《Dungeon Hunter》


 The Beginning Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    "Today''s gonna be another hard day of work." Karl murmured to himself as he was approaching the abandoned school building in the dead of night.


    The school building stood there, on the outskirts of Vienna dark and abandoned, not a single soul setting foot in it for who knows how long. The school was due for demolishing in a couple of weeks. But before that could be done Karl had to fulfill his job.


    Karl was a young man of 18 with black hair and a slim build. He didn''t possess strong muscles and one could see it.


    ''It''s been a long time since I''ve been here. Huuh-''.


    In the darkness it looked really creepy, kind of otherworldly, Karl thought to himself.


    He walked in through the front gate and headed for the school entrance.


    It was in the same state as the rest of the building. Broken and unsightly.


    ''I wonder if everyone else is already there.''


    As he entered the abandoned building he walked up a flight of stairs and arrived at the place everyone had been called to.


    It was a pretty big classroom, where the desks had been pushed to the side, to make room for the people inside.


    Counting the heads, there were about 15 People here. A sizable amount for the task at hand, Karl thought to himself as he checked if he knew anybody.


    He turned his head from left to right and tried recognizing people that were here.


    ''I hope I''m not alone here. I''m not really feeling it today to be honest.''


    But just as he was about to give up on finding someone, he got tapped on the shoulder.


    "Hey Karl, it seems like we''ll be working together again. Please take care of me."


    It was a gentle tap, and the voice behind him was a familiar and friendly one at that.


    Karl turned around and looked at the smiling man with brown hair in front of him.


    "Good evening Markus, though I think I should be the one saying that."


    Karl''s worries lifted slightly as soon as he found out he wasn''t alone. He was able to regain some of his composure and smiled slightly at Marcus.


    "So how''ve you been? It''s been ages since we last worked together. 2-3 Months maybe, I can''t quite remember, that''s how long ago that was."


    Karl now calmer then before smiled and answered happily.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "It has been an eternity hasn''t it? I''m fine and you? How are the kids?"


    "Oh they''re fantastic. Happy to have a little bit more money now before Christmas. They sure are looking forward to their presents. By the way do you maybe want to-"


    "RAID COMMENCING IN 50 SECONDS. EVERYONE GET READY."


    And just like that their small talk got cut short.


    They looked at each other, now more focused on the task at hand than anything else.


    "It''s a weaker level 1 this time right?" Markus asked as he looked Karl, eyes beaming with concentration.


    "It is, otherwise I wouldn''t be here."


    Markus chuckled slightly as he went to his position.


    As he was a tank he went to the front along with every other tank.


    "Tanks in the front, mages and supports in the back and fighters in the middle. That''s our formation today. Everyone hurry up and let''s get this thing over with quickly."


    The man acting as the leader of this raid, spew out orders and the others followed them immediately.


    ''So he''s the highest ranked one. I wonder what Rank he is.''


    Karl slowly moved into the middle of the pack, surrounded with likeminded people. Next to him stand multiple men, about 6 of them. They were all of a similar physique as Karl, skinny yet possessing the smallest amount of muscle necessary for this job.


    ''So there''s going to be six of us.''


    Karl turned his head around to check out the number of people behind him.


    There were about 7 People standing there, some mages, some supports, no rangers though.


    The Mage and support classes were easily differentiable because they wore different looking hats.


    The mages wore a long black, grizzled hat that looked like it came from the previous century, nonetheless they shot upwards towards the, now black, sky for at least 30 cm.


    On the other end, the Supports wore normal, well designed blankets or helmets on their heads. The color of Gold and red were a common occurrence on these blankets, as they strengthen the healing magic of the supports. There was also the color of the grass, but finding a blanket with that color here is quite unlikely as they strengthen the magic significantly, so only the healers Ranked B and above could afford to wear them.


    ''We have a sizable amount of healers here, this might just be easier than I thought it would.''


    Clenching his fists in pure anticipation Karl looked around once more to spot the position of the leader.


    And after a second or two he quickly found him meddling with his brand new looking armor in the front. He was wearing heavy armor that shine in the moonlight, there were so many layers of iron over it that it made him look like a fat man.


    ''He''s in the perfect position. In the front, able to strategically command everyone else while still being able to get a feel for the battlefield.''


    Karl was slightly less anxious knowing that the leader was a Tank. If he had been a Mage or a Support, Karl thought about just leaving the Raid party. Thankfully he turned out to be a heavily armored Tank, so his determination rose back up to the level it should''ve been at from the start.


    Having confirmed the contents of his party Karl looked forward and looked at the doorway in front of him.


    It was the entrance to the level 1 Dungeon they were entering. A blue aura flew out of the pitch black door.


    Even though it was fully closed, the aura escaped through the small opening on the bottom.


    "Seems like this one won''t be a hard one."


    One of the mages from the back said, as he used a spell to check the magical energy of the Gate.


    ''It seems I got quite lucky this time''


    Karl got himself ready, tied his shoes again, got his training suit into place and just waited for the start.


    "10"


    "9"


    "8"


    "7"


    The people next to Karl started breathing heavy. Their eyes full of bloodlust.


    It seemed like the want to kill would seep out of one of the large guys standing next to Karl.


    "6"


    "5"


    "4"


    "3"


    "2"


    ''It''s all or nothing from this point on.''


    "1"


    "GO!!"


    The leader screamed as him and the other tanks rushed in.


    Their heavy armor rustling and bustling on their bulky bodies could be seen and heard from the other people present. The armor that was made to withstand attacks from monsters double the size of its wearer was naturally were loud as its heaviness created a lot of noise when moving around.


    But they did not care about that at the moment. All their concentration was focused on entering the Dungeon.


    Everything else was secondary to them right now. They only cared about this one thing.


    After the tanks went in, in what seemed like a split second difference, the Fighters and mages ran in hurriedly as well.

 The Beginning Chapter 2

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

 The Beginning Chapter 3

    The Smell of old, almost ancient wood hit the Nose of the young man as he opened his eyes.


    ''Wh-what is this? Where am I?''


    All around him were shelves of olden looking books.


    The age of these could be determined by the cobwebs hanging from the books.


    They were ancient. Looked like they hadn''t been opened for an eternity.


    But that wasn''t what hit the eyes of the young man first.


    No.


    What he noticed first was the seemingly unending height of the shelves.


    They went so high up in the sky in fact, that after a while they just disappeared into the void up above.


    The human eye was not able to see that far above, and due to the lack of light up there, it just looked like a portal to a pitch-black dimension.


    ''Wh-where is this?''


    He looked around frantically searching for the exit. A way out was what he hoped to find.


    Yet no such structure was visible anywhere.


    Behind him, as well as in front of him, rows on rows of shelves just climbed to the sky.


    ''How did I even get here? There must be a way to get out, seeing as I must have come in from somewhere. But how did I get here. I can''t remember anything.''


    Karl held his head in his hands, trying to recall what had happened before he opened his eyes.


    ''I remember me and the other party members walking down a dark pathway.''


    He held his Head in his arms as he sighed.


    ''Ahhhh- That''s all I remember. It''s just blank after that. Like I was possessed or something.''


    After shaking his head once, to try to clear his mind, he started wandering the library, remarking that he should try and find an exit. But after walking for about 1 minute he got curios about the books that were beside him.


    The old and dusty books that were there, unopened for who knows how long.


    They all had different colored covers.


    Some were blue, some yellow, even purple ones were there.


    But the one that really caught Karl''s eyes was a book with a pitch-black cover. There was no writing on the side of the book, just a blank darkness.


    He stretched his hands out to grab it. But before he touched it his mind started working again.


    ''Wait!! What if it''s dangerous''


    Karl quickly grabbed his hand with the other one.


    He was careless.


    The boy didn''t know what would happen if he touched the books. But for some reason it was as if he''d been drawn to it.


    With a worriless mindset, reminiscent of the one that brought him here, he took out the book that was ohh so, appealing looking.


    The book was quite heavy, its contents plenty.


    He opened it and saw the title page.


    [Ismail-The sword that split heaven in half]


    ''A sword...How much unimaginable power must it possess to be able to do something like that. I never heard this fairy tale before.''


    As his fingers wanted to rummage through the book, to flip the page over to the other side, a small yet not painless Shock entered the body of Karl.


    "Ah"


    It was more like a small shock one would receive if one had been toying around with a remote or something. But the elevated nervousness levels of Karl made him accidentally drop the book.


    "What was that? Could it have come from the book? No, that''s impossible."


    As he murmured to himself, he put the book back, feeling at ease when he put it back in it''s place.


    ''Guess it''s time to continue my search for the exit.''


    Quickly moving on, he once again started looking around everywhere he could see, whilst walking in one direction.


