The Dungeon.

Once Alex woke up, he immediately started his walk to the Noir forest, which was outside the Kingdom of Daprakia. The kingdom was named after its first ruler, Daprakia Leonosa, he was the first to build Mage and Sword schools. He was also known to be a very powerful mage during his ruling era.

The Kingdom of Daprakia is mostly known for its ability to have powerful Mages or Swordfighters. But now, the numbers are dwindling in how many Swordfighters and Mages came out of the schools strong and noble. The new ruler was lacking in his ability to lead which led to the future war that was to occur.

Alex will have to try not to get himself involved in anything that isn't his business. Once Alex got to the edge of the Noir forest, he only stared in anxiousness. Despite how clear the weather was, the forest looked like a dark void, even when he was standing on the edges of the forest.

(Come on host, chop chop)

He heard Mirai's taunting and his right eye twitched in irritation. His system was annoying. Alex sighed and stepped into the void of the forest.

****

Half-way through the forest, nothing had jumped out at him, yet. It also sounds like any normal forest would. Crickets chirping, owls hooting, and animals communicating, even though they might not be the animals Alex was familiar with.

Alex was tense with anxiety and anxiousness. He had never had to experience something like this before and it was scary. He also felt extremely unprotected because, One: He didn't have any more money to spend which meant he couldn't get himself any gear or weapons, Two: He had no experience even though Mirai tells him he does.

As he took another step, suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him. He fell to his knees with a hand on his head.

"..Woah..." He whispered.

(Host, are you alright?)

Taking in a deep breath, Alex nodded as he slowly stood up. He noticed the dizziness fading as he talked.

"What was that just now?"

Mirai materialized beside him, looking in the direction of his right.

"It was a reaction you got from feeling a Dungeon"

Alex's eyes narrowed as he turned to his right.

"So we're close by then?"

"Yes, 50 meters away"

Alex nodded and took an extremely deep breath as he walked in the direction of the Dungeon. As he walked, he noticed decaying plants and brown patches of grass.

"Did the Dungeon do this?" He asked Mirai who immediately responded.

"Yes. The dungeon needs energy to stay open so it takes the energy out of the surrounding area. That's why most of the plants and grass are dead. But, it has a limit on how far and how much it can take."

Alex nodded his head as he ducked under a branch and moved some long-grown plants out of his way. He steps out into a small clearing with a dark void-like cave in front of him. 

"Is that it?" He asked.

"Yes, once you go inside, you won't be able to come out until you beat the Dungeon or unless you die"

Alex groans at the information, not wanting to die but not wanting to fight the beasts inside the Dungeon either.

"There is also something you need to be aware of"

Alex looked at Mirai with a confused look.

"You need to be careful of traps"

Hearing Mirai's words, Alex stuffed his face into the palms of his hands. He groans loudly before going silent and taking a deep breath, again.

"Alright, let's go," He said while walking towards the dungeon, Mirai hovering next to him.

Once the two of them entered the Dungeon, the crystals that were embedded into the walls and the floors immediately lit up in bright blue hues.

'Pretty' Alex thought as he continued to look at the crystals as he walked past them.

"Host, no getting distracted"

Alex tore his eyes away from the crystals as he paid extreme attention to his surroundings. He watched for traps and anything that might jump out at him. 

It was minutes before something happened. Alex had taken a step forward onto the stone floors when his foot pushed down on something. Likely a trigger to a trap.

Alex felt dread as he heard Mirai quickly shout,

"Host! Dodge to the right!"

Thankfully he was fast enough to dodge but not without a few cuts on his arm and side. He stared with horror at the arrows embedded into the wall beside him. 

He breathed out shakily as he moved away from the arrows and checked his wounds. They weren't deep but they were bleeding alright. Alex scrunched up his face at the blood.

"Host, are you alright?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah, a few cuts but I'm fine, nice save though"

"Yeah, just make sure to pay attention next time"

Alex nodded his head. That was way too close for comfort. As the two of them continued into the dungeon, with Alex paying extreme attention to his steps, they didn't notice the moving shadows.

****

As Alex finally got the hang of using his instincts along with his senses, he got a little better at dodging the traps because so far, they had been predictable, although he did get injured a few times.

"This feels off, there are a lot of traps but we haven't seen one beast since we first came in" Alex voiced his concerns. He wasn't exaggerating what he said, they had truly not once met a beast, just traps.

"Yes, you're right...Alex, I need you to learn this spell"

Alex looked up with wide eyes, he opened his mouth to refuse because he wasn't able to control Leina's powers.

