So its been fun reading people's predictions to what happen and stuff but I'll say this now the only reason I did the rewrite was because the ending was way too rushed. I think we can all agree how rushed and messy the old chapter 28 was. I rewrote to expand on it so it is a much better read. The only thing I changed was the dialog with Blue and tone down George's lines because I did screw those. The ending however has been planned out by me since the start of this whole thing and hasn't changed at all. I do have a story I want to tell and it is very unlikely for me to change major story points because people disagree with it (of course if it is completely stupid and people made valid enough arguements I might still change my mind but have to be something like that just doesn't work and I decided to do it coz reasons at the moment. Kinda like how the old chapter 28 was)
Now that vol 1 is done what is next? I'm currently working with a friend on going through all of vol 1 and fixing things for the Watty on Wattpad and for ebook release. It's slow and tedious work as one time through a chapter took as long as it did for me to write it XD So release from now on will be 2-3 chapter a week so I can focus more time on fixing vol 1 rather than rushing vol 2 (as much as I want to) and make it even harder to fix.
RIP Kobold Lord
https%3a%2f%2fs5.postimg.org%2fds3h48qsn%2fkobold.jpg [https://s5.postimg.org/ds3h48qsn/kobold.jpg]
Art by FluffyFlower please check him out Here
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*Plains South of Dungeon Town*
Penny couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile as she looked over the groups of battered soldiers and adventurers. She wouldn’t even be standing right now after using her secret technique if it wasn’t for the guild master healing her. They had won the battle, but at a great cost. However, what annoyed her the most was that their grand scheme failed. The reason they had so little troops here to begin with was to draw in the Demon Armies’ main attack force. Then, once the demon army moved in, they would ambush them with troops secretly moving in from the north.
However, there was no larger demon army. Once this group was wiped out, the Demon General simply wasted a bit more time and left. This meant that all of the deaths were completely meaningless. Even the guild master was staring into the distance with a frown on his face. He noticed that the demon general was holding back, but he didn’t know why. Somehow, he had this feeling in his stomach that the demons got what they wanted.
As he replayed the battle in his mind for any hints of the demons’ true motive, he suddenly heard a sharp screech. He turned toward the direction of the dungeon town and frowned because he knew exactly what that made that screech. It was the thunder hawk. It would only be coming here if something had gone wrong back in the dungeon down. The thunder hawk moved like lightning through the sky and soon came into view. The guild master moved back to where the group was and whistled. The thunder hawk immediately descended and landed on the guild master’s arm. Penny quickly arrived next to the guild master and retrieved the message tied to the thunder hawk’s leg.
She opened up the letter and read out loud, “Please send help back as soon as possible. We have an adventurer who reported that demons have invaded the dungeon. According to her, all of the parties that went inside today had demons hidden among them. Rank E adventurer John killed the demons with the help of monsters in the dungeon to let her escape. Another male adventurer is too wounded to move and is still near the entrance on the first floor. We already dispatched a team to retrieve him, but the female adventurer said that John told her that there is a rank B demon down in the 3rd floor with rank E adventurer Sigrid’s party. Adventurer John went with the monsters to assist adventurer Sigrid. We currently don’t have anyone we can send down there that can stand against a rank B demon.”
Penny’s eyes grew wider and wider as she read the message. Once he finished, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Impossible! How did so many demons slip by us?”
The guild master frowned even harder and said, “Possession technique. They must have possessed humans. It weakens their fight capability by around one rank, but it allows them to bypass us.” Suddenly, it clicked in the guild master’s head and he angrily roared, “Damn it! This was all a set up to distract us! Their main goal the whole time was the dungeon. This battle was merely to get all of the people that could help far away! Penny, instruct one of the rank A adventurers to stay behind and greet the incoming army. Once they arrive have the person who stayed behind to bring them and the people here back to the dungeon down. The rest of the rank A adventurers will rush back to the dungeon down!” After giving out those orders, the guild master disappeared before Penny and rushed back to the dungeon town.
*Demon Army Camp*
“That old man wasn’t a legend for nothing. Both of us were not going all out, but I could feel that I was still a step below him. But that doesn’t matter. Once the dungeon is under my control, I’ll be generously rewarded by the demon lord. Then I’ll make the dungeon give me some powerful skills! Hahaha, just you wait, Max the Destroyer. Next time, I’ll take your head!”
“Everyone, get ready to move. Once the signal comes, we charge for the dungeon town. With the monsters inside helping us, it will be easy pickings.”
All of the demons were silent, causing demon general Xaizal to frown. “What is it? Someone speak now, or else!” he shouted.
