CHAPTER 15
"Don't let a bunch of adventurers who wouldn't even dare to do what we're doing get to your head Alsi."
" You know I'm amazing, you're just acting like the classic tsundere who won't reveal their true feelings because they're too embarrassed-"
"You know Alsi, sometimes you come up with words I'm sure aren't even in Chirish. What the heck is Tsundere?" Said Serena.
"The question that should be asked is WHERE THE HECK IS CEAL!? WHY DID WE EVEN SPLIT IN THE FIRST PLACE!?"
" Oh that? I just wanted an excuse to explore the place abit. And I don't regret it, I found a skydog and it was so cute!"
"Don't you guys realise this is our first mission!? You're already out exploring like a bunch of homeless idiots!"
"Hey now, it's good to know your surroundings, I even managed to take down a monster and harvest an aqua core."
"Hmmm…wonderful…"
"I see you went and became an idiot…you're right, we shouldn't have split." Ceal approached from a distance. He had grown quite tall, and handsome. His curly hair and its grey-ish white colour complemented his chocolate skin perfectly. He wore black and blue boots, a black trousers bound by a blue sash and a black shirt. He wore a pauldron made of steel and had a katana by his side.
"Did it ever cross your mind that you're still a runaway princess? Look at what you've done now." He said
"I swear one of these days I will sew that mouth of yours to your butt!" Alsi replied.
"Ha! Please…we don't have time for this, we have to get going now."
Alsi and Ceal kept on arguing for a few moments more until Serena told them to shut up. They kept quiet and continued on their journey. They started to move deeper into the forest, approaching the mountains.
"So apart from Midgard, how many other towns could be affected if this dungeon breaks?" Asked Serena.
"From what the Quest poster Dad gave us said, there's Laidenton right after Midgard and Dez which is east of Midgard." Ceal replied.
"Well that means the dungeon must be quite big. Its portal could have a radius of about 220 meters."
"Who cares how big the stupid thing is, I'm still gonna kick butt." Said Alsi.
They kept on walking for a while, only escorted by the breeze that kept up with them. Avon was a country with many water bodies, especially rivers and waterfalls. Alsi, Ceal and Serena had to cross a few rivers before they could get to their destination. By the time it was the middle of the day, they were at the foot of the mountains. The group stood facing a huge portal.The portal seemed to be in constant rotation, it's blue-ish green presence seemed to be emitting energy from within.
They stood and marveled at it given this was their very first time encountering a dungeon portal, their blood boiled for what it had in store for them. Ceal's ear started to twitch and he turned his head towards Alsi quickly…
"Alsi,Put on your hoodie!" He said.
"Why should I-" Ceal took the liberty of forcing it over his head.
Right then, a man popped out of the bushes nearby. This shocked Alsi and Serena, Ceal just stood with an expressionless look on his face. The man seemed just as shocked as his victims. He seemed to be dressed in fancy clothing, he was almost chubby too.
"Who are you!" Ceal interrogated, he already had his hand on his katana.
"Wa-wai-wait! I have the same questions for you!"
"Don't act funny with us!" Ceal took a step closer.
The man was nervous at first, but when he narrowed his eyes and focused, he saw someone familiar…
"Ceal? Is that you?" He asked. Ceal was caught off guard by the sudden question.
"How the heck do you know my name?!" He said in a threatening tone.
"I was supposed to monitor your father Agyro on this dungeon raid, but to my surprise I see his son instead!" He laughed whilst approaching them. Ceal didn't know whether to attack or withdraw…
"Don't worry, I'm an ally not one of the monsters you're going to cut in half." He said whilst patting his shoulder.
"Oh and this beautiful lady here, non other than Serena! How you've grown!" He said.
Serena already had one eye brow up as she looked at this man in confusion. Alsi could only watch the buffled expressions on their faces. The man noticed this.
"Oh! How rude of me not to introduce myself. My name is Yosef Milgran, your father and I are good friends and partners, I help him in his quests. I've heard alot about you two." He said.
"What!? So he never told you anything about my greatness!? He must really be growing old if he can forget me but remember these peasents." Said Alsi whilst shaking off his hoodie.
"Ahhh, the fiery hair and enormous ego! You must be non other than the lost prince of Amaris, Alsi Amaris. It is a great pleasure." The man bowed his head.
"Wait a minute, did everyone know all this time that I'm a lost prince!?"
"No,no,no. It was only two days ago that the information came in from Amaris. The king of Amaris declared a massive amount of money for anyone who captures you dead or alive. And so all the guilds wanted in on it.'
' despite that, Agyro has done an amazing job hiding and raising you. He must be very proud."
" Well thank you very much Mr Milgran but I have a question. How do you help my dad out…exactly?" Asked Serena. The question wasn't unexpected judging from Mr Milgran's physique.
"Oh, that's a good question. Well you see every Ginknight or group of Ginknights has an overseer that makes sure to inform them of any missions. Usually Ginknights don't go to Guilds because it can get abit rough for the guild members knowing that someone is taking all the well-paying but hard quests. People can be quite greedy, and so we stand in for them by making agreements with Guildmasters and letting them have the half of any loot from missions if there is." Mr Milgran explained.
"Ohh, that makes sense. Now I know why Dad hated guilds and adventurers so much."
