Rylan packs up all of our gear. Both of us ready our swords before walking deep into the 10th-floor dungeon.

He's not my preferred travel companion.

I'd rather just Dungeon Walk up to floor 19 myself, but at least I know 7 floors up from here is the highest he'll go.

With Fisher watching my every move, I was worried I wouldn't comfortably be able to go all out. It may have been interesting to see how an Elite fights, but It's much more fun to do it on my own.

We begin marching up the floors at a pretty solid pace. I don't mind the wait. Just 2 hours or so per floor is nothing compared to the month-long mental solitude I've faced 2 times now.

Rylan is spitting facts about the Association in my ear all the way up. A good history lesson never hurt anybody.

We take breaks every 1 or 2 floors to stop and rest. The redhead is actually not bad with his sword. The mobs we're facing aren't too strong, but they aren't too weak either. He is a mid-level C-Class.... The hunter's cheerful attitude just distracts me from the fact that he's been in the association for over a decade.

Rylan is a seasoned fighter in his own right.

After about 9 hours of straight walking and slashing, we make it to floor 14. We take a long break near the entrance portal on this floor, there's just 3 more before our destination.

The redhead speaks up while swallowing a mouthful of food he just recently pulled from his item box.

"Hey Jay, why'd you become a hunter at the Association anyway? You don't seem to like the director much, and you don't even wear a standard-issue uniform."

I grab an apple from the food pile Fisher left us and take a bite. Swallowing before I answer.

"I just wanted to get stronger. This seemed like it'd be the only way."

Rylan nods, looking up at the sky.

"Well, they only pick out one new elite squad per region every year, so you totally lucked out!"

I shrug.

"Lucked out? Maybe. I think luck just gets you where you deserve to be faster. For better or worse, right?"

The redhead looks at me with a confused look, then carries on with his nonsensical rambling differing the conversation to a completely different topic.

We carry on with our walk upwards soon after.

Another 4 hours pass and we make it to the 16th floor. This is the miniature version of The Great Plains dungeon. Apparently, this is the place where Rylan and his team usually train. He speaks up.

"This is our last floor, we should be able to meet my team by the boss room portal. The Director sent them a transmission to let them know our estimated arrival time. That's where we usually meet up before jumping floors anyways."

We head to the back of the dungeon without another thought.

Although we rushed through these 7 floors, about 25k MP worth of crystals was farmed from mobs that attacked us on the way. I'll have to scrounge up another 25k myself at some point during the week.

As we approach the backside of the dungeon, my enemy detection radar picks up on double the readings it's supposed to. There are 4 extra entities nearby, and they're all over level 360...

I speak up to Rylan as we approach the top of the final hill that leads down to the portal below.

"Hey... We have company. It's not just your team down there."

We make It to the top of the last rolling hill and who I see next surprises me. I use Appraisal and inspect on a tall man in silver and gold armor with long blond hair and bright blue eyes.

____________________

[Lv. 377]

Active Items:

[Enchanted Steel Sword] +900 Strength

[Enchanted Armor Set] +1100 Defense

[Enchanted Gold Ring] +50% Mental Strength

[Enchanted Ring of Quickness] +55% Speed

[Enchanted Platinum Ring] +70% Mental Strength

[Dragon Scale Pendant] +50% Mental Strength

Active Skills:

Combat Magic [Barrier Summoning]

Swordsmanship

____________________

I whisper under my breath as I realize this is one of the hunters that I clashed with at the C-Class Exam.

"It's him..."

He's definitely gotten some major upgrades in both his level and gear.

I freeze, and squint my eyes to get a better look at him. While doing so, Rylan's voice calls out.

"Oh look who it is! We caught up to ya'll. What are the odds?"

He starts walking down the hill toward his teammates who happen to be mingling with the armored team of nobles. They seem to be talking about the higher floors of the labyrinth.

I follow Rylan and we make our way down to greet them. The noble team leader turns to greet us, but a surprised expression followed by a grin creeps across his face when he sees me.

"It's you. I was wondering where you ended up after all this time! Well, until recently that is."

