After a couple of hours of sleep, my preparation would begin. I knew what was needed to complete the job Kairo assigned me and it wasn’t much, one of the three gold coins I would be all I needed for my trip to the dungeon.

I rarely took jobs that were out of the city, so this was just a small inconvenience for me. But after some thought, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief to get out of the city, for a while at least.

Although I wasn't sure how to feel about Kairo's odd presence, It wasn't exactly pleasant. The job itself was definitely off, to say the least, but I felt a little amusement to experience something different, so I somewhat came to terms with it.

I sat in front of the table, where I organized the loot from the previous job. My first stop would be to the hideout of the gang of idiots, where they would take the items from me. I figured I would drop off the loot before starting anything else. At the very least, the idiot gang boss should have both my payment and information on the A-ranked clan I encountered, I’d rather not see that purple-haired girl again.

After some time, I made my way into the Lower District, where I closed in on the rundown hideout. Like usual the gang members outside stared at me with their eyes full of hate and disgust. I ignored it and simply continued toward their boss’s office.

“Kazu! Finally! See, I told you, an easy job done well!” Their boss exclaimed in the usual seat he sat in, with the thugs on either side of him.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "… just the money, I have something else to take care of, and I would rather not stick around for longer than I needed to," I remarked as I threw the pouch of loot onto the table.

Their boss only chuckled with amusement as he grabbed the bag and began to fiddle with the items, "Perfect... hahaha! This should do,” he replied signaling one of his goons to toss a pouch of coins at me, which I caught in my hand effortlessly.

I merely gave a scoff before tucking the coins away. “… where’s that clan now? Are they still in the city?” I remarked to be sure I wasn't going to be bothered by them.

Their boss laughed loudly at my question. "No way! They delivered their gifts to Their Monarch, they should have left Carith by now. It's a good thing too! no harm done on our side!" he replied with glee.

I hummed in response before beginning to turn around, "Good, I don't need any unnecessary trouble," I mused with disinterest as I left their hideout with everything I needed to know.

Once outside, I simply took a breath of the fresh air, as I began to make my way back home to finalize my preparations for my next job. It didn’t take long before I returned to my humble abode, where I gathered up a handful of rations that could fit into a satchel where the map and Artifact Kairo provided me with would fit inside as well.

After that, I made may way to the drawer where I kept my clothes and placed all the funds I acquired recently inside the leather pouch. Then I reached a bit further into the drawer and pulled out a dagger I kept for less than favorable situations.

I kept it clean over the years so the edge still remained sharp. I checked its weight and balance before strapping it behind me under my baggy shirt, with everything accounted for, I headed to the front door of my home.

"… I’ll see you soon,” I said as I opened the door and stepped outside and toward the front gates of Carith, where a coach would be waiting and a single gold coin would cover the cost to take me where I needed to go.

I headed straight to the southern gate, where many others were making their way in and out of the city. Among the coaches, Clans were seen going about their business. I ignored it all as I approached a carriage, "take me to the Vectus border. Follow the main road,” I remarked with the gold coin ready for the driver to take it. It wasn’t a long distance from Carith, so the gold coin was more than enough to cover it.

He looked at me with a sneer as he took the coin from my hand, “Hmph, try not to dirty my Carriage, you cursed filth,” he said before reluctantly motioning me to get in the carriage.

I only rolled my eyes as I got into the Carriage. I expected the remark, but regardless I was on my way out of Carith. And to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when I got to the dungeon. A part of me felt a thrill to be heading into something I had never felt before. It was almost like an excitement I didn't know I was capable of feeling.

The Carriage rocked toward my destination as Carith’s walls faded away into the horizon. My eyes glanced at the passing scenery. At the very least, I didn't have to walk, there was still some time left before I reached the dungeon itself, and Kairo said the artifact of his should begin to vibrate when I was near its location. Then after that, I enter the dungeon and follow the map he gave me to find the artifact, I mused as I pulled the intricate Artifact out of my satchel.

I wasn’t going to examine it any further than I already had it was simply to not miss the moment it began to vibrate, and for the time being, while this carriage rattled along, the artifact fiddled between my fingers in silence.

After some time, while sights of the passing landscape of Abris, the Domain Carith resided in, passed me by, I began to feel the small vibrations of the Artifact in my hands. It was only a matter of time till we reached the dungeon itself, “… where exactly are you going? This gold coin will only get you so far,” the driver spoke up after we covered a significant distance.

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

He did interrupt my idle thoughts, and he had been quiet this whole time, so his impatience wasn't exactly a surprise, “Not far. I’ll tell you when you can stop the carriage," I retorted uninterested in his impatient complaints, while the vibration of the artifact continued to increase.

"Tch, whatever." He spat under his breath. Ultimately the rest of the trip was silent, and the only thing that could be heard was the sounds of the Carriage wheels hitting the road and the occasional snorts from the horse as they pulled it along.

Soon after, the vibrations from the Artifact were a constant buzz, "... right here will do, you can stop." I remarked, causing the coach driver to turn his head around and slow the carriage to a stop.

“Hmph, you’re in the middle of nowhere. Are you sure this is where you need to go?" He asked as if he actually cared for my safety.

