As Rylan approached the wall, the raven-haired man made his way down the stairs on the other side. Just after Rylan crossed the gates into the town, the man arrived in front of him and scanned him up and down.

"Welcome, traveler," the bearded man started. Meanwhile, Rylan scanned him. The man was in the Third Circle as well. "I didn't hear your conversation, but it was only right for me to talk to someone of your power level personally."

Rylan nodded with a grin behind his mask.

"I'm here to go to Golem Haven. I'll only use the first lodgings I can find to sleep. I understand my words don't mean much, but I won't cause any trouble."

The bearded man blinked before smiling, but only nodded instead of replying. Of course, Rylan had a good idea why.

He must have realized that I'm in the Third Circle too. For a town like this, stopping me from doing anything could come at a possibly high cost.

He wasn't the kind of Mage who could be easily subdued, simply because of his Circle. If they faced him, the risk that many soldiers would be injured existed. As such, the man had decided that it would be best for Rylan to simply be allowed in, even if only to avoid offending him. It was the right call, even if the man himself was in the Third Circle. Alternatively, it was possible that the town had a policy to allow in powerful Mages, since it was likely a hub for skilled fighters who wished to delve into the Dungeon.

Nodding to himself, Rylan followed the man deeper into the town. The buildings lining the wide road were simple, as he had already seen from the outside, but the town felt strangely homely. At the same time, the number of armed Mages and soldiers in the streets was far higher than back in Cantavega, which was a town of similar size. Most of the Mages walked in groups, a few sporting injuries and being supported by the other members. As for the soldiers, a few of them wielded swords and spears, but most were dressed in robes and wielded staves and wands. Rylan looked at them with a pensive expression.

I need to go back and talk to Jack, Scott, and all the others.

The reason why he hadn't done so already was quite simple – he simply couldn't. He hadn't learned enough about magic to be able to lecture them well, and he hadn't awakened Aura yet, nor become able to disregard the consequences of teaching it to others. For now, the soldiers back home would need to wait for a bit more. Still, the image of them made Rylan smile.

Eventually, he arrived before a large hotel. He inspected the building. Stone walls that went up three stories, windows made of wood and glass, and simple decoration that consisted of leather sofas and chairs. The main entrance's doors opened, allowing him to glimpse the building's interior. It was just as simple and rustic as the exterior, but the warm air and the smells of food and leather were quite pleasant.

"This is the best and largest inn in Redania," the bearded guard who had led him here said, turning around to look at him. "But if I may, traveler. There are places where you would be able to find teammates before delving into the Dungeon. Golem Haven is an extremely dangerous Dungeon, besides being very large. I would highly recommend you search for a group to be part of, even if you're in the Third Circle."

Rylan smiled behind his mask. He could hear the warning tone in the man's words. Golem Haven was a Dungeon which Damian had classified at the difficulty level of the Fifth Circle, which meant that a party of Fifth Circle Mages was needed to delve into it safely. Someone like him, at the Third Circle, to enter the Dungeon alone was nothing short of suicide.

But that's exactly why I chose this Dungeon as the first one.

The fact that it was so large was what he was going for. It would be much easier for him to head to a location far from the entrance and fight to his heart's content without risking being seen.

"Thank you," Rylan replied. "I'll do just that, don't worry. It was the plan all along."

The bearded man relaxed and smiled at Rylan. After exchanging their goodbyes, the man left, walking back in the direction of the entrance.

Rylan turned around and entered the inn. The process of getting a room was quite simple, luckily. Despite the fact that the town was filled with people, he managed to score a room at the far end of the second floor. He went up the stairs, found his room, and entered. After checking everything was in order, Rylan turned around.

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I probably won't come here, though.

He was planning to sleep in the Dungeon, but at least he had a room. He went back down the stairs and left the inn before walking east, through the town streets. After a while, he turned a corner and came face to face with a large gate. Around it, dozens of people, all wearing robes and holding staves or wands, gathered in groups. Right in front of the gate, several soldiers yelled.

"Team Z45, you are now allowed in! Follow the road until you reach the Gate!" one of them shouted.

"Remember, Redania is willing to buy all monster byproducts at an increased price!" yelled another.

Rylan smiled at the sight.

As expected, the towns near the Dungeons have systems in place.

