Ria and Keith decided that it might be faster for her to run and Keith to fly. While it would have been nice to take a walk through the Dark Enchanted Forest together, Keith was hoping they'd be long gone before Lady Amy woke up.

In her excitement, Henrietta probably didn't forget that she'd left the elf sleeping in upstairs. And since she probably didn't forget, he probably didn't need to remind her.

Honestly, his desire for some quality time with the princess might have turned him into the scheming Dark Lord his godmother envisioned. He pushed the feeling of existential moral dread aside and activated his wings.

The Construct wings were not as fast as a high level [Flight] spell, but they saved him hundreds of mana and allowed him the freedom to let his mind wander. He didn't need another spell exploding when he tried to cast it because he was too distracted by the princess… [Mana Burn] was not a joke.

It would've ruined their date.

He watched Henrietta from the sky. She ran so fast that dust flew off behind her. Creatures from all over the forest somehow felt her approach and cleared the path long before she got there. Everyone excepting a few Adventurers, whom she simply ran past on her way.

Keith kept up with her and dove down to arrive just as she did.

"So this is The Hollow Gorge!" Henrietta stood with her hands on her hips. She surveyed the bustling market set up outside a giant platform with three crossed ornate trellises. While they watched, an adventuring party walked up the short stairwell to the platform and a shimmering blue light engulfed them and portalled them away.

"I suddenly have a strong need to defeat this dungeon." She said seriously, "I've never fought a portal dungeon. This is going to be awesome."

"Would you like to solo the dungeon? Or should we do it together?" Keith asked.

"Good question." Ria smiled up at him and tentatively reached out to take his hand. "Want to do it together?"

"As you wish."

They started walking towards the Dungeon registration booth when Henrietta tugged on his hand.

"Let's check out the Dungeon Quests!" She pointed excitedly to a large notice board tacked all over with posters requesting monster materials, harvest ingredients and an assortment of dungeon loot.

Keith didn't know why she bothered; they weren't in need of money or dungeon items themselves. Well, technically that's wasn't true. Looking at the board revealed a number of his own personal requests. His powdered gem cutter ant carapace was running low, and he needed a few unigoat hair ink brushes.

"Is there something you need from the dungeon?" Keith asked as Henrietta read the board.

She shrugged, "I was thinking it might be fun to collect some of these ourselves."

Keith hesitated, "Wouldn't a Porter slow us down? I have a dimensional storage ring, but it's full of mana and health potions and snacks for the trip. I still need an Escape Scroll and a Revive potion."

"I have a Revive potion," Henrietta said. "And I don't think we'll need the Escape Scroll do we?"

"We don't, there are Escape portals on each floor - and one if you defeat the boss."

"That's fine then." She smiled up at him. "My [Harvest Kill] Perk comes with its own storage. Anything I help defeat can be stored."

"That is an incredible Perk." Keith raised an eyebrow. He turned back to the board to give it a once over.

In the usual way of things a dungeon delver, or Adventurer, would challenge a dungeon to hunt or harvest materials. After exiting the dungeon, the materials could be sold directly to those who made the request, or dropped off at the local guild. The guild would act as the middleman and charge 10%, but it was better than hunting down all of the buyers individually.

Ria was in high spirits and dragged Keith through the stalls to buy extra snacks for the trip. He recalled her appetite after a fight and purchased a few candied hazelnut rolls himself.

Then they were finally ready to head over to sign in at the register and get their badges.

Keith filled out the paperwork and slipped the guild attendant a gold coin with an extra order. Then they walked over to the platform.

Henrietta asked, "So, did you bring any golems with you? Aside from your epic wings?"

Keith grinned, "No, I'm going full Dark Magician today. I brushed up on my spells just for this."

What was the point of having a giant draconian library with piles of spellbooks if you didn't sneak around memorizing them throughout your childhood? Keith didn't waste the opportunity and studied hundreds of the things.

His [Quick Read] Perk and Intelligence 85 weren't to be laughed at and he took an hour to refresh his memory on the spell words and casting requirements.

The average wizard had access to the kingdom's regular library and was free to study as they will… but your average wizard was Level 15. Even famous Adventurers known throughout the continent, like Lavender the Lizard Wizard, were only in their late Level 30's.

Keith checked his character sheet. His experience points gained from hunting and harvesting had slowed down in recent years as he'd focused on golemancy and tinkering and running the entire Dark Enchanted Forest.

As you do.

"I can cast whatever you like, but I'm atrocious at Healing. Though I can use the Perk [Quick Buff] to enhance or buff your items durability by +1? Or better yet..." Keith thumbed the heirloom ring on Ria's finger.

Unlike his [Cantrip] Perk that only had 5 spell slots for an instant cast, the regular spells he knew were not limited to anything except his own capacity for learning. Each had complex formulae that were essential in shaping the mana into the spell, and then a long verbal component he could thankfully skip with his [Quick Cast] Perk.

"[Wearer's Luck]."

You have attempted to use the Skill: Magic [Wearer's Luck]. You have succeeded. 50% debuff applied to all Rogue Class Abilities attempted on this item.