"The prince is here!"
The guards on duty within the tower of an outpost stiffened as a man with red hair rode up to the gates.
The thick wooden gates were quickly opened, and Cloud, without delay, marched through, stopping in the middle were several tents had been laid.
Coming down from his horse, a soldier coming to take it's reins, Cloud immediately began heading for the hill that stood the back of the outpost, not surprised when a bald head man rushed up to his side, this man the leader of the outpost.
"My prince" What brings you here, he was flustered.
"'The dungeon".
"Alone" the bald man looked around, seeing no one with Cloud, " please give me some seconds to quickly round up a team.
"No need, I'll be going in alone"
"But....."
"You don't need to worry, I'll be sticking to the first floor, Master already knows about this"
That was all Cloud said as he descended into the darkness of the cave at the foot of the hill, adjusting his gear, making sure of the items in his storage ring as dense energy enveloped him.
Dungeons were worlds separate from the current world, carrying with them different laws and, most importantly, beasts and resources.
In terms of value, they could be thought of as the oil fields of his old world.
For anyone to declare themselves a sort of power, they had to possess a dungeon, a means to harvest not just mana cores, but also magical plants along with minerals.
Dungeons ranked from A to F, each rank telling of the level of danger one would find within them.
Cloud hadn't heard of A-rank dungeons, but it was public knowledge that several kingdoms controlled B, C, and D grade dungeons.
The kingdoms also had lesser dungeons, but they considered them near worthless, their resources too limited.
It was the villages that scrambled to control these lesser dungeons, fighting wars and carrying out assassinations for them.
What should be noted, though, was that in the entire Dakurt region, amongst the dozen villages occupying the central west of the continent, Dakurt was the only village in control of a D-rank dungeon and Cloud had just stepped into it.
It wasn't Cloud's first time at the dungeon, but it was his first time entering alone.
The darkness didn't fill Cloud's vision for long. It cleared to reveal familiar terrain, him standing at the top of a burnt stone building, the sun blasting down on him.
With a breath in, the smell of burnt ash filled Cloud's nostrils, making him look around at the world, everything burnt black.
There was no exit portal behind him. To leave, he had to clear a level, but just as he took a step forward, his eyes narrowed.
"Feels weird."
Cloud had been to dungeons before and remembered the sensation they brought, and what he was feeling now, the air, the buildings in sight, even the sun, felt wrong.
He peered for danger, but that wasn't it. His fingers wiggled, slightly restless. Something near imperceptible gnawed at the edges of his senses.
Then a screen popped up, all strange feelings evaporating.
[You have stepped into a realm, name it]
This counts as a realm?
Cloud was taken aback.
"Black Madness," he said without much thought, watching as the screen confirmed his entry and disappeared.
He thought that was all, but the screen popped back up.
[100 Essence to revive in current location]
[Be wary, the realm has noticed you. Debuff has been applied]
"Essence… Debuff?"
Cloud stared at the screen for several seconds, and with no way to extract more information, dismissed it as a violent roar echoed from the distance.
[Fire throw (level 9)]
[Kp: 131]
"100 for a revive…"
The screen stated it clearly, but the possibility of what it implied was as absurd as the idea of killing beasts to gain points to level up his skills.
"Don't feel like testing it, though," Cloud thought, cautious of such a cheat, already learning that his perks never came free.
Moving to the edge of the building, Cloud jumped without pause, taking a knife from his waist and slamming it into the wall.
His black boots scraped the stone as he slid down the building, a rough wind hitting his face, and a few meters from the ground, he pushed off the wall, sailing through the air and dropping below, smoothly entering a roll before getting back to his feet.
"Guys, I'm back," he shouted into the empty field, looking at the houses surrounding him.
The reply came immediately, high-pitched growls erupting from within the buildings.
Creatures with long tusks burst out, their bodies pitch black and their eyes blood red.
[Devil Pig Level 3]
[Devil Pig Level 5]
The pigs didn't waste time letting out cries before charging forward, and Cloud immediately pulled his katana from his back, lowering his stance, his eyes sharp.
Rage and hunger burned in the beasts' eyes, their legs moving as fast as they could carry them, but to Cloud, they were a bit slow—just faster than the idiots he had killed the day before.
The first arrived. Stepping to the side as it passed him, Cloud grabbed it by the tusk with his left hand, swung it around, and slammed it into the ground.
A squeal left the creature, but whatever pain it felt was nothing compared to what followed.
Cloud's left hand rose into the air, a flame lighting on his palm, swelling until it was almost the size of a human torso, and then he brought it down.
Eiiiiiiiiii!!
The creature's cry made Cloud chuckle as he leapt away from his position, escaping two consecutive charges.
The pigs slammed into each other, particularly worsening the agony of their defeated comrade as they trampled over it.
Five Devil Pigs had marched into the field at Cloud's shout. Were it any other person at his level, they would have been scared shitless, running for their lives lest they be crushed, but him, he was completely calm.
"It didn't kill it," Cloud thought with disappointment, noticing the first pig was still very much alive even as the fire he had slammed into it dispersed.
With his katana, he dodged the other two pigs charging him, slashing off the front limbs of the last one as he avoided its tusks.
Leaving it to moan, he attacked the other just as it was turning around, decapitating it in a single strike.
Then he made a beeline for the earlier idiots, slicing them apart with one sweeping swing.
[You have killed level 4 beast +21 Kp]
[You have killed level 3 beast +16 Kp]
[You have killed level 3 beast +13 Kp]
Several growls echoed from afar, but Cloud wasn't worried. He knew he was the one who would have to go meet those dangers.
He focused on the first beast, which had gotten back onto its feet and was staring at him with boiling rage, stamping its hooves into the ground.
"Let's see how many blasts it takes to kill you," Cloud said with a smile, sheathing his katana and lighting blazing flames on each of his palms.