Two days of exploring, walking, and training inside the valley was very fruitful. Piper was a few progress points. away from achieving 3-star. Anna had reached 3-star at the end of the day yesterday and Levi was not too far behind, only needing 20 progression points. total. The trio elected to rest for the remainder of the day as Anna was still getting used to all the newness that came with a star advancement. She had gotten her class evolution. She became a Blizard Sorceress. This was a sorceress who excelled in ice and water combat spells and environments. Her affinity for ice and water increased exponentially. As they were in a valley of ice and snow, her senses were overwhelmed; until she could get a good grasp on it, she would have to take things slower than usual.

“This is awesome,” she said, holding her head. “But damn it hurts so much.”

“What does it feel like?” Piper asked.

“Do you know how when you have been in a dark room for a long time, then you walk out into the sunlight. You know how your eyes hurt?” Anna asked.

“Yeah?” Piper replied.

“It feels like that, but with every sense I have, including aura.”

“That does not sound fun,” Piper admitted.

“It’s not especially,” Anna said. “How are you doing with your training?”

“It’s good,” Piper replied. “I wish I had done this sooner, but I am getting a good grasp of ritual magic. Levi is a really good teacher.”

“He is,” Anna nodded. “You will have plenty of time to raise wisdom up from 3-star to 4-star.”

“Is that our goal?” Piper asked. “Levi asked me this the other day while you were recovering. How far do we want to go? 4-star will take up a long time to get there and 5-star double that. I never thought about where we will end.”

“That’s up to you, Piper,” Anna said. “I want to be a 5-star, I don’t care if it takes me until I am a century or older, that’s my goal. What do you want?”

“I haven’t thought about it,” Piper said, looking distraught. “I honestly didn’t even want to join a guild or be an adventurer. I was fine being an aristocrat and living my days out that way. I had no intentions of prolonging my life, I went along with you cause I had to and cause you’re my best friend.”

“Don’t you want power? Prestige? As a 5-star you could start your own nation or your own aristocratic family, YOU could be the hierarchy!”

“No,” Piper said. “I don’t care about power or prestige. I care about friends and family. I don’t want to found a nation or rule over one. Starting my own house would be kind of fun as long as I could pass the duties of maintaining it elsewhere. But we come from powerful houses anyway, so it's not like we could just drop our current last names and be someone we’re not.”

“That’s fair and you are right. I guess, figure out what your goal is? What do you want with this life? Did Levi tell you what he wanted with his?”

“He wasn’t sure,” Piper said. “He is holding a lot. I think he is excited to get a second chance, but he is running from something. Maybe we’ll find out sometime, maybe he doesn’t know that he is even running. What do you think of his progress?”

“It’s intense. He progresses really quickly, and he seemingly never takes a break. It’s crazy that he has caught up to us so fast, but I guess his advantage is that he has one-on-one instruction. That probably helps a lot with his advancement.”

“Most likely,” Piper mused. “I want to do as many adventures, quests and dungeons with all of us. I think that would be so much fun. Perhaps that could be my goal. It’s clear that my life is already going to be different from my family. I am not a clergy, and I don’t want to be an assassin.” She flopped to her back in exasperation. “Ugh, I don’t know. My life used to be so simple. I used to know what I wanted.”

“Did you know or were you told this is how your life would be?” Anna asked. “Pipes, Piper, your family, and I love them to death, has always carved your path. They decided that you would go to the rogue’s guild, they decided that you would come with me to Arcross. They chose your path. Which is not wrong; it’s how the Vendulars do things. I suspect that my father purposefully sent us to Arcross for two reasons. One so I could make a name for myself, without favoritism. And two so you could learn to carve your own path.”

“You really think he sent us there for me too?”

“I do,” Anna said.

“After meeting Levi and seeing him with all his familiars, it makes me want to be a summoner. He has lifelong friends who are crazy cool death monsters,” Piper said, sitting back up.

“I wouldn’t call them death monsters,” Levi said jokingly. He was walking back bloodied and cut up. Anza was carrying a rather large carcass.

“What the, are you okay?” Piper asked.

“I’m fine,” Levi said. “This is a chance for you to practice your ritual magic, heal me.” Piper nodded, albeit nervously; she got up and started to work.

“Levi,” Anna said. “We were just talking about our goals and the future.”

“Oof, big topics,” Levi responded. He sat down in the snow and watched Piper draw a ritual circle around him.

“What do you want to do?” Anna asked.

“I’m not sure,” he responded.

“Do you want to go home?” she asked.

“Not really,” Levi said. “I mean, I miss my mom and sisters. It would be nice to apologize to them for how awful I was to them. But I don’t wanna stay there. That’s not my path anymore. I like it here, I like the friends I’ve made, and the lessons I have learned. I didn’t get to explore my world before but here in this ice valley,” he paused, looking around. Eyes wide in awe. Piper chanted her incantation, and a dull red light began to glow in the snow. Levi took a deep breath and felt the cleansing effect of the ritual circle, heal his wounds. “Aahh,” to Levi, it felt like he was sitting in an ice bath after a hard workout, feeling his muscles begin to relax. “Great job,” he said to Piper. You’ve really improved.” He got up and walked over to where the carcass was and began setting up dinner.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I assume you’ll want to rest the rest of the day?” He asked Anna. She nodded.

“You don’t miss home?” Piper asked.

“Wasn’t much left for me to miss,” Levi said.

“Did something happen before you came here?” Piper asked.

