The First Assignment

…

…

Oh, that's my alarm! …that was a really strange dream… oh well. I should probably get ready, guess I need to change first.

"Good morning Veronica!"

"Aaaaaa!" Instinctively, I throw a knife in the direction of the voice.

"Wow, that was rude." There's a small hologram of Nim being displayed from the Abyscreen. "I just want to say hi."

"Can I put on clothes first?"

"Nope, time doesn't stop for stuff like that. Anyway, in about an hour, meet up with Gwyn, I'll send you directions. Byeee!"

…

After putting on my traveling clothes I grabbed a bar and left my room. The directions lead to a large plaza with a large portal and a bunch of stands. It is fairly busy but Gwyn was easy to spot.

"Ah there you are Veronica, you're the last one to arrive." standing next to Gwyn is a girl wearing a parka and a guy wearing a full set of armor and a spear. "Ok, follow me I'll brief you guys inside." Gwyn walks into the portal and the three of us follow along.

…

We are no longer in the plaza, instead, we are standing in a maze of cliffs and ridges.

"Welcome to the Dungeon you three. Let me explain some stuff first. The Dungeon is a result of warped reality caused by a variety of factors. We knew of its existence for a while but we were only able to access it around 25 years ago, so we don't know much about it. What we do know is limited, but here's what's important right now: 1. Every few floors or so have a different theme, they seem to be based on fears. 2. Each floor is around the size of a district of Abysia but floor exit and entrance are typically closer than that. 3. The Dungeon naturally produces chests and monsters and the loot found seems to be tailored to the person who finds it. 4. Each floor has a boss.

So that's enough of that, now I'll go into what you're here for. You three are paired together as you're all on an accelerated path and I decided your abilities all paired together well… I guess I need to do introductions… First, this is Veronica, she specializes in wind and space magic along with being good with guns and knives and having an uncanny ability to trace manna.

"Hello!"

"Next is Mila, she is a researcher that utilizes ice magic to both attacks and defend."

"Nice to meet both of you!" She pulls back the hood of her parka and instead of hair, she has spines growing in a hair-like pattern. "It'll be exciting to work together!"

"Finally there's Elias, he is a physical attacker who wields a spear and focuses on speed and evasion."

"Greetings, I hope we can all become friends!" He removes his helmet, he has fish-like fins on the side of his head. He bows. "The better we get along, the better our teamwork will be."

"Good, you are all acquainted, now here's your task. We have a request to procure seven Roc eggs. You can find them in nests but you'll need to take care of the Rocs, obviously. Veronica, you should be able to track the nests… here." Gwyn hands me an egg. "You should be able to use this to get a general feel of the eggs' mana. Good luck, meet me back at the Hall." Gwyn disappeared back through the portal.

There is an awkward pause, Elias is the first to speak up "...so what do we do now?"

"I can feel faint traces of other eggs…"

"Well then take the lead, Elias you'll take care of foes, and I'll make sure none of us get injured." Mila attaches a round shield adorned with a few gems to her arm. "I suggest equipping your arms, Rocs are fairly aggressive."

I concentrate and get a good feel of nearby eggs. "Ok, let's go!"

…

…

"So how did everyone arrive in Abysia?" After 5 minutes or so of awkward silence, Mila asked a question.

"Oh, I was actually recruited. I had a run-in with Nocturnis Canibus and they invited me, as soon as I reach rank four I'll join up with them." Elias seems fairly excited about that.

"I just decided to wander and explore new places, I ended up just drifting to Abysia."

Mila started to chuckle. "Is that really it, Veronica? That's incredibly tame compared to most people here. I mean I ended up here because I was kicked out of my homeworld for breaking some 'rules' or something."

I feel like she's hiding something. "Wait what 'rule' exac-"

*SQWAK*

"Well, it looks like we have company." Elias got into a battle stance. "Three Rocs, one for each of us, let's go." He jumps off the cliff, lands on a Roc, and after stabbing it multiple times, jumps back to solid ground.

"Impressive, my turn." Mila pulls out a crossbow and a spine and fires it at a Roc. Mana started to condense and the Roc became completely encased in ice and immediately plummeted. Now Veronica, what can you do?"

"Ummmmm…" I fire off my pistol and directly nail the final Roc, it goes down quickly.

"Huh, good shot I guess?" Elias was dusting himself off.

"Interesting, is that the best you could do?" Mila seems unimpressed.

"No, but it did the job, what's the point of flair?"

"Flare makes stuff fun."

"Eh, I guess I'll try it next time." I sighed. "Anyway this is the first nest." There are two eggs in a nest of straw. "We now have three eggs."

"So four more? This shouldn't be too bad." Elias seems relieved.

