1 The S-Class Archmagus (1)

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"Urgghhh, is it time already?" A young woman moaned in agony while she removed herself from the comfort of her royal decorated bed. Her black hair unkempt and face totally bare, the woman tried to keep her calm as she slammed the snooze button on the alarm clock with all that she had.

"Yvette… You weren't joking when you said that this alarm would tingle my senses." Stretching her stiff joints, the woman got out of her bed and dragged her heavy feet. She didn't like mornings. Feeling the blazing hot sun rays on her face while trying to wash off the soreness in her tendons was unbearable for the twenty-three-year-old. Aria counted the lucky stars that she dropped out of school early. Just remembering the days where she was forced to awake before the sun was up, made her shiver to her core. Aria would much prefer doing her work late at night, where the noise of the bustling city faded to oblivion, bringing peace and quiet to her researcher mind.

So why? Why would a sloth-like Aria, who hated her sleep to be disrupted, go out of her way to procure an alarm clock, a potent one at that? Well, it had something to do with the big occasion that she had just a few hours later. Aria knew that she would sleep in if there weren't an alarm to wake her up.

"I swear who does Dungeon Dives this early in the morning? Annoying twats!" Aria was still dazed from all the oxygen being pumped into her head. Thus she cursed the innocent wall. Still, she couldn't be late for the event, so her legs moved, begrudgingly of course. Picking up the slim-fit blouse and skin-tight training pants that she had selected yesterday, Aria made her way into the gorgeous marble bathroom that was connected to her bedroom.

The silk pyjamas that Aria wore dropped down her shoulders like a piece of rag, revealing her gorgeously proportionate figure. Her room was always kept at the most optimal temperature by her top-grade thermostat that cost her upwards of a thousand dollars. Hence, Aria barely had any sweat on her supple skin. Nonetheless, Aria still loved to take a bath whenever she woke up, just to rejuvenate herself before she started her work.

Hot, comforting steam hit Aria's face as she entered the shower chambers, instantly perking up those heavy eyelids of hers. Beep… Beep… The speakers within the bathroom acknowledged the entrance of Aria and the large volcanic stone jacuzzi released large amounts of effervescence in response. Watching everything getting set-up and primed for her to go, Aria flashed her first smile of the day.

'Lucky I invested in a smart house.' She praised her incredible foresight and dipped her smooth legs into the bubbling bath. If Aria wanted to be on time and have her routine morning bath, she needed to at least get up an hour earlier. However, through the use of modern technology, Aria had the luxury to sleep in for another hour.

Sinking deep into the bathtub, the gorgeous woman soothed her aching body and released all of the pent up gas that had been accumulating throughout the night. Her pores all wide opened, Aria made sure that she was in the most comfortable position before stretching out like a panda who had just awoken. Taking a minute to rest herself, Aria slowly opened her eyes and stretched one hand out to the ceiling.

"Hah… Status," she chanted. Quickly, two windowed tables appeared right before her consciousness, each one bearing vastly differing information.

Name: Aria Saciustrum

Species: Human

Gender: Female

Job: Archmagus

Class: S

Age: 23 years

Strength: 19

Dexterity: 11

Intelligence: 390

Wisdom: 375

Constitution: 181

Willpower: 210

"Oh my… Look at that measly strength and dexterity! How am I going to survive the walk down into the dungeons?" Aria was still disgruntled about being forced to participate in the nation's Dungeon Dive.

The two status windows that appeared showed all of the essential information that defined the woman called Aria Saciustrum. Unlike the first window, where most of the fields were locked permanently, the second window was solely dependent on the actions of the person. Being a magic researcher and an Archmagus, Aria had spent most of her time improving her intelligence and wisdom. However, because she was stuck in the laboratory or her personal library the entire time, she had minimal opportunities to train her physical body. Or to be more precise, Aria hated to work out. Though, that laziness has had its consequences. Now, her strength and dexterity were barely capable of matching a teenager's.

"I swear, if they don't have at least two High Paladins guarding me, I might as well make a U-turn back home." Aria continued to grumble as she continued to foam up her dry morning skin. Though she couldn't enjoy her perfume bath for much longer. Looking up at the analogue clock overhead, the young woman heaved out a deep sigh and reluctantly left the tub. If Aria delayed any longer, she would be late for the one job she had today.

Coarsely drying herself with the luxurious white towel she prepared, Aria quickly got dressed and wrapped her hair up for drying. Her timing was perfect. Just as she got out of her bathroom, the sweet, succulent aroma of bacon and eggs filled the high-rise apartment, tickling the stomach of the young maiden.

"Yvette, you've already made breakfast?" Aria hollered out, her hands still rubbing the white towel against her wet hair.

"Yeah! Come out and grab a bite! We have to leave in fifteen!" An angelic chorus replied Aria. For the second time this morning, Aria smiled. Her roommate really was a saint. There were days where Aria would feel bad about her own behaviour as there was an immaculate version of a woman staying right by her side.