    But as he took five steps he suddenly froze.


    ''Wh-Why can''t I move? What is this!?''


    His whole body was frozen stiff.


    Karl couldn''t even move an inch. He was frozen in place.


    ''Damn! Is this some kind of trap?!''


    As he was questioning what had happened to him, a light appeared beneath his eyes.


    It was some ancient writing that glowed with a bright pink flare.


    The lights in the room all went out simultaneously, except for one candle still soldiering on, but it was barely even a glint.


    ''This is the end of me...''


    Without being able to move an inch, Karl was sure of his demise. And as he closed his eyes, the only thing he had hoped for was a miracle to happen.


    ***


    "Watch out they''re coming from above!!"


    One of the Adventurers screamed as the goblins started falling out of the sky.


    "How did they get up there?!"


    Bracing himself, Markus lifted up his mace and was ready to strike down the goblins as they were in his vicinity.


    Every Adventurer there was already fighting. Some used swords and bested the beasts, whilst others drew back and used magic to defeat them. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    But this was only capable because Markus and the rest of the Tanks drew away most of the attacking force of the goblins.


    But this could all change if they were jumping down from the roof.


    If a lot of them get behind them, the attacking force may be in trouble.


    Realizing this, Markus said to the leader.


    "We need to reposition ourselves. The goblins might kill our healers if we don''t draw their focus on us."


    The Leader looked around for a little while to confirm the situation of the fight.


    The whole conflict was taking place in a more open area. After wandering in a straight line for about half an hour, they made it out here, and soon after the goblins attacked.


    "Everyone let''s draw back and draw their focus on us again!!"


    He screamed the orders and everyone began to move accordingly.


    Markus looked up and saw that a goblin was pretty close.


    He was falling at an incredibly fast rate.


    Like this he would reach the floor in about 6 seconds.


    Markus hurriedly prepared himself. He took up a stance, shifted his weight on his back leg and held his mace like a baseball bat. He held it tight and was ready to use all his force for a swing.


    As soon as the goblin appeared in front of his eyes.


    He took a full power swing, aiming for the goblins head.


    They were both round and looked kind of similar, so hitting it wasn''t a big challenge.


    His iron mace struck the poor goblins head straight on.


    ''Home run.''


    Markus smiled as he succeeded in getting a good hit in.


    The mace went through the goblins green head like it would go through a normal ceramic doll. It smashed it with such force that there remained nothing. The head was broken completely, all the bones and everything shattered.


    "That''ll teach you not to mess with a rank E Adventurer"


    Blood spurted out from the now gone head of the goblin, and it all went upwards in the air.


    There was a bloody shower for Markus and anybody in his close proximity.


    "Sorry. I always wanted to try that."


    He looked back to the people behind him.


    They were all looking at him kind of angry, due to having their clothes ruined and being covered in monster blood.


    Markus, showing a small smile, apologized to them and scratched the back of his head slightly.


    After having apologized he quickly followed the Leader to get back to his position.


    ***


    ''Huh, what happened?!''


    Still being stuck in place and unable to move, Karl asked himself this question as he started to panic.


    It seems like the calming effect he had been under before had vanished. Leaving him with a lot of worry for his future.


    ''Why can''t i move!!''


    Karl was using all the power in his muscles to try and make a movement.


    But alas to no avail.


    He was stuck there, unable to move, no matter how much he tried and struggled. But Karl was not one to give up, so he continued struggling until his arms gave out.


    He had overstrained his arms, and in turn lost all feeling in them.


    ''Great! What do I do now?! I need to find a way out of here!!''


    Never giving up hope was one of Karl''s best traits. And he was lucky to possess it. Who knows where he would be if he were a person that gave up easily. He would most likely be in a different place.


    "A feisty one this time. You seem to have a lot of energy for someone who can''t move."


    Suddenly a mysterious voice appeared from somewhere in the room.


    The voice was quite deep, it awakened thoughts of a Battle-hardened warrior within Karl''s mind.


    Karl tried moving his face to look around the room, but his whole head was also unmovable.


    The only thing he could move were his eyes.


    But they were of not much help in this case, as the voice was not coming from in front of him.


    ''Wh-who could that be?!''


    Panickingly thinking of who could be behind him, Karl could do nothing but wonder of his fate.


    ''Has my time finally come? Did my time run out already? No!! That can''t be. I won''t perish like this.''


    "W-Who is that?"


    The voice was not a recognizable one for Karl.


    "A small body, weak arms, average legs. The only thing you have going for yourself is your determination not to give up."


    ''What is he talking about?''


    Karl now continued the struggle to move his body.


    His veins bulging up from the pressure he was putting them under.


    He wanted to see who the person talking to him was.


    "Where am I?"


    The library he was at before disappeared in front of his eyes in a matter of seconds. The darkness took everything out of the light and shrouded them in darkness instantly.


    Now the only thing that was here was a single lit candle and himself.


    "The last one was better. Better physique, stronger and most import of all more intelligent. I don''t know if I can do it with this one."


    Karl was rattling his brains at maximum speed, trying to figure out what was going on here. Yet he couldn''t come to a sensible answer. The only theories he could think of were negative ones, so that didn''t help.


    "Am I going to die here??."


    Karl was still using every fiber of his being to try and make a movement. But the situation looked more and more grim, after every second that passed.


    "Answer my questions, Please!!"


    "What is your name, boy?"


    In front of Karl''s eyes, there was a flying face.


    The face was the color red.


    If you looked at it, you could make out the positions of the eye sockets and the mouths.


    "I-Its Karl"


    He answered, while looking straight at the floating face.


    "You have been chosen as the next host, you see." the face replied, while not using his name.


    ''What is he talking about?!''


    Karl was only focused on the flying head in front of him.


    His mind couldn''t think clearly because of the things that were happening to him.


    "You have a choice to make Karl. You can either forfeit your life right here and now or help me fulfill my goal as my host."


    ''Forfeit my life?! Does he mean it like dying?! "


    Karl was silently listening trying to get a handle on the situation as it unfolded.


    Yet he was still confused about.... Well everything.


    "You need to make your decision here and now. The time is ticking."


    The face said, as he impatiently waited for Karl''s choice.


    "Wa-wait. I don''t understand what''s going on." Karl said.


    "There is no need to understand. You just have to choose." the face replied, looking irritated.


    "How could I choose if I don''t even know what the consequences are!! Please explain further."


    Karl pleased with the Face.


    "What is your choice?"


    The face said calmly, ignoring Karl''s pleads.


    Karl just stood there, in silence, unable to come to a decision.


    "I see...how unfortunate."


    The face disappeared, leaving Karl there alone. In the darkness.


    The candle that was barely lit a while ago, seemed to be on its last puff.


    ''Wait! Where did he go?!''


    Just as Karl was asking himself this. The feeling in his bottom right foot disappeared.


    However it took a couple of seconds for Karl to realize this, as he was concerned with other stuff.


    ''I''ve been frozen for so long that my foot got a cramp.''


    Karl looked down to where his foot should be.


    ''Huh!!!!''


    There was nothing there.


    The place where his foot was just a second ago was now shrouded in darkness.


    All he could see was his leg. But nothing from his foot reached his eye.


    ''Did it get even darker?''


    Karl looked at it for about 1 minute, until he realized something that shocked him to his core.


    ''Wa-wait! Why can I see my other foot but not this one?''


    He started panicking.


    His mind instantly went to the worst possible scenario it could go too.


    ''I''m gonna die. I''m gonna die.''


    He was repeating this sentence in his mind, having fully blanked out at this moment.


    He was unable to think. The fear of death had completely overtaken him.


    ''Why, why, why, why, me?''


    He couldn''t think of anything but to whine at his unfortunate situation.


    The time passed like this for a couple more minutes, until his whole leg disappeared.


    ''Why. Why. Why. Why. Why....''


    Karl had begun to think of only this one thought. Despair had gotten to him. He was gone. His mind broken and his body being taken apart one by one. He had no idea what he could do to survive this.


    But that''s when it popped into his mind.


    ''I haven''t made my choice yet....''


    A small glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel was visible for Karl. He had glimpsed it. The last sliver of hope for his life.


    He didn''t even hesitate to make the choice this time.


    He didn''t understand before, but now having realized what the face had been telling him, the choice was obvious.


    "Please, I accept your offer. I will do anything you ask of me, just let me keep on living. Give me one more chance."


    He pleaded with the face. Hoping it wasn''t too late.


    "I see you have made your choice. Then the contract shall be formed here and now."


    Just like that the face flew into Karl''s chest and disappeared.


    It looked like he had been absorbed into the body of the young adventurer.


    "Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!"


    Suddenly Karl''s chest started shining brightly. A light orange hue emerged from it and shone into the darkness, lighting up the last remaining candle.


