First Proper Delves

At the edge of a rapidly regrowing forest, the hustle and bustle of a newly built camp could be heard. As the sun was rising, the work that started late in the night was being finished up, with tents being set already set up, and a campfire lit in the center of the camp.

"Once the trench is finished it will be my turn to get some sleep..."

Marilyn yawned, lifting her shovel once again. Following the order she was given, she rested for a day back in the town after returning from the mission, but after that, she was sent back out to the danger hole.

And what did she find? Instead of a camp where she could rest, she joined the disgruntled and now sleep-deprived explorers who were still in the process of setting the whole thing up. When they saw her they didn't see her as an experienced explorer, but a fresh labor force. And so, she ended up with a shovel in her hands.

To her mild annoyance, Ian didn't participate in the hard labor, instead being the brains behind the planning of the camp. To be fair, he was constantly running around and checking up on everyone. He also played on his flute occasionally, providing a bit of mental relief.

It was no secret that Ian was good with it. Back in town he occasionally gave performances in the Square and various taverns. Marilyn was secretly glad that he was out of the dumps he was in when he woke up with his ability to use magic being crippled.

As she was amidst her thoughts, her hands continued the work. And soon enough, she had finished her part, the trench being finished.

Marilyn couldn't help but stretch after such an exercise, but after looking over herself she realized that she needed a bath and she needed some water. Her tank top was covered in dust, and he hair which was tied in a ponytail was not much better. Still, the bath could wait.

She then went through to the center of the camp, where the cook who came with the advance party was already making something in his pot over the campfire. It smelled nice, but that wasn't Marilyn's destination. Instead, she went towards the former Mage, who was currently looking over a table filled with maps, plans, and drawings, looking rather busy.

"Hey Ian, mind if I take some water?"

The young man was a little startled, seemingly not having noticed her earlier. Still, he then gestured towards a table to the side, where a barrel filled with water was placed.

"Sure, go ahead. Please don't use my cup though."

Marilyn looked over all the cups, which looked the same, and took a random one, shrugging. After that, she quenched her thirst with the water from the barrel.

"-ahh that was refreshing. So, how's the construction going overall?"

The not-mage responded without looking away from the table, instead taking out an empty sheet of paper and beginning to draw something on it using various mapping supplies.

"Slower than we'd like, but understandable considering that we had to relocate the whole camp in the middle of the night. To have proper defenses at least a couple of makeshift watchtowers would be desirable, and having a palisade would be best."

Ian then looked up at Marilyn.

"But that's unlikely to be any time soon. And you, Marilyn, why did you come to this tent specifically to get water, knowing there are plenty of barrels outside... And why did you take my cup?"

Marilyn gazed at the cup in her hands once again.

"Answering your second question: I've got no clue how this mug is any different. And your first question... Well, I've got some questions for you instead."

Ian sighed in exhaustion as if such a situation was familiar. For some reason, seeing such an expression caused Marilyn to remember Anna and her previously cheerful demeanor.

"...same as always. Well, ask away. I suppose I owe you that much seeing that you were doing a job you were not really needed to do."

"Here goes then. When's the next exploration party going into the danger-hole?"

Ian looked at Marilyn with a confused expression.

"Danger... Hole? Do you mean the dungeon?"

"Well most folks call it that, but I keep it simple. It is a hole and it is dangerous, hence a danger hole. Now please answer my question."

"Okay, whatever. A hunting party was sent out at dawn to get some game from the First Floor. And don't worry, they were explicitly told not to engage the monster bosses, as a single party would be insufficient... At least for now."

Marilyn unconsciously looked out of the tent, from which the caps of the forest trees were visible.

"Aren't they supposed to be back by now? It's about an hour till noon."

Ian pulled out a pocket watch from one of his pouches and then also looked out.

"You would be correct in that assumption, it's a quarter past eleven. In fact, they should be arriving any second now if nothing happened..."

Abruptly, cheers sounded from the side of the camp that was near the forest. Following that, a party of five dragging a pair of sizable boars behind them came into view from among the tents, with the kills being proudly presented on display.

"...and there they are. Not a member less. Pretty good considering how all other expeditions turned out."

Marilyn added a sarcastic note.

"How our expeditions turned out. They're rather lucky compared to us."

Ian walked away from the table filled with plans and went out of the tent.

"Yes, they are. I'd rather it be a cause for celebration rather than envy. Let's go, we need to know what they encountered."

Marilyn silently followed Ian, but she knew deep inside that he was still bitter at his loss of magic even though no longer being depressed about it.