Yvette wasn't blessed with height. She was just about 1.6 metres tall, a full head shorter than Aria. However, there was no questioning of her emotional maturity. A head full of white gold and a bosom fit for a wet nurse, the flawless beauty was wiser than her years suggest and in control of all of her desires. Though, there was one thing that was different about Yvette. Her two ears were elongated out from her small head, reaching five centimetres in length. Yes, Yvette was of another race. The Elven Race.

Elves were rare in Yudonia, the country where Aria was bred and born. Due to Elfheim's strict immigration laws, elves rarely left the country's borders to integrate with other cultures. The only reason why Yvette was allowed to leave, was through an S-Class exchange program between Elfheim and their immediate neighbours Yudonia.

Never waking up a minute later than she should and never missing slacking off at her job. It was through sheer coincidence that Aria managed to land Yvette as her roommate. Since they were both S-Class and females of a similar age, the country thought it would be best for Aria and Yvette to bunk together in a suite meant for high rankers. It was one of the few decisions that made Aria grateful to the nation. They could have forced a lazy bum who barely cleaned after herself on her, but they chose the most divine being on planet earth to be her mate.

"Mmmm… It looks delicious." Aria walked to the dining table, her hair still askew and picked up the two cutleries before her chair. Bacon and eggs, Yvette-style. It should be a delicacy all around the nation, Aria thought. Ah, but then I would have less for myself. Nah, Yvette should keep her cooking skills to herself.

While Aria was continuing to fight her inner turmoil, a stunning young woman walked out from the kitchen, holding on to yet another plate of bacon and eggs. Her emerald-green eyes twinkled when she watched Aria gulp down a piece of bacon as if it were a spaghetti strand, forcing her to puff out her ample chest.

"Hey, don't choke! I don't want to waste my magic to heal you this early in the morning!" Yvette complained.

"As if that would happen."

"When it comes to you, who knows?" Yvette shrugged her shoulders. She took off her frilly apron and set it down on the kitchen counter. Taking a seat on the opposite chair, the young elf heaved out a sigh and smiled.

"Are you prepared for the expedition?"

"Well, yeah." Aria continued to bite on the crispy bacon while answering her roommate. "What about you? This is your first time entering an S-Class Dungeon, right?"

Yvette's job was a Healing Saint. She didn't need to take risks by entering dungeons. All she needed to do was heal the injured that made it out, and Yvette would already earn as much the top one percent in the nation. However, that didn't mean that the elven girl was exempted from serving the country. It was the Republic of Yudonia's first ever expedition into an S-Class Dungeon. They needed all the forces they had to effectively conquer it and to prove themselves to the United Nations that Yudonia wasn't a second-rate country like the world believed it to be.

"You speak as if you entered an S-Class Dungeon before." Yvette scoffed.

"Of course, I did!"

"Really? When?! How come I had never heard of it?!" Contrary to popular belief, not many S-Class fighters enter into S-Class Dungeons. To begin with, S-Class Dungeons were extraordinary phenomenons of nature, where one only occurs once in a blue moon. Throughout Yudonia's thousand-year history, an S-Class Dungeon had only happened twice before, once during its founding and the other… Right now.

"Yeah… I was training under the old geezer back then… I think it was four years ago when I was nineteen. I participated in Gondor's S-Class Dungeon Raid. As an observer, of course." Aria thought of the tragic time where she had to pen down every single word that her master said. She was a magus, and her master had actually used her as a scribe. What a waste of talent!

"So you were there when Gondor raided their dungeon…" Yvette stroked her pimple-free skin cheeks bearing some mark of thought. "Hey, don't you think that S-Class Dungeons have been popping up a little too frequently? Ten years ago, Elfheim had one. Then Gondor. Now it's Yudonia's turn. It can't be just coincidence, right?"

"God knows..."

Truth to be told, it was a question that Aria had thought of herself. Being a Magic Researcher, delving into a dungeon was akin to investigating the true nature of magic. Till this day, no one truly understands why dungeons, particularly S-Class Dungeons, were formed. They were essentially hotspots where magic was the most abundant and where monsters were created. There were many speculations but never any concrete evidence. Aria hopes that her visit to this S-Class dungeon would help gather some data for her to prove or disprove some hypothesis, hopefully earning her the Nobel Prize.

'If not for the unpleasant experience, I would love to move my lab into the dungeons...'

Aria still gets shivers when thinking back to the terrible scenes four years ago. No man or woman should witness that much horror in their lifetimes. Nonetheless, for the pursuit of her research, Aria still obliged to enter that hell one more time.

"Oh shit! Time's up! We have to go now!"

Talking really did make time fly. Without realising, fifteen minutes had passed, and the two maidens were pressed to leave immediately.

"But I still have one more egg to finish..."

"Who cares about the egg? Do you want to be scolded by your President again?" Yvette pulled Aria's ear and dragged the reluctant body out from her chair. They were dressed and packed. The only thing they needed to do now, was leave and pray that the traffic skewed their way.