Five days passed quickly.

At first, Gregor was surprised when he found out that the small ten year-old child had received a brand from a God, but upon remembering the determination in his eyes and knowing that he had been out training every morning and not missing a single day, it felt that it was only natural that he would be blessed by a God. Still, he had seen many Adventurers and their marks, but the one Sievor had was unknown to him.

“Take care, and don’t overwork yourself!”

“That’s what I should say to you, grandpa!”

Gregor handed the boy’s rucksack to him filled with food, skins of water, extra clothes and blankets. Sievor was preparing to go to the guild for his first mission, an introductory lesson for beginners, which was a few days journey within the nearby dungeon’s first few floors.

Sievor only had a carving knife as his weapon. This was the only available tool he could acquire inside the shop that could serve as a weapon. Carrying the rucksack on his back, he waved at the old man and departed for the guild.

Just as he left, a familiar group arrived in the shop. It was a young man followed by four Adventurers. His company had increased by two in the past five years.

“Old man, today’s the last straw,” the young man said with an evil grin.

Arriving at the guild, Sievor found a group of six young people gathered in front of three veteran-looking Adventurers. Faye who was standing by the counter as usual spotted him as he entered and waved at him. He approached and greeted her.

“Morning, Sievor. The lessons will begin in a few minutes. You’re the last one to arrive.” She then motioned to the group nearby. One of the veteran-looking Adventurers, a blond-haired man wearing a plate armor and equipped with a kite shield and long sword on his back, saw Sievor and was slightly surprised.

“You’re quite young,” he said as soon as Sievor went to the group. The six other people were around the age of fifteen. One of them, with a proud expression, seemed to be almost twenty.

“Don’t judge books by their cover,” a second veteran-looking Adventurer said to the first. This one was a young red-haired woman wearing a slightly revealing leather armor. She had a short sword on her hip and a small crossbow on her back. A pair of quiver filled with bolts were on each thigh, for a total of four quivers.

The last veteran-looking Adventurer nodded at her words. He was also a red-head, and wore leather armor. He only had a short sword on his hip, and on his back was a huge pack. It seemed like he was the carrier of the trio. It was hard to tell whether he was indeed an Adventurer or just a veteran helper.

“My name’s Kezzan, and I’m an Adventurer,” he said after seeing Sievor’s gaze, as if reading his thoughts.

“Yeah, blessed by the God of Pack Mules,” said the red-haired woman.

“Hey!” The two others laughed, and the six youths also chuckled. Sievor was a bit overwhelmed by the happy-go-lucky atmosphere. They were going into a dungeon, so shouldn't they be more serious about it? The dungeon was a dangerous place, so they may lose their lives if they weren't careful. The blond-haired man seemed to guess his worries.

“Don’t worry too much. You may not have heard of us, but our party, the Three-Headed Dragon, has accomplishments under our name. We will just be going through the early levels of this Class C dungeon. There won’t be too much of a danger. I swear it under my name, Travis.”

“You’re name isn't worth much,” quipped the red-haired woman. Kezzan laughed in retaliation for earlier. “I’m Zenni, the mule’s older sister.”

“Hey!” Another round of laughter.

Sievor finally relaxed. Indeed, it wasn't too good if he was too tense. In fact, he should consider this as a fun trip. This so called Three-Headed Dragon party release an aura of secureness. There won’t be any danger if he sticked with them.

“With all of you here, it’s best to group up first. Form two pairs and one group of three, then introduce yourselves to each other,” Travis instructed. One group of three male youths immediately formed. It seemed like they already know each other. The one that looked almost twenty approached a female youth and asked her to pair with a blushing face. The remaining unpaired youths were Sievor and another female youth.

“Let’s pair?” he asked her.

“Okay. My name’s Lauren.”

“Sievor.”

“You look quite young. How old are you?” she asked with interest.

“Ten.”

“Oh, you’re quite small for your age. I’m already fourteen.”

“I know. You don’t look so big, either.” Upon hearing his response, she laughed.

“You’re quite precocious, aren't you?”

Sievor only tilted his head in response. They then introduced more about themselves.

Lauren was branded a month ago. It was her second attempt. The god that branded her was the God of Wind, the same god that her parents, who were also Adventurers, worshiped. After the branding, she learned Wind Magic and swordplay focused on the rapier. She can only use three magics, which were the movement boosting Windfeet, the long range slashing spell Windblade, and the attack speed enhancing Windarm. As for her swordplay, she was above average. How strong that was, it was hard to tell.

