“Hey, Kid. Are you lost?” A stout guard blocked the way as a small figure made his way up the stairs towards the side entrance. A youthful face stared out from beneath the hood. “If you want to get in, you’ll have to wait in line like the others, you know?”
“Erm… actually-”
“I haven’t seen your face from around here, but even if you’re a friend of one of the major family scions, I can’t really let you in, you see. If you want to get in, you’ll have to wait in line like the others.” The guard pointed towards the main entrance, where the line was long enough to stretch ten meters beyond the stairs. There were a few people that shot Airen unfriendly gazes for trying to cut the line.
“But-”
“Kid, I’m losing my patience here.” The guard started to grow annoyed. “Even employees can’t enter this door, and it’s reserved for VIPs. Unless you have-”
Airen held up the pitch black card that he had received the prior night when Cordellia had came up unannounced.
“My apologies, sir. Please go on in.” A cold chill went down the guard’s spine as soon as he saw the card. Black signified someone that had direct connections to the Irona family, and he had been quite rude due to Airen’s stature and clothing.
“I brought someone with me. Is that fine?” Airen asked.
“I-Is the person you speak of registered to this card?”
“I don’t think so. I only received this card a little while ago.”
“Then excuse me for say so, but to do so requires the express permission of someone from the Irona house…”
“I see… well it can’t be helped then. May I speak with Miss Cordelia?”
“Certainly-” The guard waved towards one of the servants loitering near the main entrance, however right before he could call out, a figure stepped out from the shadows of one of the pillars.
“That won’t be necessary.” Eullina nodded to the guard and told Airen. “If you’re here on business for Keri, then there’s no helping it.”
Airen had spun a story how his ‘mentor’ was using him as a correspondence. “As long as you’re not running around wooing girls, then I’ll look the other way...”
More cold sweat poured down the guard’s back as the two kids in front of him bickered back and forth. One had casually pulled out a Black Pass from the Irona family, while the other had escaped his detection until she had made herself known.
“I guess I’ll return to the campus and make breakfast.” Eullina shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave.
“...Please don’t touch the kitchen. Also, I don’t know how long it’ll take me, since I’ll be doing some more shopping for our dungeon expedition.”
“I can do the shopping.” Eullina offered.
“The last time I sent you to buy some rice, you came back with a bottle of honey, some soap, and even an entire roasted calf! I gave you ten silver coins, and a 1kg bag of rice is only one silver coin, yet you used it all up!”
“Eh, why does it matter, you can store it away anyway...” Eullina frowned. “Plus, it tasted good.”
“That’s not the point here!”
“Fine, fine. I’ll just go train as usual.”
“Yes. Please do that.” Airen sighed, relieved.
With that, Eullina gave a loud ‘harrumph’ and walked away.
“...Sorry about that.” Airen apologized to the guardsman for making a scene.
“Ah, it’s nice to be young. I have two kids that argue just like you two.” The others guardsman nodded. “Please, this way.”
Upon following a lavish hallway decorated with paintings and elegant statues, Airen finally came to a door. Airen was just a bit nervous as Fieluri had told him to go alone, and swallowed his saliva as he worked up the courage to push the door open. However as he reached for the handle of one of the large red and golden doors, it opened from the other side.
“Ah, there you are. I was afraid you had gotten lost.” A feminine voice called out to Airen, and he turned to see Cordelia smiling at him. “You must be a bit nervous, it is your first time here, no?”
“Ah I- yeah. It is.” Airen nodded, quickly catching himself. “Neäir aske- I mean, told me to do a few things for him, and have a look at the next auction.” There was some truth in his words, Fieluri did have a bit of business here.
“I see.” Cordelia clapped her hands together. “But I’m afraid the next Grand Auction won’t be on for another month. Why don’t you come in and tell me about what you’re looking for? Our Irona family also operates as a bank and a merchant hub after all.”
Cordelia pushed open the door for Airen, and he saw that within was a VIP lounge room. Two groups of male attendants were waiting on two middle aged ladies, serving them exquisite food and wine, while four groups of female attendants were serving four large men that exuded the air of sloth and aristocracy. Airen’s eyes turned away when he realized that half of them were fondling the attendants, and the other half were engaged in more primal wordly pleasures.
Cordelia’s eyes did not miss the action, and she smiled a bit to herself.
“If you’d like, we can use a private room.”
Airen nodded. Some of the scenes and sounds in the room were a bit beyond his comfort zone even though Eullina’s stories had warned him about the depths of depravity of slave owners. Cordelia smiled knowingly and they started to circle around the room towards the other side, where a series of silver-gilded doors were lined up.As they walked, several glances from the pampered aristocrats shot over, not familiar with his figure. One man, who had a belly as wide as half his height, called out.
“Cordelia, who is this man for you to personally escort? I don’t seem to recall myself receiving such treatment from one of the ladies of the house?” He pushed away the attendant that was feeding him grapes with a flabby hand and called out. Cordelia stopped in her tracks, and Airen followed suit.
“An acquaintance of the man who bought nearly two thousand gold coins worth of items in the last auction. Mister Shariah.” Cordelia replied with a pained smile. Although she had wished to avoid trouble, she could not outright ignore the people in this VIP lounge room. “Perhaps your wife, Lady Jonica, had spoke to you about it?”
“Ah, the man who bought the Fairy Gown.” Shariah’s eyes that resembled a pigs turned to Airen, glancing at his commoner’s clothes and body as if looking at merchandise.
“So that man has that sort of interest, huh? Boy, if your master is fond of young boys, you can tell him that Shariah can sell him some ‘merchandise’ at a reasonable price. I can assure you their quality, and we can work together to build a beneficial relatuonship.”
It took a moment for Airen to realize the meaning behind his words.
“Mister Shariah-” Cordelia started to reprimand him, but her words did not reach Airen’s ears.
“I’ll let him know what sort of foul mouthed pathetic excuse of a human you are. Do you have no shame?” Airen shot back. His words caused the entire room to come to a standstill as the other patrons glanced over at him. Shariah’s guards stood up from the seats behind him and placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons.
“You… what did you just say?” Shariah’s suppressed voice broke the deathly silence.
“The truth.” Airen replied. He pulled back his cloak and placed his hand on the hilt of his weapon. To the others it was simply a gesture, but to Cordelia, who saw that the weapon was in fact the imitation Cyclone Ringblade, quickly guessed at the relationship between this youth and the mysterious man called Neäir.
“Airen, for big sister’s sake, would you please put your weapon away?” Cordelia asked him before turning to Shariah.
“Mister Shariah, as the one who insulted Mister Airen first, surely you are not intending to start a fight here and sour relations with the Irona House?”
“This is an insult!” Shariah exclaimed. “I have always been a faithful patron of the Irona family, and I offered an opportunity to do business!! I demand to know the reason why I am being admonished instead of this ‘boy’!”
Before Airen could respond in kind, Cordelia used an arm to hold him back.
“Because I personally, have given this ‘boy’ a black pass and I have deemed his value to be greater than yours in the long run.” With that, Cordelia nodded curtly, and walked away while pulling Airen.
“You- you- WHORE!” Shariah shouted at the two’s retreating backs. Airen was sorely tempted to try out his recently obtained Wakki Stars on him, but held back his anger. Seeing that the two simply ignored him, Shariah stood up, but was promptly stopped by his guards. Even though they knew their master had a temper, it would not be wise to start trouble with the Irona house..
