The desert field dungeon... A scorching heat despite being in a cave.
"A dungeon inside a dungeon, these are field dungeons. It has an entirely new world, similar to how monsters came into our world, including... Elves." Janus looked at Ashter,
"Sorry if I offended you."
"None taken," Ashter responds to the man,
"..." Fran waits as her Flyhound sniffs the air. Their four fly-like eyes blinked here and there.
"Euww..." Shivers went down Ashter's spine, he didn't like the many eyes... So creepy...
"!!!" Fran's eyes widened,
"EVERYONE, MOVE!" Fran shouts, as the four Adventurers' eyes widen, as everyone is pushed to the side, as a hiss is heard, a roar, and a growl.
"!?!" Everyone looked to see...
"A Desert Centipede!" Janus shouts,
Desert Centipede
Class: C
A large centipede with great mobility in the sand. Their armor makes magic and weapons less effective against it.
"Hmph!" Janus brings out one blade, as magic surrounds it, as...
"SLISH!" A slash is heard as the Desert Centipede's body is pushed back,
"ASHTER!" Janus shouts,
"Right!" Ashter's hand raises, as...
"FWOSSH!" Flames are produced, as...
"BOOM!" The fire rushed at the Desert Centipede, and an explosion is heard, as the sand kicks up, being blown by the explosive firepower.
"Hahaha!" Everyone was excited by how effective a mage is in their party-
"!!!" Lukas, however, is seen rushing to...
"HNG!" A large force clashed with him,
"!?!" Ashter's eyes widened, as the force...
"Another one!?!" Lukas growls as another Desert Centipede appears. These things are C Class monsters, one of the strongest ones here, with D Class monsters such as Flaming Scorpions, Sand Mummies, and Sunkiss Cobras.
But like the C Class Dungeon suggests, the strongest monsters are the elite and boss ones, of high C Class and B Class. This is why teams are required, even if a Beast Tamer has 5 beasts, they'll still suffer from the inability of intelligent fighters.
"Come on out!" Fran shouts, as Flyhound vanished, as...
"ROOOAAAAAAAA!!!!!" Roars a...
"!!!" Ashter's eyes widened,
"A Swamp Viper!?!" A high C Rank monster!
"Go!" Fran ordered, as...
"!!!" The Desert Centipede rushed to attack the beast,
"H-How did you tame a Swamp Viper!?!" Ashter is bewildered, as you can't be weaker than the beast!
"Hehehe, you have tons to learn, little newbie!" Fran winked, as...
"BAM!" Lukas slams his shield on the first Desert Centipede,
"FWOOSH!" Ashter fired a volley of fireballs, the Desert Centipede roared, as the other one is seen clamping its teeth into the viper. The Swamp Viper digs their fangs into the beast, its dark purple and black scales coated in green and pink blood.
"You can do it, Vipy!" Fran said, as...
"Bond Skill, activate!" Fran ordered, as...
"Woah-!" He is shocked, as the howls of the Flyhound are heard, as her body is covered in fur, changing to resemble the Flyhound, as...
"Hup!" She rushed in,
"Fran-!" Ashter's eyes widened, as...
"BAM!!!" Fran's fist slams into the Desert Centipede,
"She isn't just a support. Beast Tamers can use the Bond Skill to merge with their tamed beasts. The Swamp Viper is a new tamed beast out of her three... So... She needs to rely on her first beast." Lola explained that Janus is seen rapidly cutting the Desert Centipede.
"Hmph!" Ashter, however, charges one singular arrowhead, the flames become more dense... The fire turned blue, its piercing and explosive power unimaginable.
"JANUS, LUKAS, WATCH OUT!" Ashter shouts, as the pair's eyes widen, as...
"!?!" The Desert Centipede's eyes widened,
"HAA!!!" Ashter fired the arrowhead, it rushed at high speed at the Desert Centipede, as when it hits...
