“This place doesn’t look like your everyday fort or tower,” Hazel noted, panning around to admire the first floor of the fort.
Hazel’s impression of the Fort Tower was that it was some kind of military stronghold. A place where soldiers used to watch over and defend their territory from invaders or criminals in medieval times. However, from what she saw in this building didn’t give that feeling.
If anything, it looked like a home that something simply lived in.
Hazel raised her hand that grasped the Magic Torch, allowing it to illuminate more of the floor for them to see. To which they saw some shelves with books, unlit candles hanging on metal frames on the wall, and even a fireplace situated on the far end of the wall to their right.
“Perhaps someone used this place as their home rather than an actual fort,” Astrid surmised, glancing around the room as well.
They stopped near a table that was covered with papers. The parchments were wrinkled and stained brown as if someone spilled coffee on them. Taking a closer look, Hazel and Astrid noticed that there were some words and pictures scribbled on them.
Hazel picked one of the papers up to examine it closely. There was an illustration of several plants and herbs along with their descriptions written next to them.
“It looks like whoever lived here was doing a lot of research,” Hazel said, scanning the sheet. “The notes on this paper talked about certain plants and what kind of effects they have on living creatures.” She squinted her eyes, looking at a particular section of the research paper. “Apparently, one of these plants feeds and thrives on blood like a vampire.”
“Vampires are certainly the worst,” Astrid shuddered. “I remember encountering one several decades ago back when I was still a rookie member of the legion.” Her expression darkened as if reliving a very terrible memory. “My group came across a noble vampire feeding on other elves within the forest. We were nearly killed if one of the captains didn’t appear and defeated the bloodsucker.”
Hazel awkwardly turned to face the dark elf, looking very anxious after hearing her story. “So, vampires exist in your world too, huh?”
“We do,” Astrid answered, almost matter-of-factly. “Does your world not have vampires?”
“I mean, there’s Robert Patterson, but I don’t know if that counts, honestly.”
“Who is that?”
“Don’t worry about it. I was just making a joke. You wouldn’t understand unless you’re from Earth.”
“Valid point,” Astrid shrugged.
Hazel placed the paper down on the table before reaching for another one. Much like the previous sheet, it had research notes scribbled on it about plants and certain monster species. Whoever used to live here clearly spent their life studying whatever came to mind. Whether it was plant life, animal and monster anatomy, and more.
“It seemed that the person who wrote all of this just studied whatever caught their attention. Plants, potions, monsters, and their weaknesses, it’s all here. However, the contents are scattered and unorganized. I can’t tell which is first or last.”
Hazel picked up two pages, trying to discern which one came before the other. Sadly, she couldn’t find it and placed them back down. A sigh escaped her lips at the disorderly mess in front of her.
“I can tell that the author of these pages was clearly sloppy and lazy. Instead of organizing the pages, they simply set them wherever they liked without a care in the world. Just thinking about it is beginning to annoy me.”
Hazel wanted to read the pages, but since there were multiple subjects involved along with how jumbled it was, her enthusiasm to read slowly diminished the longer she stared at the pages on the table. It was quite depressing, to say the least.
“Then, I believe we should leave the table and continue searching around,” Astrid suggested. “There are likely other things that would prove more valuable and useful than the scattered scene before us.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” With her shoulders slumped, Hazel moved away from the table and continued with their search.
Walking a bit, Hazel and Astrid stopped in front of a wall where a picture was hanging. It was a painting of some kind of battlefield. Two armies were charging at one another, wielding all kinds of weapons like spears, swords, battle axes, and more.
What was really interesting was that they were also firing magic spells. Hazel took a closer look at the painting and saw magic spells being cast. There were balls of fire being hurled at one another, sharp icicles hailing from the sky, earth spikes erupting from the ground, and even mana bolts rocketed toward their targets.
It was quite a bloodbath. So much so, that Hazel found it difficult to admire the art without feeling a sense of dread overwhelm her.
There was also something else that caught her attention. She felt like she had seen this type of painting before. It didn’t take long before she quickly realized where.
“The War of Totem…” Hazel muttered.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“What?” Astrid inquired.
“This painting…I’ve seen it from the War of Totem book I got from a shop. It described Totem, the first merged world when the System appeared. Totem was a combination of four worlds combined into one. When Totem was created, it started a global war called the War of Totem, where all residents of their respective worlds fought one another for dominance. It was also called the First War of the Multiverse.”
Back in the Town and Forest Island, Hazel frequently read the books she took from the shop. It was not only to pass the time but to also learn more about the world that turned into a dungeon. The same world the system dumped Hazel and Astrid in.
And this war painting was also shown in the War of Totem book.
“A war…” Astrid mumbled, cautiously staring at the painting. “Do you think the same will happen with…our world.”
Hazel paused, unsure of how to respond to her question. She looked away from the picture frame and hung her head, a mixture of dread and anxiety building up within her.
She hadn’t thought about what her new world was going to be like. Her main priority was simply to leave the dungeon and find Damien and their mother. But now that Astrid brought up the topic, she suddenly realized a very frightening truth.
