"This here is the band that you will be wearing as an adventurer." The woman, who had introduced herself as Aaylia, said as she placed a circular jet black band on the table between them. They just so happened to be in the same room they had first spoken in. Well, Aaylia "It is specially enchanted to shrink or grow in size to your wrist, so it should be pretty comfortable for you to wear."

The Abyss Watcher nodded, picking up the band. He turned it over in his hand, inspecting it thoroughly. It was entirely made of Adamantine, it's jet black exterior engraved in carvings. One stood out in particular, being the simple outline of a shield, that part of the carving inlaid with what looked like gold. The rest was filled with stylish curves, probably designed to be pleasing to the eye. Nodding in thanks he put on the band, Aaylia smiling happily as he did so.

"And then there is the matter of what sort of quests you will be taking." She said, opening the drawer on her side of the table, She pulled out a stack of papers, sorting through them until she had narrowed it down to three, placing the rest back in the drawer. "Because you are Adamantine rank, you are eligible, and will only be able to take, Adamantine worthy quests." She placed one of the papers on the table. An illustration of a dragon breathing fire was in the centre, below it, a very large number with a lot of zeros.

"Dragon slaying is one of the more common ones, and pay very well considering they can often threaten nation security." She placed a finger on her chin, "Although, despite your high level, you'll have trouble killing one without the help of other Adamantines. And considering that they are all currently in a party together, and are a couple of days away, I do not recommend it." The Abyss Watcher nodded. If memory served him correct, the wyverns were distant cousins of the long extinct dragons, so if they were anything like wyverns it would indeed be quite difficult.

"The next one is a request to clear out a rather troublesome [Dungeon]. While it is platinum level, the Guild has decided to allow Adamantine adventurers to clear it out." She placed the next paper on the table, a map pointing to most likely to the [Dungeon] in question placed at the top with another large number at the bottom, however not nearly as much zeros as the dragon quest. "While you could indeed probably do this on your own, I would like to request that you party up with some of the Platinum's living here. It would give them good experience and allow them to grow stronger."

The Abyss Watcher nodded once again, but frowned inwardly. Why did she need them to get stronger? He shelved it away for another time though as she placed the final paper on the table, sighing as she did so, "The final option is unfortunately another dragon one. This one is also in it's infantile stage but still pretty large and dangerous."

As she placed the last one on the table the Abyss Watcher stroked his chin in thought. He obviously couldn't take the first one considering what she had told him. The third one could be possible, but he didn't want to risk his life against something dangerous he had never encountered nor seen before. Especially alone. That left the second one. There was still one problem with that though.

He pointed at his mouth then pointed to the second quest. Understanding what he meant, Aaylia shook her hand in a dismissive gesture, "Don't worry about that," She said, "I can help you form the party. In fact, I think they should be coming back from another quest soon."

Nodding, he stood up and moved towards the door, Aaylia following shortly after putting the papers away.

It was time to form a party.

Alissa smiled as she downed her mug of water, her green eyes glistening in delight at how cool it was. She let out a sigh of content as she placed it back down onto the table, much to the amusement of the other two at the table.

"Didn't know you got thirsty that easily." Xander said with a smirk, "Honestly, all you did was stay at the back and shoot arrows."

Alissa scowled in response, shifting her brown cloak to lean her arm on the circular table they all sat at, "I would have been fine, if you had done your job and drawn those centides away."

He bore an exaggerated look of offense on his face, but didn't get a chance to reply with his own comeback as Skyla interrupted, "Can you guys stop arguing for at least two seconds." She said, rubbing her temples. "You did this during the extermination quest as well, and caused us to almost fail it."

Skyla wore a deep blue robe, signifying her as a student that attended Rogorth Academy, one of the most elite mage schools in Redmere. She had bright blonde hair that was cut sort, the round ears of a human only barely being covered by it. A wooden staff was leaning against her chair, the top of it unnaturally curved around a blue gem.

This time Xander was the one to scowl as he leaned back. He wore his silver plate armour, not allowing him to sit as close to the table yet did nothing to deter him. His helmet was taken off, revealing his shaggy brown hair, matching his eyes. A sword that currently resided in his sheath was hanging off his belt.

"Well we wouldn't be arguing if he wasn't such a bonehead." Alissa pointed out, a smug grin finding it's way onto her face as Xander gave both Alissa, and Skyla indignant looks.

