Next day we went to the Opidium dungeon. It was located half a day walk from the town and nearby were warning signs to stay away from the area. As adventurers we were the only people, not counting soldiers, who could approach the dungeon without penalty.

  When we approached the dungeon, I noticed light blue barrier that covered the entrance.

  - What is with that barrier? - asked Luara. We all looked at Ni and she sighed.

  - Such barriers appear on the oldest dungeons. There are several across the world. They are known as the oldest and most dangerous dungeons. Most adventurers never enter such dungeons. They wouldn't stand a chance to stay alive in them. Rakshasa many times tried to conquer this dungeon, but all their expeditions ended in failure and many casualties. Now rakshasa soldier go into the dungeon to reduce the number of monster to prevent monster stampede, and gdiator owners sometimes use the dungeon to level up their sves, but adventurers rarely go to this dungeon. Most of them prefer to leave and relocate to Tyco or other towns that have more opportunities for adventurers.

  - At least no one will disturb us. But we will change our usual tactic and position. Trevor, Luara and Ni. You will take the lead and fight in front. Nelly will stay in the middle, while I will stay in the back and support you with my arrows and spells.

  - You wish to stay behind? - looked at me surprised Trevor.

  - For now yes. I wish to know how you all improved and also what Ni is capable of.

  - Fine by me, - nodded Ni.

  - I will go first, - said to her Luara: - I have Trap detection skill and Scouting skill.

  - Understood, - nodded Ni.

  I looked over her equipment. Small shield, sword and her usual armor, as well as the dagger at her waist, and her collection of artifacts.

  - You do not use glowing stone?

  - No. The elixir that I got in Iron Mountains gave me ability to see in the dark. Also you will not need light in the first floor.

  - Good to know, - so divinity had its own perks. Wonder what else Ni is capable of: - Let us go then. Luara take the lead. Everyone else you know what to do. Ni follow your instincts, I will gave orders only if necessary, but if I do no arguments and follow them exactly.

  She nodded, and we went through the barrier.

  Ni was right. We would not have needed light sources. Dungeons first floor was white. White stone walls, white floors and ceilings. There were many passageways that led to rectangur rooms.

  Our first monster encounters happens half an hour ter. I observed the battle.

  Several dozen of bugs, who look like they are made of the same white rock as dungeon walls, crawl towards us. They are cat sized and click with their huge jaws. Nelly casts her Slow spell and speed of them all slows down. Her magic power is impressive.

  My arrow hits one of the bugs, but harmlessly bounces of it. Sound that arrow makes is the same as hitting the rock. I do not give any orders, and our front line fighters run forward.

  They are strong enough to cut down rock bugs, but there are a lot of bugs and they fight without any cooperation. One of the bugs jumps on Ni's leg and bites it. Blood comes out of the wound, and Ni screams in pain. She hits bug with a hilt of her sword and cuts the bug in two. Bde of her sword hits ground beneath the bug and creates sparks, after hitting the rock floor. Even with her wound, Ni continues her fight.

  Nelly and me use Magic arrows to blew up the bugs that get too close to us.

  - Nelly use Death wave, - I order our mage, after Luara too gets bitten. Nelly nods and prepares her spell, while I take a sword and get in front of her, to protect our archmage.

  Nelly's spell weakens bugs, and then slowly kills them, by consuming their life force. We win the battle, but end up with two wounded and endangering our mage. I sigh and cast Cure on Luara.

  - Ni you are next, - I turn towards our newest member, but she shook's her head.

  - No need. Already healed, - I look at her wound and notice that it is already closed. I did not sense any magic, and wound closed while Ni was still fighting. Regeneration is the only expnation than comes to my mind. Another power of her divinity. Convenient one. No wonder she survived, while her other party members died.

  - Fine. Collect the magic stones and listen while you do it. Your tactic was pitiful. You left your archer and mage without protection and got wounded. That was pathetic. Your tactic would have been correct if we would have fought single strong enemy, but, next time when we encounter small swarm of enemies, create a wall in front of Nelly and support each other. Consider it your first assignment. Learn how to fight together side by side. Also, Nelly, we are not here to let the others collect the Life force. You have spells that can kill many enemies at once. As long as you can use them without endangering the others, use them every time. And stop collecting magic stones. For god's sake, you are a mage. Stand on guard and watch out for monsters.

  Embarrassed Nelly drops the monster, and we wait until our front row members collect magic stones. As soon as all magic stones are collected we continue our exploration.

  Next monsters that we encounter are giant cockroaches. This time everyone use different strategy. After Nelly's Slow spell I use my bow to kill closest roaches, while Nelly casts her Death wave spell. That way we kill all monsters even before they get close to us. I look at the dead cockroaches with disgust.

