《The Eldrian System》 Chapter 1: A Gilded Mirror and a Banana Split Aurelia took one last look at herself in the full-length mirror, her chest clenched with nerves. The past day, especially the last couple hours had been full of excitement and anxiety and not in a good way. Aurelia traced one finger along the green lace mask that obscured half her face, not fully recognizing herself in the reflection. The fancy braids and curls that shaped her chocolate curls were a style she would never have done in her normal life. The skin on her face was treated with shimmering makeup, though the mask did hide some of it. As she let her hand fall to her side she noticed the toned muscles in her arms, that didn¡¯t exist a couple of months ago. One thing she could fully recognize in the fancy gilded mirror was her green and brown hazel eyes. That was one thing this place hadn¡¯t taken from her. This world was both magical and terrifying, and Aurelia was forced to adapt in order to survive. Though right at this moment, she wasn¡¯t feeling too optimistic about what kind of future lay in store for her. This world had forced her to become a weapon. A weapon that was to be used for another¡¯s wishes. Knock! Knock! Aurelia whirled around towards the door, her right palm shining with an orb of cold blue light. The door opened and a tall handsome man stepped through. Aurelia still couldn¡¯t tell his exact age, his face making him seem not even thirty, but she knew for a fact he was much older. His dark blonde hair was perfectly styled, and his thick beard was neatly trimmed. On his head rested a majestic golden crown encrusted with large rubies. He put up his hands in a sign of defense, but his mouth just turned into a charming smirk. ¡°Threatening me with your magic won¡¯t help you now, Aurelia.¡± The king let his hands fall to his sides. That is when Aurelia noticed the guards stationed behind the man. Aurelia allowed the blue energy to dissipate but didn¡¯t keep her eyes off the king. ¡°Just because you''re the King, Darius, doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t blow that smirk right off your face. The only reason that I don¡¯t, is because you have something I want.¡± Aurelia growled. The smirk fell from Darius¡¯ lips and turned into a menacing glare. Aurelia would have been scared of the King a couple of months ago, but not now, not after everything she had been through. ¡°Then you are well to remember, Aurelia,¡± Darius sneered, ¡°that if you don¡¯t behave,¡± he walked towards Aurelia, ¡°I can always take that chance away from you.¡± Aurelia clenched her fists tightly, ¡°And if you didn¡¯t follow through on your end of the bargain, you would not get what you want. Something you desperately need right about now.¡± The king¡¯s eyes flashed with anger. ¡°Then you better get on with the dance, you have some men to charm.¡± He offered his elbow to her and Aurelia reluctantly took it. The two of them started to walk out the door when one of the guards stopped them, ¡°Your Majesty, your mask!¡± The guard offered a black and gold mask that matched the elegant suit the king was wearing. ¡°Of course.¡± The soldier held out the mask to Darius, which he took. The King pressed the mask to his face with his hand and released it when the magic kept the mask adhered to his skin. Darius and Aurelia began their way down a lavish hallway after stepping outside the room. A thick red rug ran across the floor, the floor and walls were made from deep gray stone, and magic orbs on chandeliers dotted along the ceiling to allow sight through the darkened night. Aurelia felt as if she was walking towards her doom. In a way she was. After all those months of training, learning how to fight and use magic was all for nothing. All she wanted was to find a way home, to defeat King Darius so she could find the one who could tell her how to get back home. In these past months, Aurelia had found herself thrust into dangerous situation after dangerous situation, with her ending up between a rock and a hard place. But it wasn¡¯t quite over for her just yet. This ball was going to change this world forever, just not in the way that Darius had hoped. A blue screen popped up in her vision, something only she could see. It read, [Message from User [Fritz]: ¡°Everyone is in position, we¡¯ve got your back.¡±] Aurelia grinned under her mask. This was going to be fun.
¡°Miss Burgess! Are you with us?¡± Aurelia jumped when the words reached her ears. She looked up to see her History teacher, Mr. Harlem, reaching towards her with his hand out. ¡°Are you going to turn in your test?¡± ¡°Oh! Sorry, Mr. Harlem!¡± Aurelia gave her finished test to her teacher and stepped away so the next person in line could hand in their test. She walked towards her best friend, Irene, with a grin on her face. Irene mirrored her grin and then they embraced, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that was our last test on our last day of college!¡± Irene squealed. ¡°I know! We can do whatever we want without any care of homework that needs to be done. With graduation in two days, I just can¡¯t wait!¡± Aurelia and Irene joined the stream of students leaving the testing center and out into the halls of their college campus. Hundreds of students streamed out into the hallway until it joined with another hallway and there were a couple of thousand students out in the halls of the school. Students pressed together as everyone raced to get outside and away from the memory of the tests they had finished. Some faces looked excited at the prospect of freedom and others worried at how well they had done on their tests. Aurelia and Irene joined the throng of people as they exited the school into the school grounds. Thankfully, the testing center was near the southern edge of campus and therefore, the student parking lot. Aurelia fished her keys from her backpack as the two girls approached the black Toyota sedan. She opened the driver¡¯s side door as Irene slid into the passenger seat. As soon as the engine was turned on, Aurelia rolled down all the windows, to air out the heated up inside. The mid May sun sent the temperature rising above 90 degrees, a little too hot for Aurelia¡¯s liking. As Aurelia buckled her seatbelt, Irene turned on the radio, tuning in to the local pop radio station. She turned the volume up until the music blasted out the windows. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. After they got out of the crowded parking lot, Aurelia let out a pent up breath. She felt more relieved now than when she had finished her senior year of high school. Then, the idea of adulthood and college felt exciting and new, but after finally finishing her bachelors degree, she was excited to be done for good with school. College had been much more draining and demanding than her naive self had ever imagined, and it had been difficult to get the good grades that had been easy in high school. As they drove through the green hills of Tennessee, Aurelia felt grateful for the cold AC air blowing on her face. No matter she had been here for four years now, she could not get over the humid heat. Irene turned to her, finally speaking over the music to talk to her. ¡°Hey, would it be okay if we stopped by somewhere to get some ice cream?¡± Aurelia replied quickly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice!¡± A minute later they were pulling into a parking spot by the nearest ice cream shoppe. As they were walking towards the door, Aurelia noticed movement in the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the side to see a group of four large men walking in the same direction as them towards the ice cream shoppe. Each of them stood over six feet tall, with half looking like steroid-using bodybuilders and the other two looking muscled, but lean. Aurelia couldn¡¯t help but notice how good looking each of them were. They all had tanned skin and each seemed to have a different color of hair. One had brown hair and a thick brown beard, one with short cropped black hair, another with bright red hair, and another with blonde. Aurelia nudged Irene as they walked through the door into the cool air of the shoppe. ¡°Dude, look at those guys behind us. They look intense.¡± Irene turned around, and Aurelia watched her eyes grow wide. Irene opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a voice behind the ice cream counter. ¡°Hey, what can I get for you two?¡± The teenage boy behind the counter asked. Putting aside what she was going to reply earlier, Irene didn¡¯t answer the boy directly, but asked Aurelia, ¡°Do you wanna split?¡± Aurelia grinned, ¡°Absolutely!¡± Irene turned to the boy and said, ¡°We would like to share a banana split, with cherry chocolate chip, cookie dough, and chocolate brownie ice cream.¡± The boy nodded, then began to start scooping ice cream into a larger bowl. At the same moment, the four large men walked inside. Their presence made the sitting area of the shoppe seem much smaller. Seeing as they couldn¡¯t exactly talk about the men with them standing right beside them, Aurelia took her phone out of her back pocket and started texting. She wrote, [Those guys all look super cute, but also kinda scary] Irene¡¯s phone dinged and she glanced at the text appearing on her lock screen. She smiled and typed a reply, [I know right! I wonder if they are professional gym goers or something]. Aurelia smiled and then put her phone away, ¡°So, what are your plans for tomorrow?¡± Irene put her phone away as well and said, ¡°Well my parents are flying in tomorrow night. But, I don¡¯t really have anything planned before then. I probably need to start packing, though." Aurelia nodded as she noticed the men in the corner of her eye. They were all checking over the ice cream selection, all except one. The youngest looking man, who looked maybe a couple years older than her twenty-two, was glancing at the two girls. Maybe a couple inches over six feet, he glanced down at them with bright blue eyes, his shaggy blonde hair low over his eyebrows. As he noticed Aurelia glancing back at him, he quickly turned away, looking towards the ice cream flavors. Aurelia¡¯s attention was taken away from Blondie when the ice cream employee called them over, letting them know their ice cream was ready. Irene paid for the split, and the two went to sit down at one of the booths. Aurelia took a seat facing the door and the four men. The two girls started up a conversation about plans they wanted to make after graduation. Both girls had family coming to town for the weekend, but would be free to do other things once their families left. All through the conversation, Aurelia kept glancing at the men, and especially the blonde man. Looking at them closer, she noticed that their clothing didn¡¯t seem quite right. They all wore jeans, but not in a common style, lacking zippers and a button. Their shirts seemed to be of a coarser fabric than the average cotton T-shirt, in varying shades of brown. After the men got their ice cream cones, they left, each of them glancing back at the two women before doing so. Seeing them alone, with the employee going in the back, the two girls gave each other a look. ¡°They gave me a really strange feeling,¡± Aurelia told her friend. ¡°I totally feel the same.¡± Irene said, before shoving a huge bite of banana, ice cream, and whipped cream into her mouth.
The next morning, Aurelia heard knocking on their apartment door. With Irene still in the shower, Aurelia went to answer it alone. Standing behind the door was none other than her mother, Rachel. ¡°Mom!¡± Aurelia surged forward to give her mom a hug. ¡°Where is dad and Ezra?¡± Rachel flipped her chocolate brown hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Ezra needed some more time to finish a project for work, so they¡¯ll be here later tonight. I thought it might be nice to spend a girl''s day together before they arrive!¡± Aurelia grinned, ¡°Is Irene invited? I know she would love to join us as her parents aren¡¯t here yet.¡± Rachel dragged her suitcase inside the apartment, ¡°Of course she is! Is it alright if I leave my bag here while we go out? We aren¡¯t checking into the hotel until the boys get here.¡± ¡°No problem! We can leave once Irene and I are dressed and ready.¡± The three women left for the mall and spent the day going out to lunch, getting their nails done, and shopping for graduation dresses. The three women went to store after store, looking for the perfect dresses. An hour into their search for dresses, Aurelia noticed something that made her a bit curious. One of the four men from the ice cream shoppe, a large muscular man with black hair and tanned skin, passed them as they were headed towards a new store. Aurelia nudged Irene, and pointed at the passing man. Irene¡¯s eyes widened in recognition, ¡°Is that one of the men from the ice cream shoppe?¡± Aurelia¡¯s mom also turned around to view the black-haired man. ¡°Ooh do you two know him? He¡¯s cute!¡± ¡°Mom! No we don¡¯t know him, we just recognize him from yesterday, we saw him and a couple other guys at the ice cream shoppe,¡± Aurelia replied. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s such a coincidence to see him again.¡± Irene said. The three women turned the corner into a new area of the mall, and that¡¯s when Aurelia noticed a man sitting on a bench near a stall that sold roasted nuts. He was staring down at the paper bag of nuts in front of him. That wasn¡¯t strange, it was the fact she recognized the brown hair and beard as one of the other men from the ice cream shoppe. As Aurelia, Irene, and Rachel walked closer to where the man sat, he looked up in their direction. The man¡¯s black eyes made direct eye contact with Aurelia as they passed, and she had a deep feeling in her gut that it wasn¡¯t a coincidence he was there. The man did not seem surprised to see her or Irene, and her neck prickled with the sense of danger. She, Irene, or maybe both of them were being followed. Chapter 2: A Floating Flip-Flop Not wanting to sound paranoid, Aurelia didn¡¯t voice her concerns to Irene or her mother. It seemed Irene had not noticed the second man at all, and perhaps Aurelia was jumping to conclusions. Why would anyone follow them around? Well, she could imagine many reasons, each crazier than the last. Maybe one of the men was romantically interested in one of them, or maybe they were secretly serial killers and one of the girls fit their profile. Aurelia didn¡¯t know, but she would definitely be looking around to see if any of the other two men were here in the mall. Unfortunately, she was right in assuming one of the other men could be there along with the other two men. As they passed the men¡¯s clothing section in the next store they were at, she saw one of the other slimmer men browsing the swimsuits. His bright red hair stood out, and she noticed his gaze slide to the three women as they walked past. Deciding the dress she picked out was all she needed, Aurelia spoke up, interrupting her mom talking about possible jewelry options, ¡°Hey, I think I am ready to go home. I am getting a bit tired, so maybe we could relax back at the apartment before the rest of our families get here.¡± Irene made a disappointed face and replied, ¡°Alright, I guess I have spent enough money for the day.¡± Irene adjusted the shopping bags on one arm and slipped the other arm through Aurelia¡¯s. ¡°Let¡¯s head home!¡±
Later that night, Aurelia hugged her mom, dad, and older brother in the lobby of their hotel. ¡°I am so glad you all came! I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow at the ceremony.¡± Ezra slapped her back after giving her a hug. ¡°No problem, Sis. You have come to all of my graduations after all.¡± He grinned, and Aurelia smiled back. Ezra had received a bachelors and then a masters degree, and including high school, Aurelia had attended all three graduations. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, and know I will be yelling embarrassing things from the audience.¡± Aurelia rolled her eyes, knowing he was only joking. Probably. She waved to her family and left, driving back to her apartment. As she walked in she noticed two full trash bags sitting by the door. Irene had spent the afternoon doing some packing, and her efforts had resulted in the two trash bags after throwing a lot of things away. Most of which had been notebooks, piles of finished assignments, and other school supplies she no longer needed after graduation. Seeing as Aurelia still had her shoes on, she decided to be nice and take her roommate''s trash out. Aurelia yawned as she walked down the sidewalk towards the large trash bin by her apartment building. It was now dark out, and Aurelia was tired after the long day. She had always enjoyed shopping with her mom and later her friend, but it always made her tired. When her dad and brother came into town, they had all gone out to dinner before they had retired to the hotel. Aurelia looked down as she hopped over a large puddle. She didn¡¯t really feel like getting her feet wet. When Aurelia looked back up again, she stopped in her tracks. No longer feeling sleepy, she stared at the man in front of her. He stared back, his blue eyes boring into her. Aurelia¡¯s hands clenched around the trash bags. Her heart beated a bit faster as the taller man took a step towards her. ¡°What do you want, Blondie?¡± she asked, her voice warry. The young man gazed intently at her, in the same way as when they were in the ice cream shoppe. As if he was expecting something from her. Aurelia shifted uncomfortably in place, as the blonde man did not immediately answer. She looked around her, expecting to see the other three men there with them. ¡°It¡¯s just me,¡± the man said, ¡°I came alone.¡± ¡°What do you want from me? I noticed your other friends earlier today.¡± His face darkened, ¡°The Knights of Armund are not my friends.¡± He took another step towards her. ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of time. They will notice me missing soon, if they haven¡¯t already.¡± Aurelia took a nervous step back. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± ¡°I was assigned to help the Knights find a powerful weapon hidden here on Earth. People escaped here, along with the weapon we are trying to locate. Our task is to find it and bring it back to Eldria. What we didn¡¯t expect to find, is someone like you.¡± Eldria? What weapon? Someone like me? Aurelia thought with confusion. ¡°What are you even saying? I don¡¯t understand.¡± The man continued, ¡°We are not from Earth, we are from another world.¡± Aurelia huffed, ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense, what other world?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t your people have stories of other worlds? Stories of finding other planets in the stars, of lands with creatures you don¡¯t have here on Earth? Of demons in Hell and angels in Heaven?¡± ¡°Well, yeah, we do. But, that doesn¡¯t make the stories real.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I¡¯m telling you now, some of those stories are real. There are other lands in the universe, filled with kingdoms, magic, and abilities you can¡¯t even imagine. The kingdom I come from, Gildenshores, in Eldria, is at war with another kingdom. The weapon we came to find came from the old King of Gildenshores'' treasury, which was stolen by a rebellion group named the Moonrising. They had people take the weapon to this world, in order to keep it from the king¡¯s son, Darius, who is now the king of Gildenshores. Twenty-five years later, after Darius found where the weapon was taken, he sent my team to search for it.¡± Aurelia¡¯s mind spun, having a difficult time keeping up with everything that was being said. Something about a weapon and a king, and something to do with a rebellion. ¡°I am not quite sure if I believe you, but even so, what does all of this have to do with me?¡± The man studied her, ¡°We were given an artifact in order to locate the weapon. During the past couple of weeks we have been searching your country to find where the artifact was leading us. It led us to you.¡± Aurelia became incredulous, ¡°Are you saying that I am the weapon? That doesn¡¯t make any sort of sense.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we believed as well. It doesn¡¯t make sense. You don¡¯t make any sense.¡± He paused and took another step towards her. If he reached out his hand he could have touched her. ¡°The past couple of days we have been studying you, trying to figure out why the artifact led us to you. We couldn¡¯t make any real headway, so our group leader decided that we should just take you with us back to Eldria.¡± So that¡¯s why Aurelia had seen them everywhere the past two days. She suspected they had been following her even before the ice cream shoppe. ¡°I¡¯m not going with you to Eldria. There is no way I am going.¡± Still nervous, her voice sounded scared. ¡°The others weren¡¯t going to ask your permission. We cannot return until we have the weapon and you are the only lead. I cannot let them have you.¡± ¡°Wait, what are you saying? That you are going to help me stay here and not be taken?¡± The man sighed, ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough to stave off the Knights, they are stronger than I am. They won¡¯t leave without you, so I will just have to make you go without them.¡± He reached out for her, his steps quick. Aurelia jumped back, dropping the trash bags on the ground and took a step away from the man. Her foot landed in the ankle-deep puddle, surprising her, and she paused. The man closed in behind her and grabbed her wrist, his grip unyielding and tight. Aurelia opened her mouth to scream, but the man¡¯s other hand came around and chopped at her throat, causing her to cough. Berating herself for listening to the man rather than screaming and running away earlier, she gasped for a new breath. The man clamped a hand around her mouth, and she struggled to get away. She didn¡¯t budge, the man being strong. Really strong. Before she could continue the effort of trying to scream and get away, she was shocked into silence when something appeared in her vision. A bright blue box, filled with text, entered her line of sight. It seemed not unlike a message box that appeared in the video games she used to play with her brother. She couldn¡¯t help but pause to read the text, even knowing she was in danger.
Initializing¡­
Aurelia was confused at what she was seeing. She closed her eyes and the glowing text was still visible against the blackness of her closed lids. Before she could contemplate further, the text changed.
Initialization Complete Results: User [Aurelia] over the age of majority Access to System granted Teleportation to Eldria commencing in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­
Aurelia couldn¡¯t understand the message fully, but she did understand the word teleportation. She looked at Blondie, her face contorted in fear and confusion. There was a flash of blue light beside Aurelia and Blondie, surprising them both. Aurelia closed her eyes from the flash, and the man let go of her, stepping back. The man started to speak, ¡°What the?! What is happening? Did you get a message from the System?¡± Aurelia¡¯s breath caught, noticing that she could still see the message even with her eyes closed. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± she opened her eyes and continued, ¡°What is the system? And what does the message mean by teleportation?¡± The man cursed loudly and tried to reach for Aurelia again. This time, she successfully moved away, until she felt a pull on her body coming from the direction of the light. She started, and turned towards the light, just as the timer in her eyes hit zero. All she could see was blue light, then blackness. Aurelia had fainted before she could notice her body disappear through the blinding blue portal. All that was left of her was a flip flop floating in a puddle, two trash bags on the ground, one of them spilling out, and a man stunned into silence.
When Irene heard yelling coming from outside, she could neither fully understand what was being said or recognize who was doing the yelling. She went out to the living room to grab the trash she had left there, finally getting the motivation to get the trash out. When she noticed the trash gone and Aurelia¡¯s purse next to the door, she grew worried as she remembered the sounds that had come from outside. Slipping on a pair of slides, she opened the door and peered outside. She didn¡¯t see anyone, then started walking towards the dumpster. She glanced around her, still not seeing anyone. As she came closer to the bin, she noticed the two trash bags laying on the ground. Where did Aurelia go? Irene wondered as she walked towards the trashbags on the ground. She picked up the two bags, walking over to the dumpster to throw them inside. Turning around she grabbed the trash that had fallen out, and noticed a flip flop she hadn¡¯t meant to throw away. Wait, wasn¡¯t that Aurelia¡¯s flip flop? Irene felt the worry grow in the pit of her stomach, and knew that something was really wrong. She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed up Aurelia¡¯s number. Irene heard a beeping noise and a message stating that the call she had dialed could not be completed. The phone dropped from her ear and terror gripped her. ¡°Aurelia!¡± Irene called out to the night. Chapter 3: Eldria Lead adviser for King Darius, the most powerful wizard in the kingdom, leader of the Knights of Armund, and High Warlock, Carten Allwright, was having an amazing month. After his knights had returned a couple weeks prior, with the core of a spatial dragon, Carten knew things were looking up. Carten had been the personal wizard for King Darius since the time they were teenagers, fighting in the wilds and dungeons together. Together they had grown in strength, contributed to helping the older prince find an unlucky demise, and helped to place Darius on the throne of Gildenshores. When Darius had found the Orb of Intercise and Space missing from the treasury, Carten had been the one asked to search for it. It took five years for Carten to realize that the Orb was no longer in Eldria, and another eighteen years to gain the materials necessary in order to send a group of knights to the land of Earth. The dragon core had been the final piece to create a portal to the other world. Spatial dragons were few and far between, seen maybe a couple times a century, with most people who sighted the dragons dying soon after. Finding the spatial dragon who had contributed the core had been a stroke of luck, and it took the best Knights of the order to be able to fell the beast. After sending the squad of knights into the portal, it would be just a matter of time before they returned with the orb, and the chance for the kingdom of Gildenshores to overcome the enemies knocking at their doors. Carten breezed down the hallway of the North Wing of the palace, eager for the breakfast that awaited him. Perhaps this morning he would have bacon and eggs, with one of those fruit pastries. Yes, that is exactly what he would have. Carten nodded to himself. As Carten was licking the last of the sticky fruit filling off his fingers, he heard commotion at the Dining Hall entrance. Turning towards the entrance, he saw the guards pull open the double doors, letting three figures walk through. Carten recognized the men as three of his knights, all of whom had been on the expedition to Earth. He jumped out of his chair, excited for the news of victory, the men surely brought him. He frowned slightly at the absence of the fourth knight, but no matter. ¡°My dear knights! Have you found the Orb?¡± He addressed the three men. Upon further inspection, Carten noticed the beleaguered expressions on the faces of the three knights. His face fell, realizing the news was not the victory he expected. His voice became hard, ¡°WHAT happened? Explain!¡± The leader of the group, Knight Harrison Rell, spoke up first, ¡°The news we bear is not one of fortune. We were not able to obtain the orb.¡± He stroked his full brown beard, looking tired. The red haired Knight Verron Kern spoke next, ¡°The tracking artifact led us in an obvious direction, which we followed. The location we came to was not the object, though. The artifact led us to a girl.¡± ¡°A what? A girl?¡± Carten pressed. The black haired Knight Ulrich Benton explained further, ¡°The artifact seemed to point to the girl either in possession of the orb, or that she held the powers of the orb. We needed to determine what that truth was, and observed her for a couple days. After combing through her residence and any other place she visited, we determined that it was the girl herself that held the powers of the orb.¡± Knight Rell continued, ¡°We felt that the next course of action would be to bring the girl to you, in order to determine either the actual location of the orb, or get the powers from her.¡± ¡°Where is she then? Why didn¡¯t you bring her?¡± Carton became more confused and angry by the moment. ¡°We don¡¯t know, Warlock Carton,¡± Kight Benton said, ¡°Last night we went to her place of residence to take her, but she was gone.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Kight Kern said, ¡°We noticed there were traces of magic in the area near her home and took out the tracking artifact. There it could sense traces of the orb''s power, and it seems that the orb, the girl, or both teleported away.¡± Carton paused, and contemplated the information he was hearing. For the girl to have teleported, she would need to have been a citizen of Eldria. Those of Earth did not have the power or access to the system. Those of Eldria had visited Earth in the past, which led to stories created on earth about fairies, elves, dwarves, demons, and angels. The citizens of Eldria were not all human, but of many races. For an Earth girl to be able to teleport in the barren magic of Earth, she either needed access to an artifact, or be connected to the system of Eldria. Carten needed to determine which. If the girl had teleported with the orb, that was one thing, but if she had teleported with her own Eldrian inherited power, that was another problem entirely. Getting to Earth in the past millenia had been almost impossible, which is why it took so many years to get the Knights to Earth. ¡°Where is Knight Wren? He should be with you.¡± Carten needed more answers. The three knights glanced at one another, and Kight Rell sighed, ¡°We don¡¯t know. We believe he confronted the girl alone, and then traveled back to Eldria after the girl disappeared.¡± He made a face, showing his discomfort. ¡°We believe Knight Wren is a traitor to the Order.¡± Everyone in the dining hall felt what happened next. The servants waiting for orders, the guards standing guard, and the knights standing before the angry Worlock. Carten shuddered with anger, his Journeyman rank presence pressing on everyone in the room. A servant fell, her Novice rank not able to bear the weight of Carten¡¯s anger. ¡°Find them both! Or I will make an example to the order members of what happens to knights who fail me twice.¡± Carton was, indeed, not having a very good month.
As she came to, all Aurelia could think about was how sick she felt. Her muscles ached, her head pounded, and her stomach roiled. As she felt bile come up her esophagus, she rolled over on the grass, and threw up everything from her stomach. A groan escaped her as she spit into the grass, and fell to her back, away from the pile of sick. While she had passed out right before entering the portal, she remembered being aware as she traveled through a blue tunnel, flying through space. The memory was hazy, but she knew it had not been a pleasant trip. Her eyes opened to gaze above at the purple-blue sky. A sun sat above, looking more white than yellow. Aurelia felt the dread rise up in her as she remembered. Blondie showing up outside her apartment, the explanation about a weapon and a world named Eldria, then the message in her head and the bright blue portal. At that last thought, a new blue box appeared in her vision. Knowing she needed more answers, she read what it had to say.
Teleportation Complete: System initialization completed: System¡¯s beginner tutorial ready for induction Begin?
So from what she read, Aurelia gathered that the system had caused this teleportation from Earth, and now wanted to give her some sort of tutorial. From the times she had spent on video games, Aurelia knew tutorials were really important to being able to understand the game. So, if this system and Eldria worked in a similar manner, she would probably need to participate in this tutorial. Aurelia needed to get home, her roommate and her family were probably worried about her¡­ Irene! Her family! How was she only remembering them now? Her throat began to hurt as she held back tears. Now wasn¡¯t the time to get emotional, she needed answers. Not knowing how to work the blue boxes, or perhaps system prompts if this was like a video game, Aurelia tentatively said, ¡°Begin?¡± A new blue box replaced the old, and Aurelia began her new tutorial. Chapter 4: The Tutorial Staring at the system message in front of her, Aurelia felt anxious, but also a bit of excitement. This whole night, or rather day now, had been very confusing and scary, but something inside her felt almost¡­ alive.
Beginning Eldrian System Tutorial: Welcome User [Aurelia] to Eldria. System User [Aurelia] has [limited] knowledge of the system and the land of Eldria. Full tutorial commencing¡­
After reading the short system message, it continued to sit there in her vision and she had the impression it was loading new information. Aurelia adjusted her body, becoming cross legged in the grass and tried focusing around the blue box in her vision. It seemed to become invisible as she tried to study the surrounding area. Realizing she probably should have taken stock of her situation sooner, she felt a little ashamed. Aurelia might be new to this world, but that didn¡¯t mean she should act without any self awareness. There might be a wild animal out here. Out where? Again, she had no idea. Aurelia was sitting in a grassy meadow, a stream dividing the meadow in two. Flowers and small shrubs were interspersed throughout the meadow, and a forest of trees surrounded her on three sides. Directly to the right of her, the meadow continued down a hill and she could see what looked like a medieval village in the distance. Aurelia didn¡¯t know if she should feel relieved or worried, as she couldn¡¯t be sure if the villagers would be friend or foe. She imagined it would probably be best to try and finish whatever tutorial was waiting for her, before she tried to find out more about the villagers and the village. Looking up at the sky again, the alien color threw her off. It was definitely a beautiful color, just not the sky blue of Earth. The sun was directly overhead, making her believe that it was midday, and she had a couple more hours before it got dark. She did not want to be alone when it got dark. Aurelia wiped her sweaty palms on her pants, then froze. Slowly looking down, she realized another thing she had missed earlier. The clothes she had been wearing earlier on Earth were no longer there. Instead, she wore what looked to be brown leggings of a rougher cotton she was used to, worn leather boots, and a long-sleeved white tunic shirt that fit slim against her body because of a leather corset top that wrapped around her waist and bust. The corset laced in the front, tied off in a bow. ¡°Huh.¡± Aurelia spoke out loud, her voice tender from the throwing up session she had done earlier. A new prompt appeared in her vision, covering the one she had finished reading. Deciding questions about her clothing swap could wait for later, Aurelia resolved to try and continue her tutorial. She wanted answers.
Introduction: The Full Tutorial will have three parts: History of Eldria and the System:* Ongoing Basics of the Stat Sheet Introduction to Fighting Beginning History- For hundreds of millenia, the people of Eldria have been participants in the System. From the age of twelve, the age of majority, citizens of Eldria may receive access to the system. Those of Eldrian descent who find themselves in other worlds can receive access to the system once they make contact with an Eldrian native. This will initiate a tutorial for those above the age of twelve, in order to educate the new System user about the aspects of their new world, unknown to them before.
Aurelia paused in her reading. So it seemed the tutorial was only for those who had grown up outside of the system¡¯s influence. It probably existed so those who found themselves connected to the system, with no prior knowledge of how the system worked or even of the history of Eldria, could gain a foundation in their new reality. Aurelia did not fully grasp how important this tutorial would be, but knew that it would be vital in helping her progress in Eldria and in finding a way back to Earth.
History cont: The world of Eldria is divided into many lands, occupied by different species. Some lands are under the rule of humanoid species such as humans, elves, dwarves, beastkin, orcs, trolls, demons, angels, centaurs and others. Before the system arrived, the different species were constantly at odds, indiscriminately fighting in wars across the world. When the system came, it gave order and structure, allowing for users to gain system authority and establish territories. Regular citizens gained power and rank which allowed them to rise above their former stations and become rulers over others. The History Tutorial will be available over the next month. Questions about common historical and system knowledge will be answered by the system up until those thirty days have passed. Ask questions? Continue to Stat Sheet Tutorial?
There was more than one race? Aleria couldn¡¯t quite wrap her mind over the fact that there would be other races in this world. She was glad that the system gave her this information before she decided to step foot into the village. The shock of possibly seeing a half-bear half-human would probably be shocking even if she knew they might exist. Also, demons and angels? Aurelia wondered just how similar these creatures would mirror the stories of demons and angels from Earth. Wait, did that mean there were gods or a God? The idea of actual deity seemed¡­ well, too much for her to imagine. Deciding she had too much going on in her brain right now to ask a historical question, she said, ¡°Continue.¡±
Beginning Stat Sheet Tutorial: All citizens above the age of majority have access to their stat sheet. User [Aurelia]¡¯s stat sheet is as follows: Name: Aurelia Age: 22 Race: Human Rank: N/A Class: 0/4 Level: 0 Health: 100/100 Mana: 0/120 [locked] Stamina: 100/100 Strength: 9 Vitality: 10 Agility: 10 Endurance: 10 Wisdom: 11 Intelligence: 12 Perception: 10 This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Charisma: 10 Luck: 12 Unspent Stat Points: 0 Skills: [Locked] The stat sheet has many values important for a System User. The stat sheet shows basic information such as name, race and age, as well as the rank, class, and level of the User. The stat sheet shows the available health, mana, and stamina of the user and the value of the total capacity of each. There are also Stat levels that include Strength, Vitality, Agility, Endurance, Wisdom, Intelligence, Perception, Charisma, and Luck. Would you like further explanation on basic stat sheet information?
From what Aurelia could tell, the stat sheet seemed similar to almost every game she had tried. She understood what health, mana, and stamina were, and could deduce what stats correlated to these pools of energy. Strength and vitality to health, agility and endurance to stamina, and wisdom and intelligence to mana. She was unsure why the mana was locked, but maybe it was because she never used mana on Earth. She decided to ask the system some follow up questions about the stat sheet. ¡°Why is my mana locked?¡±
Stat Sheet Tutorial Cont: Mana is locked because User [Aurelia] did not have access to the system and could not unlock this pool of energy. Would you like to unlock [Mana] now?
¡°Yes!¡± The system window before her disappeared and she gasped as for a brief moment, her skin flashed with blue light. A warm sensation flowed through her, and she knew that feeling was her mana. ¡°Wow, this feels amazing!¡± She wondered if her mana would have unlocked by itself later, or if she had been required to ask about it before getting that access. Wanting to have a better understanding of the stat sheet, she decided on another question and asked, ¡°What are Skills?¡±
Stat Sheet Tutorial Cont: Skills are system recognized abilities used by System Users. This includes ability to use weapons, physical ability, mental skills, magical skills, and other applicable skills. Access to System Skills allows for the user to better understand abilities and skills, helping them to progress faster and to help prevent them from forgetting the skills. Choosing a skill with no previous knowledge in that skill will cause the System to manually put information of that skill into the mind of the System User. Skills will level as the User uses the skill and progression in the skill will accelerate. Would you like to unlock Skills?
Aurelia verbalized her assent to the question, and a new system window showed up in her vision. She read that the skills system had been unlocked and that she had five free skill points to spend. As she read, she understood that these free points would allow her to turn a skill she had learned on Earth into a System recognized skill that she could level. Under the line about the free points, a huge list of skills was laid out. She read through the skills and laughed, feeling slightly overwhelmed. There was a skill about washing dishes? As she read through the list she saw physical skills that ranged from running and jumping, to academic skills, and basic life tasks like cleaning. Knowing she could only choose five, she knew she needed to be very selective. In a world of magic and wonder, she needed skills that would give her a better advantage. She made a mental list of skills that would be useful, and to her surprise, the system prompt responded, and a new list was created. This list showed the skills she thought seemed useful.
System Skills: 5 free points Skill Options: Running Swimming Cooking Basic Non-Magical Healing Writing Scholar Language Learning Public Speaking Acting
Aurelia guessed that the skills she had available were based on things she had done and what she had a good basic understanding of. Watching a video online about sword fighting probably wouldn¡¯t mean she knew enough to gain a skill in it. From the skills on her list she was surprised at some of what was available. Running and swimming made sense, she used to run a lot in high school and was on the swim team for two years. Her summer job in high school had been lifeguarding and she had learned a lot of first aid during the training courses. So she guessed that had resulted in the skill option about basic non-magical healing. Aurelia noticed that her years of learning Spanish and French actually counted for something, as she got an option for a language learning skill. That could be really useful. Being a student also seemed to be a skill, though Aurelia wasn¡¯t exactly sure everything that skill covered. Maybe it would help her learn new things when taught by others. After a couple more minutes of debating over what skills would help her the best, she settled on her five choices. Mentally giving her choice, a new system prompt came up.
Congratulations! You have learned [5] new skills. Running: skill level 5 Cooking: skill level 5 Basic Non-Magical Healing: skill level 2 Scholar: skill level 4 Language Learning: skill level 4
After she finished reading the prompt, Aurelia felt her head ache as a rush of information came into her brain. It felt like everything she had ever been taught about how to run well, how to assess a wound, and even how to properly chop a vegetable came to the forefront of her mind. It was overwhelming and she shut her eyes as she waited for the wave of information to pass. Then everything seemed to settle and she no longer felt any pain. ¡°Huh, that was different.¡± Aurelia said out loud. She tried to recall the information she now seemed to remember and realized there was not just information from her own life, but new knowledge. She realized it was information specifically related to the world of Eldria. She recognized, for example, that not all produce from Earth existed in Eldria, and that there were new plants and animals here. From her language skill, she realized that she now knew the common language of Eldria, which was spoken by most races in order to communicate with each other. Aurelia couldn¡¯t quite believe just how magical these skills really were. The system had given her new information and everything seemed so seamless. She spent a couple more minutes going through the new knowledge and found that she could pull up her skill list from her stat page. Under the skills listed, she could see a progress bar representing how much experience she would need in order to unlock the next skill level. All of the progress bars for her five skills were at zero. A warm breeze swept through the meadow, and Aurelia paused, looking around again. Remembering she was still alone in a strange world, she decided that she really needed to continue the tutorial and then find a safe place to stay. She asked her next question to the air, ¡°What are Classes?¡±
Stat Sheet Tutorial Cont: Classes are system recognized paths to power. This includes fighting, crafting, and other forms of learning and progression. Some classes are available to everyone, but some are restricted by race, rank, and unmet conditions by the System User. Most System Users only have access to choosing one class total, with some Users having access to up to four different classes. For Users who have more than one class, they must choose one class to be their main class, with any other class obtained becoming a secondary class. Users may switch between which class is the main class in order to level other classes. At certain level benchmarks, Users will be given the opportunity to level up or change their classes.
Aurelia paused and pulled up her stat sheet again. She read the line about her class, noting that it said she had zero out of four classes available. That meant she had the option to have four different classes, while most of Eldria only had the option of one class. She didn¡¯t know why she was different from most people, but recognized that having four classes could make her more powerful. She asked a follow-up question to the system, ¡°When can I choose my first class?¡±
Stat Sheet Tutorial Cont: Class selection begins at level one. User [Aurelia] requires 1000 experience to access the first level. All further classes may be obtained at any point after choosing the first class.
Okay, so Aurelia needed to figure out how to gain experience so she could get levels and a class. Maybe she would be able to do that in the last portion of the tutorial. Before that, though, she had one more question about the stat sheet. She addressed the system once more, ¡°What does Rank mean?¡±
Stat Sheet Tutorial Cont: Rank refers to ranks of authority within the system. The ranks are as follows:
  • Peasant
  • Knight
  • Lord
  • Baron
  • Duke
  • Prince
  • King
  • Emperor
Authority ranks are hereditary, meaning that the child of two peasants will only have the option to have the peasant rank. A new system user will automatically receive the highest rank available to them when rank is unlocked. Users of higher system authority will have more class opportunities and can claim territory relative to their rank. Would you like to unlock Rank?
Aurelia said, ¡°Yes.¡± and a new screen popped in her vision. Not expecting much from her rank, as she didn¡¯t even know what rank her parents were, she was stunned to see what rank had been awarded to her. ¡°Princess?¡± Chapter 5: Her Royal Highness The rank she had been assigned was Princess? Were her parents actually royalty from Eldria? Aurelia didn¡¯t believe that her parents had no clue about Eldria. From the information provided by the system, only people from Eldria could travel here, and she had. Which meant either she was born here in Eldria and then went to Earth, or her parents were from Eldria. Aurelia was okay with the stat sheet portion of the tutorial, she had a good understanding of what it was and how to use it. If she wanted levels and classes, she would need to go on to the next portion of the tutorial. Aurelia stood up from her sitting position in the meadow¡¯s grass. She gazed over at the village below the hill, wanting to head over there and find someplace to rest. Resolving to finish the tutorial before trying to head to the village, she pulled up a prompt asking her if she wanted to continue the tutorial. ¡°Yes, continue.¡± A bright blue light flashed in her vision, and Aurelia cried out, closing her eyes. She could feel pressure all around her, making her chest tight and causing her to feel out of breath. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the light and pressure disappeared. Aurelia opened her eyes and found herself no longer in the meadow. ¡°What the¡­?¡± Aurelia stared all around her, finding herself in a dimly lit cave. The cave she was standing in was small, maybe the size of her bedroom back on Earth. The gray rock walls were covered in white and blue crystal, which glowed slightly and provided meager light for the room. The cave was enclosed except for a stone door that stood in the wall right in front of her. Aurelia was wondering where she was, when a new system prompt came into her vision.
Congratulations, User [Aurelia] For being the first person to discover this new dungeon, you have been awarded 10,000 experience! You have been awarded three skill points! You have been awarded a [Platinum Chest]! Level One reached! You have received 10 free stat points Class selection unlocked User [Aurelia] must select a class to use remaining experience to level up Would you like to choose a class now?
After she finished reading the message she heard a thump sound and she saw a platinum covered treasure chest had appeared right in front of her. The sight of the chest surprised her, but she couldn¡¯t help but still gape at the message in front of her, she was in a dungeon? She looked around once more at the cave. The door in front of her seemed a bit more imposing. On the other side might be actual creatures and monsters. She shifted uncomfortably in place, more worried than she had been in the meadow. She no longer had a village in sight to run towards in case something went wrong. Aurelia was definitely alone here, the system message even said she was the first person to discover this dungeon. She knew from games she had played in the past, that dungeons were meant for players to beat monsters, traps, and puzzles to gain levels and loot. Since the last part of the tutorial was meant to teach her how to fight, Aurelia guessed she was getting a trial by fire lesson. What better way to learn how to fight than to have beasts trying to eat you? To be honest with herself, the thought of doing traps and puzzles seemed scarier to her. Fighting something you could see right in front of you was one thing, but not being able to detect a trap could make you dead before you even knew what had killed you. Since she wanted to have an idea of what kind of class she could get before worrying about more skills, she decided to progress with that first. ¡°What are my class options?¡± Aurelia asked aloud.
Choosing a Class: Cook: Common A class for preparing, cooking, and baking food. Will give two stat points in agility, two stat points in perception, two stat points in intelligence and four free points per level reached. Soldier: Uncommon A class offered to all Users with the authority rank of Knight or higher. Gives skills related to fighting in a number of different styles. Will give two stat points in strength, two stat points in vitality, two stat points in Endurance, and nine free stat points per level. Healer: Uncommon A basic magic healer class based around healing and revitalization. Requires knowledge of healing, an affinity for magic, and a rank authority of Knight or higher. Will give three stat points in intelligence, three stat points in wisdom, three stat points in perception, and six free stat points per level. Scholar: Uncommon An academic class for those searching for new knowledge to preserve and share. Will give four stat points in intelligence, four stat points in wisdom, two stat points in perception, and five free stat points per level. Mage: Uncommon A class for Users with an affinity for using magic and a rank authority of Knight or higher. Will give four stat points in intelligence, four stat points in wisdom, one stat point in agility, one stat point in perception, and five free stat points per level. Noble: Rare A class offered for all Users with the rank of Lord or higher, allowing them to possess territory and gain skills in leading and management. Will give four stat points in intelligence, four stat points in wisdom, five stat points in charisma, and seven free stat points per level. Spatial Mage: Legendary A mage class giving skills in spatial magic and spells. Offered to Users with the affinity for spatial magic and a rank authority of Lord or higher. Will give five stat points in intelligence, five stat points in wisdom, four stat points in vitality, four stat points in agility, three stat points in perception, and nine free stat points per level.
As Aurelia started reading through the classes, she was first a little disappointed. She expected more variety in the types of classes she would be offered, but then she read the last class description. A spatial mage? That¡¯s when she remembered what blondie had said about some orb of space. He had indicated that it had something to do with her. She wasn¡¯t exactly sure what, but perhaps whatever it was, it had given her the chance she needed to get offered this class. It was interesting to see the classes offered. It seemed she needed some sort of affinity or prior skill in order to get offered a class. Without her high rank of authority as a princess, she probably wouldn¡¯t have any classes like the noble class. She guessed without having any skills in a bow she wouldn¡¯t get an archer or hunter class, or without skill in any other weapon her only options were what she was offered because of her rank. The rarity of classes also gave her a clue into what might be a better class. Classes with more requirements may also give better skills and stats. Common classes gave only ten stat points, which is the same amount Aurelia received when she hit level one. The uncommon and rare class had five extra stat points between each rarity. With the ten point difference between rare and legendary, she guessed there was another rarity in between the two. Aurelia thought that she probably needed to ask more questions about classes from the system, but she knew what she would pick anyway. She chose the Spatial Mage class.
Congratulations User [Aurelia], you now have the [Spatial Mage] class. You have been given one free skill point. Level Two reached! The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Level Three reached! Level Four reached! Stat points allocated, you have 27 free stat points. You have been given two free skill points.
Aurelia felt a surge of energy in her body as the stats she had just received came into effect. She could feel stronger, healthier, and her mind felt energized. She took a few moments to appreciate the feeling of leveling up, and smiled. A thrill of excitement rushed through Aurelia, and she realized the idea of progressing in levels, skills, and stats made her feel motivated and determined. She wanted to see what would happen next, and decided before actually starting the dungeon, she would need to use up her skill points and stat points. She decided to start with her skill points, as for the moment she had no real way of defending herself. Aurelia pulled up her stat page and found it updated from when she had last looked at it. She first looked at her new class and found that it gave a more descriptive summary of the class. She read what it said aloud, ¡°The Spatial Mage class is a specialized class based around the space affinity. Normally offered to draconic races specialized in spatial magic, few other races are given the opportunity to take this class. It offers magical attacks, spatial manipulation skills, and spatial utility skills. Upgradeable.¡± She paused, noting that the class was both normally taken by dragon races and the fact it was upgradeable. Those facts made this class seem even more impressive, and she felt a little worried about what the other races of the world would think that someone like her had this class. Aurelia then looked at the skills now offered to her. She had five free skill points to spend and a variety of skills to choose over. It seemed she had around ten skills to choose from and was overwhelmed by the options. There seemed to be some basic mage attack spells, like magic bolts, fireballs, and ice daggers. She also saw some stronger attacks that seemed specific to the Spatial Mage class like a spell that creates a wide area slashing attack. Some other skills included a defensive shield, a tracking spell, and a couple utility skills. At least the three extra skill points given from finding the dungeon made the choices a bit easier. Aurelia looked through the list again and read each of the descriptions, and decided on the six skills she would get.
Spatial Mage Skills: Novice Basic Magic Bolt: Send a long range magic mana bolt from the palm or a wand that deals moderate magical damage. Cost: 5 mana Spatial Slash: Create a long range spatial attack through a chopping motion with the hand or a weapon which creates a wide area blade-like attack that deals high magical and physical damage. Cost: 20 mana. Basic Mana Shield: Create a spherical shield of mana which disappears after activation around the wielder to absorb high physical or moderate magical damage. Lasts for one high damage physical attack or three moderate magical damage attacks. Cost: 50 mana. Identify: Use skill to scan for stat information about monsters and Users. At lower levels can only scan for race, level, and rank. Cost: none. Spatial Teleportation: When activated, it will teleport User up to 30 meters from the point of activation. Cost: 20 mana. Spatial Storage: Will allow the user to have a separate dimensional space to store anything they can physically carry, excluding living beings. The storage can be accessed through system prompts and will allow the User to view everything in the storage. Cost: none.
Aurelia felt she needed some variety, having offensive and defensive spells. She felt like the identify skill would be vital for her, as she did not grow up here and would need more help understanding the creatures and people around her. She didn¡¯t want to walk into a situation where she had no chance of survival. The spatial storage skill also seemed like it would be useful no matter what. She expected to be getting some sort of loot, and not having to actually carry everything on her person would be extremely helpful. Also, teleportation? That just seemed amazing to her. Aurelia got a prompt asking her to confirm her choice, and she chose yes. Similarly to the first time she had gotten skills, a flood of information came into her mind. This time all the information she received was new knowledge, and she waited for the brief pain to pass. As soon as she felt the resulting skills settle into her mind, she used some of her mana to teleport across the room. ¡°Woah!¡± she yelped, surprised by the pressure of the teleport and the feeling of an instant change in her point of view. She tried the skill a few more times until she felt more comfortable with it. Looking at her mana, she noticed how it had gone down until she was at only a hundred mana left. If she was going to be in the dungeon for an extended period of time, Aurelia knew she would need more mana. All of her skills relied on it, so it was important that she had as much mana as possible. So, she decided to put twenty five of her free points into intelligence and two into wisdom. She then had the ten points from when she hit level one, and decided to put five into vitality and five into agility. After waiting for the increase in her mana to settle, Aurelia nodded at her updated stat sheet, satisfied. She now was at over 500 mana and now had new skills that would help her in the dungeon. She just had one more thing to do. Loot! Aurelia teleported in front of the platinum chest, and decided to ask the system about the chest.
History cont: Rewards given by the system may include loot chests. The rarity of the chests are graded by the material of the chest. These rarities include Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Ruby, and Diamond chests. Loot may include money, weapons, armor, artifacts, or other such items.
