[[Somewhere deep underground in Risea]]

“Shit! I can’t believe we are fucking trapped by these mobs. Archers! Conserve your ammo! They won’t chase us up or down the ramp. Healers take care of our wounded! Prioritize the vanguards and Tanks first. Alchemists get your asses moving. We need those mana potions for our healers.” A wounded man yelled out orders to a large group of people as they huffed and puffed in exhaustion. He was holding a long polearm in his wounded left arm while his right hand clamped tightly down on the deep gash over his left shoulder to slow the bleeding.

“Boss!” another injured fellow called out. “Shall I call for help?” He asked, fishing out a bluish green shard from his pouch and showing it to the leader.

“Do it! Let’s hope Hunter sends us some help in time. We are almost out of rations and are in no condition to engage the Demon bears above or the Ice spiders below. I can’t believe our group of 50 elite mercenaries only got as far as the entrance of the 13th level.” The leader lamented out loud, watching his men’s morale drop lower by the minute. The man holding the shard took out a small dagger and began carving on the surface of the crystal.

[[Elsewhere in a dingy little shop]]

“Hmm?” Hunter looked at the Twin hydra crystal carefully locked in a glass display case. “Looks like my recon team is in trouble” He muttered as he watched the word ‘help’ slowly appear on the surface of the shard in the form of scratches. “I guess now is as good a time as any to call in that favor.”

[[Back in the Skies of Risea]]

As Kiefer loomed over the city of Harentes, he could clearly make out the hustle and bustle within the royal palace. They seemed to be rushing around to prepare for something, but it was of no concern to Kiefer. He merely made sure to check the presence of the two flowers with his mana pulse and went on his way, heading towards the dungeon.

While his original plan had been to go directly for the 2nd dragon, the idea of exploring a dungeon seemed to strike Kiefer as interesting. The dungeon was not difficult to find, and it would seem that it’d been discovered since quite some time ago. The entrance to the dungeon was nothing much to look at. It was a large hole in the side of a rocky moss covered mountain. The entrance was wide enough for three horse-pulled carriage to enter side by side and at least 10m high. Occasional roars could be heard reverberating from deep within the dimly lit cavern, and some rumbling could be felt which threatened a cave-in as dust and small pebbles are shaken loose from the ceiling.

Kiefer surveyed the surrounding of the dungeon. There was a small town set up purely by adventurers and merchants. There was a small working economy set up within this town that lacked the most basic of infrastructure. There were no permanent buildings, only numerous tents set up by adventurers and merchants alike. Merchants were bartering monster cores for food and daily essentials, with the occasional exchange of actual currency.

The adventurers were clearly divided into two major groups. Kiefer noticed that those coming out of the dungeon would only carry sacks of monster cores and very seldom monster meat. These belonged to the majority of the adventurers who were here to explore and conquer the dungeon. The other group of adventurers was the ones who returned from the surrounding dense forestry hauling large animal carcasses and selling the meat. They provided the means to support the former group with their daily meals. Kiefer assumed that there must be something distinctly different between the monsters inside and outside the dungeon, where the meat from within the dungeon was probably not suitable for consumption.

Aside from the adventurers and the merchants, were the craftsmen who have built temporary workshops within the vicinity. They supplied and repaired the equipment for the adventurers, sending in small apprentice parties into the dungeon to mine ores while hiring adventurers to protect their miners. It was all in all, a very efficient system where everyone worked for each other’s benefits.

Kiefer descended from above the canopy after memorizing the general layout of the dungeon town. Landing not too far from the town under the cover of the dense forest, he trudged through the thick undergrowth and stepped onto the main road that led directly to the town. Donning his hood that he acquired from the merchant caravan that the bandits so nicely surrendered to him, Kiefer slowly made his way along the road, letting several parties speed past him on the way. They turned to look at the short hooded person but decided to leave him alone, having more important matters to attend to as they did not want their catch to spoil.

Sauntering past the hustling chaos that was ever present around him, Kiefer made his way directly to the dungeon’s entrance. He could feel a strange foreign mana signature emanating from within the dungeon. Whether everyone else felt it or not, he did not know, but he knew that it was powerful, making even himself feel uncomfortable.

“Whoa! Hold up there kid!” a charming alluring voice spoke out from behind Kiefer as he was about to take his first step into the dungeon. The stranger had yanked on his mantle from the back, revealing his bright silver hair and pointed elf ears.

