Discovery

|Third Person|

Gary stood in the midst of a bizarre dungeon, his senses tingling with the unmistakable presence of mana signatures. As he gripped the silver hilt of his sword, a translucent green shield of mana erupted around him, dispelling the darkness that enveloped him. The sounds of prowling beasts grew louder, prompting Gary to narrow his eyes and furrow his brows in anticipation.

'This is quite the peculiar dungeon,' he thought, taking note of the abundance of mana signatures surrounding him.

Without warning, Gary generated a swirling pulse of red lightning, which he unleashed towards the darkness. The beam of light caused the darkness to retreat, revealing a pack of Midnight Silverback Wolves with dark silver fur. Gary immediately recognized them as A-class beasts known for their use of wind magic and their ability to hunt in packs. They were capable of overwhelming even AA-class and S-class beasts if there were enough alphas to lead the pack.

Unfazed by the challenge before him, Gary assumed a fighting stance, his thumb resting on the hilt of his sword. He activated his primary core, which emanated a dull silver glow, and his yellow secondary core, which allowed him to siphon out basic wind and deviant lightning alongside blue fire magic. As he prepared to engage the pack of wolves, he recited all the information he had learned about them from the books he had read.

But as the wolves charged towards him like a tsunami, Gary remained unfazed, his stoic expression unchanged. With lightning-fast reflexes, he executed the second movement of Keiki Style, the Horizon Splitting Splitter. His sword sliced through the wolves with ease, tearing them apart like a hot knife cutting through butter. The battle was over before it even began, and Gary couldn't help but shake his head at how easily he had dispatched the A-class beasts.

However, his moment of triumph was short-lived. Suddenly, a powerful mana signature entered his sensory range, causing Gary to whip his head around. Without hesitation, he fired a bolt of lightning towards the source, revealing a giant two-headed beast.

"Hades Serpent?" he muttered, his analytical mind immediately assessing the situation. "But shouldn't that beast have blue flames?"

|Gary|

I regarded the giant beast before me with interest, noting its black flames with a sense of curiosity. Hades Serpent was classified as an AA-class beast, but there was something different about this one. Its mana signature felt erratic and more powerful than any AA-class beast I had encountered before.

"Interesting," I muttered, my brow furrowing as I observed the beast. I couldn't wait to dissect it and uncover the source of its black flames.

Suddenly, the serpent let out a roar, unleashing waves of black flames towards me. Without hesitation, I conjured a dome of water and wind mana around me, watching as the flames crashed against the shield, slowly eating away at my mana reserves.

Determined to experiment further, I siphoned more mana to strengthen the shield before conjuring blue flames to clash against the serpent's black flames. The two types of flames fought fiercely, swirling around each other as they both tried to gain the upper hand. Ultimately, the black flames proved victorious.

Undeterred, the serpent charged towards me, its jaws open wide as it prepared to devour me. Without a change in expression, I calmly placed my thumb on the hilt of my sword. With a crash, my shield shattered, and I almost saw a look of triumph on the beast's face as it closed its jaws around me.

With a fluid motion, I executed the third movement of the Keiki Style: Void Step, my body flickering as I moved at an incredible speed that left most mages baffled. As I reappeared far behind the beast, a smirk tugged at my lips as I deftly caught the black horns that had fallen to the ground.

"Thank you for such a gift," I said, studying the horns with a curious expression. I turned back to face the serpent, now enraged and roaring with pure hatred and rage. However, I could sense a drop in its strength, and the black flames were slowly being replaced by blue flames.

'Were these horns the source of the strange magic the beast was using?' I wondered as I watched the beast's power return to that of a normal AA-class creature.

Suddenly, the beast drew its two heads back and inhaled deeply before unleashing a torrent of blue and black flames towards me.

Without a moment's hesitation, I executed the second movement of the Keiki Style: Horizon Splitting Slash. My sword sliced through the flames, cleaving through the serpent's body and bisecting it with ease. The beast let out a final roar before collapsing to the ground, its lifeless body lying still before me.

With a swift motion, I plunged my hand into the beast's chest and retrieved its core. It appeared almost normal, except for a tinge of red hue that caught my attention.

I channeled some of my mana into the core, probing the contents within. I sensed the Hades Serpent's original mana mixed with an unknown foreign essence.

