Mary showed up at Caesar’s house the next day, followed by Arnold and Lily. He greeted them with a smile.

“Feel like heading out for another trip?” Mary asked. She grinned. “We’ve got more dungeon slots open.”

“An arena dungeon and a field dungeon,” Arnold said. “Are you ready for bronze rank?”

“Bronze?”

“They’re terms the university uses for each rank. Mortal, iron, bronze, silver.”

Caesar nodded tentatively – it should be rank two. Various outcomes flashed in his mind. Agility would be his best defensive option if his teammates failed to protect him. He could hide his increased Willpower and Vitality while saying he focused on leveling Agility. Due to his previous trusted cooperation with his teammates and some dodging skills, this was a decent idea for leveling. He could practice fighting without summons, for once.

They walked to a carriage, making small talk along the way. Arnold chatted about the various things he and Lily used to do around the city when younger. Caesar hung onto every word, taking note of important places to shop. Lily interjected a few times, noting beautiful places to visit.

Mary seemed to know about some of those places, agreeing with her to try and drag Caesar into the conversation as he seemed a little downcast. Her bright smile cheered him up a bit and he spoke a little about his goals for the next year.

The group sat down inside a sleek black carriage built for the wealthy. Smooth silk lined the seats. Arnold paid the toll for six, and they discussed the scenery along the way. A comfortable atmosphere permeated this ride, and Mary seated herself next to Caesar. He asked about any interesting encounters along the way. Other than some pretty places, no dangers came up. These roads were safe.

They arrived in Per Elamigrol, a port city next to a great sea called the Expanse. Here, the hustle and bustle of civilization reigned supreme. Loud and boisterous merchants of all types clamored their wares for all to hear. A salty breeze lingered in the air, mixed with spice, wine, and smoke. Arnold navigated through the crowd like a veteran, guiding the group toward the university.

The four arrived at the gates of the school. Inside, Caesar spotted towering buildings taking up vast amounts of space. People of all ages intermingled and walked with a clear purpose. An internal market, quieter than outside yet just as busy, stood out to him. Perhaps this more privileged and private place would have the shops he needed.

They boarded another carriage, boxy and armored, and continued to the first dungeon location. Caesar asked about the two rank one Uncommon rock horses pulling the vehicle.

“They’re tamed by a Beastmaster recruit from last year. I don’t know them personally, but their ability is rumored to be S-tier,” Arnold said.

He continued probing about abilities. “How? Is it because the animals can gain abilities?”

“Probably not. Not only does he have access to more beasts, but he also has something hidden. You do know about S-tier, right?”

“Yes – they come with a free, personalized sublimation from the beginning. So what’s his?”

His hippo had gained the ability to cover others with an inferior version of its shield. But they also required great catalysts – Rare at minimum – to awaken, and even then it wasn’t guaranteed. Originally, he would have believed his ability ranked among them, but Essence Crown differed too much from the norm. The system’s display exacerbated this.

“I don’t know. But he has cleared several dungeons by himself, making him a powerful friend to have.”

“Interesting.”

“We’ve had other Beastmasters in the past, but this is our first one above B-tier. The previous ones at iron rank could only keep one animal under their control at most. These ones here were tamed at the mortal rank and fed with suitable catalysts so they’re better than the ones from the wild. We're not even sure if these were tamed using the ability, or just naturally.”

Caesar looked thoughtful. Arnold continued to say, “Don’t worry though. Dominate is an ability with good potential. We’ve had plenty of people reach bronze rank with it and even a silver rank.”

“Any good facets?”

“Yes – there are two primary paths developed. Dominate usually improves either the summoning aspect or augments the ability user. Our silver rank has an Intimidation Aura and can speed up his monsters as facets. He usually uses two melee beasts with levels in their forties.”

Caesar nodded in amazement. So Arnold’s family actually has multiple rank three people. I know Mary’s father is one, but… He wondered how his power would develop in relation to the others around him.

They arrived at the first dungeon at dusk.

Dungeon Detected!

Elemental Lair

[Type]: Arena

[Level]: Rank 2

“In this dungeon, we’ll start on one of the four sides in a large cavern. The elementals will come from the other three sides, so we’ll hold a position and wait.”

Caesar concentrated to dissipate the essence core of his skeleton to make space for another summon. He had taken off its items the night before and left them in his room. Then he realized he couldn’t do it. His heart skipped a beat.

“Are you okay, Caesar?” Mary furrowed her brows.

“Yeah – just my nerves. Is level seven really enough for these?” Caesar put two more points into Agility, raising it to fourteen.

