Date: May 15? 2020 - 3:30 pm?

Location: West Byzantine? (C-rank Dungeon)

After scanning the mountaintop one more time and finding nothing else, the six Dungeoneers went back down the ladder. Just to see what would happen, they also destroyed one of the metal vats below. The metal broke apart much more easily than the Empowering Stone and the liquid metal spilled onto the ground. There was no notification so they decided to leave the rest alone and continued all the way out of the inside of the mountain. They circled the mountain to see if anything had changed and after finding no differences, they then went back across the bridge.

Then, they continued up the winding path of the first mountain. As they climbed the mountain, more of the vulture-like monsters attacked them, this time two at a time. However, that was no problem at all for them to handle, with the exception of Luigi who just stayed behind them. Francesco gave him a look as if to silently ask him again whether he really wanted to continue up the mountain, but Luigi didn’t seem to notice. After a little more than an hour, and several dozen more vulture attacks, the mountaintop was now in sight.

The pathway led up to the mountaintop, which was blocked by a large wall of branches that seemed to encircle the entire mountaintop. The pile of branches were more than three feet high, and thinking about it more closely, it was a very strange sight. It was strange not because this seemed to resemble a giant nest, which seemed to fit the bird theme, but because there were no trees in this world. This, along with several other sights, contributed to the uncanny, artificial feeling of Dungeons.

The Dungeoneers peeked over the outside of the mountaintop nest before crossing over. Inside the nest were what appeared to be giant eggs. They were all at least four feet high and they were split into two large piles on the right and left sides of the nest, creating a large gap that ran down the centre. At the end of the nest opposite the mountain path was a solitary creature that seemed to be resting on a bed of sticks and leaves. It looked to be another bird-like creature. It had large, white wings, and the rest of its body also seemed to be covered in white feathers.

Just as Valentina considered launching an attack from outside the nest, the creature awoke. It slowly rose up, revealing a pair of long, bird-like legs coming out of its torso. Fully upright now, it stood at around six feet tall. At the ends of its now outstretched wings, one could see finger-like claws. Then, it turned around. This confirmed that its torso was fully covered in white feathers as well, but it had a couple other notable features. The most significant one was that it did not have the head of a bird. Its neck and head looked just like that of a young woman with long, white hair flowing down past its shoulders, covering parts of its chest and back. If it weren’t for the solid yellow eyes, its face could pass as unmistakably human. However, one familiar with mythology would say that this creature was most probably a harpy.

The party froze as the two sides stared at each other. Then, Luigi Gallo suddenly climbed into the nest. Francesco then seemed to go after him. However, instead of pulling him back outside, he lined up beside Luigi. Despite the unusual situation, it was not until Valentina saw the two of them walk halfway across the nest when she could finally do something.

[The effects of Mass Charm have been resisted due to Mental Resistance B.]

Silently panicking, Valentina turned her attention towards her siblings, at this moment now fully prepared to abandon Luigi and Francesco, and retreat if necessary. Cuore looked back at her, as if waiting for instructions. The twins, on the other hand, were staring at the harpy and seemed to also want to enter the nest.

“Alessia, Diamante!” The two twins turned around to face Valentina. Their gaze seemed to be out of focus. “Snap out of it!” The two twins looked confused about why she was yelling.

“What’s wrong, sister?” Alessia spoke slowly, as if in a trance. Valentina looked back into the nest and saw Francesco and Luigi slowly walking closer to the harpy, which was still standing at the same spot at the other end. Wait, was this an opportunity?

“Cuore, have you resisted the Charm?”

“Uh, ah, yes, I got a notif-”

“Good, make sure the twins stay put.” Valentina started to imagine another assembly of invisible weapons. Francesco and Luigi were now only about thirty feet away from the harpy. Valentina leaned against the nest and continued to concentrate. The two were now twenty feet away and Valentina had now assembled about as many weapons as when she defeated the Mid-boss. Would that be good enough? Would the harpy stay in place? As she thought about these questions, Valentina realized that she had to move invisible weapons further up, otherwise a straight-line barrage would go through the two Dungeoneers. This wasn’t the kind of mistake she’d normally make.

