Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

"Will the representatives of the Divine Clans please step up?" Aaron Zeiss asked from his elevated position near the teleportation gate. Five heroes flew up in response to his call. Their clothes were plain but embroidered with the golden symbols belonging to each of Olympia's five deities.

"The one on the left with a claw-like crest is from the Capri Clan," explained Astley in a bare whisper. "It's thanks to their abnormally powerful hands that they became one of the strongest clans in Lemnos, second only to the Hephner Clan. And when their God Seed broke through to become Olympia's fifth deity fifty years ago, they became the leaders of their city. The Hephner Clan—one of the eleven Olympian clans—has been relegated to second in command.

"It's a similar story with the other four Divine Clans. The Himler Clan from Cithaeron used its dual cultivation art to gather blood from 99 clans on a single person and succeeded in producing a deity. The River Clan from Corinth was the lowest of the low, a clan of fishermen and river guides. Now, they control 90 percent of the waterways in the Pandoran continent. Without them, trade interprovincial trade would come to a standstill.

"I don't know much about the Jib Clan from Argos except that everyone in their clan, even the elders, appears exceedingly young. There are rumors that they steal life force from their enemies. No one has tested that theory and lived to tell the tale.

"Finally, there's the Angelica Clan from Megalopolis, from which all our communication devices originate. Contrary to what one might think, they refuse to trade in secrets. Efficient communication and secrecy is their mandate."

Sorin found it a little odd that such knowledge didn't trigger a headache but didn't dwell on it. Instead, he focused on the preferential treatment these clans received and the lack of complaints about this treatment.

Out of the sixteen mid-grade dungeons, they claimed two apiece. They also claimed five basic dungeons each, greatly reducing what was available to the others. Fortunately, they don't seem to have much interest in expanding their influence to other cities beyond whatever mandate their clans possess. They're said to take no sides in conflicts and always look out for what's best for humanity.

"Now that the Divine Clans are taken care of, we'll get the clan allocation out of the way," announced Aaron Zeiss. "The remaining city-leading clans, excluding the Hyde Clan, will each receive a single mid-grade dungeon and three basic dungeons to allocate to the clans in their respective cities."

A bundle of white glowing spheres floated over to each clan representative, including a middle-aged physician from the Pollen Clan. She immediately handed a basic dungeon to Fineas from the Kepler Clan and a young plague mage from the Hargrave Clan. As for the last basic dungeon, she refrained from distributing it for the time being.

"I wonder what they're going to do about that super-dungeon in the middle," said Lawrence. "Are they going to just let everyone explore?"

"The typical arrangement is some sort of competition," said Daphne. "It changes according to the situation; given the number of dungeons, I anticipate a race of some sort."

Her guess proved accurate. "Since so many adventurers are present, it makes no sense to let everyone into the advanced dungeon," said Aaron. "Resources are limited and should only go to the deserving.

"Since there are ample dungeons this time around, the requirement for entering the advanced dungeon will be set as the submission of an unclaimed dungeon core to the Temple of Hope. Worry not, these dungeons can be claimed for a specific clan. The idea is to vet adventurers and ensure they are qualified enough to repeat the dungeon's ample rewards.

"There are, of course, a few exceptions.

"As always, the Five Divine Clans will each send a single team to explore the dungeon in advance and reduce its difficulty for everyone entering it. You have a question, Ratten?"

"I'd just like to confirm that our subsidiary clans will be able to enter the advanced dungeon alongside the divine clans to look for corpses," said Ratten.

"Naturally," said Aaron. "Though I'll remind you that they are to take nothing else."

"We would never dream of doing such a thing," said Ratten. "That said, it's been a while since I've gotten to stretch out my legs. The Hyde Clan hereby requests access to the advanced dungeon."

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "You wish to use a portion of your clan's allocation? How many days do you wish to use up?"

"I have a good feeling about this one," said Ratten with a grin. "We'll be going for three days at most. I'd also like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that any powerful corpses obtained in the dungeons can be sold to our Hyde Clan for a reasonable price. Alternatively, the Hyde Clan would be happy to refine said corpses into guardians. For a fee, of course."

Sorin had no idea what this allocation was, and this time, neither Astley, Daphne, or Stephan had any idea what it meant. Maybe it's some sort of deal between the two clans? I hear the Zeiss Clan never leaves Olympia. The Hyde Clan, on the other hand, seems to have fingers in almost every provincial pie. Interestingly enough, they have no territory to speak of in the Infinite Dungeon, and neither do their subsidiary clans.