I scoffed at the question, "You got your money’s worth, so you can leave,” I hummed as I stepped out of the Carriage, leaving him to his business while I began to figure out how to locate the dungeon with this Artifact from here.

It seemed to keep its constant vibrations. However depending on which direction I went, the vibrations would either feel stronger or weaker, it didn't take long before I figured it out. By that time the sun began to fade and the Artifact continued to vibrate while I followed it deeper into the Abris landscape.

Eventually, I reached a rocky area, where the Artifact buzzed at its peak in my hand, and after another step forward, the ethereal seal of the dungeon waited in front of me. The seal itself was more of a shimmering silver wall, and since I’ve only heard of this from rumors, I had no idea how I was supposed to get past this, however, my tongue clicked with annoyance before attempting the first thing that came to mind.

I pushed against the seal, with the Artifact leading my hand directly into the ethereal wall itself. With little to no effort, I passed through, leaving the artifact to finally stop its vibration. “... I see, that worked," I hummed before my gaze adjusted to the other side of the seal.

Most Clans or guild members would Raid dungeons as a party, and it was the most reasonable way to enter and the safer option, and a lot of the time, they had experience. However, as for me, this was my first time in a dungeon, and I didn’t have the luxury of a party. I’d have to be careful. I had no choice but to make do with what little I knew about this dungeon, the map Kairo provided me with was my only option if I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

A small smirk rested on my face as my instincts kicked in, “There’s a first time for everything, huh? not a bad feeling,” I mused with some amusement as my footsteps carried me deeper into the dungeon of glowing stalagmite formations that lit up the path in light.

After a few more steps, I reached for the map Kairo provided me with to find the beginning of the route he drew out for me. It took me a moment to recognize where I was on the map before I was able to find the path I needed, which led to a crack in the solid dungeon wall.

I had to assume this was the best route to avoid many of the dangers that could be in the dungeon, so I entered the crack, and my footsteps were now followed by a quiet echo as I squeezed my way through. It wasn't exactly tight enough that I needed to push myself to get through, but it was tight enough to be annoying. A well-known fact was Dungeons had twelve floors, and as Kairo said or not to mention the directions, the map led to the twelfth floor, so it was going to be a long trip to get there.

I eventually reached a small opening out of the crack, and onto the second floor as the map said it would. With little to no interest, I examined my surroundings before walking through the second floor toward the next opening in the wall that would lead into the third floor of the dungeon.

At this point, the faint growls and howls of manabeasts could be heard in the distance, but I only ignored them as I continued to follow the path Kairo gave me in an attempt to get this over with.

Once I found the next opening, much like the previous crack it led me to the third floor. Each floor, for the most part, had similar features, and the sounds of Mana beasts only grew in volume. I wasn’t quite sure how much time had passed at this point, and it wasn't as if I had a real plan either if I ran into trouble, ideally, it would be better if I avoided any issues.

Eventually, after many twists, turns, and idle thoughts, I found myself on the eleventh floor, where the walls became more natural, and a deeper darkness could be felt in the air. At this point, my instincts were on alert. I assumed from the increase in low growls and hisses from all directions, the Mana beasts were aware of my presence. It felt as if a thousand eyes were watching my every move.

my gaze, or rather instincts stared right back at them as I made my way across the floor. My footsteps echoed in this new place as the sounds of beast-like growls became more aggressive. There was no reason to delay my steps as I continued to the twelfth floor, "Hmm, about time,” I hummed with my hand pulling out the map from my bag once again.

The route on the twelfth floor was the last stretch, and it would lead me to the artifact, or I assumed it would as the markings on the map ended abruptly. However, when I reached the end of the path, I found myself standing on the opposite end of a bridge-like structure leading to a towering door of steel that radiated with a heavy sense of danger.

I couldn't help but click my tongue with annoyance as I realized this was the entrance to a Boss Room. “You can’t seriously expect me to slay a Boss myself, Kairo,” I muttered, looking from my position with some disbelief before I flipped the last page of the map over, only to see the final route I needed to take to find the artifact, but this wasn’t a path instead the words, ‘Jump into the bottomless pit, with the artifact in hand' were written.

"Forget it."

I scoffed at the thought as I knew that those words meant I was to jump from this bridge and into the abyss of the pit below. The moment my next footstep echoed across the bridge, a wave of mana originating from the door surged in all directions causing the path behind me to seal itself away as a slab of the wall fell at the entrance, and completely blocked me off from any means to go back.

My expression didn't change from its bored and unimpressed gaze. The only thing I felt was my instinct flare up as I realized the situation I had been put in.

Near the Massive steel doors awakened two figures not seeming to be mana beasts, but they still radiated with mana itself as I gazed over the two. “Guards…?” I wondered to myself gripping the dagger behind my back. Before I knew it, these two menacing figures approached me, fully clad in an unsettling black plate armor with a red glow, there was no way of avoiding a fight here. A simple stretch came from my arm as my Instincts took over, “… Don’t be so impatient,” I said with a slight smile of amusement before I pushed myself off the ground with full intent to try my hand at slaying these two myself.

I had no intentions of trusting someone like Kairo to make myself jump from this height, so this was the most reasonable option I could see myself going through with.