Mary then guided us across the hall to the crystal counter, where a different clerk straightened at her approach. She spoke quietly with him, producing a writ stamped with Clay’s seal. The clerk nodded once and disappeared into a secured cabinet before returning with a crystal wrapped in thick cloth. When Mary took it from him, I felt a faint pressure in my senses. It was almost like space warped around the crystal, and up close it was difficult to look at it.

  Crystal Key of the Ninetieth Floor (artifact)

  Identify didn’t give me much, but I had to assume that an artifact was something significant. Fortunately, Mary gave us an explanation.

  “This will take you to the ninetieth floor,” she said, her words careful and precise. “No one knows exactly how these are made, but they are one of the guild’s greatest treasures. They can only be used here on Iporus Isle, which is another reason why the dungeon here is so important.” She hesitated, then added, “Just remember, dungeons are dangerous. Not everyone who goes into one comes back out.”

  We waited after that, leaning against the stone wall near the stairwell. Selena remained relaxed, her attention inward, while Samvek watched the hall with the same quiet vigilance he always carried. I found myself thinking about how easily this all fit into place. Badges, crystals, rules, and tests were just another framework layered over the true danger. When Clay returned, we would step past all of it and into the dungeon, where none of these structures truly mattered. The excitement was building in me.

  Clay came back right on time, fully equipped and moving with purpose. He gave Mary a brief nod, took the crystal from her, and signaled for us to follow. We left the guild together and crossed Basetown without incident, the city giving way to rising stone as the mountain loomed ahead. I focused on Clay’s posture as we walked, the way his confidence tightened as we proceeded. Whatever he told himself, he knew he was about to step beyond familiar ground.

  The Endless Dungeon rose from the mountainside like a wound that refused to close. The entrance was not carved so much as torn open, a jagged, gaping maw more than a hundred feet high that split the stone with brutal indifference. Dark rock framed the opening in uneven arcs, scorched and smoothed in places as though something vast had passed through it again and again. The air around it felt heavier—not oppressive, but charged with an ancient patience that made my skin prickle.

  I knew there was a great deal more at work here, belying the dungeon’s physical appearance. We stopped when we sensed the overwhelming amount of mana pulsing out of it. It was like a volcanic vent, pushing not ash but unrefined mana into the atmosphere. Selena and Samvek commented about it in group chat. We’d all been in dungeons before. In their case, hundreds of them, but this was different.

  As I focused on the aura that the dungeon put off, I realized it was very much like a living thing. I knew from some of what Lana had taught me when we were at the Bazaar that a dungeon core was considered to be a sapient being, so I wondered if that’s what I was sensing here. The level of spiritual energy I saw overlaid on the physical was jaw-dropping.

  I let out a hushed sound. “It feels almost like a god.”

  I hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but Clay’s hearing was sharp enough to pick it up. “It’s interesting you say that. I’m not much of a scholar, but my old party member was. It was a joke with us that he always had his nose buried in a book, even when we were in a dungeon. I don’t know anything about the veracity of what he said, but he claimed that one of the oldest manuscripts he’d ever found claimed that the Endless Dungeon was some kind of god, or maybe a tool of the gods.”

  I nodded as I continued to take in the setting.

  Basetown had clustered around the mountain’s foot, and the dungeon dominated everything above it. Guard towers flanked the approach, their stonework reinforced and layered with decades of repair. Armed guards stood in disciplined lines along the path, their attention fixed outward. They clearly took security here very seriously. I noticed that there were both adventurers with guild insignia, as well as city guards on duty here. When Clay approached, several of them straightened and stepped aside without question, recognition passing through the ranks faster than words.

  We stopped just short of the threshold, where the light dimmed abruptly as though swallowed by shadow. Clay turned to face us, the crystal held carefully in both hands. Up close, I could feel it tugging at space, a subtle distortion that made my senses itch.

