There was a hint of panic in her chest when she saw Clara running about, running rather close to the wealth around them.

If she had to compare this room to something else, it was like entering into a super secure vault of a bank in the medieval times. Other than that, the constant dazzle of the gems and jewelry that surrounded the place was utterly mind-boggling, something that she wished she had back where they came from.

If she had all this, getting a scholarship would be pointless. Zeke walked, or rather limped forward, his mouth gaping at the sight.

“Did we hit the jackpot?” Zeke said, half joking and half serious in his tone. She couldn’t help but agree to his sentiments.

What did this mean? That entire chasm of lava and traps alike were the only thing separating them from a wealthy lifestyle? Zeke often compared this death trap of a place like a dungeon, so it really didn’t surprise her that they found the treasure at the end.

But something didn’t sit right with her from all this. If magic and murderous knights were a thing in this world, then surely something like traps and curses can exist. Now that she had the thought, Clara was getting dangerously close with the gold coins.

However, when she tried to grab the coins, her hand was pushed back. Her face scowled as she growled and kept pushing her hand, but it either was pushed back or was swerved aside like a magnet, even making her tumble over herself.

“Clara!”

Mikella ran over to her, noticing that Clara only just fell over as though she was pushed aside. Clara stood up, sniffing loudly before scowling again at the coins.

“It doesn’t let me get the treasure! Something is pushing me away!” She cried out, not really crying but more out of frustration.

Mikella tilted her head at that and tried doing the same. Just as Clara said, it felt like some strange force was pushing her hand away from the coins. It reminded her of the corpses that refused to be touched, so she instead opted to loot the coins–however, nothing came out.

It was just left there, mocking them as there was no way they could ever get their hands on them.

“Is it just a background for us?” Zeke said incredulously, his face distorting into disbelief.

Mikella huffed in disbelief as well. After all that crap with the lava and the snakes, they come across this treasure room where they can’t keep anything.

“The people that made this place are bastards!” Clara shouted, surprising Zeke but it made Mikella nod.

“I’m totally going after anyone who made this place. Seriously…”

She mumbled, but at the same time, she was glad. Figuring that nothing more can be done, the trio just looked at the room around them in bewilderment.

“Guess we just… keep going forward.”

Zeke eventually said, shrugging as the girls groaned in displeasure. They decided to do as he said and kept walking.

Clara kept being by his side, helping him with his limp. Zeke smiled sweetly at her, asking her what she would do if they did get a mountain full of golden coins.

She remarked about buying all sorts of food and drinks and any kind of toys. Zeke nodded approvingly, saying his own list of things he would get–which of course involved video games and the latest tech to play them.

She smiled, seeing how happy Clara was compared to the time they first met each other. Even more so when Zeke proved how kind he was, and she wasn’t afraid to admit she took full advantage of that.

She felt bad for coaxing the man to agree to Clara’s earlier question about him not leaving them. Even if they managed to figure a way out of here and land themselves in a pretty good spot, she didn’t want Zeke to leave. And it wasn’t just for Clara’s sake either.

It was proven time and time again that Zeke is the sort to keep his resolve no matter the odds. If fighting off a knight by himself wasn’t enough, what other man would dare go through an entire chasm of lava while raining snakes and rocks just to help them?

There were a lot of things that forced them to take that course of action, but one thing was clear–Zeke was valuable to them in more ways than one.

She wasn’t lying when she said that she had his back. It was the least she could do. But if she was honest, she was afraid. Who knows what could be out there? What else could easily kill her and her baby sister?

That dream of seeing Clara’s corpse, surrounded by a pool of her own blood when she woke up from the floor, still haunted her at times. No matter how independent she was, there was a clear sign that she can’t do anything alone.

So if she had to coax a man that was not used to women to stick with them, she would do so without hesitation. But Zeke deserved better than to just be used and thrown away. She’ll support him just as he supported her.

And if that means throwing hands with some strange creature from hell itself, she’ll gladly do so with a sword in hand.

And while everything else takes precedent, the idea of getting a title and those sweet bonuses would be a nice way to sweeten the pot.

They kept walking forward, keeping an eye out for any enemies that might pop out of the mountain of fake treasure. The snakes and rock trap from earlier was proof that their weariness was warranted.

The atmosphere around them shifted slightly, the gold coins and jewelry crowding the room somehow lessening. The room itself seemed to grow bigger, as if they finally reached the center of all this.

Just how big was this treasure room? Was there really a need to make it so big? Mikella tried to figure out a reason behind this, but all she could think of was that the people that built this place really like to show off their size.

However, Zeke paused mid-limp. Mikella turned to find him in deep thought. She knew he wasn’t looking at this status. His brows were furrowed, knitted tightly which proved he was thinking hard. The past two days helped her read his expressions a lot better.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“This is too strange…” Zeke finally said, his head swiveling. “This can’t be just a fake treasure room.”

“What do you think it is?” Mikella asked. Knowing the gamer type that Zeke was, his words took precedence when it comes to how dungeons work.

“Think about it…” Zeke said, almost as if he was slowly realizing it himself. “Big castle. Tons of knights running around the hallways. Then, it goes straight to being near a volcano with lava everywhere, and finally a big treasure room at the very end…”

When Zeke put it all together like that, it really did sound like there was some theme going on in this place.

The castle, the Arthurian Knights, the death trap of being near a volcano somehow… even if this was a dungeon where anything could happen, it was still strange how all these things seem connected somehow.

Then, the treasure filled with gold coins finally hit her. Her mind sparked when there was something that connected to the gold at the end.

Who else has a giant cavern filled with gold at the end of a dangerous dungeon? Who else would be connected to knights and medieval castles and some lava trap?

