The road to the dungeon wound like a scar across the outskirts of Fairhaven. Cobblestones jutted unevenly beneath their boots, slick from morning dew, while patches of dirt and gravel reminded travelers that this path was well-worn but rarely pampered. On either side, gnarled trees bent toward the road, their skeletal branches cast irregular shadows that danced across the ground as the sun fought to break through the morning mist.
After roughly a 10 minute walk outside of town, it's entrance finally came into the view. Carved from a pile of overgrown tree roots, it's entrance was a sight to behold. It's cave like entrance stretched roughly seven feet into the sky with even wider stairs leading down in the cave.
"Halt!." a deep voice commanded.
Right at the entrance to the dungeon stood two guards. They wore matching light armor with a familiar crest on their breastplates.
"These are?..." Kael whispered to the party.
"Soldiers of the noble that lords this town." Gareth replied.
"See that symbol on their chest?" Hazel added, nodding toward the diagram stamped on their chest plates–a simple diamond design with multiple birds flying around. "That's the crest of House Lycan—the Lord of Fairhaven."
"I see..." Kael murmured, 'Not exactly eye catching is it?'
These guards didn't really appear imposing in the slightest. Not like their job was to fight anyways, their roles just were to make sure no lower levelled adventurer made so much as stepped a foot into the dungeon.
It was more or less a safety measure to reduce mortality rates from overzealous newbie adventurers. Besides, anyone who could force their way through these men would already be qualified for entry.
"State your rank," the left guard barked lazily, his voice resonating like stone grinding on stone.
Kyle's party drew closer, Gareth stepped forward with confident ease. Each of them held up their permits: bronze-rank adventurer cards, embossed with the guild's seal. Except for Gareth, whose iron-ranked card gleamed faintly in the morning light.
The guardians' eyes flickered over them. After a tense beat, the right guardian grunted. "Pass, but whatever happens in there on you.... Now move."
With that, they stepped aside, and the group began their descent.
As the descended the flight of stairs, the wide entrance gave away to a somewhat narrow passage way.
"Here's a piece of advice Kael, Elise said quietly, eyeing the guards behind them. "Be careful around nobles. They're not as friendly as they look."
"Just don't go snooping around what's not your business pretty boy." Doran added, to which Kael replied with a blank stare. "What is it? Never gotten advice from a pretty face before?"
"Um..."
"Ignore him," Hazel smiled, cutting into their little chit chat. "He has a few screws but loose"
"Hey!"
"Okay?" Kael replied with a shrug.
'This party is weird,' he thought inwardly.
"Ok everyone, stay on your toes," Elise warned. "we've arrived."
The air grew heavier as they moved deeper. The thick roots overhead gradually melded into the dungeon's rough earthen walls, which arched high above them like a natural cathedral. The passageway was broad—wide enough for four people to walk side by side—making it ideal for coordinated combat.for fighting.
Up on the ceiling and along the walls, , tiny crystalline formations adorned the dungeon. Each crystal emitted a faint, eerie glow that illuminated the dungeon with a soft, natural shimmer.
The mood around the team was heavy, almost suffocating. After all no one wanted to speak and risk exposure to the creatures hidden behind the walls of this place.
The only sounds were the crunch of their boots and on the sturdy dungeon floor and the occasional clank of their weapons as they made their way deeper.
Then everyone stopped.
A faint rustling sound echoed close ahead, subtle yet concerning. From the shadows, a rat emerged, though its size was more like that of a cat instead. Its fur stood on end as it took notice of them, screeching with a sudden unnatural malice.
"Hazel" Gareth called.
"Got it." she replied, immediately notching an arrow in to fire.
The rat lunged forward, baring it's teeth at them, its movement was swift but straightforward.
Unlike ordinary monstes, dungeon monsters didn't wander aimlessly nor did they have. Their aggro was immediate and precise—any intruder whatsoever that was foreign to their dungeon was marked a target the instant it was spotted.