    The candle that was basically on its way out before, had turned into a fiery hell blaze, that lighted every other light in the room as well.


    The pain that came with the light was unbearable for Karl and he passed out right then and there.


    "This particular host is still very weak. Huuh~ there''s still a lot of work ahead of us."

 The Beginning Chapter 4

    "Reinforce Armor"


    Markus screamed as a horde of Goblins sprung at him with swords in hand.


    They flew through the sky and were flying right at Markus.


    The goblins, in total there were four, slashed their swords downwards, intending to penetrate Markus''s armor and cut him down.


    Their swords sliced through the air and were heading downward at an incredible speed.


    It was truly unbelievable, just how much force they could unleash with their small hands and bodies.


    Dump


    A loud bang could be heard as the swords hit the armor of the Tank.


    It was as if a bullet had hit a wall.


    The goblins were smiling and looking at each other, happy because of their successful attack.


    Their smiles allowed insight into their horrendous mouths, full of crooked teeth.


    The sharpness of which were also like a blade.


    "What are you smiling for?"


    A man''s voice entered the smiling goblins¡¯ ears as they looked down in disbelief.


    "Graahah!!"


    They all screeched as they realized their blades had not cut through the man''s defenses.


    And not only that, their blades were now deeply imbedded in the man''s iron wear, unable to be drawn out with only their sheer force.


    The smiles quickly disappeared from their faces, as they looked to be concerned for their life.


    The ugly face of fear had appeared on them.


    They knew it was over the moment they failed to cut him.


    Yet they were not ready to pass on just yet.


    "Greeeeehhhh!!!"


    They all screamed as they let go off their swords and started running away.


    But before they even got a meter away.


    "Where do you think you''re going?"


    Markus quickly caught up with the fleeing goblins.


    And without missing a beat, he struck them down.


    Baaaamm


    He hit one of the goblins in the chest and launched him at the other fleeing ones.


    He held back a bit, to not destroy the goblins whole body. But with just the right amount of force, he knocked him back into the other ones.


    The goblin flew right into four other ones that were fleeing.


    "Aghgah"


    The goblins were mumbling something to themselves in their tongue.


    But in a flash, he appeared.


    "There''s no need to be mad at him. He couldn''t help but fly into you."


    Suddenly Markus appeared as well, and without the slightest bit of hesitation visible on his face. He decided to unleash his full force.


    "This is for all that you have killed."


    He struck down with the iron mace, painting it with Crimson blood as he continuesly slammed in the heads of the goblins.


    He struck them multiple times, even after they were already dead, to make sure they were not tricking him.


    He looked up for a second to assess the situation.


    With a relieved face Markus rushed back to a Healer and stood guard on her rear.


    "Here to do my duty ma''am."


    He jest as he prepared himself and readied his posture for the rushing goblins.


    "If you are able to joke, you better be able to protect me as well."


    The woman, wearing light brown hair replied as she healed one of the wounded of the party.


    Markus bent slightly downwards and readied his mace with a smile on his face.


    "You bet."


    ****


    "Whew! We finally delt with them." Markus said as he bent downwards slightly out of exhaustion.


    He put his hands on his knees and exhaled a couple of times to calm himself after the adrenaline rush called "battle".


    ''I wonder what we''re going to do now.... We''re supposedly close to the Boss entrance, but I wonder what the leader will decide to do.''


    Markus taught to himself as he looked at the Leader, surrounded by the other group members wondering the same thing.


    Markus decided to stand up and walked over to where the big group was situated.


    "So what are we going to do now?" one person with a cloak over his head asked.


    "Are we going into the Boss room?" another one followed up with practically the same question.


    The Leader was continuously getting bombarded with questions from left and right.


    He looked slightly annoyed by this.


    "Look, I don''t know yet. I''ll make a decision once we reach the entrance." he said while putting his hands up into the air.


    ''That''s the right decision'' Markus taught to himself as he wandered off, trying to find Karl.


    ''Where is that useless Adventurer'' he joked to himself as he looked around the area.


    He continued looking for a couple more minutes until he was sure he had searched everywhere.


    ''Where could he have gone off to?''


    He was getting slightly worried about Karl.


    He started looking around a bit more frantically, trying to catch a glimpse of him.


    ''He must''ve just gone to take a leak right?''


    He reassured himself, staying positive even in the case of the unknown.


    "We''re going further. There isn''t that much more left. Come on guys" the Leader offered encouraging words as they started to proceed.


    Markus looked back and saw everyone going onwards.


    Deciding not to drag everyone down, he reassured himself that he had just missed Karl, and continued on with the Group.


    ***


    "What are we going to do now?"


    A long, black haired Woman asked the man standing in the middle of the group.


    They had indeed reached their goal of the boss rooms entrance. It''s size enormous and the volume of its Magical Energy indescribable.


    The Doorway was massive at about a 100 Meters tall and the half of that as its width.


    Open, yet covered by a pitch black fog which makes the boss of the room unable to leave.


    The fog was spilling out of the opened gate and was passing by Markus''s feet.


    ''Creepy.''


    Even though he had often seen the fog and even felt it on a couple of occasions as he went on a boss raid, he could not help but shiver whenever he saw it.


    "I just hope they decide what to do quickly." he mumbled to himself as he sighed.


    They had been exploring for quite some time now, and as expected most party members were tired and wanted to get out.


    However there were also members of the party that wanted to fight the boss of the Place. And they were making leaving the Dungeon a harder Task than it should be.


    They were arguing with the leader, trying to get him to issue the commands. And were doing their best to encourage the other members to continue as well.


    However almost everyone agreed that they did not possesses the energy to deal with the boss.


    And as such they weren''t making any leeway.


    "It''s only a matter of time, before they give up."


    And whilst all this was happening, Markus couldn''t help but still worry about Karl.


    Now that they had stopped, he had taken the opportunity to look for him. But he came up empty handed.


    He looked everywhere yet couldn''t find him.


    Which could only mean one thing.


    "I hope I''m wrong about this."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    He murmured as he sat down.


    After about an hour of rest the entire group started to move again.


    "Well that was a waste of time."


    One of the people complained.


    "We could''ve left earlier if all they were going to do was look at the entrance."


    "Because of that, the amount of money we will be making has also been cut in half. Honestly what a waste."


    The members of the group just kept on complaining, even though they knew they didn''t stand a chance against the boss.


    They had to let off some steam somehow, and this was the only way they found for it.


    "Honestly, what idiots. They''re lucky the Leader didn''t get talked into fighting the boss. It would''ve been a disaster otherwise."


    Markus said as he looked at the people walking in front of him.


    "So you felt it as well?"


    One of the people, a Healer asked him this as he looked at him curiously.


    "Hmmm... If you¡¯re talking about the intensity of the magical energy, then yes. It was way above something a group like ours could handle."


    The Healer just looked at Markus with a slight relief visible on his face.


    "Another sensible person. I didn''t think I would find another one here. Thank god."


    The Person said as he exhaled deeply.


    The Healer was about the size of a High School Student. The size between an adult and a kid. He also possessed short black hair and some glasses.


    "By the way I''m Franz. A Rank E Healer. Nice to meet you."


    "I''m Markus. The pleasure Is all mine"


    Markus shook the Healers hand as they locked eyes with one another.


    Markus then looked away and kept staring in front of him.


    They walked side by side in silence, whilst sometimes striking up some small conversations.


    "Have you heard about the meeting taking place this Friday?"


    Franz asked Markus as they walked.


    "The meeting? First time I hear of it." Markus said.


    Franz looked at him with fully open eyes.


    "I''m surprised you haven''t heard anything. It''s been in the news the whole week. The Leaders of all the countries are coming together to discuss something. It''s gotta be something big if they''re all coming together."


    "What are they discussing?"


    Markus asked, having his interest piqued.


    But Franz just kind of furrowed his brows and put his hand on his chin. Caressing it slightly.


    "Nobody knows. They haven''t revealed anything to the public. It seems the politicians are being tight lipped. Even though the media has their speculation, those stuff isn''t really trustworthy you know." Franz said.


    Markus looked up at the ceiling of the cave as he wondered to himself silently.


    "I wonder what they are discussing."


    He murmured.


    But after a couple of silent seconds of deep thought, Markus popped back to reality.


    Immediately he started looking around himself again. Paying a lot of attention to his surroundings.


    ''Is he afraid we''ll get ambushed again?'' Franz thought to himself as he looked at Markus frantically looking from one side to another walking next to him.


    These Actions looked quite strange to Franz, but not wanting to come off as a rude and unsensitive person, he decided to push them to the back of his mind.


    After continuing on the path of silence, eventually both fell into silence, having run out of things to talk about.


