Caesar stumbled and fell when he exited the dungeon. Blood dripped from his sorry figure and stained the snow. He glanced upward, noting the position of the bush where the portal hid, and focused on the group of four walking toward him. One of them nocked an arrow on his longbow to greet him.

“Wh–Who are you?”

A young woman wrapped in furs led the party. Her bright blue eyes roamed over his body and lingered on his cloak. She smiled at him. “Hello! Are you okay?”

He stared blankly at her.

A young man with armor and a sword stepped out beside the woman and said, “He’s not talking. We should just beat him up.” Arrogant and hostile. Caesar disliked him already.

“W–wait. If you’re here for the dungeon, please wait…” He hacked a cough.

“Get on with it!”

A wizened mage stepped behind the woman and said, “We should wait until he’s ready to speak.” He leaned in closer and whispered something else, to which she nodded in assent. She put her hands out and her companions stepped back. The arrow was still trained on him, though.

Caesar took short, frantic breaths, eyes closed, for a few more seconds. He opened his eyes and said, “The dungeon’s dangerous. I’m not going to tell you where it is.”

“Dangerous for you maybe. We’re not asking.”

“Hush.” She furrowed her brows and leaned close. “What’s the matter?”

Caesar struggled to speak. “Blood… and tears. The blood rain made us cry. Then two monsters appeared and…I had to run.”

She turned to the old man. “What do you think?”

“I think he’s lost his mind!”

“It seems more like he lost his party. I recognize that cloak. Heard she went missing a while back. Blood and tears…cryptic, but they’re probably some kind of ability. So Magic and Willpower. Should be bronze rank.”

“Any other enemies?”

He stared at her for a while then shook his head. A glimmer of understanding flashed through her eyes. Excitement too – she knew about secret areas as well.

“You all look confident. Fine. The dungeon’s in there.”

“Okay! Let’s go then.” She nodded to her companions, and most followed. But the ranger narrowed his eyes instead and kept the arrow pointed at him. “Is there a problem, Solus?”

“Something’s wrong.”

“If that’s the case, then have him follow. I have a spell primed to blast him to pieces if he tries anything.”

Caesar staggered upward, still clutching his cloak and walked into the middle of the party, next to the mage. He felt hostile gazes on his back and sides, especially from the young man. Yet his fear remained stable. They stepped forward into the portal.

Nothing out of the ordinary greeted them. The party turned to him, and he nodded in the direction of the secret area. Halfway through, the ranger spotted the two horrific elementals pacing around the area but inching closer to the exit. He came back and led them to a vantage point to fight. But when Caesar crossed a certain distance, the elementals seemed to sense it and immediately headed in their direction.

The young man screamed in rage and turned to attack him. The old man shook his head and barked, “Get ready!” They backed off.

The party scrambled to a better position behind them – a hill smaller than the one they had aimed for – and left Caesar to hobble away. As the horrors closed in, he quickened his pace and ran behind a tree. The blood rain poured. Once it touched the other party, the horrors paused their attack on him and changed direction.

He peeked out behind a tree and watched the fight. Tears blubbered down the young man’s face as he stood in the front, sword and shield shivering as if his grip would fail at any moment. The other three maintained most of their composure, but tears still trailed down their faces. Emotions worsened as the horrors drew closer. In their panic, a few shots fired prematurely grazed the elementals instead of hitting true.

He felt his emotions bubble again and ducked behind his tree to calm them. With most of his focus on this task, he grew more resistant to the effects. Suddenly, a shrill cry burst through the air, manifesting horrific images of anguish in his mind. Worse than any Mind Spike or Mind Scream, and coupled with visions of him searching the house for days after his parents’ disappearance, a headache pounded at his skull like twin hammers. Unable to concentrate much at all, he put his palm against the tree and gazed blankly at the battle.

The other party was…completely destroyed. The noblewoman knelt in the middle of the clearing, unresponsive. The young man lay behind the horrors, body perforated. Their mage’s staff lay on the floor and the old man wept with his face buried in his hands. Arrows plinked away at the coming danger, dealing little to no damage.

Caesar drew a deep, shaking breath, recognizing the urgency of the situation, and dashed towards them. Yet it was too late. A tide of blood magic tore through the air and butchered the remaining men in the party. Although they died immediately, something shattered from the noblewoman, and a blue barrier blocked the rest of the attacks. Still she didn’t run. All she did was kneel. He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the dungeon.

