I carefully crawl forward through the small tunnel ahead of me, trying my best to avoid catching my clothes and equipment on the irregularities in the dirt. With every movement, I get a bit closer to the opening, a hole in the ground barely large enough to allow a delver in.

I finally manage to get my arms through and grab on to the ground to pull myself out. After a bit of struggling and wiggling around, I'm free. I turn and grab the hand of the man who was following, Gaetan, a much older delver with a full head of gray hair. As I help him get out of the small hole, his foot catches on the edge, causing him to trip. He gets up and dusts off his clothes while Denis, the last member of the crew, extirpates himself from the hole while saying:

"If I had known the entrance would be this small, I'd have brought a pickaxe and some shovels."

Now out, he plunges a hand in his tools bag, getting his cellphone out before mumbling:

"I'll take a note for next time..."

Meanwhile, Gaetan pulls his pant legs up and starts applying a healing paste to the small lacerations the monsters in the dungeon managed to inflict on him.

"They really got me good this time. My age is starting to show, even small fry manages to get some hits in on me now."

Denis puts his phone away before saying:

"Maybe you should stop talking about retiring and actually do it."

Gaetan shakes his head.

"I didn't want to leave you two all by yourselves now that Francis is away. I get that the dungeons around here aren't exactly dangerous, but... y'know how it is. I just wasn't comfortable."

Denis sighs and turns towards me:

"Matt, you're leaving for university too, right?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm moving to my dorm next week, a few days before the semester starts."

He then looks at Gaetan:

"See? Perfect opportunity for you to get some well-deserved rest. You've defended this valley for so many years, stop pushing yourself."

"Only if your two students are ready. It's too dangerous to let anyone alone in there."

"I think they are. We'll be going through a dungeon I already cleared as their final exam before I grant them the certification and permits."

He smiles before continuing:

"To think that, just two years ago, I was giving all that stuff to our Matt. Time flies."

Gaetan sits on the ground and leans back.

"It really does. One of my own grandkids says he wants to be a delver too. He's too young to start the classes, of course, but I can't help but feel proud of him."

As they continue their conversation I'm definitely too young to join, I sit on a small flat rock nearby and grab my bottle of water. The mountains around us are tinted red, orange and pink by the setting sun, a sight I've yet to get tired of.

I feel a pang in my heart as I think about how I'll be leaving all of this behind. Attending university is exciting, but it means living on my own, far away from the places and people I've always known. By the time I graduate, I might come to see Rivebell City as another home, but I can't see it ever completely replacing this valley to me.

I lean back and look at the sky, which has taken on its own assortment of colors. While I'm in the big city, I'll make a name for myself as a dungeon delver, get a girlfriend, score As in all my classes, learn everything I need to become some super genius... Well, probably not, but it's good to dream. At the very least, I intend to keep working part-time as a delver, but the scene is obviously a lot more complex over there since they actually get dangerous dungeons on occasion and have hundreds of people available to go explore them, compared to our little squad of three here protecting this entire region by ourselves.

Thankfully, I'll be able to ask Francis for some pointers. He's older than me, so he's been in university for a year now. Assuming he kept up with delving, he should know his way around. I'll text him when I get there.

Denis gets up and waves before saying:

"I think we rested long enough. I'd rather make it back home before the night falls completely, so get in the truck already."

With a small smile, I get back up and head over to the vehicle he drove us here with. I'm sure I'll miss these little moments.

As we drive away, I find myself dozing off in the seat, eventually falling asleep.

"Next stop: City Center"

The mechanical voice kindly lets me know that I'm approaching my destination. I'm standing in a corner, as out of the way as I could manage to be with my two bags and my sheathed sword, but I still get bumped a few times by people who just got in and are walking around in search of a seat.

As the train enters a tunnel, the window next to me becomes like a mirror, reminding me that I woke up late this morning and had to rush to the train station if I didn't want to wait several hours for the next scheduled passage. My black hair is a mess, and my green eyes have noticeable bags under them. A couple days without shaving gave my face an unkempt look, and the clothes I picked in a hurry don't work particularly well together. I'll probably take a nap and fix my appearance a bit after getting to my room. If any of my roommates are already there, it won't be the best of first impressions, but I doubt that'll cause any issues.

As I stretch, I hear footsteps approach and stop. I barely have time to let my arms back down and turn towards it before hearing a familiar voice:

"Matt! Quite the coincidence."

A short distance from me is Francis. His blonde hair, which used to cover his neck and ears, is now extremely short, but he's still just as tall as he's ever been. Actually, he might look even taller now. I'm above average height myself and he towers over me despite it. He's only carrying a small backpack and a dagger, telling me he wasn't out delving today.

"Francis! I didn't expect to see you before even making my way to university."

He nods, a proud smile growing on his lips.

"I had some shopping to do today. You see, my girlfriend's birthday is coming up, so I thought I'd go and get something special for her."

"You got a girlfriend?"

"Of course! She's a delver too, so that's how we met, but she's actually a student at our university as well. She really helped me pick up the pace when I got here, even though we weren't dating yet at the time."

"That's really nice of her, and congratulations! But speaking of picking up the pace, think you could show me the ropes? Only if you have time, of course."

He laughs a bit before answering:

"I actually expected you to text me way earlier to ask me that. I was already keeping an eye on the delves coming up in lower-level dungeons to invite you once you got here. Oh, but before I forget, what's your level now?"

"My last reading was at 24."

"Eight whole levels since I left, eh? I'm at 39 myself."

I can barely believe my ears. It's with round eyes that I ask:

"39!?"

"A year of doing dungeons in this city will get you far if you're serious about it. You'll see that for yourself. There's some delves coming up that would be perfect for your level, I'll send you the details once I get back to my dorm."

"Sounds good."

I'm still trying to process the fact that Francis went from being level 26 when he left to 39 in a single year. I knew city delvers were strong, but I didn't expect this kind of gap.

The train begins slowing down, so neither of us starts a new conversation as we look at the approaching station through the window. A few seconds later, the doors open. I pass my sword's strap over my shoulder and grab my bags to leave. Seeing that Francis is staying in, I throw a puzzled look at him, to which he responds:

"My girlfriend lives further down that train line, and I'm going to spend some time with her today. You'll find your way to school?"

"Yeah, I checked the map so I know it's just a straight line from the station."

"Perfect! Talk to you later!"

As the doors close between us, I turn around and take a look at this new part of the city. Multiple large skyscrapers line the cars-filled street ahead, with the tall, central building of the school I'll be attending standing proud in the distance. I can't see the dormitories from here, but at least I know in what direction to go.

I make sure I'm holding my bags comfortably, readjust the position of my feet in my shoes, then begin walking towards the place that'll serve as my home for the next three years... assuming my degree doesn't end up taking longer for whatever reason. This city is loud, smells weird, and has way too many people in it, but it's the place to be as a delver if you want to make a name for yourself.

I can't guess what my future holds, but I feel ready for whatever's coming.