Kon opened his eyes in fear. He felt pain in many parts of his body, but nothing serious.
The first thing that was noticeable was the nauseating stench. He vomited on the floor, trying to better understand the situation.
I ended up inside a dungeon!
Luckily, he wasn't the only one there: there were about sixty people. Among them, a noble and elegant figure stood out.
It was the boy Kon had been watching the night before.
They were in a cave-type dungeon, the most common one, with many blue crystals which, contrary to what it seemed, were not precious at all.
Kon was sweating coldly as he sat on the cool, rocky floor.
We've ended up in a dungeon! Oh man! Help will never come quickly!
The only good thing was that it was most likely a low-level dungeon.
Dungeons let more people enter when they need more Spiritual Strength to connect with the earthly world.
If this Dungeon needed sixty people to stay in the earthly world, it was most likely D-Rank, the lowest.
Despite this, for normal people like them it was suicide.
Kon was so scared that he didn't notice the noble-looking boy stand in front of them all and start speaking.
"Gentlemen, don't be alarmed!" he said firmly.
"We've ended up in a low-level dungeon, so don't worry."
"How can we not worry? We're just normal people!" said a frightened voice in the crowd.
"Well, not all of us..." and as he said thisshe took out his necklace with a beautiful ruby set in it that was starting to light up.
Don't tell me that…Kon thought he knew what was going on.
And indeed he was right.
The aura around the jewel was starting to show.
The young man's Spiritual Force, red as that ruby, became large enough to cover him completely.
He was a Gifted, and his relic was probably higher than level 10!
The crowd was starting to feel better at the sight of a Gifted One who wasn't a beginner.
Kon felt better too: someone could protect them.
The young man continued speaking: "I will go deeper into the Dungeon, you stay here. You should have no problem, as there is only one corridor to continue along."
"And you want to go alone?" asked a soft, elderly voice.
"Do you want to follow him?" protested a hoarse, annoying voice. "No one else here is as Gifted as he is."
They were clearly all scared, and no one would follow him. And perhaps that was right. After all, he had exposed himself to danger.
Despite this, everyone was grateful to him. He was truly the hero they needed at that moment.
And just like a true adventurer. Kon could only think so. After all, he'd just taken charge of everyone's lives in that dungeon... Kon felt something strange.
It was an emotion he didn't often feel. It was like respect. An enormous respect he felt for that boy his age, yet different from him.
Kon dreamed of becoming just like him. Enough! I can do it too.
"Hey! I'll go with him too!"
All eyes turned to Kon.
They were clearly all surprised. They had never expected a half-elf to be there among them; in fact, in their panic, they hadn't noticed him at all.
Some had disgusted expressions on their faces, others tried not to show it.
Kon was starting to feel a little uncomfortable, but he was saved by that noble and elegant boy.
"Great, the more the merrier. Let's get moving..."
"Kon, my name is Kon."
Just as they were talking, another boy raised his hand. He was clearly older than Kon and the silver-haired boy, but he was still young.
He was tall, with an athletic build, long black hair tied in a low ponytail, and black eyes.
"I'd like to come with you too."
A silence fell in the rocky room. Everyone present was clearly calmer, though several were skeptical, since only one of the three was Gifted; and among them was a half-elf. He could have attacked the noble boy from behind and escaped.
However, no one had the courage to voice their doubts.
"Okay, let's get moving."
…
The three walked through the rocky corridor in silence.
It was just as Kon suspected: it was a low-level dungeon. They hadn't found a single monster since they'd left.
The monotonous rocky grey of the cave was broken by the blue stones embedded in the ground.
The silence was broken by the noble boy.
"By the way, my name is Pikaru Curka, why did you decide to follow me?"
Kon wasted no time in replying, "My dream is to become an adventurer, so I thought I'd gain experience with this Dungeon."
The boy with long black hair replied: "I have a similar reason too... Anyway, my name is Aquilo Ulier. By the way, how do you come by a relic? Are you an adventurer by any chance?"
Pikaru smiled slightly as he answered Aquilo's question. "No, I'm not an adventurer. In fact, I was just heading to Rokka to become one myself."
Kon's respect for the noble-looking boy grew more and more.
He'd become a Gifted without using a relic sanctified by the kingdom. He was truly a genius, then. Well, Kon was no small feat: he was Jamal's son, after all, and he had talent to spare. Yes, Kon was sure of it.
As they moved, they began to hear cries and paws on the ground. Pikaru stopped suddenly, grabbed her necklace, and removed it, placing it around her wrist as she assumed a guard position.
"Get ready, monsters are approaching."
Kon and Aquilo were surprised. From their point of view, Pikaru had suddenly stopped and become wary; after all, they didn't have the heightened senses of a Gifted.
They both stood on guard. Kon reached for a small knife he had hidden in his belt, while Aquilo assumed a fighting stance.
Monsters began to appear in their field of vision. They resembled wolves, but much more ferocious and abnormal, with horns and sharp claws, and purple eyes that glowed almost spectacularly.
Pikaru sighed. His Relic began to glow.
"Activate Skill: Pendant of the Saint."
The beasts crowded together in an uncoordinated and impatient way as they drew ever closer.
Kon's anxiety began to rise as he noticed that Pikaru's ability was not having any effect.
Pikaru continued with his spell: "Give me your power."
Pikaru's posture became savage as he began making strange, beast-like noises, and his muscles grew, almost tearing his clothes apart.
He rushed into the crowd of beasts and, as soon as he entered, a patch of blood sprayed towards all the walls and did not stop there.
The beasts leaped at Pikaru at incredible speed, but he responded at even greater speed, snapping with his claws and aiming for his throat, eyes, and stomach.
The beasts began to retreat when one, larger than the others, shouted, encouraging the others, who rushed forward towards Pikaru.
Pikaru in turn began to scream, completely breaking their will to fight: the beasts' will to fight disappeared, and not even the alpha beast's encouragement seemed to work.
Then the largest beast advanced to challenge Pikaru head-on, who was waiting with open arms.
The other beasts seemed to have understood their leader's intention and crowded against the other two present.
Kon started sweating. He didn't know what to do!
Aquilo stepped forward, waiting, and when they were within a meter, he delivered a powerful kick that sent seven or eight of the beasts flying.
"Come on, Kon!" he shouted as he regained his guard.
Right!