The remaining wolves, rattled by Blaze’s fireball,
The world spun briefly, and when it righted itself, I found myself in complete darkness. My heart hammered, but then a faint, eerie glow illuminated our surroundings. Massive stone walls stretched out around us, lined with ancient carvings of creatures and symbols that were impossible to read.
"Everyone alright?" I asked, scanning the group.
Jun dusted himself off. "I hate magic trees."
Amara shot him a look but didn’t comment. "W-what is this place?"
"It’s some kind of dungeon… an underground chamber, maybe. But how did we end up here?" Blaze replied from behind us. I turned around to find him removing some of the branches/roots stuck in his hair.
“Something must have triggered it when you leaned against that tree,” Mia murmured, looking around with wary eyes.
Blaze held up a hand, igniting a small flame to light our path. “Wherever we are, we need to stay on guard. Let’s move.”
The floor beneath us was cold stone, each step echoing in the silence. Shadows danced in Blaze’s flame, giving life to strange, unsettling figures on the walls
. The eerie quiet only added to the tension, each of us listening intently for any hint of danger.
A faint rumble resounded through the corridor, stopping us in our tracks. The floor trembled, and then a section of the wall slid aside, revealing a narrow path ahead.
Blaze glanced back at us. “Looks like the dungeon’s guiding us.”
We exchanged looks, unease clear in everyone’s eyes, but there was no other way forward. I took a deep breath and walked ahead, Blaze’s light flickering in my peripheral vision as we cautiously followed the new path.
It wasn’t long before we entered a larger chamber, its ceiling disappearing into darkness above. Stone pillars lined the space, each one etched with symbols that glowed faintly.
Jun moved forward, his eyes narrowing as he observed the symbols. “These markings… they’re ancient wards, probably defensive spells.” His tone turned grave. “Whatever lives here is powerful, maybe even more so than that alpha wolf.”
As if in answer to his words, a loud, guttural growl reverberated through the room. My pulse spiked as a hulking, beastly figure emerged from the shadows between two pillars. It was a massive golem, made of stone and pulsing with energy. Its eyes gleamed a dark, unearthly green as it locked onto us.
"Alex, you and Jun try to distract it," Blaze instructed. “Amara, can you hit it with another one of those dark spears?”
Amara nodded, her hand already crackling with energy. I didn’t hesitate, summoning my shadow blade and darting to the left, while Jun mirrored my movements to the right, each of us flanking the creature.
The golem took a heavy step toward me, raising its stone fist and slamming it down. I rolled to the side just as it crashed into the ground, the impact sending tremors through the floor.
“Nice dodge, but stay quick!” Jun called out, jabbing his staff at the golem’s leg, the blow echoing through the chamber. It stumbled back slightly, but only for a moment.
Amara took advantage of the golem’s falter, launching her dark spear. It soared through the air, striking the golem’s chest and shattering part of its stone exterior. The creature let out a deep, rattling roar, its fury renewed.
“Don’t let up!” Blaze shouted, launching a stream of fire at the golem, searing its arms and causing it to stagger back. The smell of scorched stone filled the room as he pushed the flames harder, intensifying the heat.
The golem swiped at Blaze with surprising speed, catching him off guard. He managed to jump back, but not before its fist grazed his shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance.
Mia raised her hands, her water whip forming in her grasp. “I’ll try to bind it!”
With a flick of her wrist, the water coiled around the golem’s legs, and for a brief moment, it struggled, unable to move. “Now’s our chance!” she yelled.
I didn’t hesitate, darting forward with my shadow blade and aiming for its exposed torso. The blade sunk into the crack Amara’s spear had made, darkness seeping into the golem’s stone. It jerked violently, the light in its eyes flickering.
Jun leapt forward, staff swinging with incredible force as he struck the golem’s head, the crack widening.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
With a final push, Amara hurled another dark spear, this one larger and more potent. The energy collided with the golem’s chest, and quickly disintegrated it, this caused it to collapse into a pile of rubble.
[Guardian golem slain, exp will be given after you complete this dungeon]
We all caught our breath, exchanging glances. I'm pretty sure the others also saw this on there scree.
“S-so…what do we do now?” Amara asked cautiously.
" Let's try to find a way out" Blaze replied.
As if in response, the floor began to shift beneath our feet. An opening appeared in the far wall, and a faint light glowed from within.
“Looks like we’re being led somewhere else,” Mia said, her tone wary.
"Whatever it is, we’re not done here" Blaze nodded, gripping his shoulder where the golem had hit him. “Alex, do you think you can hide us in your shadow cloak?”
I stepped forward, peering into the newly revealed passage. It stretched out into darkness, faint markings on the floor directing us forward.
“Well,” I sighed, “I think so, but I'm running pretty low on mana so I think I won't be able to keep it up for long.”
"It's fine, just keep us invisible as long as possible" Blaze replied.
"Alright, gather up behind me" I said stepping forward.
The team gathered behind me, each of us readying ourselves for whatever lay ahead.
I activated shadow cloak again, feel my mana drain more.
“Stay close and keep alert,” Blaze instructed as we moved into the unknown.
off, their low growls echoing through the trees as they eyed us warily. With the smaller threats thinning out, I shifted my focus to the pack leader—the hulking wolf with glowing amber eyes. It paced back and forth, calculating its next move, the muscles beneath its dark fur rippling in anticipation.
"Jun, Amara" Blaze shot me a Amara and Jun a look, his expression serious. “take down these stragglers fast we'll focus on that one.”
"Got it" they replied in unison and moved to attack.
"Alex and Mia, you guys are with me" he then turned to us "we'll try to defeat the big one or keep it at bay until Jun and Amara can help us again"
The smaller wolves flanked Jun and Amara, clearly testing for any gaps in their defenses. Jun moved with practiced ease, dispatching two wolves with swift strikes.