The team leader puts out a strong-looking right hand. I walk forward to shake it to be polite. I've completely forgotten his name, so I hope he introduces himself again...

"It's me! George. George Arden the 3rd. You're Jay, right? One of the first hunters to ever break through my skill's defenses, I can't forget a face like that! Although, you do look much older. It's been a few weeks at most...."

Sure, it's been a few weeks to him, but I've been through hell and back since I saw him last. I'm glad he's in such a good mood today. We're on the same side this time around, that's a relief.

I swallow hard before answering, scratching the back of my head after letting go of his firm handshake.

"I- yeah. It's been a long few weeks, the lack of sleep much be showing on my face. It's good to see you too. Looks like we both go contracted after the exams."

He grins as his 3 teammates stand at the ready behind him in almost identical silver and gold armor.

"Yeah, we were able to manage a non-exclusive contract. I used the Arden family name to ensure a good deal for us. The Director gave us clearance to farm up on the 18th floor this week. Yeti Charms fetch a good price off in the lower-tier Regions without higher-level Labyrinth activity."

I nod, putting together the puzzle pieces in my head. It seems his family is in the trade business. He said he was George Arden the 3rd. His grandfather must have taken advantage of the dungeon breaks when they were just starting up 80 years ago, or possibly during the Great War just 50 years back.

This could be how they bought into a noble name. It's just my theory for now. I'm not one to pry. Either way, I'm happy he's so friendly with me all of a sudden...

The tall armored noble continues to speak.

"I heard through the grapevine that you'll be one of the Vice Region's Elite this year, along with that girl that wields Ice Magic. Maria, I believe her name was."

I'm unsure where he got this information so fast. I tighten my gaze, then in a polite manner.

"It seems to be the case. Why...?"

He bows his head slightly.

"Once your Elite training is complete, I humbly ask for you and your team to visit my estate just East of the capital. I'm sure it would be a profitable meeting for both of us, in many ways."

He smiles as I think about his offer.

He's met me one time in the past so far. Although we ended our clash with a tie, I haven't exactly done anything to get on this noble's good side.

This title of 'Elite' must mean more than I thought it did.

I let out a thin smile and respond.

"I- sure. I have a lot of missions ahead, so it'll be quite a while, but I won't pass up your offer. How can I uh-"

He cuts me off.

"Very well. Just ask any Association higher-up about the Arden family. They'll point you in the right direction."

I nod slowly as he begins to turn back to his team, waving and giving me a last word of goodbye.

"I'm glad we met again Jay, looking forward to doing business with you in the near future."

I scrunch my eyebrows, still a bit confused about this entire situation. I respond as he completely ignores Rylan and his squad members and jumps into the open boss room portal with his team.

"See ya-"

They're gone, leaving us in the empty fields of the miniature Great Plains.

The redhead meets back up with his team while I continue to think about the interaction I just fumbled myself into. I guess... that's just another thing I have to add to my long list of things to do.

I hear Rylan's voice call out to me.

"Hey Jay, it was a nice walk up here. My team is about to move up to the 17th floor to face the High Ogres like we've been training for all this time. Care to join us in the boss fight? I assume you'll be climbing higher too, right?"

I smirk.

"It was a pleasure climbing with you as well. Maybe I'll see you later, or when I meet back up with Fisher in a few days. I'm going to stay here and farm some more mana crystals for a few hours before heading up. Gotta hit that quota!"

He nods with a cheerful smile, turning to enter the spinning grey portal himself.

"You got that right! We'll be setting up camp to sleep in a few hours back here on the 16th floor once we're done farming for a bit. If you need a place to rest after training, come back and stay with us."

He throws me a day's worth of food and water, then disappears into the portal with his teammates.

I wave goodbye.

"Take care, see ya."

Once they're gone, I let out the longest exhale of my life...

"Finally, I get to solo hunt again."

Without another moment of hesitation, I activate my Dungeon Walker skill and teleport straight up to the 19th floor.

"It's time to test out the limits of my newly upgraded mana control."