A Pug's Journey (Cultivation Starts with Breathing)

"This is the Trickster's Glass," she said, finally. "It's Grade-2 Artifact capable of fooling dungeons."

'Grade-2? Is that some sort of classification her organization uses?'

My gaze stayed on the mirror, though I watched her just as closely. Her tone had shifted back into control, and that made me pay attention more than anything else. The version of her that had cried a moment ago was gone. In its place stood a woman who had already made a decision.

She continued, her voice composed, "It originally came from the Ipharian continent two centuries ago. A myth surrounding the dungeon was that an Ascended was involved."

An ascended, just like the one who made the nation of cards. Someone who broke past the Phase-0 threshold.

She turned the mirror, letting it face the throne. "A mortal man made the mistake of gambling with the Ascended. When the man won, the Ascended broke their contract and bound him inside a vault that could never be opened without the correct phrase. His treasures went with him."

Aephelia stepped to the dais and raised the mirror. The Forgotten King's remains responded instantly. One moment it was here. The next, it was gone.

Aephelia lowered the mirror and began wrapping it again. I watched her movements for a while, then shifted my weight slightly..

"If I'd shattered his skull instead," I asked, "What would've changed?"

She didn't look up. "Technically, nothing. You'd still be able to walk out. But the inheritance or artifact, whatever reward he may have passed on, would've been destroyed with him."

"What's left?" I asked. "What do I walk away with?"

Aephelia paused in tying the final knot around the cloth bundle. Her hands didn't move for a moment.

"I don't know," Aephelia said as she adjusted her bag and gestured vaguely toward the large stone door. "I owe you one.You should be able to get out when you go up the staircase."

"Is that it?" I asked. "I leave with nothing?"

A wry smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, then she reached up and reached into her clothes, pulling out a pendant I didn't notice she had been wearing.

I stepped forward. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry," she murmured, fingers tightening around the pendant. "But I need to complete this mission."

Her body began to fade, the edges of her coat turning translucent, boots dissolving inch by inch.

Her eyes stayed locked on mine, still sharp even as the rest of her started vanishing.

I moved without thinking.

My weight surged forward. Paws outstretched, I aimed for her shoulders, intending to bring her down before the spell could complete.

I passed through her like mist.

The stone cracked beneath my landing as I skidded to a halt. She hadn't even blinked.

"You..." I said, rising slowly. The growl built low in my throat, one I didn't bother to contain. "You tricked me…?!"

"It wasn't my plan," she answered, and to her credit, she sounded like she meant it. "But you made it easy."

The snarl came out sharper this time, fangs exposed.

Her gaze lowered slightly.

"Next time, I'll treat you to dinner. Maybe somewhere quiet; do you like spiced noodles? I know a place. Ah, you can bite my wrist if it helps, but only when you turn small, okay?"

My claws curled against the stone.

"I'm serious," she continued. "Just don't tell anyone I was here. Please. I'd really rather not have to kill you."

That cold face returned, no longer playful. It was all business now.

I just bared my fangs again.

Her final words reached me just before she vanished completely. "Stay safe, Pophet."

Then she was gone.

I stood still, body tense for another few seconds, listening in case something lingered. But whatever she did was finished.

Eventually, I stretched my body and looked at the throne.

'The Forgotten King. The man who caused a disaster on the entire 10th continent.'

There was still more information I had to process, but I wanted to get out of here first.

I turned back toward the vault.

The treasure chamber hadn't changed. The piles of gold sat untouched, glittering in their uselessness. Coins and necklaces, rings, goblets, gilded masks.

The rows of guardian statues stood as they had.

I passed them without a glance.

The hallway of arrows remained as I left it. The floor bore dozens of hairline cracks, broken tiles, and lodged arrows. None triggered again as I stepped through. The poison smell was faint, like something dried out overnight.

When I reached the destroyed guardian, I didn't slow down. The remains were slumped where they'd collapsed.

Eventually, I found the last chamber. A deep darkness, but with the light from the stone guardian's side, I could see the wide staircase.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

I started going up, paws thudding with a rhythmic sound with each step.

Each turn of the spiral brought the ceiling closer. Though, I stopped counting the rotations halfway through.

At last, the stairway flattened out. A small landing that I could fit. In front of me, a large stone door.

I pushed both paws against it.

There was resistance. Then, a low groan. Stone scraped stone, and light cracked through the seam.

I shoved harder and the door gave way.

Bright light hit my eyes and the smell of salt stung my nose.

Suddenly, I was in the dungeon's entrance, the hole. It felt a bit like a small cave now that the darkness was gone. Checking behind me, I saw nothing but sand.

I was finally out.

Dungeon Excerpt - "The Buried Kingdom" (Kethra Kingdom's Fifth Official Dungeon)

Official Designation: Dungeon KK-05, colloquially referred to as "The Sunken Empire".

Location: Beneath the southern coast of Kethra Kingdom, Pelagia's Breath

Dungeon Type: Single-Instance Trial Dungeon (One-Time Conquerable).

Status: Conquered

Known Challenges/Trials:

Trial 1: Desert of Isolation - An illusory or pocket dimension desert causing challengers to loop endlessly. Purpose: Test of patience and perseverance while finding the buried kingdom's entrance.

(Challenger's notes: Escaped by digging downward to find structure beneath sand.)

Trial 2: Riddle Guardian - A monumental stone statue after dungeon proper entrance posed a riddle. Purpose: Test of wisdom.

