“It should be around here” I muttered to myself. I stepped over a thick tree root. The trees in the forest I was in weren’t densely packed but the bushes and tree roots made it hard to navigate and move around effectively. A gust of wind ruffled the canopy and blew over me. It was easy to forget that all of this was inside a dungeon. It still astounded me as to what exactly dungeons were. How can all of this exist within a dungeon. The information implanted within me didn’t have nearly enough information on what they were. The question at hand was how do I get out of a dungeon. I couldn’t get out of the dungeon using normal means and I didn’t have a crystal to transport me out. There was only one solution. If I don’t have one of those magic crystals all I had to do was get one. The wooden building came into view.

“Bingo,” I said under my breath. The bandits must have used a gemstone to get into the dungeon.

Several figures sat around a smoking fire.

I strode to the entrance.

“Whoa there!” they said. Drawing their swords when they caught sight of me.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” I said. “I just need your gemstone to get out of the dungeon.”

“You mean the cavesten?” said one of them cautiously.

I snapped my fingers. “Exactly!” do you have one of those?

“Yes, but you aren’t getting it!” They approached me. “Instead why don’t you leave that sack as well as that sword on your waist and scram!”

I sighed, “ Don’t you remember me from last time?”

One of them peered closer.I caught a glimpse of a scarred face.

“ - wait that’s the one that -” he burst out but it was too late.

They charged me sword swinging. I launched mana threads from each of my fingers. THey wrapped around their sword and sent them in my direction. I shattered them under my foot. They wouldjust use the swords to attack someone else. It is better that they are destroyed.

I went to the grizzled face. “Baron right,” The grizzled man nodded eagerly.

“I’ll ask once again,where’s the gemstone?”

“It’s in the chest under the floorboard,” he said immediately.

“How do I know you’re not lying to me right now?” I said pointing my sword at him.

Baron raised his hands. “I wouldn’t lie, when you’ve been in the business as long as I have you know when you can’t get away with things,” he said in a gruff voice.

I sheathed my sword. Just as he said, the chest had been there. I smashed the lock and retrieved the gemstone. It was as blue as the open sea - the same blue that the large one the rebellion had used was but this one was more of a pendant. It hung on a silver-chained necklace.

“By the way,” I said to Baron while walking out of the den. “What happened to Foxie?”

Baron had a confused look.

“Oh you mean, the newbie. He left,” replied Baron.” One day he just said “I’m leaving” with a frustrated look on his face, the next moment he walked into the forest and never came back, I don’t know what came over him.”

I nodded, I was glad. I could tell when I fought him, he had a lot of potential, It would just be a waste for him to be here. His piercing blue eyes had intellect in them. He must have been professionally trained in swordsmanship and magic. His magic had been refined and honed, beautiful even. His ice-magic wasn’t far beyond mine in terms of technique either. I hope he’s turned a new leaf.

I clutched the pendant. Mana pulsed strongly inside it. Although it was a magical device it didn’t have incantations coded into it. It operated in a much more fundamental way. I didn’t think that mattered though. All that should be necessary for using the device was channeling sufficient amounts of mana through it.

I fed it my mana, it lapped it up eagerly and glowed brightly.

“Hey what are we supposed to use to leave?” asked the baron in a panicked voice.

I shrugged. “Figure it out, you’re bad guys why should I care.”

With those final words the world around me disappeared in a flash of blue light.

I was on the top of a mountain. This wasn’t the same location I had transported to when Gelric used the massive gemstone that had been attached to the cart. I wondered if the physical location inside the dungeon corresponded to specific locations outside of them as well. I peered in the distance, I could sense lots of mana in that direction, that must be the kingdom of Ariadne.

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The mountains and valleys stretched below me. I took a deep breath of the cool mountain air. I grinned, so this is what freedom was like. I jumped over the edge into freefall. The wind ripped at my clothes. It was all so exhilarating. Using mana constructs I contracted a triangular shaped object above me. It picked up the wind and lifted my up. I glided on the updrafts of wind as I soared toward the kingdom. The advantage of using a mana construct is that it technically didn’t weigh anything. That meant the surface area needed to keep me gliding was greatly reduced since typically one would also need to take into account the weight of the wings and fabric of the equipment since their weight can add up to be quite a lot.

I glided to my feet a couple of kilometers away from the kingdom and walked the rest of the way.

I greeted the guards at the front gate.

“Hello there!” I said.

They crossed their spears together blocking the entrance.

“State your business,” said one of them.

I was prepared for that.

“Just visiting, I am a traveler wandering through,” I said with a smile.

The soldier narrowed their eyes. “The toll’s one silver,”

I searched around in my pocket. My hand closed around an object. It was a monster core.

“Hey, let me free!” Said a small voice. Oh great it was Belzeebub, There’s got to be a better place for him to be than in my pocket.

“Can I pay with this instead?” I said showing them the orb.

They looked at each other confused. Were you not allowed to do that, did I make some sort of mistake?

“I guess,” said one of them hesitantly. They took the orb.

“You have one week before you have to renew this,” they said handing me a metal plaque with a hole in one of the sides.

