After three whole days spent locked up in his room, Edward could not take it anymore. He went outside with Azel for the first time in ages. His stomach was growling. He needed to get some food in there and fast. Azel points enthusiastically towards the ramen store at the end of the town. It was overflowing with guests of every background, bustling full of activity and liveliness. It was extremely crowded in there. Luckily Azel managed to find two seats at the very end of the restaurant. Edward blushes in embarrassment as he needs to always rely on someone who is a decade younger than he is. Azel seemed so knowledgeable and sociable at his age that it seemed unreal. Edward realises that he really needs to treasure the time together with him.
Edward plops down on the seat and Azel follow suit shortly after. They wholeheartedly digest the menu while their stomachs were growling loudly. Luckily the noise in the shop prevented anyone from hearing them. Edward went ahead and ordered a spicy tonkotsu ramen while Azel settled for the miso ramen. Both of them eagerly awaited the bowls of ramen and decide to share more stories with each other. Edward shared about his previous life as a prince and his lavish lifestyle, and that he did fencing everyday. Azel listened with glistening eyes while also beginning to share his stories of festivities that happen in town and also the various events that happen throughout the year. Edward was slightly astounded by the amount of activities that happen in what seemed like a dead town. Azel explains that this time of the year was relatively quiet as the monsters are all out for blood. Therefore they hide in the comfort of their own homes and only venture out when it is safe to do so. Edward listened with curiosity and fascination as Azel went on about stories revolving the town. One of them involved the huge boss - the twenty five meters tall giant wolf that would terrorise the townspeople and make their lives impossible to get through. They had to perpetually hide in the houses all the time as compared to now when it is at the cave. Edward was surprised that the beast would venture out of the cave, he wondered why did it not chase him the other time. As they continued on, the piping hot bowls of ramen arrived. First Edward’s pork tonkotsu ramen arrived with the strong smell of fresh pork. Then Azel’s arrived with a faint smell and smoke of miso ramen. They both dug in greedily as they spoke between slurping on morsels of noodles. It was utterly delicious and delectable. The soup was thick and creamy while the noodles were thin and chewy. They could not stop once they dug in and briefly stopped talking in order to enjoy the delicious ramen noodles. Upon finishing, Edward says he would rate the place a nine out of ten while for Azel this would be his new lunch place. They pay for their meal which was totally reasonable price as well. Twenty Durins was the cost. The currency of the dungeon is Durins which only came in coins and there were no notes available. The bigger the Durin, the bigger the denomination. The biggest Durin was worth roughly a hundred.
Having satiated their hunger, they walked back to the house with bright smiles and happy faces. It has been a long time since Edward has had such a delicious meal, of course not saying that the old man did not provide him with nice meals. But the ramen just now was just much better. He didn’t know how they made them. And neither did Azel. The mystery of the ramen shop may never be uncovered. Perhaps they can ask the shop owner how the ramen is made, the next time they are there. Edward promised Azel he would do just that.
The evening after was filled with deep studies around ice magic and its manipulation. Edward was so consumed by the books that he didn’t even notice when someone knocked on the door. Apparently there was a guest waiting downstairs for him. As he head downstairs, there was a lady in purple robes and a magic hat. It was the high class resident magician and she was there to teach Edward on how to use the more advanced magic spells. She introduced herself as Elise and she was twenty years old. She looks quite pretty and is rather beautiful for her age. Edward blushes awkwardly as he introduces himself too. Azel upon noticing it, broke into huge smiles and giggles. Such was the start of their friendship.
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Edward would prepare all the tools and materials like wands and spell books to bring outside to the wilderness to train with Elise. There, Elise would teach Edward on the complexity of time-based spells including scale and release. The main focus was on ice magic for now. They trained at a corner away from the cave where the boss lies. There they killed hundreds of wolves multiple times as Edward rained down ice crystals from the heavens. It was a highly complex skill that required a few seconds of incantation and a spell book. Having learned this skill, Edward was more than ready to face the final boss.
And that’s exactly what happened two days later in the morning. Edward got up early and headed straight for the caves while it is still bright out. Obviously the dungeon was not filled with sunshine but you can navigate your way around during the “day”. This is due to a phenomenon known as the reflections, where the light from the emerald crystal jewels light up the entire place during the day and reflects among themselves to create a visible landscape. But it was terribly dark in the cave as usual. Edward lights up a fireball and trudges through the cave in search of the boss. He would need to walk only a few steps in before encountering it.
The twenty five meter wolf stares into space as it mingles itself among the newly reincarnated wolves. Edward starts to chant the ice magic manipulation spell to freeze his enemies. True enough, the spell makes quick work of the wolves by freezing them all in place. Even the big wolf was frozen in its tracks by ice crystals generating from the ground. Then Edward casts the raining ice crystal spell. Millions of ice crystals rained down from the ceiling of the cave. And the wolves were all helpless as they stood in their position and died. Even the big wolf could not move and had to endure the entirety of the attack. Finally, Edward contrasts the cold with heat by casting a giant fireball to finish off the big wolf. The wolf screams in pain as it finally gets released from the ice crystals it was bounded to the ground by. Then it charges at Edward before quickly diminishing and disappearing under the fire of the spell. The boss monster is defeated and Edward was victorious.
He could not believe that he handled it all by himself. He patted himself on the back. And happily skips his way out of the cave. Today was a great day. He swiftly makes his way home where Azel, the old man and Elise was waiting proudly. They all hugged when they received the good news. Now the dungeon level one is cleared and Edward can finally move on to the next level. He was a bit sad as he did not want to give up staying with Azel. Nonetheless it has been exactly three months since they started and the contract is binding. They would spend the next day eating at the ramen shop before giving their final goodbyes. Edward shed a tear as he hugged the old man, Azel and Elise for the final time. It was on to a new adventure.
Edward stood at the outskirts of the cave once more. The new path towards level two should be within the cave. He clears the path of the numerous wolves that still remain. However not with an overly powerful spell like the raining ice magic. But instead with just a normal fireball spell. As Edward notices the door that leads to the level two, he marches on forward proudly. By stepping through the door, he remembers what he has been through the past three months together with them. He will not forget them ever. Edward steps through into the portal and arrives at a whole new level. This time the mission is to arrive at a new town once again and repeat the whole process. But perhaps he would like to earn some money by doing side quests now. That is the plan anyway. So the main goal is to earn more Durins currency for his living expenses. As he flips the map on his status screen for the new town - Aventidor is the new town. He marches onward with the sails behind his shoes.