"There were probably more than ten. It's good to know that Grace is somewhat decisive. She just really wants my opinions." ~Shallies, Mentor of Heroes

Grace had never thought she would miss the ground, but now she knelt on it and almost kissed it. The half-orc's legs were trembling, her throat was coarse from all the screaming, and she didn't even know for how long she had been dangling in the skies. Her jet black hair was a mess from all the wind it had endured. And a desperate tear ran down her emerald eyes.

Chippy hopped around her, panicking. His phoenix embers scattered around but harmed nothing.

Arun'dul was rubbing his ears as his seraph wings retracted and disappeared in motes of mana. "It's usually hard to hear while flying in the air, but lady! You sure can scream."

"I…" The half-orc took deep, desperate breaths, unable to hide her embarrassment. "I want don't not to that ever again."

"What?" Shallies asked, slightly giggling. She landed on the floor gracefully and effortlessly. Her relatively shorter stature seemingly taller this time. "Calm down, Grace. Try to be coherent."

Grace noticed, that despite all their travel in the air, somehow, the Godkiller managed to keep her neck-length hair completely unbothered. The pink and blue highlights underneath glowed, gradually dissipating.

"I said…" It took the half-orc a few more seconds to recover. "I said, I don't want to do that ever again."

"Well, you should," Shallies said. "That's how we're going back tonight."

No…

"Can I borrow some earplugs?" Arun'dul asked. "Please?"

"I'll see if I have some later." Shallies took a few steps and then stopped. "Get up, Grace. No time to waste."

The half-orc pushed her fear to the back of her head. It wasn't even fear of heights. She was completely fine standing on the roof of her house, or resting on a sturdy tree branch. But dangling on the arms of a flying seraph, with nothing to see below but the clouds, had brought upon her a very rational fear of falling to her death.

Even now, as she was reflecting on what had happened, she still couldn't comprehend how Arun'dul and Shallies were totally fine in the air.

"Oh, yeah…" Grace mumbled, suddenly realizing the crazy truth. "You guys are used to it."

"And you will be too," the Godkiller replied. "Eventually. Better to get some practice in now, rather than to start when you're a Hero Class holder. Less embarrassing that way."

The image of a Hero Class holder version of herself entered Grace's mind. She imagined herself to be a complete mess, dangling in the air and helplessly screaming for salvation while her peers looked and laughed at her.

That image brought her to her feet. She picked up Chippy along the way.

"Fine. I get it."

Grace's resolve was tested right away. In front of her was the Beginner Dungeon Gate. A tear in space with a dark outline and a swirling void in the middle. The last time she was here, she saw true power after witnessing a traumatic sight. Those memories flashed before her eyes, but they were clearly interrupted by something strange.

On the outlines of the Beginner Dungeon Gate was a small runic pattern. It started from the top of the edge, tracing to the right, as if to complete the circle. It had only reached a quarter, however.

"It's a risk indicator," Shallies explained, noticing the half-orc's gaze. "This means the enemies inside have grown in some way. If it completes a full circle, this Beginner Dungeon will evolve into an Intermediate one. The cycle then repeats. If it goes undisturbed again, it'll be a Perilous Dungeon. After that, it either becomes an Outbreak or further evolves in a more dangerous one called an Abyss Dungeon. And it's not underselling to say that the entire Cinterbrim Province will disappear overnight, if that happens."

"But if we close it, it's gone, right?"

"Yep."

"Then another one will appear," Arun'dul added. "It's a constant thing we should look out for."

"Do they all start as a Beginner Dungeon?"

"No. There are some rare cases when they spawn in as Perilous Dungeons, but very rare," Shallies replied. "And only in certain events can one spawn in as an Abyss Dungeon."

"I'm guessing one is during a Divine War?"

Shallies smiled, but shook her head slightly. "Good guess. But they can only spawn in as an Abyss Dungeon through more sinister means than just a god going mad."

Grace wanted to ask specifics, but the Godkiller raised a finger.

