Stepping through the portal felt as disorienting as ever, but Abel was already used to it. The disorienting feeling passed after a few moments, leaving Abel in darkness.
"Breeze." He summoned Breeze from his Sea of Soul immediately. He didn't intend to take any chances, preferring to start out strong. If he was a bit overpowered for the initial monsters, then so be it.
Breeze appeared in a swirl of dust, standing beside Dust. The three proceeded to make their way through the darkness, towards the source of light at the end of the dark tunnel. The light was a faint orange color, dimming and lighting up every few moments.
When they stepped out of the tunnel, their minds were completely blown. An orange sky hung overhead, and thin lakes of fire and lava snaked around rocky paths. Various creatures of the fire attribute crawled and flew around, a few of their eyes flicking over to the group that had emerged from the safe zone.
"Wow. So this is what the Second Floor looks like... I don't have any heat resistant gear." Abel mumbled to himself as he looked around.
Squawk!
A horrid squawk of a bird resounded above their heads, along with the sharp feeling of danger bearing down on them.
"Move!" Abel yelled, but he didn't need to warn his companions. They already dodged out of the way, barely dodging the streaks of fire that rained down on the spot they were standing at a moment ago. A large bird that was at least two meters long, with a wind span of roughly five meters. It screeched once more, looking at Dust, before lunging towards the large Ground Rat.
"Dust!" Abel recalled Dust, the furry mount returning to his Sea of Soul immediately. The bird screeched once more before altering its course, and diving for Abel.
By this time, Breeze was already sprinting towards Abel with the intention of protecting him from the flaming, feathered beast. He made a swipe for its neck the moment he got in range, but wasn't able to hit it, instead grazing its right wing with his claws. The defiant bird in question spun its body in order to dodge the attack, making itself look like a spinning, burning spear that was lusting for Abel's blood.
Stunned, Abel was frozen in place, unable to move. Even if he managed to move at this point, he would still be left injured by the flames that burned around the bird.
"Magnum Burst!" Along with a loud yell, a compressed burst of wind shot out of nowhere, slamming into the flaming bird's side and sending it spiraling into an ash colored tree. That bought enough time for Abel to regain his bearings, quickly shooting out the Dragon's Wrath to pierce into the creature's neck.
With a sickening squelch, and an agonizing screech of pain, the bird's head dropped limply to the ground, devoid of life. Abel looked at the dead body of the bird, his chest rising and falling with slight exertion. He turned to face the direction where the attack that saved his life had come from, grateful for the help.
"Oi, kid! I told you the Second Floor wasn't safe!" A deep voice rumbled. Red hair, red eyes, and large, bulky armor.
"Oh, it's you. " A frown crossed Abel's face briefly before his wiped it off. Behind the warrior, a group of five Tower Runners trailed behind, followed by two Ground Rats that served as transportation for their equipment and food. The party consisted of four ladies and two men, including the warrior that had approached Abel on the First Floor.
They stopped a bit of a distance away from Abel when Breeze let out a deep growl, their eyes shifting to the towering Gnoll. Breeze's hackles were raised, his guard still up. Abel had been in an extremely dangerous situation just a few moments ago, and it had left his fur ruffled. Abel's death spelled his own, and he valued his life very much.
"Breeze, calm down." Abel spoke up. Some clarity immediately returned to Breeze, his cloudy eyes clearing up immediately. He bowed his head, waiting until Abel was standing by his side before he raised it back up. Abel summoned Dust from his Sea of Soul as well, wanting to feel the presence of his other companion for a bit of reassurance. He didn't feel same with so many strangers who held weapons standing before him.
"Quite the Beast Soul you have there, kid." The red head spoke again, eyeing Breeze. "You said its name was breeze, right? Nice name, too." He nodded his head as he spoke.
"Uh, thanks, I guess. Thanks for helping me out back there. I wasn't expecting to run into something like that so soon." Abel rubbed at the back of his neck as he spoke.
"It's fine. But =, I did try to tell you that this Floor was much more difficult than the First Floor; you just didn't listen... The name's Russell. Nice to meet ya, again." Russell extended his hand to Abel. Abel sheathed his weapons into their holsters on his waist before gingerly taking the older man's hand.
"I'm Abel. Nice to meet you." As he spoke, he let his gaze wander to the rest of the people who were with Russell. There was a woman who wore flowing purple robes, and a hat that covered her head of hair all too well. Another woman who also wore a robe, although much more exposing, with a head of blond hair, and a charming smile waved at Abel from behind the party. The other two women chose to keep to themselves, leaning against one of the Ground Rats. They wore dark cloaks, their faces obscured, but Abel could see some tufts of black hair peeking out from under their hoods. The only other man apart from Russell was a brunette, with sparkling blue eyes, and a smile that could blind the world.
"Ah, this is my party. I guess some introductions are due, if you don't mind." Russell motioned at the people behind him.
"This is Melinda, a Sage. She specializes in Plant Magic, very useful on the Third Floor, which is where we are heading to right now." He motioned to the lady with the purple robe and large hat. "As for this beauty here," He winked at the blond, "Her name is Lily. She's a Light Magic Sage, very helpful when it comes to healing injuries. She can take a look at you later, if you don't mind... Those two gothic ladies over there are Emma and Stella, twin sisters. They're close combat specialists. Don't mind their cold attitudes, they aren't fond of strangers." Russell laughed at the end of his sentence.
"As for this-"
"The name's Dwayne! I'm a Punishment Paladin!" The other male bumped into Russell, cutting off his sentence and taking over. "Glad to meet ya, Abel. Hope we can get along well!" The lean man grinned widely at Abel, showing off all his shiny teeth. Unlike what his profession might have implied, the man was more on the lean side, unlike the usual of what was seen in Punishment Paladins. They were usually buff and large, the complete opposite of what Dwayne was.
"Err, sure..." Abel rubbed his neck nervously when he was met with the man's smile.