The Northern reaches outside Galen Town were desolate, a landscape of jagged gray rocks and stunted skeletal trees that looked like they were reaching out of the earth for help.
It had been a grueling three-hour trek.
At the head of the crew, Kahn's massive silhouette moved relentlessly.
He gripped his large hammer in his right hand, not carrying it, but letting it trail behind him.
The iron head carved a shallow, jagged trench in the dirt.
Vex walked to Kahn's right with his black cloak pulled tight though he kept lifting one edge of the fabric to check his belt.
"Dammit," he mumbled, the words lost to anyone but Klaus who was trailing just behind. "Forgot the Goblin tranquilizer... I knew I left that bag on the kitchen table, We're going to have to do this the messy way if there's goblins."
Opposite him, Garrick was the picture of aggression.
His hand never left the hilt of his sword, he was holding it so hard that his knuckles had turned white.
The wind began to pick up in a cold whistling gale that whipped his bright orange hair into a frantic halo around his head.
At the very rear of the formation stood Serra. She looked entirely different from the woman who had been face-down on the tavern table hours ago.
She was sober.
It was a known "cheat" of her high-level healing magic; she could purge toxins from her system in an instant, achieving total sobriety with a single pulse of mana yet the moment the mission ended, everyone knew she'd be reaching for the bottle again.
"How much longer until we actually hit the site?" Serra asked, squinting as a particularly violent gust of wind kicked up, snapping their hoods back and exposing their faces to the biting chill.
Kahn didn't turn around.
He just pointed a thick finger forward. "Just up ahead… Right before the ruins."
Klaus blinked, looking at the horizon. He recognized this area from his deep dives into the game.
This had been a thriving mining hub several years back, a place where the earth gave up its secrets easily but then the Horde came.
It had been a massacre.
A monster horde had emerged from a nearby dungeon break, slaughtering commoners and miners by the hundreds before the Guild could even mobilize.
By the time the blood was washed away and the monsters were put down, the spirit of the town was broken.
The deep mineral veins had reportedly run dry or perhaps the earth had just become too cursed to yield them. Now, it was just a graveyard of stone.
As they crested a small ridge, two jagged pieces of rotting timber poked out of the ground like skeletal fingers… the remains of the town's welcome sign.
This was deep off the main trade routes so no merchant carriage would ever accidentally stumble upon this place and then, Klaus saw it.
… The dungeon gate.
Regular dungeons were white. Resource dungeons had a rich greedy yellow hue to them like they were promising gold and iron and World Dungeons were the legendary blue portals.
But this specific portal had both the white and yellow swirled together, like the colors were fighting for dominance in the air.
In front of it, intricate runes were inscribed on the ground, glowing with a small light that formed a perimeter around the gate. Kahn looked back at Klaus, pointing his hammer at the glowing script.
"Those runes are in place to protect the place from being entered by just anyone," Kahn explained. "The protection rune for Resource gates or even partial ones like these are handled by a Third Class Wizard who specializes in runes. The mayor does this to all resource dungeons he finds."
They soon arrived at the base of the portal.
Serra stepped forward making the mixed light of the gate reflect in her eyes.
"It looks beautiful…" she commented softly.
Kahn turned to the group with his face hardening. "Prepare yourselves. I'm releasing the seal."
Kahn walked over to the center of the runic circle, pulling out a scroll.
He pressed it against the primary rune on the ground. With a sudden puff of golden light, the protection gradually began wearing away and the mana dissipating into the air like steam.
Everyone began to prepare in their own unique ways. Vex checked his bomb pouches, Garrick stretched his neck until it popped, and Serra gripped her staff.
Klaus, on the other hand, let out a quiet sigh as he opened his system menu to look at the tabs of the two new spells he had been given.
「Spell: Shrapnel Burst」
「Tier: 1」
「Spell Description: Detonates metal shards/fragments in the caster's possession, launching them outward in all directions at high velocity. Damage scales with quantity and sharpness of metal used. Effective against multiple weak enemies or as emergency close-range defense. 」
「Mana Cost: 15 mana per activation」
This was the first spell, and Klaus felt a surge of relief.
