“Why isn’t she here yet, it’s been so long,” Merial groaned.
The elf looked at the minute hand of the clock that had already made its way halfway through its journey. It had been an entire thirty minutes.
Standing with her were Jamie, Alana and Merial. The group were all currently waiting for Rin in the main hall of the guild as they had scheduled a dungeon for the day. But the girl hadn’t shown up yet.
“Maybe this was a bad idea, I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to go into a dungeon. It’s better off than being dead,” Alana muttered.
Merial opened her mouth and started to sigh, but a quick glare from Jamie quickly shut her up.
“It's going to be alright Alana, stop blaming yourself because of Mordred. We all know you tried your best,” Jamie said in an attempt to calm the healer.
“But I... I could’ve saved him... If only I was stronger...” Alana gritted her teeth.
As for the other two, there was nothing they could do to help comfort the healer but stand around pitifully. Luckily, a young boy carrying a wooden box appeared to interrupt the somber atmosphere.
“Good morning guys, do you know where Rin is?” The boy greeted the group and drew them out of their thoughts.
“Huh, Cole?” the elf looked up at the boy, “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I was looking for Rin because I finished her commission, but she didn’t come pick it up yesterday,” Cole explained.
The boy held the box out in front of him and opened it to show what was inside to the group. Inside lay a pair of bone-white armguards that shimmered with a pale blue hue, showing that the quality of the item was indeed rare. The armguards were also decorated with an engraving of a hammer which was most likely a trademark of the boy's.
“That’s some nice handiwork Cole, I'm impressed,” Jamie whistled as he examined the piece of armor. With just a simple glance, Jamie could tell that the boy had come a long way on his path as a blacksmith since the last time they had met.
And upon hearing the man's praise, a wide grin appeared on the boy's face.
“Thanks!" Cole exclaimed, "I worked super hard on it for Rin!"
Jamie wryly smiled at the boy's outburst. The man was able to understand the boy's excitement as it reminded him of his own past and how he was also once a reckless youth. But on the other hand, the women thought the boy somewhat hopeless.
“Anyways, you want to wait for Rin with us? We were supposed to head out to a dungeon thirty minutes ago,” Merial explained to the boy.
“Sure, I can wait with you guys,” Cole replied.
But his response seemed a little subdued and this didn’t go unnoticed by Alana. She looked at the boy suspiciously before creeping closer to Jamie.
“What’s wrong with him?” Alana whispered into his ear.
“Hmm?” Jamie muttered and turned towards the boy.
Examining Cole, there didn’t seem to be anything odd about the boy other than the fact that he seemed somewhat excited.
“Maybe he wants to come with us,” Jamie whispered back to the healer.
Seconds later as if it was scripted by the author, Cole walked in front of the group.
“Can I come with you guys?” he asked.
Jamie looked at the healer with a slight smile.
“See,” he said.
But Alana had a frown on her face, she turned to the man and shook her head.
“He can’t, he’s just a kid. It won’t be safe.”
“It’ll be fine, don’t worry he’s a higher level than even me,” Jamie rebutted.
Not convinced, the healer used her identification skill on the boy.
[Blacksmith – lvl 44]
A look of surprise appeared in her eyes as she reappraised the black-haired kid in front of her. He looked to be small and scrawny – a sign of weakness, but his level told her otherwise.
“You... how did you...” the healer muttered.
“What?” Cole replied and tilted his head to the side.
He didn’t understand what the healer was trying to say as a look of confusion appeared on his face. Fortunately, Jamie was there to explain to the boy.
“She means how did you get to such a high level,” Jamie said.
“Yeah… how did you get that high?” Merial cut into the conversation, “You’re higher than me too.”
The elf had the same thought as the other two.
“My level? The boy giggled, “When I need materials for blacksmithing, I go into the dungeons and mine the ores. But if a monster comes-”
The boy paused for a moment before summoning a metallic hammer twice his size into his hand.
“I smash them with my hammer!”
Sweatdrops were visibly apparent on Jamie’s forehead as he watched the little boy swing around the hammer. It would’ve been comedic had Jamie not felt the power around every swing. It seemed that the boy had specced most of his stat points into the strength attribute.
“We could use a fifth person...” Jamie muttered and looked towards the healer.
