The four hunters arrived at the place Dea had described. These were indeed ruins. The alter is believed to be another world whose only known inhabitants are bloodthirsty monsters. And yet from time to time, one finds ruins, the remains of an unknown civilization in the form of demolished houses, temples, tombs and castles.

It was not possible to find out whom they belonged to or what happened to their masters. The only bodies that resemble humans belong to anthropomorphic races such as orcs, lizardmen, and weres. No writing, no illustrations, no sign of who they were or if they even existed. It's almost as if all evidence of the alter civilization has disappeared with it.

The only memories left are the ruins, which in most cases became a lair of monsters, full of deadly traps. However, many hunters see the ruins as a treasure chest. A very dangerous and deadly chest. The civilization left behind various treasures, such as the stone of return or weapons and artefacts. Sometimes, however, hunters return empty-handed even after a series of dangerous situations and a tough fight. It was a risk that at best brought great reward to the hunter and at worst ended in death.

"You were right, it’s really here. But is it worth the risk? This looks like a huge house, but the reward won't be that big,” Sidy objected to further exploration.

“We didn't come all this way to see the sights, did we?” Jack grabbed her by the shoulders, “Think about it again. The smaller the ruins, the lower the risk. If we don't find anything here, it happens. But I doubt there's a deadling or two hiding somewhere waiting to grind their teeth on us.'

Sidy eyed him suspiciously: "Sounds like a bad idea to me anyway."

"I agree with Jack," Dea said firmly, "it's not that big of a risk, and if we're lucky the reward will be more than enough."

The red-clad huntress turned to the young man, hoping that at least he would use common sense instead of lust for money.

"I've never been to the ruins before, but if Dea thinks it's a good idea, I agree," Akally disappointed the only objector of the danger with his answer.

"Don´t worry, lad! There is a first time for everything, and you will enjoy it. Mysterious quest, unexplored corridors, action, traps, treasures, ghosts, tension, it will get your blood pumping."

"Did he say ghosts?" the young man's eyes widened.

"As soon as we find the entrance down, we can go in," Jack patted him on the back.

"Wait, what was that about the ghost-"

"We'll split up to cover as much ground as possible," suggested Dea.

"Are there ghosts down there?!"

“At least you're being reasonable now. Whatever, I'll take the corner over there,” Sidy pointed to where she wanted to look.

"Answer me!" demanded Akally almost with tears in his eyes.

[The last survivor is looking forward to your first experience.]

Everyone searched through a part of the ruined house they chose and looked for any entrance to the ruins. These were located in their own pocket dimension, into which could lead a hatch, an intact door, but also a secret staircase. It was impossible to get to them in any other way, even though they stretched for seemingly hundreds of meters. Why did the previous civilization build them? No one had an answer to that. Nor why they are full of traps behind which a reward may await.

Akally searched the western part of the house made up of cozy rooms, possibly bedrooms. Apart from the cracked floor, there was not a single piece of furniture left. Every room was completely empty, peeling plaster revealing faded bricks. Dea and Sidy took over the northern part formed by the two largest interconnected rooms. Dea shouted into the next room: "Did you find anything?"

"There's a lot of rubble to clear," came the crash of falling rock, "so far it doesn’t look like there is going to be an entrance," Sidy cleared her throat as a cloud of swirling dust billowed from the next room.

"Are you okay?" Dea looked back at her with concern.

Heavy chunks of rock and debris began to fly out of the room as easily as if they were made of styrofoam, "Absolutely," Sidy coughed again, "I'm just going to clean up here," she carried a long heavy wooden beam into the room on each shoulder to Dea.

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The surprised girl thought aloud: “How high is your Strength?”

"Over 100, but I don't know the exact number. I've been out of action for a while now,” she shrugged as she placed both beams on the ground.

“What?!” Dea stopped her search, “I'm not surprised you beat that golem by yourself if you can carry a ton of weight. I thought you were a grey office mouse,” the girl giggled as she pushed aside several fallen boards.

"I'm more of an office dragon," Sidy started to laugh as well, "you should see how crazy it is if they can't find me."

"So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to-" she stopped when Jack came up to them from his part of the house.

"You don't have to look for it anymore, girl, I found it," he then turned to Sidy, motioning for her to follow him with a small bow, "after you, lady."

"What a gentleman," Sidy joked back as she passed him.

“Hey, redhead! We found it!” he yelled at Akally.

The youth hastily trotted over. Jack nudged him in front of him before he was the last to go to his find. That discovery was an open passage behind a false wall.

