A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

Dorian had been worried that it would be difficult to get into the dungeon. But expectation and reality were complete opposites of each other in this case.

There was a long and promient road that cut through the centre of the town, it was paved in a beautiful stone that sparkled like glitter when the sunlight hit it. The road ended at the gate to the dungeon.

Still, it was not so easy that you could just walk into the dungeon. There were guards at the gate, and they demanded a gold coin per person if you wanted to enter. 

[Lv. 134 King's Guard.]

[Lv. 136 King's Guard.]

Most people in Eldershade had already done the dungeon before, so despite having over 100,000 residents. There were perhaps a hundred people there, and most were in groups.

It was likely that these people were not people who lived in Eldershade, but people who had travled here - like him - to do the dungeon. And as he walked past people standing at the gates and recruiting to fill their party, a petite woman with purple hair stepped into his path. Dorian would usually assume it was an accident and simply move round them, however, it was hard to believe this when said person was staring straight at him, her body facing directly toward him.

"Hi there! Wanna join us? I notice you don't have a party." The woman asked, her high-pitched voice ringing in his ears like tinnitus.

Dorian shook off the annoying effect her voice had on his ears - which seemed to be rather fragile, and replied.

"No."

The woman looked shocked, as if not expecting Dorian to say that at all.

"Not to be rude or anything... but doing a dungeon solo is suicide... we're not that much better but you'll certainly do better with us then without us. No one else wants to join us, but you would be a perfect fit!" She beamed.

"I'll be fine." Dorian said simply, and moved to go past her, but she shifted and steadfastly blocked his path yet again. Dorian sighed.

"Please move out my way, I have no interest in a party."

"That's not a good way of convincing me, if you're convinced you'll be fine by yourself then that means you must be strong for your level, which only makes me want you in our party more! But, I obviously can't force you, so go on." The woman said, finally moving out his way so he could walk past.

Dorian didn't say anything and simply moved past her, finally on his way. He wasn't worried about the dungeon, he was sure he could go a respectable distance, obviously if a super-strong party approached him, he would join. He wouldn't get much individual EXP from it, but the most important thing about dungeons isn't the EXP, it was the titles.

"Excuse me." A man with dark brown hair had now appeared in front of Dorian, violet eyes sparkled from behind his hair, staring right through Dorian's eyes.

Dorian sighed, were people this desperate for a party that they would recruit random people?

"I'm not interested in joining a party."

"Are you sure? We can pay you, and besides, we're not a weak party... well, we technically are a weak party. But I'm not, which makes the party I'm part of strong."

Dorian frowned at this, and used [Cat's Eye] to assess the man's level. He was pleasantly surprised.

[Lv. 142 Arcane Spellblade]

Not only was the man an insanely high level, but he had a class that he had never heard of before. Meaning it was not one of the usual [Common] or [Uncommon] classes. It had to be at least rare, and - just looking at the name - it seemed to be a powerful attacking class. Very useful in a dungeon.

"Ok," Dorian said simply, "I'll join you. Where's your party?"

The man pointed behind Dorian, he turned around and saw three other people. A tall man with short hair and a beard, he had on heavy armour and a large hammer. The second person was a tall, skinny woman with blue hair that was almost white, she had very light armour and a rapier. He had never seen anyone use a rapier, it was a weapon reserved for nobility - you would never catch someone like that in Greystone.

And the final party member... was a petite woman with purple hair. She held a wooden staff he hadn't noticed before, she was clearly some sort of mage.

"Hi!" She screeched, "You decided to join us after all? That's great!"

Dorian found himself sighing again, it was going to be a long expedition. But oh well, a little party never killed nobody.