Not long after I managed to get my armor on, I returned to Hazel and Icarus. Aros walked behind me and followed me up the stairs. As I reached the top stair, Hazel turned to me.
"Wow," Hazel said as she saw my armor, "It's not bad."
"It's comfortable, at least," I said as I looked down at my arms. Even though the armor was heavy, it was also comfortable and warm. It was the perfect size to fit around my body, so I wasn't too bothered by the weight in the first place, "Let's go down,"
Hazel nodded. I turned away from her, then brought up my hand to cast the skill『 Dungeon Visit 』. Because I had recently leveled the skill up to level two, the portal was slightly larger than before. Leveling it up really only appeared to do two things. One, it opened faster, and two, it was larger.
I probably wouldn't see any change other than speed and size for a while, but I didn't mind. The skill served its purpose anyways. As the portal opened, the other side revealed itself as part of the first floor's cave system. There weren't any adventurers in the dungeon, as everybody was outside, so I was safe to open a portal a few yards away from the entrance.
Then, without much more pause, I stepped through the portal. Hazel followed close behind me, then turned around to watch Icarus make his way through the portal as well. I looked back to the other side and turned my attention to Aros, "We'll be back soon, hopefully. Watch the fort until then."
"Understood," Aros said as he bowed his head. I waved my hand, closing the portal in the process, then turned to Hazel. The cave was dark, much darker than a cave should've been, but none of us were bothered by it. Because of our draconic abilities, both Hazel and I had night vision, even when we were in our human forms.
Icarus also had night vision, obviously, as he was still stuck in his dragon form in the first place.
"Let's go," I said as I turned away from the two. I faced the dungeon entrance, which was about twenty yards away from us, and began to walk. Hazel and Icarus followed close behind. Because the dungeon entrance was very close, it didn't take long to see fragments of daylight seep into the dungeon through the entrance.
By the time we were ten yards away, I began to hear the voices of the raid group ahead.
"We'll be spending four hours in here," A feminine voice announced, "Based on what the two groups that came before us have reported, the size of the cave is far larger than we should expect. We have thirty members, but I don't want anybody to get arrogant because of that. My group alone can provide five tanks, five archers, and ten swordsmen. We lack priests, unfortunately, so I'll be relying on the rest of you to not get injured."
"We have a cleric," Another voice interjected. As the voice spoke, another yelped in surprise.
"Are you expecting me to heal thirty people? No can do, captain. I'm only level ten," Another voice said, "I'll need help."
"We'll just try not to get injured, you'll be fine," The feminine voice spoke. The group went silent again. By this point, I was getting even closer. I was almost in the sunlight, "Any other questions? Good. Kelvin, I know that you have experience with this place, so you'll lead the pack."
"I will?" Kelvin's voice gasped, "No, I can't. I hardly remember the route we took. We'd be stumbling through the dark."
"Hmm. Okay, it looks like we're lacking a guide. Can none of you other people stand up to help?" The feminine voice asked. A few groans of displeasure followed suit, answering the voice's question. The feminine voice sighed.
"I can lead you," I spoke as I made my way into the sunlight. I turned the corner, then stopped as I looked at the large group of raiders. As I spoke, two people turned around to face me. Both of them were wolf-beastmen with strong equipment. I immediately appraised the two, hoping to gain some insight into their strength.
﹃
Anya Caldwell
Race: Beastkin
Level: 21
HP: 110
MP: 105
AC: 50
DMG: 50
Rank: B
﹄
﹃
Dave Caldwell
Race: Beastkin
Level: 22
HP: 115
MP: 110
AC: 50
DMG: 50
Rank: B
﹄
"Who are you?" The beastwoman, Anya, asked as she looked to me. Her eyes glanced to Hazel, then fell to Icarus. She gasped, then looked back to me with wide eyes.
"Arthur Aureys," I replied as I stepped forward. I looked to the group, then said, "This is a large group you've got here. What are you here for?"
"Arthur Aureys?" Anya said with a large smile, "So you're the one. Anyways, we're here to investigate something a small dwarf considers dangerous."
"You don't look like residents of Hewe," I said as I looked at their levels. They were by far the highest I had seen, as long as I ignored Casey Forsyth or Derek Stone. They were both captains, though, with several decades of experience. Even the butler, Nicholas Bundy, who was probably secretly a bodyguard, wasn't as strong as these people. Part of the reason was probably rank, though. These people were both rank B, but Nicholas was only rank D, "Are you from Pyre?"
"No," Anya replied, "We came from the capital, hoping to find you. It looks like fate has played into our hands. We found you without really trying."
"Me?"
"That dragon of yours, Arthur," Anya said as she looked down at Icarus, "It's the only one in the world. Are you interested in selling it? If not, we'd have to take it by force."
"Huh," I said as I straightened my posture. I looked to Anya, then to Dave. His body was already prepared for a fight. His weapon was still sheathed, but I doubted he would have trouble grabbing it within a few seconds. I looked back to Anya, then said, "Why don't I join that group of yours? After a few hours, you can decide whether to fight me or not."
"What do you mean?" Anya asked. I smiled, then shrugged my shoulders.
"I'm stronger than you. I just figured, because of that, it would at least be decent to show you that before we fight," I replied. Then, without much more pause, I unsheathed my sword. As I felt the hilt in my hand, I had an idea. The idea was quick, passing and going like the wind, but it lingered long enough to register in my mind.
As I held the sword in my hand, I focused on the mana in my arm, then forced it into the sword. I watched as the mana went into the sword similar to how mana would go into my wings. As this happened, I began to feel the mana even while it was still in my sword. I couldn't control the sword like my wings, but the connection was still there.
As soon as the mana within the sword settled down, red flames began to dance over the blade, flickering with hunger.
"Of course," I spoke as I looked at the Caldwell siblings. Both of them looked at the sword, then at me, "If you want to fight right now, that's an option, too."
"You'd really fight a member of the Caldwell guild?" Anya yelled as she took a step back. Even at her level of strength, she felt an immense amount of pressure from the individual in front of her. Even her brother, who was a battle-crazed idiot, couldn't help but feel like I was a serious danger.
"I don't know who you two are," I replied, "I just know that you just threatened to steal my familiar. Of course I'd react like this."
"Arthur, calm down!" I heard from near the back of the group. I turned my gaze away from the Caldwell siblings, only to find Jonathan and Evelyn pushing their way away from the crowd. They took a moment to get to the front of the crowd, but by the time they were there, I had already calmed down.
"Hello again," I said as I extinguished the flame on my sword before sheathing it. I turned back to Jonathan, then walked forward and embraced him in a quick hug.
"Oomph," Jonathan gasped as the wind was taken out of his lungs. He returned the hug, then backed away and looked to the Caldwell siblings, "This is my party mate, Arthur. Just based on experience, I can say with certainty that both of you combined wouldn't stand a chance against him."
The Caldwell siblings looked to Jonathan, then to each other.
"Who are you again?"