"Erm well... I don't know... yet," Ingal answered with a wry chuckle.

"You want to come along?"

"You should stay behind though," Ekiel and Ezrel both voiced simultaneously.

"I can't decide yet. I will know when the time comes," Ingal responded while scratching his hair.

"You can't..."

"You heard him. He will decide when the time comes, do not bother him," Sword Hero Morningster cut them off.

"Now, let us head out," He added while standing to his feet.

....

About an hour later, the group of six stood before massive 'V' shaped rocks with entrances at their bottom.

A dark maw nestled within the rocky alcove. Vines, adorned with luminescent fungi, clung to the entrances as if reluctant to relinquish their hold. The subtle play of light and shadow enhanced the cave's air of mystery.

The air around the cave seemed to hum with an enigmatic energy.

Since there was more than a single cave in the surroundings, the party members waited for Morningster to make a decision on which one to head for.

"According to what I heard, the middle harbors a hive of Golunks who are becoming unruly after getting a new leader. One of the scrolls in the adventurer guild has a quest for the head of the new hive leader," Sword Hero Morningster explained.

"I bet he must be pretty strong," Ezrel rested his massive spear on his left shoulder while voicing out.

"Which is why we should get good boons from killing it. If any beasts stand in our way they will become EXP to boost our levels today," Sword Hero Morningster stated with high morale.

"Yah!" Ezrel and Ekiel chanted in response.

Sword Hero Morningster began marching forward confidently and everyone else followed behind him.

A few adventurers around couldn't help but steal glances.

"Wow, it is the Sword Hero in the flesh!"

"He is so dreamy."

"What is Sword Hero Morningster doing here?"

"We might as well forget about getting spoils if we stay here."

"No fair."

From the voices in the background, some seemed ecstatic to see him while others lamented distastefully.

"Hmph! Who cares if the Sword Hero is here? That loot is ours," A massive six-foot young man voiced grumpily.

"Axel, I think we should head elsewhere," A five-foot male by the side clad in a white, fur-like outfit said with a sigh.

"No, Timon. We are going in there," The grumpy six-foot man responded while unstrapping a massive double ax.

The three others behind them had indecisive looks on their faces after he spoke.

"We are one of the strongest Adventurer's party in the guild. We don't lose out in terms of precision to the Sword Hero's party," Axel stated confidently before trotting forward.

"Because of this blockhead, we just might end up with no loot today," Timon let out another sigh while following behind Axel.

The rest of the group which consisted of two young ladies and one slender man, followed behind as well.

They all walked towards the entrance to the cave in the middle.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

....

Within the ominous depths of the cave, a chilling darkness gripped the air, shrouding the path ahead in an impenetrable black veil. The distant echoes of water dripping reverberated, creating an eerie symphony that resonated through the labyrinthine chambers.

Unearthly sounds reverberated through the cave – a symphony of hisses, chittering, and low growls that echoed off the walls.

Amid the darkness, strange bioluminescent flora clung to the cave ceiling, their soft glow attracting swarms of diminutive insects.

Ingal was holding onto a flame lamp but it couldn't illuminate beyond five steps ahead of them.

"Make sure you stay close to me," Sword Hero Morningster whispered while unsheathing his sword.

The metallic vibration chimed softly across the cave as they approached an intersection.

"Do we go left or right?" Bright asked.

"Left," Morningster responded with certainty.

However, the moment they took a step forward, a figure lunged at them from the darkness ahead.

"Watch out," Sword Hero Morningster reacted swiftly by dragging Ingal by the collar and pulling him out of the way.

Swwwhii~

The moment the four-limb creature streaked past, Sword Hero Morningster spun around while swinging his sword.

A crescent-shaped red line swept across the air, instantly cleaving the creature into two halves.

Blood splattered across the floor and walls of the caves as the sundered pieces of the creature's corpse lay sprawled across the place.

