“Come on, newbies, it’s time to
rise and shine! Breakfast is ready,” the man in shining armor says as he bangs
a pot.
Basil and Julia wake up and hurry
downstairs to find a simple breakfast of bread and eggs with orange juice ready
for them.
As they eat, the man says, “We didn’t
get to have a proper introduction yesterday, so here it is. My name is Atlas
and the healer who was with us is named Cynthia. Our guild’s name is Cultrarii
and our primary goal is to make a living fighting against Hell. It’s both profitable
and moral to do so we have the best of both worlds. To continue your training, you
will be going into the dungeon alone and will be down there for most of the day.
Don’t worry about knowing the time because I have these watches that will tell
you. Be sure not to break them.”
Basil and Julia look at each other
before looking back at Atlas.
“What? You’ve already shown that
you two work well together. If you survive this, then you can survive anything
and make it in the world as one of us. Or…if you don’t want to join us, you
could try to join the other guilds. I don’t know if the guild itself is known
from the outside, but I know for sure that our individual members are known so
you’re joining a top tier guild. You won’t find anything like us in the other
guilds. I’m not sure about your chances with the other guilds especially since
we don’t interact much and who knows if the other guilds have less than reputable
heroes in it, however, I see that it looks like I’m forcing you to be with us,
so make your decision now. Us? Or someone else? I’ll give you some time to
think.”
Atlas walks away from them with a confident
grin on his face. Peeking behind him, Basil sees that the rest of the guild
that is there are looking at them and waiting for their answer.
“They’re looking at us right now,”
Basil whispers.
“I can feel it,” Julia whispers
while trying not to look behind her, “What should we do?”
“We should be part of their guild.
What other choice do we have right now?”
“There are a lot of other choices
in the kingdom.”
“But do you know if they’ll accept
us the same way? If the first test was tough here, how do you think it’s going
to be with the other guilds? What about that comfortable life that you want? You
could become friends with the heroes here and they’ll help you move up fast.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m surer of this than any other option
than any other one. I’ve heard of some of these heroes even before I arrived
here, we have to give them a chance. If it doesn’t work out as well as we thought,
then we at least we will have experience and people to pick up for us.”
“Since I can’t think of anything
else, I guess I’ll just go with your plan.”
Basil turns around to Atlas and
says, “We’ve decided that we’re staying.”
The guild cheers and raises their
morning drinks to honor their new members.
Atlas puts his hand on their shoulders
and says, “Thank you. You won’t regret this decision. Are you ready to become professionals
like us?”
“Yes, sir,” they both say together.
“Then let’s head out for your final
test.”
Basil and Julia take their
possessions along with some food and water for the day before they go. As they
approach the entrance to the dungeon, dozens of bodies are taken out along with
boxes that assumingly have pieces of a person.
“Before you go in, I have to tell
you that the layout of the dungeon you’re entering is different from the one
you entered yesterday. If you think the city is big, then you haven’t seen
anything yet. The dungeon is at least twice the size as the city with various locations
inside of it that are unreal.”
“We’re going to be entering the
first level, right?” Julia asks.
“You can, but you could also go to
whatever level you want. I’m not going to say that you should go to the last
level, however, you could go to the second level if you want.”
“Why would we do that? Isn’t it
more dangerous?”
“Yes, but with more danger means
more rewards. I did it on my first day as well with a friend and rose those the
ranks faster than those who didn’t. Sure, I got some cuts, but you know what
they say, no pain, no gain.”
“Do you think we can do it?”
“I think you have a shot. You work
together well, and your equipment is decent. From my experience, you can make
it.”
“Okay, well do it. Right, Basil?”
“If you say so.”
“Break a leg out there though not
literally, and Basil, don’t forget what I said yesterday about girls and owing.”
Julia looks at Basil with a slight
smile.
“Whatever you say,” Basil responds.
“She gave that little cute smile,
didn’t she Basil. They always do that, and it makes the sternest of men fall.
Don’t fall for it!”
“Okay, I won’t.”
Basil and Julia enter the rotating
room and pick the second floor. The room transports them there in a matter of seconds.
With their weapons ready, they exit the room. The second floor of the dungeon
appears to be like the inside of a normal house with light shining out of the
window. This strange sight makes Julia lower her guard while Basil tries not
to.
“Why does this place look like
this?” Julia says aloud.
“You’re asking me? I don’t have a
clue. All I can say is that we should be careful.”
“Right.”
Julia higher her guard again while
making her way through the house. The two search the upstairs and find jewelry
boxes and safes with gold in it. Julia reaches to grab the gold, but Basil stops
her.
“Hey!”
“What is it? It’s free treasure.”
“It’s probably a trap. I don’t
think demons would just leave a bunch of treasure at the beginning of the
dungeon.”
“I guess so. What if they leave it
here for us because they don’t want us going after them?”
“We aren’t on the first floor so it’s
not going to be that simple and remember that demons use their tricks to convince
people to sin.”
“Okay, but how can we prove that
this is just a trick?”
“Let’s see…oh, I know!”
Basil cuts down the large jewelry
box, which starts to melt. The box itself was a demon with the drawers being
various mouths with sharp teeth in them that appear as if they could extend to
bite someone at a distance. Now that Basil has exposed one of the demons, the
other demons posing as furniture and boxes with gold run off with their treasures
while laughing a childish laugh.
“I guess you owe me again.”
“Do I really?”
“No, I don’t care. Atlas is just
overexaggerating because of how much he’s owed Cynthia.”
“That’s what I think too.”
