As time goes on, Club Day enters its full swing around mid-day as waves of students both old and new bustle about, looking for food and fun. 

Closing my eyes, I take in the festive atmosphere around me. The smell of food and drinks, the sound of uncountable voices, of music and laughter.

As my Soul Sight spread out, I'm greeted with auras of all the students and teachers that shine brilliantly with different colors and emotions. Since I've been practicing this ability non-stop, my range has increased to about 25 ft around me, and I can hold it for almost 10 hours now.

I clutch the metal flask in my hands even tighter.

I need to do this.

I'll apologize to Yermen later, but this is important.

I'm going to the mailbox later this afternoon, so I need to have as many trump cards as I can in case that man lied to me and set up some kind of ambush. That man is a criminal, after all. I can't trust him to deliver the letter honestly to Billin.

I look back at the metal flask. Unending Flask is its name.

It's actually only enchanted to hold more liquid than it looks, about 2 liters of any liquid. I bought it off the Dungeoneering Club, not the Enchanting Club, as part of an essential Dungeoneering kit. There's a lot of cool stuff in the kit, but this flask is the one I wanted the most.

I bought the whole thing for 7000 C...

I took out 10 gold coins last week when I went to the bank because I didn't know if I needed more money for something. After paying the Swiftwing Messenger fee, I still had 9 gold coins left, and now I only have 2 on my person.

I almost shed tears at how extravagant I was spending money.

It's for a good cause! No need for me to beat myself up over it!

Sigh.

Anyways, I want to also test if my Blessing works on enchanted objects, so here we are.

Steadying my nerves one last time, I give the final push to activate the power. Immediately, the silvery Aura around me twists into the air as dozens, hundreds of other Auras begin to rise into the air as well, dancing and weaving together into a colorful web of soul energy.

A part of the emotion felt by the person I borrowed it from can be seen in each sliver of Aura as they flow towards the flask in my hand, condensing into droplets within. Bit by bit, I feel my Blessing fill the expanded space until not even a single drop more can fit.

*Gasp*

I almost dropped to my knees from the sudden loss of a majority of my Soul Energy. Dark anger and anxiety explode through my mind like roaring flames, threatening to overwhelm me with negative thoughts. Wrenching my eyes shut, I focus all my attention on breathing.

Breathe. Slowly.

In with your nose, out with your mouth.

Huff... huff...

Relax your shoulders.

That's right, just breathe, Alean.

Everything is fine.

Huu...

After several minutes of breathing, I finally bring my emotions back into a semblance of peace. I can still sense the exhaustion in my Soul, and the old scars now feel raw and bleeding again, but it no longer hurts too much to bear.

Yermen had taught me this trick, to help keep my anxiety in check. It seems to work really well.

I'll make sure to thank him later as well.

Right now, though, I need to sit down.

===

After another hour of just sitting around in a more secluded area, I feel stable enough to check what kind of magical wine I got.

Ignoring the slight buzzing in my ears and general light-headedness, I choose to simply taste the sweet-smelling liquid. It's the best way to know for sure what it does, and I have a hunch that whatever I make with the blessing is safe to drink.

The moment it touches my tongue, the alcohol seems to flow down my throat like honey. Well, it's actually honey, right? It tastes like the mead that my father sneaked for me once behind my mother's back.

It's mostly sweet and thick, with a myriad of strange extra flavors mixed together in a way I can't even begin to describe. I can somehow taste caramel, chocolate, corn, beef, cheese,... one after the other. As confusing as that is, it's surprisingly pleasant as if I've just eaten a whole hearty meal in a single sip.

The mead then leaves a pleasant, lingering burn that warms my insides.

Suddenly, a bubbling sensation of excitement fills my chest before flooding every limb, erasing any physical exhaustion and pain I accumulated since this morning. I feel as if I can keep on moving for days on end.

Curiously, I look at the small cut on my finger that I got this morning while moving the boxes. The thin red line that I'm sure was there a moment ago has completely disappeared.

Clenching my hands, I can't help but feel a little excited. My luck is with me today.

It's like a healing potion that boosts my stamina as well. I don't know the extent of regeneration, but having any is already good.

Standing up, I decide to enjoy what's left of the festival before going to that place.

===

The last light day dyes the world in shades of oranges and red as I walk through the alleys in the Residential District, trying to find this location.

And failing miserably right now...