Valentina repositioned her weapons and Francesco and Luigi were now only ten feet away. Valentina activated her Perception Skill to take a closer look around the harpy to account for possible escape paths if it suddenly tries to dodge. As she did, she also got a closer look at the harpy and realized something. This creature…really was incredibly beautiful. The snow-white feathers of its body and wings had a majestic look of its own, but cast against the sunlight, it was an even more picturesque appearance. And then, there was the shape of its body. Its legs, despite clearly being birdlike, were slender and sleek. They evoked a sense of both power and grace. Its white torso also appeared alluringly seductive. And finally, there was its face. The skin of its face looked like perfect porcelain, its deep red lips seemed to give off an unspoken invitation, and the long, silky white hair that flowed down seemed to perfectly frame its face. Without a doubt, this was the most beautiful monster Valentina had ever seen.

…But, it was still a monster. Valentina blinked a couple times and realized she had now fallen onto the nest wall. In her brief instant of distraction, almost a quarter of her created weapons had disappeared. Luigi and Franceso were now only five feet away. Valentina had to do it now while the harpy still seemed distracted. She applied her Strength Stat to the weapons and barely kept her feet on the ground as the consumption of mana also drained away the energy in her body. She stayed focused on the trajectory of the attacks and then unleashed her barrage. The invisible weapons rained from above, and just a second before contact, the harpy seemed to notice it was being attacked. However, it did not seem to know where the attack was coming from and randomly dodged to the side.

There was the loud and continuous sound of stone being repeatedly smashed apart as dozens of invisible weapons struck at where the harpy once was. There was also the sound of screeching as the harpy felt its body being assaulted by the invisible tide of flying weapons. Spears, swords, daggers, and other weapons dug themselves into the harpy’s wings, chest, legs, and head. Black blood dripped and sprayed out of the multiple holes and cuts that instantaneously appeared, staining its pure-white body. The cacophony of screeching and shattering stone lasted for only a few seconds and ended with the harpy falling to the ground. Then, Luigi and Francesco both suddenly shook their bodies and looked around in confusion. Valentina slumped to her knees and rested the rest of her body against the nest wall, breathing heavily.

“H-huh? What happened…? Sister?!” The twins also seemed to have been freed from the effects of Mass Charm. Valentina struggled to turn to face them. However, before she could tell them not to worry, there was the sound of pained cooing. Valentina looked back into the nest and saw the harpy getting back onto its feet. Black blood dripped off from almost everywhere. It dripped off from its wings, its sides, its back, the sides of its legs, and down the side of its face, covering up one eye. It cooed again, this time, one could hear the undertones of building rage.

“H- hurry up!” Valentina managed to yell, desperately trying to get Francesco’s attention. “Kill it now!” Francesco seemed to finally piece together the situation and he dashed towards the heavily injured harpy. He thrust his spear at its chest, but just before it connected, his entire body was blown back by a sudden, massive gust of wind. Francesco smacked into the ground about thirty feet away from the harpy. Luigi turned tail and started to run out of the nest and the twins prepared to climb inside. However, before they got in, Valentina grabbed Alessia’s arm. There wasn’t enough force to hold her back but it succeeded in getting her attention.

“W- what is it? Should we run?” Valentina grabbed at the C-rank Ring of Dexterity she got from the Mid-boss and pulled it off her finger.

“Take it…” When Valentina tried passing the ring over, she suddenly fell over and landed flat on the mountain path.

“M-maybe we should just run away?” Cuore suggested. Valentina said nothing, truly thinking if perhaps this was what they should be doing. Alessia took the Ring from Valentina and equipped it. Then, instead of entering the nest, she started to pick Valentina up to carry her.

