KASSIE

Gosh. . . This was seriously taking such a long time.

Maybe I regret having to take part in this expedition after all. . .

But no! I shouldn't have thought that; after all, we needed this village to cooperate with us, and besides, I was going to get a taste of genuine action.

Nath was leading us deeper into the dungeon, and to my surprise, Christof had managed to recover quickly, being on his two feet already.

"So, how deep have you been into this dungeon before?"

Nath looked over his shoulder, "We've gotten close, but never close enough to destroy the core of the Dungeon."

Ah, yes, the core of the dungeon.

Some dungeons would have a core, while others wouldn't have one.

It was said that if you managed to destroy the core of a dungeon, it would grant you something special.

It's like a gift from the Deus.

Most of the time, you wouldn't be gifted anything, but the times you did, however, let's say that there was life-changing.

But that was the last thing I was worried about, let alone think about.

I should be thinking about the dangers ahead, but I just couldn't.

Simply because I was worried about whether Maro had eaten anything that day.

Seriously! That was a valid thought to have.

I mean, what was he eating? Was he eating right?

There were so many unsolved questions that I desperately needed to know as soon as possible.

Lenin would like to say that I spoiled Maro, which may be valid to an extent.

But still! What mother wouldn't spoil their child?

Maro was the cutest child alive, no questions asked.

"Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" I broke out of my trance. "Uh yeah! It's fine."

Okay, enough thinking about my family of the day and focus on the mission at hand.

They weren't joking when they said they had a select few soldiers ready to fight, as it was just Christof and Nath.

They underestimated what these Plantea Beasts could do to you if they were desperate for Solum.

"Christof, could you pass the bags."

He nodded and handed it to Nath, who threw the bags far away.

I was impressed at his strength in being able to throw that far.

We waited for anything, something to happen.

WHOOSH!

Like invasive diseases, the Plantea Beasts rushed over to the bags sucking out every single bit of Solum.

Their veins are growing purple and fatter than before.

I looked over my shoulder to see Tara and Lusan preparing for the worst.

But I was surprised by the flame of determination that danced around Tara's body.

Her eyes a piercing gaze, never looking away from the Plantea.

It was only a short time until the Plantea Beasts recognised our presence, specifically mine.

They could probably smell the intense pungent Solum within me and came rushing towards us.

Nath instantly wrapped his hand around his sword.

WHOOSH!

In an instant, he had sliced a Plantea Beast in half, whilst Christof did the same fighting against the other beast.

We soon took into action as we charged at the Plantea Beasts.

While everyone was fighting, fending off these Plantea Beasts, it was evident that more of them came running at me, thirsty for the Solum.

With quick and efficient slices, I could take them down fairly quickly; I was more surprised about how Nath and Christof could do it just as efficiently.

Christof's apathetic look never left his face, even in times of trouble, as both Nath and Christof's fighting styles were consequential.

Their swords were an extension of themselves as I watched Nath slice the heads of the Plantea Beasts and, in return, drop Solum.

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I continued fighting my challenges as they continuously charged at me, their teeth ready to seek into my skin. Still, I dodged and evaded their wishful attacks, instantly putting them all down to the ground.

Tara and Lusan did reasonably well because of their previous experiences with Plantea Beasts.

But now and then, I noticed Tara's hands shaking.

WHOOSH!

I sliced a Plantea Beast in half as Tara turned around.

"Thanks. . ." Tara smiled in disbelief, "I must have missed one."

I returned the smile, scanning the area, "It's alright, just be careful next time."

She nodded slowly, a bit disappointed in herself for her performance.

"If you fight as sloppy as you did just then, you'll be dead." Christof declared, patting the dust off of his armour.

"Thanks for the supportive words," Tara muttered lowly.

Christof tilted his head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Tara waved her hand in dismissal, "Forget about it."

Christof nodded casually, venturing deeper into the dungeon by himself.

I watched as Tara scoffed to herself, simply glaring at Christof leave, "The nerve of that guy." She folded her arms, "He has the nerve to say that."

Lusan grinned, patting her on the back, but that was instantly stopped, and now the glare was onto him.

"Okay. . . Never mind then." He slowly stepped back, raising his hand in surrender.

Nath cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for his behaviour; it's just that Christof isn't used to working with people he doesn't know much about."

Tara rolled her eyes. "But still, he could be a bit nicer, " she muttered, looking away.

"Trust me when I say this," Nath said, touching his chest. He means well. . . Once you get his trust, he'll be a lot nicer. Trust means everything to him."

"Well, I won't be working with him if he doesn't want to work with me."

Nath sighed, a light smile on his face, and nodded, "I'll catch up with him; I'll meet you guys there."

Lusan followed alongside Nath deeper into the dungeon, leaving the two of us together.

A smirk grew as I placed my hand on her shoulder, "Do you want to talk about what's going on?"

Tara was going to fight back with her words, but she knew it was worthless, "That obvious, huh?"