"Not something for you to know right. Just understand that I will be the first to know if something as dangerous as that is about to happen."

The half-orc nodded. She was getting used to not having complete information at this point.

Arun'dul, seeing his chance, raised a question. "What about Dungeon Gates spawning away from towns or cities?"

"That doesn't really happen now except for some really isolated places that they've become more of an intended breeding ground for Outbreaks.

"There's a place called the Twelve Triangles which is an entire continent managed by twelve guilds. Their headquarters surround the triangular outline of the landmass while they let entire Dungeons mature into Outbreaks."

"They turn into Abyss Dungeons?" Grace asked.

"There's a Cataclysm Archmage over there named Yuna Arlene. She's an expert on Dungeon Gates and knows when one will turn into an Abyss Dungeon while it's still in its Intermediate stage. She takes a neutral position in all twelve guilds and gives them all equal information. The Twelve Triangles then talk amongst themselves to properly divide the task.

"If you're asking about spawning Dungeon Gates that are not around civilizations, it doesn't really happen. The spawns are correlated to settlements. Meaning, no civilizations, no spawns."

"Oh, is that why there's a predetermined patrol range for every town?" Grace asked. "What about really small villages?"

"There's an entire system surrounding that, in order to provide proper protection for settlements without enough population. I've had to deal with a lot of headaches about that, so I'll spare you the details. If you ever decide to take your dad's position, or even Robert's, then you'll eventually learn all about it."

Shallies frowned. "Actually, you'll probably learn about it if you take on a lot of quests outside the protected territories. There are adventurers who actually really like that."

Again, with that, Grace decided not to insist. She had a lot on her plate already anyway. Staring back at the Dungeon Gate, she prepared herself.

"I have no more questions," she started. "I think I'm ready to go."

Shallies gestured towards the portal. "After you, then."

Placing Chippy on her shoulder, Grace took a deep breath and stepped into the black void.

While Shallies was setting up her little kitchen, Arun'dul was fixing up the camp around it, and Grace was tasked to look for some ponions and marlics. Now that she knew what to look for, the half-orc didn't take that much time, especially since she was familiar with the dungeon.

"Got your nerves fixed up?" Shallies asked the Spell Sword as she received ponions and marlics, six of each from her. Chippy ran circles in celebration around the Godkiller before returning to his mother.

"I think so," the half-orc replied, looking around the camp as she picked up her companion. It was essentially the same spot she had used with Ben and Marisa, but Arun'dul's camping sense and design made it look a lot fancier. "I do have some questions, though."

"Go for it," Shallies said as she prepared to partition a whole chicken.

"Are we going to harvest the entire dungeon before we close it?"

"Hmm, not really." Shallies carved the legs and wings of the chicken skillfully. A gentle slice, a quick pop, and they were out. She turned the carcass to feel the middle of its breast and parted it with just as easy an effort. "What made you think so?"

"I just thought, while gathering those, that it would be a bit of a waste to close the Dungeon Gate and not have access to these ingredients anymore."

"That's a fair thought."

Shallies placed the chicken parts to the side and started dicing up two whole ponions and a head of marlic. She threw half of the chopped ponions into the pot and started sautéing them.

"It's not a problem though, since a new dungeon will always respawn somewhere around the general vicinity eventually. It'll usually contain a lot of the habitants from the previous one, unless a rare phenomenon happens, like one spawning as an Intermediate Dungeon right away."

"Oh, so there's technically nothing wasted, it's just that we just lose access to it for a while?"

Shallies made quick work of peeling five large tomatoes, after soaking them in hot water for a bit. She chopped them up, and cooked them with the sautéed ponions, adding a bit of salt to help them sweat.

"Yep. But you don't enter a dungeon to collect common cooking ingredients in the first place, even if they're mana-infused. A Farmer of Marisa or Ben's caliber could grow ponions and marlics, if we can hand them these. I bet it's just not worth the effort to add it into their cycles because no Chef would cook with them, and delivery cost for the cities isn't worth the trade."

