CHAPTER 1: A COUPLE ON THEIR UNLIMITED HONEYMOON

CHAPTER 1: A COUPLE ON THEIR UNLIMITED HONEYMOON

'TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO CONQUER THE DUNGEON!'

It was a dream shared by every adventurer, big or small. But only those who put in the blood and sweat reaped the rewards. Today, after all this time, they were ready. 

The sun had risen gracefully, illuminating the world without exception. Gently basking in the morning warmth, the town of Milkai steadily started it's day. 

Despite being a small town on the Northern border of the Great Dermisank Empire, Milkai was buzzing with life from the crack of dawn. The reason was quite simple yet completely practical. 

A dungeon entrance appeared at the edge of the town a few full-moons back. Adventurers, treasure hunters and many more hope-filled individuals started flocking to the town. By adding the beauty of the natural waterfalls and hot springs, it didn't take much for Milkai to become the destination of up-and-coming dreamers.

Mixed with the sounds of the horse-drawn carriages and the bustling streets filled with vendors, the noise inside houses became almost unnoticeable. Yet, inside a certain house, small but fairly maintained with a small garden, 3 adventurers were making quite the noise. 

"C'mon guys... finally, the day is upon us! We can't be late!"

With a great sword at his waist and clad in light but shiny armor, the B-rank leader of the party exclaimed while running around the house, looking for the potions he had purchased the other day. 

"Maybe if you calmed down a little, you would see that we are ready and standing at the door... waiting for you...dumbass..."

Without a care whether her annoyance filled face was seen or not, the party's A-rank Enchantress rebuked unapologetically. 

"Ha ha ha... you two never change huh..."

Laughing as hard as he could, the tallest member of the party exclaimed. The A-rank Tank was clad in black armor from head to toe. Not even a single hair was escaping out. Along with his massive shield that stood as tall as the door.

"Oh... shut up... don't you know how many things a leader has to do?!.... Wait, did you call me dumbass??"

"Hmm... don't really know what you're talking about... let's just go..."

Dismissing the leader's question entirely, the enchantress hurried him even more. 

Finally, arriving at the front door, the leader dismissed their teasing and flung it open. The noise of Milkai's lively streets rushed in to greet them. Without a second thought, the strongest party in Milkai set off for the adventurers' guild with a single, burning desire in their hearts;

"Today, we're going to conquer the dungeon!"

☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Huh... what do you mean the rules changed?? Please Elra... can't you do something??"

The guild suddenly echoed with the surprised scream of the strongest party's leader. Even the members weren't immune. The confident smiles of the strongest party plummeted in a flash upon hearing the guild receptionist deny them entry. 

"I understand the frustration, but please calm down. There's nothing I can do. Not even for the strongest party of our town. Please find two more members!"

Softly speaking, so that it doesn't disturb the other adventurers, the young receptionist explained the situation. But just explaining it, didn't mean they could accept it. 

It was a race after all. A race those three couldn't afford to lose. The strongest party were originally from Milkai. They were born and raised in Milkai. And they started adventuring with Milkai as their base town long before the dungeon entrance even appeared. 

Therefore, the longer they took to conquer it, the chances of some traveling party conquering it increased. It wasn't a problem of who got the treasure first. Although that played a significant part too. But mostly, it was a matter of their pride as adventurers.

"We went in and cleared the second to last floor, just last week...As a party of three... We even took the previous week off to train so our chances of clearing the last floor would increase, if even by a little. And now you're telling me the minimum party members to enter the dungeon is 5?! WHAT KIND OF JOKE IS THAT?!"

"eee....."

"Oh... I'm sorry for screaming at you Elra... Just a little tense I guess... Very sorry really..."

Realizing he was screaming at someone who couldn't do anything about it, the leader apologized and left the reception area with his party. The tank and the enchantress were pretty shaken too but they did their best to not let their emotions overflow.

A party was formed with members each other could trust. Therefore, just any 2 random individuals couldn't be included. Especially when trying to conquer the last floor of a dungeon. Which nobody has even seen before. 

As the strongest party was debating what to do, Elra called them once again by waving a hand. From just a glance at the reception, they had a pretty good idea why, but they still went.

"I don't know if this can be considered as an apology, but let me introduce someone. Those two are looking for a high paying job and have pretty good stats. Both are C-rank. She's a healer and he's a debuffer. Both of their skills are at max level. What do you think, leader of the strongest party?"

Teasingly, Elra pointed at the duo party who just left the reception. Even from the back, the duo looked eye catching to say the least. As the strongest party were contemplating what to do, Elra leaned over and whispered to the leader's ear a few more words. Words that couldn't be spoken out aloud.

"They don't seem to care about fame or glory as long as the pay is good. So I think you could make them even your poters, or if it comes to that, shields..."

Before anything else was said, the leader discussed a little with the party and told Elra, they'd accept the duo. He didn't want to, but had no other choice. And a duo who was willing to wag their tails for money was better than glory seeking newcomers.

With the confirmation received, Elra waved at the duo and signaled them to come to the reception. But the closer they got, the more the leader became regretful of his decision. As the duo stood infront of them, nobody could resist the gasp that escaped their mouths. 

One side of a two-bladed sickle was stabbed into the boy's chest. The bright-red chain it was attached to, was wrapped around his body and at the end was a triangle shaped meteor hammer. From the stabbed area, deep red blood with a hint of deep purple was slowly flowing down. 

"Not again... how many times have I told you to put away this thing until we're in town?! Geez... I'm sooo sorry about this idiot... Nice to meet you, I'm Sonnya... Here's my Adventurers card! C'mon, you too!"

