'When he is in total darkness, he sees the corpses of his loved ones and thousands of soldiers wherever he goes. Then he sees a shadow that looks like a monster talking to him and saying these words:
-I called you and you heard me. With this arrogance, I'm going to take away your freedom once again.'
-Hiruko said no. Stop it! All I want is to be with my friends and go my own way. Don't hurt them. I don't want to be responsible for the death of my friends or their loved ones.
- Hahaha, do you really mean what you're saying? Goki would be proud to hear that and anyway, we'll see. Otherwise, I've left you a present, or as you like to call it, a surprise at the end of this road you're still struggling to see. Minus and that shadow took Dave's face.
-Dave?! All pissed off and shouting his name, Hiruko was seized with anger and wanted to shoot him, but by passing through the smoke screen that was his body, which had no effect on him. But the shadow told her one last message.
- After the earth and nature to punish his actions, now the sun itself will come and burn your dream, so be careful of your choices. Many may yet die.
With that, the shadow began to dissipate and, just as Hiruko was heading towards it, he suddenly heard a voice calling out to him: 'Hiruko wake up, get out of there or he'll kill you!'
-And it was Selene who had saved Hiruko from a Draugr who wanted to crush her with his big leg.
Hiruko woke up to find that he was in the middle of a battle and that his team-mates Uli, Selene and Frederico were fighting several large draugrs.
-Is he finally awake? Luckily, we've got to get out of here soon, mate. Frederico was happy to see him back on his feet.
- Hiruko: I'm tired and dizzy, my body weighs tons, but I've got to get up.
-Get up quickly, damn it! Dozens of other draugrs were coming towards you. Hiruko said this with his face covered in draugr sap, fighting together with Selene and Frederico.
Suddenly, the draugr that was heading towards Hiruko ran towards him to attack.
-Selene: I can't help him, I'm almost out of strength with these toxins wearing me out.
When this draugr arrived right in front of Hiruko, he raised his hand to assault her, but his palm turned into a crushing mass that hit him. The draugr was then cut into pieces before being crushed, which shocked everyone, including Hiruko.
What just happened? Why did that Draugr fall off by itself? Selene asked herself before realising that the draugr she was fighting had also just fallen to pieces.
-Selene: Huh? What's going on?
- At last reinforcements have arrived! (With a smile on his face, Frederico was overjoyed to see reinforcements arrive to rescue them).
- Is it coming from the wall? Who are you?' asked Hiruko, covered in mud, to find out who had come to help them.
- Is that any way to thank your saviour? A thank you would be welcome, even if before that you have to win a round against me,' he said to the man who had come out of the wall he'd broken to head towards our heroes.
- Hmm, so it's you? I didn't need your help, you can go home.
Selene: If it's you who's just arrived, then I can rest.
- You, Hiruko, are pretty banged up to pretend you don't need my help, but you're welcome, my friend.
-Uli: Konrad! I'm glad it was you who found us, what luck!
-You're welcome Uli, and considering the situation, you had to face an even tougher danger.
-Frederico: You can say that again, and I'm glad that the best student in the academy was able to come to our rescue.
-Hiruko: By the way, why did it have to be him and how did he find us?
-Uli: The moment we saw the big snake swallow Goki and Ismael, while a weakened pregnant woman was allowed to escape and the animals were still attacking, weaker than they were, we quickly realised that these guys weren't credible with their stories, but also that he was much too strong for us.
-Hiruko: Really?
- And that's when I decided to ask Frederico to call for reinforcements by waving to him.
-Right, I remember, so that's when you called him, that's when you were able to teach Frederico?
-Uli: That's right. We only had three receivers, which is perhaps why Frederico's gadgets haven't yet reached the other two.
-Konrad: I came as soon as I could. Admittedly, I didn't fully understand what that bug was telling me, but as soon as he presented me with the badge of our academy, I knew that one of my comrades was in danger.
-Selene : And by the way, shouldn't you be with Miguel? Has he been killed?
- Hironko : Rest in peace, Miguel (Hiruko was accompanied by Selene).
Then they heard the wall break on the other side.
- Frederico : What? Someone breaking our walls again? What have the walls ever done to you?
-HIRUKO & Selene replied with a disappointed look on their faces: it looks like he's still alive.
It was Miguel who had just entered the place where Hiruko and her gang were standing.
- Miguel : I admit it, Konrad. You were quicker than me. I was several minutes late.
