“But we’ll mostly be fighting amongst each other, so the only one who could kill you that quickly would be Quint’s S-Rank.” Mize added.

Her soft voice and words were supposed to be comforting, but Jayce wasn’t feeling calm in the least. Afraid that a negative reaction would anger her, he forced himself to act like he was reassured.

“Oh, take this as well. This artifact is really valuable because it doesn’t have any energy requirements, so don’t let it get damaged.”

Mize tossed out something that looked like a wide belt or girdle and Jayce hastily caught it. When he looked closer, he saw that it was a dark cloth band about fifteen centimeters tall. Sprinkled across the cloth like stars in the night sky were small grey metal hexagons with glowing purple veins.

“Wear it around your stomach under your clothes.” Mize instructed.

Because of her casual order, Jayce was forced to put the artifact on before he could check what it was. After another short and significantly less scandalous strip show, Jayce poured some mental energy into the cloth to see what made it so valuable.

Star Girdle (Polished)

A high-quality storage device. Contains a total of twenty different dimensional pockets, the environments of which can be modded to some extent. Modifications include: anaerobic (without air), sterile, high/low temperature, high/low pressure. Cannot store lifeforms with mental energy.

‘T-The legendary game inventory! No, it’s even more advanced than an inventory from a game.’

“Where did you get another storage device?” Erilin looked just as shocked as Jayce.

“That forging grandpa gave it to me along with Spirit Nail. I told him that when I eventually take over the clan, I’d give him some benefits.”

“The clan’s integrity…” Erilin muttered while pinching her brow.

“It isn’t breaking any rules.”

While they talked, Jayce was examining the space within the Star Girdle. Each ‘star’ had the volume of a keg, and they could even be merged to store larger objects.

“We can’t just fill this thing with bombs, right?” A dangerous idea came out of Jayce’s mouth before he thought things through.

“No. Basically all consumable objects, whether they’re medicines or one-time use artifacts are banned for this ‘game’. I’m only giving this to you because I don’t need a second storage device and the Star Girdle is specialized for refiners and alchemists. For now, just use it to store your weapons.”

Jayce did just that. He stored Seeker and Spirit Nail in a single star that didn’t have any mods. After experimenting a little, Jayce found it easy to bring them in and out of his hands, allowing him to swap weapons in an instant.

When he finished playing around, Jayce saw Mize standing with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and then slowly released it.

“Ok.” Her light voice dropped down to a monotone. “I need to get ready for tonight. The next time I bring you out, we’ll be inside the Fragmented Ruins.”

“Alri-” Before Jayce could finish, Mize pulled him and the other two slaves back into her bracelet.

To Jayce’s surprise, the next time he regained consciousness, he wasn’t in a dungeon. He tried to move his body, but it wouldn’t respond. His shocked cry was also aborted just as it was conceived. A wave of anxiety passed over Jayce like a looming cloud, but it wasn’t his own emotions. When he extended his senses, Jayce realized he could see without his eyes. The image was fragmented, as if he were looking through a blurry crystal, but sounds reached him clearly.

From what Jayce could tell, he was in a lounge similar to the gilded hall where Mize had given him his artifacts. Jayce heard voices coming from all directions, all of which was chatter taking place in the background. From what he could see, there were four people sitting nearby. None of them spoke, but they were clearly observing each other.

Another wave of anxiety washed over Jayce and he realized that this feeling came from Mize. Whether it was intentional or not, because she was feeling on guard, the sleep function on her bracelet had deactivated.

“Ha, hahaha.” One of them suddenly started laughing. “It’s finally time to end this farce.”

“And what farce would that be?” Mize asked in a cordial tone.

“This farce that has lasted our entire youth.” The young man replied. He had short, spiky hair and wore an elegant suit.

“You’re arrogant as always, Quint.” Another lady muttered.

“Those who hold the Nexus’s favor have a right to be arrogant.”

“I hate to say it, but Quint’s right.” The only other male in the group spoke up. He had long, beautiful hair that could rival any of the ladies around him, but he was a guy. “An S-Rank slave is like having an extra black salamander on your team. And unlike us, your slave can level up. For those of us who don’t even have an A-Rank slave, this truly is a farce.”

