The afternoon sun shone brightly above the second layer. Theo looked up at it with tired eyes and frowned. Its lively heat seemed to be cheerfully denying the horrific night that had just passed. After getting a decent haul of treasures during the blood moon, Theo had woken up earlier than expected. He’d planned to sleep the entire day away and recover, but his body refused to cooperate. Theo eventually surrendered to his restlessness and began to travel. The outlaw left his forest camp and found the nearest trail.

When Mavis was following him, Theo didn’t dare walk on the same path as other raiders. The slime’s mask and cloak stood out too much. Theo knew that once people looked at them closely, they would quickly be ousted as outlaws. In fact, that was exactly what had happened with Yale. However, Theo had confidence that today would be different. Mavis aside, the blood moon had worn everyone out. The trails were also packed with people, at least, when compared to an average day. With more raiders, Theo could blend in with the crowd. Because they were all tired, no one would bother him. If he was going to travel on a trail, it had to be now.

“I’m telling you, that mage was crazy!”

Theo narrowed his eyes at a raider who was speaking too loudly. Many others did as well, until he said something interesting.

“She had a slime! It was following her around like a pet! What? You don’t believe me? They were on this very road less than an hour ago!”

Theo rushed to the man’s side.

“Can you tell me more about that?”

After picking the loudmouth raider’s brain, Theo learned that a couple of raiders had ‘tamed’ a slime. They seemed to be travelling deeper into the second layer. Theo couldn’t help but feel curious, and so he started searching for the trio. He recognized Mavis right away. Outwardly, Theo was fuming that the slime had ignored his advice to stay away from humans. Inwardly, he was impressed by how Mavis had solved its problem of being too valuable. If talking would get it hunted down, then it just wouldn’t talk.

Theo followed the strange party until they went off-trail to search for a campsite. Avoiding the slime’s perception range had been easy up until then. Theo was much less confident about stalking them through the woods, and so he didn’t. The outlaw went in a different direction and found his own area to sleep. As the sun fell, Theo wondered what he was doing. He’d wasted an entire day following Mavis around. Letting the slime go was one thing, but this had gone too far. Theo lay down, closed his eyes, and reminisced a little. No matter how much guilt or affection he felt towards Mavis, Theo couldn’t forget his purpose.

- - -

A young Theo stood beside four other boys. None of them were over fifteen, but they stood tall and pushed their chests out. They stared expectantly at the two men in front of them. Each boy hoped to look better than the rest.

“These five are our very best.” One of the men explained.

He smiled in a practiced manner while the other man’s gaze swept over the boys. They suppressed shudders as his cold eyes pierced each of them in turn. Although, that was hardly their fault. This man loomed over them like a shadowy giant. His dark leather armor seemed to turn his body into a hazy silhouette. All they could see of his face were two steely blue eyes. The rest was covered by a black bandanna. Eventually, he nodded in agreement.

“Ok, I’ll take them.”

“Er, which one, sir?”

“All of them.”

“But I thought you only needed one apprentice?”

The tall man pushed a sack of coins into the seller’s hands.

“T-This is…” He stammered while counting out the sum. Finally, the seller sighed. “Fine.”

“As expected, the people at Brightstone are very reasonable.”

The man from Brighstone turned to the boys and smiled.

“It’s a little unexpected, but this man will be adopting all of you. I’m sure that you know what to do. Follow his orders and don’t make trouble. This man, Ravens, is one of the greatest raiders of his generation. You all have a lot to learn from him.”

Each of the boys, including Theo, nodded eagerly.

They began their training the instant Ravens took them home. The veteran handed each of them a knife and told the boys to attack him. After some convincing, they did. Ravens proceeded to disarm them one by one. His rough and opportunistic fighting style made a deep impression on the boys. Especially after they’d experienced it with their own bodies. By the end of the day, none of them could move.

Months passed and Ravens continued his spartan training style. His lessons were brutal, bordering on abuse. However, Theo and the other boys absorbed that knowledge eagerly. Their feelings towards Ravens were equal parts fear and respect.

Years passed and the boys had grown strong enough to challenge the nearest dungeon—Jigou. Ravens sent them down as a team, but he encouraged them to compete. Every time, Theo and the others would fight against the dungeon’s monsters and then against each other. There was very little trust or camaraderie between them. However, there was a unique form of respect. Theo and his rivals used each other to hone their skills.

After exploring Jigou for over a year, the boys heard something unbelievable.

“Good work, all of you.”

Ravens wasn’t the type to praise people meaninglessly. Or at all, for that matter. After a successful expedition, Theo and the others would be happy to see an affirmative nod from their master.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Close your jaws and listen up.”

They did.

“You five have grown a lot under my care, and its finally time to repay me. Tomorrow, we’ll be travelling into Jigou together.”

The apprentices looked apprehensive, but then understanding flickered in their eyes.

“We’ll be raiding with you? In the lower floors?”

“For real!?”

“That’s amazing!”

“And dangerous…” Everyone thought it, but no one was willing to say it out loud.

Ravens let out a low chuckle and opened his palm to reveal a storage crystal. These rare magic tools could hold items in a pocket dimension. Ravens activated the crystal and several pieces of enchanted gear fell on the floor. The apprentices were practically drooling as they stood over them.