"BOOM!!!!" A larger explosion is heard, as the man breathes a bit, having exhausted tons of mana. The Desert Centipede was instantly charred, as...
"RAHH!!!!" The once innocent and kind Fran is seen with green blood all over itself, as the Swamp Viper roars alongside her,
"F-Fran! You overdid it again!" Lola rushed to her as the girl laughed,
"THAT WAS AMAZING, LOLA! The hunt continues, let's go!" She ordered, as Lukas kept her down,
"Quiet, Fran." He ordered, as Lola sighed, as she hovers over the necklace's gem, as a green light trails from it,
"Here." She pushed the energy to the Swamp Viper, the viper watched, patient, as its wounds mended and flesh was restored.
"Ha..." She sighed as Fran's bond skill expired, returning her to normal.
"Your arm," Lola complained, healing the girl.
"Hehehe, sorry, Lola." She apologized, as Ashter watched, awed by how close these four are.
To become a B Class Adventurer, he needs to finish 15 raids in total. Right now, he has finished 8, this would be his 9th raid.
"Wow..." Ashter watched the different skills being used. Making shields, using advanced sword skills, healing, AND a bond skill!?!
"..." He smiled, but things became grim after only an hour of being inside the dungeon.
"..." The group was seen, most of their thick clothing taken off, they were SWEATING, but not down for the count.
"Ashter, need a drink?" Janus wondered, as the group was prepared, unlike Ashter.
"Yes." He responds, taking a drink from one of many bottles of water available.
'This place is like walking in a desert.' Ashter thinks the heat was just too intense.
Monsters after monsters come and go, Desert Centipedes, the Sunkiss Cobras, but...
"!!!" Everyone's eyes widened, as...
"It's the Elite Monsters!" Guards of the bosses, these come in threes, as three high C Class monsters are seen in front of them all,
"Ragged Vulture, Rocky Roadrunner, and a Three-Eyed Owl..." Three flying monsters, their aura was intense, proving them to be the strongest of C Class beasts.
"FWOOSH!" Ashter calls upon many fireballs, before shooting them, causing the three monsters to scatter.
"LUKAS!" Janus shouts, but...
"ROOOAAAA!!!!" Lukas roars, as a loud soundwave radiates and catches the ears of the beasts. They twitched before screaming,
"That's the Taunt skill!" Ashter said, as the three beasts rushed at Lukas,
"Hmph!" He blocked one attack, as...
"HAA!!!" Swinging his axe, he strikes at the other one, the axe dealing decent damage to the beasts.
"Good work!" Janus rushed and used...
'Bladestorm!' Janus used the Bladestorm skill, the skill that makes multiple slashes at the opponents. The Rocky Roadrunner was a land animal, utilizing insane speed, as...
"Krrr..." The roadrunner growls, as...
"HUUUU!!!" From the skies, the Three Eye Own spreads its wings,
"!" Everyone's eyes widened as feathers spread, shooting at the group.
"BAM!" Before they hit, a large shield made of mana is seen, blocking the feathers.
"..." Ashter fired more fireballs, the airborne monsters dodged and weaved around the area, as Lukas was still being targeted, or so it looked like it.
"BAM!" But a large force slams on his shield,
"GO!" Lukas shouts, as...
"HISS!!!" Fran summoned her Swamp Viper, as the viper clamped its jaw, as the Ragged Vulture was HUGE, it was the bruiser, as the shield faltered,
"The things will get through!" Lukas comments that the fireballs were becoming less frequent,
"Hng!" Janus, who tried to attack the roadrunner, was clawed at,
"Hmph!" Lola's stern expression shows, as the green energy flows and gets into contact with Janus, as he breathes, but...
"!!!" Lukas' eyes widened, the shield breaking, the mana construction shattering into millions of pieces.
"Good job, viper!" Fran said, as the Roadrunner was squashed, being killed,
The Ragged Vulter charges at the group as it tries to attack the group...