The two girls beside Mize frowned, but that only made Quint laugh louder.

“Lors, I feel like this is the only time I’ve enjoyed hearing the words coming out of your mouth.”

“I merely know my place.” While the beautiful man, Lors, shook his head, Jayce caught him glance at Mize.

“You’ve become quite a tyrant, Quint.” Mize sighed helplessly.

“And? This will all be over soon. What’s wrong with rubbing it in your faces?”

“We only wish you’d have some mercy.” Lors added. “What exactly is this mythical beast of yours? A leviathan? A seraph?”

“Heh, does it matter if you know?”

Quint flicked his finger and a figure materialized before him. It was a towering lioness with fur that seemed to blur in one’s eyes like the shifting sands. The creature had the face of a young woman, complete with curly black hair and a beauty mark by her right eye. The large pair of falcon wings on her back fluttered slightly as her imperious gaze swept across the young men and women before her.

The sphynx sighed. “My foolish master, please do not bring me out. These children are only stroking your ego to learn your secrets.”

Quint looked at Lors and then at Mize, his frown a perfect inverse of their fawning smiles.

“I said it doesn’t matter if they know! But you…you dare to call me foolish in public!?”

A shrill screech cut through the lively atmosphere as the sphynx bent over in pain. Her front paws clutched at her head, as if she wished to claw something out of her brain. Despite this scene, the chatter in the lounge didn’t cease. Most of the guests ignored the scene as if it wasn’t worth their attention.

For his part, Jayce was horrified. He hadn’t known that masters could do more than just order their slaves around.

‘Fortunately, I never actively went against Mize.’

Jayce didn’t doubt that Mize would do something similar to him under the right circumstances. His master was easygoing, but she fundamentally didn’t care about his wellbeing.

After a few minutes, Quint dismissed his sphynx. Just as silence settled amongst the group of youngsters, Mize’s sweet voice cut in.

“Perhaps it’s because you’re our youngest brother, but I’ve always found you to be quite cute, Quint.”

“Mm, it’s hard to dislike someone so cute.” Lors nodded emphatically.

“You bastards, just you wait.” Quint grumbled. “If we meet in the dungeon, don’t expect to make it to the deathmatches.”

Meanwhile, Mize’s two sisters were looking at her and Lors like they were monsters. Of the people in the lounge, only Jayce could tell that Mize wasn’t as confident as she looked. He was still feeling waves of anxiety every so often.

However, after the matter with Quint ended, those waves became rarer. The siblings’ idle chatter started to drift out of Jayce’s periphery as he fell asleep. For a time, at least.

“Why the long face, Liza?”

Mize’s voice caused Jayce to stir once more. From the gem, he saw that the scenery had changed. Mize was now on a balcony and the only other person around was one of her sisters.

For a moment, Jayce found it hard to focus on anything other than the night sky. This was the first time he’d seen the sky since he’d been summoned to the so-called Upper Bound. His first thought was that there were too many stars. Even when camping in the wilderness, Jayce hadn’t seen such a full night sky. Many of them twinkled and flared with light as though they were alive, while others were so large that they could be called small moons. As for the actual moon, Jayce didn’t see one. However, there were several swirling nebulas. If they could be seen from Earth, Jayce was sure that people would pray to them. The nebulas gave off a terrifying feeling of oppression, as if they were battlefields exclusive to gods.

Back on the balcony, Liza turned to look at Mize. Her eyes were puffy, and it was clear that she had been crying alone.

“Ah, Mize…Just leave me alone.”

“I’m not going to bite. And I want some fresh air too.”

Mize rested her arms on the balcony and looked at the sky. Liza glanced at her ever now and then, but Mize didn’t say anything. Eventually, it was Liza who spoke up.

“I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“Who knows.”

“Unlike you, I don’t even have an A-Rank…”

Mize didn’t reply, and they fell into a comfortable silence until Liza broke it again.

“Maybe…Maybe you could go a little easy on me?”

Liza looked at Mize, who stared back at her. Suddenly, they both burst out laughing. The two young ladies held the rails of the balcony to prevent themselves from falling over in their hysteria.