"It was just a low-level warhound," Bright scoffed while shooting a glance at Ingal.

Although he couldn't see Ingal's current expression, he was sure that the little experience had scared him and he wasn't wrong.

Ingal was the only one at level six there after all.

"Warhounds move in packs. We should encounter a group of them soon," Ezrel stated.

"Who cares? They are just a low-level bunch," Bright said with an unbothered tone.

"Even low-level beasts can be troublesome when there is enough of them," Ekiel pointed out.

"Also, I can't use my spear properly in small spaces," Ezrel's voice was like a reminder to them that they needed to fight there without relying much on his spear expertise.

"Let's keep going," Sword Hero Morningster called out to them while stepping forward.

Ingal followed closely behind as they kept moving till they reached a sloppy environment that extended upwards.

Scrrruuhhhh~

Growls rang out as a bunch of black, dog-like beings with incredibly muscular limbs and nine-inch canines protruding from their mouths, jumped out in front of them.

"Here they come," Ekiel said while plucking an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back.

Princess Valerie also responded quickly by unraveling her grimoire and letting her fingers dance beautifully across the air as she chanted.

"Blessings Of Protection"

A magic circle appeared beneath their feet as blueish light surged forth.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The first five war hounds that leaped forward, rammed their heads into invisible barriers as Ekiel pulled the bowstring with three glowing arrows connected to it.

Twwwhiii~

The three arrows shot forth with great speed and intensity, burrowing holes in the skulls of the creatures.

They let out their final cries while falling to the ground lifeless.

Swwhiii~

Sword Hero Morningster had already charged forward swinging the moment the arrows were released.

His fiery glowing blade spun elegantly in the dimly lit environment, slicing through the tough muscular flesh of the war hounds like butter.

In just a couple of seconds, limbs and other body parts were sprawled across the place with the stench of blood permeating their nostrils.

Ingal couldn't hide his amazement as he watched Sword Hero Morningster, Ekiel, and Princess Valerie deal with the mob of war hounds without assistance from Bright or Ezrel.

Although he had witnessed it several times, he was still in awe... if only he knew...

Sword Hero Morningster stared at the XP rewards from slaughtering the group of war hounds and bore an expression of dissatisfaction.

"Let's head further. We need to gather way more XP than this," He exclaimed.

The group continued moving down the path until they finally arrived at a very massive space within the Tradile caves.

The sound of trickling water chimed melodiously as rays of light shone forth from glowing mineral stones embedded into the ceiling of the large space.

Glowing stalactites and stalagmites were also strewn across the vicinity.

More holes could be spotted at the corners of the surroundings that very possibly led to the lair of dangerous creatures.

Ghrrroouuhhhh!

A loud growl suddenly rang out. This time more vibrant and mind-boggling than that of the war hounds. The air vibrated and the rocks quaked softly in response to the deep growl.

"That doesn't exactly sound like a Gollunk," Ezrel said with a slight look of wariness.

"That must be their new leader... Probably aware of our presence already,' Sword Hero Morningster squinted his eyes while peering southwest.

"Looks like that is where we are headed," Ekiel grabbed his bow with both hands as he looked forward with determination.

"You stay here Ingal, you'll be much safer," Sword Hero Morningster instructed while stepping forward.

"Okay sir," Knowing that he couldn't do anything to help, Ingal agreed to stay behind and wait.

He moved to a corner of the space and took a seat behind one of the large rocks. Although he could feel the chill in the air when the creature growled, he was confident that Morningster and the others would be able to take care of the issue.

It was best he remained there so he wouldn't hinder them.

Seconds of waiting soon turned to minutes. Ingal started to get comfortable while waiting so he didn't mind.

"It must have started," Ingal had both a terrified and excited look on his face as he rooted for his party.

"Boy, point us in the direction of the Sword Hero's party,"

A voice suddenly called to him from the side.

"Huh?" Ingal exclaimed while turning.