"Oh come on! You guys are just ganging up on me now." He pouted as he leaned back into his chair, causing Alissa to laugh and Skyla to giggle. Before any of them could continue though a new voice interrupted them.

"Hey guys!" The elf known as Aaylia greeted, waving at them as she approached. All of them began to wave and greet her when their eyes fell on the man behind her, dressed in the strangest clothing, a massive sword sitting casually on his shoulder.

"...Hey Aaylia." Skyla said, eyeing the man with more curiosity than caution. "I'm guessing you have another quest for us?"

Aaylia nodded in response, "Yes, I was hoping that you could form a party with him to retrieve an item from [The Dead Labyrinth]." She held up a hand as they began to spout objections, silencing them immediately, "Don't worry, he is Adamantine. He was looking for a quest and chose this one. I simply thought of the idea of you helping him clear it so that you can get some more experience."

Skyla leaned back, looking the man over, "And why couldn't he have done that himself?" She inquired, both Xander and Alissa nodding in agreement. It did seem quite strange after all.

Aaylia sighed, "Well, you see he has a bit of a problem. He is [Mute] from an injury he gained." She admitted, Bringing a shocked look from Alissa.

"What sort of injury caused that?"

Aaylia rolled her eyes, "Well there is the slight problem that he can't tell us." She pointed out, causing Alissa to blush in embarrassment, eliciting a chuckle from Xander as he asked a question of his own.

"Well then what is his level and [Class]. After all, that has got to be information you got from him right?"

Aaylia, stayed silent for a moment, "Yes of course. He is level 142, with his [Class] being...Farron Blademaster." That last part caused the groups eyebrows to all shoot up in unison.

"Farron what now?" Xander said, leaning forward as though he had misheard.

Aaylia sighed in defeat, "Look, I know just as much as you do about it. Nothing. Truth is, I have no idea who he really is or what it means. But, he is now legally an adventurer, and so I must provide him with quests. A quest I wish for you to assist him in."

The party shared glanced at each other, silently conveying their answers. As one they all nodded and Skyla spoke up. "Very well. We will join you on your quest. [Invite to Party]" As she said this there was a silent pause as the man stared blankly at the gathered. Until finally a blue box appeared in front of her.

Invite accepted:

Abyss Watcher has joined the party.

"Are you bloody serious." Xander said in disbelief as they approached the entrance to [The Dead Labyrinth], the horses they had tied up happily chewing away at grass. "How are you not exhausted?" His question was directed at the Abyss Watcher who walked alongside the group.

Noticing that everyone was looking at him with bewilderment he simply shrugged. That always seemed to work. Not this time though.

"[The Dead Labyrinth] is over 10 kilometres away from Duskrock. And you ran the entire way!" Alissa said, shifting the bow on her shoulder into a more comfortable position.

Sure enough, he had ran the entire way. After he had joined their party, and they had bombarded poor Aaylia with questions about him once again, followed by her answering as much as she could before practically shoving them out the doorway. Once they were out they went to the stables, presumably for them to get their horses. When he had refused the horse they offered they simply told him to keep up if he could. And he definitely could. Yet this somehow shocked them. And then when they sped up once again he continued to follow side by side. Soon it turned into him sprinting alongside the horses, as they soon reached their max speed. Due to this they had covered the distance very quickly

"Guys, he is Adamantine. And extremely high level at that." Skyla pointed out.

"Still bloody unbelievable." Xander muttered before speaking up again. "Anyway, it's time to retrieve an item from this [Dungeon]." He gestured for them all to gather at the entrance to what looked like a cave but was actually the entrance to the very dangerous [Dead Labyrinth].

"So I think we should go for the classic support at the back and warriors at the front. With the Abyss Watcher here it will be even easier to pull off." Xander paused as he looked to the Abyss Watcher, "Your armour looks more like clothing, so I think I will be better at tanking the hits than you. Honestly though, I'm not even sure what you'll be able to do." He pointed out. "So just...do your thing, but make sure to protect Alissa while you're doing it."

While the Abyss Watcher would have loved to tell them how he fought, he unfortunately couldn't for obvious reasons. So he shrugged and began to zone out as Xander went over what sort of spells and arrows the other two would have to use. This [Dungeon] was supposedly filled to the brim with powerful [Undead], as it's name suggested. He idly listened to what they were saying.