Sievor told her that he received his branding only five days ago and don’t know any magics or if his god could bestow one. Furthermore, he couldn’t tell her his god as he was unsure of what it was. Of course, that was a lie, and Lauren realized that but did not pursue the matter. Every one has at least one secret they keep. As the older one, it would be shameful of her to bully this younger partner for his secrets.

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

Both of them specialized in quick and agile offensive maneuvers. They were lightly equipped. Sievor had a carving knife which could pass as a dagger, while Lauren had a rapier. Considering their small statures, their choice of weapons were suited for them.

After introductions, the three veterans brought them out of the city. It was two hours after noon. While traversing the forest between the city and the dungeon, the three veterans talked about strategies to use in the dungeon.

“Avoid initiating combat in forks and intersections.”

“Make sure your retreat path is always available.”

“Keep your eyes peeled open and watch out for sudden ambushes. It’s the duty of the rearguard to keep a close eye to their group’s surroundings.”

This went on for almost two hours until they arrived at the dungeon’s entrance. There were a few groups camping outside. Some of them appear to have just finished exploring the dungeon and were now resting before returning to the city. There were those who were making a final check before entering the dungeon.

“I think it’s better to rest here for the rest of the day, then enter the dungeon early tomorrow. What do you guys think?” Travis asked the other two.

“That’s a good idea,” Zenni nodded.

“Whatever you guys say,” Kezzan said as he dropped the huge pack on his bag on the ground.

Although there were other Adventurers in the area, not all of them could be trusted. Travis would accompany the group that would go hunt for food in the forest while Zenni and Kezzan stayed with those assigned in setting up their camp.

“Excited?” Lauren asked as she placed dried wood to set up for a campfire. She was talking to Sievor who was carrying a bundle of dried twigs and leaves, which he then placed atop the firewood.

“A little bit.”

“Nervous?”

“Not really.”

“You don’t have to act like a big boy, you know.”

“I’m not…”

Lauren had taken a liking to this small child. She was an only child and having someone younger than her around felt like she had a younger brother. She planned on pampering him while on this trip.

After dinner and some storytelling by the veterans, the young Adventurers went off to sleep. Travis was taking the first watch duty. The first pair will wake up on midnight to start their own watch duty along with another veteran. This way, all the newbies will experience taking the watch duty for the group.

The first pair were Lauren and Sievor. They will take over for two hours along with Kezzan. They sat around the campfire with their backs facing it. Facing the bright flames was a no-no for those on watch duty. This was because if the eyes got accustomed to the bright flames, when they look at the dark, they will not be able to see anything and would require a huge amount of time to adjust to the darkness.

They sat in silence. Sievor had his eyes wide open, observing their surroundings. Every now and then, he would hear strange sounds coming from the dungeon’s entrance.

“Pay it no mind,” Kezzan said after seeing the young boy straying his gaze to the dungeon. “It’s the spirits of those who died calling out to trap the mindless wanderer.”

Lauren, upon hearing that, let out a small shriek.

“I’m just kidding. It’s the bouncing of the sounds from deep in the dungeon against the uneven cave walls.”

She breathe a sigh of relief, then threw a resentful glare at the red-haired veteran.

“So, why did you guys decide to become Adventurers,” he asked.

“It’s in the family. My parents were Adventurers,” was Lauren’s answer. “I idolized them since I was small and had already decided then that I, too, would become one.”

“That’s nice. How about you, Sievor?”

“My grandpa and I live alone. We are poor, and grandpa is already very old. I want him to relax, so I decided to earn money for us.”

“Hmm, indeed. Being an Adventurer is the easiest way to earn money,” Kezzan nodded after hearing his answer. “But it comes with great risk. Aren't you afraid that you will die in the dungeon?”

The little boy shook his head. At first he felt nervous, but when he thought about it, there was really nothing to be afraid of.

“I have my God’s blessing. My God will protect me,” he answered with confidence.

Kezzan and Lauren was speechless. People would pray to their Gods to receive blessings and luck, but they have never seen someone who holds so strong a faith to their God. It could be because he was still a child. Lauren felt a little bit embarrassed. She only treated her God as a tool to gain powers. She had never truly placed her faith on her God.

They made idle chatter to keep awake. Soon, two hours have passed. The three woke up the next group who would be on watch duty, the trio and Zenni.

The night was uneventful, and the group was able to rest well. They set out for the dungeon half an hour after the sun rose.