“Yes, we should just run.” As Alessia said this, from the corner of her eye she saw Francesco being hurled off the mountaintop by another powerful gust of wind. Francesco soon fell out of sight, and immediately afterwards, there was the sound of an ominous coo. Alessia quickly lifted Valentina up and cradled her in her arms. Valentina’s siblings nodded at each other and they started to run back down the mountain path.

The harpy gave chase to the Giocondo siblings. It jumped off the side of the nest, and attempted to fly down the mountain. Its wings were still damaged, though, and it could not stay airborne for long. However, it still descended faster than they could and soon blocked the path down the mountain. The siblings considered whether it was still possible to run past it. The harpy approached them from below, slightly limping.

Alessia gently laid Valentina onto the ground. Cuore and Diamante moved in front. The harpy paused in its advance. It stared at them, blood still dripping from its various wounds, perhaps even more so from its wings now after its flight. The siblings stared back, waiting for its next move. The siblings tensed up and prepared to react to any sudden movements. Then, after another few moments, the twins suddenly relaxed. Cuore was so focused on the harpy that he did not immediately notice. Then, Diamante suddenly started walking past him, and after that, Alessia followed. Cuore’s mind suddenly cleared up when he finally realized what was happening.

[The effects of Mass Charm have been resisted due to King of Hearts C (Unique).]

Cuore regained control of his body and at first, he moved forward as well to pull the twins back. However, he stopped himself. The harpy was still standing where it was, still bleeding and breathing just a bit haggardly from its injuries. As best as he could, Cuore attempted to mimic the trance-like walk while at the same time slowly speeding up to try to get ahead of the twins. Perhaps due to a penalty from using Mass Charm, or from impaired vision from the blood that covered up one of its eyes, the harpy did not seem to suspect Cuore’s acting.

When Cuore was about five feet away from the harpy, he suddenly broke into a dash and attempted to tackle it. The tackle successfully caught the harpy off guard and Cuore knocked it off balance. However, just as it was about to be knocked off both feet, it suddenly slammed the lifted leg into the ground. The harpy angrily cooed at the man who had his arms wrapped around its midsection. The harpy then dug the claws on its wings into Cuore’s back. They easily dug into his flesh and cracked his ribs. Cuore’s body violently shook in response, but he did not let go. Instead, he pushed off his feet and attempted to force the harpy onto the ground. This pushed the harpy slightly off balance again, but it did not otherwise budge. The harpy’s claws dug deeper into Cuore’s back, inching closer to his organs.

Diamante suddenly slammed into the harpy from the side, having finally recovered from the Mass Charm. The sudden impact did not knock the harpy over, but it at least prevented it from clawing into Cuore’s organs. Diamante then grabbed at one of the harpy’s wings in order to gain a better position in forcing the harpy down. However, the injured harpy was still too strong and pushed Diamante off of it. The harpy then noticed Alessia, who had also just recovered and was coming towards it. Instead of waiting to receive another attack, the harpy conjured a sudden gust of wind to blow against her.

Just as Alessia looked to be swept off her feet, she suddenly kicked off one leg and flew towards the harpy. The harpy, although surprised, still reacted in time to attempt to slash at her with one of its clawed wings. The claws and Alessia’s first connected, and to an even greater surprise, the harpy felt its bones break as the punch continued to fly past its claws and into the harpy’s shoulder. The harpy fell back slightly, one of its legs now off the ground.

Not missing his opportunity, Cuore pushed again, this time succeeding to push it backwards and off of its remaining leg. Cuore moved it just two steps back when the harpy attempted to dig the talons on its legs into the ground once more. As it tried to do this, Alessia punched the harpy in the face. Unlike the blow that broke past its claws earlier, this hardly hurt at all, though. The harpy succeeded in digging its talons into the mountain path and Cuore’s push was halted once more. Then, the harpy used its other clawed wing to slash at Alessia.

