Chapter 13: Did You Kill the Dungeon Boss?
Tanna led them to the large digital board that Noah had seen earlier.
"This is where you accept commissions. Most of these come from real people, but some are generated by the Lattice itself. Each quest has a description and a Rank recommendation. If you try to undertake a commission higher than recommended, I can tell you that you won’t be in for a good time.”
“As you can see, most of our commissions are B or C-Rank since that’s what most of our guild members are. We usually get one or two A-Rank commissions, but lower-ranked ones are equally as rare. Right now, there are only two D-Rank commissions, and… hmm, no E-Rank ones at all."
She frowned. "That’s not really surprising though. Since we don’t have any E-Ranked members, those quests don’t show up often. Higher-ranked magicians can take them, but most prefer quests at their own level."
Hmm, so he couldn’t really accept any commissions at all for the moment. Noah wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. Ideally, he’d rather avoid doing anything until they could meet up with Anna.
Sophie had a question. "What about S or SS-Ranked quests?"
“I’m glad you asked. S-Ranked quests are very rare, to the point where we usually get only one per month. As for SS-Ranked quests…” She shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure if they even exist. At least, we’ve never seen one.”
As quick as a flash, Tanna suddenly swooped in, squeezing Sophie on the cheek. “Why’re you asking, hmm? Already interested in the high-ranked quests?”
Sophie recoiled. “Huh?! No, I was just… curious! That’s all.”
Tanna howled with laughter. “I’m just messin’ with ya!”
Noah was flabbergasted. Was this their leader’s true self? Ever since he had arrived in this world, he had seen his fair share of personalities, but Tanna’s was the biggest by far. He could see why she was the leader.
Tanna backed off. “Alright, alright, back to the topic at hand. There are two main ways magicians gain XP. Firstly, by completing commissions. The second is, as you may have guessed, by killing mobs. These two aren't mutually exclusive. The most efficient way to farm mobs is via Dungeons or Pits."
“What’s the difference between the two?” Noah asked.
"Dungeons are random structures that spawn all over the world. Think of them as like structures or cave systems," she explained.
“I think I killed the Diamantis in a dungeon, but I didn’t get any XP from making it out,” Noah said.
“Well, did you kill the dungeon boss?”
“Oh, I didn’t know there was one.” Noah shuddered. It chilled him to know that there had been a boss lurking in the cave. Fortunately, they hadn’t run into it.
“The final way is via Pits. These are much rarer and way bigger than Dungeons. They’re essentially a giant hole in the ground with multiple floors. Monsters get harder the deeper you go, but the top floors are pretty easy. I suppose you guys can start with that.”
“Wait,” Noah interjected. “We have to… start?”
“Of course! You’re officially part of the guild now, right? You didn’t think you’d just sit around, did you?"
The look on Tanna’s face said it all—she had somehow pulled a fast one on them. But if he was being honest, it was something he should’ve expected.
“Normally, I’d have new recruits go through a bit of basic training first…but considering the fact that you’ve already killed a Diamantis, plus you’ve already had some on-field experience, I think a guided run through the Erimo Pit would be more useful. Nothing beats learning in the field!”
Seeing their puzzled faces, she elaborated. "It’s our local Pit, located right behind the city. It’s been here long before the city was even built."
"Do Pits have Rank requirements?" Noah asked.
“Not really, but E-Rank magicians tend not to go past the first two layers.”
“You mentioned a guided run?” Sophie asked.
"Oh, right.” Tanna scanned the room before glancing upstairs. A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. "We do have two available D-Ranks here right now. They’d be more than enough for where you’ll be covering."
She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Kiera! Carter! Get your asses down here!"If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Kiera’s not gonna be happy you’re yelling at her again,” Clifton muttered.
“That girl’s gotta leave her room if she actually wants to level up,” Tanna retorted.
Two teenagers came shuffling down the stairs. A tall, lanky guy led the way, followed closely by a petite girl whose long hair bounced as she walked.
“What’s the matter now?” the girl sulked.
Tanna grinned, “Say hi to your new guild members!”
The girl turned her eyes on them. They were big and dark, almost like an owl. She didn’t bother responding.
Meanwhile, the boy accompanying her seemed elated. “So that’s what all the ruckus downstairs was about.”
He stepped forward. “Nice to meet you, I’m Carter.” He reached out and shook Noah’s hand, before doing the same with Sophie’s.
“So? What Ranks are they?” the girl known as Kiera asked.
When they explained the situation, Carter looked fascinated. “Whoa, that’s actually super cool, dude!”
Kiera meanwhile, wasn’t impressed. “I don’t believe it. There’s no such thing as an F-Rank with a Talent.”
Tanna pounced on the opportunity. “Why don’t you see it for yourself? You and Carter will be accompanying them to the Erimo Pit. Give them a rundown on how it works, and maybe kill some monsters while we clean up the place a little bit.”
Kiera’s mouth fell open. “What?! No way! Get Clifton to do it or something!”
Clifton fanned himself with his hat. “Sorry, I’m leaving for a commission tonight. Gotta get my beauty sleep before that, you know?”