So the chest Aurelia had gotten for discovering a new dungeon was one of the best chest rewards she could have gotten. She hoped this chest would give her something really useful to use in the dungeon. Armor could be very useful, though she did have that shield. A weapon would also be helpful, as she only had two offensive spells at the moment. Aurelia couldn¡¯t wait anymore and opened the platinum chest. Inside, she found that she had been rewarded with more than one thing. She first pulled out three brown leather pouches and could hear the clink of coins in each. The first pouch was the smallest of the three and held ten gold coins. The second held silver coins, and though she couldn¡¯t properly count this one it was a lot more than the ten previously. The last pouch held copper coins, definitely more than the amount of silver coins. Aurelia decided to just put them in her new storage power and activated the skill for the first time. The three pouches vanished and a new screen popped into her vision. She could see a fifteen by fifteen grid with each pouch taking up its own square. Observing the square with the silver coins, she could see that it showed she had 200 silver coins. She looked at the copper coin pouch and could see that she had 500 copper coins. ¡°Nice! What¡¯s next?¡± Aurelia dismissed the screen holding the boxes and looked back into the chest. The next item she pulled out was a leather flask. Inside she found what looked and smelled like water. She decided to take a sip to make sure. Yup, it was water. She wished she had a skill that could identify items, her identify skill only worked on living things, so she wouldn¡¯t be able to use the skill on the water flask. Aurelia put the flask into her inventory and moved on to a leather satchel. Inside the bag she found a small pouch holding what looked like potion bottles, but the size of her pointer finger. Five of the potions were blue and five were a red color. The potions matched what she imagined health and mana potions would look like and decided to try those later. The satchel and the bottles went into her inventory. The next item she pulled out of the chest was a silver chain necklace holding a large sapphire. It was beautiful, though Aurelia wasn¡¯t sure why it was given to her. Surely a necklace couldn¡¯t help her in the dungeon. She decided to put it on anyway, and clasped it around her neck. The sapphire sat right under the collar of her blouse, hiding it from sight. After she finished putting on the necklace, she felt a surge of mana energy. Surprised, she looked at her stat sheet and found that her mana had increased by 100 points! This necklace was definitely worth it. There was one last item in the chest, and Aurelia pulled it out. It seemed to be a metal silver wand about twelve inches long. It had quarter sized sapphire set on one tip of the wand and another fingernail sized sapphire set about five inches from the bottom of the wand. Wrapping her hand around the wand, her thumb brushed against the smaller sapphire, and Aurelia jumped up from her crouched position as the wand suddenly turned into a large staff about six feet tall. ¡°Woah!¡± Aurelia cried out. The sapphire on the tip had become a fist sized gem that sparkled in the white and blue crystal light of the cave. The smaller sapphire had stayed the same size and sat in the same place relative to where her hand lay on the wand-turned-staff. She clumsily spun the staff around and laughed. She had absolutley no idea what to do with it. She tried pressing the smaller sapphire again, and it shrunk back to the smaller wand form. She decided to try something else, and for the first time used her Basic Mana Bolt spell. She channeled the spell through the wand and a blue ball of energy shot out of the sapphire end and into the cave wall. There was a small explosion and a puff of dust as the mana bolt made impact. Shards of rock flew outwards, some of which landed on Aurelia. She cursed as she gained some scrapes from the shrapnel. That¡¯s when she remembered that she had a shield spell. ¡°Well that was stupid.¡± Aurelia quickly cast her shield spell around herself and for a split second she could see a sphere of blue light around her before it disappeared. She knew it was there, but she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about looking through the shield as it was in an invisible state. Aurelia guessed that meant other people or monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to tell she had a shield either. Deciding she could try one more experiment, she sent out another mana bolt, but with the hand not holding the wand. A smaller mana bolt than the first was sent out of her left palm and into the cave wall. This time the explosion was much smaller with barely any shrapnel or dust resulting from the impact. Aurelia guessed that the wand somehow enhanced her spells when she channeled them through it. Knowing that her other offensive spell would be more powerful than the mana bolt, she didn¡¯t want to try it in the small cave, so any experimentation would have to be on the other side of the door. Looking around her, Aurelia noticed that the chest was no longer laying on the floor. It had completely disappeared, probably because she had gotten everything out of the chest. Aurelia took out her water flask and took a long sip from it before putting it back into her inventory. She sighed, realizing what she had to do next. Holding her wand in one hand, she walked forward to the imposing stone door. It was time to enter the dungeon. Chapter 6: The Dungeon Her hand was inches from the door of the dungeon before Aurelia remembered that she had one last thing to do before she should enter. Addressing the system she asked, ¡°What are dungeons in Eldria?¡± A new system prompt appeared in her vision and she read the history tutorial prompt aloud. ¡°Dungeons are system run challenges containing monsters, puzzles, and traps that need to be overcome in order to receive rewards. Dungeons are placed in locations all over Eldria, but are relatively few in number. There are five difficulty levels of dungeons including novice, apprentice, adept, journeyman, and master. Only one party may enter a dungeon at any given time, becoming open after either the participating party completes the dungeon or perishes. After entering the dungeon, the only way to exit is to complete the dungeon. Dungeons may contain hidden challenges or rewards which may change with each run through of the dungeon.¡± Aurelia read through the description a second time before dismissing the prompt. She wasn¡¯t sure how she was supposed to tell what difficulty level her dungeon was, but decided in the end that it wasn''t relevant. Her only way out was to complete the dungeon to the end, and debating what might be wouldn¡¯t get her anywhere. She was on her own and would need to trust in herself. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t make it. She put her attention back to the door and realized there was no handle on the door or any noticeable hinges to show which way the door would open. Aurelia reached out for the door again and set it against the smooth stone. A prompt appeared in her vision.
Would you like to enter the [Dungeon of the Wild]?
¡°Yes?¡± The door swung outward, revealing a long dark hallway. Aurelia stepped through the doorway and heard a thud behind her as the door closed. Her heart thundered in her chest as her anxiety went through the roof. ¡°I guess that means no turning back.¡±
Around the same time, in a galaxy probably very far away, Rachel and Steve Burgess sat on the couch in Aurelia and Irene¡¯s living room. Steve had his arms wrapped around his wife as she cried. Two police officers were exiting the apartment after finishing their inspection of the apartment and their interview with the two grieving parents. Irene was in her room, still in shock that her roommate had just disappeared. After she had completed her statement with the police, she had locked herself in her room, wanting to be left alone. The Burgesses had finished up with the police and now were alone in the living room of the apartment. ¡°We should have talked to Aurelia sooner, it was a mistake to have kept it from her.¡± Steve spoke softly to his wife. Rachel sat up and sniffled, ¡°I know. I just wanted her to have a normal life away from all of that mess.¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t normal, though. And she was old enough to make her own decisions.¡± Rachel put her head in her hands, ¡°Ugh. This is a mess.¡± She ran her fingers through her hair and looked back at Steve. ¡°Maybe there is something we could do to help her. We could-¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t it our job to-¡± ¡°NO!¡± Steve raised his voice at the word and then quieted down, remembering the other occupant of the apartment. ¡°What¡¯s done is done. You know what would happen if we tried to return. We would die without doing anything to actually help Aurelia. We would just make things worse.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just thinking of ourselves? She is our daughter. We raised her.¡± ¡°We knew it was always a possibility that Darrius would come looking for the orb. It couldn¡¯t be helped that the orb happened to be with Aurelia, and there was no way that we could keep running from him. There was no way that Aurelia could run away from who she is. I knew we should have told her about Eldria, that would have been the best protection, not ignorance.¡± Rachel stood up in a huff, ¡°Well I¡¯m sorry. All right? You were right, and I was wrong. Is that what you wanted to hear?¡± ¡°This was never something I wanted to be right about, you know that, so stop being so antagonistic.¡± ¡°Well stop being patronizing, then! We can¡¯t change the past, Steve!¡± The man stood up as well and groaned. He crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling before closing his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He sighed and hugged his wife. ¡°That wasn¡¯t helpful, I know.¡± They spent a moment in silence, thinking about what they might have done differently. What they might have done in order to save Aurelia from her fate. In their hearts they knew there was nothing. Their daughter had been fated to end up in Eldria, just as they were fated to spend the rest of their days on Earth. It was likely they would never see their daughter again.
The hallway was dark but for the crystals casting faint light from the walls and ceiling. Rocks and other rock formations cast shadows in the cavern hallway, making Aurelia nervous. Aurelia slowly walked forwards, her worn boots scuffing on the cave flooring. She held her wand in a white knuckled grip, and kept her gaze moving all around her. She searched around her for possible traps or hidden dangers. She walked around large stalagmites and hanging stalactites, stepping over large rocks and holes in the ground. Gazing at a particularly large hole, she didn¡¯t notice an especially large stalactite and rammed her shoulder into it. The tip of the stalactite broke off from the collision and crashed to the ground. The sound echoed through the cavern hallway and Aurelia grimaced at the noise. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. She paused and mentally reprimanded herself for being so clumsy. She looked over at her shoulder and saw that she hadn¡¯t taken any damage, as her shield had protected her. She felt no pain either, so that was a plus. Aurelia continued forwards, going slower than she had before and keeping her eyes more focused forwards. Aurelia didn¡¯t think to look behind her, so she was taken by surprise when a heavy something rammed into her from behind. She let out a yelp as she was forced into the ground. Thankfully, her shield protected her from any damage and it also forced her offender to fall next to her rather than on top of her. She scrambled away as she assessed the attacking creature. It seemed to be some sort of mole creature that was a foot tall and two feet long. Its eyes were deep set into its furry brown head and she saw large pointed teeth as it turned and screeched at her. Adrenaline pumping in her veins, Aurelia quickly pointed her wand at the mole creature and summoned a mana bolt at it. Right before she casted her spell, the mole creature leaped at her, claws outstretched and mouth agape. The mana bolt met the monster in the air, and suddenly, the mole just exploded. Aurelia saw what was left of the mole creature splatter against her shield and fall to the ground. ¡°Holy..!!¡± Aurelia gagged at the horrible sight.
[Cave Mole] Level 2 defeated. 20 experience earned! Would you like to loot [Cave Mole]?
Aurelia groaned, ¡°Yes¡­¡± In the next moment, all of the disgusting remains of the cave mole had disappeared. Aurelia received a new notification stating that because she had the spatial storage skill, all of her loot would be directly deposited in her storage space. Aurelia looked around for a moment, paranoid that another cave mole would sneak up on her. When she didn¡¯t see any more movement, she looked at the loot notification.
[Cave Mole] meat x1 received! [Cave Mole] pelt x1 received! 2 copper coins received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
Aurelia wasn¡¯t too impressed by her loot, but this was the first monster she had defeated at the very beginning of the dungeon. The level of the monster also was lower than her¡¯s but maybe the levels of the monsters would grow as the dungeon progressed. Aurelia stood up from her place on the ground and looked around once more. After walking forwards a couple steps, she noticed movement coming from her right. She turned her head to see another cave mole crawling out of a hole in the ground. Not wanting to give it a chance to leap at her, Aurelia pointed her wand at the mole and blasted it to high heaven with a mana bolt. With an experience and loot prompt later, Aurelia continued onwards down the tunnel. The next cave mole she spotted was further down the hallway ahead of her, so this time, Aurelia took the time to identify the mole with her skill.
[Cave Mole] Level 3 Health: 150/150 Mana: 0/0 Stamina: 120/120 The [Cave Mole] is a common underground predator, often seen in caves and ground tunnels. [Cave Mole]s prefer to wait in holes underground and ambush their prey from below. They are usually solitary creatures but may occasionally roam in packs. The [Cave Mole] is blind and deaf, but has an excellent sense of smell and can detect vibrations through the ground.
Aurelia only had a few quick seconds to scan the information screen about the cave mole before she had to act and blast the offending party before it could attack. As she moved forwards again, she tried not to make as much noise, but realized there wasn¡¯t much she could do. She had no idea how to walk stealthily, though she guessed there was a skill for it. Maybe she could learn how to become a ninja and be a stealth master? Over the next couple of minutes, Aurelia continued to blast away at the continuous stream of cave moles. She caught most of them before they got close, but they would occasionally catch her unawares and attack her shield. After the fifth such sneak attack, her mana shield vanished, leaving Aurelia completely without protection. Unfortunately, Aurelia didn¡¯t have time to recast the shield as she was suddenly surrounded by five cave moles. Three were rushing at her from the front and two from behind. Aurelia cursed and decided to use her spatial slash attack at the three moles rushing at her from the front. She swiped her wand in a horizontal slash at the moles, releasing a disruptive energy slash that flew through the air and quickly approached the monsters. Not waiting to see the result of the attack, Aurelia cast a mana bolt behind her with her other hand. The mana bolt connected with one of the moles, but the second was unhindered as it suddenly leaped at Aurelia. ¡°Ahh!¡± Aurelia tried casting her shield spell, but she was too late. The large mole crashed into her, teeth clamping around her right thigh. The pain was intense as strong jaws crushed her leg, sharp teeth cutting open her skin. Aurelia put her palm right next to the cave mole¡¯s back and blasted it with her mana bolt spell. Aurelia screamed again as she received damage from the mana spell. Her vision darkened and she collapsed to the ground on her good leg. Tears swam in her vision as she looked around the hallway, checking for more moles. That''s when she noticed the aftermath of her spatial slash attack. The three moles had all been caught in the attack, and Aurelia blinked. Each of the cave moles had been sliced in two, and were now dead on the ground. She accepted the loot notifications and then cast her shield spell with her wand. There was no way she would let that spell dissipate again in this dungeon. She then turned her attention to her leg, whimpering from the intense pain. Aurelia glanced at her health on her status page and saw that her health had dropped by sixty points. That was almost half of her health! She didn¡¯t have any spell to heal herself, but she remembered that she did have a healing potion. She took a red potion bottle out of her inventory and uncorked it. Not knowing what to expect, but not particularly caring at the moment, she gulped the potion down. It didn¡¯t really taste like much, just like water with a little sweetness. ¡°Oh wow!¡± Immediately, the pain in her leg washed away and she could feel her leg healing itself. She watched as the gashes in her leg closed up, though the blood and tears in her pants stayed. ¡°Oh well, I guess I¡¯ll need to get new pants at some point.¡± Aurelia decided that it wasn¡¯t wise to stay put for any longer, and moved on after putting the empty potion bottle in her inventory, ¡°Waste not, want not.¡± As Aurelia continued forwards, she became more aware of her mana shield. She could feel when the damage threshold was almost at the limit and when the shield would disappear. Before it was completely destroyed, Aurelia recast the spell, resetting the mana shield. This way she would be able to better avoid hurting herself too badly. She didn¡¯t have a lot of health, and didn¡¯t want to find herself in a precarious situation without a shield to protect her. Mana bolt after mana bolt, spatial slash after spatial slash, Aurelia killed the cave moles. She continued on for what seemed like forever, but was probably only another twenty minutes. In the distance, Aurelia could see the gray outline of a new door set into the wall. Excited, she picked up the pace, not being as attentive as she had been previously. So it was to her dismay that Aurelia suddenly found herself surrounded by almost twenty cave moles. One seemed bigger than the rest, and after a quick identify, Aurelia saw that it was at level 10. A much higher level than all the other moles had been. ¡°Oops¡­¡± Chapter 7: Blast 鈥榚m For a brief moment, there was silence and stillness. Eighteen cave moles bared their teeth at Aurelia, while the young woman stood stiffly in place. She observed that the level 10 cave mole stood near the door, teeth bared at her. The moles surrounded her from all sides, making Aurelia feel trapped. She gripped her wand tighter in her hand, feeling anxious but could also feel adrenaline start to shoot through her veins. Then all but one of the moles exploded into action, running and leaping towards Aurelia. She shot a spatial slash at the closest cave moles, killing four of them with one attack. A smaller mole was the first to reach her as it leaped towards her left side. Aurelia quickly dodged to the side, barely missing the mole, as she made a second spatial slash with her wand. This time, she only killed two of the moles, as others avoided the attack. Two more moles reached her and slashed at her mana shield. Aurelia tried not to panic as she mana bolted the two moles next to her, catching both in the attack. There were four more cave moles approaching her from the right, so Aurelia casted another spatial slash at them. With her other hand she blindly casted a mana bolt towards the group of moles approaching from her left. The spatial slash killed three moles while the blind mana bolt she had cast ended up killing another. That left five moles still attacking with the largest mole still unmoved from its position by the door. The smaller mole that had leaped at her before got up from where it had landed and took another pass at Aurelia. Two more cave moles reached her and started slashing at her legs. Aurelia couldn¡¯t dodge the flying mole with the other two at her feet. She aimed her wand at the flying mole and casted mana bolt, before aiming a spatial slash at the two by her feet. Thankfully, the mana bolt connected with the flying mole and it was blasted away. The spatial slash also was successful in killing the two moles by her feet, but not before they had finally finished off her mana shield, making it disappear completely. Aurelia was now unprotected as the final two approaching moles came at her. As Aurelia tried targeting the mole in front of her with a mana bolt, it gave the second cave mole a chance to leap at Aurelia and make a successful slash at her leg. ¡°Ow!¡± Aurelia shouted in pain, and she flinched, causing her mana bolt to miss the mole in front of her. Aurelia switched targets and aimed at the mole by her leg. She blasted the mole, but not before getting a new slash from the sharp claws of the mole. Her distraction allowed for the other mole to reach her and the second mole clamped down on her unhurt leg. She cried out again and lost her balance as neither of her legs could hold her weight. The second cave mole let go of her leg and then aimed to take a bite out of her stomach. Aurelia screeched in fear and aimed a mana bolt with her hand into the cave mole¡¯s face. The mole exploded over Aurelia and she closed her eyes and shrunk away. There was a moment of silence after the last mole died. That¡¯s when Aurelia heard the clack of claws on stone. The large mole, it was still alive! Aurelia leaped to her feet, or rather, she tried to. With a shout of pain, Aurelia collapsed back down as her legs could not support her. On her hands and knees, Aurelia looked up to see the large, level 10 mole approaching her. Its teeth were bared in a growl, and its beady black eyes shone in the crystal light of the cave. She noticed the very long and very sharp claws it supported on its paws. Do moles have paws? Or is it just feet? It didn¡¯t really matter. Aurelia went to aim her wand at the mole when she realized she had dropped the wand at some point. She frantically glanced around and saw it had rolled a couple feet away from her. Aurelia looked up again to see that the mole had started to run at her. It stood two feet tall and three feet long and at her position on the ground, the mole was very intimidating. She reached out a hand and tried aiming a mana bolt at the mole. The mole dodged to the side, missing the attack. Aurelia made a horizontal slash with her hand, but the mole leaped over the resulting spatial slash. It grew closer and closer, and Aurelia grew more frantic. A second mana bolt glanced off the side of the mole, leaving a gash, but not debilitating it. The mole continued forwards and as it grew near, it leaped at Aurelia. She tried one more mana bolt at the leaping mole and it connected at the mole¡¯s shoulder. The large mole was pushed off course, but Aurelia didn¡¯t wait for it to land atop her. She rolled to the side, avoiding a hole in the ground. She reached for her wand, which was now laying next to her, and turned back towards the cave mole. The mana bolt had taken a chunk out of the mole¡¯s shoulder, but it didn¡¯t seem to notice. The monster turned towards her and continued its advance. She aimed another mana bolt at the mole, but was surprised to see the mole dodge to the side and avoided the attack. Aurelia gritted her teeth, ¡°Just die already!¡± She made a spatial slash with her wand and a large ripple of magic raced in the air at the mole. This time, the attack was successful in truly injuring the mole. Well, if you counted being cut in half just an injury, as her foe was now truly dead. Aurelia breathed heavily from the pain and shock of the fight. She glanced around, expecting another mole to leap at her, but none did. Then, she got a new notification.
Congratulations! The [Crystal Tunnel] completed! [Cave Mole] Level 2 x3 defeated. [Cave Mole] Level 3 x4 defeated. [Cave Mole] Level 4 x4 defeated. [Cave Mole] Level 5 x5 defeated. [Cave Mole] Level 6 defeated. [Cave Mole] Level 10 defeated. 1525 experience earned! The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. You have reached level 5! Would you like to loot [Cave Mole] x18?
¡°Well I guess that means I got all of the cave moles,¡± Aurelia sighed in relief. It also looked like she had finally received enough experience to level to 5. Unfortunately it didn¡¯t seem like she had a new skill point to spend. She really needed another attack spell. Preferably something that would allow her to deal with larger groups of monsters without being overwhelmed. She believed that type of spell was called crowd control spells in the games she had played. Aurelia moved to a more comfortable sitting position and hissed in pain. Aurelia took out a healing potion and downed it. The cool liquid felt refreshing as she drank and the relief she felt from the healing caused her to sag in place. ¡°Praise the Lord, those things are amazing!¡± Her two legs became whole again and any sign she had been injured was cleared away. As she studied her legs, she saw that not only were her pants now really ripped up, but her boots had taken a good beating this time. One boot had a chunk ripped out from a mole bite, and the other had gashes in it from being clawed at. Hopefully her boots would be able to last through the dungeon, because Aurelia definitely would not want to walk barefoot while running around and fighting monsters. Aurelia finally addressed the prompt asking her about the loot and said she would like to loot the defeated cave moles. In a couple seconds, all the remains of the cave moles had disappeared from the tunnel and herself and she received a new prompt letting her know what loot she had received.
[Cave Mole] meat x 20 received! [Cave Mole] pelt x17 received! [Cave Mole] large pelt x1 received! [Monster Core] level 10 received! 52 Copper coins received! 1 Silver coin received! [Cave Mole] leather boots: common received! [Cave Mole] claw dagger received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
Aurelia blinked at all of the loot and first took out her new leather boots. The leather was a dark brown color and was thick and sturdy. The boots looked brand new, unlike the torn pair on her feet. Aurelia grinned in excitement and quickly switched out the pairs of boots. They felt comfortable on her feet and she walked around to get the feel for them. She paced around and then tried leaping over one of the mole holes. To her surprise, her leap more than cleared the hole, plus a couple more feet. When she landed, she paused for a few seconds before trying to jump in another direction. Her jump went far higher and a lot further than she thought was even possible for her to. ¡°I have leaping boots!¡± Aurelia laughed aloud, looking down at her leather boots. To be honest, leaping boots would be useful, but Aurelia thought she could stand to get an item with more defensive abilities. She next pulled out the dagger she had looted from her inventory. Staring at the sharp dagger, she wondered how a claw had transformed into a dagger, or for that matter, how the pelt of the mole had transformed into boots. Aurelia guessed it truly didn¡¯t matter to her. Inspecting the dagger, she noticed that it had a brown, leather wrapped hilt and a six inch blade. The blade seemed to be the same color as the cave mole claws, but it felt more like metal than whatever claws were made of. Maybe the cave moles actually had metal claws. The dagger came with a leather sheath on a brown leather belt. Aurelia attached the belt around her hips, just below the edge of her corset, aligning the blade to lay on her left side. Aurelia glanced around her again, trying to see if she had missed anything. There was nothing left of the moles, but she could see some of her own blood stained the ground. Gross. Aurelia made a face. She then looked to the right side of the tunnel and noticed a particularly large white crystal. She walked up to the crystal to get a better look at it. It was the size of her small fist and glowed with a soft white light. She grabbed at the crystal, trying to wrench it away from the wall. It wouldn¡¯t budge. Aurelia took her new knife from its sheath and tried using it to pry out the glowing crystal. In hindsight, it was probably a stupid choice. Her only weapon and she tries to use it for something that could ruin the knife. To her surprise, it actually worked. The knife easily cut through the stone wall, and allowed Aurelia to get the leverage she needed to pop out the crystal. It was slightly larger than what she had seen on the surface. The crystal had been stuck two inches into the cavern wall, making the circumference of the crystal larger than her original assessment. Or maybe, the crystal had grown out of the rock, rather than being put in the rock. Aurelia noticed that the crystal continued to glow, even after being separated from the wall. Just as she had hoped! ¡°Now I have a portable light source!¡± Aurelia said aloud. Aurelia took a couple of minutes to gather a few more of the larger crystals from the wall. In the end, she had twelve of the light crystals sitting in her spatial storage. Feeling satisfied with what she had done, Aurelia decided it was time to head through the next door. Onwards!
In the meadow where Aurelia had first arrived on Eldria, something had changed. The animals could feel it, the monsters could sense it, and the people in the village could see it. A large formation of rock had formed in the middle of the meadow, standing over 15 feet tall in the grassy ground. Glowing blue and white crystals jutted out from the rock, and what looked to be a cave entrance was carved into the rock. Animals that lived in or near the meadow were frightened of the rock and started moving as far away from it as they could. Curious monsters peaked at the cave opening from the forest tree line, wondering what had just appeared. Some of the villagers who noticed the new landmark decided to investigate. A young boy, who looked to be nearing his teenage years, dashed towards the meadow. He wanted to be the first to reach the glowing rock, excited about what he would find. He ran up the hill, avoiding the stream that flowed down from the meadow and towards the village. As he neared the formation, his heart thumped in his chest. Was this what he thinks it is? ¡°There is no way. But it looks just like how they describe them in the stories!¡± The boy slowed and stopped as he reached his destination. He walked over to an auspicious opening in the rock, and saw that the darkness in the opening was too deep for him to see what was inside. He reached out and touched the side of the rock, then jumped back in surprise when a system prompt appeared in his vision. ¡°Woah!¡± The boy stood still in fascination as he read through the prompt. When he finished, he found himself lost for words. A minute later another group of villagers reached the glowing cave entrance. As each villager each received a prompt of their own, the mood of the growing crowd became more and more excited. The lowly villagers realized that their lives would be changed forever, even as their village would be changed forever. The boy felt a spark grow in his heart, as he realized his dreams of becoming an adventurer may actually become reality. Their village had a dungeon! Chapter 8: Snakes鈥?hy鈥檇 it Have to be Snakes? When Aurelia placed a hand on the stone door, she received a new notification.
Congratulations, User [Aurelia]! For completing the [Cavern of Shadows] solo, you have received an [Iron Chest]!
She was shocked as a new chest appeared on the ground near the door. The extra loot was surprising, but Aurelia guessed getting rewarded for doing the dungeon by yourself was definitely a good thing. She crouched down and opened the small iron chest. Inside, she found three health potions, just like the two she had used in this section of the dungeon. Aurelia gladly accepted the offered loot, knowing the potions would only ever be useful. Aurelia stood back up and placed her hand on the door, again. This time the door opened and she stepped through. The sound of a slamming door echoed throughout the new cavern on the other side of the entryway. Aurelia had stepped into a new section of the dungeon, and it was a lot darker on the other side of the door. Instead of the glowing crystals of the previous tunnel, there were shafts of yellow light shining down from the ceiling like spotlights. The light only lit up portions of the cavern, but Aurelia could tell that it was pretty large. She couldn¡¯t see exactly where the light was coming from, she just knew there was light. Pockets of darkness were littered throughout the room, making Aurelia nervous. This dungeon was the sort of place where being scared of the dark was not exclusive to imaginative children, but a place where it was wise to be wary of what might be lurking in the shadows. Aurelia kept both hands out and to each side of her, her left palm faced outwards and her right hand gripping the wand. She was standing in one of the shafts of light, right in front of the closed entrance to the cavern. As she was about to take a step forwards into the shadows, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She stopped and crouched to the ground, inspecting the ground just beyond the pillar of light. The darkness¡­ moved. At least it seemed that way. Aurelia watched as the darkened cavern floor seemed to shift around. The whole ground seemed to move about, but Aurelia couldn¡¯t quite make out what it was exactly. Aurelia leaned forwards, trying to make out the shapes in the darkness. She decided to take out one of her glowing crystals and held it out past the shaft of light and into the darkened shadows. All the color from Aurelia¡¯s face drained away as she saw the mass of slimy, slithering snakes. She couldn¡¯t help herself, Aurelia let out a loud, piercing scream. The glowing crystal fell from her hand as she leaped back away from the swarm of snakes. The crystal fell on top of the mass of slithering bodies, causing the snakes to move out of the way. The snakes avoided the light, seemingly not wanting to be touched by it. Aurelia could hear hissing coming from the snakes, and she watched as the swarm continued to move away from the crystal until they were all out of sight from the light. Suddenly, Aurelia felt regret for not grabbing more of the crystals. She also felt the intense desire to be anywhere but surrounded by a bunch of slithering snakes. She decided to try identifying one of the snakes, and stared into the darkness. To her surprise, it actually worked.
[Cavern Ground Snake] Level 2 Health: 110/110 Mana: 0/0 Stamina: 130/130 The [Cavern Ground Snake] is a common monster usually found underground. The [Cavern Ground Snake] nest together in large groups and will swarm prey that get close. They cannot stand any form of light as it will damage them. [Cavern Ground Snakes] are usually led by a larger and higher level [Cavern Ground Snake] who they will protect with their lives.
¡°So you bastards don¡¯t like the light, huh?¡± Aurelia said in a low voice. Aurelia sat for a moment, trying to figure out how she would get around all these snakes. She guessed that in any place not lit up was covered in the slithering snakes. She tried to identify more of the snakes and observed that all of the ones she could identify were between the levels of one and three. That made her feel a little better, but there were so many of them. She stood up and decided to try a spell. She made a spatial slash towards the snakes on either side of her and she heard, rather than saw, the aftermath of the attack. The sound of hissing snakes and squelching flesh filled the cave. Aurelia winced at the noises, and watched as a new notification filled her vision. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
[Cavern Ground Snake] Level 1 x5 defeated. [Cavern Ground Snake] Level 2 x4 defeated. [Cavern Ground Snake] Level 3 x2 defeated. 543 experience earned! Would you like to loot [Cavern Ground Snake]?
Aurelia was reading the notification when she heard and felt a thud, as something rammed into her shield. She glanced down at herself to see a snake laying down in front of her, hissing in her direction. Then, just in time, she saw five of the snakes slither into the light, coil themselves, and leap at her! She screamed and took a step back, reflexively sending a mana bolt out at the group of snakes. Two of the snakes exploded, and three attacked her shield. The snakes didn¡¯t seem to cause a lot of damage to the shield, but she could feel that it would only take a couple more strikes before it faded. She did NOT want to discover the wrong way whether these snakes were poisonous or not. Aurelia quickly killed the remaining snakes with mana bolts, and looted all of the corpses. As the bodies faded away, she waited attentively to see if any more snakes would attack. After a tense moment of silence, she relaxed slightly then recast her shield spell. Checking her loot notification from all of the killed snakes, she saw that she had received some scale leather, poison glands, snake fangs, and snake meat. ¡°Well I guess that answers if the snakes are poisonous or not¡­¡± Aurelia muttered to herself. Aurelia didn¡¯t want to try attacking the shadowed snakes, as she was worried more would retaliate. She was considering her next course of action when she remembered one crucial detail she had forgotten, even through the entire crystal hallway. ¡°I have the teleportation skill! What am I doing?¡± Aurelia berated herself for forgetting. In her defense, she still wasn¡¯t used to the fact that she could use actual magic. ¡°I probably could have avoided more injury in the last area if I had just teleported away from the cave moles¡­¡± Aurelia sighed, and resolved to not forget about the skill again. She was partially glad that she didn¡¯t start with a lot more skills. It would be difficult to get a handle on too many skills at once. Aurelia glanced around the cavern, looking at all of the places illuminated with the pillars of light. They were scattered all over, but Aurelia couldn¡¯t find another door that might mark the exit out of the cavern. She decided to try scouting around, and teleported to the closest pillar of light. It was about fifteen feet away from her current position, the light illuminating about a six-foot radius of floor in a circle. The teleport caused a slight disorientation as she reappeared in the new shaft of light. She glanced around her, trying to gauge where she should go next. That¡¯s when she noticed that she could no longer see the door. Turning around in a circle, she saw that the pillar of light that had previously illuminated the stone door entrance had disappeared. She could still see the glowing crystal she had dropped earlier. The crystal had only dropped about a foot away from where the pillar of light had previously shone. The crystal now sat alone, with her being fifteen feet away and in the closest pillar of light to it. Aurelia looked around her, and while she didn¡¯t remember exactly where all the lights had been before she had teleported, they definitely were not in the same place as before. She took another look around the room, looking to see if anything new was illuminated that had not been before. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t see anything new. No monsters illuminated by light and no door to mark the exit. Aurelia decided she needed to keep going. She looked around at the closest pillars of light to her. There were four lights in her range of teleportation, with the closest a little less than twenty feet to her right. The other three lights were arrayed in front of her, ranging from twenty to thirty feet away. She decided to go with the closest light and teleported. This time, Aurelia took better care to keep an eye on her surroundings after she teleported. This time, she actually heard the hissing of snakes and watched snakes slither away from new pillars of light. The light she had come from was also missing. ¡°So every time I get to a new light, the rest of the lights change positions.¡± Aurelia muttered to herself. That¡¯s when she noticed one of the new lights illuminating a section of the cavern wall. Aurelia squinted, partially making out what looked to be carvings on the wall. It was about twenty-five feet to her right, just in her range of teleportation. After not seeing anything else in the cavern of note, Aurelia decided to head to the carvings, to get a better view of them. A second later, Aurelia was standing in front of the wall. She stared at the cavern wall, entranced by what she saw. Carved into the rock was an image of a large serpent. The head of the snake was six inches wide carved at eye level to her, the full length of the snake probably seven feet long with its tail coiled near the floor of the cavern. The face of the snake stared back at her, mouth agape and fangs out. She could see each individual scale had been carved onto the snake and she was amazed by how lifelike it looked. Next to the body of the snake were carved words. She reached out a finger and traced the letters. The characters were not of the roman alphabet, instead looking like a bunch of triangles, lines and dots. To her surprise, however, she found that she could actually understand what it was saying. ¡°Under the rock, earthly sound echoes; The serpent of stone, lays hidden by shadows. Guardian of darkness, dispeller of light; Bringer of depths, harbinger of night. Strike one of the nest, through force or might; prepare for the rest, to finish the fight.¡± Aurelia paused after reading the inscription. It seemed to be some kind of warning, or maybe just a clue for what would await her in this section of the dungeon. ¡°I don¡¯t really understand the whole meaning, but I now get why the snakes attacked after I killed a few of them. They were retaliating because I attacked them first. Interesting, I wonder why they wouldn¡¯t just attack me anyways like the moles did.¡± She also wondered what it meant by the serpent of stone. From what it was describing, it made it sound like the poem was talking about a singular snake, rather than more than one. Aurelia took a better look at the snake carving in front of her, admiring the artwork. That¡¯s when Aurelia noticed the stone snake slowly tilt its head, its mouth opening wider. ¡°Holy-¡± Chapter 9: Lightning Chain The head of the snake continued to open wider, a stone tongue slipped out between stone fangs. The empty eyes seemed to bore into Aurelia. She watched as first the head, and then the body of the snake began to move. The stone snake slowly began coming away from the wall, its stone scales shifting and grinding together. The sight of the previously still statue come to life made Aurelia take a step backwards, confused and frightened. Aurelia glanced behind her to see that she had a foot at the edge of the light. Not wanting to step in a pile of slithering snakes, she paused. Glancing forwards again, she watched as the snake continued to come alive. Her wand raised towards the snake and a mana bolt flew five feet through the air at the snake. Aurelia shrieked as the mana bolt blasted rock in every direction. The rock shrapnel bounced off her shield causing her to flinch, even if she wasn¡¯t harmed. She heard a loud hissing noise coming from the stone snake and Aurelia looked back up at it. She paused, staring in horror. The stone scales had shattered, leaving behind the head of a black and gray scaled snake. About a foot of the snake from the tip of the snout to down its back had become fresh scales, while the rest was still stone. Before, the stone snake had been about six inches wide at the head, but now, it looked to be about eight inches wide. The mana bolt had shattered a layer of stone revealing fresh scales. The snake was alive, and very terrifying. The white fangs of the serpent gleamed in the light. Aurelia clenched her wand tighter in her fist. Aurelia moved to the side, heart pounding as the snake tracked her movements. Move Aurelia! You have to move! Aurelia glanced around her to see where the closest pillar of light was. There! Aurelia decided to risk it and she teleported away. After arriving, Aurelia spun to where she had come from. The pillar illuminating the animating stone snake was now gone, but Aurelia had a feeling that the snake was still making its way towards her. As she listened, she could hear the sound of cracking rock and plinking as bits of stone fell to the ground. Aurelia glanced around, knowing she didn¡¯t have a lot of time. The pillars of light illuminated new portions of the cave, including a large stone door. ¡°There! That¡¯s the exit!¡± Aurelia felt excited at finding the escape route from the swarm of snakes. The stone door stood at the far end of the cavern from her. She guessed she could make it over there in two or three jumps. As she was about to move to a light closer to the door, she paused. If she teleported now, the light illuminating the stone door would disappear. Aurelia debated what she should do next. She could maybe throw a glow crystal near the door, but she really couldn¡¯t throw that hard or that far away. She could also just teleport to the nearest light to the door as she could from where she was, and just hope she could find the door from there. She stood there, ignoring the sounds of cracking stone, when she heard thud noise, and realized the snake was finally off the wall and onto the ground. ¡°Great, I now have a giant snake after me.¡± Arelia grumbled to herself. Aurelia set her mouth in a grim line, knowing she didn¡¯t have a lot of time left, now the stone snake was free. Deciding to just go for it, she teleported as far as she could towards the stone door. The teleportation no longer made her feel disoriented as before. She glanced around her, seeing what was illuminated by the pillars of light. To her dismay, but not surprised, she found the light on the stone door was gone. Behind her, the sound of hissing grew louder. She turned to find that the large serpent was slithering through a patch of light. It came towards her, no longer covered in stone, and followed by a swarm of snakes. As she watched, the pillar of light it came through started flickering, then went out completely. Aurelia couldn¡¯t help it, she panicked. She let loose a mana bolt towards the direction she had last seen the snakes. The orb of blue light let off a slight glow as it streamed towards the large snake. There was a slight explosion as the bolt impacted right behind the larger stone snake, hitting smaller ones behind it. The hissing grew louder as the bolt killed a few of the snakes. Aurelia got a notification about the kills, and saw she had killed four snakes in that one attack. Aurelia heard some hissing closer to her and saw five snakes leaving the darkness to attack her. It was the retaliation she should have expected. She dodged to the side as one reached her and she let loose mana bolts as fast as she could. Three of the snakes died in quick succession, with one still in front of her and one coming towards her on the left. The next mana bolt missed and a snake thumped against her mana shield. Aurelia grunted in frustration and continued to attack, killing the two snakes. Aurelia couldn¡¯t see where the stone snake was but decided to teleport further away from where she had last seen it. As she stood under a new light she quickly read through the kill notification. To her surprise, she also received another notification.
Congratulations User [Aurelia], your [Spatial Mage] class has leveled up! Level Six reached! Stat points allocated, you have been given 9 free stat points. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. 18 free stat points unallocated. You have been given one free skill point.
She had leveled up, finally! And Aurelia could now get a new skill! She looked back towards where the stone snake should be, and grimaced as she saw the swarm of snakes passing through another pillar of light. She watched as the light first flickered and then disappeared. She didn¡¯t have much time, at the pace the snakes were going and the distance, she had maybe a minute or two. Aurelia quickly pulled up the skill menu and realized there were more skills this time around. She scanned through the list as quickly as she could. ¡°Area spell, area spell, where are you?¡± As she muttered the words, the skill list changed, showing only five skills. She realized they all were area skills, and read each one quickly. ¡°Okay, gravity aura, spatial distortion, mana bomb, mana arrows, and lightning chain.¡± Each spell seemed to look useful, but the first two didn¡¯t actually cause any damage, so she ignored them for now. The other three had different damage types, but it was the fifth spell that seemed to be exactly what she needed at the moment. She chose the lightning chain skill.
Congratulations! You have learned [1] new skill. Lightning Chain: skill level 1 Lightning Chain: Casts a high damage lightning based attack at target. Target needs to be within six feet of User. If a struck target dies from the lightning chain attack and other enemies are within one foot, the spell will continue to them. Chained attacks will continue until there are no more enemies nearby. Has a 5 percent chance of stunning the target for 10 seconds. Cost: 60 mana. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Aurelia glanced at her mana, realizing the recent teleporting and mana attacks had really drained her mana pool. She hadn¡¯t taken the time to really let her mana fill up again, so she was only at about half of her available pool. ¡°Well let¡¯s see what this new spell can do.¡± Aurelia pointed her wand at the darkness in front of her and cast lightning chain. What happened next was almost breathtaking. The lightning attack streamed out of her wand and hit a nearby snake. The low level snake died instantly from the attack, unable to withstand the damage it brought. The snake wasn¡¯t just nearby other snakes, it had been moving in and around the nest of snakes. So when the first died, the lightning moved to four nearby snakes. Those snakes all died from the crackling energy and the lightning moved again. And again. And again. Aurelia watched as the lightning chain spread around the room. The lightning flashed in colors ranging from yellow and white to blue, red, and violet. It covered the cavern, lighting up every inch of the darkened space. The lightning flowed around Aurelia, reaching snakes gathered nearby. Through the sparks of light, Aurelia could see the stone snake. It was still alive, its head lifted off the ground, and seemingly very angry. The stone shell cracked and split apart, as the lightning coursed through the snake. But, as the snake nest continued to die off, the stone snake continued forward. For the first time, Aurelia scanned the stone snake with her identify skill.
[Cavern Stone Snake] Level 12 Health: 821/1200 Mana: 425/800 Stamina: 1300/1400 The [Cavern Stone Snake] is a rare monster usually found underground. They are an evolved form of the [Cavern Ground Snake]. The [Cavern Stone Snake] is commonly found in nests together with other [Cavern Ground Snake]s. They are able to manipulate stone to better dig and protect itself. They can dispel light using dark and shadow skills.
Aurelia widened her eyes at the description of the snake. Level 12? And its health and mana seemed so high as well. As Aurelia read the description of the snake, ignoring the dying nest of snakes around her, she missed something important. The stone snake was no longer slowly moving forwards. In fact, it had used a movement skill and was now flying at Aurelia¡¯s face. The snake slammed into Aurelia, making her fly backwards out of the pillar of light and into a pile of charred snake corpses. Aurelia screamed as the snake hit her and as she hit the ground. Aurelia rolled out from under the snake, narrowly missing another strike as the head of the snake smashed into the ground. Aurelia pointed her wand at the snake and let loose two mana bolts at point break range. The stone snake made a shrieking noise and she scrambled away from it. She looked up to find the nearest light and teleported to get more distance between her and the snake. Aurelia looked back towards the stone snake and saw it was already barreling towards her. She raised her wand and began firing mana bolts at it. Unfortunately for her, the snake was just too fast and it dodged most of the magical attacks aimed at her. It moved quickly forwards, eating up the distance between them. Aurelia waited until it was in range before she let loose a lightning chain attack. Not waiting to get hit by the snake she teleported again to another pillar of light. As she appeared she groaned in pain as she got a sudden and intense migraine. "What is happening?" Aurelia tried to move past the pain as she turned back towards the stone snake. She couldn''t really see it in the darkened cave so she brought out a glow crystal and tossed it to where she thought the snake was. To her luck, the crystal stopped next to the still snake. It seemed to be frozen in place. Aurelia realized the stun chance from the lightning chain had stunned the snake! With only a couple of seconds before the stun would wear off, Aurelia cast a spatial slash at the frozen snake. She cried out as the pain in her head intensified. Not knowing what was happening, she pulled up her stat sheet. Glancing through, she realized what might be wrong. She was down to only 5 mana points. Aurelia panicked for a moment, looking back at the stone snake. That''s when she realized that it was dead. The stone snake had been cut in two. Aurelia collapsed to the ground exhausted. She had done it. Chapter 10: Fangs or Claws She was surrounded by corpses of dead snakes, as she had not yet taken time to loot the corpses. At this moment, Aurelia couldn¡¯t care less, and the intense migraine she was feeling made it difficult to focus on her surroundings. Aurelia took out her flask of water from her inventory and started drinking. She gulped it down until the flask was maybe a third full. Aurelia sighed deeply and put the flask back in her inventory. Her migraine slowly started to fade and Aurelia rechecked her mana levels. The number was slowly but surely ticking upwards and she saw it was already at fifty points. Aurelia sighed in relief. She was still sitting in the shadows, and not wanting to sit among the snakes anymore, she got up to go sit under a pillar of light. Thankfully it was only a couple feet away. Now that she felt a bit more comfortable, she decided to try and go through her notifications from the snakes. The first one she looked at was a notification for completing this portion of the dungeon.
Congratulations! The [Cavern of Shadows] completed! [Cavern Ground Snake] Level 1 x72 defeated. [Cavern Ground Snake] Level 2 x67 defeated. [Cavern Ground Snake] Level 3 x62 defeated. [Cavern Stone Snake] Level 12 defeated. 25,431 experience earned! You have reached level 7! Would you like to loot [Cavern Ground Snake] x201? Would you like to loot [Cavern Stone Snake]?
Aurelia blinked at the notification. ¡°Wow, that is a lot of dead snakes.¡± She looked around at the cavern, noting how few lights still illuminated the shadows. She could still make out piles of dead snakes around her and shuttered. She wondered what she would have done if she didn¡¯t have the teleportation spell. She might have had to just walk in the shadows to each light, or just fight all the snakes before being able to exit the cavern. Without the lightning chain spell, she probably would not have been able to kill all of the snakes before they swarmed her. Even with the mana potion she had, she was only one person. Deciding to just move on, Aurelia activated the loot notifications for the large snake and all of the small ones.
[Cavern Ground Snake] meat x 201 received! [Cavern Ground Snake] scale leather x 201 received! [Cavern Ground Snake] poison glands x104 received! [Cavern Ground Snake] snake fangs x198 received! [Cavern Stone Snake] meat x 2 received! [Cavern Stone Snake] scale leather x 1 received! [Monster Core] level 12 received! 637 Copper coins received! 3 Silver coins received! [Cavern Stone Snake] bracers: uncommon received! [Cavern Stone Snake] poison vial: uncommon received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
The excitement of receiving loot came over Aurelia, and she happily went through all of the items. She took out the vial of poison, surprised to see a small vial, the size of her pointer finger, appear in her hand. She wondered what kind of poison it was, and what it would do. Maybe she could ask someone about it once she got out of the dungeon. Aurelia then took out the bracers. They seemed to be made of the black and gray scales of the stone snake. She took out her claw dagger and tried making a slice on one of the bracers. The dagger didn¡¯t seem to do anything to the bracer. Satisfied, Aurelia awkwardly put on the bracers. It was a lot more difficult trying to lace up the bracers with only one hand. The next notification mentioned the stat points she had received after leveling up. She had three levels of free stat points she had never gotten around to using, and saw that her health and mana levels had both gone up. Her health was now at 300 and her maximum mana was at almost 750 points. She considered what stats she really needed to raise. Aurelia already felt a lot healthier and could move a lot quicker than before. During her altercation with the stone snake her reaction time had been so much quicker than she could have done before coming to Eldria. Her strength, endurance, charisma, and luck were her lowest stats, all around 10. Most of Aurelia¡¯s fights had happened while she stood still and pointed her wand, or her teleporting around rather than running from fights. She also hadn¡¯t felt the need to use her dagger to physically attack anything. That might change in the future, so Aurelia decided to use her 27 free stat points on her lowest four stats. She put six each into strength, endurance and charisma, then the last three into luck. Because, you know, just for luck. Now that she was done going through the notifications, she decided to stand up. Her vision darkened for a moment and she paused, waiting for the moment of dizziness to pass. Aurelia began to think that maybe she should wait a bit longer before she moved on. Aurelia sat back down and checked how much mana she was at now. She saw that she was at 170 mana out of 744. Aurelia didn¡¯t want to waste a mana potion, even if it meant she could get out of the snake cavern sooner. She sat back down in the light to wait a bit longer. That¡¯s when Aurelia heard the growl. ¡°What was that!¡± Aurelia jumped back up again. Vision slightly hazy, she looked around trying to see what had made the growl. Some sort of cave wolf? Something that would tear her apart with its teeth? Or even worse, something undead? Aurelia had unfortunately watched too many horror, thriller, and zombie movies for her liking. Those were the films her older brother liked to watch. And she did not. Like. Zombies. She heard the growl again, and Aurelia paused then sighed, looking down at her stomach. She patted the empty stomach, finally understanding that she was merely just hungry. She may have overreacted, but she was also in a dungeon, so Aurelia felt a hyper reaction was better than being dead. Unfortunately, Aurelia did not have any food with her. Well, she guessed she did have a bunch of mole and snake meat, but she didn¡¯t have anything to start a fire with or even cook with. From her cooking skill, she knew instinctively that she could not eat either meat raw without getting sick. She would need to either wait until she was out of the dungeon, or until she had a way to cook the meat. She really hoped this dungeon wouldn¡¯t take her too long. She had already been here a couple of hours, and she had no idea how long the dungeon would take to complete. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Aurelia stayed in the snake cavern for a half an hour, waiting for her mana to recharge. She ended up walking around, picking up the few glow crystals she had left around the cavern. When she was ready, Aurelia moved back towards the exit door, going through pillars of light until the door was illuminated again. She approached the door and realized the stone door wasn¡¯t smooth like the other doors had been, but had been carved to depict images of snakes. Aurelia shuddered, hoping she wouldn¡¯t have to fight another snake anytime soon. She laid a hand on the door, and Aurelia received a new notification in her vision.
Congratulations, User [Aurelia]! For completing the [Cavern of Shadows] solo, you have received an [Iron Chest]!
