Vivi and her new sword entered the dungeon.

She felt more important as a person than she did a day ago, back when she was a swordless girl. Her presence felt more powerful. Passersby were more reluctant to openly stare at her. Demons didn’t assess her from the face anymore, deciding whether to rob her or not. They looked at her sword and her step first, wondering if they could beat her in battle.

Realistically, most demons could defeat her. Vivi was smaller than the majority of nimrods, and she barely knew how to swing a sword.

But it sure felt good to hold a proper weapon in her hands. And Vivi knew, as a fact, her sword was better than the weapons of those around her. She had crafted it, after all.

It’s just a steel sword, Vivi thought. I have no right to get overconfident.

Entering the dungeon, Vivi found the entrance room just as miserable as it had been before examination day. The ground was filled with sleeping demons. Nobody talked. The cavern was eerily quiet.

Uundref really could have offered a better guide of the dungeon. The whole place was still mostly foreign to Vivi. She would need to learn the ways of the dungeon on her own.

Lucius? Vivi asked. Do you have any plans on how we’ll hunt monsters without demons killing us?

“We need to find a spot to hunt alone,” Lucius said. “Where others can’t witness my powers.”

Yes, that’s the goal, Vivi thought. But that’s going to be difficult. The free dungeon is filled with demons competing for the same goal. The demons fight amongst themselves for hunting grounds. Other directions are supposedly controlled by gangs.

“I can sense a lot of ether here,” Lucius said. “Not in the free dungeon, but there.”

Lucius referred to the double hardstone doors directly ahead. The one direction Uundref hadn’t explained to nimrods. The doors were blocked by two runesword wielding guards.

The guards looked bored, as guardsmen always did. Their job was literally to stand around. Perhaps they were in need of action in their lives. Vivi decided to approach them.

“Hey,” Vivi said. “Am I allowed to ask where these doors lead to?”

The first guard gave her a side-eye, barely looking in her direction. “You new here?” he asked.

“Yes,” Vivi said. “New and optimistic.”

The guard let out a deep chuckle. “This path leads to the boss. It’s the main branch of the dungeon. Nobody is allowed to enter.”

“We can't enter even if there could be more monsters to hunt?” Vivi asked.

“If the dungeon is cleared, the monsters will stop respawning entirely,” the guard said. “You can’t hunt behind this door. Every other direction is a confirmed dead end. You’ve got plenty of space to choose from.”

“I see, thank you,” Vivi said, pretending to be nice. “Is it okay if I ask you for advice? If you were a nimrod, where would you go to hunt for ether?”

“If you’re not on good terms with other hunters, you’ll have a tough time,” the guard said. “I see it time and time again; demons fighting with each other for turf. Lone wanderers struggle. Your only choice is the free dungeon.”

“What about outside raids or defense duty?” Vivi asked. “Are those viable for hunting ether?”

“Both are fantastic,” the guard said. He appeared amused by the conversation. “If you’re let in. Which you won’t.”

“Why?” Vivi asked.

“A Steward or a guard needs to organize and watch over every outside raid,” the guard said. “You idiots need to be watched to ensure nobody escapes. That’s rarely worth the hassle, which is why outside raids are held only with the most trustworthy wolves. Defense duty is easier to get involved in. But you’ll still need to become a wolf first. To become a wolf, you need to succeed in the dungeon.”

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“I see,” Vivi said. “You wouldn’t have any secrets to share? On how to succeed here?”

“It wouldn’t matter to me if your head was cut off,” the guard said.

It took effort not to say anything petty. “Thanks for the help, sir,” Vivi said, then turned around.

“Bah,” Lucius said. “And I thought he was nice for a minute.”

He’s a guardsman, Vivi thought. The grumpiest profession of all. And he works for Zand. A guard will never become an ally. But we’ve confirmed one thing. The dungeon still has unexplored hunting grounds. Or at least, places where monsters roam freely. The main branch is entirely abandoned.

“We’ll need to somehow sneak behind that door, then,” Lucius said.

That will be difficult, Vivi thought. If we get caught, we’re dead. But if we do get there, we can hunt alone without anyone watching.

Vivi expected Lucius to say something stupid again, but for a change, he seemed to consider plans. “Let’s explore the free dungeon for now. I can scan the area for ether. Maybe we’ll find something interesting. In the meantime, we can hunt whatever is available.”

A decent plan, Vivi thought.

Demons sat on the stairway leading to the free dungeon. Vivi paused at the top, looking down. Something made Vivi hesitate to enter. Despite owning a sword now, the free dungeon was anything but safe. Down there, a crazy nimrod could assassinate her, stealing her gear. The blue cloaks could come for revenge. Or more realistically, someone stronger than her could simply bully her out of her ambitions. Going into the free dungeon was a large risk without much reward.

I’m fifteen thousand ether in debt, Vivi reminded herself. I need ether.

She stepped into the free dungeon, ignoring her worries.

The first two bone-cluttered floors were empty, but for a lone demon patrolling between the two floors, watching for respawning monsters. The bodies from yesterday had been cleaned, but subtle blood stains were still visible where the dagger-wielder had died. Vivi frowned at the spot, but moved on, keeping her head up.

“Let’s descend as deep as we reasonably can,” Lucius said. “If we see monsters, we kill them. We won’t wait for respawns. That’s far too inefficient and slow. I’ll scan each room’s ether as you wander around.”

What are you looking to find? Vivi asked.

“I might find concentrations of ether within the walls,” Lucius said. “Those could lead to secret passages. Where there is ether, there are monsters.”

I’ll leave it to you, then, Vivi thought. She kept her back straight and head up, walking with her sword casually in one hand.

Each cavern was slightly more active than the ones before, more demons waiting for respawns. The seventh room was, again, occupied by the same orange-skinned demon that Vivi talked to yesterday. His small gang occupied most of the cavern, while lesser groups fought for space where it was available. Two men were fighting skeletons, while the rest lounged around.

Vivi walked right past, descending deeper.

Unfamiliar territory now, she thought. Let’s be careful. Are you sensing anything?

“There’s ether everywhere,” Lucius said. “But not abnormal amounts. I’ll keep searching.”

Vivi felt Lucius’s focus. He was even more concentrated than usual, though he wasn’t looking at the world through Vivi’s senses. His mind focused entirely on the sixth sense—the ability to feel the world’s natural ether.

Vivi, as a human, could barely sense ether. She could feel her core and sense her own ether reserves. Sometimes, she could sense wisps transferring in the air, or she could feel wisps rising from monster corpses. Beyond that, her sixth sense was useless.

She had her own job right now. To make sure she wasn’t killed in some stupid conflict.

The next level down was far more cramped and tunnel-like, but otherwise not all too different from the previous. So far, the aesthetic of the dungeon was conventionally boring. Each cavern was grey and stale, lit by man-made lamps hanging from the ceiling. Vegetation attempted to grow from cracks, but weeds were stomped on, and anything green had dried to a dying brown.

After a short walk, the tunnel spread into two. Lucius told Vivi to go right—to the direction with more ether. She passed one sleeping demon, but otherwise the tunnel was empty. The tunnels must not have been common respawn points for monsters.

Suddenly, Lucius’s ears perked up. “There’s something ahead.”

Vivi raised her sword, fixing her posture. She saw it too. A misty aura of ether, clinging upside down on the ceiling. The monster was small, but judging from its aura, it carried at least a few hundred ether.

The monster dashed at Vivi, attacking with speeds Vivi couldn’t outrun.