The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros

This last Lobby was a cavernous arena, its ceiling stretching endlessly upward. At its center stood the Abyssal Behemoth, a monstrous, multi-limbed creature with chitinous armor and glowing blue veins. Its deep, guttural roar reverberated through the chamber as it towered over them, easily twenty feet tall.

Kael raised his flame aegis. "This is it. Stay focused!"

Ryn charged first, his strikes aimed at the Behemoth's legs to disrupt its balance. The beast roared and swiped at him, but Kael's shield absorbed the brunt of the blow.

"Keep it confused!" Alzera yelled, launching water orbs at its eyes.

Aeric handed her a glaive. "I think this could cut through its armor!" he said.

Bel stood back, chanting her spell and activating her [Skill: Buff], which increased Ryn and Alzera's strength while sapping the Behemoth's energy. "It's weakening!" she called.

As the Behemoth staggered, Ryn leaped onto its back, driving his daggers into the glowing veins. Alzera followed up with a slash to its underbelly, and Kael sent a burst of flames to its exposed core.

The beast put up a fight after that, but the team's coordination was impeccable now and with a final, coordinated strike, the Behemoth let out a deafening roar and collapsed, its body dissolving into shimmering Divinity.

[You have defeated the final boss!]

[Dungeon is now successfully cleared]

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[Go through the light and return to the real world]

Smiling at each other, while Aeric dried his sweat, the team emerged from the Dungeon, battered but triumphant.

The light of the sun attacked Aeric's face and he used his hand to shield his face. There were other Players waiting outside, trying to apply for a challenge. Some looked at them with a mix of awe and envy as the group stepped into the sunlight. Others congratulated them.

Standing there, and searching around to be certain his sister's weren't outside, Aeric's system chimed:

[You have successfully defeated your first Divine Quest]

[Commendations! The element of Divinity favors you greatly]

[Rewards allocated for defeating Divine Quest, Dungeon: 200 XP Allocated, 50 SP Allocated].

[You have been granted a new Item: Echo Locket].

'Echo Locket?' Aeric thought as he examined the device on his interface. The description floated before him: It was a magical instrument that captured sound and voice to replay later.

He smirked. 'Sounds like something good for blackmail,' he thought, tucking away the interface.

Alzera stepped closer, her cheeks pink. "Dagwood… can I talk to you?"

Aeric looked at her. He needed to get home quickly before Rosette and Misty came out of the Dungeon, but he could make out a little time for her.

"Sure," he said.

They walked to a corner of the rocks while Kael, Bel and Ryn watched.

"Thank you for today," she said, her eyes down. "You opened me up to a lot of possibilities."

'I did that literally too,' Aeric said in his mind.

"It's fine," he replied casually. "You also did a lot for me as well. More than you can imagine."

"I see," she hesitated. "Maybe… a drink to celebrate? There's an alehouse near my place."

Aeric wrinkled his nose. "I'd love to, but my parents are waiting. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" That is true. Alzera nodded, still red-cheeked. "Next time, then."

"Sure," Aeric said. They waved good-bye and he waved the rest of the team as well, and began marching out of the Dungeon Entrance.

He climbed down small rocks and protrusions, before making his way toward the cave where Sylver waited.

The Beast Companion barked happily as Aeric walked into the cave, wagging his tail and bringing out its purple tongue.

"Good boy, Sylver!" Aeric exclaimed as he gave the beast some food and hurriedly put on his real clothes, flinging the torn away away.

Then he mounted the beast and patted it gently. "Let's go!"

~ ~ ~

Back in the Dungeon Entrance, a frustrated Rosette was about to step out.

Moments later, after they finished with their challenge, Rosette, Misty, and Faeryn stepped out of the Dungeon.

There were other Players there, but no one resembled Aeric of Starlight. Rosette scanned the crowd, her expression sour. "He's not here."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Misty shrugged. "I told you. Why would Aeric try to challenge the Dungeon? He's way too weak and inexperienced."

Rosette clenched her fists. "Because we didn't find him, doesn't mean he wasn't here."

Misty rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, sis."

Faeryn scanned as well, her face unexpressive. "Even if your brother was there. I warned you, didn't I? It was a wild goose chase. Dungeons are designed to be personalized."

"Can you two stop rubbing it on my face?!" she stomped her feet on the floor, and clenched her fists. "At least I followed my intuition, all you two offered was pessimism and time wasting!"

Faeryn looked at her, an indifferent eyebrow raised. "You bore me, Rosette." She walked away, leaving the Dungeon Entrance.

"Hello!" a woman stood in front of her, beaming with respect. "I can not believe it. You are Faeryn of Elysium! I've heard so much about your expeditions in Dungeons all over the realm."

Faeryn gave her a long assessing gaze. "And you're Alzera of Starlight. I have also heard about you. You do fine work!"

Alzera grinned. "Thank you! That means so much coming from you, Daughter Faeryn."

Rosette, on the other hand, was still fuming. She couldn't believe that she wasn't right! How wasn't he there?

Stepping forward, she glanced up, just missing a faint shimmer in the sky. A silver road appeared briefly, with a beast racing along it. By the time she focused, it had vanished.

"What is it?" Misty asked. "Did you see something?"

After looking up for a while, "Nothing," Rosette said, narrowing her eyes.

She frowned and began to leave the Dungeon Entrance. "Let's go, Misty."

High in the sky, above the clouds, Aeric laughed as Sylver galloped through the Silver Road, the wind whipping around him.

"Ha ha ha ha!" his mouth was wide with excitement as he laughed. "We did it, Sylver! We fucking did it!"