“My apologies.” Cordelia bowed as the two of them got settled in one of the private rooms. Despite being a ‘private’ room, it was rather large, with a king sized bed and even a bathroom. In a corner was a shelf filled with expensive drinks. “I did not think Shariah would be so brazen as to question me, it seems that his recent windfall had made him rather bold.”
“Will he cause any trouble?” Airen hesitated before asking, thinking that he have acted a teensy bit rashly, but only a teensy bit.
“No.” Cordelia shook her head. “The man is a boorish brute, but his guards and advisers are smart enough not to pursue the matter, especially after finding out that your teacher holds a black card and paid two thousand gold easily. If anything, there will be those that will try to find information about Neäir.”
“I see.” Airen nodded. Luckily, Airen always changed into ‘Neäir’ when Fieluri wants him to do something, and he did so within the Archive. Unless he, or Fieluri wanted to, nobody could figure out the truth of the alias ‘Neäir’.
“That aside, how can big sister help you today?” Cordelia crossed her legs revealing a bit of skin, perhaps intentionally.
“A friend of my teacher wanted to try selling a painting.” Airen opened a rift in front of Cordelia and one of Keri’s paintings, The Spring of Fireflies, slowly deposited itself on the ground.
Cordelia was rather surprised about the rift, but made no move to ask about it. During her time here she had seen all sorts of magic, and she recalled legendary magical items that could compress items and store them within its confines. However, none of them were capable of storing something as large as a painting of this caliber. Still she could only guess to how this mere boy had access to such a rare artifact.
“Do you have someone that can appraise the worth of this?” Airen asked hesitantly.
“Of course, I can have someone over who can appraise it.” Cordelia nodded. In her eyes, the frame was rather bland, but the painting itself was eye catching.
Airen thought for a moment before responding. “There’s no need, Neäir said I could leave it to you to sell it.”
“It is good that your teacher trusts me.” Cordelia laughed, covering her mouth with a hand. “Has he said anything about my invitation?”
“He said that he would decline.” Airen returned Fieluri’s words, but held back from saying the rest where Fieluri said Airen himself should attend. Eullina would probably never let him live it down she found out he had a one-on-one dinner with someone like Cordelia.
“A shame. I will help prepare the painting to be presentable and try to get your teacher’s friend an appropriate bid. You are aware of our 20% cut of the profit correct?”
“Neäir said that according to the research, 20% is too high.”
“That is true, it was a bit of a gamble giving him, a first time customer, a black card after all. Then how about 15%?” Cordelia replied while apologizing. She had the feeling that Neäir had already told Airen what the proper rate was, but it was worth a shot. In her eyes, Airen holding the imitation weapon was more than enough to confirm her suspicions.
“10% is the normal cut.” Airen replied, remembering what Fieluri told him after consulting the Stonewall Academy’s history records. “However, Neäir said that the 20% rate is acceptable.. under certain conditions.”
“Certain conditions?” Cordelia echoed Airen’s words.
“He wants 10% to be paid for the normal auction cut, and the other 10% to go to you directly.” Airen murmured.
Cordelia’s eyes frowned, but recovered instantly. “That’s quite generous of him… however what does he want of me?” She did not think Neäir did this because he fancied her, there had to be some sort of small print in the contract.
“Well, he wants you to act as the middleman of the Irona house, just as I am his middleman. He doesn’t really like dealing with people, you see.” Airen relayed Fieluri’s wishes.
“Is that all?” Cordelia’s eyes brightened. This was favorable for her as she had already planned to be the sole correspondence for Neäir after seeing his actions during the prior Grand Auction.
“And of course, he would like you to find and buy things occasionally…along with some other miscellaneous things.”
“I will do what is within my power. That, I can promise.”
“Ah, also I was looking to sell this. Airen handed over the imitation Cyclone Ringblade. Neäir gave it to me but I’m not a wind element mage so-”
“I understand.” Cordelia made a mental note to shear down some of the bearings on the hilt before selling it, otherwise some may recognize it. It may be a bit troublesome, but it was something brought on by themselves. “Is there anything else you want to sell?”
“Actually I need to buy a few things.” Airen rubbed his head. “Not related to Neäir of course.” He handed over a piece of parchment. “Please deposit the money into my account, and use the funds from there to purchase these items. I’ll have to bother you to find a place to store them before I pick them up.”
Cordelia unrolled the parchment and glanced over the items.
“Are you planning to build a mansion?”
----------------------------------------
“Is this really necessary?” Rureya hid behind Eullina as the two of them, as well as Airen who had met up with them after his little errand, were in a queue to get into a League of Adventurer branch. “What’s the point of registering as an adventurer when we’re just going training inside a dungeon?” Airen echoed her sentiment. After his stressful ordeal, he had wanted to go into the Archive and consult Fieluri about his plans. Although on the exterior he was relatively confident in dungeon exploring after several consultations with Keri, he couldn’t help but harbor second thoughts.
“Eh, it’s a good place to gather information on a dungeon. Also becoming a high ranked adventurer makes it easy to get around. There’s also all sorts of odd jobs by military that they can’t be bothered to deal with, and they pay decently. I heard in some places that you can hire mercenaries too!”
Airen nodded. Information was good, and he could almost hear Fieluri lecturing him on the power of information. Being able to get around is also a relatively large boon, especially when he finally grows strong enough to return to the Kingdom of Macha and search for his sister. As for odd jobs, however, Airen doubted that he would need any money for a while thanks to the Irona family house and Fieluri pawning off his weapon without his consent. As for mercenaries… Airen did not trust them.
Just as he thought about this, the line had thinned down and they were near to the front, and they could finally see the insides of the large office. There were ten cubicles where one of the employees would meet and deal with the customers. Airen was rather surprised that nearly half of the customers did not look like individuals from the Red Slate Republic, with different skin tones and attire. Some of them also sported animal qualities, signifying that they had magical beast blood in their veins.
“Next!” As a party of two armored woman left, a male worker waved over at the three of them.
“Apologies for the delay.” The brown-haired man sighed as he offered three seats to them before returning to his desk. “Ever since someone found the path to the fifth floor of the Petrified Dragon’s Crypt, there’s been an endless stream of adventurers requesting to be part of the exploration squad. I’m Zuan. How can I help you three today?”
“We are planning on exploring the Valrock Ruins on Flidas, and we figured we may as well sign up to be adventurers first.” Eullina replied.
Zuan looked at the three of them thoroughly. “How old are you the three of you?”
“Fourteen.” Airen replied.
“Fifteen here.” Eullina appended.
“I… I’m thirteen.” Rureya said quietly.
“Well... Then I’ll have someone to give the three of you a simple combat test.”
“There’s a test?” Eullina’s eyebrows twisted together. “I didn’t hear about this.”
“It’s a relatively new policy you see… Some higher ups didn’t want children to sign up. There were lots of deaths of children around your age because they wanted to play adventurer. No offense of course, but even I would feel guilty if one of you died because of it.”
“None taken.” Airen replied. He thought that this was actually rather considerate of them.
“Of course, if the three of you are graduates from Stonewall or any related academy, you can simply pass me the affiliation card, and we can skip it.” Zuan said hopefully.
“Ah, we’re enrolled there, but we have yet to graduate.” Eullina gestured to the three of them, except she had to step aside to reveal Rureya.
“Well then. If the three of you would kindly follow me...” Zuan stood up and ushered them towards the back of the office where the stairs were. They descended into the basement, and Zuan stopped before one of the larger doors and knocked.
“Ittai? There’s people that we need to you hold an exam for.”