I couldn't believe what I discovered; the foreign essence had the power to reconstruct bodies, as evidenced by the growth of the beast's horns.

However, the foreign essence had not yet fully taken over the beast's body before I killed it. As I examined the severed horns, I noticed they were teeming with a substantial amount of mana.

"This isn't something I can trade. I'll have to absorb this mana myself," I murmured, making a mental note to investigate this foreign essence further.

"I have a bad feeling about this," I muttered to myself, hesitating to enter the tunnel where the Hades Serpent had come from. Something inside me warned me that I wasn't prepared for what I might find inside.

As much as I wanted to turn back, my curiosity got the best of me, and I stepped into the tunnel. The further I went, the stronger the feeling grew, but I pushed forward, determined to find out what was at the end of it.

When I emerged into a secret cavern, I was taken aback by the peaceful surroundings. Green moss covered the ground, and streams of water created a serene atmosphere. But my attention was soon drawn to the signs of recent human activity, suggesting that this was no natural cavern.

As I realized that people from another continent had been conducting experiments here, I knew I had to act quickly. The fact that they had infiltrated our dungeons and were conducting experiments was a cause for alarm.

I decided to destroy the place before they could cause any more harm. Raising my right hand, I siphoned fire mana from my primary core and boosted it with my secondary core. Blue flames appeared in my palm, but I knew they weren't enough.

I focused on my mana, using my knowledge to manipulate it in a unique way. "Fire needs oxygen and fuel to burn. But mana can act as the oxygen of flames," I thought to myself.

I concentrated my mana and cast a powerful spell. "Mana Combustion: Eternal Flames," I chanted as the blue flames transformed into shimmering white flames that I released far away from me.

Satisfied with the result, I quickly exited the tunnel and sealed it with earth magic to prevent anyone from entering.

Completing another dungeon dive, my hundred and thirty-sixth in four years, I knew this one was different from the rest. I had stumbled upon something much more intriguing and dangerous than I had expected.

_______________________________

|Gary|

With only five months left before I was to return home and conclude my adventuring journey as per our agreement, I reflected on the past four years. Although I was initially dissatisfied with the arrangement, it had provided me with ample opportunities to develop my skills.

As I approached the Adventurer's Guild Hall in the Beast Glades, the guard recognized me and bowed respectfully, opening the door without any need for identification. The hushed conversations of the other adventurers ceased as soon as I entered, their attention shifting towards me.

"I would like to collect my compensation for clearing the newly discovered A-class dungeon, Hell's Jaw," I declared, displaying my bag of beast cores harvested from the wolves.

The receptionist greeted me with a practiced smile, handing me a pouch as she said, "Kindly provide me with your adventurer's badge, Sir Gary."

I retrieved my badge from my pocket, where I kept it for protection, and handed it to her. The platinum badge shimmered in the light as she inspected it.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sir Gary," she said, returning my badge and providing me with my compensation.

"Do you wish to sell these cores?" she inquired. I nodded, and her smile brightened as she quoted a price. "Typically, the adventurer's guild would pay 600 gold coins for each core, but for you, Sir Gary, I can offer 15 platinum coins for every 20 cores."

"There are 30 cores in the bag. I'll accept 23 platinum coins," I countered, always eager to negotiate for personal gain.

"Agreed, Sir Gary," she responded, shaking my hand with a smile. Despite my father's wealth and influence in Sapin, having personal funds was always beneficial.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Gary," a familiar voice said behind me.

I turned around to face Kaspian Bladeheart, the head of the Adventurer's Guild branch in the Beast Glades. "Good to see you again, Kaspian," I replied, masking my annoyance with a polite smile.

Standing behind Kaspian were two other adventurers. One was a short female with striking red eyes, and the other was a small person wearing a white mask with a black musical note drawn on it. I recognized the mana signature emanating from the masked adventurer - we had met before.

Kaspian wasted no time in introducing the pair. "Sir Gary, these two are A-class adventurers Note and Jasmine Flamesworth. I would like to commission you to accompany them and join an expedition team for The Death Talon Dungeon, a newly discovered AA-class dungeon."