Aurelia blinked and suddenly there was a treasure chest made of Iron sitting beside her. She had another chest! Admittedly, she realized it was the most common chest you could get, but she would take anything she was given. She got down on the ground and scooted near to the chest. She reached over and opened up the chest. Inside, she found a pile of sapphire blue fabric. Confused, she picked it up out of the chest and unfolded the heavy fabric. ¡°Oh! It''s a cloak!¡± Aurelia exclaimed. She swung the cloak onto her shoulders and closed the intricate silver cloak clasp in place. The thick cloak felt soft and comforting around her. To her surprise, she found that there were armholes in the cloak. Aurelia thought it would be nice to be able to cast spells without having to move the cloak out of the way. Another detail caught her eye. ¡°It has pockets!¡± Aurelia exclaimed. Indeed, the cloak had two deep pockets on the inside of the cloak. Aurelia guessed that would make it less likely people could rob her if the pockets were on the inside. She looked back towards the chest, hoping to find another item inside. To her dismay, the chest was gone, meaning the cloak was the only item she would get. Aurelia stood back up and touched the door again, this time it swung open, allowing her the option to step through. Aurelia found herself no longer in a cave or cavern, but in an actual room. The room was small, maybe a ten by ten foot room. The floor, ceiling and walls were all made of smooth dark gray stone. There was no visible light source, it simply was just dimly lit in the room. She jumped when she heard the door slam shut behind her and pressed a hand to her heart. ¡°Ugh, this place sucks.¡± she complained. In front of her she found two new stone doors. On one door were the words ¡°Way of the Claw¡± and the other had ¡°Way of the Fang¡±, written in the common language of Eldria. Aurelia frowned, not sure what she was supposed to do. Was she supposed to choose a door? Would it lead her somewhere or would something enter for her to fight. Reflecting on the last two types of monsters she had to fight, the moles and the snakes, she honestly preferred the moles. The moles had ended up doing more damage to her, but she had a new spell and was more practiced with her teleportation skill. She also thought snakes were creepy, and a bit scary. Before touching either of the doors, Aurelia made sure to redo her shield spell and made sure her sapphire wand was pointing the right way. She definitely didn¡¯t want to electrocute herself or slice an arm off from her own spell. Aurelia shuddered. Aurelia stepped forward and put a hand on the claw door. A new prompt appeared in her vision.
Would you like to enter the [Way of the Claw]?
Without another second to reconsider, Aurelia said, ¡°Yes.¡± The door swung open, and a fresh breeze rushed into the small room. Bright sunlight shone into the room and Aurelia could feel the warmth of the golden rays. Aurelia stepped forward into the green underbrush of the forest. She was in an actual forest! Underground! She barely noticed the door shut as she walked a couple more steps into the next section of the dungeon. Aurelia stopped when a new notification popped into her vision.
Welcome to the [Forest of the Claw]. Dungeon Objectives: One: Find and kill 30 monsters in the forest 0/30 Two: Locate the entrance to the final boss room Bonus Objective: Find and kill all monsters in the forest 0/?
Aurelia stared at the notification. So for this part of the dungeon, she would need to play hide and seek? She guessed she probably wouldn¡¯t be doing all of the seeking. In this place, the monsters might be seeking her, too. Aurelia had one big problem, though. How was she supposed to locate the monsters? She dismissed the notification and looked around her. In every direction, all she could see was forest. Sunlight streamed down through the leaves and branches, illuminating the world around her. She sighed, deciding there was no time like the present. Aurelia began to move forward. She kept her wand out and ready, head swiveling back and forth around her, watching for monsters. Aurelia trekked through the forest for ten minutes, not seeing anything. No rabbits, no birds chirping in the trees, no squirrels scampering up trees. It was eerie how quiet the forest was. The only sound she could hear was the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves. The more time that was spent without hearing a sound, made Aurelia more and more paranoid. In fact, it was almost a relief when the giant black bear came barreling towards her from the side. Almost. Aurelia yelped at the sight of the giant, ten foot tall bear coming at her on all fours. It quickly approached her, but she still had time to let loose a couple of spells. One mana bolt hit the bear in the shoulder, another hitting the bear on the chest. The spatial slash she sent out grazed the top of the bear¡¯s head, cutting off an ear. The large bear let loose a roar that seemed to shake the trees. And Aurelia¡¯s bones. To use her most effective attack, Aurelia would need to let the bear come closer to her. She shifted back and forth on her feet, hoping her shield would be enough to protect her. The bear entered the lightning chain¡¯s range and Aurelia jumped to the side out of the path of the bear, letting loose the spell at the same time. Her leaping boots allowed her to easily leap to the side, the spell connecting with the bear¡¯s skull. Aurelia watched the lightning pulse through the bear for a second before the bear crashed to the ground. She waited for the kill notification, but it didn¡¯t come. It was still alive! Quickly, Aurelia casted two spatial slashes in a row, one aimed at the bear¡¯s head, the other at the bear¡¯s neck. Both spells connected, causing the fur to slice open, blood pouring out. The bear twitched and then went still, dead. The kill notification confirmed it.
[Black Claw Bear] Level 11 defeated. 2,451 experience earned! Would you like to loot [Black Claw Bear]?
Aurelia blinked at the high level of the bear. If all the monsters were going to be around this level, it might be really tough. Hopefully she would only have to fight one at a time, or it might be too difficult to do alone. She sighed, but accepted the loot notification, watching as the large bear disappeared.
[Black Claw Bear] meat x 6 received! [Black Claw Bear] pelt x 1 received! [Black Claw Bear] claws x 10 received! [Monster Core] level 11 received! 12 Copper coins received! 1 Silver coins received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
Satisfied at her haul, Aurelia began to move forwards. Five minutes later, a larger brown bear came out of the forest towards her. She decided to try a new tactic. This time she let loose a couple of spells and then teleported right behind the bear as it moved forward. She let loose the lightning chain attack as soon as she reappeared and it hit the bear from behind. The brown bear roared in pain as it somersaulted forward, crashing to the ground. This bear didn¡¯t pause on the ground like the black bear had. This bear rolled to its four clawed feet and turned towards her. Aurelia let loose a barrage of mana bolts and spatial slashes. Most spells hit their mark as the bear started running at her again. Aurelia leaped to the side as the bear leaped at her and sent a spatial slash at the belly of the bear. The resulting injury made Aurelia feel a little queasy, but sighed in relief as she saw the notification of the killed bear. Two down, twenty-nine more to go. This was going to be a long day. Chapter 11: Going on a Bear Hunt, Gonna Catch a Big One She just wanted to rest for a couple of minutes, tired and hungry from the hours of walking she had been doing. Her endurance was one of her lowest stats, and it showed. How was Aurelia supposed to know that bears could climb trees? Well, she had probably heard something to that extent before, but she wasn¡¯t thinking clearly when she decided to climb the large, moss covered tree. Aurelia had only been sitting among the tree branches for about 10 minutes when the large red bear approached her. Of course when she finally stopped looking for the monsters, is when they showed up. Aurelia had only found and killed 11 bears in the three hours she had been here, including the first black claw bear she had encountered. The bears had so far ranged in levels between 10 and 13. Aurelia identified the bear below her as it stood up on its hind legs and roared at her.
[Red Claw Bear] Level 14 Health: 900/900 Mana: 200/200 Stamina: 310/310 The [Red Claw Bear] is a monster found in forest and mountain regions of Eldria. The [Red Claw Bear] has high vitality and strength, using its long claws to decimate their foes. Can wield flames through their claws that will cauterize wounds they inflict, not allowing for prey to bleed out.
Wait, this bear could wield flames? Aurelia blanched as she saw the eight inch long bear claws turn from white to red hot, then burst into flames. The large bear then began to climb the same tree she was sitting in, causing branches, bark and leaves to catch flame. She shrieked in horror at the sight and then teleported to the ground behind the bear. The bear had made it up six feet into the thirty foot tree before Aurelia had moved away. Wasting no more time, Aurelia began pelting the bear first with a quick lightning bolt, then mana bolts and a spatial slash. The bear didn¡¯t even have time to react as the many spells impacted into its back and limbs. With a roar, it fell backwards out of the tree and onto the ground. A couple of spells after that, and Aurelia received a kill notification.
[Red Claw Bear] Level 14 defeated. 5,252 experience earned! You have reached level 8! Stat points allocated! You have 9 free stat points. You have one free skill point. Would you like to loot [Red Claw Bear]?
¡°Oh yay! A new level! Loot please.¡± Aurelia happily accepted, settling down in the grass.
[Red Claw Bear] meat x 6 received! [Red Claw Bear] pelt x 1 received! [Red Claw Bear] flame claw dagger: uncommon received! [Monster Core] level 11 received! 16 Copper coins received! 2 Silver coins received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
Aurelia set her wand to the side and curiously pulled out the flame claw dagger. This was the first made item she had received as loot in this section of the dungeon. Usually she only got meat, pelts, and individual bear claws. The flame claw dagger came with a black leather sheath for the blade and had a black leather-wrapped hilt. Aurelia carefully drew out the blade from the sheath. The white, double edged blade looked sharp. She put her hand near the blade, but didn¡¯t feel any heat emanating from the blade. After pressing the flat side of the blade to the back of her hand, she felt that it didn¡¯t feel hot or even warm. So it was a flame dagger that wasn¡¯t on fire? Maybe she was missing something. Or perhaps she needed to know a flame spell before it would catch on fire. Aurelia thought back to the games she had played. Oftentimes, magical artifacts required magic to work. So, maybe Aurelia needed to put magic in the blade before it worked? Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Aurelia hadn¡¯t used her mana outside the spells she cast. For the first time, she tried putting her mana into something other than one of those spells. Aurelia focused on the dagger and imagined mana going into the dagger. The white blade began to turn red hot, and then burst into flame in her hands. Aurelia shrieked and tossed the dagger aside into the grass. She watched as the flames went out and the blade turned back to white. The blade was still hot enough, though, that the grass around the blade began to smoke. Aurelia cautiously picked the blade back up again and saw that the handle was not hot whatsoever. She could still feel slight heat emanating from the blade. Curious, she held the blade as far away from her torso as she could and tried lighting the blade again. This time, when the blade caught fire, she didn¡¯t drop it. She watched the red and orange flames dance around the blade in fascination. She had fire! A loud popping noise coming from the side made her jump. The tree the red bear had climbed was now alight with flames. A growl noise came from her stomach and Aurelia smiled. She could cook now! A couple minutes later, the smell of cooked mole meat filled the air. The piece of meat was held aloft on a stick, as Aurelia spun it next to the burning pile of logs. Her mana shield protected her from the intense heat and the sparks that flew out of the fire. Not wanting the whole forest to catch fire, she had used a bear pelt to smother the growing flames on the tree. Then she had used her spatial slash skill to cut the tree down and drag the charred logs to a nearby clearing. Some use of her flame claw dagger had allowed her to relight the flames. She pulled the dripping meat away from the flames and walked a few steps away. Aurelia waited until the meat had cooled slightly before digging into it. When finished, she decided to cook some of the snake meat. As the meat spun over the flames, Aurelia sighed in contentment. The mole meat had satisfied her hunger and the smell of roasting snake meat made her salivate. After all, snakes were always better not alive. Aurelia listened to the sound of the rustling leaves, crackling flames, breaking branches, grunting¡­ Aurelia turned to see two black bears rushing out of the forest towards her. They came from two different directions, coming towards the smell of the cooking meat. Aurelia dropped the snake meat and picked up her discarded wand before she scrambled to her feet. Aurelia began throwing spells at the bear to her right. Mana bolts slammed into the bear and a spatial slash cut deep into one of the bear''s forelegs. It crashed to the ground, the leg unable to support its weight any longer. The bear on the left continued forwards, its long claws creating deep gauges in the earth. Aurelia switched targets and began shooting spells at the second bear. After a couple mana bolts hit on target, she teleported near the fallen bear. The second bear noticed she had changed positions and roared in anger. Bear number one was struggling and ended up standing on its hind legs. The first bear turned towards Aurelia only to get a spatial slash to the face, not quite killing it. The second bear rushed at Aurelia, moving past the first bear. The second bear rammed into the first black bear, trying to get around it. Taking her cue, Aurelia cast a lightning chain at the first bear. The spell connected, and finished off the bear. Lightning chained to the second nearby bear, causing it to growl in pain. Aurelia teleported behind the second bear to get a better angle and continued to cast spells at it. To her relief, the bear collapsed and Aurelia received a second kill notification. She looted the two bears, but didn¡¯t get anything new like the flame claw dagger. Aurelia decided to wait before trying to make more food. More bears may come out, led here by the smell of cooked meat. An hour later Aurelia continued to sit by her burning cook fire, full from all the meat she had devoured. During the entire hour, she had neither seen or heard any other bears out there in the forest. She sighed, and thought that there must be no more bears in the area to be drawn in by the meaty smell. Aurelia wasn¡¯t sure what she should do. She didn¡¯t want to be stuck in the dungeon for the next week, searching for bears. Thinking about her options, she remembered that she had one free skill point she still hadn¡¯t used. Maybe there was a spell that could help her! Aurelia pulled up the skill list available to her, and noticed that the list had grown even longer. All those attack spells seemed so amazing, but she needed a different spell this time around. She looked through the list when she spotted it. ¡°That one. That¡¯s the spell I need!¡± Aurelia selected the skill.
Spatial Tracking: Allows the User to passively see paths made by other monsters and Users through space. With an expenditure of mana, the User can create a lock on a specific target to track their path even through portals, wards, and other translocation and restrictive spells. The lock on the target can last up to 24 hours. Passive Cost: none. Active Cost: 100 mana.
As Aurelia received the skill, the world changed around her. All of a sudden, she could see lines of color crossing through the air. The lines were like strings of color crossing through the forest. One blue line seemed more prominent than the rest. The blue line seemed to intersect many times, the line going from the cook fire, towards the burned tree and back again. At one point the line seemed to just end abruptly and start again in another location. Aurelia walked a couple of steps and then looked behind her, the blue line followed right behind her. So the blue line indicated the path she had traveled. Aurelia walked over to where the two black bears had died and saw two black lines start where they died, did some twists and turns and then the two lines headed out into the forest in different directions. She looked at other lines around her. Most were black in color, but some were red, white, brown, and even one golden strand. Aurelia guessed these were the lines of all the other bears in the forest. Looking closer at the different lines, Aurelia noticed that the two lines for the bears she had killed looked more translucent than most of the other lines. Only two other lines had that translucent quality, one red and another black. That¡¯s when she realized the translucent lines must be an indication that the subject of those lines were dead. Aurelia smiled. So if she simply just followed the lines, she could find all of the monsters in a lot shorter of a time. Now, she could do some proper hunting. Chapter 12: Tracking the Paths Aurelia began to follow one of the black lines of mana. After touching a specific strand, she could instinctively tell which way the bear had come from and which direction it was going. Aurelia wanted to complete this dungeon as fast as she possibly could, so it was important that she started hunting the bears now. When she touched the black strand, it became more distinct to her while the others seemed to fade from view. That way she wouldn¡¯t be confused or constantly distracted by all of the other swirling colors around her. She could then take her hand away and as she continued to focus she could keep track of that individual strand. Aurelia felt excited as she traveled through the forest. She had her two daggers strapped to a belt around her waist, her wand in one hand, and her blue cape flowing behind her. Aurelia followed the first black strand for less than ten minutes before she spotted a black bear laying down on a rock, seemingly asleep. Not wanting to waste a perfect shot, she teleported directly by the bear¡¯s head and shot a lightning chain directly in the bear¡¯s face. With a jolt of electricity, the bear was startled awake, only to be met by a barrage of spells, still aimed at its head. It didn¡¯t even get a chance to charge or swipe a claw at her before it died. It was the quickest fight Aurelia had had with a bear so far. She accepted the kill and loot notifications and after not seeing anything of note, she decided to move on. This time, Aurelia looked over the nearby strands and decided to go follow a red strand. Five minutes later, she was facing a roaring red claw bear, dodging away from a flaming swipe. The red bears seemed to be a bit more difficult than the black bears, but still manageable for Aurelia. At one point during the fight, the red bear grabbed a large piece of dead wood, catching it on fire, and hurled it at Aurelia. The flaming projectile hit her before she even had the chance to dodge or teleport away. Her mana shield saved the day again, further cementing the skill as one of the best skills she had chosen thus far. When black scorch marks were all that was left of the red claw bear, she accepted the loot notification. Hoping to get another cool item, she was disappointed to find that she didn¡¯t receive another dagger like she had with the last. Over the next hour, Aurelia followed strand after strand defeating black and the occasional red claw bears. As she faced her seventh bear of the hour, a smaller black bear, she made an unfortunate mistake. She had put all of her attention on killing the bear in front of her and therefore missed the two brown bears coming up behind her. By the time she heard the noise of bears crashing through the forest, it was too late. One of the large brown bears crashed into Aurelia, giving her the chance to find out what it is like to fly through the air. Aurelia screamed as she flew through the air, her arms flailing helplessly through empty space. The three bears stared at the young woman, hoping that they would soon have a snack. The impact of the bear hitting her and the impact of Aurelia hitting the ground put some serious damage into the mana shield. Aurelia got to her feet to see two, 15 foot tall brown bears and one injured black bear coming towards her. Unfortunately, Aurelia¡¯s lighting chain was still on cooldown, so that wouldn¡¯t help her. She decided to continue focusing on the smaller black bear and teleported right behind it. Aurelia let loose a couple attacks at the retreating form of the black bear as it continued to rush towards the spot she had just vacated. A spatial slash to one of its hind legs caused it to fall to the ground, and another mana bolt to the head finished it off. As Aurelia was focusing on that one target, she failed to keep track of the brown bears, again. This time, she missed the large, tire sized boulder as it hurtled through the air in her direction. She cried out as the boulder smashed against her mana shield, finally destroying it. Rock fell around her as the shield failed, one sharp piece cutting a line into Aurelia¡¯s cheek. Aurelia panicked, knowing that with another hit like that without her shield and she would be smashed into paste. Aurelia teleported a couple feet away, not even looking up, and missed another large boulder that smashed into the ground where she had just teleported away from. When she finally looked in the direction of the two brown bears, she saw one of them dig its two forepaws into the ground and haul out a large piece of earth. The sphere of earth seemed to glow with a dark green light, then it compressed down into another boulder. The brown bear then looked in her direction and brought its forepaw back, poised to hurl this one at her, too. Aurelia couldn¡¯t help but let out a shriek as she teleported even further away. Not wanting to continue to fight them without the protection of her mana shield, she teleported twice away from them before stopping to reaply to the spell. Now feeling a bit more confident, she turned back towards the two brown bears. She saw the bears look around in confusion before spotting her and turning in her direction. Taking the chance for another spell, Aurelia used the identify skill on the larger of the two brown bears.
[Brown Claw Bear] Level 14 Health: 910/910 Mana: 200/200 Stamina: 300/300 The [Brown Claw Bear] is a monster found in forest and mountain regions of Eldria. The [Brown Claw Bear] has high vitality and strength, using its long claws to decimate their foes. Uses mana and strength to control earth, commonly creates compressed dirt to hurl at prey.
Aurelia scanned through the prompt as fast as she could, before turning her attention at the two brown bears. They had moved closer to her and were now creating new boulders to throw at her. She gritted her teeth in annoyance and then began to teleport around the two brown bears until she was right behind them. They were both standing up on their hind legs, boulders in hand, looking around the forest for her. Aurelia took the chance to let loose a couple of spatial slashes at the legs of the two bears, hoping to bring them down. The first slash hit the one on the right at the left knee, causing the bear to roar and stumble forwards. Another slash hit the brown bear to the left near the ankle of its right knee. Both bears growled, dropping their boulders and returning to all fours. The bears turned around to face her and were met with mana bolts to the face, which now seemed to be a staple move for Aurelia. While snakes and moles would die from a mana bolt to the face, the bears had a lot more vitality and could withstand more damage without dying. Even if they didn¡¯t die, it was still extremely painful to get an explosive to the face. The brown bears stumbled back in pain and anger, giving Aurelia another opening to continue her attack. She decided to try going for one at a time, attacking the one on the right with a spatial slash. The brown bear reached up with a paw attempting to block the approaching attack. Unfortunately for it, the skill merely sliced through its paw, causing the long sharp claws to fall to the ground. Aurelia grimaced at the sight, but had to move out of the way as the second brown bear started coming towards her. She teleported back around the bears again, and continued attacking the bear with the now missing paw. Three more mana bolts hit the bear, finally killing it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The second bear roared at Aurelia after seeing the first bear fall. She could feel her whole body vibrate at the sound and reflexively covered her ears. All of a sudden, she couldn¡¯t move her body and was frozen in place with her hands at her ears. Her eyes were still open and she could just stare in horror as the still alive brown bear rushed at her. The brown bear reached her position and sent a swipe at her with its massive paw. The attack sent her flying to the side and she ended up slamming into a tree. She didn¡¯t get injured at all because of the shield, but she could now move again. Aurelia looked up to see a large boulder flying through the air at her face. For the second time in just a couple of minutes, Aurelia¡¯s mana shield broke as shards of rocks fell around her. One piece slammed into her forehead, cutting her head and causing it to bleed. Aurelia started to army crawl forwards, blood dripping down her face and onto the ground, as she tried to get away from the approaching bear. She clumsily got to her feet and successfully teleported away, just in time for the brown bear to crash into the tree she had been in front of. Aurelia watched as the tree trunk seemed to groan from the impact and then cracked. Then, the brown bear got up on its hind legs, one paw leaning against the tree. Aurelia then watched as the tree fully split apart and crashed down to the forest floor. Aurel realized she had yet to act and sent a mana bolt at the brown bear. She then realized her lightning chain was available to use again, and teleported near the bear. The bear swung a claw at her head after she arrived, making her shriek and jump to the side, the brown boots on her feet allowing her to jump clear of the swiping claw. Aurelia pointed her wand at the bear and used the lightning chain spell. The bolt of blue and white lightning struck the bear in its chest and Aurelia watched as it twitched for a second and then became still. ¡°It¡¯s stunned!¡± Aurelia shouted in surprise. The bear was still standing tall, facing her direction, but unmoving. Aurelia took the chance to make three spatial slashes in a row, aimed at the bear¡¯s neck. All three spells impacted, roughly in the same spot and Aurelia watched as the skills ripped through the bear and the large furry head fell to the ground. The large body fell right after, just as the tree had fallen less than a minute before. ¡°Well that was fun¡­¡± she let out an anxious laugh. Aurelia swiped the back of her hand on her face, preventing blood from going into her eyes. From Aurelia¡¯s basic first aid skill, she knew the cut on her forehead would need to be sealed in some way. She didn¡¯t actually have any first aid supplies, though, so she decided to just use some of a healing potion. She only had three left, but decided she could spare some of the potion now. Aurelia took out the potion and took one sip and sighed as the pain of the cut went away and the blood stopped flowing. Aurelia then looked at the waiting notifications from killing the three bears.
[Black Claw Bear] Level 11 defeated. [Brown Claw Bear] Level 14 defeated. [Brown Claw Bear] Level 15 defeated. 14,890 experience earned! You have reached level 9! Stat points allocated! You have 18 free stat points remaining. Would you like to loot [Black Claw Bear] and [Brown Claw Bear]?
Aurelia sighed at the feeling of energy coursing through her from the level up. The increases had been subtle at first, but Aurelia could sense now just how much the stat points affected her. The stats in wisdom and intelligence increased her mana pool and the amount of magic she could hold in her body. The effect on her mind was more subtle than what she imagined increasing intelligence might be, but her mind and memory seemed to be clearer and sharper than before. Her body was healthier and her movements more agile. Before Aurelia accepted the loot notification, she decided to allocate the 18 free stat points she had accumulated. She split them putting nine into strength and nine into endurance. Her other stats were much higher now than those and she could sense an imbalance in her body. Too much agility without the strength and endurance to properly use it was not optimal. Aurelia glanced at her stat sheet surprised by all the changes she saw.
Name: Aurelia Age: 22 Race: Human Rank: Princess Class: 1/4 Main Class: Spatial Mage Level: 9 Health: 470/470 Mana: 120/924 Stamina: 120/160 Strength: 24 Vitality: 47 Agility: 47 Endurance: 25 Wisdom: 53 Intelligence: 77 Luck: 15 Perception: 34 Charisma: 16 Unspent Stat Points: 18 Skills: Running: Level 5 Cooking: Level 5 Basic Non-Magical Healing: Level 2 Student: Level 4 Language Learning: Level 4 Basic Magic Bolt: Level 1 Spatial Slash: Level 1 Basic Mana Shield: Level 1 Identify: Level 1 Spatial Teleportation: Level 1 Spatial Storage: Level 1 Lightning Chain: Level 1 Spatial Tracking: Level 1
Her health, mana, and stamina had all increased, with mana obviously the highest. Her highest stat was intelligence allowing her to have the high mana pool. She did wonder why none of her new skills had leveled up at all, but maybe she needed to do something specific before the skills could level up. Aurelia figured that was a later problem. Aurelia moved on to accept the loot notification, looking through all of the loot she had received. The brown bears gave similar loot like the black and red bears, like meat, pelt, and claws. The new type of bear did not give her a new item like the flame claw dagger, which was disappointing. Aurelia looked back at her mana levels and saw that it was still pretty low. She hadn¡¯t allowed her mana to fill back up all the way before she went on to the next fight, so it had been depleted almost completely after the last fight with the three bears. Aurelia decided to sit down under a tree to rest for a couple of minutes, then got back up after it was almost full again. Aurelia looked around at the glowing strands around her. She saw that there were only a couple strands of black not dimmed by death left. Aurelia didn¡¯t spot the golden strand from earlier, but she did see one of the white strands in the air. Not wanting to meet a new type of bear just yet, she decided to follow a strand of brown leading off further into the forest. Five minutes later, Aurelia was dodging another boulder, not needing her newly applied mana shield this time. Now that she knew what to expect from the brown bears, she could properly dodge the intimidating meteors of death. A couple minutes later, she was off again, this time chasing another black bear. She only needed to kill four more monsters before she could finally leave the forest of bears. Then, she would be in the final part of the dungeon. Chapter 13: Bear Cave Aurelia was walking through the forest exhausted from all of the walking and fighting, but she was surprisingly not at all sleepy. She wondered if that was because she was in the dungeon, an effect of her levels, or if the healing potions affected how much sleep she needed. Perhaps it was a combination of factors, but either way she was grateful she didn¡¯t need to find a location to have some fitful sleep in the middle of a dungeon. She would probably go to sleep and then never wake up again, because some bear had found her. Using the strings of light to find the bears had helped her immensely, but after killing so many, there were only a few left to find. The bears also seemed to be located further apart from each other. Aurelia may now know where to go, but that didn¡¯t help her travel to those places quicker. She only needed to kill thirty bears before she would complete the challenge of this portion of the dungeon, but after killing the 29th bear, she had decided she might as well go all the way. Aurelia was now tracking down another brown bear, and it seemed to be the last in the forest, as she had not found any more living brown bear paths besides the one she was on. As she walked, Aurelia came across some scorched grass from a previous fight with a red claw bear. She jumped over the black ground, clearing it easily. Aurelia glanced down at her boots, an inquisitive look on her face. ¡°What if I¡­? No, that''s stupid¡­¡± Aurelia continued forward, muttering to herself. Deciding that even if she did look stupid, she would be the only one around to witness it. Aurelia began to skip through the forest, and she yelped in surprise as she began to breeze through the forest. Each skip allowed her to travel a lot further and a lot quicker than walking. Her jumping boots also seemed to work with the skipping as each skip moved her further than before. Not to mention, all the new stat points had made her stronger, quicker, and she had more energy to move and yes, to skip. Aurelia smiled as she continued forwards and only stopped a couple minutes later when she heard the sound of roars and crashing noises. She continued following the brown string of light when she saw the brown bear she had been searching for. Her content facial expression turned to shock as she saw the imposing brown claw bear hurl a large boulder at what looked like a giant polar bear. The shocked look on her face turned to awe when the white bear brought up a paw and a wall of thick ice formed from thin air in front of the bear. The boulder impacted the ice wall with a loud shattering noise. Bits of rock and ice flew in all directions, the boulder split apart and the ice wall had a huge crack down the center. Aurelia ducked behind a tree as some shrapnel fell near her, even almost forty feet away. She peaked her head back out to see the brown bear rushing towards the white bear with a roar. Aurelia took the chance to identify the two bears. The brown bear was a normal brown claw bear at level 15, but the white bear gave her a new description.
[White Claw Bear] Level 15 Health: 600/750 Mana: 290/400 Stamina: 290/310 The [White Claw Bear] is a monster found in mountain and glacier regions of Eldria. The [White Claw Bear] has high vitality and strength, using its long claws to decimate their foes. Can use ice and snow related spells for both offense and defense.
The white claw bear had the most mana available of any of the types of bears, but also had less health. Aurelia had already witnessed that the white claw bear could defend itself in other ways, being able to defend itself with the ice wall. Aurelia watched as the brown claw bear attempted to get around the cracking ice wall so it could get at the white bear. She noticed that the white bear had an injury on its side, with bright red blood staining the white of the fur. The white bear turned towards the approaching brown bear and swiped a claw in its direction. The claw swiped harmlessly through the air and Aurelia thought it was just an attempt at a threatening gesture. She was surprised when a cloud of snow seemed to flow through the air from the white bear towards the approaching brown bear. The brown bear roared at the white bear as it scrambled forwards on all fours, making a circular arc around the ice wall. That was when Aurelia saw the floating white snowflakes meet the fur of the brown bear, encompassing the bear in a cloud of snow. Aurelia¡¯s jaw dropped as first the brown fur seemed to frost over, and then the entire bear turned to solid ice. The bear had literally frozen in place. The white bear walked forwards towards the ice statue sniffling in its direction. Aurelia tried identifying the brown bear and was shocked to see that the brown bear was still alive. Its health had gone down to 100 points, but it was not dead. She decided now was her chance to attack the bears. She didn¡¯t know why the bears were attacking each other, but she didn¡¯t want the white bear to take away her chance at getting progress on her dungeon objective. Aurelia teleported right next to the two bears, only a couple feet away from the frozen bear. The white bear had a paw on the statue seemingly trying to test whether it was alive or dead, but it paused when the bear noticed Aurelia. She smiled at the white bear. ¡°Surprise!¡± Aurelia pointed her wand at the frozen brown bear and cast a lightning chain. Aurelia immediately teleported away, as the lightning struck the bear and ice shattered, sending pieces flying everywhere. The white bear was struck with ice and the chained lightning spell as the brown bear died. Aurelia moved a little bit closer to the white bear, casting mana bolts at the bear. The white bear roared in pain and in anger, turning to face Aurelia. Aurelia jumped to the side, casting a spatial slash that hit the bear at its neck. The bear made a gurgling noise, but continued to move towards Aurelia. She made one more spatial slash, aiming at the same spot as before, and hit the wounded white bear again. The white bear stumbled back from the impact of the spell and then collapsed to the ground. Aurelia whooped in excitement as she received a kill notification for the white bear. She skimmed through the notification about experience from killing the brown and white bears and accepted the loot notification, watching as the bodies of the two bears disappeared.
[Brown Claw Bear] meat x 5 received! [Brown Claw Bear] pelt x 1 received! [White Claw Bear] meat x 6 received! [White Claw Bear] pelt x 1 received! [White Claw Bear] ice claw dagger: uncommon received! [Earth Manipulation] skill book: rare received! [Monster Core] level 15 x 2 received! You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. 22 Copper coins received! 5 Silver coins received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
Aurelia smiled at the notification, excited at getting more interesting loot. She dismissed the notification and pulled out the skill book she had received. It looked like what she imagined a spell book would look like. A leather bound book with gold detailing with worn-looking pages. Aurelia wasn¡¯t exactly sure how skill books worked in this world, and after briefly scanning through the pages, she decided she would wait to ask more questions on what it was. She didn¡¯t want to use it, only to regret the decision by wasting it or something. She next pulled out the ice claw dagger. The style of the dagger was very similar to her flame claw dagger. In fact, it was the same dimensions, but it was made with white leather instead of black. Making a guess on how it worked, Aurelia put some mana into the ice dagger. She kept the blade away from her main torso, ready for something to happen. It still shocked her when an aura of cold suddenly appeared around the blade of the dagger. It didn¡¯t seem to affect her negatively in any way, but she could still feel the biting chill it produced. Aurelia looked around for something to use it on, but the bodies of the bears were gone and there was no way she would use it on herself. She decided to just try pressing the flat of the blade against a dead tree stump. Aurelia watched as at first a circle of frost appeared where the blade touched wood, and then the wood began to freeze solid. She watched in fascination as the wood became coated in ice because of the blade. Aurela smiled at her new weapon. This dagger would definitely come in handy. Aurelia took another look around her, trying to see where she could go to next. She had now reached over thirty bears defeated, so she could try and find the exit or kill the last bear in the dungeon. Glancing at the pathway strings around her, she couldn¡¯t see any that represented a living monster. She remembered back when she had first gotten her Spatial Tracking skill and had first observed the colored strings. There had been multiple white strands, along with one golden strand. She had only seen one white bear so far, so she knew there must be more of them out there. Aurelia also wondered what the golden strand might have been for. Perhaps that one led to the boss of this section of the dungeon. For the moles and then the snakes there had been a single monster far stronger than all the rest. Those monsters were the hardest to kill, but had both given her a lot of experience and the best loot. At that thought, Aurelia decided that she for sure needed to at least find where that golden strand led to. Aurelia looked around again, but realized there was nothing here that could help her. ¡°But, maybe¡­¡± Aurelia pondered, before walking over to the single white strand that had represented the white bear she had finished off. From what she had observed before, the white strands had all been heading together in the same direction as the golden strand. From all of the bears she had fought so far, the white claw bear was the strongest of the four bear types she had come across. That may be her opinion, but the white claw bear had shown strong offense and defense skills that none of the other bears had shown. And if the white bears traveled with the golden bears, maybe if she backtracked where this white bear had come from, she could find where the other bears might be located. Aurelia didn¡¯t have any other good ideas, so she decided following the dead white claw bear¡¯s path would be her next course of action. After attaching her new dagger to her belt, she set off through the forest following the faint white strand of the white bear¡¯s path. The strand of white light took her through the forest, and Aurelia recognized some of what she saw. Eventually, she came to a spot that made her stop. The strand she had been following meandered forwards until it met four other strands. Three of them were glowing white and one gold strand, all vibrant with life. It seemed the white claw bear she had killed had separated itself from the other bears at some point, with it ending up in a fight with the brown bear. This was just what Aurelia had needed. She smiled as she changed direction and started following the four new lines. Almost a half an hour later, she still hadn¡¯t found the bears, but she noticed that instead of the flat ground of most of the rest of the forest, she was starting to walk up an incline. The forest was dense enough that she couldn¡¯t see much of the surrounding land, but she could now tell that she was now walking up a hill. As she continued, the hill became steeper and steeper. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t too much for her and Aurelia knew she had the increased levels to thank for that. Aurelia continued to watch the glowing strands and saw when they led deep into thick bushes and undergrowth before disappearing from her sight. She approached the bushes with caution and apprehension, worried for some sort of ambush. Aurelia headed into the brush wand first, her hand sweeping back and forth to move branches out of her way. The dungeon around her was quiet except for the sound of crunching branches and leaves underfoot. Aurelia caught sight of the glowing white and gold strands peaking through the branches and watched them flow through the air towards what looked like a dark hole in the side of a mountain. She paused as she spotted the cave in front of her, wary of the darkness and what may lay beyond. She had no light spell to light her way, but she did have the glowing crystals from before. Aurelia took one out of her inventory, and held it up in her left hand as she walked forwards, her other hand still holding her wand at the ready. The dark cave reminded her of the first two sections of the dungeon, giving her that same sense of gloom and mild claustrophobia. Aurelia had gotten too used to having the wide open forest and felt even more disappointed that she had to go back underground. Aurelia followed the glowing strands of the bear''s path. Interestingly, while the strands glowed, they didn¡¯t seem to light up the area around it. They stood out, but that was it. She guessed it was because it was something only she could see, and didn¡¯t actually affect the world around them. She then came to a fork in the cave system and the glowing strands actually branched away from each other. Two of the white strands and the gold strands went to her left, while a single white strand went to her right. Aurelia paused, considering where she should go. She knew she wanted to defeat all of the bears before moving on, and that meant she would have to eventually go down both paths. Aurelia considered and decided killing one at a time would be a lot easier than a group of the bears, especially in these close confines. So Aurelia went to the right, following the lone white bear. Five minutes of walking later, she was met with a thick wall of ice, covering the entire tunnel in front of her. Curious, Aurelia backed up and started shooting mana bolts at the wall of ice. The explosions the spell made on impact were loud in the close confines of the cave system. She cringed back at the noise, then observed the ice wall again. Nothing had happened. Aurelia couldn¡¯t even see a scratch in the ice wall or even ice shards on the ground. She then shot out a couple spatial slashes and even her lightning chain. Nothing happened. The ice wall stood there, mocking her. Aurelia glared at the ice wall and at the glowing strand that seemed to pass right through the wall. Aurelia decided to try one more thing and stuck her wand in her belt before she took out her flame dagger. She set the dagger ablaze and approached the ice wall. Aurelia put out her hand and set the flaming metal against the cold ice. After a couple of seconds, she took the dagger away and brought the glowing crystal closer to see clearer. Nothing had happened. Aurelia groaned in frustration at her lot and decided she wouldn¡¯t be able to go this way after all. She turned away from the ice wall and walked back towards the intersection she had come from. When she came back to where the bears had split up, Aurelia walked into the left tunnel, following the three bears. After a couple of minutes, she began to hear noises. They were loud. It sounded like a lawn mower starting over and over. The deep sound making its way deep in her chest. She slowed her pace and realized there was light up ahead. The golden light shone from a cave up ahead of her. Aurelia tiptoed forwards, hoping to catch the bears unawares. When she finally saw the cave, though, she stopped in surprise at what she saw. She had finally found the two white bears and one giant golden bear all together in a heap on the cave floor. All three of them were asleep, and the loud noise she had heard was from them snoring. Aurelia huffed in amusement at the sight. She continued to look around the cave seeing what made the golden light. There were melon sized orbs of light floating in the room, giving off a golden glow. The cave was large, and Aurelia grimaced at what could only be bones scattered around the room. Large bones of a large animal, but Aurelia wouldn¡¯t be able to say what exactly they were. And that is when she saw it. Her final destination. The stone door at the far end of the room, marking what Aurelia knew to be the exit. Her eyes lit up in excitement and she took a step forwards into the room. Immediately she knew she had made a mistake. The snoring had stopped and now there were three sets of glowing eyes staring at her. ¡°Ooops¡­¡± Chapter 14: A Dragon鈥檚 Retribution Aurelia stood there in the entrance to the cave, deer in the headlights, as the three bears stared right back at her. For a moment as she looked at the large beasts in front of her, she feared she was actually in her last moments of life. All this time spent in the dungeon, fighting for her life, and it might have all been for nothing. Fear gripped her and she could hear her blood pounding in her head. The golden bear moved first, taking a step forwards with one giant paw. Aurelia responded with a flick of her wand and cast a lightning chain. To her continued dismay and horror, absolutely nothing happened. Her mana levels dropped, but no lightning bolt came from her wand and the bear was not hit by anything. Her spell didn¡¯t work. She took a step away as the bear took another forward. She cast a spatial slash, but again no spell was released from her wand. Her magic wasn¡¯t working and at the worst possible moment. The bear leapt at her.
King Darius stared down at the map of his kingdom. The land they occupied was relatively large, but the constant wars over the last two decades had made the edges of the kingdom a warzone. The outer villages and towns had either fled inwards or they had been destroyed by the war. The king clenched his fists in anger, but he had no one to blame but himself. Unfortunately for those around him, he did blame everyone but himself. Everything had been going so well before, he had overcome his destiny as second son and had become king of Gildenshores. Only for the beginning of his reign to involve losing the kingdom¡¯s greatest treasure, an uprising that undermined his authority in the kingdom, and a war had begun with a nearby kingdom, just because the other king used to be friends with his older brother. King Darius was frustrated at himself for being blinded by his supposed victory. He couldn¡¯t help but to think that everything had gone the way his older brother had desired, rather than Darius¡¯ own plans. He looked up as the double doors leading into the war room burst open, and high warlock Carten entered along with three of his knights. King Darius looked up at the disturbance and glowered at his longtime companion. ¡°What is it, Carten?¡± The king asked. The warlock bowed deeply to his king, the knights mimicking the action. With his face still facing the ground, Carten replied, ¡°We have news, your Majesty.¡± He paused. Annoyed, Darius barked at the warlock, ¡°What is it? Speak!¡± With a hesitant note in his voice, Carten said, ¡°These three knights have returned from their venture on Earth. They were unsuccessful in retrieving the orb.¡± ¡°What happened, Carten!¡± Carten licked his suddenly dry lips, his eyes still facing the ground. ¡°The tracking artifact led the four nights not to the orb, but rather to a young woman on earth. As they set to apprehend the girl to bring her and the orb back to Eldria, she had already teleported away. One of the knights went missing as well, and it is suspected that he is a traitor to the order.¡± The warlock did not see it, but he heard the sound of the heavy oak table being upturned and thrown across the room. Shards of wood scattered across the floor, a piece landing next to his foot. Carten winced, and felt pity that he had to be the one to tell the king.
Two young men sat in a corner of the Painted Tavern, which so happened to be the only tavern in the town of Rainy Hollow. The two best friends sampled the stew in front of them as they argued. ¡°That would be incredibly stupid!¡± the sandy haired one scoffed at the other. ¡°Well I can¡¯t get myself to even care anymore, Justin!¡± The second replied. ¡°I am so sick and tired of staying in this pointless town day after day, doing nothing of use.¡± Justin combed his fingers through his hair in annoyance. ¡°I feel the same way, Zen, but I don¡¯t want to get us killed either.¡± The two paused when the barmaid, Lia, walked up to their table. She asked them if they would like a refill on their drinks, two which the men agreed. Zen avoided eye-contact with Lia and stared at his soup, chin on his fist. After she walked away, Justin gave Zen a raised eyebrow. ¡°Come on, man, you can¡¯t avoid her forever.¡± Zen scowled back at Justin, but ignored the comment. ¡°Maybe we should just ask Marge for her help. Surely there are others looking to become adventurers in the town. I mean, we could always ask Belle¡­¡± Zen trailed off when he saw Justin¡¯s dubious look. Zen frowned in consternation and looked his friend in the eye. ¡°What do you expect of us then? Just go out hunting day after day, waiting for a sign or a miracle to happen? With that line of reasoning, we would be waiting until our hair turned gray and our fingers couldn¡¯t hold a weapon anymore.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Justin opened his mouth to reply when the sound of the tavern door being slammed open echoed throughout the room. Both young men jumped in their seats as a messenger boy dashed into the room. All eyes were on the boy as he gasped for breath trying to say something, but his words were inaudible. The tavern had gone quiet, the men and women eating lunch looking confused. The tavern¡¯s owner, Ivan, looked impatient as he spoke up, ¡°Speak boy! What is it?¡± The messenger boy held up a finger, indicating he needed a moment. After a few seconds, he had calmed down enough to give his message. ¡°The northern meadow! I saw it! Just at the edge of the forest!¡± ¡°What? What did you see, boy?¡± Ivan interrupted. ¡°A dungeon! A new dungeon has appeared in Rainy Hollow! We have a dungeon!¡± the boy cried out in excitement. The tavern erupted in sound, both Justin and Zen exclaiming along with the rest. The two men gave each other a wide-eyed look, and Justin grinned. ¡°What were you saying again about a miracle?¡±
Aurelia jumped out of the way just in time as the golden bear crashed down where she had previously stood. The two white bears followed closely behind as they scrambled in her direction. Aurelia shrieked in fear and ran forwards, trying to teleport away from the bears. The first attempt did not work as she continued down the cavern hallway. She turned her head to see the bears running into each other as they attempted to catch her and she ran even faster. A couple seconds later she tried to teleport again, and this time it actually worked. Aurelia teleported as far as she could in the direction of the exit over and over to cover more ground. She heard the roar of the bears behind her, but didn¡¯t dare look back. She ran. Aurelia held the glow crystal in front of her as she rushed around rock outcroppings and through the cave tunnels. To her immense relief, the sound of the bears became more and more faint as she ran and teleported forwards. Before she knew it, Aurelia found herself again outside among the trees. She didn¡¯t stop running. After a couple minutes, she found an overhang of rocks with a couple bushes she could hide behind. Aurelia sat down trying to keep out of sight. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she listened for sounds of the bears. Aurelia heard a roar in the distance, but after a couple more minutes, the forest was quiet again. Her heart continued to pound and her hands shook from the adrenaline and fright. She waited a bit longer to be sure she was alone before she relaxed slightly. Aurelia wrapped her arms around her legs as she pulled them to her chest. Her head fell to rest on her knees and she began to cry. When she finally stopped feeling sorry for herself, Aurelia decided to look through her notifications to see what had happened in the cave. For some reason, her magic and spells had not even activated, leaving her unable to even fight the bears. Aurelia pulled up the notification screens in her vision. The most recent notification came from her successful teleportations as she fled from the bears. She dismissed those ones until she found what she was looking for. ¡°Failed Spatial Teleport from an anti-magic aura?¡± Aurelia read aloud to herself. She paused as she realized what that meant. One of the bears, and Aurelia would bet everything she had in this world that it was the golden bear, had some sort of anti-magic aura which would leave her unable to use her magic. And completely unfortunately for Aurelia, magic spells were the only type of fighting power she possessed. She groaned in frustration and banged her forehead against her knees over and over again. What was she to do? Aurelia was alone in this dungeon, therefore she was the only one who could get herself out. This might be a completely unfair situation, but Aurelia knew that a tutorial was meant to help a player understand the rules of the game. And in this game magic would not always be the answer. Aurelia relaxed her position and sat criss-cross on the rocky earth. She glanced down and caught sight of the three daggers at her belt. Aurelia fingered the hilt of the flame dagger as she considered what she should do. Magic spells may not work on the golden bear, but surely magic daggers could still do the trick. Aurelia¡¯s red and swollen eyes gazed down at her weapons with determination. She would not die in this dungeon, not if she had anything to say about it.
For centuries she had lived among these mountains, high above the young and pitiful races below. Before that she had traveled the stars, her adventures were many and wonderful. Now she lay in her home of stone all alone, her family slaug??tered by those she saw as pests. Her beloved son and husband had been killed for the magic in their cores. Their bodies had been desecrated, their parts used for riches. Amenthyne glowered as wafts of acrid smoke floated up out of her nostrils. Her large tail moved back and forth along the cavern ground, knocking over piles of bones and treasure. Her long talons scratched against the rock, carving deep trenches into the mountain. It had been twenty five years since the pests had found and killed her beloved mate, and a month since they had killed her son. She wanted revenge. She could always simply torch the kingdoms to the ground, but that didn¡¯t seem good enough. Besides, while she was powerful, there were still individuals who could band together and still pose a threat to her. No, she needed to do something else. Amenthyne looked down at her glittering purple amethyst scales and thought of her dear mate. She could remember every detail of his form, the passing time no detriment to her perfect memory. Yes, he needed to be avenged. When the pests had killed her mate for his core, they had also taken his most prized treasure. Gold could always be replaced, but the Orb had been one of a kind. Amenthyne grinded her teeth at the memory of the lost treasure. She had not been on Eldria when her mate had died and therefore could not immediately avenge his death and the theft. By the time she had returned, her mate was dead and the orb was no longer on Eldria. As she lay there in her cave, something shifted in the magic around her. Her head lifted up as she recognized the feel of the magic. It was the orb. Her orb. Amenthyne felt it in her bones, the magic of space had been reunited with an old friend. The orb of Inercise and Space had arrived back on Eldria, and Amenthyne desired it back. She would find the orb, but first she needed to do something. Amenthyne glanced down at the glowing silver chains that encircled her legs. It was time for her to finally escape her prison. Chapter 15: A New Way Forwards Aurelia stared at the two daggers held firmly in her hands. The flame dagger in her left hand and the ice dagger in her right. She still sat hidden among bushes and rocks, but knew that she would eventually need to leave and find the bears. Her original plan, before finding out she couldn¡¯t use magic against the gold bear, had been to kill all of the bears before moving on to the next part of the dungeon. Unfortunately for her, her skill set wasn¡¯t the most efficient in killing a monster that was an antithesis to magic. At the moment, Aurelia had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to just be done with this dungeon, and be able to rest in peace again. If she had been in a group, it might be different. Other people would have different classes, and with a variety of skills, such situations like the one she was in wouldn¡¯t be as much of a problem. She only had the one magic class, and didn¡¯t have the experience to level up and get a skill that might help better in her current situation. Aurelia paused and glanced at her stat sheet. She focused on the line about experience and she realized that if she were to take out the three remaining white bears, she might have just enough to gain a new level. That new level would allow her to choose a new skill, perhaps just what she needed to kill the golden bear, even without her magical skills. Not having another bright idea, Aurelia decided that she should just go for it. Before she did, though, Aurelia pulled out one item she had not yet used. She reached into her storage and grabbed the Earth Manipulation skill book. Aurelia had held off before in using the book, but felt that she needed all the help she could get now. She placed the large book in her lap and examined the cover. It looked old, with a dark brown leather cover and golden lettering. The letters were not English, but somehow Aurelia could get a vague understanding of what the words meant. Something about earth, which Aurelia could have guessed anyways from the description of the item. Aurelia opened up to the first page and was surprised when a prompt opened up in her vision.
