Okay, so i will start with somewhat funny notification… somehow I am 12th in top weekly rank… seriously? Is that possible, that quality on R-R dropped THIS much?!... not that I am complain… but… but…. Well… ya know… Um…

Okay, I am happy as fuck, yet I have simply NO idea how I got there!... I want to ensure you that sacrificing a virgin in my garden last night has nothing in common with this…

Ok, to not hold ya any longer…

Edited by: KenChi死

I was resting while sitting under a wall munching on my supper. After my little show the air around the camp became a little dense. As I could tell, no one likes it when somebody is ranking up to fast, showing no respect to those higher in the hierarchy (even if it’s only formality), and then prove everyone wrong by beating someone who was supposed to be stronger. This is why the label of cheater, bully, and asshole was attached to me. Not that I care, at least I was left alone. For the rest of the day we have nothing planned. The camp itself was guarded by solider, so inside of it we could rest. Our protecting job will start tomorrow morning since we would be heading deeper into the ruins. We were told that we would came back before dusk. The ruins are big, and we are going to progress slowly. Room after room. Corridor after corridor. Disarming every single trap that we would find, and checking each room 10 times before progressing to another. Why? As the whole floor would be cleared and we would head deeper, the outpost would be relocated to the very next floor. Deeper. And deeper. Until the whole ruins would have been plundere… I mean until every single good would be examined, cataloged and moved to the Academy for further investigations.

And in order to achieve that every single room, every surface and artifact needed to be checked several times for safety reason. We can only imagine what kind of tragedy could occur, if someone would trigger a trap on the 1st floor, while the outpost would be moved deeper to the 2nd. They could be cut off from supplies and starve to death. Not nice.

But this made me wonder… how long would it take to clear such ruins…

* “Hm? We can only suspect such thing as we are lacking data, but ancients were gave lots of meaning to numbers. For exactly 24, 7, 13, 66… we can easily tell, that ruins has 13 floors, that one thing never changes… or at least until now, the problem is, that every single floor is different, usually bigger, but gates to the lower floor are always different kinds of puzzle. Even if we would clear the floor, we would still have to solve it before we could progress. You were hired for a week, but we can easily extend our partnership as long as those cold ruins don’t start bothering you. But in this week we want to proceed to a deeper floor, if our work would progress smoothly, then who knows? Maybe we would be able to go to the third! But that’s highly unlikely. But this is no longer your concern, is it? It is our job to solve those puzzles, and you… well, your job is to deal with consequences… if we would put pieces in the wrong order…”

The aged archmage chuckled. So a week starting from tomorrow? This is going to be a looong quest.

After a couple of minutes I came back to the camp, just to notice that they already started giving away responsibilities that each of the adventurers would hold. They probably started as soon as I left, so I would have to take those jobs that would not be taken by anyone – the hardest one and the most dishonoring. They really don’t like me here. Well, fuck them too.

Tiger man came to me, his face was calm but his eyes were shining with inner joy.

* “Because you left while we were about to have a meeting you missed the opportunity to take the jobs that you would wanted to do. So we decided in your name. Hope you like cleaning and washing. Because you will be cleaning and washing.”

You would normally say, that those are not hard tasks, would you? There if twelve people here. I will have to work for twelve of those.

* “Hope you don’t mind corpses walking though the camp…” I said “… because I am going to find a few corpses and reanimate them so they would do those things.”

I was not a necromancer. But they didn’t know that, right?

* “We do mind. No one likes to smell rotting bodies.”

* “Shame. Because as I was alone, I held a one-person meeting. And I decided in your name, that you like it.”

A silent growl escaped throat of beast-man.

* “You are pushing your luck…” He said angrily “… just be a good F rank and do those shitty tasks.”

* “Or what? You will send yet another kid from your team to be my punching bag? If you do, next time send someone who would force me to fucking move.”

