Arad stood, approaching the wall, “We have no other choice.” He touched the stone wall, “We can’t stay here forever. We will make a run for the exit.”
Jack approached him, “We can’t do that. But will try.” He smiled.
Aella stood beside them, “All of this because we separated from Alcott. I will make sure to tell him that.” She sighed, grabbing her bow and standing behind Arad with a smile.
Arad quickly cracked the hole, Making it big enough for them to enter. As he peeked his head, he saw nothing in the hallway. “It’s safe, for now.”
The other two walked after him and looked in a different direction.
“Which way should we go?” Arad asked, looking at Aella.
“You’re the one with magic sense. Which direction is the boss?” Aella replied while staring down the pitch-black hallway.
“There is no difference. Both directions are full of magic.” Arad replied.
[This place looks nice. How about you take it as a lair?]
^A lair? This place is a dungeon.^
[Remember when I said you could find a place underground to hibernate and grow older? This place looks perfect.] She replied, [But clearing the dungeon is a problem.]
^I don’t think we will have that today. Our priority is getting back alive.^
Jack pulled his dagger and got ready, “Then let’s go right.”
“Found anything?” Aella looked at him.
“No, I just think it will be the right direction,” Jack replied, and Arad took the front, slowly leading them into the unknown darkness.
CRACK! When Arad stepped down, the stone he stepped on sank to the ground, almost causing him to fall. “A trap?” He looked around, trying to find any possible danger.
“Don’t worry,” Jack approached him, “That’s just a trip trap,”
“They are made to make you fall if you were running. A mechanism to prevent people from escaping monsters.” Aella explained, looking at the ground. “I can’t tell which direction they are supposed to work on.”
“Will it matter?” Arad looked down at her, “This square hole is symmetrical.”
“Those traps are made against adventurers running from monsters. If we knew where the monsters attacked and in which direction the adventurers would run…” Jack looked at Arad.
“We will find the exit,” Arad replied with a smile, “Adventurer will run toward the exit.”
“Exactly, but this one seems to work in both directions.” Aella stood after inspecting the trap, “Be careful and watch your steps,” She said.
“Monsters could be close, I see,” Arad replied, holding his staff and walking forward. They didn’t see monsters before, so they should be ahead.
After walking a bit, they found the hallway dyed red with monsters’ blood, the corpses of massive two-headed wolves, a humanoid seven-foot-tall green monster, and even more that they didn’t know.
“The blood is fresh. Could it be that an adventuring party is here?” Aella asked, approaching the corpses.
“Those are big slashes, could be Alcott and Ginger?” Jack inspected the corpse of a wolf.
“Let’s hope so. That would save us a lot of trouble.” Arad sighed, feeling a bit of relief that this was the end.
“Don’t get your hopes up. We will celebrate when we’re drinking in the tavern.” Jack replied, swinging his dagger at a corpse.
GRWAAAAA! The green humanoid growled in agony as Jack stabbed his chest and quickly died. “Some are still alive,” Jack looked back at Arad.
Behind the corner, the party found a decomposed humanoid skeleton of reasonable size.
“The corpse of an adventurer. Probably got lost here.” Aella said, looking around.
Jack inspected the corpse, finding a small note in its pocket.
[Quest: Find Jeremy, who got lost in the western B-rank dungeon, the wolverine.]
Jack ran through the quest details, “He was looking for an adventurer by the name of Jeremy, a C-rank draconic sorcerer. Probably the one we found decomposed in the queen’s nest.” Jack sighed, “The quest is six months old, almost half a year.”
“So you’re saying he was on a quest? We didn’t see anything on Jeremy’s corpse like a quest.” Arad looked at the paper.
“This is a B-rank dungeon, and Jeremy was a C-rank adventurer. The guild won’t allow him to take a quest alone.” Jack replied.
“I suspect he came here alone without telling the guild,” Aella said, “Is there any mention of his full name?”
Jack ran through the paper and found the name written on the back, “Jeremy Brian, holy shit!” Jack almost jumped in his place, “What the fuck is this snooty bastard doing in a stinky dungeon?”
“Do you know him?” Arad asked.
“Not personally. Brian is one of the noble families of the city. They are mostly known for their annoying personality and their eldest daughter, Merida.” Jack replied, putting the paper in his pocket.
“I heard of her, the blade of Whitehold?” Aella said she heard of her when she was in the slave market. Most of the people there wished to be bought by the nobility.
“What is Whitehold?” Arad asked with a puzzled face.
“A blade and magic tournament that happens every ten years. Merida won it five years ago, when she was just fifteen years old, and she did it with her sword,” Jack explained, “With no magic,” He added.
“Is she strong?” Arad asked, “She should be around twenty years old by now, right?”
“She is powerful for her age. She is naturally talented with the blade. Especially long ones.” Jack smiled, “I’ve seen her once use a single-edged sword twice her height. She is a master slasher.”
“Is Jeremy her brother?”
“No, her niece. His side of the family is a bit pathetic, to be honest.” Jack sighed, standing up, “No reason to shuffle around. Let’s move.”
As the group walked, they faced their first bath of live monsters. Three crazed wolves with one large, green humanoid. The same monster they saw earlier.
ROAR! The wolves roared immediately, not giving Arad and his group time to think or retreat.
Arad lifted his staff, [Firebolt] [Firebolt] [Firebolt] [Firebolt] [Firebolt] [Firebolt]
Thud! Thud! Thud! The wolves leaped from one wall to another using their claws, masterfully dodging all of Arad’s magic. “They are fast!”
“Your aim is bad!” Aella yelled, releasing three of her arrows, and she hit all three of the wolves, stopping them in their track.
“How did you hit them?” Arad yelled back at her. ．
“Don’t just shoot! Try predicting their path and aim a bit forward, basic archery against moving targets.” Aella explained. That was something Arad had never thought about.
As the two were speaking, Jack appeared behind the green humanoid. He used the distraction to sneak around in the shadows, silently swinging his dagger at the monster’s back.
Thud! The monster turned around, swinging his club at Jack with a growl.
Jack smiled, rolling between the monster’s legs, with a steel wire in his hand, “Fall, big boy!” He shouted, pulling the wire and dropping the beast.
The monster roared, trying to stand up, but Jack swung his dagger, cutting its throat.
“Killed mine. What about you two?” Jack turned toward Arad and Aella.
“Behind you!” Arad shouted. The green humanoid stood again, his wound nowhere to be seen.