The duo ran for a long, long time. Her responsiveness returned a few minutes after leaving the clearing. She cast a spell restoring their stamina, and they maintained their pace even after leaving the dungeon. A full day of running passed before they collapsed onto a patch of snow, exhausted.

They watched the miserable campfire burn away as they rested. He listened to the crackling of the flames and wondered what would happen now. With her followers dead, she may be out of the competition. Was this your plan? And what about me?

“Sorry…I shouldn’t have told you about the dungeon.” Caesar didn’t expect a noble house heiress and her bodyguards to be so weak. This might cause lots of problems…hope it’s a mere coincidence.

“No, it’s…alright. We forced you to after all.”

They waited in silence until a team of four gruff adventurers arrived. Their leader, a woman in red, stepped forward.

“Your father will be glad to see you safe. What happened?”

The noblewoman explained what had happened, from when she grew curious as to what Caesar was doing, to when she suspected a new dungeon discovery at his location. Her narration did not put any blame on him but on her own overconfidence instead. The leader of the team nodded. She and two other teammates left in the direction of the dungeon while the remaining one stayed behind to lead the duo to safety.

So she just happened to see me exit a stronghold without any noble houses? This must be a conspiracy.

-----

They took him to a guest room inside a fancy mansion at the center of another stronghold. The door was locked, and human interaction was minimal. He had already dismissed the Ever-Shifting Faces – no point in fighting against a noble house. Caesar waited there for a week and glimpsed the adventuring team from earlier return. He suppressed his disappointment at having lost access to the two elemental horrors.

A giant of a man with black hair and a rugged body barged into the room. He kept his head down.

“The punishment for bringing harm to my daughter is exile. Understood?”

A cold resentment burned inside him, but he remained motionless. Although curses brewed in his mind, he recognized the severity of the situation and needed to comply for now.

“You’ve got a week before I force you out.” The man slammed the door as he left, completely uncaring about the damage done to it, as if he owned the mansion. The leader of a noble house. That meant a rank three stature and a lethal threat.

The process to rank up from two to three was much more complicated. It required two stats to be at the limit of fifty. The individual then absorbed three different catalysts – one for each stat, and one to finish the process. Thus, the man’s experience, stats, skills, and wealth were out of his league. He would no longer have a chance to level in this place.

To complete his ploy, Caesar sat in the bed, staring blankly at the wall for a while before he staggered out the door. The young noblewoman peeked her head out from a corner and ran up to him. She thrust something into his hands and slipped away. He looked down.

[Item]: Potion of Damage Resistance – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: Drink to reduce all damage taken for the next five minutes.

He forgave her – but not her father. Thoughts of vengeance had already begun to stir.

A carriage waited outside, complete with driver, who took him back to his house. A contemptible silence filled the ride.

He stumbled his way to the front door of his home, where a group of hardy men loitered around their makeshift camp. They were here to tear down the final memento of his parents. Caesar kept his rage simmering and went directly to his terrarium. He fed each creature again, then picked up the glass container in an attempt to keep it with him. A behemoth materialized in his room and stayed still. He balanced the terrarium onto its back and unsummoned the hippo. Glass thumped onto the ground.

He pulled out bag after bag, but nothing fit on his skeleton mage. The rest of the house had nothing else to contain his earliest pets. A deep sadness welled up inside him. As he motioned to put the container back, he noticed something glimmer on the desk.

Caesar, well done! You’ve reached rank two like we expected. That’s brilliant! You're brilliant! But still, don't follow us! It’s much too dangerous. We did leave something for you though, in the back of the house. You should be able to see it no matter how hidden it is. Hope your next adventures go well, and goodbye.

His eyes widened. Would more messages appear each time he ranked up? But the house... Unable to do anything about it without risking his life, he instead allowed his frustration to fester as he waited until nighttime.

Near a large tree at the back of his house, the ground shimmered, only visible to his eyes. He dug up the spot and found a box which held two small, worn-out journals, from his parents. His eyes became wet. Another memento. He opened them. His father wrote about monsters and dungeons, and his mother, materials and catalysts.

---------

A few more days passed before somebody knocked on his door.

“It’s not fair, Caesar!” Mary paced around his bedroom.

