"With us? Why? We were never in a dungeon before," Kaiden replied with surprise.
"Same... You looked competent, I thought joining you would be ideal."
Kaiden eyed the boy for a bit before shaking his head. "No, sorry. We are good as we are."
He wanted his team to consist of only his girls, at least for now. Furthermore, Kaiden definitely didn’t need baggage he would surely have to carry based on the kid’s jeans and t-shirt and surely junk-tier spear. Hence, while it might be a bit cruel, he rejected him. The boy’s smile disappeared, replaced by a desperate one, but Kaiden didn’t wait to see whether the kid would try begging him as he resumed walking toward the dungeon.
Dungeons could emerge anywhere, even inside people’s homes. When a person finds one, they are legally obligated to notify the association, who will rush to the scene and secure it.
All dungeons that formed in the territory of the USA were the government’s property, but they sold the rights to some dungeons to American guilds, who then had full ownership of them. Kaiden’s birth family, the Ashborns, owned dozens.
When one defeated the final boss, the dungeon would close a few days later, so some dungeon bosses were deliberately left alive to let the weaker guild members farm experience on the other monsters.
Naturally, this dungeon was F-ranked.
"Identifications," a guard grunted. This dungeon was owned and maintained by the association. It was one of the few dungeons they kept freely open to all who wanted to train themselves. Awakened humans were the greatest resource a country could own, so they made this investment to help poor and non-guild-associated people get a start on their leveling journeys.
Their awakened identification cards arrived during Kaiden’s two-day-long hospital stay, so they could hand them over. After doing so, the squad soon found themselves facing the swirling doorway leading to a separate dimension.
It was a mixture of white and blue, and it was wide enough for multiple people to enter at once. The other side of it was the same, but the currents on it were swirling in the other direction. This was the side where those who exited the dungeon would emerge. It stood ominously in the air, marking it as a proper warp gate.
"It’s really happening..." Nyx whispered with disbelief. The pink-haired girl was exhilarated, for she was living her dream in real-time, and it all happened because of one person... The Space Valkyrie made sure to remember she must pamper her man tonight.
"As level one existences, even the weakest monsters present a grave danger to our lives, so don’t lose focus even for a second. Let’s go," Kaiden decreed and stepped forth into the gate.
The sight that welcomed him was best described as a vast expanse of green land. This dungeon took place in a temperate forest biome, but the beginning circle didn’t have trees. It was thought to be one of the best beginner dungeons in the entire world as there were no intelligent monsters present.
Now that they were here, Kaiden started his broadcast. Aria was the only other person who streamed. As the mage of the team, she was thought to be the ideal camerawoman for those viewers who wanted the clearest viewing experience, while Kaiden would appeal to those who wanted to consume action-packed, blood-pumping content.
There was a feature that allowed them to merge the chats, so no matter which stream one watched, Kaiden would see their comments.
- Princeless Princess: I’m so excited! I wish you all the best of luck!
- Lapdog of the Empress: Handsome Emperor, offer your life to protect the Supreme Empress. No harm must come her way, understood?!
- Shadow Warrior: I already grabbed the popcorn. Give me a good show.
- Kaiden’s Wife: Kaiiiiiiiiiiii! I loved the nurse video and even paid for the full content! I never thought it would happen, but I’m pretty sure I just found my celeb crush...
- Corn Addict: Wait, why is the clarity so good? I saw some... ehem... videos of ChronosX, and their first-person cameras weren’t as good, not at all.
Numerous people started joining in, but Kaiden ignored the comments.
The farther one ventured from the dungeon gate, the stronger encounters they could expect. This was why they intended to stay in the green fields close to the gate.
This dungeon was a public one in the sense that numerous parties could enter, thus, they could see some groups in the middle of battle while other teams were strategizing or taking a breather.
It didn’t take them more than a minute of walking to chance upon a monster.
Dungeon monsters were unique; even the ones that looked like animals were supernatural entities, such as the boar in front of them.
"Wait, what the hell?!" Kaiden shouted in shock after he paused the stream, and he did so with Aria’s as well.
His eyes could see some information above it.
<Razor Warthog - Level 1>
"Ah! I see it too, Kai!" Aria gasped.
"This is so cool!" Luna cheered.
Seeing the level of monsters was not at all normal.
[The Supreme Demonic Sovereign System was created by the Heavenly Demon to assist him. The system lost most of its original functions when the Heavenly Demon reconstructed it before his defeat, but it did retain some of the more basic functions.]
’I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Thanks, Celestial Tyrant, very cool of you,’ Kaiden noted inwardly before moving on, "Who wants to do the honors?" He thought ganging up on a single, level one pig would be too much.
"It should be you, Kai!"
"Yeah, I think you deserve it for what you’ve done for us," Luna nodded in agreement.
"The master should get the first kill, obviously, but as his dutiful angels, we should move close just in case he needs backup," Nyx voiced her opinion, which earned a scoff from Luna and pink cheeks from Aria.
Kaiden knew from experience his camera skill was not recording stuff like his awakened platform, thus, he should be good on this front. The viewers couldn’t see the things his system showed him, as, in reality, it happened in his head only. However, he could summon his system’s messages for others to read, at which point they would most certainly get recorded, so he had to be careful on that front.
The stream resumed.
"Mode: Wrath."
Kaiden intoned the keyword to enter his sin stance as he gripped his big War Axe and began approaching the boar. "Apologies for the brief pause; a tactical discussion took place. The first-ever dungeon descent of Valhalla’s Sinners officially begins now."
The monster looked like a normal warthog, save for its longer and sharper tusks, as well as the razor-like fur on its back.
After recognizing the approaching danger, it huffed, kicked the dirt with its hooves, and began aggressively charging at the squad with an unnatural force, propelling it forward at great speeds.
’A charging ability, huh? What else could you expect from a dumb piggy?’ Kaiden thought inwardly before he planted both of his feet firmly on the ground, gripped the handle of his axe, and aimed its pointy end at the charging beast, ready to impale it using its own velocity to his advantage.