Haruo stayed calm, watching the stone dragon hurtle toward them with crushing speed. After everything he'd faced that day, this felt like just another exhausting trial he had to push through.
Ena panicked and shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. They were so close to escaping with the artifact they had fought so hard to find, and now it seemed like everything was slipping away.
"CAN'T WE JUST KILL THAT BEAST!??" Ena shouted, her hair whipping wildly as she descended, her expression growing more frantic with each passing second.
Haruo swiftly retrieved his Monarch-13 from his mana storage, pointing it toward the descending dragon. He fired several rounds, the shots echoing sharply, but each bullet merely glanced off the stone surface, leaving the beast completely unharmed.
"It's indestructible, it's made from the same material as the walls of this tomb." Haruo said, knocking on the wall multiple times as they descended to prove his point. Each thud echoed ominously, reinforcing the hopelessness of their situation.
"Are you saying this one's stronger?!" Ena shouted, her voice rising in panic as they fell, the massive beast closing in rapidly. The stone dragon loomed larger, its shadow enveloping them as they plummeted, heightening her sense of dread.
"Pretty much." Haruo said with a shrug, gripping the artifact tightly in his hand as the stone dragon drew closer.
Ena searched her clothes in a hurry, sweat beading on her forehead from frustration as she scrambled to find something that could serve as currency for the artifact.
Ena pulled out five crumpled paper bills and four rusted bronze coins from her pocket, staring in disbelief. Her color drained as feelings of worthlessness washed over her, and she quietly sobbed, tears falling as she realized she had no money.
Haruo took one of the bronze coins and inserted it into the hole on top of the artifact. Suddenly, it began to rotate sideways, tracking their movements as they continued to fall.
Haruo crossed his fingers, biting his lower lip in anticipation, hoping for a mythical pull. The artifact stopped spinning, and the eyes turned gray, a clear signal they had drawn a common.
"Bullshit." Haruo muttered, dropping his hand in disappointment as the dull gray eyes of the artifact stared back at him.
"Second time's the charm." Haruo said, slipping the second bronze coin into the artifact, hoping for better luck this time.
The artifact started to spin once more, and this time Haruo watched with a renewed sense of hope. He leaned in slightly, his focus locked on the rotating device, holding onto the belief that this attempt would bring better luck than the last.
The artifact finally stopped spinning, and once again, gray eyes appeared. Haruo's fleeting hope faded as the outcome revealed yet another common.
"I guess third time's the charm." Haruo said, his tone steady as he inserted the third bronze coin into the artifact, still holding onto hope.
"IS THERE A NEED TO PUT IT ONE BY ONE!?" Ena yelled, her frustration boiling over as she glanced nervously at the dragon, now dangerously close. Each second felt like an eternity, and the slow process only added to her panic.
"Yeah, of course. You've got to savor the moment, like when you win a championship and get a trophy." Haruo replied, glancing at Ena as the artifact continued to spin. His tone was light, but the urgency of their situation lingered in the air.
The artifact stopped once more, revealing yet another common. Haruo quickly inserted the last bronze coin, leaving them with one final draw. The tension mounted as he waited to see what would happen next.
"C'mon, my life depends on this pull... literally." Haruo said, leaning in closely to examine the artifact. His eyes were fixed on it, tension building as he waited for the outcome.
The artifact chimed, revealing yet another common. Haruo felt a pang of disappointment but still held onto a sliver of hope for the last draw.
"I guess this is it. If this dollar bill doesn't give us something good, we're done for." Haruo said, holding the bill above the artifact as it fluttered upward from their descent. The weight of the moment pressed down on him as he prepared for the final draw.
Ena and Haruo both crossed their fingers and closed their eyes tightly. A loud ding signaled that the rotation was over, and they opened their eyes to see what they had drawn. Their hearts sank as they saw the gray eye, another common.
"Well, we're done for; might as well see the prizes." Haruo said, reaching into the hole of the artifact. To his surprise, it felt deeper than he expected, despite its small structure. He fished around, curiosity mixed with resignation.
As Haruo pulled out two tickets and three skill scrolls, both he and Ena glanced at the tickets first. Their eyes widened as they realized the tickets offered a way out of the tomb. Hope flickered back to life as they processed what this could mean for their escape.
"LET'S GO!!!" Haruo exclaimed, excitement surging through him. Ena shot him an irritated look, her expression a mix of frustration and disbelief at his sudden burst of energy.
"What happened to 'I'm too tired to react'?" Ena said, forcefully grabbing her ticket before Haruo stored the artifact back in his mana storage. Her irritation simmered beneath the surface, but there was a flicker of determination in her eyes as they prepared to escape.
Both of them ripped the tickets, and in an instant, they were teleported out of the tomb, landing on the ground beside the trapdoor they had fallen through. They groaned in pain, the weight of the stress they had endured crashing down on them as they lay on the ground, trying to catch their breath.
"Finally, that's over. I never want to do that again." Ena said, shielding her eyes from the blinding light of the sun as she lay on the ground. The warmth felt overwhelming after the darkness of the tomb, and she let out a relieved sigh.
Haruo's face remained flat against the ground, too drained to even lift his head, though he knew he had to. Mustering the last of his strength, he slowly looked up, only to see Kilian crouching in front of him, a smile spread across his face.
