Raven and Fuwa got knocked out just by the force of the force that repelled them from inside the dungeon, both of them got crashed very hard against other people, but to be fair the others that were with them weren't so lucky too, just the old man who served as the master of this small rural town managed to land without hurting himself, and thats only because he had experience, it once happened to him many years, back when he was young and greedy, the biggest mistake of his life he had pushed forward with his companions feeling lucky and confident to be the first to discover an adamantite level dungeon, back then he believed he was chosen after such a stroke of luck, only to save up the memories of his companions getting massacred by the ferocious creatures that awaited inside.
"Give me a rest" He complained sighing "I'm too old for this"
Some people rushed to help the two girls and the mithril party, those 5 were the strongest people around without counting the master, curiosity consumed him, but he wasn't a fool, the moment he was thrown away, just a moment before he crossed the portal he felt something, someone, there was a presence at the garden who terrified him to the bone.
'This is out of my league... I bet those danger junkis will get dragged here like moths to the flames' In his mind he thought about the adamantite adventurers, news about this is bound to spread like a fire in dry fields.
"Master!" Said the clerk running to him "Are you alright!? What happened!?"
"Calm down" Said the man, but in reality, he was just too shocked to be more surprised after he too had escaped from Raven, and now that he looked at her he felt relief 'They definitely have the level for real, but not the skills that should come with it'
In his mind, from what little he had seen, they should have the skills of a steel group maybe almost mithril, he didn't know how they managed to get to over level 20, but any adamantite adventurer could easily knock them, damn probably most of the orichalcum adventurers too and maybe one or two of the mithril class...
'What I'm going to do?' He thought, at the start, he didn't think much about it, but once an adventurer is registered in the guild all the guild are able to see their level, so probably most of those battle junkies already knew about them and would want to test their might 'Ahh damn, they are my responsibly since they joined in my turf, but they don't have the backbone to endure a clash with real menaces'
It was a pain in the ass after another.
"Master?" Asked the guild clerk.
"Those girls and we managed to defeat the boss, and the dungeon shifted, for a moment I thought it would grow deeper because something like a tunnel appeared, but then again, the place changed into something different"
He gazed again, there were no dead among the adventurers who recklessly rushed here, but only because they overwhelmed the place with numbers, even then some were injured, and now this mess...
"Close the dungeon, none goes inside until the king decides what to do" That was the right choice, this was beyond his league.
The old master stood there, gazing at the transformed dungeon with a weight heavier than his years. He knew the darkness within it was far beyond the capabilities of those who had come to challenge it today. The memories of his own failed expedition haunted him, reminding him of the dangers that lay in waiting when arrogance and ignorance led the charge.
...
...
...
Raven woke up in an unknown room, the floor was made of wood, it was not like the luxurious room they had last night in the guest room, it was a fairly nice place, but even so, she didn't recognize it. It was the second time she had been struck by that kind of mysterious type of energy, the first was when they got teleported to this place.
'Fuck' She thought covering her head with her hands, she didn't feel in pain at all.
But there was stuff she needed to think about, she didn't really get the situation that had happened in the dungeon, but if this was how every time she went into a dungeon would end then she didn't want to go inside anymore.
"Fuck it all" She said complaining to herself "I just started this to get back on that stupid blond ass and get my revenge, I can't deal with this anymore, I don't even care about the revenge on him anymore"
It looked as if it was a distant past, but it had been a little more than a month ago, yes, she lost to that hero and got defeated, but if it would be this hard to get strong just to get back at him then... was it worth it? Fuwa was still out of combat sleeping in a bed next to her, she seemed happy but Raven already knew she would soon wake up causing a stir for her meat, after all, she had said it, she really wanted to eat that meat, she even dragged her to that dungeon just for that.
'Ahhh... stupid Fuwa...' Raven thought "Maybe this isn't for me" She whispered, pulling her knees to her chest "Maybe I'm not cut out for this life"
She shook her head, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle in. The dungeon had left them battered in more ways than one. For now, they needed rest. But Raven couldn't shake the nagging feeling that things were about to get more complicated.
Suddenly, Fuwa stirred in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent. Raven rolled her eyes, already anticipating what was coming next. Sure enough, Fuwa's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing out of her mouth was:
"Meat..."
Raven groaned "Of course" She stood up and walked up to the girl who was still in the process of waking up and shook her "Wake up already!"
Fuwa sat down on her bed rubbing her eyes, she was a little grumpy.
"Hey dumb, why do we always end up being beaten?" Asked Raven to the martial artist who looked at her and smiled with a blinding radiance.
"Hey don't be sad silly" Said Fuwa "Losing is part of the process of learning, you can't expect to win all the fights"
Raven stared at Fuwa, surprised by the unusually wise comment coming from her friend, who was usually more focused on food than philosophy. Fuwa smiled with her usual carefree expression, but there was something behind her words that caught Raven off guard.
"You... actually said something smart" Raven muttered, blinking at her.
"Well you know, Ash Mustard lost all the leagues for a while before he actually won" Fuwa said stretching lazily.
"For some reason, I don't really want to know more, just leave it at that" Said Raven, she didn't understand Fuwa at all with her last comment, but her instincts said that it was something stupid that would ruin her small brilliant moment, she sighed and looked at Fuwa "I think we are lacking strength, real strength"
"Then we have to train more" Fuwa said jumping from her bed throwing a series of quick punches and jabs to her air then turning back to Raven smiling and pocking out her tongue "Don't be sad because we lost, be happy because we live"
Raven looked at her and smiled too.
"You are impossible" She said, hitting her with her hip to make Fuwa lose her balance "Come on, let's find some skewers to eat"
"Aaaaayeee~!" Said Fuwa really happy "You really know how to woo me, don't you?"
"Shut up!"