Zayzal was the first to step forward, extending a hand to touch the glowing symbols on the door. As soon as his fingers made contact, the door began to slowly grind open. Dust and small pebbles fell from the doorway, revealing a dark passage beyond. He stepped in first, leading the way with Anders behind him and Sera last in line despite the wide passage.

Sera's hand rested near her axe, her shield still on her back. She wasn't ready to trust Kaldrik or his group yet.

The villagers following Kaldrik shared looks of apprehension, eyes wide with fear. They had sought refuge, perhaps a safe haven, under Kaldrik's leadership. Instead, they found themselves inside an unknown and possibly dangerous dungeon. The reality of their situation was sinking in, and it was far from what they had expected or prepared for.

"Stay close," Kaldrik instructed, his voice echoing slightly. He conjured a small flame in his hand, casting eerie shadows on the walls. The stone steps leading further into the mountain were now faintly visible.

Zayzal, Anders, and Sera all looked back in amazement as this was the first time they’d seen someone truly wield magic!

“Oh? So, you’re a mage?” Zayzal asked with raised eyebrows. This connected some dots for him regarding the blue talent orbs he had seen before, suggesting they might be linked to elemental magic. But he needed more evidence, more encounters, to be certain.

"Something like that," Kaldrik said with an icy gaze that pierced through Zayzal's skull.

Zayzal wanted to ask what his talent was, but seeing as Kaldrik was somewhat cold and distant, he held his tongue. However, Sera didn’t care about his demeanor.

“What kind of magic can you use?”

“...Fire.”

“How strong is it? Do you think you could beat me?”

“...”

“Have you ever been in a dungeon before?”

“...”

“What about monsters? Surely you’ve killed monsters before, right?”

“...Yes.”

“Then, how effective is your magic? Is it easier to burn them to death or stab them with a spear?”

“That’s not up for me to decide.”

“Are you sure you’re a mage? You look too tall and fit to be one, unlike the weak, bony images that mages are made out to be.”

“Can you shut up?”

Sera grunted in annoyance but quit talking to him. Since the man didn’t want to answer any of her questions, what else could she do?

Meanwhile, Zayzal didn’t need a light source, as his body had adapted to dark places, giving him something akin to Night Vision. Still, it was more than welcome.

The descent into the depths of the dungeon felt like an eternity, with only the echoing of their footsteps and the occasional rustle of clothing or gear. The air grew colder and more damp with a very earthy scent.

Suddenly, a low growl reverberated through the passageway, causing some of the villagers to shriek in fear. Meanwhile, Zayzal’s group focused on the source of the sound with weapons at the ready.

A pair of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness ahead, followed by another pair, then another. Soon, the passage was filled with the menacing glint of predatory eyes.

"Goblins," Kaldrik whispered in disdain.

The creatures lunged at the group with wicked daggers and sharp teeth, but the combined might of Zayzal, Anders, and Sera proved too much for them. They worked in tandem, with Anders and Zayzal controlling things from the back with their spears while Sera blocked them up front, smashing them with her shield and axe.

Not even a few minutes went by before all the goblins were on the ground, drowning in their own blood.

Sera looked at one of the goblins, studying it. "These aren't like the ones we've faced before. They're weaker and less organized."

“Yeah, but their weapons and gear are better,” Zayzal replied, playing with one of the daggers a goblin had. Looking around, there were even a few goblins that had leather vests on.

“They also don’t feel or look like the ones from back home. Almost like they came from different places.” Sera added, putting Zayzal deep into thought.

‘Perhaps the dungeons aren’t linked? At first, I thought maybe, since they all spawned around the same time, but now it seems that they’re more random. Or could they be related to certain place’s folklore? This needs more investigating.’ Zayzal thought as he continued looking at their corpses.

Kaldrik just glanced at the goblins for a moment before shifting his eyes away, ready to move on. However, he still had a role to play, so he kept quiet. ‘Tsk. How long does it take to look at a few rodents?’

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If it were him, he’d simply burn them all to dust and move on. They’d already wasted enough time as is.

Eventually, Zayzal and Sera finished their inspection and began to walk further into the dungeon, with Zayzal leading the charge. But not even a few minutes later, a group of goblins fell from the ceiling right on top of them!

Kaldrik flicked a fireball at the one descending on top of him, causing it to shriek in pain as it was burned alive, but the villagers weren’t so lucky. One villager was directly stabbed in the neck, dying on the spot, while the others obtained varying degrees of wounds and were screaming out in fright.

“AHHH! Kill it! Somebody kill it!”

“Help me! I don’t want to die!”

“S-S-Stay back! I-I’ll kill you!”

Zayzal, Sera, and Anders all reacted quickly and swung their weapons, killing the goblins without much trouble.

However, the screaming from the village people echoed in the hallways, causing their expressions to turn solemn.

Kaldrik sighed. ‘What a bunch of wastrels.’ He thought, inwardly shaking his head, but he still flicked a few fireballs toward the remaining goblins, slowly cooking them alive until they burned to death.

Sera, splattered with goblin blood, turned her attention immediately to the injured villagers. Bending down beside the wounded, she worked deftly to apply pressure to bleeding wounds while instructing others to tear fabric for makeshift bandages. It wasn’t worth it to use their own bandages on these people.

“Stay calm,” she ordered, her voice firm but gentle. “If you panic, it only gets worse. Trust us to keep you safe.”