Damian had been right. Of course, Rylan didn't plan to be part of it at all. He turned around after confirming the situation and walked back in the direction of the inn. About halfway there, however, he turned to the right and smoothly jumped over the city wall after checking he wouldn't be seen by anyone with his senses. He landed softly on the other side of the wall, outside the city. Without wasting even a second, he shot toward Golem Haven's Gate's location, using the road the soldiers had talked about as a guide.

He kept his body low, allowing the shadows of the canopies and the tall brushes to hide most of his figure. Every step was as delicate as a leaf falling on a lake's surface, barely making any sound.

Eventually, between the tree trunks, he could see the large, violet circle of pure energy. It was around the same size as Basilisk Wilds'. Rylan slowed down and started approaching the main road that led to the gate slowly. However, he didn't step into it. There would be no way for him to justify why he was approaching the gate all alone, as the soldiers back at the city likely wouldn't have even allowed him to pass before he found a team.

He continued to approach the Gate. As expected, it was surrounded by soldiers.

But their attention is lacking.

The soldiers looked almost bored as they looked around, as if they didn't expect anything to happen at all. For that reason, finding a gap between them was as simple as breathing. Rylan lowered his center of gravity when the opportunity presented itself.

Falling Snow Steps: Drifting.

He shot forward like an arrow, but the leaves and brushes around him barely moved. He crossed the distance between himself and the Gate rapidly from behind it, therefore keeping all of the people on the road from seeing him. As one soldier was about to look at him, he reached the Gate and decisively dove into it. Space shifted as all colors twisted and turned. A moment later, Rylan found himself at a new location.

He stood on flat, grassy ground. The sun shone upon him from above, while the warm breeze made his robe flutter, alongside his hair. The lush, green grass underfoot embraced his feet sweetly, to the point where he was confident that lying down would be exceptionally comfortable.

However, far ahead was the one thing that caught his attention. A huge mountain forced its way out of the grassy ground like a spike piercing out of flesh. It proudly pierced the sky, its peak covered in snow. At the bottom, a gaping cave mouth opened, looking like a giant had torn his way through the mountain. Even at this distance, Rylan could see the artificial lighting on the ceiling of the tunnel, as well as how the inside was structured. It looked completely different from simple stone, being instead dark brown and made of layers of brick-like blocks. Only a few meters in, the large main path split into five others.

And here we are.

As Damian had told him, Golem Haven consisted of the area within the mountain.

A Dungeon that looks like a Mage Tower.

It was no exaggeration to say that the entire mountain's interior was part of the Dungeon. To begin with, Golems, according to Damian, weren't lifeforms and were instead entities created by powerful Mages. The fact that they had been designated as a Dungeon's enemies, by itself, was already highly interesting, enough to make Damian question the nature of Dungeons.

Rylan narrowed his eyes. Of course, because of his past life, he knew far more about Dungeons than Damian.

This was probably a Mage's Mage Tower, somewhere out there.

Dungeons were, at least partly, reflections of the world outside them. It had been like that in his past life, and seemed to be the same in this life. For instance, the birth and development of the Young Basilisk he'd killed had been enough for the System to make it take on the mantle of a Boss and create a Dungeon around it.

Rylan shook his head to clear his thoughts. He could feel the piercing stares of the people around him.

"…Hey, is that dude alone? Really?" he heard a woman say in a hushed tone.

"Fuck, and he's only in the Third Circle? Who allowed him in?" a man replied, louder than her.

From the other side.

"He must've sneaked around the guards. Is this a type of suicide?"

"They'll not even be able to find his body. Should we invite him into our group? I don't want to let someone die just like that."

"Hell no. He needs to deal with the consequences of his own choices."

The talking about him only got louder. Rylan let out a sigh. Just as a few people started walking toward him, he started to run forward, quickly widening the distance between himself and all the others. Gasps of surprise and people calling him out were lost in the wind as he continued to run. At the same time, he didn't circulate his mana or use Drifting. Those would give rise to questions not easily answered.

As he ran and approached the cave mouth, Rylan created a mental list of his priorities, which he had set after evaluating his current self.

First, Passive Skills. Second, supplementary sword styles. Third, pushing myself to my limit.

As long as he kept this in mind, he was confident that he would emerge much stronger than before.

Finally, after a short while, he arrived in front of the cave mouth. After taking a deep breath, Rylan stepped inside and chose the path that resonated with his mana the most. It meant that the enemies further in would be more dangerous than those in the others.

His training had begun.

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