A moment later, the door opened and an aged man stared back at them. His hair was unruly and gray, but the muscles on his arms made it obvious he was someone that have lived through many years of combat. The shaft of a spear was protruding from behind him.
“Eh, he’s blind?” Eullina could not hold back her astonishment.
Ittai chuckled. “Kids huh? From the magic energy emitted from you two, one is around sixteen, and the other is around thirteen? So the two of you want to become adventurers?”
“Three of us actually.” Eullina pointed out, seeing that Airen was not mentioned.
“Eh?” Ittai seemed to be shocked. His eyebrows furrowed as his face drew closer to Airen’s, stopping mere inches away and turning into a frown. His pale white eyes crinkled up, and after a few tense minutes, he finally retreated. “You… you don’t give off any magical aura. What is the matter with you?”
“Ah, Airen has heritage magic.” Eullina quickly explained. “It’s not really suited for combat, however.”
“Hoh...” Ittai didn’t seem convinced, but merely nodded his head. He gestured for the three of them to enter the room he was in.
“I’ll leave the three to you, then.” Zuan excused himself and left.
When they entered, they realized the room was a sort of training facility. All of the walls were reinforced with some sort of metal, with magical runes spaced neatly on the surfaces like wallpaper.
“The half-beast first, then.” Ittai gestured for Rureya to move in front of him, and she awkwardly did so.
“Uh, aren’t you going to explain to us what sort of test we’re doing?”
“Ah right. Zuan didn’t mention it?” Ittai pulled his gray beard lightly. “Normally there’s a strict exam schedules for ranks, but the League of Adventurers we also use letters as a measurement of combat skill, from G to S+. Although I am only qualified to rate the three of you up to B+, the point here is that you are going to attack me and I will determine what rank you should be at. As long as you can land a decent blow, you’ll be at a G rank.”
“Fulfilling missions, selling information or monster parts to the League of Adventurers will earn you points to rank up. Higher ranks gives you more perks at the counter, and lets you accept more difficult requests.”
“That’s the gist of it, really. And this test is a one time thing to determine your Adventurer Rating. If you want to go the formal route with skill-based tests, you’ll have to sign up for skill rank examinations upstairs. Beginners like you three shouldn’t worry about those since it’s just for show if you ask me.”
“I… I see.” Rureya nodded.
“Don’t worry about hurting me, so come at me with your strongest attacks, miss half-breed.”
Rureya placed her hand over her chest, and the beast transformation quickly took place. Her dark orange hair extended and turned a light shade of crimson. Similarly colored fur covered her arms and legs, and her hands turned into the claws of a tiger. Her cat like pupils regarded Ittai slyly as she leaped forward and swung at him with an arm.
“Oh? A tiger breed? High strength and dexterity. Suitable for close combat.” Ittai nodded in approval as he clapped his hands and a weapon that resembled a large slab of iron instead of a sword emerged from the floor and blocked the attack. To his surprise, Rureya latched onto the dull weapon and flipped forward, attempting to deal a downwards axe kick, forcing Ittai to use his other arm to block the attack.
Then, Rureya used her other leg to kick at Ittai’s weapon, propelling herself backwards to ward off any counter-strikes, even though Ittai had stated he would not attack.
“Not bad. Clearly you’ve already had some training.” Ittai clapped his hands. “Your friend’s instincts would make her a valuable vanguard. Girl, what else do you have in store?”
“I’m afraid I only know one magic spell...” Rureya clapped her hands together and a ball of red flame emerged on both her hands when she pulled apart. She hurled these tiny balls of flame at Ittai who grinned and blocked them with his large sword. He was slightly surprised to see that the flames did not disperse on impact, but stuck onto his weapon.
When he looked up, Rureya was dashing towards him, hurling more Embers at him. When she got close to him, her claws seemed to retract momentarily as she punched the weapon. In the next second, the retracted claws shot out like a needle, causing the painful sound of nails on a blackboard to echo through the air. In the next moment, Rureya knelt on the ground and clutched at her hand in pain, bits of blood dripping from her paws where the claws met the skin.
“That was an interesting attack, but your claws cannot breach this weapon yet.” Ittai knelt down and took a hold of Rureya’s injured paw. He glanced at it momentarily before retrieving a potion from one of the chests near the entrance and poured a pink liquid into the wound, causing it to heal over.
“Don’t move that hand for a day and it should heal up fine.” Ittai grinned, his crooked smile was a strange contrast to his white eyes. “As a fighter, you’d do pretty well, but take care not to overextend into the enemy’s range, and train on your technique. Fist to fist combat is heavily based around what sort of weapon the other is using. Armor isn’t always going to save you. I’ll give you a rank of D- for your combat ability. Next up is the other girl.”
As Eullina passed by Rureya, she gave her a pat on the shoulder for trying her best.
“Are you the leader of the group as you seem to be the eldest?” Ittai asked.
“Actually, I like to think that Airen is the leader. I can easily defeat him in battle, but he is much more cautious than I am,” Eullina shrugged.
Eullina’s treasured soul daggers, Nightingale and Hummingbird materialized in her hands. Without warning, she tossed these daggers at Ittai while dashing forward, the ones leaving her hand replaced with more translucent ones. The barrage of light and shadow bounced off Ittai’s weapon, but it was simply a distraction to cover the distance between them.
Eullina jabbed her daggers at Ittai, thinking that if she attacked at the same time, he would not have the time to block, but she underestimated Ittai’s speed as he quickly adjusted the hilt to block the second dagger strike from above.
“Good speed. Suitable for a scouting or skirmishing role, I suppose?” Ittai murmured as Eullina put some distance between the two. Eullina only smiled in response and tossed Hummingbird in the air above Ittai, while throwing Nightingale into the ground behind him. As Hummingbird flew in a delicate ark, explosive light suddenly surged forth in a Flash spell and blinded the surroundings for a brief moment.
“A blinding magic against a blind man?!” Ittai guffawed. “Surely, you jest!” However his warrior’s instincts caused him to twist his body to the side as a Spectral Dagger burst out of his shadow from which Nightingale had stabbed. The attack merely grazed him, but he was rather surprised at the ruthlessness of the attack.
Grab the enemy's attention and attack them from behind- a tactic favored by one who uses traps.
As Ittai reoriented himself, Eullina had already positioned herself in the air above him, both daggers falling downwards like the fangs of a great wolf. Ittai quickly raised his large iron blade to block the attack, but was bemused to feel weight on his sword as Eullina simply landed on top of his weapon. She then leaped off to the side to put some distance between them while throwing even more daggers at him.
“Alright, that should be good enough.” Ittai slammed his weapon into the ground and and a wave of force knocked away all of the projectiles. “You’re an opportunistic fighter that takes advantage of openings and gaps in the human psych. You don’t use a bow but throwing daggers which may affect your range. Young lady, are you familiar with disarming and setting traps?”
“I am.” Eullina nodded, to Airen’s surprise. She caught the look on his face and shrugged. “I have been attending classes, you know.”
“Hmm, either way I will give you a D rank.” Ittai replied. “Your technique is fine, and I’m sure in the future you’ll easily rise to be at least an A rank. Work on your strength a little, and with your combat style, more abilities would raise your options in battle.”
Eullina nodded and returned to Rureya, quite pleased with herself.
“Well then… the young boy without any magic traces.” Ittai stretched his shoulders and gestured for Airen to take Eullina’s place. “I have high hopes for you.”
“You overestimated me.” Airen replied, however, he had no intention of being lenient against someone as strong as Ittai. He had suffered many, many losses against blind men in the Archive, and he was extremely wary of them.