Alessia suddenly countered the attack and again, the harpy could feel this blow was much more powerful. The blow caused some of the bones at the end of its wing to crack, but it at least seemed to not be as bad as the earlier counter. With both of its wing claws injured, the harpy returned to conjuring another sudden gust of wind. The gust was just about to knock Alessia off her feet when she suddenly countered with another punch to the harpy’s face, and this time actually hurting it.

Cuore was continuously trying to push the harpy, and in that instant it was dazed, Cuore succeeded in moving the harpy another couple steps. Then, Diamante returned and grabbed at one of its wings and attempted to pull it down. The harpy held its ground, though. The harpy’s annoyance reached a new level and it decided to finish all three of them off at once. It prepared another gust of wind, but did not cast it immediately. Then, it prepared a second one. As the three siblings continued to beat or push the harpy, it suddenly conjured two massive gusts of wind simultaneously. Diamante was blown away and off the mountain path. Alessia was pushed back as well, nearly ending up at the edge of the mountain path. Cuore was holding tightly onto harpy the whole time and just barely avoided being blown away.

Cuore’s resistance infuriated the harpy. With great pain, it jumped off the mountain path and when Cuore still didn’t let go, it glided towards the mountainside to slam him against the rocks. Still, Cuore did not let go. Then, the harpy used the talons on its legs to rip into Cuore’s flesh. The talons tore off sizable chunks of meat from his legs and cut into his bones. Cuore’s grip finally loosened but he still hung on. The harpy then flew back onto the mountain path, a bit further below than where it took off. Alessia caught up to it and charged at the harpy.

The harpy used its mana to double cast Gale Force one more time. Alessia expected it this time, though. When the wind collided with her body, it lost its force almost instantaneously. Then, immediately afterwards, Alessia flew forward with extraordinary speed. This time, instead of a punch, she switched up her position as she flew forward in mid-air and delivered a flying kick. The harpy first thought about dodging, but not only was Cuore trying to hold it down, but Diamante also suddenly appeared from behind and grabbed at its legs as well. However, even injured, with its high Strength and Dexterity, that still wasn’t enough to keep it completely still. It shifted its body so that the kick at least did not land squarely on its chest as intended.

The kick connected with the side of the harpy’s chest. The impact broke several ribs and Alessia’s body kept flying forward, crashing hard into the harpy’s chest and wing. The additional impact pushed the broken ribs deeper into the harpy’s body. It suddenly coughed up blood, one of the broken ribs puncturing a lung. The harpy finally fell onto its back as its body started to convulse. It desperately struggled to breathe as it coughed up even more black blood.

Alessia picked herself back up as she watched the harpy continue to lurch about in the midst of its death throes, Cuore still hanging onto it. The harpy continued to cough up more black blood and Alessia thought she could even see its one open eye start to cloud over as the life faded from its body. The harpy was oblivious to everything around it as its painful existence persisted. For just an instant, Alessia felt something akin to sympathy or guilt. Even if she had to kill this monster, was it necessary for it to suffer like this? However, she quickly pushed that thought away. This was the price to pay for attempting to kill her family. And also…even if she did want to feel sorry for it, Alessia didn’t even have the Stats to deal a proper coup de grace.

Another minute went by and the harpy finally stopped moving. Then, its body turned into the familiar black mist, which disappeared along with all the black blood that stained their clothes. Cuore got back up, his clothes shredded and his body looking exhausted. However, he looked completely fine otherwise, his bones now mended and his flesh magically regrown. Along with Diamante, who was also completely uninjured, but whose clothes were ruined from a short tumble down the mountain, they went back up the mountain path to return to their sister. As they set off, Alessia received a notification.

C-rank Dungeon Boss defeated.