Feeling his stare, Alana simply sighed.
“Fine... I guess he can come,” she compromised, “But you have to promise to keep him safe.”
Jamie smiled, “I promise, but we still have to wait for R-”
Suddenly, a dagger flew into the midst of the group and interrupted the man’s words. It landed right in front of his feet which caused him to narrow his eyes.
Thinking that an attack was launched on the group, he pulled out his pole and readied himself to counter. But what happened next made him stumble backwards in surprise.
“What the?!”
Right before his eyes, a white-haired girl suddenly appeared right in front of him.
“Rin!” Cole called out as he recognized the figure.
“Hey guys, I might have overslept a little,” the newcomer announced with a sheepish smile.
Rin looked around at the people around her and knew them to be people she was familiar with. Until her gaze fell on a certain blonde elven ranger. It was Merial, but the elf did not look happy in the slightest, instead a frown was placed on her face while her arms were crossed in front of her.
“Hi...?”
“You’re late, Rin. How long were you going to keep us waiting?” the elf asked.
“Um... haha.”
Not wanting to explain the events that had caused her to oversleep, Rin simply let out an awkward laugh.
“It’s fine,” the elf sighed, “But we should get going soon."
With those words, a rustling noise could be heard from the side as Alana helped Jamie up to his feet.
“Rin, glad you could make it,” he greeted the girl, “But you seem a little different?”
In response, the girl simply shrugged.
For some reason, the aura around the girl was entirely different than what it was just a couple days prior. He knew that she had leveled up as the last time he had seen her was when she was level 21. Now she was at 23. However, things didn’t add up, a discrepancy this large within the girl’s aura with only two levels shouldn’t be possible.
‘Maybe she was just hiding it,’ he thought.
With all he seen so far from the girl he had deduced that she was an enigma. Someone who could learn the language in just a few hours along with showing extreme combat prowess shouldn’t be judged by normal standards.
Shaking his head, he turned to the entire group, “I take it that everyone is ready?”
Rin and the other members of the group nodded in agreement and headed towards the guild’s exit, but Cole remained still.
Noticing this, Jamie walked over to the boy and knelt down to talk at the same level.
“What’s wrong Cole?” Jamie asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, but I still have to give this to Rin,” he replied, holding the box up in his arms.
“Nothing else?”
“Nope,” Cole shook his head as Jamie smiled.
“Okay, you go right ahead with the rest of the group. I just have to go grab something real quick,” Jamie said before walking back into the guild.
Looking at the back of the leaving man, the boy smiled as he held the box within his hands with a tighter grip. He couldn’t wait to give it to the girl that reminded him of a pretty rose.
“Wait for me!” Cole cried out and ran out of the guild hall.
While the group were walking along the streets of the city, they quickly realized that Jamie and Cole were missing.
“What happened to them?” the elf asked.
“Jamie likes to be extra cautious so I guess that he asked Cole to help him double check some things,” Alana replied.
“What a nerd...” Merial muttered before turning to the rest of the group, “I suppose we should just wait here for them, right?”
“Sure,” Rin replied.
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“Fine with me,” Alana agreed.
The group walked to the side of the street and sat down on a nearby bench situated in front of a café. Meanwhile, Cole had caught up to the group and immediately walked up to Rin.
“Here you go,” he presented the box to the girl.
Rin looked down from the bench and faced the boy with confusion in her eyes.
“What’s this for?” she asked.
“It’s the armor you commissioned.”
The girl frowned for a moment until she looked up at the air in realization.
“Ah... but wasn’t that just two days ago?” she questioned.
Rin thought that the boy would be finished in about a week and would pick it up at that time. She hadn’t expected that he would complete the task so quickly.
“Trust me, I worked super hard!” he said excitedly.
Cole opened the box to show what was inside as Rin leaned in closer to get a better look.
‘Oh wow, these are actually really good,’ Rin whistled in appreciation.
The equipment had come out as rare quality and granted quite a bit of stats, especially for a level twenty piece.
[Boreas Hornguards - (lvl 20 Rare Quality) - Armguards]
Crafter: Cole
Defense: 85 Durability: 100%
Agility: + 40
A pair of armguards handcrafted with the blood, sweat, and tears of the Blacksmith Cole who wanted to win the heart of a pretty flower.
