The Strongest Spellblade

I slept with my pack and sword in my arms. I didn’t trust the other people in the bunkhouse with all my gear. No one said anything. The sheets were clean but had a faint smell to them. The mattress had some lumps.

But I had endured hardship before. I would survive. It was paradise compared to the hard dungeon floors. The following morning I had breakfast and waited in the common room, working on Meditation and Breathing.

Breathing was at its final breakthrough and Meditation was getting close. “Yo, this seat taken?” I saw one of the boys from yesterday across from me.

“Not reserved,” I replied, and he took a seat.

“Names, Alf, like Elf but with an ‘A’,” he said.

“Justin,” I replied.

“So, I was wondering if you would be willing to share your spot into the dungeon. We are a bit pressed for coin at the moment,” he said. A silver didn’t seem like that much to me, but my sense of money wasn’t the greatest.

Normally entries were staggered so people weren’t tripping over each other on their way down into the dungeon. It was actually quite rude to ask this. But I could tell they looked desperate, their clothes frayed. The weapons they had were clearly second hand and tier 0.

While it might not seem like much for me, it would be for them. Also the Adventurer’s Guild registered groups going down together and would question if someone went missing from the group. “You have to explain to the guards, you are just hitching a ride down, we aren’t a team,” I said.

“Thanks! Give me a moment so I can let my friends know. You are a great guy Justin,” Alf said and scurried off. Soon his two companions came over as well.

“This is Rand and Kar. We are the team, the Steel Swords,” he said. It was stupid and cheesy, but I felt something stir in my heart.

“Justin. As I told your friend Alf, you can come along, but you are telling the guards we aren’t together when they mark us down,” I said.

“Not a problem,” Rand hurriedly said like I would run off at any moment. Their smell was distracting, but I didn’t say anything.

“So, what family are you from in Monolith?” Kar asked while staring at me.

“I am just passing through,” I replied.

“Ah, don’t worry Kar. He isn’t one of those rich kids from around here. It’s all in the jawline, probably from somewhere over by Terander if I had to go by their merchants’ accents,” Alf said. I didn’t say anything or react. I could have said no and avoided this headache, but I was a bleeding heart. Couldn’t they just leave me alone or be quiet?

“We all got our Sword Skills up to level 25, we are going to cut through those monsters with ease once we breakthrough,” Rand said with a grin. He was going to die horribly. I resisted the urge to say anything. They were not my responsibility. Once a person went into the dungeon they were considered adults regardless. They knew the risks.

He sounded so proud of that one level 25 tier 1 skill. It was quite sad. My Sword Skills was at level 50 and was one of many. “Idiot, don’t mention levels. You will give away our strengths,” Kar said and hit his friend on the side of the head. I wanted to laugh at that but held back.

I knew there was disparity, but never realized it was this large. I knew, but it was another thing to see it up close. “What time is our entry?” Alf asked who seemed to be the leader of this group.

“Three in the afternoon,” I replied.

“Those monsters get a couple hours to rest up before I come and kill them,” Rand said.

“I am going for a walk, I will be back in time,” Kar said.

“Don’t. You are looking to cause trouble and then escape into the dungeon. Don’t. We are all set to go. You make trouble, the dungeon entrance is the first place the city guard always posts someone to check for people running away,” Alf said, and Kar paused.

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“Fine, next time,” he said and sat back down. This was already shaping up to be a massive headache.

“Sorry about that. My teammates are quite excited we are finally going into the dungeon,” Alf said to me.

“It is fine. I don’t want any trouble,” I replied, and Alf nodded.

“Don’t worry we are grateful that you are letting us tag along. We needed to spend our money on our weapons and were a bit short at the end. Thank you,” he said.

“You are welcome,” I replied.

“So do you have a favorite legend?” Rand asked. I had no doubt that my mother was spying on me right now. I was tempted to say Legend Extravagant Warren. I knew that would annoy her quite a bit as a form of teasing. But I wasn’t feeling that brave. And that would create trouble for no reason. While my mother would get over it since I knew she loved me, I didn’t want to make pointless drama.

“The Supreme Legend Warlady Elena,” I replied.