Amara, though initially hesitant, summoned a dark energy that crackled with destructive force, shaping it into a jagged spear. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled it at one of the wolves, and the moment it struck, the creature disintegrated into nothingness.
The wolves closest to it hesitated, clearly sensing the danger radiating from her.
She gave Jun a quick nod, her confidence visibly growing with each attack. He took advantage of the wolves' hesitation, quickly dispatching another one using his staff while Amara readied her next strike, her dark energy coiling around her hands.
Meanwhile, the alpha wolf’s gaze locked onto Blaze, Mia, and me, its eyes flashing with fury.
"Ready?" Blaze muttered, flames sparking to life in his hands as he prepared for the wolf’s inevitable charge.
“Let’s take it down,” I replied, summoning a shadow blade to my hand, its dark edge shimmering faintly. Mia created an orb of water and molded it into a whip-like weapon.
The wolf lunged forward, its massive paws thudding against the forest floor, aiming directly for Blaze, who unleashed a barrage of fire clones to intercept it.
The exploding clones briefly stunned the creature, but it recovered with a vicious swipe of its claws, the remaining clones exploded into embers.
While it was distracted by the fire, I darted forward, using my shadows to pull me closer in a silent, swift dash. With a flick of my wrist, I slashed at its side, scoring a hit just below its rib cage.
The alpha yelped in pain but quickly whirled around, its glowing amber eyes meeting mine. I felt a jolt of fear from the looks in it's eyes but I steadied myself.
Mia seized the opportunity, cracking her water whip around its hind leg. “Hold it!” she shouted, concentrating hard as the water whip tightened, keeping the wolf from moving.
“Now!” Blaze yelled, his flames roaring to life again as he prepared a powerful fire strike. But just as he thrust his arm forward, the alpha wolf let out a thunderous howl, shaking off the water whip and lunging toward Blaze with blinding speed.
His eyes widened as he braced for impact, but I launched forward, shadows coiling around me, and slammed into the alpha’s side, diverting its path and sparing Blaze from its deadly bite.
The wolf landed hard, momentarily disoriented.
“Nice save, Alex!” Blaze shouted, recovering quickly as he prepared another attack. He shot a fireball at the wolf, striking it in the chest and leaving a searing mark on its fur.
Just then, Jun and Amara joined us, the last of the smaller wolves taken care of. Jun shot us a quick grin as he moved beside. “Miss me?”
“About time,” I replied, eyeing the alpha wolf, which was now battered and weakened but still far from defeated.
Amara took a deep breath, her hands glowing with an ominous energy that crackled and pulsed with destructive force. She shaped it into a swirling orb that hovered above her palm, the energy humming with power. “Hold it still,” she instructed, her voice steady and certain.
Jun wasted no time, darting forward with his staff, aiming for the wolf’s exposed side. He struck true, his staff sinking deep into the creature’s flank, sending it flying with a howl of pain.
Amara took that chance to fire an orb of destruction at the wolf.
The destructive energy connected, and where it touched, the wolf's fur, flesh, and bone seemed to dissolve into nothingness.
The alpha wolf let out a final, agonized howl, collapsing as the light faded from its eyes, a hollow crater marking where Amara’s attack had struck.
Silence fell over the forest, broken only by the sounds of our heavy breathing.
Amara’s voice was quiet, almost in awe. “We…we did it.”
Blaze nodded, his usually stoic face softened with a hint of pride. “Good work, everyone. That was teamwork.”
Before I could reply, a system notification popped up again and I'm sure it also did for the rest.
[Level 3 Alpha night clawed defeated. Gained 20 exp]
[Exp: 70/100]
'20 exp? Since we killed it as a team, I guess the exp must have been shared amongst us all' I couldn't help but think.
I looked at my exp bar and realized I was so close to leveling up.
"Status" I opened my status page again, realizing it's been a while since I last checked it.
[Loading.....]
[Status:
Name:Alex
____________
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
LV: 1
Exp:70/100
Blessing: Thanatos' Chosen
_________
STR: 15
AGI: 30
STA: 25
INT: 30
END: 30
LUK: ???
_______
Free stat points: 0
_______
Abilities:
Nyx's gift (new):
Blessing of the night (Rank A) (new)
Description: The user's stats ar doubled at night. The user's Abilities gain a boost when used at night.
Mana cost: 0
Shadow manipulation (Rank S+) (new)
Description: It allows the user free control over shadows.
-----sub abilities ---
Cloak (Rank A)
Description: While in the shadows, user can completely conceal themselves and others.
Mana cost: 10 / minute
Shadow constructs (Rank S)
Description: User can create anything he can imagine from shadows. These constructs will be solid and can be moved into the light.
Mana cost: 10
NB: mana cost increases for more complex constructs.
NB: shadow constructs used in the light have lessened power and dissolve quicker.
[Level up to unlock more shadow abilities]
Thanatos' abilities
????? (Rank: ???) Locked
Description: ???? (Meet requirement to unlock)
Requirements: ??
????????? (Rank: ???) Locked
Description:????? (Meet requirement to unlock)
Requirements: ??]
Nothing had changed except my experience points. I closed the screen as I noticed Jun approaching.
"Great work! You've really proven that you're fit to be this great sage's sidekick," he said, looking smug.
"I never agreed to be your sidekick," I reminded him, but he ignored me and continued his rant.
I could only sigh and let him be.
"Let's rest and recover our mana, since the test has only just begun," Blaze said, sitting at the base of one of the massive trees. But before he could lean back properly, the tree split open and swallowed him whole.
"Blaze!" For the first time, I heard Mia call him by his name instead of "flame boy."
We all rushed toward the tree, and, just like with Blaze, it opened up and swallowed us too.