“Huh?” The stranger gasped in surprise, having expected to pull the young elf back but instead seeing that the elf had not budged so much as an inch. “An elf huh? I don’t know how powerful a mage you are, but it is still too dangerous for a young kid such as yourself to enter the dungeon alone.”

Kiefer turned around and eyed a lady, looking to be in her early 30s. She had short, disheveled orange hair on her head, which extended into a pair of orange cat ears. Her face was human though, freckled with bright blue eyes. She was dressed in light leather, with two crossbows clipped to the back of her belt. An Archer, with Dual crossbows. Seeing this piqued Kiefer’s interest once more. With both hands occupied to hold the crossbows, how does she reload each shot?

“What’s your name boy?” The cat lady bent down, placing both her hands on her knee to meet Kiefer at eye level. “What are you doing here alone?”

“Kiefer,” He replied. “I’m here to retrieve whatever is at the end of this dungeon.”

“I see. Kiefer. My name is Mira.” She answered softly, with a hint of motherly tone. “It’s good to have dreams, but it’s foolish to act rashly. You may be confident in your abilities, but people die in the dungeon. Why don’t you wait for my party to arrive and then we can explore the dungeon together? I believe you are gifted in magic yes? Maybe you can support us from the back. What attribute are you?”

Deciding to play along, Kiefer pondered momentarily, before deciding on an attribute of magic that he would ‘Specialize’ in 'Wind.' He answered. “I can help you scout for mobs and support with offensive spells.”

“Hmm. That is indeed quite useful. We could use a wind mage. Keep our scent off the mobs in the earlier stages to help save our energy.” Mira replied, smiling widely. “My party has two swordsmen, an alchemist, an apprentice smith, a fire mage and one more archer besides me. They are off stocking up for our next trip, but they should be here soon.” Mira said, looking around the town for her accomplice.

“MIIRAA!!” a barely audible yell came from within the crowded street as Mira directed her gaze towards the source. From within the busy street, a group of people who seemed to be a bunch of misfits thrown together emerged. 2 towering men wearing full body plate armour, one eccentrically dressed teenager lugging a cart of unknown cargo behind, a female dwarf carrying a large hammer in one hand and a small pair of pliers in the other, a nobly dressed female looking to be in her mid-20s, and finally a young handsome male no older than 30 holding in his hands an elegant black longbow.

“Ah! There they are.” Mira mused as she chuckled in delight at the sight of her team. “Let me introduce you. These two scary looking men are Smithy and Tarul. The alchemist is Khai, the archer here is Srill, the dwarf is Tanki and finally the fire mage is Dina. Guys, meet Kiefer. He’s a young wind magus elf. I invited him to join our party.”

“Hmph!” Dina immediately snorted. “We already have me as a mage. Why would we need a useless wet behind the ears wind mage like him.” Dina retorted, clearly unhappy that there was another mage to steal her limelight.

“That’s fine. I won’t bother you any longer then.” Kiefer merely replied expressionlessly as he turned around and walked back towards the dungeon.

“Ah… wait Kiefer!” Mira called out, but Kiefer ignored her and continued walking forward. “See what you have done?!” Mira scolded Dina, hitting the young magus on her head. “He’s gonna get himself killed in there.”

Before Mira could catch up to Kiefer, a shady man covered in a dark gray coat quickly approached Kiefer.

“Hello young elf. It is a little early, but Hunter would like to redeem his favor from you.” The shady man whispered, causing Kiefer to stop abruptly.

“Go on. Speak. What does he need?” Kiefer whispered back, his tone dropping a whole bar.

“Hunter has an expedition team trapped within the dungeon in an unknown level. They activated their twin hydra core which signaled to Hunter that they were in distress. You are to either rescue them, help them complete their mission to map out the newer levels of the dungeon, or retrieve their side of the twin hydra core. The entire team has the sword and bow insignia tattooed on the back of their left hand and their back. There are a total of 50 people in the team.” The shady man replied.

“Ok,” Kiefer answered swiftly before Mira interrupted them.

“Get away from him ya crook! He’s just a little elf, don’t you have any sense of shame? Trying to swindle a young child!?” Mira bellowed, having misunderstood the situation. The man glared at her briefly before quickly turning and retreating, muttering the words” Get it done. Hunter is waiting” under his breath.

“Kiefer, are you alright? Did he take anything from you?” Mira asked, worried for the child.