  - Trevor collect magic stones, - the rest of us will stand guard. He looks at me, but follows my order. Luara and Ni exhale with relief. Well Trevor is a man, and I never completely bought in that equality stuff.

  Our second encounter with rock bugs goes more easily. Trevor, Luara and Ni protect us, while Nelly's spell sucks out their life force. This way our party members do not kill as many monsters, but the risk is much lower, and that is what I aim for.

  - Good. Your team work is improving. Remember our goal is dungeon exploration with minimum risk, and, when possible, no risk at all strategy. Also remember, we are adventurers, so running away is honorable, generation proven strategy, that we will use as required.

  We encounter huge, at least three meter high rock monster, and I order everyone to get back. I gnce at Nelly, and she casts Slow spell. This is perfect opportunity for me to try out how good my Sacred arrows will be against armored monsters. I need time to prepare the spell, but monster is far enough, and Nelly spell prevents the monster to approach us too fast.

  I extend my hand and chant:

  - Sacred arrows!

  Several dozen of light arrows pierce rock monster and he falls apart. So not a floor guardian. Turns out my Sacred arrows are strong enough to pierce even a rock. I knew that, since I trained on the mountains, but was not sure how effective they will be against a monster that is made of rocks.

  Everyone looks at me. My party members unsurprised, but interested, while Ni surprised and impressed.

  - What? Did you think I was sitting on my ass all the time. I got my Light magic skill to its master level and learned this handy level four spell. It is quite effective against rge monsters, but not so good against small ones, so keep it in mind. Also it uses up a quarter of my mana, so do not count on me using it often.

  - Sacred arrows. I will definitely need to learn that spell, - says Ni, and Trevor also nods.

  - You need master level Light magic skill in order to learn it. Also Trevor, without Intelligence skill using that spell will take you too much time, and it will be less effective. In your case you should better concentrate on lower level spells, which you can use more efficiently.

  Trevor's shoulders fall down, but he wanted to be a warrior. He should have considered it and not to count on becoming powerful mage with a single magic skill. Maybe someone should expin him that, but it sounded like too much trouble. Maybe he can figure it out by himself.

  - Well, let us continue.

  * * *

  Three month ter we reached third floor and encountered our first floor guardian. According to the Adventurer guilds records, dungeon first four floors where simir to the first one. White rooms started to become annoying, but I would prefer them comparing to some other dungeon floors that I had seen.

  Floor guardian was another rock monster, but this one had blood made of va and was burning hot. My sacred arrows cracked some of his stone body parts, but did not finished him. Nelly casted on all of us Protection from fire, so we could fight the monster in close range. We distracted the monster, attacking him in turns, while Nelly casted her Freeze spell to cool him down. After fifth Freeze spell ice partially covers the monster, and I run back.

  - Distract him!

  I prepare Sacred arrows and this time they broke some of the stones. One of his legs and arm falls off, and Luara, Trevor and Nile use their swords to break apart monster's body. The va solidifies and we wait until monster temperature drops down to collect the magic stones.

  Ni looks at her sword. It is dull and needs repairs.

  - Do you have another sword?

  - I have a spare in my magic bag. But it's a short sword and not so powerful.

  - Use it until we get back. We will return now anyway. We never continue dungeon exploration after encountering floor guardian. Not without a good reason anyway.

  Trevor's sword also needs sharpening, and he regretfully looks at it.

  - Trevor! What is your problem?

  - What? - he looks at me surprised.

  - Why did you use this sword, instead of your other one?

  - I am more used to it. And mostly use it.

  - That is dumbest excuse ever. Your Sword of the undertaker has the ability to increase your magic resistance. That is useless in dungeon, since you will not fight many mages down here. While your other sword can increase your strength, which is exactly what you need in here. It is also more durable, so, from now on, you will use only your Sword of heaven, unless we encounter someone who can use magic. And second thing. You learned several Light magic spells, and I told you to continue practicing them until you can use them in battle. So why in the name of all holy you did not use your Light armor spell? What were you waiting for Nelly's spells to stop working, so monster's fire or hit could affect you better?- I, did not thought about it.- Then start thinking. Use every advantage that you can, when we fight floor guardian. The same goes for you Luara. You can cast Haste spell. Next time, retreat for a short while, if it is necessary, and cast the god damned spell on yourself, - I shook my head: - We are leaving. And consider your performance to be unsatisfying.

  We returned in a bad mood, but I did not care. Was I the only one who used my head in here?

