Chapter Text
It doesn’t rain often in the Northern territories but when it does it pours. The year is K422. A little after dusk a young magician boy by the name of Rudeus Greyrat is currently sitting in his inn room. He has been here, in the coastal town of Whitburrow for about 4 months, now.
A sigh escaped Rudeus’s lips as he gazed at the open book in front of him. The atmosphere around him was cosy and warm, in stark contrast to the wet and frigid hellscape outside his window. Despite his accommodations, Rudeus was exhausted.
It all started a little over 8 months prior. Rudeus was drinking quietly at a table when he was approached by a familiar face. A certain monkey-faced newbie had tracked him down to tell him some interesting news.
Rudeus’s mother Zenith Greyrat had been missing for half a decade, she vanished without a trace alongside the entire Fittoa region. Gisu came to Rudeus with something incredible, he had a lead on Zenith's location.
Rumour had it that a blonde healer was sighted disoriented near the coast of Neris, shortly after getting her bearings she formed a small party of adventurers and plunged into a dungeon. She was flat broke at the time of her teleportation.
She claimed to be S-ranked and her combat skills were enough to gain people’s trust. Soon after she joined a party of 4 delving into a nearby, newly discovered labyrinth. According to the rumour she needed the cash so she could travel back home.
The labyrinth itself was a beast all its own. Its entrance is only accessible at set times of the month, due to the tide and its rather unique first floor. making an exploration of its depths either short-lived or insanely dangerous.
Back to the current predicament. Rudeus was at an impasse. He had spent every opportunity over the few months repeatedly exploring and mapping out the first level of the labyrinth, with Gisu at his side.
Rudeus’s main issue was manpower. If he had Stepped Leader alongside him maybe things would have gone smoother. Unfortunately, Soldat and company were unavailable this time of year.
Stepped Leader is part of the larger Thunderbolt clan. For one month each year, Thunderbolt would hold meetings that all party leaders were required to attend. They use this time to discuss changes in strategy as well as where new labyrinths appeared.
Rudeus had instead tried to recruit a party from the nearby guild. Even with Gisu’s prodding, no parties wanted to head into a deadly cavern filled with unknown dangers. Especially with its reputation as a death trap.
The town of Whitburrow wasn’t known for its dungeons. Its main export is a special metal, mostly used in the smithing of arms and armour. As such the few adventurers that did live there were in no rush to die. Nearly all of them were town locals, most had stable work protecting miners and hunting down monsters for cash and food. The few that were travellers didn’t tend to stay long.
Whitburrow itself was out of the way nestled deep within the borders of Neris away from any major trading posts. The place is as typical as towns get in the northern territories, with no major attractions, nothing that even a tourist might be interested in.
Aside from the labyrinth of course. Labyrinths were a lot like living things, appearing, growing, and decaying or dying over the course of many decades.
The labyrinth in question, Flash-Freeze Cavern, was remarkably new and remarkably dangerous. Only a handful of parties had seen fit to delve into its depths and none had returned alive. No matter how Rudeus looked, no information could be found about the labyrinth. He and Gisu would have to be the ones to both map all the different floors and catalogue the monsters within.
Sighing to himself again, for the millionth time, Rudeus closed the journal in front of him and sunk into his chair. There was nothing he could do for now. He just had to wait out this rain then he could get back to his daily activities.
Perhaps he would go out for a jog once the weather cleared up a bit. The chance people would need help with repairs after the clouds cleared was decent perhaps, he would do that.
Before resting though Rudeus had one last all-important task to complete. Forcing his groggy body upwards he walked to the end of the room. Locking the door and muffling any noise with earth magic around the edges of its frame. To ensure he was not disturbed.
He deftly moves towards his goal, his travel bag. Carefully removing an ornate box from inside he set it down on the desk in front of him. Opening it slightly he took a few steps back, resting his knees on the ground.
The contents of the box weren’t what mattered. Rudeus was only concerned with what they represented. They were the only thing Rudeus had left with him to remember of his master.
Roxy had tutored him for slightly under 2 years. During that time, she taught him many important things. The importance of hard work, and an interest in academics. But most importantly it was with her gentle nudges that Rudeus was finally able to leave his home.
In his previous life, Rudeus was a shut-in. He spent over 20 years alone, in self-imposed isolation. He blamed overs for his misfortunes and refused to accept help.
Roxy was the one who changed him, Rudeus had no doubts about that. Roxy with her determination and earnestness was the person who allow Rudeus to begin to mature as a person. For that, Rudeus would forever be indebted to her.
Even now, it was his memories of times spent studying magic alongside her that kept him stable. Making it a daily ritual allowed Rudeus to centre himself, helping him from the beginnings and ends of each day.
“Please watch over me again tonight master” Rudeus whispered to himself in a low tone of voice.
Truly he was thankful. It was only because of her that Rudeus could live the way he did now. If he hadn’t been able to take those few steps away from home, would he have survived all the hardships he was faced with? Would he have been able to meet so many different kinds of people and have all kinds of experiences?
People like Ruijerd who Rudeus respected and admired deeply or Ghislaine, his sword master who helped him improve his swordsmanship. Or Eris his….
The room’s mood, which had been steadily getting better, was now ruined. Rudeus felt a small prick of pain in his heart as his mind flashed through his time with the party Dead End. Those days were behind him now. Dead End would remain nothing more than a memory in his mind.
Clasping his hands tighter than before Rudeus muttered to himself once again “Thanks again master”
Closing the box and placing it carefully back in his bag, Rudeus made his way sluggishly to his bed before laying on it. His idle thoughts only occasionally interrupted pitter-patter on the window across from him.
Rudeus wondered what he would do after this was all over. He didn’t have any major ambitions or goals set. Regardless even of if Zenith was even alive at this point, Rudeus didn’t have a clear end goal.
A few ideas came to mind. He could try enrolling in the Ranoa University of Magic, that had been his plan from the start, though it seemed kind of useless now. Rudeus could already just make a living as an adventurer. Maybe he could try teaching there, although being so young they might not even take him seriously.
Random thoughts filtered through his head getting slower and less straightforward until Rudeus drifted off to sleep.
