Part one

  Venira walked cautiously through the damp darkness of an underground passage, trying to ignore the pain in her legs and back. A twinge of regret passed through her mind for taking this mildly suspicious job, mildly speaking. The passage looked as if it had been made by drunken dwarves, if the low ceiling, sharp turns, and muddy, treacherous ground were anything to go by. A strong, damp, earthy smell of mold sapped at her patience as she used a hand on the cold stone of the walls for balance.

  She had been walking for what felt like hours, yet there was no sign of a large opening ahead—not that she could see or hear too far. The best torches wouldn’t illuminate more than a few meters ahead, and they didn’t have the best torches.

  Venira sighed. She was a striking woman—her long blonde hair and the way her red robes hugged her figure in the dim light were a delight to anyone with eyes. As a level sixteen mage, it was hard to find well-paid jobs, so she couldn’t deny that her appearance might have played a role in getting hired with this lot. She glanced at the two young swordsmen murmuring behind her—Luke was the taller of the two, with a strong looking build. He was wearing a smirk every time he made eye contact with Venira. Behind him, Daryl was fidgeting. He was a scrawny-looking man in an oversized cloak that brushed against the ground. He was holding a torch in his left hand; the light on his visage and flickering shadows on the uneven walls was scary at best.

  She tightened her grip on her long wooden staff as her foot slipped on a wet rock. It wasn't the first time she almost fell, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. Though after the second time, she was getting more frustrated at her ‘work colleagues’ for some reason.

  "Careful princess, or you might break those little feet of yours!" Luke teased, chuckling. His thin-lipped smile showed little intention to help.

  Venira flushed. Her irritation at this whole situation was fighting against her self-consciousness, and the shame was winning. Not only was the tall fighter behind her, Luke—with an impressive build but questionable intellect—not-so-subtle in trying to hit on her, but she was also aware of how na?ve she had been to accept the first well-paid job she was presented with in her new adventuring career. She had been so na?ve that she had agreed to go delving with no fewer than three male strangers, without signing a contract and without prior information about what exactly she was required to do. The promise of a lucrative job which would likely set the stage for her growth and the gold offered had clouded her judgement. But now, It was too late to turn back.

  Descending deeper; past what must have been the dungeon's first stratum, she began to feel a pressure emanating from the dark walls, as if the tunnel was trying to squeeze the air out of her.

  she cursed herself.

  The system’s soft, feminine voice echoed in her mind. Her eyebrows rose, inquisitively. She swallowed the words that came to her mind considered blasphemous by probably all known and unknown gods. Instead, she rolled her eyes. Which considering where she was at the moment; her foot got caught between two jagged rocks and she sprawled onto the uneven ground. Her mage hat flew several meters away. The staff went down clattering noisily on the slightly inclined corridor, past the man at the front and only stopping some dozens of meters ahead. She groaned, trying to get back up using her scrapped arms.

  The staff was a simple wooden one, but durable, so she had no worries about dropping it. Her hat was already burnt in a few dozen places due to misfired magic so it wasn’t much of a problem falling on the ground. However, the robe was purchased two days ago from the coins she got in advance of this job, so basically new. The same robe which now was full of dust, muddy and with a fist size hole next to her left knee.

  As much as the current state of Venira proved that she was a clumsy person; she wasn’t usually like this. Or, maybe she was? No. It couldn’t be—there was something else at play.

  She smashed her fist into the ground next to her,

  “Ahhhh”.

  The fighter behind Luke snorted, and spoke as Venira’s internal cursing was making her magic exit through her pores in a soft misty glow, dispersing in the air a few inches from her skin. Lucky for Venira, Daryl was quiet—most of the time.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He gestured smugly at her,

  "You know, there’s a s-spell ca-called Light? It has a short i-incantation. S-s-surely you know i-it." and sneezed, wiping his nose with his free hand, losing his balance for a moment.”Every mage knows it.”

  Luke jumped forward, startled, as an intense heat brushed against his head.

  "Hey, watch out, dumb-ass," he snapped, almost stepping on Venira’s hand; even though she was glowing in the dark like an improvised ghost.

  He checked his back for any signs of burn. He sighed in relief as he realized that the round shield tucked on his back would’ve protected him from that, but there was a burn smell in the air.

  Venira looked in the general direction of their mysterious employer, muttering incredulously, "Great! And I have to trust those two to guard my back?" She steadied herself and tried to ignore them.

  Some strands of hair came off as Luke checked his ponytail. His jaw clenched.

  "Shut it, Venira! You’d better—"

  The third man in front of Venira turned to them and shouted in an imperious tone, "Enough," getting their attention.

  Venira watched him as he tucked the map into a leather pouch at his waist. "There should be a break to the second stratum in one or two miles if this map is accurate."

  He was the man employing them for this highly secretive, highly paid job. From what she could tell, none of them knew this man’s name, or where he came from. Even though this man didn’t look more than four or five years older than her, he wasn't wearing any visible enchanted gear. Still, his metal armor, patched with strong treated leather, seemed like a clumsy attempt to blend in with newbie adventurers who had no backing. Anyone with a bit of smarts could see the craftsmanship that went into it.

  "When I give the signal, we'll move in and get into position.”

  “You!" He nodded at Daryl. "You'll take the left flank, I'll handle the right. Luke, you cover the middle, and Venira, rear." the man instructed, and they all nodded in agreement.

  One thing was clear: he had to be the son of someone important—maybe a hero, a noble, or a member of a big merchant family. In Enna, a hero was typically someone chosen by a god to carry out their will in the mortal world.

  These individuals were revered but also had plenty of enemies, whether from political figures, high-level adventurers from various guilds, or even other heroes. For some reason, she couldn't imagine this person being a hero's son, she thought as they moved forward and the ever-present moldy smell started to fade.

  **

  Daryl wasn't feeling great. The awful smell had triggered some kind of allergy ever since they descended through the maze of corridors up to this point, making it hard for him to breathe. He checked his status effects again to see if the debuff had lifted, and a timid adolescent spoke the status aloud as he focused on the path ahead.

  ? Status effects ?

  

  he looked over Luke’s shoulder at Venira, then his eyes shifted on his employer. Though he said this, in truth he hated the debuff more than he would acknowledge. His breath felt hot and heavy, coming out in shallow gasps and making it hard to speak and keep the pace with the others. But there was no way he would let that oaf, Luke, see him wheeze.

  He stole a glance again towards the man at the front. Something felt… curious about him.

  , he told himself again, more for his peace of mind than anything else. What mattered was that soon, he would end this torture and then… maybe then the risks he was willing to take will pay off in the end. All he needed to do was to make himself look meek. Why settle just for the money when he… no, they could ensure the wench and that man had a subtle but common accident in the dungeon then split the profit after he and Luke use this new expanse to skyrocket their levels.

  —

  

  ??

  A current of fresh air washed over his face allowing Daryl to take the first full breath of air in hours.

  

  He would’ve jumped in happiness if he wasn’t worried about attracting the wrong kind of attention. The only problem at the moment, he realized, as they grew close to an exit, was that the thing kept pouring out of his nose without showing any sign of stopping.