The Guild Hall of Oakhaven smelled of old parchment, stale ale, and the metallic tang of sharpened steel. It was a massive, bustling hub where legends were born—and where rookies usually went to get their spirits crushed.
At the very end of the line stood Clara Green.
She was twenty years old, wearing a simple, faded blue tunic that had seen better days and carrying a water skin that sloshed rhythmically against her hip. Despite the intimidating crowd of scarred warriors and hooded mages, Clara had a wide, bright smile plastered on her face. Her eyes, the color of a clear lake, danced with excitement.
"Next!" a gruff voice barked.
Clara stepped up to the heavy oak counter. The receptionist, a woman with a permanent scowl and a quill tucked behind her ear, didn't even look up. "Name? Class? Intent?"
"Clara Green! Spellbinder—Water and Healing," Clara chirped, her voice bubbling with energy. "And my intent is to become the best adventurer the Spire has ever seen!"
The receptionist paused, her quill scratching to a halt. She looked up, taking in Clara’s lack of armor and her cheap wooden staff. A few nearby adventurers snickered.
"Spellbinder, huh? Jack of all trades, master of none," the woman muttered, reaching under the counter. She pulled out a small, circular piece of metal attached to a leather cord. It was dull and brown. "Here. Rank D. Bronze. Don't lose it. If you die on Floor 1, it costs the Guild three copper to replace the badge."
Clara took the Bronze Badge, her fingers tracing the etched number 1. She didn't mind the cold reception. She didn't mind the laughter. She just clipped the badge to her belt and bowed low. "Thank you so much! I'll take good care of it!"
The Threshold of the Spire
The entrance to the Dungeon—The Abyssal Spire—was a massive stone archway at the edge of town. A shimmering blue veil of mana hung across the opening, vibrating with a low, ancient hum.
As Clara stood before the veil, the smile on her face flickered for just a micro-second.
The hum of the portal sounded a bit like the rushing wind of the night the bandits came. She could almost smell the smoke, the acrid scent of her village burning. Her hand went to her chest, feeling the phantom ache of the trauma she usually kept locked behind a mental dam.
Smile, Clara, she told herself, her grin snapping back into place, tighter than before. If you help people, the bad sounds go away.
She stepped through the veil.
Floor 1: The Veridian Caves
The transition was instant. The sunlight of Oakhaven was replaced by the bioluminescent glow of damp moss and dripping stalactites. Floor 1 was a labyrinth of limestone and soft earth, filled with the sound of trickling water.
"Perfect," Clara whispered.
She didn't have much mana yet, but she was in her element. She walked deeper into the cave, her boots splashing in shallow puddles. Suddenly, a wet, squelching sound echoed from the shadows.
A Stone-Shell Crab scuttled out. It was the size of a dinner plate, its pincers snapping aggressively. For a normal newbie, the shell was too thick for a dagger to pierce.
Clara raised her hand. "Okay, let's try this. Hydro-Forge!"
She drew water not from her skin, but from the humidity in the air and the puddles at her feet. The liquid swirled around her palm, spinning faster and faster until it condensed into a shimmering, translucent Water Dagger. The edge was vibrating with high-pressure force.
The crab lunged.
Clara stepped to the side—a movement she had practiced a thousand times in the woods behind her old home. She swung the water blade. It didn't clank against the shell; it flowed around the guard and sliced clean through the crab’s soft joint.
The monster dissolved into gray dust, leaving behind a tiny, glowing Mana Shard.
Clara picked up the shard, her heart racing. She had done it. Her first kill. She was an adventurer. She was moving toward Floor 50.
"One down," she said, her voice echoing in the lonely cave. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, her smile never wavering, even as the shadows of the deeper caves began to stretch toward her. "Only forty-nine floors to go."
She turned the corner, heading deeper into the damp dark, unaware that on Floor 7, a Knight’s life was already beginning to slip away.
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and then Add to home screen.