"Hmm, so Verbergen's council asked that you join them?" Ivan said while taking a sip out of the porcelain cup handed to him by a waiter at the bar they were in. Shea was the leader of this tiny nation and emphasized the importance of having fun and working hard. Likely having citizens form a bond with Rabbit Hole to heighten their motivation to protect it. Apparently, it was also the reason why children below the age of 12 were not forced to train.
"Hmph! Those shameless bastards have been constantly pestering us since we stopped a few invasions of the Empire not too long ago. I'd say they're afraid they won't be able to defend on their own if it weren't for us. But I ain't gonna let them have their way…" Shea had a bloodthirsty grin on her face as she emphasized her loathing for the elders of Verbergen.
"Though we did gain a boon from this, Verbergen has recognized us as a nation of equal standing with them." From the shadows appeared another rabbit man, Cam, Shea's father. He spoke cordially before standing beside the seated Shea as an attentive servant.
"I see, that certainly does sound like a good thing. I take it that in exchange for protection they're offering labor as well as open trade with them." Ivan swished the liquid in his cup before directing his attention back to Shea, the booze in it was completely nullified by his resistance. Which was unfortunate in its own way.
"Exactly the case, while I'd rather eat mud than take the handouts of those bastards my people need homes and food. Besides they're the ones who need our help, if anything they're just paying tributes to us~"
Shea spoke in a perfunctory manner, restoring her heels atop the table she sat at. After repelling the Empire a dozen times she had become a major target for the king. She and her clan had personally run into the fellow a few times before fleeing as the moment they locked eyes with him they sensed his aura.
Not to mention that he never stepped foot into the forest, instead standing out on the border with nothing near him to attack from. The Haulia's goal was to defend anyway so they didn't care as long as he stood in his place.
"They attempted to burn down the forest several times using slaves as guides but we managed to stop them each time. Though I have to admit a lot of the forest suffered damage from their attacks. On the bright side, I'm confident they ain't gonna be bothering us again for a while!" Shea chugged the contents of her mug before sitting upright.
"Well as long as you guys are doing good then I suppose my aid would be unappreciated?" Ivan knew that it was the style of the Haulia to not ask for help, especially from him who was similar to a deity in their eyes.
"Umu, we're fine as is." Shea appreciated his understanding, though she wanted some assurance that he'd be able to provide help should they need it; she wasn't shameful enough to outright ask for it. If the time came she was willing to dig her head into the earth if it meant giving her people the help they needed.
"Before we leave I'll be leaving behind a few things. Think of it as something for my sake rather than yours. This paradise you've made… I want to protect it. " Ivan waved his hand to dis way Shea's complaints, smiling wanly as he met her gaze. What he had said was not a lie, both the Rabbit Hole and Wonderland were places he was fond of, especially the latter's existence as an underground city-type bunker to protect the people should they need to hide for several weeks.
He immediately began thinking of a barrier similar to the fog that makes up the Sea of Trees. If fog could be made to navigate through as a beastman then a barrier that only allows rabbitmen to pass through didn't seem like an impossibility.
He shot Cam a glance before sending him a message through telepathy, Cam stared at Ivan curiously for a moment before nodding with respect. This interaction went unnoticed by Shea, who had been staring at Ivan in a daze.
"All right, now that I know you are all doing okay I'd like to move on to the main reason my group and I came here. The Haltina Labyrinth, have any discoveries been made since we were last here?"
Before he left Ivan had asked Cam and the others to investigate the grand tree to make sure they hadn't missed anything that may be of importance. Whether it be another entrance or a plaque with words on them.
"No, boss. Unfortunately, we've been unable to make any discoveries since your absence." Cam spoke this time as the mission was at first left to him before Shea took the mantle of Chief. It wasn't until after that moment that he transferred his position to her as well as his assigned missions as former chief.
A decision that bloomed many opportunities as in the short time Shea was chief she managed to gain more recruits than ever, her strength scared the council, and she even managed the construction of their nation.
"Maa~ That's fine, we were able to acquire the required ancient magics to take on the Haltina Labyrinth anyway so we're just going to have to go through with the original plan of walking in through the front door. Which reminded me, Shea, would you like to join us for this expedition?"
"EH?!" Shea jumped out of her seat, the proposition visibly surprising to her. Sure she intended on forcing her way with them but to be invited was another matter. She coughed out loud as the other visitors of the bar stared at her because of her outburst.
"Heee~ So you'd like my help? Hmph, well if you're gonna beg for it I might as well oblige! It'd just be another achievement under my belt as well~" Though as chief she needed to show prestige, her arrogant attitude brought a smirk to Ivan's lips.
"Sure, though note that since this labyrinth requires four ancient magics to be obtained the difficulty will be unimaginable. Not that I'm even sure whether people who haven't cleared the other dungeons will even be able to enter."
