Chapter XVIII: Adventuring!

With the combined efforts of the siblings, and thanks to how time differed in the Virtual Reality and in the real world, they were able to return home in just under an hour. 

And thankfully, they were not caught by their parents. Kenneth shuddered thinking how they would probably receive an earful, if not more, for sneaking out at night. 

It was now the next day. After a quick breakfast with the family, Lena had called over Kenneth to the front yard. 

Today, they would be heading to the Adventurer's Guild. 

It wasn't to register them, but to actually join Lucas on one of his daily missions. Yeah, Kenneth couldn't believe it the first time he heard that his older brother was an adventurer. 

The Guild went through great lengths to remind its contractors that they would be facing danger the moment they signed the form. Adventuring was a deadly job, which was why the place was mostly filled with people who had a knack for, well, killing things. 

And believe it or not, minors were actually allowed to sign a contract with the guild and start working, albeit temporarily. 

Plus, there were all sorts of rules and regulations that they had to follow, such as only being able to take on D-rank quests at most. 

They wouldn't exactly be able to cover up the fact that they willingly allowed a child to attend more dangerous missions. 

But that was the thrill of adventuring! Lucas, having personally shown his physical prowess as a means to get himself recruited, was an exception. He'd go on quests like morning walks and complete it an hour later. 

Lena had originally forbid Kenneth from joining Lucas since this would take place in the real world, and not in an artificially made one. 

Many lives were lost in this kind of work, but Kenneth didn't hesitate one bit and announced his decision to try it out for himself. Not in front of his parents, of course. 

It took a while, but Kenneth was eventually able to persuade his sister in joining the two of them. This would make the whole process much safer. 

And so now, after waiting a few minutes in the Guild lobby, the two siblings spotted Lucas, who was just about to rip apart one of the papers from the wall, which was usually a sign of the adventurer wanting to take on the quest. 

"Don't pick it yet—!" Lena's fist suddenly ran across Lucas' face, forcing him to let go of the paper in his hands. 

The force from the hit left Lucas in a daze, while leaving the other adventurers around them confused at the act of brutality. 

"Why… couldn't you just have told me?" After a few seconds, he was able to gather himself and stand up. 

"Ripping the paper off from the board means that you intend to take the quest, right? I don't see any other way for us to stop you." Kenneth approached his siblings, and lowered his body to pick up the slightly-torn paper. 

He then reached his hand out, the paper in hand. 

"Yes, but it's not officially confirmed unless the receptionist themselves have personally approved the party wanting to take it on." Lucas took the paper from his hand, and went back to the board. 

It didn't look like he had anything to stick it on the board with, but with one firm, simple press the paper was firmly planted on it, as if it hadn't been ripped off. 

"Let me guess. You guys want to join me on my daily hike?"

It was just like Lucas. Treating a quest as a mere "hike".

"Little brother pleaded with me to let him follow you. It would've been dangerous for the two of you to go, so I had no choice but to join."

"The more manpower, the better, no? Besides, Lucas would appreciate the extra help." 

"Yeah, I would. But now that we're here, what quest do you guys want to take on? There's a huge variety of them, from simple ones like exterminating pests that have hidden themselves in inhabited areas, or ones that involve clearing a dungeon." 

"Let's leave it up to little brother, then. But remember, no C-rank quests! We can't put you in any more danger than necessary." 

"I know, I know. Then, how about… this one?"

Scanning the large board in front of him for anything noteworthy, Kenneth quickly skimmed through multiple papers before stopping at one.

He brought the paper over to Lena, and showed its contents eagerly, as if it had already been decided that they would go. 

"A D-rank quest that involves clearing out a nearby dungeon. It says here that it's called the Isolated Forest." 

"Oh, if it's that, I'm pretty familiar with the dungeon. I've gone hunting there with some of the seniors when I was just a rookie."

"Hold on, stop." Kenneth brought his palm out and frantically waved it. "Aren't dungeons, large areas located underground?" 

"You've never read about dungeons before, little brother?" 

"I have, but…" 

"Then tell me. What are the requirements necessary to be reached in order for a place to be considered a dungeon." 

"Shouldn't the dungeon be located underground, like I said earlier? Since the mana in the world is naturally pulled towards the surface, then shouldn't the density be higher there?"

"Ah, no. Dungeons can realistically be considered dungeons if they possess a Core."

"And what is this core, exactly?" Kenneth asked, keeping his mind open in order to note down his findings. 

"It's basically a big crystal ball that constantly radiates mana. No one knows, but the core supposedly has a set of written instructions inside of it that tell it how to summon their monsters." 

"So it's like a semi-sentient being? Isn't it dangerous if they're left alone like that?" 

"This one doesn't seem to be too strong. If it's classified as somewhere around the mid D-rank, so it should be safe to assume that the monsters it creates aren't as strong as the ones we fought in the Virtual Reality."

