Date: May 14, 2020 - 1:56 pm

Location: West Byzantine

On the second floor of one of West Byzantine’s largest shopping malls, was a large orange portal, and twenty-one other people gathered around it, two of them working for the Earth Alliance. They brought over tables and chairs from the nearby food court and waited. The Dungeoneers chat amongst themselves, many of them nervous, and several of them attempting to hide that nervousness. Even Valentina was speaking with the late man from yesterday.

“So, how many of these people do you think will survive?” he asked.

“Who knows? If the monsters are slow enough, maybe all of them.” He laughed at her answer.

“Yeah, maybe. Maybe today’s their lucky day. If it’s just a bunch more of those bears, I’d be enough just by myself. That way, they’ll all get that $200,000 payday.” He laughed again. “Ah, good play, by the way. I was bluffing about leaving, but with you saying you were going to leave as well, I knew they’d cave in. We’re the Dungeoneers with the best records after all. There’s no way they could go ahead with this plan without us.”

“There’s three more minutes left,” she said, looking at her watch and now ignoring the other man. “I wonder if we’ll be going with just nineteen.” The man laughed again.

“That just means a bigger share of the item drops.” The man looked around him and then said in a louder voice, “honestly, it’d probably be better if the weaker Dungeoneers here just left.” A couple scowled at him, but most of the others just looked away. This man was Franceso Ricci, and at this point, among the nation’s Dungeoneers, his reputation preceded him. He was the only other Dungeoneer in West Byzantine other than the Giocondo siblings to have participated in three successful Dungeon clears.

“Well, they could still serve as body blockers.” Valentina always spoke without an ounce of sarcasm, and although some might prefer forward speakers, most didn’t think very highly her personality. “Looks like the last one made it,” she said, as Luigi Gallo finally arrived, nearly breathless.

“I’m so sorry! I was eating lunch, but then-”

“Hurry up and give permission to view your Inventory so we can get on with it,” Valentina interrupted.

“Ah, um, yes, yes, of course!” The other Dungeoneers checked his Inventory and one of the Earth Alliance personnel recorded it. After that, the twenty Dungeoneers entered the C-rank Dungeon. Altogether, there were five Dungeoneers that cleared three Dungeons, seven Dungeoneers that cleared two Dungeons, and eight Dungeoneers that cleared one.

On the other side of the portal, the party found themselves surrounded by grass again. This time, though, it was clear of any bushes or any other overgrowth. In fact, it was completely flat for miles. In the distance, though, they could see two mountains.

“I guess this Dungeon’s going to require a lot more walking,” Francesco commented. Everyone ignored his comment as Valentina took the first step forward.

“No point in just wasting time, here.” Francesco laughed at her words and followed after.

After about four hours of walking, they finally reached the base of one of the mountains. Looking above, it appeared like there was something connecting the two mountains to each other. It was too high up to see it very clearly, but it looked to be something like a bridge. After scanning at the rest of the party, and perhaps taking note that some of them looked tired from the trek, Valentina suggested that they take a break before continuing. Everyone agreed. The Dungeoneers sat down on the grass and many of them took out snacks to eat. The Dungeoneers who raided together naturally ended up sitting together, which meant that Francesco sat with the Giocondo siblings, having participated together with them in a single raid.

“Ah, a D-rank Dungeon would have finished by now. Ah, I probably could have finished three of them by now. Don’t you think so?” Francesco asked Valentina. A little ways away were the other three siblings, the two twins intimately chatting with each other while Cuore looked down at the ground in silence.

“Only?” Valentina responded. He gave his usual laugh. Suddenly, the mysterious sunlight above them started to dim. This was highly unusual, as it always seemed to be daytime in all the D-rank Dungeons, regardless of the time one entered them. “Another variable,” she commented.

“Wow, is there actually going to be night and day in this Dungeon? Guess it was a good idea I actually brought a camping set in my Inventory.” Valentina said nothing as she pulled out a notepad from her Inventory to make a note. “You know, personally, I don’t think I’m the biggest fan of strong, silent, beauty.” She just continued writing. “Well, not all the time. But, at least when it’s just me and her, I’d prefer if she acted more maidenly.” Still nothing. “And in the bedroom…well, would you like to hear more?” Valentina finished writing, and put the notepad back into her Inventory. She looked past Francesco and stood up.

“Everybody, stop talking and listen.” The rest of the party complied, although Francesco looked a bit irritated. “As I’m sure you can tell, it gets darker in this Dungeon. Assuming time passes at the same rate in this Dungeon as on Earth, we should have a little more than two days left until the outbreak occurs. So, do you all think we should camp out here right now, or start climbing the mountain now, and see if we can find a wide enough space up there to camp later. You should also think about how we haven’t encountered any monsters yet. It is possible that they are nocturnal. Also, be aware that the day and night cycle also might not be the same here as on Earth. Take the rest of the break to think about this.” Valentina then sat back down. Francesco leaned in close to whisper to her.

