to having to lower the barrier for a foolish mistake.

This was a big oversight. “Stick by my side, no matter what.” Alice instructed. Lily bobbed her head up and down, completely enraptured by the dungeon.

Alice sighed. “Let’s get this over with.” Allophone held a hand out to her, the corner of his lips tilting up.

With only a moment of hesitation, Alice grasped his hand and the trio descended into the dungeon.