That should be long enough.

“Have a nice stay,” said the guards letting me through.

“You too,” I said walking through. I slapped my hand to my face. That had been awkward.

After I’d made some way away from the guards I reached back into my pocket. I retrieved the same glowing purple core. It was underhanded but I needed to save money where I could. I made a mental note to pay it back someday to the city.

From this side of the walls. The city had a more refined look. The outer walls were white instead of a dull rock and jeweled pillars supported them from the inside. Their structure indicated their function was one aimed more to please the eyes than to structurally support the wall.

The houses were decorated with bright colors and unique designs although the kingdom had seen better days. Several houses were covered in support railings and under construction. I felt a pang in my heart when I saw several structures that were covered in dull black tarps as well as construction railing on the outer wall.

A gust of wind blew something into my eyes. I rubbed at my face only to find something was stuck to it. It was a light-purple-colored flower petal. How mysterious.

The divine scent of roasting meat tickled my senses. My stomach rumbled loudly. I followed the smell and found myself in a market. Street vendors lined the roadsides and my mouth watered at the delicious aromas of fried meat and other delicacies that consumed my senses. I approached a nearby street vendor. He was turning around darkened skewers that lay above a bed of hot coals.

“Can I get one of those,” I said pointing at a skewer.

“Of course, young man!” He handed me one of them.

“Mind your tongue they’re hot,” he warned.

It was in vain as I had already wolfed down half the skewer. “It’s not that hot,” I replied licking my lips.

“Oh, you must have a pretty high heat tolerance, they were fresh off the grill not many people can eat them like that!”

I shrugged nonchalantly.

“You could say that.”

“Say, you don’t seem to be from around here, are you here for the flower festival,” asked the man.

“The flower festival?” I said confused.

“You don’t know! Ariadne is known all over the world for its flower festival. It's a festival were we celebrate nature and accordingly prosperity and beauty. The streets overflow with the petals of the moonflower. The moonflower is also known as the glory of Ariadne. Ariadne isn’t doing to well these days with the recent attacks of the Holy Empire and many thought it was going to be cancelled this year but the king recently announced that the festival was still occuring,” said the man excitedly.

“I didn’t know but thanks for telling me,” I replied.

“You’ll love it,” promised the vendor enthusiastically.

“By the way, do you know of a nearby inn or even a tavern I could go to?” The skewer hadn’t been enough to satiate my hunger. Hopefully I could find a place to keep a roof over my head as well.

“If you go down the street and take a left there should be an inn called the Hydrangea,” he said nodding in the direction.

“Thank you very much,” I said.

“No problem,”

The people in this city seemed very happy. My vision blurred slightly. I looked up beyond the rooftops. I never knew this all existed from up above. Maybe it hadn’t been my fault, but regardless it still dug my sins ever deeper.

I turned left down the street and spotted a faded wooden sign. Carved into the sign was a bouquet of flowers in umbrella-shaped clusters. The image was carved in remarkable detail, everything from the stems to the patterns on the petal tips. The lack of writing on most buildings indicated a low literacy rate but these people weren’t dumb, they were highly skilled proffesionals.

The door opened with a creak.

“What can I do for you,” said a burly woman in an apron.

“I’m seeking lodging for the night,” I said

“Sure thing, that’’ll be one copper!” she said.

Their were scuffling sounds of violence behind me.

“Come on now,” said a sinister voice. “Don’t you know who I am, I’m a city officer, the least you could do is pay my tab.”

I red-faced man who was clearly drunk was clad in armour. He had his arms around a scared looking old man.

“Please, i don’t have any extra money,” begged the man. “I already used everything I had for the flower festival!”

Huhh!” Burst out the man, “Don’t you remember that surprise attack by the empire, WE … were the ones that fought them off while you cowered in fear,” said the man jabbing his thumb into his plated chest.

“Sir, please leave,” said the woman at the counter. “We don’t allow violence at this establishment.”

“Shut up!” snarled the man.

I felt disgusted from deep within me. This man was nothing but a bottom-feeder that couldn’t help but bully others to make himself feel better.

The man locked eyes with me.

“What”” he said. He marched toward me. “You got a problem with me!”

His face was an inch from mine.

“You sicken me,” I said.

“You, you….” said the man. His face turned bright purple as he struggled to get the right words out.

“Never come here again,” I said.

“I’ll teach you …” The man reached for his sword hilt.

I drew back my hand and swung the back of it across his face. He smashed headfirst into the floor.

“I’m sorry,” I said turning back to the counter. “I’ll get the payment right now,”

I reached into my satchel. Lula- bless her heart had given me a small amount of money to take with me on my journey.

“That’s quite all right,” said the woman warmly. “You can have a room for free that man has been harassing my customers for weeks,”

“Are you sure?” I asked.” I can still pay,”

“Of course, dear, the customers I gain from him not being here will more than cover your bill,” she reassured me.

I smiled warmly at her. The smile that stretched my lips was perhaps the first heartfelt smile I had felt since coming to Ariadne.

“Thank you!”