‘How cute,’ Rin thought as she read the description and looked at the big-eyed boy.
She equipped the equipment and smiled at the feeling. Her total agility was now at 350 and as the armor was created out of bone, it offered durability as well as a large degree of freedom that wouldn’t be possible if it was made with a metal. Also due to how it was created, it was comfortable and fit quite snugly around her arm.
“Do you like it?” Cole asked.
“Yes, I do like it, thank you very much,” she thanked the boy and ruffled his hair, “But you didn’t have to work so hard for me you know.”
For some reason, the boy looked a little dejected at her words, but she didn’t think too much of it. Deciding that it was the perfect time, she scooted across the bench to have a chat with the healer.
“Alana, was it?” Rin asked as the healer nodded.
“I couldn’t believe it when Jamie told me you already learned to speak the language,” she said, “But now that it’s right in front of me, I guess I was wrong.”
Hearing this, Rin let out a slight chuckle.
“I just wanted to say thanks for healing my arm since I couldn’t tell you earlier,” she said.
“There's nothing to thank me for," Alana said simply. "Is it not my job to heal those in need?"
However, Rin knew it wasn’t just nothing. The injury was more than complex, and she had seen how the healer had toiled for over an hour to heal her arm without any sort of compensation.
‘Maybe something happened,’ she thought, examining the healer's face which had a tinge of angst.
Not wanting to pry, she created some space between the healer and herself before leaning back onto the bench. Unfortunately, she couldn’t relax because Jamie had just arrived and walked up to the group.
“Hey guys, there’s been a change of plans,” the man announced.
His words immediately caught the groups attention as their gazes turned towards the man.
“Since we now have Cole coming with us,” he took a glance at the boy, “We will now instead raid the level forty Magma Castle.”
Hearing his words, the group responded with a multitude of reactions. Merial and Cole both had grins of excitement, but Alana looked at the man with worry written all over her face.
“Are you sure?” the healer asked and looked at the Rin with the corner of her eye, “She’s only level 23.”
But the man responded with a smile.
“The average level of our group is enough with Cole,” he explained and turned towards Rin, “And I think that she’s more than capable.”
“It’ll be fine,” Rin smiled.
If she hadn’t received the large boost of strength yesterday, she might have thought it over. But in her current state, she would be able to match the strength of a level forty.
And there was also the fact that a stronger dungeon would be a better opportunity to test her strength.
“Alright then, I guess it’s settled.”
Getting off the benches, the group made their way through the city and soon arrived at the square clearing of the eastern city wall. Rin noticed it was designed like the northern gate she went to yesterday and the southern gate where she had first arrived at the city. The only difference was that it was bustling with activity.
Near where they were standing; travelers, merchants, and adventurers alike were heading into the city. While at the gate, many carriages and caravans were moving into and out of the city.
‘It sure is a busy city,” Rin thought, looking at the sight.
From what she had seen so far of the city, she already thought it quite large for the amount of lower leveled people. Usually, low level cities would be destroyed by monster attacks before they became this large. But it seemed that it wasn’t a problem for Rellea.
“Lots going on today right,” Merial tapped the girl’s shoulder.
Rin simply nodded in agreement as she surveyed the square.
A couple minutes had passed as the group silently watched the activity of the square. It was somewhat calming seeing the city flow, but unfortunately the group couldn’t enjoy it much longer.
Hearing someone approach, she turned her head to the side and saw Jamie who had left a couple of minutes prior. However, he returned to the group whilst holding a rope in his hand.
“What’s that for... oh,” Merial paused.
“Cool!” Cole exclaimed.
At the end of the rope, there was a brownish green creature attached to a harness that was effortlessly dragging a large carriage behind it.
‘A lesser Groundraken,’ Rin thought as she immediately recognized what it was.
[Lesser Groundraken – lvl 30]
HP: 100,000
The Lesser Groundraken were a species of Drake that primarily lived beneath the ground and had tough brown scales that intersected together like plated armor. Their heads were broad while their teeth on both jaws were sharp. However, the teeth on its lower jaw were much larger and would protrude out of the jaw and curl upwards.
These were the common characteristics of the Draken. But what separated the ground drakes from the others was that instead of four. The Groundraken has six strong and thick legs which enable them to burrow through rock to create their homes.
