Damn it! Damn it!

I ran quickly through the early morning streets.

The stores around me were just starting to open up so the main road was mostly empty. Other than me, the store owners that were setting up, and the other adventurers there wasn't much in the way for me to get there on time.

I could already hear Chase lecturing me. I didn’t need to imagine it, I’d hear it soon anyway.

It wasn't odd for me to have woken up late. This morning was a bit different than the rest though. I woke up calmly and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, only to realize my stupid alarm clock never went off.

That's what you get for buying a secondhand clock with a wonky magic circle.

I ran into the shadow of the tower and looked up at it looming over me. I could never get used to the sight of the tower climbing up into the sky so high if there was a top it faded in the distance.

I was broke and mostly inexperienced when I first moved here a few years ago. Things went pretty well for me. I joined a small guild that only had one party to start, now we have enough members to form three if we wanted to. We cleared out low-rank dungeons and did a few requests from the material mines. It was a nice, easy life.

I came out of the shadows and saw my party waiting outside the guild hall.

Chase, my party leader, and our archer sighed heavily as I finally stopped in front of them.

Chase was a tall and built for archery. His arms were long, and his shoulders were solid. His hair was dark brown, his eyes a greenish blue. His bow was slung on his back.

His hand slid down his face after he hit himself.

Lukon, our mage, glared at me.

"Oi! Why are you late again?"

I laughed embarrassed, rubbing the back of my head.

Overly attractive people could be hard to look at sometimes. His long, dark, curly hair was tied back, mostly neat. A few strands were loose, but they sat too perfectly to be considered an accident. His emerald green eyes were almost demanding a proper answer.

"Sorry about that."

Lyra and Valera were supporting each other through laughs.

Lyra and Valera are both muscle-brained tall girls each with their own battle scars.

Lyra, our tank, was larger than Valera. She had her long sword strapped to her back, the harness like a back pack. The straps went over each of her shoulders. Her previously long red hair (she accidentally set it on fire in the last dungeon) was now cut almost to her scalp.

Armor wise she wasn’t too much of a fan. She said it got in the way when she was fighting. So she just wore a regular shirt, generally cheap since she’d get it covered in blood on each mission. And at this point she should replace her pants, they didn’t seem to fit her muscles anymore.

Valera had long straight black hair with bangs that sat above her eyes. Her armor was simple as well. She was a swordsman from her village and thought armor was too heavy. Her sword, which was her baby, was strapped at her side. The pants she always wore never made any sense to me. They were wide at the thighs and tight almost immediately after her knees. For someone who hated the weight of armor, her pants didn’t seem to support that.

Both of them generally annoyed Lukon since they refused armor. He ended up having to heal them more than he wanted to need to.

Lyra grinned at Lukon.

"Isn't it obvious? He didn't set his alarm clock."

Valera caught her breath between laughs.

"Didn't? I think he just slept through it. Remember that one dungeon we went in? He slept through a fight when our camp was overtaken by goblins?"

I heard a slap from Chase, another facepalm, as he turned away from us.

"Let's just get going, we're keeping the other party waiting."

I tilted my head confused.

"Other party?"

Lukon pulled me along by the front of my shirt and we started walking down the street.

"Yeah, the guild master just told us that the ranking of the dungeon went from a mid-rank E to a high E rank. Another guild offered to work together on it, so we're going in with them."

I felt Lukon's hand tense slightly before letting go of my shirt.

Lyra's posture collapsed with a moan and she started dragging her feet in front of me.

"I really hate working with other guilds, they always think of weird ways to split the rewards."

I looked over at Lukon but couldn't really tell what he was thinking by the look on his face, like normal. He fiddled with his staff before looking back at me.

"Quartz, just make sure you stay away from them, there's always the chance that they're merc."

I smiled awkwardly at him, giving a thumbs up.

Mercs or mercenaries were adventurers like us, but they would often do their best to get a better payout, no matter what. It would be horrible luck if they ended up being that.

I heard a chuckle and turned my head to see Valera's head face forward again.

"We just need to stick together and get through it."