    ''How awkward'' Franz thought to himself.


    But with having nothing to say, he stayed by the older man''s side in quiet and observed his movements.


    This continued on for a while, until the silence the two had found themselves in had been broken by the loud words of a man, in the front of the Group.


    He was in the position Markus should have been in, yet this remained unremarked by the both of them.


    "Stop!!! Don''t move" the man yelled.


    With his words the whole wandering party came to a stop and stood in silence and confusion. Nobody wanted to make an unnecessary move unsure about how to proceed.


    There was only pure, unfiltered silence looming in the air as the people in the back were trying to catch a glimpse of the happenings in the front.


    This silence lasted for 10 seconds, until the man that spoke before, yelled again.


    "It''s a human. No reason to worry."


    The sighs of relief descended on the cave as falling leaves on autumn.


    The people were ready to engage in combat, so it having been a false alarm was very calming for them.


    Even Markus had to sigh once out of relief. His mind hadn''t fully been there the moments prior, so an engagement would only be detrimental for him.


    Having regained his senses his face turned to stone as he walked to the front with a hurried step in him.


    There were multiple people around the person lying on the floor.


    After it was revealed he was a human, the leader and a couple more people had approached him in unison, staying on guard with weapons drawn.


    "Is he unconscious?" one of the people asked as he looked at the lying boy.


    The leader approached carefully and checked the boys neck whilst staying on high alert. He put his ear to the boy''s face and listened to his breathing.


    The leader asked everyone to stay quiet so that he could hear the breathing clearly.


    In a silent atmosphere the leader listened in, trying to grasp the boys situation.


    "He''s... asleep...."


    The leader said with a surprised as well as awkward tone.


    "Asleep?! How did he even get in the Dungeon?!"


    One of the men asked as they looked at him.


    Markus was trying to get a look at the boy too, but the people were blocking his way so he was struggling.


    Even though he was relatively big, he was too far away to see the boy¡¯s face.


    However as the leader and the men next to him started discussing something, a path opened up for Markus.


    He quickly walked over and checked on the young man''s condition.


    As soon as he saw the face of the person a sigh escaped his mouth.


    ***


    "Waaaah"


    After suddenly catapulting up from his lying position, Karl couldn''t help but let a stressful sound escape his mouth.


    He looked around him. Checking out the room he found himself in.


    The walls around him were cream colored, with windows embedded in them. In total there were two windows in the room. But both of them were looking onto the clear blue sky, so the information Karl could gather was limited.


    ''At least I know I''m on Earth'' he said as he scratched his head.


    He looked around some more and saw some wires leading to his hand.


    ''What''s this?'' he questioned as he slightly tugged on it.


    There was a slight screeching sound emerging from next to him when he tugged on it. Which led to him in turn looking over.


    There stood a machine displaying multiple lines and numbers in a green color.


    With this came the sudden realization.


    "I''m in a hospital!!" Karl said as he looked at the machine.


    When had he gotten here? And how?


    These were the questions swirling around his head.


    He could remember being in a sort of library, and the flying head entering his stomach, but nothing after that. After that happened, it was all a blank darkness.


    He was getting stressed trying to remember what happened to him, so he came to a decision and stood up from the bed.


    He was about to leave the room, when a young lady with long black hair and a nurse uniform entered.


    "Oh my, Mister Galer. You shouldn''t be moving right after waking up."


    With a stressed face and hurried hand signs, she urged him back into bed.


    "No, no, I''m fine. Really."


    Karl tried putting up a fight and tried explaining how he felt perfect.


    But the nurse did not believe his words and pushed him back into bed.


    "I''ll call the doctor right away. Before he gets here don''t stand up anymore." she said as she was leaving through the door.


    "If you want to watch TV, the remote is next to your bed on the Table."


    She pointed towards the remote and left the room.


    Karl, lying in bed and blankly staring at the wall, did not know how he should react or in fact what he should do.


    He was still confused and seeking answers, but they were guaranteed to come sooner rather than later.


    So all he did was listlessly state at the cream colored wall in front of him.


    After about 2 minutes or so, a man wearing a white doctors uniform with a stethoscope hanging from his neck, entered the room.


    "How are you feeling Mr. Galer?"


    The Doctor asked as he entered the room.


    He had a nice aura around him, that made him seem friendly and approachable.


    Karl looked at the Doctor and started talking.


    "I''m feeling fine. Never better."


    Karl said how he felt with an awkward smile on his face.


    He kept it short, trying to avoid any unnecessary conversation.


    The Doctor looked at him weirdly for a second, before approaching him.


    "By the way, what date is it?"


    Karl asked, looking slightly nervous.


    He didn''t know how long he had been out for, so he tried to get a firm grasp on his current situation.


    After getting closer the Doctor locked eye contact and showed a smile.


    "No wonder you were nervous. After all you don''t know for how long you were blacked out for. But don''t worry, it''s still the first of December."


    The Doctor smiled, stretching out his hand.


    ''Whew......it''s still the same day. I thought I was out for a long time.''


    Feeling a lot less nervous Karl looked at the Doctor and shook his hand.


    Looking down at him directly for the first time, the Doctor decided to introduce himself before they went on to his diagnosis. He introduced himself as Dr. Booker.


    Dr. Booker explained to Karl everything that had happened. He explained how he was found asleep in a Dungeon by a party and that they brought him here Right afterwards.


    Then after explaining everything the atmosphere suddenly changed.


    Karl could feel how his body was picking up signs of a more serious topic approaching. His hairs on his arms stood up and his ears started ringing in a low frequency.


    ''Augh... What the hell is happening.''


    Karl could not help but feel a slight jolt hit his body as the ringing began. His arms, by pure instinct catapulted upwards and towards his ears.


    Dr. Booker raised his eyebrows at the sudden actions of his patient. But quickly showed them aside to continue on with the main topic.


    "But something has been bugging me this whole time."


    The Doctor aimed a more serious gaze towards Karl. Trying to figure out the entire situation.


    "And that is, just how you were able to fall asleep in a Dungeon? I mean it''s not really a place one can easily fall asleep in, right? So, something must have happened in there."


    Dr. Booker came closer to Karl''s face, invading his personal space, trying to make him feel uncomfortable and spill the beans.


    "What happened in there Mr. Galer?" he asked.


    Karl was visibly distraught. He could not see his face, yet he knew he looked nervous. He could feel the small sweat droplets forming on his face and sliding down towards his neck.


    He didn''t know how he should respond. If he should tell the truth or keep it hidden.


    ''If I tell him about the floating Head or the massive library he''ll think I''m crazy. Or even worse they''ll start experimenting on me.''


    Saying anything about what transpired inside that Library was a no go, Karl decided.


    He put his hands behind his head and put on an embarrassed smile.


    "Well, it''s pretty embarrassing." he said while looking away from the Doctor.


    He was by no means a good actor. But if all he needed to do was trick one measly doctor, he should be able to manage, he thought to himself.


    Dr. Booker saw how Karl reacted and put more distance between them.


    "Doesn''t matter. Just tell me." he said.


    "Well.... Whilst I was walking around in the back of the group, I saw a goblin. The sight of that goblin really scared me and it seems like I passed out. The next thing I knew I was here. "


    The man looked at Karl with eyes filled with disappointment.


    Karl could hear the man going, ''what has become of our adventurers''.


    So naturally he had to defend himself a little bit, after all even he had a small bit of integrity left.


    "No seriously, you should''ve seen this goblin. He had blood all over his mouth and claws draped in what looked like a pitch black substance."


    The Doctor sighed once heavily and said.


    "Huuuh... Aren''t you supposed to protect us, normal folk from stuff like that. If even you are afraid of it, it doesn''t give me much hope."


    He walked back to the nurse and told her something.


    Karl was looking at him, anxious to ask one more thing before he left for good.


    "May I leave the hospital today? I''m afraid there are things I need to take care of. "


    Dr. Booker looked over at him and with an expression of ''I give up'' he said.


    "It says here you are in good condition. As such there is no reason to keep you here."


    Karl smiled at that positive revelation. His face instantly shot up in happiness and his earlier "Embarrassment" seemed to disappear.


    He didn''t need to say anything, his feelings were clearly displayed on his face.


    "But before you leave, make sure you fill out the release papers." Dr. Booker said as he was leaving the room.


    He looked over to the nurse and said.


    "I''ll leave it to you."


    The nurse bowed once and followed him out, walking closely behind him.


    The two of them were walking in silence in the blue colored hospital hallway. Every 5 to 7 meters there was a door leading to another patients room. Dr. Booker was currently heading to one of these other rooms.


    "He seemed to not be telling the truth about what happened in the Dungeon."


    The nurse suddenly broke the silence with an odd remark.


