Not far from the entrance to a Dungeon called Endless Gloom Cavern.
Sunlight barely touched the forest floor.
The towering trees of the rainforest grew so dense and immense that their branches intertwined far above and formed a heavy canopy.
In this shadowed wilderness, six figures pushed through the undergrowth.
There were three fighters in the group. A swordsman with a rust-spotted blade resting on his shoulder, a burly axeman with thick arms, and a bowman with eyes wandered everywhere except the path, lingering especially on the girl behind them.
Behind the fighters trudged two miners.
Both of them carried pickaxes, rope coils, and bags meant for mana ores.
Their clothes were worn and patched, their expressions tired but more kinder than the fighters.
The miners kept their distance from the front three, staying close to the mage girl as if acting as a fragile barrier.
At the very back walked the sixth member—A young mage of only seventeen.
Her robe was cheap and thin. Her wooden staff was plain, barely polished. Mana flickered around her in a weak and unstable manner, far lower than a proper mage's would be.
She didn't speak. She only walked while clutching her staff tightly with anxious fingers.
She had joined this group not because she wanted to… but because she had nowhere else to go.
Her family owed a crushing debt. If she didn't earn money by joining an adventurers party, she would be forced into becoming a prostitute to pay it off.
The debtor was afraid of adventurers so they would leave her alone as long as she was in this group.
Adventuring was dangerous but at least it offered a sliver of dignity.
The three fighters were the reason she kept her gaze low.
They often harassed her, mocked her skills, and whispered dirty jokes about her body.
More than once, the swordsman grabbed her wrist too tightly or the axeman cornered her near a tree.
Only the two miners stepped in each time, their voices were shaky but firm enough to stop the fighters from going further.
But they couldn't watch her every second. Nor did they dare confront the front three too strongly. They needed this job as much as she did.
So the girl endured.
She just uses her weak healing spells when asked.
She walked behind them, doing everything she could to remain unnoticed. She had done this job for a week but she didn't know how long she could stand this.
The rainforest swallowed their footsteps.
The swordsman slowed his steps, then abruptly fell back to the rear of the group.
Before the young mage could react, his hand clamped onto her shoulder.
She flinched hard, gripping her staff until her knuckles turned white.
Her breath hitched, but she forced herself not to pull away. She already knew she wouldn't win if she tried.
"Are you scared, Aria?" the swordsman said with a wide grin.
Aria. That was her name.
His hot foul breath washed over her face, and she grimaced before she could stop herself.
"Heh," he chuckled. "Relax. Everything's gonna be fine. You're with me, after all. I won't let anything happen to you."
Aria forced a small, brittle smile. "…Yes."
"Good." His grin widened.
Then his hand slid down and grabbed her butt.
Aria jerked violently and gasped. The sudden touch felt like ice stabbing through her chest. Shame, fear, and disgust tangled inside her stomach until she felt sick.
"It's been a week since you joined us," the swordsman said casually, his voice dripping with amusement. "So isn't it about time we got a little… closer?"
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
Was this it? Was she really going to be forced to satisfy the desires of these three disgusting men? Was that all her life had become right now?
Her teeth clenched. Her entire body trembled with fear, but she still couldn't speak. She didn't know what to say.
Ahead of them, the axeman and bowman had turned to look back at her.
Their expressions were full of expectation, she felt like their eyes were stripping her.
The swordsman finally released her butt and walked back to the front, laughing under his breath as he joined his companions again.
The two miners averted their eyes. Their faces were tight with guilt and helplessness. But they said nothing.
They couldn't. They were just as trapped as she was.
And Aria walked on in silence, her heart pounding, dread sinking deeper into her bones with every step toward the Dungeon.
The swordsman stretched his arms lazily as if nothing at all had happened moments ago.
"So," he said, his voice light and casual, "did you guys hear the rumors? I heard that there was a dragon sighting to the east."
He spoke as though he hadn't just violated Aria's body and dignity minutes earlier.
Aria quickly wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve, rough and hurried, trying to make sure no one noticed.
"Dragon?" the axeman snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. Dragons haven't existed for thousands of years. They're long dead."
"Or," the bowman replied with a smirk, "maybe that's exactly what the dragons want us to believe. If I were a dragon and knew how valuable every part of my body was, I'd also want everyone thinking I was extinct."
The swordsman chuckled. "Fair point. Every piece of a dragon, their scales, bones, eyes, and blood, can be turned into potions, weapons, armor, or insanely strong artifacts. If we could just kill one dragon, we'd never have to set foot in a Dungeon again."
"You're right," the axeman said with a heavy sigh. "Honestly, I hope we do find a dragon. With the war brewing between our kingdom and the Kingdom of Elarion, the elves' damned empire, the economy's going to crash again."
"Enough talk," the bowman muttered. "Let's just focus on this Dungeon. If today's haul is good, we'll be fine even if a war breaks out. At least we wouldn't be starving."
They walked for several more minutes through the thick rainforest until the path finally widened.
Ahead of them rose a moss-covered hill, its surface tangled with roots and clutching vines.
Near its base yawned a large hole and within it swirled a white, mist-like energy.
That was the entrance to the Dungeon known as Endless Gloom Cavern. A simple Copper Rank Dungeon—the lowest and supposedly safest difficulty.
Even so, Endless Gloom Cavern had a reputation.
It was said to be packed with mana ore, far more than most Copper Dungeons. If they were careful… they could walk out with a haul large enough to live comfortably for weeks.
Aria swallowed hard as the soft wind blew from the entrance, carrying the faint scent of cold stone and mana.
Whatever awaited them inside, she knew clearly that there would be no safety for her here.
—