She sighed, as she also knew just how deeply fascinated Ian was with the subject, thanks to his grandpa who was an avid researcher of the topic. And now, at the peak of his life, his dreams and aspirations were torn away all to let his party get away safely. Nevertheless, it wasn't her affair to meddle in, so she focused on the present.

Meanwhile one of the five was either retelling their hunt or plain boasting about the whole experience.

"...and then get this, the big lug comes outta nowhere! While Timmy over there got scared, I on the other hand, with nary a tremble, put my arrow clean into the eye! Cool, am I right?"

The hunter in question was sipping from his canteen while talking, with one of his teammates, presumably Timmy, giving him the stink eye.

"And just as we calmed down, we heard..."

He was, however, interrupted.

"Yes, that's a nice story, but could you please give a proper report? It is important for us to know the actual situation, preferably without any embellishments."

Ian had a notebook and a quill in his hands, looking ready to record any obtained information.

The interrupted hunter looked rather displeased at being interrupted. While not saying anything, he put his boot atop one of the slain beasts. He then leaned forward.

"And who're you supposed to be? Weren't you taught that it is rude to interrupt others? Cause what you're doing now seems pretty rude to me. Oh wait, I remember you..."

The hunter leaned forward, grinning.

"You're the cripple. The waste of space."

Gasps could be heard from the crowd at the outraging statement. Ian's face didn't show any emotion, his hands instead balling up into fists, anger beginning to simmer in his eyes.

"Honestly, I don't even know why they let you out of the town. Some kinda strategist? Just some staff member from the Tower would be bette-"

He would never get to finish his words, however, as an armored gauntlet met the side of his face. Not the best meeting for the fleshy side.

The man was thrown to the ground, as the owner of the fist stood above him. Marilyn was huffing angrily as she gritted her teeth in rage.

"Don't you fucking dare spew shit about Ian. You don't know the sheer value of his sacrifice! And he did it not for some selfish goal, but to save the lives of his teammates! And you?.."

 Marilyn looked down at the man who was grasping his face, showing that just the pain from the single punch she delivered was enough to debilitate the man. It wasn't that the punch was that painful, but rather the man was unused to pain.

"What kind of hunter are you even supposed to be? Cowering at that much. I've known people who can get their arms torn off and eyes clawed out, and still keep on fighting! You? You're a coward. And the thing I hate most is a coward."

With these words, Marilyn looked over the gathered crowd, catching the guilty look from two faces in particular, who didn't dare meet her gazes. She then kicked the man in the shin with her steel boot for good measure.

She then spat on the ground and marched off from the scene.

Murmurs erupted as soon as she left, and the partymates of the man on the ground didn't even bother helping him up, looking at him with disdain as if having had enough of his antics.

"Who the heck was that? How dare he badmouth our boy Ian!"

"That's Daniel, he came from Carveshore Port to the East. A vain man I tell you. This was supposed to be his first proper expedition. Though I admit his luck was bad in coming to the town he didn't know could be soon destroyed, that's no excuse for being so disrespectful."

"Serves him right. Everyone knows that fucking with Marilyn's friends will not lead to a good outcome. He's lucky Stacy's not here, she was not allowed to come after her injury. Though it seems hypocritical with how Ian's here."

"I dunno about that, but is it just me, or is Marilyn a bit more violent since coming back from her expedition? It won't take long for her to be a second Stacy at this rate..."

The man of the hour, Ian, looked at the man who was crying in a fetal position on the ground, before sighing and turning away from the mess. If he was honest with himself, he was not sighing in relief but in gratitude to Marilyn, for she had done what he wanted to do badly.

Still, despite whatever he felt, work still needed to be done. Though Ian lost his magical combat abilities, the enhanced mind of a Mage could still be put to use, and Ian refused to be useless.

There were still plans to be drawn, which needed to account for the possible threats from the forest, expansion according to possible future arrivals, supply logistics from the town, and so on. No easy job was available at the camp.

While Ian was busy with his papers and Marilyn was venting steam with an axe using an unfortunate tree, the work in the camp continued after the violent interaction. Through the course of the day, two more hunting parties were sent out into the dungeon to bring back mana-rich meat, which was very beneficial for consumption.

Both returned with no casualties, only sustaining some injuries at most. The worst one was multiple poisoned bites one of the Warriors took on from the Venomous Earthworms, who by now have gained some infamy thanks to the stories that were being shared about the first two explorations as well. The creatures were now jokingly called Venorms.

When the sun was setting, a batch of researchers arrived from Cypress Town along with the second batch of explorers. The Mages seemingly had curiosity engraved within their very bones, and quickly got their hands on the animals that were brought back from the dungeon, examining the distribution of mana or whatever.