“Boy, where is your weapon?” Ittai asked.
“My magic is basically storage. I will bring them out when I need to.”
“Spatial magic? That’s relatively rare…It’s not some sort of magic item correct?”
“No. It is my ‘heritage’ magic.”
Ittai nodded in response and said no more.
No. 762. Fieluri’s handwritten words flickered along Airen’s vision as he called forth a random bow from the weapon’s Archive. Beiesting. A bow made from the wood of an ancient white treant. Cannibalizes itself to create arrows of living wood. This magical property has been frozen to maintain the state of the bow. Airen grumbled to himself as he pulled three heavy arrows from his own vault, planting them into the ground. Airen took a deep breath and nocked one of the arrows and took aim. Ittai tensed up as he heard the sound of a bowstring being drawn back, and then the twang of an arrow being released.
Despite his blindness, Ittai was good at discerning projectiles by sensing wind fluctuations and reacting accordingly. However, when he blocked this attack he was surprised at both the accuracy and the amount of force behind it, did not resembled a fourteen year old’s.
It had aimed at his hand gripping the weapon hilt, and when he adjusted his arm to block it, the arrow splintered into pieces, sending a spray of wood chips at him. However at that point, Airen had already determined the next ideal shot, and released the other two arrows simultaneously after the other, before returning the bow and pulling out a spear. As he charged forward, Ittai slammed his greatsword into the ground, sending up a spray of dirt that knocked away the approaching two arrows.
No. 291 of the Codex of Spears. Molorek, a spear used by a beast that took human form to protect humans despite being ostracized herself. A spear of pure silver with white ribbons flashed as Airen jabbed at Ittai endlessly in his Flash Stance. Ittai blocked the blows effortlessly. Although he was rather astonished at Airen’s technique, there was not enough force behind it to knock away his weapon.
Just as he was about to tell Airen to stop since it was a fruitless effort, Airen quickly took a step back and pointed the mesmerizing weapon towards the ground, the spear tip shimmering with mesmerizing white light. To the blind Ittai, there was only the haunting sound of a dangerous sounding hum.
As Airen released the built up Flash of Divine Steel, Ittai tensed up and slammed his weapon into the ground in front of him and positioning himself behind it before the attack slammed into him, pushing him back a step, but not enough to break his weapon. He sensed a presence to his right and his instincts caused him to leap backward as Airen’s Ald kinetic blast smashed and buffeted the air where he was standing prior.
“Oi, oi boy. That’s dangerous.” Ittai rubbed his hand along his weapon to confirm his suspicion. A perfectly shaped wedge had formed on his weapon where the Flash of Divine Steel had intersected. “Was that your strongest attack?”
“It was.” Airen nodded. “Although I have one more that is similar.”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“Show me.” Ittai made a mental note not to take this fourteen year old lightly.
Airen nodded and brought out a simple sword from his vault. He was currently limited to three types of weapons from the Archive per day, and he did not want to use another chance in case something happened outside. Airen was cautious after all. He dashed towards Ittai, throwing out Wakki stars that bounced off his weapon, and performing a six-consecutive strike Blooming technique. Afterward his simple iron sword shattered to bits against Ittai’s ruler blade.
“Quite an impressive display of weapon mastery for someone your age.” Ittai mumbled as he brushed the chips of wood and iron off his weapon. “Are you aiming to be a weapons master?”
“I’m not a fan of flails and maces actually.” Airen replied. “They’re too cumbersome and lacked flexibility.” Although Airen pretended to know about the subject, all of his words were words that belonged to Fieluri. “Unless it’s a duel of sorts and the enemy is wearing armor, I would simply use a spear or sword.”
“I see… you definitely have the makings of a weapons master.” Ittai nodded as if agreeing to something. “If not for the fact that you were beginning adventurers and probably haven’t killed too many monsters, I would give you a higher rank. Boy, you get a rank of C+.”
Ittai gestured for the three of them to follow him, and they returned to the office above. Zuan was occupied with another customer so they had wait around for a while before he could return to them.
“So how did they do?” Zuan asked.
“D-, D, and C+” Ittai pointed to each of them respectively and announced his assessment before leaving. At his words, Zuan was surprised at how high they were.
“I see. Can the three of you fill out these forms?” Zuan handed over three pieces of paper after writing their assessments on them. The three of them nodded and started individually filling out the papers with their information. It was rather basic, with their name, age, weapon proficiencies, and magical affinities. Airen filled out most of the form truthfully, but in the case of name, he put down ‘Neäir’ instead.
After the three of them finished, Zuan excused himself a bit while taking the forms and returned after ten awkward minutes of silence. He handed each of the three an adventurer’s card and congratulated them. Airen stared at his name card and pocketed it. It was a good thing portraits weren’t required.
“So the three of you are going to the Valrock Ruins, am I correct?” Zuan fumbled around and pulled out a piece of paper. “As a congratulatory prize, here is a map of the dungeon layout. It’s relatively small, around twenty floors.”
“Since you’re officially adventurers now. Be sure to check out some of our offerings, and if you feel confident, sign up for some rank exams!” Zuan saw them off enthusiastically while introducing them to some of the ‘services’ that the League of Adventurers offered.
It was still a business, after all.
----------------------------------------
“Alright, is everyone ready?” Airen asked while Eullina fiddled with her light leather armor. “Do you need some help with it?”
“No. I’m fine.” Eullina adjusted the straps near the sides and pulled it over her shoulders like one would pull over a shirt. “Are you sure you’ll be fine without any armor?”
“I’ll be fine.” Airen replied. He did not want to be weighed down by anything. Armor may let him win a few exchange of blows, but against a stronger foe like the ones of the Archive, it more or less embodied the saying ‘winning the battle, but losing the war.’
But the real reason for Airen’s confidence was because a certain overly curious individual had decided to join them today. Of course, Airen was only one aware of her presence, or he thought as he glanced over at Fieluri who was dressed in strange outfit that an explorer or an archaeologist might wear.
Fieluri had a book opened and the pages were flipping through as if it was caught in a whirlwind, and brief glimpses of hieroglyphic-like symbols were barely visible. “Hmm. Based on my calculations, these Valrock Ruins was probably the former waste disposal area of a certain civilization-”
Airen covered his ears, desperately trying to drone out Fieluri’s words. They have to even step inside, and he had received a revelation that they were actually going to explore a latrine?
“Are you alright, Airen?” Eullina pulled on one of his arms. “You’re not getting cold feet now, are you?” She laughed as she pushed open aside the thin stone walls that mark the entrance of the Valrock Ruins. They were rather dusty and obviously nobody really cared enough for this low level dungeon to even maintain or guard the entrance.
“I am not.” Airen slowed his pace despite the fact that the hall was rather straightforward. He pretended to do it out of caution, but in reality he was doing for Fieluri’s sake, who was taking samples of anything she could get her hands on like a dying man in a desert in search of water.
“You’re pretty strange, you know that, Airen? If there’s any danger, I’m sure Rureya’s ears would pick it up before we do.”
I blame it at Fieluri. Airen cracked a smile in response. “It’s better to be careful. In any case, according to the map, the first five floors are relatively empty, the next ten floors have rank one magical beasts, and the last five floors some rank two magical beasts.”
“That’s rather weak. You and I have have fought both Desert Jackals and Dune Worms. I’m sure you have a reason for picking this dungeon besides the fact that it was easy...”
