"Leave the instructing to me…. And the instruction is to remain two steps behind and don't do anything unnecessary, just follow preferably silently," the boy with Jet black hair said with an arrogant and prideful voice.
Ryu cast a glance out of the corner of his eyes as he continued to eat. He thought,
'Troublesome!!' due to the behavior of the guy who just entered,
Rana turned toward the boy and spoke,
"You are too early, kid!! Do they not teach manners to... " But she stopped just before she completed the sentence.
"The sooner we leave, the sooner we deal with it," the boy answered, with a haughty look that seemed forced,
"Have a seat, kid, at least talk with those you will be going with," Rana said with a troubled expression that Ryu had never seen on her before, and Rana herself was thinking,
Do they put an end to the etiquette class in Central!?
"I asked for an unofficial party because I don't even need a party!? Don't you get it? Also, the dungeon stampede won't wait for these people to have their breakfast," said the boy in an angry tone as he sat. Both Aiena and Jue were stunned by the behavior of the guy who looked just 2 years older than Ryu,
'So, this is how it is!' Ryu thought and spoke in an indifferent voice,
"Those who have a small appetite won't have enough energy to clear the dungeon either way!" at this, the guy who just sat in front of him spoke with a red face,
"What did you say!? I am just concerned about the dungeon. "
"Yes, yes, something…" Ryu tried speaking, but before he could finish, the guy interrupted.,
"Let's see right now who can eat more!! The food here is enough. Whoever eats more wins. "
"Sure, let's go," Ryu said Rana tried to break in, but she saw Ryu's grin and also something different from her client's usual behavior. She held herself back just after collecting 2 plates for both Jue and Aiena,
As 15 minutes passed, the client's original pride and arrogance seemed to be lost. He wondered,
'How is this humanely possible…!?" the wild outlook he was giving was misplaced for a second as he wondered about Ryu's eating ability. Meanwhile, Ryu cleaned his plate once again completely,
'Using power napping regularly increased my eating capacity a lot... a few more and I will be able to use it fully!!'
And he cleared a few more plates like it were nothing, as the guy just stared at him, and after finishing the last plate, Ryu spoke with a fulfilled look,
"Ahh, that hits the spot!! Everything was tasty, Rana Grandma. "
Everyone was shocked at Ryu's eating capacity, leaving Aiena, who saw Ryu eat every day without a miss. The client looked at Ryu's face for a second, and ruffling his maple brown hair, he spoke,
"You win!!" And to this, Ryu replied with an oblivious look,
"I won what?"
"The contest!" The guy exclaimed.
"I forgot it was a contest while eating food must be enjoyed!!" Ryu said with a smile,
'What!? He ate that much normally! Is it a skill? " As the guy wondered in shock as he spoke,
"Go get your gear, you three. We will depart at once. Remember the instructions I gave earlier!!"
"I don't feel like it. Just give me 5 minutes." Ryu spoke and then added,
"Rushing instantly after eating is bad!!" and the client in confusion just nodded, after half an hour, everyone was ready at the gate of the house, Jue was wearing his knuckles and arm guards, but unlike in Zerah forest, he also wore chain mail under his shirt, Aiena wore a cleric uniform given to her by the priestess. The uniform looked humble but emphasized certain places more than others,
In the end, Ryu was wearing hard leather pants and a cotton T-shirt with chain mail over it, and a sky-blue jacket to top it off. The rings on both his hands gave an aura of their own, while the birthmark on his collar bone was hidden by the shirt, the dagger holder at the side of his jeans, and carrying a sword in his hand, he seemed ready for a fight,
The client himself was looking good in skin fit copper-colored armour, which seemed to contrast with his hair, while carrying a long two-handed sword, which was at least half of his height on his back, making him look ready for war himself,
As they were saying their bye at the gate, when Rana came near Ryu, pulling him down by his ear. She spoke slowly, in a grumpy but serious manner,
"Do not let him die! You got it, Ryu!"
"Yes, yes, now stop!! Ear hurts! " Ryu exclaimed, and she finally let go of his ear,
They were moving quietly from sometime towards a forest which was praised for being one of the most enriched forests by a number of normal animals, Ryu was happy to see similar animals like those back on earth here and there, some of them a bit different though, but that much was expected. He was happiest to see a white-colored wolf, and he finally realized something.
'We didn't know his name, did we? What will happen if he suddenly betrays us? Although he looks like a humble person... then again, he didn't believe me completely either. His status...' Ryu thought as he scanned the client. Surprisingly, their levels were the same, but there was something in the titles that was stopping Ryu's seeking skill, and he finally asked,
"Oii, I don't remember you telling us your name?" Ryu asked curiously, but the client rapidly replied in an irritated manner,
"You don't need it and this will be our first and last meeting, so no need."
"So, I will call you maple head!!" Ryu instantly replied, as if he was ready to say this,
"Maple head ha-ha," Jue laughed,
"Ryu, don't make fun of him!!" Aiena said, noticing the guy's displeasure as he looked at both Ryu and Jue while grinding his teeth, but they still kept laughing among themselves with the name,
'Even though they are just kids!! Irritating,' the client thought as he remembered himself that he was the one 16-year-old, but then, thinking about something else, he spoke back,
"My sword will show you what will happen to those who call me strange names soon!!" Jue was genuinely taken aback by the sudden dialogue from the client, but Ryu just spoke with a grin,
"Talk about acting haughty." At this, the client shook a bit, but maintaining the arrogant and haughty behavior, he continued walking.
After a walk of a few hours, they finally reached it. A square-shaped opening formed at the side of a lump of risen ground, giving it the look of an average emerged dungeon.
'So, this is what an emerged dungeon is like.' Ryu looked at the opening, but nothing inside was visible somehow. Jue was more excited, like a kid going to an amusement park for the first time,
"I wonder what kind of monster will be inside Ryu big brother!!" Jue said in excitement,
"I wonder that too, want to compete!?" Ryu said with a grin. The Client was going to say something, but before he could, Aiena spoke.
"No competing!! this is the first time you two are going into the dungeon" both Jue and Ryu nodded at this with a visible disappointment, and the Client spoke with a prideful voice,
"This is an emerged dungeon, something that in the past only appeared once every few years, but nowadays they are appearing multiple times in the same year, and with emerged dungeons, the danger of stampede is higher and quicker, so I accepted the Nobel task of dealing with the emerged dungeon as soon as I found it!!"
'If it was so dangerous, why not let adventurers take care of it? Sus' Ryu thought, but he was too occupied with the thought of entering the dungeon. He let it slide.
And finally, it was happening. All four of them were taking their first step inside the dungeon together. Their hearts were audibly beating. Even the client who tried his best to act mighty was thrilled,
'After all, I waited for it now proving...' he thought as his and Ryu's feet stepped inside the dungeon. A huge amount of light appeared before his eyes. He thought it was his mind playing a trick on him as he was looking forward to a bright future,
But it was just a pipe dream as Ryu, Jue, and Aiena were equally shocked at the lights that suddenly entered their eyes,
'What the f@ck!! Too bright' Ryu thought.
"It feels wobbly!? Ryu? Jue?" Aiena called, but only Jue replied,
"Aiena big sister you there!?" Jue spoke back, and meanwhile, at a different place, as the brightness faded, Ryu and the client were face to face.,
"Where in the hell!?" Ryu exclaimed as he noticed they were in a place without any entrance and also that there was only the client standing beside him. Aiena and Jue were not there at the same time at a different place.
Aiena and Jue wondered what had just happened, as Aiena shouted,
"Where is Ryu!?" Jue was also confused at what had suddenly happened.
-to be continued