After an hour of rest and freshening up, Lukas, Akira, and Melody came downstairs together.

They had bright smiles on their faces, each one walking with confidence and ease, as if they had no worries in the world.

Melody was already talking before they’d reached the bottom step, giving them refined ideas on the businesses they’d discussed the night before, her hands moving as she spoke.

Akira listened with the expression of someone who was genuinely engaged but also very hungry.

Lukas spotted Karrakas the moment they entered the tavern floor.

The man was already at his usual table, suited as always, a cup in front of him and a small folded document beside it. He looked up and raised a hand in greeting. "Morning, guys."

They returned the greeting before ordering their breakfast at the counter and joined him, pulling chairs around the table.

"You look pleased with yourselves," Karrakas observed.

"We had a good night," Melody said.

Karrakas accepted their explanation with a nod. He picked up the folded document and set it in the center of the table. "I know it’s early to be discussing this, but word came through this morning. I have here your first mission from the Le Fay family."

Akira sat forward immediately. "What is it?" Her expression was eager. "Assasinate a local warlord? Harvest rare beasts outside the city? Escort a city destroying threat through the spatial gate?"

Her eyes shined with excitement.

Karrakas chuckled at her words. "Nothing that exciting. Just security detail. The Le Fay family is holding a ball in Salaria in a week’s time and they need capable Adepts present for the evening as guards. You three will be among them." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Akira stared at him for a few seconds in disbelief.

"A ball?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes. A ball," he confirmed. "It’ll be a formal event, with high attendance and prominent guests. Your job is to be present and capable should anything go wrong."

He shrugged. "As long as no one attacks, you stand around, look impressive, and collect your pay at the end of the evening."

Akira leaned back in her chair with a disappointed expression on her face, She’d been expecting something entirely different.

Melody, on the other hand, brightened. "A ball. That means formal clothes."

"It does," Karrakas said. "But not for you. You won’t be among those in a dress. Instead, you’ll be in the Le Fay family security uniform."

"Oh," Melody said, looking crestfallen.

Lukas frowned, his mind on something else. "The ball is in a week, right? Do we have enough time for a dungeon run before then?"

Karrakas tilted his head, thinking about it. "That depends on the dungeon. Some here take weeks to clear, and some take days. With a week’s window, it’s possible if we pick carefully."

He paused. "I’ll take some time and compile a list of the options for you."

Their food arrived before he could continue. The waiter set the plates down, checked that everything was in order, and left.

They began eating in a brief, comfortable silence.

When the waiter was far enough away, Karrakas continued.

"Just like the First Floor is called the Tutorial Floor, the Second Floor also has a name," he said, cutting into his food. "It is called the Sieve. This is because this floor filters through the Climbers."

He looked at each of them. "The people who are content with what they’ve built stay here, unable to envision a life for themselves beyond the Second Floor. And the ones who are going to climb higher get a taste of the danger they’d be facing on higher floors."

"The longer one fights on the Second Floor, the more each Climber realizes just what kind of person they are."

"But the main thing is that dungeons work differently here compared to the Second Floor."

"What do you mean?" Lukas asked.

"First is that every dungeon can be entered by any Adept regardless of their sub-rank. An E-rank can enter the same dungeons as an S-rank. In fact, an E and S-rank can partner together to clear a dungeon."

"The second thing is the difficulty of clearing a dungeon scale to whoever enters. A group of E-rank Adepts and a group of C-rank Adepts can both enter the same dungeon and get a different experience entirely."

He set his fork down briefly. "Some dungeons take hours, and some take months, depending on the group, the dungeon’s particular design, and the conditions for clearing the quest. You can never be entirely sure going in."

"And the rewards?" Melody asked.

"That’s the third thing," Karrakas said. "The Second Floor is particularly stingy when it comes to rewards."

"The dungeons don’t hand out loot generously, and even if you perform, outstandingly, you won’t come out with overflowing spatial rings." He paused. "But that isn’t why experienced Adepts run them."

"Then why?" Akira asked.

"Stats," Lukas said, before Karrakas could answer.

Karrakas pointed at him. "Exactly. Dungeons on this floor are the most reliable and accessible way to push your stats higher. It’s also the most permanent and consistent way. Hunt in the open desert and you’ll grow. Clear dungeons and you’ll grow with stats."

He picked his fork back up. "That’s the trade. You go through a difficult run, get the kind of loot that makes you look destitute, but at least you get a few meaningful stat gains."

They all nodded.

"I’ll get you a list by tonight of the dungeons around this gate that you could realistically clear within the week." Karrakas said. "We’ll pick from that."

Silence filled the air as they continued with their food, each one lost in his own thoughts.

They soon finished eating and sat back, the plates empty on the table.

Melody turned her cup in her hands, turning to Karrakas. "The security gig. How much are we looking at?"

Karrakas considered it, tilting his head slightly. "I can’t give you an exact figure. The Le Fay family doesn’t publish their rates in advance. But it won’t be cheap."

"A formal family ball with prominent guests requires capable people, and capable people don’t exactly work for free. My estimate would be somewhere around a hundred thousand gold coins each, most likely."

Melody thought about it. A hundred thousand gold coins for a single night of guarding a party? That was good money.

Then someone outside yelled.

Before any of them could react to it, a bell began tolling somewhere in the distance.

Something was wrong.