“No, I’m fine. Mira, how deep does the dungeon go? And what happens to the people who die in the dungeon?” Kiefer asked.

“Hmm.. the longest anyone’s stayed in there is nine months. But for some reason, the time in the dungeon runs slower than outside, so they really only spent maybe 2 to 3 months inside. But still, that’s a long time. Well, if you die, you get eaten by the monsters and your body gets looted by other adventurers that find you. I still insist that you join us. Don’t worry about Dina, she’s just a little temperamental, but that’s why she’s so good at fire magic.” Mira explained, hoping to rope Kiefer in.

“ok. Shall we get going then?” Kiefer urged, wanting to get his job done as quickly as possible.

“We've got to get your share of food first. Do you have any money?” Smithy asked, leading a mule that was pulling a small cart of supplies as he approached Mira and Kiefer.

“No sorry.” Kiefer apologized, silently cursing Hunter, who had extorted an exorbitant information fee from him.

“I- I – I don’t th- think it – it matters…” the alchemist muttered, dragging his own cart right up next to the mule. “ Wi- with him, we will – will move faster, so- so we can cle - clear the path faster and wa- wa - waste fewer resources.

“Yea. It’s exactly as Khai said. We will use our supplies more quickly with one more person, but seeing as he’s a child, it won’t be that much more. With his help, we will be able to clear the earlier levels much quicker, and it will save us time, effort, energy, and supplies. So there is no need to go back and waste another 3 hours haggling with those misers.” Srill reiterated, standing next to Mira and placing his hands around her waist.

With that, everyone except Dina seemed to nod in agreement and took their first step into the dungeon. Kiefer could feel a weird sensation as he stepped inside as if he had just passed through an invisible wall of jelly, not unlike the spatial barrier around Arigan on Aioa. He surveyed the dungeon immediately, his enhanced eyes peering into the darkness. The walls were lit poorly with blue crystals that emitted a faint sky blue glow. Their light illuminated only up to 2 m around them, no better than a candle light. The cave split into multiple corridors, and it seemed like a confusing maze and network of tunnels awaited the party, until Khai the alchemist took out a large stack of parchment with the maps of the levels drawn.

The first level was extremely easy. Most of the beginner adventurers were hogging the tunnels, lit with their torches and slashing away at green and blue blobs. Slimes. Kiefer had not seen them before, not even on Aioa, and their presence only made it seem all the more unrealistic as if he was in an RPG game. The monsters simply withered and evaporated after dying, leaving behind only a small crystal that shimmered in the presence of light. They spawned from tiny pockets in the walls, which Khai explained that time ran exceedingly fast to support the continuous growth, reproduction, and replacement for the slimes that are killed.

Kiefer was stunned. In just a single dungeon existed places with different time dilation, making him wonder how or what was causing it. Within the main halls, time ran slower than outside the dungeon by approximately four times. However, time seemed to be at least 50 times if not faster in the spawning pockets. This allowed the monsters to mature and leave the pockets at a rate fast enough to populate the main dungeon. They survived off the mana within the dungeon and form mana cores which the adventurers pick up. Alchemists like Khai would convert the crystals into potions and supplement the party.

As the party made haste they were soon heading down a long stretch of tunnel within 10 minutes, the two carts wobbling and clacking behind them as they started to take a gentle spiral slope. However, not even a full turn down the slope, they were greeted with a vast hall with yet more adventurers battling with monsters. The scene was flashier than the last. All sorts of magic were being used as the caverns, and intricate network of tunnels was brightly lit by flashes from spells going off in many directions. Kiefer heard faint screeches accompanied by the loud yells of the vanguards and indistinct mutterings of the mages.

The 2nd level was filled with bats. Bats the size of eagles attacked adventurers in flocks of 5 to 10, fluttering around above their heads in a flurry of movement as swords and axes were swung overhead while arrows and bolts were stuck to the cave ceiling. Wide area magic was the most efficient way to bring these down, and so this level became a popular training spot for mages. The bats dropped shimmering blue crystals which the alchemists collected and fused using their runic tables to form the glowing blue crystals that hung on the walls.

The next level was tiny dwarf sized green goblins wielding primitive weapons made out of rock. Then it was wolf packs, followed by giant ants. Tiny knee high hornless rhinos made of rocks charged at the party in the next level and then killer plants that lurked in the darkness of the tall ceiling awaited them in the following level. With each level the party progressed, it became less crowded and more dangerous, the mobs beginning to show a degree of intelligence and teamwork. With fewer adventurers, the mob to adventurer ratio increased, causing the danger to rise exponentially.

