The world vanished under Horus' feet. Teleportation didn't feel like just appearing in another place; it felt like the world was being pulled apart and remade beneath his feet.
He could hear space grinding against itself as it was being put back together and then the Dungeon appeared.
[Awakened! You have received a Quest.]
[You have been offered one basic weapon based on your class. Do you accept?]
Immediately, he got low and began scanning his surroundings, unclipping his sword so it was ready to be used.
He quickly got behind a Stalagmite and listened carefully for signs of other people or monsters before taking the system's offer.
The weapon appeared silently in his hand. A simple steel sword in its sheath that he clipped to his belt.
Nothing seemed to be around him.
The ground was crooked and black, like stone burnt over and over again. There were different holes and tunnels built into the ceiling, walls and floor.
Horus lit one of the flares in his kit and raised it to study the dungeon.
It was a Firespitter dungeon.
Firespitters were less monsters and more machines of war. They were about the size of a large dog and their bodies were covered in holes that shot concentrated jets of fire.
He pulled out two maps. One was given to him by his father, it only showed the upper layers of the dungeon where new Awakeners were likely to spawn.
The other map was made by Shiv, and it included details of the entire dungeon.
He searched the empty section he was in; Awakeners often left marks in dungeons they had explored. This Firespitter dungeon was one that was well explored and intentionally left functional.
He found a slab of stone that was carved and cleaned for explorers.
Firespitter Dungeon.
Exploration is highly restricted, all entries must be permitted by the Slayer Guild and Command Headquarters.
This is the second floor; these arrows point towards tunnels that will lead you to the following floors, respectively.
First floor (Fully controlled, two sections are open to allow Firespitters congregate for training rookies.)
Second floor (The section you are currently in is likely safe, but all tunnels leading to other sections have a decent chance of encountering a Firespitter.)
Third floor (No section is controlled. Firespitters fill every section, their numbers are low, as these Firespitters are meant to leave the dungeon and find food for the Dungeon core. Note: there is another instruction slab down there detailing possible exits from the dungeon in case going to the first floor isn't feasible.)
Fourth Floor (High concentration of Firespitters. Access is restricted; you must gain permission before entry. There is a high chance of encountering one of the Five Adept-tier Firespitters on this floor)
Fifth floor (Do not enter. Entry without permission from the Guildmaster of the Slayer Guild is a Criminal Offence)
Horus raised an eyebrow. This was exceptionally good luck, this was the safe zone on the second floor, exactly where he was meant to meet John and Wally.
He was wondering what to do next when he heard a scream.
He didn't move. First, he had to contemplate whether or not to act. If he left this place, Wally might come later and wonder where he was.
But they all decided to wait here until everyone got here before moving, so Wally would wait.
Besides that, he had four skills that were at the Common-tier skill limit. If he could kill some monsters now, he would gain enough Skill shards to evolve them to Adept-tier.
"Wait." he stopped. "What's my quest?"
The system gave everyone a first quest. It would be something slightly difficult, like killing Five Firespitters or collecting specific minerals.
Nothing too crazy. Common-tier quests. But he could use this to get closer to finishing the quest too.
[Quest: Big game hunter]
[Rarity: Master]
[Description: Slay an Adept-tier Firespitter and collect ten millilitres of Black mercury.]
Horus stared at the system panel indifferently, before shaking his head and sighing.
Of course.
The decision was made. He ran towards the sound of the screams.
●——●
After a short crawl through one of the dungeon's tunnels, Horus was already worried. The whole dungeon was uneven, unpredictable and too dark.
Fighting here must be a nightmare.
He dropped down from the hole, which led to a new section of the second floor, rolling into a crouch to cushion his fall.
Five Awakeners were mid-battle with six Firespitters.
Two people were in immediate danger. One had a badly burnt leg, while the other was a crying girl protecting him, swinging her magic staff at the two approaching beasts.
Horus surged towards them. Firespitters had a strange sound to them, like their entire body was thrumming with a breath coursing from the holes all over them.
They had no heads, no eyes, just quadrupedal bodies made of steel, but the two monsters sensed his approach.
And they met him with fire.
The holes on their bodies ignited with white light before a thin line of flame was blasted at him.
The monsters were efficient, they sent three jets of fire at him and one at the girl protecting her friend.
Horus leapt over the crimson lines, twisting his body mid-air to dodge another. He hit the ground with a roll and perfectly transferred back into a sprint.
Seven seconds till they could fire again, according to Shiv's notes.