He was [Undead]. But for some reason he was not anything like what Xander was describing. These ones were apparently mindless, and often only as powerful as the [Dungeon] or necromancer summoning them was. A war began raging in his mind as he thought of these implications. Just what was he? Not even the [System] knew apparently, if the (Unavailable) that was taking up his [True Race] slot was any indication.

He knew he was an [Undead], but apparently the [System] didn't seem to think so. Was this world's version of [Undead] wildly different from his own? If so, if the natives figured out who he was, would he be treated fairly? From what he could tell [Undead] were despised by every race throughout the land. His best course of action for now would be to lay low and not reveal what he actually was. While he was pretty confident in his abilities, he wasn't so confident in fighting the rest of the world.

As Xander finished speaking with the girls they moved forwards, a blue box appearing the moment that their feet crossed inside.

Warning: Entering The Dead Labyrinth.

Immediately the air felt different, as if it was thicker than that of outside. The others noticed this too as they looked incredibly uncomfortable, glancing at the mossy walls of the cavern. He took out the quest paper that Aaylia had given him. Reading it over again.

'Retrieve the Golden Scepter from the 12th floor of [The Dead Labyrinth].'

Issuer: Duke Karl of House Fritz

Retrieve the Golden Scepter that was last seen on the 12th floor of [The Dead Labyrinth]. The Scepter is a family heirloom of the Fritz's and was lost many decades ago. You must get to the 12th floor and return with the Scepter. If the Scepter is not present then return to report that it is not there. A smaller monetary reward will be given for this information as it is understood that you will have risked your life for it, but the full reward will only be achieved upon the return of the Scepter.

Full Reward: 10,000 Gold

Information Reward: 100 Gold

After he had reread it, he put it into a small, newly gained satchel on his belt. After having trouble finding where to put it his party had apparently felt sorry for him and given him this satchel to carry stuff. They continued to move further into the [Dungeon], Skyla casting a floating ball of light above her head after they lost sight of the entrance. For a while it was relatively silent, allowing the Abyss Watcher to observe his party members.

Alissa wore a brown cloak with the hood pulled over her head, hiding the her long brown hair. She had her bow in hand, with her quiver attached to her belt. Leather armour was only partially hidden by the cloak as well.

Xander now wore his helmet, making him the spitting image of a knight, with his sword unsheathed and shield attached to his idle left arm. His fist clenched as he noticed that Xander's armour reminded him of the knight that had attacked the Abyss Watcher's stronghold. His fist unclenched as he remembered the situation that they had been in. They had been forced to fight their own members, that were slowly being corrupted by the [Abyss], and that knight had broken the cycle they found themselves in.

Despite how much he despised himself for it, he hoped that the knight had won. For some reason, in this world he wasn't as fanatic as he had been in the previous one. And only now that he was in this world did he realise it. Now, he just wanted his brothers to be free of their pain.

The Abyss Watcher stopped alongside Xander, faint rumbling could be heard further down the passageway. Frowning the Abyss Watcher used [Enhanced Hearing], tuning out the other members of the party that were worriedly observing the cave around them. Hearing the faintest of noises, he crouched down to the stone floor, placing a hand on it as he felt the tremors get larger. But he could also hear something else. Voices.

"Get down!"

"By Celest it's in the ground!"

"Formation everybody! We just have to hold out until Jax can get to the entrance!"

"Damn it! The one in the ceiling hasn't come out yet!"

"Take cover!"

The Abyss Watcher turned his focus away from the likely battle below and back onto his surroundings. He narrowed his eyes as he could hear running footsteps further down the cavern. Crouching down, he pointed to where the footsteps could be heard, his confused teammates straining to hear themselves before also preparing for combat. The Abyss Watcher unsheathed his hook dagger, holding it in front of him while he shifted his sword in a way so that it would be easy to get off a powerful swing.

A bloodied man in leather armour limp sprinted into their light, the dagger in his right hand covered in what looked like dark green sludge that dripped onto the floor, meanwhile, his left hand clutched at his side where blood fought to escape. Gasping, the rest of his party hurried towards the man, who stopped in shock but collapsed to his knees soon after, his momentum apparently being the only thing keeping him upright. They immediately began to lay him on his back, Skyla using some sort of magic to close his wounds. Realising that this man was no threat, he began to stand back up again when he noticed something.

The rumbling hadn't stopped.

The ground beneath him exploded.