Would you like to learn [Earth Manipulation]? Item [Earth Manipulation] skill book: rare will be consumed upon action. Warning: User [Aurelia] does not have the required [Earth] affinity to use this item.
Aurelia paused as she read the notification. She gave the glowing blue screen an affronted look as she read the last line. ¡°I lack the affinity? What does that even mean!?¡± A heartbeat later, a new blue message appeared in her vision.
Affinity is the measurement a User has to a certain skill. Higher affinity allows a User access to certain classes and skills. A lower affinity will cause certain skills to be unlearnable.
The description made some sense to her, though Aurelia felt chafed at the idea that she would be unable to learn certain things. Especially now, as she was locked in a dungeon where she was currently unable to use her magic. Aurelia signed discontentedly and decided to just put the book back into her inventory. She could risk destroying the skill book, but she didn¡¯t like the idea of losing something potentially very valuable for a slim chance at learning the skill. Now that plan A was no longer viable, she moved on. Aurelia stood up from her place on the ground and looked around. The forest was silent around her. No chattering squirrels, twittering birds, or other sounds were heard. The eerie silence of the trees and the lack of other creatures reminded her that she was indeed nowhere normal. It may look like any normal forest around her, with sunlight above, but Aurelia knew she was nowhere on the surface of Eldria. This was a dungeon, probably underground or perhaps it was its own little pocket universe, closed off from everywhere else. Aurelia began walking back to the bear cave, careful to be as quiet as possible. She scanned the trees and ground around her, but didn¡¯t see any strings of mana, indicating a bear nearby. This allowed her to relax slightly, but she tried to stay alert. No bear may have passed where she walked, but that didn¡¯t mean none was nearby. A minute later, Aurelia spotted a string of white mana and she stopped in her tracks. She crouched low to the ground and examined the strand a bit more closely. The strand glowed in a way that meant this bear was quite alive. As she focused on it, Aurelia somehow knew which way the bear had gone and which way it had come from. Aurelia looked in the direction it had come from and realized it had come from the direction of the bear cave. She paused for a moment, then decided that she would follow the bear. More alert, Aurelia followed the white claw bear. It wasn¡¯t long before she spotted the offending monster. Aurelia watched the large white bear trek through the forest on all four paws. Leaves crunched and branches snapped as it walked, as its large head swept side to side. She watched as the bear suddenly stopped and its head tilted to the side. It sniffed the air and Aurelia paused in sudden apprehension. She palmed her wand and kept it at the ready. When the bear started turning in her direction, she decided there was no reason to wait any longer. Aurelia aimed her wand at the bear and a second later, a large spacial slash was making its way towards the unsuspecting bear. The white claw bear roared in pain as it suddenly found itself without a leg. It spun towards Aurelia on its three remaining legs, just in time to receive two quick mana bolts to the face. Aurelia jumped forwards, just in range to give a lightning chain to the face, then scrambled back again. The white claw bear swung a large paw at Aurelia, but its eyes were closed as the lightning chain impacted its face. The white claw bear became stunned as the lightning coursed through its body and Aurelia took the opportunity to attack the bear a few more times. She only stopped when a kill notification entered her vision. She breathed a sigh of relief and briefly scanned the text. The white claw bear had been level 18, three levels higher than the last white claw bear she had fought. If that was the guard, she wondered what the golden bear¡¯s level was. Aurelia accepted the loot prompt and looked at what she had received.
[White Claw Bear] meat x 6 received! [White Claw Bear] pelt x 1 received! [Ice Wall] skill book: rare received! [Monster Core] level 18 x 1 received! 14 Copper coins received! 6 Silver coins received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
A spark of excitement went through Aurelia, another spellbook! She took a second to look at her surroundings before settling down near the spot the bear had disappeared from after being looted. She pulled the new spellbook from her inventory, admiring the white leather cover and silver lettering. It was again written not in English, but she could still discern that the title was talking about ice. Aurelia paused, hopeful and excited, then opened the cover to the first page. A new prompt entered her vision.
Would you like to learn [Ice Wall]? Item [Ice Wall] skill book: rare will be consumed upon action.
Aurelia was only a bit apprehensive, but mostly hopeful that this time she would get lucky. She confirmed the prompt, when the book in front of her suddenly shone with a bright white light. Aurelia quickly closed her eyes at the sight, when she felt the mana within her stir. A wave of cold air drifted around her and the weight of the book in her hand disappeared. Aurelia opened her eyes to see that the skill book was gone, but she had a new prompt in her vision.
Congratulations! You have learned [1] new skill. Ice Wall: skill level 1 Ice Wall: Spell allows the User to create walls of ice. Created walls will not naturally melt. The User may customize the walls dimensions with higher skill levels allowing for larger walls to be built. Walls will withstand damage relative to the thickness of the wall and level of the skill. At a lower cost per second, the User can alter or destroy ice walls. Cost: 20 mana per second. Cooldown: none.
She grinned in excitement as she read the prompt. A new spell! Aurelia eyed the last line of the spell description, and it gave her an idea. All she needed was a bit of time. Aurelia carefully made her way back to the bear cave, using the dull white strand of the dead white claw bear so as not to get lost. She would like to have said that she sneaked her way back to the cave, but the amount of noise that she made would make it clear to anyone with ears that she was making her way forwards. Aurelia kept her eyes out for any signs of the last three bears. One white claw bear had been hiding past the wall of white ice in the side tunnel of the cave. The golden bear and the other white claw bear had been together in the room leading to the exit. Aurelia reached a bunch of trees she knew marked the entrance to the cave. She saw the three white and one gold strand leading into the cave she had used to find the bear cave in the first place. One of those strands was now dull, with the same strand leading back out of the cave in the direction she had come from. Aurelia realized no other bear had left, so she continued forwards. Before entering the cave, Aurelia made sure that her mana shield was reset. Then, she pulled a glow crystal from her spatial storage and walked into the cave. When she made her way marking a familiar intersection, she didn¡¯t go towards the golden bear. A couple minutes later, Aurelia was standing before a cold, thick ice wall. Her flame dagger and spells hadn¡¯t been enough before to break or even crack the wall of ice. This time, she had a new skill. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Aurelia crouched low to the ground and pointed her wand at where the ice wall met the ground. She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. ¡°Okay, I got this.¡± She activated her new ice wall skill, not to make a wall of her own, but to alter the ice wall in front of her. At first nothing happened, but as Aurelia concentrated, a hole began to appear in the wall of ice. First the size of a marble, then a ping-pong ball, and then the size of a baseball. The mana drain per second to use the skill didn¡¯t seem to be too high, probably thanks to her wand, but it added up as the seconds passed. The hole grew in size until Aurelia could finally see the other side of the wall. She held the glowing crystal closer to the hole and was surprised to see that the wall was a foot thick. A few more seconds ticked by and Aurelia grimaced at the mana drain. She guessed the mana drain per second to alter the ice wall was about 8 mana per second. A minute into her spell, almost half of her mana had been spent up, revealing a hole in the ice about two feet in diameter. Aurelia stopped the spell and sighed in relief. She still had plenty of mana, but constant drain had become very uncomfortable for her. Deciding that the hole was big enough for her to comfortably crawl through, she went through the wall of ice. She stood up on the other side and held her glowing crystal out in front of her. To her surprise, she found herself faced with another intersection in the corridor. A glowing strand of mana marked the rightmost tunnel, so Aurelia decided it was time to find another bear. Ignoring the left tunnel, Aurelia followed the strand of light. After a minute of walking she found that the tunnel was opening up into a larger room. Aurelia slowed her pace and walked hesitantly towards the new room. That¡¯s when she noticed that there was light coming from the cave in front of her. As she reached the entrance, Aurelia looked up to the ceiling of the cave where sunlight streamed from an opening. Green mossy vines hung down from the large hole in the ceiling, the opening probably as large as she was. The bright light shone down onto the floor of the cave, where Aurelia spotted a large white bear. To her sudden apprehension, she found two large eyes staring back at her. Saliva dripped from an open fanged mouth as the white claw bear let out a deep growl. She started and then moved, but not before the white claw bear had clawed the air in her direction and a sharp icicle was flying through the air in her direction. Quicker than an olympic athlete, Aurelia dodged to the side and ice shattered on the wall where she had just been. The white bear roared in anger and started to run on all fours in her direction. She twisted around and sent a spatial slash at the bear, before teleporting into the room away from the charging bear. The bear got a spell to the face, blood spraying across the earthy ground. The bear came to a stop when it realized Aurelia had disappeared from her original location. It turned its head to find a second spatial slash hit the bear in the neck. The white bear roared in pain and began moving at Aurelia again. So she teleported right behind the bear and gave it a lighting chain to the spine. Aurelia continued to aim her spells at the white claw bear, teleporting behind it when it charged. Until she messed up. The bear wasn¡¯t completely stupid and Aurelia gave it a consistent pattern to figure out. So when Aurelia teleported behind the white bear a seventh time, the monster was ready. The first strike destroyed her mana shield in one hit, while the second attack hit her directly. It wasn¡¯t until the pain registered that Aurelia saw the huge paw buried in her stomach. Shock and adrenaline coursed through her, enough that she was able to put a final mana bolt into the open maw of the bear before it could harm her any further. She stepped away from the bear and it collapsed at her feet, dead. Nausea filled her as she saw the damage in her belly, the wound looking more horrible than anything Aurelia had seen in real life or on TV. Thankfully she had enough sense to pull a healing potion from her storage and gulp it down before her weak knees caused her to collapse to the ground next to the white bear. Darkness overcame Aurelia and she fainted. She wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed before she woke up again. The sun still shone into the large cave and was bright against her closed eyelids. Aurelia groaned as she sat up and she looked around in confusion. She saw the mound of white fur beside her and squeaked in alarm, but remembered what had happened and calmed down. A bit. She decided to accept the loot notification before the corpse caused her any more grief. A second worry made Aurelia glance down at herself. Blood stained her shirt, corset, and pants, but there was no noticeable wound. Frowning in confusion, Aurelia pulled up her shirt to see blood, but no hole, no scar, nothing. Aurelia pulled out her water flask from her storage and opened it. She eyed it for a second before dumping the water over her midsection. Stained water poured off her, but the never ending stream of water allowed Aurelia to wash some of the blood away. She again looked at her stomach, but found no noticeable mark that she had previously been gored by a large bear with massive claws. ¡°Healing potions for the win, I guess.¡± Aurelia remarked to herself. Deciding the water couldn¡¯t help much more, she stopped pouring the water out of the flask. After gulping some to quench her thirst, she put the flask back in her storage. Aurelia pulled her shirt and corset back down, but sighed when large holes in the stomach area left a lot of skin exposed. Now sure she was no longer in danger of bleeding out, Aurelia turned her attention to the new loot notification waiting for her. The level 20 white claw bear had been the most dangerous monster she had yet killed. She hadn¡¯t received any special items like a weapon or skill book, but decided to examine the level 20 monster core. It looked like a clear gem the size of a quarter with golden light shining out from it. She held it between her thumb and first two fingers of her left hand, slowly turning it about. It looked strange and beautiful, and Aurelia wondered what they could be used for. She was disappointed about the lack of other cool weapons or skills, but was happy she had one more monster defeated. Aurelia looked around the cave, and found something that caught her eye. Before she had entered the room, the white claw bear had been laying down, off to the side of the center of the room. Looking now, she could see the faint mana strand the bear had created with its own movement. She could see where the bear had been moving back and forth as it chased her, but it was something else that had made her stop. On the far end of the cave, the mana strand criss crossed back and forth around a specific spot. Aurelia walked closer as she observed the spot closely. It seemed that the bear had walked around, then paced back and forth in front of what looked like a boulder placed on the ground. The cave was full of stalagmites, stalactites, rocks and boulders, but for some reason, the bear had been interested in this specific spot. Aurelia crouched down and scanned the area around the boulder. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Aurelia¡¯s curiosity was peaked. She decided to try moving the boulder to see if she could see anything underneath. The rock was heavy, Aurelia wasn¡¯t the best judge on how heavy it might be, but she was stronger than she had been even a few hours ago. The boulder shifted an inch, but she couldn¡¯t quite get the leverage that she needed to move it fully. Aurelia glanced down at her wand and had an idea. She pulled the wand back out of her belt then pressed the gemstone on the side of the wand, keeping it an arms length away. It still surprised her when the wand changed into a staff longer than she was tall. She smiled, then put one end of the staff underneath the boulder, prying it up from the ground. This allowed her to shift the rock a few inches more. Then after getting into a better position, Aurelia put the staff down and using her arms, shifted the boulder to the side. After the rock settled, she looked back to where it had been and gasped in surprise. A hole in the ground approximately the size of a basketball sat where the boulder had previously hidden. She peered inside to find a small silver chest. Aurelia grinned in excitement and opened the silver treasure chest. It opened to reveal a shining ring inside. It was a plain silver band with a large pale purple gemstone set in the center. Her head tilted to the side and she wondered what it was used for. Aurelia plucked the ring out, setting the small chest on the ground. She walked over to where the sunlight was the brightest and looked at the light glinting off the gemstone. Aurelia smiled and decided to just put the ring on. She slid the ring onto the middle finger of her left hand and waited to see if anything happened. Nothing did. She glanced at her stat page, but none of her stats, mana, or health had changed. She frowned and then remembered her magical daggers. The flame dagger and ice dagger hadn¡¯t activated until she had directed her own personal mana into the items. Aurelia tried to direct some of her mana into the purple ring. That¡¯s when Aurelia could no longer see the ring. Or her hand. Or her arm. Or the rest of her body! Aurelia was now invisible to even her own eyes. She tried walking forwards and found it was extremely trippy to walk around not even knowing for sure where she was stepping. Aurelia looked back to where she had dropped her staff and went to pick it up. As she did so, she noticed that the silver chest had already disappeared. Not knowing how long the ring would last for, Aurelia directed mana into the ring again, ending whatever enchantment was on the ring. She became visible again. Aurelia took her staff and changed it back into its wand shape with the push of a gemstone. She took another look around the cave, before deciding it was time to move on. Aurelia retraced her steps back to the outside of the room and to the second intersection. After going through the ice wall she had taken the right tunnel to find the level 20 ice claw bear. Now she would take the left tunnel. As she walked down the new tunnel, Aurelia realized that she was actually moving up in elevation. Before, everything in the bear cave had been mostly level. A couple minutes later, Aurelia was faced with another ice wall. She groaned in annoyance and looked at her current mana supply. It had only been minutes since she had fought the white claw bear and a few minutes before that she had spent half her mana getting past the first ice wall. At this point, she was too impatient to wait for her mana to fully recharge. Aurelia took out a large blue mana potion and drank half of it. She eyed her mana pool as it went up 300 points in the first couple seconds. Aurelia waited until she saw it went all the way to almost 80 percent of her mana pool. She decided that was good enough for now and proceeded to make an opening in the ice wall. When there was a hole big enough for her to squeeze through, she tossed a glowing mana crystal to the other side and peaked through the sizable hole. Aurelia didn¡¯t see any movement and decided it was safe enough for her to join the mana crystal on the other side. Aurelia brushed the dirt off her knees as she stood and picked her glow crystal up. She began forwards again, careful to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. She didn¡¯t see any strands of mana, which meant no monster had been down this path. Aurelia continued as the pathway looped around and sloped up further in height. Her glow stone was the only source of light, until it suddenly wasn¡¯t. Aurelia started as she saw the glowing golden light in the distance. A familiar golden light. She gulped, but decided to move forwards just the same. As she came closer, she noticed that the glow did not come from ahead in the tunnel, or even from above like the daylight cave, but instead from below. Aurelia crept forwards until she found the opening in the tunnel ground, and below was a familiar cavern. It was filled with glowing orbs of golden light, as well as two large bears, one white and one with golden fur. Beyond the two bears was a stone door which marked the end of this part of the dungeon. Curious, Aurelia decided to test a few things out. She first grabbed a mana potion and drank until her mana pool was full. Aurelia then tried to activate her invisibility ring. It worked! Then, she tried creating a wall of ice at the edge of the hole that worked as well to her relief. She frowned, wondering what had nullified her magic before. Aurelia eyed the golden bear and the glowing orbs. Either the orbs or the bear itself created this field of nullification. She would be able to use physical weapons, but not magic. In this tunnel above the cavern, she could use her magic though. Aurelia turned her wand back into a staff and observed the two bears. They were both lying on the ground, seemingly asleep just as before. This time she would be fooled, though. The bears were dangerous. Aurelia decided to try another skill, and identified the two bears.
[White Claw Bear] Level 21 Health: 1453/1453 Mana: 720/720 Stamina: 560/560 The [White Claw Bear] is a monster found in mountain and glacier regions of Eldria. The [White Claw Bear] has high vitality and strength, using its long claws to decimate their foes. Can use ice and snow related spells for both offense and defense.
[Golden Grand Claw Bear] Level 24 Health: 1967/1967 Mana: 1254/1254 Stamina: 890/890 The [Golden Grand Claw Bear] is a monster found in mountain regions of Eldria. The [Golden Grand Claw Bear] has high vitality and intelligence, using its long claws to decimate their foes. Can use magical nullification skills and other spells for both offense and defense.
The information made her grimace, but she continued to prepare for her attack on the bears. Aurelia finished creating an ice wall around the perimeter of the hole. Creating a wall from scratch used more mana, but it could be created quickly. The wall was thick but not very tall, maybe a foot and a half. Aurelia hopped to stay at her high ground position for as long as possible. The ice wall was there for cover and she could lay down and be completely covered from the bears below. She also made sure her mana shield was in place once again, another line of defense. Then, all there was to do was attack the bears. Aurelia took a deep breath and aimed her staff downwards. She shot a mana bolt from the sapphire gem at the tip of her staff. The spell appeared, it flew and hit one of the orbs of light. The orb shattered, and the bears awoke. As the two bears roared at the intruder reappearing in their cave, Aurelia continued to send spells their way. The orbs of light continued to shatter one by one, and the light began to fade. Aurelia had a determined look as her last fight with the bears began. Chapter 16: Jungle of Fear Aurelia dodged out of the way, just in time to miss the spike of solid ice aimed at her head. The attack had appeared right after the last of the golden orbs had been shattered by her spells. The golden orbs had been a skill of the golden bear, which created an area of spell nullification. Unfortunately for the bear, it did not extend to the tunnel above and as the spells were created out of the range of the orbs, it had allowed Aurelia to take down all the orbs without a fuss. When the orbs were all gone, Aurelia was free to take aim on the bears with no fear her spells would be counteracted. It just also meant that the bears could now use other spells on her. Aurelia would have no way of knowing, but her spell repertoire and fast leveling from doing the dungeon solo allowed her a higher advantage than most other people who would try to take on this new dungeon. Her height advantage on the bears also allowed her to take on the two remaining bears with greater efficiency and less risk to her own wellbeing. With the Eldrian System being the only witness, Aurelia finished off the golden and white bears alone. As Aurelia casted mana bolts and spatial slashes, the bears casted ice spikes and golden bolts of light. The wall of ice she had created to protect herself was not as strong or as thick as the dungeon ice walls, so with each enemy spell that hit her wall, shards of ice went flying. Thankfully, it was enough to be the protection she needed. A couple minutes later, Aurelia identified the two bears to see how much health they had left. Seeing that she still had a bit to go, she continued to send down as many spells as she could. She checked the bears¡¯ heath every so often over the next few minutes. When both bears were at low health, Aurelia teleported into the cave behind the bears and sent a lightning chain at the white claw bear. As it fell to the ground, the second chain impacted the golden bear. The golden bear did not die like the first bear, but spun around to attack the young woman. She teleported away, then finished off the golden bear with some well aimed spatial slashes to the head. As the second bear fell to the ground, Aurelia didn¡¯t quite relax until she got the kill notification for both of the bears. The relief she felt at seeing those notifications made her knees weak, causing her to just slump to the floor to a sitting position before she fell over. Aurelia glanced at the two bears before she looked at the notification.
[White Claw Bear] Level 21 defeated. [Golden Grand Claw Bear] Level 24 defeated. 43,783 experience earned! You have reached level 10! Stat points allocated! You have one free skill point. You have 27 free stat points remaining. Would you like to loot [White Claw Bear] and [Golden Grand Claw Bear]?
Aurelia was excited to see that she had leveled up again, and the new stat points rejuvenated her exhausted body and mind. She eyed the amount of free stat points she still had to allocate and felt a bit ashamed at her failure to make use of those points. Before she moved on, she decided it was as good of a time as any to allocate those points. She decided since her main stats were so much higher than other stats, she would use some free points on her lowest stats. Her 16 points in charisma may be okay for now in the dungeon, but she figured that one stat that may be very beneficial when she finally exited hand had to interact with the people of Eldria. She put 14 points in that stat to bring it to an even 30. She then put 5 points into endurance to bring it from 25 to 30. Another 6 points took her 24 in strength also to 30 points. With two points left over, Aurelia put them into luck, bringing that stat to 17. After she accepted all of the changes, Aurelia felt another wave of strength and energy. Hopefully the rejuvenation would help her do what she needed to in finishing up the dungeon. Aurelia then accepted the loot for the two bears, sitting up in anticipation. As the two bears disappeared from existence, a new notification lit up her vision.
[White Claw Bear] meat x 6 received! [White Claw Bear] pelt x 1 received! [Golden Grand Claw Bear] meat x 7 received! [Golden Grand Claw Bear] pelt x 1 received! [Ice Dagger] skill book: uncommon received! [Ring of Nullification] item: rare received! [Monster Core] level 21 x 1 received! [Monster Core] level 24 x 1 received! 54 Copper coins received! 19 Silver coins received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
Aurelia¡¯s excitement grew at two of the new items she had received. She first took out the ring of nullification, which she expected did exactly as the name indicated and what she had recently experienced. Unfortunately she still did not have the skill to identify the specific description of the ring, but she decided to put it on her right pointer finger. The new skill book quickly followed the ring out of her storage space and into her hands. The ice dagger skill book looked almost identical to the ice wall skill book, with the white and silver coloring. When she opened the book, a prompt asked her if she would like to learn the new spell. Seeing no line letting her know she didn''t have the proficiency, she agreed.
Congratulations! You have learned [1] new skill. Ice Dagger: skill level 1 Ice Dagger: Spell allows the User to create shards of ice that when cast will fly in a straight line until it hits a target. At level 1, the spell will deal light damage and has a 0.01% chance of freezing the target. Cost: 8 mana. Cooldown: none.
When the knowledge of how to cast the spell entered her mind, Aurelia smiled in triumph. She had another spell! Aurelia got to her feet, then glanced at the stone door across the cave room from her position. Before she moved, Aurelia remembered that there was still one more thing she needed to do. Aurelia looked at her skill sheet, looking to the line that read she had one remaining skill point to spend. Aurelia had a lot more new skill options this time around. A few more attacks, utility spells and so on. If she was being honest, there were too many skills to choose from, and she didn¡¯t have enough knowledge to understand what might be the best course of action. She had a good number of skills now including four offensive magical skills, intellectual skills like scholar and linguist, utility skills like spatial storage and identify, and defensive skills like the new ice wall and the mana shield. She paused when she remembered the injury she had received by the white claw bear in the daylight cave. Aurelia winced at the memory and then immediately restored her mana shield back up. It may only last for a couple smaller attacks or one big attack, but maybe she would get new gear or maybe upgrade her mana shield spell so her defense could be better. She sighed, then decided to move on. Aurelia looked through the offered skills and spells.
Aura of Authority Beauty¡¯s Grace A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Enhanced Agility Enhanced Memory Fireball Gravity Aura Gravity Orb Jumping Mana Bomb Mana Arrows Open Lock Princess¡¯s Poise Simple Light Spark Spatial Distortion Staff Proficiency Starfall Wand Specialization
As Aurelia focused on each new skill, it would give her a description of each. Some skills looked to be specific to her spatial mage class, one definitely was specific to her princess rank, and others like the jumping skill looked to be a general skill. Her eyes lingered on the gravity spells and the starfall spell. All three looked to be powerful and useful, making her itch to choose one of those over the rest. Gravity aura would allow her to have an influence over the gravity of a certain area. This would allow her to jump high or fall lightly when falling from a greater height. It could also help her increase the gravity for her enemies, making it more difficult for them to move. The gravity orb was an attack spell that she could detonate at will, causing an orb of gravity to pull in objects and enemies before exploding. It sounded awesome and destructive. The third skill, the starfall spell, was an area attack spell where star-like orbs of light and energy would fall from above and strike enemies causing damage in a large area. She would indeed be grateful for any new skill, but she knew there was one she probably needed at the moment. Aurelia chose her new skill and accepted the prompt.
Congratulations! You have learned [1] new skill. Staff Proficiency: skill level 1 Staff Proficiency: A passive skill that gives basic knowledge on how to use magical and non magical staves. Gives the User an advantage on applying instructions on how to use staves and can more easily learn by observation.
As she finished reading the notification, the knowledge flowed through her mind. Aurelia was slightly disappointed she didn¡¯t choose another cool spell, but she felt that this was the correct decision. There would be times in the future where she may be faced with having to fight without her magic again, whether because of another spell suppression skill or because she was out of mana. She had her daggers, but didn¡¯t even get the option to specialize in them. She also would rather keep enemies at bay with a six-foot staff, rather than have to get up close and personal with a dagger. Time would tell if she made the right choice, but Aurelia also knew she needed time to get used to all the spells and skills she had. She had forgotten about her mana shield twice now in this dungeon, which had led to potentially deadly injuries. Aurelia wished she could talk to an actual person about Eldria and its reality. Now that she was done with her skill and stat sheet, Aurelia got up and walked towards the stone exit door. She raised her hand towards the door and pressed her palm against the smooth gray stone. A new prompt entered her vision.
Congratulations, User [Aurelia]! For completing the [Forest of the Claw] solo, you have received an [Iron Chest]! Dungeon Objectives: One: Find and kill 30 monsters in the forest 30/30: Completed Two: Locate the entrance to the final boss room: Completed Bonus Objective: Find and kill all monsters in the forest 35/35: Completed For completing all primary objectives for [Forest of the Claw], you have received an [Iron Chest]! For completing the bonus objective for [Forest of the Claw], you have received a [Bronze Chest]!
Aurelia¡¯s eyes shone with excitement as the two iron and one bronze chest appeared beside her. She turned away from the stone door to approach the first iron chest. The first chest was the largest of the three, maybe the size of a regular school backpack. She opened it to find what looked like a bundle of clothing. Everything she had received from the dungeon so far had some ability or value, so she wasn¡¯t too disappointed at the gift. She glanced down at her own clothing, covered in blood, with claw size rips in the shirt and corset, her leggings still shredded from the cave moles. The iron chest had provided new pants, shirt, and corset all of much better quality than what she had arrived in Eldria with. Deciding that the clothing she now wore wasn¡¯t doing much for her, she unclasped the cloak from around her neck and changed into the new clothes. With her forearm snakeskin braces back in place, her jumping boots securely on, and her blue cloak clasped, she turned her attention to the next reward. The second iron chest was the size of her hand, but that didn¡¯t dissuade her whatsoever. She opened the chest to find a faceted gemstone the size of her fist, just small enough to fit inside. The gemstone was a pale yellow color that glowed faintly. It was beautiful. As the gemstone entered her storage, the second chest disappeared. The bronze chest was larger than the second iron chest, and Aurelia opened it up to find a large potion bottle. It glowed with a pink and yellow swirling mixture inside. Her eyes widened in surprise at the item and held it up close to her eyes. She had no way of knowing what the potion might do. It could be a poison for all she knew. Shrugging, she put the mysterious potion into her inventory. With all the chests opened and disappeared, Aurelia faced the stone door once more. She placed a hand on the door, and it swung open. Stepping through the door, she found herself in a jungle. No sun hung overhead as in the forest, instead she could see a bright moon casting light through the branches of the trees. Her mouth dropped open in shock when she realized that the jungle was no ordinary forest, the trees all around her were huge. From what she could make out some of the trees around her were almost ten feet across. She took another step forward away from the bear cave behind her, and the stone door slammed shut. Aurelia let out a short yelp in surprise, but calmed down when she realized what the sound was from. Aurelia glanced around at the dark shapes around her. The moon was bright, but the jungle forest was thick with trees and underbrush. For all she knew, there could be monsters hiding under the bush right next to her. The large trees would certainly be good hiding places for creatures. Remembering her pathway skill, she looked more closely around her. And maybe 15 feet to her right, she spotted a gray strand of glowing mana. It started at the base of one of the larger jungle trees and made its way up the trunk until it disappeared in the foliage. She began to walk closer to the gray mana when she spotted something in the tree. Aurelia tilted her head to the side as the image of something long and white poked out from the leaves. It almost looked like¡­ bone? ¡°What is that?¡± Aurelia whispered aloud. That couldn¡¯t be bone, maybe it was¡­ Aurelia let out a gasp as she spotted two more bone-like objects like the first. They weren¡¯t bones, they were claws. Horror gripped her heart as three claws, half the size as she was wrapped themselves around the trunk of the tree. Connected to the three claws was a leg of gray fur, and as she continued her gaze upwards, Aurelia could spot the large form hanging in the tree. Two glimmering eyes stared back attached to the bandit-like face of the¡­ sloth? Horror changed to confusion as the sloth¡¯s large eyes very slowly blinked at Aurelia. It wasn¡¯t until the sloth leaped from the tree, aiming right at her, that Aurelia realized it wasn¡¯t a joke. And when a split second later, as the sharp-toothed mouth of the sloth let out an ear piercing wail, that Aurelia knew she was in for a ride.
Half an hour later, Aurelia sat panting in the hollow of a large tree. Sweat ran down her back as she tried to catch her breath. Her mana and stamina were almost empty, so she swallowed a mana potion to replenish her pool of mana, and went back to using her ice wall spell to seal up the entrance. When she could no longer see the light of the moon, Aurelia felt herself relax just slightly. Thankfully, she hadn¡¯t received any major injuries, but after the fourth rabid sloth had finally destroyed her mana shield, the rush through the jungle had resulted in a number of scratches and bruises. Aurelia glanced down at her thigh, where a particularly gnarly thorned bush had created deep grooves in her skin. To her surprise, her leggings showed no sign of being torn, but she could still feel the injury underneath. Had her leggings fixed themselves? Too tired to care, Aurelia turned to her notifications. When the first sloth had jumped her from the trees, it had been quite a shock. Thankfully, Aurelia had teleported out of the way just in time as it had crashed to the ground where she had previously stood. As she could now look at the kill notifications, she saw that she had been attacked by a raging sloth. Geesh. That fight hadn¡¯t been too difficult, until the other nearby sloths had joined the first. Aurelia guessed that when the first had screeched at her, it had also called its friends over to grab a tasty treat. Aurelia shuddered at the thought. What had then followed was thirty minutes of literal hell on Eldria, as sloth after raging sloth raced in her direction. And she meant raced. Aurelia had run and fought until she had lost or killed all the sloths. She knew more were still out there, but at the moment she didn¡¯t have the energy to deal with them.
[Raging Sloth] Level 20 x 7 defeated. [Raging Sloth] Level 21 x 3 defeated. [Raging Sloth] Level 22 x 5 defeated. [Raging Sloth] Level 23 x 2 defeated. 396,632 experience earned! You have reached level 11! Stat points allocated! You have 9 free stat points remaining. Would you like to loot [Raging Sloth] x 17?
¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 17: Claimer鈥檚 Rights Aurelia sat in the dark interior of a hollow jungle tree. It was surprisingly dry inside as she sat on a pile of dead wood. The ice wall she had created sealed off the entrance, with barely enough light so that Aurelia could see her hand a couple inches from her face. She grabbed a glow crystal from inside her inventory to light up the space, then looked through the loot she had received from the sloths. She had the usual items like meat and pelts, but she turned her head at a line listing a number of sloth claws. Aurelia decided to pull one out, then yelped in shock when a three foot long claw made its appearance inside the tree. She took a couple seconds to ogle at the monstrously large claw, before putting it back in her inventory. It surprised her that something so big could fit in her inventory, and she put testing her spatial inventory skill on her mental list of things to do after exiting the dungeon. The only other item of note from killing the sloths was a bow. Aurelia held the bow out in front of her, the faint light of the glow crystal illuminating the carved ivory longbow. The unstrung bow was tall, just like the claws from the sloths, standing around five to six feet long. Aurelia had never done archery in her entire life, so she had no idea what made a good bow, but in her opinion it looked beautiful and sturdy. The bow had carved depictions of jungle leaves and runes similar to what she saw on her skill books. She had no arrows to use with the bow, but it really wasn¡¯t the time anyway to learn how to use a bow. With the bow back in her inventory, Aurelia checked her status sheet. Her health and now her mana weren¡¯t too bad, but her stamina was still low. She had no stamina potions to top herself off with, so she guessed she would continue her break. After closing out of her sheet she noticed she had a notification from earlier she hadn¡¯t seen before. The experience and loot notifications had covered up a notification she had received after entering the new area with the sloths.
Welcome to the [Jungle of the Raging Claw]. Dungeon Objectives: One: Find and kill 40 monsters in the jungle 17/40 Two: Find and kill the final boss 0/1 Bonus Objective: Locate the rare herb [Anima Grass] 0/3 Other Hidden objectives may exist.
Aurelia balked at the notification. There was still so much she needed to do and the exhaustion that filled her body, caused her to wish she wasn¡¯t alone. The feeling of accomplishment of all she had done so far had been intoxicating and exciting, but she now felt like crying again. Before the portal had whisked her away from Earth and into the world of Eldria, Blondie had talked to her about a king, a war, a rebellion, and some sort of weapon. She still wasn¡¯t completely sure what it all meant, especially the part about her being somehow involved, but she knew the dungeon would only be the beginning. On Earth, video games were an occasional pastime that had slowly been pushed to the side as college took over her life. Her best friend, Irene, wasn¡¯t a big fan of playing games with her, so that had caused her to play even less. Now she found herself relying on those memories of games, hoping it was enough to keep her alive. Glancing back at the new quests available for her, she decided she wouldn¡¯t go above and beyond this time to fulfill all the available quests. She was exhausted and alone, and she barely survived the swarm of sloths earlier. If she was a couple levels higher, she might try to spend the time finding the rare herb or whatever else she was meant to do. Now, she would follow the gray strands of mana, and try to kill the sloths before they got her. Aurelia didn¡¯t want to fall asleep, not here, but she got in a comfortable sitting position and relaxed. She breathed in and out, her heart rate slowly going down. She stayed in that position for another half an hour before she was ready to head back out into the jungle. It was time to finally exit the dungeon.
Outside the new dungeon, a large group of villagers had crowded around the entrance. Word of the dungeon had spread throughout the past hours, so even the farmers an hour walk outside the village had heard the news. The butcher, a baker, and even the village¡¯s one candlestick maker pushed their way forwards to get a better view of the 15 foot tall cave entrance. The glowing crystals were not that bright with the sun still shining overhead, but it still gave the dungeon entrance an eerie feel. Justin and Zen tried their best to get to the front, but after getting a dirty look from Garren, the village smith, after accidentally stepping on his foot, they paused. Zen groaned in annoyance and pulled Justin back out of the throng of people and off to the side near the flowing stream. ¡°It¡¯s no use trying to get to the front.¡± Zen pointed out. ¡°For now, I guess.¡± Justin replied, a disappointed look on his face. ¡°I heard from Sam, the baker, that he had an opportunity to place a hand on the entrance and got a prompt. He confirmed that it really is a new dungeon!¡± Zen had a big grin on his face. ¡°Another interesting thing is that someone is actually inside right now, so no one else can get in.¡± Justin frowned, ¡°But I thought that multiple people could enter a dungeon at the same time. Don¡¯t they allow for more than one group to have separate instances?¡± ¡°I thought so too, but my knowledge of dungeons is very minimal. I only know what adventures have said as they pass through the village and the occasional bard. They mostly talk about their exploits and successes, rather than the intricacies of how the dungeons work.¡± Zen gestured at the new dungeon. ¡°Hmm, yeah that¡¯s what-¡± ¡°There¡¯s actually a good reason why the entrance is closed,¡± a voice interrupted Justin. The two young men turned around, jumping at the sound. ¡°A new dungeon is a sign of new opportunity, and it rewards the first person or group exponentially more than those that come after.¡± Justin and Zen stared at the other young man who had come up behind them. A tall young man with white blonde hair and bright gray eyes stood watching them. Corbin Gray, also known as the youngest son of the Mayor of Rainy Hollow, stood with his arms crossed. He wore well made dark clothing which fit sung on his thinner frame, with black pants, tall black boots, and a dark gray linen shirt. Justin scowled and Zen looked curiously at Corbin. ¡°What¡¯s your problem? Nobody asked you.¡± Justin took a step back from Corbin and grabbed Zen¡¯s arm. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡± Justin tried leading Zen away, but Zen didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Hold on, Justin, I want to hear what he has to say. It sounds interesting!¡± Zen pulled his arm out of Justin¡¯s grip and looked to Corbin. ¡°How do you know that¡¯s the reason it won¡¯t open up?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Corbin eyed the two of them, his expression slightly haughty. ¡°Well, wouldn¡¯t you like to know.¡± Zen and Justin glanced at each other, then just stared back at Corbin. After a few seconds of silence, Corbin huffed, then started speaking again. ¡°I read a lot of books, alright.¡± Corbin shifted in place, ¡°In the official dungeon diver¡¯s guide it talks about new dungeons. There are a couple of reasons why a new dungeon forms, at least from what adventurers and scholars have been able to discern. Among those reasons include a monster den being upgraded by the system into a dungeon, the system turning empty ruins into a dungeon, a dungeon created through an artifact, and a dungeon created for a system tutorial.¡± Zen tilted his head, pondering the information. ¡°Interesting, what is a system tutorial?¡± Corbin took a step towards the other two, ¡°Well, a system tutorial is when someone not born in Eldria finds their way here and the system steps in to personally teach them about the system. It is a very rare occurrence, but those individuals usually turn out to be among the most powerful individuals in Eldria. Honestly quite unfair, but some scholars believe that when the system came to Eldria millenia ago, the tutorial was given to everyone.¡± Corbin shrugged, ¡°I was not completely sure how true that all was, until I was given the chance to read the prompt from the dungeon entrance.¡± Zen¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Well what did it say?¡± Corbin placed a hand on a pouch at his waist, tugging at one of the drawstrings in what seemed like a nervous gesture. ¡°When you place a hand on the new dungeon entrance, it gives some information on it. The dungeon is a novice questing dungeon.¡± His eyes seemed to shine with excitement at the last statement. Before Corbin could continue, Justin interrupted with a question, ¡°What does that mean? Isn¡¯t a dungeon just a dungeon?¡± Corbin huffed, ¡°No dungeon is quite the same, Ellis. A novice dungeon is the lowest level dungeon you will ever find, and is also the perfect type of dungeon for those still lower level. A questing dungeon is even more valuable because it gives further opportunities for experience and rewards. Other dungeons may have such opportunities, but in a questing dungeon the way to get those rewards will be clearly laid out.¡± Zen nodded, ¡°That makes a lot of sense. We have never been in a dungeon before, but I have heard an adventurer saying that he had two teammates die in an apprentice trap dungeon. What other dungeons are out there.¡± Corbin nodded, ¡°Yes, even apprentice rank dungeons can be extremely dangerous. Some nobles who own apprentice or higher dungeons put level requirements on those that can enter them. Some of the more greedy nobles even put entry fees on dungeon entrances. I expect my father may be more lenient.¡± Justin¡¯s eyes widened in shock, ¡°What do you mean, your father may be more lenient. He doesn¡¯t own the dungeon!¡± Corbin rolled his eyes, ¡°This is still part of my father¡¯s land, therefore, this dungeon is under his jurisdiction. If we don¡¯t want Baron Redford or Duke Gladys to take charge of the dungeon, he needs to take ownership of the dungeon first.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so unfair! The dungeon should be open to everyone!¡± Zen raised his voice in anger. ¡°Don¡¯t be naive, Baker, every dungeon in Eldria is owned by some noble or king. That¡¯s the way it is. There may be dungeon¡¯s out there not under any noble, but that¡¯s because it is too far from civilization. A novice rank dungeon will only be a boon for the Rainy Hollow¡¯s economy. You two shouldn¡¯t fret too much. Besides, no one can take ownership of the dungeon until the sole occupant of the dungeon finally leaves or dies.¡± Corbin looked past the two young men and stared at the dungeon.¡± Justin spoke up, ¡°There is for sure someone in there?¡± ¡°The message from the system stated that the dungeon was a novice questing dungeon, as well stating that the dungeon is closed to further Users. Meaning someone is inside right now. That probably indicates someone immediately entered the dungeon after it appeared, or the dungeon appeared for someone¡¯s tutorial.¡± Justin turned around to look at the dungeon as well. ¡°Well, dang. I wonder who is in there.¡± ¡°This dungeon is a huge opportunity for us. It¡¯s our chance to be high enough level to be proper adventurers.¡± Zen looked at his friend. Corbin didn¡¯t say anything to that. He glanced up as a cool spring breeze passed through the crowded meadow. Glancing up at the sky, the three young men could see that it was nearing late afternoon and dinner time. A loud voice near the dungeon entrance caused the three to turn towards the sound. They spotted an armored guard shouting at the crowd in front of him. ¡°Oi, you lot need to clear out the meadow! No one is entering the dungeon right now, so head back to your homes and businesses!¡± The crowd shouted back in anger and objection, but some began to stream back towards the village. The guard continued to shout orders, ¡°You heard me! By the orders of Mayor Gray, this meadow and the dungeon are under his jurisdiction! So clear out!¡± The crowd groaned and talked amongst each other, but most of the town liked the mayor and didn¡¯t find the need to argue. A few moments later most of the people were heading back to the town, still full of excitement. Corbin, Justin, and Zen looked at each other, then started walking towards the dissipating crowd. A couple minutes later and all that stood in front of the dungeon were two Rainy Hollow town guards, the three young men, and a group of three adventurers. In fact, Zen recognized the three as an adventuring group led by Mayor Gray¡¯s second son, Robin Gray. Robin looked like the older version of his younger brother Corbin, with the white blonde hair, gray eyes, and tall and thin frame. He definitely had a more muscular frame and the silver hilted sword at his waist gave him a dangerous air. The two guards saluted Robin as he and his team approached the dungeon entrance. Zen watched as the taller of the two guards, a soldier named Linken, as he began to address Robin. ¡°Lord Gray, did your father send your team to assess the dungeon?¡± Linken looked between Robin¡¯s team members, before eyeing Corbin and the other two young men. ¡°Yes, guardsman, my father sent me to get an update on the current situation. I did not realize my younger brother would be here as well.¡± Robin turned his gaze to Corbin. ¡°I have just as much of a right to be here as well, brother.¡± Corbin rebuked. Robin¡¯s teammate, Eagan, turned to their other teammate, Maya, and muttered, ¡°What about the other two miscreants?¡± Zen could hear the words quite clearly, and balled his hands into fists. He could see Justin¡¯s face redden slightly, but thankfully he stayed quiet. Zen barely knew the three, who were also known as Hollow¡¯s Warriors. Robin had some specialized sword class while Eagan was a red-haired fire mage, and Maya was a black-haired Ranger. The three were in their mid to late twenties, and the only adventuring group based in Rainy Hollow. Zen also knew that Justin had a more than unhealthy crush on Maia. Robin turned to smack Eagan¡¯s shoulder, and gave both his teammates a look of disappointment. The noble turned back to his brother and nodded, ¡°Yes, you and your friends can stay.¡± Robin looked to the two guardsmen again and said, ¡°Do you have a status update on the dungeon?¡± The shorter guard, Ian, nodded. ¡°We have informed your father about the rank and dungeon type, as well as the fact that the dungeon is occupied. We don¡¯t know who is inside, but we will wait for them to exit. Will you be claiming the dungeon on your father¡¯s behalf, or will he do so himself?¡± ¡°My father wishes to claim the dungeon in person, my job is to wait here until the dungeon is ready. We wouldn¡¯t want anyone else trying to claim the dungeon, even the duke or baron. News will travel fast, I know some of the duke¡¯s personal guards were passing through this morning, and I believe they left for the duke¡¯s manor as soon as they heard the news. As long as we claim it first, they will have no way to override my father. I have no doubt-¡± Robin suddenly stopped speaking, motioning everyone to stay quiet. ¡°Do you hear that?¡± he whispered quietly. Zen joined the others in trying to pick out whatever sound Robin had heard. Corbin opened his mouth as if to speak, but stopped when the ground below them started to shake. It was neither subtle or large, but they could all feel the ground shake beneath them. Zen had to suddenly close his eyes when the crystals affixed to the dungeon entrance began to glow with a blinding light. ¡°Nine Hells! What is happening!?¡± someone around Zen shouted. A couple seconds later and the light dimmed enough for everyone to reopen their eyes again. The shaking had thankfully stopped, but they could all see that the dungeon entrance had changed. The crystals which had once been a variety of colors now all glowed with a startling blue light. On the inside of the entrance, before the tunnel gave way to darkness, Zen could make out inscriptions of a variety of animals carved into the rock. He could see wolves, bears, snakes, foxes, and other animals he couldn¡¯t identify. ¡°What just happened?¡± Zen didn¡¯t realize he had spoken aloud until all eyes turned to him, all except one. Zen looked at Robin, who had a furious look on his face. With a scowl, Robin muttered aloud, ¡°It seems whomever is inside survived the dungeon. And they took more than they deserved.¡± Chapter 18: A Dungeon鈥檚 Greatest Treasure Aurelia thought sloths were supposed to be slow. She even remembered a time she saw a video of a sloth trying to cross a road, and some men ended up picking it up and putting it on a tree out of the way of the road. If sloths were too slow to cross the road, how was it possible for the gigantic sloth in front of her to be quicker than her? She yelped as one of the raging sloth¡¯s claws came way too close to her face. Aurelia teleported to the side, before continuing her onslaught. She was now at level eleven, but the sloths were still all at least ten levels above that, meaning each fight was long and grueling. Over the past hour, she had thrown herself into fight after fight, only taking short rests to recharge her stamina and mana. After her level-up, she decided to throw all her extra stat points into endurance in order to increase her stamina. None of her skills used stamina, but all the running and fighting she had done had definitely drained her energy. Aurelia honestly felt more annoyed now than afraid. Maybe it was the trauma of the situation getting to her, but she was now fully focused on getting out of the dungeon. When she finally received the skill notification, she first accepted the loot. Aurelia pouted at the lack of a special skill book or item, but after the bow at the beginning of the room, she hadn¡¯t received anything else of note. She then pulled up the updated quest notification.
Welcome to the [Jungle of the Raging Claw]. Dungeon Objectives: One: Find and kill 40 monsters in the jungle 40/40 Two: Find and kill the final boss 0/1 Bonus Objective: Locate the rare herb [Anima Grass] 1/3 Other Hidden objectives may exist.
On a good note, Aurelia had stumbled upon one of the rare herbs indicated in the quest. She had found the glowing golden grass near the sleeping body of a sloth. The sloth had been hanging from a large tree branch, while the grass had been growing on the trunk of the tree. She hadn¡¯t been able to identify the grass, but after plucking it from the tree, her quest had updated, indicating to Aurelia what it was she had found. From then on, Aurelia had kept her eyes peeled for the grass, but she had had no luck. While she could track down animals and retrace her own steps from her spatial tracking skill, that didn¡¯t include magical grass. Maybe some other classes had the ability to track down certain herbs. Aurelia began jogging forward. Running was one of her highest level skills at level five. She had no idea why none of her new skills had leveled up, but at least her running skill had helped her out, especially in the last two rooms of the dungeon. There was a dark gray strand of mana flowing out in front of her, disappearing between leaves in the distance. Well, it wasn¡¯t right in front of her, the strand was actually running between the jungle trees above her. The color of the mana was different from all the other sloths, indicating something was different about this particular monster. Aurelia hoped it was the boss, as it was the last thing she needed to do before she could exit the dungeon. A couple minutes into her dodging around the large jungle trees, Aurelia found herself in a clearing, no longer completely surrounded by the dense brush. The gray strand of mana continued on in front of her, glowing slightly in the darkness around her. A moon shone above her, bright in the sky. Aurelia knew she was in a dungeon, but it really felt like she was standing outside. The moon reminded her of the moon on Earth, and she felt a pang of homesickness in her chest. She continued following her skill through the grassy clearing, when she suddenly heard something that caused her to pause. Was that a voice she heard? Aurelia quieted her steps and her breath when she heard the sound again. ¡°HEL-LO, CHI-LD¡­¡± A voice so whispery she could barely make out the sounds echoed out into the clearing. The voice was slow, but Aurelia could still understand what it was saying. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± To Aurelia¡¯s embarrassment, her voice quavered in the darkness as she addressed the voice. ¡°WHO-O AM I?¡± The sound of its voice seemed to come from all around Aurelia. She stepped further towards the center of the clearing, hoping to make sure she had space all around her. ¡°I AM THE-E MOTH-ER,¡± the voice continued on. Aurelia kept her wand held tightly in one hand. Her eyes darted from left to right to behind her. ¡°AND YOU¡­ YOU ARE A PRINCE-ESS¡­¡± Her eyes widened at the words. ¡°What would you know about that?¡± A whispering laugh answered Aurelia. ¡°I¡­ KNOW MO-ORE THAN YOU MI-IGHT THI-INK¡­¡± Movement caught Aurelia¡¯s attention to her right, and she turned her body in that direction. As she watched, the massive form of the biggest raging sloth she had so far encountered exited the trees and into the clearing. The dreamy look on its giant face was contrasted by glowing silver eyes. It crawled forwards on four sets of great claws, its movements deceptively slow. Aurelia took the time to identify the monster.
