Level 1 Fallen

The rest of the day was spent in Shadowbane, as we didn't need to remain in the headquarters of the League of Assassins. When we left, we were told that we would not have any immediate missions, but Wisteria would let us know when she had something for us. Instead, we were learning the nearby dungeons, including their drops and the regular schedules for them.

Up until now, I had only ever been going through dungeons that weren't 'public domain'. The crystal mole mines had yet to be discovered by players, and the goblin dungeon was one that I found myself. However, dungeons that were discovered by players apparently had regular schedules that they followed. This was to ensure that everyone who challenged the dungeon was able to get the most experience from their trip.

Typically, a dungeon's schedule allowed it to be raided twice a day, though exceptions could be made if someone failed their raid and refused to continue. Accordingly, each city had a Dungeon Management Office, where players could reserve a time slot to challenge a dungeon. Once their time came, they had two hours to clear it, after which they were expected to leave or incur heavy fines.

Two hours to clear a dungeon didn't feel like very long to me, but the dungeon's level wasn't incredibly high, and they were usually cleared by groups of ten or more. Additionally, these dungeons already had their maps available, including where their secret paths and treasure chests were.

"Which of these dungeons do you want to go for?" I asked, with Diane looking at the information booklet with a firm gaze.

"Ideally, I'd like to go through all of them. However, two of these dungeons are reserved a week in advance. Of those two dungeons, the Shadow Cloud Palace gives the Blinding Darkness and Shadow Step skills, and the Shaded Hill gives Shadow Form and Shadow Blade."

"The last dungeon, the Dark King's Tomb, gives Animate Shadow, Dark Embrace, and Lesser Darkness. I know that you have some of these skills yourself, so we don't need to focus on those. The ones I want the most are Shadow Step, Shadow Form, and Dark Embrace, as well as the traits that can drop from the boss of the Dark King's Tomb."

I looked at the booklet in her hands, seeing that the boss had a positive trait rated at six stars, called the 'Child of Darkness', which increased the effects of shadow-based skills, and one trait rated at four stars called 'Hidden Shadow', which reduces the user's presence passively. This trait would likely be able to negate her own negative trait.

Of course, getting a trait to drop was quite rare. The odds of us managing to get either of these two to drop was maybe one in twenty. I shook my head, knowing that we weren't likely to get everything that she wanted. "Should we visit the skill shop, to see if they have what we want?"

Diane shook her head at that question. "The dungeon is a good way to make money, too. Even if it's too low-level for us to level up, we can earn some profits."

I gave a small nod at that, knowing the allure of earning some money. Plus, Diane likely wanted the chance to properly fight after so long. "By the way. You said that the first two of those dungeons are always reserved… what about the third one?"

Diane looked at the booklet again, before shaking her head. "The Dark King's Tomb is considered a Raid-level dungeon, according to this information. The first floor of the dungeon is maintained by the office to prevent a break-out, but the boss on the second floor is considered too strong for its level range. So, players won't try to clear this dungeon without a group of at least fifty, or those of a significantly higher level."

When Diane said that, I couldn't help but think back to what the leader of the League of Assassins told me about raid bosses. The fact that their drop rates were considerably higher for those below their own level. With that in mind, it might just be feasible for us to get the traits that Diane wanted. If not on the first run, then we would simply need to enter a second or third time.

Opening a private chat with Diane, I informed her about this, and her eyes flicked over to me. It would take too long to get a reservation for the other two dungeons, but this one was practically free for the taking.

Giving a brief nod, Diane closed the booklet and walked over to the desk. "When is the next available opening for the Dark King's Tomb?" She asked, the man behind the counter looking over at her, before checking a thick book at his side.

"Nobody has reserved this dungeon currently. If you wish to attempt it, I will just need your name and when you would like to begin your attempt."

"My name is Diane. As for the time… please sign us up for eight in the morning, tomorrow. Additionally, I would like to reserve the time slot for eight in the evening." When she said that, the man looked over at her with a questioning gaze.

"...Very well, I will fill you in for both time slots." He said, grabbing a pen to write in the book. However, Diane wasn't done yet.

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"If we reserve both time slots, do we still need to vacate the dungeon after two hours?" My eyes widened briefly when I said that, but the man shook his head to deny the question.

"I assumed that was what you were aiming for. In certain, larger dungeons, especially those categorized as raids, it is common for a group to reserve multiple, consecutive time slots if they feel like they will not be able to complete it within two hours. So long as you do this, the only requirement is that you leave by the end of your final reservation."

Diane gave a stiff nod at that, turning to signal for the two of us to leave. You're wanting to farm the boss, aren't you?

