"The dungeon is too dangerous for me to explore extensively for now; the survivability rate is too low. I'll stick to the hundred floors for now and accumulate strength."
The hundred trillion years of lecture inside the smallest and endless meeting room were finally completed. We had already left the meeting room and were now talking in the guild's lobby meeting boxes.
I sat alone on a sofa, while opposite me sat the trio of advisers — Eina, Misha, and Rose.
"That's a solid choice. You're alone, and going beyond the hundredth floor, your chances of coming back are fifty-fifty. Once you reach the billionth or trillionth floors, you'll definitely die — certainly and absolutely," Eina said with a pleased smile. She was happy that her lecture hadn't been in vain.
"Can you give me your adventurer card for a moment?" Misha asked.
"Are you giving that to him?" Rose asked calmly.
"Yes," Misha replied.
"What are you two talking about?" I asked.
"Access key," Misha said.
"Oh, that."
The access key is a code engraved within the adventurer card. Once engraved, it grants access to roam freely within the guild building — the Pantheon — and to use its facilities. Of course, the degree of access is determined by the one who grants the key.
I handed my adventurer card to her. She took it, and with a tap of her finger, the card's surface began to shift and change. After a few moments, it returned to normal.
"You can now use our facilities. To navigate, simply speak and imagine the place you want to go — Pantheon will handle the rest," Misha said, handing my adventurer card back.
I checked the card and noticed a mark — a lotus, a black lotus.
"Congratulations, you can now explore the dungeon. If you need something, just find us," Eina said.
"Yeah, don't be shy! I'll always come if you call," Misha added.
Rose only nodded her head in agreement.
"Thank you. It's getting dark — how about dinner? My treat."
"Sorry, but I still have some work to do," Eina said.
"I'll take the offer, I've got nothing to do," Misha replied.
Eina's eyes sharpened as she spoke coldly, "Misha."
Misha instantly stiffened but quickly calmed down. She thought she'd been caught slacking again, but luckily she remembered that she had already finished everything.
With confidence, she said, "What's the matter, Eina?"
Eina stared at Misha for a few seconds before turning around. "It's nothing. I just smelled some lies earlier. My senses must be hallucinating... right, Misha?"
Misha nodded frantically, cold sweat prickling down her back. She laughed awkwardly, trying to brush off Eina's terrifying gaze.
"How about you, Rose? Are you coming?" Misha asked.
"I have some matters to attend to — maybe next time."
"That settles it then." I clapped my hands and bid goodbye to the two, leaving the guild under the murderous gaze of several adventurers — her suitors.
Behind us were the two waving beauties of the guild, Eina and Rose, which only added fuel to the fire. More murderous glares followed — almost every male adventurer in the lobby radiated killing intent. If looks could kill, I'd be dead multiple times by now.
The fresh, cold breeze of the night brushed against our skin. Loud voices echoed through the streets — the sounds of a bustling crowd. The city was lit by magic lamps, making this fantasy city no different from a modern one when night fell; both were brightly illuminated, almost like day.
"Any recommendations, Misha?"
"Hmm, let me think." Misha tilted her head thoughtfully.
We walked quietly. I watched the surroundings, never tiring of the city's views and architecture — especially the Living Constructs.
"What do you want for dinner?" Misha asked, still thinking deeply.
"Steak."
"I know a place — follow me!" Misha's eyes brightened as she dragged me toward a certain building.
Honey Bears Steakhouse.
Misha pulled me into a medium-sized, three-story building with a sign that read Honey Bears Steakhouse.
The lower floors were restaurants, and the rest were residential areas. The building itself looked ordinary, but my instincts screamed otherwise. I couldn't find the cause, but I suspected this place hid its true nature.
The steakhouse was beautifully decorated. There were no dark corners; the ceiling was adorned with glowing crystals and magic lamps lit every side.
There were many customers in sight — but no waiters. Wait.
"Misha, are those—"
"Talking pigs. They're the summoned creatures of the owner," Misha said, unfazed.
In my view, there were ten pigs in total, each with different colors — pink, white, purple, green, orange, and more.
They had round bodies, long snouts, small legs, and curly tails. Their sizes varied — some as small as dogs, others as large as cows. Each had unique traits: some had three legs, others pointy ears, horns, scales, or even wings.
One pig noticed us and approached. It had pink skin, black eyes with no pupils, a round body, a long snout, short legs, and a curly tail.
The pig saluted and said, "Lin, at your service. Follow me."
Lin walked while bouncing happily, singing a strange nursery song. She led us to a corner table.
"This will be a suitable place for you."
"Thank you, Lin," Misha said with a smile, patting Lin's head.
"No problem, Misha!" Lin raised her right front leg and made a thumbs-up gesture with her hoof — which softened, allowing her to mimic hand gestures she normally couldn't make.
"Here's the menu," Lin said, pulling out a large, thick book out of nowhere.
The moment I saw it, my eyes widened. The book had thousands of pages — but when I flipped through it, I realized it never ended. No matter how far I went, the pages continued infinitely.
Infinite couldn't even begin to describe it — even beyond ??? Entirely endlessly so couldn't quantify one percent of this book's pages.
"This?" I pointed at the book, giving Lin a questioning look.
Lin understood. "This is the menu. And if you're asking about the book itself — it's known as the Eternal Book, or Book of Endless Pages. By the way, each page can scroll up, down, or side to side — like a phone. Each page is like a boundless eBook, giving an endless feeling."
I tried what Lin said, swiping my finger like I was using a phone. The letters moved upward, revealing new words — it felt like using a world map, but instead of continents, it was the boundless pages within a single page.
"What's even the point of having this endless menu?" I muttered, staring at the absurdly infinite book.
Lin chuckled. "It's for fun and diversity."
Misha opened the menu and started flipping through its endless pages, picking her order. I, on the other hand, studied the menu closely.
Lin waited patiently.