"Hmm, well thanks for the lunch, Grandpa. Time to return to training. I need t—"
"Wait."
He called out.
"I'll join you. It's time."
"Time for what?"
"You've been training for weeks now. It's time to find your soul weapon."
"Oh, that? What is it again—?"
SMACK.
A solid hit to the back of the head. For a second, he thought he'd throw up. He lifted his head and laughed.
"Aww, I just forgot, man."
"Ah haha, stupid child. Your soul weapon is what will give you your true power."
"Oh, okay. So how do I get it? Just stretch out my hand and pick one?"
"No. You'll enter the dungeon."
He froze mid-step, mind racing.
The dungeon? Already? I thought I had more time. He said I had a few months before that... Am I even ready? Can I—
"Calm down," Augustus said. "You'll be fine. You can wear some armor, take a few weapons of your choice. Survive, and your soul weapon will find you. It's unique. It bonds only to you."
"…And if I don't survive?"
Augustus shrugged.
"Heyyy, that's not nice, old man! You just gonna ignore the fact that I might die?"
"Relax, boy. I wouldn't send you in if I didn't think you could survive. But you'll need that soul weapon soon."
"Why? I mean, I know the Player Academy starts in two months, but—"
"Not that." Augustus paused. "I set up a practice match. You'll be fighting someone from the Velgrath family."
"…Velgrath?" His eyes widened. "Wait—I saw them when I was on the train here. They're the family known for producing top-tier Assassin-class Players! Wait, what?? You set me up to fight someone from that family? Are you crazy, old man?! What if I die?!"
"They promised it'd be a low-ranked guy," Augustus mumbled, looking away, guilt creeping in.
Josen sighed, rubbing his temples.
"…Well. We better hurry then. I don't want to lose to anyone. I'll be the best in the entire world."
He dashed down the stairs, sliding across the tiles with too much speed.
"Woah—hah, okay okay. Let's pick a weapon."
He rummaged through racks and drawers, packing a bag: knives, daggers, swords, katanas, even a few smoke bombs for good measure.
"That's all you're taking?"
"…Am I missing something?"
"Hmm. Take these too."
He handed over a few glowing vials.
"And these are?"
"My pills. They restore health—drastically."
"Ouhhh, you made these? You're a scientist too?"
"Yep. Now go rest. At exactly 8 PM, I'll open the dungeon. The moment it opens, you rush in. I'll be watching."
"You'll be there?"
"Only to adjust the difficulty, if I think it's too easy for you."
"Wait, difficulty?"
"Yeah. I can customize it. It ranges from F-rank to SSS-rank."
"…Okay."
4 Hours Later — 7: 59 PM
The wind picked up, cold and dry, brushing past his neck as he stood in front of the dungeon gate. The once-still air now twisted and hissed like something was breathing behind the door. The temperature dipped. The sky above was quiet — too quiet.
"Hey! Get out here, boy!"
Josen flinched.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm late!" he shouted, stumbling down the stairs two steps at a time. He landed with a thud and skidded to a stop beside Augustus. "Okay, I'm ready!"
He started walking toward the dungeon, one hand outstretched toward the glowing surface—
YANK.
A firm hand grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him backwards.
"Are you dense?" Augustus barked. "You forgot your bag. You wanna die in there?"
"Oh—haha, my bad." Josen rubbed his neck, laughing awkwardly. He jogged back, picked up the bag full of weapons and supplies, and slung it over his shoulder. "Alright, now I'm ready. See ya, Grandpa!"
"Yeah, yeah, go already."
But just as he was about to put a foot inside the portal, something clicked in his mind.
"Wait… how long will this take again?"
Augustus blinked, scratching his beard. "Oh, uh… don't worry about it."
"…Huh?"
"A week."
"WHAT?!"
Before he could process it, Augustus raised a hand and shoved him through the portal with surprising strength.
"Bye!"
And with that, the gate swallowed him whole.
"AHH, he totally wont die"
"I hope"