Finally, one demon walked out. His entire body was trembling as he stuttered, “S..sir, Geo..George is d...d...d...dead sir…”
Demon general Xaizal froze on the spot and then simply snapped, “WHAT?!”
“S...s...s...si…r, Ge...Geor...George’s s..sss.soul gem broke…”
“When?” The rage inside Xaizal was reaching its peak.
“Ri...right be..before you re..re..returned s...sir…”
“Ahhhhhhh! All that work for nothing! That useless trash!” Demon General Xaizal vented his rage on the poor bastard that spoke up and crushed his head. “We are pulling out!”
As the troops slowly packed up to leave, Xaizal suddenly remembered something and muttered, “Could it have been her…”
*Dungeon Town*
The male adventurer was found close to the entrance inside the dungeon. A team of ten rank F adventurers being led by a rank C went on this mission. Luckily, they met no danger and quickly recovered the male adventurer. The entire Adventurers’ Guild staff had been on the edge for the past few hours. They were all afraid that the demons had already taken over the dungeon and could launch an attack on the town at any moment. All they could do now was hope for the guild master to send reinforcements back as quickly as possible.
It would take the thunder hawk about 2 hours to reach the guild master, and if a rank A adventurer was sent back, it would still be another three or four hours until someone came to help. Right now, only about two and half hours had passed, so it would be at least another three hours before anyone would return. However, as everyone waited on the edge, there was a loud thud outside that shook the ground. Everyone’s heads turned toward the entrance as the guild leader walked in with a frown. Before anyone could speak, guild master Max ordered, “Send a message to the capital for reinforcements. Report that the demons have made an attempt on capturing the dungeon. If it has been captured, I’ll attempt to free it, but if that is not possible, I will destroy the dungeon. You, you, and you, come with me. We are going into the dungeon to see what is going on.”
“Yes, sir!” Everyone was slightly startled by all of this because they had never seen the guild master so serious before. However, for the always playful guild master to be acting like this demonstrated just how serious the situation was. Everyone quickly went to do their jobs while the guild master headed toward the dungeon with the three adventurers.
However, just as they arrived at the dungeon entrance, the guild master suddenly stopped/ “Something is coming out. Be ready for battle.” But once the figure entered their view, they were all shocked. The person who walked out was Sigri. She looked battered and bruised with burns on various parts of her body. Her clothes had many burnt holes in them, revealing some very soft and fair skin, causing the three adventurers to blush. The guild master quickly walked up to Sigrid and asked, “Are you okay? Have the demons taken over the dungeon?”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Sigrid shook her head. “I’m fine, and the demons have been defeated,” she replied.
The guild master stared at Sigrid in amazement before finally saying, “Let us return to the dungeon town first. I know you had a rough day, but I’ll need information from you before you can rest.”
Sigrid nodded and smiled. “I’ll be okay.”
Suddenly, the guild master noticed the little fairy laying in Sigrid’s hand. The fairy seemed to be alive, but very weak. It must have been a very rough fight for the pet fairy to get injured like this. This wasn’t the first time the guild master had seen loyal pets die protecting their masters. He could only let out a sigh before escorting Sigrid back to town.
*Later, in the Adventurers’ Guild*
Sigrid now sat in the guild master’s room. Penny was present, along with the guild master. She had time to clean herself up and get a change into a simple, light blue dress with long sleeves that made her look somewhat more mature than before. Alice was currently resting in a room the guild provided for them. The three of them sat around the table as Sigrid recalled the events in the dungeon.
After Sigrid finished recounting the events that went down inside the dungeon, Penny organized the information and said, “To recap, the four adventurers in your party were humans possessed by demons with adventurer George, who was a rank B demon, as their leader. They turned on you on the third floor after George’s disguise was suddenly broken by the dungeon. You managed to escape with the help of the monsters inside the dungeon and ended up helping the dungeon fight the demons. During the fight, adventurer John arrived to help, but was killed in the battle. Then you were knocked out after sustaining a heavy blow. After that, you were awakened by the sound of a large explosion, and by the time you opened your eyes, you saw the demon’s body already dissipating. Correct?”
Sigrid simply nodded in silence. Penny couldn’t help but frown at this story. It seemed too convenient that Sigrid just happened to get knocked out and survived to see the demon die. Just as she was about to question further, the guild master suddenly said, “Thank you for your cooperation. It must have been a tough day for you. Please go get some rest.”
Sigrid was as startled as Penny. She expected to be questioned, but now she was suddenly free to go. However, she quickly recovered herself and replied with a smile, “Thank you.” She stood up, bowed, and left the room.
Penny turned to the guild master with a frown and asked, “Why did you let her go? That story is far from the truth! This is a big deal. So many adventurers died and demons almost took over a dungeon!”
