Chapter 23: Dungeons
Fei Lei was happy with the amount he could make off of the magic items and pulled out even more from the ring.
While he continued to pull out the items, Fei Lei obtained several copper-ranked magic herbs, he began looking through the alchemy materials, and even though he didn't know the use or names of these Herbs, Fei Fei kept then for later experimentation.
Lastly was a large pool of blood, Fei Lei frowned as he knew that the blood came from a group of young women, he gathered up all the blood and placed it into his old spatial ring, he then decided to bury it in hopes that the ones who lost their lives would find peace.
After saying a prayer, Fei Lei placed all the mortal treasures into Sheng Lu's ring then handed it over to Yan Mei. Scratching the back of his head Fei Lei then asked, "I don't really have any connections here, can you help me sell these?"
Yan Mei nodded her head and said, "Piece of cake. I'll get some of the Merchants papa's is acquainted with to help out while I dig up some information on mundane materials."
Fei Lei kissed her lips before saying, "You're the best!"
Yan Mei blushed and responded with an embarrassed expression, "You still look tired, so get some sleep! We have a dungeon to take down tomorrow! In the meantime, I'll be stopping by an Ascension Tower to rank up."
"Good luck, and take Hina with you." Fei Lei said yawning as he did indeed still feel a little tired and worn out from the use of his Limit Break Spell.
He cast his quick recovery spell, felt his body start to repair the leftover sequelae from the wounds he suffered, and fell back asleep.
After Yan Mei left the room, Hina appeared from out of the shadows and walked up to Fei Lei with a gentle smile on her face.
Looking around suspiciously, Hina released a deep breath of relief now that she knew she was alone.
When Hina approached Fei Lei's bedside, her face was suddenly covered in blush while her eyes drifted to Fei Lei's lips.
"It's not fair! You can't just show affection to Yan Mei!" Hina said as she moved closer to Fei Lei and placed her lips on top of his.
After enjoyed her kiss, Hina pulled her head back, placed her hand over her lips while letting out a beaming smile, and disappeared into the shadows before returning to her room.
When Fei Lei woke up again it was almost early morning, he sat down and practiced his breaths, once he was sure there were no more injuries, Fei Lei stood up and walked outside to Yan Mei's door.
Fei Lei looked tired to tidy himself up by ruffling down his bed hair and knocked on the door as he said, "Yan Mei, you up?"
Yan Mei opened the door in a nearly transparent nightgown and blanket in her hand that was barely covering anything.
"Yawn, who is it?" Yan Mei questioned with her tired eyes and half-asleep tone.
After a few seconds passing, Yan Mei realized that it was Fei Lei standing at the door. She then smiled and was seconds away from inviting him in when she suddenly saw where he was staring.
Yan Mei tracked his vision to her almost exposed breasts and made a loud Eeping noise as she closed the door with a blushed face.
"G.g.g.g.good morning! Fei Lei!" Yan Mei chattered through her teeth as she scrambled around the room getting dressed.
Fei Lei turned around with back facing the door, his face was bright red and he was constantly failing to get the image out of his mind as he replied, "Sorry!"
Hina appeared to have woken up and started laughing at their predicament, she then whispered something to Yan Mei that made Fei Lei's nose bleed a little.
"If you want, I could go out there and give him a show too," Hina propositioned.
"No! No, You will not!" Yan Mei shouted, but it was too late.
Hina opened the door revealing their nightgowns and Yan Mei clinging to Hina's waist, trying to pull her back inside the room.
"Don't you want to peek?" Hina said with a devious grin on her face.
"No!" Fei Lei shouted as straightened his spine and kept his back.
"What, don't you find us attractive?" Hina countered.
"I mean, well, of course, I'm interested, any healthy man would be, but...Just close the door," Fei Lei responded making Hina giggle.
Yan Mei then used her finger to tickle Hina, which in turn, caused Hina to lose strength. While she laughed, Yan Mei pulled her inside and shut the door.
After Yan Mei got dressed she came back out of the room and said, "Now let's try this again."
Yan Mei stood on the tips of her toes and kissed Fei Lei before saying, "Good morning."
Fei Lei smiled and moved closer to her when he heard Hina call out from behind them, "Good morning! Now, where's my kiss?!"
The two parted awkwardly and smiled as they said, "Umm..."
Hina rolled her eyes sarcastically before saying, "Come on, you should understand my jokes by now."
They all let out a laugh and then went to grab a bite to eat.
After breakfast, the Mages of Fantasia took off to the dungeon entrance. When they arrived, they saw a massive construct made of a combination of stone and some kind of magical steel.
As they walked through the are large field of pillars, Yan Mei began explaining, "These pillars focus the magic from the erupting Layline and channel it into the dungeon shaping magic circle. Through the magic circle, the chaotic mana becomes orderly, and random dungeons form based on the amount of expelled Mana."
