Chapter 033 - Dungeons

"Starting from the E-ranked area there will be separate dimensions called Dungeons," Fay continues explaining things.

Alex stares at Fay curiously, trying to remember everything Fay told him. He has read a bit about this from the limited E-ranked information he can access in the UDA database, but most of them are new to him. Especially this Dungeon thing, it's completely new to him.

"Dungeons are pocket dimensions inside the Realm of Defenders. The entrance to Dungeons is in a form of a dimensional portal, just like the one you used to enter this realm from Earth, only they are smaller than the portals on Earth. Usually, the Dungeons will have different entrance and exit, so you will need to find the exit portal in order to get out of the Dungeons. There are no safe zones inside the Dungeons, so you will have to get out first if you want to get back to this personal space."

"What's inside these Dungeons?" Alex asks the important question.

"The world inside the Dungeons vary from one Dungeon to another. The creatures inside the Dungeons vary in class and rank, so you will need to be really careful before entering a Dungeon. There are Dungeons that only contained E-ranked creatures, but there are also Dungeons that contained both E-ranked and D-ranked creatures. If you're really unlucky, you might even encounter C-ranked creatures in a Dungeon that opens up in E-ranked area," Fay answers Alex's question with another detailed explanation.

"C... C-ranked creatures!? Won't we all die inside these Dungeons?" Alex is surprised by this revelation.

"Relax, the chance of encountering C-ranked creatures inside Dungeons that opened up inside the E-ranked area is minuscule. It's not even 1 in 10,000 chance. I'm just telling this as a protocol to warn Defenders who are just stepping up to E-rank of how dangerous the Dungeons can be," Fay calms Alex down.

"Oh... Okay," Alex starts to calm down.

"Although, with high risk comes high rewards. The Dungeons often contained treasures worth massive amount of credits. These treasures are mostly natural treasure that can be used to craft equipment, potions, and other types of items. You even have a high chance of finding D-ranked items inside Dungeons that have D-ranked creatures."

"D-ranked items? So I can find C-ranked items in Dungeons with C-ranked creatures?" Alex asks excitedly.

"Yes. But don't forget that you may probably die in a Dungeon with C-ranked creatures," Fay sneers at Alex.

"Yeah... You're right," Alex was brought back to reality.

"Okay, I will continue my explanation. Inside the Dungeons, there are also very rare occurrences of Defenders finding unique items that are not available in the system store," Fay continues.

"There are items not available in the system store?!" Alex is surprised by another revelation.

"Yes. And if you find one and can't find what it's used for, you can sell it to the system in exchange with credits. You can use the [Storage Box] inside this personal space to send the item to us. After taking some time to grade the item, we will give out a fair compensation in the form of credits to you," Fay answers.

"Another important thing is about the creatures inside the Dungeons. The creatures inside the Dungeons won't disappear after they die, unlike the creatures outside. You can harvest various parts of their bodies. You can trade them with the system. The system will reward you with credits in the amount of 95% of the price of the same materials within the system store. These parts include their bones, skins, meats, organs, and energy cores for some creatures that have them."

Alex is in constant shock as he listens to Fay's explanation. Now he can even sell to the system. It has to be known that before this, he couldn't sell his items to the system. It made sense though, otherwise, he could just buy a skill book, learn the skill and sell it back to the store to save credits.

"So, now I can trade items with the system?" Alex asks for confirmation from Fay.

"Yes, but it's limited to items classified as raw materials and unique items. Items you can only find inside the dungeons," Fay answers Alex's question.

"Ah... I see."

"One last thing about Dungeons. Inside the Dungeons, there are a higher ratio of Boss and Elite class creatures compared to the outside world. Hence, it's advised that you enter Dungeons in a party. It will be really difficult to enter Dungeons by yourself. If you're not already in a party when you enter a Dungeon, there is a high probability that you will arrive at different places inside the Dungeon, even if you enter the Dungeon at the same time with other Defenders," Fay finishes the long explanation about Dungeons.

"Oh, okay. Thank you for the information," Alex thanks Fay for the thorough explanation.

"Then, do you want to be transported to Gaia City right now?" Fay asks.

"No, not right now. I need to go back to Earth first. I've been in this place for almost one month. My mother and little sister are most definitely already worried sick about me," Alex replies with a sad smile when thinking about his family.

"As you wish, Alex Volff. As an E-ranked Defender, you can be considered to be a true Defender now. So, you have been granted permission to contact me through the [Magic Chip] even when you're on Earth. You are also forbidden to share any information about Dungeons with anyone who is not a Defender or Defenders below the E-ranked. If the [Magic Chip] detects that you have shared this information with those people, your access to the Realm of Defenders will be restricted or even revoked, so be careful," Fay gives Alex a warning before his return to Earth.

"Oh, wow... Why can't I share about Dungeons with them?" Alex is confused by Fay's warning.

"I can't tell you due to protocol, but you will find out eventually," Fay answers vaguely.

"Well, alright then," Alex waves it off thoughtlessly as his mind is now filled with his mother and little sister Elsa

He hasn't seen his family in almost a month. As he starts thinking of them, a homesick feeling starts to creep inside of him. This is the longest time he has left his family. He can't wait to get back home and brag about his achievement to his mom and Elsa.