"But Grandma Tibeth cooks Food Buff dishes," Grace said, her eyes staring at the tomatoes as Shallies broke them down into a sauce with a mana-crafted hand blender. "Is this a different version of the Tomato Soup?" she added.

"Grandma Tibeth?" the Godkiller asked as she worked on chopping potatoes and carrots into cubes. "And no, this isn't Tomato Soup."

"Ah, I see. Grandma Tibeth is the Chef and owner of The Swallowing Whale," the half-orc answered. "I should introduce her to you properly next time."

"Gotcha. The prices on her Food Buff dishes are a bit too much, in my opinion," Shallies replied. "Though, sure, I'm not that good at pricing stuff, but a dish with a Major Mana-Regeneration Food Buff, shouldn't cost you 30 bits!"

Shallies gave both carrots and potatoes a bit of a fry. Not so much that it actually cooked them, but just enough to add a bit of crisp. Now that everything she needed was prepared, she started cooking in earnest.

[Chicken Afritada Recipe - Food Buff Version (Double Minor Mana-Regeneration - Good for 5-6]

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1 Whole Chicken, broken into parts, or choose 5-6 pieces of only specific parts (thighs recommended) 2 Potatoes, cubed 2 Carrots, cubed 1 Onion (ponion), diced 1 Garlic (marlic), diced 1 Bell Pepper (green, yellow, or red; neither white nor black), sliced into thin strips Tomato sauce Ground pepper Salt Sugar Bay leaves Chicken bullion powder, optional (non-powdered form can work, but make sure to fully dissolve it) Cooking Oil Soy Sauce Water Served over rice

The ingredients were stored in an Ingredients Container, one of many that Valor'el had procured for her. Granted, it didn't matter much if she chose to store them normally in her Class Inventory, since she intended to use it for the day anyway. But it was a good opportunity to test out the hardware before she used it for the real thing.

Shallies started by browning her chicken parts in oil, giving a bit of a texture. She removed them afterwards and sautéed the diced marlic with the rest of her remaining ponion. As soon as the ponion browned she added the tomato sauce she prepared earlier, putting back the chicken as well at the same time.

She started adding the flavor enhancers. Salt, pepper, a couple of bay leaves, a bit of sugar, and a healthy dash of soy sauce. After adding a bit of water to fill the pot just over the chicken, it was time to let it simmer and cook over medium heat.

That was when she started preparing the rice. She noticed that Grace hadn't exactly mentioned anything after the The Swallowing Whale's Food Buff prices were mentioned. The half-orc was just there, looking at her cook.

"You okay?" Shallies asked.

"I think it's a bit late, but I didn't exactly imagine the Godkiller being such a good cook, and for her to know a lot of recipes." Grace sat on a stool that Arun'dul quietly provided.

The seraph went on to work on the third tent. Not that they would exactly need it, since they intended to close the dungeon today, but it didn't hurt to be prepared since they had the time. Shallies wouldn't let them work their way towards the Dungeon Boss on an empty stomach.

"It actually comes with the territory," the Godkiller replied. "Someone like me, who spends a lot of time going on adventures, clearing dungeons and towers, mostly on her own, though with Apple sometimes, should be able to provide for herself. I have a vast array of recipes, and some of them are already lost through time. Like this one, for example. It's called Chicken Afritada. It's a local dish from my hometown."

"What's your hometown called?" Grace asked, more interested in that tidbit than the food's name.

Shallies smiled. "Secret. It's not around anymore anyway. Plus, the lands on Ysvil have shifted so much that you can't really pinpoint the exact location where it had been before."

The half-orc pouted, but she didn't press her question. Shallies appreciated her student's restraint. Grace was used to it by now, it seemed, but there was always the awkward air that followed every rejected question.

To avoid it, Shallies redirected the topic in a more productive direction.

"You should at least choose one Skill now, before you start clearing the dungeon."

"Just me?" Grace said, inferring a different result from the Godkiller's sentence.

