Kover Dungeon,

Briarhoard, Rosendun.

4:23 p.m. 18th Banem 1092.

A massive crowd, teeming with hundreds of adventurers camped outside the dungeon's entrances, awaiting their turns. Clerks placed by the Royal Capital stood by the entrances with Rinks, checking up on the situation within. The clerks would receive a notice for more adventurers when those inside perished or gave up and decided to exit.

The clerk system was set up to prevent a case where too many adventurers were fighting in the same area. The dungeon's interior consisted mostly of narrow corridors. If too many people went in at once, the tight spaces would only lead to more casualties. Most of the clerks were constantly on the Rinks, receiving timely updates, but there were a few which starkly stood out as not only they did allow anyone to enter, but they didn't bother calling their representatives.

The reasons for their lackadaisical attitude were the banners hung at these entrances. The 'Howling Wolf' banners of the Hopeful Maggots carried the arrogance of the number 1 guild in Rosendun. You wanted to come in? Go ahead, but be prepared to faithfully carry out your role as an audience. Any attempts to sow chaos would only result in a futile death.

Outside one of the Maggot-claimed entrances, a warrior lying on the ground squinted and pointed at the sky. "Hey, what's that?"

"What?" Other adventurers followed his gaze to the sky. The adventurers' eyes widened in shock at the sight of a ball of lightning rapidly approaching their direction.

A sharp adventurer quickly recognized the danger and shouted, "Scatter!"

Following his scream, the warriors and mages rapidly retreated, and then watched as the lightning ball struck the ground with a thunderous boom. The electric arcs dispersed, revealing a daeben sat atop the fabled kirin. Greed colored the adventurers' eyes, many coveting the divine creature for themselves, but the rider's presence forced them to swallow their greed.

There was a time when Kashi's face was not well-known. However, following his battle with Rosendun's top guildmasters, and the event at Rine's Bar, there was no one in Rosendun who did not know the face of the Hopeful Maggots' leader.

Kashi glanced at the warriors, and then dismounted. He patted Drixlia's flank and walked to the clerk at the dungeon's entrance. He greeted the young cerulean woman with a warm smile, "Kover Dungeons, yes?"

The clerk meekly nodded, unable to formulate words as a result of being star-struck.

"Hopeful Maggots' Vice-Guildmaster," Kashi said as he pointed at the dungeon's entrance. "Did she take this route?"

The clerk once again nodded.

"Well, that's convenient," Kashi exclaimed with a short laugh. "Makes things much easier." With that, the daeben raised his hands, and a pair of portals appeared. "Get in Drix. The dungeon's too tight for you."

Drixlia snorted then trotted into the portal on the left, while Shadow and Larsial walked out from the other.

Shadow took in their surroundings and then turned to Kashi with an incredulous look in his eyes. "Three hours. You do understand how much of a cheat code you are right now, right?"

"What do you mean cheat code?" Kashi laughed as he led the team into the tunnel amidst the shell-shocked crowd. "Everything I did is legal. Legal."

Shadow snorted, not bothering to treat that absurd defense with a response. The assassin's discomfort arose from the fact it had only taken Kashi three hours to reach Kover dungeon from Kirkcour Woods, a journey that should have taken two days at the very least.

Even Drixlia with its newfound speed and flight would have needed roughly 12 hours to get there, but Kashi managed to shave off majority of the required time by teleporting to a village he had painted during his initial journey to Merriheim. From there, since it did not have to worry about mountains and streams on its path, Drixlia only needed three hours to reach Kover Dungeons.

Kashi, Shadow and Larsial sped through the dungeon's floors, their path mostly unchallenged save for a handful of recently spawned monsters. The trio made short work of these obstacles until they reached the 27th basement floor where they met a crowd of adventurers.

Kashi walked up to and then tapped on the shoulder of a warrior at the back of the crowd. "What's going on?"

The warrior, who stood at nearly 8ft tall, responded without looking back, "The Maggots are clearing out the 27th floor. At this rate, they'll be the first to reach the final boss."

"Oh? What floor is the boss?"

"30th floor."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"The mobs are easy to clear out, but there are too many, and the floor bosses need at least thirty minutes each, so another three-four hours. "

"Hmm, too slow," Kashi muttered. He had initially intended on watching. After all, this was Leila's operation, and he did not want to steal the spotlight from her. Unfortunately, perhaps as a result of the battles over the past few days, his adrenaline was at an all-time high. There was no way he could sit still for three hours with an enticing battle just ahead.

"Sorry, please excuse me." Kashi apologized and then pushed his way through the crowd with Larsial and Shadow in tow. Due to the narrow corridors, the queue was quite long, and as expected there were quite a few disgruntled adventurers who did not appreciate the daeben's antics. However, these issues were rapidly resolved with a 'reassuring' shoulder squeeze.

Kashi eventually made it to the front, where he was met with a hume barricade. Beyond the barricade, several maggots were engaged in battle against the demons. These humes although dressed differently, each wore a sash on their sleeves with the infamous 'howling wolf' emblem of the Hopeful Maggots. Their task was to prevent the peanut gallery from interfering with the guild's hunt.

