A few weeks before the kidnapping of the princess.

In a bedroom, a young man slept. The bed and the room he slept in were simple and modest, a stark contrast to the man sleeping in it. The man was devilishly handsome and charming. It was like he was taken straight out from the tale of princes or heroes of yore.

"Theo! Wake UP!" The voice of a young woman calling him and the banging sound of his bedroom door woke the young man from his sleep. He opened the door, yawned, and rubbed his eyes. He wasn't sleepy or anything, but to look normal, he had to make those gestures after waking up.

A young woman stood in front of the door. Her long and braided brown hair flowed down her back. She was pretty, with her brown eyes and some freckles on her face. But she was nothing special. Not when compared to the handsome man standing before her.

He grabbed the woman's head and pulled her lips to meet his own. The woman was surprised and struggled at first, but soon, she enjoyed the moment. "Morning Mary." He greeted her with a smile seeing the blushed woman.

"Morning... Theo." She answered with a soft voice........ Then smacked his head with the broom in her hand. "DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE TIME FOR A MORNING KISS WHEN YOU'RE THIS LATE?!!"

Her voice could be heard from across the street. Theo ran to the lower floor, fearing what Mary would do if he tried to delay any longer.

He could see it through the window that the street was crowded. 'Damn, I'm so late.'

He rushed to the back door and drew water from the well to wash his body and face. He rarely washed in the morning, but since it was a special occasion, he might as well look his best. After a cold and refreshing wash, he ran back to his room. He closed the door and, without minding Mary who was still cleaning his room, began undressing.

"He-Hey! There's a lady in here." She shouted with her flushed face.

"Why are you still embarrassed seeing me naked? You've seen me like this many times already." He answered while putting the best attire he could find in his wardrobe. He looked himself in the mirror." Something is missing." He mumbled to himself. He tried his best to remember what he forgot.

"Your sword." Said Mary.

"Oh yeah." He took his prized sword along with its sheath and buckled it on his belt. "Perfect."

He gave Mary a kiss on the cheek before dashing out. Mary called him at the last moment. "Theo, don't come home too late. I don't mind if you visit Cynthia or Miki or if you pick up some girls in the tavern, just make sure you return before midnight."

"Okay! Love you Mary." he replied from the front door.

He headed towards the inner ward of the city where the celebration was being held.

The sound of his foot drowned the morning bird's song. He maneuvered around the crowd of people who were busy with their own problem in the morning, bumping with some along the way.

Shops and stores lined in his right and his left. Bookstore, Bar, Inn, Alchemy shop, Magic shop, Weapon shop, and many others. Normally, he would greet each and every one of those store owners as his daily routine, but that was simply not possible that day. Even as he ran as fast as he could in that situation, the gate to the inner ward was still far away. Even after that, he still has to get to the castle courtyard which was some distance from the inner ward gate.

The closer he got near the inner ward, the less crowded the street became and the more expensive looking the shops and houses that lined on the street side. He has arrived at the area where the rich commoner live.

Finally, he got to the gate, but he was stopped by two guards guarding it. The guard crossed their spear to prevent him going any further. "Do you have any permit? A commoner may not enter without a permit!" One of the guards warned him.

"Wait a minute." He searched all of his pockets and pouches but found nothing. "Could you please let me pass? I have an urgent business."

"No permit, no enter." The situation was strange. He was famous among the city guards for eliminating almost every bandit near the city and could pass the gate every day, even without his permit."Don't you know who I am? Ask that guy!" Theo pointed at one of the guards guarding atop the wall.

"Sorry, but the rule is the rule."

"What do we have here?" A rough and familiar voice came from inside the gate. A stern looking man walked to the two guards from behind. His armor was similar to that of the two guards albeit with more decorations and a cape.

"Commander Sir!" The two guards saluted. Their bodies tensed.

"Be at ease." He ordered the guards. "Let this man through. He is the student of the knight academy."

"But Sir..." The two guards appeared to be surprised and turned to Theo. "Y-you're Sir Theo?"

"I am."

The two guards' body stiffened as they realized their mistake. "A-apologies Sir!"

The commander walked to Theo. "Sorry Lad. These two are new guys, they have never seen you before."

"Don't worry commander. I'm happy that they do their job." He was pissed. How could they didn't know who he was? But fussing about such a trivial thing wouldn't do good for his reputation.

"Good luck with your ceremony." The commander patted his back as he passed him.

"Thank you."

Suddenly, the Commander pulled his shoulder. "Take this." He gave Theo a letter and whispered in his ears."You're late. Normally, you will be blocked from entering the ceremony, but show this to the guards and they will let you in."

He was surprised by the Commander's action, but he accepted it nonetheless.

He walked from there. Running in the inner ward would only annoy the noble and cause him to be caught and kicked out from the inner ward. Unlike the outer ward, the road in the inner ward was almost empty. Barely anyone walked as most Noble used their own carriage, and Noble rarely get out of their house this late in the morning.

Huge mansions with an appropriately huge courtyard filled the side of the street. Personal guards stood watch in front of each gate. Wearing an armor with a symbol of the house they guarded.

After walking for a good twenty minute, he reached the innermost ward gate where the Duke's castle resided. The Castle area was enclosed by a huge wall and guarded by elite guards every hour of the day.

There was another young man stood in front of the gate. He was another student from the Knight Academy. Despite being a student of the Knight Academy, he has no physical trait of a warrior or knight. Not only was he short, his body was slim and thin.

He was a dwarf, the illness, not the race. While most people who have dwarfism look like an adult in a small body, the same can't be said for that man. Despite being only a year younger than Theo, he looked like a 12 or 13 years old boy. If it was up to Theo to describe him, he could be described using one word. Shota.