  “For this to work,” he said, “we need to be in physical contact, so make a chain.” He extended one hand toward me and waited until I clasped it, then gestured for Selena and Samvek to do the same. The moment our hands connected, I felt a faint resonance ripple through the group, not of power but alignment. The crystal brightened slightly, its surface warping as though depth and distance were suggestions rather than rules.

  Clay took a breath and looked at each of us in turn. “Once we step through, there’s no easing into it,” he said. “Floor ninety is not forgiving, and there’s no guarantee of a clear landing zone.” His voice was steady, but I could hear the tension beneath it. “This is your last chance to back out.”

  I met his gaze and nodded once. “We’re good.” Selena’s grip tightened briefly, confident and unshaken. Samvek gave no verbal response at all, his posture already coiled for movement. Clay exhaled, squared his shoulders, and stepped forward.

  The world lurched as we crossed the threshold, stone and light folding in on themselves. The mountain vanished, replaced by darkness and echoing space, and the dungeon closed around us with sudden, predatory intent.

  We didn’t get a moment to orient ourselves, just as Clay had warned. That was fine. We were more than ready for this. The dungeon answered our arrival with movement, wet and heavy sounds echoing through the connected caverns as shapes peeled themselves off the stone. They were vaguely humanoid, but only in the loosest sense, bodies formed from thick, glistening flesh that sagged and stretched like overfilled sacks. Eyeless, slime-coated heads lifted, antennae twitching as they sensed us, and they surged forward in uneven waves. To us, their movement was as slow as the slugs they almost looked like.

  Wayfinder was already in my hands, and I bisected the first of the slug men to come at us. Selena took two more apart. The speed and force of our blows was so great that, despite the gelatinous nature of their bodies, they were completely obliterated. Samvek’s attack was the most hilarious as he stabbed one of the creatures straight through its chest with his spear. The force vibrated outward, spraying slug mist in every direction. Samvek got it all over his armor, and from the way he was spitting and snorting, I think some got up his nose or in his mouth.

  I cast Clean before he could even ask. It cleansed us all, and I even got a quick upgrade.

  For cleaning organic material from another system, Clean grows.

  Clean (Uncommon 94%) >> Ready for evolution.

  I wanted to take care of that upgrade now, but we needed to deal with the present threat first, even if it wasn’t very dangerous. On second thought, letting Selena get more of that gunk in her hair seemed like an entirely new kind of danger for me.

  I expanded my perception outward, letting it flood the surrounding tunnels without restraint. The dungeon opened to me in layers of space and sound, revealing side passages, vertical shafts, and hidden alcoves where more of the creatures clung to walls and ceilings. There were dozens of them spread across the caverns, converging on us with clumsy determination. They moved quickly for their bulk, but speed meant nothing when every position was already known.

  I raised one hand and shaped force without conscious effort. Constructs formed and launched outward, invisible but absolute, threading through the dungeon like spears guided by intent alone. Each one struck true, punching through soft bodies and pinning them to stone or simply erasing mass where they hit. The creatures burst apart with wet impacts that echoed through the corridors, their bodies collapsing into steaming heaps before they ever reached striking distance.

  To my left, Samvek acted with the same ruthless efficiency. A sphere of lightning bloomed into existence above his palm, contained and brilliant, then drifted away from him as though alive, with tendrils of lightning trailing under it like some energy jellyfish. It floated through the caverns with predatory purpose, arcing from target to target in blinding flashes. Each strike left scorched stone and twitching remains, along with the smell of ozone cutting through the damp air.

  Selena vanished the instant the first enemy closed within range. One moment she stood beside me, the next she was a blur of motion threading between the advancing forms. Her hooked blades flashed in tight arcs, severing limbs and cores with surgical precision. She did not waste movement or momentum, and every strike was placed with such precision as to end the fight immediately. It was clear that she was shaping reality around her so that none of the creatures’ remains sullied her armor.