Next up was, surprisingly, the Order of Phantasia. As with the Hyde Clan, the Order of Phantasia was given special leave to enter the dungeon. The condition was that they would limit themselves to searching for historical ruins and not claim anything else from the advanced dungeon. Any other loot they claimed—including demon cores from demons they were forced to slay—would need to be surrendered at the exit.

"I'm surprised you're coming with us instead of tagging along with your order," Daphne said to Astley.

"It's been my experience that the most worthwhile ruins and historical artifacts are found in more dangerous locations," explained Astley. "Locations that these exploratory teams won't dare investigate until someone else has cleared them out."

Sorin was perplexed at the notion. "Why would these dungeons contain historical ruins in the first place?"

Astley smiled. "That's the mystery, isn't it? We've been trying to figure that out since Olympia was reclaimed and have yet to discover a satisfactory answer."

The next order of business was the selection of dungeons for ordinary adventuring teams. In this case, dungeons were not given out directly. Instead, an opportunity to challenge the dungeon and claim its core was granted to teams according to something called the Infinite Dungeon Ranking.

There are too many adventuring teams and not enough dungeons, thought Sorin as he inspected the crowd. Our team is also unranked. Will we not even be able to explore a basic dungeon and instead be relegated to clearing out claimed dungeons?

He expressed his doubts to Stephan, who laughed off his concerns. "Sorin, Sorin, Sorin. They're not going to leave a God Seed high and dry. You're a strategic resource, remember?"

It was then that Sorin realized that normal teams weren't what came first but teams containing God Seeds instead. Celine Atlan was given the first pick due to their high rank. They picked one of the larger basic dungeons before passing the turn to a man called Benjamin Riss.

Benjamin Riss, God Seed of Ares, thought Sorin as he looked at the heavily armed man. To his surprise, the man turned his head and looked straight back at Sorin. Azrakul stirred, and before he knew it, a karmic thread appeared to connect them. It was a thread of war and competition.

"I see Benjamin gave you the stare-down," said Daphne. "It's no surprise, given your strength relative to your sanctification level. He has a sixth sense for things like that."

"I feel like he just issued me a challenge of some sort," said Sorin. "A challenge I can't refuse."

Daphne shrugged. "He is technically an enemy. He controls about half the God Seeds not affiliated with the Hyde Clan or the Divine Clans. Clans associated with the Polen Clan—our three clans, for example—often clash and compete."

Michael from the Pollen Clan went up next, followed by a few more God Seeds Sorin didn't recognize. Surprisingly, the God Seeds associated with the Divine Clans weren't participating. This meant that there were only nine adventuring teams with a God seed. Sorin's team, having just arrived in Olympia, was naturally ranked 9th."

"Please choose which dungeon you wish to explore with your team," Aaron said to Sorin when he flew up to pick a dungeon. Information entered Sorin's mind detailing the different types of dungeons, their relative difficulty, and the kinds of rewards and resources one might expect to gain there. The list included the dungeons reserved for other teams. The trend among the God Seeds was to pick the most difficult and rewarding dungeons despite how much time they would take to clear.

Though Sorin was tempted to do the same, he noticed that the coordinates on one of the weaker dungeons were relatively close to an area he wished to explore in the Kepler Clan's territories. "I'll pick this one," he said to Aaron.

"Are you sure?" asked Aaron. "I understand your intentions in wanting to clear claimed dungeons along the way, but I'd like to remind you that the rewards available in unclaimed dungeons are much greater. The rewards obtainable from the advanced dungeon are even greater still."

"I'm sure," confirmed Sorin.

"Very well," said Aaron. "You will be allocated the Erinyes Nest Dungeon. Does your team wish to travel there directly?"

Sorin shook his head. "We're new to the Infinite Dungeon and wish to try our hand at something easier to get used to working as a team."

"As you wish," said Aaron. "The dungeon will be available at the listed coordinates. Alternatively, you may use the teleportation circle to travel there directly. The time limit for exploration is 24 hours, so don't delay too long."

"So, what kind of dungeon did you pick?" asked Stephan when Sorin returned. "I hope it's a horde-type dungeon. I love a good slog. They're way more satisfying than arena battles.""

"Unfortunately, it's an aerial dungeon," said Sorin. "The difficulty isn't high, but I feel we should be able to obtain some unique resources there."

"By aerial, you mean we're going to fly through it?" asked Lawrence. "I don't want to be a naysayer, but we're not exactly good at flying."

"There are mountains and cliffs," countered Sorin. "We don't have to fly. But I'll admit that I have ulterior motives. There are coordinates I wish to investigate. Also, we haven't fought together in a long time. A little caution is warranted, especially given my encounter with Ratten Hyde."