“You know…I’ve heard that you are planning to cut ties with the Giovannizzis.” Valentina said nothing. “Would I be right to say that you are looking for another group? One that could provide you with better terms? You know…I can help you with that. The group I work for is willing to pay you plenty. Much more than the Giovannazzis ever will. And, if this Dungeon clear has great enough results, I can even put in a good word for you to get you an even better deal.” Francesco brought his hand in close, caressing Valentina’s hair with his fingers. “You don’t even have to work that hard. I will be sure to put in a good word for you…if you want me to.” Valentina looked at him, wearing her usual poker face. Then, she pushed his hand away.

“Tell your group that they can send an offer to us if they want. And also tell them that they don’t need you to be the one to deliver it.” Francesco showed clear annoyance just as a shadow came over him. It wasn’t from the night cycle, but from Valentina’s three siblings who were now standing around them. Francesco’s expression changed to bemusement and he laughed.

“Alright, I’ll be sure to do that.” Francesco got up. “I guess it wouldn’t be so bad for me to work for it a bit more than usual,” he said jovially. “Come and find me later, though, if you would still like me to put in a good word for you.” He laughed again as he walked off. Valentina laid down on the grass and looked up at her siblings.

“What?” she asked them.

“S- sister,” Coure stuttered.

“You all look much too concerned.” She then patted down at the grass. “Come, lay down with me. We don’t often get the chance to relax like this.” They silently complied. After about a minute, Valentina’s two youngest siblings started chatting with each other again. Cuore turned to face his sister.

“I- I think…um…I’m worried…” Cuore struggled to string together a sentence.

“Worried about what? About this Dungeon?” Cuore didn’t answer. “About him?” she asked, pointing over at Francesco’s general direction. “Don’t worry about it. He’s a bastard, but if his group’s really prepared to offer enough, I don’t care if we have to work with him.” Cuore still said nothing. “And I really just mean work.”

“O- okay…”

“And that goes for you as well. All of you. If some minx starts spouting some funny words to you, don’t listen to her and tell me.”

“W- what?”

“Just don’t fall for whatever some ditz, hag, or minx says to you. I caught one of those Dungeoneers giving you a look earlier.”

“W- what? Who?” he asked out of fear, not curiosity.

“Just keep your distance from all of them. For every one of them that makes it obvious, there’s at least two others hiding it.”

“Ah…okay?” Valentina closed her eyes and rested.

After about ten more minutes, Luigi came over to Valentina.

“Um…miss…” The two twins glared at him as Valentina opened her eyes.

“Yes?”

“All the others said they are ready to vote now.” Valentina got up.

“Alright.”

The Dungeoneers voted and the majority decided to rest at the base of the mountain and start hiking early the next morning. They then decided on the shift rotation for the night watch. There was a suggestion to have five different shifts, each one having one of the most veteran Dungeoneers in the shift. Valentina’s siblings disagreed with that, and in the end they had four shifts, with one of the shifts having Cuore and Francesco on at the same time. The night passed by uneventfully, and they set off to reach the top of the mountain the next day.

The mountain had a rather conspicuous path that winded around the mountain. The path had plenty of space to move together, and it was a rather comfortable hike at least for the first hour and a half. Then, they spotted something on the rocky walls above them. They were giant nests, and in them were creatures that looked like giant vultures. They had very similar features to their Earth counterparts, but they had orange plumage and glowing red eyes. The nesting vulture let out a cry that both sounded like a bird and yet didn’t at the same time, and then came swooping down at them, revealing a wingspan of at least fifteen feet across. It attacked the closest Dungeoneer who fired at it with a pistol. The bullets impacted its body, but they were shallow blows. The vulture, relatively unperturbed by the gunshots, attempted to claw at the Dungeoneer. She attempted to dodge and the vulture’s talons tore through her coat and lightly slashed her back as she narrowly escaped. Then, before the vulture could fly over to its next target, a spear shot through the air and pierced it in the chest. The spear went through completely and stuck into the wall behind it. The monster then turned into black mist. Francesco went over to recover his spear.

“Birds this time, huh?” Francesco said with a laugh. The other Dungeoneers seemed to relax, even the one who was attacked, who now just looked embarrassed as she got back up.

“Th- thank you, sir.”

“Just call me Francesco,” he said. Then he looked at the others. “If the rest of you have anything better than regular guns, you better bring them out now.” Nobody did anything. “Ah, I guess these are supposed to be Super Rare.” He was looking at Valentina when he said this. “Well, just try not to die when they come at you, then, and I’ll kill it off. That should be fine, right? We are sharing all the loot anyways.” Most of the Dungeoneers seemed to be in agreement, but not Valentina.