"Hi...I'm...Blake."

Noticing the audible gasp and pinpointing the reason behind it, the azure haired girl, broke the tension by helping the purple haired boy put away his weapon. The leader meanwhile, snapped out of shock and took their Adventurers cards to confirm their identities and abilities.

Upon a little, standard inspection, it was clear why Elra recommended two completely new traveling adventurers. But looking at them, what the leader wanted to confirm the most was another thing. The duo in front of him were rather close. Much more close than two party members ever could be. And to nobody's surprise, he was right. Both of them had the same last name. 

"Are you perhaps... are the two of you..."

"Oh yeah... we're married... A happy couple on their honeymoon if I dare say!! Ha ha..."

Not knowing how to ask the question delicately, the leader tried to phrase it in many different ways but the girl, or rather, the wife caught up and answered the question that wasn't yet asked, with a big smile on her face. 

The introductions were smoothly carried out with the help of Sonnya. Needless to say, Blake contributed the least by saying his name once and zoning out of the entire conversation completely. But even so, he did leave a pretty unforgettable first impression.

After returning the Adventurers cards, the leader eyed them up and down in search of clues but he was only met with their unique sense of fashion. Which could easily be described, unfit for their profession. 

Sonnya's long Azure hair which had a hint of gold underneath, was tied into a bun from the top and the rest was flowing down like a waterfall. She had two large bangs falling down from either side of her face and smaller bangs in between them. 

But what stood out the most was the pair of hair ornaments sticking out of her bun. They were shaped like a pair of crescent moons and looked like the starry night sky. 

While she did have a diamond shaped armor plate accompanied with a navy blue sleeveless undershirt covering her chest, that was the only protective gear she had in her upper body. 

Meanwhile on her lower body, she had a pair of brown cargo shorts reaching the knees and a pair of boots the same color. However, her knees and shins were well protected with armor wrapping around them from top to bottom. 

But what stood out the most was her half red half-skirt. Only a little longer than the shorts, it looked like a half-cape rather than a skirt. It was worn from the waist so it couldn't be called a cape though. However, that was the last concern of anyone because the inside of said skirt looked otherworldly. 

Pitch black with white dots scattered everywhere. It was like the sky on a moonless night which was illuminated by the faraway stars. 

Blake's outfit wasn't normal either. Especially since, there wasn't a single piece of armor in sight. His upper body was covered with a navy blue sleeveless and hooded vest which had only one button near the neck. Meanwhile the lower body had only a pair of navy blue trousers with two white stripes running from top to bottom. 

The black undershirt was a little tight, exposing his chest muscles, which ran all the way to the stomach. Meanwhile his slightly ripped arms were exposed naturally. On his waist was a light blue dagger and on the other was the red-chained meteor hammer. But what stood out the most is the halo like purple ring which rested on top of his head. Almost as if floating on top. 

Both Blake and Sonnya were quite tall but standing at a little over two meters, Blake was a little taller. While Sonnya was slender, Blake was quite muscular but due to his height, it wasn't very noticeable.

"Alright, everything seems in order so...Welcome to the party... We'll go over the details on the way... Anyhow, please make yourselves comfortable. As the strongest party in Milkai, it's our duty to welcome traveling adventurers with open arms."

Lastly, the leader welcomed them warmly. Although it was very difficult to understand how much of it was true and sincere. After all, the leader of the strongest party of their town needed to attend all kinds of social events and interact with high ranking individuals. 

But that didn't stop the weird couple. Concluding the signing of the temporary party member forms, the two parties officially became a single party of 5. Using her social skills, which were no match for the leader's, Sonnya returned the welcome right back with her own. 

"Although it's only for a while, please take care of us!"

Without wasting another second, the leader took the officially stamped entrance permit of the guild and made their way to the dungeon. There was a little blockage, but if everything worked out, they will be the first to conquer the dungeon of their hometown. All those days spent dwelling inside the dungeon would be worth it finally. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆

"DON'T LET GO! I'M COMING!!"

Jumping off a small cliff on the wall, the leader, raised his sword and swung it down using the momentum of the fall. In one clean cut, he was able to decapitate the huge black dragon which was held in place by the tank. 

With a thunderous echo, the head fell down and rolled to a corner. The neck was still squirting black-blood all over the walls until the blood in the vessels were completely empty. Soon, with another tremendous bang, the entire dragon's body fell to the ground. 

Almost simultaneously, the huge door, which was almost as big as the dragon, glowed from its crevices and slowly opened itself. Regaining his balance, the leader congratulated everyone and declared their original mission once again. 

"Okay, now's the real thing... we now have a gasp of Sonnya and Blake's abilities too... so let's go... to the last floor and LET'S CLEAR THIS DUNGEON ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!"

Amidst the soft laughs and post battle chatter, all five of them passed through the door and entered the last floor. Just as the last person entered, the doors swung inward and closed shut. They had officially started challenging the last floor. Now, the only way out was either to clear it, or use a S-class teleport item.

What awaited them inside the last floor was a snowy terrain with blizzards all over. Not wanting for anyone to freeze to death, Sonnya cast <MINUSCULE HEAL> and instructed the enchantress to cast a power up layer on top. Miniscule heal was supposed to heal minor wounds like scratches but it warmed up your body too. There bodies started glowing in a light yellow and with a little enchantment, it was enough to keep them warm. 

"Good thinking, let's move forward with this rhythm..." said the leader but his internal thoughts were in shambles. 

'What the fuck just happened there... last time it took the three of us nearly an hour to defeat that dragon... it didn't take even five minutes this time!! Did our training really pay off that much?! Or is it something else?...'