First Floor of the Etherion Domain…
The interior of dungeons normally didn't change, allowing Adventurers to properly map them.
But some dungeons were special and exempted from this standard. Alex was very familiar with one of them in the games—the Dungeon of Beginnings, which changed the layout of its interior every twenty-four hours.
This made mapping impossible.
In other words, those who wished to challenge it would have to rely on luck, instinct, and experience to find its exit.
The first floor of the Etherion Domain had a similar setup, making it the ideal training ground for Catkins who had just gone through their coming-of-age ceremony.
But Alex had skipped this stage and had been sent directly to the second floor after entering the domain.
While it may seem that he gained an advantage at the start, this wasn't entirely true.
After all, there was now a prowling Rank 2 Mutant Boss Monster on the second floor, raising the difficulty of the ten-day survival trial inside the domain.
'I didn't think finding the path to the second floor would be this difficult,' Lavinia thought as she walked north.
Suddenly, three feral dogs appeared and lunged at her with the intention to kill.
The young lady didn't panic and simply flicked her sword whip, slicing the three dogs in half.
They then turned into particles of light, leaving behind their monster cores.
Lavinia didn't even bother to pick up the fallen cores and simply continued to walk northwards.
Such low-level cores didn't interest her.
If Alex had been there, he would have nagged the young lady for wasting resources!
Unfortunately, Lavinia was one of those people who had been born with a golden spoon.
Her family was wealthy, and she didn't have to worry about how to find her next meal. She had also been raised in a safe environment and trained by the best teacher money could hire.
Simply put, she was a winner in life.
Even fighting Rank 2 Monsters one-on-one didn't pose a challenge to her, let alone threaten her.
The jumping spider that had almost killed Alex back then was something that Lavinia could kill in less than a minute.
But she would struggle if she faced three to five of them at once.
Even she would not be able to easily survive such an encounter.
The other Catkins that had entered the Domain also had similar skill levels.
Rank 1 Monsters didn't pose any threats to them unless an entire group attacked them.
A few minutes later, the young lady frowned and stopped walking.
"How long do you all plan to follow me?" Lavinia asked, glancing behind her.
There were four Catkins behind her, who all bowed the moment she looked in their direction.
"As we stumbled upon the young lady out of great fortune, we decided to ensure that you will safely reach the second floor," the most handsome of the group of Catkins replied. "No doubt that you are strong, my lady, but overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
The frown on Lavinia's face deepened after hearing the young man's words.
"While you speak true, do not forget that this is a trial meant to test everyone's abilities," Lavinia retorted. "Those who don't perform well will not get the chance to get the Hidden Classes available in this domain. Are all of you fine with mediocrity?"
The other Catkins suddenly felt anxious after hearing her words, but their leader merely smiled and gave his own reply.
"Worry not, my lady," the handsome Catkin said. "We are simply here to ensure that you will reach the second floor safely. When you are safely on the second floor, we will part ways.
"Besides, I believe that the Ninja Job Class can be unlocked by meeting certain conditions. And one of those conditions is to serve a lord, which the four of us can meet if we ensure your safety."
Lavinia didn't have any rebuttal to the young man's reply because it made sense.
Those who acquired the Ninja Job Class would be invited to become a retainer of the Hartwell Clan and entrusted with missions.
According to her grandfather, a person could gain this Hidden Profession if they truly wished to serve one master, similar to how someone could obtain the Knight Job Class by pledging fealty to the lord that they wanted to serve.
Ninja, Demon Slayer, Horizon Striker, and Oathkeeper.
Those were the four Hidden Professions that could be acquired inside the Etherion Domain.
Three of these Job Classes had been regularly unlocked, and only the Oathkeeper remained a mystery.
No one knew what kind of requirements were needed to unlock this Job Class, which had belonged to the founder of the Clawford Tribe.
There were even rumors that anyone who could acquire this profession would be highly regarded by the Hartwell Clan.
In the end, Lavinia no longer said anything and continued her journey.
The four Catkins also followed behind her, but they made sure to keep their distance. The last thing they wanted to do was annoy the Second Princess of the Hartwell Clan, whom the Patriarch treated like a priceless treasure.
Cairo and Ramza, who were also paying close attention to Lavinia, glanced at each other and smiled.
"She had learned to control her temper during the time that I was away in the village," Cairo remarked.
Ramza nodded. "Indeed. I raised her properly."
The smile on Cairo's face twitched after hearing his grandfather's shameless reply.
But he was also happy because even though his sister could be arrogant at times, she had a good head on her shoulders.
She would listen to reason and wouldn't use her background to throw her weight around like the spoiled noble scions in the capital city of Harmonia.
"Still, your disciple sure is interesting," Ramza commented as he looked at the mirror that displayed what was happening to Alex. "He fights like a Barbarian. Didn't you teach him how to fight using a sword?"
"I did," Cairo replied. "He is using the stances properly. However, he seems to subconsciously want to use his shield as well when fighting."
The young man was currently wielding his sword and shield while fighting against two feral dogs.
He would slash with his sword whenever they came too near and raise his shield to bash their heads if they lunged in his direction.
Although his fighting style wasn't as smooth and deadly as Cairo's sister, the brutality Alex showed made Ramza think of him as a Barbarian.
The old Patriarch winced when he heard the dull clang of a shield hitting the jaw of one of the feral dogs.
A few seconds later, the two feral dogs turned into particles of light while Alex panting for breath.
"Did you see that, Dim Dim?" Alex said after he regained his composure. "Fighting two Rank 1 Monsters is doable now!"
"Dim Dim!" Dim Dim praised the young man because he had improved a lot since arriving in the world of Arcana.
Back then, Alex would use hit-and-run tactics by throwing stones and brittle vials at the enemies before moving in for the kill.
Now, he simply fought them without backing down, using everything Cairo had taught him.
"Well, then. Let's go find that temple before the sun sets," Alex proposed. "Can you help me find it, Dim Dim?"
"Dim Dim~" Dim Dim nodded before climbing the tallest tree, allowing it to get the best possible view of the surroundings.
The Dim Sum God made sure to lead Alex in battles against one or two opponents at the same time.
Dim Dim knew that Alex was still getting used to fighting in close combat, so it didn't plan on overwhelming him by making him fight a group of enemies at once.
After looking at its surroundings, Dim Dim caught a vile scent in the wind.
Its senses were telling it that there was something dangerous at the east side of the second floor of the domain.
Unfortunately, the temple the young man was looking for was also in the east, which would put him and the rest of the Catkins in harm's way.