98: Entering Leafair Dungeon

Eventually they left Palestorm to head into the dungeon lying south-west of here. That was of course ensuring that Aidan had his sword placed neatly in his room back at the inn so that he could teleport there with his group with no issue. They still needed to travel to the place first and then place a sword there so that Aidan could easily teleport back in a few hours without needing to travel, something that not many people around them have the luxury to do.

They set off on the carriage, with Aidan once again sitting on top of the roof of the carriage with Van driving as usual. Haley insisted on driving herself, letting Van have the time to practice and study some more magic, but Van refused to let her drive as, according to him, letting her drive would be a mistake that all of them would regret.

She tried to defend herself, but Van refused to let her even do that as he took the reins and drove off anyway, giving no room for argument. Aidan knew then that Van had a reason for it, and was willing to trust him despite Haley’s constant badgering on the matter.

Instead, Haley and Nina had a swell time conversing with one another, with Aidan recognizing that Haley was having an easier time talking with Nina than before. Perhaps their time spent together while Aidan and Van went to the guild to meet with Miko changed something, because Haley’s soul was just energetic and bubbly as usual compared to the subdued and dim self from before. Nina didn’t change at all, though he felt in a certain sense that her soul was eased around her, becoming less restricted with herself. While Nina wasn’t willing to completely trust Haley with all her secrets, it was clear she was starting to see her as more than just an asset and pawn.

He was glad for that. If Aidan had to make a conjecture about Nina, it was that she had many walls around herself, protecting her from all kinds of emotions and impressions. She refused to give herself away to others, only showing them the parts she wished for them to see. On the other hand, she would see everything there is to know about them, and even more when Aidan included himself into the strategy using his soul reading.

She had severe trust issues, as not everyone could just force someone to sign a binding contract rather than just letting them hang around, with a few exceptions such as Van who wouldn’t go against her as long as Haley was under her contract. It was the same for even Aidan, despite all that he did for her. In fact, he wouldn’t question the fact that Nina would never release the contract on him if it meant giving up his powers for her gain.

Yet despite that, he didn’t mind at all. He was gaining a lot more as her follower than he would on his own, but at the same time, he wouldn’t mind if the one he was following started to loosen up a little, at least when it came to those she trusted enough to hang around her.

Perhaps someday, Nina would trust them enough to release the contracts on both Aidan and Haley. He wasn’t going to look forward to it once she found out he was never under her contract to begin with, but it would make him a little happy if she did. Now, whether she would trust him again afterwards, that was left up to chance. He really hoped that she would get past that once she found out he had no intention of harming her or her ambitions.

The drive over to the dungeon was pleasant at best, and inconvenient at worst. There were times when they stopped to let the Capyra rest, and times when they had to pause to take care of some monsters that came close to their path. This time, Aidan let Van and Haley do the fighting as the monsters were simple and ranged between level 15 and 20. They weren’t good for experience gain, but it was perfect for Haley to practice her newly gained wind magic, even allowing her to learn some new spells meant for combat and support.

Meanwhile, Van was a relentless machine, taking all of his sword practice into play, delivering smooth strikes and precise killings. It was clear that if he couldn’t train his magic due to his ‘grower’ aspect, then he’ll just pick up on gaining as much experience as possible while refining his melee combat. The way he wanted to keep getting stronger for the sake of his sister made Aidan want to fulfill that dream, and was more than willing to help him do so.

Around two days passed doing this, eventually reaching a small settlement that surrounded the dungeon. Despite being a bit farther away, this was still connected to the city of Palestorm as there were guard details at certain points throughout their journey, mostly watch towers that surveyed the surroundings for any trouble. The monsters were left alone, as there were numerous to the point where the guards wouldn’t bother killing them all just for everyone to have a safe passage, but would definitely get themselves involved if a threat arose that would affect the settlement or the city as a whole.

Though he would call it a small settlement, he was still astounded by the number of people gathered within the village, or perhaps it might be considered a small town as he spotted hundreds coming and going between its streets and buildings, their design short and simple but almost homey in aesthetics. Entering the town was easy enough as all they had to do was flash an adventurer’s card to the guards, making them a simple party of adventurers wishing to enter the dungeon this town was based on.

He knew that dungeons could be popular enough that a town would be developed around it, but it was another thing to actually witness it first hand as he spotted dozens of adventurers walking through the streets, with their own community of merchants selling wares for the purpose of dungeon diving. There were taverns and bars made specifically for adventurers, with as many inns and hotels, some specializing in more than just mere sleeping in a room. He even spotted some monsters caged in certain places through his Sense Vibration, probably used for folks with taming skills or perhaps even used for training as he noticed guard squadrons and barracks settled at certain points within the town.

All in all, it was a lively and energetic place, with the dungeon having even more people than usual at the very end of the northern part of the city.

Once they settled with their carriage placements, the group headed forward to the dungeon without needing to make any accommodations, knowing full well that they could just teleport back to Palestorm without much issue. It certainly freed up a lot of time on their hands as they saw the dungeon entrance for themselves.

Unlike the Crystalfang Dungeon, the dungeon entrance felt more established, with the entrance surrounded by a metal archway with various huts beside it containing guards to document adventurers, and also probably asking for payment to enter inside. Of course, Aidan was sent by Nina to handle the line as she deemed herself ‘too good’ to do that herself.

Was he going to complain? Of course, he would. That still didn’t stop him from doing just that and waited for what felt like hours (which actually took around 2) for him to finally get up front and pay for the entrance inside.

That was why they decided to place the sword inside the dungeon rather than make accommodations for an inn in the city. No way in hell they would wait in the line every single time they wanted to take a break from the dungeon. They could just teleport inside without anyone knowing, only getting out when they feel like it just so that the guards wouldn’t deem them as MIA later.

