The wind rose , carrying away the trees' falling leaves , the branches moved rhythmically playing the wood's unique symphony.
"Achoo!" the man couldn't help but sneeze at the cold , he rubbed his arms in attempt to warm himself a bit .
"Why do they need people to guard a dungeon?" He shot a glance at the giant gate meters away behind him . The dungeon's Gate , it had appeared out of nowhere ,it stood high in the middle of the forest with nothing to support it .
The man beside him was crouched on the ground in a ball shaped position , with his face red from the cold "Because they are afraid that the monsters would go berserk and break through the dungeon's restrictions, it can't be helped , Bro, dungeons are still a great mystery for us , they are unpredictable "
"Seriously, when will the adventurers come anyway ?" Staying up all night , in the wild with beasts roaming around, and the cold . The hot blanket at home appeared like a far-fetched dream.
"They told me that a raid is planned for tomorrow, just bear with the cold this one last night, tomorrow ,we can go back home to rest "
"Hope that I won't be frozen to death until then" the man grumbled under his breath.
*****
Meanwhile ,unaware of the guards , a little girl had stealthily approached the giant gate behind them , she swiftly moved her body to evade the guard's detection , and quickly arrive in front of the giant gate .
[How do I enter?]
Ellaria approached the gate, Fluffy looked at his master's back , the words she had told him a week ago were still lingering in his mind .
******
The moon lightened up her small little face . Ellaria looked at the stars in the sky.
"I don't have any information only a description of a man with a scar . I'm alone and weak , also my movement are restricted, I could only act at night , the day Tania and uncle Roy would keep an eye on me and I don't want to get them involved in this or even make them worry…. "
Ellaria lowered her head ,being a child sure is troublesome ,when inside you are already a full grown adult . But there were still something else that bothered Ellaria, providing that this world is following the otome game script , how did the original Ellaria escape from the bandits ?
Did she hide somewhere ? or she wasn't even in the orphanage at that time ?
The game didn't put much importance to an extra character as Ellaria Danevatoress , the few times she made her appearance was to pinpoint the villainess' cruelty and constant bullying .
Ellaria pushed her thoughts aside. Whatever happened in the future , she must be able to face it . She took in a deep breath ,lifted up her head to look at the beautiful moon .
"I have to be patient , if I go there and die no one would save them , I must build my powers first" Ellaria turned toward Fluffy .
"We have some preparation to do , I will be counting on you ,Fluffy"
******
Fluffy clunched his fists , he must help his master , it was after all for this only reason that he was created in the first place , makng sure to assist the future puppeteers and protect them .
Ellaria wasn't aware of her rabbit thoughts , she extended her hand toward the gate . She felt a strange mana surrounding her body , making her feel a bit dizzy , and soon a bright light overwhelmed her eyes and her sense got obstructed .
When the light faded off , the scenery around her had changed ,she was no longer in the dark forest . The trees , the blue sky , the chilly wind had all disappeared.
An old cave barely lightered by the torches hanging on the walls . Before she got the time to assess her surroundings .
Some glittering eyes shone in the dark , one after another , they surrounded Ellaria , Groaning resounded , the figures walked under the light revealing their hideous appearance.
"Understood"
Arrows were shot ,the archers opened the dance . Facing the hundred arrows Ellaria was composed, she strengthen her legs with mana and moved .
With her increasing speed she managed to pass through the rain of arrows , and clashed with the goblins head on , she faced the swords and blades with bar hands , using only her mana to make her small fist as hard and deadly as possible .
The goblin ganged up against her , launching attacks from all direction but they got easily held back , with each punch a bone would be broken, with each kick a goblin would be sent flying , at this rate , only three hits are needed to defeat the feeble creatures .
As seconds passed, the goblins' numbers decreased , but the little girl never slowed down , if not her movement got even more accurate , as she got used with the goblins offense, she discovered their weak point and used their incapacities at her advantage . Just one hit was enough now .
The green blood splashed all over the cave , mountains of carcasses got build up , Ellaria leaped up and kicked the last goblin .
She looked at the gory scene around her, her chest fell up and down eager for some more air .
Usually ,Fluffy was invisible to others , but he could materialize himself for a limited period of time and be visible and capable of touching physical objects .
"Good work" Ellaria rubbed his head gently "Now should we head to the second floor"
They moved deeper inside the cave , some goblins popped out on their way but got abducted as soon as they showed their ugly faces .
Unlike the main giant gate , the doors between the dungeon's different floors , are simple wooding one , just enough for a truck to pass through .
Like before ,Ellaria touched the door and immediately got transported to the second floor , the same humid cave , but unlike the first floor , Ellaria had to walk for some minutes before she encountered the rank 2 Goblins .
The red skinned creatures had larger bodies , and immediately regrouped in groups when they spotted the intruder .
Ellaria took out the humanoid puppets from the space .On this floor , she will use her control skills .
The humanoid puppet weren't indestructible , there were made of wood , a hit could easily take off its limbs . but as long as their movement were swift . The goblins attacks won't be able to hit it .
All those hours and days of training had come of use , Ellaria stayed behind, with a purple magic circle on its back , the humanoid puppet moved, it sliced down the goblins one by one .
For the time being Ellaria could only control one puppet in real battles . Putting on her all attention on a sole puppet , making itS movement even more graceful and precise as possible .
It won't be long before the end of the fight , the goblin had gathered together , they spilt in two group ,one held back the puppet ,the other's target was Ellaria .
However , underestimating her was a huge mistake , the group of twelve goblins , halted their assault a few meters away from the little girl , a purpled magic circle on the back of each creature , they looked puzzled and before they got the chance to figure out the situation their head were already rolling on the ground .
The third floor , most goblins were rank three but some bulky one had reached rank four. Although their number was less than the two floors below, it wasn't an easy fight , Ellaria showed up her swords arts , Fluffy gave her a small sword that fitted her body , even the smallest blade can turn into a deadly weapon in the hands of an expert .
The goblin had learned this truth the painful way , Ellaria can't be considered a master in swordsmanship yet , however the basis , the ultimate foundation, is graved in her mind . Mana covered her whole body , rising her speed and flexibility , the sword was swung left and right thrice each second , and each time to cut through a goblin skin .
The fourth floor , Most rank four, and some rank five goblins , They were able to drag on the fight for hours, and formed a great resistance against her attacks, however , the more they resisted the fiercer Ellaria became, it's these fights and the experience she would gains from them that would make her stronger, it pushed her to surpass own her limits and attain higher height , in either swordsmanship or mana control .
The fifth and last floor , the fights continued , the goblins were cunning and strong , even though Ellaria got injured ,she managed to slaughter them all .
At the end of the floor, behind a carved door was the boss room , a huge amount of mana was leaking out ,daring the braves to trespass a boss territory .
Ellaria was sitting on the ground back against the door , she was absorbing mana from the cores she collected through her fights , to fill up her mana pool for this one and last battle . She took the time to rest and heal her wounds .
About one hour later , she stood up and put her hand on the door . This time , the door opened , creaking noisily .
The room behind it was spacious , at the end of the marbled stairs stood a majestic throne .
Ellaria didn't get the chance to admire the room design , as the terrifying creature sitting on the throne was staring back at her .