Mat grabbed the cuirass lying on the grass, unstrapping the buckles and belts in the process. He then turned behind to face Youmu's back. She was sitting on her own bags, holding up her white curls with both hands above her head to help Mat fit the metal armor around her chest without having the hair getting in the way.

Mat's gaze would oftentimes wander to the back of her neck, her nape, but Youmu's leering glare would keep him on track.

"Just like that." She said, directing Mat's hands with hers with the fitting of the armor. With a click, the metal piece was locked in place around her chest. "Lock the belts and straps first before moving to the arms."

Mat was essentially acting as Youmu's squire, though it felt pretty awkward playing dress-up with her with all the physical contact he had to put up with during the process.

He then took the many metal parts that made up the arm guards- paultron, rerebrace, vambrace, all that stuff- then fitted them to Youmu's arms. There was little to no problem there. The problem was the next set- feet armor.

Mat gulped down heavy spit, crouching to his knees as Youmu in turn stood up to help him with the fitting. He grabbed a cuisse, a piece of armor for the thigh. It felt pretty awkward, but as they say back home, thick thighs save lives. He balled up his courage and fitted the metal piece around her thigh, strapping the belts around. After the sound of straps and buckles locked, he breathed a sigh of relief.

First one done, on to the second one.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Nian whispered from behind, prompting Mat to shove her away. He was a lot of things, but a quitter wasn't one of them.

He then took another cuisse and strapped it around Youmu's other thigh, locking the first and then the second buckle. After that was done he sped through the other metal pieces like his life mission was all but done.

"Thanks." Youmu said, taking a helm and fitting it around her head. "It's a sound fit."

"No problem." Mat dropped to the grass below. He found himself staring at Youmu now fitted with full silver armor, though instead of making her look bulk and wide, it only served to accentuate her figure. The carved designs and gold emboss of the chestplate looked pretty expensive.

Job well done.

"You should've seen your face the entire time." Nian crouched to him, blocking the harsh gleam of sunlight above. "Your nostrils were flaring."

"That's rude."

"Come on, stand up." Nian offered her hand. Taking it, Mat turned to stand. "We haven't even entered the dungeon yet and you're already exhausted."

Right, Mat forgot that was why they were here in the first place.

He raised his gaze, seeing a giant fissure cut right into the air in front of them in the middle of the grasslands. A portal. That was what a portal to a dungeon looked like. He could see the other side like scenery through a glass window, though it was mostly a blur.

There was a law passed by the Adventurer's Union- a governing organization for and by adventurers- that whenever a group or party encounters a dungeon portal, they are required to clear it. Whether that be near a settlement or out in the wilderness, if the group ticks the minimum requirements of clearing the dungeon and no one in the party is hurt nor crippled, they are bound by law to clear it. This was done to minimize dungeon outbreaks.

That was what they were doing now, attempting to clear the dungeon before them. They happened to find it as they were trudging through the grasslands.

In front of the portal was Youmu fitted with all the armor she had in contrast to Nian who was only wearing the minimum of leather gear. Ruan wore her usual clothes- a single garb that covered her chest down to her thighs. Mat was sure those clothes wouldn't last though, as she would strip herself naked whenever she needed to enter fight mode. That was because her clothes would get scorched by her burning hair when she fought in her feral form, but it still made Mat very uncomfortable whenever she stripped.

"Let's go." Nian pulled him to the portal. He could hear the chattering of beautiful whispers as he neared it. With a step through, he felt a slight tingle of his skin, like passing through a thin sheet of waterfall. Opening his eyes, he found himself inside a giant ancient maze, with burning torches fixed on the dated brownstone walls dotting the entire background.

The walls were old, dead if they were living. Mosses and vines and mushrooms dotted every nook and cranny like the whole place hadn't seen sunlight since forever. The ground was solid enough with all the dirt and stones, though Mat was more concerned with the ceiling. Given the ancient look of the place, the ceiling might as well crumble and crush them to mush.

In front was Youmu, her armor clanking against the silent echo of the dungeon as she surveyed the surroundings. Following behind were Ruan and Mat's ghost summons- Amigo and the ghost bird. Beside was Nian, ever so curious as she traced her fingers on the walls- and upon closer look, they had carved illustrations drawn on them. There were three illustrations repeated in a pattern on the walls: first was of an armor suit with numerous weapons, second was that of a muscular being with horns, and third was a floating eyeball.

Mat called for his sprite, which promptly appeared beside him with a green glimmer. "What are these?"

Armored Juggernaut (F+) [Monster]

Black set of armor with a spear, cutlass, shield, bow, and quiver to its back, all put together by a curse.

Minotaur (F) [Monster]

A hybrid between a human and an ox. Generally wields a giant axe as a weapon.

Wandering Eye (F-) [Monster]

A giant eyeball that can shoot focused lasers from its iris.

"Wow, that's pretty nifty."

"These are the monsters that live inside this dungeon." Nian turned back to him. "It's common sense to learn about what you're fighting against, so these carvings drawn on the walls are pretty helpful. They're pretty rare to come across though, and the boss monster isn't shown. That said-"

"The dungeon is low-grade." Youmu turned back to them. "F-tier, most probably."

"Why don't we let Mat handle this one then?" Nian's eyes were gleaming. "We can stay back and watch and intervene only when we have to."

Hold on.

"Good idea." Ruan said from the back. "Great training for Mateo. Are you up for that?"

Mat didn't like the idea of this, turning to Youmu. She was the voice of reason within the group, and if everything else, Mat needed her to talk some sense into the other two.

"I don't mind." Youmu shrugged. "Everything else aside from the boss and anomalies are up for his fighting."

"Then I'll prepare the health pots just in case." Nian said, running towards Amigo before jumping to the bags strapped atop the wolf. Amigo was more or less used as a packhorse now, but he seemed like he didn't mind it much given that he's pretty giant.

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"It's not supposed to be."