"I know you can't control them, but just trust me"

Alex looked at Mirai skeptically before sighing and nodding his head.

"Okay, so repeat after me. Recherche de Dieu"

Alex took a deep breath before repeating Mirai's words,

"Recherche de Dieu-" Alex's eyes immediately widened as his head was thrown back and his eyes glowed a bright yellow. It was a few seconds but it was all Mirai needed for Alex.

As Alex's head is brought forward, his breathing was quick as he took in multiple breaths.

"Host, what did you see?"

Alex takes in a deep breath as he stands up from the position he fell in when he finished the spell. He looks around, his hands shaking and his eyes darting before looking back at Mirai.

"...They're everywhere."

Mirai was quiet. It seemed like the beasts were cunning enough to have them go through the dungeon until they reached the middle, which was where they were now. They were stalking their prey.

"Alex, repeat after me, lumière divine"

Alex stuttered but said the words correctly,

"Lumière divine"

Alex spoke the words and a bright piercing light exploded. High shrills were heard as burning sounds accompanied them. Mirai, taking the chance, told Alex to run.

And Alex obeyed. He ran as fast as he could, dodging traps and sliding under stone slabs that blocked his escape. And once he deemed it safe, he hid in a crack in the wall. It was small for other people but big enough for him to fit through. He hid.

"Host, are okay?"

Alex looked at Mirai and just nodded his head.

"What do you want me to?"

Mirai thought for a moment before answering his question.

"What you need to do is defeat the boss"

Alex nodded his head before asking another question.

"What other spells can you tell me?"

Alex didn't say teach because in truth Mirai was telling him words to speak, not how to do the spell. he was just going with the flow at this point.

"Well, I can tell you two attack spells"

Alex nodded and gestured for Mirai to continue.

"Éclairage divin and Feu divin"

Alex liked the sounds of the names.

"The first one is a skill that enables the holder to use lightning which can be used to shape it however you want. The second allows you to be able to use powerful fire which can be shaped however you want, just like the first spell. The fire also has the ability to burn anything except Cinate which is a legendary metal"

Once Alex heard the explanations for the spells, he was a little skeptical.

"Don't you think those sound a bit much?"

"You want to be safe don't you?"

"Yes..?"

"Then accept all the help you can get"

Alex sighed and nodded. Alex took a few minutes to memorize the spells before he continued his journey to the boss's room. He was able to find it pretty easily because of the amount of bones found on the ground. It is especially all piled up next to a huge stone door with engraving etched into it.

Alex felt nervous as he eyed the huge door. He felt his hands shake with slight fear and his legs felt like they were gonna give out. Alex stared at the door, then at his hands. He then clenched them and took a deep breath in and he let it out.

He opened his eyes with a determined look as he approached the huge doors. He placed his hands on the door and started to push. It was heavy but it started to move a little before it started sliding open.

His eyes widened once his eyes landed on the many beasts that resided in the boss room. There were so many that he couldn't even count them if he wanted to. The boss garnered his attention the most. The horns on each side of its head, blue skin, braided hair, buff, and it was armored up. The boss held a spear and a shield in his hands.

In all, the boss looked very intimidating. Alex gulped before readying his hands.

"You ready?"

Mirai spoke to him. Alex looked at the beasts in the room before nodding his head in walking forward with a determined glare despite feeling fear.

"Yeah"

Alex told himself on repeat that he had experience, although not this type of experience, he had enough to dodge. Once Alex took another step, a one-horned beast ran at him. He heard from Mirai on their way to the boss's room name these ghouls while the boss would be called the beast. 

"Feu divin" Once he spoke the spell, purple fire erupted from his right hand. It made the ghouls flinch and back away as he continued his approach.

Then, out of nowhere his left hand too erupted into dark Amethyst. The fire in both hands greatly intimidated the ghouls as they backed away from Alex.

Once Alex took in a deep breath and let it out, he bolted forward. The ghouls, after getting a deadly stare from their leader, immediately started going after Alex. They swung their axes and their knives at him. Although Alex wasn't fast or skilled, his dodging was enough to make the ghouls stumble to the ground.

And once they were, Alex took that opportunity to grab onto them, burning them to ashes in just a few seconds. Despite their fear, the ghouls continued to attack, doing all they physically can to stop the intruder, but regardless, they were still getting beaten.

Mirai watched in surprise and astonishment. Alex was doing well surprisingly. Yes, he was dodging but during mid-weave he was tripping them up so that they would stumble which would give him the opportunity to grab them, burning them to cinders.

