A gust of wind kicked up sand across the dunes of the great desert and Beatrix had to shade her eyes lest she get sand in them. Very little bothered her, but taking on this request was surely not worth the pay. Still, her honor as a Rank S adventurer and knight of the former kingdom of Vaeliea kept her from giving up.

The sands shifted in front of her and she rolled to the side and down several feet as a giant pit appeared where she had been about to step. Antlion.

Beatrix had little time to prepare herself as a hulking creature let out a deafening screech as it dragged itself up out of the sands. It's mandibles and carapace were a deep ruby color and its mandibles dripped with drool. Beatrix reached behind her and unclasped her enchanted kite shield and brought it out in front of her as the beast reared up.

Frost Shield. Her magic activated and the shield instantly became cold enough that any regular person would have dropped it right away. She held it out in front of her at the last second as a gigantic gout of flames erupted from the mouth of the antlion.

Beatrix braced herself against the impact and kept her shield out in front of her face. The flames died as soon as they came into contact with her shield. After a few moments the antlion stopped and charged towards her. Impudent beast. 

She activated another skill, Shield Thrust and leapt towards the creature's head with incredible speed. The shield, a piece of armor made purely for defense, smashed into the beast's head, crushing the entire left side of its face. Beatrix dropped to the ground and batted away the giant legs that swung for her on the ground.

It was time to finish this, she had a job to do and didn't have time to play with this thing anymore. She drew her sword, Requiem, and slashed with it. Ichor sprayed all over her as she cleanly severed two of the antlion's limbs with barely any effort at all.

The beast, probably for the first time in its entire life, attempted to retreat back down into the safety of its pit. Its remaining sets of legs scrabbled backwards as it screeched in agony. Purple colored ichor drenched the sun parched sands beneath it. You will not get away. 

Beatrix held Requiem out to the side as the beast was backing down into its hole. The pale rose colored crystalline blade began to pulse with magic as she infused a spell into it. The blade bled from its original color to a light blue and she casually swung the blade at the air vertically. 

Cold air blasted out of the blade in a rush, expending the stored up energy and slammed into the retreating monster. In less than five seconds the fearsome beast of the sands was nothing more than an over sized ice cube. The knight grabbed a throwing knife off of her belt and flicked it at the monster's head. 

The impact sounded like a clap of thunder in the quiet desert and the antlion shattered into thousands of pieces. Beatrix didn't bother collecting the throwing knife and instead continued on her way without another thought about the beast. 

Her destination was just barely in sight at the edge of the horizon, or at least she hoped that she could believe what she was seeing and that it wasn't a mirage. The air shimmered around her as she walked. One would normally think that it was completely insane to cross this desert on foot and in heavy armor no less, but her resistances and enchantments made it seem like a walk in the park. A sandy park that managed to get into every crevice of her armor, but that was something to worry about after the job had been completed.

A few hours more and she arrived at her destination. Yeleviar, the jewel of the desert, as it was called, was surrounded by gigantic palm trees that were supported by the oasis that stood nearby. The city was surrounded a large sandstone wall that appeared to be unmanned.

Beatrix followed the road down to the city gates, which stood open and unguarded. It wasn't a good sign. Am I too late? She ran her gauntleted hand through her long blonde hair and continued onward. The streets were abandoned and every door and window she passed were shut tight.

A calamity had befallen the desert city, but that was why she had come. A fortress stood at the center of the city and she made her way in that general direction, watching carefully for signs of life, but there weren't any. It was too quiet for her taste and she had a bad feeling at the pit of her stomach.

She had been called because the magic that had held the dungeon in Yeleviar had gone wild and the core had taken on a life of its own. It was something that happened so rarely that it hadn't occurred in over a century according to records. The core had become self aware somehow and Monsters had spewed out of the dungeon it and into the city like an endless plague; at least that's what the missive that had been sent to the guild hall had reported.

It took a little bit of meandering, but she finally arrived at the city's castle. It looked to be sealed tight, which was a good sign. Beatrix hadn't seen any signs of people the entire time she had been in the city so far. The monsters must have carried off their dead as well as their victims. 

Just as she arrived at the large reinforced doors to the castle she heard the skittering of carapace behind her. She turned and saw twenty giant blaze ants charging her. Their bite was said to burn like the heat of the sun. Beatrix had no intention of letting them bite her, though. 