    Yet the Doctor just kept on walking forward, without needing to take a glance back.


    "Why do you think that?" he asked.


    "I don''t know. His story felt kind of strange and unrealistic. I mean if somebody was afraid of monsters why would they become an adventurer."


    She asked, answering why she thought it sounded fishy.


    Dr. Booker looked back at her and with a serious tone he said.


    "You shouldn''t think about it more than necessary. There probably is a reason why he isn''t telling us what really happened in there."


    Looking at her with eyes that seemed to scream, ''leave it alone'', he warned her about pursuing the topic further.


    The nurse looked at him worriedly, understanding what he meant with the warning. Her eyes blackened and her heart sunk.


    If he''s warning me about it, something serious must have happened, something serious enough to even make the Doctor leave it alone, she thought to herself.


    The Doctor looked forward again and entered another patients room.


    "Forget this conversation ever happened. Just focus on your job."


    ***


    Leaving the hospital Karl was on his way towards his apartment when he suddenly felt a buzz in his pocket.


    Bzzzz


    He put his hands in his pockets and took out his vibrating phone.


    ''Who could it be this late...''


    He opened his phone and saw a white popup appear on his screen.


    [You got mail]


    He clicked on it and opened the message he had gotten.


    [We''re on our way to your apartment. Make sure you clean up a little bit before we arrive, You wouldn''t want her finding something unnecessary or?]


    "Ugh-"


    A small yet painful sound escaped Karl''s mouth as he remembered who was supposed to come today.


    They had already talked about meeting up today, but with everything happening it escaped Karl''s head.


    "Shit, I need to hurry up, before they get there."


    With that Karl put his phone in his pocket and ran on home.

 Times of Calm Chapter 1

    Ding Dong


    With the sound of the bell reverberating around the small apartment, Karl knew he wasn''t ready.


    He had managed to do some cleaning up when he got home, but not nearly enough to be able to describe his apartment as "presentable".


    But he knew there wasn''t anything else to do l now that they were here. So, he stood up and walked over to the door.


    "Welco-"


    "Took you long enough. I was starting to freeze here."


    The boy who interrupted Karl was one of his oldest friends. The boys name was Franz and he had short black hair. Him and Karl were around the same age and as such got along well after they met.


    As the boy walked past Karl to enter the room. The person behind him was also able to enter the scene.


    The girl that had been standing behind him was his Sister. Her long, Hazel colored hair flew all around in the windy hallway outside, highlighting her beauty. She had a slim body and was not taller than 160 centimeters. She looked like someone that could become a model, if she wanted to. But alas that was not her goal.


    "And you Leah? Are you going to follow your big brother or just stand there?"


    Karl asked as he smiled and looked behind him, at the boy who had already taken off his shoes.


    The girl just stuck her tongue out and entered the room without a single word.


    Karl closed the door behind them, and they all walked into his living room.


    "I see, you even failed cleaning the two rooms that you do have." Franz said, putting extra emphasis on the "two".


    "Shut up. I didn''t have time." Karl replied as he went over to the fridge.


    He opened it carefully and looked inside.


    "What do you guys want to drink? Let''s see, I have...."


    He proceeded to list of all the drinks he had in his fridge. The list though, was not as long as he had hoped for it to be.


    "You really didn''t have any time huh. Even after knowing we were coming, you forgot to buy anything you could treat us with."


    With a smile on his face, he proceeded to make fun of Karl.


    He in turn had a slightly annoyed expression.


    "I''ll just have some water."


    For the first time since getting here Leah, started to talk.


    Karl proceeded to pour her some water and sat down next to them.


    "And for me?" Franz asked annoyingly.


    "You can do it yourself. You know where the stuff is." Karl replied, with a smile on his face.


    "Blatant sexism I say."


    After everybody got something to drink, they started talking. First, they talked about some less important topics, like school and gossip. And then moved on to more important matters.


    "When will you quit adventuring?" in a serious tone, Franz asked the question, in complete contrast to his previous mood.


    He was a person who liked to meander in a conversation, but when he got serious, he got to the point rather quickly.


    Karl couldn''t help but look down and stay silent. The atmosphere had taken a complete 180 and become one of uncomfortableness.


    But Franz wasn''t done yet.


    "It''s been five years since then. There''s no reason for you to be doing this anymore. Do you think they would be happy, seeing you like this? Risking your life everyday, wasting it? You don''t need to continue doing it anymore. Look, we can work together, earn money and live life easier. All you have to do is give up on this pointless revenge quest and join me."


    Franz looked at Karl with a smile, not one of ridicule, but one of kindness, at having an answer for the others problem.


    "I''m not doing this because I have to. But because I want to." but Karl wasn''t ready to budge.


    With that Karl tried to end the conversation. But Franz wasn''t going to quit so easily.


    "How do you think they would feel, knowing that you''re willingly throwing away your life? Do you think they would be happy? Rank F adventurers are basically normal people. They aren''t strong like the upper ranks. They can only use low tier spells and abilities, which is only slightly better than what a normal person can do."


    At this, Karl didn''t have a rebuttal. But he wasn''t going to get discouraged just because he couldn''t counter one argument.


    He needed to justify his actions.


    "The world needs people like me. There are too few high ranking Adventurers in the world. They wouldn''t be able to handle all the Dungeons popping up recently. I might only be on the level of an average person, but people like me are necessary to keep the world a safer place." Karl was putting his outlook on his life into words and trying to make Franz understand him.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "But what is one person less? It doesn''t have to be you who wastes their life keeping everyone safe. How often have you gone to the hospital since becoming and adventurer? How often have you gotten hurt? If you yourself know just how useless you are, then you should also know that if you were to quit, there would be no difference."


    Franz had pushed Karl into a corner, a corner from which there was no getting out of. But instead of trying to get out, Karl just sank his gaze and looked at the ground in silence.


    Silence fell upon the room for about 10 seconds, until Franz understood that Karl wasn''t going to respond.


    He was about to get angry and storm out, but...


    "I think it''s fine. If he wants to be an adventurer, you shouldn''t be getting in his way. As a friend you should be supporting him instead."


    Franz could do nothing but look at his Sister blankly.


    After some more awkward silence. Franz decided to reply.


    "I guess you''re right...."


    Even though he agreed with her, the sadness in his voice could be heard. This was not the first time Franz had tried to persuade Karl to quit, in fact he had done this numerous times in the past, but just like before, he had failed yet again. And this failure was tugging away at his heart strings.


    "By the way have you heard? Rank S Adventurers from all over Europe are gathering in Vienna. Do you think this has some sort of connection to the meeting the politicians are conducting?"


    Trying to lighten up the mood a little bit, Leah changed the subject.


    "I don''t know about that. But going into the parliament building has been a real pain in the ass recently. I had to go there yesterday to pick up some documents and I ended up having to wrestle my way in. It took me about 20 minutes before I finally got in. The number of journalists there was crazy. They were blocking the whole entrance."


    Karl suddenly blurted out Laughing.


    "Hahahaha hahaha"


    "What are you laughing at?"


    An annoyed Franz looked at Karl, demanding an answer.


    "Nothing. It''s just.... You wrestling... Hahaha"


    "You little..."


    Franz stood up and went over to hit Karl for laughing. But Karl managed to block almost all attacks while continuing to laugh.


    "It''s like that in front of the Adventurers Guild as well. Now that S Rank adventurers from all over are there, everybody wants to see them." Leah added.


    "Those S Rank Adventurers. They''re really popular, aren''t they?" Franz asked.


    "Are you kidding? Everybody knows who they are. They''re the strongest among all the Adventurers. Which in turn makes them the strongest humans on earth. You''d have to be a weirdo to not know anything about them."


    "Look, I have heard of them. Everyone has. But it never really interested me, so I didn''t bother paying any attention to them. But instead of thinking about stuff like that. Shouldn''t you focus on your studies. Your grades have begun to drop in every subject."


    "Shut up. Don''t start talking like Mom. Instead of worrying about me, make sure you study up on the S Rank Adventurers. It might come in handy if you want to become popular."


    Leah looked at her brother with annoyance in her eyes.


    "But¡­. you didn''t bother paying any attention...."


    They continued to bicker on about Franz''s lack of interest in S Rank Adventurers. Karl could do nothing but watch the two siblings bicker with a nostalgic smile on his face.


    ***


    After spending about two hours talking and having fun, the siblings were ready to leave. They had taken their stuff and were walking towards the subway, with Karl accompanying them.


    "The world really has changed, hasn''t it?"


    Franz started the conversation, not particularly talking to anyone.


    "It has. It has become much more dangerous then before. Not only has crime become more common, but with the lurking threat of Dungeons. It''s hard to imagine how the future will look like" Karl said.