“That’s just life. At least he didn’t kill me.” He read over Arnold’s letter.

All I hope is that this letter finds you well, Caesar. Mary, Lily, and I are sorry about your incident. But although I did all I could, it wasn’t enough. Unless you get lucky on your trip, you’ll need this; it will help. See you in the future. Have to remember to thank you too, for saving my sister, and good luck.

What a weird note. He looked over at Mary’s bag. A familiar wooden pole jutted out of it. Halberd?

“Is there anything else we could do? We were just about to—”

“Give it up, Mary. Nothing can be done.”

Tears slid down her face and she wrapped her arms around him. He returned the gesture.

“I need to find my parents. This is as good a time as any.”

“But…”

“I’ll be fine. I survived the Domain dungeon, didn’t I?”

“…You’re not worried at all. You’ve already reached bronze, haven’t you?”

He didn’t feel like denying it. Mary wiped away her tears and smiled. “Liar,” she teased. “Take these with you.” She handed him a bag of Uncommon healing potions.

“I can’t take all these. Aren’t they meant for you?” He returned the bag. “Do your parents know you’re helping me?”

“No, but you need them to survive.” She pushed it back. “You don’t know how dangerous it is out there.”

“Fine. I’ll take one.”

“Nope. You’re at least taking two.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“One,” she said.

“One,” he said. “Glad we agree.”

Mary furiously shoved the second potion into his hand and crossed her arms. He finally complied and took it, knowing he wouldn’t get anywhere.

"Good." She smiled, then took out a few papers and showed them to him.

Caesar skimmed past her schoolwork and asked about what they learned in university. She complained about her classes – sparring, magic practice, dungeon studies, and worst of all, politics. This included economics, local governments, history, leadership, and more. Apparently, all noble house heirs had to learn this. Fortunately for her, she no longer needed to spend so much time exploring dungeons. Her rank-up completed the most mandatory examination for the first school year.

“It's just nobles like us that have to reach bronze. You're actually really quick."

"It's all luck. That Domain dungeon was a blessing."

"Yeah." Her expression turned thoughtful. "But we don’t learn much about the outside world. It’s a little strange.”

The thought of exile lingered in their minds, making the conversation awkward. She completed her assignments and readings before taking a nap in his parents’ room. Caesar relaxed and reminisced about their friendship.

Around eight years old, he went with his family on a trip around the city. By chance, they encountered her in a forest, and his parents urged him to talk to her. After a long conversation, they became friends. When his parents left, two years later, her presence had comforted him. But now…

To distract himself from the grief, he closed his eyes and focused on his essence cores. The skeleton mage materialized out of sight and handed over the scabbard and a set of glowing flowers from the Starry Forest. Another set of flowers and the icy crystal were placed in another pile. He put them under his bed and went to sleep as well.

When morning came, he handed over the first part of his loot and asked her for a favor. It was time to let a little trust flow.

“Of course! I’m glad you trust me, Caesar.” She left the house and came back with a polished, repaired weapon and a vial of glittery dust.

[Item]: Khopesh of Shattering – Rank 1

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: The blade is hardier and more resistant to damage. Once a day, the weapon can shatter armor more effectively for three hits.

[Item]: Starflower Dust – Rank 1

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: A material imbued with astral forces. When consumed once, increases all stats except Spirit by 1 up to rank 1 limits. Further consumption has no effects.

They spent the remainder of the day together, chatting like nothing happened. But it had to end. When night fell, Mary excused herself to go back to her university.

“Take these, Mary. For the potions – an excuse for your parents. And goodbye.” He shoved a bag containing the wraith well’s icy crystal and the second set of Starflower Dust materials. The rest of the loot remained on his skeleton mage.

“Okay. Good luck, Caesar!” Optimism shone in her eyes as she exited, leaving a halberd behind.

[Item]: Horrific Halberd – Rank 1

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: The weapon is sharper and lighter. Enemies hit with it will feel terror. Upon killing an enemy, the weapon will give off an aura of fear.

Thank you, Arnold. He then languished for the rest of the week, wanting to stay home for as long as possible.

I shouldn't have gotten greedy.

I should've just killed the elementals and run.

I should've kept the warhorse. It burns snow away. Fool!

A series of raps hit his door. Rage filled him again.