"Looks like you guys had a rough day." Kilian said, standing up from his crouched position, his smile never fading as he looked down at them.
"You're part of the reason why." Haruo muttered, using his hand for support as he pushed himself off the ground, still feeling the weight of exhaustion. His gaze flicked toward Kilian, a mix of frustration and weariness in his eyes.
"YOU'RE HERE?!" Ena exclaimed, just now realizing Kilian's presence. Her eyes widened in surprise as she pushed herself up, still processing his sudden appearance.
"Alright, looks like you guys found a tomb. By the looks of it, a mechanical one. Start explaining." Kilian said, ready to hear their report.
Haruo managed to stand up properly, but the moment he did, his face turned green, his palm pressed against his mouth as if he was about to throw up.
"I get nauseous every time Ena heals me. Even though the injuries are gone, I still feel the pain, just like when I fought you." Haruo said, his voice raspy as he glanced away, feeling queasy at the sight of Kilian.
"At the start, this guy felt hungry, so we decided to hunt a cow with a giraffe's neck-" Ena explained, but she was abruptly cut off by Haruo, who interrupted her with a groan.
"I'm sorry, but 'WE'???" Haruo exclaimed, looking incredulous as he shot a glare at Ena.
"Ugh! After hunting the animal that 'HE' hunted, we decided to eat, but while we were eating, a trapdoor opened beneath us, making us fall. There were two pathways, and it was a very hard decision. Of course, I analyzed it first before choosing the left route." Ena explained with exaggerated flair, rolling her eyes as she recalled the chaotic events.
'Yeah right, bitch.' Haruo thought, crossing his arms as he listened to Ena's dramatic retelling of the events.
"As we went through the path, a barrage of arrows attacked us at speeds matching ours because of the runes. Haru was unfortunate enough to get hit by one, so I saved him. Yeah, I know, no need to thank me." Ena explained, a smug look on her face as she relished the moment.
Haruo rolled his eyes in irritation as Ena continued her explanation, each sentence fueling his anger. With every word, his frustration mounted, making the veins in his temples more visible by the second.
"The arrows were laced with poison, and since he needed my help so badly, I assisted him without any difficulty at all. After that, we found this room, and in the center was an artifact." Ena continued, her expression mixing pride and annoyance as she described their adventure.
Haruo then pulled out the legendary rank artifact from his mana storage and handed it to Kilian for inspection, eager to shift the focus away from Ena's exaggerated tale.
"It's legendary rank, by the way. Haru was so excited while I remained calm and decisive, but because of Haru's carelessness in grabbing it, the room started to shift, descending and changing its form." Ena explained, altering the story to suit her narrative, even though she was the one who had been excited and grabbed the artifact.
"So after it fully descended, there were actually four pillars. But once the room was completely down, the pillars turned into statues, and four routes corresponding to the statues appeared. There was this puzzle we had to solve, but let's just skip that part." Ena said, sounding lazy and eager to move on from the explanation.
"After solving the puzzle, we had to go through a horde of monsters and golems, and just when we thought it was over, ANOTHER trapdoor opened beneath us, causing us to find a... ULTIMATE RANK ARTIFACT!!" Ena exclaimed, her excitement bubbling over just before Haruo handed the artifact to Kilian.
"If you want, I could show you the recording." Haruo offered, eager to share their adventure.
"Wait, what?" Ena's smug expression shifted to one of surprise as she processed Haruo's words.
"I have a built-in camera in the Monarch-13, it wouldn't make sense if I just had a built-in AI, would it?" Haruo explained, then began to show the footage he captured.
He then showed the entire footage to Kilian while Ena stood there speechless. Haruo glanced at her with a grin, savoring the moment as he relished having his revenge.
"That's weird, no one has ever found an artifact above A-grade before, especially an ultimate rank, in a mechanical tomb." Kilian said, inspecting the two artifacts in his hands with a furrowed brow.
"There's definitely more to explore down there. Did you guys find any skill scrolls?" Kilian asked, looking down at the opened trapdoor that led back to the tomb.
Kilian then tossed the artifacts back to them and began to stretch, shaking off the tension in his muscles.
"Now that you mention it, yeah, we haven't found a single skill scroll, another artifact, or any gold." Haruo replied, addressing Kilian's questions.
"That means you guys just explored part of the tomb. It's fine, though; we can explore this dungeon another time. Right now, we have the verification test, which is just one hour away. Don't worry, I'll reserve this dungeon, and you guys can keep the artifacts since you found them." Kilian said, offering reassurance as he prepared to move on.
"I kind of forgot to teach you guys something that's going to help you greatly in the test, but I'll save that for the second quarter." Kilian said, shrugging it off as if it were no big deal.
"Quarters? Like in school?" Ena asked, her expression turning downcast as she dreaded the thought of school-related lessons.
"It's not really that necessary since you guys are just going to fight amateurs, so I'll save it for next time." Kilian said with a laugh.
Kilian then picked them up, one under each arm, and started to sprint toward the test area, his powerful strides making it easy for him to carry their weight as he urged them to hold on.
"Again???" Haruo said.
[1 hour left till the verification test...]