CRUNCH! Arad finally finished tearing all the Axols down. Those tiny monsters weren’t his equal.
“Arad, are they all down?” Aella approached him, keeping her eyes closed in case an Axol remained alive.
Arad shifted to his humanoid form and looked at her, “They are all dead. Let’s set a camp,”
“At this rate, we will end up clearing multiple layers daily.” Jack sighed and started setting the tent.
“How long does it take for a dungeon to refill?” Arad asked.
“A week. Didn’t we talk about that before?” Aella replied, looking at him.
“To be more precise, it depends on the dungeon rank. C-rank take a week.” Jack explained in more detail and waved his hand, “Come help me,”
The three of them slowly built a basic camp inside the second layer and then turned to search the place. This is the second layer. They should find something of value here.
“Arad, did you keep the Axols’ bodies?” Aella asked.
“Yes,” Arad replied, “They are in my stomach,”
“Good,” Jack smiled, “I bet some alchemists would pay a good penny for them. For making antidots and such,”
Thud! Arad walked forward with Jack and Aella behind him. He looked at the jagged walls and the damp ground, searching for the way to the third layer. Arad could hear the echos of each step booming across the empty cave.
***
In the adventurers guild.
Nina was doing her job like any day, and a strange man walked through the door. “Is the adventurer named Arad here?” He asked.
The whole guild fell silent, staring at the man. It was clear from his clothes that he was a mage. Wearing a black robe and a funny hat, the smile on his face never faded as he inspected the place.
“I don’t see him anywhere,” The man giggled.
“Come here for a moment,” Nina waved her hand, calling the man to her desk.
“Hoo!” The man gasped with a smile, “Did you happen to know where I can find him?” He approached her desk, almost jumping in his steps.
“Why are you looking for him?” Nina asked.
“I have a quest for him,” The man smiled, “I have a problem with a small dragon to the east, and I want it dead. Can I put a quest?”
Nina glared at him, “Which dragon? What is the exact location, and what do you know of its nature?”
“A very young black dragon that has been terrorizing the native villages across the black bogs.” The man explained.
Nina pulled a book from her desk and inspected the known dragon location, and the man’s story seemed legit. There was a black dragon couple just a few days away from the black bogs. A child of their escaping there wasn’t strange.
“I see. I will put the quest up,” Nina replied with a smile.
“Did you happen to know where Arad is? I want to speak with him about the quest,” The man asked.
“He’s on a quest. I can’t give you details as that is against the guild rules.” Nina replied.
The man sighed, “Guess I have to wait,” He looked down, “I heard the legendary Alcott lives here. Do you know where I can find him? I want him to sign my spellbook if possible,”
“Alcott is out on a quest as well,” Nina replied, and the man sighed, “So he’s out of the city,”
With a sad face, the man walked out of the guild to find an inn to stay in.
Nina looked around for a moment and then sighed, “Abel, come here. I have some news about your quest,”
Abel who was in the guild, drinking heard her and stood, “Come on, don’t tell me you have to give priority to that man,” He approached her with a sad face.
“Follow me to the private room,” Nina said.
Abel’s eyes sparkled, “For real!” He shouted, “HORAY!”
“Be quiet,” Nina glared at him, and they headed to the private room.
Inside Abel glared at Nina with a smile, “What should do? Take my clothes?”
“Stop playing dumb,” Nina sighed, “You know why I called you here.”
Abel’s face changed, “You’re not fun at all,” He looked at the door, “That man was suspicious, I agree,”
Nina nodded, “But his story seemed legit. I would have punched his face in the past. Something about him is tickling my nerves.” Nina glared at Abel, “I want someone to follow him, learn what he is up to,”
Abel scratched his head, “You know I can’t search to save my life,”
“You’re the lord’s son. Can’t you do anything to learn what he wants?” Nina stared at Abel.
Abel smiled, “I can get the guards to arrest him on false notice. Or try to bait him with one of my girls. But if he’s serious, I doubt any of them will work,”
“Mages, with spells. They are tricky to deal with.” Nina looked at the table.
“How about you ask Merlin? Isn’t she a mage as well?” Abel suggested.
“She is busy, and I can’t waste her time with suspicion,” Nina replied.
“Alcott is on a quest. I assume Ginger is with him?” Abel asked.
“Yeah, those two moves together. Even Amber is out,” Nina sighed.
“It might be a good idea to notice Merlin that another mage is looking for Arad. Just tell her and see how she would respond,” Abel responded.
Knock! Knock! “Nina, the adventurer named Gojo is asking for you,”
“I’m coming,” Nina stood, “Try and find a way to get the information for me,”
“What do I get for it?” Abel stared at Nina.
“You would have Arad do your quest in time. As a dragon is more urgent,” Nina glared at him, and Abel sighed, “So either I take that mage out, or I would have to wait,”
Nina opened the door and looked at her desk. Gojo stared at her with his glowing blue eyes, his party behind him.
“What is it?” Nina approached her desk with a smile.
Gojo rested his elbows on the desk and glared back with a smile, “That mage earlier, wasn’t he a bit weird?” He said.
“What do you mean?” Nina stared at him.
Gojo smiled, “With how much magic he has, won’t killing a young dragon be easy for him?” He turned his head, his white hair trailing with the wind, “He did have the time to waste and travel all the way here, so why didn’t he just slay the dragon?”
“You can tell how much magic he has?” Nina glared at Gojo.
Vars, the elf behind Gojo walked forward, “As much as I hate to admit it, Gojo here is talented in sensing people’s magic,”
“He’s right!” Gug added, half-shouting with her arms crossed.
“My brother Jack is with Arad,” The trifling with Gojo walked forward, “I do feel that man was suspicious as well, and I can’t let this slide,”
Gojo smiled, looking at Nina. “She’s right. I can’t let a brother alone.”
“Jack is my brother,”
“It doesn’t matter,” Gojo replied.
Nina smiled and pulled out a paper. “I will write a letter to Merlin, deliver it to her,”
“I see,” Gojo smiled.
“But Gojo, what about our mission?” Vars growled.
“We need some time so everything can fall in place,” Gojo replied, “Don’t rush it,”
Vars sighed, “I guess you’re right,”
“Here is the letter, take it and head to Merlin’s tower,” Nina handed them the letter, and the party headed out.
“Ho,” Abel smiled in the back, “It wasn’t just us who get weirded out by that man. This only makes us more certain he is up to no good,”
“Yeah,” Nina replied, “I will inform the guild to keep an eye on him as well,”
“You can’t let someone with Arad’s skills go to waste,” Abel smiled, “But in my eye, that Gojo kid looks just as skilled,”
“Do you think so?” Nina looked at Gojo leaving the guild, “He only took small jobs and barely finished them. They always seemed to have something else to do besides doing guild quests,” 𝘦𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝗇𝓔t
“Is that so?” Abel smiled, “How interesting,”
“When will you move?” Nina glared at Abel, “Come on, I still have some time here.” Abel smiled, “What about the guild master? Won’t she do anything about this?”
Nina shook her head, “The guildmaster isn’t in the city,” She sighed, “I heard she is out visiting an old friend,”
“Visiting an old friend?” Abel stared at Nina.
“I don’t the details, but they live in the far east. She might not be back for a month.” Nina explained.
“We lack a lot of capable people,” Abel sighed, “I will go and keep an eye on that mage. Make sure I get to have Arad first,” He smiled.
***
In the street, the mage walked around, searching for an inn when a blond girl called him. “Sir mage, excuse me for a moment,” She rushed to his side.
“What is it?” The mage glared at her.
“Care to have a moment?” She stared at him, smiling.