- 5 minutes,' replied Hiruko and Selene.
- OK, so why do I think you're all in such a mess and why are you all here in this place? Can't you smell the toxins? You'd better get out of here, and I can see there's no more draugr.
- You're right, we'd better get out of here. Shall I help you up, Hiruko? (asked her best friend, holding out her hand).
- Thanks for your help,' he said, grabbing Uli's hand and pulling himself to his feet, even though his body was still weak from the toxins.
They walked more than 100 metres towards the ruins, and our two young people took the time to chat.
-Selene : I think at this point we have to be wary of everyone.
- Miguel : Why do you say that, Selene? Aren't we supposed to be helping each other in this dungeon?
Konrad : I saw the body of a large animal on the way here. It looked like a giant hypopotamus. So that's not the only problem you've had to face in this dungeon. At first I thought it was a jengu.
-Selene: Obviously, it was one of our major problems and without the help of my friends and their care, I wouldn't even be in this world.
- ULI: Konrad, do you remember the lessons Mr Seonjun gave us at the academy, telling us about the draugr in the dungeons and how they were much more dangerous than the jengu?
So it really is true? I admit I'm surprised if what you're saying is true, and after all, I've just witnessed it myself when I saw the body of that creature outside.
- Frederico: I've even studied it, and I'll have you know that some of them hide their nuclei and show a tiny shred of intelligence. They're capable of producing laz...
- Wait, I don't know you, and from the start I wanted to ask you who you were, because given your age, you're not an apprentice at the Academy. Tell me, which kingdom and which Academy are you from?
-Uli: That's Frederico Grimaldi, a researcher, healer and inventor. It's thanks to him that Selene, me and Hiruko aren't in such bad shape.
-Konrad: Did you say healer?
- Yes, thanks to technology, I'm trying to catch up with the Draugrs. Give this to Hiruko (Konrad handed Hiruko a vial filled with a liquid solution).
He sniffed the yellowish honey-like solution and realised that it was more bitter. Then he asked Frederico: 'What's in it?
- Come on, Hiruko, you're not going to doubt me, are you? This poison you've been soaking in for so long, when you're unconscious, isn't going to wash itself away.
Konrad: Did you say something about doubting him? Why did you say that?
-Selene: That's what we wanted to tell you too, in connection with your appeal. Apart from the fact that we contacted you with the little gadgets and these creatures you've met, we're sure there are plenty of them in the dungeon, but the problem we wanted to talk to you about is the fact that there are other people, apart from us, who are going through our trials here, and other people who are here.
-Konrad: Other people? Those who like to try their luck in the dungeons? They'd all be dead, wouldn't they? But for this one, apart from the sergeants, a lot of people avoid it because it's too dangerous. Did you meet any of them?
-Selene: Exactly, Konrad, and think how lucky you are not to have met them. These people are too dangerous, so don't go near them if you do.
-Konrad: Dangerous? But why? Why should they be so hostile to their own kind, in a place like this? There are some things you just have to be a bastard to understand.
- We faked it, me, Frederico and Uli, by letting ourselves pass out from their poison, to get a better idea of their purpose.
-Their poison? So this toxin came from the users of the dungeon stones? Konrad expresses his astonishment at what he has just heard.
- Uli: That's why we preferred to simulate it. Otherwise, if we'd tried anything unwise, they'd have killed us, my team and the pregnant woman. Apparently their target was Goki Kosuga.
Konrad: Goki? The one who stood out in the Dawnchester preliminaries? And why would they go after him?
-Frederico: No, I don't think it was just Goki. They all seemed to have special abilities that were superior to Class 1 spells. As far as I'm concerned, they were there for the dungeon's acane stone, and also for the acane stones of all those who would end up there.
-Selene: And that's why Dave was so insistent when he asked for the exact number of recruits who entered the dungeon.
-Konrad: And how did they know about Goki? Maybe because they saw you fighting, especially when you see the remains of that giant hypopotamus.
-Selene: But given what he had to show us, it wasn't enough to deduce that his weapon was targeting him or that he was unknowingly a potential target. They must have known him even before they met him in that dungeon.
-Uli: And I doubt that the meeting of our two groups was purely coincidental.
-Wait, wait, wait... I can't follow you, especially with your stories about dungeon stones and so on.
- Frederico: HIRUKO, don't you know about the arcane stones you can find by exploring dungeons?
- EUHH no, it was the first time he'd heard the word: dungeon arcane stones.