“I know you have ‘Orders from very high up’, but surely you can say something about your super secret training, right?” Arc asked.

“I… Suppose. It was mainly meditation. Truthfully, there’s not much worth discussing besides the secret bits I can’t talk about.”

“So, what? They just made you sit down and think real hard about not going full psycho murderer? I think I’ll stand a little further behind you than usual while you’re fighting, for no particular reason.” Arc joked.

Rowan lightly rolled his eyes, “The training was effective, as far as I can tell. You don’t have to worry about me ripping off your head in a blood rage.”

“Well, I wasn’t worried about that before, but I am now.”

A rock lightly tinked off Rowan’s temple, “You l-lost me while talking to Arc, but you brought up a topic I honestly should have discussed with you earlier. Sorry.” Rexen said nervously.

“How on earth did he bring up an important topic while talking about ripping off heads and blood rages? Oh gods, please don’t tell me you also have a secret berserker skill! Is that why you don’t get near blood?” Arc said, wide-eyed.

“No, no, nothing like t-that.” Rexen laughed anxiously, “I just thought I should warn you that my blood is extremely corrosive and toxic. If you ever d-did rip off my head, you would likely die extremely shortly afterward.” Rexen said with a small chuckle.

“You hear that Rowan? No ripping off his head. I know that must be disappointing, what with all the blood rages, but we all must make sacrifices at times.” Arc said, shaking her head in sarcastic commiseration.

Vorn took over, shaking his head all the while. “Enough talking about blood rages! I haven’t had a real conversation in ages! What have you guys been up to all this time? I’m desperate to hear about anything other than meditation and esoteric martial kata’s!”

“Well, Rexen and I went to a few dungeons without you guys, and we each reached around level thirty. Other than that, we’ve just been focusing on our Paths. I’m afraid we’re boring people, sorry to disappoint you.”

“Tell me about alchemy and microbiology then, I don’t care. I’m desperate here!”

— — —

The group spent a few hours just talking and sharing stories. They had only known each other for a short time, but exploration and a few life-and-death fights– And a crippling lack of any social life – had them all bonding faster than was probably healthy. Two rejects with utterly terrifying, and, to some, revolting Paths, a talentless mage wannabe, and a mysterious super soldier that had all the personality of one grit sandpaper– That is to say, a rock.

It wasn’t surprising that a group of rejects like them each had Unique Paths.

— — —

Hours later, deep into the night, everyone was still happily talking when something surprising happened. Each of their guild cards vibrated, hard.

“I didn’t even know they could vibrate.” Rowan said nonchalantly.

Both Arc and Rexen gave him a look that practically radiated incredulity, “Did you not go through the interview and briefing that everyone else did before registering? This is, like, mandatory knowledge!” Arc shouted.

“Ah, my initiation may have been a tad… expedited.” Vorn intruded immediately after to add, “Mainly because of me. The Guildmaster and I have some history, so it’s not unsurprising that the coward wanted me out of there as soon as possible. God forbid he confront something for once in his life.” Those in the room could swear they could almost smell the acrid tang of venom in the air after Vorn’s tirade.

“Huh. I’m… Not going to ask about that right now. Anyway,” Ark smoothly transitioned, “the card vibrates when the Guild has an emergency. Like you a few weeks ago, actually. When you had your perception issue, everyone that could help you had their Guild card vibrate. That’s probably how that Elf instructor of yours got there so quickly, Rowan.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“This is weird.” Rexen said to himself.

“Why?” Rowan asked.

The Half-Elf almost seemed surprised that anyone heard him, “Uh, we aren’t an officially registered team, yet we were all pinged to return immediately. Me and Ark I understand, but you too? No offense, but besides Vorn’s spellcraft, which the guild doesn’t know about, you two aren’t officially experts on anything. That means they’re probably calling everyone, but that hasn’t happened in over a decade… I-It’s just worrying is all.”

They had all prepared to leave as they listened intently to Rexen’s speculation.

“I can definitely see why you’d find that concerning, but we shouldn’t have to worry too badly. Everyone in this room is B-Zero, right?” Vorn asked the room.

“I actually just recently got promoted to Special A-Zero for my specialized AOE attacks. That basically just means that I can go into A0 ranked dungeons with supervision or if my powerset matches up perfectly.”

“Impressive, but regardless, my point was that why would they call all of us if it was a calamity class monster or something. They wouldn’t send B-Zero fodder to their death to something actually dangerous.”

They were about halfway to the Guild at that point, when Rowan said, “I am going to have to disagree about them not sending fodder at a meat grinder, that’s a very common tactic where I’m from. And given what we just recently learned about certain topics, it shouldn’t be that surprising that those in power might send weaker people at a strong target if it hasn’t evolved yet.”

At even giving that small of a hint, the Shard stabbed into his mind and soul painfully. It wasn’t terrible, but it was a sufficient warning. ‘Back off, you’re venturing into dangerous territory!” it seemed to say.

