Her eyes jumped between both of mine, not knowing which one to focus. She tied her hair in a ponytail and removed her blouse, “You’re knocking me up first!”

My mind played over a lot of different scenarios as to why Anjali would be this determined, but I couldn’t get mad at her. Once again, I was telling her I had to go away on some adventure or mission that would probably keep us apart for a few months at least. She had more than enough right to demand it from me – not that I was unwilling. What also made it something I couldn’t refuse was how long she wanted this. She was even willing to put off our wedding entirely for a child, yet I couldn’t meet her expectations, coming and going as I was. I knew quite well she was more than willing to shoulder the responsibility alone, yet I wasn’t. Still, there was no reason to keep postponing the inevitable.

We spent that entire day doing you-know-what.

~

I left a couple clones behind, one for my household and one for August’s. I should’ve been returning to Jynnak, yet here we were going back to Umbral in Hyzek. Once we said our goodbyes, we teleported to the mother’s nest where we first met Leo, of Umbral. August had a few questions for the man.

“Oh my! This is quite the pleasant surprise!” Leo said, looking as dirty and unkempt as ever. His beard was still unmanaged. He rubbed his chin after giving a second look at both of us, “This is exhilarating! To think you’ve actually done it! Congratulations, warrior!”

August thanked him. A couple minutes later, into our conversation, Leo nearly spat his tea out. “You’ve gone past one hundred?! How’s that possible?!”

“Enchanting,” August admitted. I reeled a little from that, because I thought he would rather keep the pillars of creation a secret. Then again, we’ve both been profiting tremendously off said pillars back home. “Leo, I wished to find out if there’s any way to obtain more quint usage.”

“Sometimes, warrior, not knowing when to stop can be the greatest foe one can face. The hundred mark is the zenith of power. You’ve gone past that and still desire more?”

“So, you can’t help…” August concluded and stood up. I stood up as well, ready to take our leave.

Leo sighed, “It’s a pity. Perhaps your destiny is too great to be stopped at one hundred. If you feel it to be so, then follow that destiny with conviction, warrior. The best of luck to you both.”

Vena came out the staff of Scien clutched to my back after with a little trinket in her hand. “Pass your mana through it, both of you.”

When we did, we got teleported to a building, a huge building. The entire place was filled with the chattering and bantering of people who looked like they geared up for a vacation and a war at the same time. Most people wore normal leather armour with your usual sword or a pair of daggers. Others who were in heavier plated armour donned big shields and maces, or any two-handed weapon of their choice. Others in cloth material wore robes like mages, and if I wasn’t the wiser, I’d say they definitely were after seeing them with staffs. The other people in the group looked like normal townsfolk who simply carried the luggage and supplies. It looked like each group had around ten members, and they were quite balanced.

Our sudden entrance didn’t seem to really catch anyone’s attention. Luckily though, we were dressed not very different from the normal person in this stupidly colossal ballroom-like building. The walls seemed to have employees of the building dealing with customers, and behind us was just a big exit. “Hydra’s ass, no matter how many times I do that world jumping thing, it still surprises me.” August complained.

“What are we supposed to do here anyway?” I pondered, but could almost feel a shrug from Vena through my staff.

So, we did what any lost tourists would do and asked around. After about an hour of questioning random people we learned a few things. This place was the hub of some organization in charge of managing dungeons. I wondered at first why the hell would this world need so many people to manage jails, but it wasn’t like that.

Apparently, dungeons were places where monsters would appear and at the end of it would be a boss, a monster that was greater than all the others. If the boss was defeated, the dungeon would reward the participating group with items and something akin to a currency called soul shards which could then be exchanged for money in this very hall.

If this wasn’t the reason for August and I to be here, then I didn’t know what was. Until we experienced a dungeon for ourselves, we couldn’t rule out the possibility that that was our calling. So, we asked around to find out how we could start off as dungeoneers. Apparently, the procedure was very simple. We just had to fill out a form. It only required your name and the role you wanted to, or were willing to fulfil. Next to the little boxes were Damage, Heal, Tank, and Support.