“Of course it’s going to be dangerous. That’s why I’ve been collecting high-tier equipment. There’s a full set for each of you.”

“Thank you, sir!” The apprentices shouted as they scrambled to pick up their new gear.

“Most raiders can only dream of having gear like this. Make sure to familiarize yourselves with the enchantments tonight.”

After a restless night, morning came and the six raiders set out for Jigou. Unlike Naraka, this dungeon sat just outside of a nearby city. Jigou’s structure was that of an inverted tower. They entered floor zero, which was an enormous cylindrical chamber poking out of the ground. Aged stone bricks made up the walls and floor of this section. Thousands of people were inside. Traders eagerly tried to hock their goods, while a constant stream of raiders travelled in and out of the area. The floor was littered with thrumming blue crystals that pointed towards the sky like stalagmites. They jutted out of the ground, standing a head above most men.

Ravens stood in front of one such crystal and placed his palm on it. His apprentices did the same. The crystal began to glow and a list of floors appeared on its side. Ravens took his hand away and the list shrank considerably.

“You’ve all gotten quite far. Clearing the fortieth floor in under two years is no easy task. Especially at your ages.”

Even though they were nineteen, the apprentices looked away bashfully. Hearing this kind of praise twice in two days was more than they could handle.

“But now, it’s time to go a bit further.”

Ravens put his hand back on the crystal and several more lines appeared. The second lowest line read ‘floor eighty’. Of course, no one was paying attention to that.

“Huh?” One of the apprentices exclaimed.

“How is that possible!?”

“You have to clear a floor for it to show up here.” Theo muttered. “How did you manage to confuse the dungeon?”

Floor ???.

Every other line showed a specific floor. This exception was completely unheard of. Even other veterans would be gasping. Ravens sighed wearily.

“This floor is special. You wouldn’t believe how much trouble I went through to get access to it. However, now that it’s been branded onto my soul, this dungeon will recognize it as a valid location. I can teleport to this floor, even though it hasn’t been cleared.”

“What will happen if we teleport to it?”

“I’ve tried. This floor is shaped like an arena with a transport crystal in its center. Monsters keep coming and the floor won’t be cleared until they’re all dead. If we win, then it should turn into a safe zone. Just like a normal transfer area.”

Some of the boys began to fidget nervously. Others were staring at Ravens with undisguised eagerness. Theo was one of the former.

“There must be some really amazing treasure down there!” One of them exclaimed.

“Maybe…” Ravens muttered. “But ultimately, this is just a waypoint. A path to something much greater.”

The boys looked at him quizzically, but Ravens did not elaborate. After they performed a final equipment check, Theo felt that he had to ask something.

“Why are you bringing us with you? Wouldn’t it be safer to go with other veterans?”

Ravens chuckled and reached out to pat Theo’s head. The apprentice struggled to stay upright as three heavy hits battered him. Over the years, the boys had realized that Ravens was terrible at controlling his strength.

“I don’t want to share this with anyone. However, you five are my successors. This is something that I can allow you to see.”

The crystal began to glow. Slowly, blue light spread to cover the six raiders. Theo tried to breathe slowly, but it was impossible to stay calm. Once the light had completely covered them, the raiders vanished. They were no longer on floor zero.

Theo opened his eyes to see a massive arena built out of golden bricks. An uncountable number of torches adorned the walls while a massive glittering gemstone lit up the area from above. The air felt stale, as if it hadn’t been disturbed in decades. At the center of the room, just behind them, stood a dim transport crystal.

Ravens drew a pair of daggers, and the boys followed his example. Dozens of golden bricks fell from a section of wall, revealing an opening. Theo’s eyes widened as a scaly foot stepped through the threshold. After knocking away a few more bricks, an elephant-sized lizard entered the arena. This was a drake, a species one step below dragons. The black-scaled monstrosity reared up and spread its thin leathery wings. The creature roared, and monsters of all shapes and sizes began to pour out of the opening. Some of them Theo recognized, while others were completely foreign.

Fortunately, Ravens stepped in and made Theo’s analysis a little easier. Three of the closest monsters suddenly exploded in a mess of gore. The boys looked around and realized that Ravens had disappeared. The veteran was already in the midst of the horde, hacking and slashing like a madman. His clothes shone with a variety of colors while his daggers glowed a vicious red. Ravens fought with abandon but there were simply too many monsters. Once he was surrounded, some of the creatures turned their attention towards his apprentices.

The apprentices rushed forward, following their master’s valiance. Theo and the others couldn’t kill these monsters like their master had. In fact, every single enemy in this arena was a lethal threat. The apprentices leveraged their numbers and equipment to cut down the horde.

Time passed and more sections of wall crumbled away, revealing new waves of enemies. The fighting quickly grew into a chaotic mess. Theo tried to stay close to his comrades, but he was pushed away by the mass of monsters. Through the turmoil, Theo saw one of his adopted brothers fall as a drake sank its teeth into the apprentice’s shoulder.

Theo cried out in a mixture of anger and horror. However, it was far from the only tragedy to occur that day.