I have a request of mine too, Elle continued.
"A request?" Lex thought to himself, "what could it possibly be?"
'Ask on, your highness," Lex spoke as he stole a glance of the noble's daughter; she was even more perfect than he had described in the story, she seemed stunned as she also got a clear look of his face.
Elle then cleared her throat as she spoke, "I would like you to join the ongoing lower hand quest in the city of Greyl."
Lex's face went blank; that was the least of his expectations.
The noble's daughter had just indirectly asked him on what he would have called an earthly date, but through strenuous and dangerous means.
The lower hand quest was a quest which could be tried by every man in the city or even beyond the city of Greyl, whether with the ability of a knight or not; that included servants like Lex.
The competition involved going on various raids to dangerous dungeons and surviving in each; after the last raid, which would be the most dangerous, each of the knights would be given new ranks.
Knight's are normally ranked this way: Beginner knight, Adept knight, Expert knight, Master knight, High level knight.
The highest level an ordinary knight has ever reached is the expert level.
After the surviving knights are ranked, they'll proceed to fight a gifted high-level knight; the one amongst them with the maximum lasting time would be referred to as the winner.
The winner would be given many rewards, which also included getting married to the noble's daughter.
Lex blinked twice as he resorted in bowing again.
"Your wish is my command, your highness."
"Very well then, Lex, I'll see you after the Next raid," Lex bowed lower then dispersed from the scene.
Lex was once again escorted by the green armoured Knight, but this time he didn't pull him; instead, they both walked freely back to the dungeons.
Lex was slightly confused as to why the knight had become somewhat nicer, on arriving at his cell, Lex slowly sank into the cemented ground, his back slightly aching.
Tomorrow's the day, he thought to himself excitedly; he then sat up as he peered towards the other cell just opposite where he stood.
"I never thought you'll cheat so quickly," Kate said as she rested back on the prison bars.
"What? C-Cheat," Lex startle, Kate then pointed her finger towards her ear, "I have a special ability, I heard all that happened in the library."
"You did? That's an impressive skill," Lex regained his composure as he peered back at Kate, who now smiled, while gazing at her sharp nails.
The special ability she had said earlier was p her innate skill she had gone deep into the cell to activate it.
Kate then continued, "Thanks for letting me join the dungeon raid tomorrow," of course" answered Lex.
He wondered if he should tell her the reason he accepted the lower hand quest. He had no interest in the noble's daughter. Falling in love with a human was less exciting than with a demon, beast kin or an elf.
But that wasn't necessary; after all, she knew he was a slave, and there was no possible way a slave could become the lower hand knight of a noble.
He only accepted so he could join the dungeon raids and get a change of occupation.
***
The timeline in dungeons is different from that of Aetheria, only when the dungeon is high-ranked.
For most lower-ranked dungeons, one day would be equal to one day on Aetheria.
Lex's eyes slowly opened as the prison bell continuously rang; it was 3:00 AM in the morning.
He laid on the ground stretching, wondered how sad old Charlie and mama Rina would have been when they found out what happened to him. He went ahead to stand.
"System, are you there?"
The shrill voice of the system then responded:
{Yes host}
{The occupation change quest is till ongoing}
{6 days 12 hours and 38 minutes till deadline}
{Number of monsters killed; 0}
Lex smiled at the translucent screen just ahead of him; now he was absolutely certain all that occurred yesterday wasn't just a dream.
He gazed around the cell; the chains that were tied to the cell bars had already been removed, he shrugged.
"A slave doesn't get food or a bath either."
"Kate?"
Ready for today?" Kate spoke confidently walking out of shadows of her cell, Lex was bemused by the arousing figure who stood just right outside of the iron railings.
"Meals and bathing aren't for people who should get executed; only count on it if we're out of these bars by the end of today."
Lex nodded, staring instinctively at her chest area; Kate then muttered under her breath, "pervert."
"I take it back," she snuffed, "you're no different from the others."
They both strutted out of the cells, side by side, along with the other prisoners.
Lex stood firmly on the dusty ground along with the other prisoners, Kate included, it had been two hours since they left the prison, they were now far away from the city on a hill referred to as Scallfell Pike; each of them were given various weapons, such as axes, swords, and spears, along with huge sacks.
Lex held two swords in his hands; one was his, and the other was for Kate, who didn't accept hers.
Standing right at their front was the servant overseer Nox.
He wore a long white robe, a staff held in his hands as he peered at each of the prisoners.
He pointed towards a wide hole, which was a few centimeters from where they stood.
"That hole is infested with low-rank magic beasts; your job is to fill each of your bags with the precious stones within."
"If you succeed in filling your sack, a rope would be let down, and you would return as a resource miner."
"If you don't, you'll remain there till you do."
"Alright then, you may proceed into the hole."
"Wait!" A masculine voice called from behind.
It was Dane, the green armoured knight.