So, I ticked off heal, damage, and support. August ticked off damage and tank. Our rank started off as E-rank, whilst the strongest we saw was S-rank. The others were from A-rank to D-rank so it’s not like they used the entire alphabet. After registering us, the lady gave us both a copy of our status papers. Now, all that was left to do was find a group, but everyone rejected us. Maybe it was the newbie in our eyes or maybe they just hadn’t seen us before.

“Dude, wanna just go it alone?” August asked, fed up of rejection after rejection.

“We can do that?” I questioned and he shrugged. “Well, that’s reassuring,” I joked. We got fed up and just went to a dungeon alone. Apparently, the dungeons were upstairs, and they were also ranked just like the dungeoneers who attempted them. A-rank to E-rank, with the most difficult dungeons being S-rank. We entered the easiest one, because, that’s what our rank was. Sure, we turned more than a few heads when we went inside with just two of us. Most of the stares were either pity or shock.

On entering the swirling mist-like portal, our scenery changed to an underground sewer-like place, minus the typical sewer smell. I placed a bunch of ice around August and transmuted it into armour, then placed a Light Link on him. Candlelight gave the place some much needed luminance.

I levitated over the water and August absolutely abhorred me for it, and eventually began to use Windsail. As we went farther down the big tunnel, there was a bit of movement in the waters. I sent a couple lights down near the water and beheld a few dozen alligators, or crocodiles, we weren’t sure. Chain Lightning didn’t even give them a chance to react. We continuing our flight with a lot more lights in case we missed any cretins. But there were none. We got to the boss room in under two minutes.

It was a larger room, shaped like a spheroid of sorts. At the walls were metal pathways forming a circle and in the middle was a deep pool of murky water. I manipulated all the water into the air to see what could only be described as the most grotesque fish ever. It was about the size of a full-grown elephant with flesh-tearing teeth. I placed the water back down and had it dangling in the air from a couple Hydrotendrils.

It began suffocating, but it’s not like watching it die did anything for us. Phoenix Wave roasted it. It smelled great, but I was afraid it would be more poisonous than an ex-lover. Once it was dead, the swirling magical mist appeared again and we walked through it, finding ourselves back in the great hall.

“Oh, is this your first time, guys? You were right to recall out of there,” a fella approached us. “What were you thinking going in there by yourselves?” His hair was a bit scrappy, but his face was super clean, like he hadn’t grown a follicle of beard. Well, neither did I.

“Well, um,” August tiptoed carefully into the conversation, “guess we weren’t thinkin’ too much,” he laughed nervously. He knew well not to just admit the dungeon was disappointingly underwhelming. Until we could ensure the wrong eyes wouldn’t fall on our strength for all the wrong reasons, then causing a scene would be stupid. But then again, treading carefully probably wasn’t something we could do forever.

Seven years might sound like a lot but who knew how strong this Apollyon demon was. It was possible that even with seven years of intense training, the combined efforts of me and August still might not suffice.

“So, what do we have to do to get into a group? We tried, but no one wants us,” I complained.

“It’s simple,” he said confidently, “in the world of dungeoneers, absolutely nothing matters but strength. If you aren’t strong, you are unwanted. So, what do weak people like us do? We beg.”

“Eh?” I almost couldn’t believe he just said something like that so pridefully.

“Name’s Phillip. Just call me Phil,” he introduced himself. “I’m a support.”

So, could we trust him? I asked my beloved lie-detector.

“He’s a bit off, but he doesn’t mean harm.”

Good. “Hey, Phil. Thanks for the advice. I’m Eric, ranged damage and healer.”

“August. Tank and melee damage,” the blacksmith introduced.

“If you don’t join a guild, it’ll be near impossible to find a party that wants you,” he pointed out. “I’d know, I went through the same thing. It’s pretty disheartening. Anyway, if you guys want to join a group without the aid of a guild, you kind of have to grovel before the group leader.” He went on to explain that having two roles selected shows our ignorance because it was the norm even for high-ranked dungeoneers to specialise in just one role.

It was extremely rare to see a dual-role dungeoneer even in the A-rankers, so the fact that we were saying we were had dual-roles at E-rank probably made them reject us outright. Now I had an idea why so many of them scoffed at us when looking at our status papers.

“So, Phil, what’s the catch with joining a guild?” August asked.