[Raging Sloth Matriarch] Level ? Health: ? Mana: ? Stamina: ? ?
Aurelia gaped at the notification. What did it mean that she only got question marks instead of stats and a description? This couldn¡¯t be good. Not at all. ¡°THE-ERE IS NO PO-INT, CHI-ILD¡­ THAT SKI-ILL WI-ILL NOT WO-RK¡­¡± Aurelia stayed silent, but her wand hand twitched, as if eager to let loose a spell. The sloth matriarch continued its crawl forwards, but Aurelia knew it could move faster than she could. What she could not understand was why the sloth seemed to be stalling the impending fight. ¡°WHY NOT FIGH-HT ME-E CHI-ILD?¡± the sloth¡¯s mouth turned upwards in a smile. It was not a friendly one. ¡°Why did you start a conversation rather than attacking me first?¡± Aurelia replied evenly. When the sloth spoke again, its voice became clearer and faster, ¡°I EN-JOY PLA-YING WITH MY FOOD¡­¡± It opened its mouth to show off sharpened fangs, ¡°MY KIND IS NOT COMMON ON ELDRIA, THIS WORLD IS NOT KIND TO THE MEEK¡­¡± A burst of air blasted Aurelia in her face, making her close her eyes briefly in shock. When she opened her eyes, again, her face drained of color. Two large glowing eyes stared at her, only a couple feet away from her now. ¡°SO WE HAD TO BECOME FASTER¡­ FASTER THAN THE REST¡­¡± Aurelia prepared herself to teleport away as soon as the sloth made any more sudden movements. She would have already, but the curious cat in her made her pause. ¡°I REMEMBER THE PAST¡­ YOU WILL HAVE MUCH TROUBLE AHEAD JUST FOR THE RANK YOU HOLD¡­ I WOULD BE CAREFUL IF I WERE YOU¡­¡± She didn¡¯t even see the claw move. One second Aurelia was standing in front of the sloth, the next she was flying backwards, her mana shield destroyed and no longer of use. Before she could crash into the ground, Aurelia managed to teleport sideways and close to the ground. As she impacted the ground with much less force than she would have otherwise, the sloth matriarch was at the spot Aurelia would have landed if not for her quick movements. The giant sloth twisted its head in her direction, and Aurelia got the hint. She teleported yet again, but closer to the tree line this time. She needed cover, as she was very vulnerable out in the open. After she got herself behind a giant tree, Aurelia pointed her wand and let loose a couple of her spatial slashes and ice spikes in the direction of the sloth. To her surprise, they actually hit home, despite the fast movement of the sloth. The matriarch was almost galloping in her direction, its claws making deep furrows in the ground. She realized even with its speed, the sloth was still a huge target. Aurelia readied herself for another teleport while continuing to blast spell after offensive spell at the boss. As the claws descended in her direction, she moved out of the way. When she appeared twenty feet away, she could see as the seven foot wide tree she had previously stood behind was now crashing to the ground, the trunk completely cut in half from the sloth¡¯s claws. ¡°And that could have been my face¡­¡± Aurelia muttered as she continued her assault yet again. Aurelia didn¡¯t usually identify enemies during the fight in order to check their health levels. Instead, she went the route of fighting until they dropped. This time, however, she wished she had the ability to understand how long this fight may take. The matriarch was fast, but Aurelia had more useful skills to use against the sloth. At one point during the fight, it seemed the sloth was angry at all the damage it was getting and not giving in return. Aurelia watched as the silver glow in the matriarch¡¯s eyes turned to red and the sloth became stronger and faster. When the change first began, it had caught Aurelia off guard, causing her to receive a large claw to the thigh. When that happened, she had quickly teleported far enough away so she could have time to use up her last healing potion. At this point she also took the time to power up her mana shield once more, before rejoining the fight. Twenty minutes later, the sloth finally collapsed to the ground, its health depleted. Aurelia teleported over to the corpse and joined it in the grass. She brought out her ever-full water flask and gulped mouthfuls of water down until she needed air again. Aurelia sighed as she took deep breaths in and out. She had actually done it. Before she had the chance to fully celebrate or check her new loot, a glowing gray portal appeared a couple feet to her left. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. She jumped to her feet in astonishment, slowly approaching what had to be the dungeon exit. Aurelia pulled up her notifications, reading through each of them.
[Raging Sloth Matriarch] Level 34 defeated. Experience earned! You have reached level 12! Stat points allocated! You have 9 free stat points remaining. You have one free skill point. Would you like to loot [Raging Sloth Matriarch]?
[Raging Sloth Matriarch] meat x 15 received! [Raging Sloth Matriarch] pelt x 1 received! [Speed Burst] skill book: uncommon received! [Hidden Meanings] skill book: legendary received! [Monster Core] level 34 x 1 received! 61 Copper coins received! 32 Silver coins received! All loot deposited in [Spatial Storage].
Congratulations, User [Aurelia]! For completing the [Jungle of Fear] solo, you have received an [Iron Chest]! Dungeon Objectives: One: Find and kill 40 monsters in the jungle 40/40: Completed Two: Find and kill the final boss 1/1: Completed Bonus Objective: Locate the rare herb [Anima Grass] 1/3: Incomplete Hidden Objectives: 0/?: Incomplete For completing all primary objectives for [Forest of the Claw], you have received an [Iron Chest]! Hidden conditions met: Claimer¡¯s rights unlocked! Would you like to claim this dungeon?
Despite the sheer exhaustion Aurelia felt, she could understand that each notification indicated something of importance. But it was the last line of the third notification that filled her with immense disbelief. What did it mean that she could claim the dungeon? Maybe she should ask the dungeon? ¡°Uh, system, what does it mean to claim a dungeon?¡± Aurelia asked aloud. For the first time since starting her tutorial, the system didn¡¯t supply an answer. Instead, the prompt that appeared only said, ¡°Information on this topic is not widely known in Eldria, the tutorial will not include answers on user Aurelia¡¯s question.¡± Aurelia scowled at the message, ¡°Well that¡¯s dumb.¡± She then considered the original question again. Would she like to claim a dungeon? There was still so much Aurelia didn¡¯t know about Eldria, and she didn¡¯t know what people would say if they found out she claimed a dungeon. For that matter, she didn¡¯t know how people would react to her having the rank of princess. The sloth matriarch had indicated to her that it could pose a problem for her in the future. Aurelia bit her lower lip in agitation. ¡°I¡¯ll claim the dungeon.¡± Aurelia said aloud. A second later the whole dungeon around her began to shake. She was still standing in front of the glowing portal, so Aurelia felt the full force of the tremors as her whole body swayed with the movements. Her eyes turned to the portal, watching as it shifted from the silver-gray color into a sapphire blue shade. Her eyes widened, worried something bad had happened to the portal. Aurelia decided she didn¡¯t want to take the chance that her exit might close and jolted to her feet. She teleported directly in front of the portal, then dove through the swirling colors. Aurelia came to inside a gray stone room. The room looked eerily familiar, and she realized it was the same room she had arrived in when first coming to the dungeon. At least, she thought it was the same cave room. It was a small room with glowing crystals, but instead of the multitude of different colors and shades between white and blue, all the crystals glowed with the same shade of sapphire blue. The gray stone door was in the same place she remembered, though this time around there was another entrance to the room on the opposite wall as the stone door. It was a cave opening, which was lit with the sapphire glow crystals. The tunnel sloped slightly upwards until Aurelia could no longer see where it led. On the ground, Aurelia could see two iron chests and one small chest that seemed to be made of¡­ diamond? Before she reached for the three chests, Aurelia looked for any new notifications about what might have just happened. Right there on top, she found an answer.
Congratulations User [Aurelia]! You are now the owner of the [Dungeon of the Wild]. You have new options in your dungeon tab. You may access the dungeon tab anywhere and at anypoint. Would you like to exit the dungeon now?
Aurelia eyed the notification, before searching for the dungeon tab the notification talked about. It pulled up immediately after making her intention clear to the system. She blinked at the sheer amount of information available to her. Aurelia quickly skimmed the tab seeing various options she could set in place for the dungeon. It seemed as though claiming a dungeon gave one the power to make a multitude of choices concerning the dungeon. She could set limits of how many people or groups could enter the dungeon, she could set an entrance fee or simply make a tax on anything people found inside the dungeon. She could also influence the dungeon to make certain choices on what creatures would spawn over others. Unfortunately for Aurelia, what she didn¡¯t know about this world was immense and what she did know wasn¡¯t enough for her to feel confident in making any changes to the dungeon. For now, she left the dungeon settings at the default. This meant up to five different groups could enter the dungeon at a time. There was no entrance fee or tax enforced, and no level limit to who could enter. One feature she also left on was to keep her status as the dungeon owner hidden from sight. Aurelia would need to ask someone for help on what she should do with the dungeon once she left. As for exiting the dungeon, she decided to wait just a bit longer before leaving. A lot had happened since defeating the sloth, so she pulled up the few notifications she had received after the fight. The sloth she had just defeated was level 34, way higher than anything else in the dungeon. Just that one fight had brought her from just past level eleven all the way to level twelve and halfway to level thirteen. It almost stunned her that she was able to defeat something so powerful compared to herself, and all alone. She also now had two new skillbooks, but it was the second skill book, the Hidden Meanings skill book that caught her attention. It was a legendary item, the first she had seen since coming to Eldria. Only her own class was comparable in status. That fact convinced her to pull the skill book out of her inventory right away. The leather bound skill book was a deep purple color, with silver lettering. Since she had some time, Aurelia decided to try learning the skill before leaving the dungeon, she had a strong feeling she would need it.
Would you like to learn [Hidden Meanings]? Item [Hidden Meanings] skill book: legendary will be consumed upon action.
When she accepted the prompt, the skill book disappeared into glowing purple light. Aurelia closed her eyes as the information on the new skill filled her mind, her heart racing with excitement. After the light settled and her slight headache began to fade, Aurelia looked at the description of her new skill. She scanned the prompt, her eyes lighting up with surprise. ¡°Will allow the user to change the appearance of their stat sheet when it is viewed by others. The user will be able to see both the real stat sheet and the adjusted stat sheet. Few skills can see through this skill. The cost is one thousand mana!¡± It seemed the purpose of this skill was to hide the contents of her skill sheet from others. Aurelia pondered for a moment before nodding. She was at a major disadvantage compared to the natives of this world. Hiding her real abilities and rank would definitely be useful in getting a one-up on others. Aurelia pulled up her skill sheet and eyed her mana. After leveling up to level twelve, she was now just under one thousand mana naturally. With her 20 percent increase from her necklace she was at over eleven hundred mana. She still had nine free stat points to use up, so she put three stat points into intelligence to bring her natural mana to over one thousand, then put the rest into charisma for the help in interacting with others. After deciding what she should change, Aurelia activated her hidden meanings skill. The mana drain was sudden and intense, giving Aurelia a massive migraine. She wasn¡¯t brought down to zero mana, but it still strained her to use such a mana-intensive skill. She concentrated on her stat sheet and imagined what she wanted it to say instead. The first thing she changed was her rank, making it say Knight instead of Princess. Aurelia didn¡¯t want it to be peasant rank, as she assumed her skill level would be incongruent with the peasant rank. Then, she changed her main class from spatial mage to just mage. In public, she would try using the most basic of skills to stay under the radar. Since the mage class only gave fifteen stat points per level compared to her twenty-five, she altered her stats to be congruent with those numbers as well. The last thing she did was to make her available classes be two instead of four. After confirming the changes, Aurelia looked at her altered stat sheet.
Name: Aurelia Age: 22 Race: Human Rank: Knight Class: 1/2 Main Class: Mage Level: 12 Health: 230/230 Mana: 700/700 Stamina: 200/200 Strength: 15 Vitality: 23 Agility: 22 Endurance: 20 Wisdom: 70 Intelligence: 70 Luck: 12 Perception: 22 Charisma: 20 Unspent Stat Points: 0
Having ten extra stat points per level really made a difference when Aurelia compared her fake stat sheet to her real one. That made her eternally grateful that she had the legendary class instead of an average one. Before Aurelia left the dungeon, she had one more thing to take care of. She walked over to the three chests and opened the first iron chest she had received from the quest. Inside she found five mana potions that all looked larger than the ones she got at the beginning of the dungeon. In the second iron chest was a small drawstring bag. Aurelia opened it up to find a single coin. Confused, she upturned the bag into her palm and saw a glistening platinum coin. She placed it into her storage space and saw a new coin count next to the gold. It showed her one platinum coin alongside the bronze, silver, and gold coins. Aurelia then realized there was a currency higher than gold, and she had no idea of what to compare them to. She shrugged then turned to the final chest. Aurelia remembered the system¡¯s explanation on the chests, how iron was the most common chest found in the dungeon, but a diamond chest was the rarest of them all. Aurelia opened the chest to find a glowing faceted crystal the size of her fist. When she held the crystal in her fist, a new prompt appeared. As she scanned the prompt, her excitement grew. It seemed this crystal was unique to this dungeon and to her. As the new owner of the dungeon, this crystal would not only allow her to teleport anywhere outside the dungeon in a thousand foot radius, but also allow her to teleport directly into this room from anywhere in Eldria. To Aurelia, this prize was definitely a diamond rank treasure. Aurelia looked around the room, making sure she hadn¡¯t missed anything, then concentrated on the teleport crystal. As she did so, she suddenly had a bird¡¯s eye view of the dungeon entrance in the meadow. To her surprise, she could see a group of people directly outside the entrance all seemingly arguing with each other. A tall man with blonde hair was pointing at the dungeon entrance, his face red with anger. She couldn¡¯t hear what any of them were saying, but decided there was no way she was going to leave the dungeon directly into whatever was happening. Aurelia looked towards the forest and decided to teleport there, out of sight from any prying eyes. With a deep breath, Aurelia activated the crystal. Chapter 19: Rainy Hollow Belle Rendlow crouched by a tall tree near the edge of the forest, watching as Corbin, Zen, and Justin approached the dungeon entrance. She saw the three young men meet up with two guards, and the three members of the Hollow¡¯s Warriors adventuring team. Belle had been watching over the entrance to the dungeon for the past two hours, hoping to learn more about what was going on. Unfortunately for all those currently by the dungeon entrance, Belle¡¯s highest level skill was a long range auditory skill. That meant she heard everything Corbin, Zen and Justin said to each other, as well as the conversation afterwards. It was much easier for her to concentrate on individual conversations with less people around, and now that there were less than ten people in the meadow, she could take in everything. When the ground began to shake and the dungeon entrance flooded the meadow with light, Belle was also blinded, even with her hundreds of feet away. She hissed in pain as the light hurt her eyes, and blinked away the spots in her vision. As the light cleared away, she stood up and looked for any changes to the dungeon. She couldn''t quite tell all the differences from so far away, though she could hear one of the guards mutter about animal carvings. Intrigued, Belle walked closer towards the group and the dungeon entrance. She paused when she heard Robin Gray begin to yell. What did he say? Belle listened as Robin explained how whomever just finished the dungeon, also seemed to have claimed it as well. ¡°It seems the Grays won¡¯t get their own dungeon after all.¡± Belle whispered to herself. Belle watched for a few more minutes before Robin stormed off in the direction of the village, his two teammates following behind. Corbin Gray didn¡¯t seem angry like his brother, instead he seemed contemplative, looking between Robin and the two young men beside him. Corbin sighed before telling the guards to keep an eye out for whomever left the dungeon. Zen and Justin began a discussion of who might have claimed the dungeon ahead of the Gray household. Corbin left the clearing, seemingly off to follow his brother back to the village. Zen and Justin seemed content to wait by the entrance for the mystery interloper. Belle wished she could wait with them, but stayed within the tree line and silent. Ten minutes later, Belle was still waiting for whomever had just finished the dungeon. She wasn¡¯t an expert on dungeons, but usually once someone finished a dungeon they exited almost immediately. From what she heard Robin saying, the dungeon had clearly been claimed and that could only happen if the dungeon had been cleared. So the mystery dungeoneer should have left by now, right? Belle tilted her head slightly as she heard someone yelp and a crash in the forest behind her. Turning her head in the direction of the sound, she listened closer. Throughout the past hours she had heard sounds of creatures in the forest. The town of Rainy Hollow was situated at the edge of a forest of low-level monsters and animals, so she had been hearing sounds of their presence this whole time. But, what she had just heard was no monster, it was the sound of a person. Belle looked back at the dungeon entrance in contemplation, before sighing and crouching back down to the ground. Marge would lay into her if she didn¡¯t keep to her post. She needed to wait for the dungeoneer, not some random villager in the forest.
When Aurelia had appeared in the forest, her first impression was the sheer amount of glowing mana strands around her. They were of every color of the rainbow and crisscrossed all throughout the forest. She turned slowly in a circle, admiring the display of colors. Aurelia was so thoroughly distracted, she missed the orange fox as it leaped at her, slamming into her mana shield. Aurelia yelped in surprise, letting loose an ice dagger directly into the fox without a second''s thought. The orange fox crashed to the ground, and Aurelia received a kill notification for killing it. She blinked a few times before examining the notification. It had been a level three fox, and she had received barely any experience for the kill. She also did not get asked to loot the fox. Looking a bit further, she realized she couldn¡¯t loot the fox, at least not like she did in the dungeon. Aurelia shrugged and then looked at the fox, wondering if she should just leave it here, or if she should bring it with her. She crouched next to the fox and placed a hand on its side. With a thought the defeated animal disappeared into her spatial storage. Aurelia nodded, glad that it wouldn¡¯t go to waste now. Aurelia stood up and then tried to orient herself in the direction of the village she had seen before starting the tutorial. How long had it been since she had arrived in Eldria? Hours? Days? All Aurelia knew was that she was completely exhausted and needed a bed. Maybe she would talk to someone as well. Probably. Thinking back to when she had teleported out of the dungeon, Aurelia remembered she had teleported herself close to the edge of the forest near the village. Looking around at all the strands of mana, she tried imagining them fading to the background. Aurelia couldn¡¯t concentrate with so much going on around her. To her relief, the strands of mana seemed to disappear, but she knew that she could view them if she concentrated on them once more. Off to the side of her, Aurelia could vaguely see a blue glow shining through the trees. Deciding to follow the blue glow, she walked in that direction. As she drew closer to the origin of the light, Aurelia saw a shape become more distinct. She realized it was the entrance to the dungeon. Before, she had looked down at it from a bird¡¯s eye view, but now from this angle she could see that it was a cave entrance covered in the blue glow crystals, just like the ones in the entrance room. Now that she was closer, Aurelia could also see that the group of people at the entrance had shrunk. The four people left at the entrance were all watching the dark dungeon entrance with anticipation. Aurelia winced, realizing they were probably waiting for her. She was reaffirmed in her decision to just not walk out the normal way. Aurelia didn¡¯t mind talking to people, but in this situation, it would have been too much for. What if they questioned her about claiming the dungeon? Nah, Aurelia looked past the dungeon entrance to see the village in the distance. She smiled in anticipation and began walking back through the forest, around the meadow. To make the walk faster, Aurelia teleported forwards as far as she could until she reached the edge of the forest. From there, she strolled forwards, trying to act casual out in the open. Off to her left, Aurelia could see the stream that had gone through the meadow and down a hill towards the village. The stream flowed around the village in a circle, before disappearing on the far side of the village. Now that she wasn¡¯t distracted by the tutorial or the forest, Aurelia took another look at the village. It wasn¡¯t too small, and she guessed it probably housed between 1500 to 2000 people. The village was encircled by a low wooden wall, maybe eight feet high and two feet thick. It was probably only there to dissuade the average animal, but it definitely wouldn¡¯t hold up to a red claw bear or one of those sloths. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She began to walk next to the stream until she reached a small bridge at the bottom of the hill. The bridge was in the middle of a dirt road, one part of the road led into the village, the other end of the road went west towards where the large white sun was close to setting. Aurelia stood by a tree next to the bridge, looking between the meadow she had come from and the bustling village nearby. She looked down at herself, assessing what she might look like to others. Aurelia had received a lot of new gear inside the dungeon, including the new outfit she wore, which looked as good as new despite the various tears and injuries she had received during her long fights. Two snakeskin bracers were laced to her forearms. She had a belt that held three different magical daggers and her wand was tucked into a pocket of her blue cloak. Aurelia had gone through some effort to try to stay under the radar, changing her stat sheet and teleporting into the forest away from the dungeon entrance. If she walked into the village now, decked out with magical gear, it wouldn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that the newcomer might just be the person who completed the dungeon. Aurelia looked around, making sure no one was around, then started making some changes to her outfit. She first took her flame dagger and ice dagger out of her belt and put them into her storage. She followed the daggers with her bracers. Aurelia then took out the satchel from her spatial storage, filling it with her water flask, a pouch filled with copper, silver, and a few gold coins, then placed her folded cloak on top. It was honestly too warm to wear a cloak, so it might seem strange for her to wear it anyways. After making sure her necklace was safely tucked into her blouse and her wand was hidden in her corset, Aurelia walked into the village. When she first walked past the bridge, there was a sign written on the village wall in what Aurelia now knew to be the common language of Eldria. Thanks to her language skill, she could read the words stating, ¡°Welcome to Rainy Hollow!¡± She smiled at the sign and continued forwards. The gate to the village was wide open, though at the moment she was the only one walking in or out. The village looked like what Aurelia expected any medieval town to look like. Wooden houses and shops, cobblestone streets, with everyone dressed similarly to what she wore. Everyone around her seemed to be excited about something and it took very little time for Aurelia to overhear someone talking about a new dungeon. Of course a new dungeon would be news to the village. If people lived their whole lives near an empty meadow, only for a dungeon to suddenly appear, that would certainly be news. The villagers were talking together in groups and it seemed to Aurelia that they were all talking about the dungeon. She was nervous to approach anyone to ask for directions or help, her gaze darting from person to group to building. A tap on her arm caused Aurelia to jump in surprise and she turned to her right to see a boy maybe aged ten or eleven looking up at her. ¡°Excuse me, miss, are you new to Rainy Hollow?¡± Aurelia paused for a second before answering, ¡°Um, yes, I am new to Rainy Hollow. My name is Aurelia, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Freddy! I¡¯m a messenger boy. What do you do? Are you an apprentice? Are you going to be an adventurer?¡± Aurelia laughed nervously as the boy asked question after question, not letting her really answer. She opened her mouth to make some excuse as to why she was here, when a large burly man interrupted the two of them. ¡°Oi! What are you two boys doing?¡± Two? Aurelia looked around, just in time to see a second younger boy taking a hand out of her satchel, her coin purse in his hand. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s mine!¡± Both boys started and ran off in separate directions. The large burly man looked at her as if to say, what¡¯re you gonna do about them? Aurelia sighed, then remembered she had a skill that could actually help her. Before the two boys both ran out of sight, she took note of the mana strands that followed in their wake. The older boy, Freddy, had a distinct yellow strand, while the younger boy had a darker orange strand similar to his hair color. Aurelia concentrated on keeping both strands distinct in her mind above all others before taking off in the direction of the orange strand of mana. The younger boy had left to an alleyway between two shops, the smell of something rotten strong in the air. Not worrying about the boy getting away, Aurelia followed the mana until the strand disappeared under a small section of a broken wall. She wasn¡¯t small enough to fit inside the hole, so she assessed what kind of building she was looking at. The building seemed run down, the windows all boarded up and the roof seemed in need of repair. Aurelia was in a back alleyway looking at the backs of all the buildings around her. The street she had left had been busy with people, but back here in the alley, she seemed to be all alone. Wary of what she might find, Aurelia crouched beside the hole in the wall. Peering inside, she didn¡¯t see any movement or light. After taking a few steps back, Aurelia pointed her finger near the hole and used two spatial slashes to make the opening bigger. The spell didn¡¯t make much sound, other than the wood splintering and falling to the ground. Now that she could fit inside, Aurelia crawled through into the building. Now that she was standing up in the small back room of the building, she could see slivers of light from the boarded up windows illuminate shapes in the darkness. The room was full of wooden boxes and barrels, with not much else. Aurelia looked closer at the orange mana strand as it seemed to disappear into the ground. She walked over to that corner of the room and realized the small boy had gone through a trapdoor. Aurelia definitely had enough money, that what she had lost wasn¡¯t much to her, but it still had been her money and she wanted it back. So, she did what any person would do. Aurelia pulled up the wooden trap door and started to climb down an old ladder into the darkness beyond. As she felt for the dirt ground, she could still see the orange strand continue down a dark tunnel. Deciding she didn¡¯t want to walk around blindly, Aurelia pulled a glow crystal from her inventory. The bluish light illuminated the tunnel around her, and Aurelia continued tracking down her thief. The tunnel brought back memories of the recent dungeon she had just left, and she shivered. Why she had to go back into dark tunnels was on her this time, so she didn¡¯t fully complain. When Aurelia turned a corner, she could make out a wooden door. Excited, she hurried forwards, hoping the boy was close by. What she didn¡¯t see was the dark alcove carved out from the tunnel, and the man who waited there on watch. And unfortunately for Aurelia, while her mana shield protected her from physical blows, it didn¡¯t protect her from the alchemist¡¯s sleeping gas as it filled the hallway around her. She didn¡¯t even remember blacking out as her body fell to the floor, asleep. Chapter 20: Captive Audience When Aurelia finally woke up, she was sitting in a wooden chair, her hands and feet tied to the chair with rope. As her eyes opened, her head was stuffy and she had a pounding headache. Her neck felt pained from her head tilted at an odd angle for so long. She looked around her, noticing that she was in a dark room, only lit by a single candle. There was a single wooden door off to one side, with the only other piece of furniture in the room being a table filled with her satchel, the contents of the bag, and the mole dagger from her belt. Thankfully, whomever it was that had taken her hadn¡¯t found the wand still tucked into her corset. That or they decided to let it stay there. She then concentrated on the mana strings flowing around the room. Unfortunately there were quite a few in many different colors, but when she focused on her own mana trail, she noticed a lime green mana strand that seemed to parallel her own. As she focused on the green strand she saw how it stayed with her¡¯s between the door and the chair, then left towards the table, it paced beside the table, and then wandered around the room. Aurelia decided that she would consider the lime green person her kidnapper. After a couple more minutes of silence, Aurelia decided to see if her notifications held any clues on what might have happened to her. That¡¯s when she noticed the long notification that had appeared after her forced rest.
Congratulations! You have received skill levels in the following skills: [Running] skill level 5 has reached skill level 7 [Cooking] skill level 5 has reached skill level 6 [Basic Magic Bolt] skill level 1 has reached skill level 8 [Spatial Slash] skill level 1 has reached skill level 8 [Basic Mana Shield] skill level 1 has reached skill level 5 [Identify] skill level 1 has reached skill level 6 [Spatial Teleportation] skill level 1 has reached skill level 9 [Spatial Storage] skill level 1 has reached skill level 7 [Lightning Chain] skill level 1 has reached skill level 5 [Spatial Tracking] skill level 1 has reached skill level 6 [Ice Wall] skill level 1 has reached skill level 3 [Staff Proficiency] skill level 1 has reached skill level 2 [Ice Dagger] skill level 1 has reached skill level 6 [Hidden Meanings] skill level 1 has reached skill level 2
For a second, Aurelia just stared at the increased skill levels she had now received. After all this time fighting in the dungeon, with all her skills staying at the same skill levels, she finally found out how they increased in level. And that was by sleeping. All she had to do was sleep. If her hands were free, she would have smacked her forehead in frustration. At least she now knew what was up. It honestly made some sense and Aurelia felt she never would have felt comfortable falling asleep in the dungeon, especially while she was all alone. Now that she had been forced into sleeping, her skills had finally leveled up. Her highest level skill was now her spatial teleport skill, which made sense. Aurelia had been using that skill almost the whole time during the dungeon, for both her fights and to travel faster. As Aurelia focused on each of the skills, she could see updated descriptions of the skills. Almost every skill that used mana had dropped a couple mana points per cast. Her mana shield had an upgraded durability and her identify skill could now identify higher leveled people and monsters. The spatial teleport skill now allowed her to teleport further by an additional ten feet. As she was reading the updated description for her cooking skill, Aurelia heard the door creep open. Belatedly, she realized that she probably should have been escaping rather than just sitting there. Aurelia closed the notifications and turned towards the opening door. Two figures entered the room, one being a beautiful woman that looked to be in her mid thirties with dark hair, and the other was a young woman about her age with long golden curls. Both women did not have the look of hardened criminals or even people who would resort to capturing people and tying them up. Aurelia looked between the two women as they approached her, the younger girl closing the door behind her. The older woman stopped in front of Aurelia¡¯s chair, staring down at her. ¡°Who are you, girl? And how did you find us?¡± The older woman asked with a stern voice. Aurelia shifted in her seat, looking between the two. Deciding there was no point in hiding her name, she answered, ¡°My name is Aurelia, and I have no idea where I am or who you people are.¡± The older woman tilted her head with a smile forming on her face. ¡°It looks like we have a truthful one over here. Most people try to lie to me.¡± Her face turned stern, ¡°Though you still didn¡¯t fully answer my question. How did you find us?¡± The younger girl stepped closer, her face curious. Aurelia turned back to the older woman and answered again, ¡°Well, I was walking down the street when a boy came up to me asking questions. I only noticed a second boy stealing my money pouch from behind when a man pointed it out. I followed the second boy through the street, into a broken down building, and down a hatch in the ground. I didn¡¯t get too far when I ended up passed out on the ground and tied up in this room. That¡¯s how I found this place, wherever I am.¡± ¡°Hmm, another truth I guess. It seems Freddy and Jasper have been up to no good. What have you seen, Admium?¡± The woman looked up to a point behind Aurelia. ¡°She hasn¡¯t moved since she woke up. Hasn¡¯t even tried to escape her ropes. Not sure if she is incapable, cautious, or what,¡± replied a deep voice behind Aurelia. Aurelia jumped in surprise, realizing she hadn¡¯t been alone before after all. The owner of the voice walked around her chair until she saw¡­ nothing. It was empty air, but she could see a lime green mana strand creating a path starting from behind her. Then, the invisible man became visible and Aurelia had to keep herself from showing her surprise again. He was tall, with mussed brown hair and a scruffy beard. He was probably in his early 30s and had a crazed look in his eyes. Aurelia felt slightly creeped out by the look. ¡°Girl, do you know who we are?¡± The older woman asked her. ¡°No, I have no idea who any of you people are. I just wanted my money back.¡± Aurelia replied, just annoyed by all the questioning. ¡°What are you some secret organization or something?¡± The girl with the golden hair stifled a laugh, before avoiding eye contact with anyone else. The two older kidnappers gave the girl a look, before returning their gaze to Aurelia. Admium fingered what looked to be a potion bottle at his belt. ¡°Why are you here in Rainy Hollow?¡± ¡°I just needed some supplies,¡± Aurelia answered defensively. Admium and the golden haired girl turned to the older woman as if to confirm her answer. Aurelia realized that the older woman really must have some sort of truth seeking spell. She hadn¡¯t been untruthful this whole time, but she figured it would be prudent to continue being as truthful as she could. ¡°I am new to the area, I just wanted to get my bearings here before I move on,¡± Aurelia continued on. ¡°Marge, I really don¡¯t think she means any harm. None of us recognize her, so she probably isn¡¯t anyone important.¡± The younger girl gestured towards Aurelia with a hand, as if to say, ¡®I mean, look at her.¡¯ Aurelia shifted uncomfortably in her seat, but didn¡¯t say anything. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The older woman, Marge, gave Aurelia another once over before nodding. ¡°Alright, we will let you go, as you don¡¯t seem to know much about us. I do caution you, though. If you speak to anyone about what you have seen since being down here, we will find you. We have eyes and ears everywhere and you don¡¯t want us as an enemy. We do make loyal friends, however, so do keep that in mind.¡± Marge flashed her a smile, and Aurelia got a feeling of danger coming from the woman. ¡°I don¡¯t mean anyone harm, I promise,¡± Aurelia kept her hazel eyes locked with the woman''s deep gray eyes. ¡°Belle, my dear, would you please help our new friend reach the upper world once more? It might also be prudent to lead her to little Jasper to get her money back. We wouldn¡¯t want to give Aurelia a reason to return with any ill intent, now would we?¡± Marge gestured to Admium and the two headed to the door and out of the room. Aurelia and the golden-haired girl, Belle, looked at each other before Aurelia said, ¡°Soo, can you untie me now?¡± Belle gave a soft laugh before pulling a knife from her belt and began cutting the rope keeping her to the chair. ¡°So why didn¡¯t you try to escape? Admium said you were a level 12 mage, I¡¯m sure you have some sort of skill that could help you out of that chair.¡± Once her wrists were free, Aurelia began to rub them, the red lines itchy from the rope. ¡°Honestly? I was only awake for a couple minutes before you guys walked in. I hadn¡¯t even thought about escape yet. Though I guess I probably would have failed with Admium still in the room.¡± Belle nodded, smiling, ¡°Well, yeah. We never leave prisoners alone. We really don¡¯t like it when people try to escape.¡± Now that she was fully free of the ropes, Aurelia stood up, stretching her arms out wide. She yawned, still feeling tired and exhausted. ¡°How long was I asleep for?¡± ¡°I am pretty sure only an hour or two. I got back to the hideout like a half an hour ago, and everyone was talking about you. Oh,¡± Belle paused, ¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t be giving you so much information.¡± Aurelia walked to the table with her things and asked, ¡°I won¡¯t get in trouble for taking my stuff back, right?¡± ¡°Oh, no! It¡¯s all yours! You have some pretty cool items, but no, we won¡¯t steal them from you. Admium usually acts first then asks questions later, which is why you were knocked out in the first place. We only looked through your things to make sure you didn¡¯t have anything dangerous to us.¡± Aurelia started putting stuff back in her satchel and put her knife in her belt, before slinging the bag over one shoulder. ¡°Okay thanks. Yeah I really was just trying to follow the boy, Jasper or whatever his name is. Money makes the world go round, right?¡± Belle gave her a curious look before leading her out of the room, ¡°That¡¯s a curious saying, but it does make sense, I guess. Yeah, Jasper and Freddy are messengers for the village, but they also work for us.¡± Belle gave her a look, ¡°If you know what I mean.¡± ¡°Um, not really, but okay.¡± Aurelia followed Belle out of the room and into a tunnel. They first went right, following the tunnel until it branched out in three different directions. Belle took the middle tunnel, and continued speaking to Aurelia. ¡°I know you don¡¯t know who we are, but even most of the village folks know of us. It¡¯s a small place and everyone knows everyone, but not everyone knows the members of our, uh, group. In that sense, you know more than most of our villagers. But, I think Marge likes you, so she didn¡¯t do anything drastic.¡± Belle smiled at her. ¡°Most people who wander down here uninvited either never return to the above world, or get their memories wiped. For some reason, Marge didn¡¯t do that for you. And we need to go this way,¡± Belle indicated a new intersection, and took another left. Aurelia winced at the idea of what could have happened to her instead of just being knocked out and questioned. Maybe since she had told the truth and really had no idea what was going on was what had saved her from a worse fate. ¡°So who are you guys, really?¡± Belle paused for a moment, causing Aurelia to run into her from behind. ¡°Do you really want to know? If you don¡¯t like what you hear, those other two options are what await you instead of walking away freely.¡± Aurelia opened her mouth, ready to say yes, but closed it again. Did she want to know? She already held many secrets including her being from another world, the fact she¡¯s a princess, and that it was because of her tutorial that there now stood a dungeon nearby to the town. Another secret like some sort of secret society might just put her in more danger. Or, maybe it was a chance to gain allies in a world where she was all alone. Aurelia looked up into Belle¡¯s eyes, ¡°Marge said you guys make great friends and bad enemies. Maybe what I¡¯m looking for is good friends.¡± Belle smiled at her reply, ¡°Yeah, we are pretty great, but I have to admit, life isn¡¯t easy for us.¡± She began walking again and Aurelia followed close behind. ¡°I grew up here, just like Jasper and Freddy. Marge is like a mother to me, she helped raise me and my brother when our parents died and I owe this group a lot.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Marge like ten years older than us?¡± Aurelia asked. Belle laughed, ¡°More like thirty years! Marge is a lot older than she looks, she has some skill that helps her age slower than normal, so she looks pretty good for her age.¡± ¡°Wait, that¡¯s a thing? You can gain an anti-aging skill? ¡°There¡¯s basically a skill for everything,¡± Belle grinned. ¡°What kind of education did you get growing up? I know you are a mage, so you must have gotten some training in order to gain the class?¡± ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t get too much training. Maybe I was lucky or something.¡± Aurelia avoided Belle¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I am ready to talk about it to you right now.¡± Belle sighed, ¡°That¡¯s alright, you don¡¯t have to spill all your secrets to someone you just met. But, if you do want to be friends, I am definitely open to that.¡± ¡°Why? You only just met me?¡± Aurelia asked, a bit wary. ¡°I like you, besides I am looking into creating an adventuring team! With the new dungeon nearby, it is finally an economical proposition for the re-...¡± she paused. ¡°For our group to send people out to gain levels and get new dungeon goodies.¡± Ignoring whatever slip-up Belle had obviously made, Aurelia replied, ¡°So what does that mean for me? Are you asking me to join your new team?¡± ¡°Oh, I would love for you to join my team!¡± Belle looked at Aurelia, her eyes brimming with excitement. Aurelia couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°How many people would be in the team?¡± ¡°Including you? Two people,¡± Belle grinned. ¡°Ah, I see. Well, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Belle looked as if she wanted to say more, but they had reached an open area filled with people. Well, there were like five people, but as there had been no one else up to this point, five people seemed like a lot. ¡°You!¡± Aurelia stormed over in the direction of two boys sitting around a bag of coins. Jasper and Freddy looked up at the sound of her voice, both looking panicked when they realized who was walking towards them. Jasper jumped to his feet, a handful of silver and copper spilling out of his hands. He seemed as if he would run off, but the boy was too late. Aurelia reached forwards with both hands, grabbing each boy by their shirts. ¡°You stole my coin, and I want it back!¡± Freddy looked to Belle as if seeking for help, but whatever he saw from the girl caused him to wilt in defeat. Jasper still seemed ready to get out of there as fast as he could, but a look from Freddy caused him to also relax. ¡°Alright, fine!¡± Jasper squeaked out, his voice high-pitched. Jasper dropped the coins he was holding and they clinked on the ground. ¡°I want them all returned,¡± Aurelia looked between the two boys. They gave each other a look, then upturned their clothing, taking coins out from pockets, a pouch at their belts, from their socks, and even a gold coin in Jasper¡¯s shoes. Aurelia looked at both boys, then turned her gaze to Belle. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s everything?¡± Belle laughed at the sight of the disgruntled pair and nodded to Aurelia, ¡°I believe that¡¯s all of it. They know Marge would tan their hides if they didn¡¯t return it all to you.¡± Aurelia let go of the two boys and they raced off out of the room. She crouched low to the ground and spent the next minute or two picking up all the dropped coins. She collected them back into the pouch they had come from, then tied the pouch to her waist, the bag nestled on the inside of her belt. Aurelia only looked up when a voice spoke up. ¡°Look what the drake dragged in, boys. The sick songbird and a forest peasant.¡± Aurelia looked up to find the owner of the annoying voice. She found three boys, the youngest around sixteen and the oldest about her age. It was the oldest boy who had spoken, his sandy hair tied back in a ponytail, a sword strapped to his waist. ¡°Oh buzz off Mazer, nobody wants to listen to your grating voice. Don¡¯t you have training you could be doing?¡± Belle scoffed and took Aurelia by an elbow. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here Aurelia, there¡¯s a reason these boys still hang around the messenger children. They never learned how to grow up.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s a reason your brother left you here alone. He didn¡¯t want to be dragged down by a girl who couldn¡¯t hold her own on a team.¡± The older boy retorted. Belle paused for a moment, but kept walking out of the room, taking Aurelia with her. Aurelia didn¡¯t say anything as they walked out, the boys all throwing insults at the two girls. Aurelia could see Belle¡¯s face turn red with either embarrassment or anger, but decided it wasn¡¯t her place to pry. As the tunnel ended with a ladder leading to the surface, the two girls stopped walking. Belle turned back to Aurelia and had a forced smile on her face. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, I want to show you around town.¡± Aurelia nodded in agreement, and she followed her new friend out of the secret hideout and back into the town of Rainy Hollow. Chapter 21: New Allies and Friends The sun was officially setting when Aurelia and Belle made their way to the surface. The exit they had used out of the hideout was different from the one she had used on the way in. The trap door opened up into a storeroom at the back of a tavern. Belle told Aurelia that the inn¡¯s owner was a member of the group, though Aurelia still wasn¡¯t sure what the group actually was or why they were so secretive about everything. Belle opened the storeroom into a back hallway of the Orphaned Hen, which apparently was the name of the tavern. They passed the kitchen on their way to the common room, and Aurelia could see cooks and a pair of servers preparing food for the waiting guests. Before they actually made it through the common room door, a barmaid swung the door open, dishes piled up in her arms. Belle almost ran right into the other girl, and swore in surprise. ¡°Seven heavens, Belle! What¡¯s your problem!¡± The barmaid hissed angrily at Belle. ¡°Sorry, Lia!¡± Belle rushed to keep the door open for Lia the barmaid and Aurelia rushed out of the way. After Lia had left to the kitchen, Belle hurried Aurelia out of the back hallway and into the bustling common room. It was loud and rowdy, with people sitting down in every available seat. Belle grabbed Aurelia¡¯s arm and took her to the bar where a large man was serving drinks to patrons. ¡°Hey Ivan!¡± Belle called out to the man, ¡°Hey Ivan, do you have any rooms available?¡± Ivan looked over at the two girls, smiling when he saw Belle. ¡®¡°Ah, Belle! What can I do for you?¡± Ivan called over another bartender to take over for him, then crossed the short distance to stand in front of Belle and Aurelia. ¡°I just told you, Ivan! My friend, Aurelia, needs a room for the night, she has nowhere to stay.¡± Aurelia opened her mouth, wanting to object, as she said no such thing. But, she stopped as she remembered that she indeed had nowhere to stay for the night. Or any night really. Aurelia looked up at Ivan and nodded, ¡°Hi, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Ivan!¡± She practically shouted the words with how loud it was in the room. Ivan reached out a hand and Aurelia shook it, Ivan¡¯s hand completely surrounding hers with how big it was. ¡°My pleasure. It¡¯s Aurelia, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct. Do you happen to have any rooms available?¡± The large man nodded, ¡°While I am not a proper inn and I don¡¯t have too many rooms available, I do have a couple open rooms. We usually don¡¯t get much traffic through Rainy Hollow, so it didn¡¯t seem worth it to have a proper inn. Now that our village has a dungeon nearby, I might have to remodel my tavern into a larger inn.¡± Ivan gave a loud roaring laugh. ¡°Our little village won¡¯t be little for much longer. I am sure Lord Gray has a lot of plans for the dungeon.¡± Ivan paused when he saw the look on Belle¡¯s face. ¡°Wait, Lord Gray did claim the dungeon, right?¡± Aurelia tried to keep her face even, not wanting to give away anything to either Belle or Ivan. She still didn¡¯t know Belle, let alone Ivan, well enough to share that it was she, rather than this Lord Gray who had claimed the dungeon. Belle looked around at all the people around them and said to Ivan, ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much I should say here, but I am pretty sure word will get out quickly enough. I told Marge everything I found out, so you could ask her for more details, but basically nobody knows who first entered the dungeon. All we know is whomever it was, they claimed the dungeon before anyone else could enter it,¡± she leaned in closer to Ivan, ¡°And nobody saw the person leave the dungeon. One moment the dungeon was still closed to any new team, the next, the dungeon was open for up to five teams to enter and the claimer kept their details hidden.¡± Ivan¡¯s eyes had grown wider and wider the longer Belle had spoken. He leaned against the bar counter, a dumbfounded look on his burly face. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. An unknown has taken over the dungeon? That is very surprising. I guess that means we don¡¯t know for sure that the dungeon will be a boon for the village.¡± Aurelia cut into the conversation, ¡°What do you mean, the dungeon might not be a boon for the village?¡± Ivan and Belle turned to Aurelia, both seemingly surprised that she was still there. Ivan cleared his throat as if embarrassed. ¡°What do you know about dungeons?¡± Aurelia almost laughed, ¡°Well I know some things about dungeons, but I am nowhere near an expert on them.¡± Belle spoke up next, ¡°A dungeon is usually a huge boon to any nearby city or village. Usually a town will spring up wherever a dungeon is, as it is one of the largest driving factors of any economy. Dungeons provide money, tools, materials, food, treasure, and experience. Adventurers and prospecting adventurers will travel from all across the kingdom just for a dungeon. The lucky and experienced will gain fame and fortune from a dungeon. Basically, everyone benefits with a dungeon nearby. I know you¡¯re not from around here, but having a dungeon near Rainy Hollow would help everyone in town. But, if some unknown guy comes in and takes charge of the dungeon, they might put so many restrictions on the dungeon to where it would be inaccessible to anyone.¡± Aurelia finally understood, ¡°So if the dungeon claimer restricts how many people can go in or makes the entry fee too high, it might dissuade people from entering the dungeon or even traveling here in the first place. I could see how that might be unfortunate for Rainy Hollow.¡± Ivan and Belle both nodded. Aurelia continued on, ¡°So, in your guy¡¯s opinion, this Lord Gray would do a good job in overseeing the dungeon?¡± The two looked at one another before Ivan answered for the both of them, ¡°Yes, Lord Gray is an honorable man. He¡¯s one of the many reasons I settled here in Rainy Hollow. The only bad thing about the area is Duke Gladys, though he¡¯s usually too high up on his precious pony to care about one lowly village. If he were to take over the dungeon, that could definitely spell disaster for Rainy Hollow. The Duke has a claim over three dungeons already, two apprentice and one adept rank. In some ways, a novice ranked dungeon is the most valuable, because it is the best place to train up new users and get a reliable stream of money and goods. ¡°The Duke might have contested Lord Gray over the dungeon, but if our dear mayor had claimed it first, by the system rights, no one, not even the Duke could have taken it from him. Now, we just don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s hope our mysterious dungeon master is a generous one.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Aurelia stared down at the ground, fiddling with the buckle of her belt. She couldn¡¯t get herself to look Belle and Ivan in the eyes, now really conflicted about her hasty choice to claim the dungeon. But, it was the decision she made and she couldn¡¯t change that fact now. It was up to her how she now dealt with the responsibility of dungeon master. Eldria was still a strange world to her, but after meeting some of those here in Rainy Hollow, she wanted to be a help, rather than a burden. ¡°Aurelia?¡± Belle called out to her, and Aurelia looked up. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time we get some food and sleep into you.¡± Belle looked her up and down. ¡°How about that room key, Ivan?¡± Ivan nodded and reached under the counter, pulling out a chest of keys. He took a key engraved with the number four and handed it to Aurelia. ¡°How much do I owe you for the room? I would also like to get some of your food, it smells delicious,¡± Aurelia looked up at Ivan. ¡°Ah, tonight is on me. I treat my friends well, and I would be honored to call you one. How about we discuss rates tomorrow, if you would like to stay longer then?¡± Aurelia nodded in appreciation, and stowed the room key into her money pouch. Belle spotted a table opening in the corner and rushed Aurelia over to sit down. As Belle and Aurelia reached the table, two other young men had also arrived at the table. Aurelia thought the two young men looked ready to pounce on the table, but Belle just rolled her eyes. ¡°We can just share the table, there is enough room for the four of us. Besides, Justin, don¡¯t you owe me a drink?¡± Belle laughed as the four sat down. ¡°Oh whatever, Belle, I can buy you a drink. But just this once!¡± the young man named Justin answered Belle then turned to Aurelia. ¡°And who might you be?¡± ¡°My name is Aurelia, I¡¯m new to Rainy Hollow. Who are you guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Justin Ellis, and this is my best friend Zen Baker. We both grew up in Rainy Hollow, but we aspire to join the adventure¡¯s guild and travel the kingdom!¡± Before Aurelia could reply, the barmaid, Lia, was at their table. Aurelia smiled at the girl in recognition, noticing how Lia gave Zen a longing look. Lia took their food and drink orders before rushing off once more. Aurelia had ordered the special of the day, which apparently was a chicken stew with homemade bread. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, and her face reddened as her three tablemates looked over at her. Zen was the first to speak, ¡°I guess you are ready for food,¡± he laughed. He looked between the two girls, ¡°So, uh, did you guys hear about the dungeon?¡± Belle responded with, ¡°Of course we¡¯ve heard about the dungeon! Who hasn¡¯t?¡± Zen was defensive as he said, ¡°Well Aurelia seems new to town, I wasn¡¯t sure if she had heard the details yet.¡± Zen looked at Aurelia. ¡°Justin and I went right to the dungeon entrance, with two of the Mayor''s sons. We heard a lot of juicy details about what went down.¡± Aurelia examined the two boys a bit more closely, and that¡¯s when she realized that she did indeed recognize them. They were there when she exited the dungeon! She had watched them first with the dungeon master crystal and then again when she went to observe the dungeon entrance more closely. It seemed very coincidental that she was now meeting them in person. Belle put her chin in one hand, leaning closer to the other two boys. ¡°What, and you don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t already found out everything you two know?¡± Justin groaned in annoyance, ¡°But of course you have. So what is it you think you know about whatever we know about the dungeon?¡± Lia stopped by with their drinks, and Aurelia started sipping whatever it was they had given her. Was that ale? Belle scoffed, ¡°Well I know that whomever triggered the dungeon somehow also had the ability to claim the dungeon before anyone else had the chance. I also know that the new dungeon master is none of the Grays and no one here knows for sure who they are or who they work for.¡± Zen and Justin seemed to deflate slightly, their news no longer the exclusive bit of information they had thought it to be. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s true. Even Lord Gray and his sons don¡¯t know who it is. They might have learned something new by now, but we don¡¯t know.¡± Justin answered before taking another sip of his drink. ¡°So, Aurelia, what took you to Rainy Hollow?¡± Zen asked. Aurelia had hoped the conversation would stay away from her, but she knew the other three might be curious about her intentions. ¡°To be honest, I am not completely sure. I needed somewhere to resupply, but for now I don¡¯t have a set goal or anything. Belle gave me an offer to join an adventuring team with her, so I might do that.¡± The two boys looked interested in that last bit of information. ¡°So, Belle, you¡¯re actually going to do it this time? Create a real team?¡± Zen asked Belle. ¡°It didn¡¯t quite work out for you the last time you tried.¡± Belle frowned at Zen, ¡°I know that it didn¡¯t work before. Most people in this village at our age have already started working. Jessie was apprenticed as a seamstress, Lia became a barmaid, and Ben is a carpenter. Very few people choose offensive classes, and it is much more economical to become apprenticed to someone over level 25 so they can actually gain skills. My class is a support class, and every other person near our age already has their teams set in stone. Nobody wanted the annoying song maiden as a teammate.¡± Aurelia wasn¡¯t following the conversation full, but she got the gist of it. It seems most people already had a job by her age, and those who wanted to fight and go adventuring had a more difficult time getting classes suited for the adventuring life. She looked up as Zen seemed to give Justin a meaningful look. Both young men stared at each other for a second, before Justin nodded and they turned back to Belle. ¡°I know we were some of those people who refused to join your team, but Justin and I don¡¯t want to wait around in Rainy Hollow for the perfect moment. We are tired of just being normal hunters for the village, we want to actually explore and fight real monsters. Would you be willing to let us join your team?¡± Zen looked at Belle intently, Justin mirroring the look. ¡°Wait, are you guys serious? You actually want to be on a team with me?¡± Belle asked dubiously. Justin and Zen confirmed with a nod of their heads. Belle turned to Aurelia, ¡°And what about you, Aurelia, is that something you would like as well? It doesn¡¯t have to be set in stone, but we could try it out.¡± Aurelia didn¡¯t answer right away, but thought it over again. She was all alone in this world, and still had no idea what she was doing. Her ultimate goal was to find a way home, but what better way to get answers than to go out there and find them herself? Perhaps she could also trust Belle or the boys enough to one day ask for their help. It definitely beat sitting around here in Rainy Hollow with no plan. ¡°Yeah, actually. I think that is something I would like.¡± Aurelia smiled at the other three. ¡°Yes!¡± Belle punched a fist into the air, her golden curls flying out to the side. ¡°We have a team!¡± As Belle brought her fist down, again, she accidentally brushed against Lia¡¯s tray as she came by their table with food. Lia yelped in surprise, the tray almost tipping over, but she thankfully righted the tray fast enough. ¡°Gloria¡¯s angels, Belle, what is up with you today?¡± Lia chided the girl. Belle apologized profusely, and the four young adults each accepted their food with grateful hands. Lia reminded Aurelia that her food and drink was on the house tonight, but everyone else at the table still had to pay for their own food. Aurelia thanked her and Lia left the table, off to serve someone else. Aurelia looked at her tablemates turned teammates and asked them all a question, ¡°So, what kind of classes do you all have?¡± Chapter 22: Making Preparations Aurelia scarfed down her chicken stew and bread quicker than everyone else at the table. She felt like she hadn¡¯t eaten all day, even with her brief stops during the dungeon to roast the various meats in her inventory. Maybe it was the flavor and carbs she was actually starved for. Either way, Justin, Zen, and Belle watched as Aurelia used a piece of her bread to scrape the remaining broth from her bowl. ¡°So let me make sure I got this correctly,¡± Aurelia began after her food had been cleared away, ¡°Belle is a song maiden, which is some sort of support class, Justin is a ranger, and Zen has a warrior class which specifically uses axes?¡± Her tablemates nodded in agreement and Belle said, ¡°Yeah! And you¡¯re a mage, but I already knew that since Marge used her identify skill on you.¡± ¡°Wait, you met Marge?¡± Justin looked at Aurelia in confusion. ¡°Uh,¡± Aurelia looked to Belle for help. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a long story, we can tell you guys later,¡± Belle saved her from answering. Belle¡¯s comment made Aurelia realize she hadn¡¯t even tried using her identify skill on anyone yet. Looking at Belle, Aurelia activated the skill. A blue notification box appeared in her vision.