"A horse wouldn’t be able to get where we needed to go. So, we got this,” Jamie announced with a grin.
He placed his hand on the side of the drake and rubbed its scales. While the drake was seemingly enjoying it and let out a satisfied snort.
“Cute...” Alana muttered as she stared at the creature.
Jamie then walked towards the carriage in the back and started to prepare the vehicle for the journey. While Cole ran up to the lizard-like monster and jumped onto its back. Although the boy soon fell as the ground drake shook its mighty body in annoyance.
“Woah!” Cole exclaimed as he hit the ground.
“Don’t think it liked that,” Merial chuckled as she helped Cole to his feet.
However, the Groundraken didn’t spare the boy another glance as its yellow eyes were trained on the white-haired girl.
‘What’s its problem...?’
Growl...
The Drake started to growl towards her, but when she locked eyes with the creature it leered back in fear and lowered its head in submission.
“Hmm?”
The creature’s reaction left her a little confused, but she simply shrugged it off. Finding out why a mere drake was afraid of her wasn’t a priority at all.
“Okay guys let’s get going,” Jamie said and hopped into the driver’s seat.
Hearing his words, the party followed the man into the carriage while Rin hopped on top of the carriage roof, just like the day earlier. The rest of the party didn’t seem to have any qualms with her so she thought it would be fine and sat down.
“Alright, we’re setting off!” Jamie shouted from below.
Feeling the carriage start to move, Rin settled into a comfortable position and popped one of her remaining mana cores into her mouth. As she hadn’t had the chance to grab something to eat, the best she could do was eat the mana core to sate her hunger.
The journey was rather easy-going as the party members chattered away inside the carriage; with the occasional monster appearance being quickly dispatched by one of the ranger’s arrows through the window.
As for Rin, she remained sitting on the carriage and enjoyed the rushing winds while most of the chatter from the party was filtered out. However, a question from down below soon caught her attention.
“So how’s the orphanage doing?”
‘Orphanage...?’ Rin thought and drowned out the surroundings to focus on the conversation.
The voice was from the elf, but it wasn’t in her usual light-hearted tone. Instead, it was in a tone that Rin had only heard once. Tender... just like the time the elf had spoken about her sister at the café.
“It’s okay...” Cole muttered a short reply.
Jamie and Alana, who were also talking away at the front of the carriage both quieted down when they heard the boy’s voice.
For Rin, it wasn’t surprising that there would be an orphanage in the city as the economy was mainly driven by adventurers. She just hadn’t expected the cheerful boy to be one of them.
“Are you sure? It’s been a year since Granny died.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore, I left.”
Feeling the subject start to become a little awkward, Rin pulled out a cider and dangled her legs off the back of the carriage. She sipped on the drink for several minutes, listening to the conversation before Merial swung up the side of the carriage onto the roof and sat down next to her.
“Still drinking those?” she asked.
Rin replied with a nod as the elf pulled out a glass of her own. It was filled with a murky liquid that carried a bitter aroma. Ale.
“I’m gonna guess you heard everything,” Merial said as she took a swig from the alcohol.
Another nod.
“Well, it isn’t much of a secret,” the elf sighed, “But around a quarter of the city’s population is made up of orphans.”
“Then I assume that you’re all orphans?” Rin asked.
However, the elf responded to the question with a chuckle.
“Not exactly, I used to volunteer at the orphanage where Alana and Jamie used to work at. It was also where Cole was brought up.”
The elf’s words were simple, but from the tone of her voice it was different. It was the voice of a mother that would talk fondly about her children.
‘She’s older than she looks...” Rin thought.
It wasn’t unusual that Merial would appear to be younger than that of a human at the same age as the natural lifespan of their species was greater than that of a human. It was just that the elf didn’t quite act much older than a child...
“Anyways, the main caretaker was an old human that everyone used to call Granny. But ever since she died, the place wasn’t the same,
“By then, Jamie and Alana had already left and went along with their lives. But Cole and all the other kids had no one left,” Merial explained, “Although he didn’t seem to be as distraught as I thought, he’s handling it pretty good.”
“But why are you telling me this?” Rin asked as she tossed her empty glass into the forest.
