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You have Entered the Dungeon
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Kibo took his first step into the dungeon only to be greeted by endless chilling darkness. Loose stone littered the floor as he felt the uncomfortable feeling under his boots. The only thing you could hear was the sound of dripping water, but suddenly he was blinded by a light.
Ryzeu whispered, “Just stay behind us Kibo, and don't worry. We will scout out ahead and call you once we are ready.”
He nodded in confirmation and the rest of them went off ahead, the light slowly got smaller and smaller as they ventured deeper into the tunnel, and before he knew it they had disappeared. Blinded once again he touched the sides of the walls and felt the jagged and uneven rocks protruding from each side.
Not being able to see anything he only knew that he was in a narrow tunnel inside of a cave, and the portal behind him quickly darkened to signal that you can’t return to the safety which you came from.
Chills crawled up his spine as he became desperate to call out Zana, but he knew she wouldn’t fit in this tunnel. Even knowing this, he considered it as he slowly stepped into the darkness. His heart started to beat quicker.
The cave had an earthy smell to it which was to be expected but it was mixed with something metallic. He tried to identify it, but he couldn't get his head around it, so he ignored it. He continued to carefully take small steps forward, one by one.
As he slowly travelled further down the tunnel, he saw the distant light which had disappeared at the end of the tunnel returning, it slowly grew larger and larger until it was before him.
“Kibo, we found the path to where the Goblins are residing. It’s easy to get lost in this cave because it's made up of a network of narrow tunnels and caverns varying in size. On our way, we had to take out a small group of goblins quietly using arrows since we were going to get caught. Let’s quickly hurry over and finish this dungeon.” Ryzeu explained.
Feeling a sense of reassurance from the warmth the light gave off, and along with being surrounded by Gold-ranked adventurers, it slowly calmed his rapidly beating heart. Kibo nodded his head.
They stayed quiet as they followed the path they had memorised.
“Watch your step.”
Just before Ayane had mentioned that Kibo had nearly stumbled over something. His foot had gotten stuck behind an object which was soft yet hard, he slowly looked down and panicked. An ugly goblin laid dead in front of him with an arrow stuck in its forehead, and it wasn’t alone. Four more laid dead nearby and the blood started to pool into the centre and the familiar metallic smell came back to him.
‘Could it have been from the blood? It’s possible.’ Kibo thought. Soon after, Ryzeu stopped everybody with a hand signal.
Ryzeu looked back and whispered, “There’s goblins around the corner, five of them!”
They all leaned against the wall and turned off the light, hoping the goblins would pass them.
However, Ayano had realised this wouldn't work because the goblins had brought their own torch to light the path ahead and once they see the dead bodies of their own they would also be caught. Ayano whispered to Ryzeu and he nodded his head.
Ryzeu came over to Kibo and mentioned, “This is a good time for you to watch how Gold-ranked Adventurers take out goblins. Quickly let’s get behind Ayano and Ayane.”
They all moved further back into the tunnel and they both hid behind the two sisters who had their bows ready to fire.
The flame flickered from the torch onto the walls as it slowly arrived closer to the intersection off the narrow tunnels. A group of footsteps could be heard, and as they arrived they had noticed their dead comrades. They panicked but what seemed like the leader of the group had smiled and quickly picked up the loot of their fallen brothers.
“Disgusting creatures.”, Ayano muttered. She looked towards Ayane and she returned a nod.
Ayano calmed her breathing and she took slow deep breaths in, and then out. She closed one of her eyes to focus better out of habit but in the darkness, it was a futile attempt. She naturally relied on her other senses which were nurtured with years of experience. In those brief moments, she pinpointed the targets and chanted.
“Torrent Blast!”
The arrow fired as water started to spiral around the arrow for it to converge at the tip of the arrow. It flew through 3 goblin heads before it blasted through the fourth one’s shoulder leaving a gaping hole. All four dropped dead as the wooden torch rattled onto the ground, the flame still flickering on to the cave walls.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
The final one panicked and just before he could run, Ayane had already chanted her spell ‘Wind Hail’. The arrow’s speed was boosted by wind magic as it pierced through the air which extinguished the flame on the torch for it to strike the back of the goblin’s head. You could hear a body slam on to the ground as it fell behind the corner.
Silence fell back upon the tunnel and the chilling darkness had quickly reclaimed its once lost surroundings. But it was short-lived as Ayane had restarted her skill which brought a small orb of light in front of her.
Light gathered in Ryzeu’s eyes as he looked towards Kibo, he constantly raised his eyebrows expecting him to be amazed.
Kibo thought, ‘That was disappointing, they had only used Tier-2 spells and quickly dispatched the weak enemies. I was expecting some epic fight but I guess I was asking for too much from goblins.’ Seeing the ridiculous expression on Ryzeu face, he smiled back.
Ryzeu innocently accepted his smile and then gathered everybody into a circle. He had started to describe the plan on how to deal with the large cavern, which was the main base for these ugly goblins.
“Okay guys here’s the plan since we had already scouted out ahead, we had noticed a crevice within the walls that's large enough for a slim person to fit inside. I want Kibo to hide in there.”