Ivan invited her for two reasons, one: for old time's sake, he thought it'd be pretty fun to travel again with this friend of his. And two: the more magic available to Shea the greater her force could be to protect her little nation. If anything she and the Haulia might prove to be valuable assets if they ever fought the gods.
"Alright! Let me gather my things~ Oh and sorry but I'm only gonna join you for this one dungeon alright? As much as I'd love to join you all on your adventures, I have a duty here to aid my people!" Shea gave her two cents before heading toward the bar doors.
"No one here asked you to join us permanently! So grab your things and hurry the hell up!" Ivan shouted as his patience with Shea was starting to wane.
=====================================================================
That day was the perfect day to travel to the foot of Uralt, the grand tree that stood as the base for Haltina's Labyrinth. The fog cycle was at its lowest as usually, the fog would be so thick that even a beastman would have trouble navigating through it. Every minute counted so without reservations Ivan's group along with Shea and fifteen of the Haulia ventured deep into the forest.
Ivan and co. relaxed as Shea put the duty of protecting them on the Hualia she brought, insisting that it was good training for them. During their travel, they met numerous monsters dealt with using the Haulia's great teamwork and assassination techniques very easily.
After about two hours they finally made it. Ivan stared at the trunk of the tree before following it into the sky. It continued up into the fog ceiling but in the airship, Ivan and the rest traveled in on their way here they saw that it didn't extend far from there.
Which likely meant that the dungeon should be down below, as even with the trunk's great width its shape was too small to fit a dungeon if Ivan were to compare the scale of it with the other dungeons.
Though his inquiries with Cam revealed the truth. Cam had come to the same conclusion when he was assigned to investigate the labyrinth, as such he led a team to dig around the base of the tree, and they found nothing. Even Shea who adopted the assignment was unable to find anything out of her attacks against the earth, as proved by the numerous craters and mounds surrounding it.
'So that leaves one thing… Spatial magic.' It was a quite simple conclusion, spatial magic was even one of the requirements to enter the Haltina Labyrinth so odds were when they entered the marks of the labyrinths in the plaque another teleportation circle would open up to take them to the location of the true dungeon.
As such he went ahead and walked up to the plaque, instructing everyone to take a few steps back as he wasn't sure if activating it immediately sent the person entering the marks into the dungeon.
'One mark, two marks, three marks… four–' He entered each mark with trepidation, his hand shaking as he entered the last mark. And right when he was about to look to see if anything changed the ground beneath the group shook.
No— it was more accurate to say the whole Sea of Trees was shaking. The withered and already grand great tree shook violently and was enveloped by a yellow-green light. Its branches extended as the leaves adorning them were restored to their vibrant colors. The base of the tree grew larger and larger in length, surely piercing the sky beyond where it already was.
Uralt's trunk began making cracking sounds as the wood around it shifted to form a large opening, and before long that very same gaping whole glowed brightly with pure white light.
"W-Whoa…" Ivan audibly mused as he stared at the transformed scenery. The smell in particular was pleasant and stood out to him the most. Thankfully he wasn't whisked away by some sudden transportation instead a portal opened allowing for him and his group to enter whenever.
And at the same time, it seemed that the dungeon was willing to welcome anyone regardless if they cleared any dungeons in the past. If Ivan had to guess it had to do with the creator's confidence as whoever managed to survive the trials regardless of their history was worthy of the magic within.
"This is it…" He whispered, Ivan looked at his group before watching as Shea approached him. She waved to her group of Haulia as well before waving. She already knew as is she would likely be a burden to Ivan's group, the last thing she was going to do was drag in her brethren to their likely doom.
'Umu, whatever this dungeon has in store for us I'm ready! I'm not the same girl I was when we first met, this time it'll be me that protects you!" Shea declared loudly before stepping forward, the rest following behind her with relative relief.
And then— engulfed in the white light, they vanished.
==============================================================
If you want to support me please follow this link! There's a couple new links added~: https://linktr.ee/ardoaleister
Writing this one was quite difficult, and I'm not sure why. Formulating sentences and using the words I want to for some reason was a challenge today. Maybe it's because I feel like I'm in a rush as later today I have to attend an important family event. For some reason just thinking about it gives me anxiety and now here I am rushing to write. It's going to be four hours long too... I just wanted to work on the Nobeta video!
Thanks for listening to me complaint, or I suppose its more appropriate to say I'm sorry you had to listen to it. Also, thanks for reading today's work, next time will be adventuring in the dungeon. It should only take up 3-4 chapters. Have a great evening, and I'll see you all next time~!
If you want to support me and read ahead 10-15 chapters, you can check out my p.a.t.r.e.o.n right here: https://bit.ly/ardoaleister
Discord: https://discord.gg/tQ5TWbYd9t