Strength increased by 25

Dexterity increased by 25

Magic increased by 25

New Skill acquired: Mental Resistance D

New Skill acquired: Evasion D

Skill upgraded: Unarmed Combat Training D to Unarmed Combat Training C

Skill upgraded: Queen of Clubs C (Unique) to Queen of Clubs B (Unique)

As they continued up the mountain path, they eventually met with Valentina. Luigi was also there, having miraculously survived by hiding behind the nest at first instance. They went back to the nest to check the area out again. When they reached the nest, they began breaking the eggs as a precaution. Their shells were as strong as steel and when they broke open, thick, yolk-like substances oozed out. It took a fair amount of time to finish breaking the eggs as there were about a hundred of them. There were also no notifications even after breaking the last of the eggs.

The light from the sky was gradually growing dimmer. However, they did not want to camp out on the mountaintop so they headed down. At some point down the path, they encountered some fallen rocks and saw a long scrape along a wall. They were on guard for a moment, wondering if some other monsters had hidden somewhere on the mountain. However, there were no encounters with any monsters by the time they reached the bridge again.

It was nearing nightfall soon, but still, they did not want to camp out on the mountain. As they continued down, they soon saw something lying on the mountain path. It was a cracked and chipped spear. Upon closer examination, they recognized it to be Francesco’s spear. They recovered it and continued, not trying especially hard to try to find his body. Another few hundred feet down the mountain, they found him.

Francesco’s body was badly battered from the fall and it was clear that his arms and legs were broken in multiple locations. Small pools of blood formed around his arms, legs, and at the side of his head. Valentina didn’t really care and told Luigi to retrieve the body if he wanted to. Luigi, perhaps finally caring a bit more about his reputation after leaving the Dungeon decided to do so. However, he let out an exclamation when he did.

“Wait! I think he’s still breathing?”

“...Okay,” Valentina said, masking her genuine surprise. Perhaps he had higher Defense than she thought, or maybe he survived due to some Skill? Maybe he was just lucky in the way he fell. She went over to take a closer look. No, not really that lucky. Although she could confirm he was still breathing, it was just barely so. Even if he did survive, he’d probably never be able to walk again. In any case, he was too badly injured for D-rank healing potions to do anything for him.

There were no other incidents going down the mountain. They finally decided to rest at the base of the mountain. It may have been possible to have someone continue on and get Francesco out of the Dungeon first, but Valentina was not willing to take any more risks for her siblings, and Luigi would not have had the Stamina to keep going while carrying him by himself.

They exited the Dungeon early the next day, where they were immediately swarmed at and congratulated by the Earth Alliance staff and various other West Byzantine officials. The Giocondo siblings did not care to go through a debriefing at the moment and left to go rest at the hotel. Francesco was hurried off to receive emergency treatment. Luigi Gallo was more than happy to take any questions on their behalf.

After taking a shower, Valentina checked the news. Unsurprisingly, they were reporting on the C-rank Dungeon that they cleared yesterday. However, there was another update that caught her attention. It was about the appearance of more orange portals around the world yesterday. Valentina had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, there was going to be more opportunity for profit. On the other hand, Valentina felt she needed to get more information on the Dungeons before attempting another one.

Then, as Valentina continued checking other news, there was a more surprising update. It was about other C-rank Dungeons that had already been cleared. The surprising thing was not that other Dungeons had been cleared by now, but that there were several that had been cleared even faster than the one she cleared. In fact, there was one that was cleared in under eight hours. For the first time since acquiring her Unique Skill, Valentina was envious of another Dungeoneer.

The first appearance of the C-rank Dungeons were the sparks that ignited the first small flames of competition. Notable Dungeoneers around the world rapidly rose in fame and the countries that they were citizens of pushed the discussion onto the world stage. Eventually, the topic of which Dungeoneers were the strongest, and by that proxy, which countries were the strongest, would rise to be one of the most popular debates. The majority of doubters who still thought this would be just a temporary crisis quickly changed their minds as the age of Dungeoneers truly dawned upon the world.