Right now, the trio was standing in front of the massive, swirling white portal at the very edge of Astelvern.

This was the entrance to the famed World Dungeon of Astelvern town. Despite the early hour, the plaza was packed with hundreds of Adventurers of all shapes and sizes, their armor clanking and weapons grinding as they headed into the glowing vortex.

"Are all of our supplies here?" Ren asked. He ran a hand through his black hair and let out a small sigh, looking at the two people flanking him.

He was currently wearing a sleek set of high-grade light armor with an elegant hilt resting comfortably at his waist where his sword hung and behind him stood his Vanguard and his Butler: Eternia and Mandy.

Mandy was wearing a set of fitted light leather armor, his knuckles white as he gripped the hilt of a real, sharpened steel sword.

The young man was practically vibrating with nervousness, despite already possessing the fundamental knowledge of how to use the weapon.

As for Eternia, she was entirely in her element.

She wore the dark reinforced light armor he had bought her yesterday perfectly layered over her new casual shirt and high-mobility trousers.

The twin curved swords were secured tightly in sheaths strapped in an X-pattern across her back.

She held her hand up, looking intensely at the dull gemstone of her new Storage Ring as she projected a sliver of mana into the band to confirm its contents.

"Yes, Master, we have everything," Eternia reported with her voice sounding clear over the din of the crowd. "You said that we were probably going to be in here until we killed enough monsters to rank up from E to C, so I ensured our inventory reflects that."

Nearby, several Adventurers paused in their tracks. They turned to look at the trio as their expressions ranged from sheer disbelief to profound sorrow.

Jumping from Rank E to Rank C in a single, continuous dive? It was madness. It was a mathematical impossibility for an E-Rank Adventurer to sustain that level of prolonged combat in one go.

Most assumed the handsome young man and his two lackeys were marching to their absolute deaths, fueled by youthful arrogance.

Eternia noticed the stares, but she didn’t care. If she did not know her Master intimately, she would undoubtedly doubt the claim herself but this was Ren.

He commanded fire that burned like the sun and moved with the speed of a thunderbolt. If he said they were ranking up to C today, they were ranking up to C today. He was most certainly not lying.

"We have enough high-calorie rations to last until we reach the Tenth floor," Eternia completed her report, her golden eyes burning with eagerness. "And a massive surplus of clean water, as you requested."

Ren gave a satisfied nod. "Alright, that’s good. Let’s enter."

The three of them began walking toward the colossal vortex.

As they stepped closer to the glowing humming portal, Eternia trembled slightly though it wasn’t out of fear.

Ever since she was a little girl and had seen a free, proud Adventurer walking through the city streets, she had desperately wanted to be one of them.

Now, finally stepping through the threshold of a true World Dungeon with a blade on her back made her blood sing.

The white gate swallowed them whole and the transition was instantaneous.

As soon as her boots hit solid ground on the other side, Eternia immediately drew one of her curved blades, dropping into a stance.

"Alright monsters," Eternia hissed, her slit-pupils dilating. "Let’s g— ...go?"

She blinked while confused. She was not standing in the midst of a bloody battlefield surrounded by roaring monsters. Instead, she was standing in what appeared to be a bustling enclosed underground marketplace.

"High-grade healing potions! Two for a silver coin! Don’t bleed out on Floor 2!" a fat merchant yelled from a wooden stall to their left.

"Need a Vanguard! We need a Vanguard with shield proficiency for a Floor 4 push! Offering an equal split of the loot!" a desperate-looking archer shouted near a large glowing blue crystal in the center of the cavern.

"Weapon maintenance! Get your blades sharpened before you hit the caverns!"

Ren turned around, easily slipping his hands into his pockets as he took in her confusion. He smoothly explained the mechanics of the World Dungeon.

"There are Safe Zones before every major floor section," Ren said, gesturing to the merchants and the hundreds of resting adventurers. "The higher we go, the lesser people will be in these areas, but the merchants will always follow the coin. They set up shop right before the barriers to strike business with desperate parties."

As they continued walking through the crowded Safe Zone, a burly, scar-faced adventurer noticed Eternia. He sneered, stepping directly into their path with the obvious intention of intimidating the small party to extort a toll.

However, Ren simply shifted his gaze. He leveled a single, dead-eyed glare at the man. The suffocating weight of his killing intent slammed into the adventurer like a physical wall.

The man flinched violently with all the color draining from his scarred face, and rapidly turned around to walk the other way without saying a single word.

Ren didn’t even break his stride.

"Beginner Adventurers have to join forces and move in massive parties just to be able to survive the initial floors. It’s a numbers game for them but we have one major thing different from them."

Mandy swallowed hard, gripping his sword. "What do we have different, my Lord?"

Ren offered a small arrogant smirk. "Well... we have me."

Eternia nodded enthusiastically, completely agreeing with the assessment, while Mandy sweatdropped, realizing just how unhinged his Master’s confidence truly was.

They passed through the bustling market and arrived at the massive, translucent, shimmering barrier separating the Safe Zone from the actual hostile territory of Floor 1.