    "Yeah... but that''s why you''re here right? To protect normal folk like us from the Dungeons."


    Leah looked at Karl with a smile. But all he could do was nervously smile back as he responded.


    "I''ll try my best, but I''m not strong like the High Rankers."


    "You''re Damn right there."


    "No reason to rub it in."


    "I''m just saying it''s good that you know you''re not strong like them. Otherwise it could get really dangerous."


    Franz and Karl kept arguing back and forth. Discussing the ranking system and the chances of rising in ranks.


    "Look, you''re still just an F Rank. High Rankings start at Rank D, you know. How long did it even take you to get to Rank F? Can you even remember?"


    "It took me about a year. How could I forget something like that? Do I look like an Idiot to you?"


    "My point is there''s practically no way for you to make it up to the high Ranks. There have only ever been a few cases of E Rankers making it up to Rank D. And you''re at Rank F."


    "That doesn''t mean anything. Just because it hasn''t been done yet, doesn''t mean it''s impossible to do. I''ll prove the whole world wrong, if that''s what it takes."


    Karl clenched his fist, filled with determination. But Franz wasn''t convinced.


    "Determination will only bring you so far. What you really need to be strong is Luck. And sadly, you don''t have it."


    Franz made eye contact and looked at Karl seriously.


    "You know most Adventurers above C Rank started at Rank C right? They were lucky and were born with power. They were chosen."


    Karl looked down for a second, pondering what he should say, but soon he answered.


    "No matter what has to be done. I''ll get there. I''ll prove them all wrong."


    His determination did not falter, even slightly.


    Franz could do nothing but look at him and feel a sadness welling up inside of him.


    ***


    "So, that¡¯s it for today I guess. You can come again whenever you want. My doors are always open." Karl joked as he was sending them off.


    "Better clean-up for next time tho..." Franz said as he walked off to the train.


    "Haha...."


    They proceeded to say their farewells and went separate ways.


    Karl turned back and was walking back towards his apartment.


    He was going the way he always went, but this time it was slightly different.


    Karl could see in the corner of his eye an extra shadow, that was seemingly following him. He had not seen the shadow earlier, perhaps because he was talking with his friends, he thought. But now, when it had gotten quiet and lonely. An oddity like that could not escape him.


    ''What is he doing?'' he asked himself as he cheated a glance backwards.


    In the corner of a building, he could see a man wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants. The man was hiding behind the building. But he was obviously tailing Karl.


    Having figured this Out, Karl was debating what to do. He wasn''t sure if he should go to the police or try to get away and forget about the situation. As he was debating this, a mysterious voice in his head spoke to him.


    "Take care of him yourself."


    Karl''s surprise was portrayed on his face in a beautiful manner. His eyes shot upwards and a cold drench was forming on his skin papules.


    "Who said that?"


    Karl nervously looked around, checking where the voice was coming from.


    "Beat him yourself. You don''t need to rely on the power of others, believe in your own power."


    "Who is that?? Where are you??"


    For some reason the voice he was hearing was recognizable for Karl. He knew he heard it somewhere before, but he couldn''t put his finger on when and where.


    Deciding it was not safe to just stay here, he hurriedly went towards his apartment.


    ''It''s not safe to just stand around here. I''ll go home and then figure out what to do.''


    However, before he could get close enough to enter, the voice returned.


    "This is not the Deal we agreed on. You are my host, and as such you need to listen to my instructions and commands. If you plan on always running away, then it would be better to just nullify the contract here and now."


    Hearing words like Deal and Contract, Karl remembered where he had heard this voice before.


    "The flying Head from the Dungeon...." he murmured to himself. "But, how can that be...... I already left the Dungeon..."


    Seeing his opportunity to strike the man that had been hiding moments prior, walked up behind Karl.


    Before Karl could notice something, he felt something pushing against his back.


    The feeling of a slight shock Brough him back to the current situation.


    ''What is this feeling?'' Karl wondered, as he tried to touch his back and find out what was hurting him.


    "Don''t move, not even an inch, you understand!!! If you move I will kill you, I swear!!"


    Karl realized that this was the voice of the man that had followed him. And without thinking too much about it, he figured what could be at his back.


    "Look, could we handle this peacefu--"


    "S-Shut up!! Hand over all your valuables. R-Right now!!!"


    Karl looked back and slowly started saying.


    "My valuables are in my pocket. I''ll take them out slowly OK?"


    "Hurry it up."


    The man was hurrying Karl by nodding with his head multiple times.


    "Now is your chance. He let his guard down."


    The voice in his head urged Karl to attack, after all, if he wanted to catch him by surprise now was the time.


    But instead Karl just shook of the attacker and quickly put distance between the two of them.


    "Coward."


    "He has a knife! What do you expect me to do bare handed? Do you expect me to offer up my life to him just like that?"


    Karl pleaded with the head, trying to explain his unwillingness to attack.


    "You are just a coward. The only thing you have going for yourself is your strong spirit and the fact that you never give up. But both of those qualities are useless if you are afraid to take the necessary steps to succeed."


    Karl couldn''t stay calm anymore. How could somebody who didn''t even know him, who didn''t even realize what hardships he had went through, calm him a coward. He couldn''t contain his rage at this remark.


    "You don''t know anything about me! You don''t know what I had to go through. Putting my life on the line for the greater good every single day. I was face to face with death on a daily basis and you dare call me a coward? You don''t know the first thing you''re talking about!"


    "I have only been observing you for a short while, and I can already see your cowardice. You are afraid to admit your true reasons for entering the Dungeon, afraid to create deeper connections with the people around you and most importantly afraid to take action when it is necessary. At the crucial times you always waver, afraid to take the first step. Back in the library and even here as well. What are you so afraid of?"


    The words from the voice struck Karl''s heart, inflicting critical damage. He had known all along that he was a coward, but hearing it stated so bluntly by somebody else was extremely agonizing. His heart was throbbing as he tried to hold back the tears he was shedding. To him these words were the most painful thing he could have imagined. But at the same time an anger was also awakened within Karl. He did not know who he was angry at, but his directionless anger only grew by the second.


    "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. I''m not a coward. I''m not. I''m not afraid of anyone or anything." he screamed as he reassured himself.


    But the voice wasn''t going to let it end there.


    "Your words do not match your actions."


    Karl stopped thinking when he heard these words. The thought of somebody else calling him out on his Cowardice was unbearable. His pain and his rage at his own Cowardice melted together and created a pool of anger.


    "I''ll show you who''s a coward."


    In words of pure rage, Karl intended to get revenge on the voice by proving him wrong. His mind had been Overtaken by anger. He had to let it out somehow, and the only way he could think of was, to prove the voice wrong and spite him.


    He looked in front of him, to the man standing across from him.


    The man looked quite shaken. Hearing Karl scream random things here and there, the man thought Karl had lost his mind. The Knife he had been holding in his hand was wobbly, as the man¡¯s fear had taken control.


    "D-D-Don¡¯t come closer."


    He held the knife in front of him, it barely hanging in his palms.


    "You''ll see who''s a coward. I''ll get my revenge, watch me."

 Times of Calm Chapter 2

    The man stood across from Karl, looking at him with trembling eyes. The knife in his hand was swaying from up to down. However, the man held his ground, no matter how shaky his confidence was.


    "D-Don¡¯t come any closer. I''ll have t-to stab you if you come any closer. I swear, I will do it. I''m not joking."


    The man pointed the small blade towards Karl.


    Although Karl looked directly at the blade, his mind could not register it as a threat. Because at this moment, his vision and decision was being clouded by resentment and a craving for revenge.


    Wordlessly he rushed at the man standing across from him, recklessly putting his life on the line.


    In mere seconds he was able to get close to the man, almost being able to touch him, but the man in turn swung his knife, cutting Karl''s cheek.


    The blood spurted out from the sudden cut, painting Karl''s face a red color.


    "You see!! Stay away!!"


    He waved the Crimson layered small blade at Karl. The blade wavered in the air, much like his user, but somehow it seemed calmer than before.


    "If you come, I won''t hesitate. I''ll kill you. You understand."


    After a second of peace, Karl rushed at him again blindlessly. Running in like an enraged wild boar, without worrying about the consequences.


    He clenched his fist tightly and swung it at the man''s face with the full force of his emotions behind him.


    However, the enemy saw it coming and was ready. He easily avoided the fist heading towards him, and without a single moment of hesitation, he swung his blood covered weapon.


    He managed to cut Karl into the arm before he jumped back and evaded the attack.


    Ignoring the pain, he had just suffered under, Karl launched forward yet again.


    This continued on several times with Karl just attacking recklessly, blinded by his uncontrollable anger. However, every time he leapt forward the result, he achieved was the same. He would inevitably miss his target and have to jump back to evade.