There were many times when adventurers wouldn’t come out, often losing their lives in the process of dungeon diving, so the officials in the city made sure to keep their identities on the list to later use when someone came looking for them. While there were some adventurers that won’t be missed, as they were a dime a dozen, that would at least help the people close to them mourn easier knowing at least how they turned up missing or dead.

It was a bit of a sordid detail to learn, but that was just the reality of this world. There were no game overs and retries. You only had one shot in life, something that Aidan knew when he had his own first death back on earth.

“You okay?”

Aidan was pulled out of his thoughts when Haley asked, looking up at him with concern. They were currently entering through the dungeon entrance now that they settled with their affairs, with Nina in charge and Van following up after.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Aidan quickly said. Haley only raised her brow at him before shrugging.

“You looked like you had something heavy in your mind.”

“Nah, just thinking about some boring stuff,” Aidan grinned. “Still, you like looking at my face a lot, huh? Is my Charisma finally showing through?”

Haley scoffed. “I wanted to ask you how we’re going to do this. Just cuz’ you’re a little handsome doesn’t mean every girl is going to fall for you, you know.”

“You’d be surprised by how many women would fall for someone for being ‘just a little handsome’,” Aidan teased. “Granted, they got no taste, but still, plenty of women.”

“Sure, sure. If you can, why not direct some of them to Van? God knows he needs some entertainment in his lonesome.”

“Yo, what the fuck,” Van looked back, his face horrified. “Don’t talk like that!”

“Oh come on, I’m old enough to know when you need a break every once in a while. You don’t even visit any brothels even though you keep staring whenever we pass by one.”

“Haley!”

“Whoo, now that’s some dedication to your work,” Aidan whistled. “I saw what goes on inside, and boy, those are some crazy places.”

“You never tried?” Haley asked, seemingly curious.

“Way too expensive,” Aidan answered. “I also never really felt like going anyways.”

This would normally be concerning for him, but he never really was all that interested since arriving in this world. While he wouldn’t say that he was a casanova back on earth, being able to use magic was at the forefront of his mind, pushing aside the need to express himself and his desires. Maybe once he felt more assured of himself in his place in the world, he might reconsider.

“But if I do find a nice girl, I’ll definitely introduce Van to her,” Aidan continued, showing a serious face to Haley.

“Great. Just make sure to let me know beforehand. I wanna see if she’s worth it.”

“Aww, Van, you have such a loving sister. I’m jealous,” Nina decided to step in for once, teasing Van with genuine mischief on her face.

“God, please, just leave me alone,” Van wanted to cover up his face, his cheeks blazing from the conversation. “I’m fine by myself and I don’t need anyone you recommend, alright? I’m also fine without any of that stuff, like Aidan said.”

“Yeah, right,” Haley shook her head.

“Say one more word, and I’ll give you a noogie like you never felt before.”

“You promised you were never going to do it again!” Haley said in terror, her hands covering the top of her head.

“Test me and find out,” Van said, his voice deep and threatening.

“Alright, focus up now, you two,” Nina said, pointing forward. “We’re about to enter into the Leafair Dungeon now.”

After passing under the metal archway, the passage into the dungeon being large enough for several carriages to pass through side by side, the shadows surrounded them as they entered into the wide dark entrance.

Just like before, rather than it being a normal passage, Aidan felt like he was once again entering into some creature’s body, its own will and intent bare for all without hiding itself in the process. Strangely enough, he felt that the soul of this dungeon was a bit different than the one back near Forontia, almost as if it was a different person.

While that seemed utterly normal to think about, Aidan had to remember that these were dungeons, not actual living creatures. At least, that was what he and the rest of the people around them believed. Perhaps it was more of a muted existence, only doing its functions such as spawning creatures and treasures for those that try to claim it.

Before long, the place exploded in greenery as the grass was the first to arrive when they entered. Trees covered every part with their canopies so high up that they were blocking out whatever light was being established in the dungeon. In return, there were several glowing fruits that were providing the light necessary to make the path forward.

Eerie noises echoed out, some being small screeches and others like bird calls that reached large distances. If Aidan had to guess, the first floor of the dungeon was a jungle-themed floor, different from the cavern-like structure made by the Crystalfang dungeon.

You have entered the Leafair Dungeon. Level recommendation: Level 30-35.

While he wouldn’t pay as much attention to the recommendation level, he still at least considered it. There was a vast difference between monsters from level 5 back at Crystalfang Dungeon, and a monster appearing at level 30 or higher.

As usual, he let out his swords and spread them into the air. He scattered them away, making them fly in different directions to make his vibration network for better sensing. At the same time, he felt his boots reacting to this action, making his connection to his swords that much deeper than usual.

As for how much and what it would do, he couldn’t really put a pin in it, but he had nothing but good vibes from his boots.

“So, how are we pulling this off?” Aidan asked his party, mostly directing his question to Nina.

“Scout out and find anything noteworthy to take,” Nina said, her gaze on Haley. “We’ll rely on you for that.”

“Roger,” Haley saluted.

“We’ll also get some levels under our belt, so go ham on any monsters you find. But don’t take out so many on your own. It’s time for you to share now that there isn’t any rush to make you any stronger.”

“I can hold myself back for now,” Aidan agreed. He turned to Van. “Guess this means you’re up. Gotta get that Class Upgrade at some point.”

Van nodded resolutely. “I’ll keep up.”

For now, the formation was simple. Aidan would keep himself as rear guard with Van and Haley in the vanguard and mid-guard. Haley would have her bow to practice shooting from the distance while Van kept the monsters at bay as the tank. Aidan would only intervene and scout out their surroundings for any potential threats.

As for whether there would be some crazy traveling boss like earlier, that’s where Aidan would come in. With the formation in mind, the group headed off.