Chapter Fifty-One

As Brandon handed the fur cloak to Edward, the young dragon master couldn't help but feel impressed. The coat was finer than any other he had seen before- even on Earth. The dark black cloak was long enough to reach his ankles and wide enough to surround his entire body, yet it was also small enough to not impede combat. Upon its collar, there was a wide fur overlay that almost seemed like a pair of pauldrons. 

As Edward threw down his gray hood and put on his new coat, he couldn't help but gasp at how comfortable it felt. The fur collar almost felt like a pillow for his neck, yet was small enough to seem like any other part of the coat. Combined with his leather armor- which he had dyed black only the previous day- Edward genuinely felt that he had become some sort of shadow boss from a dungeon of some sort.

"I made sure we found some with fire resistance," Brandon told him, "It was made from the fur of a magma wolf- whatever that is- so it should resist your flames with ease. Go wild."

Brandon then handed a similar coat to Leila- hers was dark crimson- and a brown coat to Markus- who had the largest coat of all so he could wear it with his armor. Brandon himself wore a coat of a similar make as Edward's- only it was smaller and didn't have the fur collar.

"I wanted one that would allow me to move. Speed is one of my greatest strengths, after all," Brandon explained.

"You've considered our styles and our abilities, I'm impressed," Edward smiled. He opened his backpack and showed Brandon, "Leila and I managed to find some meals that will keep our bodies warm for hours after we eat them."

"I think that just about does it," Markus smiled as he put his hands on his hips, "I think we're ready for the dungeon now. Where was it again?"

"It's a few hours east of here. Unfortunately, we don't have enough money to pay for horses so we'll have to walk," Edward shrugged. Brandon suddenly groaned before turning to Markus.

"Why can't you find dragons for us to ride, already? My feet are beginning to hurt from all the walking we've done over the last few hours," Brandon said as his arms slumped to his sides. Markus laughed at Brandon's struggles before turning to the lucky boy.

"Even if Edward manages to find us appropriate dragons, I doubt they would allow us to ride them just like that. We might need to learn a skill, first," Markus said. He turned to Edward, "Today, I'll try to find a riding skill on the forums. A skill like that will be helpful for us if we do end up riding dragons in the future."

"Right," Edward smiled and nodded as he spoke. He turned his gaze to every member of the group, then smiled. Edward looked up to the skies and saw a glimmer of light reflect at him. Ikarus was still high in the skies, but Edward did not doubt that the dragon was making sure not to lose his master, "Alright, let's get going!"

"By the time we arrive at the dungeon, we'll have to log off," Markus breathed as he climbed up a rock. His stamina was the lowest out of everyone in the group, thus was the slowest walker. His heavy armor only made things worse for him, so Edward made sure to pace himself to let Markus keep up. Markus took another breath, "We have work tomorrow, remember? Are you going to show up, this time?"

"Uh, right," Edward muttered quietly. He looked to Markus and shrugged, "I might not. I've landed myself in a situation with Desert Industries, so I doubt they'll let me leave. I might not be at work for the coming few days."

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Markus heaved. He put his hands on his knees and turned to Brandon- the only member of the group not having any trouble with the hike to the dungeon. Even Edward, the only one in the group with an Agility score higher than thirty, was sweating a little. Ikarus didn't sweat, so his Agility score, despite being above seventy, wasn't taken into consideration, "How are you fine?"

"I keep on stepping on completely flat rocks, sorry. I haven't had to use much muscle," Brandon smiled, "I don't even know why."

"Lucky bastard," Markus muttered under his breath. He looked up, to the heavens, and sighed, "Why can't Stamina be an Endurance stat? Why, oh why?"

"Hey, my stamina is just as bad as yours," Leila said, though with a playful smile. Markus turned to the woman and sighed. While that statement was true, Leila wasn't struggling in the slightest. This was because she wasn't standing on the ground. Instead of walking, like the rest of them, Leila chose to use her magic to generate a small burst of flames underneath her feet. This allowed her to hover only a few inches above the ground. This choice of travel dipped into her MP pool, naturally, but not fast enough to warrant worry. By the time they got to the dungeon, they would log off, anyway.

"Oh, please don't gloat," Markus whined. He took another step forward and huffed, "C'mon, let's go."

As the group traveled to the dungeon, they gradually found themselves moving uphill. Eventually, the group found themselves at the base of a small mountain. This ended up causing Markus even more frustration, so he began to climb up the path on all fours.

The others were fine. Brandon had somehow managed to disappear from the group for five minutes, only to reappear fifty meters higher up the mountain. Somehow, the man kept on doing this over and over again until he was so high up that he was practically at the dungeon already.

The second one to arrive was Leila, who used her magic to create a jetstream of flames that delivered her directly to the dungeon's entrance. Ikarus followed behind her before landing just a few seconds after her. Edward made sure to stay with Markus. Even though he could replicate Leila's method- to some degree despite not being a natural like she was- he thought it would've been rude to leave Markus on his own.

After another ten minutes, the climb was finally finished. Before them now stood a large iron door. The entrance to the Dungeon of Winter Catacombs.