Kyle didn't flinch the sight of this beast.
his insight flaring as he analyzed the creature. It was larger, faster and probably stronger than any ordinary rat he'd come across before but that was it.
'Soul Insight...'
--
Name: Giant Rat Lv. 2
Description: A rat with a larger body than normal.
---
'These things are weak...' he remarked. Even the thornback he fought the other day way higher levelled than he was.
Fwip!!!
Hazel's arrow shot through the air and the next moment the rat was down on the floor.
[You have gained +2 XP]
"Wait I just got experience, how is that possible?" Kael blurted out, clearly surprised.
Doran just scoffed in amusement at kael's small outburst.
"You've never been in a party have you?" Hazel chuckled. "That's normal though... In parties experience gain is shared amongst party members... That way everyone benefits."
"Ah, that… makes sense." Kael muttered, tugging his hood lower to hide the faint redness in his cheeks.
*Screee!
Their chatter had to be cut short though, in the distance, multiple rats had shown up in response to the fall of their comrade. Though this time around, their levels were surprisingly higher.
[Name: Giant Rat Lv. 2]
[Name: Giant Rat Lv. ??]
[Name Giant Rat Lv. ??]
[...]
He drew his sword at last, a faint surge running through his veins as they approached.
'Alright, let's go.'
*****
*Clang!...
Came the sound ofbone smashing still.
"Kael!"
Gareth screamed as he blocked the next attack, stunning the prey for a moment, and just like they had planned, And that was their cue to swoop in and take it out.
[You have slain an Armored Newt...]
[You have gained +10 experience points.]
Their team was made-up of simple roles, the tank to take on the heavy lifting, damage dealers to handle the offense and support to offer aid from the back line.
Since Kael was a fighter, he was paired with Doran who as always, was grumpy when it came to dealing with Kyle. But as a partner out on the field, Kyle got to see just how well he could handle the battlefield.
He looked dowm, watching the corpse before him with unreadable eyes.
'Consume...'
[Assimilating....]
[You have consumed the soul of a Spine newt...]
[You have gained enlightenment.]
'No extra stat boosts today huh...' Kael sighed weakly.
"That's the last of em," Hazel called out, panting from exhaustion. "We're clear for now..."
For everyone other than Gareth, this was still their first dungeon dive, they still needed time to get used to the constant monster spawns.
Usually when hunting natural born monsters, they didn't have to deal with a constant swarm of monsters coming at them. No matter how strong they were, they still needed breaks from time to time.
So far, they've been in the dungeon for only a few hours and Kyle had already managed to get another level, though it still took longer than the last time.
All they'd been hunting since this time were just giant rats and Spine newts. The latter was more of an overgrown lizard with a hard exo-skeleton acting as defense, giving it its name, Spine newts.
After everyone had rested a bit, it was time to dissect the monsters. When Kyle first saw this back when they were facing the rats he was puzzled he almost called them crazy until they explained it properly.
According to guild policy, before issuing payment an adventurer must provide proof of completion. All they needed was a part of their body to claim their rewards, as such they had to remove it the hard way.
"For the rats and lizards," Hazel added, slicing off a tail with practiced ease, "the tails are enough."
Kael watched in silence as they worked, the faint squelch of blade against flesh echoing through the corridor. He didn't flinch. Not anymore.
When they finally packed the monster parts, Gareth rose to his feet, scanning the tunnel ahead of them. With one last look at his party, Gareth called the shot.
"Alright," he said, his tone steady and commanding. "It's almost noon, let's head back to the surface..."
*****
"2 silvers total for me?..." Kyle asked, honestly surprised was at rewards from just one day killing rats and lizards.
"Yeah... You've earned it." Elise praised.
"She's right, now go get some rest kid... We're meeting up here early tomorrow. Got it?"
None of that really mattered to Kael at the moment though, what really circled his mind was a craving...
'I finally get to eat...' Kyle thought, almost teary eyed as he quickly took his leave with an extra spring in step, his next destination, the Whispering Inn.
And with that, his first day of dungeon diving finally came to an end.