Chương 3: Harsh Differences in Ranks

Viren had never believed that getting caught up in a silly fight against his peers, of getting drawn into and losing a duel, would have ended in this. Hunting through a desolate dungeon, trying to find Tallow before his kitten got hurt, hoping he made it in time… Anxiety was threatening to make his skin erupt in hives. He tried to suppress the itch he felt in far too many spots. There was no time to feel sorry about his situation. Tallow's safety came first. Everything else was secondary.

Well, everything except those two Calamity-cursed crapheads. Those pus-breathers Kohn and Vrahm. None of this would have happened if not for them. Focus, he told himself. Anger could wait too. Vengeance could… He shook his head. No, he wasn't supposed to be thinking of it as vengeance. Because it wasn't. Giving Kohn and Vrahm exactly what they deserved was justice. Nothing more, nothing less. Viren tried not to be too harsh with himself as his thoughts kept wandering just as his body was doing.

He had long ago decided that he didn't need to be too wary inside Nailined Dungeon. It was dormant for some reason. No traps, no monsters, no oppressive auras that made mere Iron-ranked mages like him turn tails and run. What that reason was Viren couldn't properly fathom. He had a few theories he was nursing at the back of his mind. Maybe there was a party of delvers who had cleared the dungeon very recently and it hadn't fully recovered yet.

Maybe the dungeon denizens had all contracted some horrible disease and were forced to lie low for the time being. Maybe the dungeon was gathering its strength, seeking to evolve, moments away from becoming even worse than its Gold-ranked reputation. Or maybe… No. Impossible. Whoever that random fellow had been, he couldn't have anything to do with the dungeon's current state. Right? It begged the question what in the world that person was doing inside a Gold-ranked dungeon.

Clearly, he was at least a little bit mad. Even if he didn't quite look mad. In fact, he had appeared a bit... scary. Dark hair that seemed to meld with the darkness, golden eyes that shone with its own soft light. Viren was a little wary of what could be under that indigo cloak of his. But he hadn't sounded frightening. If anything, that little explanatory tirade of his had been utterly insane. Viren felt a little guilt for leaving him behind like that.

He could have tried bringing the fellow with him, but on the off chance the dungeon came alive again, then he'd much rather prefer the man get out as fast as he could. Because Viren wasn't leaving without finding Tallow. Hopefully, the man had heeded his advice. For now, Viren trailed through the tunnels, his [Pyrelight] keeping everything lit up enough for him to see where he was going. He still had enough mana potions on him so that keeping up one spell perpetually wasn't going to be too much of an issue.

The problem was that no matter which direction Viren went, he found no signs of his kitten. No bright orange or white fur, no meows or anything in the distance, nothing. Where had he gone? Despite being defunct, the dungeon kept trying to distract him. Dungeons tended to take on a central aesthetic that tended to set them apart from their fellows. In this case, it wasn't just the strange glasslike material that made up the walls and other creations within it.

Rather, it was the formations made out of that strange material that kept tripping up Viren. In one tunnel, the glassy material had twisted and reformed until it had turned into a mural of sorts on the walls, a fresco showing what Viren could only call a Calamity. An army of mages stood beneath an unfathomably large and monstrous being descending upon them like a vengeful meteorite. A floor he passed over showed a continent-sized geyser spewing out unfathomable horrors seeking to swamp the land.

Yet another chamber he found himself in had a weird art installation. This one held planets floating high above, each world wreathed with tendrils of energy represented by thinner workings of the same material he saw everywhere. Yet another Calamity. This one Viren recognized directly. He had read the stories. One of his favourite books featured it prominently. The Cosm Mire.

One of the few Calamities that had affected multiple Realms at once, one of the first legendary threats that had started the end of the Realmbreaker Wars. After all, the warmongers had realized that trying to deal with the gargantuan threat presented by the Calamities on their own would lead to utter annihilation. All the Dead Realms were proof of that. Fascinated as a part of Viren was at the sights, they weren't important. All that mattered was finding Tallow. He didn't know how long he looked.

