Finally, they made it to the Grand Tree. Ivan and the group stared at the tree with disbelief. Compared to the trees that littered the woods this tree was as good as dead. No lush greenery, no vitality, if not for its height they would have overwritten it as some dead tree.
What stood before them was a girthy tree that stood at least 50 meters in diameter. Far bigger than any tree they'd seen thus far. According to Cam, this tree has been in a half-dead state since before the founding of Verbergen. The fact that after all this time it never died was what made people call it the Grand Tree.
And just as Ulfric said, there was a stone marker with a lithograph carved into it. Engraved into the stone was a heptagon, with a different crest at each vertex. The same one they'd seen in Oscar's lair, or the hidden cave the magic circle had teleported them to.
Ivan held up Oscar's ring to confirm this theory. They matched perfectly.
"Alright, this is good. Now we know for certain that this is a labyrinth." Ivan said as Yue nodded in turn. The problem laid now is that they had no idea how to get in. Ivan circled the tablet looking for clues. He thought perhaps there would be some secret message he needs to say aloud or maybe insert the ring somewhere.
Just as he expected there were seven indents carved into the back, in the same spot the crests were on the front. The ring then fits in the hole corresponding with Oscar's crest. Then, the tablet began to glow.
The Haulia all withdrew the weapons at their waists and on their backs in case something unexpected happened. But the moment that glowing turned into floating letters above the tablet Ivan waved his hand and they laid their worries.
He read the words in the air aloud:
—Four markers of strength.
—The power of restoration.
—A beacon woven from bonds.
—Only with those three ingredients in hand will the path to a new trial be opened.
"Great, a fucking riddle." Long story short Ivan read those words to be 'you are not strong enough to enter this level, please come back later.' Four markers probably meant four crests from other labyrinths. The power of restoration… it didn't seem it referred to Yue's regeneration so that won't work. Most likely they wanted someone to obtain the restoration of ancient magic to fix the tree.
And a beacon of bonds almost certainly meant that one had to build trust with a beastman just to get here.
Ivan and Yue sighed at the realization. It seemed that they weren't able to do this dungeon just yet. Frankly, it pissed them off. After all these efforts to get here, they have to leave empty-handed. Ivan wouldn't stand for such a thing.
"Hey, Yue. There is a rumor that a dungeon lies in the Reisen Gorge…"
"...Let's go check it out," Yue responded curtly to his proposition.
But before that—
"Hey! Where do you guys think you're going!" Shea jumped out before them, angered that they were just going to leave without even saying goodbye.
"Hm? Well, we agreed to safeguard you guys till we made it to the tree. With this, our contract has been completed. The Imperial soldiers who probably went to look for the battalion most likely left already. It's our queue to leave." Ivan spoke to Shea as if he was stating the most obvious things.
"What about our bonds!? The tribulations we went through to get here! Did none of that mean anything to you guys…?" Shea's ears flopped down as she feared the worst.
Ivan locked eyes with Yue who stood beside him, then—
"HAHAHAHA!"
"...Fufufu~"
As if he heard the funniest thing every Ivan arched his back as he cackled, Yue on the other held her palm up to her mouth as she laughed softly.
"W-What's so funny?" Shea was unnerved by the sudden outburst.
"Aiya, didn't I read the words from the slate aloud? We're not strong enough to enter it. So, we'll be back when the time comes. That's why there isn't any need for us to say goodbye, instead, we'll see you all later."
Shea brightened at the realization, pulling the two into a hug. To her, these two were her saviors, people who not only protected the lives of her family but taught them how to live onwards as well. And though she wouldn't be joining them on their adventures, she wanted to make them proud doing what only she could do.
"Ah, I'm gonna miss you guys so much. Uwahhh…. Thank you both for everything! I'm gonna do my best here to make the Haulia tribe the most respected! Then… then, I'll make sure no kid has to suffer what I went through. Just as you said, Ivan. I'll follow my dreams while you follow yours."
Shea tried her best not to tear up during her words but in the end, she couldn't hold it in. She held them closer as the two responded with an equally affectionate hug. She was the first person they met since reaching the surface, and now they must go. But the two weren't sad, sure it'd be a little quiet without the rambunctious rabbit but they'd find solace in knowing she was doing her best to live the life she wants.
"I'll search for the future where we three could spend time together again, and grab it with my own hands."
The rest of the Haulia joined in on the group hug. None bothering with any words of goodbye, they knew they just had to await the day their saviors returned. Until then they'd work extra hard to be of service to them when they're needed.
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Waving back at the figures on the horizon, Ivan readjusted his backpack before walking in the opposite direction from them. With Yue in tow, the two kept walking forward until the silhouettes of the Haulia couldn't be seen anymore.
"Haaaa~ It's just the two of us again…"
"…Mhm, it'll be a bit lonely."
