Chapter 11 - Kobold's Forest

After taking advantage of Mr. Goodwill, the trio separated and decided to meet tomorrow as it was getting dark. It was better to enter a Dungeon in daylight, avoiding unnecessary risk.

Loki's lips stretched ear to ear, as he didn't expect to gain a boon by meeting someone he disliked. He was more convinced that learning new things was a must. If he hadn't studied, they wouldn't have obtained such useful tools. Who knew that the books he casually read would show results early in his career? He promised that he would buy more books the moment he earned coins.

The next day, in front of the guild.

Loki and Leo were waiting patiently for their last member. They agreed to meet before the guild at 7 in the morning. However, due to the two kids' bubbling excitement, they barely slept through the night; therefore, they decided to go to the guild earlier than expected. Regardless, both were brimming with energy, thrilled to test the skills they had honed for the entire month.

After a few minutes, Pandora finally arrived.

Loki stared at Pandora with confusion. "Where is your bag?"

"W-what do you mean?" Pandora tilted her head.

"Aren't we going to a Dungeon today? Where are all your things?"

"Yeah, same question," Leo added.

Pandora squinted; she seemed confused at what her new companions implied. But then her eyes widened as if she realized something unbelievable. "Y-you know about the Crawlers Card, right?"

"What about it?" Leo asked.

"T-the CC isn't only used for identification; it also has a Rune that allows Crawler to store an item."

"Wait, what? You mean the same Rune that is engraved on your staff?"

"T-they have different effects, but both are Runes, so technically, yes."

"Why did no one tell us that? Wait, did Instructor Gerald deliberately leave it out as a prank?" Loki's heart burned with annoyance. Even though their training ended, Gerald still found a way to make their lives difficult.

Loki and Leo took out their CC.

"So how can we store our bag?" Leo asked while examining the card in his hand.

"Y-you just need to place your CC on the things you choose and say store. If you want to take it out, just utter withdraw."

Loki and Leo took the bag from their backs and followed Pandora's words. Sure enough, the bag disappeared in thin air. The two kids repeatedly store and withdraw their bags, garnering the attention of the people passing by.

Realizing this, the two kids stopped and bowed their heads to the whispering crowds. After that, the three hurried inside the Guild.

Loki's party stopped before a massive wooden board on the wall. The board was plastered with all kinds of paper, requesting different items with different rewards.

"This is it." Loki examined the Quest Board, reading the Quest that they could take. However, he kept himself from plucking a paper. As of now, he still had no right to decide what to accept. He needed experience first before he could confidently choose. Therefore, he looked at Pandora and spoke. "I think you should be the one to decide what we should take."

Pandora's body jerked. "N-no, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why? I think Loki is right. You already entered a Dungeon, so you're more qualified to choose our first Quest," Leo encouraged.

"That's right. And letting us decide on this is a far worse idea," Loki reassured.

Pandora hesitated, looking at Loki and Leo's faces back and forth. After some time, she extended her right hand, ripped one of the papers on the Quest Board, and then handed it to Loki.

Loki accepted the paper and scanned the content. On top of the paper was a drawing of a flower, and below it was written:

Quest-type: Gathering.

Required Rank: 1-Star

Difficulty: F

Gather Azure Flowers in the Kobold's Forest.

Reward: 1 silver coin for every flower.

Time Limit: None.

"Wow! 1 silver!" Leo exclaimed when he saw the rewards. "With this, we can easily pay our debt to Mr. Goodwill!"

"Yeah, let's hope it is that easy."

The trio sauntered to Cassandra to approve the Quest they had taken.

"Oh, our little chicks are finally spreading their wings," Cassandra teased.

And she's back.

"Hello to you too, Ms. Cassandra. Can we please take this Quest?" Loki handed the paper to the red-haired woman.

Cassandra examined the Quest and nodded. "You made a good decision. Start from the bottom and work your way up." Cassandra approved the paper, wrote the names of the Quest participants, and returned the paper to them

"You can leave now. Good luck."

