After a few while, Zephyr along with the old lady finally arrived in front of the dungeon's entrance.
"....? Wait, this is-"
"Huh? You know this dungeon youngster?"
"Well, no, not personally. I'm gonna ask just to be sure though, grandma, what rank do you think this dungeon is?"
"It's rain! Rain I tell ya."
'No. This is clearly a Blood ranked one. One thing I'm aware of, is that my eyes actually have some kind of special perception when appraising dungeons even from the outside. I can already tell with one look…but the most suspicious thing for me is–'
Zephyr looks at the old woman with a worried expression.
'I could see it clearly back then…the hut that this old lady is currently residing, has a rank. A rain one…I mean, it can't be a dungeon right? A hut-type dungeon, what kinda monster would adapt to it. It's clear though, this old lady's hiding something.'
As the free-spirited Zephyr sighed, he shrugged his shoulders and thought to himself that 'Meh, not my problem though. I just need to get this done and be on my way…wait, do I even have the time anymore? Well, I have a perfect reason not to go now right?'
"Right, right…so err, can you describe your cat to me, grandma?" Zephyr unenthusiastically asked.
"She's the most adorable thing you'll ever see!" The old lady then answered in a vague way.
'Man…old lady, everything can be described that way depending on the person. We're going nowhere and I'm out of time. If I see a cat that's it. I mean, a cat inside a dungeon isn't that hard to find, what I'm worried about is if it's still alive by the time I found it.'
"Sure. I'll just go in, please just tell me its color and wait patiently okay, grandma?"
"Oh thank you! Thank you, mister good hunter! She is a black cat with green eyes!"
"Yeah, wish me good luck as well though…"
Despite having to go inside a dungeon alone, and to add, a Blood ranked one, Zephyr was not afraid. First of all, his friends always force him to tag along with them on higher level dungeons, mostly Prism ranked ones with highly dangerous layouts and monsters. But the monsters are only second to his fears, the main reason of his fear was his insane guild mates who are always headfirst into charging in, massacring all dungeon inhabitants that they see. Now that he could run this dungeon alone means he's free to do whatever he wants, that's his current state of mind. Also, he has brought an artifact that he could rely on if something were to happen.
Without any further ado, he steps inside the dungeon as one of his artifacts was dropped into the ground, or rather, it dropped itself as if it was alive.
"Good luck, good hunter." The old lady then mumbles to herself. "This time, no more escape, unlike the lady I took my eyes off yesterday."
As the old lady chuckles, she turns around and walks back to her hut. But then, Zephyr's artifact followed her.
Dungeon: |Moonlight Cave|
Rank: Blood Rank
"Let's see…to make this a lot easier, I might have to use this one." Zephyr rummages through his robe pockets and takes out what seems to be an antique compass.
"Black Cat with green eyes." As soon as Zephyr said those words, the hand of the compass began to rotate and pointed towards a certain direction. The
"Okay, let's just hope it did not go too far…or at least, still alive, for the old lady's sake." As Zephyr walks deeper inside, he feels some uninvited gazes lurking around the corner which is making him somehow nervous.
'Oh boy, this is the disadvantage of being alone. There's no one to watch my back…just few more steps and if I haven't seen any cat, I shall declare her dea-'
"GRRRRRR….."
"What was that sound…"
The wild noise of a monster becomes closer as if it was advancing towards Zephyr. After a while, from the shadows of the path in front of him, something has shown itself.
"....?"
Zephyr then looked at the compass. It has a green light at the center of it, which means that it finally found the target.
"I don't know the whole story but, it's either she got eaten, or the cat that the old lady was looking for–"
"GRRRROOOAR!!"
"IS THIS BIG BLACK CAT-LIKE MONSTER IN FRONT OF ME!!"
As soon as Zephyr screamed, the huge black cat lunged towards him, with its claws and fangs bared. As soon as the cat gets in contact with Zephyr's skin, a mysterious force blows it away, sending it flying from across the dark path, hitting a wall afterwards.
"B-bad cat! I mean, is that even considered a cat anymore!? What the hell old lady!"
'That was scary…good thing I brought the
The high grade artifact,
"Did that kill it…? I don't know if I should hope that it's dead or not. I mean, it's the old lady's cat, I guess?"
The light footsteps of the Cat can be felt by Zephyr. He backs off after knowing that it's approaching him once again, though this time, it's more cautious.
"H-hello, I don't know how the old lady tamed you, but I just want you to know that she's kinda worried."
'Hold up, monsters aren't supposed to leave their habitats right?' He remembered just now. 'Ah, the hell, that must mean this isn't the old lady's–' his gaze then falls towards the compass he is currently holding once again, and is reminded that it accurately describes the old lady's description.
"....."
"Pspspspsps."