Chapter 16: First dungeon (2)

Perseus POV

"C'mon, one of these dark secluded alleyways is bound to have a clue."

"Uh why?" Lia asked

"C'mon Lia, it's obvious. Protagonist always arrive on things at the right places and time, we're going to walk on some thieves bullying a super cute girl which I will swoop in to save and steal her heart. Sometime, not a cute girl, but by saving someone, that victim can be a super strong guy who is in disguise and like our morality and it will help us down in the storyline."

"How does that have anything to do with the dungeon?"

"Thieves, interrogation, abandoned warehouse, fight, dungeon clear, happy ending, I don't know how you're confused. Do you not read fictional stories? I mean we are characters in the fantasy genre, there are always similarities."

"You cannot just base the tower off of fictional stories." she retorted

For the record, those knowledge has helped me a lot to climb this tower, so yes I can base it around then. No wonder people die all the time, I mean, in the previous tower, a random side quest on floor 46, it was to survive a night in a certain ordinary looking house.

You'd think that opening the creaking door of the rickety house was obvious enough, but nooo, the house even had the stupid scary eerie music in the background, it was an obvious haunted house, and some idiots have just gotta announce themselves, 'is anyone there?', well now they know you're there!

And what do you know, 95% of the participants of the quest died, because they step into the house where boom, emergency quest and stuck there forever. Which half were found in the basement, why go down to the basement?! It's a fucking trap, and it's not the cute trap that I, I mean we, would simp for, but the killing kind.

And here she is saying that I shouldn't based my raider life off of fiction, without all that, I wouldn't survive. Oh man, if I don't stick with her, she's going to die.

"Ok, look, we'll go into every secluded corner in this market area together, and if we find some people try to mug an innocent, I win and if we don't you win."

"It doesn't have to be a beautiful woman being robbed, right?"

"I would prefer if it was a beautiful older woman, but no, it doesn't."

"Worst first date ever, and I never even been anywhere alone with a guy." she grumbled "What do I get if I win?"

"Nothing, because you won't."

"If I win, I'll have you do something embarrassing in front of the whole academy."

"Alright, and if I win, I get bragging rights."

*****

"Yeah, you were right." Lia sigh and facepalmed.

In front of us was a ragged old man being surrounded by 4 big bandits with their knives out.

"Can you handle 2?" she asked

"In what context?"

"What?"

"Oh you mean in a fight. I fought wyverns, you think I can't handle lousy cliché thieves?"

"Hey! What the he-" one of those guys shouted.

"Shut up." I retorted as I accidently shot a blast of wind blowing them against the wall killing 3 of them. 1 is screaming in pain as I think I broken several bones in his body.

'3/113. 0/1 Boss.'

Lia just went ahead and bind him up and healed him a bit afterwards. Lia then gathered some things and gave them to the old man who bowed and left quickly.

I didn't mean to do that, I was hoping to pull off a long and cool heroic fight, maybe then this old man can introduce me to some beautiful women afterwards, but too bad, I think I just scared him.

*****

Cordelia POV

I can't believe he was right, stupid dumb fictional stories...I was just going to have him ask me out in front of everyone in a very elegant way, embarrassing for him, but great for me, well too bad for him then...well for me, cuz I would love to have him ask me out.

Damn him though. I should start reading those fictional stories so I can have an upper edge next time.

"So where are your friends? I need to take you all down, which abandoned warehouse are you located in?" Perseus asked

"H-How'd you know that we're located in a warehouse?" the NPC asked

Perseus then gave me a smug look, yes, we get it, you're a self proclaimed protagonist who is right in everyway, no need to rub it in. Next dungeon, I swear.

After the location and everything was spilled. Perseus gave me a signal and pointed at him, it means for me to kill him. The other 3 already disappeared as light particles that dispersed and flew upwards.

Every monsters in the tower will be like that after they die, they will stay as is for a while where people can skin them and take raw materials and made into equipments, the leftovers will disappear and be claimed by the tower.

My first kill, that's what he is signaling. I took several deep breaths and shook off my nerves before my blade went through the thief's heart. I can see his lifeless eyes and how his body...the feeling was hard to describe.

"You can try to think of them as NPCs, but they are very lifelike, they react to us the same way, the only difference is that we are real and they are just good copies. Do you want to know the reason why some people let out rumors that the ascension quest into the first floor will be the hardest?"

"Why?"

"You'll see."

*****

We went to the warehouse at the location that the thief told us earlier, there was an open hole on top. Perseus used his magic to make us invisible and we climbed up there. He then pointed at this young boy, no older than 14 amongst the group of criminals.

"That's the boss?"

"Well yes...you're going to have to kill him." he replied

My heart just sunk. I have to kill a child? NPCs or not...this is terrible.

"To get into the first floor, everyone has to be ready to make life and death decisions, and this is one of them." he explained "Though the kid isn't necessarily strong, but are ready ready to bear the consequences? If you are not mentally ready, we can leave the dungeon right now, and afterwards you can quit the tower.

"Because if you can't kill the boy, you won't make it in the tower where you will be forced to kill fellow raiders in some situations."