Chapter 6

The Strongest

A young woman and a boy walk down the village hand in hand. In any ordinary circumstance one may think they are mother and child, but these two were Baylee and Grey!

"Little Grey," smiled Baylee, tenderly. In the last few hours, the two had been going store to store. In her heart, she could not help but admire how helpful her new apprentice was, even going as far as to carry her things without being told. She felt quite happy and held him by the hand like a mother hen guiding it's chick. Though this clever child was smart, one could often forget he was only six years old! At his age holding hands was still as natural as breathing the air. Had he been older then perhaps he would have been more embarrassed.

"Let me ask you something. Are familiar with a thing called Power Tiers?"

Grey tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Is that the Iserian Ranking Chart?"

Baylee smiled. "Not quite silly child. Though you are quite close. There are seven levels of strength. Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, Master, Saint, and Heroic. All adventurers fall under one of these categories."

"But?" Grey frowned. "I thought the Iserian Ranking Chart told people how strong an adventurer was?"

"Silly kid. The Iserian Ranking Chart tells people how strong a dungeon is. To ordinary people even an elementary level adventurer can appear to be an expert. The Ranking Chart just made it easier for people to tell the difference. What elementary adventurer can boast about doing a Chaos Dungeon? Only scammers and fools."

"Ah!" thought Grey.

"At each level of strength an adventurer's power grows exponentially. This can usually only happen through some insight into the natural laws of the world. The difference between an elementary level adventurer and an intermediate adventurer is as high as the sky. The same goes from those of the intermediate to the advanced level."

Grey nodded excitedly.

"Naturally, to break through each level one has to undergo rigorous pain and suffering. Even achieving the elementary stage would normally require 15 years of training."

Grey stared at Baylee with shock! Years of training just to get to the elementary level? If it took several years to move from each level then by the time he reached Heroic would he drop dead from age? No wonder no one was as hero! It was nearly impossible!

"If that's true then no one can ever be a hero!" lamented Grey.

"Haha. It is good you are clever. You can see why to adventurers anyone wanting to be a hero can only be called a genius or a lunatic."

Grey sighed inwardly. He did not think the road to be a hero would be so tough. Would he spend his whole life in vain trying for something he would never achieve? Baylee saw the despair in Grey's face and smiled to herself. It was good for a person to have a firm grasp on reality. If one was always in dreamland, they might become deluded and foolish in the future. She placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Do not worry though. Little Grey you are quite smart. To be able to meld magic at your age. Do you not know it takes a person 8 years to be able to do that? Forget 15 years. It'll only take you 7."

Grey eyes lit up once more.

"Besides don't you think you are underestimating your master? Can you guess what level I am at?"

Grey looked at the Baylee and thought carefully about her age. She looked quite young but if what she said about training was true then she should be a little older.

"You should be thirty years old! Intermediate level!"

Baylee whacked Grey with her staff.

"Who is thirty years old? Little Brat! I am not an old woman. I am twenty one! I am an advanced level mage."

"Advanced Level?!?" Grey could only gasp in astonishment. "B-But you said it took years!"

Baylee puffed out her chest. "Of course it takes years. It takes years for normal people. Who said I was normal? I was also clever as a kid and now I grew up. In a few years perhaps your master will also become an expert! You can praise me now."

Baylee smiled.

"Master you are amazing!"

"Ho, ho, ho. With me teaching you who can say it will even take 7 years. When you go through your Ritual of Awakening perhaps you will have already reached the elementary level."

Grey heart leaped for joy. He could perhaps be an elementary level adventurer at age 13 or younger! Could there be anyone at that age that could claim the same? He thought not!

"Alright, silly child. Now you won't look so ignorant when conversing with other adventurers. Let's start heading back to my camp. I think my party will be entering the dungeon soon. I have to start planning for the trip in."

