When the party approached, the high professor quickly noticed them, welcoming them with a nod.
"Adventurers. Have you come here following our empire's call?"
Silver Blade took over the conversation. Compelled by the elderly man's outstanding demeanour she bowed slightly before speaking:
"Yes, professor."
"Commendable. Although it is saddening that things had to come this far. But this is indeed the empire's fault."
Just then a low thud could be heard. The barrier rippled faintly, attracting the party's attention. Through the slightly transparent barrier they could see a ferocious creature with the body of a snake and the head of a rooster. Surprisingly it was one of the empire's revered basilisks.
Professor Atrol sighed faintly.
"Adventurers, you see what we are dealing with. There is not much to say. Please execute the traitors. And perhaps you can find out how they controlled our basilisks, getting these sun-loving creatures to obediently hide in the dark tunnels."
As soon as the professor finished speaking a notification reached the party, revealing the dungeon's name.
[Do you wish to accept the quest 'Traitors of the empire'?]
Naturally no one hesitated to accept.
Cyclone nodded faintly.
"Kill the boss, optionally find the way to control basilisks. Got it."
"Thank you, adventurers. Are you ready to head inside?", asked Atrol.
Seeing the party agree he stepped towards the barrier, raising his hands high. A magic circle formed swiftly and fell on the barrier, creating a temporary opening. The party stepped through, finally beginning their dungeon run.
***
Three days later when evening broke, an announcement shook the server. It was once again Dream Avenue who had taken the first clear.
No one was surprised yet many players were still disappointed with their favourite guilds as they none of them displayed any progress as if they lost the will to fight.
Meanwhile Liam and his friends appeared in front of the dungeon, looking rather exhausted. Cyclone took a deep breath as she complained:
"Three days! How could this dungeon be so difficult? And that's even with our preparation."
"For a moment I thought we wouldn't get the first clear.", admitted Silent Acacia. Balm nodded but reminded her friends:
"Well, at least the rewards were decent."
"It's alright. All of us more or less got an upgrade. But that's still somewhat lacking compared to the difficulty.", judged Quickstep, prompting Liam to explain:
"Don't worry, guys. The real reward lies with the hidden boss."
But Radiant Shield frowned, looking somewhat worried:
"Are we strong enough to challenge hard mode?"
"We can always level up first."
Cyclone nodded along as the discussion came to this point. Curious, she decided to take a glance at the ranking list.
Suddenly Balm noticed something strange, glancing at Cyclone, fingering her friend frozen in place.
"Cy?"
"Guys, something's off."
"What?"
"We all have reached level 33, right?"
"Obviously."
"Then why don't we occupy the top ten?"
The party members were taken aback. They hastily opened the ranking list, frowns forming on their faces.
"Phoenix Feather has reached level 34? And the other guild leaders are level 33? How? We got first clear. They couldn't have trained in the dungeon.", said Quickstep with question marks in her eyes.
"They must have power levelled."
"But why? Did they give up on the dungeon?"
Suddenly Silver Blade's eyes widened as she chimed in:
"Guys, do you remember what Mountain Lord said? How their guild sent only their second team into the dungeon?"
"Sure. What of it?", asked Cyclone.
"What if the other guilds have done the same? Use the second team to scout the dungeon while the first team goes power levelling. And then... send their best team to compete for the first clear of hard mode."
"What? But why would they give up the first clear of normal mode?"
The question stumped everyone before Liam voiced his guess:
"Everyone expects us to take first clear. Even if they don't want to admit it, the other guilds have begun to think of ways to avoid us. Now they at least have a head start of perhaps half a day in the race for hard mode."
"But isn't this incredibly risky? Wouldn't the whole plan fall apart if we were faster?"
"Well, what change would it make for them?"
Liam friends fell silent mulling over his words. After a few seconds it was Cyclone who spoke with a stern face:
"Let's not waste more time. We need to go back into the dungeon!"
Some of the friends agreed while others were somewhat cautious. Silent Acacia voice his concerns:
"The game ends in less than two hours. I don't think we should go now. We are all exhausted."
"Balancing work and rest is often the fastest way.", agreed Quickstep.
These concepts were thought to the two pro players in their old team. Although their management was extremely greedy, they nevertheless knew the importance of a healthy body and mind.
Of course, this wasn't because they cared so much about their players but because it evidently boosted the players' performance.
Silver Blade and Bleary Mirage shared the same opinion while the others were either eager to go into the dungeon or remained neutral.
Thus, the four players slowly managed to convince their friends. Even Cyclone had to give in after a loud yawn escaped her lips.
The young woman resigned herself, looking at her friends:
"So what should we do now?"
"It's enough if one of us continues the Black Hand quest to prepare for tomorrow. The rest can do whatever they want."
Liam's suggestion was met with much agreement. The friends discussed for a moment before Liam volunteered to go for the quest.
The others thanked him as they dispersed. They didn't dare to go too far, though. Thus, they strolled through the city marvelling at the dwarven architecture.
Meanwhile Liam returned to the cable car. He ascended two levels, getting off in another part of the city. From this place one had a great view of the tunnel leading to the dungeon.
Liam followed the marker on his map, entering a seemingly normal home not far from the cable car. Once inside, however, the house looked abandoned. Although it still contained some furniture it had nothing beyond that like plants, pictures, or even cutlery.
In the silent surroundings, however, Liam could hear a faint sound as if something was being devoured. A chill ran down Liam's spine even though he knew what to expect.
He walked up the stairs following the sound towards a closed door. As soon as he entered the room he was stared at by two pairs of suspicious eyes.
One belonged to a female dwarf sitting on a chair while knitting. The others were large white eyes with red irises belonging to a dog-like beast.
The beast was lying on the floor gnawing on a large bone, yet its teeth were pretty dull, allowing for little progress. It had thick, dark skin with little grey hair. Its ears were quite large, hanging by the side of its head. It had extremely wrinkly skin, especially above its eyes and nose which it could use to close these important organs like curtains.
As Liam looked around the room, the beast let out a low growl and the female dwarf spoke up in displeasure:
"Adventurer. Please leave my home. I have no task for you."
"Are you sure?", asked Liam while taking out his token issued by the Black Hand.
Immediately the woman's demeanour changed completely. She put away her knitting needles and jumped from the chair with a friendly smile:
"A fellow member! Why don't you say so earlier? Fellfell, come, great our guest."
"Raff!"
The dog-like beast's eyes also grew kinder as it let out a strange bark, proving great intelligence.
"Adventurer, I'm glad you want to assist our Black Hand. Did you come here for the missing farmhands?"
"Yes. And you are my informant I suppose?"
"Exactly. I'm Heyg and this is Fellfell. We are both longstanding members of the Black Hand, adept at finding missing people."
"Great. So what do you need me to do?"
"For a while now, farmhands all around Svebrial have gone missing. Sadly no one cared too much until there was a witness and we learned that the farmhands were abducted.
When I heard of it, I knew this was the right task for me.
My cutie Fellfell here is a Nehthrebrian Tracker. As you might be able to guess from the name, he is great at tracking people. Once he catches onto a smell, he is difficult to stop.
We came all the way from Svebrial to this place. But then I had to stop. You can imagine my surprise when a basilisk suddenly blocked my path.
Ha, I wish I were better at fighting... I'm dragging Fellfell down."
Heyg sighed, patting Fellfell who nuzzled into her hand. The dwarf smiled, looking up at Liam:
"Adventurer, I'm entrusting Fellfell to you for a while. Take him to the mines and find those pure farmhands. And don't worry. Other than tracking, my Fellfell is also great at escaping."