He lost track of how long he was spending inside the dungeon. By this point, if anyone from the academy's Excursion Club was even waiting for him, they had to have left long ago. Or would they actually send someone to look for him? It wasn't like he had told anyone he was going to the dungeon to look for Tallow. And fat chance those stupid bullies cared anywhere near enough to tell the truth. He sucked in a breath that sounded too wet for his liking. This wasn't anything abnormal.

He'd been forced to do pretty much everything by himself for as long as he could remember. The only person Viren could count on was Viren. A small, arrogant part of him wanted this to be true for others as well. One day, he wanted it to be true for most people that the only person they could really count on was Viren too. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. One day. First, he had to prove himself by finding Tallow. What came after would come after.

By the time he finally got a sign, it might have been days, or it might have been less than an hour. His anxiety-riddled brain definitely didn't know anymore. Everywhere he looked, he kept seeing strange shapes, every step he took felt like it was wiping out the sound of something scurrying not far off, and his skin was cold, and his legs were aching, and he— Viren gripped his face and squeezed hard. Focus. [Pyrelight] had finally revealed the trace he had been seeking all this time. Fur. Viren wanted to cry.

Delightful, orange fur. Just a few strands for sure, but so very relieving. He took a few deep breaths to centre himself. Alright, alright. He couldn't mess things up now. The tiny strands of cat hair meant Tallow had at least been here, which meant he had a lead to finding the kitten. If only he had better spells to use. As a first-year academy student who had only completed one semester, Viren didn't have a terribly wide repertoire of spells in his arsenal.

For instance, spells like [Heat Seek] or [Fire Sight] would have been tremendously useful. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten around to the class that taught basic, everyday spells that those were derived from. All Viren was capable of with his Soul Glyph of Burning was a few starter incantations like [Pyrelight], [Fireball], and so on. Fat load of good those would do to help find a missing cat. He squeezed his face again. Right. Getting frustrated would get him nowhere.

He took up the fur, kept up his illumination spell, and travelled onwards into the chamber where he hoped Tallow was hiding.

"Tallow," Viren called out. He tried to sound less anxious and more just happily relieved. Poor kitten was already scared, no doubt.

"I'm here, kitty. Come out, please! I've been looking for you for so long. Let's go home, okay?" There was no response at first. Viren remained undaunted and kept looking, kept calling out. His eyes travelled across the entirety of the new chamber he had arrived at. It was probably the largest one he had entered so far, and he was a bit surprised he hadn't come across it earlier. Strangely, it was unadorned too.

Except for right at the centre of the ceiling, where a strange crystal formation grew out like a stalactite. Viren's heartrate spiked when he noticed more fur. A surge of giddiness almost overwhelmed him. Tallow had to be nearby.

"Here," he said, voice as crooning as he could make it.

"I'm right here, Tallow. Come on out, please! Come on out and we can finally head back. I've brought you some treats too. Come look!" He threw down a few pieces of the hardened treats Tallow loved so much. When even that didn't work, Viren could only blink for a few moments. What was wrong? Why wasn't Tallow coming out? He was pretty sure the cat had to be here. The chamber had no exits besides the one he had used. Had Tallow come and then left? There were a lot of hiding spots, though.

A lot of shadows his [Pyrelight] couldn't really reach. But it didn't matter because Viren was now here. So why— A grinding noise made his heart stutter. Viren stared straight up. The huge crystal formation in the centre of the ceiling cracked, splintering and opening like it was some sort of awful flower. Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Viren was stumbling back, heart hammering in his chest, his [Fireball] burning to life next to him as his Soul Glyph shone almost as bright as [Pyrelight]. Heavy tremors shook everything.

The bulbous crystal broke apart, and a monster crashed down where Viren had been standing gormlessly a while ago, completely unaware that there was a dungeon monster still awake. Viren held onto his spells as the ground shook at the creature's landing. He waved away the dust, trying to see if the monster was something that would kill him in an instant or not. Considering Nailined Dungeon was Gold-ranked, it stood to reason that this monstrosity would be about the same.