Airen turned his face away, and even Fieluri halted her zealous research momentarily, bemused at the accuracy of Eullina’s insight. Most of the reason Airen decided on this dungeon was well… because Fieluri said it would be so, but he can’t tell that to the others, leaving him at a rather suspicious position.
“And I noticed that you and Orshan have been getting along recently… could it be that you’re after-”
“Whatever you are thinking, please cleanse it from your mind.” Airen quickly replied. “Plus, Orshan is my guide around Libzon. The capital city is rather large for a small child like me, and Orshan happened to have lived here before.”
“Who refers to themselves as a ‘small child’?”
“Erm. A small child? You are older than me Eullina, have you forgotten?”
“Oi, Airen, when did you become such a wise-ass?” Eullina locked Airen in one of her arms and grind her knuckles against his skull. “As I thought, that man is a bad influence on you.”
Actually, it’s Fieluri. Airen grumbled inwardly, every time the two of them met, they would indulge in a verbal spar, tossing out insults intermixed with sarcasm at the other. Instead of replying, he struggled in futility against Eullina’s grip.
“The two of you really get along, don’t you?” Rureya’s familiar words called out to them, stopping their struggle briefly.
“We do not. I’m being bullied here.” Airen took the chance to slip out of Eullina’s clutches and position himself behind Rureya.
“Bullying? I’m just properly disciplining my younger ‘sibling’,” Eullina smiled eerily. Of course that was their cover story at Stonewall, despite the fact that the two of them hardly resembled the other.
“Anyway.” Airen switched the topic as they descended stairs down to another floor. “Is there anything different, Ruri?”
“The smell’s the same as the last floor.” Ruri replied after sniffing the air.
“I see. Let us know if anything changes, alright?” Although Airen was sure Fieluri was more than happy to share her knowledge with him, she wouldn’t intervene in his fights unless she owed him.
“You worry too much.” Eullina interjected. ”You’re lashing out at the shadows, Airen. Right Rur-”
“Quiet.” Rureya’s ears pricked up. “Three pairs of footsteps, coming this way.”
Eullina’s eyes narrowed and she brought out her treasured daggers. Airen on the other hand, glanced over to Fieluri, who seemed disinterested.
The three of them progressed slower than before, and within a few minutes, three humanoid silhouettes appeared from the darkness, followed by two torches. Apparently, it was another party of adventurers. As they approached, Airen could make out the figures of three men and a young boy.
“Ah. Are you three perhaps from Stonewall?.” The two groups stopped in front of each other before passing. One the large man who seemed to be an experienced warrior clapped a hand on a young boy’s shoulder. “There’s another large group that went in as well, and starting from floor fifteen, there will be traps, so be careful.”
“Ah. Thank you.” Eullina replied with a smile. “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah, I thought I would give this young one some experience of the real world.” The large man rubbed the boy who was at least Airen’s age on the head. However the man had a deep frown on his face. “He’s a bit soft hearted for his own good though.”
With that, the friendly group waved and walked off.
Well, after seeing something like ‘that’, it's no surprise they decided to turn back. Fieluri had a mysterious smile on her face. Before Airen could ask what she meant, Eullina’s voice interrupted him.
“See? They weren’t bandits, Airen. Honestly, I have never heard about this thing about bandits attacking people within dungeons...”
“What happens in a dungeon stays in a dungeon. If someone were to die in here, then the killer could just say they were slain by monsters and just so happened to come across their corpse. As the party leader, it’s my duty to make sure the two of you get out of here safely.” Airen retorted.
“Ooh? Who died and made you king?” Eullina shrugged.
My father. Airen thought.
“-But, I’ll keep what you said in mind. After all, even I have killed peo-” Eullina shot Rureya a glance before changing her words. “...exterminated vermin before.”
“I too have killed people.” Rureya’s quiet words caused both Eullina and Airen shut up and stared at her. “One of the ways the slave traders raise battle slaves is to pit them against each other, and only the strongest gets the opportunity.”
“It’s funny. The very monster blood that flowed through me was what forced me into that situation, and also the very reason I am alive.” Rureya continued slowly.
“Ruri...” Eullina was at loss for words. The atmosphere had become heavy and solemn.
Hey Airen. This is where you say something. Fieluri stopped her surveying and tugged on his cheek. That’s how the story goes anyway. Heroine reveals her dark or tragic past, and the big-hearted male butts in and reassures her about it, hitting a flag in a route.
“Are you taking me for some sort of hero?” Airen wanted to shout but it came out as a very forced whisper. “And what the hell is a flag and route?”
Either way, do something about it. You ‘did’ ask me about what a half breed is, so you have some say in the matter. Fieluri returned to sketching the symbols on the wall into a Blank Book. This sort of atmosphere is stifling and I can’t draw.
“You’re not a monster. Ruri.” Airen stammered out. “If anything, it’s the scum of the earth slave traders.”
“Yeah!” Eullina latched onto his words to continue the momentum. “Being a half-breed is a blessing! I mean you’re years younger than me and yet you’re so well… endowed.”
Did… did she really just say that? Fieluri gaped, and started laughing uncontrollably.
...
Airen and company stood in front of the stairs to the seventh floor. As the map from the League of Adventurers stated, the first five floors were devoid of life. As soon as they had entered the sixth floor however, they had encounter various creatures.
Their first encounter were a pair of giant rats that emitted a putrid smell. Although their large teeth were rather intimidating, their fleshy bodies were easily made short work of with Airen’s arrows and Eullina’s Fan of Daggers. However, due to their nature, their bodies had no use except to feed the worms and carrion feeders. With a sigh, Airen had abandoned the thought of storing them in his vault, but only after Fieluri had complained about the smell.
Their next encounter was a group of Glow Slimes. They were minding their own business, and being passive creatures, Airen was more than happy to leave them alone… until Fieluri said she wanted one of the glowing cores to compare to those of the past. The end result was a one sided slaughter and even Eullina gave him a disappointed shake of the head. Airen had to make excuses about ‘covering the costs of the journey.’ before she was satisfied. He stored eight glow stones in his vault, and about a liter of slime fluid that had not splattered into nothingness.
After that, on the eighth floor, they ran into the lair of some Hesond Lizards; they resembled komodo dragons, except they possessed a tongue similar to a frogs which they use to injure and capture prey. Their green-hued skin was sought after for its ability to resist corrosion. In this encounter, Rureya suffered a light scratch on her arm, a result of dodging a moment too briefly in the middle of an attack. Eullina had used a bit of light magic to ease the pain, and Airen covered the wound with some bandages. Their Winf Tree branch that was serving as their torch had burnt halfway through.
On the ninth floor, they came across a chest after slaying some Membrance Skulls, small floating skeletal heads surrounded by a ghastly white aura that laughed mockingly. Although Fieluri had said that they posed no threat and simply enjoyed scaring humans, Eullina and Rureya had not listened to Airen’s words and blasted them apart with sorcery. Even in death, they cackled and laughed, as if enjoying a joke that nobody else understood.
They were sorely disappointed when the chest was propped open and found to be empty, except for Airen. Nearly all of the chests in an already explored dungeon had already been opened by those prior, and it was only to be expected.
“Well… it’s only to be expected in such a low-level dungeon” Eullina playfully let the words roll along her tongue as a jab at Airen.
Airen nodded but said nothing. That was one of the reasons but not the main one, he glanced over to Fieluri who was investigating the spot where the chest was standing.
Based on the amount of dust accumulated and the ratio of metallic specks to-
Yeah. Let’s leave her to her own thing. Airen thought.