"The feeling is starting to get mutual. Am I gonna be hiding under a hoodie EVERY time I go out! What a waste of energy!" Alsi complained.
"Well that's very unfortunate, but I'm sure a solution to your problem will reveal itself."
"Well that aside, we have to clear this dungeon before nightfall." Said Ceal.
"Nightfall? Are you sure you'll be able to do it that quickly?" Said Mr Milgran.
" Those were our orders, meaning we don't have the time for chatting…"
"Ahhh, I understand. Well then I wish you a good raid. Be careful however, you never know how strong those monsters could be."
"You don't have to worry about us, Mr Milgran. We'll be just fine." Serena bowed her head as she spoke.
"Better hurry up you sacks of rotten meat, we ain't got all day." Alsi was already on his way into the portal. Serena and Ceal waved as they rushed to catch up to the Alsi. Mr Milgran waved back with a smile across his face.
As they approached the portal, they could feel the energy flowing from it. The closer they got to it, the harder it was to look into the light it emitted. Until finally, the light engulfed them. Moments later, Alsi opened his eyes to a cave. The cave was integrated with steel and iron ores of which Alsi could identify without even having to examine closer.
"Are you guys seeing this!" Serena said.
"This will come in handy…" said Ceal.
"Yes more steel for my blades! I didn't have them repaired the last time."
"Don't forget that most of it belongs to the treasury and the Guild, so we can only carry what's necessary."
They kept wandering through the cave. The place was dark, Alsi's flame being the only source of light. The air was cold and the cave was dead silent. The only sound that made itself known was the repeated drop of water. They walked through the place, each of them having a tense expression on their faces, not knowing what to expect, or what not to. Alsi swallowed hard, a nervous feeling started to take root in his chest. He could feel Ceal and Serena right behind him. He knew they had the same thoughts he did.
They wandered aimlessly, Alsi with one sword drawn, Ceal with his hand to his sheath. Their breathes gradually became louder.
*SNAP!*
Every muscle in their bodies froze. The sound echoed throughout the cave. Alsi could feel his chest getting heavier, a drop of sweat went down his forehead. Suddenly, rattling noises started to echoe repeatedly. The sounds cast a wave of confusion over Alsi and his companions. At this point they knew they had to be ready for anything. The sounds suddenly stopped and the cave became once again deafeningly silent. Nobody knew what to do at this point. A drop of water fell to the ground, when the sound of its impact was heard, an arrow suddenly zoomed towards them .
Everyone evaded it either to the left or to the right.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!?" Said Alsi.
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!?" Said Ceal.
"GUYS CALM DOWN!" Said Serena. They all quieted down. Alsi then lit another small fire with his hand, he threw it into the darkness to see what lurked in it. The light went on for 2 seconds till it revealed a group of skeletons with arrows aimed at them. When they saw this, Ceal jumped ahead of Alsi and Serena. The skeletons let go of the strings of their bows and several arrows went flying in their direction. Ceal stretched out his hands, bright blue sparks started to light up around him. Just when the arrows were about to make contact…
*BOOM!!!*
A force pushed away the deadly arrows heading towards them, dropping them on the ground as they broke apart. The skeletons were all blown apart as a wave of blue light was followed closely by the force, which in turn was followed by the loud sound. All the skeletons lay there in pieces, their weapons on the ground. The silence finally returned and Ceal breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whew! That was a close one…" said Ceal.
"I know right-" The rattling noises suddenly came back. When Alsi heard this he knew exactly what was happening.
"GUYS RUN!" They bolted past the bones that were picking themselves up and reconstructing themselves. In a few moments they were stumbling across the dark whilst trying to dodge the incoming arrows. They knew trying to deal with the skeletons would end up draining all their energy if they kept regenerating. The answer to this problem was simple. Kill the Dungeon Boss, and every other enemy shall perish. They managed to see light at the end of the passage. This gave the some hope and they dashed ahead to get to it.
They didn't know what it was but they were satisfied as long us they got out of this long tunnel they were running through.
The moment they managed to reach their destination. They found themselves in a large circular space lit by lamps fixed to the wall. They looked at the structure of the room…
"Isn't this a boss room? Why the heck is it empty?" Said Serena.
The skeletons finally managed to catch up. Alsi, Ceal and Serena prepared to defend themselves, but then something strange happened. The skeletons didn't let as much as a foot out the tunnel. They stayed there and stared on at Alsi and his companions. This left them all confused…
"What's going on?" Said Ceal.
"Isn't it obvious? They've finally realized they don't stand a chance against me." Said Alsi.
Serena face palmed herself at hearing that. Ceal closed his eyes, he had a very good ear that could pick up the slightest vibrations. He suddenly heard something, he just couldn't make out what it was or where it was coming from. The sound got louder and louder.
" Guys get ready!" He warned his teammates.
"What's going on?" Alsi asked but he was only answered by the tense silence in the room. The skeletons stayed at the entrance of the room, standing lifeless as they should have being.
*CRACK!*
The sound reverberated through out the large room. Their eyes all widened in full awareness of what was about to happen next. But the moment they tried to react, the ground broke apart and swallowed them whole. Alsi tried to grab on to anything but his effort ended up in a futile dance as they all plummeted into their doom.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" They all screamed, and they screamed harder when they witnessed the horrific sight below them. A wide pool of lava awaited them as it burned endlessly for them only.
…What a horrible way to die.