(Challenger's notes: Guardian can be bypassed or neutralized by force; riddle unanswered in this instance.)

Trial 3: Hall of Arrows - Narrow corridor with pressure-plate floor and traps and automated arrow launchers in walls. Purpose: Test of caution and agility.

(Challenger's notes: All traps triggered and survived via defensive resilience rather than avoided.)

Trial 4: Stone Legion - Grand chamber with 500 carved stone soldiers. Purpose unknown.

(Challenger's notes: Bypassed the exit door via brute force, carving an opening.)

Trial 5: Treasure Vault - Chamber filled with large quantities of gold and jewels. Purpose: Test of greed. More details are not known.

(Challenger's notes: The challenger took no treasure; proceeded without incident.)

Trial 6: Throne of the King - Final chamber containing an undead skeleton. Purpose: Test of worthiness. The King evaluates challengers on prior trials' virtues. Only by earning his approval would the King confer the dungeon's reward.

Challenger's Completion Conditions: In this case, non-traditional completion occurred: the guardian was forcefully destroyed, causing the dungeon to destabilize and collapse.

Reward: Undetermined. The expected reward was not bestowed. Dungeon collapse implies no further challengers can obtain it.

Completion Challenger(s): Pophet, the Gentle Faith that Echoes (Godbeast of Sunmire)

Casualties: 23 Kethran dungeon parties (105 individuals), all presumed dead

As per Kethran records, twenty-three expedition teams entered the dungeon before Sunmire's support. Given that there is no detail on their corpses as per the Challenger's recollection, it is presumed that the deceased was consumed by the dungeon.

Notes: This dungeon's trials deviated from prior known patterns (e.g., unexpected desert theme contrary to local culture and surroundings).

Survival Rate: 0.60%

Recommendation: Classification as "Sanctuary-class" Single Clear Dungeon - one that does not reset and whose core is tied to a unique entity. Removal or neutralization of said entity results in permanent closure (as observed by the challenger).

Adventurer's Guild to mark dungeon as cleared; no further expeditions necessary or possible.

Report Prepared By: Kethran Royal Scribe, A. Jaloun, in collaboration with Pophet of Sunmire

*****

The report had taken half a day to finalize. I dictated most of it myself, with pauses long enough to make the scribe sweat. Jaloun asked questions where he could. I ignored half of them. The rest, I answered in plain terms, stripped of context.

There was no need to tell him about Aephelia or the organization behind her. I wasn't willing to risk it after the warnings she gave me… yet.

After we were finished, the scribe submitted the record to the Adventurer's Guild. They authenticated it, copied it, stamped it with their official seals. Pages were tied off in ribbons, dispatched to their noble ledgers and palace archives. Communication was sent all over the continent.

The version I gave them had now become the official record of Kethra's 5th dungeon.

Three days ago, I'd already been to the palace. King Ormund hadn't demanded a detailed retelling. Just confirmation that the dungeon was safe and that the people were in no harm.

"Then it's done," he'd said. "Kethra no longer needs to worry."

He didn't pry anymore. The actions he showed so far was that of a noble king's. I liked him.

His court, of course, had their own theories.

They watched me closely as I stood before the throne. Not one of them said it aloud but I already knew that in their minds, the lack of reward was not absence, it was concealment. They believed I was hiding it.

The King had offered me temporary residence in Kethra as an official courtesy. "Stay as long as you wish," he said. "There's no urgency in departure. Enjoy our food, our gardens, our air, and our beaches. You've earned at least that much for the efforts you've provided."

I accepted without pretense.

My quarters were moved. And I was now staying at a villa near the canal terraces, a modest estate usually reserved for foreign scholars or retired generals. It was quiet and self-contained. A place where people didn't actively go to unless ordered. There were a few servants within the walls and rotating guards posted outside.

The garden had a small pond and a shaded stone bench I sometimes used in the late morning. Meals arrived twice a day.

My attendants have been with me nearly this entire time, of course. I assume that one of them had already sent word to the Council of my survival. There was no way they didn't.

Before Kethran's king issued a royal announcement of the dungeon's permanent closure, he sent communication to Sunmire regarding the details.

The latter was likely already convening. Quiet meetings. Private votes. No doubt deciding how to frame this turn of events.

I hadn't been expected to return. That much had been clear from the start. Now that I had, they'd need a new approach.

If they were going to act, it would be before I crossed the border.

It was already late afternoon when one of my attendants approached the garden, where I was napping under the shade. He held a letter in both hands and waited in silence until I nodded. He broke the seal and read it to me.

The invitation was brief and formal. A royal banquet, hosted three nights from now in the palace square. The event was being held to commemorate the dungeon's permanent closure and celebrate the continued safety of the kingdom.

The letter was signed with Ormund's own signature. My name appeared in the list of guests, highlighted with an ornate stroke and the symbol of Sunmire's crest beside it.

I didn't care for public gatherings. Banquets even less. But Ormund had shown me respect at every stage, never overstepping.

After a moment, I turned to my attendant.

"Arrange for a tailor," I said. "Something formal. Appropriate for court."

He looked a bit surprised, then bowed.

"Yes, Your Reverence. We'll bring someone before morning."

When he left, I remained seated beneath the garden's shade, watching the pond. The water was calm, and the city beyond the tall walls had gone quiet with the evening wind.

Kethra had no more demands for me, and it was peaceful here.

But the thought of going back to Sunmire began to frustrate me again.