Without hesitation, Ren stepped through the barrier. Eternia and Mandy followed immediately.

As the magical film washed over her skin, Eternia looked around.

The environment shifted drastically... They were standing at the edge of a massive sprawling cavern. The air here was damp and carried the distinct foul stench of rotting meat and stagnant water.

A few massive, wilting underground trees with luminescent moss clung to the rocky walls.

Far in the distance, she could see a massive, winding stone staircase rising toward the ceiling... the path to Floor 2.

As she scanned the horizon, she spotted a group of three Adventurers rapidly ascending the distant staircase.

One of them was screaming in agony while being carried over the shoulder of a heavily armored knight. The carried man had completely lost his left leg just below the knee, leaving a thick glistening trail of crimson blood across the ancient stone steps.

It was a stark brutal reminder of the reality of the dungeon.

This was truly a place that made Eternia’s blood boil with anticipation as she held the hilt of her sword firmly, adjusting her grip.

’I have to impress Master,’ she thought with her golden eyes narrowing. ’I have to prove my blade is sharp.’

Meanwhile, Mandy took a shaky, deep breath.

He held his standard steel sword with both hands, silently praying to the Goddess of Light that he would simply survive the next few hours.

Suddenly, the distinct sound of frantic slapping footsteps echoed through the cavern.

Ren looked ahead and bursting through the cavern roughly a hundred yards away were two low-rank Adventurers.

They were sprinting desperately toward the Safe Zone barrier with panic written across their dirt-smeared faces. One of them was clutching a large, speckled green object tightly against his chest.

It was a Monster Egg... They had stolen from a nest and directly behind them, tearing through the wilting vegetation with terrifying speed, was a massive screeching horde of Goblins.

There were easily thirty of the vile, green-skinned creatures, wielding rusted daggers and jagged spears.

At the very front of the horde was a significantly larger, heavily scarred Goblin holding a crude iron halberd. This leader wasn’t running; he was riding on the back of a massive black-furred Direwolf.

"GYYAAARRGGHH!" the Goblin Rider shrieked, driving his heels into the beast’s flanks. The Direwolf snarled, snapping its massive jaws as it closed the distance.

Mandy grew stiff as a board with his boots practically glued to the cavern floor in terror.

The two fleeing Adventurers ran directly past Ren’s group, their lungs burning as they threw themselves through the translucent barrier into the safety of the market behind them.

With their primary prey suddenly out of reach, the Goblin Rider violently yanked the reins of the Direwolf. The massive beast skidded on the damp stone, kicking up sparks, and locked its glowing red eyes directly onto Ren, Eternia, and Mandy.

The entire horde of thirty goblins shifted their aggression, raising their rusted weapons and shrieking in a deafening chorus as they charged the new targets.

Ren didn’t draw his sword. He didn’t even shift his stance... He simply placed both hands leisurely behind his back.

"Your first mission for today," Ren announced smoothly. "Is to slaughter the entire Horde. Including the Goblin Rider."

He glanced at his two subordinates. "Both of you."

Mandy’s face went completely pale. Thirty goblins and a Direwolf rider? For two people? "Wh-What about you, my Lo—"

FWOOSH!

A massive gust of wind violently blew past Mandy’s face, ruffling his hair as Eternia had already charged forward.

She wasn’t hesitating... She wasn’t questioning the odds... A wide, terrifyingly genuine smile was stretched across her face, exposing her slightly elongated canines as she practically flew over the jagged rocks.

Ren slowly turned his head to look at his trembling butler.

"Are you really going to let a slave outshine your position as my Personal Butler, Mandy?" Ren asked smoothly. "Get to work."

Mandy gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached.

He looked at the charging wall of green flesh, then at the terrifying speed of his Master’s Vanguard. If he stayed behind, Ren would undoubtedly kill him right here for insubordination.

"Yes, my Lord!" Mandy shouted with desperation flooding his veins.

He shot forward, his eyes practically glowing with pure adrenaline as he gripped his sword. Two smaller goblins broke off from the main pack, screeching as they charged directly in his direction.

"AHHHH!!!" Mandy screamed, raising his blade and meeting them head-on.

Eternia reached the vanguard of the horde in less than three seconds.

She didn’t slow down to engage the fodder as she aimed directly for the apex predator.

The Goblin Rider roared, swinging his heavy iron halberd down in a crushing, overhead arc designed to split her human torso in two but Eternia didn’t parry.

She didn’t even try to block the massive weapon.

At the very last possible millisecond, she dropped her center of gravity, her knees practically grazing the stone floor as she slid underneath the lethal arc of the halberd.

The heavy iron blade smashed into the cavern floor directly behind her, burying itself inches deep into the rock and before the rider could rip his weapon free, Eternia channeled a burst of mana into her legs.

She launched herself straight up from her slide, twisting her body violently in the air like a coiled spring. Both of her curved swords flashed in the dim cavern light.

SHNK!

She didn’t aim for the Goblin, rather the Snakekin aimed for the mount.

