Both youths seem to be aware of where they are, and what is before their faces. Both see their own System, and it writes the same thing, but only one of them truly knows what is up with this place. Rozzante knows, and it isn't the first time he sees it with his own eyes. However, he doubts this is normal since he isn't forgetting where he is, and how he ended up here.
Academy Trials is serious business, and some playing around isn't right to assume them. He remembers others talking about this place since he was 7, so he can't help but be surprised the Academy even permits them to this sort of place. This isn't something common to go through, so what if it isn't them, but their work?
Above the hole, the Dark Fog spread around the night, revealing no monsters, but shrouds the park. An old man steps out of the fog, hunching his back and tapping his fingers on his temple. He is a patient type of person and something who has seen enough to force and make whatever Academy wants. Behind his ear is a piece of cable, revealing a microphone that he speaks to.
“Can I leave?” He says, forgetting what he is even doing. “Wait... No. No leaving. I know. Know. They are in the 12th hole, so is that enough? No? Am I to go in? That sounds like a pain...” Old Mike grunts, and moans in displeasure, stopping before the hole itself. He snaps his finger and the Dark Fog disappears into a clear mist, that goes to his back, leaving the park void of any Dark Fog.
“What a pain. Pain in the ass,” he mumbles, and hears the message from the mic that whispers to his ear. He will have to continue regardless of his complaints. Guarding a bunch of kids isn't his favorite time for sure.
For now, he stands before the hole, waiting for William and Rozzante to clear their heads.
***
Outside of the view of pretty much anyone in the city, in the tallest building. Tiberon and Agatha are setting their high expectations for the next stage of the last Trial. Agatha presses her hands around the headphones, wires hanging from their rough and metallic shape. It connects to a machine with many light switches, dials, and buttons, depicting a radio station the size of a suitcase.
“Huh... Old Mike is truly one of the Butlers to work with, but It seems the first ones to step into the next stage are as you said, Tiberon. William and Rozzante, who hasn't got much out of their hunt.” Agatha says, looking at the papers aside from the desk and the machine. “Guess we will hear how the Darks will like it when their nests get invaded by those kids. Not the other way around.”
She has a temporal generator next to the radio, which makes them work, so they can hear from every buttler in the city. Knowing their location isn't all that important. Hearing is, and what they have to do is better said by the higher-ups, and who here is a boss, other than Agatha? Well, The Overseer should be that, but Tiberon would say otherwise.
Remote talking works the best, and almost all Walker organization uses this technology. Every team, mission, and even the students of the Academy have them, and they are part of their actions and future fights.
Connection, teamwork, and having a source of information are important across large distances. Everyone besides the first-timers has their own connectors to the radio web, allowing them to speak across miles of distances. Handling the first-timers of this Trial has been done with them for the most part. Butlers may be different, of course. If they can travel from one distance to another in a blink, things are different when messages are important.
What Agatha knows is simple, and even Tiberon wouldn't change anything about the 3rd Trial. The course of the night is the start of the end and a source of trouble for many young Walkers. Not only these 4 teams, since this place is a challenge even for many Academy classes. The actual dungeon of the Dark Age is an important piece of the puzzle. It is their nesting places, sources of Dark Fog, and more monsters. They are hard to destroy but easier to clear and clean up.
There are dozens of them in this city alone, and all of them have been cleared many times. They will remain in this cycle unless there is someone constantly watching over them, or if a Walker above Rank 6 destroys their source, they last centuries. Darks will always return to them, nest themselves deeply in, grow, and lurk around their proximity.
Dark holes with such conditions are perfect for them, but inappropriate for something that Rank 1 Walker should even think about. William knows it, and Rozzante as well. But he saw them in the past. With protection, of course, he learned and saw sickening pictures that had never disappeared from his head.
The harshness of the Trials of the legendary Emblem Academy isn't something common to know, and neither he nor William expects a Dark Dungeon to be a part of it.
Challenge. That's precisely what can shatter the limit, and obscure the mind and body. A harsh reality check, to see what they can endure. Physically, mentally, and in their Emblem too. Clearance of the Dungeon depends on their Rank or threat, so they will clash against their spirit. It isn't a prime dungeon in the unsolicited picture, but something planned for, so there are not 100s of Darks inside, but they usually are.
A quite harsh reality check, one would say, but what's the point in feeling hardpressed, when the actual work of Walkers is nothing but this? The impact of what the first-timers will be able to do may be difficult, but in the practical sense of the Walkers, this is a good way to see their potential. Continuous trials and reality will help them grow faster and stronger, but to see their worth, only pain and some suffering will clear the decisions of the Academy. And every student of the Academy knows it far too well, much to their open hopes, or hidden complaints.
Agatha knows it works, and Tiberon is no different. He stands around the edge of the platform, looking over the city. “It seems you are right. It will be the usual stuff, but the night is blooming, and Darks are growling. Perhaps it won't be as you've expected.”
