Ariel was truly excited for this marriage proposal. She had been waiting for it since she was ten years old, when her father's demeanor toward her shifted from indifference to controlling.
She loved the attention at first, how her father ensured she was trained in etiquette and the arts any noble lady should embody. Her siblings, on the other hand, were either ignored or sold off into marriages with other nobles.
In time, the attention turned suffocating. What began as childlike wonder gradually hardened into a yearning for freedom. She wanted to be free and go off on adventures of her own, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew the death rate for adventurers was 90% before reaching Rank 1. This meant she would likely die as well, so long as she never managed to reach that goal on her own.
She asked her father for training, levels, dungeon dives, anything to gain an advantage, but he refused. He didn't want to fund her survival. That much was clear. So she rebelled and learned archery. She was good at it, but she was too weak. Her arrows could barely penetrate the target, which meant she would likely die in a real fight.
Then her father suggested marrying into a powerful noble family. In doing so, she would gain resources and knowledge, giving her the ability to fend for herself, reach Rank 1, and enjoy the freedom that came with it. She followed her father's instructions and trained diligently, until time passed and resentment built.
She had many chances to marry into other powerful families, but her father always resisted. He reasoned that only the Duke of Diamondhart could give her the life she wanted. When she finally had a chance to meet her husband-to-be, she agreed. He was kind, caring, and steady, like a strong foundation on which to build a home. But he wasn't ready for marriage yet, so she waited. And waited. Until finally, her time had come.
Her father gave her last words of wisdom to control her actions, never realizing she would take the first chance she could to ensure the success of this marriage.
The first step toward that goal was to entice the first wife, Lady Seraphina. She was a beautiful woman who didn't care for pleasantries. Fun, wild, and a bit eccentric, she had wanted Ariel to go off on her own, but she refused. How could she possibly survive as an archer when it took more than one arrow to kill an enemy?
So when they met for the second time in the garden, Ariel was sufficiently surprised by Seraphina's proposal.
"Come to the dungeon with me so you can gain some levels," Seraphina suggested.
"Are you sure that's allowed? Isn't it dangerous?" she asked hesitantly.
She wanted to scream yes, but was afraid of being too forward.
"Of course. Eli, prepare the carriage."
"It is already waiting for you, My Lady."
"Come on."
Seraphina took Ariel's hand and led her to the waiting carriage. Then they set off.
"Where are we going exactly?" Ariel asked.
"There's a dungeon in the city of Brightstone nearby that would be perfect for you."
"Isn't that a Rank 2 dungeon filled with Rank 1 Trolls? I'm going to be eaten alive if I fight anything in there."
"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine."
It took them a few minutes to leave the castle's property and head for the nearby city at full speed on Stoneblood horses. After passing the city gates, they made their way straight to the Adventurers' Guild.
Ariel took in the sights with admiration. She had always wanted to register at the Adventurers' Guild, but it was a pointless endeavor when she wouldn't be able to survive any adventures.
"One registration form, please," Seraphina requested.
Ariel was handed a registration form and hesitated to sign.
"Come on. We don't have all day. The longer you delay, the fewer levels you'll be able to gain."
She quickly filled out the paperwork before signing in a hurry. She certainly didn't want to delay her leveling process.
Once they were finished, they headed for the dungeon nearby. After passing the checkpoint and entering the dungeon's huge stone doors, they found themselves in a large, damp cavern with barely any light. Seraphina summoned her phoenix, its fiery wings spreading wide and casting a warm, flickering glow that illuminated the cavern.
"She's beautiful," Ariel commented.
"Her name's Akari, my little light. She's a bit of a diva though, so don't praise her too much."
The Phoenix cried out in protest to the added comment before hovering behind them.
"These are for you," Seraphina said, handing Ariel a pair of hand cannons.
"What are these?" she asked.
To her, they looked like strangely crafted pieces of metal, with smooth grips that hinted at where her hands should hold. She noticed the weight balanced toward the barrel and the odd opening at the end. When she finally took hold, she found them unexpectedly heavy.
