“What happens when you can’t clear the labyrinth floors anymore?” Damion asked Ms. Teft.
“No one is entirely sure, but for dungeons, Stable Breaches, if they are not cleared regularly, then they can spew their Demonic Beasts out like an Unstable Breach.”
“How often does that happen?” Damion asked somewhat fearful.
Ms. Teft had just finished explaining that the dungeons were the backbone of the economy in many cities. But more importantly, they were within the walls of those cities. If a dungeon was not cleared in time, then what would result would be like a beast wave appearing from nowhere inside a city.
“It is very rare for a Dungeon Breach to happen, as they call it when a dungeon is not cleared in time. You see dungeons, and really all breaches, are ranked by their difficulty and while labyrinths may grow stronger, the frequency of a required clear is based on how difficult the dungeon is. Low rank dungeons like F Rank, E Rank and D Ranks, require a clear once a week to avoid spewing their beasts out.
“Even if a low rank dungeon was not cleared, those beasts would only be at that rank.”
“You mean the rank of the dungeon is based on the rank of the monsters inside?” Damion asked to clarify.
“More like the rank of the guardian inside. Each dungeon has a guardian that protects the fake core. And the guardian is always the highest ranked creature in the dungeon. The other beasts inside may reach the top rank, but usually it is a variety of ranks. Most beasts are one to three ranks below the guardian, but not always.”
“What rank are the dungeons here in Saung?” Damion asked curiously.
“Two C Rank and one A Rank.”
Damion sucked his breath in at that. An A Rank dungeon was likely just as rare as A Rankers among humans. He had no doubt that the other cities around Saung, like Bufort and Collinsville did not have an A Rank dungeon and that was the reason they were quite a bit smaller than Saung.
“How often do they have to be cleared?”
“C Rank dungeons once a month. B Rank, once every six months and A Rank once a year.”
“What about S Rank Dungeons?” Damion asked. If A Rank Dungeons have been contained in cities, did that mean S Rank Dungeons have been as well.
“The only S Rank Dungeon is in Argentum and in control of the Silver Spire Magic Academy and they don’t share that information.”
The revelation that the Silver Spire Magic Academy, where he would hopefully study in the future, had access to the only S Rank dungeon gave Damion a little start. He doubted students would be allowed entry into such a dangerous dungeon. However, if the school had unfettered access to it and the resources it provided, wouldn’t that mean the school was quite well off.
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“What about labyrinths? You said so far they’ve never had a dungeon breach, is it just because of how high they are ranked? What rank are they?”
“Growth Breaches, as I said before, gain floors and each floor increases in difficulty. The first floors are F Rank. As easy as easy can be. Those are cleared fairly quickly until B Rank and A Rank floors are unlocked. Usually, there are five to ten floors of each rank. With the ultimate Rank of the floor being determined by the Rank of the guardian.”
“Do you think individual floors could breach?” Damion asked.
“The theory was tested in the past. Since F Rank dungeons need only a week before a Dungeon Breach, entry into a labyrinth was restricted to let the first-floor breach. No Dungeon Breach ever happened. When the labyrinth reopened, there were more monsters than usual in the first floor, but after it was cleared everything went back to normal.”
“So, you are saying the floors get harder and harder if they aren’t cleared, but they don’t ever breach.”
“That is how it appears. Researchers still study labyrinths, but they’ve never done the test of closing one down again. Too much money to be made to shut one down for a week or more.”
“Is going into a Breach more dangerous than doing missions for the Association?” Damion asked. He worded the question carefully, hoping to trap his teacher into letting him experience a dungeon.
“As with everything in life, it depends.”
“What do you mean?”
“A mission for the Association has a chance of unexpected encounters, like your escort missions, where both times you encountered bandits on a road that has been bandit-free for months.
“Whereas a Stable Breach, a dungeon, that has been explored and cataloged thoroughly by a guild or the Association, possess little risk of a surprise. As long you are the right Rank for such a dungeon, then it would be considered much safer.
“However,” Ms. Teft added, causing Damion’s stomach to sink. “Unstable Breaches pose enormous risk. An Unstable Breach could be A or even S Rank. You going into an unknown Breach is probably one of the most surefire ways to get yourself killed there is.”
“But labyrinths and dungeons are alright, as long as I meet the level requirement?”
“You and your team, but yes.”
“Team?”
“Yes. Team. Dungeons and labyrinths require teams to clear. Even F Rank dungeons can have hundreds of Demonic Beasts that have to be killed to reach the guardian. You think you are strong enough to do that alone?”
“No.” Damion admitted.
“At C Rank, people are allowed to solo, but only lower Rank dungeons and labyrinth floors. Stronger than that you have to be higher rank.”
“So how do I go about joining a team?”
“Slow down there, Damion. You have three missions under your belt. And while your escort missions were more difficult than they should have been, three missions does not put you high up on the list to be recruited into a dungeon party.”
“I guess that makes sense. Such teams would want to fill any opening with as experienced a person as possible.”
“Good that you understand that, but also understand that you should be wary of a group looking to fill a slot.”
“What do you mean?”
“An opening comes up one of two ways. A person left the team for some reason, or a person on the team died.”
Damion took in Ms. Teft’s words somberly. Filling a dead person’s slot was a grim thought, especially if it was the team’s fault that the member died. Did someone make a mistake or was it on purpose. Damion felt a chill run down his spine as he considered the implications.
“It is good that you are thinking it through. But don’t worry about dungeons right now. You’ll get the chance to enter a dungeon eventually. It is a requirement of graduating from all the magic academies to clear a dungeon at least once.”
“What should I do to make sure I am ready to go into a dungeon?”
“Take on as many missions as you can to hone your skills and grow your power. If you stand out on enough missions, guilds will come to you to recruit you for a dungeon run to see you are up to their standards.
“More importantly, focus on your missions and save your money so you can complete your kit. You need armor, a fleshed-out survival kit and a secondary weapon. In that order.”