It was a final way to solve his issue with long-distance strikes. He was grateful to the crew, especially since he had forgotten to buy new spells from the Pawner.
The spell allowed him to throw metal shards or fragments outward depending on how much scrap he had in his storage.
He had spent his last hour at home gathering every shard of metal in his store room… curious to see if he could merge this spell together with his Magnetic Field for a more concentrated blast then he looked at the second one.
「Spell: Metal Whip」
「Tier: 1」
「Spell Description: Extends a metal object the caster is holding into a flexible whip while retaining its solid metal properties. The whip can strike, wrap around objects, or be used as a grappling tool. Returns to original form when spell ends or is dismissed. 」
「Mana Cost: 10 mana per activation」
This one was even more intuitive.
He could turn his swords into large, lashing whips of steel. Combined with his ability to use Magnetic Field to accelerate the strikes, he realized he was becoming a very versatile mage, even his mana stat was looking healthy enough to sustain a prolonged fight.
"Klaus!" Serra called his name waving him over. "Stay next to me. I don't just use healing spells; I have support spells too so I'll protect you."
Klaus didn't disagre since he wasn't arrogant. "If I need protecting, I'll be right behind you. There's no shame in being helped out."
Garrick, however, didn't share that sentiment.
He let out a sharp scoff.
"If you run behind a woman for protection, you're no different from a pussy who can't fight for himself."
Serra placed a hand on her waist as her eyes narrowed. "There's nothing wrong with being protected, Garrick. Even a hothead like you will need me to save your skin eventually."
Garrick turned his face away, ignoring her as he began to slash at the empty air, his movements turning into a blur of orange hair and steel.
Klaus ignored the bickering.
Soon, the seal was fully broken and a wave of cold, stagnant energy poured out of the gate, making chills run down the spine of every adventurer there.
No matter how long people spent near dungeons, they always had that effect.
They were gateways to another world where monsters existed. Nobody knew the true origin of dungeons… not even Klaus, who had finished the game's story mode.
The lore hadn't been fleshed out in the original game, but after entering three different dungeons, he found himself deeply intrigued by the mystery.
Kahn took several steps back settling his hammer over his shoulder. "Serra, start up the communication magic."
Immediately, small magic circles appeared over their right ears that were golden intricate strands of mana that looked like six-pointed stars.
"We can use this to send messages in the event that we get separated," Serra explained. "Just focus your thought on the person you want to talk to."
Kahn looked at the gate, then at his team. "Is everybody ready?"
A chorus of "Yes" followed.
Kahn walked toward the gate, the swirling white and yellow light highlighting the scars on his face.
"This is our chance... Give this mission your full focus, Let's get rich!"
They walked through and the light swallowed them whole.
…
Drip...!
The sound of dripping water was the first thing Klaus heard. They had entered a cave formation and the air was thick with the smell of wet limestone and rot.
The gate vanished behind them, leaving only the dark tunnel. For Klaus, the sensation had been weirder than entering Yerefall Grove or even the Galen Dungeon, it had felt like passing through a wall of cold water.
They looked around and it seemed like a normal cave at first glance then Kahn turned to Klaus. "Sense anything?"
Klaus closed his eyes and expanded his Magnetic Field. The invisible wave of mana spread forward, bouncing off the surfaces.
He deactivated it a moment later. "I'm feeling something up ahead. Little deposits… of metal."
The group moved forward, with Vex slipping to the front to act as the scout.
The narrow cavern opening soon led into a much wider, hollowed-out chamber. Vex paused at the edge of the opening with his body tensing and Kahn moved up beside him.
"What's the hold-up?" Kahn asked.
His expression changed the moment he saw the interior. The cavern was crawling with green.
There were dozens of Goblins, but standing amongst them were their Tier 2 version: The Hobgoblin.