“Well, we’ll only let you kill it if it doesn’t come over to our side.” Francesco paused for a second before laughing again.

“Of course! Not sure about the rest of them, but I’m sure you would have no problem killing these things with just your bare hands even if they can fly.”

The party continued up the mountain. They encountered many more giant vultures, but before they only came down one at a time from their nests, they were actually very easy to handle, despite the fact that bullets were much less effective on these monsters compared to D-rank monsters. True to her word, Valentina and her siblings were also killing them easily even without any weapons. Emboldened by the display, a few of the Dungeoneers that had cleared two Dungeons also attempted to slay them when they came at them, and were successful, however, they did struggle a bit. They had to exhaust multiple magazines, and even then, only one of them was successfully shot to death. The others still required a finishing melee blow.

Another two hours went by and they were now about two thirds of the way up the mountain. They were now also at the point of the mountain where the bridge was. Seeing up close was a strange sight, as it appeared to be a normal rope bridge, and thus, other than the strange torches in the D-rank cave, was the first man-made object found in a Dungeon. Many of the Dungeoneers pondered about what this could mean, but Valentina cut those thoughts short.

“Everyone, listen up. As you can see, this bridge leads to the second mountain. So, we have to make a decision. Do you want to continue climbing up to the top of this mountain, or cross over to the other one? We can take a break in the meantime.” Everyone complied, having essentially accepted her as the leader of the party.

During the break, a few of the other Dungeoneers bravely went over to try to talk to Valentina and her siblings. It was mainly to convey their thanks for their help and one of them was especially direct with her thanks and praise towards Cuore, who was too nervous to say anything in response. However, others noticed this and that only seemed to make them admire him even more.

After the break, they voted and agreed on crossing the bridge. The general consensus seemed to be that they were guessing that there might actually be two Dungeon Bosses, one on either mountaintop. If this was the case, it would be better to spend the extra time to hunt down the remaining vultures on the other mountain first before fighting the Bosses.

There was no wind blowing across the bridge, but it still swayed more than some would have liked as they made their way across. One doesn’t need to have a fear of heights to be nervous crossing a very long and rickety rope bridge. Several minutes later, their bodies were all safely across, although not the nerves of some.

As planned, they prepared to make their way down this mountain to hunt down some more vultures. However, that proved to be too difficult of a task. Unlike the other mountain, the path on this mountain did not slope up or down. It just went all around the mountain, and on the other side of where the bridge was, there was a cave. The party deliberated for a few minutes. After one of the Dungeoneers pointed out that this mountain actually appeared to be a bit smaller than the other one, they concluded that it was probably better to deal with this one first, and so they entered the cave.

The inside of the cave sloped upwards and after walking for a few minutes under torchlight, the same kind as in the D-rank cave, the path eventually ended up being a hole in the corner of a wide cavern. In the center of the cavern was a large stone column at least a few hundred feet high with a stairwell that wound its way up around it. On the walls of the cavern were large holes. Hundreds of them. The party cautiously made their way to the stairwell. They paused for a moment before climbing it, on guard and waiting for something to happen. They looked up to the top of the column and they could see that the stairwell led to another opening. It appeared that this stairwell would lead to the hole of another, upper chamber. Although, maybe just as likely, there could also be another long stairwell. With nothing happening as they waited another minute, they finally decided to climb the stairs.

Unlike the mountain path, these stairs were much narrower, only about five feet wide. Also, unlike the rope bridge, the stairwell had no railing. As they made their way further up, some of the Dungeoneers were noticeably shaking. Even with their Stats, would they be able to survive a fall from this height? As if anticipating this and attempting to do what little they can to assuage their concerns, Francesco led the party while Valentina brought up the rear. Her siblings were also spread out throughout the middle. With their Dexterity, it should be possible for them to catch them if they slip, is what some of the Dungeoneers thought. Whether they actually would or could, was a different matter, and varied from person to person.

After crossing the halfway threshold, and right as some were starting to relax a bit, one could hear a sound other than their own breaths and steps. They ignored it and kept climbing. The sound was now much louder. It sounded like the clinking of metal plates. Still they climbed. Then, it sounded like mechanical whirring.

“C- could we climb a bit faster?” one of the Dungeoneers asked.

“Do you want me to run up ahead?” Francesco asked.

“Uh, not that far up.” As the two talked, the sound was much louder now, but not in a way as if it were coming closer. It sounded like the sound was coming from hundreds of different sources, all around them. “Uh, I mean, sure. Yeah, let’s just run.” The first of these sound sources came flying out of one of the holes, and it was soon joined by dozens more. And then, even more.