"That being said," Lena continued, "most dungeons are located underground, like you said. It's the stronger ones that thrive below the earth's surface." 

"I see. Thanks for explaining. Back to what we were talking about. Are we good with choosing this quest?" Kenneth turned to his siblings. 

They both gave their affirmations, and soon they had reached the receptionist table. After a short but meticulous process that involved Kenneth and Lena having to be tested for their power in order to be allowed to join, they were now directly outside the Guild building. 

"Now that we've officially accepted the quest, we're all set to go whenever we want. As long as we finish it during the one week time limit, of course. So if you guys have any business to take care of, do it now." Lucas reminded the two. 

If the party who had undertaken the quest was found to not be taking any effort to complete it, then the guild would hand down punishments for the offenders, which were mainly temporary decreases in ranks. 

"No, we should be good."

"I see. Well, in that case, why don't we head over to the city's Phase Gate? That way, we'll be able to reach our destination much faster."

Phase Gates were commonplace in major cities and landmarks in the wilderness. These handy inventions allowed people to travel long distances without the need to personally walk there. 

"And we're here. What do you think, Kenneth?" Lucas stopped his siblings once they had reached the Gate. 

"I didn't expect it to be this big. Also, it feels like I'm staring at the night sky." 

Peering into the mouth of the Gate, the void within shone in a dark blue color, mimicking the scenery of the night sky. The space inside looked like it was being sucked inwards, as if they were traveling through a wormhole. 

"Don't worry too much. You'll feel a bit lightheaded on your first time, but you'll get used to it." Lena assured her little brother. 

"Will my cane disappear? Are the only things allowed to pass through living beings?" 

"You're thinking too much, little brother. It works the same way my Light Step does, but there's a travel phase." 

"Ah. That's good to know. How about it? Should we head in now?" Kenneth said, moving to the front of the group. 

But he was not able to cross a few meters before Lucas' arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him back.

"Hehe, slow down, little bro. Did you not see the line?" Lucas pointed to the oversized queue that stretched all the way from one end of the street to the other. 

"Oh, there was a line…? Why is it so big though? Can't you just walk through, then pop out on the other end?" 

"That's not how it works. There's a strict procedure set when it comes to these things. We can't just have people do what they please with the Gates. Believe it or not, these things are powered with Mana Crystals, which, by the way, are very expensive." Lena answered his question.

"I don't think I have any money on me though." Kenneth pulled his pockets inside out, revealing only the cloth inside and no money.

"That's fine. As we're heading out to take on a quest as adventurers, we basically get a free pass. All I have to do is show them the approval form I received earlier."

"But, we still have to deal with this obnoxiously long line…" Kenneth sighed. 

***

After a long and excruciating wait, the siblings had finally finished the approval procedure and were all set to head through the Phase Gate. 

"I don't know… this seems a bit dangerous." Kenneth's attitude from earlier seemed to have disappeared, and was now quite unsure on whether to pass through.

"Haha, you got this. If you can't do it, I can push you myself." Lucas stretched out his palms, which were getting restless.

"Nope! I'll do it!" Thinking that doing it on his own would be better, Kenneth braced himself.

Then, after counting to three, he slowly passed through the space. 

He couldn't exactly tell what happened. The moment his leg passed through the portal, he lost all sense of connection with it. It was like it had been cut off from his body. 

He pushed through his uncertainty and allowed the rest of his limbs to enter the Gate.

The whole experience felt very short for Kenneth. It felt like he was moving through outer space, and was being carried by some unknown force that pushed him in one direction.

But the whole thing was short lived. In just a few seconds, Kenneth felt the void's grasp on his body loosening, and the mana from the outside world once again began to surround his body. 

Kenneth slowly opened his eyes to see that he was now lying on top of a grass hill, with the Gate directly behind him.

And soon enough, the bodies of his two other siblings showed themselves. 

"How was it, little brother?" Lena looked to Kenneth, who was struggling to stand up and was wobbling back and forth. 

"I'm—okay. Urkk!" Unable to handle the effects of the Phase Gate, Kenneth hurriedly speed-walked behind a nearby bush and spat out his insides.

Lena's head poked through the gap in the leaves. Her expression didn't seem to have a hint of worry in it, as if this was a normal occasion. 

"You'll be fine after a few minutes. Lucas told me that this sort of thing is normal because your body is first experiencing traveling at an extremely fast speed."

"So that wasn't—teleportation?!" 

"What? No, of course not. Teleportation doesn't actually exist, you know. What you know as "teleportation" is actually just if you were to access a dimension and move through it at an uncanny speed. Oh! By the way, do you need some gum? Your breath smells awful."

"Ah, thanks." Taking the gum in his sister's hand, he let its minty aroma settle on his tongue and took a few moments to arrange himself properly.