As they left the workshop, the sound of the heavy iron doors closing behind them echoed like a sigh of relief from the outside world. The air outside was colder, more real - as if Valentina's forge existed in a separate bubble, suspended between genius, desire and insanity.
Seth walked in silence beside Kaguya, still with a faint smell of smoke and ozone clinging to his skin. The temporary sword, Vaali, now rested in his right hand, as if vibrating in anticipation. It was like carrying a grenade with the pin pulled out - and he liked it that way.
He broke the silence after a few steps, scratching the side of his head with his free hand:
"Okay... what about armor? Since we're on the subject of special equipment... Would you like a skin sample as well?"
Kaguya let out a low, dry laugh like distant thunder.
"If you'd tried to give one of those to Valentina, you'd probably be naked, pinned to a table, and she'd skin you with a smile."
"...Fair point."
She then turned her eyes towards him and spoke with a more serious tone:
"About the armor... you'll have to forget it for now."
Seth frowned in surprise. "Forget it? Why?"
"Because it's no good for you."
Kaguya crossed her arms, looking at the cloudy sky above as if calculating something.
"You and Connie... you both channel electricity at levels that distort the surrounding space during high-speed fights. When you move like lightning, your bodies turn into pure energy. No known armor can keep up with that transition."
Seth stared at his own hand, where tiny sparks danced effortlessly.
"So every time I move like this..."
"The armor just falls off. Literally. It's left behind like a useless husk."
"...Holy shit."
"That's right." Kaguya sighed. "Some have tried to develop enchanted armor with adaptation spells, but the problem is that they need to react faster than lightning itself. And there's no magical technology that can do that yet. At least, not one that doesn't explode."
Seth walked for a few seconds in silence before muttering:
"But I-?"
"Normal clothes don't seem to have any effect, we don't really understand yet. Clothes that generate protection don't work, we think it's a limitation. Like in a video game, a mage can't be a tank, you know? It's an equivalent exchange."
She looked at him with that enigmatic, dangerous smile he had learned to respect (or fear).
"...That's very strange." Seth said, but at the same time 'So even though you don't see the system... it exists for everyone? That's clearly one of the strangest things I've heard. I'll keep an eye on it... that means a lot
"Yeah," she muttered, stretching, "but nevertheless. Without armor, you're light. Agile. Impossible to detect if you wanted to. And if someone manages to hit you, well... it's your fault. You'll have to make up for it with sheer skill, or with a weapon that causes more fear than any protection."
Seth laughed, shaking Vaali lightly in his hand.
"So we're going down the 'don't hit me or you'll die first' route. I love it."
Kaguya smiled with her eyes, satisfied. "It's the style of the reckless and the survivors."
"And of the damned."
"Mostly."
"So, where are we going now?" Seth asked, his eyes squinting in the soft evening light.
"Hm..." Kaguya murmured, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket with a lazy gesture. Her eyes glazed over for a moment as she read the notification. "You have a Dungeon in twenty minutes. Rank-D portal. No big deal, it's just to complete the number. Take it easy."
Seth arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "Using good old 'fill in the blank' to send me into dungeons, why?"
Kaguya shrugged, the smile on his lips as provocative as usual. "You're a Rank-E, unfortunately you haven't reassessed your Rank yet, and you'd probably have to go back to your home country to do so, so for Rank-E's jobs like that are really tricky to find. And well... they say that practice makes perfect. Who knows, maybe you'll find something fun in there?"
He sighed, casting a quick glance at the horizon. "I hope it at least has monsters that scream when they explode."
"Ah, Seth... What a sensitive mind you have," she joked, sliding her cell phone back into her pocket. "You have fifteen minutes to arrive. You've already received the team details by message. A Guild Tank, two support mages and a Healer in training. Just don't leave any of them for dead, okay?"
"No promises."
Kaguya laughed softly, turning to leave. "Have fun, Mr. Independent Hunter."
...