He seemed to quiver at that question for a second. And with a heavy and almost regrettable tone of voice, he said, “Tax.”

“Hmm?” August’s tone was a suspecting one.

“In exchange for getting accepted into guild groups easily and having a somewhat stable income – although its crap – you have to pay tax from what you earn in the dungeons. Some people don’t even bother with guilds. On the good side though, guildmates would at least try their best to save your life if it gets dangerous.”

Hmm… “What do you think?” I turned to August, and he shook his head.

“I don’t wanna beg, nor do I wanna pay tax,” he then turned to Phil. “What about starting our own group? Would that work?”

“That’ll be even harder,” Phil laughed. He grew tired of his hair drooping over his face and tied it quickly with a string at the back. “Anyway, I’m about to go on a group run with my guild. It’s an E-rank dungeon. August, you should probably say you’ll be a support like me. Eric, maybe remove the damage role, since healers are more highly valued.”

We followed his instructions and he introduced us to his group. In the entire group, a woman with bright red plated armour stood out. It was a pretty fancy and expensive-looking set of armour, and her weapon, a rapier, was just as extravagant. What was surprising though, was that Phil was in shock to see her. He bowed his head as she passed by, her wordlessness not bothering them. Besides her, everyone else looked like your usual dungeoneer – at least the lower ranked ones.

The group consisted of another fellow healer. Phil and August took up the support role. The other five looked to be a mage and four warriors wielding different types of weapons. The group was a bit unbalanced compared to other groups, and I’d learn why when the woman in red armour began speaking. “I’m just here for one item. You all may divide the rest. Please keep a safe distance from me and let me fight alone.”

Phil was super excited. “She’s my guild master!” he cleared up. “She does this sometimes, but rarely. Some monsters, even in E-rank dungeons, has a chance to drop exotic items needed by the guild. So strong players might repeatedly complete the dungeons and we low-ranks can just tag along!” He picked up the heavy backpack and entered after his guild master.

August and I shrugged and entered. It was a cavern, lit by your occasional torch. Venturing in, we heard a lot of footsteps and fighting broke out way too soon. Phil’s guild master, an A-rank dungeoneer, easily dispatched the pack of jackals. Everyone looked on in amazement at her strength and skill. Other packs of wild dogs charged at her, but she didn’t even give the mindless creatures time to regret their decision.

This happened a few times, until I got bored and conjured up a couple croissants, filled with a creamy interior and threw one for August. The smell wafted around and I was certain I heard someone’s stomach growl. The guild master suddenly stopped. If she hadn’t, I’d have never known it was her stomach behaving so unruly.

“Someone’s hungry, huh?” I commented and Phil’s eyes opened wide in shock.

The woman turned around stiffly, and dashed towards me with an amazing change of pace, grabbing me by the collar, “That wasn’t me!”

I tried my darn hardest to keep my laughter in, but it leaked out in a horrible guffaw. She slammed me against a wall, my feet unable to touch the ground. But it only tickled me. After having every single cell remade stronger for my second mana powerup from the crystal shard, a little roughhousing like this was nothing. After surviving the pain of being bald as a teenager and even missing eyebrows, this was like throwing me into a bed made entirely of cotton. “That’s cute,” I commented. “If you’re hungry, you’re hungry. Happens to the best of us. So,” I made a little plate from ice and placed two croissants on it for her, “snack break?”

She glared at me for years, then succumbed to the tempting aroma. I made a few more treats for everyone else and we sat in the middle of a dungeon to eat. Suddenly, some really heavy footsteps entered our ears. Without thinking much, I wrapped the charging wolf in Hydrotendrils and it fell, skating and rolling to a stop a little near us.

Convergence brought the wolf closer to me and I petted him. After a few snarls and attempted bites, the belly rubs eventually couldn’t be resisted any longer and its tail began to wag. August came over after and wrestled it away from me, literally rolling on the ground with it. I removed the Hydrotendrils and let it play freely. It bit him a few times, but his skin was basically metal so the wolf’s fangs didn’t penetrate at all. Once it realised August was also just playing, it did the same and ran about in a playful manner. Suddenly, the portal-like gate appeared.