Name: Belle Age: 21 Race: Human Rank: Knight Class: 1/2 Main Class: Song Maiden Level: 8 Health: 200/200 Mana: 500/500 Stamina: 350/350
Aurelia then used the skill on both Justin and Zen. She received all of the same information that she had with Belle, confirming both of their classes, but also finding out that they had the peasant rank rather than the knight rank. Aurelia had a feeling most people in this village would only have the peasant rank. The two friends also only had one class available in total. Zen wiped his face with his sleeve, cleaning the broth off his chin. ¡°Okay then, we can wait to find out more about,¡± he waved his hand between Belle and Aurelia, ¡°whatever this is. Do you guys want to meet up at the adventurers guild tomorrow? Ottie must be having the time of his life with the news of the dungeon, but surely he will still have time to get us registered as a team. Maybe by then, we will know more about the dungeon, and whether our first official business as a team will be to tackle the dungeon. If you want.¡± He started scooping more stew into his mouth. Belle and Justin both jumped in, expressing their agreement and listing off possible suggestions of what they could do together as a team. Aurelia listened silently as she was once again facing the dilemma of what would happen if she revealed herself as the dungeon master. Would it help or be more of a hindrance in interacting with others? Either way, she didn¡¯t feel like broaching the subject with her new team. Aurelia sat at the table for the next half an hour, learning more about Rainy Hollow and about the three people around her. Belle, Justin, and Zen had grown up in Rainy Hollow, though Belle was the only one who hadn¡¯t been born here as well. Belle wouldn¡¯t say more about her upbringing, but Aurelia got the feeling it hadn¡¯t been an easy childhood. Justin¡¯s parents were both hunters for the village, and he had grown up going on hunting trips in the nearby forest. For that reason, he was the second highest level in the group at level ten. Zen was the son of a baker and a chef, which made it seem odd at first that Zen had become an axe warrior, but it turned out Zen¡¯s uncle also held the class. Zen had apprenticed with his uncle for a few years, which had helped him both gain appropriate skills and eventually the class. It would have been next to impossible otherwise for Zen to gain the class. One normally needed the knight rank and an axe skill to get the class. Zen had been personally mentored by someone with the class at the adept rank, helping him immensely. Aurelia spoke little, letting the others carry the conversation. She felt too tired to add anything of use, sometimes letting her gaze wander over the crowded tavern. She would occasionally use her identify skill on random people around the room. Aurelia observed that the vast majority of people in the tavern were under level ten, with the next biggest range being between ten and twenty. Only five people in the room were over level twenty, and they all looked to be at least forty years old. Ivan was a level 26 innkeeper with another older man as the highest leveled person in the room, being a level 31 blacksmith. As Lia filled their mugs for the third time that night, the door to the tavern opened, and three people walked in. Aurelia only knew something was different when the entire tavern turned to observe the three. The man leading the group made Aurelia pause, until she realized he was the one yelling outside the dungeon. The other two newcomers had also been there, along with Zen and Justin. Conversation around the room had stalled for a moment when the three young adults had walked in, but it was now roaring with sound once again. Aurelia leaned forward, asking her table a question, ¡°So, who are those guys?¡± ¡°They are Hollow¡¯s Warriors, the only adventuring team based out of the village,¡± Zen began, ¡°Their leader is Robin Gray, he¡¯s one of the sons of Lord Gray. He has the paladin class and I¡¯m pretty sure he is close to level 25.¡± Aurelia identified Robin, and saw Zen was right. Robin was a level 23 paladin, and had the lord rank. She identified the second man and the girl as Zen continued his explanation. ¡°Eagan and Maia are his teammates. Eagan is a fire mage and Maia is a ranger, just like Justin.¡± Using her skill, Aurelia could see that both Eagan and Maia had the knight rank, and both were level 21. The group walked up to the bar, and villagers moved out of the way in order to make room for the three. Ivan approached the adventuring team and began speaking and pouring drinks for them. Everyone in the room seemed to have one eye on the team, and Justin said what they were all thinking. Well, all but Aurelia. ¡°Do you guys think they have an update on the dungeon? Like who claimed the dungeon?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Justin, but we waited by the dungeon entrance forever. Nobody came out and there were no other signs of anyone nearby. Maybe whoever it was got themselves killed somehow,¡± Zen glanced at Robin and his team contemplatively. Belle opened her mouth to speak next, but stopped when the sound of Ivan exclaiming in shock echoed around the room. ¡°What?!¡± The whole tavern paused as Ivan practically yelled the word. ¡°Both the Baron and the Duke are coming to Rainy Hollow? Tomorrow?!¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Both the baron and the duke?¡± ¡°Are they going to try and take the dungeon from Lord Gray?¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°This can¡¯t be good!¡± Voices overlapped each other as the villagers reacted to what Ivan had said. Aurelia wasn¡¯t sure what it would mean for a baron and duke to come to the village, but from everyone¡¯s reactions, she expected it wasn¡¯t good. Even Justin and Zen had their mouths agape, shocked by the news. Robin was trying to calm the room, shouting for everyone to be quiet. ¡°Will all of you just calm down?! There is no need to panic, my father has everything under control. We will update you all as needed, but with both the duke and the baron coming to Rainy Hollow it would be prudent for you all to stay on your best behavior. Nobody wants a repeat of the Harvest Festival incident.¡± There was a murmur of agreement at that last line. As the crowd settled down, people began to go back to their own conversations. A few approached Robin to try and get his attention. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! Duke Gladys hasn¡¯t visited Rainy Hollow in over a decade!¡± Belle exclaimed. ¡°Yeah, and even Baron Redford only stops by once a year for taxing day.¡± Zen said. ¡°Is it really such a big deal?¡± Aurelia asked. Justin nodded, ¡°Oh yeah, it''s definitely a big deal. I don¡¯t know if the duke and baron have been in Rainy Hollow at the same time, ever. Our village isn¡¯t that important to either of them.¡± ¡°Until today that is!¡± Belle added. Aurelia didn¡¯t have the context to fully understand what was happening, but she decided she had endured enough excitement to last a lifetime, and needed a rest. She turned to Belle and said, ¡°I need to go to sleep, could you show me to my room?¡± Belle looked like she wanted to go on another rant, but after seeing the look on Aurelia¡¯s face, only nodded and ushered Aurelia away. ¡°See you boys, tomorrow!¡± Belle yelled over her shoulder. After finally getting her door unlocked on the second floor of the tavern, Belle wished Aurelia goodnight, and Aurelia was left alone for the first time since leaving the dungeon. Too tired to care much, she shoved her satchel, knife, and money pouch into her inventory, then followed with her boots and unlaced corset. Once done, she collapsed onto the twin sized bed in the corner of her room and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Aurelia awoke to the sound of chirping birds outside her window. She sat up in bed, eyes bleary with sleep. When was the last time she heard birds in the morning? Her apartment at home was surrounded by too much infrastructure and not enough trees to attract birds nearby. She looked around her room, then remembered where she was. Her heart sank in her chest, as she remembered what had happened. She had been sucked through a portal, dropped into a new world, endured a tutorial dungeon, was robbed and kidnapped, then ended up joining a team of prospective adventurers. She pressed her palms to her eyes, then began to rub them, wishing it had all been a dream. But, as she heard the birds chirping and heard the sound of a bustling village rather than the noises of earth, she had to admit this was all real. Aurelia swung her legs out of bed and for the first time since entering her room, she analyzed her surroundings. The room was small, barely fitting a twin sized bed, a small wardrobe, and a square table that held a pitcher, a water basin, and a washcloth. Excited at the prospect of cleaning herself, even just her face got her excited, so she moved in front of the table. After washing her face with the provided water and basin, she dried off her face with the cloth. Aurelia wished she had a mirror to look at herself with, and decided she would try to go shopping today for a few things. She then tried raking her fingers through her hair, but didn¡¯t have much luck with the mass of knots. She settled with pulling her hair back into a messy braid, tying it with a piece of fabric from her old shirt. Looking down at her leggings and shirt, she noticed that they still looked clean and presentable. She brought up her shirt near her nose and cautiously sniffed the fabric. It didn¡¯t smell like anything to her. But, when she lifted her arm up, the odor coming off her body made her crinkle her nose in disgust. Aurelia wondered at what people did around here for baths. After putting on her corset and boots, Aurelia walked out of her room and downstairs. There seemed to only be one barmaid on duty, with the common room holding maybe twelve people total. She guessed going out for breakfast wasn¡¯t that common around here. The barmaid taking orders was one Aurelia didn¡¯t recognize from last night. She was short with tight black curls and seemed to bounce around the room. Aurelia sat down at an empty table and waited to be served. Now that she was seated, she realized she had a waiting notification in the corner of her vision to look at. It was a skill level up notification. When she opened it up, she saw that the only skill she had leveled up was her identify skill, going from level six to level seven. Aurelia guessed the level up was because of all the people she had identified last night in the tavern. After receiving her level ups, Aurelia could see the benefit of higher leveled skills. There was reduced mana costs, increased strength, and with her spatial storage she even had increased capacity to store things. Aurelia wondered now how she should go about continuing to level up all her skills. Was fighting monsters the only way to level up skills? That couldn¡¯t be right, as some of her skills had nothing to do with fighting. Aurelia also had the feeling most villagers didn¡¯t have to fight to level up their non combat classes. She would have to ask someone about that later. Her train of thought stopped when the short waitress came up to her table. ¡°Hi there! My name is Harmony, what can I get for you?¡± the young woman asked Aurelia. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not too picky. I¡¯ll have whatever you recommend,¡± she smiled back at Harmony. Half an hour later, Aurelia left the tavern looking to explore the area around her. She had her money pouch tied safely to her belt, next to her dagger, and her wand was once again hidden in her corset. The tavern faced the rising sun, on the busiest street in Rainy Hollow. Aurelia hadn¡¯t seen much of the town the day before, but now she had the opportunity to see the bustling energy of a morning in the village. Farmers were heading out to their fields, shopkeepers were opening their doors, and people were out and about. Aurelia wasn¡¯t sure where she should go. She never found out where Belle, Justin, or Zen lived last night, and wasn¡¯t sure how she could contact them. That¡¯s when Aurelia spotted more of the messenger children who were carrying letters and packages to and fro. A familiar yellow strand of mana caught her attention, and she followed it down the street. A minute later she stood in front of what looked like a produce shop. The wooden building had a large opening facing the street, and Aurelia could see crates of fruits and vegetables lining the inside of the shop. As she stepped inside, Aurelia spotted the owner of the yellow strand. Freddy stood in front of a counter, handing off a letter to the shop owner. The woman behind the counter gave Freddy a pouch of coins, thanking him for his help. Freddy put the pouch inside his messenger bag, then turned around, beginning to exit the shop. The boy freezed in place when he saw who was standing behind him. ¡°Hey Freddy! Could I ask you for a favor?¡± The boy blinked up at Aurelia, ¡°A favor?¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t busy are you?¡± Aurelia looked between Freddy and the questioning gaze of the shopkeeper. Freddy walked forwards, looking warrily up at Aurelia. ¡°I guess not, what do you need?¡± ¡°Well, before we do anything, I want to see if I can get some of this produce.¡± Freddy watched as the shopkeeper helped Aurelia buy a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most everything Aurelia bought was familiar to her, like apples, oranges, lemons, peppers, and even seasonings like basil and mint. Not wanting to show off her spatial storage skill, she accepted the produce in two crates. Thanking the woman, Aurelia and Freddy walked back to the tavern, each carrying a crate. Aurelia led Freddy up to her room where they dropped off the crates. When Freddy was out of sight, she put the two crates of food into her inventory. Aurelia knew that the meat in her storage had stayed fresh, so she expected the produce to also keep better in her storage. After exiting her room, Aurelia led Freddy back down to the common room. ¡°So here¡¯s what I was thinking, I have a variety of things that I need to buy today and I need you to take me to the best people for the job. For your help, I¡¯ll pay you a couple of silver. How does that sound?¡± Freddy didn¡¯t take long to agree and he seemed excited as he led Aurelia back out onto the street. Over the next two hours the two walked around Rainy Hollow and Aurelia was able to buy everything she needed. She bought blankets, soap, extra clothing, cooking equipment, and even a hairbrush, discreetly putting everything in her storage space. The last stop they made was to a small house on the other side of Rainy Hollow. Belle opened the door with a smile and Aurelia felt relieved to see her new friend. After sending Freddy off a few silver richer, she joined Belle inside. ¡°Hey Aurelia! I¡¯m glad you found me, I was just making sure I had everything ready to get our team registered.¡± Belle had a backpack near the door, bursting with supplies. ¡°Also, there is a fee to register with the adventurers guild, are you okay to pay your own fee?¡± ¡°How much would that be?¡± ¡°It will be five silver per person. I figured it might not be a big deal when you gave Freddy some silver. You know you paid him a month of his usual pay in a day, right?¡± For some reason that surprised Aurelia. She had a better idea of what things cost after her shopping spree, but she didn¡¯t realize three silver was equal to a month''s pay for a messenger boy like Freddy. She had gotten that much money from one cave mole in the dungeon. Aurelia guessed that was one of the reasons dungeons were so important. ¡°It¡¯s no problem. Maybe by paying him well that will convince him to help me rather than try stealing my stuff again in the future.¡± Belle laughed, ¡°Maybe, but who knows with those boys.¡± She went into her bedroom and came back out a moment later with a money pouch that she stuck into the pocket of her dress. ¡°Ready?¡± The two girls walked outside and headed towards the center of the village. ¡°I spoke to the boys, again, last night after you went to bed. We agreed to meet at the adventurers guild at noon, as we all had chores we needed to get done first. We should hopefully be done before the duke and baron get into town.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± Aurelia was still unsure about her future in this world, but she was glad to start taking steps in a direction that would hopefully lead to answers. First things first, become an adventurer. Chapter 23: I Hardly Know You The adventurers guild in Rainy Hollow was small, tucked in between the candlemaker¡¯s shop and a closed-down inn. When Aurelia and Belle walked inside, Aurelia noticed how empty it was inside. To either side of the front entryway were a couple of tables and chairs, though they looked like they hadn¡¯t seen much use. At the opposite end of the room, a shorter man stood behind a counter, frantically looking through the books and papers piled in front of him. ¡°Hey Ottie!¡± Belle called out to the man. The man looked up, his face pinched with worry. As he spotted Belle, his face relaxed slightly. ¡°Belle, my dear, what brings you over here? And who is your friend?¡± ¡°I finally found a group to adventure with!¡± Belle exclaimed with a smile. She then gestured to Aurelia, ¡°This is my new friend, Aurelia, we will be on the same team together.¡± Ottie looked between Belle and Aurelia, a considering look on his face, ¡°Just you two?¡± ¡°Oh, definitely not. Zen and Justin are going to join Aurelia and me.¡± A smile arose on Ottie¡¯s face, ¡°Of course! Those two were looking for an excuse to finally get out there and start adventuring.¡± He winked at the two young women, ¡°And I am sure a pair of capable women like yourself would have been a good incentive.¡± ¡°Oh whatever, Ottie. I¡¯ve asked those two plenty of times before and they told me no. I¡¯m sure it was the dungeon that finally convinced them to just suck it up and join my team.¡± Ottie laughed, ¡°Yes, I am sure that had something to do with it. Speaking of which,¡± he turned to one of the piles on the desk, pulling out two pieces of parchment, ¡°I have these forms you¡¯ll need to fill out to be registered as adventurers. You two can get started, I assume Justin and Zen will be coming by sometime soon?¡± Aurelia and Belle each took a form, along with a quill pen and an ink pot. Aurelia nodded as Belle answered, ¡°Yes, they should be here anytime.¡± Ottie ushered them to a table nearby and helped them fill out the forms. Aurelia had to write in the common Eldria language for the first time, which first felt awkward to her but as they moved down the form, it became easier to write in the characters rather than the letters of English. The form was basically background information about the aspiring adventurer, like name, place of registration, class, rank, physical description, and more. Ottie told the two girls that they were in no way required to fill out every little detail. ¡°The adventurers guild implemented this recently to help better understand the guild¡¯s members. It says it here on the form, but the guild keeps track of assignments and quests that you take, and will also keep track of any trouble that you might get into in the future. I recommend putting down your physical description, it helps you get out of trouble in case you lose your badge or whatever. As for your class and rank, you don¡¯t need to put those down, especially as classes upgrade and are different from what you first put down.¡± It was news to Aurelia that classes could be upgraded, she would ask Belle about that later. After signing the forms, they handed them back to Ottie. The older man walked back over to the counter and put the forms into a chest of folders. After he was finished, he asked the girls to wait there and he walked into the backroom of the guild. A few seconds after he left, the front door to the guild opened, and three young men walked in. Zen, Justin, and a third young man entered and walked over to the sitting Aurelia and Belle. ¡°Corbin? What are you doing here?¡± Belle looked up, confused, as Aurelia used her identify skill on the newcomer.
Name: Corbin Age: 23 Race: Human Rank: Lord Class: 2/2 Main Class: Scholar Level: ? Secondary Class: Rogue Level: ? Health: ? Mana: ? Stamina: ?
Aurelia was surprised to see that she couldn¡¯t see everything about Corbin using the skill. Either his level was extremely higher than hers, or what she thought was more likely, he had the skill to obscure his levels. He was also one of the few she had identified who had more than one class. Belle had an open class slot, but she hadn¡¯t identified many people with more than one class. It was also interesting to note that Corbin was of the lord rank, just like that Robin guy from the tavern. That thought made her pause and Aurelia looked closer at Corbin. Could they be related? ¡°I¡¯ve come to join your team,¡± Corbin answered Belle¡¯s question, his chin raised slightly. Belle stood up and crossed her arms, ¡°What do you mean you¡¯ve come to join my team? I hardly even know you, besides, would your father even allow you to join a team of commoners?¡± Belle gave an unfriendly look. Corbin didn¡¯t seem affected by her words, just taking a few steps forward and looking down at Belle. ¡°My father doesn¡¯t care what I do, he¡¯s too worried about making sure my brother, Sabin, is ready to take over when he dies and getting my sister married off. With all the fuss over the new dungeon, along with the duke and baron arriving later today, he could care less what happens with me.¡± Zen and Justin walked closer until all five of them were standing in a circle, looking at each other. Aurelia looked between the four of them and suddenly had the strongest feeling rise within her. It felt as if something had been made right, and that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Her breath caught in her chest and her vision blackened, until she fell to the floor, unconscious.
As Aurelia was passed out on the floor, her mind was elsewhere. She stood near a lake in a wooded glade, the sun low in the sky barely giving off any light. The stars had begun to shine in the night sky, though she could still see the purples and oranges of sunset. The glade was full of glowing blue and purple flowers and all she could think was how beautiful it was. Until Aurelia realized that she should still be in the adventurers guild in Rainy Hollow. Yet, wherever she was now, it felt completely real. She could feel the cool breeze on her skin and the soft grass underneath her feet. Aurelia looked down and found herself wearing a simple white slip. She looked around her once more, trying to discern if anyone was there with her. All she saw was a white dove as it flew over the lake in her direction. Aurelia continued to stare at the bird, sensing that the bird was more than it appeared. A few seconds later the dove landed in the grass beside her. As Aurelia watched, the dove glowed with a golden light, then the glow expanded until Aurelia was suddenly looking at a woman with white wings, rather than a dove. The woman was tall and extremely beautiful, with long chestnut hair and her wings spread out beside her. ¡°Are you an angel?¡± Aurelia found herself asking. The woman smiled, ¡°Of a sort,¡± she paused looking Aurelia up and down, ¡°I am no messenger of a god, but I am a part of the angelic race. Do you know why you are here, Aurelia?¡± ¡°You know my name?¡± Aurelia couldn¡¯t help but ask. When the woman merely nodded, Aurelia decided to just answer the question. ¡°No, I have no idea why I am here. I have no idea where here is, or who you are.¡± ¡°I am not at liberty to answer those questions, but I can tell you one thing.¡± Her face seemed to become grave, ¡°The the Orb of Intercise and Space that lies nestled within your spirit is not meant to be held by a human. It gives you power usually found within higher beings, resulting in various side effects. One effect that matters right now is how it has affected your rank abilities.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°My rank abilities? You mean like how my rank is princess?¡± ¡°Precisely. I know you are still new to Eldria, but rank has more of an effect on users than most people know. With your rank, you have hidden abilities that may or may not manifest in your lifetime. The energy from the orb has tapped into one of those abilities and magnified it to an unmanageable degree.¡± The woman paused, ¡°What I mean to say is, without my intervention, you would be dead now.¡± Aurelia felt her heart pang with fear at the words. ¡°I almost died?¡± ¡°Yes. I have stopped the orb from becoming unstable, for now, but you will need to find a way to better control the orb in the future. If no action is taken, you will die, and you may take those around you to the grave as well.¡± Aurelia had a million questions racing through her head, wanting to understand what the angel woman was talking about. ¡°How can I control it? What kind of abilities are you talking about?¡± ¡°I cannot answer that, child. I have stretched the limits of how much I can interfere, so it is up to you, now.¡± Before Aurelia could say anything more, the woman waved her hand and her vision darkened once more.
Aurelia woke to the sound of Belle¡¯s worried voice. ¡°What do we do? Should we grab a healer?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with her, my skill says she has full health. Let¡¯s just wait a bit longer, surely she will wake back up soon,¡± another voice chimed in. The soothing sound of Ottie¡¯s voice was next, ¡°I believe our sleeping friend is waking up. Hush all of you, even I am getting a headache.¡± Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw a crowd of heads around her. ¡°Seriously, guys? Move away, move away!¡± Aurelia sat up as her onlookers moved back. ¡°Seven heavens, Aurelia, you scared us!¡± Belle was the first face that came into focus above her. Aurelia thankfully felt no worse for wear, and just smiled back at Belle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for scaring you, I feel just fine. How long was I out?¡± Zen looked at her, still worried, ¡°Only like five minutes, but it was scary the way you dropped with no warning.¡± Aurelia got to her feet, not wanting to lay on the wooden floor of the adventurer''s guild any longer. As she did so, she realized she had a new notification waiting for her to view. Deciding to look through it quickly, she pulled up the screen.
Congratulations, User [Aurelia]! You have unlocked a new ability! Amaril¡¯s Fortune: When the system first appeared in Eldria war and strife were more common than peace. Amaril was the first user in Eldria to gain the rank of Princess and help establish Eldria¡¯s first system-recognized kingdom. This ability helped her to make choices aligned with her goal of making peace and prosperity for her subjects and family.
The ability description was less of telling her how it worked and more on the lines of a history lesson. Still, Aurelia knew that it was this ability that had activated, strengthened by the orb, and caused her to almost die. If it weren¡¯t for the angel woman, Aurelia would be dead. She grabbed Belle¡¯s offered arm for support, thanking her for the help. Aurelia looked around at what might be her new team. Belle, Zen, Justin, and Corbin looked back at her and Aurelia once again felt a feeling of peace. This feeling gave her a certainty that not only should she make sure the five of them became a team, but also the knowledge that she could trust each of them. Aurelia would have to research her ability later, as well as find out who the angel woman was. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Justin asked her. Aurelia nodded, ¡°I promise, I¡¯m fine. We can talk more about it later, for now, I believe we still have to register as a team.¡± she smiled. Belle looked uncertain, ¡°Are you sure? All of us?¡± she looked to Corbin as if to say, ¡®Even him?¡¯. ¡°All five of us. Are you guys in?¡± ¡°Absolutely!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°It¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± As Justin, Zen, and Corbin were filling out their personal application forms, Ottie picked up two items from the counter. ¡°I got these from the back while you were passed out. I recommend you don¡¯t lose these, or you have to pay the fee all over again.¡± Ottie handed Aurelia and Belle a circular badge each. The badge seemed to be made out of a white stone, which Ottie said was quartz. It had a symbol engraved on each side, colored in an iridescent orange. Aurelia knew the symbol meant topaz, but didn¡¯t know why the badge had the word topaz engraved upon it. ¡°You do know the different adventurer guild ranks, right?¡± Ottie asked the five once they all had their badge. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Aurelia spoke up. ¡°Well, the adventurer guild has five ranks, which are based on the level and skill of each adventurer. For the most part, novice-rank adventurers who are under level twenty-five get the topaz badge. Apprentice rank from levels twenty-five to forty-nine get an emerald badge. Adept rank from levels fifty to ninety-nine gets a ruby badge. Journeyman from levels one hundred to one hundred forty-nine get a sapphire badge and if you are at master rank at level one hundred fifty or above, then you get an obsidian badge. However, I don¡¯t know of anyone in Gildenshores who has an obsidian badge. It is also important to note that if you have more than one class, it is acceptable to add the levels of your classes together and get a badge equal to that number.¡± Ottie looked to Corbin who nodded. ¡°A higher badge will get you access to better amenities at adventurer guilds across the country and even in other countries around Eldria. You will also be able to accept more difficult quests from the guild, which means more money in your pockets.¡± Ottie clapped his hands together, ¡°Alright, now that you are all registered, I need to know what team name you will use. So, what will it be?¡± The five looked at each other for a second, Zen shrugged, Justin looked unconcerned, Corbin looked contemplative, and Belle just looked excited. Aurelia could think of plenty of ridiculous team names, but she didn¡¯t think a name like ¡®the blue socks¡¯ would be a good name for an adventuring team. ¡°How about Hollow¡¯s Protectors?¡± Belle suggested. ¡°That¡¯s basically the same name that my brother¡¯s team has,¡± Corbin objected. ¡°We need something a bit different.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Belle huffed. ¡°We could do something with ¡®rainy¡¯ in the name,¡± Zen said. ¡°Nah, not for an adventuring name,¡± Justin shook his head. ¡°What about the name ¡®Evertide¡¯?¡± Aurelia asked. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t actually care that much.¡± Belle opened her mouth as if to object, paused, and then slowly nodded, ¡°Yeah I guess that works. I mean if we take too long on a name, we will be here forever.¡± With that settled, Ottie finished their paperwork and gave them a parchment confirming their registration as an adventuring team. Corbin held the parchment in front of him, seemingly scanning it from top to bottom for any potential mistakes. ¡°Okay, I think we are ready to go. Looks good, Ottie.¡± Corbin looked at the man. ¡°Sure, sure. I still have to finish getting ready for our esteemed guests. I also have a feeling this guild may need some renovations if we are to host a dungeon near our village. No matter who ends up in control of it, I still have to be the one taking care of any adventurers who come by. As for you five, if you do end up entering that dungeon, I will pay for any details you have. Knowing what might be faced inside will help any potential dungeon divers in the future.¡± They all gave their assent to the man, then began to start walking out of the adventurers guild. Before any of them could walk too far away, Aurelia stopped the group. ¡°Hey, guys? I have something to ask of each of you.¡± They all looked back at her. ¡°What is it?¡± Belle asked ¡°I know we just became a team and I hardly know you, but I need to know how dedicated you all will be to the team. Are you willing to trust me, and can I trust you?¡± Aurelia asked. Thankfully, they all seemed to take what she said seriously. Corbin especially looked contemplative. ¡°I know you all might have secrets you want to keep, but for this to work well, I think we should at least have a basic understanding of one another. Belle, can you take us to where we first met?¡± Belle¡¯s eyes widened at the question. ¡°I know it might not be just your secret to share, but we might need Marge¡¯s help before this day is through. What do you think?¡± ¡°Alright, Evertide,¡± Belle said. ¡°Follow me.¡± Without another word, the five of them moved down the main busy street and into the Orphaned Hen tavern. Belle had a quick word with Ivan before they moved into the back hallway and towards the storage room. As they crowded around the trapdoor, Belle looked up at them. ¡°I may get in trouble for this, especially with you, Corbin, but let¡¯s do this.¡± Belle swung open the trapdoor and they followed her down the ladder, Aurelia bringing up the rear. The three boys seemed shocked at the underground passageways made by Belle¡¯s mysterious group but stayed quiet despite their obvious curiosity. Belle led them down a new path Aurelia hadn¡¯t been last time and herded them into a room filled with a single table and chairs. As they all sat down, Aurelia¡¯s four teammates looked to her. The sudden weight of their gazes made Aurelia suddenly nervous. Aurelia looked at Belle, ¡°Is it safe to talk in here?¡± Before Belle could answer, Corbin raised a hand as a gesture for silence, then turned his attention to a ring on his left hand. He seemed to focus on the ring, then after a brief flash of white light, the diamond on the ring began to give off a slight glow. ¡°Alright, we can now speak without any fear of being overheard. I give you my word that whatever is said in this room with this ring aglow, will stay between us. I know what it means to be on a team, and I choose you all for a reason. I am willing to share what I can, to gain your trust.¡± He nodded to Aurelia, ¡°I believe you said you had something important to share?¡± Aurelia nodded, ¡°Yes, what I have to say is important. To be honest, I am out of my depth, but I am trying my best. Though, I think it might be best to start near the beginning,¡± Aurelia took a deep breath, ¡°I am the one who claimed the dungeon.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°What did you say!?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!?¡± ¡°By the nine hells¡­¡± Chapter 24: Tell Me Your Secrets The shocked faces around her made Aurelia want to start laughing, but then they might think she was joking. And if they thought she was joking, they might not take her seriously as she meant to tell them all the truth. Aurelia began to fiddle with the sleeves of her shirt, more nervous now. ¡°How could you claim the dungeon, Aurelia? Only someone of the Lord rank or higher can claim a dungeon, and my identify skill clearly shows that you only have the knight rank.¡± Corbin started. Belle also looked confused, ¡°Yeah, when Marge identified you, she told us that you were of the knight rank. Is that somehow a lie?¡± ¡°To be frank with you all, I don¡¯t have all the answers. That¡¯s not because I don¡¯t want to share that information and I have a feeling I can trust each of you. It¡¯s just that I have only been in Eldria for maybe two days now.¡± That last statement resulted in more verbal disbelief from the Evertide team. Corbin was the first to catch on to what was happening. ¡°You¡¯re from another world, right? Somehow you got transported away from your world and you got introduced to Eldria with a tutorial.¡± ¡°Yes, the world I come from is called Earth.¡± Aurelia began her tale from the beginning, explaining as clearly as she understood everything. From when the four mysterious men from the knights of Armund started following her, to talking with Goldie about some weapon and not knowing what was happening, then getting sucked into a portal just outside Rainy Hollow. She explained how she accepted a prompt to begin the tutorial, before being forced to enter into the new dungeon. They all listened in stunned silence as she explained how she had to finish the dungeon all on her own, fighting all the monsters by herself, and reaching level twelve by the end. When Aurelia explained how she had received a skill that obscured her true stat sheet, Corbin asked her what it really said. ¡°My real class is called a Spatial Mage, and my true rank is princess,¡± Aurelia answered. Zen let out a breath of disbelief, ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± he ran a hand through his hair, ¡°Your story is too incredible. So, you really have no idea why you would have the princess rank or who your parents are?¡± ¡°None. My parents never gave me any indication that our family was actually from another world. I mean, on Earth, most people don¡¯t believe in magic or alternate worlds or universes. We have science and technology completely different from here. What I do know is that Earth and Eldria are somehow connected, making it possible to go between the worlds. ¡°After getting sucked through the portal, I received a system message saying that I was transported to Eldria both because I had contact with an Eldrian native as well that I either was born in Eldria or my parents were. Honestly, my main goal right now is to figure out if I can even go back home to Earth.¡± Corbin seemed to straighten in his seat, ¡°Well according to what I have read, that might be more of a challenge than you realize. I know of the knights of Armund, they are the elite force under the king. It took them over two decades to find a way to Earth, with even my father having heard about the search.¡± Corbin folded his arms, ¡°It would take a miracle to find a way back for you.¡± Aurelia felt annoyed by the condescending note in Corbin¡¯s voice. ¡°You don¡¯t have to help me if you don¡¯t want to. I just wanted all of you to know where I¡¯m at.¡± Belle placed a hand on Aurelia¡¯s arm, ¡°It¡¯s all right, Aurelia, he¡¯s been stuck inside his mansion for too long, he doesn¡¯t know how to talk to normal people,¡± she glared at Corbin. ¡°You know nothing about me,¡± Corbin said coldly. ¡°Okay, settle down children,¡± Zen said, gesturing at them to calm down. Belle and Corbin continued to glare at one another, but thankfully they didn¡¯t escalate their anger anymore. Aurelia wasn¡¯t sure what she should say after that, but thankfully Justin jumped in with a question. ¡°So what is your intention with the dungeon, now that you have claimed it?¡± Justin asked. Everyone perked up at those words, all seemingly had the same question. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. When I got the notification saying I could claim the dungeon, I accepted in more of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I don¡¯t understand a lot about the rules of this world, but I am pretty sure I don¡¯t want everyone to know about me. I have a feeling that the knights of Armund will be on the lookout for me.¡± ¡°Could I give you some suggestions?¡± Belle asked. ¡°Why not? What are you suggesting?¡± Aurelia agreed. ¡°Well, if we are sharing secrets, I guess I can let all of you know where we are. As long as you all promise not to share the secret of this place with a system-bound oath.¡± She stared intently at everyone. ¡°Seriously, a system-bound oath? Who do you think we are?¡± Zen asked, annoyed. ¡°I do not make system oaths lightly,¡± Corbin added. ¡°Well once I share the secret, you all will understand why it was necessary,¡± Belle said defensively. ¡°I am sure she has a good reason for it,¡± Justin said, ¡°I would make an oath to keep Aurelia¡¯s secret as well.¡± ¡°Wait, you guys. What even is a system-bound oath?¡± Aurelia asked. Belle turned to her, ¡°Oh, I am sorry, I forgot for a moment that you wouldn¡¯t know. A system-bound oath is a promise made through the system. If you don¡¯t keep to your oath, the system will enforce penalties on you and some of those could be nasty. Imagine permanently losing stat points or having some sort of affliction keeping you from being at full mana or health.¡± ¡°That does sound pretty bad, but I do intend on keeping your secrets, Belle. I hope you all will keep mine as well,¡± Aurelia replied. ¡°I agree, I will take the oath to keep both of your secrets,¡± Justin said. After some more convincing by Justin and Belle, the other two young men agreed to the oath. Aurelia followed the example of the others, promising to never share any of the secrets said in this room with anyone else. They would only share those secrets if they had permission from their teammate first. The wording of the oath was formal and they each received a system notification confirming that the oath was made and recognized. Once finished, Belle began her story. ¡°I am not fully ready to share everything, but I¡¯ll say this. My brother and I were raised here in Rainy Hollow by the members of Moon Raven,¡± she paused when the three boys all made exclamations of disbelief. ¡°I just assumed you guys were some cult, not a faction of the rebellion,¡± Justin said in disbelief. Corbin seemed frustrated, ¡°How did we not know about this? My father should know at the very least, that we have been the ruling family of Rainy Hollow for generations.¡± Belle smiled, ¡°To my knowledge, the leaders of the Rainy Hollow faction have gone to great lengths to keep our existence a secret. Besides, many people have found out about us, they just don¡¯t remember.¡± Belle turned to Corbin, ¡°Besides, I am pretty sure your father does know, he is just wise enough not to say anything about it.¡± ¡°What do you mean, a rebellion?¡± Aurelia asked. ¡°I¡¯ll try to make this short, so Gildenshores has been in turmoil for decades. The current King, Darrius, was second in line for the throne after his brother. His father, King Norman, was a good king, but according to some people in the rebellion, he was also naive. King Norman also had a daughter named Marie whom he intended to marry off to the neighboring kingdom of Purneer. Unfortunately, Marie disappeared on her way to meet her betrothed, and many believe she was murdered. Either way, the king of Purneer became mad at King Norman, even though it was King Norman who had lost a child. Two years later, the Queen died, leaving the royal family with just King Norman, Darius, and the eldest son, Aivan. ¡°As neither son was married and King Norman was growing old, both sons were ordered to find a wife. Darius was betrothed to a Lady Sophia and Prince Aivan was set to marry Princess Leandra from the elven kingdom of Yornin. Then, rumors came about that Darrius set to become king after his father died, rather than his older brother, and started gathering support from the people. King Norman was still too distraught over the loss of both his daughter and wife to notice what was happening. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°As Darius was a famous adventurer by this time, having taken down a dragon with his adventuring team, he was loved by the people. Prince Aivan¡¯s deeds were less well known, even with him also adventuring in his teenage years. Prince Aivan was the one who started Moon Raven, as he believed Darius would find a way to get rid of him before their father died.¡± ¡°Wait, Prince Aivan started the rebellion?¡± Zen asked in confusion. ¡°Of course? Who else would have had enough power and influence to do something like that?¡± Belle answered. ¡°Now can I finish before you ask any more questions?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, sure.¡± Zen waved his hand. ¡°Okay, so over the next year, the rebellion grew in secret, their goal to make sure Aivan is the next king rather than Darius. Unfortunately, Darius had already put his plans into motion. It all happened within a couple of weeks, starting with King Norman, who was killed in action, trying to prevent conflict between Gildenshores and Purneer. Because of that, the wedding of Prince Aivan and Princess Leandra was pushed forward, and the wedding took place in Yornin. During the wedding, assassins were caught taking out Prince Aivan, and unfortunately, Prince Aivan died. So with both King Norman and Prince Aivan out of the picture, Darius became King.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a lot of death and subterfuge,¡± Aurelia commented. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t imagine having that dysfunctional of a family,¡± Zen said. Justin turned to his friend, ¡°Have you seen your family?¡± ¡°Oh come on, at least we don¡¯t go around killing each other,¡± Zen protested. Justin leaned over to whisper to Aurelia, ¡°He has five brothers, so you can guess what that¡¯s like.¡± Aurelia laughed, then asked Belle a question, ¡°What happened to Lady Sophia? Did she become queen?¡± Belle shrugged, ¡°King Darius has no queen, the betrothal was called off soon after the coronation and no one knows what happened to Sophia.¡± ¡°So, how did the rebellion stay alive after Prince Aivan died?¡± Justin asked. ¡°Some of the nobles loyal to Prince Aivan were involved in the rebellion, and they have helped keep it alive since then. Besides, while we do not have the King of Gildenshores on our side, we do have Princess Leandra.¡± ¡°Princess Leandra is involved with Moon Raven?¡± Zen asked. ¡°Yep! That¡¯s one of the reasons that the kingdom of Yornin joined Purneer in the war against Gildenshores. Purneer may just hate the royal family in general, but Yornin just wants to get rid of the king. If he were gone, then whoever ended up taking over might finally be able to make a peace treaty with us.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Corbin said, ¡°My father doesn¡¯t talk badly about the king, but only because there are eyes and ears everywhere. He has said before that it would take more than just a treaty to placate Purneer in ending the war.¡± ¡°Either way, Moon Raven has been gathering influence where they can to continue opposing Darius. I am sure the higher-ups would be interested in making a deal with someone who perhaps has access to a never-ending resource of money, magical items, and basic resources,¡± Belle looked to Aurelia. ¡°Yeah, I think that is something we should discuss. I still don¡¯t know a lot about what I am doing, especially concerning the dungeon. How do people normally deal with managing a claimed dungeon?¡± Corbin looked thoughtful, ¡°I have had some education on the matter, mostly through books, but my tutors have also given their thoughts on the matter. When a new dungeon is claimed, usually a representative from the adventurers guild will meet with them to make a deal. The adventurers guild wants to make sure dungeons are regularly cleared, or else the dungeons may overflow into the surrounding area. They will try to make sure that whoever claimed the dungeon won¡¯t set their restrictions too high to allow the most people to keep going into the dungeon. Of course, the dungeon master can set a tax or even an entry fee to make it profitable for them but also may add more restrictions so only a select few may enter. ¡°My suggestion for you is to add a tax, but no entry fee for now. That will encourage adventurers to at least try out the dungeon without worrying about losing money. With it being a novice-ranked dungeon, even nonadventurers may give it a try. However, it might be wise to add a level requirement. Children under twelve can¡¯t just wander in, but those new to the system should at least be somewhat prepared before going into a dungeon. After that, maybe wait to make any more changes. I need to do more research to know what the best thing to do is.¡± Aurelia thought for a second, before nodding, ¡°That sounds good to me, I¡¯ll need to talk to someone about it at some point.¡± With that, Aurelia pulled up her dungeon tab and looked through her options before finding the tax option for her dungeon. ¡°So, how much should I do for a tax?¡± ¡°I would say ten percent is a good starting point,¡± Corbin answered. ¡°Okay and what about the level requirement?¡± Corbin thought for a few seconds before saying, ¡°Just put level five. It takes some effort to even get to level five for most people.¡± As Aurelia was making the changes, Justin added, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you have your own dungeon. Every kid grows up wanting to be an adventurer, but those of us who still want that also dream of owning a dungeon. It means you never have to worry about when you can no longer go adventuring.¡± Aurelia closed the screen in front of her and looked at her team. ¡°Well, is there anything else you guys want to talk about?¡± Justin laughed, ¡°I don¡¯t think I could ever top growing up in the rebellion or being a princess.¡± ¡°Yeah, being a baker¡¯s son is such a different experience than what you two had,¡± Zen slapped Corbin¡¯s back, ¡°And our resident lord over here has had a much better education than I will ever have.¡± Corbin didn¡¯t say anything to that and neither did Aurelia. One part of her was still screaming about the fact she was in another world and another part of her was feeling excited about the adventure she was having. Yeah, the chance of death was much higher when you were fighting monsters and consorting with a rebellion intent on overthrowing the current king. But, hey, she could throw lighting from her hands and teleport from place to place. Aurelia wanted to go home to see her parents and her friend, Irene, again, but she also wanted to see where this world would take her. How could a nine-to-five job compare with a magical world? ¡°So, Aurelia, when Admium knocked you out and Marge looked through your stuff, they didn¡¯t find too much on your person. You mentioned you got a lot of things in the dungeon. Is there anything you''re willing to show us?¡± Belle asked. ¡°Oh! I meant to ask someone about that, I have so much meat and pelts in my spatial storage, as well as some magical items I know nothing about. Do you know who I could talk to about all that?¡± Justin perked up when he heard about the pelts she had, ¡°My parents are hunters, and we have a deal with a tanner named, Harold. He would be willing to buy it all off you, though he might pay less per pelt than if you were to sell one at a time.¡± ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t mind getting slightly less for the whole lot, it¡¯s not like I can do much with them,¡± Aurelia agreed. Belle nodded as well, ¡°I think Ivan would be willing to buy some of the meat and I know Marge would be able to identify your items. We would have to come by later tonight to ask her.¡± With everyone in agreement, Aurelia started pulling out items to show the Evertide team what she had found. She first showed off various beast items such as the pelts, claws, leather, fangs, and poison glands. Belle let Aurelia know Admium might be willing to buy some of the poison glands, fangs, and claws off her. Then, Aurelia started pulling out her more exciting finds including potions, a wand, daggers, her cloak, two skill books, a random yellow gemstone, and even the carved ivory longbow. Each new item brought excitement from her fellow teammates, though they couldn¡¯t know for sure what everything did. When Justin first saw the longbow, he almost drooled at the sight. ¡°I would give you anything to have the chance to use that,¡± he said with a dreamy look on his face. Aurelia smiled, ¡°Well after I get Marge to examine it for us, you can have it. I do not need a bow with my current skillset.¡± Justin¡¯s mouth dropped open in shock, ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Absolutely! You¡¯re my teammate, and if we are to adventure together, I want you to have the best equipment we can get you.¡± Zen looked at one of the skill books intently, ¡°Are you planning on using either of these skill books?¡± Aurelia looked at the books, one indicating it was an earth manipulation skill book and the other was a speed burst skill book. ¡°No, I can¡¯t use one and the other would be pointless with my teleportation skill.¡± Zen eyed her, ¡°Okay, ignoring the fact you have one of the rarest skills in Eldria, I would like to ask if I can have the speed burst skill. As a melee fighter, it would prove useful when needing to get in range of an enemy quickly.