It was like something just copied straight from an old fashioned video game to the letter. At the end, guarding the treasure with its life…

The air shook with a powerful force. The gold coins surrounding them shifted and fell to the ground, causing a rattling noise of jingles that made their ears ache. But that didn’t register in Mikella’s mind as the adults turned to face the one causing the shake.

For something to make that big of a shake, it proved to be a ridiculously large creature slowly coming into being, appearing somewhere from above where it seemed to continue on in darkness for miles. Its body was packed with dense muscle covered in tough scales, sharp talons and claws that could render a truck with ease. A giant maw that opened to reveal a sharp set of fangs bigger than any Knight they came across.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Mikella cursed. Her hope of getting out of this dungeon alive dying on the spot.

A big dragon came into being. The giant reptile opened its maw wide, revealing the inner workings of its mouth long enough for everyone to see the bright flash of orange and red beginning to surface to the air.

Mikella couldn’t even move. No matter how much she boasted about being able to take on any foe from hell, she never expected to find something like this after going through the chasm.

Despair settled in as her body refused to move. Her mind began to wane. Then someone ran up from behind her and lifted his hand.

It was Zeke. He roared as he conjured his barrier to existence. But surprisingly it didn’t look anything like his usual barriers.

It was larger, bigger than anything he made so far. She remembered that his skill leveled up recently, so the barrier also improved quite a bit.

But the size and density of the barrier was just ridiculous. Compared to having a giant door like size, now his barrier covered what felt like a one-story house in front of him. She could also tell that it could’ve been even bigger, but if he did, it would be too unstable.

So instead, he improved its potency. The barrier seemed more dense and compact than last time. Seeing so many barriers already, she could tell how much work he put into this.

But the giant creature’s roar took her out of her musings as a torrent of flames flowed out of its mouth. It crashed right into the barrier, transforming the seemingly cold area that was similar, or perhaps hotter, than the lava chasm they passed.

It truly wasn’t an illusion. It was an actual dragon right in front of them. It was planning on destroying them by burning them alive. Her mind finally caught up with her as she dragged the stupefied Clara off her feet, her Strength stat making it a lot easier for her to carry her little sister.

She looked back, horrified to find Zeke nearly blistering despite the barrier covering him from head to toe. Sweat dripped from his head as small burns began to surface from his exposed skin. It wasn’t the fire hitting him–it was the heat itself nearly baking him like being inside of an oven. His teeth were gritting and his face stiffened to that of pain and horror.

But he still kept on. He flexed his arms outward as though trying to push back a breaking wall, shifting his feet to maintain his balance.

“Run!” Zeke yelled out, turning his head around to find Mikella. “Run away!”

He yelled, panic and horror turning his tone from his usual shrill to that of a determined soldier ready for war.

Or ready to die for the cause.

Mikella didn’t even hesitate. She turned tail and ran away, Clara crying out for Zeke’s name as the heat slowly died out from behind her.

She didn’t know how long she ran, but she ran far enough that she could see the entrance back to the lava chasm. Of course, she wasn’t distressed enough to go all the way to that hellhole, even if there was another hellhole on the opposite side.

She stopped running, putting Clara down who seemed to be fidgeting a lot more than usual. She turned to her big sister, anger actually rising from her face.

“Sissy!” Clara shouted. “Zeke’s in trouble! We have to help him!”

Mikella wanted nothing more than to tell her to stop being so childish. She was only ten. She didn’t understand the danger. She didn’t understand that Zeke had no intention of leaving the girls to fight a freaking dragon.

She didn’t understand the pain of having to leave Zeke to do something incredibly dangerous again.

“Clara–”

“No!” Clara fought back, actually trying to push Mikella with her palms. But it was to no avail. She didn’t exactly gain weight, but Mikella’s stance and balance was easily powerful enough to withstand her little sister’s push.

But that push alone spoke boundaries of Clara’s fury.

“We gotta save him! We gotta!” Clara shouted, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Mikella only stood still at her. Despite doing what she could, Clara knew that she can’t do anything. That’s why she was pushing her sister into doing something.

That’s why Mikella ran away. She knew that Clara began to like Zeke so much that she didn't want anything bad happening to him. She knew that if left unchecked, her sister might do something that would end up getting her burned.

That’s why Mikella held Clara’s arms with her hands, staring down at her.

“Clara, stay here. I’ll take Zeke out of there. But you have to promise me to stay here. Understand?”

Clara’s eyes widened after hearing her proclamation. She slowly lost her will to fight against her sister, tears slowly streaming down her tiny face.

She was so little. So young. Yet she cared enough to help Zeke when he was in trouble. Would any child care enough other than themselves?

Perhaps she was just pushing higher expectations on Clara, because she knew even a normal adult would consider running from that situation.

Then again, she always knew that both she and Clara were never normal. And neither was Zeke.

And he’s out there, fighting a fucking dragon. So what is she doing here?

“Clara, hide somewhere that the dragon won’t find you. I’ll help Zeke. Remember what he said? If something happens to you, we’ll both be very sad. So promise me that you’ll hide here until I find you again, okay?”

She seemed surprised to find out that Mikella knew about their nightly adventure. But in the end, Clara nodded resolutely, then she ran like hell towards a giant pile of coins. While she can’t take the coins, apparently she can push them around to make a little hidey-hole for herself.

She looked back at her older sister once again, nodding once before doing her best to hide.

She was getting extremely used to hiding, because even Mikella would have a hard time finding her after all of this. Smiling to herself, Mikella stood, her sword in her hand after taking it out of her pack.

“I’m coming Zeke,” Mikella promised, turning back around to find the part of the cave wreathed in orange light. “And this time, I’ll protect you.”

She dashed towards the battle, her sword ready to slash scales.