As for the girl, a blob of water appeared and intercepted the stream of fire with a roaring hiss and steam, so he didn't have to worry about them.
He drew his sword fluidly. The black steel shimmered with thousands of trapped stars in the light of dying flames.
The first Firespitter jumped towards him; its body was strong and heavy enough to crush prey.
Horus spun and slashed in one motion, testing the Firespitter's durability. His sword left a deep scar in the beast's body.
If he tried cutting through, his sword would get stuck. It was a Master-tier weapon, but his [Physicality] wasn't as great.
He rolled away as the second Firespitter launched itself at him and instantly had a plan. But he needed to restrain one monster first.
And his seven seconds were up.
Thankfully, the Water mage was sharp enough to stay active. She shot a ball of water at one of the Firespitters before it attacked, sending the beast flying away.
Horus rushed the other Firespitter without hesitation. Head on to bait the fire blast.
As soon as the two fast streams of flames erupted, he changed directions. The air on his left felt like a furnace.
He jumped before it finished firing and plunged his blade into the Firespitter's back. His curved blade wasn't very suited for stabbing, but he had a trick.
The sword glowed with swirling celestial lights before phasing into the monster's body.
Then it became solid inside the beast with a storm of sparks as steel was separated. The beast's flames immediately faded and its legs gave out.
His sword glowed once more, becoming intangible so he could easily pull it out.
Then he repeated this for the other monsters.
The three people fighting four enemies didn't need his help as much, but he shot through their battlefield, weaving past flames and plunging his blade into the hearts of the monsters.
Soon, everything was still. The crackling noise of dying flames and heavy breath filled the dungeon.
Horus turned to the Awakeners, they were all newbies like him. But two of the Five were Inheritors from Fort Thunder. He could tell by their weapons.
One boy had ornate dual blades, and by the way he fought, Horus guessed he had the [Duelist] class.
The other girl had a blue steel staff with many softly jiggling rings. She summoned a stone golem during the battle, so she had a Master-tier Earth mage class. A Golem mage maybe.
The other three obviously collected their basic weapons from the system. A [Knight] with a round shield and spear, a [Water mage] with a simple staff, and an [Enchanter] with a toolkit that wasn't very good for fighting.
"How did you kill them so easily?" The Tank asked Horus.
Horus answered immediately. "Firespitters aren't living things. They have cores at the center of their bodies. If they are damaged, the monsters die. But their centers are thick and hard to reach."
"The Mundanes survived?" The Duelist glanced back at the injured boy, the Enchanter, and the Water mage.
"No thanks to you," the Enchanter sneered.
"No point in helping you," The Golem mage waved off. "You're dead weight, and we're in an unknown dungeon. We might be ten battles from a safe point, carrying your sorry ass there will be dumb."
The Tank grumbled. "So he should just die here?"
"Yes, actually," the Duelist said with a chuckle.
The Enchanter glanced at his injured leg and the dark dungeon with fear in his eyes. He muttered under his breath. "No, I can't die, I just awakened. I need to get back, help Pa. I finally…"
The two Inheritors smiled at the boy's hysteria before walking to one of the Firespitter corpses.
"That's enough," Horus said.
They all stopped and stared. No matter what happened in the awakening hall, this was still Horus Twilight.
"The dungeon's safe zone is through that tunnel." He pointed clearly. "There you'll find a stone tablet with instructions on how to leave the dungeon. You'll all be alright."
The Enchanter's face brightened up immediately. They all released a sigh of relief.
"I'm taking all the Skill shards since I killed everything," Horus said with no hesitation. "I need them to help others."
A small lie, but they would live.
The two Inheritors looked to argue, but flinched away from Horus' gaze and just nodded faintly.
Before they left, the Duelist asked a question that had been on everyone's mind.
"Those lights on your blade. That was Twilight mana, did you—"
"Go," Horus pointed.
They obeyed. He didn't have time to answer questions, nor did he feel like it. The way the two Inheritors acted towards those Mundanes annoyed him.
He understood why Inheritors were above Mundanes; they were true warriors, trained to protect Bloodhaven. But he didn't understand why some had that attitude towards what they were meant to protect.
He took out Shiv's notes and stood over the Firespitter's corpse. The Skill shard would form close to the core, but he used the notes to know where to cut to remove both the core and shards.
Then he made slow, accurate cuts and revealed a section of the body, where rainbow shards of crystal sat.
Time for an upgrade