When we arrived at the dungeon, the site was quickly blocked off with some easily put-up fences. The two signs that hung on the fence were clearly visible.

One stated the ownership of the dungeon, my guild “Wandering Pegasus”, and the sign-up sheet saying which party and the assisting guild, “Branded Shield”.

I would like to clarify that we voted many times to change the name, but we never got approval. Our guild master, Surge, is a total softy (though as a berserker who favored a battle hammer, so he didn’t look it) and thought it was best that we had a kind name. Despite the fact that it made it more obvious that our members’ rankings weren't all that high.

The other party was already at the portal. They were quite large in stature, and even with my inability to read people's faces well, I could tell they were not the kindest people.

There were five of them, three standing and two sitting on a large rock by the portal. The largest, with a great sword on his back (so I’m gonna say their Tank), traded his grin for a smile when they noticed us. The other two stood with him; one was an archer and the other had two one-handed axes. If they weren’t mercs they sure had a weird preference for weapons.

Chase waved at them as we walked over.

"Sorry, we're late."

The two sitting stood up at hearing this. One had a very disinterested look while the other seemed to find it difficult to stop grinning. The disinterested one was a swordsman like Valera, while the grinning one seemed to be an assassin type. He had two short blades strapped to his lower back.

The largest waved us over.

"Oh don't worry, let's just head in and clear it quickly."

Valera looked at the group, her hand playing with the hilt of her sword.

"You don't want to discuss how we split the rewards?"

The tank laughed softly, which seemed a little forced. and waved a hand as if dismissing her worry.

"I just figured whoever does the final strike gets the rewards if there is something, and we'll split the boss’s rewards."

Lyra glanced at Valera quickly, but her hand stiffly slid off her hilt.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"That should work."

"Great, let's head on in."

The tank turned and he and his party stepped through the portal first. We followed after giving them a few seconds of space.

Once inside, we heard the usual chime and I looked above to see the quest banner appear.

A glowing scroll floated ahead of us and slightly up in the air reading-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The War of two species

Completion Requirements:

Goblins 0/100

Ogres 0/100

Clan killed 0/2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking beyond the banner I could see a sprawling barren landscape with thick woods that led to mountains in the distance. The trees were bare but densely packed. There was an eeriness to the gray color of the soil and the fog, that seemed to be emanating from the forest.

The tank walked over to Chase and put a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Since there are two groups, why don't you take one and we take the other?"

Chase shoved his hand off, stepping back to gain some distance from the larger man.

"That will work."

The tank held up his hands as if to apologize, but there was something about his eyes that made me feel it wasn't one.

"Well there seems to be only one path, so let's head on it first."

Walking side by side with their party we headed into the woods.

Lukon managed to maneuver me so that I was furthest from the other party.

It hurt my pride that our support mage was being so considerate of me. But I couldn't say much, considering I was ranked lower than him.

I glanced around and saw how tense Lukon was clutching his staff. The other party seemed quite relaxed only glancing at our surroundings casually.

While dungeons weren't portals to another world, they contained Domains. They never seemed like it. It always felt like you could see off into the distance as far as you could in the real world. But walking through the woods right now, and only managing to see a few trees deep, was unsettling. The silence was also disconcerting—even in cave-type domains, there was some noise.

No one said a word and we soon arrived at a fork in the road.

Chase and their Tank, who had been walking side by side, looked at each other.

"We'll take the left and you'll take the right. If all goes well, we'll see you on the other side."

The Tank led his party to the left without a response from Chase. He took his bow off his back and watched until they seemed to disappear.

"Keep your eyes out. I can't trust them, that was too easy."

We headed down the right path. Valera and Lyra had their hands on their swords looking at the trees around them.

There was a crunching noise, then a shriek. I turn to see a goblin leap at Lyra. She quickly impales it on her sword. Its head slowly looks up at her before coughing up blood and going limp.

Lyra pushed it off with her foot nonchalantly but then looked at it closer.

Lukon headed over, I tailed behind him without thinking and looked down to see that the goblin was already covered in injuries.