"You and Arun'dul, of course. But I'll discuss the terms after we've eaten."

Shallies didn't miss the slight relief and disappointment trading places on Grace's face. The half-orc had been excited for a second, but then quickly realized that she was nowhere powerful enough to close the dungeon on her own. And now, it made sense to her why the Godkiller had brought the seraph along.

"I'm not sure what to choose," Grace said, answering the main question. "I didn't really check after I gained a lot of levels, and now when Stachie said that I'd be able to access some more powerful Skills because of my mentorship, it made choosing a lot more confusing."

"You should have eyed something at least," Shallies said, checking the pot and stirring it a bit. The smell was fantastic, but it was nowhere near cooked yet. The rice also boiled so she reduced its fire to a meager flame.

"I did, but I really want your opinion on them. I've narrowed it down to five choices."

Arun'dul had finished setting up everything, including a small table in front of Grace.

"Mind if I join?" he asked.

"Of course," the half-orc said casually. She settled Chippy on the table and started drip-feeding him her mana.

"List off the Skills, then," Shallies said. "And you should also take Arun'dul's opinion into account. Though he hasn't gone into quests or adventures like you have, he still has a ton of experience with fighting high-level monsters and… Well, people, too."

"People?" Grace asked.

"Not everyone who enters Avel Paradise is a good person," Arun'dul said simply.

"Well, let's not linger on that one," Shallies commented, adding the potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers into the pot. "Food's almost done. I figured we'll all have a big breakfast to get the most out of the day. And it's better to discuss your Skill choices than the alternative."

The two didn't need Shallies to spell it out. They both stood from their stools and helped prepare the table. Soon enough, they were eating Chicken Afritada With Rice.

"I've got seconds if anyone wants more. Better we finish it all so I can cook something else for lunch." Shallies brought out some orange juice from her Class Inventory. This one she stored in a Consumables Container, which allowed for storing potions, foods, and drinks, among other stuff that are consumed on use.

"So, Grace. Care to share your list?" she asked after pouring each of them a glass.

The half-orc washed down her food with the orange juice, then pulled out her System Console. She navigated a bit more before finding the ones she wanted to read out.

"I have Flametongue, Frost Break, Lightning Surge, Sharpen Blade, and Nurture Stellar Mana."

Shallies simply gestured for the half-orc to continue. She was absolutely loving the Afritada. Despite how easy of a recipe it was, she just, for some reason, didn't think of cooking it until today. She was savoring the flavors and the memory, trying her best to not let the emotions get the better of her.

"Out of these five, actually out of all my available Skills, only Nurture Stellar Mana has a Divine Adhesion requirement shown on it. I checked my profile after that and saw that I have a 'Pseudo-Significant' next to that trait. They weren't there until last night."

"It's one of your hidden traits," Shallies explained, finally able to calm down. Not that anyone noticed. "There are a lot more, but Destiny Adhesion is the first one that moved out of everything because of your connection to me as your mentor. Pseudo-Significant, because it's not your real influence, but merely an effect, again, due to our connection."

"What other hidden traits are there?" Grace asked.

"That's jumping to more complicated topics other than choosing a Skill," Shallies reminded her. "It's best to know about them as they show up on your profile."

"I know a bit about Stellar Mana, but what's Destiny Adhesion, then?"

At that, Shallies pointed her spoon towards Arun'dul. "Any ideas?"

The seraph shook his head slowly. "All I know is that it's related to a god, somehow."

"Technically correct," the Godkiller said, putting her utensils down to take a drink. "Destiny Adhesion determines how your will or your actions can actually influence Destiny."

"Destiny, as in fate? Or your future?" Grace asked, pausing her hands.

"Destiny and future aren't the same," Shallies pointed out. "Fate, sure, it's interchanged with Destiny a lot, but there's a subtle difference. Regardless, all three are somewhat tightly interwoven, but they are all different.