"Interesting, I would love to know how it was built," Fei Lei said as he looked around.
"No one knows who built these, some say they were ancient gods, others say that is was a powerful group of Prime Magi," Yan Mei followed up.
"What would happen without the pillars and circle?" Fei Lei asked.
"The city would be overrun by Aberrations," Hina answered with a frown on her face.
"Aberrations? I've heard that name before." Fei Lei said as he scratched his head.
"Aberrations, are a manifestation of Mana in physical form, they appear as massive beings of energy, and can wipe out entire kingdoms. Only a group of the most highly skilled Prime Magi are capable of fending off Aberrations," Yan Mei declared with a frightened look on her face.
"This is why the dungeon system is so important, it converts the mana into physical matter, specifically magical beasts. The people clear the dungeon by killing off the magical beasts and removing the Dungeon Core, once this is done the Mana will regulate itself once more." Hina continued.
Fei Lei nodded his head when all of a sudden they heard someone shouting in their direction, "H~e~y!!!"
They turned to see Eriks walking over alongside Hachi and two other Mages, they were wearing long black robes with plate armor, one was male the other female.
"Oh, crap, Capitan wasn't lying! This guy really is a Non-Elemental user, just like us, Momo!" The man said as he removed his hood.
The male's facial features were fairly handsome. He had short blond hair that was pulled into a small ponytail, his eyes were bright green, and his nose was a little flat compared to others. The man stood around 5feet and 10inches and was fairly well built.
His armor looked like it was made of blue rhino leather, and was sectioned in 3 pieces, the chest, abs, and neck.
Attached to the neckpiece was a long black hood, across his chest piece was a belt full of throwing knives, and hanging from his hip was a thin rapier that was adorned with a sheath covered in a few gems and golden trimmings.
"I trust you Udo, but," Momo replied.
The female, Momo, was very cute, she stood around 6 feet tall, just a bit taller than the Udo. She short cut black hair, dark tan skin, and deep black eyes that looked darker the night sky.
Momo wore a grey half leather, half metal armor. A short half cape hung from her neckpiece, at her hip was a sheathed thin long sword at her hip, and over her chest was a half breastplate that covered the upper half of her torso.
The armor was slim and form-fitting, which showed that although she was rather petite, her curves weren't unnoticeable.
Momo looked at Fei Lei as if she were inspecting a product and said, "Are you serious?! I know your Scan Sigil is pretty amazing Udo, but I don't see how this guy could have beat a Sorcerer without relying on a magic item."
Hachi, Momo, Udo, and Eriks, these four were actually a rather famous Guild Team called, the Sky Wardens. They had no known ties to nobility but were strong enough to be considered as one. As a bonus, they had an upstanding reputation as honorable folk.
Fei Lei smiled, "Two other Non-Elemental Adepts, and you gave them your slots?"
Eriks turned to Fei Lei and said, "Got a problem with that?"
Fei Lei laughed and replied, "No, not really, but from what I hear there will be many magic beasts, can they protect themselves?"
Momo grabbed the hilt of her weapon and said, "Don't worry about us, we can take care of ourselves."
Fei Lei smiled before he turned around, as he walked towards the dungeon entrance he said, "Not my business anyway, as long as you don't slow us down, and don't fight over the dungeon core with me, we'll get along just fine."
Eriks smirked before he said, "Odd, I was just about to say something similar."
Fei Lei laughed as he walked down a large set of stairs, proceeding to the first floor of the dungeon.
They entered into a large empty dome-shaped room, the walls and ceiling were covered in thick pieces of yellow paper.
Written on each of them, were powerful Runes that emitted a robust and abundant source of mana. Fei Lei thought that it might be a barrier of some sort, made to keep anything from escaping.
Directly in front of them was a large double gated door that had the impression depicting a single mage standing against a horde of demonic-looking creatures.
Fei Lei looked around in interest as he spotted a large platform in the center of the room. The Runes on the platform's spell-circle matched the same Runes that were on their golden slips.
From his spatial ring, Fei Lei pulled out his dungeon pass and noticed that there was a reaction between his pass and the glowing Runes on the surface.
After a bit of time passed, every one of the contestants that passed showed up. First, there was a lady wearing a fantasy-style nun-like uniform. Next to her, was another girl wearing robes that had the image of flowing winds imprinted on them, and lastly was the grey mage.
As they all stepped up to the platform everyone pulled out their dungeon passes before suddenly felling space and time shift around them.
Within seconds, they were all teleported into the 2nd floor of the dungeon and entered into a large cavernous area that had a single set of stairs.
The path down led deep into the earth's surface, along the way stones filled with Light-Spell Enchantments lit the path in front of them and the rest of the caverns as well.
After the group descended down the steps for a bit, the girl from the Holy Light Sect turned to the rest of the party and said, "Hello, I'm Sister June from the holy light Sect, I hope we can get along."
Everyone introduced themselves and nodded their head in respect.