Lukon crouched at its side, getting a closer look.

“Do you guys think ogres would have let it go like this? And these injuries don’t seem to be from any weapons.”

Chase came over closer as Lyra and Valera took stances looking at the trees.

“No, something’s weird. The trial called it a war, but we’ve been walking for quite a while, and we’ve only seen one goblin.”

I felt a shiver up my spine and turned around quickly but I saw nothing.

Lukon stood up next to me.

“You, okay?”

“Yeah, I don’t know, it just felt like someone was watching us.”

I heard Chase take an arrow out of his quiver.

“I really hope the other party isn’t actually mercs.”

“Why would they kill us if there aren’t any rewards to steal? Wouldn’t it be more obvious?”

Valera sighed, taking a few steps down the path.

“Because that means to them, we’re the only ones that can give them items.”

We continued our hike further into the dungeon coming across a few burnt trees, but not another monster body. The ground itself had dried blood stains and deep gouges from weapons.

The path started to head downhill and soon the goblin encampment came into view.

The huts were almost all but destroyed. The few still standing had large gaping holes in the walls that were surrounded by scorch marks. The place was littered with dead goblins and even a few hobgoblins, which weren't in the dungeon description.

Lukon walked past me crouching down at another body.

"The dungeon really is broken, I wonder what did this?"

He looked up and around at the bodies. Chase turned around quickly after looking at the body of a hobgoblin.

"Fuck, we need to get back to the gate and get out!"

I heard Valera grunt, turning just in time to see her cut an arrow out of the air.

We all turned to the tree line the arrow came out of and the other party walked out.

I could feel waves of killing intent that you would normally feel coming off of a boss monster. I pulled out my sword with shaky hands and stood next to Lukon.

The tank laughed loudly as he walked ahead of the rest.

"We can't leave here without gaining something, and it looks like you guys are the only ones with a prize."

Chase notches an arrow aiming at the tank's head.

Lyra sighed, stretching her arm before pulling out her sword.

"You were right Chase, these bastards really have no class."

Their archer's twisted face twitched, making me grip my sword tighter.

"No class?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Lyra glared.

"Yeah, that's the nicest way to describe merc bastards like you."

Lukon gripped his staff firmly, stepping next to me.

"What do you think will happen after you fight us huh? Something in here killed all the monsters but there hasn't been a message that the quest has been cleared."

I looked at him confused, why was he trying to reason with them?

"He's right, for all you know even if you kill us, who's to say you can even get out of here alive with our gear?"

Chase too? Was I missing something?

The tank shrugged, "I doubt there's anything in here that would kill us."

Lyra got into a stance bracing to attack.

"No use talking to them anymore"

I watched as she charged at them, swinging her sword hard. It clashed with the Tank’s.

Arrows start flying from both Chase and their archer.

I did my best to knock any flying towards Lukon out of the air as I heard him start his chants.

Valera's sword glowed green with Lukon's spell as she slammed her sword into the axes of their fighter.

Suddenly I felt a burning sensation and then I fell to the ground screaming in pain. My hands dropped down and I looked to see my leg missing. If I even had the time to feel the ripped flesh, I assumed was there I wasn’t too sure because I quickly felt more searing pain in my left arm.

I heard Lukon shout my name and I looked up at him to see his face contorted in horror.

I saw a blur run past me.

"Lukon!"

I heard a grunt and saw Chase's hand on an arrow in his chest. Then look back to Lukon.

He managed to block the assassin's blade with his staff.

"There's no way you guys are E-rankers."

I heard a low menacing laugh from the assassin.

"Oh, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you now."

He pulled his blade out taking a few steps back quickly.

"We're all D rank, you were dead the minute we got here."

He lunged forward and I watched terrified as he easily slashed through Lukon's staff and chest. He slipped around him and planted his blades into his back.

"A mage had no chance against an assassin class."

"No!"

I tried crawling over to him desperately. Valera got there quickly impaling the assassin on her blade.

"You're much too cocky for a D rank."

She pushed him off pulling his pack and grabbing a healing potion.

"Lukon take this."