There is no wind, no moon, or any starlight. It's quite dark night tonight.
“Let's make sure not to screw this up. Are the butlers inside?” he asks.
“Old Mike said so, and sooner than later, the rest will all follow,” Agatha says. “The entrances are around the right perimeters of each team, so perhaps the rest of them will go there willingly, or... not.”
“Talking about willingness, it sure sounds like we are torturing them like always.”
“Sounds? We are doing pretty much that. Tell me what other organizations would care so much about their potential recruits.”
“Some...”
“Can't tell a single one.“ she speaks before giving him a chance. She turns on the spot and looks at the radio and notebook beside it. There are small scribbles of the city and notes from every butler she has spoken with so far. “It may be harsh, but it is worth it, depending on the teams and how they work. Celleste will especially reach some conclusion, but she has been at it since the start. She does like danger, but what if dangers will love her instead?” Agatha says, reading the report from her notebook.
“Phe! How poetic. Have you ever been so talkative like this before? I think you like her.” Tiberon teases her, by walking to her and poking her shoulder. She ignores him completely. “Or not? Anyway... No way she won't like this.” He laughs. “I bet on my bet she will clear it the first out of the 4 teams.”
“Is that a bet I am hearing about? Are you sure you want that, mister loser?” Agatha says with a mischievous smile, looking at his, otherwise, hesitant expression after he hears her words.
“Alright. I would rather not try my luck, but it isn't over yet.” He shakes his head and goes back to the edge to see and feel the upcoming show. “Not even a start, I think.”
With the last of the trials going to new lengths, the first team to enter the dungeon is William and Rozzante, which isn't good, or bad. Perhaps it is to be expected since their worth according to the Academy has been the worst of the bunch. The rest of the teams have a fair share of higher luck behind them, and filling their Vials has been going better for them. More than twice.
In this way, it will be a rather challenging task to make the group enter the Dungeon at the same time, but not like William and Rozzate are lucky or unlucky. All goes according to plan, and both of them take the System's message for something else.
They have no idea about Old Mike above the hole they are in. It is so dark and deep, that they aren't seeing anything from the surface, let alone his face poking from the edge.
Looking at the dark hole is no fun, but it isn't a hole alone. At the bottom, it curves like a tube, going into hideous caves. William sees it and isn't too happy about the dark depths of those caves, similar to Rozzante to his left. Completely understanding what is going on is easy. All answers are in their heads, and before their faces.
He had seen such places from the photos and documents from the 6th floor of the library. However, seeing it with his own eyes is a different story, considering his feelings, head, and the utter dread this place has. Add to that the circumstances he is in, it doesn't calm him one bit.
He has yet to end his Annihilation Claw so he puts it forward, hoping to see this place better. He also feels something is right before him, other the the dungeon as a whole. His Velvet Eyes are off so he can't see too far. Even the System obscures his vision, yet he still chooses to step forward.
This proves to be a mistake, that is right so much, that his heart almost jumps from his chest. A wide jaw almost wraps around his whole upper body after he goes into the cave, coming from above. More than 10 feet tall ceiling is full of dark flickering tendrils, surrounded by shadows, holes, and many crevices.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
A Jawjumper is right there on the ceiling, talons deep into the wall, and jaw ready to pounce at the enemy. But it already attacked with its jaw, opening it inhumanly wide. It is It's quite a monstrosity that almost resembles something that may have existed in some strange form before the apocalypse, but not in this form.
Jawjumper is a Rank 2 Dark, resembling a bat in the body, but it is wingless. Its body is more than 5 feet tall. The bat is almost too poor of a description since it has much more wild differences than a bat. It has numerous thin and sharp teeth in a jaw that is bigger than the rest of its body, which goes along with its head and takes up most of its mass and weight. Its limbs are not thick and strong, making the rest of its body quite slim and weak.
It is almost jaw only, and that alone makes this Dark grotesque. It is a Rank 2 in all senses of purpose just because of its power and ability to grind anything that it eats to mush. Its jaw's strength is exceptionally strong, and it can even shoot it up from a distance, biting at the enemy from more than 10 feet away.
The sudden jumpscare is enough for William to put his hand up and defend in the nick of time, where its inner tendrils-like tongue wraps around his neck. He swings his arms and dodges with his head. Grabbing the open jaw with his Annihilation Claw, he stops the jaw from encompassing his body from this large Dark that is bigger than Hellgar. Some of the countless thin and long sharp teeth carry their distance to his arm, Claw, and skin, hurting him in the process.