Taking a break after a few hours of brisk walking, Kiefer and the party sat down on the sloping ground that led to the next floor. One of the party members went to the cart to fetch leather flasks of water and passed it to each member of the team as they each sipped a little of the refreshing liquid that coated their throats.

“Mira,” Kiefer called out to the lady who was giggling at one side with the other archer. She turned to look at him with curious eyes while her male counterpart seemed to be annoyed. “What is the goal of your party?”

“Hmm.. for this trip, we want to reach the 15th level at least. That’s where the minotaurs are. Their cores are worth quite a bit, but they are difficult to handle, being largely resistant to most offensive magic. After that, it would be to explore and map out the levels. Khai will take care of that, but it will be tedious since we have to cover the entire floor which could take a few days, marking out each spawning pocket. A completed map or, at least, a more comprehensive one that what’s being sold on the surface would be much more valuable than any core we find.” Mira explained.

“Shall we keep moving then? Next is level 10, the viper pit. Everyone keep your antidotes on hand, stay close and try your best not to engage. The more formidable we seem, the less likely they will attack us. Kiefer, please inform us of any vipers that are coming our way. They are quite smart and attack in swarms, the scent of their own blood attracting more of their kind. Dina, prepare to burn them, make sure you leave nothing but charred corpses in the event that we do engage in a fight.” Smithy ordered as he stood up and rearranged his plate armor, sheathing his sword and holding the huge tower shield on his back instead.

The party was in full spirits. They had not expected to be able to proceed so fast, reaching the 10th level within a day. Each level was as vast as a city, making it such that regardless of how many adventurers, parties were bound to encounter at least a fight or two on each level, quickly tiring them out. However, with the new wind mage guiding them, following the maps, they were able to avoid fights altogether, making them conserve their strength and morale. Even as they descended to the 11th level, they were all still in peak condition.

The maps were incomplete from this point on. While the party had clear directions to the next level, only the direct route to the slope was charted out with very little of the levels having been explored. The party spent the next two days mapping out the entirety of the 11th level. They were exhausted from walking all day and had to take a break since Khai was out of mana. His job while mapping a level was to create large yellow crystals that the dwarven smith Tanki installed them like lampposts. These served as landmarks in the dungeon and were clearly marked on the maps.

“Hey… Don’t you think there is something odd going on?” Srill asked, looking around the vicinity, checking for danger as they took a break. “We’ve been on this level for a long time, definitely more than a day, and have yet to meet a single monster. Weren’t there supposed to be Mantises spawning on this level?”

“Yea. I noticed it a while back too. Since the last level. We didn’t meet any vipers either.” Smithy added in, slamming his tower shield into the ground with a loud crunching sound. Gravel and dust shot out from underneath the heavy shield, as Smithy looked at the party with a perplexed expression.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Khai replied, his stutter now gone. He was concentrating on drawing the map of the level, holding a long charcoal rod in his right hand as he scribbled away. “For whatever reason, it makes our job easier, and we should make full use of it before whatever is keeping the mobs occupied decides to bring them to us.”

“Yes, it’s just as Khai said. We should make a move on. These maps will make us a great fortune. We still have another two weeks’ worth of rations left so it should be enough to last us till level 15. There’s a small underground stream in the next level so we should head there to refill our water supply.” Mira chimed in as she stood up, stretching her body while Srill ogled her plump behind.

“Hey. You. Kiefer was it. Can’t you be more useful and tell us where the mobs are? It’s such a waste bringing you along since there are no mobs around anyway. At least, try to be useful.” Dina uttered in disdain, scowling at Kiefer, who was seated and staring into thin air. He ignored her and just stood up, walking down the slope to the next level ahead of the rest.

“Wait here. I’ll scout the next level.” He said as he walked away from the group.

As Mira tried to make motions to stop Kiefer, she was held back by Srill, who dimmed his eyes and shook his head slowly. To him, what Dina had said made sense. There was no point in supporting an extra member if he could not fulfill his original purpose. At least this way, he could be of some use and even if he did encounter some problem, they wouldn’t be too far behind to help him.