  I ordered everyone to take a week, so they can visit bcksmith and fix their weapons, and ordered Trevor and Luara to practice spell casting daily. The same order received Ni, who did not use any spells in dungeon. I pretended that I had no idea that she had Spellsword job, but expected much more from her.

  On the bright part, I had one more low ranking floor guardian magic gem, which took my count to twenty. And that was the exact low ranking magic gem number that I needed for the leveling crystal.

  By that time I knew the location of local Aphrodite's temple, but it was my first visit there. Flower of fortune coin granted me an audience with high-priestess Amina. She was in her early thirties, but very beautiful without any overweight and wide open smile.

  - Wanted to ask for a while now? - I asked her: - What exactly does this coin means?

  - It means that any Aphrodite's temple must treat you as a most precious guest. If you wish you can even live inside the temple, for as long as you are staying in this town, - expined Amina.

  - I see. Maybe I will use that, but not now, - I handed her over the letter that I received from Sahana: - For now I was hoping that you could help me get help from a sage. I wish for the sage to create a magic crystal for me. I managed to collect rare ingredients which are required, but need a sage, to make the crystal that I desire.

  She read the letter and nodded: - I see. I will ask one of our patrons for help. Where can we found you?

  - I am staying in Horses and travelers tavern.

  - I know of it. I will send a messenger for you. Do not worry, there are two sages that live in Opidium, and none of them are overwhelmed with jobs, so I believe that we will be able to help you. Also my friend Sahana told me about your arrival. How is little Ni doing?

  - She is doing well. Ni has everything she needs to become high ranking adventurer. Only thing she needs is time and patience.

  - I am gd to hear it. We were keeping an eye on her, when she studied in Gdiator school. Not the pce where I would want to spend time, but Ni wanted to become a warrior. I will prey to Aphrodite for her success. Please tell her that she is welcome here anytime.

  - I will do that.

  Three days ter I received another recommendation letter for someone who I never even heard about, and also a small map that led me to the sages house.

  The house was smaller than I expected, with small grass surrounding it, and no wall or fence around it. I knocked at the door, and short old man opened it and stared at me with half blind eyes.

  - Are you Sage Kristallios?

  - Yes, who might I be speaking to?

  - My name is Avone. I have a recommendation letter, - I showed him the letter. He took it almost to his face and looked at the seal.

  - Come in, come in. Would you like some tea?

  - Yes. Thank you.

  He brought two tea cups and prepared fresh mint tea. It smelled good, but I missed the sugar. My own supply run out a while ago, and tely I had to drink coffee with milk.

  - So, what brings you to me?

  - I want you to make me a leveling crystal.

  - Want to increase your level, do you. Been two hundred years since I made st one. Only one to be honest. But you will need many monster magic gems for that. Not sure that it will be worth your time.- I already have twenty low level magic gems.

  - Do you now?I nodded and took out twenty magic gems from my Female purse. I still had one mid ranking one, but I needed nine more of those to make a leveling crystal.

  Kristallios examined all of them and exhaled impressed.

  - Gods curse me now. You actually got them all. Not much work for me in this town. So I can get to work right now. But it will cost you eight orichalcum coins. For my work and additional things that I need to make it.

  - When will it be ready? - I took out the coins and put them on the table.

  - Be ready in a month.

  - Good. I might be te, but I will come after it sooner or ter.

  - No hurry for an old man.

  I finished my tea and bowed to him.

  - Thank you for accepting my request.

  - Thank you adventurer. Been a long time since I made something that interesting.

  When I returned to tavern some man in bck robe was expecting me. He noticed me when I came inside the tavern and went to greet me.

  - Please excuse me for disturbing you. If I am not mistaken you are adventurer Avone. The only adventurer who is brave enough to hunt in the Opidium dungeon?

  - Yes. And who are you?

  - Please forgive me. My name is Arak. I am what people call here a ndlord. My master would like to hire you, for a small job.

  - I am grateful, but we are busy with our dungeon exploration. Perhaps you should post a quest in local adventurer guild.

  - My master is very insistent. Perhaps you would agree to hear him out. I can pay you an orichalcum coin, if you will agree to that. Sadly he cannot leave his home, so if you would come with me the coin will be yours, as long as you hear him out. Regardless of the fact if you will take the job or not.

  He took out the coin and offered it to me. I considered his offer. I could use orichalcum coin, and if he was ready to pay me just for the conversation, then his master must have been very rich. And I did not have any enemies here, so the possibility that it was a trap was not very big. I looked around and noticed Luara. She waved to me, and I took the coin.

  - Fine. But please wait a moment, I will tell my companion that I will return soon.