When the next day arrived, some of the Researchers requested to be taken along for the daily delve. Ian, as the one responsible for the camp and the safety of every person inside of it, argued with them on the topic of the safety of the Mages who were inexperienced with being in the field.

After a rather long and bothersome discussion, it was agreed upon that a pair of researchers would go in while being protected by two parties at the same time. Ian decided on this out of consideration for the Researchers who might give in to their curiosity and start examining something out of the blue.

As a point of reassurance, Marilyn volunteered to be one of the party leaders, though Ian was pretty sure she just wanted to get back into action. And like this, twelve people went to the Dungeon. In fact, based on sheer size one could call it the Third Exploration Party, though they wouldn't go too far, as Marilyn doubted they would even face the first boss.

Still, Ian's expectations were confirmed even before they went into the place itself, as the Researchers were taking notes and stopping to feel the flow of mana from time to time. One of them, who was an old man, apparently was a botanist before the Awakening and was overly interested in the rapid growth of plants and trees after the fire.

With the group already getting tired of dealing with such a troublesome pair, they eventually made it to the Dungeon itself, and that's where things got a little better, as the presence of danger caused some caution to reveal itself among the Researchers, with them getting a bit more restrained in their actions.

This allowed Marilyn to warn them about the dangers they might encounter, and categorically warn them not to go near the boss room. She then added that they were free to go anywhere other than that place, which, she could swear she was not seeing things, made a fire appear within the Mage's eyes.

So, the Mages once again began taking notes and mumbling among themselves at every second thing they encountered.

A weird-looking plant? Recorded. Mysterious lights in the ceiling? Recorded. The revelation that those lights weren't here the last time? Furious scribbling and wild theories unwinded on the previously blank pages.

The group was attacked a few times, but any beast foolish enough to attack was quickly disposed of with impeccable teamwork, Marilyn continued to perform as an excellent leader despite her experiences, overshadowing the leader of the second party.

They did experience one tough battle though. The group was attacked by the infamous Venorms who were practically a staple of the First Floor at this point, with no hunting group escaping the wrath of the slithering biters. But the swarm itself wasn't the main problem, as they were fairly simple to deal with.

Instead, the threat was a venorm that was triple the size of others, possessing significant strength. It burrowed through the ground like water, causing confusion and disorder. Before it could cause any casualties, however, Marilyn took control of the situation, and with her shield she blocked and deflected the beast, countering it with her sword.

Though the hide of the beast was much tougher than that of the other of its kind, once the other party members, along with even the Mages throwing in a shockwave or two, started their assault, the wriggled quickly succumbed.

To everyone's surprise, the beast then dissolved into mist, causing the researchers to be especially intrigued. In its place now remained a topaz-like crystal, shining with weak earthly light. Marilyn recognized the thing and briefly described what it was in general to others.

The Researchers were in a frenzy, to say the least, juggling it between themselves, and damn near licking and sniffing it. Though the other party members looked at it covetously, their greed dissipated rapidly seeing the crystal get defiled by the Mages.

That battle left the group rather winded, and Marilyn called up a vote to go back to camp. Though the Mages were reluctant, they were outvoted ten to two. And with that, the group quickly returned with no incidents. When they came back, the camp was now halfway surrounded by a palisade, the tree stumps, however, were already being partly regrown.

While such a discovery would have thrilled the Mages before, they were rather numb after what they had seen down in the Dungeon. Plus, they were exhausted. The group agreed to let them keep the crystal, leaving the duo to their own devices.

And while the explorers feasted and drank, the Mages toiled among themselves, being joined by their coworkers that previously stayed behind at camp. Fierce discussions and theorizing went among themselves, some things discovered were unheard of and mysterious. And in the end, they unanimously came to a decision.

As the falling sun once again told of the coming night, a very disgruntled group escorted one of the researchers back to Cypress Town. No one had noticed the absence of one Mage that day, daily delves instead became even more popular after the stories about the mysterious Mana Crystals were shared amongst themselves. Everyone wanted to gain greater power.

However, no one was as lucky as the group of researchers the day before. The day was rather uneventful.

But as the sun set once again, an unexpected scene happened in the camp.

As Ian heard the commotion, he went out of the tent and saw a crowd surrounding a group of new arrivals. As the crowd parted, Ian widened his eyes at the identity of one of the arrivals.

"M-Mrs Matilda?!"

"Hello there, young mage. I have heard interesting things about this place. So I decided to go out for a walk."

Matilda Stein, the Tower Master of Cypress Town had arrived at the camp.