The wallpaper and cleanliness of
the house peel itself off as the boards and walls start to break. Basil and Julia
quickly run out of the house as it begins to close on them. When they look back
at the house, they see that the house was another demon in disguise with a
mouth as large as the cavern they’re in. They sprint down the cavern as they’re
being chased by the house-sized demon. Other smaller demons start coming into
the cavern via the small holes in the walls and ceiling that attempt to slow
them down. The two dodge and cut down the oncoming demons before coming to a dark
hole that they can’t see the bottom of.
“Do we have to jump, Basil? I didn’t
see a path that we missed. Did you?”
“No, I didn’t. I think we have to
jump.”
“Really? You don’t think we can
kill the house?”
With one look back at the house,
Basil says, “Yeah, no,” before taking Julia’s hand and jumping into the cavern with
her.
They land in a running river filled
with demonic fish that are like piranhas. Basil and Julia struggle to fight
them off as they are bitten and scratched by the demons. They then fall off a
large waterfall, down another hole, and onto a mess of tall grass that somehow breaks
their fall. Before they have a chance to take a breath, they hear rustling and the cutting
of grass. They look around them and before they know it, their ankles are legs
are being cut at by something moving past them. To defend themselves, they put their back to one
another and try to swing at the demons to no avail. The attacks start to
increase, so they are forced to run while enduring being scratched and cut at. Both
stumble out of the tall grass just as a series of teeth blades reach out to them.
Knowing that they don’t have long
to rest, the two keep moving as fast as their injured legs will allow. The ground
then opens and swallows them. As the two descend deeper into the mouth, they
see a mass of teeth at the bottom that will cut them into pieces if they don’t
do anything. Julia climbs her way to the top and tries to cut open the mouth that
swallowed them but can’t manage to. Seeing that failed plan, Basil cuts at the
fleshy side of the mouth and manages to find a hidden passage. He grabs Julia’s
hand to help her across as they squeeze into the passage that collapses once
they are both inside. They fall into a room full of treasure and equipment. Their
recent experience makes them immediately attack all the chests and containers to
see if any of them are demons in disguise. Thankfully, none of them are as they
are at the end of the dungeon. They look at each other and laugh before
collecting whatever treasure they can.
The exit of the room is directly
linked to a rotating room that sends them back to the entrance of the dungeon.
Once out, they make their way to the Cultrarii’s guild. Atlas is shocked but
glad to see them back as he falls out of his seat as soon as he sees them enter
the guild.
“The-they’re back, everyone!” he
says as he stumbles to his feet, “Three cheers for our new members!”
The guild cheers for them as they
help Basil and Julia with their loot. The loot they’ve obtained goes towards food,
drinks, the guild itself, and finally them. Both Basil and Julia receive
medical treatment for their wounds along with a small amount of money as their
pay. Their wounds still sting a bit and they feel as if they’ve been gipped for
their hard work, but don’t say anything. They only look at each other and know
that they’re both thinking the same thing. Thinking he and Julia might get some
more if he explained what happened, Basil reports to Atlas what exactly
happened in the dungeon after dinner.
“Wow, you guys were lucky,” Atlas
says.
“How’s that?”
“There are three kinds of dungeon
that you may end up in; paced, controlled, and different mixes of them. You
guys got a controlled one where the demons push you through whatever horrors
they throw at you and all you have to do is endure it while thinking quick on
your feet. Those are the kinds of dungeons that the best equipment won’t help
you in.”
“Oh.”
“What? Were you expecting a raise
because it was difficult? You already got it for going to the second floor.
Besides, you shouldn’t worry about making money. With the skills you have, you
can make all the money you need to live a comfortable life. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now, go get some rest. I’m sure
you need it.”
Basil gets up and goes to his room.
Julia follows him and catches him before he goes into his room.
“Do you have a minute to talk
again?”
“Sure.”
Basil and Julia sit by the window
again like they did last night.
“I know you must be thinking what I’m
thinking. I don’t think we’re getting paid as much as we should be. What do you
think we should do about it?”
“The only thing I can think we
should do is tough it out and wait for an opportunity to make more. This
kingdom is filled with them after all.”
“But I still don’t like the idea of
work so hard for so little.”
“I still think this is just part of
the process.”
“If it is, then it’s a really slow
process.”
“You shouldn’t worry so much. Good
things come to those who wait, right?”
“If you so say. Oh, and thanks for
always having my back in the dungeon.”
“I wouldn’t call myself a man if I didn’t.”
Julia hugs Basil. He embraces her
and the two hold onto each other longer than they both expected. Atlas then opens
the door and the two separate.
“Hey, I just came to check up on
you two,” he says, “I know you’re both thinking that the amount we’ve paid you
seems like chump change for such hard work, but that’s just the way it is.
Listen, if you want more tonight, I have a deal for you since you two seem to
be getting close. One of you has to give up your room for the other. The one
who does is paid extra but must sleep in the other person’s room. I’m sure
neither of you would mind either way. Simple?”
Knowing what she wants, Basil says,
“Go ahead, Julia.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay. I’ll give up my room and
sleep in Basil’s.”
“I knew you’d say that. Oh, and
Basil, sleep next to her and don’t give up your bed. You may regret it later.”
Atlas then leaves the two alone
after giving Julia her money.
“You can take my bed. I’ll sleep on
the floor,” Basil says.
“Are you sure? The floors don’t
exactly look comfortable to sleep on and it doesn’t look like we have any more pillows and blankets.”
“It’s fine. I can deal with it.”
“Thank you so much, Basil.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Julia gives Basil one last hug
before going to sleep on his bed. While he sleeps on the uncomfortable and
dirty floor, Basil tries not to mind his situation by telling himself that he
needs to make sacrifices and do things for others at the cost of his comfort so
that they can be happy. This is what a hero does, isn’t it?
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