The Search for Knowledge: New Beginnings

The Search for Knowledge - Chapter 22

As the group approached the northern exit of Fira, Sheeron stopped in his tracks. After noticing, Kara and the rest followed suit, shooting him questioning looks. Sheeron put a hand on his bearded chin and spoke to Kara directly.

"Princess, I know we're all following you already and these adventurers are getting paid to help you, but where exactly are we going? We sort of got swept up in all the commotion of you coming back and went along without asking." He said quizzically.

"We're going to a world dungeon to rescue the Draganoid leader's son." She replied simply, as if it were all she needed to say to explain the situation.

Feera and Sheeron could only stare at her in disbelief. Toley looked confused and spoke up.

"What's a world dungeon?" He said, reminding everyone that he was a young man from a small village, where he spent all his time training.

"A world dungeon is a dungeon that was created by the world for some purpose. Very few have ever been completely cleared, but when they have been, it has been a turning point in history. The first clear, completed by the elves, was said to have created the human race for example." Kara said to him as a teacher would to a student. One could almost imagine her adjusting her glasses after speaking.

"What she forgets to mention is that for something like that to be cleared it requires the strength of an army! Kara, what ridiculous thing have you agreed to?!" An exasperated Sheeron shouted. "How are just the five of us going to be able to get anywhere in a dungeon of that caliber, even if the captive is on just the first floor!?"

Feera chimed in as well, with an almost excited tone. "Oh, this sounds fun! Like a real adventure, let's do it!"

Kara looked triumphant as Sheeron's face became crestfallen. The nearly-broken man looked to Toley for support, but the boy also looked excited. As his last hope, he looked to Rox with a mixture of dread and contempt. Rox looked indifferent and Sheeron clung to his faint ray of hope. Straightening his posture, he appealed to the man he had previously thought useless.

"Rox, you might be far stronger than I thought, but even you have to think this is ridiculous, right?" Sheeron said, not being able to help himself from sounding proud when speaking to the other warrior.

"Yes, it is," Rox said, restoring life to the shell of Sheeron, before immediately crushing it beneath his boot. "If we're going to a world dungeon then we should try to clear it while also saving the hostage. Why bother if we're not going to go all the way with it?"

With those words, Toley and Feera cheered while hugging each other in excitement. They relished the opportunity to test themselves despite the risk. Even Kara looked excited at Rox's idea, her original plan was simply to rescue the hostage and escape, but if it was with Rox, it might be possible to clear the whole thing. Imagine what sort of boon they would walk away with after clearing a world dungeon. Such a thing had not been done in centuries. Not to mention that they would also be responsible for bringing the Dragonoids into the Eternal Peace Treaty. The risk was well worth the reward, even leaving out the reward they were promised for the rescue and the connection to the future leader that they would create upon success.

Sheeron crumpled to the ground, a look of pure horror on his face. He knew the terror that resided in world dungeons. Yes, they contained a treasure trove of magical items, money, as well as opportunities not possible on the outside. It was a good chance to grow much stronger very quickly. However, the monsters inside a dungeon were among the most powerful one could encounter. Not to mention a world dungeon had multiple floor bosses as well as an end boss, unlike other dungeons which only had an end boss. In his mercenary days, he had signed up with armies that would attempt raiding world dungeons. While inside those places, he had seen horrible things that he did not wish to relive.