Hineni stands outside on the city plaza with his hands in his pockets, as he stares up towards the gargantuan construction before the three of them.

- The dungeon-gate.

It is an ornate, towering, stonework creation that seems to have been impossibly hewn out of a single rock of incredible scale. Depictions of monsters and people of varying origins and creeds can be seen all over its surface, all of them clawing and tearing at each other in an image of a desperate struggle. All of the carvings look like they’re trying to climb to the very top of the thing.

Inside of the gate is a dense, glowing, blue fog.

People wander into it, coming down the street in groups that range from three to six members, generally. They’re carrying empty bags and weapons of all manner, discussing plans and looking at maps as they wander. At the same time, others exit the dungeon, simply walking out of the blue mist, which is a portal of sorts. Their bags are generally fuller, laden to the brim with items that they have plundered and segments of monsters that they have harvested. Most of the city’s materials for just about everything are extracted from the dungeon.

“You’ve really never been?” asks Sockel.

Hineni shakes his head, watching the stream of adventurers walk past them as they stand in the middle of the vibrant market plaza surrounding the dungeon. “No,” he replies. “Never saw the need.”

“That’s why you were poor,” replies Sockel. “Taking those shitty jobs from the guild when you could have been making bank here with your magic.”

“My magic isn’t that impressive,” says Hineni. “I guess I could get a few floors down? But I’ve never really fought monsters before.”

She rolls her eyes. “If Rhine can blast his way down to floor ten, you won’t have a problem getting to thirty at least with your magic,” she explains. “That’s easily a few hundred Obols a day, if you don’t burn all of the loot. Up to a thousand with some lucky drops.”

Hineni whistles.

That money really would have been useful back in those days, when he was taking shitty jobs making shoes for animals that he can’t remember the name of and obscure farming tools - Plus the odd sword here and there.

“Come on. Let’s go,” she says, strolling into the dungeon. Rhine nods, running after her and then Hineni, feeling a little left behind, walks in after them.

The blue fog is cold and feels damp on his skin. It is almost… froggy.

Hineni finds himself inside of the dungeon. He looks around the area.

— Despite the fact that easily twenty people had walked past him to enter the dungeon in that last minute, none of them are here now. Only Sockel, Rhine and himself stand at the entrance of the dungeon. It’s an effect of the magical fog. Larger, older dungeons in the world separate people into whatever groups they have formed when they enter and give them their own, unique instance of the dungeon to fight their way through.

This is a convenient power, as it allows every group to fight and harvest their own version of the dungeon, which leads to an abundance of resources. However, the magical scholars of the world argue that this isn’t done by the dungeon-core, the entity that runs the dungeon as its head, out of benevolence. It’s because it makes it easier for it to target, manage and fight off intruders inside of itself, if they are in smaller units.

“It’s always so refreshing when we come in here,” sighs Rhine in relief, pulling his long hair back into a tail and tying it off, to keep it out of the way.

“Being underground is always great,” says Sockel. “Especially when it’s hot outside. Come on,” she says, walking down the staircase. Rhine runs after her, clutching his staff. Hineni looks around the space.

The start of the dungeon is an odd mixture of what looks to be a hand-crafted, large, ornate tunnel and simple compacted loose dirt and rock of a cave-system. Roots press through some of it, growing out of the odd spaces available to them, despite the fact that the plaza above their heads is nothing but brickwork and stone.

Dungeons are magical places, so a few oddities are to be expected.

Hineni snaps his fingers a second time.

(Hineni) uses [Ash: Cinder] (Evil bat) has taken {05} damage! HP: 00/10 (Hineni) has killed (Evil bat)!

The giant bat that was flying above their heads, spirals down towards the ground, its body full of glowing embers.

Gained: +03 EXP

“Huh…” he says, looking around the room, before his eyes wander back down towards the dead monster. “Is this it?” he asks, almost let down as the small bat disintegrates down on the stones. “I was expecting something more dramatic.”

“We’re on floor two,” sighs Sockel, rolling her eyes. “The real trouble starts deeper down. But we’ll just go a few floors today, since I have to babysit two children instead of just one.”

“You're pretty bold for someone with a termination clause in her contract,” says Hineni, walking along towards the next staircase, which heads deeper into the dungeon.

“Your problem is that I’m too valuable to replace,” she replies, waving her hand over her shoulder to dismiss him. “So you’ve already lost no matter what.”

“There’s a boss monster on floor ten!” says Rhine excitedly. “It’s a big slime!”

“…What?” asks Hineni.