He moved closer and grasped me by the cloth near my neck, pulled a little and raised

* “The only reason why you are still breathing, is that I can’t challenge you, because it would hurt my reputation… do you understand? Eight years. In eight years I moved myself to the top elite adventurers, the corpses of beast I killed could easily fill all of these ruins…”

* “And this is what hurts you so much? That someone will achieve the same thing faster? How much does your pride really matter, if you have to bully everyone who is lower than you in rank…”

* “Listen you little piece of shit! I will not tolerate more insults!”

* “How does it feel?” I asked and waited for the question to appear in his eyes “… to be so pathetically weak, that mere words can hurt you?...” but then an idea appeared in my mind “… but very well, I will do as you ask.”

* “Y… you what?”

* “You heard it well. I will clean. This is what you wanted me to do, is that right? You can go back to your team and tell that how wonderful you are. In the end you really forced an F-rank to do the dirtiest work. Go on. Be proud of your feat.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

* “Stop mocking me…”

* “I didn’t. I will really do so. Now pardon me, I need to prepare myself for cleaning duty.”

I smiled, kick him in the gut so he finally dropped me, and walked away. Back to the part of camp where my team was stationed.

Marika was there to greet me.

* “I am sorry Zari! I told them that they are acting childish by forcing the work they don’t like on someone who beat them, but…”

* “There is absolutely no problem with that.”

* “But…”

* “No buts. I am really fine with that.”

Gisele standing there smiled

* “Now, that how one acts with true dignity!”

… I am sorry to disappoint you, that is not the case…

Before the nigh had fallen I finished cleaning. I was even so kind, that I made some blankets so they would have a nice place to sleep… And I dropped something extra on tiger’s bed. I hope they won’t find it anytime soon, I will have problems if they would find it.

The next morning I got up refreshed, I stretched my arms  and yawned loudly. It feels so good so weak up full of energy… noooow how did big bad kitty sleep last night?

I started taking care of my businesses, morning toilet breakfast and so on. I could do nothing but notice big shadows under Tiger’s eyes. Slept bad? Had unpleasant dreams? Shame.

Later on I would have to say my thanks to Daralon for his lecture about curses, esepcailly about that part with cursed objects as tools to transfer hexes. A hex bag was perfect for this opportunity. Hex bag, like one of those I put under Al’targor blanket.  I put lots of efforts into making this, you know? It took lots of time to weave a spell like this, I combined curse word: pain and exhaustion and made my own – curse word: nightmare. It will be fun to see him growing weaker and weaker. Since he would find no rest in sleep. To finally witness as he is afraid of falling asleep… This is one potent hex.

* “Al, are you all right? You look really bad…” kitty asked his leader.

* “Nothing to worry, I just didn’t sleep well. Nothing to even take into consideration.”

And here you are wrong… but, let’s the mission start!

It was…. Really exhausting! Far worse than dealing with monsters! Here barely anything happen! But this grow your sense weak, if one of us would lose focus at the wrong moment, in the moment that trap would get triggered… I don’t have to explain, do i?

* “Okay, everyone!...” archmage yelled “… let’s proceed to another room!”

Finally something to wake me up!

The next room was very spacious. Huge. The whole floor here was covered in big plates covered in symbols. In the middle of the room a small pedestal was located with big button made of ruby.

* “Ah, classic. As you can see, plates have different symbols. Under some of those plate an explosive rune is located. We have to find out under which one. Then by walking over safe plates we should walk to the pedestal and push the button. It would disarm the rest of the room… Now clues should be also located in this room, look closely at walls and…”

* “Old man…” I interrupted. “All we have to do is to push the button?”

* “Hm, yes… but first we have to get to it…”

* “I merely want to point out that few of us have flying familiars. If Sebastian would fly there and push it…” I said pointing at raven on my shoulder.

… his face… priceless…

* “Kid… you just saved us about half a day. Please do.”

… I can’t believe that… you are an archmage with a diploma?

* “This is what happens when you waste too much time with books. You start thinking like books. You grow full of confidence, that the only way to get inside of the house is to lock pick the door… while such as you wouldn’t first check if the window wasn’t left open…”

The old man only nodded with his head.