Oh, the whole area seems well organized when you're walking on the main streets. But the deeper in you go, the more you realize that the whole thing is like an endless maze with twists and turns and full of dead ends. Honestly, it's not much different from the Slums. The only thing that distinguishes them apart is the housing quality. 

Of course, Dreamer Street is one of the larger ones, but the place I'm looking for is so far in a corner that I've been walking around fruitlessly for a few hours already.

Luckily though, I finally found the 2000s about half an hour ago, and now to look for the right house... Oh, there it is.

2505 Dreamer Street.

How... quaint.

Compared to the other houses next to it, 2505 is quite small. There are only two floors, with all the windows boarded and the front door locked, it seems that the place is abandoned. The slightly faded white paint over brick walls only adds to its age.

Glancing about, I find the area is a dead-end alleyway that's devoid of any traffic, a perfect place to corner a hapless teenager.

I shiver a little, feeling a chill despite the heavy cloak that I'm wearing.

It's part of the Dungeoneering kit as well, though not enchanted. Just a well-made dark blue cloak that blends better into the night sky. There's even a hood that I pulled over my head.

Pushing my unease aside, I unlock the small mailbox next to the door with the key given to me by that receptionist. With a small click, the metallic thing opens as I reach in, finding a piece of paper, and something else... soft... and fleshy...

I sigh in relief as I pull both of them out, realizing that it's just a strange white flower that I felt. As for the paper, it's a short note that indicates a time and location that's not too far from here. Farseeker Park, 8 pm. I saw it when I was still searching.

It's more like a small plaza than a park, with only a couple of benches and some trees, and a fountain in the center.

In fact, I had to walk through it to reach here, so I'll only have to backtrack a little.

Patting the inner pockets of my cloak once more, I make sure to check everything one more time. The metal flask, a small skinning knife, a magic flare, some bandages, and a small bottle of wound medicine. Oh, and the pocket watch, the only other magic item within the kit. It is enchanted to always be correct, removing the need to do maintenance as well as being extra durable.

Pulling it out, I use it to check the time. About six 'o clock, so I have two hours to kill.

The word Dungeon is actually a catch-all term, referring to the vast number of ruins, underground tombs, or ancient temples that exist across the land of Rhea (which is the name of this planet). These ruins are the remnants of civilizations that existed long ago, usually containing vast amounts of lost knowledge, as well as powerful artifacts of the Old Magicks.

Dungeons are wrought with dangers as well. Traps range from something simple such as spiked pits to annoying and weird curses, debilitating poisons, and of course, deadly monsters. That's why many known dungeons aren't fully explored yet, not to mention the countless ones that are unknown. 

But such dangers are meaningless in the face of boundless wealth. An artifact from a dungeon, even a simple one, can fetch a hefty sum if you can find the right buyer. Not just that, but ancient records, antiques, and other mundane things are also popular in the collector circles. A successful dungeon dive can allow one to live luxuriously for a long time. Many does it simply for the prestige it brings, or for research purposes like the person I read about in the Library.

Such reasons are why Dungeoneer is a viable career, albeit one with a ridiculously high body count. Most are stronger, more experienced Adventurers or Mercenaries looking to change their lives around, hoping to encounter a lucky break, but some are born into Dungeoneering families that teach their children such practices when they are young.

Which sounds kinda insane to me.

They're basically teaching kids to do some suicidal shit. But... I guess I can't really judge them...

Of course, the government is also in on the Dungeoneering business themselves by sending sanctioned Knights into dungeons. It serves as a way to bolster the Kingdom's prestige, as well as fill their treasuries with money, secret knowledge, and most importantly, National Artifacts, which are magic items that can change a nation's power on a fundamental level, be it military or economical power. If a lesser noble can obtain an artifact at a National level, their house can be elevated into high nobility right away. 

If they can hold on to such a title, though, is entirely up to their skill. Not everyone can survive the cut-throat nature of the Court, after all.

My father also had also delved into dungeons before in his youth, which is why I knew a lot about it through his many boasting sessions, especially when he was drunk. I also knew about the locations of some unknown ones that are from the game as well.

Later on, I'll have to also go into some of these unexplored dungeons to find the cheat items that I need to protect everyone. I won't let the apocalyptic future of the game come to pass. I cannot...

I gaze at the sky, finding it is truly gone dark now, as the magic lanterns in the park begin to light without anyone's interference.

The night sky seems awfully lonely today.