If it's like you said, and you will get a higher drop rate than others, then there is nothing wrong with us staying in there to try to get what we want. I've already memorized the boss's mechanics, so we should be able to defeat it, between the two of us. Just make sure that you're the one grabbing the loot.

I nodded my agreement, and the two of us walked around the town again. Seeing as we weren't likely to be able to visit the other dungeons, we did end up visiting the skill shop to buy Shadow Step and Shadow Form for Diane. When I learned that both of these were advanced skills, I chose not to get them for myself. I already had an idea of how to create Shadow Step, but it wasn't something that I particularly needed when I had Flicker Step. As for Shadow Form, I imagined that to be a combination of Shadow Armor and Sneak.

From there, the two of us left Shadowbane, giving Diane a chance to test her new skills. Shadow Step allowed Diane to teleport within darkness, so long as it was the same shadow. For instance, if she was standing in the shadow of a tree, she could teleport to any point of that shadow. However, if it was night time, she could freely teleport, so long as her destination was not more than fifty meters away, or in an area of bright light.

Shadow Form, on the other hand, was a skill that Diane found much more appropriate for herself both in and out of combat. According to her, it had a low magic cost, and reduced her presence as long as she was standing within shadows.

Honestly, what surprised me the most between the two was her Shadow Step. My Flicker Step, which was an evolved skill, and almost ready to evolve again, only carried me twenty meters in a single step. Is this the benefit of the skill having a restriction on it?

Naturally, my own Flicker Step could be used to travel in any direction, regardless of lighting conditions. According to what Kelly had told me, I would even be able to use it to run on water if I wanted. Additionally, it left behind an afterimage to confuse people, so I could understand the shorter range.

That night, Diane made sure to log out early, that way she would be able to log on in plenty of time to travel to the dungeon in the morning. At the same time, she promised that she would look up low-level ice or wood magic skills, and whether there were any players willing to mail them. We would have to pay a premium fee for such, but it would stop us from having to visit the specific dungeons.

When I left my room at the inn the next morning, I could tell that Diane had already logged in, even without being able to see her player brand. There was a sour look on her face that I knew wouldn't belong to her Chosen without a good reason. "What's the matter?" I asked, walking over towards her.

She glanced at me, and the surroundings, before shaking her head. "I'll tell you on the way to the dungeon." She said, leading us to leave the inn even without having breakfast. We still had a bit of time left before our reservation, so I found it odd that she was leading us away so quickly.

"We're leaving the city after today." Diane spoke up in a quiet voice as we walked down the street, catching me by surprise. "Don't buy anything in the shops here. Once we get into the dungeon, you're going to set up a new disguise for yourself, and message Wisteria with a new alias."

"The information leaked already?" My eyes widened, and Diane nodded her head.

"I bookmarked… I saved the location of some of the groups that are looking for you, to keep an eye out for any followers. Last night, a recording of you fighting Wisteria went up, along with Erebus addressing us by our proper names, and identifying you as a level one. You've become a hot topic among players, one of the Seven Final Bosses. They even gave you a nickname, the Munchkin."

"The 'what' bosses?" I blinked, not sure how to follow along with what she was saying as she ushered me faster through the streets.

"In the game, there are only seven players known to have ten-star traits, including yourself. The community collectively calls them the final bosses of the game. That's not important. When I logged in, I messaged Wisteria with the identity of the traitor. She said he's already deleted his character, so his old one is now a Fallen."

"Most likely, he was given a big reward for posting that information, enough to make him willing to start a new character. She also suggested that the two of us establish new identities. Because this leak was the fault of the guild, she's going to prepare something to help, but she said that it won't be ready for a few days."

I gave a firm nod at that, putting the 'final bosses' or whatever out of my mind. Now I knew why Diane had been so rushed to leave. "Is the dragon moving?"

"That's right." She nodded again. "Given his speed, it's expected that he will reach Shadowbane by tomorrow. The dungeon will be the best place for us to change our identities."

"Were you able to find any of the skills that I asked for?" I asked, and Diane hesitated, before shaking her head.

"Not a good time, so I couldn't look. My name was revealed with yours. Although I'm not the only Diane, it wouldn't be hard to figure out why someone with the same name was willing to pay multiple times the market price for a low level skill, and I can't afford giving them my full handle to send me the skill. Skill evolutions are already a known mechanic among players, as well as the final evolution. Right now, low ranking skills are being sold between players at up to ten times their market value. Give me a week or two for the heat to die down, and I'll check again. Until then, we can keep heading west. The elven kingdom is known for its wood skills."