‘Looks like learning from mother and grandmother how to bandage people in the field wasn’t useless. Even though these people are…’ She thought while looking down on the villagers. While she understood that people had to grow accustomed to this kind of environment, Sera still felt that these people were more suited to… labor. They weren’t suited for killing and dungeon diving.

While Sera tended to the wounded, Zayzal scanned the ceiling and walls for further traps or hidden goblin nooks. He noticed an opening in the ceiling and narrowed his eyes. "They're using guerrilla tactics," he murmured to Anders, who nodded grimly in agreement. The brutish assault tactics they had seen from the first group of goblins were nothing like the sneak attacks these ones favored.

"It seems like this dungeon won’t be quite so straightforward," Anders remarked, wiping off his blade. Zayzal and Sera both agreed with his assumption.

The atmosphere was tense. Between the barely subdued panic of the villagers and the growing realization that the dungeon was more unpredictable and dangerous than they had initially thought, the group was on edge.

Kaldrik, though irritated at the distractions, couldn't deny that things would be annoying if they kept running into unexpected encounters like this. He advanced, using his flame to continue lighting up the area. “We should find a defensible position. Somewhere we can rest and regroup.”

Sera, finishing her immediate care of the injured, agreed. “And we need to tend to these wounds properly. Otherwise, even if goblins don’t kill them, infections might.”

With everyone’s help, the villagers got up and resumed their trek, this time with Sera near them. Although she was still skeptical about Kaldrik, she couldn’t just watch people die right in front of her, either.

It wasn’t long before they ran into a fork in the passage.

Zayzal guided Mana into his eyes, hoping to discern the safest path. However, as his [Pathfinder] talent illuminated a faint silver line in both directions, his brow furrowed in confusion. 'This has never happened before,' he thought, recalling past instances where the path was always clear. 'Are both routes safe, or is there something I'm missing?'

He hesitated, not wanting to alarm the others with his uncertainty. "Both ways seem viable," he said cautiously, glancing at his companions.

Kaldrik raised an eyebrow, "That's not particularly helpful, is it?"

Anders chimed in, "Maybe we should consider what lies ahead. Traps? More goblins?"

Sera looked at each path, weighing her options. "We can't just stand here. We have to make a choice."

The group huddled closer, each voicing their concerns and suggestions. Zayzal listened intently, gauging their reactions. He noticed Kaldrik's gaze lingering on the right path, with a hint of certainty in his eyes.

Zayzal knew he had to make a call. As a leader, it was his responsibility to guide them safely. "Let's take the right path," he declared, more confidently than he felt. 'I hope this is the right decision,' he thought.

Kaldrik merely nodded, a small smirk playing on his lips as he led the way.

Sera stayed close to the villagers, whispering words of encouragement. "We'll get through this. Just stay close and don’t panic," she reassured them, her hand resting reassuringly on a young villager's shoulder.

Although they might be useless extras, she didn’t want to see them die, especially not right in front of her.

Zayzal couldn't shake off a feeling of unease as they walked. 'Is this path truly safe, or are we walking into a trap?' He couldn't help but wonder. The decision weighed heavily on him, but the dice had already been thrown.

A few tense minutes later, they stumbled upon a small chamber partly hidden behind broken bricks. Kaldrik raised his flame towards it, revealing an intimate space beyond. "Seems like a good spot to rest," he said, his voice echoing slightly in the narrow passageway.

The center of the room featured a circular table and was surrounded by thick blankets of dust and several skeletal remains.

“Then, let’s check it out. It could make for a nice hideout in case we have to retreat.” Zayzal replied. He moved some of the bricks out of the way and was the first to make his way in. The air was stagnant, with the musty odor of age and decay.

Sera followed, helping villagers settle along the chamber's edges. She began the process of cleaning wounds more thoroughly, using water from their supplies, not hers, and tearing off strips of cloth from a spare garment to bandage the injured.

Anders relaxed a bit, putting his spear to his side, and began scouring the remains, finding a few tarnished gold coins and a rusted ceremonial dagger with a gemstone embedded in the hilt. The dagger piqued his interest, so he pocketed it for later examination.

Zayzal sat down next to Sera, his attention shifting between her and the villagers. "You're good at this," he remarked, noting her efficiency.

“Of course!” She beamed with pride. “Who do you think my mother is?”

‘I almost forgot she’s from a village of Vikings.’ He thought while shaking his head and walking away.

While the group rested and recuperated, Kaldrik made a makeshift torch to prevent himself from running out of mana and leaned against the entrance.

‘Haaa… Why did I have to take these burdens with me? Who cares if they’re injured? It’s not like they’ll be useful anyways.’ He grumbled inwardly, wondering if he should just kill everyone and move on. However, he shook his head. ‘Just bear with it. This dungeon is clearly different from the others I’ve been in. They still have their uses.’

About 30 minutes later, everyone was patched up, and they were ready to leave.

‘Finally.’ Kaldrik muttered.

“Sera, you continue to protect them. Anders, you’re with me.” Zayzal ordered, receiving nods in response before he turned to the Kaldrik. “And Kaldrik… I guess just do mage things.”

Kaldrik’s brow twitched. “I will do as I please.” He responded and walked out of the room.

“As you should.” Zayzal chuckled and led the way, with everyone else following behind him.