It was a good start, but he would need more than that to beat the boss.

Alex sidestepped a knife aimed at his side before turning towards his left. He watched as the object passed his face in slow motion before it was pulled back quickly and plunged in his direction.

He noticed as the knife was thrust forward to his stomach that he was too late in dodging. In a quick motion, Alex raised his hands in front of him and the fire exploded from his hands, spreading all over the ghouls, painting them in Amethyst.

Alex quickly spun his body, spreading the dark purple over every ghoul that surrounded him. Once he saw nothing but purple he slipped out of the ring of fire to deal with any living ghoul that he could find.

What he saw was nothing but an empty room, minus the beast. He looked around, and once he noticed no ghouls he approached the leader.

Alex felt an oppressing aura radiate off the boss. He could tell the guy was angry. The room soon rumbled as the boss stood up.

"Be ready"

Alex turned to see Mirai hovering next to him. He nodded and turned his attention back to the boss. The leader gripped its spear tightly and raised its shield. It then raised its spear and hurled it towards Alex.

Once Alex saw the tip of the spear, he gulped and evaded the tip of the spear as it embedded itself into the stone flooring of his previous spot, creating a hole.

The boss raised its shield and heaved it to the ground. Alex stumbled as the stones were hurled into the air. Rocks from the floor tumbled through the air in random directions.

Alex turned toward his right, dodging a huge jagged rock that was just aimed at his backside. Alex then stopped once he made it as far away as he could from the boss. He watched as the beast picked up its shield and spear and looked toward him, glaring with red piercing eyes. 

Alex stood still as the boss approached him with a raised spear. Once the boss deemed he was close enough, he plunged his spear into the floor, missing Alex by a few inches as he dodged to the left.

The boss raised the spear again and continued to try and pierce through Alex who kept dodging and running away.

Alex was getting tired and worn out as he continued to run and dodge. He had to do something but he didn't know what. Then a thought occurred to him as he dodged another hit from the spear, he could use the lightning skill.

As Alex dodges another strike from the spear, he slides to a stop as the fire on his hands disappears and something else takes its place. It was flickering.

"Éclairage divin" As the words were spoken, Alex's hands lit up in bright golden sparks. His eyes light up a bright purple as his hair sticks up.

The dungeon boss halts its steps as it stares at Alex with wide shaking eyes. It backed up, but it wasn't able to get away as the next word that came out of Alex's mouth was its fall.

"Grève"

A loud clap rang out as the ceiling was pierced through by a large yellow bolt of lightning. The yellow streak pierces the dungeon boss, enveloping him in glowing yellow. The shrill screams of the dungeon boss resounded as he burned away slowly in his agonizing moments.

Alex covers his ears as a loud crack bursts out in the Boss's room. The aftershock of a lightning bolt called Thunder.

Alex coughed as he opened his eyes. Dust was in the air and debris covered the ground. Alex stepped through the cloud of dust and made his way to a bright spot and once he saw it, he was, awfully mesmerized.

The charred and falling apart body of the boss lay in a crater as sunlight covered the body in a golden yellow. It was mesmerizing but Alex wondered how the sun even got through the dense Noir forest but he left that question for later.

Alex went to take another step but winced, he immediately brought his hand to his side. He looked down and pulled his hand away and what he saw should have surprised him but it didn't. Crimson red covered his hand and dripped out of his side.

The adrenaline must still be in his system if he can barely even register the pain his body is in, which means he should get this over quickly.

Mirai looked at its host worriedly, "Host..."

"Mirai, where is the treasure room?"

If Mirai could flinch, they probably would because their host looked...dull. Maybe even out of it.

"I-It is in the left corridor"

Mirai stuttered and quietly followed their host as he made his way toward the left corridor. He stood there before reaching out with a hand as he said something under his breath. The hand that was held out was covered in small, controlled flames as he grabbed the lock that was preventing him from going into the treasure room.

The metal melted to the floor and off the door. The purple fire diminished as Alex opened the door to the treasure room. Immediately, Alex was blinded by how bright the room was and he squinted his eyes, trying to get used to the brightness.

Once his eyes adjusted, he was surprised to see so much gold in huge piles.

"This dungeon surprisingly has a lot of gold considering it was a low-ranked dungeon, but this is enough to get you into an academy"

Alex looked at Mirai and nodded then tilted his head as he looked back at the gold.

"How will I carry it all?"

"Luckily dungeons are prone to having spatial bags which can have big spaces, so start digging"

Alex groans as he looks at the three big piles of gold. He sighed as he started searching.

