Dungeon Master

Apollo Keating

It has been a little over a month since the minor altercation at the theater.

During that time, I decided to work on my physical capabilities. The General broke my wrist with too much ease for my liking, so I learned to reinforce my bones and muscles with aether.

There was also that kid and the strange journey back into the darkness I had. After the first time, I had only seen him in the background once or twice in dreams. But, he hasn’t attempted to speak to me since then, nor have I returned to the darkness. However, the worst part about this is that I haven’t been able to access my gravity magic since that time. Almost as if I have some kind of mental block.

“Hey, are you going to mope around or are going to clear this shit”

“Ruby, can you please not say the word “shit” to my son?”

“You just said it back to me which he could hear.”

“It’s different when I say it.”

“Not really you dumbass”

“I am not a dumbass”

They proceeded to argue like this for several minutes while I checked my pack. After the theater, my dad decided I needed actual fighting experience and not just training to use my magic and daggers. I guess I can’t blame him, most kids join the military out of school or the academy with no actual fighting experience. Lessons can only teach you so much, real experience beats skill. That is unless the skill is my sister, but that is a special exception.

“Hey, kiddo you ready?” Ruby approached me juggling four balls of fire.

“I suppose.” The three of us began walking through the woods toward the rock entrance. Though obviously, I had never been in one, I had heard plenty of stories about dungeons from my father and her.

“You ready son?”

“I suppose I am.” With that, the three of us went into the B-ranked gate without a party. Gates are ranked based on the stage that can handle them. B-rank gates can be handled by at least five stage threes. The gates start at E for stage one and go up to gate S for stage five. Even an S-rank gate needs a minimum of three stage fives which there is only a handful of in the country.

“Are we sure it’s best for me to be going into a dungeon after that incident? I don’t have all of my magic back yet and on top of that, I can only use aether at a second-stage level. Maybe we should start on a weaker one.” I tried to turn back as fast as I could, however, Ruby grabbed me by my collar and began to drag me.

“The fastest way to get you back to where you were is by actual fighting. Not just sparring with me and your father.”

“If that was the case I don’t see why I couldn’t just face my sister.”

“She has a different path from you, it’s best not to distract her right now.”

“Daddy’s perfect little girl and his screw-up son, what a cliche.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing father dearest.”

He grumbled something under his breath before fully entering the dungeon. “Supposedly this dungeon is a Cyclops stronghold, however a few knights cleared the initial entrance so it shouldn’t be that bad.

“Easy to say when you’re a dungeon master of sorts.”

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“Let’s get it over with.”

I’m not sure what it is, but I have noticed it for the last month. My father seems not mad but disappointed in me for whatever reason. Though normally I would believe it is what I said to the King, I don’t believe so. I stood up for Mom, something he wasn’t willing to do.

“He loves you, you know, so quit mopping you big pussy.”

“Every time I speak to you, I hate that I know you more and more.”

“Will you two quiet down so I can try and…” Before he could finish that sentence a wooden club flew out of the darkness striking his side. My father was not the most in debt with magic, but he refined his body enough that he was able to react to such a surprise attack and deflect it.

“DAD!”

Another swing from a cyclops however this time at me. I raised the ground around me to protect myself like a shield. But it was not enough to stop the club from breaking through and hitting me. I was sent flying through the air, maybe a broken rib or two.

“Maybe it was a mistake coming here, Michael.” Ruby laughed as she sat on the sidelines watching us get beat to a pulp.

“This would be a good time to step in and help you bitch.” My father lit a flame revealing the six giant creatures surrounding us. They stood at least twelve feet tall, with a single eye, and scraggly beards I would have seen on a homeless man from my old world. What I noticed most was their clubs. They were made of bones, large enough to make into clubs meaning they were of Cyclops' kind.

I stammered up onto my feet collecting myself, “Great, so these ugly beasts are cannibals as well.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to be the one to tell you.” Ruby cackled in the corner. “But just imagine what they will do to you if they catch us. Oh how terrified I am, please protect me, Sir Michael and Sir Apollo.”

My father drew his sword and cast it a blaze. He was a fire and water elemental who had no refined technique. He proceeded to strike one of the beasts down with a single blow. “Partners means we do this together, not you watch as I face them.”

“Oh, but I was so enjoying myself, wouldn’t it be too unfair if I stepped in?” A pause as he gave her a blank dumbfounded expression. “Fine, I guess I will step in if I so need to.” They don’t call her a demon for nothing. Like myself, Ruby is extremely good at using earth magic. This is the primary reason she was chosen to be my teacher and advisor. Though my father asked her to join in, I really wish she hadn’t.

She stood up and raised her hand into the air. Her eyes glowed an ivy green, and the ground started to tremble. Apart from the Cyclops bullying me, and another in the corner, the remaining three, and my dad began to shake like the Earth beneath it. The rock melted to dirt, and the dirt to sand, their eyes filled with fear as the sand began to rise.

“Goodbye.” She said with a wicked grin on her face, waving her hand. As if they were never there, all three of the creatures were gone. The Cyclops in the corner began to scream as it ran off into a hallway away from us.

“Well at least that one is a pussy, I suppose that just leaves you, doesn’t it.” I looked up at the Cyclops towering over me with a sinister grin. He thought since I was a child that it would be an easy meal. I withdrew my two daggers and began to swirl fire around them. “Alright then ugly let's quit wasting each other's time.”

With that, our weapons began to clash. Flames surrounded us as I slashed at him. The more he swung his club the more he hit the walls around him. The cavern began to rumble as some of his swings hit the walls and roof. I needed to finish this up quickly before dumbo took the entire place down on us. I drew all the aether into my feet like my sister had taught me and rushed the beast. I slashed at his ankles ripping through the muscle and tendons causing him to collapse.

This couldn’t help but make me smile, “See, I’m perfectly fine.” Their smiling faces quickly turned to dread.

“APOLLO RUN!” My father screamed out trying to reach me. As I turned I realized my fault, I didn’t kill the beast. More so I didn’t believe killing it would solve anything. However to my fault, as it screamed on the ground it wailed its club through the air in my direction. I dodged out of the way, but not far enough. He struck the ground near me causing the dungeon to rumble. I looked to my father who was still running towards me. He was screaming something at me, but everything was quiet to me. The ground cracked open and then split, dropping me and the beast down into the depths.

As I fell I could see sand from Ruby reaching for me, and my father's hand trying to reach into the hole. But both were far too late to get to me. As I fell I wanted to think about what he had said to me. Was I to die so easily again? No, I refused to die so easily or at all again. This time I would make sure I lived a long life. I flipped my body around facing down into the chasm towards the Cyclops. I drew every bit of aether I could into my body. And with every bit of force I had I used gravity magic to lighten our fall as we hit the bottom.

It was all dizzy for a little, the dust clearing, my body aching, the roars of the creature next to me. I looked around for my daggers, I found them not too far away, unscathed. I looked back at the creature again, one of its legs was clearly broken, I assumed along with its back. I stammered to my feet, holding my left side which I can only assume was the side I had landed on. When I heard a voice all too familiar to me.

“Kill him.”