“Not right before, no,” Levi responded. He was skinning the animal carcass. In between knife slashes he would pause and look up. “I lost my dad some years ago. He was my best friend, the guy I talked to the most. Then poof, he was just gone.” Levi’s eyes started to get misty, so he looked down and kept at his task. “I took it harder than the rest of my family. I messed up a lot of my life. It’s not like my life was going anywhere extraordinary, but it was on a better trajectory than where I took it. People always told me that the pain would go away, and it would get easier. It doesn’t. They just stop hanging around to check in on you. After a year, no one really cared; everyone’s life went back to normal, and that was hard for me. It wasn’t as easy to just move on.

Being here, though… being here has given me a new perspective on life. I still miss my dad like crazy. He would have loved this world.” He paused once again and looked at the women and his familiars. “He would have loved y’all, magic.” he sadly chuckled. “Magic is real, and in this world, we get magical powers. Most of all, he would be proud that I’ve found something worth pursuing. After his death, I let a lot of things go.”

There was a moment of complete stillness. No one said anything. Everyone sat in the words that Levi had just shared. Piper had known that Levi was holding onto something. She could have never guessed knowing that he was a man of mystery from an entire other world. Hearing his story about his dad was hard, he expertly avoided telling them what happened. She knew deep down, though, he would tell that to them eventually. She wondered if his world had magic or if he just didn’t know. She also wondered what brought him here. Piper was very curious but had no idea if he cared or if he even wanted to pursue it. She let that thought rest, staring at the man before her, ripping a carcass. She felt sorry for him yet grateful that he was here.

“To answer your question,” Levi finally said. “I want to get as strong as I can,” he held out his palm and conjured an orb of chaos. “I want to explore this world of magic, if this,” he once again held out his hands to the ice valley. “It is a small piece of the world; I can’t wait to see all that it has to offer!”

“Then let’s do it,” Piper said. “I’ll join you two, we’ll explore together and get stronger!”

“Done deal,” Anna said with a big smile. Levi smiled and went back to prepping the meal for the day. He cut the animal into different cuts and started cooking some into a stew; he gave some to Anza to eat for herself and then had Willow turn some into jerky. The trio all ate and told stories for the rest of the day.

Attributes Total: 590

Strength 60

Stamina 55

Speed 61

Vitality 99

Wisdom 315

It could sense them. In the distance, there were beings of immense power. Finally, something had entered into its realm with the capability of taking on its dungeon. It had been building up its power to create a new challenge dungeon in this valley of coldness that it stumbled on. It had watched creatures of various races stroll around this area with not a lot of power. Not enough to feed its desires. It was starving for a fight, starving to taste the power once again. It was able to control its hunger enough till it faced a true foe. A foe that would give it what it really wanted.

It was not a being that would want appetizers to snack on. No, it wanted to the entree first and foremost. It didn’t want to be satisfied with half-measures. How? How could it get these beings to follow into the dungeon it had created to partake in its challenge? The dungeon it created was not extensive or difficult to defeat. It was a simple five-room dungeon that could be completed in a day with a capable team.

Dungeons in this world all operated differently. It was based on the dungeon crafter, who would create a dungeon to challenge those who entered. Dungeon crafters were cosmic entities who enjoyed the game of the world of magic. They had inhabited this world for many, many millennia and had spent many of their days creating intricate dungeons. A dungeon crafter was no actual threat to mortals, they didn’t have the power to attack or impact any being on this world directly. All their powers are centered around building, creating, and moderating dungeons. Little is known how or when they came to be, but they have been known to show themselves to beings or teams who have completed a dungeon to their satisfaction. It is rare that they do this, but they have done it before.

The next morning Anna felt well enough to begin their journey again, having spent significant time adjusting to her new rank. The group had been walking for a few hours when her magical senses picked up something. Curious, she walked over to an ice wall that shimmered slightly differently than all the others.

Dungeon: Icey Caverns

3-Star

Requirements: Minimum 3 Star total to enter dungeon.

Maximum amount of magic users - three

Group has met the requirements. Would you like to challenge Icey Caverns Dungeon? Yes/No?

The prompt appeared in everyone’s vision. Levi had never seen a dungeon before, so he had to admit he was quite excited. Levi looked expectantly at the girls. The two of them stood with shocked expressions on their faces.

“What do you say?” Levi asked.

“It seems right in our range and will push you and Piper over the threshold,” Anna said.

“Will that be a problem for our senses being disoriented?” Piper asked.

“I don’t see any time limits, so we should be able to rest.” Anna replied. “I have only been in a dungeon as an observer never as an adventurer.”

“What are they like?” Levi asked.

“Every dungeon is different,” Anna explained. “Some are ascension-based dungeons, typically you’ll see sky towers or castles that are like that; that is where you start at the bottom, work your way through monster rooms and climb stairs upwards. Others are dissension which is the same principle but going down. Then there are some that are end-to-end, straight rooms without any stairs to climb. The one consistent is that after each floor, there is a room to rest in, some dungeons have stipulations that require completion in a certain amount of time, others do not.”

“Cool,” Levi mused. “I’m game,” he responded eagerly.

“Sure, if he’s in so am I,” Piper said reluctantly.

“Then let’s go,” Anna said, determined.

The trio all acknowledged yes, and the icy door melted as they stepped through. They felt magic surround them for a brief moment before stopping. Levi felt like he had gone on several roller coaster rides and wanted to hurl. Keeping his composure and doing breathing exercises, he kept his breakfast down. Piper and Anna were not as composed. The two of them were throwing up on the side.

“What was that?” Levi asked.

“Teleportation magic,” Anna said, wiping vomit off her mouth. “Strong one, very strong, we have been teleported to a place far.”