...(One Week Later)
"Are you going sowhere, young master?" A maid wearing the usual black and white maid outfit inquired.
The person in question flinched at the title he had been given.
"Yes." He answered.
"Where are you going?"
"I’m coming."
Surprisingly the maid did not continue her questions and returned to washing his dirty clothing.
’That actually worked.’
He didn’t actually expect the maid to stop her questioning so easily, but he didn’t want to actually say where he was going.
The clothes he was wearing weren’t fitted for everyday purposes, they were for easier unrestricted movent. That was all except the brown coat he had on him.
Today was the day he was heading into the dungeon to deal with the essence that was supposedly stuck in him and currently endangered his life.
As he left his ho and went in the direction of the clan market, a familiar figure ca.
The clan guardian appeared in a flashy display of light, she was wearing the sa kimono she had been wearing since the first ti she t him.
Upon seeing his appearance, she laughed.
"I see you prepared yourself."
She was obviously referring to the skintight clothing he was wearing.
Jason did not answer her.
"Are you ready?" She questioned. "Before you answer, rember that the chances of you coming back are not much."
"Yes, I’m ready."
"Sure, suit yourself." She did not take a step forward from her current position and instead pointed her hand at him.
Both of them were surrounded in a golden, blinding light.
Jason closed his eyes as he noticed the changes happening to him, he felt a tingling sensation at his spine.
Then, they were not in the sa place again.
They were standing in the middle of a barren forestland. The place was devoid of any trees, plants and grasses, not even weeds were spared.
"Pick up the pace."
When he finally opened his eyes, he saw the clan guardian a good distance away from him.
Jason jogged to catch up to her, he noticed that she was only walking and decided it best not to move quickly.
’Why are we so far from the dungeon? It would be easier to just teleport close to it.’ Jason questioned, though he knew he would not be getting an answer.
"Teleporting near a dungeon is impossible unless I want to be sent into it." The clan guardian explained.
She answered his questions, now he realized why the elder did not teleport him directly to the dungeon portal. It was sothing that he had not read about.
After walking in the barren forestland for half an hour they arrived at the dungeon portal, the swirling mass of energies was easily the height of three tall n.
"This is the A-dungeon."
Unlike the other dungeon Jason had entered, this one was much larger and wider, not to ntion that he could even feel the energies it emitted.
’I’m finally here.’
"Why do you want to enter the dungeon so badly?"
Jason froze at the question, it was one which he didn’t expect.
"Or do you think I did not hear when you thought about the opportunity finally being presented? After that you went on to tell that you wanted to enter the dungeon."
He knew that he had to answer truthfully.
"I want to get stronger." He answered.
The clan guardian looked at him amused, he couldn’t tell if she found his answer amusing or she thought it was shallow.
"Do you know what makes the A-dungeon so special?" She asked him amused.
’Because it adapts perfectly to your strength?’
"Wrong." Her tone was sharp. "The A-dungeon is special because it chooses a scenario where your strength will be rendered insufficient, it can range from anywhere, anyti and anyplace.
It doesn’t have a fixed scenario because it chooses the most appropriate situation where you will be rendered weak."
"Are you sure you still want to enter?"
"Yes, I’m sure."
"You truly have incompetency."
He had listened to her words, however he remained adamant on his decision.
"Well then, the key to your strength is lying in front of you, won’t you take it?"
’What?’
Her words were strange.
"The door that leads to strength is in front of you and you have the key, won’t you open it?"
"Oh." He realized what she was trying to say.
Both had the sa aning, however the wording was different.
He thanked her for helping him, bowing to express his gratitude.
"If you die, I’ll kill you."
That was the clan guardian’s reply.
Then, she pushed Jason into the dungeon portal before he had ti to think about it.
His head beca disoriented as his vision changed.
Blood trickled down his lips.
"Where the hell am I?" Jason muttered after regaining himself.
He felt sothing wet on his cheeks and instinctively wiped it with the back of his palm.
"Blood?"
He was free with only himself here, he could now talk to himself once again. However, he had grown used to thinking instead of speaking aloud, but the scene in front of him did not demand such discreetness.
"This isn’t where the protagonist went!"
Ezra was transported to a desert during the duration of most of his stay in the dungeon.
’Is this what she ant by different scenarios in ti and place?’
Dread clawed up to his chest.
The sole reason he was so confident after hearing her words was because he had used his knowledge; with his knowledge on his own strength and on Ezra’s, he was able to calculate that their strength was roughly the sa.
But the knowledge that he prided himself on was useless right now and he was stranded in an unknown place where his strength was basically useless because every opponent he would face was much stronger than him.
"So, what if the knowledge I had of this place is useless?"
"I’ll survive."
Unfortunately, he was the one giving himself the pep talk. It did little to boost his morale.
"Whatever." He murmured.
His breath was cold.
"I should try to survive at least before giving up." He decided, rubbing his hands against his coat to try to cool himself.
Contrary to the protagonist, Jason found himself in the snow, in the winter season.
He walked along the road, though he had no idea of where he was going.
Jason suddenly began regretting wearing skintight clothing when heading into the dungeon, if he had been in a place like a desert his choice of attire would have actually been decent and looked well thought out.
"Hopefully, I find sowhere warm to rest."
He was surrounded by large trees a good distance from each other that seemingly extended to the skies, making it easier for him to get ambushed.
Furthermore, he wasn’t wearing boots, he was wearing shoes.
Jason walked for a long ti, he didn’t quickly lost track of how long he had been walking.
"Grrr."
He paused in his tracks, his head turning round to catch the creature.
The sound Jason had heard was obviously a growl, a low growl.
He looked around but could not spot it, it was like the monster was invisible, unseen to the naked eye.
’Why didn’t I notice its presence?’
"Grrr."
The animal growled again. But this ti, it was continuous.
It was as if it didn’t want Jason to co close and wanted him to leave.
He was able to locate the monster.
It was a bear with white fur lying flat on its belly on the ground, even its claws were white. Due to its positioning he hadn’t noticed it until it gave away its presence, its skin looked the sa with the snowflakes that continuously fell from the sky.
Even with his sharp eyes, it was hard to notice it.
’Its not attacking.’
He had expected the monster to engage in a fight with him.
’Does it want to leave.’
If he was stronger, he would have engaged in a fight with the monster already. But it occurred to him that he was in the Adaptive dungeon, and if he played with his life he would die before he knew it.
To survive, Jason had to act rationally.
He slowly walked away from the sight he had found the bear, his eyes locked onto it as he walked away.
After walking a good distance away, the bear stopped growling.
’So it really did want to leave.’
Jason wasn’t sure if the bear was simply being lazy or if it wanted to avoid fighting him, but he was thankful that he wasn’t attacked by the monster.
But that feeling was short-lived as he began to feel disappointed in himself.
’I ca here to get stronger, yet I’m afraid of fighting the monster.’
’Is it because I’ve never lost a fight?’
’Am I now afraid of fighting an opponent as strong as ?’
He didn’t know the reason.
However, he knew that he would get rid of it before leaving the dungeon.
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