I nodded, "Definitely."

She sighed, "It's just. . . Christof is right about me being sloppy." Tara looked at her hands filled with the blood of the Plantea Beasts, "I freeze up whenever I see them there. . . Scary, you know."

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Tara; she had every right to be scared of facing these monstrous beings.

Besides, it wasn't every day that you would go up against them.

"It's alright to feel that way; everyone's human."

"Do you ever get scared of those things?"

"Me? Never." I chuckled, waving my hand in dismissal.

As I looked back at her, "But still. . . I'm not scared about them, but I am scared of the ones who care about dying." I muttered lowly.

The thought of someone being in danger twisted and rolled my stomach in all directions.

"Aren't we all?" Tara smiled gently.

My eyes widened in delight. "I know what we have to do!" I clapped my hands together, and Tara was taken aback by the random surge of energy that reached her.

"What are we going to do?"

I tapped my chin, "Actually. . . I completely forgot what I was going to say."

Tara chuckled in defeat, looking over at me with a playful glare. "When I think about it, I can see why you love Lenin so much. You guys have so much in common."

What an insult. . .

That was the most brutal insult that someone could have possibly told me.

Tara titled her head in confusion, "Did I say something wrong. . ."

"You most certainly did!" I pointed my finger at her.

"What did I do?"

I folded my arm, "You said I'm like Lenin."

"Am I wrong?"

I wriggled my finger at her, "It's the other way around, my dear friend. My husband is exactly like me." I pointed at myself proudly.

Tara chuckled, saluting me, "I apologise, Captain."

"That's the spirit!" I patted her on the shoulder, "So how about it? We should catch up with them; we don't want those boys to have all the fun, do we?"

Tara nodded confidentially, "Yeah, you're right. It's time we join in the fight."

I smiled proudly. "Let's do it then."

We delved deeper into the dungeon and saw the others finishing off the last Plantea Beasts in this section.

Lusan smiled brightly at us, pulling his sword from the Plantea Beast.

"Did we miss out much?" I asked as he shook his head.

"A little bit of action but nothing much besides that."

"This is the furthest we've made it into this dungeon," Nath declared, his smile etched. Thank you guys for coming in the first place. . . It's a courageous thing to do, and you will always have my respect." He smiled proudly at all of us.

"Of course." I smiled. I'll do anything to help you guys."

Lusan raised his hand in the air, "So. . . We won't know what will be in this dungeon now."

Nath nodded, "Precisely, anything can be here for us."

Lusan sighed in defeat, "Great, just our luck." He muttered as he began moving to the final section of the dungeon. I could feel a relief off my shoulders, knowing that our journey here would end.

But to my surprise, there was nothing in store for us.

There was no sign of life here; the only thing here was a mist stuck to the ground.

"This place is so creepy. . ." Tara commented behind me.

"Tell me about it." Lusan added, "I wasn't expecting something like this when I came to the dungeon."

Nath pointed his finger, "The core. . . It's there."

I looked, and there it was, the singular thing we needed to destroy this dungeon once and for all.

The core was deep in purple, floating with nothing supporting it.

It was so beautiful that most people wouldn't have wanted to destroy it; it was just that the core looked electrifying to the eye.

Something that you couldn't dare take your gaze off of.

"It looks pretty cool, doesn't I-"

"Tara?"

To my surprise, she was no longer standing where she was once.

As I looked back, neither Lusan, Nath, or Christof was here anymore.

Where did everyone go?

The mist had grown larger, almost circling me as if I were some prey.

I stepped back, checking my surroundings, but it was no use. Everything around me was the mist. . .

There was nothing at all.

Just like that, the mist completely evaporated, and something appeared before me.

No, not something, someone. . .

I squinted my eyes.

It was me.

"You certainly weren't expecting this were you." She smiled, walking over to me with such purpose.

"Am I dreaming?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "No! Of course not! Now, why would you think that?"

This dungeon must have been playing tricks on me, and the mist must have caused me to hallucinate.

I could only do one thing to get out of this situation.

I began to activate the Purpura Solum that was waiting ever so desperately to be unleashed.

She chuckled, applauding me as I felt the Purpura Solum bottling up.

"You could do that; it'll take you out of this little predicament." She smiled, "But wouldn't you want to hear your deepest, darkest secrets? After all, I am you."

I scoffed, "Trust me, that's the last thing I want to hear when I'm stuck in a dungeon." I paused briefly, looking away, "Besides, I already know my darkest secrets."

She slowly nodded, "Very well then. . . Just know, you will regret this action."

I smiled, "Sure, I will. Bye-bye now."

My hand had become a blinding light of Purpura as I washed back into reality.

I looked at the others standing motionlessly; they must have been stuck in my trance.

WHOOSH!

A laser of Purpura Solum emitted from my hand as I instantly destroyed the core.

What would take these people months to destroy? I had done it in a second.

There's no need to thank me for doing that.