She dumped it on his chest quickly before charging back toward the enemy.

There was a hearty deep laugh and I turned to see a crazed smile on the tank's face.

"Good, good! It wouldn't be any fun if you couldn't fight back. It'll be nice to get some entertainment before we kill you."

I managed to get closer to Lukon, though I didn’t know how I managed it.

I looked around to see the ax wielder already on the ground.

Lukon stared at me with a look I never expected to see on his face.

"Give me a sec, I'll heal you."

Despite the seriousness of my injuries, I knew Chase was more important if anyone is going to get out of here alive.

"No! Help Chase first."

I managed to rip off my belt with my right arm and tried to cut off the bleeding of my left arm. Even though I wanted him to head to Chase, Lukon quickly tightened it around my arm for me. He looked at me, hesitating but headed off to Chase dodging arrows as he ran.

Lyra pulled aggro for us to get the Tanker’s attention. An arrow landed in Lukon's leg as he made it to Chase. He forced through the pain and began to chant to heal Chase. A green glow started at Chase’s chest wound.

Good, Chase was the most level-headed, he’d be able to do something.

The arrows stopped flying and I saw Valera standing over his body, panting blood dripping from her blade. She didn't have time to rest as their swordsman finally made a move. Their swords clashed.

I thought things were going surprisingly well but then I heard a shout and saw Lyra’s body impaled on the Tank's great sword.

"Just because you have one good swordsman doesn't mean you'll get out of this alive. How's the poison effect feeling right now?"

I turned to see Chase panting above a collapsed Lukon. The arrow was out of his chest but not out of Lukon's leg, I stared at him looking for any sign of movement. I saw a light glow which relieved me a little, and I looked back at the tanker who was laughing.

"You lasted pretty long it seems, but that mage. Poison's a bitch ain't it."

As Chase fell to one knee, I turned to see Valera and the swordsman on equal footing crossing swords.

"I haven't had a match this good in a while. She's mine, you can have the rest of them."

"Fine, have it your way."

The tank gripped his sword pulling it out of Lyra, about to charge when a ding sounded out.

I looked up to see a banner, its glowing letters read “The trial is completed, exit transport will commence’'

I looked down but didn’t see myself start to teleport. I looked around and saw the last glimpses of Valera, the swordsman, Chase, and Lukon enveloped in a light. The tanker yelled as his sword flew towards Chase. I felt relief and looked up at the sky.

At least they made it out.

I heard the Tank yell in aggravation. I don’t know why he was still here but served the bastard right.

I could still feel the throbbing, searing pain where his blade slashed off my limbs. It was almost all I could focus on, the pain and the lightheadedness from blood loss.

I just stared up at the sky watching the clouds slowly move across it.

Could I even call it the sky?

The word dungeon would imply an enclosed space, so would what I was looking at be the ceiling then?

But ceilings can be touched at a certain point and this one really felt like the sky. The clouds were soft and fluffy like the outside world. The light slowly faded as the sun was setting. The stars slowly became visible. I wasn’t sure if it was happening quickly or if I had just watched it for a while. I opted for quickly, I mean I was bleeding out how could it have been a while?

It was quite a nice view, all things considered.

I had a decent life I'd thought, met some good people, and had some not-too-hard adventures. Though this one definitely strayed from the average dungeon raid.

What a strange turn of events and this morning started like normal too.

Ahhhhh the pain was almost gone at this point, maybe that means I’d be gone soon.

I slowly closed my eyes...

It’s nice to know it wasn’t as painful as I thought it’d be.

…

…

…

…

…

I heard a yell, then a garbled scream.

Damnit! I thought I was going to have such a peaceful end to it all.

I heard an excited voice but I couldn’t seem to understand what was being said.

There was a break in the noise, then I thought I heard footsteps around me.

Fucking hell! How long was it going to take for me to die?!

I opened my eyes. I could see the stars more clearly now. Seriously?! Why wasn’t I dying yet?

My vision started to darken.

Oh good, there it is. Finally.

I felt my consciousness fade as I heard another ding ring out.