“God...” William clutches his hand, confining some strength with his grip that comes from this unexpected meeting. “Damnit!” He grips his Annihilation Claw and shoves the Jawjumper to the ground, pinning it with his Claw. He also completely deflects its jaw and even its tendrils that want his neck. Then, he forgets his restrains and any care about some hunt. His crimson palms with the sharp claws of base Gear 2 go deep into countless little flickering tendrils that encompass its head. He shatters the brain, and a few swings and frustrating fists carry their weight into its teeth, and skull, leaving countless teeth to shatter around the ground.
Mawjumper barely lasts 12 hits, before it is all mush and gore.
“Damn... You scared me!” He complains, almost kicking the corpse of this monster that has chosen the wrong opponent to scare.
Without even a choice to respond to anything, Rozzante gets to his feet and notices William's near-death experience. He couldn't do much for him, even though he was suddenly under an attack.
“What.. the fuck was that? What sort of monster is... was that?” Rozzante asks after he swipes his System away. He isn't aware of all the kinds of Darks, and this Jawjumper is one of the rarer Darks because their mobility is terrible. They are a type of Darks known as Lurkers. Unlike William who studied almost all low-rank Darks in the Library, he seems to lack the encompassing knowledge, but his strength lies in more immediate and practical points.
“A dead one...”William answers his question, nonchalantly shaking the blood around his feet, shoes, and face away. He hasn't been so gentle right now, and he for sure doesn't care about some spilled blood.
Seeing it like him, Rozzante doesn't know what to tell, and rather than waiting for nothing, he grabs the Extractor that William left on the ground before the jumpscare. Opening it, he inserts the syringe into the remains of this Jawjumper and finds a surprising amount of blood in its remains. It is his first time doing the extracting, let alone one from Rank 2 Dark. Somewhat, the Extractor does its job. It performs after just a couple of nudges into some buttons, which makes noise, huffs out mist, and makes the whole suitcase tremble. It is more suspicious under Rozzante's eyes, and he observes it while William is too preoccupied with getting cleaned up.
Blood seems to go through some sort of cleansing between the syringe and the Vial, and how it works is a method hidden inside this suitcase.
The ending blood from shivered Mawjumper ends up finishing the rest of the latest Vial, before going automatically into the next one, indicating the extracting doesn't care about the difference between Rank 1 and 2. He notices it straight away. That is rare, and not how Vials works under his memory, as far as he understands. One shouldn't mix Rank 1 and Rank 2 blood, and there are even some mentions of some Darks that are compatible with one another.
The 4th Vial becomes full, so seeing the 5th Vial 1/3rd full of Rank 2 blood, Rozzante figures the amount of blood from Darks works on some principle. Density, amount of blood, Rank, and some quality matter. Jawjumper is worth more than multiple Hellgars for sure, and that also includes how William wasted a lot of blood. Thus, he guesses that Rank 2 is best to hunt right now, and the Extractor is special. It makes Vials purer, and already processed and ready for consumption. How it happens is a secret he can't see, since it goes through the innards of this suitcase, named Extractor V3.5.
“Must be some experiment and work of the Academy... Weird. They should've talked to us about it first, or is it me? I never knew about it, because it wasn't worth it, they think? Bunch of nambo jumbos!” Rozzante curses, and shuts the Extractors.
While finishing, William is done cleaning his shoes. He attacked and slammed the Jawjumper quite hard and without a speck of holding back, but thankfully, the caves and the walls lasted this ordeal. The ground of this dungeon isn't the normal kind but reinforced like some concrete. Perhaps even more than that, considering the fact that it isn't manmade, but darkmade.
Apart from some tingling sensation in his Mindless Eyes, William doesn't pay a dried-up corpse a glance. In fact, he doesn't know much about the dungeons, apart from the fact that their dangers are clear and that Walkers want to clear them or destroy them all. It seems he is about to discover the reason for his past wandering questions, but it isn't making him very happy.
After all, with the death of this Jawjumper, a series of shrieking howls echo from the cave, shaking the ground and tendrils around the walls. It almost seems like a bunch of larvae, and snakes, and it makes him gag. it is clear, making this place haunted and scary.
Rozzante retrieves the Extractor and decides to carry it himself this time around. William doesn't complain after almost tasting the insides of a Jawjumper. He takes the lead, considering the dark nature of the cave. Add to that his Annihilation Claw emitting a crimson light, he is like a torch, ready to explore every nook and cranny of this place.
A crimson light spreads around the cave, and William can see how the walls of the dungeon wince as he approaches with his Claw. Those little tendrils react as if fearful, and that is one fact that makes him irritated and scared. This place is already scary, eerie, and hellish enough, so he doesn't want to think about other things. Not him, Emblem, or his System. No more than necessary, at least.
He shouldn't be in this place, to begin with. He isn't verbally complaining about it, but his heart is
“You good?” Rozzante's voice speaks behind his ears. “No worries if you feel bad about it. I would If I brushed my head against the death, but if you don't mind, I am curious about something.”