“Do you think monsters count for the whole, ‘Do not attack those that are below your Threshold’ thing?” Rowan asked.

“That’s a very good question, and one I wish we had thought to ask Falnier about. I would guess… Probably? They are under the influence of the Shard, so it’s a solid possibility. Granted, dungeon monsters are afflicted with Dungeon Madness until they break out, so it wouldn’t be hard to get ‘Permission’ to murder them. They are literally always trying to murder you.” Vorn postulated.

Before they could guess anymore about the ping, they reached the Guild.

There was no further need to speculate, as there was a sign that detailed exactly what they would be doing. As it turned out, Vorn was right. They weren’t being sent at a Calamity class monster. They were being sent at dozens of them.

Vorn almost immediately tried to leave, but was stopped when Rowan took over and stood stock still. He would listen to the explanation given to him and the rest of the hundreds of gathered Delvers before abandoning the mission. And he would abandon the mission if it came down to that.

He had been wrong attacking the Orc Stronghold all those weeks ago with the plan of ‘Just run away’ if something went wrong. In this world, something going wrong usually meant the problem was vastly stronger than you, and that meant they were probably faster too. He wouldn’t be putting Vorn, and his team’s lives in danger like that again, not on an assumption.

A few minutes later, the Guildmaster appeared on a raised platform in front of them that was made with earth magic. Everyone was gathered on the street in front of the Guild itself, already prepared and ready. Guild protocol was to not bother responding to a ping unless you were fully ready and willing to respond to anything.

“Today, we have a very, very dangerous raid. I know most of you aren’t even above C-Zero, so asking you to enter a Mega Dungeon may seem absurd, but know that me and the rest of the high rankers here will be doing our absolute damndest to keep you all safe. There should be little to no risk to those of you that haven’t evolved yet, but I won’t promise you that there will be no danger. Dungeons are the Avatar’s of the Mad God himself, and I won’t pretend that I can guarantee your safety.” Not a particularly encouraging start to a speech, but Rowan applauded him for his honesty, at the very least, it was more than most soldiers got on his world.

“A large group of Academy Students entered the Small World Dungeon approximately fourteen hours ago, including the children of very high profile nobility, the highest of which is the child of a Lieutenant General.”

Even Vorn seemed to gasp at that. Rowan resolved to ask him about it later.

“Theoretically, all we need you to do is search for them. The A-Zero’s will have a member with every low rank team to keep you safe, and the spawn area is only ranked B-Zero. Theoretically, it will be perfectly safe. In reality, several high rank people have reported that they arrived in completely random locations in the dungeon. For context, it is not known how large this dungeon is, but it is positively titanic in size. So far, we’ve had expeditions that have lasted months in search of the edge, and yet we’ve haven’t even gotten close. If you enter the Dungeon Entrance, there is a chance that you will be lost and have to find your way back. If you are willing to contend with that risk, enter the group to your right. If not, feel free to leave. I won’t force you to risk your life against forces like this. However, our clients this time are extremely wealthy. If you participate, expect one hell of a payday!”

The increasingly wary crowd immediately seemed to revive. You didn’t enter dangerous dungeons if you were sane, and the most common brand of insanity was Greed.

To Rowan’s surprise, everyone looked to him to make the decision.

“Are we willing to risk entering a dungeon this dangerous?” Rowan asked.

“I think you meant to say, “Are you willing to risk entering a dungeon this dangerous?”, because I already know you are, Rowan. As for me, I could stand to earn a nice payday, and each of us already punch pretty well above our ranks. It comes down to Vorn and Rexen.” Ark said.

Rexen set his features and nodded in affirmation.

Vorn seemed hesitant. “This isn’t a majority rule situation, Vorn. If you don’t want to risk our lives, I don’t blame you.” Rowan reassured.

“No, I won’t hold us back. This is dangerous, but it’s clear that we’ll never be free of danger. Somehow, even though we’ve only been in two dungeons, we consistently find ourselves in ridiculous situations. Did you know that there’s not even supposed to be monsters above level ten in the Trial Dungeon? We found a village of level twenties. Then that Orc Titan? We’ve clearly found the attention of the Mad God, and evidently, he finds us entertaining. No matter what dungeon we enter, it’ll be dangerous.”

“I won’t lie to you Vorn, I don’t hate that news. Still, we should warn Ark and Rexen. It’s likely that we’ll end up separated from the main group if we really are cursed.”

Vorn began, “Have you heard of the Curse of the Mad Go-”

“Yeah, I figured. Reincarnator, Outworlder, Unique Being,” Ark punctuated each by lifting a finger, “it’s no wonder the Mad God finds you entertaining. Did you just figure that out?” Ark asked incredulously.

Even Rexen was giving them the side eye.

Vorn blushed, “So we’re going then?” He said very smoothly changing the subject. Rowan, as usual, didn’t care. If he had the ability to feel embarrassment, he hadn’t seen what could trigger it.

As a group, they moved to the right with the rest of the very brave and potentially very stupid Delvers. They fit right in.