"Destiny is what you influence. If you have enough sway over your Destiny, then you can change your future. What happens in your future is your fate. So if you break it down, it all comes back to your Destiny. A lot of people, even researchers and scholars, get muddied results whenever they try to do studies in this field. So they sometimes get mixed together, which results in those terms becoming interchangeable."

Shallies already expected it, but it still amused her when the two in front of her clutched their heads in confusion.

"Yeah, you shouldn't really try to wrap your heads around the concept. It's technically too early." Shallies picked up her spoon again.

"Read out your Skills," she instructed Grace.

"But you already know them, right?"

"Sure, but probably not our Arun'dul here."

"I just know of Flametongue and Lightning Surge," said the seraph.

"I might as well, show them all then." Grace navigated to the Flametongue's Skill description and started to read. At the same time, Stachie was thoughtful enough to show Shallies and Arun'dul the same text. With the seraph's permission, the System Assistant was also able to use his System Console.

[Flametongue. Exclusive to Martial Classes that use a melee weapon. For five minutes, it envelops your weapon with flame mana. Whenever you strike, you can unleash the mana to create an extended flame in order to deal fire damage at range. You may choose to keep the flame instead, which will add fire properties on your melee attacks. Skill Proficiency determines the mana cost, range, and the duration.]

"Sounds exactly like what I have," Arun'dul commented. "There are probably a bunch of other Skills that behave like Flametongue too, but just using a different element."

"I don't have those," Grace replied, tucking on Chippy her lap. He had grown too big to take a nap on her chest.

"Yeah. They show up at a higher level, probably."

With a nod, Grace went on to read the next Skill.

[Frost Break. General Spellcasting Skill. It creates an ice shard from an unoccupied space you can see within range. After a short delay, it explodes into sharp icicles that damage everything within a five-meter radius. The Party System will prevent friendly fire. Skill Proficiency determines the mana cost, casting time, maximum casting range, and blast range.]

"People don't see a lot of potential in this Skill," Shallies commented. "I experimented with it for a while, and there are some really useful applications, but you're probably better off with something else for now, considering your Class. Your choice, though. I'll still help you make good use of it, if you want that."

"Maybe not, then," Grace said, going to the next Skill description. "Not for now, at least."

[Lightning Surge. General Passive Trigger Skill. Combos with the Haste Skill. Whenever you use a movement-related Skill (i.e. Charge, Shield Charge, Sight Step, etc.), accumulate a charge. Upon stopping, you may expend that charge to create a burst of lightning, at a meager cost of mana, with a two-meter radius. The intensity of the lightning is correlated with the amount of charge you've accumulated. When used in tandem with Haste, you accumulate charges while running, sprinting, or jumping, and you may unleash these charges as normal. Cooldown is five seconds. Skill Proficiency determines the recharge rate, maximum charges, cooldown speed, and blast radius.]

"I like this one the most," Grace admitted. "I might spend one of my three Skill Points on this one, unless you think it's a bad idea?" she asked Shallies.

"It's one of those Skills that sneaks up on you in terms of mana costs. It's cheap, and it's pretty effective if you can get close to your enemies. But if you're trigger-happy with its activation, you might be spending too much of your mana with it."

"Does the mana cost increase with the charge?" Arun'dul asked. "It doesn't say here."

"It doesn't," Shallies replied. "But it'll cost the same, regardless of whether you charge it to the maximum or not. The best strategy to keep it mana efficient is actually to wait until you have the maximum charges built up. But that's another resource for you to track, so it's also something that can distract you, or that you would probably completely forget about during an intense encounter. Something you can definitely improve by training and practicing with it."

"Looks like I can definitely still choose it, then," Grace concluded, swiping on to the next Skill.

"Yep."

[Sharpen Blade. Exclusive to Martial Classes who use a melee weapon and some Niche Classes. Only usable on a bladed weapon or a Mana-Edge. The following description is for the Spell Sword Class. With a flick of your mana, increase the potency of your next attack. Can be used in tandem with a variety of Skills that involve attacking with a sharp weapon. At Adept Skill Proficiency, this skill turns into a Passive Trigger Skill, but you may still cast it manually. At Expert Skill Proficiency, this skill turns into a Passive Enhancement Skill, which makes it perpetually active at no cost of mana when slotted into your Passive Enhancement Skill Slot.]