“That old hag?” Rand said. My heart froze at that statement. I said a silent prayer my mother wouldn’t obliterate him. “She retired from the dungeon or something. Fighting in wars the last I heard.”

“She ran off to Terander to hitch up with a rich noble and live the soft life. She should conquer the dungeon,” Karn said. Oh, by the System. Were these idiots trying to enrage her. I was an idiot for saying her name.

“Are you okay, we are just joking around,” Alf said as he looked at me.

“I just think that disrespecting someone of that power is a bad idea,” I replied.

“Hah, like what is she going to do? Swoop in here and beat us to death?” Rand asked in a joking tone. Oh, by the System, please don’t let that happen.

“Sometimes it is best not to insult the powerful. Something I was taught. You never know who might be listening. Who is your favorite legend?” I asked, wanting to change the subject to something other than my mother.

“Legend Extravagant Warren with his Warhammer Absolute Domination. I saw him once you know. All muscles and power. That is going to be me someday,” Rand said. This was just getting worse and worse.

“He is strong,” Kar said.

“I know I felt the ground shake that one time when he was said to be fighting in the dungeon under the city,” Alf added. The dungeon were separated by a spatial barrier except for the passages between layers, so this was impossible.

Either my mother was smiling or she was enraged at the disrespect right now. I wanted to say something to defend her, but I didn’t want to get caught up in such a pointless argument.

“What do you think of Legend Extravagant Warren?” Rand asked me.

“He sounds very impressive for a legend,” I said, not wanting to get caught up in this conversation. While I had met him, I wasn’t about to say that. They didn’t get the hint as they kept talking about his various exploits while I listened, only occasionally nodding or saying something to show that I wasn’t ignoring them. They should have been focused on training skills instead of casually chatting while we waited.

There was a clock in the common area and there was an hourly city wide bell during daylight hours as well, which was common in most cities. Just after 1, I got up and put my pack on.

“Ah, time to go,” Alf said. Their packs were frayed and worn. I guess the second hand market for low value adventurer goods was booming at the very least. People either found the corpses of dead adventurers on the 1st layer fairly quickly, or they ran back to the city and sold off what they had bought to repeat the cycle of secondhand equipment.

The team followed me as I made my way to the fortress housing the entrance to the dungeon. I reached the entrance ahead of schedule and held up my metal entry token. The guards waved me through to a waiting room.

“A bit early, but better than late. All four of you?” a guard recording entrants sat behind a desk.

“We are using the same entry token, two groups. Them and me,” I replied.

“I will mark you down as separately, but don’t do this in the future. If both sides decide to fight at the bottom of the entrance passage, it is annoying. Very annoying. So don’t make more work for me. I am marking you both down as separate groups. Plates,” the guard said, and I handed mine over. After me the other three did as well and were quiet and nervous.

Once I had a glowing platinum plate it would be nice to skip all this nonsense. We then waited until 3 and then were allowed to descend down the stairs. I went first since the other three seemed incredibly nervous, this being their first time in the dungeon.

Once I reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, I looked around. Three tunnels to choose from. While the entrance chamber wouldn’t change, the tunnels connecting it to other chambers would shift. That was another reason to send people down in staggered intervals so that way everyone didn’t trip over each other.

My Dungeon Sense kicked in and I could tell one passage was the way to the next layer. Like a faint tug. While I wasn’t going to be afraid, I wanted to warm up a bit killing other monsters before rushing to face a Champion and descending another layer.

“That way probably leads to the passage for the next layer. Do you have a preference on which tunnel you want?” I asked the team that had come down with me.

“That way,” Alf said with fake confidence, pointing at one of the other two tunnels.

“Very well. May you find what you desire in the dungeon and return alive,” I said to them and set off towards the remaining tunnel. They said something similar back, but it didn’t matter. I needed to focus on the future and pay attention.

While traps were very rare in the 1st layer, that didn’t mean I could be careless. I pulled out a collapsible spear from my pack once I had entered the tunnel. While not my favorite weapon, it would be useful in straight passages and if I needed to trigger something at a distance.

I kept my breathing steady as I advanced forward. Three months. I had to survive down here for three months on my own. I could do it. I just had to trust in my stats and my skills, which were far above what was necessary for the first layer.