Daphne pursed her lips. "Fine. We were only able to get an unclaimed dungeon thanks to your help, so I won't complain this time. Next time, though, I hope you'll consider our team's proficiencies before making a decision."

Time was limited, so they wasted no time and flew out one of the city's eleven entrances.

***

While the Infinite Dungeon was orders of magnitude smaller than the Pandoran Continent, it was several times more dangerous than the Northern Parnassus Forest or even the dreaded Nightmare Forest.

This was due to the potent energies present in the strange space. Divine energy and corruption were present in such high quantities that even the most basic beasts would be untouchable by all but the most elite Bone-Forging cultivators.

Each clan or organization was worth their salt-controlled territories that produced resources in the form of demons, medicinal plants, metals, and, most importantly, divine crystals. Clans tended to collect and trade territories according to their needs. Some gathered from them directly, while some clans, like the Kepler Clan, allowed unaffiliated adventurers and allied adventurers to enter their territory and gather resources. All divine crystals would need to be turned in for a corresponding reward from the Kepler Clan. As for the rest of the goods obtained, adventurers could keep half of them and could turn in whatever they didn't want for suitable rewards.

The spawning of demons in the Infinite Dungeon was semi-random, as was the appearance of valuable natural treasures. The only place where such things consistently appeared was in claimed dungeons. The coordinates Sorin wished to explore were located at the midway point of Gold Ant Dungeon, a claimed basic dungeon located in the periphery of the Kepler Clan's territory.

"It looks like we're in luck," said Sorin as they arrived at the dungeon's glowing blue gate. "The dungeon is recharged to eighty percent, which means that we can enter it if we want."

"Won't that be a huge waste of time?" asked Daphne. "Bosses don't spawn unless a dungeon is 90 percent recharged."

"She's right," said Stephan. "I wouldn't say anything if this was a properly charged dungeon, but I don't have time to waste on incomplete ones."

Sorin let out a sigh. "Do you both realize that you've been awfully pushy since arriving in Delphi?"

"We're pushy because we have to be," said Daphne. "We can't afford to waste time. None of us can, not even Lawrence."

"Hey, don't drag me into this," said Lawrence. "I'm just here for profit and company."

"Greatly reduced profits if we keep making suboptimal decisions," said Daphne. "Astley, you're of the same opinion, right?"

Astley hesitated. "I'll be honest, Sorin, the research scene in Olympia is quite competitive. I could have easily joined the advance team. The reason I didn't was because I thought we'd stand a better chance at finding ruins with you. You mentioned coordinates you wanted to investigate—which is fine—but I don't think any of us realized you wanted to clear an incomplete dungeon."

"Half a dungeon," clarified Sorin. "The place I'd like to explore is near the halfway point. We'd be retreating after that. I'll owe you all a favor," he added upon seeing their reluctance. "I'm sure there are plenty of ways in which you could use such a favor."

Daphne didn't look too pleased at his insistence. Fortunately, Stephan seemed to realize something and sided with Sorin. "Exploring this dungeon is clearly important to you for reasons that transcend wealth," said Stephan. "Besides, it's only half a dungeon. If I remember correctly, your parents were said to have passed away while adventuring the Infinite Dungeon. Is this related?"

"It is," said Sorin. "The coordinates I'd like to investigate is the location where my parents died, allegedly due to being overrun by demons. Nothing of note was found when my clan investigated, but I'm hoping that with Lawrence and Astley here, it might be possible to find something the original investigators didn't."

"You should have just told us that from the start," Daphne huffed. "No favor required. If it's important to you, it's important to us."

"Didn't Elder Marik tell you not to investigate until you were strong enough?" asked Gareth.

"And wait for the trail to go completely cold?" asked Sorin. "It happened eight years ago, so most of everything will be gone, but it might still be possible to find something with the right ritual."

"That kind of ritual requires a serious offering," said Astley. "Have you prepared one?"

"I have something I believe to be sufficiently valuable," answered Sorin. "But we won't no for sure until we try."

"Then I suggest we get going," said Stephan. "I've explored a few of these claimed basic dungeons. They're nothing to worry about."

Having made their decision, Sorin and company passed through the blue portal and found themselves in a dark underground tunnel. Lorimer lit up like a lightbulb, revealing ten chittering Gold Plated Ants.

"Now this is what I've been waiting for," growled Stephan as he transformed into a massive Arctic Rune Bear wearing an impressive suit of spiked silver armor. "Team We Don't Need a Life Mage—Move Out!"