Asher was quiet throughout the ride and, judging from his mood, nobody disturbed him. Amelia occasionally chatted with Livia, but the overall ride was silent. Their cars stopped in a forest-looking area, and everyone got out of their cars.
“Young Master, we need to walk from here, inside this forest to reach the gate,” Emmy informed Asher.
“Lead the way,” Asher told Emmy.
Amelia and the twins followed Asher into the forest, surrounded by the security team to prevent any danger from approaching them. After a five-minute walk, they arrived in the middle of a patch of grassland.
A blue gate, standing 2 meters tall, could be seen there, and many people wearing black suits surrounded it. They were officials of the World Association. If a new dungeon was found, the World Association had to be informed. Only established guilds could claim the dungeons for their own, and this was the case for Asher. Although he had registered it under his company Aztech, his name was enough to deter the World Association from claiming it.
“Oh, it seems someone from the Greville has arrived,” one of the officials noticed the security team checking the location, which meant that Asher was near the gate.
“Just get the paperwork done. We can’t claim this dungeon anyway,” one of the officials said, while he yawned.
Asher arrived and saw some people in black suits.
“Nice to meet you, Heir Greville,” one of the men stepped forward, offering a handshake to Asher.
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“What the hell-” one of the officials nearly said out loud but stopped, considering whom he was standing against.
“Ha ha, we will not waste your time. You can access this dungeon, and it is now your responsibility to handle everything regarding this dungeon,” the official said.
Claiming the dungeon meant that Asher would need to manage the dungeon completely, even in the case of a dungeon breakout.
“Take the team. Our work here is done,” the man said, taking his team with him. They were B-Rank hunters, so they left the forest quickly.
“What an arrogant brat. Without his family backing, he is nothing,” one of the upset men said as they were leaving the forest.
“Be mindful of what you speak here. He is famous for being cold. You are not from Soran, so you might not know it,” the man said as they left the forest.
Asher was standing in front of the blue gate, and he waited for Amelia and the twins to ready their weapons. Lucas had a dagger for emergencies, and Livia was carrying a greatsword, which she could hold despite her small height. Amelia wore a nano armor bracelet because she was an Augmenter.
An Augmenter was a type of mage who would assist or amplify the abilities of their allies. Comprehending augmentation spells required talent, and only those with talent could even learn the basic augmentation spells. Amelia was such an individual. During her learning phase of being a mage, she found out that she had a talent for being an Augmenter, so she decided to follow this path. An Augmenter was a rare talent, and such people were always scouted by the World Association or the top guilds.
“Emmy, wait here, and don’t enter unless someone triggers the safety bracelet,” Asher told Emmy, who nodded towards him.
The safety bracelet was a defensive artifact that would signal their team outside in the event of a life-threatening situation. It acted as a barrier that would activate if a critical attack hit either of them, holding out until Emmy and her team could arrive to help. However, Asher didn’t need it, he only wore it because Sylvie wouldn’t let him enter without it.
Dungeons were unpredictable spaces and anything could happen inside. Being naive or careless could result in death in an instant. Sylvie, as a member of a powerful family, knew that preventing her children from experiencing and fighting in such environments would stifle their growth, as the world only respected the strong.
“Follow me,” Asher signaled to Amelia and the twins as he stepped into the gate and disappeared into it. This surprised the twins, who were witnessing it for the first time.
“Come on, guys, we should go in,” Amelia stepped in, along with the twins.
Upon entering, they found themselves in a place resembling bare mountain paths with multiple caves in sight. This was an explorable type of dungeon where the dungeon boss was hidden and needed to be found before reaching the dungeon altar.
The twins were feeling disoriented from the teleportation and took some time to recover before noticing the dry atmosphere around them. They saw Asher standing a bit ahead, staring at the cave entrances.
“It seems we need to go into those caves to find the monsters,” Asher said, turning back to the group.
“We’ll enter the first cave. Follow far behind me and let me assess the situation first,” Asher’s face was expressionless, but his orders were clear. The three of them nodded in agreement.
They walked on the rocky, sandy path and arrived at a cave lit by glowing stones in the walls.
“Wow, so beautiful,” Livia was stunned by the sight of blue stones glowing around her. The light from the stones allowed them to see inside the cave.
“Are those manastones?” Amelia asked, also observing her surroundings.
“Seems like it. Stay alert for any ambushes,” Asher said as they moved deeper into the dungeon.
Suddenly, Asher stopped and signaled for the others to stop as well. They approached to see what was ahead and saw monsters with big saw-teeth jaws munching on rocks. These monsters were called Rockeaters and were F-Rank. They had brown horns on their head, were slumped over, but their strength and various attacks made them a tough opponent for new hunters.
Asher drew his sword and channeled mana inside his body. Seeing him unsheathe his sword, Amelia and the twins stepped back to give him room to fight. Amelia wanted to help, but Asher had already told her not to in the car, so she stepped close to the twins to protect them in case of an emergency.
Asher charged forward and immediately beheaded the Rockeater, who reacted too late to his presence. Blue blood flowed from its neck as its dead body hit the ground. The Rockeaters were brown-furred, stood as tall as an adult human, but their slumped over appearance made them look smaller. They had sharp claws and teeth, which helped them survive in their environment.
“GRRRGGGGHHH,” a creepy sound echoed through the cave as four Rockeaters approach Asher. With their sharp hearing, they sense the commotion outside. Asher sees four brown-furred monsters coming towards him. Despite their scary appearance, Livia takes a small step back but composes herself and looks at Asher, who remains calm even with four monsters approaching.
Amelia panics as Asher doesn’t move, and starts to form a fireball around her hand. But she stops when she sees Asher move his sword in a left-to-right curve. The action confuses the three of them, leaving them wondering what he’s doing.
Asher watches the four Rockeaters rush towards him in the bright bluish light that illuminates the dark cave. He’s trying to recreate a new sword style in his current fight. He waits until the four monsters get within his range of 5 meters and dashes towards them, delivering a slash to their stomach regions and causing the beasts to grovel in pain.
“Tsk,” Asher is annoyed that he couldn’t perform the style the way he wanted. But to the other three, his performance is truly excellent. It’s rare for an F-Rank human to defeat similar-rank monsters so easily, furthermore Asher’s calm and composed aura makes him look cool in the eyes of Lucas, who watched him with attention.
He immediately sliced the head of the rockeaters ending their life. He looked at the three who were watching him,
“Defeat the next Rockeater I bring here and exit the dungeon,” Asher said as he turned around,
“What so soon?” Amelia was confused as to why he suddenly wanted them gone, but his earlier warning was fresh in her mind so she did not create a fuss here.