“Traveling through the pipe was an experience” Dante felt like one of those courier tubes.

"I've tried a few, you get used to it" his partner supported him, she understood the feeling

They were in the underground, together with the professor, to "update" the map and discover the location of the Crystals Star of the legend.

"Wow, wow, what's someone like you doing with that cutie?" A trio of Goombas with different accessories prevented them from passing

"Hey, doll! Don't you want to have a fun time with us?" asked the one with wings

"Couldn't you have used a more generic pick-up phrase?" The blond believed that only rapists used that phrase these days.

“What would a jerk like you know?!” The Goomba with a spiked hat responded aggressively.

"I'm sorry to tell you guys like you... I can't stand you! Leave us alone!" Goomarina did not hold back in rejecting them

"How dare you!?" The tattooed Goomba had gone into a rage.

“You are in no position to insult us!”

"We're going to take you down a peg!" The winged and pointed were ready to use violence.

"Don't worry Dante, I'll help you, I also have a collection of information on most possible enemies!" Goomarina took out a book

"Why do you have something like that?" As they got closer, the blond squashed the tattooed Goomba.

(The only thing he used was charging, could you be more generic?)

"An archaeologist should always be prepared... a girl should also watch her back" She jumped up and headbutted the Paragoomba, ripping off its wings, so his friend could finish it off.

“You don't scare me, you don't have weapons and with this helmet I'm invincible” Seeing his fallen comrades, the pinchudo tried to cheer himself up.

Dante responded by walking over and kicking him in the face.

"It shows" Due to the height he looked at him from above with a terrifying face, for the Goomba.

“Hiii!” He took his friends and ran away.

"Ha! Get out of here!" The girl celebrated the victory by jumping.

“Listen, you must be careful from here, you don't know how many criminals you will face” The old man transmitted his wisdom.

"We'll keep that in mind, but I'm sure we'll be fine, we're an invincible team." Due to the lack of proper limbs, they winked at each other instead of high fives.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

They went deep in their exploration of the sewers, defeating the occasional highwayman and finding strange objects.

“Is it healthy to eat mushrooms from the sewers?” Although he liked good food and he was curious to savor it, Dante didn't see it as very hygienic.

"You took it out of a block and it didn't touch the ground, it should be fine"

"Attention, young people, how are we going to continue?" A giant block blocked their path to the door above.

"I'll take care of it, I have a special ability" A smoke screen covered Dante and when it cleared, he was turned into a condor.

"Wow, how do you do that?" Goomarina was curious, it was relatively rare to see species that transformed on their own.

"I don't know, it's a birth ability." He grabbed them with his claws and lifted them towards the exit.

"Great." Flying was exciting for his partner.

"I'm too old for this" Goomez suffered from dizziness

Touching the ground, Dante returned to normal and they continued to the next room, it looked like a ruin with a large decorated door in the background.

“We found it, the door of legend!” The professor couldn't hide his euphoria.

"Look at that platform!" The girl pointed to a podium that jutted out into the center of the room.

Without wasting time, the blond got on and a light began to flash in a series of circles along with a mystical pattern.

"Professor this is..." Goomarina couldn't finish because the map began to float, gathering star power and when a beam of light hit it, it underwent a change in appearance and a castle had been built to the northeast next to the manifestation of a Crystals Star.

Dante also saw how a new power ran through his body.

"The map!" She was still in disbelief.

"Hmmm... we should go back and study it more closely." Goomez was ready to inspect it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Returned to Goomez's study, the professor spent some time checking the map.

“Huum… I see”

"Have you found out anything, Professor?"

"Of course!, with Dante's statement and reviewing ancient texts, I have confirmed that the beam of light conferred a new ability called sweet treats" He said with great confidence

“Sweet treats?” His student wanted more details.

“Yes, using the power of the map, you can recover health and energy, including your allies, but be careful it requires star power to use and this map achieved it by absorbing life energy and positive emissions”

"It is dangerous?!" He wouldn't want her and Dante to die.

"Don't worry, it absorbs the minimum of everything that surrounds it, unfortunately I can't measure how much it has accumulated, you'll have to take care of that part" He continued looking at Dante

"No problem, professor, thanks for the information" The blonde was not worried, he could feel the star power, he just had to get used to it.

(Not as convenient as a visible sphere, but it works)

"Going back to the subject, this map is incredible! It is a radar for Crystals Star and according to this the first one is in a place called Petal Meadows."

"Stellar meadow would sound better" the blonde couldn't help but say.

“It is a plain located to the east of Rogueport, it has always caught my attention, books tell about a hidden treasure in that place”

"And how do we get there?" Goomarina asked the most important question.

"In the subsoil there is a pipe that communicates directly with the meadow" The professor closed the book on his desk.

"By the way, Dante, may I know where you got this map?"

His partner looked at him so well, she also wanted to know.

"You won't believe him, but I found him on the ground during a trip" Technically it wasn't a lie

"...You are very lucky, be careful on your adventure" Goomez swallowed the story without hesitation.

"You too professor, some weird guy is investigating the Crystals Star, besides, don't you want to come?" She thought the more people, the more fun the exploration is.

"At my age, I'm not up to these jogs, I'll check those guys you're talking about, come back later and take this to stay connected" The old man returned the map to Dante and handed him an electronic device

"Alright, come on, Dante!"

"I follow you"

That was the start of his adventure team's first trip.