Kashi's gaze as he looked at the Maggots held a hint of pride; not in himself, but in the spectacular vice-guildmaster who had made this a reality. 'I wonder if they recognize me,' Kashi thought to himself as he walked up to them.

The guards' eyes lit up with equal parts reverence and shock the second Kashi stepped out of the crowd. "Guildmaster!" They shouted their greeting and bowed their heads, excitement evident in their voices.

Kashi scratched the back of head as he let out a sheepish smile. Damn it, these days, more and more people were bowing their heads when they met him. Did they not realize how embarrassing that was? Kashi knew he would eventually have to get used to it, but he would fight against it for as long as he could. At least, among his guildmembers and friends.

"Raise your heads," Kashi said as he walked up to a guard and patted her shoulder, "Maggots do not bow to anyone." The daeben smiled. "Thanks for your hard work. Keep it up." With that, he passed by with Shadow and Larsial.

Shadow looked over at the awestruck guards, and then at Kashi. "How unfortunate."

"How so?" Kashi asked.

"I thought they would not recognize you," Shadow muttered with a defeated sigh. "Would it not have been funny if the guildmaster had to prove his identity to the guards?"

Kashi cast the assassin a silent glare. "Be honest, Shadow. You hate me, don't you?"

Shadow looked at Kashi with an innocent gaze. "Of course not. Where would you get that idea?"

Kashi snorted. "Let's go." Without any obstacles left in their path, the trio were free to join the chaotic battle. The daeben was in a rush, so he did not bother hiding his abilities. With a loud roar, a humanoid dragon stood in his place. That dragon blurred through the corridor, ripping through every monster in its path.

A Maggot got knocked to the ground by the cambion he was battling, and he winced as the demon raised its spear to impale him. Schlick! However, the expected blow never came. He opened his eyes, shocked to see the cambion with a blank look in its eyes. Blood dripped from a deep knife wound between its brows. The Maggot looked to his right, just in time to see Shadow stab an unsuspecting cambion in the head, instantly ending it.

Kashi, Shadow, and even Larsial were akin to a force of nature unleashed upon the poor demons. Kashi was like a flood or hurricane, destroying everything head-on, whereas Larsial and Shadow were like the plague—hidden, yet deadly. With the help of the dynamic trio, the Maggots swiftly gained ground on the cambions.

Bam!

In the midst of his rampage, Kashi finally spotted Leila at the head of the hunting party, solo-battling against a group of cambions. The daeben suppressed his desire to rush over, and instead, decided to spectate for a bit. He had not seen Leila in combat since they were low-levels. He was curious how the famed 'Archery Princess' fought.

Unlike Kashi, Leila was a true archer in every sense of the word. She only fought with her bow, which always had an arrow nocked. Leila's nickname, 'Archery Princess' was on full display as she battled the cambions. She countered every attack, be they long-range magic, or sword swipes with her arrows no matter how seemingly impossible.

Arrows flew out of Leila's bow at speeds that would put automatic weapons to shame. Even more shocking was that every shot was precise, striking the enemy at uncomfortable angles, forcing them to be a passive state. This was how she, with only a bow and arrow, managed to lock five cambion generals in a stalemate.

If that was it, Kashi would have been seriously impressed, but there was more! While battling the cambion generals, Leila kept an eye on the surrounding battlefield. An arrow was always there to help any Maggot in peril.

Kashi could not help blushing in shame the longer he watched. His archery was akin to a fart in front of Leila's archery. Kashi's archery skills were not poor by any means, but he was not as committed to the bow as she was. If someone were to swing a sword at Kashi, he would either dodge or use his bow to parry the strike. Leila, on the other hand, would calculate the sword's trajectory, notch an arrow, take a step in a favorable position, shoot the sword, and then the owner—all in the space of a second.

Kashi met Leila's gaze, and grinned sheepishly, knowing he could not hide any longer.

Leila quickly ran past the cambion generals, further into the corridor immediately she saw Kashi. "Try to keep them alive." A cambion general snarled in rage and flung his spear at her back.

Bang!

The general stared, wide-eyed as he spear's charge was stopped by a cluster of light-petals. Leila meanwhile, did not bother turning around, continuing her charge down the corridor.

"Business as always," Kashi chuckled as he dashed into the midst of the cambion generals. "Please try not to die," the daeben teasingly pleaded as he rammed his fist into the cambion general who threw the spear.

Boom!

The cambion general coughed up blood as he crashed into the wall. The armor around his midriff shattered to pieces, revealing a massive hole in his stomach.

Silence descended in the corridor as Kashi glanced at the unconscious cambion. "Shouldn't die. He's a high demon." With that, Kashi cracked his knuckles and then looked at the remaining cambion demons. "I'm itching for a good fight." The daeben's pupils narrowed as bloodlust oozed out of his pores. "Do not disappoint me if you want to live."