  The creatures tried to overwhelm us with numbers, pouring in from side tunnels and cracks in the stone. It was a pointless effort, but I could respect any creature fighting to live against an overwhelming force. For a moment, I wondered if they felt like I had when I’d had to deal with the Huntsman.

  My constructs adjusted and multiplied, filling space where threats appeared and collapsing it where they vanished. Samvek’s lightning sphere split briefly, the fragments breaking off to hunt stragglers before rejoining into a single, controlled mass. Selena flowed through the battlefield like a blade through water, never stopping, never slowing.

  The fight lasted seconds, perhaps a minute at most. When the last of the creatures fell, the dungeon went still, the echoes of combat fading into dripping silence. I let my perception retract slightly, confirming what I already knew. Nothing else moved. Nothing else lived nearby.

  I lowered my hand and felt the force constructs dissipate, leaving the caverns unmarred aside from the occasional slimy pile of remains. Around us, the stone walls bore only superficial damage, a testament to how restrained we had been. This was not a test of strength, but a demonstration of control.

  When it was over, a notification popped up.

  Your party has slain 438 Slugoids ranging between level 80 and 90, including the floor mini-boss. These creatures are too low level to generate an XP bonus for you. However, you all gain a new title as a reward. Other rewards will be up to the Fey System to provide you for the duration of your stay within the Ways, or at least until you negotiate an agreement with a system representative.

  Cosmos Slayer (Ascendant): This is the first layer of a title given to those few beings who have crossed multiple systems and have slain beings in each of them. +10% effectiveness to all stats. This bonus will go up as you slay creatures within other systems.

  We all smiled, quite pleased with the reward. Only then did I notice that Clay had not moved at all. He stood where we had arrived, weapon still sheathed, eyes fixed on the aftermath with something between disbelief and awe written across his face. The monsters had never come close enough for him to act, and I realized that from his perspective, the battle must have looked less like a fight and more like a slaughter.

  Clay finally exhaled, a slow, controlled breath that sounded like it had been held far longer than was comfortable. He looked down at his hands as if expecting them to be shaking, then let out a quiet, humorless laugh when they were not. “I did ask you if you really wanted to go to the ninetieth floor,” he said, his voice steady but edged with disbelief. “I just didn’t expect the answer to look like that.”

  I chuckled.

  “There’s… there’s more of them down the corridors,” he said, then swallowed hard. “This isn’t the only chamber on the floor.”

  I shook my head with a smile. “Nope. Already got ’em.”

  His eyes went even wider. “What do you mean? You never left my sight.” He turned in a slow circle, taking in the remains scattered across the caverns and the absence of any real damage. “And you didn’t ask me a single question,” he continued. “Not about the floor layout, not about monster types, not about environmental hazards. Most parties won’t shut up about those things before stepping through a portal.” His eyes returned to me, sharp now, searching. “To be honest, I thought you might be overpowered but underexperienced. I thought you foolish not to ask questions.”

  Selena elbowed me. “That’s our Silas. He tends to look before he leaps, but you’re right. My trainers would have my hide if they saw me acting like that. No matter how powerful you are, you can always be overwhelmed by that which you didn’t expect.”

  I knew that the rebuke was meant for me. I needed to do better. Samvek eased the burden a bit. “It isn’t just on you, Silas, although I know that’s what you’re thinking right now. Both of us were grilled to never act like this. I remember a lesson when I was chafing at wanting to tier up and my instructors told me that rapid growth leads to foolhardiness. You’re the veritable poster child for rapid growth.”

  I shrugged, feeling oddly grateful for their comments. “You heard them, and they’re right. We were wrong not to ask you more questions, and don’t want you to think that is who we are. As you can see, everything we’ve experienced here is so far below our level that it doesn’t seem threatening, but as my grandmother liked to say, ‘pride comes before a fall’. For now, let’s get the loot, then perhaps we should show you a bit more about the real us.”

