Valerian weaved through the crowd and headed straight for the guild building, but he was exhausted from the trip inside the dungeon. On the way, he decided to stop before a meat bun stall and gulped down at least fifty of them before he paid with a silver coin.

The vendor was shocked and stated, "Sir, I do not have any change."

Valerian thought about it and asked, "Would it be alright if I deposit the rest of the money with you and come to eat meat buns till the amount is settled?"

He knew this world was filled with deceit and other negative human emotions, but he still trusted this old man. The vendor was overwhelmed and could not help but ask, "Why do you trust me with your money?"

Valerian smiled and replied, "If one silver coin is a price, learn a lesson about whom to trust or whom not to. I can live with that price."

The young man left the place, and the vendor murmured, looking at the silver coin in his hand, "This young man is not like normal people."

...

Valerian did not know that he set off a wave of shock in the heart of the vendors and came to the guild building. He queued up for task submission and looked around the place. He could spot a few groups looking for new tasks while others were socializing with each other. Soon, it was Valerian’s turn.

Prim was sitting behind the counter, surprised to see someone place five sets of wolf fangs. She appraised the items without lifting her head and said, "Guild card."

Valerian nodded and handed her the guild card. Prim looked roughly at the guild card before she froze and rechecked the card. She raised her head and exclaimed, "You completed this task?"

Valerian nodded and noticed that the entire guild was gazing at him. Or rather, at Prim. The people gazed at this cold goddess who could make everyone shiver and take seven steps back at a glance. How come this guy generated such an exaggerated expression from her?

Prim asked, "Who did you party with?"

Valerian replied, "No one."

His voice was calm, but the silence before he spoke and the silence after he finished were deafening. Someone asked, "Miss Prim, what floor did he venture into?"

Prim did not answer the man but gave Valerian a small pouch of coins. She said, "If you have excessive money, store it in the guild locker. Safety is guaranteed. You can withdraw the money, and we will charge you one silver coin per year for the locker space."

Valerian nodded and asked, "Can I get some change too?"

Prim nodded. Valerian passed her his pouch with fifteen gold coins and said, "I would like to deposit fifteen gold coins and redeem a hundred copper coins in exchange for a silver coin."

The lady nodded and finished handling his money. The dungeoneers wanted to ask him to party with them, or some people were calling for a party when the young man left the dungeon without replying to anyone. He did not know them, and he did not wish to know them either.

The young man was going to look for an inn to spend the night. He did not know how much money it would cost him to buy a house in this city. As he was walking through the crowd, he heard someone call for him loudly. Valerian turned his head around and found Viney rushing at him. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He stopped and waited for the girl to come to his side. Viney asked, "What were you thinking when you entered the dungeon alone."

The voice was loud, and the people could listen fairly well. However, Valerian was quick and glared at Viney. She realized her mistake and said, "Come, let us go and meet the rest of the party."

Valerian nodded and followed her. He knew he could not escape these people, so mingling with them and learning about the dungeon and where to locate what creatures were better. The young man thought he would fight alone and needed to ally with someone.

The devil you know was always better than the devil you did not. Viney soon led him to a villar, and Valerian asked, "What is this place?"

Viney smiled and replied, "This is our house. Shiba bought this two months ago."

Valerian nodded, and then Viney led him inside the place. The villa was rather small, but it was clean and looked decent. Viney entered the door and said, "Shiba, Captain, I found someone."

A deep voice sounded, and a middle-aged man peeked out of the kitchen and froze in his actions. He wanted to scream when he calmed down and asked, "Valerian, how are you?"

Valerian nodded and said, "I am fine."

Captain asked, "Can you tell me why you entered the dungeon alone?"

Valerian replied, "I wanted to get some information and feel the tension that everyone was talking about. So, I went alone."

Viney asked, "What if you were to suffer severe injuries?"

Valerian shook his head and replied, "I have confidence in my skill, and if I were not confident, I would have suffered even if I was with a party."

The Captain nodded, and Viney let out a low whistle. Catian noticed something and said, "Valerian, why are you standing here? Go sit, make yourself at home."

Valerian nodded gently and sat on a cushioned stool in the living room. Just when he wanted to ask what the motive was for dragging him here, he spotted Shiba stepping down the stairs, unlike earlier when she appeared valiant. She was dressed in a rather simple set of clothes and looked adorable.

Valerian stood up from his seat, and Viney giggled. She commented, "Did you fall for Shiba just now?"

The young man cast her a gaze and said, "Where I come from, it is bad manners for a gent to sit while a lady is standing."

Viney was surprised, and his words caught the attention of Captain and Shiba as well. The young man did not hesitate and said, "I am from another world. The world you all are trying to reach through the door in the dungeon."

The trio was shocked. It was evident from the clatter of utensils inside the kitchen. Captain left the kitchen, glaring at Valerian, "Are you kidding us? Why would someone come here if they had any strength?"

Valerian clicked his tongue and said, "Do you think anyone can defy the high gods because they wanted to?"

Shiba asked, "Why are you here then?"

Valerian told them his story and waited for the three of them to recover from the shock. They could not get themselves to believe what Valerian said was true. However, his story was so vivid that it could not be discarded as hysteria.

Shiba asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Valerian replied, "I intend to get to the hundredth floor as soon as possible and cross the gates to return home."

The three people nodded when they heard this. After all, this was a standard reaction. Anyone would like to return home if they were to be moved to a foreign land. Shiba asked, "How do you plan to do that?"

Valerian replied, "I learned from Miss Prim that there is a big monster called floor boss every ten floors. Once you have dealt with it, the floor boss will not appear in front of you, and this also gives you a smooth passage to the next ten floors."

The three people nodded and understood his meaning. He wanted to target the big floor bosses and get deeper into the dungeon. Thinking about it, Shiba said, "There is an artifact in the dungeon. I heard that the Avion Party got it by chance. This artifact will allow you to appear on any floor you have been to. It is akin to a portal key."

Valerian raised his head and asked, "What is this artifact, and where can it be found?"

Shiba wanted to reply when Captain said, "The wild boss on the fifteenth floor."

Viney shivered and yelled, "No way you want to fight the Titan. That thing has killed a lot of people."

Valerian asked, "What are you yapping about?"

Viney glared at him and snorted. Shiba shook her head and said, "Titan is a wild boss. It is a mutant beast. It was a humanoid beast and one time, it consumed the core of another beast then it went on and on. The beasts in the dungeon all have a core. It is like a memory point for the dungeon to spawn these monsters.

The Titan is like a mix of all the beasts on the fifteenth floor. It appears in the oasis zone and is almost invincible."

Valerian asked, "How did the Avion party defeat it?"

Viney replied, "Avion party had thirty members, seven of whom died. Do you still want to face it?"

Valerian shrugged and replied, "Let me decide after I reach that level. As for now, I will go back and find a place to sleep before I decide what shall be my plan ahead."

Shiba stood in a hurry and said, "If you do not mind, you can stay there. We still have two vacant rooms. They will help you."