"SKLEW!" A blade cuts into the long neck of the beast, decapitating it. The Three-Eyed Owl sees this, running away,
"Oh no you don't..." Ashter points a finger gun, before his other hand touches it, as flames bloom and form a singular arrow, he aimed... Then...
"PHIW!" A flaming arrow is sent flying at the owl, as its eyes widen, before...
"BOOM!!!!" A large explosive force is seen in the skies, as Ashter watched, the last Elite Monster being defeated.
"..." Everyone takes a moment to breath, as they all let out a sigh of relief, as Fran tends and thanked her viper, as Lola raises her hand, the green light trailing from her necklace as she raises her hand, performing a light heal in the area, recovering the group's physical fatigue and other possible injuries.
"I am down by half of my mana." She said,
"I am almost out," Ashter said, as Fran explained,
"And my beasts need rest." She pets her large viper.
"..." Janus thinks, as he and Lukas are decently fine.
"... Alright. We're going to head out. We'll come back tomorrow to finish up the dungeon and get it closed." Dungeons form via cave entrances, and when the monsters are killed, the dungeon collapses and closes. Since they need to rest up for the way back, Janus decided to exit so that they could not only kill the boss but also explore the place to find items located inside the place.
Dungeons tend to have hidden chests and items that are formed by the dungeon. People don't know how they get there, but these items are extremely valuable and can be sold to keep you afloat for many months to generations, depending on the quality of the itemManyny of the items, like Lola's necklace is a rare items found in dungeons. Humans in time manage to replicate them using...
"We have a lot of magical stones anyway." Shards drop from monsters, shards filled with the "soul" or the essence of the beasts that were killed.
"Good." Lukas agreed with leaving this place. After all, they need to catch a break after spending hours in this scorching hot desert.
***
Exiting the dungeon, people come and go, finishing their work, as the air is far more refreshing than expected.
"Ah...!" Fran breathed in the clean and cold air, as they were as if getting out of bed, many of the men wore undershirts while some were shirtless. The women, however...
"Here." Janus covers them, as men in this era weren't the best when in contact with women of... Their caliber.
"Thank you." Lola thanked them, as she was sold as a... Prostitute to men. As their family's most beautiful daughter, they had no money, so selling her off was the best for their living expenses.
But soon, Lola learned magic, and she wanted to do so as quickly as possible, and she learned healing magic. This allowed her beaten body to become better once more, and she escaped the men she was sold off to, and soon encountered Janus. Janus, who had a hard time, managed to get her a place to rest at his house, where she soon encountered the Justice Party when Janus had to leave for a raid.
"Where are you going?" Lola wondered, as Janus put on a chestplate,
"I am heading off for a raid." He explained,
"..." He sighed,
"I need to find more members..." He whispered to himself,
"A raid...? Like... A dungeon raid?" She wondered, as Janus nodded,
"Yes. I am finding a few more members, we need a healer that's for sure... a mage too if possible." He explained, as Lola, having been rescued, fed, and cared for by Janus, said,
"Wait." She stopped him from leaving, It had been a month since meeting him. Janus looked at her with confusion,
"Yes?" He responds,
"... I can become your healer." She said, since then, she met...
"Finally! Another woman!" She met...
"Lola, this is Fran, our Beast Tamer." Janus introduced her,
"Amazing to meet you! I am Fran! You must... Ah!" She recognized her,
"Huh? Y-You know who I am?" She is confused and concerned,
"Yeah! Janus always talks about a blonde beauty-"
"FRAN!" Janus shouts, as Lola's face perks up, as Janus' own is red,
"Fran, please do not give off a bad first impression." Lukas, the giant of a man, explained.
"Hm..." Fran thinks, as Lola smiles,
"I-I am glad... To know that." She said that since then, for over two years, the party had gone on many adventures. Members come and go, mages specifically, and others of different classes.
Then they met Ashter, and it seemed like their group was finally complete.
"..." Lola hopes he isn't like other men, though.
End of chapter 3.