¡± ¡°Of course! Would anyone like the earth manipulation skill, then?¡± There was a pause for a moment before the other three members of the team all spoke up at once, arguing for the chance to have the skill for themselves. As Aurelia heard all their exclamations, she decided it might be more difficult to choose the right teammate for the skill. ¡°Okay, stop, you guys. We can talk more about this one later. Maybe once Marge examines everything else, we can properly divvy all the items up. It may not be completely fair, but remember, I own the dungeon out there. We can go in and get more loot anytime.¡± They all paused at that before agreeing to her words. Deciding the time for talking was over, Aurelia packed everything back up in her inventory. The five of them stood up, ready to leave the underground hideout. Corbin turned off his privacy ring, and they all headed out. When they reached the main floor of the tavern, they left in smaller groups to draw less attention to themselves. It was nearing dinnertime now, and the tavern was more crowded than when they had first entered. Aurelia and Belle were the last to leave the storage room, and the last to hear what was happening on the street outside the tavern. Aurelia started to hear the yelling and loud noises once entering the tavern¡¯s main common room, and worry began to clench her heart. The common room was empty of people, except for two barmaids who were looking out the window. As Aurelia walked through the front door, leading Belle outside, she got a better sense of what was happening. The residents of Rainy Hollow lined the main street as they yelled at a passing group of armored soldiers. Behind the soldiers, an opulent carriage was pulled by two black horses, rattling on the cobblestone street. Aurelia could see Corbin pushing his way through the noisy crowd, heading in the direction of the group of guards. That¡¯s when Aurelia realized that the guards weren¡¯t alone, two of the guards had a man held between them, the man¡¯s feet dragging on the stones behind him. The man looked haggard and bloody as if he had been beaten up. Aurelia¡¯s face turned white in fear and horror as she recognized the man. His hair was a pale blonde, identical to Corbin¡¯s own hair. The man being dragged through the streets was none other than Robin Gray, Corbin¡¯s older brother. Chapter 25: War Council Aurelia had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it couldn¡¯t be good. The crowd of angry villagers was yelling and jeering at whoever was sitting in the red and gold carriage, the unknown noble¡¯s guards keeping everyone at bay. Aurelia saw Robin getting dragged through the streets, seemingly no longer conscious. Corbin was pushing his way into the crowd, striving to get to his brother, both Zen and Justin following close behind. Belle grabbed Aurelia¡¯s arm, getting her attention. ¡°Aurelia! What should we do?¡± Belle had to shout to be heard, ¡°Should we follow Corbin? He seems to be trying to get to his brother.¡± Aurelia didn¡¯t have to think long before saying, ¡°Yes! Whatever is happening, it can¡¯t be good. We have to help Corbin save his brother!¡± With that, the two girls set off after their teammates, worry and confusion mixing inside them. They had gone down into the secret tunnels while the streets had been busy but nothing of note was happening. Only a couple hours later it seemed the entire town had gone under. Aurelia guessed it had something to do with either the baron or the duke, but she didn¡¯t know enough about them or how the nobility worked here. Aurelia would have to learn by jumping off into the deep end once again. They found it difficult to make their way through the crowd, as no one seemed willing to get out of the way. As they passed by various aggrieved individuals, Aurelia caught bits of the words being thrown about. Most of it was insults and words of anger, but she could also hear the people saying the name of Duke Gladys. She guessed that had to be the man in the red and gold carriage. By the time Aurelia and Belle caught up to Zen and Justin, it was too late to stop Corbin from approaching the guards who had his brother. Aurelia watched as Corbin began to yell at the soldiers, ordering them to release his brother. ¡°What in the name of Gloria¡¯s Angels are you doing with my brother? He is the second son of Lord Gray, the mayor of Rainy Hollow, the very village you are standing in!¡± Corbin said as he continued to approach the soldiers. The soldier leading the procession was covered head to toe with shining black armor except for a red-colored tabard emblazoned with the image of a black and golden horse. The entire time Aurelia had been watching, this leading solder had continued forward unhindered, ignoring the cries of the villagers. As Corbin began to speak, the black armored soldier turned to get a better view of the approaching young man. With a deep and commanding voice, the leading soldier spoke while pointing at Corbin, ¡°He¡¯s coming with us,¡± he then gestured at two of his men, ¡°Greggory and Talon, you grab the young noble.¡± ¡°Yes, Captain Northwood!¡± the two soldiers said together. Without another word, Captain Northwood turned away from Corbin and continued the procession into the center of town. The indicated soldiers approached Corbin, subduing him quickly, before marching back into line. Corbin didn¡¯t put up much of a fight, and after using her identify, Aurelia could see why. All the soldiers were at least level twenty-five with most of them around level thirty, and the Captain was at level sixty-two. There wasn¡¯t much Corbin could do. Zen seemed ready to rush at the passing soldiers but was held back by Justin. Zen turned to his friend, his face red with anger, ¡°Why are you trying to stop me? We can¡¯t just let them take Corbin and Robin like that!¡± Justin shook his head, ¡°What are we supposed to do? We are both under-leveled and outnumbered!¡± Belle walked up directly behind the two young men, ¡°We have to do something! Corbin is our teammate now!¡± Zen nodded, ¡°Something has to be wrong if Duke Glady comes in and immediately takes the Gray nobles into custody. There has been conflict between nobles before, but I can¡¯t imagine what has made the duke do this!¡± ¡°Where are they headed? Maybe we can follow them there?¡± Aurelia asked As the group talked, the crowd around them converged behind the last of the soldiers walking by. The three soldiers at the end of the procession walked behind the gilded carriage, their hands next to their swords. The villagers were hurling insults at the men, but they didn¡¯t dare raise a hand against the soldiers, fearing what they might do in retaliation. ¡°They are headed towards the center of town, which is also where the Gray home is. The Grays may be a small noble family, but they are still lords. Anytime a noble passes by, usually Baron Redford, they will always stay with the Grays. I expect that is where they are headed,¡± Belle said. ¡°Okay, but can we even follow them there?¡± Justin asked. ¡°That may be a bit tricky, with all those soldiers with Duke Gladys,¡± Belle replied as they watched the parade of people disappear around a corner, ¡°We definitely couldn¡¯t just walk in, but I do have another way we can get inside.¡± Zen eyed the girl, ¡°Does it have something to do with where we just were?¡± Zen asked. Belle nodded, ¡°It does indeed, and I think we will need some extra help if we are to find out what is going on. Follow me!¡± The four of them turned to head back in the direction of the tavern. Now that the group of soldiers and the horse-drawn carriage were out of sight, the villagers had begun to disperse. With a less dense crowd of people to move through, the team was able to arrive back at the building fairly quickly. They followed a pair of men inside the Orphaned Hen, trying to hurry around them. Ivan was behind the counter, a stormy look on his face. Some people were now sitting at tables, but most were crowded in groups talking together with shocked looks on their faces. Belle led Aurelia and the two boys through the common room and towards the counter. When Ivan spotted the group, he moved to the side so he could talk to them more easily. ¡°Ivan! Did you see what just happened?¡± Belle called out to him. Ivan nodded, then motioned towards the group to follow him into the back hallway. ¡°Yes, I did. We need to talk.¡± They followed Ivan to the storage room, only stopping so Ivan could ask one of the barmen to take over for him in the tavern. Aurelia was surprised when Ivan had them also climb down the hatch, rather than just speak to them in the storage room or the back hallway. Zen was the last down the ladder and had to rush to catch up to the group. Ivan had set a quick pace down the hallway, and the group almost had to jog to keep up. ¡°Ivan, do you know what is going on?¡± Belle asked him. ¡°Everyone has been called to meet in the assembly room,¡± Ivan said while still walking quickly, ¡°Marge will update us all at once.¡± Belle gasped in surprise, ¡°Really? Everyone?¡± Ivan only nodded, his demeanor indicating he didn¡¯t want to discuss it anymore. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Aurelia was confused, not sure what it all meant, ¡°Is it a big deal that everyone meets up?¡± ¡°Oh yes,¡± Belle turned to look at her, ¡°We never meet all together at the same time. It is a big security risk to do so, which is why I am so surprised it is happening. Whatever is going on must be a big deal.¡± A couple of minutes later, the group walked into the biggest room Aurelia had seen so far in the Moon Raven hideout. It looked like the room was built for a stage theater, with tiered seating leading down to a large open area in the lowest part of the room. Inside, Aurelia saw almost forty people, the youngest being Freddy and Jasper and the oldest looked to be a man in his late sixties or early seventies. Marge and Admium stood together with a third older man in the larger open area. Ivan urged the four members of Evertide to take a seat along with the majority of the Moon Raven members, while he walked down to stand by Marge. Aurelia sat down in a wooden chair, not quite sure what was going on. Ivan, Marge, Admium, and the fourth man stood together in a circle while a couple more villagers made their way into the room. By the time everyone was settling down, the group numbered over fifty people. Marge turned to the audience of Moon Raven members and motioned the room for silence. ¡°Thank you all for coming on such short notice, I realize it is unusual for us all to meet together in person.¡± ¡°More like we¡¯ve never met all together before,¡± Belle muttered under her breath. ¡°Almost half an hour ago, now, Duke Gladys and his men arrived at the gates of Rainy Hollow where Robin Gray and his team were waiting to greet them. Our best listener wasn¡¯t around at the time to hear the conversation that followed, so what we know is just from what one of our people saw personally,¡± Marge¡¯s eyes flicked upwards toward the Evertide team, ¡°As the Duke stopped at the gate, Robin approached the carriage with what we think was the intent to greet the duke personally. After only a minute of talking, the captain of the duke¡¯s guard, Evan Northwood gestured his soldiers to take Robin into custody. The ensuing fight left Robin unconscious along with his two team members. We don¡¯t know the current condition of either Eagan or Maria, as they are still watched over by a couple of the Duke¡¯s guards.¡± The crowd of Moon Raven members murmured at the news, shocked by what had just happened. Even Aurelia was baffled at why the duke and his men had done what they had. Robin seemed like an honorable man, so what could he possibly have said to cause the duke and his men to then beat him and his team up before storming into Rainy Hollow like they owned the place? It just didn¡¯t add up. Maybe the Duke always had the intention of taking the Gray nobles into custody. ¡°As the duke and his men continued into town on their way towards the Gray house, Corbin Gray was also taken into custody by the duke¡¯s men. As of right now we don¡¯t-¡± Marge stopped as a small runner boy Aurelia hadn¡¯t met dashed into the room. ¡°Marge!¡± the boy shouted, waving a note in his hand. The whole room turned to watch as the boy ran up to Marge, handing her the folded note. As Marge opened the note to read, Aurelia saw as her face turned white with fear. The tension was palpable in the room as everyone waited to hear the news. Ivan walked up behind Marge, putting a hand on her shoulder. ¡°What happened?¡± Ivan asked. ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± Marge swallowed, seemingly at a loss for words. Without an answer, she passed the note over to Ivan, before walking a couple of steps away, turning her face away from everyone else. As Ivan read the note, his face also seemed to whiten with shock. Belle reached over and grabbed Aurelia¡¯s hand, squeezing it hard. As Aurelia turned to see her friend¡¯s face, she could see the fear written on her face as well. It seemed whatever was going on, was getting worse by the minute. ¡°I am afraid I have some more bad news to share,¡± Ivan spoke up, ¡°Lord Gray has been killed, along with his wife.¡± Voices cried out in shock throughout the room, and Aurelia couldn¡¯t help but think of Corbin and what his fate might be. Her heart beat faster as she waited to hear whatever bad news Ivan had to share. Beside her, Belle began to cry and Zen jumped to his feet in anger. ¡°Please settle down, everyone,¡± Ivan called out, ¡°I understand being upset, but you all must remember the part we have to play. We have known for a while now that Duke Gladys might be a problem, it seems today is the day we remedy that threat.¡± The room quieted the more Ivan spoke, and the feeling of shock and sadness turned to one of anger and resoluteness. One man, near the front of the room, stood up saying, ¡°What will you have us do?¡± Ivan nodded, thanking the man, ¡°We have a few options, but depending on what we choose, our presence here in Rainy Hollow may be exposed. If that happens, we must disband our base of operations.¡± A murmur of discontent met those words, making it clear to Aurelia that exposing the Moon Ravens here in Rainy Hollow would in no way be a good idea. Aurelia glanced at her team, seeing the looks of determination on their faces. As an idea popped into her head, a feeling just like had when Corbin asked to join her team filled her. It was her ability activating, Amaril¡¯s Fortune. Aurelia knew that meant the idea she had would not only work, but it would be the best course of action she could take. Aurelia leaned over towards her teammates gesturing them to come closer. Zen, Justin, and Belle looked at Aurelia with questioning glances. When she explained her idea, their eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Justin asked. ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t even know what we are doing,¡± Zen added. Belle hesitated before saying, ¡°If we don¡¯t, there could be even worse consequences for both the rebellion and the whole village of Rainy Hollow. You are sure the gem will work for more than one person?¡± ¡°Yes, I am confident it will, we just need to get inside to make it useful,¡± Aurelia replied. After a few more whispered back-and-forth words from the group, a consensus was made. While the group had been distracted by their conversation, Ivan was still leading the discussion about Moon Raven¡¯s next course of action. As Aurelia tuned back in the conversation, she heard a woman remarking on the state of affairs. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand, Ivan, you have only been in Rainy Hollow for maybe a decade. We have lived here our entire lives and there is no way we are abandoning our homes. Lord Gray is¡­ was a trustworthy leader and a loved member of this community. We will not abandon the Gray children to die as well.¡± the woman declared, obviously a bit heated now. Around the room, her words were met with either affirming applause or the occasional disagreeable statement. Ivan looked frustrated and Marge seemed to still be devastated and turned away from the conversation. Aurelia looked back to her teammates and they gave her approving gestures, urging her to stand up. She took a deep breath and stood up in her seat. The people around their team looked at Aurelia with questioning glances, but she did her best to ignore them. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Aurelia called out, ¡°Excuse me, I need to say something.¡± More people became quiet, and the rows in front of them started turning around to look at Aurelia. When it finally became quiet enough for Aurelia to be heard, she started speaking again. ¡°I know most of you have no idea who I am, but my name is Aurelia. As of a few hours ago, I, along with Belle, Justin, Zen, and Corbin Gray formed an adventuring team,¡± the crowd around her began to murmur at her words, ¡°I may not fully understand what is happening right now, but I know our teammate and his siblings are in danger. I have a way to get them out safely, but we need your help getting to the Grays safely.¡± Ivan looked at Aurelia intently, and said, ¡°Are you sure about this? If something goes wrong, it may end with your death or the deaths of the Gray family.¡± ¡°We are sure, and we will get the Grays out if you can get us in the Mayor¡¯s home,¡± Aurelia said. A man in the crowd stood up, ¡°How can we even trust you? The only one of your so-called team that is a member of our group is Belle. What can you do, that we cannot do ourselves?¡± ¡°Well, for one, the fact that we aren¡¯t a member of your group is a benefit. If we do get caught, it will be less likely to be traced back to you. Belle will stay out of any direct confrontation, and none of you have to be directly involved either.¡± Aurelia turned to look at Ivan and Marge, ¡°It will be up to you to then deal with the duke. We can help your cause while inside the mansion, but our first priority will be to get the Grays out. Will you help us?¡± By this point, Marge had gotten out of her stupor and was now looking at Aurelia with red-rimmed eyes. She took a deep breath in and out, then said, ¡°If you can help save my nephews and niece, we can take care of the rest.¡± A shocked hush fell over the room as Marge said those words. It was Belle who broke the silence, ¡°Wait, you are related to the Grays?¡± Marge nodded, ¡°Yes, but that is not important right now, what is important is to get your four into that house. We can deal with the Duke¡¯s men after my family is safe.¡± Ivan stepped forward, a hand on Marge¡¯s shoulder, ¡°What do you need from us?¡± Chapter 26: The War of Nobles Aurelia crouched in the alleyway, checking over her gear for the third time. Justin sat beside her, sitting behind a stack of crates. He held the ivory longbow in his lap, gazing at it admiringly. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you just gave it to me,¡± Justin whispered. Aurelia looked at him and said, ¡°Like I said, it would be better used in your hands.¡± A noise jostled the two out of their conversation, and Aurelia peaked around the corner. They were supposed to be waiting for the go-ahead from the Moon Raven scouts, but somehow they got distracted again. Aurelia had never done anything like this before, but that was no excuse to be sloppy. She relaxed slightly when she saw it was only Freddy who came around the corner with a focused look on his face. The once jovial boy looked grim after all that had happened with Lord Gray and his wife. Aurelia understood that the people of Rainy Hollow had loved the two nobles, and even the young Freddy seemed sobered by the news of their deaths. Freddy joined them behind the crates, and the three of them gathered close together. ¡°What is it?¡± Aurelia asked the boy. ¡°The scouts are in position and ready if you are,¡± Freddy whispered back. Justin and Aurelia looked at each other before nodding together. ¡°Yes, I think we are,¡± Aurelia said. ¡°Okay, then follow me,¡± Freddy gestured at them with one hand. The three carefully walked around the wooden crates and down the alleyway. Aurelia could see a flag waving in the breeze attached to the tall house peeking out over the building in front of her. The flag was black with a silver tree in the center, a gray cloud hung above, with blue raindrops falling and one golden lightning bolt striking down. Justin had explained to Aurelia that the flag represented the Gray noble house. She thought the flag looked beautiful, but today, it only seemed like an omen of bad tidings. As the mansion came into full view, the three could see the duke¡¯s men standing watch. The guards patrolled around the mansion grounds, weapons out and ready. In the front courtyard of the mansion, Aurelia spotted something that caused her blood to go cold. Bodies lay in the grass, some off to the side of the main walkway, while others lay near the entrance to the mansion. No one seemed to care that they were walking by the corpses, the guards instead keeping their gazes away from the ground. If Aurelia weren¡¯t set on helping the Gray family, the sight alone of the dead guards of Rainy Hollow would have caused her to find a way to help. No one deserved the disrespect the duke had shown to the nobles and the guards of the village. Justin looked particularly aggrieved at the sight, and Aurelia wished she could say something to comfort him. But this wasn¡¯t the time for comforting words. They had a mission to accomplish, and the two of them played a pivotal role. Aurelia felt her heart pounding in her chest and held her wand tightly in one hand Freddy held his arm out, stopping Aurelia and Justin from moving forward any closer. ¡°Not just yet, they haven¡¯t given the signal yet.¡± Justin looked at the young boy, ¡°What is the signal?¡± he whispered back. An annoyed glance was the only answer Justin received, and the two turned back to look at the roaming guards. They stood in the shadows for a couple more minutes, waiting patiently, when the time finally came. On the other side of the mansion, a small explosion could be heard. All the duke¡¯s guards turned toward the sound, alerted by the noise. Aurelia watched as a cloud of dark gray smoke began to envelop the west side of the property, and guards began to congregate in that direction. Eight guards began to surround the billowing smoke, with only two other guards standing at attention on their side of the mansion. Freddy kept his arm out, indicating to Justin and Aurelia that they needed to wait a couple more seconds. The eight guards surrounding the smoke were yelling at each other, seemingly at a loss for what they should do. The smoke continued to extend outwards until one soldier got too close. The unfortunate guard was suddenly enveloped by the smoke and dropped to the ground, unconscious. This caused the rest of the group to jump away in fright, with no one willing to help the downed guard. As one guard began to tell the rest to stay alert, the front doors to the mansion swung open, revealing the captain of the guard. Captain Northwood looked very annoyed and stormed in the direction of the clustered group of guards. Before the captain could take any action, a new explosion rocked the courtyard. The cloud of smoke expanded in a burst of speed, catching two more guards in the process. As the guards dropped to the ground, Captain Northwood unsheathed his sword, barking at his subordinates to spread out. The two guards closest to Aurelia turned towards the sound of their captain, a mistake that would cost them. At a signal from Freddy, Justin pulled back the prepared arrow and let it fly in the direction of the guard to the left of them. Two seconds later, a second arrow flew toward the other guard, and both arrows struck their targets at critical points. Justin was still under level ten, while both guards were at level twenty-five. In most circumstances, Justin¡¯s attacks would not have been enough to fell the two. This wasn¡¯t most times. The bow he had used was the rare ivory longbow Aurelia had received in the dungeon, and in the ranger¡¯s hands, he was able to improve his attack power by thirty percent. After using special arrows provided by Admium and the sneak attack bonus, Justin could kill both guards with one attack each. The Captain''s group failed to notice the downed guards, giving Aurelia the opening she had been waiting for. Justin squeezed her shoulder in encouragement, and Aurelia activated the ring on her finger. Freddy gasped as the young woman disappeared from sight right before their eyes. Aurelia didn¡¯t give herself another second, and she teleported toward the mansion. She reached the open front door in three teleports, entering while those outside were still distracted. Aurelia paused as she entered the mansion, shocked by what she saw. Bile rose in her throat, and it took a couple of seconds for her to get herself back together. Throughout the entryway were the bodies of what Aurelia assumed to be the maids and staff of the Gray household. It seemed the duke had taken it upon himself to eliminate those who would protect their lord. Moving forward, Aurelia looked around for signs of where Corbin and his siblings may be held. Her first thought was whether there was some sort of dungeon in the mansion and the second being whether they were just locked away in some room upstairs. Aurelia couldn¡¯t hear any sounds of guards or people inside, only hearing the cries of the guards and the captain outside the home. Making a decision, Aurelia walked around the first floor, checking for clues. She found herself in the kitchen but backed away quickly after finding the bodies of two cooks. Her heart broke at the sight of such depraved acts. Aurelia moved on until she found a door that opened into a set of stairs spiraling downwards. She did her best to make as little sound as possible, but she hoped her invisibility would be enough to see her through the rescue undiscovered. At the bottom of the stone staircase, Aurelia found herself in what, indeed, looked like a mini-dungeon. Cells lined a dark hallway, and inside one of the cells, Aurelia saw the form of a young woman. She moved towards the girl carefully, continuing to check around for any of the duke¡¯s men. Deciding it was safe, Aurelia turned off her invisibility, whispering to get the girl¡¯s attention. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. A set of pale gray eyes turned to look at Aurelia, the girl¡¯s eyes widening at the sight of someone down beside her. ¡°Who are you,¡± the prisoner croaked out. ¡°My name is Aurelia, are you Corbin¡¯s sister?¡± Aurelia asked. Suspicion arose in the girl¡¯s eyes, but she slowly nodded, ¡°Yes, my name is Samantha, I am the daughter of Lord Gray,¡± Samantha paused, ¡°Well, I was the daughter of Lord Gray¡­¡± she trailed off. Aurelia looked at Samantha, sympathy in her gaze, ¡°I am so sorry for what happened to your parents, I can¡¯t imagine what you are going through.¡± Samatha gave her a sad smile, ¡°I appreciate the sentiment.¡± ¡°I am sorry, but we don¡¯t have much time. Do you know where your brothers are?¡± Aurelia asked in an urgent tone. Samantha walked over to the prison door, hands gripping the iron bars. ¡°The duke took my brothers to the study. I think he is trying to get information on who claimed the dungeon,¡± Aurelia¡¯s heart sank at the words, ¡°but I don¡¯t know what the duke will do when he finds out our family has had nothing to do with the dungeon¡¯s claim.¡± ¡°Do you know how many guards he has with him?¡± Aurelia asked. ¡°I am not sure when I was escorted down here, but they had at least four guards stationed in and around the room¡ªplus the captain, of course,¡± Samantha answered. ¡°Well, if we hurry, we should be able to make it before the captain returns,¡± Aurelia gestured to the gate, ¡°do you know where a key is, or should I try using force?¡± Samantha gave her an incredulous look, ¡°What could you do?¡± Aurelia looked back at Samantha, a forced smile on her face. ¡°I have my ways, but I¡¯ll keep that to myself for now.¡± Aurelia pointed her wand at the iron door. "You should stand back.¡± Samantha took backward steps until she was against the far wall. Once Samantha was out of the way, Aurelia let loose a pair of spatial slashes. The spell was silent as the two blades of force impacted the door at its hinges. The two young women watched as the door came ajar, now that nothing kept it connected on one side. Samantha looked shocked at the sight but listened as Aurelia urged her out of the cell. ¡°Okay, I will go ahead before you. Try to stay out of sight as we go upstairs. I¡¯ll take care of the guards until we reach your brothers.¡± Samantha nodded as Aurelia led the other girl back to the first floor.
Corbin¡¯s nose was bleeding, but he imagined that his heart was bleeding even worse. He shifted in place, the manacles on his wrists and ankles making it difficult to move around properly. He had a skill that could free him in seconds, but there was no way he could escape with eyes on him at all times. Besides, there was no way he would leave his brothers behind. Corbin looked over at the forms of his two brothers. Robin and Sabin were both unconscious, blood staining the ground around them. As the youngest Gray sibling, he had never seen his older brothers as weak or vulnerable. To Corbin, they had been larger than life and his personal heroes. Now, all three of them were shackled in their Father¡¯s own study, being torn apart both figuratively and literally as Duke Gladys squeezed them for information. A hard backhand slap shook Corbin from his thoughts, and he groaned at the pain. He looked up to see the dark eyes of the duke. ¡°What?¡± Corbin got out. Two guards stood beside the office door, watching Duke Gladys interrogate Corbin. Captain Northwood stood just outside the room, arguing with another set of guards. ¡°I asked you a question, boy!¡± the duke raised his voice angrily. ¡°And I expect that you will answer my questions.¡± ¡°We told you everything we know, sir,¡± Corbin replied. ¡°What more do you want?¡± The duke gave Corbin another hard slap to the face before he stormed back behind Lord Gray¡¯s old desk. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that none of you didn¡¯t claim the dungeon. There is no one else here that could have done so!¡± The duke practically yelled that last sentence and Corbin winced at the noise. ¡°Even if that was true, what gives you the right to just storm into our village, murder the Lord, and capture his children? We haven¡¯t done anything wrong!¡± The duke scoffed, ¡°You know nothing. You and your siblings may be innocent, as you say, but your father was no saint. He and his family have been working against the kind¡¯s interests for years, it¡¯s only now that I have had cause to do anything about it.¡± Corbin grounded his teeth together, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need or desire your belief in me. I have my orders, and I will follow them. It¡¯s just to my benefit that I get the village and a new dungeon out of the deal.¡± The duke looked intently at Corbin, ¡°It seems as though you and your brothers are no longer of any use to me,¡± he looked thoughtful, ¡°your sister, on the other hand, I am sure she is still of use to me. My wife can no longer bear children, you see. So I am in need of a new bride.¡± The duke gave Corbin an evil grin, and it took all Corbin had to keep his rage in check. ¡°What will you do with us, then?¡± ¡°Your father¡¯s allies will already start a war over your father and mother¡¯s deaths. A couple more won¡¯t hurt-¡± The duke stopped talking as an explosion outside caused the whole house to shake. As yelling guards could be heard outside, the duke ordered the captain to investigate. Hope began to blossom in Corbin¡¯s chest that perhaps he wouldn¡¯t die along with his parents today. He glanced over at his brothers once more and noticed Sabin¡¯s eyes begin to flutter open. Corbin looked back to the duke and the other guards and saw they were still distracted. He turned to his brother and gave him a look that meant, ¡®You better play unconscious, or else!¡¯ The only movement Sabin made was to close his eyes once again.
When Aurelia reached the top of the stairs, she could hear shouting from up above. Samantha looked apprehensive, but with Aurelia¡¯s encouragement, they continued up towards the study. The staircase to the second floor looked damaged, one section of the railing completely splintered by whatever had happened. Aurelia decided she would scout up ahead of Samantha, so she urged the other girl to stay out of sight while Aurelia activated her invisibility ring again. The voices grew louder as she continued upwards, and she could finally make out what was being said. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think! I want to know what is happening, so you need to go out there and find that out and immediately report back,¡± a commanding voice spoke. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± a different voice replied, and Aurelia heard footsteps drawing closer in her direction. Worried that whoever was coming down would spot Samantha, Aurelia scrambled back downstairs to the other girl. Keeping her invisibility up, Aurelia grabbed Samantha¡¯s arm with one hand, the other over her mouth. Samantha flinched at the contact, but after some comforting words from Aurelia, she calmed down. The two of them walked out of sight of the stairs and listened as whoever it was came down the stairs. Aurelia decided to risk it and peered out of the sitting room to see the guard making his way toward the front door. Still invisible, Aurelia pulled an item from her inventory and threw it behind the oblivious guard. The potion smashed into pieces, and a cloud of smoke enveloped the guard. Before he could even make a sound of surprise, the man had fallen to the ground unconscious. Thankfully the noise of the smashing glass had been quiet compared to what was still happening outside. Still, Aurelia and Samantha waited silently to see if anyone would come down to investigate. After a minute of nothing, Aurelia decided to go back upstairs after letting Samantha know to stay where she was. As Aurelia walked down the hallway toward the study, she heard the sounds of arguing voices once more. This time, she reached the study and spotted two guards facing the open doorway. Whatever was happening, she hoped Corbin and his brothers were okay. Now that she was here, Aurelia worried her plan wouldn¡¯t work. The others had made it possible for her to make it this far, but she was alone now. Her invisibility ring only worked on one person, and no one else had any item or skill to make them undetectable. Well, apparently, some had skills like that for the nighttime or other environments, but Aurelia needed to help Corbin now, not at another convenient time. With that, Aurelia took another potion from her inventory, primed to throw. ¡®Let¡¯s hope this works,¡¯ she thought, and tossed the potion towards the guards. Chapter 27: The Great Escape The potion smashed on the wooden floors, the noise surprising the nearby guards. The ensuing cloud of gray smoke enveloped the two guards, and they fell to the ground. From inside the study, Aurelia could hear surprised exclamations. ¡°What was that?¡± a familiar voice said. It was the voice of whoever commanded the other guard to investigate the outside commotion before giving a report back. ¡°The smoke is spreading out! Stand back, your grace!¡± another voice cried out. Aurelia saw that the smoke was indeed spreading, and she realized she may have made a mistake. The smoke was a convenient solution to taking the guards out of commission, but in this situation, she had also cut herself off from getting into the room. Remembering when Admium had given her the vials, he had warned her against getting too close herself. She didn¡¯t have a way to protect herself from the smoke, which she had learned when getting knocked out by the alchemist the day before. She stood in the hallway, unsure of what to do next so she decided to wait a minute or two for the smoke to enter the study. Hopefully, it would incapacitate the other guards in the study as well. Aurelia knew that the smoke might interact with the Gray boys, but thankfully Admium had given her a cure to the smoke as well. Aurelia waited in the hallway until she heard a scream from below, which caused her to panic. Samantha! Aurelia turned on one heel and rushed towards the sound of the screaming girl. She berated herself for leaving Samantha all alone, but it was too late now. She ensured her invisibility was still obscuring her from sight, but she wasn¡¯t exactly quiet as she jumped down a flight of stairs and to the main floor. Aurelia turned towards the sitting room to find a tall man in black armor holding Samantha with one arm, the other pointing a dagger to Samantha¡¯s throat. She froze in horror, looking on as a bead of blood began to run down Samantha¡¯s neck. Captain Northwood gazed in her direction with an angry look on his face. ¡°I know you are there, whoever you are,¡± the captain said. Aurelia didn¡¯t say anything, just looking back at the two of them. After another second of silence, the captain sneered before saying, ¡°If you don¡¯t show yourself, I¡¯ll just kill the girl. Her relevance is only one of convenience.¡± Aurelia¡¯s heart pounded in her chest at the words, but she had no desire to see the other girl murdered, so she let her invisibility fall. Samatha looked panicked as Aurelia revealed herself, and Aurelia worried she had made the right decision. Captain Northwood sneered at Aurelia, ¡°Not a professional then, to fall for that.¡± Without another word, he took the knife away from Samatha¡¯s throat before punching the girl in the back of the head. Samantha fell to the ground, her body lifeless. ¡°Samantha!¡± Aurelia cried out in shock. The captain walked forward, stepping over the girl¡¯s body. He sheathed his dagger before saying, ¡°Now, who have we here?¡± Aurelia stepped away from the man but flinched when she ran into a solid form behind her. Peaking over her shoulder, she saw another of the guards standing behind her, a sword out and ready for a fight.
Corbin was ashamed to say he gave a shout of surprise when something crashed outside the study. He turned just in time to see a cloud of smoke spreading out around the guards before the two dropped to the floor. The duke and the remaining guard looked over to see the smoke making its way into the study. As the guard motioned for the duke to stand back from the smoke, Corbin decided now was as good of a time as any to make his escape. It seemed that someone out there was in the business of taking out the duke¡¯s guards, and he wouldn¡¯t say no to getting that help. Corbin shuffled away from the doorway, making motions like he was scared of the smoke. He stopped moving when he was positioned near his brother Sabin. He reached backward to grab the lockpick out of his boot. For some reason, no one had even thoroughly searched Corbin for extra tools or weapons. They had taken the belt holding his two daggers and a coin pouch, but Corbin still had two boot daggers and at least three lockpicks hidden on his person. As the smoke slowly spread into the room, Corbin took the time to unshackle the chains on his wrists and ankles. A scream from downstairs caused Corbin to falter slightly. He knew that scream just as well as his own. His sister was in danger. Across the room, the duke yelled at his guard to stand back as he used a skill. Duke Gladys had both the noble class and the air mage class. Corbin watched as the duke grabbed a golden wand at his side and pointed it at the billowing smoke. With one spell, a blast of wind shot towards the smoke cloud, dispersing it away from the doorway. The duke ordered his guard to check for any hostiles outside the study, just as the last of Corbin¡¯s locks clicked open. As the guard peered into the hallway, Corbin began working on his brother¡¯s chains behind his back. He had no idea what was going on, but he needed to work quickly if they were to take advantage of the opportunity. As the guard issued an all-clear, Corbin heard the sound of yelling from below.
From her time in the dungeon, Aurelia had learned that she couldn¡¯t hesitate when danger was near. The now-healed bites and scratches she had received could attest to that. The only difference now was that she wasn¡¯t facing mindless monsters, instead, she faced two men who grew up in a world of fighting and killing. And Aurelia knew they both had killed people before. That fact alone made her shudder. Aurelia wore her blue cloak around her shoulders, the hood down so she could see clearly. As the prospective rescue had progressed, Aurelia kept her wand in one hand the entire time. Now presented with a clear danger, she gripped that wand firmly under the cloak. The guard behind her was poised to strike with a sword raised above her head, but the captain motioned for the guard to stand down. ¡°The girl is mine, Neran. Stand back,¡± Captain Northwood said. As the guard took several steps back, Aurelia readied herself to let loose a spell. Reminding herself that if she didn¡¯t fight back, she might not leave this home alive. So, with that in mind, she pointed her wand at the captain and sent a lightning chain to his chest. The next several seconds happened so quickly that Aurelia acted only on instinct. As the captain was blasted backward, the guard behind her yelled in outrage. Aurelia knew the captain was still alive, but she turned around to face the other threat. She raised her wand and sent a mana bolt directly into the guard¡¯s chest. With the increased skill levels and the extra boost the wand gave her spells, the mana bolt was enough to kill the guard instantly. When Aurelia turned back to face the captain, she found a dagger racing towards her face. She let out a shriek of fear as the dagger impacted her mana shield and fell to the floor. Captain Northwood finished getting to his feet and pulled his sword from his belt. As Aurelia readied to send another spell towards the captain, a shout from the top of the stairs distracted her. She looked to see another guard ready with a crossbow aimed at her head. She yelled in surprise and crouched low to the ground, missing the bolt by inches. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. As the guard from above readied another crossbow, Captain Northwood rushed forward at Aurelia, his sword posed to strike down. Prepared to take the first blow on her shield, she let loose a mana blast at the captain. This time, the magical skill didn¡¯t make contact like the lightning chain had. She watched as the mana blast dissipated on the captain¡¯s raised bracer. The sword came down on Aurelia as she finally stood up, the blade bouncing off her shield. Captain Northwood cursed at her angrily as Aurelia tried sending a spatial slash at the captain. This time, the gauntlet wasn¡¯t enough to stop the spell. Instead, the spatial magic went right through the gauntlet, as well as the captain¡¯s forearm. Aurelia watched in horror as the hand fell to the ground, and Captain Northwood screamed in pain. As Aurelia pedaled backward, another crossbow bolt impacted her shield, this time finally dissipating the magic. The spatial mage lifted her wand upwards and let loose a mana bolt at the offending guard. The man dodged to the side, missing the spell aimed at his chest. Aurelia sent another spell at the guard, this time getting him in the leg. The guard screamed in pain, clearly still alive, and Aurelia readied another spell. A shout from beside her made her jump, and the mana bolt meant for the guard¡¯s chest flew to the side and into a wall. The captain was still coming for her. The stump where his hand used to be was not stopping him from continuing the fight. Aurelia turned her wand to the captain but wasn¡¯t fast enough, as the older man used one of his skills to close the distance between him and her in a split second. The only thing that saved her from being skewered was the arrow that impacted the captain in his neck. The arrow had come from behind Aurelia, so she couldn¡¯t see who had taken the shot. Captain Northwood jerked back from the arrow''s force but kept his sword firmly in one hand. Aurelia took the chance to blast the captain back with a close-range blast and watched as he flew backward into a wall. This time, the captain did not stand back up again. Aurelia heard the sound of whistling air, and heard the thump as the other guard fell to the ground. She looked over to see the downed guard and then, behind her, saw who had shot both arrows. Justin gave Aurelia a grim smile, ¡°I couldn¡¯t let you do this alone, knowing that the captain had gone back inside.¡± Aurelia rushed forward, attacking Justin with a crushing hug, ¡°Thanks.¡± Justin gave her a few pats before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t we still have to save Corbin?¡± Aurelia jumped back, ¡°Samantha!¡± She turned back around and entered the sitting room, racing to Samantha¡¯s prone body. Aurelia looked the girl over, using her identify skill.
Name: Samantha Age: 24 Race: Human Rank: Lord Class: 2/2 Main Class: Noble Level: 15 Secondary Class: Mage Level: 4 Health: 120/300 Mana: 700/700 Stamina: 200/200
¡°Oh, thank goodness,¡± Aurelia said, ¡°she¡¯s still alive.¡± Aurelia took a health potion from her inventory and poured some of it into the girl¡¯s mouth. Justin came over, standing above Aurelia. ¡°What happened to Samantha?¡± he asked. ¡°The captain knocked her out, but thankfully, he didn¡¯t do anything worse,¡± she replied. ¡°We might have to carry her, I don¡¯t know how long it will take to wake her back up.¡± ¡°Okay, move out of the way, I¡¯ll-¡± Justin stopped as a loud voice interrupted him. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± an outraged voice behind them cried out, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you for this!¡±
As the final guard rushed out of the study to see what was happening, the Gray brothers were left alone with the duke. Duke Gladys looked like he had been given a sour lemon and seemed ready to burn the world around him. Corbin continued to work at Sabin¡¯s chains as the duke seemed distracted by the fight downstairs. ¡°This is unbelievable. Are they all incompetent?¡± the duke muttered to himself. Duke Gladys seemed to be ignoring Corbin at this point as he leaned over the desk, his back to the young man. When the sounds of yelling and crashing noises died down, the duke turned his gaze to the door. ¡°Do I have to do everything myself?¡± the duke said before storming out of the room. Corbin couldn¡¯t believe his luck and redoubled his efforts to free Sabin. His brother had his eyes completely open now, sitting up as the last lock clicked open. ¡°What is going on?¡± Sabin asked his brother. ¡°I have no idea, but whatever it is, it has given me the chance I need to unlock our chains,¡± Corbin replied as he began to open Robin¡¯s chains. Now that he didn¡¯t need to try and obscure his actions, he could finish the job in record time. Robin was still out of it, so Corbin urged Sabin to pick up their brother. ¡°You¡¯re much stronger than I am, so we can get out of here quicker if you carry him.¡± Sabin didn¡¯t even argue, merely throwing Robin over one shoulder, ¡°Should we go downstairs?¡± Corbin clenched his jaw, ¡°We have to. Samatha is down there, and we can¡¯t leave her behind.¡± Corbin rushed over to his father¡¯s desk, claiming his belt back. It had been left there along with both Robin¡¯s sword and Sabin¡¯s wand. He took both of his brother¡¯s items, wanting to allow Sabin to keep his hands free. They rushed out of the study and down the hall, in time to hear the duke yelling at whomever was downstairs. From the sounds the duke made, his guards hadn¡¯t been on the winning side.
Aurelia watched as spit flew out of the duke¡¯s mouth with every raging word he spoke. The noble was older and a bit robust, his red and gold clothing splattered with dark blood. Aurelia clenched her fists in anger at the sight, hoping Corbin was still alive. She rose to her feet, leaving Samantha on the ground. The duke had a golden wand in one hand, indicating he used magic. Aurelia took a second to reapply her mana shield, then prepared to aim a spell at the awful excuse of a human being. Justin stood by her, an arrow knocked on his bow. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, but you will pay for what you have done,¡± the duke said and raised his wand towards Aurelia and Justin. Before he released the spell, the sound of shouting voices from outside caused him to pause. Aurelia couldn¡¯t help but look outside through the sitting room window and spotted dozens of guards racing towards the house. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it was more of the duke''s men. It seemed more of them had arrived in town, and the rebellion¡¯s people hadn¡¯t been enough to stop them all. In a few more minutes, the mansion would be surrounded by hostile guards. The duke smiled, ¡°It seems you have nowhere to go.¡± He turned back to Justin and Aurelia and said, ¡°Goodbye.¡± And before the duke could send a spell their way, a whistling noise preceded a thump, and the duke fell to the ground. Aurelia¡¯s mouth fell open as the open doorway showed Corbin still posed in a throwing position. She looked down to see a knife embedded in the duke¡¯s spine, right at his neck. Aurelia could tell the duke was still alive, but he was down for now. ¡°Tell me you have an escape plan?¡± Corbin asked Aurelia. Shaking herself out of her stupor, Aurelia nodded, ¡°Yes, I do have a way out.¡± She motioned for Corbin and a second man, whom Aurelia assumed to be Corbin¡¯s other brother, to come closer. ¡°We need to be in close proximity to each other, so please hurry. The other guards will be here soon.¡± Justin picked Samantha up in his arms, and the Gray siblings crowded around Aurelia. She pulled a faceted crystal out of her inventory, and Sabin gasped in surprise, ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Corbin said, ¡°We can talk about it later.¡± Aurelia ignored the two and concentrated on the crystal, ¡°Okay, now everyone needs to grab ahold of me.¡± With a crash, two guards barged their way into the front entryway of the home. The group jumped in surprise and rushed into position. Sabin, Corbin, and Justin each placed a hand on her arm or shoulder, and with a flash of light, the group disappeared. Chapter 28: One Step at a Time When the light cleared away, Aurelia and the group of escapees were no longer in the Gray home. Instead, they stood in the entry room of the Dungeon of the Wild. Aurelia still held the clear dungeon crystal in both hands. Wanting to check on the others, she put away the crystal into her spatial storage. A second later Sabin collapsed to the ground nearby, no longer able to support his brother. Robin, who was still unconscious, fell atop Sabin, so Corbin rushed over to help. Justin seemed to have taken the teleportation all right, only stumbling slightly before gently laying Samantha on the ground. Aurelia looked around the room, noticing that unlike before, the exit to the dungeon was not there, only the door leading into the dungeon. That sight worried her, but she would deal with it in a moment. Taking out a handful of healing potions, Aurelia began handing them out to the group. Corbin drank one himself before feeding a potion to Robin. Sabin was able to get into a sitting position, taking a potion for himself. ¡°Is Samantha alright?¡± Sabin asked Justin. Justin paused from helping feed Samantha a potion and looked over at Sabin. ¡°Yeah, I think she¡¯ll be alright. Aurelia, what happened to her?¡± ¡°Captain Northwood is what happened to her,¡± Aurelia frowned, ¡°He punched her in the head, but I think he used a skill when he did so. With his high level, that attack should have killed her rather than just knocking her out.¡± ¡°Nine Hells!¡± Sabin cursed, ¡°I wish I had the chance to kill him myself.¡± Aurelia paused at the words, before deciding to go through her waiting notifications. Something in her made her believe Sabin would still have that chance.
User [Neran] Level 26 defeated. Experience earned! You have reached level 13! Stat points allocated! You have 9 free stat points remaining.
