After coming back from the quest in another town, the group had taken many other quests, and finally, they were rewarded for their work. The team had ranked up. Drakar was now an A-rank adventurer. Lila, Adrian, and Doran were now B-rank, while Sera was C-rank. Because of this, their team ranking had increased, and they were now able to take on B-rank quests. This included some low to average danger dungeons.
Everyone was excited, especially Lila and Adrian, who were practically jumping with joy. "This is amazing!" Lila cheered. "We can finally take on dungeons!" Adrian nodded eagerly. "I've always wanted to explore a dungeon! This is going to be so much fun!" Sera, however, looked a little worried. "Dungeons are dangerous, right? What if we're not ready?" Doran shrugged as he cleaned his hammer. "That's why we're going for an average-level one first. We need to test our strength before taking on anything bigger." Drakar remained quiet, simply sipping his coffee while Fizzle sat on his wings, munching on cookies.
After discussing it for a while, they decided to take on a dungeon. The rules for dungeons were simple. Adventurers were rewarded for defeating the monsters inside. Additional rewards were given for bringing back treasures, depending on their value. There were even bigger rewards for defeating a dungeon commander, and an even greater bonus for taking down the Dungeon Master. Multiple teams could take on the same dungeon either together or separately.
"We should choose our dungeon wisely," Drakar finally spoke. "We don't want to get in over our heads." Then Lila excitedly searched the quest board and found a dungeon quest. "Here it is!" she said, pointing to a parchment. The dungeon was called the Dungeon of the Black Wolf, known as Karacanis. It was said to have three commanders and was mostly filled with Horned Wolves, Blue Bears, Leaf Snakes, and Sting Bees, along with a few other monsters. Many of the other adventurers have chosen this dungeon as their first dungeon take on. "This one sounds perfect!" Adrian grinned. Sera bit her lip. "Are you sure? It has three commanders. That sounds tough."
"We won't engage with all of them," Drakar said. "Our goal is to defeat monsters and gather treasure. If necessary, we will fight one commander, but we will avoid the Dungeon Master. As our first dungeon we should not get ahead ourself and rather first know how strong we are individually as well as a team, to get a clear vision of our strengths as well as our weakness so we can grow much more." After thinking it over, everyone agreed.
Lila clapped her hands together. "Alright! Tomorrow morning, we'll gather supplies, items, and everything we need. We leave in the afternoon and reach the dungeon by night. We'll camp nearby and enter the dungeon in the morning." Doran nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Adrian stretched his arms. "I can't wait!"
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That night, Lila spoke with her father, Zora. During their conversation, she told him, "Papa, I am going to take on a dungeon." Zora was shocked and immediately became worried.
"Whattt!!! Are you sure? Are you ready? A dungeon is no joke! Should I come with you? Please don't go!, It can be very dangerous, what will I do if something happens to you?" He kept speaking in a panic until Lila held his hand. She looked into his eyes and said, "Don't worry, Papa. I will be fine. Don't you believe in your daughter?" Zora hesitated but then sighed. "But..." He stopped for a moment before continuing. "Lila, you matter to me the most in this world. Please don't do anything reckless. Promise me you will return safely." Lila smiled and hugged him. "Promise."
Despite his worries, Zora knew he shouldn't stop Lila. He had to let her grow. With a heavy heart, he accepted her decision to take on her first dungeon. He knew he should not interrupt her during her quest, but helping her indirectly was always on his mind. He also did not want to expose his true strength to other as it will only cause unwanted commotion, as well as it will effect Lila's life which he does not want at all. Seeing her all excited and happy only made him happy and proud, but his worried would not let him breathe easily, as much as he wanted to go with Lila to the dungeon, he knew he couldn't and that he shouldn't. He didn't want to make Lila upset. His heart was once again stuck in between a storm, as he was left with no choice.
That night Lila was super excited, jumping here and there. This indeed a huge moment for her, one more step to what she wants to be, a legendary adventurer.
Adrian was also very excited and just couldn't for sun to rise. Sera was scared inside and was wishing everything will go fine. Doran sharpening the weapons for the team and cleaning them as well, very confident going in a dungeon. Drakar sitting on a cliff edge looking at the moon, as he thinks that he growing stronger and just have to keep getting as strong as possible. Fizzle was with Zora telling him not to worry about Lila and the rest, and that they are strong people, strong enough to take on these easy peasy dungeon, laughing and grinning, as Zora could only listen to her.