Now that their worlds were merging, there was bound to be war. Whether it was for territory, freedom, power, or even glory, there was one undeniable truth in the grand scheme of it all. This war…was only going to be the beginning.
And her family was likely going to get involved in the bloodshed one way or another. And Hazel feared that there was nothing that she could do to try and stop it. If she could at all, anyway.
“…I don’t know what will happen,” Hazel confessed with a depressing tone. Taking a moment to collect herself, she turned to the right and walked away. “We should keep moving.”
Astrid didn’t say a word and silently followed behind Hazel. They both remained quiet while making their way to the stairs. Since the first floor of the fort didn’t have anything useful for them to take on their journey, it was time to move on to the next floor.
Neither of them knew how many floors there were, but they did plan on going to all of them and discover if there were any valuable items that could assist them on their journey.
Much like the first floor, the others above it weren’t all that interesting. The second floor seemed to have been a large storage room where all kinds of boxes and crates were piled up. There were also miscellaneous items placed around them like more paintings, antiques, parchments, and scrolls.
Hazel was curious if there were any grimoire pages, but even after looking through all of the boxes and papers, not a single one was found. Depressed, they moved onto the next floor.
The third floor didn’t have much like the previous two. All that was there was a large round table with chairs placed around it. Astrid assumed that it was some kind of meeting room where people would gather together and talk about certain topics. There were a few bookshelves placed against the walls, but neither of them wanted to go through any of them and simply moved on.
Climbing up to the fourth floor, the pair paused when they reached the top of the steps. Looking ahead, they saw that the floor was filled with statues. It was like a fancy gallery where people would go and admire the works of art.
“This…” Astrid began, unable to find the words to describe what she was seeing.
“Is creepy.” Hazel finished, perfectly expressing both of their feelings regarding the floor.
Neither of them could understand why someone would have an entire floor filled with statues. Especially the ones standing before them. The statues came from a variety of shapes, sizes, and species.
Walking further into the floor, Hazel and Astrid glanced around to look at the sculptures. They saw knights, goddess-like women in robes, angels, and even gargoyles like the ones that were on top of buildings in big cities like New York.
Despite being immobile figures, Hazel couldn’t help but feel intimidated by them. It felt like one of them was going to come to life and attack them like in a horror movie.
As they strolled passed them, Hazel felt a chill run down her spine. It felt like something was watching her. Like some predator carefully spying on its prey, waiting for the right moment to strike. She stopped and turned around, trying to locate whatever was staring at her.
“Astrid, did you…”
“Yeah, I felt that too…” She replied, swiftly pulling out her daggers.
It seemed that the mage wasn't the only one who felt the presence. Hazel did the same and raised her staff, prepared to fight whatever creature was watching them. They turned around and placed their backs against one another, allowing them to watch each other’s blind spots.
Out of the corner of Hazel’s eyes, she witnessed something blurred past one of the statues. She spun her head around, attempting to catch a glimpse of whatever she saw, but it was too fast for her to see.
“There’s definitely something here…” Hazel warned Astrid. “And it’s fast…”
“It doesn’t help that these statues are in the way…” Astrid grumbled, keeping her daggers raised to defend herself.
Because they were surrounded by over a dozen statues, neither of them could properly pinpoint their enemy as it kept moving around the sculptures. They could hear the creature growling, but the sound was reverberating all over the floor, further complicating the matter.
Just then, Astrid grabbed Hazel’s shoulder, gripping it tightly. “Conjure your shield, now!”
Instead of questioning the dark elf’s request, Hazel hastily raised her staff and called upon her Mana Shield. A pale blue light emitted from the tip of her magic staff before a Transparent blue dome began to envelop them.
As soon as the barrier was created, something emerged from the shadows, lunging at Hazel and Astrid with killing intent. Thankfully, it harmlessly bounced off the dome and crashed into the stone floor.
And in that moment, both of them were able to see what it was that tried to attack them. Its body was completely made of stone along with purple cracks streaking across its body. It had a humanoid appearance but was on all fours. Horns protruded from its head along with giant menacing wings sprouting from its back while its tail curled and lashed against the floor.
“I-is that…?” Hazel muttered, looking bewildered by the creature in front of her.
“Yeah…” Astrid nodded grimly. “It’s a Gargoyle…”
Laying on the ground before them was none other than a Gargoyle. A Mythical creature that may have taken on the appearance of a stone statue but was, in fact, a living creature. Despite their grotesque appearance that made them look like demons, gargoyles were supposed to be protectors who warded off intruders and evil spirits.
So why was this one…oh.
“Uh, Astrid…I think the Gargoyle views us as intruders.”
Hazel and Astrid entered this building unannounced and without permission. And that…appeared to be enough for the Gargoyle to consider them enemies.
The gargoyle stood back up and stretched its wings while letting out a guttural growl. Its glowing purple eyes glared at the pair. It then went into a pouncing position and maintained eye contact with the so-called intruders.
Suddenly, Hazel’s barrier began to disappear, which meant ten seconds passed by. Seeing the dome fade away, the Gargoyle made an evil grin, realizing that they were no longer protected.
Flapping its wings, the creature lunged at the Dark Elf Ranger and Human Mage.