Grey nodded and followed Baylee. The two passed the village entrance and went into the forest. His village fading into the background behind him.

~~~

From the gaping chasm that was the entrance of the 139th Dungeon World, there could be heard a howling scream coming from its depths. An orb of light about fifteen feet wide leaped from the base of the chasm and shot through the air. It spun in the air before crashing into the ground, leaving an impact crater three feet deep.

"Did we get out?"

The orb of light dissipated revealing a party of four adventurers. A warrior, mage, rogue and ranger.

"Air!" shouted the warrior. Her arms grasping at the sky. "We made it? Praise the sun!"

The chubby mage panted. Sweat dripping from his head. "Yeah. That's how you do it. Now, you fools owe me a week's worth of food."

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"Good enough," sighed the rogue. Her hands still trembling. "What the hell was that?"

"We lucked out that's what happened," whispered the ranger. Her leather jacket torn to shreds. "A Basilisk and a Giant Serpent. What's next? A 10-Headed Hydra?"

The warrior stood up and picked up her large hammer. "Could it be a Cursed or Hidden Dungeon?"

The rogue shook her head. "What kind of Cursed or Hidden Dungeon has traps like that? Walls that flip over and toss you every which way? Ceilings that drop monsters on your head? This dungeon is really too strange!"

A loud roar sounded off from the dungeon and everyone's eyes flashed with fear! It wasn't over yet?! A black shadow leaped from the hole and flew up into the sky. Fifty feet long it casted a long shadow on the ground. Horns on its head, a long snake-like tail, and bat wings. It was a Winged Wyrm!

"Oh common," said the warrior. "Go away you freaking lizard!"

"Formation! Triangle Formation!" shouted the mage. Warrior in front. Mage in the center. Ranger right corner. Rogue left corner. The Three Pillars of the Lunar Palace that hold the stars in place! Magic radiated from the corners of the triangular formation, forming a barrier that connected all the three sides together. Maximum Defense!  

The Winged Wyrm opens its mouth and spit out a noxious pale green gas.

"Acid Breathe! Brace yourself!"

The mage quickly drew an array of symbols in the air.

"Evil Poison Seal!"

The pale gas brushed against an invisible barrier, burning the ground like fire around the four adventurers. Everything it touched withered and died in seconds. Even whole trees were reduced to twig-like husks.

The mage looked up fearful. He could not keep up the barrier indefinitely. "Sachi!"

"I got it!" The woman pulled back the notch of her bow. The strings hummed with a strange force.

"Shatter point!"

An arrow flew from her bow and pierced the Winged Wyrm's left wing. The arrow glowed for a moment and then exploded into several fragments tearing the soft flesh to pieces. The Winged Wyrm was caught off balance then dropped from the sky with a tremendous crash, crushing everything beneath its massive weight.

Debris rushed like a storm, engulfing the whole area in a murky dust cloud. The warrior leaped up, rushing through the dust cloud. As she moved, the dust parted as if pushed aside by an invisible force. Aura!  Energy radiated from her body. Not only can aura be used to push aside obstacles but find an enemy. She extended her battle sense to cover the whole area and rushed to meet the Winged Wyrm before it recovered!

In her hand resonated with power. Strength. Unbridled and Unrestrained. To her right! She leaped up and struck the dazed Winged Wyrm in the head. Roar! The earth rippled beneath the Wyrm's vast girth. The warrior ducked as a gigantic tail flew from the dust cloud and slammed at the ground, smashing the earth to a pulp. Rows of knife-like teeth. It's gaze was like death itself. Piercing with malicious intent.

The Winged Wyrm sank its claws deep into the soil, and the ground began to reverberate. The grains of dust in the air and ground begin to swirl around the Winged Wyrm. Not good!  

"Don't let it use it use its Special Attack!" yelled the mage.

The Winged Wyrm gaping mouth opened. Fangs as long as spears. The air itself seemed to grow cold and still. A dagger swift and small flew into the air straight into its throat.

The rogue! She had her eyes closed, moving her hands rhythmically, guiding the dagger deep into the Winged Wyrm's belly. It's weak point was the major coronary artery near its heart!

"Phantom Blade. Demonic Possession."

She gripped an imaginary dagger in her right hand and slashed down at the air in front of her. The dagger inside the Winged Wyrm copied the motion, slicing deep into the gut, severing heart from body. The Winged Wyrm eyes dilated in a shock sensing something was terribly wrong.  It gave one last piercing howl then collapsed lifeless on the ground. Dead.

"It is dead right?" mumbled the warrior, walking to her companions. She looked at the lifeless beast corpse with disdain and concern. For a beast to rise up from the dead was not unheard of. She walked around it cautiously as if it were a dangerous thing.

The rogue nodded slowly. "Unless it's got two hearts. Should be dead. We butchering it?"

"No," spoke the mage, shaking his head. "It should still have poisonous gas inside its belly. Leave it alone. Besides, I want to sleep. One thing after another. Can my heart get a break?"

The rest of his party members shrugged in agreement. After this ordeal they all had their share of life and death situations for the day.

From the forest, a young girl with long bangs looked at the party of adventurer's with terrified eyes. Upon hearing a loud boom she had come to see what had happened and witnessed the entire battle, terrifying her little heart.

The warrior noticed the presence through her battle sense. Her eyes turned to meet the girls. The warrior tilted her head in surprise, thinking that it was a trick. A girl this deep in the woods? Who was this little child?

"Little girl?" said the warrior, drawing the attention of the rest of the adventurers to the girl. "Are you lost?"

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Author Note:

This chapter was brought to you by coffee and junk food. Please rate, review, or leave a comment. It means a lot to me! Now I shall now proceed to die from exhaustion...*death*