The dungeon site was on the outskirts of an old disused industrial estate, surrounded by abandoned warehouses, faded graffiti and iron towers corroded by time. In the center of a cracked courtyard overgrown with weeds, a magic circle floated slightly above the ground, pulsing with an irregular bluish light - like a sick heartbeat.
Seth arrived with slow steps, his eyes scanning the area with natural suspicion. Vaali rested on his hand as if he already knew what was coming. In front of the portal stood the members of the temporary team: a man in heavy armor, as wide as a wall, leaning on his shield as if waiting for a bus; two young mages in identical robes, clearly novices by the way they discussed in anxious whispers; and a girl with a grimoire in her hands, too nervous even to feign confidence.
Seth stopped next to Kaguya, who was still distractedly chewing a piece of gum, her eyes on the sky as if waiting for the rain.
"So this is the group?" he asked with a debauched sigh. "Great. It'll be quick. I'll go in, blow up some bugs, be back before dinner."
Kaguya didn't reply immediately. She just turned her head slowly towards him, as if deciding whether or not to speak. When she finally opened her mouth, her voice came with something between irony and a genuine touch of warning:
"Just... be careful. Those dungeons that are 'missing a person' at the last minute? Sometimes they're traps." She chewed once more and continued: "Theft, kidnapping, selling parts - you know. The underworld crowd love to use Dungeon as an excuse to disappear someone."
Seth arched his eyebrows, clearly irritated.
"And you're telling me this now?"
Kaguya shrugged as if to say 'so what'.
"I thought you needed a diversion."
Seth let out a dry laugh, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head in disbelief.
"If I die, I'll pull you along from hell."
"Ah, Seth..." - she smiled, twirling the gum with her tongue - "If you're going to die, at least do it in style. But... try not to die, will you?"
He turned towards the group, his expression already returning to normal - cold, calculating, with that bored glint of someone who knew something was wrong, but would still go just to see how it ended.
The mages looked at him suspiciously, Tank just nodded like a robot, and the Healer girl tried to force a smile that fooled no one.
Seth walked up to the group with nonchalant steps, but every muscle in his body was ready to react. He didn't trust that scenario - and even less the expressions of those waiting for him.
Tank, a colossal figure with an unshaven beard and eyes as dull as river stones, was the first to move. He held out a contract printed on a thick, almost ceremonial sheet of paper, as if they were signing something more important than a simple expedition.
"Name: Garran. I'm the group leader," said the man, his deep voice muffled by the helmet he was still partially wearing. "This is the standard contract for substitutes. By signing it, you agree that all earnings from the Dungeon will be divided only among the fixed members of the team. The contractor - you, in this case - will be paid a fixed amount at the end of the mission. No bonuses. No exceptions."
Seth picked up the paper with his fingertips, reading quickly as his eyes went from the clauses to the faces in front of him. The mages looked away. The Healer lowered her grimoire, as if she wanted to disappear. The smell of a trap was almost physical.
He then laughed, briefly, and raised his eyes to Garran.
"Of course... standard." he said, sarcasm dripping from the word. "I imagine that if I die, my share of the pay will go to charity, right?"
"You won't die if you do your job properly," Garran replied without any intonation. He was cold, almost robotic, as if he had done this many times before.
Seth pulled a pen from his pocket - thin, black, with discreet symbols carved along its body - and signed with an elegant, quick stroke, like he didn't care. But as he handed the paper back, his eyes glowed with that electric spark that appeared whenever he was about to cause chaos.
"All right then. Just don't expect me to save anyone if you fuck up in there."
"You just have to kill whatever shows up," said Garran, turning towards the portal. "The rest is up to us."
Seth snorted, casting a brief glance at Kaguya - who, from a distance, waved with a sarcastic little wave and a cynical smile.
He passed Tank and stood in front of the portal, where the bluish light was beginning to pulse more strongly, feeling the heat of the magical energy licking his skin like a warning.
"Let's see what you're running from," he muttered, and entered.
One by one, the others followed him.
The light engulfed them.