Normally, I preferred to adventure alone, but I needed to stay busy until I could return home in five months. And if I could pick up a few useful pieces along the way, all the better. "I accept," I said with a nod. "But before we leave, someone should check on this corpse I brought back. The beast was abnormal."

I transferred the corpse to Kaspian's spatial ring and he gave a curt nod of thanks. "Take this map and use the horses to reach the dungeon," he said, handing me a rolled-up parchment.

As we set off towards the Death Talon Dungeon, the sound of horse hooves filled the air. "Haap!" we snapped our reins, urging our horses to pick up the pace.

"Arthur, I know it's you under the mask," I said, turning towards the midget. His red eyes widened in surprise, but I quickly reassured him. "Don't worry, I won't reveal your identity. I only recognized you from your mana signature. You've done well keeping it a secret."

It wasn't easy for someone as young as him to hide their impressive power and fame, but it was necessary to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

'I should take care of this issue in the future,' I thought to myself, feeling a sense of responsibility.

As we rode, we chatted and got to know each other better. I found myself enjoying their company, something I didn't expect from a group adventure.

Eventually, we arrived at a small clearing near the Death Talon Dungeon. We brought our horses to a slow trot and dismounted, ready to face the challenges ahead.

As we entered the clearing where the dungeon entrance was located, I surveyed the scene. The area was surrounded by tall trees, and a group of adventurers were clearing their camp, some checking their weapons as they prepared to enter the dungeon.

I quickly scanned my party members: four augmenters, three conjurers, and a pure emitter. It seemed like a well-balanced group.

A young girl, barely old enough to be considered an adult, clapped her hands and called for introductions. "Let us begin with the introductions first!" she said cheerfully.

"My name is Evelyn, I am an S-class conjurer at the initial silver stage," she introduced herself with a swing of her blue locks.

"I'm Gary, an S-class augmenter at the initial silver stage as well," I replied.

"Greetings, I am Gerald, an AA-class conjurer at the solid yellow stage," a dignified-looking man with hazel eyes and tame brown hair introduced himself with a bow.

"I'm Oliad, an A-class dark yellow stage conjurer with an emitter deviant specialization in healing," a conjurer in auburn robes with black leather linings said, thrusting his staff onto the ground for emphasis.

"I'm Prisa, an A-class emitter with emitter deviancy specializing in healing," a shy blonde girl introduced herself quietly. Despite her timid demeanor, I could tell that she would be quite useful.

"My name is Jasmine, an A-class augmenter at the solid yellow stage, with a wind attribute and dual swords," my partner introduced herself with confidence.

"I'm Note, an A-class augmenter at the solid orange stage, with a fire attribute and specialization in sword," Arthur added impatiently, as if eager to get on with the expedition.

"And I'm Luke, an AA-class augmenter at the light yellow stage with wind and fire dual attributes and a spear specialization," a man with orange hair and light metal armor said, standing tall and looking disciplined like Gerald.

Evelyn welcomed us warmly, swaying her hips as she greeted us. "Welcome, you three! It's good to see another S-class adventurer here!"

As the introductions finished, Oliad turned to Arthur and asked, "Mr. Note, there have been various rumors about you claiming that you are not an augmenter, yet you just announced that you are. What's going on?"

"I haven't been using my magic for a while due to personal reasons. That must be the reason why those rumors came up," Arthur explained with a shrug.

I couldn't help but wonder if he had been forgoing magic to focus on his swordsmanship. It was an interesting thought.

Evelyn and I quickly discussed our battle plan and set up our formation accordingly.

As the most experienced frontliner, I took the lead. I was flanked by Luke and Arthur, both excellent attackers. Jasmine was positioned in the rear to cover our backs, while our four conjurers were nestled safely in the center, with Prisa given extra protection as our primary healer.

I noted the absence of any defensive augmenters in our group, but decided not to dwell on it. We had a strong team with a good balance of offensive and support abilities.

"We must move out without delay," I commanded, taking charge as the frontline leader. However, Evelyn was responsible for coordinating the actions of the conjurers.

This dungeon was classified as AA-level, which meant only parties with A-class or higher members were permitted to enter. But given that it was a newly-discovered dungeon, the party had been assembled with even more powerful members.

With weapons at the ready and a determined focus, we made our way into the ominous entrance of the Death Talon Dungeon, a name given by the scouts who first discovered it.