"This is one of those rare Skills that change categories the more you use it," Shallies commented. "But for some adventurer's it suffers the same problem with Lightning Surge, where they forget they have the Skill during encounters."

"Sounds like a common thing for Skills that are combo-oriented," Arun'dul added.

"Yep. It's an additional layer of skill that can distract you during the heat of battle, so practicing it so that it becomes second nature to you is essential. Though you should also practice with efficiency in mind. Like Lightning Surge, you don't want to overuse this Skill that it drains out your mana."

"If I can improve my Mana-Regeneration Rate, or my entire mana pool, it won't be a problem, right?" Grace asked.

"Of course. It's part of your natural progression, anyway. But it's always best to keep these things in mind."

"Gotcha." The half-orc swiped to the final Skill in her chosen options. "I'm not exactly sure about this one, whether I should learn this early or not, I mean."

"Read it," Shallies instructed.

[Nurture Stellar Mana. General Passive Enhancement Skill. Destiny Adhesion requirement: Faint. Allow for your mana-core to convert normal mana into Stellar Mana. With your connection to Destiny, you may infuse your mana with your will at a deeper level, creating mana that's exclusively yours as far as existence is concerned. Skill Proficiency determines the amount of Stellar Mana you can produce, the rate at which you can produce it, and the depth of your Vessel.]

"I still can't believe she had the option to learn Stellar Mana this early," Arun'dul commented. "I've heard about it, and I know only Favored Class holders are allowed to do that."

"Should I wait to be a Favored Class then?" Grace asked Shallies.

"If you can spare the Skill Point, I'd recommend that you take it," the Godkiller replied. "It's something that I'll require Tayin and Ren to take next. The earlier you can handle your own Stellar Mana, the better it'll be for you. I'll teach you how to use it once you've successfully converted some of your mana.

"And no, not all Favored Class holders get to control Stellar Mana. The Class isn't the requirement; it's your Destiny Adhesion. And not all Favored Class holders get to see their Destiny Adhesion despite being favored by a god."

"So that's another layer for me to pierce through," Arun'dul commented.

"Jealous?" Grace asked, smiling slyly at the seraph.

"A bit, yeah," the seraph admitted, much to the half-orc's surprise. "I mean, who wouldn't? I mean, I kind of wish I was still an Advanced Class holder so I can ask you, Lady Shallies, for a mentorship. But at the same time, I don't exactly regret the progress I have now. Though, I hate this Curse thing. I'm not sure if I can actually progress without dealing with this first."

"Oh yeah, that's right…" Grace awkwardly ran a hand through her hair. "You won't be earning any experience in this dungeon."

"Yeah. But that's fine." Arun'dul smiled. "We're here to help you."

"Thanks. Sorry about that," said the half-orc. "I'll repay you someday. Promise."

"Sorry about what?"

"Teasing you."

"That was teasing?"

Shallies had been listening and drinking from her orange juice, and struggled not to shower the two of them with it. It went up her nose instead.

"Ow!" The Godkiller quickly resolved her discomfort with mana-control. There was absolutely no way she would endure it on top of the embarrassment.

Arun'dul was shocked. Grace was mortified. Chippy was chirping.

"Sorry, sorry," Shallies said, wiping away the small mess she made with more mana-control. "That took me by surprise, I couldn't stop on time. Anyway, Grace, after reading them aloud, have you made your final three?"

The half-orc didn't reply right away. She was struggling with herself, doing her best not to burst out laughing. Arun'dul, the honest-to-goodness man that he was, was still simply looking worried.

And within that moment of silence, Grace's bubble of hesitation burst.

The entire outer layer of the Beginner Dungeon was filled with the laughing fits of the half-orc.

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