The guild master sighed and shook his head. “This whole mess was our fault to begin with because we allowed the demons to slip in. Everyone has their own secrets, Penny, and unless it is absolutely necessary, there is no need to push her. I can tell that she has grown a lot through this fight and will likely become another rank A or higher adventurer fighting for us.” The guild master couldn’t help but let out another sigh. He seemed even older as he continued, “We already lost one good seed, so let’s not push another away.”
Penny sat there silently as she looked at her master. It was very rare to see him in this state. Finally, she nodded her head and stood up to leave.
The guild master watched her leave. As she got to the door, he said, “Send the report to the capital and back to them. It seems like the demons have already made their move.”
*Dark Cave*
Feeling something dripping onto his face, John slowly opened his eyes. At first, he could only see a small blue blob on the other side of the room that was releasing a faint, blue glow. However, after a while, his eyes slowly adjusted and noticed that he was inside a cave. This cave was very similar to the inside of the dungeon, but the floor and walls were much smoother. It was as if this room was made for living. Luckily, he was sitting upright with his back against the wall, so he could at least see most of the room. However, when he tried to move, he felt pain all over his body and couldn’t even lift his arm.
Suddenly, a voice entered his head. “So, you’re finally awake.”
John was startled by this voice. He wanted to speak, but found that his throat was in pain, so he just ended up coughing instead.
The voice calmly continued, “You have suffered heavy injuries. To be honest, you would have been dead if it wasn’t for all the mana I pumped into you.”
John’s eyes widened as he heard those words. Pumped mana into him? He quickly recalled what had happened. The only time he received mana was from the dungeon. John couldn’t help but croak, “Dun...geon?”
The voice replied, “Oh? Seems like you caught on pretty quick. Yes, I am the dungeon, and I’m here to offer you a deal.”
John tried to laugh, but ended up coughing. The only words he managed to let out were, “Not.. interested…”
The voice didn’t seem angry. I continued, “I see. Then I guess there won’t be anyone to save Sigrid.”
John’s body suddenly trembled as he struggled to speak. “What.. ha..ppen.. to Sigrid!”
“Oh, she is safe… for now.” John visibly relaxed, but immediately tensed back up. “However, that might not be the case in the future.”
John suddenly grew furious. A murderous gaze appeared in his eyes as he struggled to say, “If.. your.. dare… to… do.. Anything… to her..I’ll..kill you!”
The voice let out a laugh. “You? Kill me? You should take a better look at yourself, kid. You’re body is completely ruined. You’d be lucky to function like a normal person even if you manage to recover, and let’s not even talk about the burn scar on your face.”
John was shocked at those words. He quickly tried to gather mana inside his body, but he could only feel pain, and no mana entered his body at all. His pupils shrank as he muttered in disbelief, “No… no… no! What happened?!”
“You let the power get to your head, kid.” The voice calmly said, “You greedily used the mana I injected into you without a care for if your body could handle it. In the end, all of the mana veins in your body couldn’t handle the pressure and exploded. I suppose I should thank you. Because of your stupid actions, you were able to stall the demon long enough for us to win.”
John realized he had been tricked by the dungeon. He shouted, “You!”
The voice cut John off and said, “Now, now, no need to get so angry. You haven’t even heard my offer yet.”
John clenched this teeth and said, “Not interested! I would rather die than help YOU!”
“Even if I were to tell you that you would be able to protect Sigrid?”
Suddenly John’s body trembled at those words.
“Ah, seems like you’re interested now. Let me let you in on a little secret: Sigrid is not human. She is an Ice Maiden who has formed a contract with me. You see, the demons came hunting for her. Although they failed this time, it is very likely that they will try again in the future.” Every word the voice said hit John like lightning. He wasn’t able to utter even one word in retaliation.
The voice paused for a moment, but after seeing that John wasn’t saying anything, it continued, “So, my offer for you is to become my servant and I’ll make you strong enough to protect Sigrid.”
John stared into the empty space for a long time, then he said, “I want to see her.”
“You cannot. To everyone outside, you are dead, John, and should you agree to this offer, you will become someone else.” The voice became very stern. “You may either choose to die here or be reborn into something greater. Those are the only two choices you have!” These words echoed endlessly inside John’s head.
After a very long time, John’s eyes became determined as he said, “I...I agree!”
“Hahaha!” The voice laughed. “Good choice!” Just as the voice finished speaking, a mask materialized before John. This was a simple white mask; however, the face was that of a cold and ruthless assassin that would send chills down the spine of even the cruelest murders.
“From this moment on, you are no longer John. You are now Spectre!”
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Edited by: Nova