Her twin blades sheared cleanly through the thick muscular neck of the Direwolf, severing its vocal cords, its jugular, and slicing deep into its spine in a single perfectly synchronized, scissor-like strike.

The massive beast didn’t even have time to whimper.

A geyser of hot dark blood erupted from its neck, painting Eternia’s armor and face in a thick coat of crimson.

The Direwolf’s front legs collapsed instantly, sending its massive bulk crashing forward into the dirt.

The Goblin Rider shrieked in shock as his mount died beneath him.

The sudden shift in momentum launched the scarred goblin violently over the wolf’s head, sending him tumbling across the jagged stones.

Eternia landed gracefully on her feet with the blood dripping from her steel. She didn’t give the rider a chance to recover.

She blurred forward, stepping inside his guard before he could even raise his hands. She drove her left sword straight through his ribcage, piercing his heart, and simultaneously ripped her right sword horizontally across his throat.

The goblin’s head flopped backward, attached only by a thin strip of flesh, as his body went completely limp on her blade.

She kicked his corpse off her sword and turned her golden eyes toward the remaining twenty-eight goblins. The horde paused for a fraction of a second, stunned by the instant, brutal execution of their leader.

"More..." Eternia hissed, her smile becoming purely demonic.

Eternia plunged directly into the thick of the pack as she became a blender of high-carbon steel and violence.

She executed the exact sword arts Ren had taught her, moving quickly.

She didn’t waste movement on flashy flourishes. Every single step, every single pivot resulted in a lethal, decapitating strike or a deep disemboweling thrust.

Goblins screamed as limbs were severed. Blood sprayed across the cavern walls in horrific, abstract patterns. \

She ducked under a rusted spear, grabbed the goblin’s arm, snapped it at the elbow, and drove her blade up through its jaw, bursting the point out through the top of its skull.

Meanwhile, twenty yards away, Mandy was fighting for his life.

He lacked Eternia’s terrifying speed and Snakekin strength, but the sheer blinding terror of disappointing Ren fueled a frantic fighting style.

A goblin lunged at his legs, trying to hamstring him. Mandy kicked it brutally in the face with the reinforced toe of his boot shattering the creature’s nose, before bringing his steel sword down in a messy, hacking chop that buried the blade deep into its collarbone.

"Get off me!" Mandy roared, ripping the sword free in a spray of gore.

Two more jumped him simultaneously. One managed to drag a rusted dagger across his left bicep, tearing through the leather armor and drawing a shallow line of blood.

The pain snapped Mandy’s focus but he didn’t panic. He remembered the footwork Ren had demanded he learn.

He pivoted sharply, using the momentum of the turn to swing his sword in a wide arc. The blade caught the first goblin perfectly across the neck, severing its windpipe.

He immediately drove his shoulder into the second goblin, knocking it off balance, and frantically stabbed his sword into its chest repeatedly until it stopped twitching.

He was breathing heavily, covered in sweat and foul-smelling green blood, but he was holding his own.

For the next ten minutes, the edge of Floor 1 became an absolute slaughterhouse.

Eternia moved through the ranks like a scythe through wheat.

She was covered head to toe in blood, her golden eyes burning through the mask of gore as she dismantled the final cluster of panicked goblins.

She caught the last fleeing creature by the back of its ragged collar, hauled it backward, and cleanly separated its head from its shoulders with a single flick of her wrist.

The severed head bounced across the stones, rolling to a stop right near Ren’s boots.

Silence fell over the cavern, broken only by the heavy ragged breathing of the two combatants and the wet sound of blood dripping from their blades.

All thirty goblins, and the Direwolf lay dead as the ground was slick with viscera and severed limbs.

Ren remained exactly where he had started, his hands still casually resting behind his back. Not a single drop of blood had touched his pristine armor.

He took a leisurely step forward with his boots crunching on the rocky terrain as he surveyed the absolute carnage.

"Good work," Ren said. He walked past Mandy, who was clutching his bleeding bicep and trying not to vomit from the overwhelming stench of the ruptured organs.

Ren stopped near one of the larger goblin corpses.

He raised his boot and brought it down hard, crushing the creature’s chest cavity. With a sickening crunch, the ribs shattered, exposing a small glowing green crystal lodged near its heart.

"Alright," Ren instructed, pointing to the glowing core. "Gather the cores. Every single one." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Eternia didn’t show a single ounce of fatigue.

She immediately sheathed one of her swords and dropped into a crouch.

"Okay, Master!" Eternia chirped happily, completely unfazed by the horrific violence she had just committed.

She and the exhausted Mandy immediately began the gruesome work of digging through the mangled chests of the goblins to extract the valuable mana cores required for their Guild promotion.

Ren stepped back, finding a clean, dry rock to lean against. He watched his two subordinates harvest the loot, a wide deeply satisfied smile spreading across his face.

’Hehe~’ Ren thought, closing his eyes and enjoying the damp cavern breeze. ’Having highly competent loyal workers is the absolute best. I don’t even need to lift a finger.’