These creatures were twice the size of a regular goblin, bloated with fat and muscle, with thick green skin and jagged tusks and every Hobgoblin carried a massive wooden club studded with iron.
"Fuck these dick-eating goblins!" Vex screamed with his voice echoing through the chamber.
Kahn wanted to knock him on the head for the outburst, but the damage was done. Every goblin in the cave turned their yellow eyes toward the entrance.
"Get in there!" Kahn roared. "Serra, keep an eye on Klaus!"
Serra nodded and slammed her staff against the ground. Golden light flared around her, and a barrier extended outward to cover her Klaus.
Immediately, the other three got busy.
Vex ran in the direction of several goblins, his cloak billowing behind him.
One goblin broke away from the horde and charged at him, swinging a rusted blade and Vex dodged making the goblin's blade whistle past his head.
Vex ran past the creature without even looking back and shoved one of his bombs into the goblin's mouth as he passed.
The goblin bit down.
BOOM!
The explosion turned the goblin into a spray of blood and brain matter and the shockwave added momentum to Vex's sprint as he made a beeline for the main group of goblins.
For a second, Klaus thought Vex was actually going to show some real skill but then Vex pulled out another handful of bombs, flipped backward, and hurled them into the horde while he was mid-air.
The bombs exploded in rapid succession… BOOM BOOM BOOM… blowing goblins apart and knocking others off their feet.
It would have looked cool except Vex was also caught in the blast radius and sent tumbling backward across the cavern floor.
Kahn, meanwhile, was already charging the Hobgoblin.
The massive creature bellowed and broke into a run, swinging its club overhead.
Kahn poured aura into his war hammer. The weapon vibrated with destructive energy, glowing a bit red.
The Hobgoblin swung but Kahn swung faster.
CRACK!
The war hammer smashed through the Hobgoblin's club, shattering it into splinters and continued straight into the monster's face.
The Hobgoblin's skull caved in and Kahn slammed the creature into the ground with a brutal overhead strike.
The Hobgoblin's head exploded like a watermelon, spraying green blood and chunks of bone across the cavern floor.
"RAHHH!!" Garrick's battle cry echoed through the cave as he dashed toward a group of goblins.
He raised his sword high and brought it down in a brutal vertical slash. The blade cut clean through the first goblin's skull, splitting it down to the chest and blood sprayed.
Garrick ripped the blade free and immediately thrust forward, impaling a second goblin through the gut then a third goblin tried to jump on him from behind.
Garrick flipped backward mid-air, using his feet to kick the airborne goblin directly in the head.
CRUNCH!
The goblin's skull caved in, and the body dropped like a sack of meat.
Garrick landed, spun, and rushed forward. He slashed horizontally, cutting two more goblins in half with a single swing.
Their torsos separated from their legs, and blood pooled across the stone floor.
On one of the rocks above, a goblin wearing a tattered robe and holding a gnarled wooden staff turned its attention toward Garrick.
The goblin shaman let out a series of grunts.
"Kreeaak! Grishka tal!" The shaman pointed its staff directly at Garrick. "Vik'tha zor!"
Garrick saw the shaman and immediately broke into a sprint with his sword raised then the staff began to glow with sickly green light gathering at the tip.
As Garrick closed the distance, the glow intensified. The shaman's chant grew louder and more frantic then Garrick's eyes widened.
The staff was fully charged with magic crackling around it and ready to unleash… but the glow died instantly.
The goblin shaman exploded.
High-velocity pieces of sharpened metal burst through its chest from the inside out, shredding the small green creature into a mangled mess while green blood sprayed across the rock face in a wide arc.
The shaman's body collapsed in a twitch while Garrick spun around.
Klaus stood behind Serra with one hand still extended forward. Wisps of mana faded from his fingertips as Shrapnel Burst had done its job.
Serra waved cheerfully at Garrick with a bright smile but Garrick stared at Klaus for a long moment.
"Hmph."
He turned away and walked back toward the remaining goblins making Serra shake her head slowly.
"Tch, Rude!"