* “But you are sure that this will work… there is no trap, nor anything?”

* “No, I am pretty much sure of it.”

* “in that case… I will leave it to you – Sebastian..”

The raven flew through the room, landed on the pedestal and pushed the button. There was a tick, and there was grind. And then two doors on the sides were opened, while the door in front of us was still shut.

* “Okay, we will separate into two team, that will investigate each corridor. Probably in both there are some clues for how to open the last door.

Annoying. Well, we are not going to get lost. My mind-map was already working. If I may, the teams lead by Miss Zaiara and Mister Al’targor, please follow me to the left one, also if I could ask twenty people from the research team follow… Miss Gisele, I would leave rest of the team to you…”

* “No problem…” The Dragoness cheered “… I will protect them with my own life!”

We wished each another good luck and moved into different directions.

And slowly the ruins started to change. First they looked like an old palace, with marble statues and plated floors. Now flower ornaments started appearing, the statues were becoming bit more sinister, showing acts of war instead of beautiful women– commanders in strange looking armors with swords raised high over their head, a warriors that impaled a monster with his spears… those humans also looked strange… they were taller, bulkier… If they are exact replicas of what the ancients looked like, then they had different bone and muscle structure.

And then the smell hit us like a train.

* “Gosh! Smells like a dead rat!” One of the students spoke his mind. But he was wrong. It smelled like mountain of dead rats.

* “I hope we are not heading in the direction of the arena…” another one answered

* “If you know something about the place that we are heading, you are free to inform us.”

Gisele yelled back.

* “Yes, many ruins, especially those larger, like this one. Had huge arenas. The ancients used it as a proving ground. If you would be sentenced for some crime, you could demand trial by blood. Same if two would have a quarrel they could resolve their dispute here. They had a cast society. If man of lower cast wanted to marry woman from higher… arena… and so on and so on. The problem is, that knowledge of the ancients was frightening. They were creating their own monsters. They breed them, enchanted them with magic, they forced them to fight in order to find the most powerful species and them breed them again, creating more and more deadly beasts…”

* “But I was told that ancients vanished eons ago. Their ruins were shut, so the beasts should die too…”

* “And here you are wrong! With magic they gave them the ability to adapt at a sickening speed. In dozens of times as ruins were reopened the beast there were still living. They evolved and adapted… you don’t even understand what the ancients created, do you? Those beast were forced to live as loners, and were breed only in special times and conditions, but as time passed some of them made their own society! With a hierarchy! That is how amazing those beasts are! If this is the case, we should turn back and ask for support…”

* “We will, as soon as we would confirm that we are heading into this so called arena district…”

Gisele said another time.

In the meantime the smell of death was getting stronger and stronger. The rooms were getting a bit more humid and darker. Then I noticed that here and there the walls all covered in strange viscous secretion. And after a few hundred meters we saw it.

A huge insect that had part of its body raised, together with its front limb. But the thing that was the most disturbing was that its abdomen was covered with corpses

Killer Giga-Mantis [Worker]Level24TitlesPart of the [Hive]

Designed Breed

Stubborn

Hp[623/650]Sp[718/720]SkillsHand-to-hand combat - Novice [Active/Passive] [Level 8]

Cut [Active] [Level 21]

Pheromones Release [Active] [Level N/A]

Venomous Bite [Active] [Level 7]

The beast that evolved inside of the Ruins of the Ancients. Extremely high skills of adaptability.

This individual is the lowest in hierarchy of the [Hive], it's main job is to extend the boarders of the hive, looking for new place where eggs can be stored and rebuild the insides of the ruins.

Unlike other insects, position within the hierarchy of this breed may change, depending on their abilities to kill. That is why they hunt other races within the Ruins, and after killing them and sucking them dry they decorate their bodies with the remains as a way of showing off their abilities.

Once a Mantis kills enough creatures, it would get promoted.

… I am not going to get bored in this part of the ruins, will I?

But those limbs, this exoskeleton… I want them. Guess what’s for dinner…