From Real to Realm

One by one, everyone was escorted down the hall to meet with Marcus. It was a strictly one-on-one moment between an adventurer and Marcus. While Val’s experience with him was more than likely wholly unique, others at least went through the same steps to update their badges.

“It’s kind of crazy how far we’ve come,” Amarisse said, rubbing her thumb across the iron badge. “After that one delve…”

Mina nodded, looking intently at her badge. “I’m lucky to even be alive.”

Cera and Lynesia were the odd ones out when it came to what happened. They both knew what happened, but just being told wasn’t the same as experiencing it. To the two of them, they didn’t know how much this meant to the others.

“Well, something tells me it won’t be the last time we get new ranks, right?” Lynesia asked, smiling.

Val nodded. “Right.”

Cera sat forward. “What’s next? Talk to Stormveil about the boss?”

“It’s the next step. They need to organize the entire thing,” Val said, standing up. “Once they know we’re ready, they can begin planning the entire delve.”

Everyone else rose from their seats as well. As a group, they started walking toward the wing that held Stormveil’s chapter hall.

“Do we know who we’re being paired with?” Lynesia asked.

Val shook her head. “They haven’t said anything about who we’re paired with. It’s safe to assume they’re likely people within Stormveil or trusted independents.”

“Makes sense. I guess we fall under the trusted independents list?” Amarisse asked.

Val shrugged. “I guess so. They haven’t made any official attempt to recruit any of us yet, so our entire party is independent right now.”

“I wonder who’s leading the delve?” Amarisse asked. “I doubt they’ll be below high iron if not gold.”

Val glanced at her. “You really think they’d send someone that high-ranked compared to the rest of us?”

Amarisse nodded. “Something tells me they want someone who can handle coordinating multiple parties at the same time.”

By that point, they were approaching the large double doors to the chapter hall.

Val grabbed the handles. “Well, I guess we’re about to find out.”

The doors swung open, catching the attention of a few members. Just like each time before, the chapter hall was busy. It wasn’t frantic, as if there was an ongoing disaster. Instead, it was like everything was cranked up to eleven. When Val thought about it, it made sense. Stormveil was the tactical heart of the guild. Their knowledge was valued by all other chapters, whether they admitted it or not.

“I see new badges,” Tamsin said, approaching from the side. “Three of you are iron now? Good, good.”

Elira stepped up a few seconds later. “Iron is just what we expected. So, you’re ready to get rid of the Ashen King for us, right?”

Val nodded. “We are. Do you already have a plan?”

Tamsin smirked. “You’re no longer working through me. From now on, if you’re assisting the chapter, you deal directly with Elira now.”

Val tilted her head. “Why?”

Elira smirked. “The two of you have been working with us for months now,” she said, pointing at Val and Amarisse. “We trust your judgment with the rest of your party as well. So, you’re no longer random independents to us. You’re trusted allies in the fight against the dungeon, now come on, we’ve got some planning to do.”

Val’s party followed Elira through the room. She brought them into a side room that had maps, graphs, lists, and all kinds of information spread across multiple desks and the walls.

“Alright, we already have in mind who we want to pair you with,” she said, pulling a few papers from a filing cabinet. “It will be three parties. You have five people in yours, the second group has four, and the third group has six.”

“Who’s leading the entire thing?” Amarisse asked.

“His name is Lyon. He’s Gold 1st Class, and we trust him implicitly.”

Val locked eyes with Amarisse, then turned to Elira. “Is he strictly watching and leading? Or will he actively be involved with the fighting?”

“That is his call to make. Ideally, he wants to give the three parties a chance to do this on their own. Your party and the party of six are relatively fresh. Neither of your groups has hit level four or lower, while the party of four is veterans of the guild.”

“Veterans? What are their ranks?” Cera asked. “I might know them?”

Elira chuckled. “Two Gold 3rd Classes, one Gold 2nd Class, and an Iron 1st Class.” She turned to look at Val. “They know you.”

Val furrowed her brow. She racked her head on who it could be since she didn’t recognize the ranks. Then again, over the past few months, they hadn’t exactly interacted with anyone outside of Stormveil. Then it hit her.

“No fucking way.”

A deep chuckle behind them caused the group to turn around.

“What do ya know,” Cyrus said, crossing his arms. “Looks like monster guts are on the menu.”

Dolf, Irina, and Zennia were standing next to him.

“Look at you, kid,” Dolf said, smiling through his beard. “Iron already?”

Irina looked like she was about to cry. “I’m so happy you’re doing well.”

Zennia was rubbing Irina’s back. “We knew you’d rise quickly.”

Val was taken aback. They had joked a while back about fighting together, but this still felt early.

“Aren’t they a bit too high a level compared to us?” she asked Elira.