Tanna patted her shoulder. “It’ll be an easy job, I promise. Tell you what. When you guys get back, I’ll whip up some dessert. How about that?”
Kiera faltered. “Ugh, if you insist…”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Gives me an excuse to stretch my legs as well,” Carter added.
“That settles it then!” Tanna clapped. “Your task for today is to guide Noah and Sophie through Layer 1. Do NOT venture past that, got it?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Kiera sighed.
Tanna then went behind the counter to retrieve something. When she returned, she was holding two bracelets. She passed one each to Noah and Sophie.
“These are Echobands,” she said. “Carter and Kiera both have one too. You just picture the person you wish to speak to in your head and say their name, and you can essentially talk to them over a certain distance if your devices are linked. Based on our past tests, the signal is strong enough to reach from here to the first five layers of the Pit.”
Oh, so something like walkie-talkies, Noah thought. That could prove to be useful.
“While you two put those on, gimme a sec to whip up some snacks for y’all to eat on the way there. Wouldn’t want you guys fighting on an empty stomach!”

"Mm this is good," Noah said as he chewed on a sandwich Tanna had prepared for them.
"I didn't know she was that good of a cook!" Sophie agreed.
Carter laughed. "Our boss is full of surprises."
The four of them had just left the city, following a dusty trail towards the Erimo Pit. According to Carter, the journey would take less than thirty minutes past the city gates.
"So, how are you liking this world so far?" Carter asked.
"I'm not sure," Noah admitted. On one hand, having superpowers in a world full of magic was undeniably cool. But on the other, he felt like a stranger, in a place he didn’t belong. And he couldn’t shake the feeling of missing home.
"It sucks," snapped Kiera.
"Hey now," Carter frowned. "You're not exactly making our newbies feel welcome."
"Am I wrong though? You of all people should know how we were treated!"
"We've left the orphanage behind, Kiera," Carter tried to cool things down. "We're with Spark Nimbus now."
"Tanna and the gang are cool and all, but they didn't help us when we got ambushed in Layer 3 back then! Lia's still in a coma—"
"That's enough please," Carter cut in. "We weren't supposed to be there in the first place."
"I know. It's just... ugh..." Kiera looked away.
"I apologise for that," Carter said, turning to Noah and Sophie. "It's just that we've been through a lot... and it's a little hard to move on. Please don't put the blame on Kiera though, she's probably the most affected out of the three of us."
"The three of you?" Noah's curiosity got the better of him before he realised it. "Sorry, it's fine if you don't--"
"Lia was like my other half," Kiera said quietly, still avoiding their gaze. "The three of us were brought up in the same orphanage back in Vyxiburg, the capital of Vyndamas. It was horrible in there, but long story short, we managed to escape. We were wandering the streets, begging for food, when Tanna happened to be in the city on a commission. She helped break us out of the kingdom and took us under her wing."
It was the most Kiera had spoken since they’d met. Noah could tell how much her past was still affecting her.
"Oh, um, I hope you're in a better place now?" Sophie awkwardly offered her condolences.
Kiera scoffed. "Not a hard bar to beat."
A moment of silence followed, until Sophie broke it again. “So… what are your Talents? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Carter went first. “Sure. Mine’s called Tanker. It’s basically exactly as you’d expect—my skills usually involve me absorbing damage or aggroing enemies.”
Noah couldn’t be exactly sure, but he could’ve sworn he saw the veins of Carter’s forehead visibly twitch as Sophie asked that. Perhaps it was a sensitive question?
“Mine’s Shapeshifter,” Kiera replied.
Sophie pulled a face. “Damn, they both sound so cool. Way cooler than my Looter.”
“So, how long has it been since you guys have been to the Pit?” Noah asked.
“It’s been a couple of months since the incident. We’ve never come back here since.”
“Woah, are you sure it’s okay—”
“Yeah, we’ve been in a bit of a slump. It’s my fault, really,” Kiera admitted. “Carter’s recovered faster than I did, but he wasn’t really in any hurry to go back there. He said he could wait until I was ready again.”
“It’s cool,” Carter said. “Anyway, I think this is the perfect excuse to force ourselves into taking that place head-on again… even though we’ll just be on Layer 1,” he laughed.
A gaping hole in the ground soon came into view. It was probably big enough to swallow an apartment block, but Noah knew the true scale of this structure was hidden underground.
“How many layers does this thing have?” Noah asked.
“This one goes down to about 20, I believe. You could count the number of magicians that have reached the bottom on one hand!” Carter gesticulated wildly.
For some reason, Noah felt a rush of excitement. Out of curiosity, he asked, “What level are the enemies on Layer 20?”
“On average, enemy level increases by 5 every layer, so by the time you hit the bottom, they’re around level 100.”
Noah quickly did the math in his head. What level was the Diamantis he had taken down again? Sixty-something, right? If that was the case… he had already taken down an enemy that belonged in Layer 13.
They were only going to explore Layer 1 today. Somehow, Noah doubted he would have much trouble.