Loki and Leo smiled widely, while Pandora only nodded her head. With that, the three kids went their way for their very first Dungeon Crawl—for Loki and Leo at least.

Outside the south gate of Vestia.

"So, where is the Kobold's Forest?" Loki looked at Pandora.

The timid girl pointed to the west side of Vestia and said, "W-we need to walk in that direction for 30 minutes."

Loki followed Pandora's finger and saw a forest in the distance. It was out of place. Vestia was surrounded by wasteland; forests shouldn't exist anywhere near the city. "Okay, let's go!"

Loki, Leo, and Pandora marched toward the forest, carrying only their equipment. After 20 minutes, they arrived before an ocean of trees.

This was the first time Loki saw so many trees close to one another.

So this is a forest, huh? How beautiful.

"Am I the only one that is getting nervous?" Leo asked with a weird smile.

Nervousness didn't graze Loki's mind, but when he heard Leo, discomfort rose within his heart. "Now that you mention it, I'm also getting nervous."

Taking a deep breath, Loki released a mouthful of air and reassured himself and the others. "But I know we will do better. Just remember your training."

With all that done, the party proceeded inside the forest.

Loki scrutinized the area while walking. Even though they were surrounded by countless trees, he hadn't seen a single grass on their way. Not only that, but the forest was too quiet. No birds, no sound of any animal, not even the rustling of leaves. It was a bit eerie. As if the place wasn't real or alive.

How odd.

He turned his gaze to his companions, curious at their reactions. But it appeared he was the only one finding the atmosphere odd. Realizing that he might be overthinking, he shrugged his shoulders and focused his attention ahead.

Upon walking for several minutes, they finally arrive in front of a high wall made from stone. The wall had the same height as the wall that surrounded Vestia.

As they sauntered to the entrance, a guard wearing full armor blocked them.

"Halt, identification."

The first one to give the card was Pandora, who had already anticipated the need for identification.

Witnessing this, Loki and Leo hurriedly took theirs and gave it to the guard.

The guard walked to a small barrack, maybe to confirm the authenticity of their CC. After a while, the guard came back and handed them their CC.

"You may enter."

Loki's party entered without further interruption.

Inside the stronghold.

The place was far smaller than Vestia, as the walls were visible in all directions. Stalls, tents, and other small buildings were scattered across the area. But what caught his attention the most was the big tree that blanketed the middle of the stronghold with its shadow. On the very bottom of this massive tree was a hole the size of three people,

The hole emitted a white and black light, serving as an entrance to a different world called Dungeon.

"Wow!" Leo exclaimed while looking up.

Loki frowned. "Wait? Why didn't we see this huge tree on the way here? With its size, it should be visible."

"I-I don't know the exact reason, but I heard the DCG put a barrier around the tree. After all, this enclosure is made not to prevent people from entering but to prevent anything from exiting," Pandora explained.

Although it was difficult to comprehend Pandora's words due to her voice, Loki was smart enough to understand the gist of them.

"I see, so another Rune?" Loki muttered to himself.

I'm starting to get interested in this Rune thing. It has so many uses.

"Come on, Loki, stop gawking around; we don't want to block other people from passing," Leo warned.

Loki woke up from his daze. "Ah, coming."

The three kids went directly to the Dungeon entrance. Due to their shopping frenzy yesterday, all the items they saw in a stall didn't manage to garner their attention. In the first place, they didn't have coins to buy anything.

As they got closer to the entrance, another group of Crawlers guarding the portal stopped them once again.

"Please stop."

The trio didn't need to hear what the guard would say; they already knew what he wanted. Not wanting to waste time, they immediately handed in their CC for identification. After a few seconds, the guard returned the card and let them through.

The new party paused before the entrance. For the last time, they glanced at each other, as if they were asking if everyone was ready. With a determined nod, the three kids finally took their first step through the portal.