The next five floors proceeded in a familiar fashion. The monsters were nothing to worry about in terms of strength, but even so a couple of scrapes or cuts were suffered. Airen had lectured Rureya and Eullina about worrying more about defense than attacking the enemy while dressing their wounds.
Now however, they were seated by the stairs to the 15th floor, and their Winf torches had run out. A Winf branch burns for roughly eight hours. They had entered the dungeon early mid-noon, so it was night now on the outside. And thus, they had set up camp, pulling various items such as bedrolls, firewood, kettles, food supplies, and eating utensils from Airen’s vault.
“That ability is really convenient...” Rureya could not help but exclaim as the once barren and desolate dungeon ground and walls turned into a comfortable camping area. An intoxicating and familiar aura rose from the pot, a mix of Teq Bread, Dune Worm meat, Ghost Mushrooms and various spices in Spring Water.
“Ohhh? This scent is… Airen, why didn’t you say we had some left?!” Eullina complained after returning, she had set up several tripwire traps behind them in preparation for the night.
“You never asked.” Airen shrugged. Truthfully, this was the last of their supplies from the Tel'dora desert, but he brought them out specifically for that reason. It was a familiar meal for Eullina, and also a topic of conversation. And as he expected, Eullina started telling stories about Tel'naraa, leaving Airen to cook in peace.
Needs a bit of acid. Fieluri dipped a finger into the steaming hot stew and tasted it.
“Do you not feel pain!?” Airen wanted to shout, but could only whisper. He took out a bottle of yellow liquid and used a spoon to tip in some of the liquid into the stew. Although it was called Glorrin’s Acid, Fieluri had verified that it was a form of balsamic vinegar that he could use in cooking.
Just a simple bit of magic. Fieluri scowled. I can take a bath in lava and still enjoy it if I wanted to. After all, I have no corporeal body. Keke.
“You make magic seem like a cure-all solution to every problem.”
With the right spells and incantations, who says it is not? Ah, that’s enough. Fieluri signaled for Airen to stop ladling the stew and stole the bowl from his hands, opening a rift and passing it within.
“So what did you think, Fiel?” Airen’s words stopped her from disappearing as well. “About this place.”
I thought you weren’t interested? Fieluri scoffed. Airen had been ignoring her the entire day after all while pretending she didn’t exist.
“Who would be interested in being told that they were exploring a latrine?!”
Ah, about that. It seems that these ruins was more than a waste disposal area. If my assumptions are correct, the next area is a graveyard and will have monsters of that sort.
“So now we’re exploring a graveyard. Somehow our ‘dungeon venture’ has turned into ‘grave digging expedition.’ Great.” Airen said sarcastically.
Well at your level, grave robbing is still too good for you. Fieluri shot back before continuing. The traps ahead are designed to keep any corpses that reanimated from wandering too far.
“I see. What about what you said before about this dungeon having more floors?”
Based on the geographic location and existing buildings that once stood here, there should be at least twenty-five floors to this dungeon. Well, I’m a bit curious why nobody has found the door to the 21st floor, so I’ll help you out with it. Of course I demand my pick of any treasure.
“Fine. Fine.” Airen quickly nodded. Five untouched floors should have all sorts of treasures, surely Fieluri wouldn’t take them all… right?
“Hey Airen, is there someone you’re talking to?” Rureya walked over and asked.
Oh shit, I forgot Ruri has sensitive ears.
“Don’t worry, Airen. She only heard the last part of ‘fine, fine.’” Fieluri whispered into his ear as a rift opened beneath her. “And that was because I was going back to the Archive and undid the spell, bye.”
“I said that the stew is coming along fine.” Airen replied to Rureya without missing a beat. “Sometimes, I talk to myself while cooking.”
“I see...” Rureya’s nose twitched. “Do you need some help?”
“Ah, would you help me distribute the portions? It’s been ready for a while but I thought to make the meat more tender.”
After the rather boisterous meal, Airen said he was going to take some precautions before sleeping. First he spread some caltrops and glass beads around their camp site, behind Eullina’s traps. When he returned, he was surprised to find Eullina sleeping like a log, and Rureya dozing by the wall. One of her eyes opened as Airen approached.
“Oh, it’s just you, Airen. From the sounds from before… You were scattering things along the ground, right?”
“Glass beads and spikes.” Airen nodded in confirmation. If anyone or anything steps on them, either their screams or the shattering of glass should wake us up.”
Rureya’s one eye closed. “You’re rather thorough.”
“Well, we can’t just depend on your ears. I’ll take first and last watch since you two did most of the fighting today.”
Rureya nodded and curled up in her bedroll, her back against the wall, perhaps out of instinct.
The night passed by peacefully.
----------------------------------------
Descending onto the 15th floor.
“Stop.” Rureya called out as soon as they entered.
“What’s wrong?” Eullina glanced at the surroundings, although there was nothing to see but cobwebs, dust, and a murky corridor with entrances to tiny rooms.
“It smells like blood.” Rureya mumbled. To her sensitive nose, the scent of putrid copper was apparent. “I don’t know where it is coming from. But it smells like the blood of humans, not monsters.”
“Perhaps it was the other group of adventurers?”
“Probably.” Airen nodded. “We should be more careful from now on. Eullina, please stand by Rureya and check for traps.”
“Alright.” A steely glint appeared in Eullina’s eyes as she moved forward. As they proceeded, every so often she would toss a dagger or two along the walls, checking for traps where the dust was rather unsettled.
“...The smell is growing stronger.” Rureya murmured, and just as they turned a corner, in front of them, a large amount of blood was splattered over the ground. Eullina frowned and held up a hand, before picking up some rock fragments on the ground and tossing ahead. On the second bounce, the floor split apart, revealing a large pitfall filled with metallic spikes. Airen realized the source of the smell, as there were two skinny and malnourished bodies impaled on the spikes. Beneath them were an assortment of bones.
“Those are not adventurers...” Airen scanned the bodies which were clad in a simple tunic and grimaced as he came to an understanding. There, on the right shoulder of the corpse, was the mark of a slave.
“That ‘other’ group mentioned...”
“It was probably a group of slave owners.” Rureya said in a voice devoid of emotion. “I have heard of those that take slaves into dungeons to serve as expendable scouts and shields. Look at their arms and legs, they’re bound by iron chains.”
Airen was at loss for words.
“Airen. Hand me a rope.” Eullina gave him a light push, her voice breaking him. “We must push onwards.”
“R-right.” Airen retrieved the silk rope made from a Stoneback Spider’s sac and handed it to Eullina. Before long, Eullina had secured the rope the ceiling with a dagger, and they swung over the five meter hole without a word.
“Airen, what you said before. What happens in a dungeon stays in a dungeon, correct?” There was a dark undertone to Eullina’s words.
“Eullina, we’re not looking for trouble.” Airen shook his head.
“Are you just going to standby after seeing that?”
“As much as I don’t like it either, we have no choice.” Airen gritted his teeth. “This is not our place.”
“...He’s right.” Rureya added solemnly. “There are usually some high level mages in groups like those, to kill any slave that tries to run away.”
“Fine.” Eullina clearly understood the difference in strength. “For now, I will bide my time.”
“...” Airen felt that Eullina was going to be a force to reckon with in the distant future, especially with that zealous sense of justice.