“Why ask? You are usually open about whatever you want.” William turns, but just in case, he also activates his Velvet Eyes, letting his eyes glow in velvet light. Rozzante is no longer surprised about it, so he speaks as if he doesn't see his eyes. “Not a big deal. I activated my Will Sensor again. I feel no one above the hole, so I think we've been got by the Academy... Sorry to tell that like that.
“So?”
Rozzante looks at him, speechless. “So, so?! Can't you be more shocked?! My Skill allows me to notice living things and darks alike! It is overpowered, said by my teacher.” he argues, but William isn't impressive. Rozzante gives up and tosses his worries and hopes behind his head. “Anyway, I can't seem to forget what've you gone through before, so have you felt another Call after killing this... dead one?” He asks politely, pointing at the dried-up corpse. Blood that remains on the ground will remain. Extractors can only take what is in the body. Not on the ground that seems to be corrupted but what are the bodies of Dark anyway, if not corrupted? Rozzante doesn't question it, so he looks at him with curious and honest eyes.
“Maybe. Didn't pay it much more attention, since I shut off my System mid-way through my butchering.” William says. “It almost killed me because the System was right in front of my face. I swear Roman was right to have it separate when fighting, but that is my bad. No... Not my problem!” He increases his voice, feeling quite stupid over no mistake. Who would think an 11-day-old Rank 1 Walker can get over the dungeon, let alone care about it?
“Alright. No worries. We can work with it. Trust me.” Rozzante tries to calm him, but it doesn't work that well. He figures that William is harder to calm when his Annihilation is active. He takes an important note of this in his head so it won't bite him back in the near or far future.
William keeps complaining to him about whatever is on his mind and isn't polite about it either.
Neither of them even knows they are being monitored by a pair of eyes above the hole. A good butler is one of the keen aspects that the Academy knows how to utilize and having control over the dozens of Dungeons around this training city is their work. It is a first step to knowing what's going on.
So far, there is no one to protect the teams directly, but not like they need it. Every first-timer has to figure out what will go in this place, and fight for their lives. If they fail, that means Butler will step in.
No Rank 1 should come to such a place so soon, but some things led to others, and here they are.
It must make many people of the Academy happy, and others terrified. Agatha and Tiberon are one or the other, but she knows what Old Mike can do, and what dungeons in this city are like. Dangerous, and something that will give those youths their first taste of defeat. Probably... Each team has their Butler so there won't be an issue even if a storm made of Rank 2 Darks comes to their faces, lurking around the corners of the caves, and hoping for their prey.
Before William is nothing special. Like a maze of linear and interconnected paths, it has been partially made by Rank 6 Worm, in addition to the natural caves that are already below the city. It is a prime example of how most Dungeon looks, but there are many variants of such places, and most have much unique premises, and layout. Underground ones are the most common place that shelters the Darks. There is nothing strange about it because they have many faces, with even more special secrets. Cracks, canyons, and even a well and simple holes can be enough to be called a Dungeon.
It's quite a dangerous place all things considered, and William tastes it for the first time. All of the teams will have to venture to these places and some of them will be more than happy about it, or scream in their heads.
“Seriously... What the fuck is Academy thinking?!” William shouts out loud, angry at the cause of his near-dead experience. He breathes in and out as quickly as surging cycles of his Annihilation Claw, and Rozzante takes his words with a smile.
He lifts his hand before his face, hoping this is the end of his sudden outbursts. “Rozzante!” William turns his hands away with his left arm.“Seriously!? Is this right in our heads? This place?! Are we supposed to go through such a nightmare, even though no one told us about this? Isn't this some sort of mistake?” William shovers him with worrisome questions, that may sound reasonable, but aren't they having a very good reason to venture to this place? Their Vials already have blood worth few hours on the surface, and all William did was to smash the Jawjumper for a couple of seconds. Rozzante is surely not complaining, although he has some doubts.
“I think this is about what one would expect from Academy Trials,” Rozzante says, not making eye contact with him at all.
Scowling, William curses the sun that isn't even here. He knows his choices and has no idea how to go back, so he walks towards the cave system that makes this dungeon, poising his Annihilation Claw forwards, and glaring at every corner, ceiling included.
Rozzante finds this somewhat funny, considering the situation on the surface which was exactly the opposite. He questions the situation less than William, who isn't frustrated by the fact he has to go through the Dungeon by itself. The fact of how it all started is. His frustration shows its fangs, and Annihilation does the same thing. Emotions and Emblem are all connected to the Walker, and William has trouble adjusting to it.
Isn't this place unsafe for their status? Why did no one tell them about it so they may be prepared at least mentally?
He is so mad by the lack of words and explanations that he lets it all out to Rozzante, which isn't something he wants to do but he does it anyway.
Stomping angrily forward, he will quench his frustration at the only thing he can think of. The Darks will undoubtedly appear and they may want his life this time around.
They should all die for all the good that he cares about!