    A stalemate it turned out to be. But with every passing action Karl was getting closer and closer to losing the ongoing battle. This was because he had been cut several times whilst attacking. And even though the cuts weren''t necessarily deep, due to the sheer number of them, Karl was constantly losing blood. If it continued like this, Karl would inevitably lose the battle.


    "Y-You can still stand?! How! I have cut you so many times already, why won''t you just go down!!"


    The man readjusted his stance, ready to finish the fight during the next attack. He gripped his blade tighter, walled his feet and raised his shoulders higher.


    Even though he had been nervous only moments prior, he managed to gather his wits and calm himself.


    Karl just looked forward aimlessly, only searching for the next opportunity to strike. He was like a wild beast hungering. The only difference being in the sharpness of their claws. Whilst an unleashed beast was deadly with its razor sharp claws, Karl''s claws were more like that of declawed animal , a harmless animal throwing a hissy fit.


    As soon as he saw his next opportunity he rushed in full speed, aiming for the enemies head once again.


    But this time it was different. The man stayed calm and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.


    As Karl was close enough, the man evaded the fist flying towards his head and aimed at Karl''s chest. If only he could hit the chest once. It could be game over, if he landed a successful strike.


    The pain would make any human give up and surrender, the man thought as his knife headed towards Karl''s chest.


    But to his surprise Karl suddenly stopped.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The guy that had been recklessly charging in with no regard for his life, had suddenly stopped in his tracks.


    Karl just stood there in silence.


    Moments passed in silence as the man tried figuring out what was happening. But he couldn''t come to a conclusion and just stood there, dumbfounded about what to do next.


    "If you continue on like this you will perish."


    The voice inside of Karl''s head spoke to him, informing him of the future that awaited him.


    "Shut up!!! I''ll prove that you''re wrong. How dare you call me a coward. I''ll prove you wrong right here, right now."


    Karl was ready to run in once again, but the next words from the Voice stopped him.


    "The next time you charge forward, will be your last. A cowardly move that will only prove my observations of you to be right."


    Karl gave up on running in this instant, but he demanded answers from the voice.


    "What do you mean by that! I demand an explanation!!!"


    Without hesitation the voice spoke freely of what the actions would mean.


    "If you rush forward, like you have been doing, you will forfeit your life. And with that put an end to your troubles as well as the contract we had made. A mark of a true coward. Running away when things get too tough to handle."


    And with that Karl blanked out. His rage disappeared, replaced with a feeling of sorrow.


    ".... T-Then what should I do?"


    Clenching his fists he pleaded with the voice in his head.


    "Listen to me!!!" the voice screamed. "All you need to do is listen and follow my instructions."


    "You''ll help me?" Karl asked.


    "That''s what the contract was made for. I help you achieve your goal and in return you help me achieve my goal."


    Karl stod there speechless, finally understanding what the contract meant.


    "Honestly, failing to figure even that out. Are you perhaps an Idiot?"


    Karl could do nothing but stand there in silence.


    "I understand. I''ll calm down for now.... So, what should I do?"


    Clenching his fist and looking forward at his opponent, Karl listened to his instructions intently.


    "Will that really be possible? I don''t know, I don''t feel like I am capable of that."


    "You are. Cease your worrying you are my host, a chosen human, a special someone capable of miracles."


    Even though the voice was praising him, Karl was still unsure about the contents of the praise or the validity of it.


    "OK. Here goes nothing."


    In a moment of concentration Karl focused his eyes in his target and hastily leapt forward. His movements were more accurate. His steps seemed larger and his path more calculated.


    ''What is this? What happened to him?'' the man thought to himself as Karl approached.


    The man struck his blade downward, aiming at Karl''s face.


    However instead of striking Karl''s face the blade cut at the air, falling downwards quickly.


    Suddenly the man felt a strange pain coming over his jaw as he flew backwards.


    His face conveyed everything, confusion, pain and most of all fear. He had been struck in the jaw, and the immense burning he felt was real.


    In a split second the situation had completely changed. The hunter and prey had changed roles finally.


    "H-How dare you. I''ll kill you!!" the man screamed whilst rushing forward.


    His muscles contracted as he strained his fists to harness his full power and punch Karl.


    Yet, like last time, instead of pummeling Karl''s face, he was the one that got knocked back. Only this time the burning was happening on his cheek.


    "Ahhhhh" he screamed as he held his face. The man could not help but feel the liquid build up in his mouth. He had to spit some of it out as it became harder to breathe.


    The spit and blood mixture that came out terrified the man.


    This was the first time he had bled from inside his mouth.


    "How dare you!! You''ll pay for this!!"


    "I wouldn''t come here if I were you."


    Karl pointed at the object at his feet. It was the Crimson painted blade, that the man had dropped whilst flying backwards.


    The man''s eyes became uneasy. The realization of what Karl wanted to say sank in and he began to waver.


    His legs did not want to move forward and furthermore his hearth advised him to retreat.


    "You''ll pay for this. Don''t think we won''t get to you."


    The man ran off in the other direction without looking back once.


    Karl looked at the man running away and sighed out of relief.


    He had done it. He had managed to survive.


    "I guess you were right. I was able to see the knife as it was coming. But how could you know I would be able to do that?"


    " It''s because you have acquired my ability ''quick progression''."


    The voice proceeded to explain the ability to Karl.


    Quick progression was an ability which allowed its users body and mind to develop and progress at an unbelievable speed. I''m other words the user was able to quickly raise his stats just by doing one particular thing over and over.


    Karl had managed to raise his reflexes and his observational skills in the matter of this one battle.


    "Wow....is this a real ability?!"


    Karl questioned himself as he looked at his arms.


    "So, I''ll be able to get stronger much faster than anybody else, just by fighting?"


    "Simply put, yes."


    Karl could not believe the words that were entering his mind. His face and eyes both shot up accidentally out of surprise and happiness.


    He had finally gotten the strength to fight, to get his revenge on those who had wronged him.


    After about a minute of just standing around and discussing the newly acquired ability, Karl picked up the knife and was ready to go home.


    The Knife however had strange symbols on it, as Karl noticed.


    The knife had a Crimson colored symbol of a three headed dragon painted on it by its hilt. Well Karl taught it was a dragon. Though in reality it resembled more the likes of a Hydra.


    "What a cool symbol."


    After admiring it for a while, Karl decided to take the knife to the police in the morning, not wanting to explain where he had gotten it, now when he was tired.


    The young man proceeded to walk home hastily and went straight to his slumber.

 The Flames of Cowardice

    In a nicely covered wooden bed Lied the boy covered by a blue, comfy blanket.


    The boy was Karl, a boy of twelve years old.


    It was the dead of night and silence ruled the entire atmosphere. Which allowed Karl to happily dream his dreams.


    A beautiful, yellow colored half crescent moon painted the night sky. Illuminating the outside world in its faint golden light.


    The child was dreaming, his dream was off his family and of his friends.


    But this dream would not last long.


    Karl awoke to the smell of wood. Yet even though he had often smelled something like that, it was irritating his nose for some reason.


    "What is this smell?"


    The curious child asked as he stepped out of his bed, rubbing his eyes until they turned red. His yawning self was curious and wanted to explore.


    So, he went over to the door and slowly opened it, curiously checking both sides before exiting.


    He had gotten into trouble in the past for leaving his room and wandering in the middle of the night.


    On one such occasion he had also accidentally stumbled into what he could only describe as a role play between his mother and his father.


    He got into really big trouble that time, which resulted in them locking their doors from now on.


    After seeing the coast was clear, Karl headed into the hallway.


    The hallway was pretty long, connecting the entire second floor of his house. It allowed passage into his little brother, Daniel''s, room as well as his parents bedroom.


    As Karl walked towards the stairs leading to the first floor, he could not help but feel like the pictures hanging on the wall were looking at him.


    The wall was full of pictures of their family together, or of a single person. And even though it should paint a happy atmosphere in the house, during the night it only awakened fear in the young boy¡¯s heart.


    Yet braving past it, he walked towards the staircase leading to the first floor.


    As he got closer, he noticed that there was a weird light coming up from down belove.


    He didn''t know what it was, but he figured it was probably someone from his family.


    As he got close to the staircase, the smell became unbearable and Karl ended up coughing up dry air.


    "What is this?! Is it coming from down there?"


    Deciding to find out where the light was coming from, Karl headed down the stairs. The stairs were in a prime state, much like the rest of the house, but the closer he got to the first floor, the darker the wood seemed to look.


    The first floor compromised of the kitchen, living room and a bathroom. Incidentally the staircase led to the living room.


    " Honey! Get the kids!! "


    He heard a scream come from the direction of the kitchen.