Compared to the relatively straight forward paths from the prior floors, these floors had rooms to the side. Occasionally, they would run into Shambling Bones, a brittle, skeleton like creature created from a bizarre combination of bones. They were rather weak, and posed no threat at all, but as they were undead, would reassemble their bodies after some time. As a result, Eullina had to expend light magic and Rureya had to expend fire magic to turn the bones to ash. Of course, Airen stored the Bone Ash, even if it was of a low quality.
At the same time, throughout the floor, they had to deal with more traps. Apparently, there was no need for Eullina herself to identify the location of traps, as the smell of decaying flesh and blood splatter easily gave them away. On the 15th floor alone, Airen counted six corpses.
In the next three floors, the scenery was the same. The occasional undead was annihilated with light or fire magic, and blood marked the areas with traps. However, on each consecutive floor, the number of corpses grew smaller, from six, to four, to three.
On the 18th floor, they encountered Corpse Bats - large flying beasts with a loud screech and vicious fangs and claws that often traveled in groups. Some of the larger ones were able to catch Airen’s sword, while the smaller ones evaded Eullina’s daggers. After some futile exchanges, Eullina used a Flash spell which proved to be effective against the darkness dwelling creatures, allowing the herd of twelve bats to be easily dispatched. After treating their wounds and gathering resources from the corpses, they continued the descent.
----------------------------------------
On the 19th floor, they ran into the ‘other’ party in the dungeon, who was camped near the entrance to the 20th floor.
“Halt. Who goes there?” A man’s voice called out and Airen walked into the torchlight.
“Ah hello. I’m Airen, an adventurer. These are my companions.” Airen introduced Rureya and Eullina, who nodded in response.
“An adventurer? Here in the Valrock Ruins?” The man’s eyes narrowed behind his slitted helmet. “Isn’t this dungeon a bit too low level for you?”
“Ah, this is my first expedition.” Airen saw no reason to lie about it. “We’d like to pass and descend on the 20th floor, so we’ll have to trespass your camp.”
“I understand.” The guard nodded and shouted behind him. A few minutes late, a tattered girl walked over, the brand of a slave on top of her arm. “Take these people to the stairs, number ten.”
“Please follow me, young masters.” The woman bowed before leading them off. The campsite was larger than expected, with two buildings which housed what seemed to be slaves. Their attire were poor and dismal, scraps of rags that barely covered their bodies. Airen counted nearly twenty slaves, many of them sporting bruises and cuts. As the three of them walked through the campsite, they tried to not make eye contact with anybody to prevent trouble. Various tents were set up, and bright lanterns illuminated the area in yellow and orange light.
“Hey. Number Ten, who is that?” A voice called out behind them, and Airen turned to see a large man waddle over with two guards flanking him. To his surprise, the man’s features seem rather familiar…
“Young master, these are adventurers that are descending to the next floor.” The woman replied politely, although there was no mistaking the hint of fear in her voice.
“Adventurers?” The man stared at the three of them and their apparel. “Care to introduce yourselves?”
“Normally when asking for a name, isn’t it proper etiquette to introduce yourself first?” Eullina and Rureya had decided to let Airen do the talking, and the tone of voice Airen used was similar to the nobles he met in the past.
The man’s eyes scrunched up for a moment, before settling down.
“My apologies. I had not expected to meet someone like myself down here. I am Jarrioh, son of Shariah.” At his words, Airen’s memory clicked. This person was the son of the one he had insulted at the auction house a few days prior.
“We have set up a camp here to train the recently acquired slaves by my father.”
“Ah. Shariah. Your father and I spoke before at the auction house.” Airen added, trying to curry some favor to avoid trouble. “My name is Airen.”
“You know Lord Father?” Jarrioh exclaimed. He was all too familiar with his father’s tendencies to bathe in luxury at the Irona auction house, leaving tedious tasks to him.
“He offered to do business with my teacher.” Airen added, leaving out the part about how he declined and cursed the man.
“I see. I see! A business partner then!” A smile was plastered along Jarrioh’s face, and Airen found it rather unpleasant to look at. “Your companions are rather lovely, care to introduce me?”
“Ah, where are my manners. This is my childhood friend that I treat as my elder sister. Eullina.” Eullina forced a smile on her face while nodding.
“And this person was a gift from the Lasat family.” Airen stressed the name Lasat. “She serves as my sister’s attendant.” Rureya and Airen had agreed that such a background was an easier explanation than explaining her as a free half-beast.
“To come this far with only the three of you, you must be tired.” Jarrioh turned to one of his guards and whispered a few words. “Since the night is late, would you care to dine with us?”
Airen briefly considered how to decline before responding.
“Is it truly late? There is no sun or moon to determine the time of day down here. We usually rest whenever one of us grows tired.”
“That is true, it is always night down here.” Jarrioh laughed. “We just so happen to be preparing to eat, so I offered an invitation.”
“My apologies, but I would feel guilty if you had to host for the three of us.” Airen returned the laugh with as much humor as he could muster. “Furthermore my teacher is rather strict. He would likely ‘discipline’ me if I don’t return by his time frame.”
“Ah. I see. That must be rough. My sword instructor was also rather strict, so I had him replaced.”
“Haha, if I tell that to my teacher, I’ll probably lose an arm or leg.” Airen smiled in response. “Anyways, we have to hurry and finish up this dungeon. My teacher said he left me a box to pick up at the end of the dungeon, and that was our task.”
“Ah, then I won’t trouble you then.” Jarrioh clapped his hands and one of the servants turned up with a small package. “I don’t see any backpacks on the three of you, so you must have come this far surviving off monster meat. It would bother me if I let my father’s business partner go without paying my respects, so please take this. It’s a bit of food prepared by my chef.”
“It would be impolite to say no if you’ve already prepared it. We will take it gratefully.” Airen grasped the still warm package. His cheek muscles was starting to hurt after all the strained smiling.
“No, it is my pleasure.” Jarrioh offered a hand, and Airen shook it to keep up the facade.
“We’ll be off then. Thank you for the hospitality.”
And that exchange, Airen and company made their way to the 20th floor.
“I have to admit. You handled that so well, I was almost disgusted by your behavior.” Eullina said after a few minutes of quiet traveling.
“...I’ll take that as a compliment, even though I feel a bit insulted.”
“Was what he said true about you and his father?”
Airen sighed. He was hoping she wouldn’t bring it up, but he had no choice but to explain what happened in the luxury lounge in the Irona family auction house.
“Airen… when did you become such a con man? You insulted his father and you’re playing all buddy buddy with him?”
“Well. Technically. I did not lie.”
“Good lord. This child... What happened to not making enemies?”
“I don’t make enemies that ‘can’t’ be dealt with.’” Airen smirked. “After he goes home and tells Shariah about me, do you really think he will be willing to mark me as an enemy when I shut down his father?”
“Quiet. There’s something ahead, and whatever it is, it smells foul.” Rureya butted into their conversation to warn them. Airen quietened and Eullina reached for her daggers. A few tense minutes later, they were nearing a corner when Rureya signaled for them to stop. Two corpses suddenly turned the corner, their eyes glowing yellow as their gazes set on the three of them.
“Reanimated?” Eullina whispered as they lumbered towards them. Airen briefly made the slave tattoos on their bodies. Just as she said that, the corpses suddenly stopped and dashed towards them, their mouths twisted in a blood-curdling scream.
Rureya reacted first, twisting her body and delivering a roundhouse kick, knocking one of the Reanimated into the wall. Airen on the other hand, had quickly pulled out a random bow from the Archive and shot two arrows into the other Reanimated, but it did not even slow its charge. Instead, Eullina rushed forward and sliced at the monster’s kneecaps in passing, disabling its movements.