It was somewhat humanoid, standing on powerful, bipedal legs, with an assortment of short and long arms stretching off its body, glassy planes glinting with the light from Viren's spells. He swallowed. Alright, now he couldn't blame Tallow for not coming out. A sinking part of him wanted to posit that there might be another reason why Tallow hadn't emerged, but Viren refused to entertain the notion. He was here now. He'd save his cat. End of story.

If Viren couldn't even protect Tallow, then what in all the Realms was he even good for? The monstrosity turned to face him, its arms spreading wide as though it wanted to embrace him. Glinting lights popped within its glassy torso. Viren could feel the fierce magic rippling across the creature. This thing… No hesitation." [Fireball]," Viren screamed out his incantation. The spell circle he had already prepared exploded into a scorching ball of compressed flames that shot at the monster like a cannon.

His attack struck true, exploding on impact with a burst that made his eardrums thump. The air was awash in heat as the monster was overtaken by flames and smoke. Viren didn't waste a second trying to see if his spell had succeeded. The only success that mattered here was retrieving Tallow. Which was why he ran.

"Tallow!" he shouted." I'm here. Please come out! We have to leave, now." Viren wasn't just blindly looking for his cat. More [Fireballs] came out to keep the monster busy, exploding on it and keeping it away from him for now. Even a minute would be enough. He just needed to— There! Viren finally spotted Tallow. He felt like weeping with relief as he hurried over, his steps thumping on the hard floor. But Tallow didn't move at first. Maybe he was still too scared.

Viren would just scoop the kitten up in his arms and then they'd be off.

A grinding noise behind him put a stop to those plans. He hurriedly turned around, just in time to see the monster moving out of the little zone of fire and smoke Viren had thrown it in. Like a deer, Viren froze. His mind refused to work. That thing was going to kill him. It moved impressively fast for its bulk and size, shooting through the intervening space with all its arms raised threateningly.

The magic Viren had seen glinting within its glassy body now came pouring out into hardened spikes that would surely perforate Viren's body into a bloody, fleshy pincushion. A hasty [Fireball] did nothing to stop the monster, the flames exploding harmlessly on its carapace. And in an instant, it was right on top of Viren. Right where it needed to be to smash aside one lowly academy student with a swipe of its overpowered arms.

With a piercing, growling roar, Tallow launched himself at what passed for the monster's face. The swings of those massive arms that should have crushed down on Viren froze as the brave kitten scratched and clawed at the creature's face, fully stopping its intent to shatter Viren all by itself. Viren's throat clogged up. Bad. This was bad. This was terrible. He had primed another [Fireball], but where was he supposed to fling it? It didn't really work anyway. It— The monster swiped away at Tallow.

Viren cried out as his cat was flung off the creature's face, flying off to crash against the chamber's wall before sliding down in a heap, leaving a smear of blood on the glassy surface. Viren's mind snapped. He couldn't hear himself crying out his kitten's name. He didn't really register throwing himself to where Tallow had fallen. He hardly felt himself desperately cradling the little kitten's body. All because most of him was still absorbing the shock that… that thing had just attacked Tallow and… and…

And he wasn't moving. The bleeding and broken mess that Tallow had been reduced to by that monster wasn't responding to his calls. A shadow loomed over Viren. His heart clenched so tightly in his chest, he was sure it would burst. Maybe that would kill him before the monster actually turned him into a paste worse than Tallow. Yet the blow didn't land. Viren wasn't turned into a bloody smear as well. With agonizing slowness, he forced himself to turn around. And immediately felt the world returning to him.

Sounds flooded his ears, blood pumped through his body again, his heart hammered like a mad beast. Reality impressed itself back upon Viren's soul. Because somehow—impossibly—that insane man he had met was here. Standing between Viren and the monster. Keeping Tallow's killer frozen by his mere presence alone.