1182 A Mottled Sky
Mister White was straightforward with his plan. The team would go into the dungeon disguised as a small guild called Dragonfish and find the same entity that would grant them entry to the Tower of Yalen. From there, they could exit the tower and enter the city without being noticed.
"I challenged the tower countless times, but I failed due to the damned living monsters."
"I don't think dead monsters cause issues to anyone," said Sarohan with confusion as he tightened his armor. Mister White laughed in a heartful manner as the rest chuckled. The waiga failed to understand what he meant by 'Living Monsters.'
"That's not what I meant, little one. Inside the tower, most monsters are created through magic, making them nothing but illusions that one must conquer. However, after a certain floor, the tower begins summoning living monsters."
"Our leader is fine with defeating the strongest monster there is, but..." muttered the buff man with a wary laugh. "Our leader's greatest flaw is that he is... ahem... a clean freak."
"There are better terms than freak, Razor," said Mister White with a frown as he adjusted his tie. "I refuse to let this world taint me. I cannot understand any other mindset than that!" Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience
"You make a good argument," said Arthur with a smile. "What fostered such a habit?"
"Some habits, we are born with," said Mister White as straightened his back with pride. Arthur smiled as he walked at the back of the group, hidden with their figures. He remembered that when he met his son, Mister White allowed himself to be dirtied.
Awakeners began to notice them as they huddled around the dungeon's entrance. There was even a line to facilitate their entrance, and everyone seemed to respect it. Everyone except Mister White, of course.
"Where are you going, old man? Go back in line!" shouted an awakener behind them, waving his hand with impatience. Of course, Mister White ignored him and kept moving forward toward the front of the line.
"Do you think that you can cut the line?!" asked a man who stood in front of them. Once again, Mister White walked past him, ignoring him. This time, the man was unable to swallow it down and reached a hand toward Mister White. "Old man, don't act so arrogant! Everyone is equal here!"
Weng!
Before the man's hand could touch Mister White's shoulder, it bent in a sharp angle upward as if he slammed it against a hard wall. The man was stunned for a few seconds, and he did not even scream. Instead, he muttered in confusion.
"My... arm..."
"If you own this place, why did we have to disguise ourselves? We could have reserved this dungeon the entire day," said Sarohan, who was clearly uncomfortable in the armor. After all, there was no armor big enough for his stature, making him wear makeshift armor created from many others.
"Although I own this place, I need to submit a list of guilds that challenged it every day. Every guild needs to challenge a number of dungeons per year, so the lists are important to the kingdom. We cannot raise suspicions, and Dragonfish is a legitimate guild."
"Better safe than sorry," said Arthur with a nod of approval. "I have to ask something, though. What made you choose this dungeon?"
"I would rather avoid answering that question, because you might think I'm being too corny or sentimental," said Mister White with a laugh as he motioned for them to move forward. "We should go into the dungeon before the next team. It's almost time for the dungeon's break."
"A dungeon's break?" asked Koby with confusion.
"A period of time to let the dungeon rest and respawn the monsters inside. This only applies to dungeons owned by guilds who want to keep farming for monsters and not clear the dungeons."
"This is also one of the reasons that I bought this dungeon," said Mister White with a smile. "It cannot be cleared by defeating a boss, making it an infinite source of revenue."
"Greetings, sir. How are you doing?" said one of the officers overseeing the dungeon after recognizing Mister White. "Is this the guild that you mentioned the other day?"
"Ah, little one, we meet again. This is indeed the guild I'm sponsoring at the moment. I hope to strengthen them enough to enter Glory List, hohoho."
"That's not impossible," said the officer as he looked at the ground, seeing many tough faces in them. As he saw how cloaked Arthur and the others were, he got curious. "I feel like some of your members are rather shy."
"These are my trump cards, little fella. I don't want them to get poached by stronger guilds, so I asked them to hide their identity," said Mister White with pride. "Enough with the chit-chat. Lead us into the dungeon."
"You are going in yourself, sir?" asked the officer while taken aback. "It might be too dangerous, given your age..."
"Watch it, little fella. The flesh is old, but the bones and heart are young. I am the sole man who knows everything this dungeon has to offer, and I want to take care of my men."
"Understood, sir," said the officer with a bow before leading them inside.
Before long, the paperwork was done and the group of eighteen were shown into the dungeon. Arthur felt the space shift, and expected the familiar corridors of the dungeon. But instead, a raging wind slammed to his face. As he raised his eyes, he saw the infinite sky mottled with small grasslands floating without care.