The three them returned to their positions as the two Reanimated stood back up, seemingly unhindered and injured in the exchange.
“Hey, hey. This isn’t funny, what’s two Reanimated doing down here?” Eullina shouted as she hurled daggers at the two Reanimated rushing towards them.
“I wish I knew!” Airen shouted as he used Ald to knock the two back, while Rureya hurled Embers onto their downed bodies. Yet, despite the flames slowly burn away the undead’s rotting flesh, they continued to stand up and mindless charge towards them. “What the hell is a Reanimated?”
“Servants of dark magic and necromancy created with human corpses!” Rureya was the one to respond, as she again slammed another one of the burning Reanimated back against the wall with strength that can easily break bones. “Unless you obliterate their entire body, they won’t stop!”
Airen could only catch the latter part of Rureya’s words as he fended off the other Reanimated with a spear, using the shaft to push it back. The dead slave’s head was twisted at a strange angle, and the hair on its head on fire, yet still it gave off a scream that would leave adult men awake at night as it continuously lunged forward.
“No choice!” Airen quickly got into his Flash Stance, and prepared to use Flash of Divine Steel. His jabs had absolutely no use on the Reanimated, and he had watched in horror as he stabbed it in the stomach before, and it had groaned and continued walking into the weapon shaft to get at him. If not for Eullina, he would still be standing in shock and fear. “Ruri. Get back!”
At Airen’s hasty shout, Rureya leaped backwards in the air in a somersault, landing behind him just as he released his technique. As the ephemeral blade of light traveled, it left deep ridges alongside the dungeon wall, and slammed into the Reanimated’s torso. The rotting flesh gave no resistance as the creatures were cleanly split in half.
Yet to their horror, the upper torso continued to crawl forward with its arms, while the legs tried to reorient and stand up.
“Eullina, can you bind them to the ground with your daggers?” Airen was about to ask, but Eullina had already moved forward and stabbed several daggers into the Reanimated, pinning it to the ground and preventing them from moving. Rureya then doused them in Embers, and the tiny flames slowly creating holes in the dead being’s flesh and releasing the putrid scent of cadavers into the dungeon corridor. Under the wary watch of the three of them, after four minutes, the only thing remaining on the ground was a pitch black soot. Only then did they finally relax and the adrenaline started to drain away.
Well done. Airen glanced to the voice on his shoulder to see Fieluri clapping sarcastically. He ignored her and brought out some drinking water which he shared between the three of them. He also made a mental note to find and store some flammable oil or alcohol when he returned to the surface.
“So. What now?” Eullina mumbled. “Based on what I can tell, those Reanimated were from two bodies that were at least rank two, and their undead state can easily boost it within the rank three or four range.” Eullina’s unspoken words were apparent. If a stronger corpse was used, then the three of them would have been in a precarious situation.
“We’ll need to be more alert.” Airen decided. The chances of a high-level corpse was fairly low, especially in a beginner dungeon like this. As for the reason why such a powerful monster existed… he thought it had something to do with the ‘hidden’ five floors.
“If we run into an enemy that can’t be handled, we’ll just retreat.” Airen added almost as an afterward, but even he could feel the uneasiness in his voice after that adrenaline-pumping encounter.
Whether it was through luck or fortune, they arrived at the room that signaled the end of the dungeon according to the League of Adventurer’s map without any more gruesome encounters.
Compared to the rooms they’ve seen prior, this one had a more aesthetic feel to it. From the entrance, everything was perfectly symmetrical. Eullina went in first, and confirmed there was a trap at the very front, a large spike fall trap to be exact.
“Do we head back now?” Eullina asked.
“Actually… I have a feeling this isn’t the end to the dungeon.” Airen half-lied. “It’s also one of the reasons I chose this dungeon to explore.”
“...A feeling?” Eullina wasn’t pleased at his words. As she glared at him, Airen glanced over at Fieluri for help, only to see that she had her eyes closed, and tendrils of magic caressed the walls.
I see. I see. So that’s why nobody ever discovered the entrance. Her eyes opened and she smiled smugly at Airen, as if she knew a big secret.
“Airen. I don’t think we’re suited to explore deeper if there are actually more floors.” Eullina added on to what she said before.
“It’ll be fine. We’re not here to fight monsters, but to obtain loot.” Airen reached into the vault and took out several potions and rations. “The two of you should sleep for now, I’ll keep watch for now. If I don’t find anything, then we’ll leave.”
“Fine.” Eullina grumbled, however she took no chances and set up several traps in the corridor outside the room, as well as the caltrops that Airen had given her after deciding she could put them to use better. After a brief ‘hmph’, she finished her meal, not saying a word about the meat dishes obtained from Jarrioh, and curled up in a corner of the room. After some thought, Rureya moved next to her with a blanket.
After ten minutes, Airen confirmed that they were asleep by their breathing and turned over to Fieluri, who appeared quite bored sitting on his shoulder, kicking her feet into the air.
“So, are you going to tell me how to get to the next floor or not?” Airen grumbled.
“What’s with the attitude, Airen? Is that how a servant speaks to their master, much less ask for a favor?” Fieluri’s legs stopped moving and her eyes narrowed.
“I came here on your recommendation because you said it was suitable, but you never said anything about- about those things!”
“Well, you survived it, didn’t you?”
“You never said that something like that was in here!”
“I’m not all omniscient, you know. History changes.” Fieluri’s eyes were cold as she stared at Airen. “Plus, those Reanimated are the servants of someone else in here, someone that does not belong in the dungeon. I’m already hiding your presences from him and this is the way you talk to me?”
Airen recalled Rowan’s words, a time that seemed distant, and his palms start to sweat.
“...Necromancer?”
“Perhaps.” Fieluri did not confirm or deny the matter. “Someone much stronger than you at least.”
Airen realized his fists were clenched together, and he forced them open. The anger he held quickly faded away after realizing he had known nothing about the situation.
“I’m sorry. Fiel.” Airen murmured. “I lashed out without thinking or knowing anything.”
“You are forgiven.” Fieluri replied indifferently, but the coldness in her eyes had vanished. At the sight, Airen decided that he would trust Fieluri a bit more.
“Oh, so you can act like someone your age.” Fieluri chuckled as Airen realized he had a profound expression on his face. “You look like a lost puppy that has found an owner.”
“Who’s a puppy!?” Airen wanted to shout, but he was afraid of waking the others.
“That’s true. To compare you to a cute little puppy is a sin to the puppies.”
“I’m not even worth a puppy!?”
“Of course not. Dogs have absolute faith in their masters.”
“...” Airen could not retort back and stared at his feet. He did feel a bit remorseful, especially after he was warned not to a long time ago. He was never going to defeat Fieluri in an exchange of words anyway.
“You wanted to know about the entrance, right? Come here.” When Airen looked up, Fieluri was standing over the ten meter hole filled with spikes. “Look down there.”
Airen held up the Winf torch and strained his eyes, but all he could see was darkness. The put was at least ten meter deep, and the torchlight did not seem to reflect off the cold black walls either.
“...I don’t see anything.”
“Use some light magic.”
“As if I can!”
“Ah, right. I wonder whose fault is that.” Fieluri chuckled.. She held her hand forward and a bright luminescent ball of white light drifted downwards, revealing a hole in the wall of the pitfall near the bottom..
“Also what I said regarding this place as a waste disposal area. The reason there’s so much undead is because both human and magical beast corpses were disposed of here.”
“Now Airen, aren’t you curious what’s ahead?”