She unsheathed Requiem and held it in front of her giving a silent salute to the enemy before she burst into action. The first ant to get close to her was bisected as she slashed the enchanted blade through it while fluidly spinning and bringing the sword through another enemy. Beatrix had always thought of swordplay like a dance, and she was an expert at it. 

The knight spun and dodged every attack with ease, leaving death in her wake. In seconds the entire batch of enemy monsters was dispatched.

She turned as she heard murmurs coming from a high window in the castle. "I know who that is! That's Beatrix of Vaeliea! We're saved!"

Beatrix flicked her sword to the side, sending all of the insect monster's ichor flying off of Requiem before she sheathed her blade once more. She stared up at the castle to the people peering out at her.

"I need to speak to your leader. I'm here to save you, worry not, and open the gates for me."

After waiting for a couple minutes, the large gates slid open with a grinding sound and she quickly stepped inside. She frowned as she saw that there were hundreds of people squished together in the large hall of the room. Children whimpered and some people were sobbing silently. 

She saw people with missing limbs as she followed two guards to the reception hall up the stairs. 

One of the guards turned to her as they walked, "Thank the gods help has come at last. Are you alone, though? I saw what you did out there to those damned ants, but there are so many of them..." his voice trailed off.

"I'm alone," she replied. It wouldn't do her any good to boast about her skills to this man, so she just ignored the rest of what he said and continued on. 

Beatrix was happy to see that the ruler of this city hadn't done what most in his position would have, which was to leave the commoners outside to rot in order to save resources. Beatrix thought about how she had once served a noble ruler, but she had failed. 

Her heart wrenched inside her chest as memories long repressed flooded back to the surface. She had been given a simple command, "keep them safe," but she had failed. The two she was charged with protecting when everything was falling apart had been lost to her and she had lost her purpose in life. 

Adventuring allowed her to continue to do good in the world, and so she had taken up the mantle. Her skill and experience helped her rise within the ranks of the Adventurers Guild at an incredible rate. As it was, there were only a handful of members who outranked her in the entire world; those with the coveted S+ rank and the high council of guild masters.

A middle aged man with dark tanned skin stood up from his throne and gave her a slight bow as he saw her enter. Beatrix knelt on the ground and bowed her head in response. 

"Rise. Rise, you've come all this way to save us. I suppose you need to get the rest of the details about the job, right? I am Azir, ruler of Yelevair." 

Beatrix stood up and looked the man in the eyes. "I am Beatrix." 

"Your fearsome reputation precedes you," he cleared his throat before continuing. "The dungeon has been corrupted somehow. It brings a lot of adventurers and wealth to our city, but as it stands we need to have it destroyed. For 50,000GP we have contracted your guild to destroy the dungeon core. Is this within your ability?"

"We shall see. Where is the dungeon? I'd like to get started right away."

The man blinked in surprise at her comment. "Surely you need to rest? It must have taken you days to cross the desert to get here."

Beatrix shook her head. "Your people are suffering, they need to be free of this place so that they can continue their lives. I will do my best to not fail you in this task. Again, where is the dungeon?"

Azir sighed and relented, "It's to the east of the palace. Follow the main street until you reach a large hole in the ground. The dungeon has taken the form of an insect lair. Be wary, though, this is not some rookie dungeon. It's a level 40 dungeon core, and the beasts within are formidable, especially as you go deeper. The dungeon changes its shape every month or two, so I'm afraid I don't have a map to give you. All I can say is that there are three levels, each with increasing difficulty. The attendant who used to manage the dungeon was the first one that it killed when this all started. I, myself, have not ventured into the dungeon."

"I'll be on my way then." Beatrix turned and exited the building. She didn't really like being around people. Her honor bound her to do right and good in the world. She would see that justice was done and the innocent were protected, but she didn't really want to actually interact with anyone.

She was a ghost, and she didn't deserve to live. Regardless, despite being broken, she would continue to walk the path of the sword until the night mother decided to take her home. The guards opened up the large doors for her once more and she was once again in the desolate streets of the city. 

A small feeling had begun to stir within her as she moved towards the rogue dungeon. It took her some time to recognize what it was since it had been so long, but it was excitement. Crushing this dungeon would be a worthy challenge. One that would allow her to feel alive once more. 

My sword exists to protect the weak, and evil shall fear my very presence. I am the last true knight that survived the purging of Vaeliea's royal family. I failed them, but I will not fail here! Prepare to die, beasts!

The wandering knight drew her sword and equipped her shield with the royal crest of Vaeliea painted onto it before she bravely marched into the darkness of the Yelevair dungeon.