“A giant slime!” repeats Rhine. “It’s like a normal slime, you know?” He wiggles with his hands. “Those goo-monsters that eat everything they touch, except this one is really big!”

Hineni blinks, looking around the area.

“…I really expected something more dramatic.”

“Don’t provoke the dungeon, light-weight,” warns Sockel. “If you piss it off, it’ll go out of its way to make our lives hell.”

Hineni looks around the dungeon. It’s a very large area, for being underground, beneath the city. How has no basement or cellar ever dug into this?

He shrugs.

— A mystery of life.

Hineni stands back with his hands on his hips as Rhine lifts his staff.

(Rhine) used: [Cascade {Poison}]

An uncontrollable surge of wild water shoots out from Rhine’s staff, cascading and flooding the room below them with a wash that is unusually tepid and murky for Rhine's magic.

The monsters present on the floor, who hadn’t been washed away by the spell, all writhe and flail around as the poison eats away at their health before they can retaliate.

(Rhine) has killed (Slime)!

(Rhine) has killed (Slime)!

(Rhine) has killed (Giant Snail)!

(Rhine) has killed (Giant Snail)!

(Rhine) has killed (Giant Snail)!

Gained: +15 EXP

“Not bad…” says Hineni, watching as the water slowly leaks away, vanishing into the soil and pouring down the staircase to the next floor below. “That’s more effective than I thought,” he says.

Rhine nods, a proud expression on his face. “It’s because these are super weak monsters,” he explains. “But the poison effect stacks if they don’t die right away and since poison does a percentage of health-points, instead of a solid number, it can get really strong on a bigger enemy!” he says, clearly enthusiastic about it. “- Probably.”

“Probably?” asks Hineni.

Rhine nods, looking at Sockel. “I haven’t killed the boss on floor ten yet.”

“Oh. How come?” asks Hineni.

Sockel plants a finger on Rhine’s forehead. “He isn’t ready yet.”

“Are you sure?” asks Hineni, looking at the swampy morass left down below them. “Looks ready to me.”

“See?!” asks Rhine, pointing at Hineni. “He thinks so too!”

Sockel steps to the side, gesturing with both hands towards the staircases below. “Feel free,” she says. “Go on. I’ll wait here.”

Rhine blinks, looking at Hineni. He shrugs. Rhine looks back at Sockel, standing there.

“What’s the matter?” asks Sockel, sitting down on the staircase. “Aren’t you ready to do it by yourself?” she asks, looking at her nails, as if bored. “If you are, I can just wait here, right?”

Rhine is quiet for a time and then sighs. “…Okay,” he relents, his head drooping. “I’ll keep grinding these floors out until I get stronger…”

Sockel nods, pleased enough and she gets up, dusting herself off. “Good! Then let’s go,” she says, walking down the stairs and through the mud to the next floor.

They return home.

Hineni looks around the guild. It seems normally busy. Despite the counter being closed, the restaurant is lively and full. But it looks like Kleidet and the cooks are handling everything there well.

Sockel walks over to the counter, removing the ‘on break’ sign and swiping away some crystals of ice laying there, hinting to a story having happened here.

“We really should stop putting Eilig on the reception,” says Hineni, picking an ice shard out of a wooden beam. The sharp, dagger-like crystal cut into the wood, leaving a scar there.

Sockel shakes her head. “It’s good for me. Because it helps solidify my market-value.”

Hineni looks at her. “…Are you sabotaging us with poor delegation so that I won’t fire you?”

“Yes,” replies Sockel, leaning back and kicking her feet up onto the counter. “I told you, I’m coasting this cushy desk job out until I retire,” says the elf, placing her hands behind her head.

“Who~!” hoots an excited voice, a familiar face hovering down in front of his face, upside down.

“Hey,” says Hineni, sharing a greeting kiss with Obscura. “We just got back.”

“Busy Obscura has seen!” she says, looking over her shoulder. “Many people have come to offer her tribute, yet she needs her Hineni-man most,” says the owl, grabbing his hand and pulling him along towards a crowd. “The baker-man wishes to sell more bread, but Obscura’s baskets are full!” she says. She lowers her voice, leaning in towards him. “…She does not have the cruel heart to tell him no,” explains the owl-god. “The Hineni-man will do, yes? Please?”

Hineni can’t help but hold back a laugh at this discrepancy, given the revelations of her past he had learned about a while ago.

But people, gods and demons too apparently, are complicated.

Hineni looks back, seeing Rhine sitting on a chair next to Sockel. Rhine looks at her and then leans back, kicking his feet up too, copying her posture.

— Very complicated.