After minutes, Alex finally found a spatial bag. With a sigh of relief, he opens the spatial bag and points it towards the piles of gold, and watched in astonishment as all the gold was sucked into the bag.

"Woah.."

Alex laughed out with a smile.

"Cool right?"

Alex looked at Mirai with a small smile,

"Yep!"

****

As Alex steps out of the cave he is immediately pelted with water. Alex looked up and although his vision of the sky was a bit obscured, he was able to make out a cloudy sky.

"It's raining..."

Alex stood still as he stared at the wet ground.

"Host, let's leave so you don't catch a cold"

Alex started to walk,

"Right..."

****

Alex walks to the far side of the kingdom to the spot where he exited from. He had to exit the kingdom from this hidden entrance he found because you need an ID of identification to leave and enter the kingdom. He doesn't have an ID of identification or anything of the sort.

Alex squeezes through the entrance and finds himself in an alley. He walks to his left. The streets were barren as the rain today was extremely heavy.

Alex's bright blonde hair drips with water as he continues his walk to the inn. He walked a few more steps before a thought popped up.

'The inn will probably ask questions...they will probably even ask me where I was or what I was doing...I don't feel like asking questions'

Alex continued to walk. He passed the inn and once he was a few alleys away, he knocked on a wooden door. It was a minute before he heard rustling and the door hand turning.

The door opened, revealing the old lady he stayed with for a little. She looked him over with narrowed eyes before gesturing him in gently. He walked in and sat in a wooden chair by the fireplace that was lit. 

While he was warming up, he heard rustling and things being placed or moved around. The sound then was replaced by soft footsteps which belonged to the grandma.

She placed a tray of medical supplies on the table before silently dressing his many wounds. She stayed silent as she cleaned and wrapped his wounds.

Once she was done, she gave him a tea that was an herbal mixture. Surprisingly it tasted good. The grandma came back and sat in the chair across from him when she had finished putting everything away.

It was a while before she asked her questions.

"What happened?" 

She asked in concern. With a small sip of the tea, he answered her.

"I beat a dungeon"

He gave her a short answer, not wanting to go into too much detail. The grandma sat up and stared at him with wide eyes.

"By yourself?"

She asked and Alex nodded. The grandma huffed as she leaned back and stared at him with astonished eyes. Alex only raised a brow at her expression.

"What kind of dungeon?"

The grandma asked.

"It was a low-level dungeon"

her expression then changed into one of understanding.

"I don't know if you know this Leina, but, dungeons are very hard to beat especially when you go at them alone. So conquering one all by yourself, be it a low-level one is a great feat. You can become a very powerful mage if you continue to get stronger, but, why did you conquer the dungeon?"

Alex soaked in her words before answering,

"Well, the dungeon was difficult to beat, that's how I got these injuries and, I needed to beat a dungeon so that I could collect the money and get into an academy"

Alex explained. The grandma nodded.

"Alright, I don't care what you do as long as you don't get hurt as much as you are now"

The grandma told him sternly and he nodded as he continued to drink his herb tea.

After a while of silence. The grandma gave Alex some clothes, which she had just in case she ever had guests, and told him he could sleep in the guest room.

Alex thanked her and went into the guest room. He carefully changed into night ware and after he was done he got into the bed and under the covers.

(Host, will we be getting you situated at one of the academies?)

(Yeah, but I need to pick which one)

It was quiet for a moment before Mirai spoke again.

(Why not the top academy? It has a high success rate, be it almost being made up of all noble children, it'll bring you closer to leveling up to 7)

Alex was quiet for a moment before responding.

(I guess, but if some kid annoys me, I will hit)

(Uuuh just because the laws have given you SOME leniency, personality-wise, you can't go hitting kids)

(Says who?)

(Says me and the laws)

(Fuck the laws then)

(No, if you disobey the laws then you will be at risk of losing your job which means we will be forced to NOT help your brother live, and I'll get into deep trouble, understood?)

Alex grumbled before nodding.

(Fine, but if I get hit, I will hit back)

(Fine whatever, it's self-defense anyways)

(YES!)

(Go to sleep)

(Okay~)

Alex turned onto his side as he bundled up into the blankets and he quickly fell asleep.

While Alex was asleep. Mirai was pondering on what the laws of the world were thinking. They suddenly gave him some kind of message indicating that they knew that they were there but, they weren't gonna do anything but watch and grant some leniency towards the host's personality and actions.

It was puzzling because they had never encountered this before. This was new and Mirai isn't sure if they like it or not. The laws of this world are unpredictable now.