"There is a strong trail, let's get going." Something feels off, it feels like… "Wait." I fire a shot at a pile of rocks and they start to rumble.

"Oh a rock golem, fun." Mila starts preparing a spell.

"Wait, you want to see flair don't you? I'll take care of this." A stone golem should have a weak crystalline core… I dash forward and dodge its punch by blinking behind it. "Phase Edge!" I plunge my hand into the golem's chest and pull out its core. I toss it into the air and fire a shot into it. "Was that the flair you guys wanted? Anyway, let's get back to looking for the eggs."

Mila seems a bit confused. "What do you use as a focus? I didn't see you with any."

"Oh, I use brands." I roll up my sleeves and show them my arms.

"Isn't that incredibly dangerous!? I've never met anyone who uses brands as a main focus."

Elias chimes in also concerned. "I have but it's ended badly for everyone, most of the time they were killed by misfires, and if they weren't killed they at least lost their branded limbs."

"That's strange, in my homeworld brands are the type of magical focus. When I was wandering I only got the impression that brands were just rare not dangerous."

Mila thought for a second. "How did you not know brands were dangerous? Even just the process of acquiring a brand is incredibly dangerous."

"Really? We just kinda woke up with them, no one really knows where they come from."

Elias sighed. "Brands are normally gained by taking a rune and forcing it to misfire and scorch the skin… It's not pretty but people are crazy enough to do it."

"Hey, can I see your brands?" I stop walking and hold out my arms for Mila to see. "Interesting… It's not just a rune or two, its kinda like a runic array, they also look more like tattoos…"

"Wait can you not tattoo brands?"

"No, you can tattoo protective charms and wards but not focuses. This is so fascinating!! When we get back you must let me look into them in more detail."

"Eh sure, why not." We start walking again. "Say do you two have any unique abilities?"

"Oh!" Mila pulls out a spine. "You might have noticed this earlier but my spines can detach and regrow and I can also use them to store spells."

"Ummm…" Elias is silent for a second or two. "I can breathe underwater I guess that counts?"

"Oh, that's cool!" I stop walking. "Ok there's a nest on a small ridge above us I'll get it. Jump!" I launch myself up and manage to grab three eggs. "Ok, we just need one more." I jump back down. "There's an egg fairly close by."

...It's interesting isn't it, just a few days ago I was just floating through space, is this what I'm going to do with the rest of my life… It's fun but I don't know if I fit in, everyone here is so loose and carefree, that's not something I can easily do… I can't drop my guard, I can't be carefree…

"What about you Victoria?" Elias pokes me in the shoulder.

"Wait, what? Sorry I wasn't paying attention."

"We are talking about our weapons, I just have a basic light spear, but Mila custom made a shield to act as a focus."

"Oh, I was given a knife and pistol by the administration, I think they are just standard issue."

"Eh that's fair, not everyone can get a special weapon."

"Oh, we are here!" In front of us is a circular platform with a nest in the middle with a single egg. "Got it, let's-"

*SQWAK!!!*

A Roc that's significantly larger than the others swoops up from a crevasse.

"Another one, I got this!" Elias waits for the Roc to swoop in close and jumps but quickly is hit by a wing and slammed backwards.

"Hold on!" Mila's shield starts to glow and a wall of ice forms to catch Elias. "I'm guessing this is the 'boss' Gwyn mentioned." Mila fires a spine and ice starts to form around the Roc but it manages to break free. "We are going to need a plan."

I think I can pull something off… "I'm going to agitate it and then stun it. Once it's stunned, Mila will freeze it and that should knock it to the ground where Elias can finish it off. Is that good?"

Elias is brushing off some ice. "Sounds good to me."

Mila gets a spine ready. "I'll back you up."

I walk out into the middle of the platform and fire some shots at the Roc to attract its attention.

*SQWAK!!!!!*

Good, it's mad. It flies around and aligns itself on a path to hit me. "Oh space bend to my will, Grant me protection from ills. My reality becomes clearer, come forth Karmic Mirror!" Right before the Roc's talons hit me, space warped and there was a blast of energy. "Mila now!"

Ice solidified around its left-wing and it was pinned to the ground. "Elias you're up!"

"Got it!" Elias stabs the Roc multiple times. "Die you oversized chicken tender!" He drives his spear through its skull.

*SqWak…*

The Roc collapses and a chest materializes in front of it. I kick open the chest and inside there's a few feathers, some gold, and a gem. "Does anyone want any of this?"

"I'll take the feathers they might be useful for crafting." Mila grabs the feathers. "Oh, that looks like a speed enhancement gem."

"I guess I'll take the gem then." Elias picks up the gem.

"I guess the gold is mine…" Good, I need money, that was lucky. "Anyway, we have all seven eggs so let's head back."