The cavern continues shaking. I get up, and look at my surroundings. I trace my hands across the cavern walls and walked in a clockwise pattern, feeling for something. There must be some sort of switch to activate some sort of flag...

I was in a rush and the cave was about to collapse. My heartbeat quickens as I attempt to find this switch, but nothing seems to work. I look back at my comrades and see them huddled in the corner, preparing to defend against the concaving cavern.

I see Ranko who was safe under the dwarfs protection, but only a smile is present on her face, with no sense of fear, rejuvenating my soul with energy.

I quicken up my pace, but find no such switch in the walls. Something else must activate the flag then...

The shaking quickens and I begin to sway back and forth trying to regain my balance, but I was in no position to figure out how to solve this situation.

Just as everybody was bracing for impact, I hear the scurrying of feet above my head, but it soon disappeared and the cavern stopped shaking.

I breath a sigh of relief, but I was not satisfied at all.

I was unable to resolve the situation on my own, and it was like the creature was playing games with me, mocking my intelligence.

The dwarfs and Ranko left their little fort, and walked out looking around.

"Phew! That was close!"

I hear Kom exclaim, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

Although the danger has subsided for now, I knew that there was more to come.

"Get your forge out of here. We don't want it to be destroyed by the time we are done with this fight."

"Got it."

Kom swiftly motioned for the dwarfs to leave, and the forge soon took off, leaving behind a circular-shaped dent in the floor.

Recalling the sound above me, I decided to find out if there was an opening above our heads. We took another tunnel and began walking.

Kom walked up to me and we began chatting,

"Quiet mysterious, am I right?"

"It has been a very interesting expedition."

"Its been a long time since my old self went on such a journey, I still remember those days..."

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

"How were they like?"

"Well, I was an adventurer back in the days. If you didn't know, there is an adventures guild in every kingdom of the world, but there's not many rewards. Only occasionally and at very high level you would be able to get a reward."

"Did you get a reward?"

"Well, me being king was the reward actually. Us dwarfs use this system to see who would be the must suitable as a new king, but other races probably use it for something else. I was the leader of an adventuring group back then, and boy was it a good time. Usually we go into the depths like this, but ever since that creature appeared, less and less people wanted to be adventurers, which is not very good for our city. I'm pretty sure only one dwarf is an active adventurer, but I'm not sure where he went."

He continues,

"Well, as soon as we take care of this guy, I hope the dwarfs will come back to the adventuring, I mean, somebody needs to take the throne..."

He laughs heartily during the conversation, and I found him very likable. He was joyous, carefree, but also extremely serious when it comes to it, which are some of the best qualities of a person. He was not just a companion but more of a friend, even if he was the king of the dwarfs.

We soon arrived to an opening, and carefully scouting it out, it seemed to be clear of any danger. Our small group of three walked forward, and a large opening was seen, with straw pilled across the floor. Even more tunnels extended outwards, towards who knows where, but a pungent smell wafted through the air.

"Ew, what is that smell?"

All three of us covered our noses and slowly walked forward to explore the area. Again, there were these bones scattered in the walls, but I could make no connection to what it might mean. Inching or way forwards, we get pretty close to the nest, but I accidentally stepped on a piece of straw leading to a small cracking noise.

We all stopped suddenly, but I hear a screech coming from one of the tunnels.

"Run!"

I yell to the others, and we begin sprinting away from the nest. We go into a random tunnel, but I could still hear the running sound behind us. I found a small hidden crevice in the tunnels, and we all hid there waiting for the danger to pass. Looking out through the small crack, I quickly caught a glimpse of an animal with a white tail and amazing fur, but it soon left and ran back into the tunnels.

My brain throbbed at the sight of the creature, and I sat down thinking what's causing this uneasiness.

It was right there, but I can't think of any animal with those characteristics.

Still sitting there, I was lost in thought, but I suddenly felt Ranko shake me and I realized something was wrong. But it was already too late, as the crevice we were hiding in caved in, and we dropped into this even larger cave with solid floor; above us was a semi-dome with holes in the ceiling, but looking inside the holes, there were caves way larger and lifeless than the ones seen previously. In the middle of the cave, I saw a small platform, but I didn't care and just sat back down in thought.

The tail? The bones? The running?

I can't think of anything dammit!

I smack myself in the head until I realize.

The bones are in the wall.

When does that happen?

There was only one possibility.

The animal we were looking for already went extinct.

And this must be the last one alive.

The beautiful fur? And the tunnels?

I could only think of one thing.

"It's a-"

Before I could say the name, a notification pops up.

"Hello?"

"[FMC]. I feel a boss fight incoming."

"Again?"

"Yep. Get ready."

The long awaited notification finally appeared,