The group briskly went through, until just Phil, August, the guild master and myself remained. “I knew you guys were weird, but what is this…” Phil’s arms dangled the scene.

“Love at first sight?” I jested.

“Definitely,” August agreed, finally getting up. “Later buddy,” he waved at the wolf and left.

I shrugged and left. Phil and his guild master came out a couple seconds after, and so did the wolf, in the hall packed with dungeoneers who literally hunted its kind for a living. Everyone froze, and the wolf, sensing the overwhelming threat, began to snarl but still kept very close to us. It felt like he was trying to protect us.

A huge man, plated head to toe, even more so than the gluttonous woman we grouped with, approached us calmly. His eyes were dead set on the wolf. He was a behemoth, calloused and rugged, sharp features demeaning a beast of a man. His halberd swung down at the wolf and August simply looked like he appeared between the wolf and the attacker. With a simple palm upward, he blocked the attack at the neck of the halberd effortlessly.

“What are you doing, boy?” the man questioned. “If you don’t move, I’ll kill you.”

I sighed mentally. Threatening a post-Ulanos August was the epitome of stupidity. But I guess my worrying was in vain. August smiled, “Well now, let’s not get violent. The wolf is not hostile.”

“It’s a monster and deserves to die like any other…” the man claimed, still calm in the eyes of death.

“Mister,” August eyes suddenly went dark, “are you willing to put your life on the line just to kill an E-rank monster?”

There was slight doubt flickering in the man’s eyes. He felt the chill of danger like we all felt from August’s Mind Break, even if it was a weak one. Dispel rid me of the sickening feeling. Renew was cast on our group to get them out of it as well. People began surrounding us and the hostility between the armoured warrior and August was building through the tension they shared. “You’re just E-rank trash!” he said, smacking August across the face with the back of his fist.

I knew right at that moment that the man wouldn’t escape without repercussions. “Just don’t use Mind Break in here, my guy.” I asked of August. He nodded, then slowly held onto the man’s wrist. From there, all he had to was squeeze. The man’s wrist was crushed like a twig and he yelled out in pain. He yelped out then attempted to swing his halberd, but August’s leg connected to his midsection first, sending him flying across the room.

Another person with dual daggers sprinted forth, fast in his approach and with full intentions to kill. August sidestepped, held the person by his face and slammed him right into the ground, an audible thud sounding through the environs. Three other men stepped forth from the crowd that encircled us, their weapons drawn.

August unsheathed the longsword from his back. This situation was getting a bit dangerous. By his movements before, I could tell he didn’t use any quint apart from the kick, and that probably wasn’t a lot in the first place. “Think carefully before approaching,” August warned, “I won’t hesitate to kill once I draw my weapon.” Quite the fair warning, but it would probably only rile them up.

“Alright, alright,” I intervened, “there’s no need to continue fighti–”

“Quite right, young man,” a man intervened my intervention. “Scarlet, I don’t suppose you’re open to an official challenge?” he began speaking to Phil’s guild master.

So that’s her name. Fitting…

The man continued on, informing her out loud that should they win the challenge, he would not pursue any action against them for attacking his guildmember. Quite the outrageous statement since everyone saw that they started the conflict.

It didn’t take long for me to realise whatever guild those guys were in had some sort of power over others. Not even the employees bothered to stop them.

“What say you, Scarlet?” His grin was sickening and malicious.

“Sorry mister, but there’s a misunderstanding. We can just talk ab–” he swung his hand at me, cutting along my cheek before I could finish trying to explain that we weren’t in Scarlet’s guild in a friendly matter.

Oh, fuck this… I blasted him away with Divergence, smashing him onto the wall far away. “Ya’ll are some cheeky motherfuckers, ain’t ya?! I won’t mind slaughterin’ you fuckin’ fools! Come die if you won’t listen!” I yelled out, all the elements of the God spells swarming around me and my mana flaring. I’d just about had it with people thinking they were better than others and not even pausing to consider that someone just might be stronger than them.

Someone’s weapon began sliding out their sheath, but a bolt of my lightning fried them before it could fully be removed. A fire spell from some mage began forming and I made the ground beneath her swallow her up, piercing through her body with several earthen spikes. Donna suddenly came out of me, and I fell unconscious.