  - Of course, - he bowed, and I went to Luara.

  - That man wants to talk to me about a job. Well his master does. Follow us just to be safe.

  - Got it, - nodded Luara and took a good look at Arak.

  I went back to him, and we left the tavern.

  - How far away your master lives?

  - Half an hour walk from here.

  - Fine. Show me the way.

  Arak's master house looked more like some wooden temple. I looked around, but did not noticed anything suspicious. I went inside and was immediately enveloped by a fog. I grabbed my sword, but mocking voice stopped me.

  - Did you not noticed that you entered temple that belonged to god Loki?

  I sighed. So the house did not just looked like a temple.

  God Loki was sitting on simple wooden throne. His home looked like middle age, western castle covered with ice, and icicles hanging down from the ceiling. Loki was tall man, on thin side, with charming smile.

  - Come closer adventurer. Do not be afraid.I stepped few steps closer, but kept my hand on the hilt of my sword.

  - Why have you summoned me?

  - To hire you for the job of course. I am ready to pay your usual price.

  - I do not think that I will be interested in anything than you can offer me. My apologizes, but your reputation precedes you.

  - Has someone been bad mouthing me, - he grinned: - But hear me out first. You can do that much, can you?

  I sighed, but nodded.

  - Job concerns one of my champions. Little rascal betrayed me. I know, shocking. He stole a little artifact from queen Elizabeth. He was supposed to hide it or burry it in a pce where no one could use it, but he decided to take it to devils instead. If he does that, then consequences could be bad for human kingdoms. Like really bad.

  - Why? And why even steal it in the first pce? Was that artifact not safer in queens hands?

  - Because it was too powerful. In this world there are dozen or so artifacts that in the right or wrong hands could change the outcome of a battle or even war. Your Book of Light could be such an artifact. Can you imagine why?

  I tried to think about it. Level five Light magic spells were incredibly powerful. Perhaps single mage could not do too much, but dozen mages with master level Increased maximum mana points and Lesser mana use skills could change the outcome of the battle. I nodded and Loki rubbed his hands.

  - I knew that you were smart one. Let me offer you another example. Orb that prevents all magic use that rakshasa use during Ares tournament would be another such example. The artifact that my champion stole is called Crown of unity. Hundred years ago queen Elizabeth and her husband invaded Lucifer's empire. They id waist and burned down half of it, before retreating. The reason for their success was partially thanks to that artifact. She, her husband and half-elf Uleg used that artifact in turns. That artifact allows the army general to absorb life force of enemies that were killed by their soldiers, instead of their men. Queen Elizabeth level is close to one hundred. Just imagine what would happen if she would use the crown during one more war. She could achieve eternal piece, or well long sting peace. Can you imagine how boring this world would be then?

  - So what. You are worried that your champion, will take this crown to demon empire and use it himself, or give it to one of their generals?

  - Yes. That is most likely outcome, if he succeeds. I want you to stop him and complete his mission. Take Crown of unity to a pce where no one will be able to find it or use it.

  - Instead of returning the crown to its owner, you wish me to steal it myself, - I shook my head: - You want me to betray humanity and all people of this continent? I would become a traitor and probably an enemy of all the gods who rule this continent. No I refuse. No matter the reward, the risk is too high.

  - Well think of it this way. You can refuse. I cannot force you. But you are the only one who can stop him. I have some other champions at my disposal, but they are too far away. You are the closest and only one who can stop Aloysius, before it is too te. Or you refuse and he gets to Lucifer's empire. What do you think is bigger betrayal? Keeping Crown of Unity from devils hands by stealing it and hiding it somewhere, or doing nothing?

  This god was dangerous. No wonder he managed to change other gods pns for reincarnated people. He had golden tong, and forced me into a corner.

  - What can you tell me about this man?

  - He was raised in the temple of assassins. And is very skilled at his work, with incredible instincts. His name is Aloysius, - Loki created an illusion of a tall dark skinned man with hunched nose: - He is going to Mina. Port town in north-west of Rakshasar. As far as I can tell, he will hire a ship to go to the neighboring continent. He will need time to find a captain who will risk such a journey. So you have some time, but not much. If he manages to leave Mina on a ship, it will be too te to stop him.

  - Is he alone?

  - Assassins usually travel alone.

  - How far ahead of me is he?

  - Even if you leave now, by the time you get to Mina, it could be too te.

  - I see. Fine, I will do it, but I have three conditions.

  - What are they? - Loki raised his eyebrow.