June had short black hair and was cloaked in white and gold robes, she also carried a large staff with her that had a large golden ring on top of it, and a single short sword attached to a belt on her hip.
The Holy Light sect wasn't so much a magic school as it was a religious order.
Yan Mei gave Fei Lei a brief description of how they operate helping him understand, "They are basically a hospital of sorts. Light magic was mostly associated with healing, and they charge a pretty penny to do so. However, Don't let their holy than thou act fool you, there nothing but money-grubbing jerks."
"They worship the golden one, an ancient god said to be the Deity of Good Fortune, and Prosperity, and Avarice. Some believe that the money they offer to their god is its source of sustenance. Eat money, and in return to have glorious futures!" Hina explained.
The girl from the Great Gale School wore a single green robe and carried a long wooden staff with her. She had light brown hair and light blue eyes.
Her face was attractive enough to cause many men to court her favor, and her body was sleek like a supermodel's.
She looked to the rest of the party and said, "My name is Terry, nice to meet you guys."
"The people from the Great Gale schools are all right! I like the headmaster," Hina said nodding her head.
By the time Hina finished her sentence, they reached the bottom of the steps.
They all expected the Grey Mage to introduce himself, but instead, he took off. As his body turned into a fog and disappeared, Fei Lei felt something was off with the Grey Mage's Mana, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Everyone shook their heads and shrugged it off while thinking, "Greedy people end up dead real quick in these places."
Continuing on down the cavern paths, the group reached a large open cavity when they felt a surge of powerful Mana sweep across their bodies.
Suddenly, the entire atmosphere was drenched in a potent Mana so thick, that it was almost visible.
"Magic Beasts spawning! 20 One-Stars, coming up." Udo said as his Scan Sigil appeared over his forehead.
Fei Lei watched as dozens of magical creatures were forming from out of the walls of the cavern. They were all humanoid in shape, but, they had no faces and no eyes. Many of them had different glowing markings across their bodies, each representing a different element.
The charged the group when Eriks said, "Momo, you know the drill! Hachi, protect them with your life."
Hachi nodded his head as he stood in front of his two allies.
Momo's Sigil suddenly appeared above her head as she started casting. The Sigil was the word for support.
"Support!" Momo shouted as the Sigil lit up and attached itself to Eriks's back.
Fei Lei was surprised when Eriks suddenly started glowing as Momo yelled, "Speed Up, Strength Up, Dexterity Up, Resilience Up!"
Four different colors of energy surround Eriks's as his physical parameters doubled. He then took off in a blur of amazing speed that Fei Lei nodded his head in approval over.
The fact the there was something similar to his Boost spell being used was very pleasing for him to see.
Fei Lei asked, "Can you do that for the whole party?"
Momo looked at Fei Lei and frowned before saying, "No, I can only use one of my support spells the target I apply my Sigil to."
Fei Lei sighed, "I wonder what your second Sigil would be like!"
Momo rolled her eyes and said, "Are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to fight?"
Fei Lei laughed as he turned to his allies and said, "Let's do this!"
Activating his Boost he dashed out ahead of Eriks, surprising the two who didn't see him fight yesterday.
"Holy crap! How does he know a support-spell?! I thought only your family had sole ownership of such magic!" Udo said as he pulled up a holographic screen showing dozens of red dots constantly appearing.
"Shit! No time for questions! Next wave is spawning, this time numbers are around 40, pick up the pace, guys!" Udo informed the group.
Momo was shocked as well. She couldn't help but think that his spell looked a little familiar, but, couldn't quite place her finger on it.
As Fei Lei and Eriks charged out on the front lines, June put up a large barrier made out of the mana from a powerful Level-3 Light Spell that surrounded the party.
June then looked at Yan Mei and said, "Don't worry about firing out those arrows of yours, Miss Yan Mei. This barrier will only stop incoming attacks. Thus the spells name, Sanctuary."
Yan Mei put up a fake smile and thanked her while she readied her bow.
With a few flicks of her hand, Yan Mei began firing away dozens of Flaming Arrows that destroyed everything they touched.
Hina and Terry shot out of the barrier and began using their spells.
Hina's magical whip turned into a stream of water high pressure as she swung her arm.
When she reached the tip of her swing the air cracked creating a massive exploding wave that moved at the speed of sound.
Dozens of raindrop sized holes appeared on the bodies of the monsters like a shotgun blast while Hina tilted her hand so slightly and created a 2nd explosion.
Terry used a Level-1 haste spell to move about while creating hundreds of Level-1 Wind Blade Spells that engulfed another group full of enemies and chopped them to bits.
The group of Mages although not knowing each other, worked well for their first fight as a team.
Every move they made was well balanced and thought out, but during the fight, the group stared ahead at the prize that awaited.
In the back of their heads, all of them wondered when it would come time to betray one another, after all, there was only one Dungeon Core.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone