As the group began their exit from the dungeon, Ventus cast a lingering look back at the towering tree.
“Can we go back inside, King?” His voice echoed with an undertone of anticipation. “I leveled up so much faster than when hunting goblins and giant rabbits. That big guardian made me level up twice!”
Even Saxum who loved bickering with the wind magus conceded to his sentiment with a nod. “If we could just focus on hunting here all day, we would evolve in a couple of days.”
“I wish we could too,” Thorian responded with a light-hearted chuckle. "However, we can only challenge a layer once a day. I want each of you to return to this first layer later with your respective groups and guide them through it."
"Can we truly manage that without your guidance, my king?" The priest's voice wavered with concern as his gaze fell on Thorian's scar-ridden hand. "The trials we faced in this dungeon were formidable, and some sacrifices were necessary."
A solemn consensus rippled through the group, acknowledging the priest’s sobering words. The daunting challenge of dungeon delving was, without a doubt, a far cry from the relative predictability of monster hordes at the city walls.
But Thorian dismissed their apprehensions with a shake of his head. "The first layer is considerably simpler than the one we just traversed. It has fewer traps, fewer elite monsters, and even the guardian is significantly weaker. As long as each member of your squads has undergone their first evolution, you should encounter minimal difficulties in clearing the dungeon."
Saxum breathed a sigh of relief. “That is good to know. If we had to deal with that Spiketail with a squad other than this one, we wouldn’t make it back in one piece even if we had a hundred lives.”
Thorian met Saxum's admission with a quiet smile, leaving his statement unanswered. He pivoted, prompting the others to fall into step behind him as they made their way back to the village. He couldn't suppress a grin as he cast a final glance at the immense tree in the distance.
Clearing the second layer on our first attempt. It's remarkable. In my previous life, it took over a month to accomplish the same feat and that was considered rapid progress. Even those monsters of the Thulaskar empire shouldn’t be better positioned than me right now.
With this newfound conviction, Thorian guided his group towards the village. His gaze drifted skyward to the dual suns hanging in the afternoon sky, their presence signaling the passage of a few hours since their venture began. The doubled intensity from the two suns made the environment noticeably brighter than previous days, and even the temperature and humidity had increased. But none of this unsettled Thorian. To him, it was merely a return to familiarity.
As the group neared the village, they ascended a gentle hill and came to a halt at the precipice of a cliff. Their elevated vantage point unveiled the walls of Wolvendale village. The lifeless remains of the monstrous invaders formed a grisly mountain range, a grim testament to the futility of their assault. This morbid spectacle stood as a stark warning to all who dared to breach the village walls - beyond them, death was the only promise.
“We need to clear out this mess,” Thorian muttered, a scowl twisting his features. "In this heat, the stench will soon become insufferable."
"I fear I can already catch a whiff of it, King," Saxum interjected with a chuckle, before his expression sobered as he surveyed the pile of corpses. “If only I could control my “Earthern Grasp” skill a little better, I would have buried them all in no time.”
“If you could do that, burying the corpses would be the least of our worries,” the priest responded, his laughter rumbling in his throat. “You could just burry that giant insect guardian alive, and let it suffocate underneath the earth.”
“Can’t you just set them on fire, King?” Ventus inquired, his head cocked in curiosity, only to receive a puzzled look from the earth magus.
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“Do you want the whole forest to burn? Our king would definitely survive the fire, but I wouldn’t count on the rest of us living.”
Ventus's face flushed with embarrassment at the critique. “It was just a suggestion! At least I am trying to help, not like you whose only solution is a dreamlike hope!”
Thorian chuckled at their playful squabble, his mirth echoed by the hearty laughter of Nox from the sidelines. The shadowstalker then turned to Thorian with a proposition, “Why don’t we just do it the old fashioned way? We can just push the bodies away with our hands.”
“It’s an exercise in futility right now since we will need to keep killing monsters,” Thorian replied, shaking his head before shifting his gaze back to the wall. “The smell is going to be bad, but at least it’s a warning for the monster not to keep coming toward us in droves.”
As their conversation neared its conclusion, the group prepared to descend the cliff, only to be halted by Thorian.
“Priest, you are one of the few who I have not bestowed a name upon yet,” Thorian declared, his eyes locked intently on the kobold adorned with lunar shamanist tattoos. "Henceforth, you shall be known as Vigil. Your watchful nature and ability to perceive what others cannot makes this a fitting title."
“Thank you, my king,” Vigil replied, inclining his head slightly. “It is an honor.”
Thorian reciprocated with a smile before signaling towards the village with a nod of his head. “Let’s go see what the others have been up to. I am expecting some new evolutions to join our rank.”
“Oh, the brown kobloid? I want to see what they’re going to evolve to too!” Nox exclaimed, his enthusiasm palpable. He descended the cliff with feline agility, Thorian and the others trailing closely behind. Upon reaching the village walls, Thorian glanced to his right to see the eastern gate, and Nox, moving with startling speed atop the wall towards it.
A smile playing on his lips, Thorian turned to the rest of the group. “Let’s split up here for now. I would like each of you to check the other gates, evaluate the situation, and report back to me. Let’s meet up in twenty minutes in the Village Hall.”
“Right away, King,” Ventus responded with contagious enthusiasm. “Aqua will be so jealous when he hears about how we cleared the dungeon!”
With these words, he sprang up the wall and disappeared into the village. Saxum and Vigil followed suit, each making their way to the western and southern gates, respectively.
His next course of action established, Thorian set out to follow Nox towards the eastern gate. Thoughts of Lapis brought an anticipatory smile to his face.
It has been more than a few hours since his men had gotten their classes. I wonder how they look right now?
As he neared the gate, Thorian's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the strewn corpses of the monsters surrounding him. While the quantity was unremarkable, some specimens among the fallen were indeed extraordinary. Thri-kreens, Tailmashers, and even a few Thundermashers lay in a macabre display.
It appears my high expectations were well-founded.
As Thorian ascended the wall, the raucous laughter of Nox and Lapis reached his ears. The two interacted with the ease and joviality of lifelong friends, their laughter mingling with that of the surrounding kobolds.
Lapis's contingent was a particularly impressive sight. Four individuals stood out, towering above the rest, their stature broadened by their evolution. Their fur had morphed to a deep grey, and they bore thick, rock-like plates on their bodies, acting as a form of natural armor. These protective coverings were particularly pronounced on their shoulders, forearms, and legs.
Thorian nodded his approval before his gaze slid over to another quartet. Recognizable likely as warriors, they were a bit shorter than the first group but still exceeded the average height of a brown kobold. Their muscles were more defined, their fur a deep brown, adorned with teal tribal tattoos reminiscent of those borne by Forlune's band of warriors.
Thorian then turned his attention to a group of five, easily identifiable as priests. They possessed the average kobold stature, with lean yet solid builds. Their fur had lightened to a gentle, sandy hue, suggestive of their intimate connection to the earth.
Upon closer inspection, Thorian noticed unique, greenish patterns, akin to veins of precious minerals, subtly glowing beneath their fur. These lines of energy were more densely clustered around their hands.
Finally, Thorian's gaze settled on the remaining pair. He instantly recognized them as earth kobolds, their form mirroring that of Saxum. In some ways, he felt a stronger affinity for these two magi, able to vividly imagine their abilities and the value they could bring to a battle scenario.
Among this array of impressive evolutions, Lapis's form seemed rather nondescript and unremarkable. Even Nox, with whom he chatted merrily, bore glowing silver streaks across his body, showcasing his specialness.
The gods are truly unfair. Thorian thought, heaving a sigh before shaking off his disappointment. Well, you still have your next evolution. I hope the heavens will look favorably upon you when that time comes.