Kibo becomes confused at why they want him to hide, but he continues to listen.
“Ayano and Ayane will head into the cavern and grab their attention, the goblins will think they are helpless girls that have gotten lost and will chase after them. Once they get behind me again, they will chant their spells and wipe out the entire group of goblins. Kibo will escape into the large cavern to bring out his summon and from there we just kill any remaining goblins, sounds good?”
Ayano and Ayane nod their heads in agreement knowing what Ryzeu had asked them to do, however, Kibo is still confused and thought.
‘They expect me to hide in a small crevice in a wall and hope the goblins rushing by won’t notice me? And once they have all run by, I run into the large cavern which they all reside in all by myself? What if there are stronger goblins left behind? Only Zana can protect me and there are only so many targets she can fight at once.’ He started to worry until he felt a warm feeling on his shoulder followed by a quiet but cute voice.
“You can do it, I believe in you!”
Kibo looked back over his shoulder and noticed Ayane was holding onto his shoulder and he saw a smile behind her mask.
“Pfft, I’m worrying for nothing”, if she's this confident then I have nothing to worry about.
“Let’s go!”
All four of them move into their positions.
The sisters had hidden their bows within their cloaks and casually walked up to the opening of the large cavern and saw at least 30 to 40 goblins inside doing different tasks. They were stood there as not a single goblin had noticed them yet. Ayano realising this had quickly thought up an idea.
She got closer to her sister until she abruptly hugged her from behind and started to breathe down her neck. This led to Ayane squirming as she let out a slight shriek. She panicked and covered her mouth but it was already too late. One by one you could see the attention of the goblins head towards the girls who had just arrived at their front door.
Ayano skillfully pretended to moan in pain as she slumped her body even further on Ayane's back to act like she was injured. The goblins began to smile as they pulled out their small knives, but just before they could grab the girls. The sisters had quickly turned around and ran back into the tunnel.
Ugly laughter could be heard from the crowd along with footsteps being echoed within the tunnels. All the goblins had made a mad dash towards them as they pushed one another. Like it was a competition to see who could get their hands on them first. They all ran past Kibo who let out a sigh of relief.
As the girls rushed by Ryzeu the goblins were slightly startled to see a person with a sword waiting for them, which momentarily halted them in their tracks. This was more than enough time for Ayano and Ayane to spin back around and chant their joint spells.
“Infernal Flare!”
Two arrows followed by a trail of fire flew past the sides of Ryzeu's head who felt a slight warmth sensation travel from the back of his head to his nose. It lit up the tunnel more than ever before as the flames flickered onto the walls.
Not soon after the arrows pierced over a dozen heads each before it exploded into two small fireballs burning up the corpses in the process leaving only ashes floating in the air.
Kibo hearing the flames and sensing the heat, quickly freed himself from the crevice and ran into the large cavern, which was being partially lit up by the lanterns. They were placed randomly on crates which decorated the outer walls of the cavern. In the centre was a campfire which provided much of the creepy ambience in the cavern.
Kibo then heard something hit the floor and panicked.
“Awaken!”
Black and blue smoke quickly spewed out of the ground in front of him and a large beast which camouflaged itself well within the darkness appeared.
“Zana, kill anything which wants to hurt me!” He commanded.
The majestic beast bowed her head before an ear-shattering roar was amplified by the echoes within the cavern to let everyone know they are in the presence of a mighty being. The few goblins who had survived the Infernal Flare and were running back towards the cavern froze in place out of shock.
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50% of the Dungeon has been Cleared.
Do you wish to exit now?
Y/N
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Ryzeu smirked as he rejected the message which the team leader got, noticing this chance he leapt forward swinging his blades precisely within the narrow tunnels, crisscrossing between the walls, each swing slicing a head off a goblin’s body, sending blood splattering onto the walls on each side. It almost looked like a choreographed dance as he smiled and decapitated the goblins.
Meanwhile back inside the cavern, Kibo was disappointed that he couldn't find a Goblin Lord for his summon to kill. He had then started to kick around loose pebbles while waiting for Zana to finish up her slaughter. She had been leaping around striking any remaining goblin with her large claws.
As Ryzeu arrived at the entrance of the cavern he became enthralled by Zana’s performance and as he turned to look towards Kibo, he panicked and shouted, “Watch out!” He tried leaping towards Kibo, and the summon also noticed and tried to race back towards him.
Kibo who wasn’t paying attention quickly looked behind his shoulder and noticed a goblin lunging a dagger directly towards him.
Everything slowed down for him as he saw his life was in imminent danger, he unconsciously activated his skill ‘Leap’ without a break which sent him flying towards the wall at the skill’s max distance. Crashing him into the jagged walls as he collapsed on to the ground.
Zana growls as she leaps towards the final goblin and tears him into half as she lets out a final roar to signal their victory.
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Dungeon Cleared Successfully
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You have received [22] Low-Tier energy stones.
Ryzeu ignored the messages and raced over to Kibo as he checked on him. Ayano and Ayane who were slightly behind, noticed Ryzeu clutching Kibo and panicked. They both raced over and their faces deformed as they saw Kibo’s head covered in blood.