  - First. I keep my reward regardless if I succeed or not. If he leaves the continent before I get to Mina, then, like you said, there is nothing that I can do. Second, you will give me enough life force to increase my level. And third, most important one. You will turn my dagger into an artifact. But I want it to be an artifact called something evil. It has to be something that will let me to blend in among the devils. Pretend that I am one of them.

  Loki ughed: - Hermes mentioned that you are amusing one. But I did not expect you to be so unpredictable. Are you pnning to follow Aloysius even to the dark continent?

  - No. There is no way that I will be able to find him there anyway. Let us just say that I am thinking about the future.

  - How interesting. Perhaps I should keep an eye on you. You might be an amusing source of entertainment. Show me your dagger.

  I handed him my adamantium dagger and he looked it over.

  - It is not pure adamantium is it?

  - No. It is made from cockatrice talon and adamantium alloy.

  - Impressive. I have an idea that you will appreciate. I can turn it into Dark mage artifact. It will allow you to use Dark magic, as long as you have it equipped. Not the fifth level spells. They are too powerful, just like level five Light magic spells. But for now you will be able to use weaker level spells, and as long as you can get master level intelligence, you will be able to use even level four Dark magic spells. That will better than anything else demonstrate your allegiance to Dark continent.

  - Sounds good. Let us go with that.

  Loki ughed and touched the dagger. It glowed and its bde and handle darkened. He handed me over the dagger. I sense menacing aura coming out of it. I shook my head and pced the dagger in its sheath.

  - Hurry up, little Avone, and do not miss your target.

  White fog enveloped me and I disappeared from Loki's realm.

  I went outside from the temple and gred at Arak. He paled and bowed to me.

  - Never look for me again, - I warned him. He bowed again and stepped back.Luara was waiting for me behind the corner.

  - Is everything all right?

  - In a way. I will need to leave. Got a job. But it could take me several month. In the meantime I need you to continue with dungeon exploration. Finish mapping floor three and get to floor four afterwards. Try to increase your levels. And I am leaving you in charge.

  - Are you sure? Should we not go with you?

  - No, I will be fine. Just will take a lot of time, that you can use for dungeon exploration.

  - Fine, - Luara sighed: - When are you leaving?

  - Right now. I will be fine, so get back and expin everything to others.

  - You sure?

  - Yes. Sorry, but this job is time sensitive.

  - Fine, - she sighed: - My the gods be with you.

  I wanted to make her take those words back, but nodded. I went to adventurer guild and asked old receptionist for permission to use leveling crystal.

  She happily nodded and did not even asked for my adventurer tag. Adventurer guild building was under repairs. Its finances improved ever since we started selling them our magic stones. At first they had to borrow money, unable to pay us, but after the month their situation improved, and we became local guild master favorite adventurer party.

  My level reached twenty eight and I increased my Arcane butchery skill. My Fire magic skill was still at novice level, but I decided to leave its leveling for ter.

  Buying map and a horse took me another hour. My magic purse had already food supplies for four month as well as all possible potions, and even supplies for Bcksmith cave, so all I needed was an animal that could take me to Mina.

  * * *

  - What do you mean she left? - almost screamed Ni: - And what do you mean she might not return for half a year?

  - She does that sometimes, - shrugged Luara.

  - Maybe she went to Grimsburg to get more coffee: - sighed Trevor.

  - And you are fine with that! What kind of party leader is she? And why do you let her do that? Not to mention, why do you let her talk to you like small children? You are experienced C rank adventurers, who survived years in the dungeon without her.

  - I never told you that story? - Nelly touched her cloak and patted it. It was the strangest cloak for an archmage that Ni ever saw. Its upper half was made from feathers and it looked like some savage cloth, not something that respectable archmage would wear. But she always had it on her. Especially in the dungeon.

  - It happened when we just started visiting dungeon. They were just D rand adventurers, and my level was even lower than that. We were hunting in the dungeon, when we got attacked by floor guardian - cockatrice. My most powerful spells only made it angry, and cockatrice turned half of my body into stone. I almost died. I would have died, but Avone distracted it and made the floor guardian follow her. After Luara and others used anti-petrification potion on me, we tried to find Avone, but could not.

  Worse thing possible happened to her. She got lost in the dungeon while she was running away from the cockatrice. Avone spend several days lost in the dungeon with almost no supplies. When she returned to town, she was half dead. But she did what all our party together could not. She killed the cockatrice all by herself. All by herself she killed monster, who was strong enough to kill all of us. Back then she saved our lives. I will always trust Avone. And no matter what happens, I always know that she will risk her life to save any one of us.

  Ni felt silent, thinking about her own party. Did her party members thought about her that way. Did they ever respected her so much? Was it the difference between her, scared reincarnated girl, and a real adventurer.