Aurelia felt bile rise in her throat just reading the words. She had in no way ever considered that she would one day take an actual human life. And just a couple of days in this world, she had been forced to kill a man. Even if it was to help save her new friends, it still didn¡¯t make her feel awful inside. One thing that made her concerned though, or perhaps relieved, was the fact that there was only one name listed. She had expected to see two names. ¡°Justin, did you get credit for killing the Captain?¡± Aurelia asked aloud. Justin turned pale, ¡°I thought you got the credit¡­ Are you saying the Captain didn¡¯t die?¡± Aurelia frowned, ¡°I only got credit for killing one of the guards. I knocked out three of them with the sleeping smoke, but I didn¡¯t get any credit for doing anything else.¡± Aurelia looked at the group, ¡°That means both the Captain and Duke Gladys are both still alive.¡± Corbin looked upset at that, ¡°I can¡¯t believe this. The duke just walks into our village and takes it over. Now that he has reinforcements, there is no way we are getting to them again that easily.¡± ¡°Before I was knocked unconscious, I heard the Duke mention some of the Baron¡¯s men would be coming as well. It seems they had no intention of letting our father take control of the dungeon at all. Even if he had claimer¡¯s rights.¡± Sabin said. Aurelia had to look away at that. She had no intention of hurting anyone by claiming the dungeon for herself, but it seemed by claiming the dungeon, she had caused trouble in Rainy Hollow. This was all so confusing to her, and she had no grasp on the politics of Eldria or this kingdom. ¡°But, you,¡± Sabin turned to Aurelia, ¡°somehow we traveled from the middle of the village into what looks like an entrance to a dungeon. And I would bet my life that we are in the new dungeon by the meadow.¡± Sabin got up, letting Corbin continue to help Robin, and started walking towards Aurelia. ¡°Are you the one who claimed the dungeon?¡± Aurelia swallowed, suddenly nervous by the look on Sabin¡¯s face. She kept her hands by her side, even though she wanted to pull out her wand for comfort. ¡°Yes, I claimed the dungeon.¡± ¡°HOW?¡± Sabin practically yelled the words. Justin looked at the two of them with worry on his face. Aurelia motioned for him to sit still. Before Aurelia could answer, Sabin had more questions, ¡°I don¡¯t even know who you are. You are a stranger to us and you could be some noble¡¯s spy for all we know.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Corbin protested, ¡°She literally just saved all our lives.¡± He left Robin on the ground to stand by the two of them, ¡°Besides, Aurelia isn¡¯t just anybody, she is a member of my team.¡± Sabin turned to his brother, ¡°You joined the adventurers guild? That¡¯s difficult to believe¡­¡± Sabin looked surprised, ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t matter right now. How do you know you can trust her?¡± Corbin looked to Aurelia, ¡°For a number of reasons. Most of which I cannot share with you right now, but if you can¡¯t trust her, just trust me instead. I have faith in Aurelia that she means no harm to anyone in Rainy Hollow.¡± Sabin looked like he wanted to argue but stopped when he saw Corbin¡¯s face, ¡°Well alright if that¡¯s what you want of me.¡± He folded his arms, ¡°It still doesn¡¯t make sense that some random girl with a simple mage class completed the dungeon and claimed it. You don¡¯t even have the right rank to do so.¡± Aurelia shifted in place, ¡°I know you may not trust me, but I have my reasons for keeping who and what I am a secret. I don¡¯t exactly trust you either, but I don¡¯t wish you or your family harm. I think my actions today proved that. What I will say is that I have a skill that hides my real rank and class, and I have no desire to share that information with everyone I meet. I understand now that claiming the dungeon was not the best decision, but I don¡¯t know what I can do about that now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad,¡± Corbin said, ¡°Honestly, I believe the dungeon is in safer hands with you rather than in the hands of anyone else. If Robin had claimed the dungeon like he was assigned to by our father,¡± Corbin hesitated, ¡°Well, the duke would have done far worse to us to get Robin to hand over his claim. With you as the dungeon master, he has no idea who to threaten.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, at least,¡± Sabin added. ¡°Okay,¡± Aurelia agreed, ¡°that is true enough. I do want both of you to know, that I will do what¡¯s in my power to help your family and the village. I know my time here has been short, but I have no desire to see the fate of Rainy Hollow in the hands of that bastard.¡± The two Gray nobles gave her their thanks, but their conversation halted when the sound of coughing could be heard. The three turned to see Robin sitting up on the ground. Sabin rushed over to his younger brother, a hand outstretched to help Robin up. Aurelia identified Robin to see that his health was almost back to full again. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Sabin asked. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I feel like I was just beaten and dragged through the street,¡± Robin got out. Corbin winced, ¡°Yeah I only saw part of that, but I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that.¡± Robin suddenly looked frightened, and said, ¡°What about my teammates? Are they alright?¡± Justin walked over to join the conversation, ¡°The last thing I heard was a group was going to go and help your teammates after we got you all to safety.¡± ¡°Who was going to help them?¡± Robin stood right in front of Justin, ¡°What are you talking about? Why weren¡¯t they helped sooner?¡± ¡°Yeah, how were we saved by just two people? There were at least a dozen guards around the mansion when we were brought in,¡± Sabin added. Corbin looked between Aurelia and Justin, with a questioning gaze, before sudden realization crossed his face. Aurelia nodded at Corbin, before addressing Robin¡¯s questions. ¡°You see, we weren¡¯t alone trying to get you all out. We were working with the Moon Raven¡¯s.¡± ¡°Wait, there was a faction of the Moon Ravens here in Rainy Hollow?¡± Robin questioned. ¡°I see,¡± Sabin said, ¡°Father mentioned this to me.¡± ¡°What?¡± Robin cried out. ¡°You knew?¡± Corbin echoed. Sabin sighed. ¡°You two may have had some training from father, but I was meant to be his successor. I know a lot more about what is going on regarding politics, especially concerning the Moon Raven rebellion group. Father had his own connections to the faction here, which is why they even continued in Rainy Hollow. It seems they have exposed themselves here in order to try and save us from Duke Gladys.¡± ¡°Unbelievable,¡± Robin muttered. Corbin looked to Aurelia, ¡°I am glad Belle convinced them to help us. Was she a part of the plan at all?¡± Aurelia got flustered, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, Justin stepped in, ¡°Actually, it was Aurelia who came up with the plan. She had the escape route, after all.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Corbin replied, before just nodding his thanks at Aurelia. ¡°Well, what about my team?¡± Robin repeated, ¡°Why did the group wait to save them.¡± ¡°Because we wanted to get you four out first,¡± Aurelia said, ¡°We were worried what would happen if we tried to help Maia and Eagan first, as it would tip off the duke a rescue might be on the way for you as well. Most of the people involved in the rebellion in Rainy Hollow aren¡¯t actually fighters. For the most part, they are the normal farmers, tailors, and shopkeepers you all grew up with. When I introduced my idea of getting you out, my first thought was to do an all out assault on the mansion. That might have ended badly for many reasons, one being with so few combat skills, the guards would have defeated us easily. We were also worried they would just kill you out of spite knowing we were on the way. With a more stealthy approach, I could get to you without the need to fight everyone on the way. We had another group ready to help Maia and Eagan once the rescue on the mansion began. Thankfully, Justin and I were able to get you out safely.¡± ¡°And we are extremely grateful for your help,¡± Sabin said. ¡°Well, can you get word to whoever is out there to find out how my teammates are doing? Maybe we can go there ourselves to make sure they succeed,¡± Robin cut in. ¡°Well our plan was to meet outside the dungeon once everything was over. We knew our group would end up over here, so the others agreed to make their way here as well,¡± Justin said. ¡°Wait, let me check something,¡± Aurelia pulled out the dungeon crystal and felt the gazes of the others on her. She used the feature of the crystal to look at the outside view of the dungeon, just as she had before. A second later, she was looking over the dungeon and the surrounding area with a birds-eye-view. Her heart sank when she saw who waited outside the dungeon. It wasn¡¯t other members of Moon Raven. Instead, she saw the red and gold of members from the duke¡¯s personal force. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t see any bodies that might indicate a fight had taken place. Whatever happened, the members of Moon Raven were nowhere nearby. Coming back to herself, she looked at the others with a grim look on her face, ¡°It seems we are surrounded.¡± ¡°Wait, what!?¡± Justin cried out. The others echoed the sentiment. ¡°With this,¡± Aurelia held up the crystal, ¡°I can see what is happening directly outside the dungeon. And what I saw was a bunch of the Duke¡¯s men camped right outside. I didn¡¯t see anyone else from Moon Raven.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Sabin walked closer, ¡°that crystal. What exactly does it do?¡± Aurelia answered, ¡°I got it after claiming the dungeon. It is what helped get us teleported here and it can teleport us outside the dungeon as well. I can teleport from anywhere in Eldria to this room, but I can only teleport out a short way.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how you got out¡­¡± Robin muttered under his breath. ¡°I knew the crystal had to be connected to the dungeon somehow, but I never expected it to be so powerful. Dungeons can produce artifacts like this to aid their dungeon masters, but I have never heard of one producing a teleporting crystal like this.¡± Sabin said. Aurelia shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know a lot about being a dungeon master, but it has definitely been helpful to me.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, enough about the crystal,¡± Justin said. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the fact we are completely surrounded by the Duke¡¯s men. What are we going to do about that?¡± ¡°I could get us into the forest, away from view,¡± Aurelia offered. ¡°Maybe,¡± Sabin said, ¡°but we still have Samantha to worry about.¡± The group turned to look at the unconscious girl. Aurelia noticed that she was at full health, but she still hadn¡¯t woken up. Her suspicions that a skill had knocked her out seemed more and more plausible. ¡°That¡¯s true, but I still want to get out and save my team. We can¡¯t stay in this room forever.¡± Robin said. ¡°Is the only way out with the crystal?¡± Robin asked. Aurelia looked at the wall that should lead to the outside, ¡°Yeah I think so. Last time there was a path leading to the exit, but this time there is only the door leading into the dungeon. We are safe in this room, but if we want to leave without completing the dungeon, we have to use the crystal.¡± ¡°As a dungeon master, can¡¯t you change that? What is stopping you from just forcing the dungeon to create and exit?¡± Justin supplied. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works,¡± Corbin scoffed. ¡°Dungeons are ultimately ruled by the system. Dungeon masters have influence, true, but without having the actual dungeon master class, she can only stop who comes in or institute a tax.¡± ¡°Hold up, there¡¯s an actual dungeon master class?¡± Aurelia¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°Of course! There¡¯s a class for basically everything,¡± Corbin laughed. ¡°You should know-¡± he stopped talking at Aurelia¡¯s look. ¡°Uh, yeah, there¡¯s a dungeon master class. If you have an open class slot, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d get offered it.¡± Sabin and Robin looked confused at the exchange, but Aurelia didn¡¯t care much. ¡°Okay, that is good to know. So yeah, if you want I can teleport us out right away, or we can try our hand at the dungeon together.¡± Aurelia said. ¡°Wait, we could actually do the dungeon?¡± Justin looked aghast. ¡°We don¡¯t even have our full team together.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s wait to go off adventuring,¡± Sabin interjected. ¡°We have bigger things to worry about. ¡°Well I don¡¯t want to wait around and do nothing,¡± Robin looked upset, ¡°If something happens to my team while we wait around safe and sound, I could never live with myself.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave our sister!¡± Sabin looked upset. ¡°Then let¡¯s just split up for now,¡± Aurelia said. ¡°I can teleport Robin and you,¡± she pointed at Sabin, ¡°into the forest, while Justin and Corbin stay with Samantha.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Justin asked. ¡°I want to go out and search for the rest of our team. Belle and Zen were with the group trying to save Maia and Eagan. With my ring, I could stay undetected while keeping an eye on them. If anyone gets into trouble, I can just teleport them back to this room. I would have to head back out on foot, but that¡¯s no issue.¡± Sabin looked down at Robin, the two brothers stared at each other for a moment before Sabin nodded his agreement. ¡°Alright, we can do that.¡± Corbin looked hesitant, ¡°What happens if you don¡¯t come back, Aurelia?¡± Aurelia tilted her head, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°If the only way out is with the crystal, what if you don¡¯t come back? We would be stuck in this room,¡± Corbin continued. ¡°Oh,¡± Aurelia said, ¡°Well then if worse comes to worse, you might have to try going through the dungeon all by yourselves.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Justin looked aghast. Aurelia folded her arms and looked at her teammates, ¡°I started this dungeon at level four and finished all by myself. I¡¯m sure with you two, you could finish it in half the time.¡± Their disbelief at her words was clearly written on their faces, but Aurelia could only laugh. ¡°I promise to come back within three hours, if not sooner. I¡¯ll leave you guys with some supplies until I can come back.¡± As Aurelia began pulling out food, blankets, and a couple of extra knives for the three left behind, Sabin and Robin got ready. Before exiting their father¡¯s study, they had been able to take back their stolen weapons. They were now strapping those belts and weapons back on, Corbin following suit. ¡°I don¡¯t like this, but I trust you guys,¡± Corbin said. He went up to his brothers and hugged them both. ¡°Please be safe.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, we need to get going,¡± Robin said. Aurelia took another look outside the dungeon and found a safe place in the forest to teleport to. ¡°I¡¯m ready if you are,¡± she said. ¡°Good luck,¡± Justin told them. Sabin and Robin gathered close at Aurelia¡¯s instructions and placed their hands on the crystal. With a flash of light, the three of them disappeared from sight once more. Chapter 29: The Duke鈥檚 Reinforcements They appeared a couple hundred feet into the forest, the light around them fading as the teleportation ended. Sabin had to support Robin as his younger brother began to sway in place. Aurelia stored the crystal away as she waited for Robin and Sabin to get more stabilized. Before they continued, Aurelia also wanted to apply the stat points from her recent level-up. With nine points available, she considered what was most important for now. Looking through her stat sheet, Aurelia couldn¡¯t believe how much she had grown in the last couple of days. It seemed unbelievable to her to see the difference from what it had first looked like. Their goal over the next couple of hours was to mount a rescue mission and to do so without putting Robin¡¯s team in danger. Aurelia¡¯s greatest asset was her invisibility ring and her spells, so she decided to just put all of her remaining stat points into intelligence, which raised her mana pool. After confirming her choice, Aurelia looked through her updated stat sheet.
Name: Aurelia Age: 22 Race: Human Rank: Princess Class: 1/4 Main Class: Spatial Mage Level: 13 Health: 670/670 Mana: 1,150/1,150- 1,380/1,380 with 20% increase Stamina: 390/390 Strength: 24 Vitality: 67 Agility: 67 Endurance: 39 Wisdom: 78 Intelligence: 115 Luck: 17 Perception: 49 Charisma: 36 Unspent Stat Points: 9 Skills: Running: Level 7 Cooking: Level 6 Basic Non-Magical Healing: Level 2 Scholar: Level 4 Linguist: Level 4 Basic Magic Bolt: Level 8 Spatial Slash: Level 8 Basic Mana Shield: Level 5 Identify: Level 7 Spatial Teleportation: Level 9 Spatial Storage: Level 7 Lightning Chain: Level 5 Spatial Tracking: Level 6 Ice Wall: Level 3 Staff Proficiency: Level 2 Ice Dagger: Level 6 Hidden Meanings: Level 2
Her skills hadn¡¯t gone up in levels at all since that morning, and she knew they wouldn¡¯t until she slept again. Aurelia expected quite a few of her skills would raise in level after all that had and would happen today. She dismissed the glowing blue screens from her vision and looked back to Robin and Sabin. ¡°Are you going to be okay?¡± Aurelia whispered to Robin. The man merely nodded, not answering aloud. Sabin looked a little worried, but after Robin gave his older brother a determined look, Sabin relaxed. There was time to be worried, but Robin seemed to be fully focused on helping out his team. The group could hear loud voices coming from the direction of the dungeon, and Aurelia knew a large group of the duke¡¯s men were concentrated in that direction. Her birds-eye view from earlier had helped her gain a better understanding of what was going on, but that view hadn¡¯t included sound. Without being able to hear what the soldiers had been saying, she didn¡¯t know the full picture. ¡°Do you want me to scout the duke¡¯s men? I can meet you back here in fifteen minutes. Maybe I will learn something important.¡± Aurelia whispered aloud. Robin seemed ready to refuse, but Sabin raised a hand to stall that objection. ¡°I think that would be wise, go ahead.¡± Aurelia motioned for them to sit still, and then she activated the invisibility ring on her finger. Not wasting any more time, she began moving in the direction of the dungeon entrance. As she moved, Aurelia looked over herself to make sure she was ready if a fight broke out. She first applied her mana shield, then took out her wand, ready to let loose any spell. It only took her a couple of minutes to reach the tree line, and she could now see the full meadow spread out in front of her. On one side of the meadow, she saw a group she recognized to be the duke¡¯s men, wearing the colors of red and gold. On the other side of the meadow, she spotted another group of soldiers, obviously under a different noble. They wore bronze-colored armor, and their colors included white and orange. Aurelia thought they reminded her of an orange creamsicle. The two groups were separate, but a couple of soldiers from each side stood together in front of the dungeon entrance. They seemed to be immersed in conversation with one another. She wanted to know why the soldiers were there, so she continued forward, relying on her invisibility to keep her hidden. After reaching a certain distance, Aurelia began to hear bits and pieces of the conversation, until she could hear the soldiers more clearly. There were three of the duke¡¯s soldiers and two of the new bronze and orange soldiers. The shortest of the duke¡¯s men was the one currently speaking. ¡°Like I said, Captain, Duke Gladys has given clear orders for us to secure the dungeon entrance. Your men are welcome to help us with that duty, but that does not give you any right to poke your nose where it doesn¡¯t belong.¡± The other captain replied, ¡°I also have orders from the baron, soldier, and I outrank you here.¡± The shorter man looked angry at this, ¡°You may outrank me, but Duke Gladys is Baron Redford¡¯s superior. The baron was asked by the duke to assist in dealing with Lord Gray, nothing more. Baron Redford has no real authority here.¡± ¡°I see,¡± the captain replied. ¡°You may stay here to help us keep anyone else away from the dungeon, or you may assist the baron in securing the perimeter around Rainy Hollow and keeping the citizens under control.¡± The captain didn¡¯t reply, merely motioning for the other bronze and orange soldier to follow him back to their group. The duke¡¯s men continued to stay in front of the eerie cave opening. When the baron¡¯s men were out of earshot, another of the duke¡¯s men spoke up. ¡°What an imbecile,¡± he scoffed, ¡°It seems the baron has been lax when recruiting his new captain. His predecessor actually had some decorum.¡± The shorter soldier replied, ¡°I agree. If it weren¡¯t for the villagers mustering enough strength to rescue the Gray children, we wouldn¡¯t have any need for the Baron¡¯s soldiers at all.¡± The last soldier spoke next, ¡°It was Captain Northwood who failed in this scenario, he-¡± the soldier cut off when the shorter guard punched him in the stomach. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone else hear you say that, Don. If it gets back to the Captain, he will have you as dragon bait.¡± As the three guards continued to banter with each other, Aurelia felt they wouldn¡¯t be saying anything more of note. From what she had gathered, the baron¡¯s men had officially joined in the takeover, which would make it doubly hard to not only save Robin¡¯s teammates but also to free the villagers from the other nobles. Aurelia had only been here for a short while, but the free spirit of Rainy Hollow and the helpful members of Moon Raven had grown on her. She didn¡¯t want the village to become oppressed by nobles who seemed to desire power over the well-being of their citizens. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Aurelia wanted to make it back to Robin and Sabin, so she left the meadow behind. She found the two brothers pacing in a small area of the forest, safely out of sight. Aurelia deactivated her ring, appearing suddenly in front of the two men. Robin almost jumped out of his skin, the sword at his belt suddenly making an appearance in his hand. Aurelia jumped away from the offending weapon, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. When both men calmed down enough to recognize her, Robin put his sword back in his sheath. ¡°Nine Hells, girl, don¡¯t do that again,¡± Robin breathed out. ¡°My apologies!¡± Aurelia replied. The two men came closer to her and Sabin asked, ¡°Did you learn anything of use?¡± ¡°Only that the baron¡¯s men have officially joined forces with the duke¡¯s men and both groups are keeping men by the dungeon, around the town, and within it as well to keep the villagers obedient. We will have a much more difficult time getting Rainy Hollow back with all the new soldiers. We had a hard time with just the duke¡¯s small retinue by your home, now I don¡¯t know how many are around the village.¡± Aurelia said. Sabin cursed in outrage, his hands flying to his head. ¡°Unbelievable,¡± he muttered. Robin looked upset at the news, but only said, ¡°I don¡¯t care how many of them are out there, I¡¯ll do what it takes to save Eagan and Maia.¡± ¡°Alright, but we should move quickly,¡± Aurelia said. ¡°Let me scout out the entrance to the village, and I¡¯ll see where your teammates are being held. I think it would be best for you two to stay here for now, you won¡¯t be of help if you get caught again.¡± Sabin looked thoughtfully at her and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know you well, but I believe we can trust you. Corbin had enough faith to create a team with you and I trust his judgment. We will wait here for an hour, but if you don¡¯t return by then, we will make our own way to the village and find a way to get to Robin¡¯s team. Is that agreeable?¡± Aurelia nodded and looked at Robin, ¡°Can you wait here for an hour?¡± Robin seemed reluctant, but eventually nodded, ¡°As long as you don¡¯t appear suddenly in front of us again.¡± Aurelia laughed softly and agreed, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can.¡± With that, Aurelia activated her invisibility ring once more and headed back through the forest towards the village. She skirted around the meadow, not wanting to risk going near all those soldiers again. When she finally reached the treeline overlooking the neat wall and rows of wooden buildings, she had to pause. The sight before her shocked Aurelia to her core, and worry began to work its way through her. All around the walled village, she could see soldiers bearing the colors of the duke and the baron. She couldn¡¯t see the other side of the wall, but there were dozens of soldiers just like those who had paraded through town, dragging the unconscious Robin like a sack of food. From her viewpoint, she could also see part of the buildings inside the village and noticed a couple of the buildings were in the middle of being burned. The sight of the people¡¯s homes and businesses going up in flames, made Aurelia quicken her pace. She had to find out what was going on, and fast.
Belle took a deep breath in and out as she listened to the world around her. The amount of chaos and fighting going on in the village filled her with sorrow, but she couldn¡¯t dwell on those feelings at the moment. She listened as a soldier yelled at a woman to move out of the way. Belle heard a young boy cry out for his mother. Someone was using a sharpening stone on their blade. She could hear the sound of crackling flame as a nearby building burned. These sounds weren¡¯t what she was after, so she moved on each time. That was until she heard the sounds of two men talking quietly to each other. ¡°There are no signs of them anywhere, sir. We have searched every building and home in the village at this point.¡± the first man said. ¡°This is unacceptable, soldier!¡± the second man hissed back, ¡°The duke will have our heads if we don¡¯t bring the Gray siblings back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think I know that?¡± the first responded. ¡°Well, if they are no longer in the village, then they must have made it out unseen,¡± the second muttered. ¡°Should I update Captain Northwood?¡± asked the first man. ¡°No, he will only be upset at the lack of progress, continue searching inside the village, perhaps we have missed something.¡± After that, the two men parted ways, and Belle continued searching for useful information. A couple of minutes later, she was able to listen in on a new conversation of interest to her. The woman currently speaking had a rough voice, as if it was difficult to talk, ¡°Where am I?¡± Belle then heard a slapping noise, followed by a grunt of pain. Someone had hit the woman. ¡°You don¡¯t speak unless spoken to, is that understood?¡± a man growled at the woman. Belle didn¡¯t hear a response from the woman, but another male voice spoke up instead. ¡°Don¡¯t touch her, you bastard,¡± the second man spoke up, his voice also rough like the woman¡¯s. ¡°Wait-!¡± the woman shrieked and Belle could hear another slap, followed by a thud. This time, the second man had been struck rather than the woman. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt my companion, we¡¯ve done nothing wrong!¡± the woman cried out. ¡°Maia, I¡¯ll be okay, just-¡± he didn¡¯t finish as the first man hit him once more. Belle jolted out of her state of concentration, her eyes wild with worry. She turned to see Zen beside her, sitting on a bag of flour. ¡°I found them!¡± Belle exclaimed. Zen turned to her with a surprised look on his face, ¡°Really? You found them?¡± ¡°Yes, I have a general direction of where they are, but we will have to get closer in order for me to get a full lock on their location. We have to tell the others!¡± Belle scrambled to her feet, Zen following her close behind. They moved to the corner of the storage room, pulled open the trap door, and scurried down the ladder to the underground tunnels. Belle rushed towards the meeting area, hoping they could get there faster.
Moving around the village, still invisible, was more difficult for Aurelia than she had imagined. She had almost been run over by other people multiple times in the past few minutes. Rainy Hollow had changed a lot since that morning. It was closing in on sunset now, causing the burning buildings to cast an eerie glow on the streets around them. Aurelia felt worried at the sight around her, the villagers in a panic and the invading soldiers causing trouble everywhere they went. Aurelia finally made it to the orphaned hen just in time to see a chair smash into the wall beside the open door. She watched as Ivan hurled another chair, this time crashing into the soldier in front of her. Aurelia shrieked as the man almost fell into her, wooden shrapnel flying all around her and the three remaining soldiers. She dodged to the side, missing the armored man by inches. Making sure that she was still invisible, Aurelia assessed the situation before her. Four of the duke¡¯s men were inside the tavern with Ivan the only other occupant in the common room. The three soldiers still standing were clustered around the door, the fourth man slowly getting to his feet. Tables and chairs were scattered all over the room, with many reduced to splinters. Aurelia came back to herself when another chair came flying in her direction. Not wanting to become collateral damage, Aurelia moved away from the doorway. ¡°Get out of my tavern!¡± Ivan shouted at the soldiers. ¡°You have no authority over us, innkeeper!¡± one soldier shouted. ¡°Captain Northwood has ordered for every building to be inspected. You are not an exception!¡± another soldier said, anger in his voice. ¡°I don¡¯t care who ordered it, Lord Gray is the only noble I answer to, and you lot killed him!¡± Ivan shouted. Another smash echoed his words, and Aurelia guessed another chair was thrown. Deciding she would not be able to go through the front door, Aurelia made her way around the side of the building. She vaguely remembered that there was a door leading from the kitchen to the outside, so she figured she could enter there instead. As she scurried through the alleyway, she almost ran right into two of the baron¡¯s soldiers, their bronze armor shining in the evening light. She swerved to the side, barely missing the two of them. ¡°Hey, did you hear that?¡± one of the soldiers asked. ¡°Hear what? There is so much going on right now, you¡¯re going to have to be more specific,¡± the other replied. ¡°Never mind, I-¡± Aurelia didn¡¯t hear the rest as she moved further away from them. She jogged to the side door of the tavern and tested the handle. It was locked. Aurelia groaned in annoyance, before pulling out her wand. Not wanting to waste any more of her time, she used a mana bolt to blast open the door. She pushed the splintered door open and rushed into the kitchen. Aurelia stopped in place when she wasn¡¯t exactly alone. All around the kitchen men and women held out knives and other weapons, ready to fight whomever had barged in. Aurelia ducked as a knife left one of the men¡¯s outstretched hands, the blade aimed right at her face. The knife buried itself into what was left of the broken door, missing Aurelia. As she was still invisible, the occupants of the room couldn¡¯t tell the knife had barely missed her. As she took another couple of seconds to take stock of the situation, Aurelia realized she recognized a few of the people. Two being barmaids Aurelia had talked to in the past. She quickly turned off her invisibility and said, ¡°Lia, it¡¯s me!¡± Aurelia held her empty hands up in a placating gesture, and the tavern¡¯s staff as well as a few others gasped at Aurelia¡¯s sudden appearance. Lia¡¯s eyes widened in recognition, ¡°Aurelia, is that you?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me! I am so sorry for scaring you guys, I didn¡¯t realize anyone was in here.¡± Aurelia paused when a crash from the common room and a bellowed yell from Ivan interrupted her. ¡°Is he going to be okay?¡± One of the male cooks spoke up, ¡°Ivan can take care of himself, but even he has his limits.¡± Lia said, ¡°We didn¡¯t know what to do, none of us have combat classes and those guards are way too high level.¡± Aurelia nodded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go help him out, can you guys meet me in the storage room?¡± An older woman looked at Aurelia skeptically, ¡°Why would we meet you in the storage room?¡± ¡°How can you even help Ivan?¡± another asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to explain, you can either go in the storage room or stay here. It¡¯s your choice.¡± Aurelia started to push through the crowd to make her way back towards the common room. ¡°Do you need any help?¡± Lia asked her. ¡°No, I got this.¡± Aurelia activated her ring once more, wanting to keep her presence a surprise from the other guards. She entered the room to find Ivan punching one of the guards in the face. A second guard was knocked out on the ground, and a third was preparing to skewer Ivan from behind with his sword. Aurelia quickly aimed a mana blast at the third guard, and the man flew across the room from the sheer force of the attack. The fourth guard faltered at the noise, his arrow missing Ivan by a foot. Ivan seemed to be dealing with the guard in front of him just fine, so Aurelia turned her attention to the guard with the bow. She sent another mana bolt his way and was able to take him down too. Neither guard had died from the attack but had taken a good chunk of their health. Ivan finally managed to down the guard in front of him, then turned towards Aurelia¡¯s direction. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± he asked. Aurelia revealed herself, and the large man laughed. ¡°Will you be okay by yourself?¡± Aurelia asked, ¡°I need to find Belle.¡± Ivan waved a hand, ¡°You helped me out enough, go ahead. Belle should be down in the tunnels the last I saw from her.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Aurelia turned around and raced for the storage room. Chapter 30: How to Save our Village Aurelia opened the storage room to find most of the people from the tavern¡¯s kitchen had made their way into the room. She motioned for them to move out of the way and the men and women thankfully obliged. Aurelia rushed forward and opened up the passageway hatch. ¡°Gloria¡¯s Angels!¡± one of the male villagers cried out. ¡°What is that?¡± A cook elbowed the man, ¡°Shut it, Jasper, now¡¯s not the time for your questions.¡± ¡°Okay, if you want to get out of sight from the soldiers, you¡¯ll be safe down here,¡± Aurelia told the group. ¡°Follow me if you want, but I won¡¯t wait around for you.¡± With that, Aurelia made her way down the ladder and focused on the glowing strands of mana around her. Before beginning the plan to rescue Corbin and his siblings, Aurelia had taken the time to get familiar with the spatial strands of her teammates. She regretted not doing so sooner for more people, but she couldn¡¯t change what had happened. After hopefully saving Corbin, the plan had been for Belle to seek out the location of Robin¡¯s team, and Aurelia would use her skill to track down Belle¡¯s location. Finding the golden strand, Aurelia started moving down the tunnel. A voice from behind caused her to pause. ¡°Wait!¡± Lia cried out, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I need to find Belle and Zen. I don¡¯t have time to talk,¡± Aurelia turned away and started to jog forward. Lia began to run after Aurelia and got in step beside her. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on or why, but if Zen is involved, I want to help.¡± Aurelia turned left at an intersection, not looking at Lia, ¡°What can you do to help? Like I said, I don¡¯t have time to stop and chat.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, yet. But, I promise not to get in your way.¡± Aurelia didn¡¯t answer the barmaid, instead fully focusing on the glowing strand in front of her. She didn¡¯t have the energy to rebuke the girl, so Aurelia decided to let her be for now. Two minutes later, Aurelia jogged into the meeting room from before. The auditorium-like seating was crowded with people, more than when Moon Raven had created the plan to save the Gray siblings. Aurelia spotted Belle and Zen talking to Marge and Admium so she rushed over to the group. Belle spotted Aurelia and her face lit up in a smile, ¡°Aurelia! You¡¯re alright!¡± The two girls quickly hugged before both their faces turned serious. Zen looked anxiously at Aurelia, ¡°Were you successful?¡± ¡°Yes, all four of them got out safely. Justin is hidden with Corbin and Samantha, while Sabin and Robin are waiting for me in the forest just outside the village. They are waiting for-¡± Aurelia paused when Marge held out a hand. ¡°We should go somewhere more private,¡± she looked around the room, ¡°we have let in quite a few villagers in the last couple of hours and it might be wise to find a more private place to speak. The group nodded and Marge led them out of the room, Cadmium beside her. Lia trailed behind like a lost puppy, her hands wringing anxiously. They entered a room with a table and chairs, and they all sat down. After making sure the door was shut, Marge looked to Lia, ¡°What are you doing here, girl?¡± ¡°I want to help!¡± Lia replied in a determined tone. Zen looked at his former girlfriend with apprehension on his face, ¡°This isn¡¯t some game, Lia, you could get hurt.¡± ¡°This is my home, too, Zen, and I can make my own decisions. Besides, you know I could be of use.¡± ¡°How?¡± Aurelia asked. Everyone turned to Aurelia, including Lia, and Aurelia got the feeling it was something obvious. Belle was the first to remember why Aurelia may not know what they were talking about. ¡°Lia¡¯s aunt is Duchess Yelena Albrecht, wife of Duke Albrecht of Fellsmarch. Duchess Yelena was originally from Rainy Hollow.¡± Lia nodded, ¡°I am still close to my aunt and we send letters to each other frequently.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ if your aunt is a duke¡¯s wife, why are you just a barmid?¡± Aurelia asked. Lia¡¯s face reddened, ¡°Only my aunt was raised to nobility, the rest of us were not a part of the deal.¡± Marge looked at Lia thoughtfully, ¡°Do you know who we are?¡± Lia slowly nodded, ¡°You¡¯re Moon Raven, or at least a part of it.¡± After receiving affirming nods from around the room, she continued, ¡°I had some suspicion with all the random people Ivan would let in and out from the back hallways. Most of them weren¡¯t staying the night and they seemed to come often. I wasn¡¯t for sure what was going on, but after coming down here, it makes sense.¡± Lia looked at Marge, ¡°What I don¡¯t get, is why you are a part of the rebellion group.¡± The older woman smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t intend to share all my secrets, today. But, I believe you can help us. For now, sit and listen.¡± Marge then nodded for Aurelia to continue her explanation of what had occurred in the last couple of hours. ¡°Like I said, Robin and Sabin are waiting for word of what has happened to Maia and Eagan. Robin isn¡¯t willing to stay behind while his team is in danger. My plan was to find out where they were and report back, but I was worried about what would happen if they entered town. The guards might take them captive all over again.¡± Admium spoke up for the first time, ¡°That is a valid concern, the guards are currently scouring the village for the Gray siblings, and plenty of people have gotten hurt so far.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just force them to sit still, though,¡± Aurelia pointed out, ¡°The two of them would find a way into trouble if we don¡¯t assist Robin in finding his team.¡± ¡°Well, before you arrived, I was just informing Marge and Admium that I had located Eagan and Maia,¡± Belle said. ¡°Wait, really?¡± Aurelia brightened. ¡°Yes, they are being held in the Rainy Hollow guard barracks.¡± Belle frowned, ¡°Unfortunately the Duke''s men took over the building after defeating the town¡¯s guards.¡± Aurelia remembered all the bodies by Lord Gray¡¯s home and shuddered. It had been one of the most horrifying sights of her life. To see all that death in one place was not something she wanted to see again. Killing animals was one thing, but seeing the death of her own race was another. ¡°Well, we know where they are, at least.¡± Zen nodded, ¡°We do know that information, but our situation is a lot worse now than it was a couple of hours ago.¡± ¡°Since you rescued Corbin and his brothers, more and more soldiers have entered Rainy Hollow,¡± Marge said. ¡°With the addition of the Baron¡¯s men, we are highly outnumbered in both people and levels.¡± ¡°Then what are we supposed to do?¡± Aurelia asked. Admium leaned forward in his seat, ¡°We have sent for reinforcements from nearby Moon Raven members, but if we wait too long, the duke¡¯s hold on the village will be too ingrained. The soldiers will find their way down here eventually and there may not be anywhere safe left in town. We don¡¯t want the duke to take his anger out on all the villagers.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Well, any more than they already have,¡± Lia muttered under her breath. ¡°Okay, but that still doesn¡¯t answer the question. It is good to know we might have some people on their way to help, but Robin¡¯s teammates are in danger and it seems the duke and baron are set on taking control of the dungeon.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Marge asked. ¡°There are soldiers from both nobles camped right outside the dungeon entrance, probably to prevent anyone from going in. I expect they are waiting for the dungeon master to show themselves.¡± Aurelia said. Both Belle and Zen gave her a questioning look, and Aurelia knew they were wondering if she was going to tell Marge and Admium the full story. When Aurelia had shared her plan to use her crystal to teleport Corbin and his siblings away, she hadn¡¯t elaborated on where the crystal was from or how she got it. Before, all Aurelia wanted was to keep that a secret, but after teleporting the Gray siblings to the dungeon, she had a feeling the secret might get out sooner than she wanted. Thankfully her teammates would never spill her secret without her permission and because she saved Corbin¡¯s siblings, that fact might convince them to keep her secret as well. Aurelia wasn¡¯t willing to give up her anonymity now, so she shook her head at her two teammates. ¡°I think for now we should focus on getting Robin¡¯s teammates back, and then we can figure out what to do next.¡± Aurelia thought for a second then asked a question, ¡°Does the duke and the baron really have the authority to just kill the lord of the village and take it over? There has to be more to it than that.¡± Marge looked at her questioningly before answering, ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t usually work like that. Rainy Hollow has been here for three generations, and it was mostly just another small town between the city of Fellsmarch and the Capital of Gildenshores, Grand Zenith. With the dungeon around, it will become a hot spot for adventurers and nobles from all across the kingdom. The dungeon will make anyone who rules here very rich, and I believe the duke wants to be that person. The King may be a horrible person, but he prefers to keep the nobles under control. That means he upholds the standing law that the first noble to claim a dungeon is protected under the law. I believe what gave Duke Gladys the audacity to take over Rainy Hollow, is¡­us.¡± Marge looked down with a sorrowful gaze. Belle¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Anyone who harbors known members of Moon Raven is subject to the law. If Lord Gray knew we were here, Duke Gladys would have cause to punish him for that.¡± Aurelia¡¯s heart sank, ¡°So there¡¯s nothing legal we can do to stop the Duke from taking over?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not completely true,¡± Admium said. ¡°If we can prove the Gray children knew nothing of us then Sabin could take his father¡¯s place as lord of the village.¡± ¡°Except, Sabin did know of you,¡± Aurelia cut in. ¡°Really?¡± Marge asked. Aurelia nodded, ¡°I think only Robin and Samatha didn¡¯t know about you guys after Belle told Corbin.¡± ¡°We can still work with that,¡± Admium said. ¡°As long as one of them can put under oath that they did not know of us before today, we can get one of the other nobles to get Duke Gladys to back down. ¡°I¡¯ll work on a solution,¡± Marge added. ¡°Lia, let¡¯s get in contact with your aunt, maybe she can help.¡± Lia nodded, ¡°Alright, tell me what to do.¡± Marge led Lia out of the room, leaving Aurelia, Belle, Zen, and Admium together in the room. Aurelia spoke up first, ¡°We need to hurry, I promised Robin and Sabin that I would report back to them what I learned.¡± ¡°It might not be the best idea to lead the two of them back here,¡± Admium said. ¡°Why not?¡± Belle asked. ¡°Right now the Gray siblings are the most important people to Rainy Hollow. If something happens to them, the village will surely fall to the duke and the baron. If we are to have any chance of removing them from power, we need Robin and Sabin alive and free.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t like that,¡± Aurelia said. ¡°Robin is set on getting his teammates back, even if it means getting into danger.¡± ¡°If we get his teammates back alive and well for him, he won¡¯t have much room to complain,¡± Zen shrugged. ¡°How much time do you have before you said you would be back?¡± ¡°Maybe like twenty minutes?¡± Aurelia guessed, ¡°I said I would be back in an hour.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be quicker if you went to save them by yourself?¡± Belle asked Aurelia. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Belle snapped her fingers, ¡°Well your teleportation thing can get you and Robin¡¯s teammates away quickly. What can Robin or Sabin do to help that you can¡¯t do by just going invisible and teleporting Maia and Eagan out of there.¡± ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s true enough. We need to get someone to stall Robin and Sabin, though, as it will take me longer than 20 minutes to get back to them.¡± Zen smiled, ¡°Leave that to us.¡±
Aurelia was once again invisible, walking into a secure building on her way to save some strangers. She had known Corbin, but everyone else she had or might save that day was alien to her. Aurelia laughed to herself at the thought. The people of Eldria may be aliens to her, but she was the actual alien in their world. Aurelia walked behind a set of the duke¡¯s guards as they entered Rainy Hollow¡¯s guard barracks. The place was moderately secured, not as bad as Lord Gray¡¯s mansion had been, but still enough that Aurelia needed her invisibility. The guards in front of her turned left, but Aurelia went right towards the basement. Before Aurelia had left, Belle had given her directions towards where she believed Maia and Eagan were being held. The barracks had its own mini-prison, just like the manor house, so it was likely the two were being held there. Apparently, the village didn¡¯t have a true prison, but with a place this small, crime was very minimal. When she arrived at the door leading down to the prison, Aurelia was faced with her first real obstacle. Two guards were standing directly in front of the prison door. In her last jailbreak, Aurelia had used the sleeping smoke potions to knock out the guards. She only had one bottle left, and Aurelia was worried about using it now. If guards regularly patrolled the barrack hallways, then sleeping guards would immediately alert the others that something was wrong. The smoke also lasted a few minutes before dissipating, meaning Aurelia might end up getting herself knocked out in the attempt. That left Aurelia with two options, kill the guards or make a distraction. And as Aurelia had no desire to kill people, she went with the second option. She looked around her for a moment, before deciding to go with the most classical distraction in the book. A couple of minutes later, the guard barracks was on fire. Unlike the other buildings in the village, this actually impacted the duke¡¯s and baron¡¯s guards. So they started running around, looking for ways to put out the blaze. This included the two who originally stood by the dungeon entrance, allowing Aurelia to sneak down the stairs unnoticed. In the basement of the barracks, there were four cells ready for use. To Aurelia¡¯s surprise, none of those cells were in use, making her heart pound in worry. The cells were all in a row facing the stairs, with closed doors to either side of the hallway. She studied the glowing strands of mana around her, and found that the door to her left had been recently used multiple times. Guessing this is where she should go next, Aurelia started walking in that direction. Before she could even get to the door, the sound of pounding steps behind her caused Aurelia to jump to the side. A guard raced down the stairs, his tabard smelling of smoke. He ran to the door she had been walking towards, and pulled the handle. The frantic guard shouted into the open doorway, saying, ¡°We have to leave, now!¡± Another voice from inside the room said, ¡°What are you talking about? We can¡¯t leave now!¡± ¡°The whole building is on fire! The only water mage we have is occupied by the dungeon, so he won¡¯t be able to get here in time. We need to leave!¡± the frantic guard replied. ¡°Nine Hells! Who let this happen?¡± another voice shouted. Aurelia walked forward and peered inside the room. To both her excitement and dismay, she spotted the two individuals she had been searching for. Maia and Eagan were on the ground, beaten and chained up. The two did not look like they would be in any condition to be up and about. ¡°What about the prisoners?¡± the second guard asked. ¡°Drag them with you, I don¡¯t care, but we need to get going, now!¡± the frantic guard said. ¡°They won¡¯t be waking back up anytime soon,¡± the third guard said. ¡°Just grab them and go!¡± the frantic guard rushed into the room and put Maia over one shoulder. The other two guards snapped into motion and moved to grab Eagan. Aurelia cursed under her breath, realizing she would lose her chance if she let the guards take the two away. She also didn¡¯t want to be caught with the building burning down around her, so she decided her only chance was to attack. Staying invisible, Aurelia used a spatial slash on the closest guard. The spell was practically invisible as it flew across the hallway impacting the guard at his knees. The frantic guard cried out in pain, dropping Maia to the ground. Aurelia didn¡¯t give the second and third guards a chance to figure out what was happening and sent two more spells their way. Aurelia moved quickly making her way toward Maia as Eagan fell to the ground atop the two guards. The first guard was screaming in pain and confusion as he stared down at his decimated legs. Aurelia grabbed Maia and dragged her on the ground in the direction of Eagan. ¡°What is that? What is that?¡± one of the guards cried out. Aurelia ignored the guards as she finally reached Eagan as well. Before she could pull out her dungeon crystal, an impact on her mana shield caused her to jump in surprise. She turned around to see that one of the guards had thrown his helmet in her direction. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± the second guard cried out. Aurelia finally got out her crystal and placed a hand on both Eagan and Maia as she said, ¡°It¡¯s Your Royal Highness.¡± A blast of light later and all three of them had disappeared. Chapter 31: A Cry for Help The man raced along the dirt road, his horse continuing its fast-paced galop. In the past several hours, Linken had set a hard pace toward the city of Fellsmarch, only stopping once to allow his horse a chance to drink water. Earlier that day, Linken had been guarding Lord Gray at his home, still thinking about the new dungeon. Just like all the villagers in Rainy Hollow, the news of the dungeon filled him with excitement and anticipation. Linken had the chance to guard the dungeon entrance after its appearance, and the happy adrenaline from then was a stark contrast to the worry and panic he now felt. Ever since he was a boy, Linken had hoped to one day become an adventurer, but after marrying his wife, he decided it would be more prudent to stay on as a guard for the Gray house. The appearance of a low-ranked dungeon had been Linken¡¯s sign that perhaps he could still get the adventure he craved. That feeling was now swept aside with thoughts of more pressing matters. The horse leaped over a particularly deep pothole in the road, and Linken jostled in his saddle. He tried to relax into the motion of the horse but knew it was a losing battle. Just a few hours prior, Linken had been present when one of the messenger boys had rushed into the Gray mansion. The boy had let those present know that Duke Gladys had arrived, but not in peace. When Lord Gray learned that his son, Robin, had not only been attacked but that the duke seemed set on continued violence, Lord Gray rushed into action. A couple of minutes later, Linken was sent out to the stables with an important letter in hand. He had no knowledge of what had happened after exiting the village, but he knew it couldn¡¯t be good. The trees and scenery rushed by as he and the horse continued on. The reason the two could move so quickly was thanks to one of Linken¡¯s skills. The movement skill gave the user long-distance speed, which Linken could extend to his mount. He now used the skill to get to Fellsmarch as soon as possible. A couple of minutes later, the large city could be seen ahead of him. Linken just hoped he wouldn¡¯t be too late.
Duke Raymond Albrecht sat in his study, reading a report on the week''s finances. This had always been his least favorite chore, but the promise of a pleasing dinner kept him working. As he began to pack everything up, Duke Albrecht noticed the sun was close to setting. ¡°Is it time already?¡± he muttered to himself. The Duke set his finished pile of work at the edge of his desk, then hurried toward the office door. As his hand reached for the door handle, he was surprised when the wooden door suddenly swung inwards, almost slamming into him. Duke Albrecht nimbly reacted just in time and took a few steps back. A harried guard rushed into the room, surprised to see the duke right next to the door. ¡°My apologies, your grace! But we have pressing news from Rainy Hollow!¡± The soldier¡¯s words and tone stopped the duke from beginning a stern rebuke. Instead, the duke said, ¡°What has happened? Is it my wife¡¯s family?¡± ¡°Not entirely sure, your grace.¡± The soldier pulled out a letter, marked with Lord Nathan Gray¡¯s insignia. ¡°This is for you.¡± The duke took the letter and began to read. ¡°Gloria¡¯s Angels, I can¡¯t believe this!¡± Without another word, Duke Albrecht rushed out of his study and began to jog down the hallway. The soldier followed close behind, and said, ¡°The letter was given by one of Lord Gray¡¯s personal guards, he is currently downstairs, waiting for your reply.¡± ¡°I see. Where is my chamberlain?¡± ¡°I believe he is downstairs with the guard, your Grace.¡± Duke Albrecht merely nodded, then began to descend the large staircase towards the main floor. ¡°Did the guard say anything else of note?¡± ¡°He wanted to wait until you got there, your Grace.¡± When Duke Albrecht walked into the castle¡¯s main entrance, he spotted his chamberlain along with two of his guards, and a haggard man he assumed was the visiting guard from Rainy Hollow. Chamberlain Georg was the first to spot the duke, his gaze turning from the frazzled guard. ¡°Your Grace! Were you able to read the letter?¡± Georg asked. ¡°Yes, I was.¡± The duke walked up to the newcomer, ¡°What else can you tell me of what is happening?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Linken, as Duke Albrecht soon learned his name to be, apparently had more shocking news to tell. ¡°Yesterday, a new dungeon suddenly appeared near the village.¡± ¡°Really? A new dungeon near Rainy Hollow?¡± the duke asked. ¡°Yes, it appeared in a nearby meadow, and Lord Gray sent his son¡¯s adventuring team to clear the dungeon. To everyone¡¯s surprise, someone or some team was already inside, keeping anyone else from entering.¡± ¡°Was young Robin able to claim the dungeon for his father?¡± the Chamberlain cut in. ¡°Unfortunately, no. Someone cleared the dungeon and claimed it as Robin¡¯s team and a few others were waiting outside the entrance. I and a fellow guardsman waited for hours, but no one exited the dungeon. We have no idea who ended up claiming it.¡± ¡°You are sure the group inside didn¡¯t just die?¡± the duke questioned. Linken shrugged, ¡°Robin confirmed that the dungeon had been claimed, and when the dungeon was checked this morning, the claim was still in place. Duke Albrecht frowned, ¡°A mystery for another time, then. So your letter mentioned a conflict with Duke Gladys and perhaps a Baron. Why did the duke decide to take aggressive action against Lord Gray?¡± ¡°My lord mentioned he had been getting some pressure from Duke Gladys of late,¡± Linken replied, ¡°I am unsure of the details, but he seemed worried that the news of the dungeon might incentivize Duke Gladys to take drastic measures. Right before I left, we found out the Duke had immediately attacked Lord Robin upon arriving at the village before taking him into custody. Lord Gray seemed to understand things would end up far worse for the village once Duke Gladys found out none of the Gray Lords had claimed the dungeon, so he sent a couple of guards out to inform other nobles of what was happening.¡± ¡°Where did-¡± Duke Albrecht stopped when a blood-curdling shriek could be heard from upstairs. Everyone went silent at the words, before suddenly jumping into action. Duke Albrecht knew his own wife¡¯s voice. As the group rushed up the stairs, they found the duchess running down the hallway in their direction. The duke ran up to his wife, checking her over for injuries. ¡°What is it? Are you alright?¡± the duke asked the pale Yelena. The duchess shook her head and held up a hand towards the duke¡¯s face. ¡°My ring¡­ it¡­ my sister!¡± she sobbed. Duke Albrecht looked down at the proffered ring. It was a silver band with a white opal which usually shone with a pale light. The opal in question was now dull and a crack could be seen splitting the opal in half. The duke had given this ring to his wife as a gift and knew what this meant. Yelena¡¯s ring had a matching twin, given to her sister in Rainy Hollow. The duke had hoped by giving this ring to his wife, she would be more willing to leave her family behind to stay with him in Fellsmarch. The twin rings were connected so each could know how the other was doing. If Yelena¡¯s ring was cracked and dull it meant her sister was dead. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± a voice from behind the duke asked. The duke didn¡¯t turn around, saying, ¡°I am afraid the situation in Rainy Hollow is much worse than we thought.¡±
As the sun continued to set behind the treeline, Lia could only pray to whatever god might be listening for help. She watched as her father carried her mother¡¯s body out of her childhood home, the devastation clear on his face. Lia rushed to his side, sorrow welling up within her. ¡°Father! What happened?¡± Lia cried out. The absolute devastation on her father¡¯s face made Lia¡¯s knees weak and she wrapped her arms around his waist. After the meeting with the group in the Moon Raven camp, Lia rushed outside to find her parents. She knew her mother might have a way to contact her aunt, so Lia had been tasked to hopefully send for help. Seeing the now-empty gaze of her mother emptied Lia¡¯s mind of every other thought than the sight in front of her. A sob escaped her father¡¯s trembling lips as he tried to answer his daughter, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t-¡± he took a shuddering breath, ¡°I wasn¡¯t here for her.¡±
All across the village of Rainy Hollow fires raged, people cried out in pain and fear, soldiers attacked innocent villagers, and above it all, Duke Gladys stared out a broken window in the Grey Mansion. The duke clenched his hands into fists as news of escaped prisoners reached his ears. ¡°What do you mean, the two escaped!¡± Duke Gladys roared at the unfortunate guard. The seasoned guard stiffened, but kept his gaze straight ahead, still at attention. ¡°Robin¡¯s adventuring teammates were teleported away, your Grace.¡± The duke growled his anger but allowed the guard to continue his report. ¡°A fire started in the guard barracks, forcing the men to evacuate. During the commotion, an unseen intruder, most likely using some form of invisibility entered the building and teleported the two prisoners away.¡± Duke Gladys swore his disapproval, ¡°This is unacceptable! First, the Gray siblings escaped and now this.¡± He rubbed his forehead with one head before turning to the man beside him, ¡°Send out an order to bring as many villagers as possible to the grounds in front of the manor. I need some insurance so the Gray boys don¡¯t flee entirely.¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± Captain Northwood answered. ¡°What about those that try to escape?¡± The duke waved a hand in indifference. ¡°Just kill those that try to escape. Everyone else will soon fall in line once they know the choice is between death and obedience.¡± The captain saluted the duke, ¡°As you say, your Grace!¡±