Ivan ruffled her hair as he thought back on the past few days. In this time he had saved a tribe from extermination, became blacklisted from two different nations, trained an army of warriors, and visited the target of their journey.
"Maa, they're family now, we'll see them again someday. I'm sure of it." The two got over their momentary blues as they thought of the future. That was enough to better their moods and push their resolution into clearing the Reisen Gorge labyrinth. The quicker they clear three other labyrinths the sooner they can return.
"Alright! Let's do this, Yue!"
"Yeah!"
That wasn't until Yue came to a revelation.
"...Though it'll be pretty tough to sleep out here should we not find it today"
"That's fine, I had the Haulia collect a lot of things growing in the sea of trees. And you could live off my blood so we should be good for about three weeks so long as I manage the number of portions I eat."
In any case, the two were probably going to be fine if they had to live out on the land. Compared to the depths of the dungeon it might even be called a luxury. There was the worry of horrible weather but if Ivan needed to make a hole in the ground then so be it.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had been two days since Ivan and Yue passed the teleportation circle they were summoned to the surface by. Spending each night in a hole in the ground, nothing all too different from their life in the dungeon.
However their frustrations were growing, the rumor had stated the labyrinth was in the Reisen Gorge. That was a hint all too vague. Ivan was even starting to feel that maybe they passed the entrance. There was no grand entrance like the Orcus Labyrinth, that he was sure of. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be a rumor that it lied here.
'A rumor huh…' Tonight they'll be spending another night in a ditch. Ivan looked up through the cracks he left to breathe before looking at Yue who rested beside him. Deciding he needed to use the bathroom he slipped out her grasp before climbing out quietly through some escape tunnel he made.
He walked up to the large walls of the gorge, his eyes gleaming as his Cat's Eye skill showed him his surroundings. Though not as bright as day, everything to him looked as though it basked under the moonlight.
BANG
When he held his hand up to the wall to support his body a loud thud was heard before the wall was pushed forward. He looked at the gap that appeared before finishing his business. Once he was done he stepped forward and pushed the wall back more.
What appeared before him seemed like some sort of secret path. He looked at this hallway made of rock and stone, noticing the bright pink signboard that was hung at the end of it. Rather than taking a step in he decided it'd be best to wake up Yue in case something happened.
"...Hm? Ivan?" She rubbed her eyes groggily as Ivan shook her excitedly.
"Yue, I think I found the entrance to the next dungeon." Her eyes snapped open as she arose from her sleeping position. Finally, she could get out of this desert and see what a city was like. All they had to do now was clear it.
She followed Ivan to the path in the wall after preparing her gear.
"Alright, Yue. I'll go in. You wait out here just in case it's a trap or something." Ivan moved into the path as he told his plan.
"...Yeah." She readied some magic.
It wasn't until Ivan was directly in front of the signboard did the writing become clear to him. As it read:
[---Welcome everyone! Welcome to Miledi Reisen's heart-pounding dungeon—]
'Miledi…' The name was familiar to Ivan who had seen it in Oscar's notes. That confirmed it to him, as the Reisen name was quite popular but Miledi was something he's only ever seen from Oscar.
Besides that, he was quite satisfied with this proper greeting. Sure it was a bit out of place here in this gorge used as an execution ground but he'll take what he could get. He called Yue over to him and asked her to read the sign as well.
They looked at each other before nodding. Though the path ended with just this sign Ivan was sure there was some mechanism or button that'd lead them forward. Pressing his hand against the wall he heard metal clinking.
KACHA
The wall swung like something from a ninja movie as both he and Yue found themselves in some darkroom.
Ivan rushed in front of Yue before placing his left hand on the ground, sparks flew as a wall was transmuted right in front of them.
BANG BANG BANG
The sound of banging resounded from the other side. As the sounds stopped Ivan brought down the wall to see what had tried to hit them. He dug an arrow out of the stone while inspecting the rest. It would seem their entrance here activated a trap.
Light shone into the room as another path became visible. But first, the party of two examined the stone table sitting arrogantly in the center of the room.
[---Hey, did I surprise you? Well, did I? I bet you peed your pants, didn't you? Hahaha. Any of you get hurt? Maybe someone in your party died? Fufu~---]
Yue and Ivan looked at each other while lamenting the future as they had a feeling this dungeon wasn't going to be as kind as the other.
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UPDATE ON VIDEO: I've released a trailer on p.a.t.r.e.o.n, no membership required (public)
Update regarding tiers as well, along with 10-15 chapters is access to watch videos day(s) before release.
P.a.t.r.e.o.n goal set, if we reach it I will upload two chapters a day
Finally, the next dungeon. The Haulia are pretty cool. But now that that arc is over let's move to the future. I haven't had breakfast today and it's almost lunch time so I'm gonna wrap this message up quickly.
Thank you all so much aa in for reading, may you have a great day/night. See you next time!
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