“It’s common for us. They’re a bit risky but rewarding as long as somebody can protect you,” Arnold said.

The group entered a dark cavern with glittering gems on the ceiling. The portal closed behind them. Motes of flame flittered around the arena, and water gushed out from the cave walls into small pools. Several hills rose in random areas, with tall and hearty oaks growing on them.

Lily grew wooden barricades laced with thorns on the sides of the nearest hill. She stockpiled spears while the team watched particles of elemental energy gathering in the distance, forming minor elementals. Small and sprite-like, Caesar was reminded of the Minor Flesh Elementals from yesterday, except these were Mundane monsters.

The battle slowly ramped up, as lesser elementals appeared of fire, water, and earth appeared. Caesar killed a few rank one melee elementals while Mary and Lily bombarded the rest. Fireballs and boulders rained down on the hill, damaging the barriers, but they withstood the offense.

The next stage of combat started with a few rank one Lesser Fire Elementals supporting a human-sized rank two Earth Elemental’s assault on their hill. It was large and bulky, scattering chunks of rock and dust around as it stomped towards their location. Arnold hopped over the barricade. The elemental stopped and raised its arm, prompting him to go back behind cover. A giant boulder materialized and hurled forward, shattering the barricade into fragments.

Caesar noticed a tide of fire whirl far in the distance. He warned his teammates of the forming Fire Elemental and Arnold rushed to finish this fight. It raised its feet and slammed down a shockwave, to which he shrugged off. His sword of light struck at cracks in its limbs, chipping away at the stone. While he distracted the Earth Elemental, Mary and Caesar attacked the Lesser Fire Elemental supports. Under her covering fire, he executed them.

A barrage of thorns splintered the Earth Elemental into pieces. The Fire Elemental drew near and blasted itself into the sky, crashing down onto their position on the hill. Again with the fire, Lily? Caesar spotted the tides flow together in the corner and wanted to confront it secretly.

Large flaming whips roared from its hands and lashed out toward Lily, who ran for the oak. Wooden walls grew from the tree and absorbed the blows. Using it as cover, she distracted the Fire Elemental for long enough for Arnold to engage. The two casters weaved their attacks in between his strikes, working in tandem to damage it.

Caesar maxed out his Ever-Shifting Faces’ Agility, Vitality, Willpower, and Presence stats. If he were alone, he’d attack, but betting against the team’s perception came off as too much of a risk.

Ever-Shifting Faces

15 Free Stat Points -> 0 Free Stat Points

Agility: 16 -> 20

Vitality: 11 -> 20

Willpower: 19 -> 20

Presence: 19 -> 20

He killed a few lesser earth elementals on his way back to the group. Rocks blasted toward him from all directions, allowing him to practice his footwork some more. A few smashed into his shoulders and legs, and he felt a few ribs crack. Unlikely to help much in the fight, he ducked behind a tree to rest.

The Fire Elemental roared, and its flames died down as the three killed it. They ran to support him and killed the elementals surrounding his location.

“Have you seen the Water Elemental?” Arnold asked.

“Might be it hiding, on the hill over there. Do you see the water?”

Arnold nodded to Mary. She switched from healing Caesar to bombarding the enemy with her light-infused fireballs while Lily ran to gain a better vantage point. The elemental flowed towards them in many branching rivers but could not maintain its ability against Mary’s attacks. It reformed, only to be met with a barrage of thorns. They sank into its body, and under the deluge of burning wood, the Water Elemental withered and died.

The group looked at the largest oak in the center. Thick vines, much larger than Lily’s, erupted from the hill and tree and coiled into a tall humanoid with arms and legs implanted into the ground.

Plant Elemental – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

The elemental rooted itself into the earth. Large flowers sprang into existence around the Plant Elemental and began to release an aromatic gas. Thickening mists spread out toward the surrounding area. A few mobile minor plant elementals spawned into existence around it to patrol around the bigger elemental. Arnold clicked his tongue.

Mary turned and looked at their leader, who nodded his head at her. She began to charge up a fire spell, taking more than twice as long to cast than her regular fireballs. Lustrous droplets of burning rain began to fall onto the elemental from an incandescent cloud in the sky. Fire blazed in the midst of the plants’ field. As the cloud expanded, the droplets grew into beads, lumps, and balls. Within moments, she had burnt it all to ashes, leaving a soft lingering glow.

With the boss dead, Caesar turned to leave. But Arnold and Lily did not move. Instead, they stared at him. Mary fidgeted, looking at the ceiling, the walls, and the ground, but avoided meeting his eyes.

“Can I trust you?” Arnold asked.