He was complaining to the guards after they barred him entry for coming late. Those who weren't familiar with him would have mistaken him for a lost child. Theo grabbed the man's shoulder.

"Ed, you're late too?" Theo asked the short man named Edmund Lion.

"Theo! Yeah, mom insisted that I use my best clothes for this occasion. I ended up taking hours trying to find something that she's satisfied with. And these guards won't let me in."

Theo took a glance at what Ed wore. It was a super expensive looking clothes, with gold and jewel decorating some part. Though Theo must give credit to Ed's mom because it was fitting for him, especially with his short blue hair. "That looks expensive as hell."

"I'm really sorry Lord Lion, but your father specifically instructed that we mustn't let you in if you came late." Said the guard.

"Then what about this?" Theo handed the letter the Commander gave him.

Surprise appeared on their faces when they read the letter. They looked at each other before returning their gaze toward Theo and Ed. "Apologies Lord Theo. You and Lord Lion may enter." They stood upright.

"Please, just call me Theo. And I'm not a lord." Theo replied. He wasn't all that popular among the elite guards, they only knew him as the only commoner in history to ever attend the Aeston Knight Academy.

The courtyard was already full of Knight Academy graduates. The graduates lined facing the Duke who was giving a speech. When they joined the line, the Duke had just finished giving his speech and started to call the graduate according to their graduation score.

"Well, at least we don't have to hear the Duke's boring speech," Theo whispered in Edmund's ear.

They waited in the back of the line until their name was called. Which quite possibly the last since they were always at the bottom of their classes. Though in Theo's case, it was because he was the only commoner there.

----------

"Cheers to the worst and second worst graduate in the history of knight academy." Edmund raised the glass in his hand.

"Cheers." Theo also raised his glass. He patted Edmund back. "Don't think too much about it. You always said to me that you never cared about your score or becoming a knight or that sort of thing. You entered the knight academy only because your father told you to, that you prefer being a mage and scholar than a knight. Why care about it now?"

"Easy for you to say that when you don't have the burden of a family name!" He replied. He banged his head on the table multiple time. "Father is going to disown me!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"What's the problem you ask?! Of course............" He stopped before finishing his sentence.

"Didn't you save all that money all these years for when you want to run from home. Didn't you learn magic in secret for this very moment? It's better this way, don't you think? You don't have to worry about your mother or sister missing you. Or your father and brother searching for you."

"Still... Now that it happens.... I don't think I'm ready yet."

"What level are you?" Theo asked, trying to change the subject.

"4, why? Want to mock me for being that low leveled even after all this year training?"

"No. I mean level 4 is pretty high. That is the level you need to join the army. And you're already higher leveled than what, 70% of Amaryn's human population." Theo method backfired and irritate Ed even more. "Okay, look, why don't we go to the dungeon you've always asked me to go to?"

Edmund body shot straight up and his eyes dazzled at Theo offer. "For Real?!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now that we have graduated." Theo put his drink down. "Sober yourself up and meet me outside the city after sundown. Don't forget to bring a torch and some food."

----------

Theo walked the field outside the city gate. Farmland and village spanned as far as the eye can see. The evening breeze that blew his face and the feeling of the grass tickling his hand as he hovered over them, made him remember his childhood.

He had changed his fine clothes for a steel armor that he always wear for such occasions. His prized sword hung from his belt along with a small bag. Six pouches were tied to his belt. Five of those pouches were filled with battle consumables that were essentials for experienced adventurers. The other one was something special.

He went around a big rock that was covered with overgrown bushes and trees. From the main road, the rock didn't have anything special going on with it, but there was a cave on the other side. In front of the cave opening was a carved statue of an angel. Ed leaned on the statue waiting for him. "You're fast," Theo said, seeing Ed waiting for him.

Ed wore a finely made leather armor under a blue cloak. "So what do we do now?" Ed asked.

"Place your hand on the statue and close your eyes. " Ed did as he was instructed. A message appeared in his mind.

[Ancient Tomb]

[Recommended level: 3-5]

[First time cleared: KY 803]

"It's already over a thousand years since it's first completed. You sure there is still something to gain from here?" Ed asked.

"What are you talking about?" Theo asked back.

"I mean, if it was completed long ago doesn't it mean that everything inside was already looted? Leaving nothing for us."

"That's not how dungeon work. No matter how many times you completed it, everything will return to its original state after a week."

"But that doesn't make sense! Like how can the enemy you killed live again? Are the golds inside magically reappear when you enter again?"

"Why do you ask me? I'm not a scholar."

Dungeon was one of the greatest enigmas in the world and was a hot topic for scholars for thousands of years. Even then, many things about it remained unexplained. "Doesn't that mean you could endlessly go to a dungeon to gain experience and gold?"

"No. Anything you loot not from the reward chest will turn to dust when you exit the dungeon, and the more you repeat a dungeon, the less rewarding the chest become and the less EXP you get." Theo placed his hand on the statue.

[Form a party?]

A message popped up in Ed's head when Theo placed his hand. "What should I do?" He asked, not knowing what to do.

"Say no in your head. We go inside together, but you better not form a party with me."

"Why?"

"I'm over-leveled. If you make a party with me, you're going to get an experience and reward penalty."

"Wait, how high is your level?" he asked. He knew that Theo level was higher than him, but he never told him the exact number. Every time he asked Theo how high his level was, he always answered with the same phrase.

"It doesn't matter" Theo replied. "Let's go inside." Theo lead the way and went inside the cave while Ed followed closely from behind.