“How can you all think that way!?” Mira yelled in anger. “Are all of you so stingy that you will not even allow a child to tag along even if he did not contribute much?! Have none of you seriously noticed that Kiefer had not eaten much since he entered the dungeon, all just to placate you lot!?”

At Mira’s outburst, the party hung their heads in shame. To them, Kiefer was merely an extra tagging along for the first time. None of them had any confidence in the child’s abilities and did not expect the child to stay with their party after this trip. As such, they treated as they did to any outsiders joining their party for the first time, cold distance with minimal interaction. Only Mira seemed awfully attached to this kid for some reason.

Seeing none of the members speaking up, Mira snuffed a loud ‘Hmph!’ and stood up, adjusting her equipment and reloading her bows with a fresh set of magazine spring-loaded with bolts. She quickly jogged after Kiefer down the slope, leaving the party to pack up slowly and follow behind.

“Kiefer!! Wait up! There are Demon bears on this level! You need to be careful!” Mira called out as she caught sight of Kiefer’s small back. Kiefer stopped in his tracks as he sent out wave after wave of mana pulses. Quickly, he turned sharply to face Mira and saw that the party was lagging behind.

“Mira, tell your team to hurry. There is a large group of people trapped between this level and the next.” Kiefer urged as Mira came closer. Upon hearing it, she quickly signaled for the party to speed up.

[[Back on the ramp between 12th and 13th level]]

“Boss! There some weird movement from the bears! They seem to be getting more and more aggressive. We estimate around 80 bears, the ones at the back seem to be pushing the ones in front onto the ramp against their will!” a scout reported as he quickly ran to the middle of the group where the leader was resting. It had been more than a week since they were trapped and rations had already depleted past the halfway mark, meaning they did not have sufficient food for the return trip.

“FUCK!! They’re coming down the ramp!” a panicked mage yelled as he started hurling fireballs at the bears, the flames barely singeing the tip of their furs.

“Everybody form up! Tortoise formation! Tankers and Vanguards protect our healers! Use your tower shields to form a wall! Mages distract and redirect the bears; we need to hold out as long as possible!” The leader yelled as he threw his polearm to the side and picked up a large 3m tall tower shield from one of the heavily injured vanguards. The group quickly formed an oval wall, with the mages, healers and injured members right in the center while archers formed a wall around them, protected by the large burly men and women holding the tower shields.

As the mages began firing a plethora of spells at the incoming bears, they noticed that the bears themselves were not attacking the party or the tower shield wall. Instead, they seemed afraid of something, scrambling for their lives as they tumbled over each other, struggling to get away from what they felt to be an imminent threat to their lives.

The recon team watched as the group of 70 odd bears rushed past them, squeezing hurried into the narrow ramp down towards the ice spiders that had been waiting for a meal all week. They did not seem to care about the spiders, simply rushing past as their fellow brothers and sisters were bitten, frozen and poisoned by the spiders’ attacks, not even retaliating one bit.

The leader stared at the scene then realized that something was dangerously amiss. Why would the Bears not care for their lives and simply run? Unless there was something even more ominous than the spiders and they knew meeting such a being would only result in death. Dreading the worst, the leader swallowed a lump in his dry throat as he gazed at the top of the ramp, preparing to face a monster that could force the bears into such a frantic state.

Then, from the dimly lit entrance of the ramp, the leader of the recon team saw a single young elf walking towards the group. He seemed harmless, stopping a few meters short of the shield wall and examining the group with his golden eyes. Then a smile appeared on his face as he began walking again. Unsure of what to do, the party members looked to their leader for orders.

“Halt!” He yelled, hoping it was intimidating enough to stop the child. True enough, he stopped in his tracks and looked directly at the leader who was standing on the cart in the middle, overlooking the entire walled formation. “Who are you!?” he demanded in as overbearing a voice as he could muster.

“You must be the Recon team. Hunter sent me to get you.” The young elf replied in a crisp voice as he smiled and stared at the tattoo on their hands, his Titan aura extended in full blast, felt only by the magical beasts. Behind him, several hurried footsteps could be heard following not far away.

Hello, guys, it's been a while since I last spoke with you guys. First off, thanks for reading. Secondly, sorry I'm not uploading as fast as I had hoped to. I had actually written half a chapter before deciding that what I had written was better if I uploaded it as a later chapter, so I had to write this from scratch again

Lastly, please do leave reviews for this fiction as I want to see if there's been any improvement since 'I love this world'.