She didn’t think that what the elf was saying was pertinent towards the dungeon nor were the two of them close enough to be talking about their pasts.
“Well, you’re basically like one of us. Right?” the elf asked before continuing, “You don’t seem to remember your parents and you ended up all alone in a city without even knowing the language.”
“I already told you I don’t ne-”
“I’m not asking for you to accept our help,” Merial interrupted, “I’m just saying that if you ever need it, you can come to us.”
Looking at the elf’s face, Rin found that she couldn’t refute anything and simply let out a conflicted sigh.
“Just think it over okay,” Merial assured.
“Alright,” Rin replied which brought a smile to elf’s face.
“Cool, I’ll be hopping back down now, enjoy the ride.”
Laying back on the carriage, Rin thought about the conversation as she looked up at the clouds through the gaps in the leaves. She initially hadn’t wanted to create any ties within this second life as she wasn’t very good with people. And she would much rather exploit others for her own personal gain. An unhealthy trait that she had picked up from Malkorn.
But here she was, sitting on top of a carriage filled with a party of strangers. Heading straight towards a dungeon and even talking like friends.
Friends.
A concept unknown.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad...” she murmured.
The carriage continued to travel in silence for several tens of minutes before the mouth of a lightless cavern swiftly came into view. It looked like they had finally arrived at their destination.
Entering the cave, Rin felt as the air grew in temperature while the once soft thudding of the drake’s claws was now echoing loudly off the walls. As for the darkness, Jamie had already brought out a lantern, presumably powered by a mana core and hung it on the carriage.
With the light being available, she could now see that the ground was rough and uneven. But it seemed that the drake had no problem traversing the terrain, it was in its natural element after all.
Continuing onwards through the cave system, the temperature of the air only continued to grow in temperature while the condensity of the ambient mana had reached its peak.
Despite being able to bear the heat, Rin decided to slightly activate her aura to offset the change in temperature. And after another five minutes, the carriage lurched to a stop.
“We’re here!” Jamie called out from the driver’s seat.
Before the carriage there was a blackened metal door that marked the entrance to the dungeon. However, it was also the source of all the heat as wisps of flames could be seen flickering, trying to escape through the edges of the door.
Jumping down from the carriage, Rin walked up to the door and inspected it. While the others exited the carriage and walked up beside her.
[Would you like to enter Magma Castle – lvl 40?]
As expected, a system prompt appeared before her eyes in the form of a familiar translucent screen. It was surreal to say the least.
Looking to the side, Rin could sense that the elf was either excited or maybe even a little agitated due to her fidgeting. The same was with Cole, but Alana looked to be anxious.
‘Too late now,’ Rin thought, looking at the healer with sympathy.
She knew having Alana in this kind of state posed a risk towards the party. But the number 49 that came up when she inspected the woman was more than enough to reassure Rin that it would alright. Anyone who was able to get to that level was enough to be called capable. Moreover, with her past experiences, she thought it wouldn’t be able to jeopardize the dungeon
Meanwhile, Jamie had secured the reins of the drake to a nearby rock to make sure it didn’t run off with their only way to return. But it didn’t seem to matter as the Draken promptly fell asleep, curling up into a ball.
“Right, everyone ready?”
After seeing that everyone had expressed their readiness with their nods, Jamie stepped forward and approached the dungeon's entrance.
[Would you like to enter Magma Castle – lvl 40?]
A message that Rin had already seen appeared before her eyes, but this time what came up wasn’t reminiscent memories. It was rather a sense of anticipation, for experience points and slaughter.
As the group accepted the system’s prompt, the blackened door swung open wide and the heat that was once sheltered away blasted the party at full force. Rin, however, simply extended her aura to comfort the party who silently expressed their gratitude.
With the door being gone, Rin’s view now extended beyond the entrance to reveal an enormous cavern containing a stone bridge that led to the gates of a large castle. While molten magma dripped from the ceiling, splashing into the sea of lava below.
"It’s going to be one hell of a day,” Jamie grinned and stepped forward.
The other members of the party followed suit and entered the dungeon one by one. Rin entered last, but just as she had placed both feet onto the stone bridge, a loud sound suddenly reverberated from behind them.
BANG!!
The dungeon door had slammed shut.