"These, my dear, are guns. If you decide to stay with us, we'll outfit you with them, which will allow you to make full use of your excellent eyesight. Consider it a signing bonus."
"How do they work?"
"You hold them like this, point them at your target, and channel mana through them."
BOBOOM!
The guns kicked back with such force that Ariel nearly struck herself in the face.
"Kyaa!" she cried out, the shock jolting through her as she fumbled and dropped the guns.
The sound of the shots reverberated off the walls, sending echoes deep into the cavern. In the distance, roars echoed back. It seemed they had attracted quite a bit of attention.
"I'm going to have to talk to hubby about reducing the noise. It would be annoying to fight in a cave with them," Seraphina said, looking down at the cowering Ariel. "Are you sure you want to give the trolls time to get closer? You might really die at this rate if you don't do something."
Ariel scrambled to pick the guns up before shakily aiming at the narrow tunnel leading deeper into the dungeon. The cavern started rumbling as a horde of Rank 1 Trolls came rushing toward them. Rounding a corner, her first target suddenly appeared. It was a towering green creature, over 10 feet (3 m) tall, with long arms, no neck, and a blubbery exterior, charging straight at them.
"KYAAA!!!" Ariel screamed and opened fire with wild abandon, eyes squeezed shut.
Fortunately, the troll was massive, so she didn't miss much. She fired rapidly, bullets tearing into the creature. The troll's massive body collapsed with a thud, and when the smoke cleared, she realized she had actually taken it down.
"Congratulations, you've leveled up," Seraphina said. "I suggest dumping your stats into Strength. Now get ready, there are more coming."
Ariel did as instructed and dumped all her stats into Strength. When the second troll rounded the bend, she channeled mana into the guns and opened fire. The recoil no longer rattled her as much, and the echoing blasts felt less overwhelming.
Bit by bit, her aim improved, from blind fire to making slight adjustments. She focused on the troll's chest, her shots tightening into a clean grouping until the massive creature finally collapsed. She quickly increased her Strength again before turning her sights on the next target.
"Try aiming for the head," Seraphina suggested.
Ariel adjusted her aim, fired two shots, and watched as the troll crumpled.
"Well done. You're picking this up faster than I expected."
More trolls surged into the cavern, and Ariel fired again and again. Her trembling gave way to steadier hands. Nervousness shifted into anticipation, fear into exhilaration. A wild, intoxicating joy surged through her, greater than anything she had ever felt. Whatever these weapons were, she wanted them. No, she needed them.
Over a hundred trolls made their way to their part of the cavern, all taken down one at a time. The narrow tunnel between caverns served as the ideal choke point, ensuring Ariel had ample time to take them down. Towards the end, her aim and precision adjusted accordingly, the benefits of a naturally high Dexterity.
Her stats were already maxed a long time ago due to her need to gain Strength; hence, all she needed to reach Rank 1 were the levels. Although, if she learned skills and trained them to level 3, she would likely gain a better class, since her current one was just Apprentice Rank.
After a while, the rumbling stopped as the last troll that arrived fell.
Ariel was breathing heavily from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She had a wild look and disheveled hair, hunched forward with her wings spread out wide and threatening. Most prominent of all was the wide smile she had plastered on her face.
"Someone had fun," Seraphina commented, snapping Ariel out of her maddened state.
"Excuse me, My Lady," she replied, trying to recover. "I don't know what got over me."
"Probably the combination of adrenaline, fun, and increased stats. What level are you now?"
"Um… level 18."
"Hmm… it's slower than I thought. You'd have to kill thousands of them in order to reach Rank 1 by today."
"Rank 1 in one day? My Lady, that is absurd."
"And yet that is the goal. Even if you hunt Rank 2 Trolls, you'd probably need to kill dozens of them to reach the next rank. I'm not sure there are enough trolls in this dungeon for you to do that in one day."
"Of course not, My Lady. That is simply unprecedented."
"Meh, let's try anyway. Let's go!" Seraphina said as she rushed deeper inside with her phoenix following closely behind.
"Wait for me!" Ariel shouted as she quickly followed.
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