“There are 16 total fighters going against the Ashen King,” she said, stepping around the table. “That should be more than enough, but ten of you haven’t fought a boss or anything beyond floor 4. We can’t rely on Lyon to make up the difference if things go sideways. So, I chose a group we’ve worked with plenty. Not to mention Dolf belongs to our chapter, we trust him.”

“What’s the matter, Val?” Dolf asked as he entered the room. “Afraid I won’t leave anything for you?”

Val chuckled, returning his fist bump. “As if. I’m not letting you win.”

“Okay, I’m so fucking confused,” Cera said, looking amongst them. “How do you know these guys?”

Amarisse chuckled. “This is the group that helped Val when she needed it most. If it wasn’t for them, Val would’ve struggled to decide on a class. They’re responsible for a lot of her foundation.”

Cyrus grinned. “Yup. We gave her the push she needed. I remember plantin’ her butt in the sand a few times during trainin’ too.”

Irina poked his side. “She dislocated your shoulder last I recall, big guy.”

Zennia nodded. “I had to set it, remember?”

Dolf laughed his hearty laugh. “She might’ve struggled, but she didn’t hesitate to give it her all.”

Elira cleared her throat. “As heartwarming as this little reunion is, we still need to discuss the plan with Val’s group.”

“Sorry,” Irina said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I saw them walking this way, so we decided to check in on them.”

“Well, you can catch up later. The Ashen King should be reappearing in the next day or so,” Elira said, reading over a paper. “We need to be ready so we can take him down before someone else tries to.”

“How long does it usually take for him to reappear?” Val asked.

“Roughly a week,” Elira said, setting the paper back down. “Tomorrow makes five days since he was taken down last. So we expect him to reappear on day six or seven.”

“So we only have two days at most before he reappears,” Amarisse said, stepping up to the table. “Do you have a plan for each party already?”

Elira nodded. “I do. We will have your party and the second new party on the right and left flanks. Cyrus’ group will be in the middle, but they’ll assist more than trying to take aggro. Ideally, the two new groups will be able to alter aggro. Cyrus’ group will step in if they feel they need to.”

Cyrus’ group was standing on the other side of the table, across from Val’s.

“We’ll have your backs,” Cyrus said, leaning on the table. “Fight like we aren’t there, but we promise to step in if you need it.”

Elira laid out a large map. There were sketches, scrawlings, and roughly designed areas within what looked like an arena.

“This is his arena. We call it The Ashen Crucible.” She pointed to a shape on the far side. “This is his throne. When we enter the room, he’ll stand from the throne, and you’ll feel it get much hotter.”

“What’s his combat style?” Val asked, looking over the arena.

“For the first half of the fight, he’ll have two obsidian swords. He likes to use wide sweeping attacks and occasionally slams the ground, creating magma geysers around the room. You need to be mindful of where you’re standing when he slams.”

Amarisse sighed. “This is the first boss? Doesn’t sound like it to me.”

Elira also sighed. “The dungeon is violent. The Ashen King is manageable so long as you have the right group and teamwork.”

“Tell them about the second half of the fight,” Zennia suggested. “It’s important.”

“The second half, he changed to single sword combat. He’s still aggressive, but he parries and will fuck you up if you’re careless,” Elira said. Her expression was getting more serious the longer they talked about the fight.

“Due to his style of combat, we never take him on with a single group. It’s always at least two parties working in tandem. It gives the others breathing room when he decides to focus on someone.”

Zennia looked at Cera. “We Channelers will have our work cut out for us. Just getting close to the Ashen King can cause damage. You’ll need to watch your mana usage the entire fight.”

Cera gulped. “I can only imagine the kind of heat he puts off.”

“Exactly,” Elira said, pointing at her. “The heat is the biggest issue when fighting him. It burns, it exhausts you, and it’s even worse for those who fight close.”

“Dolf, how in the hell are you going to fight him?” Val asked, confusion evident.

“My wraps are enchanted,” he said, unraveling them to show inscriptions on the inside. “They protect my arms from extreme temperatures. I learned my lesson after fighting him the first time.”

“Can he melt our weapons or armor?” Lynesia asked, rubbing her chin with a thoughtful expression. “Is the heat intense enough?”

Elira shook her head. “Only if you get hit with any of his magma. Liquid rock tends to melt and burn pretty easily.”

She waited to see if there were any other questions. No one seemed to have anything else they wanted to ask right now.

“The other party has been briefed already. We will meet in two days, on the seventh day since he was last defeated. Get here early. We’ll do a last check on all gear and introduce everyone else. Once that’s finished, Lyon will lead everyone through the top floors. When you get to the entrance to The Ashen Crucible, he’ll go over the plan one last time. Everyone good?”

Everyone nodded. There was a mix of nervousness and excitement in the air. The first boss was just on the horizon. Not only that, but Val was also getting an opportunity to show Cyrus’ group her progress so far.

“Anyone else excited?” she asked aloud.

All eyes turned to her, a few smiles showing.

“Let’s beat this asshole.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!