"How did you manage to find it?" Akally scanned the mysterious passage.

"I must have accidentally stepped on something, and it opened," the black-haired joker scratched his chin.

"In other words, you have no idea, and you were lucky," Dea crossed her arms over her chest reproachfully.

"Exactly," laughed the man, "ladies first."

His polite gesture mirrored the nervousness the others showed when looking into the unknown. No one wanted to take the first step that could be their last. Akally took a deep breath to resolve himself, but Dea beat him to it. She charged forward like an unstoppable spear. With her first step, a turquoise light lit up along the walls. As she stepped on the tiles with various decorations, the runes on the side walls began to light up. A sharp icicle flashed past her head, followed by a fireball and a stone spike.

However, for the archer, these slow shots were nothing that could not be dodged. Her steps did not slow for a moment. As beams of white energy began to shoot from the ceiling and floor as well, her running turned into an acrobatic dance between deadly projectiles. A turn. Somersault. Bounce from the wall. Another turn. She was so nimble that at times the projectiles from the magic traps seemed to dodge her themselves. She stood at the end of the corridor without a single scratch.

"Now you," the older hunter nudged Akally.

"Are you out of your mind?!" the redhead barked at him.

"I'm not as fast as her. I don't have a chance to go through with this," Jack bit his lip nervously, "but you're short, you can do it."

"My height has nothing to do with it. Besides, we're the same height!"

"Move away girls," the beauty pulled them away from each other. She crouched down and threw a pebble into the hallway. Despite its tiny size, it activated a rune on the floor that exploded in a flurry of lightning. It was clear that the danger was still present. The next person who wants to go through this and not end up as a pile of ashes should be at least as fast as Dea.

“What's your Swiftness now?” Sidy called to the archer.

"Thirty-eight, musclegirl," Dea replied proudly.

Sidy smiled and moved into the starting running position. She held her right leg close to her body and stretched her left leg behind her. She pressed her hands firmly against the stone slab floor until she drilled ten tiny holes in them with the tips of her fingers. The huntress leapt with her whole body and crossed a third of the way down the hall with a single jump. After the impact, without hesitation, she ran forward as fast as Dea, but she gradually accelerated. Sidy left the danger behind. She didn't even have to dodge as often as the younger huntress. She covered the last few meters with another long jump to Dea: "Forty, little girl," she playfully stuck her tongue out at her.

Jack and Akally looked at each other, then turned their gaze back to the trap-strewn corridor. It was their turn. Jack forcefully shoved Akally: “Sorry young man,” he sounded apologetic, though a smile was evident on his face.

The redhead staggered. He had to do a few steps forward before getting his balance back. But he was already standing between the runes. Terrified, he froze in place, waiting for the flood of pain to come.

Nothing. As a black-haired man calmly walked past him, he ruffled his hair, “What are you afraid of, boy? The traps are already out.”

Akally opened one eye, then the other: "Then why didn't you tell me?!"

"What if I was wrong?" Jack shrugged.

"I could have died!"

"Relax, kid. Nothing happened to you," the man rolled his eyes but continued to his faster companions.

“What took you so long?” said the masked exasperated voice as the pair of male hunters reached the end of the corridor.

“Yeah, show off with your jumping around and stuff. I'm not that fast," the older man excused himself.

Meanwhile, Sidy turned to the boy, who had his head hanging down: "Did anything happen?" she whispered beside him so that the other two wouldn't hear him.

"I have a feeling he's slowly becoming a nuisance. Lately, he keeps pushing me as if he's in a hurry and I'm in his way," the redhead complained, "he also pushed me between the traps a moment ago and didn't even know if they activate again."

"Calm down, cutie, big sis will take care of you," she stroked his cheek before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and walked with him to the others.

At the end of the corridor was another door, this time decorated with two heads resembling a horned lion and a reptile with four eyes. Although the hunters weren't sure what to think, it was time to act. There was still the option to turn around and leave. Jack carefully took the handle and was about to open it before Dea grabbed his arm: "What are you doing?"

"I'm opening the door…?" he answered confused.

"Didn't it occur to you that this could be another trap?"

"There is nothing else here. Besides, if someone put in so much work to set a trap like that, then there's something valuable waiting behind that door,” said Jack enthusiastically.

“Let me see first. At least I have enough sense not to raise the alarm.”

The hunter raised his hands above his head, “Fine, help yourself.”

This time the girl took the handle herself. She swallowed loudly before deciding to open up and take the first step towards what awaited on the other side.