  Chapter Ten: Loot and Progress

  The loot from the ninetieth floor turned out to be anything but impressive. Somehow most of the creatures dropped between one and five silver, which from what I’d seen would be a good chunk of change in the local economy.

  At the far back of the level, there was a chest where the boss monster had fallen. I hadn’t even noticed the difference between it and the regular versions. Though none had given us any XP because they were too low level, I did wonder if it worked here the way it did back home. If so, then there would still be a release of life energy when they were killed. Perhaps I could take the opportunity to try to absorb and circulate more of that life force to build up my cultivation base. Or I supposed I could try to shape it into Vitae and see about using that for my Soul Forger class.

  Ultimately, I decided to hold off on either for the time being. For the moment, I needed to focus on adapting to this new world. Clay ran to check the treasure chest, then returned with the item he’d found inside. The dagger gave off that same flash of odd color and sense of spiritual energy I’d experienced in the shower back at the inn.

  Interface adaptation: now showing local system description of items, along with approximate comparisons.

  Dagger of Darkness (Rare)

  Ambient, four hour recharge

  Perception +10

  This item absorbs ambient mana and charges to power the functions listed below.

  This item allows the wielder to cast the Pitch Darkness spell twice per charge. It will create a field of darkness thirty feet in radius centered on the dagger. The user will be able to see within the field of darkness. As the effect is magical, normal darkvision will allow an individual to see through this darkness as well. Lasts up to five minutes.

  That was interesting. Nothing about the description told me why I was sensing the spiritual energy or seeing the swirls of color, but I’d also never read a description like that. The ability to cast spells from gear would allow people to use spells outside of their affinities.

  I turned to Clay. It was time to start asking questions. “The description doesn’t say anything about a spiritual presence, but I can sense one in the dagger. Is that normal for magical items on your world?”

  Clay seemed to be caught off-guard by my question. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. The reward for this level isn’t exactly amazing, and I certainly wouldn’t use that as a primary weapon, but the description is the same as I’ve seen on other weapons. And frankly, with as powerful as you are, I think the dungeon is going to be very stingy until we reach a level that actually challenges you. And yes, I know I’m talking about the dungeon like it’s alive. It’s a fairly established fact that the dungeon is at least responsive.”

  “Then it sounds like we need to figure out how to move faster,” Selena said. “Is there a way to skip floors without one of those crystals?”

  Clay shook his head.

  She tapped her chin. “And we’ll have to clear each floor to reach the one below it?”

  He nodded, but then caught himself. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but technically, you just have to reach the stairs to the next floor. But the stairs are only a safe room if you’ve cleared the floor leading to them. Otherwise, the monsters can chase you into the stairwell. And nine times out of ten, the stairs will be in the boss chamber.”

  I shared a nod with my companions. “Okay, then we can move faster. When the levels are this easy, we can skip them.” A thought hit me then. “Unless you need us to clear them for you? Uh, I don’t know if it’s proper for me to ask this, but do you still get XP from these monsters?”

  I relaxed when he didn’t bat an eye at the concept of XP. As I was asking the question, it had struck me that I didn’t even know exactly how this system worked. “Yes, I do, but there is something tricky about reaching grandmaster tier. I have to beat a level 101 or higher monster by myself in order to break through. Until then, any XP I gain would be wasted.”

  Samvek nodded. “When you say by yourself, do you mean that no one else can damage the monster, or that no one can help you in any way? Does that apply to buffs and items?”

  He shrugged. “As far as I know, it only means that no one can weaken or damage the monster, or act to prevent damage, or provide healing to me during the battle. Any buffs I get ahead of time shouldn’t matter, and the same goes for magical items that I use.”

  “Okay,” I said. “You’re helping us out here, so we’d like to help you. How about we blitz down to the point where we find a monster that is both high enough level and a good match for you? We can provide you with a number of magical enhancements to make the flight easier. But since this is going to require a little more information about us, we’re going to need an oath of secrecy between us.”