“Ahaha. No matter what happens, I’m going to miss you, Liza.”

“I won’t miss you very much.”

Soon after that, Jayce drifted back to sleep.

---

Inside of a wide, empty stone room, there was a flame. It stood tall at over six meters and fluttered like a flag in the wind. Within the fire, one could see dozens of different scenes at a time, each flitting by before they could leave an impression. The myriad scenes occupied different parts of the flame like pieces of a broken mirror.

Even though his view from Mize’s wrist was blurry, Jayce was still enraptured by the entrance to the Fragmented Ruins. While he waited for Mize to enter, he recalled the information Mize and Erilin had given him about the dungeon.

Dungeons, by definition, were places where ambient energy could transform into lifeforms known as monsters. There were many different kinds of dungeons. Some were artificial while others were formed naturally by various factors. The Fragmented Ruins was neither natural nor artificial—it was a special case. There were many worlds in the Upper Bound, and throughout history, many of them had been destroyed. It was believed that the Nexus either saved certain fragments of worlds before they collapsed, or it recreated them from memory. These fragments were stored in a repository known as the Fragmented Ruins.

Throughout the various worlds, there were less than twenty entrances to the Fragmented Ruins scattered about. Each one was guarded fiercely by a powerful clan. This had confused Jayce when he first heard about it back in that hazy blue room.

“Why are the entrances being guarded? Are they dangerous?”

“No.” Mize replied, poking Jayce’s cheek with her tail. “It’s because they’re extremely valuable.”

At that time, Erilin was standing off to the side. What Mize was explaining wasn’t necessary knowledge for a slave, but the young girl was enjoying her chance to play teacher, so Erilin didn’t say anything.

“The Fragmented Ruins is the only dungeon that’s fully managed by the Nexus system. When you enter, you’ll be transported to a random world fragment. There’s no way to guess where you’ll end up, but no matter where you are, the monsters that spawn will be scaled to your level. This is the only place in the Upper Bound where you’ll see that kind of ‘fairness’. Even well-managed artificial dungeons can sometimes create an aberrant that’s far above their advertised level.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Right? A place where you can fight enemies at your own level in a variety of environments, it’s no wonder my clan guards their entrance so carefully. That dungeon is a precious treasure.”

“The only variable is other people, I guess.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. If two people don’t use the same entrance, the chance of them meeting is essentially nil. During our ‘game’, my clan’s entrance will be sealed off. The only people we could possibly meet will be my siblings. If that happens…heh. I already told you the plan.”

Back in the present, Mize finally stepped forward and entered the flame. A torrent of thick air encircled her, but there was no heat. Jayce saw the colors around Mize distort until the entire world fell away. Then, as if responding to some unheard signal, a new reality snapped into place.

Jayce was immediately released from the bracelet and his black shoes clacked as they landed on aged, mossy stone. Pulling out Seeker, Jayce fell into a triangular formation with the feathered dragon and centipede making up the other two points. In the center was Mize, who was looking around warily.

They were standing in the center of a dim and humid room about the size of a soccer field. The only light came from glowing fungi that grew between the stone bricks that made up the walls, floor and ceiling. As for sounds, aside from Jayce’s nervous breathing, the room was completely silent. From what he could see, the only life around were the various plants and fungi.

“It seems like this room is empty.” Mize announced before turning towards a corner of the room. “What do you think?”

Jayce blinked. The light in that corner seemed to bend strangely.

“Please do not speak to me now, my lady.” A familiar voice carried over from the corner.

The space twisted even further until Erilin walked into view. Mize looked away and puffed her cheeks.

“Why are you here?” Jayce asked. “Won’t the monsters scale to your level?”

Even now, Jayce wasn’t sure exactly what Erilin’s position was. But it was obvious that she already had a class and was probably at a high level.

“I entered using a special method. If I don’t act, the dungeon won’t recognize me. Please ignore me. My only job is to bring my lady out alive if she fails.”

“Even though she’ll die if she loses?”

Erilin looked at Jayce with a smile that wasn’t a smile. “There are guardians following all of the team leaders. Why that is, it’s better to not know.”