    Fear caught a hold of Karl as he heard the voice and he didn''t want to budge. But after realizing it was his mother''s voice he had to go and see what was going on.


    The closer he got to the kitchen, the brighter the Area around him seemed. Even though it was the dead of night he could see the entire living room engulfed in an orange tint.


    Furthermore, the aching smell started strangling Karl more and more as he approached the entrance to the Kitchen.


    As he took the turn to enter, his heart sank into his chest, unable to believe his eyes.


    There, in front of him stood a beast. A monster. A being no human was able to best.


    With its sturdy, dusty colored wings and it''s overgrown, deformed jaw, it stood there. Eating away at what seemed like a doll. A silhouette of a humanoid form, coated in an opal color all around its body.


    "W-W-what''s happening here?!!"


    Karl stumbled backwards, his legs going numb under him.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    He was so absorbed in the fear of the situation he wasn''t able to see his own mother next to him.


    She was only about 5 to 6 meters away from him, but his eyes couldn''t land on her figure.


    "Get away Karl!! Hurry up! Take your brother and run."


    Bringing him back to reality, his mother screamed at him, with tears flowing out of her eyes uncontrollably. The fear painted on her face was obvious. She was in the depths of despair.


    Her eyes red, her face scarred and her body trembling uncontrollably.


    "Mom?! What''s happening here? Why is there fire everywhere?"


    The kitchen Karl had entered, was completely controlled by sun coloured flames. Every corner one could see, was burning. The floors beneath them the same as charcoal. And the only place not up in flames, was the resting place of that beast.


    "Hurry up, run! Get your brother and get out!!"


    Realizing his mother was panicking Karl tried getting closer to her and comforting her trembling self.


    "No, no! Go, go, take your brother and go!! Listen to me."


    Getting shot down instantly, he looked in his mother''s eyes and could only see a deep sadness.


    "Me and Dad, will come soon. Just wait outside for us."


    Trying her best to reassure Karl, she waved him off with a smile barely hanging on her face. Hurrying him with her hands.


    And whilst he was hesitant to move, the roaring of the beast spurred him forward.


    "Aghhhhgor"


    Karl was lucky the beast had not made a move yet out of fear. But he did not know how long this lucky streak would continue for. So he ran with all his might, only looking forward and straining all his leg muscles. The veins had even bulged up, and were visible to the naked eye, but Karl could not notice this as he only had his destination in mind.


    After running up the stairs he quickly made a beeline toward his brothers¡¯ room.


    "Quickly, Stefan get up. We need to go!"


    His brother awoke to the feeling of a very strong shaking by his big brother.


    "Yawn~What is it big brother? Why are you in such a hurry?"


    Rubbing his sleep eyes, Stefan was barely conscious. Stuck somewhere between a dream and reality.


    "Hurry up, we got to go."


    Pulling Stefan out of the bed by force, he quickly ran out into the hallway, looking were to leave from.


    The house had two exits. One was the front door on the first floor that was connected to the living room through a hallway, the second one was a staircase leading down from the balcony, located on the second floor.


    It was clear which one was safer.


    "Auu- Big brother that hurts. What are you doing?"


    "I told you already. We need to hurry."


    Noticing the haste in Karl''s words, Stefan¡¯s tiredness got swept aside, as he was ready to follow his brother.


    Stefan was still only 8 years old, however his intelligence was unlike for his age. He could quickly grasp and understand situations and even knew what the best course of action was, is what Karl had taught about his brother.


    In all honesty, Karl was slightly jealous of his younger brother and often taught about what would be if he were that smart.


    But this did not matter right now, as all he wanted to do was get out of here and keep his younger brother safe and sound.


    "Where are mom and dad?"


    Karl glanced back and without thinking about it he spoke.


    "They''re waiting for us outside already. They got ready before us."


    He showed a bitter smile to his brother, trying his best to quell the young boys fears and get him out of the house.


    However, when they got to the door, the boy tripped and fell over on the cracking floor.


    Creaaak-


    The floor under them already had signs of burning up, as the sound it released after every step betrayed it.


    "Come on hurry up." Karl put his open hand out.


    But Sadly, it wasn''t going to end that nicely.


    Suddenly two giant, heat radiating logs fell from the ceiling, cutting off the path between Karl and Stefan. The logs were thick and burning, and the way they fell on one another made it almost impossible to get over to the other side unharmed.


    But boys jumped back in fear of getting hit by the logs.


    "Big brother help me!" Stefan screamed as he tried crawling under the logs. However, the space wasn''t wide enough, so he didn''t get far.


    "Wait I''ll com-"


    As Karl looked up at the ceiling, he couldn''t believe it. ''Another one....'' he thought to himself as he speechlessly observed the beast. It''s teeth hideously hanging from its jaw.


    "Help me! Big brother!"


    The crying for help of his brother brought him back to reality as he pondered what he could do.


    Nonetheless his legs could not move forward out of fear of the beast. His whole body was screaming at him to escape, yet he tried fighting it.


    "Big Brother, you have to find a way."


    In a dire situation like this, Karl lost the taste in his mouth, thinking about someone depending on him.


    Yet, the monster did not allow Karl to think about his options for long, as he jumped down and landed on the burning logs in front of him.


    "Aghhhhh"


    The beast screamed trying to intimidate him. And it worked. Seeing the hideously malformed teeth of the beast, Karl could do nothing but conjure up fear.


    His mind went blank, the emotions raged in his head like a storm, taking away Karl''s control.


    "H-Help me, big brother."


    Barely speaking these words, his little brother could do nothing but look at Karl with tears flowing down his face.


    This was the end. And both of them knew it. There was absolutely no way for the two of them to get out of this situation unharmed.


    As the two of them were not willing to make a move, the beast started moving first. It was like a hunter, choosing which one of its prey it would eat first.


    It liked it''s dry, rose colored lips as it eyed both Karl and Stefan, deciding which one it would presumably eat first.


    "Ah, ah-"


    Karl started crawling backwards, his brain deciding it was the only logical thing to do.


    He still had so much to live for. He hadn''t experienced love or friendship enough, he thought to himself as he backed up.


    "Help, help me. Please big brother, I''m scared."


    Stefan was in a lying position, covering his head as he wept and coughed dry air.


    However, in that moment, the words of his sibling did not reach Karl''s ears. The fear caused all his mental ability to malfunction and with that, his hearing, thinking, smelling and almost even breathing were blockaded.


    Suddenly the dragon made its move.


    With a loud bang the dragon jumped forward, roaring to intimidate his foe. It''s long, razor sharp claws cutting the weak wood could be heard for miles Karl thought as he closed his eyes waiting for the end.


    However, that end did not come. And after a brief silence Karl opened his eyes. Only to see that the monster had gone towards his Brother.


    "I''m scared big brother, I''m scared. Help me. Please." he pleaded with closed, wet eyes.


    Despite that, Karl''s legs would not move. They were weak and shaking and had even given up on him a second ago. The weight got too much for him and Karl couldn''t handle it.


    ''If only I could....''


    Glancing backwards, Karl noticed how close the door was. It was half open, due to all the shock it must have taken.


    Karl''s eyes were glued to the Door, realizing what was the only thing he could do.


    ''I have to do it...''


    Forcing himself back on his feet Karl looked at the Beast in front of him.


    They locked eye contact. The pure, primal instinct the beast was operating under was clear to Karl. The beast was not smart enough to think. Nor was it smart enough to realize what it was doing. It was only mindlessly following its instincts.


    Karl''s legs were shaking, and his heart was pounding like a moving train. But even despite of that, he had to do it. It was the only chance he had to survive.


    With tears in his eyes he turned around and ran out the door.


    ''I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I''m a coward. I''m a coward." repeating these words in his mind Karl left the house alone, escaping from danger.


    ***


    "Ahhhh"


    Waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, Karl wiped his forehead.


    He had dreamt about "that" again. It was a common nightmare which Karl had to experience night after night. He had already accepted that, in a sense this was his eternal punishment for the Cowardice and betrayal he had committed, but he would have to lie if he were to say that he sometimes did not wish for it to stop. An unending nightmare, for which he alone was to blame.


    After wiping of the sweat, Karl was ready to go back to sleep. But a sudden buzzing, accompanied by a faint blue light kept him from doing so.


    It was his phone again.


    ''It''s the middle of the night.... Who could it be?''


    With a frown and eyes barely open enough to see, he grabbed his phone and checked the notification he had received.


    It was a message. A message from Markus.


    They had exchanged phone numbers on a previous occasion, when they met before a raid, but he had not been contacted by Markus often, so Karl was rather surprised at the sudden message.


    After opening it and checking its contents a gleaming smile appeared on his face.


    "This is our chance, we have to take it."


    The sound in his head, which sounded like it had been watching the entirety of the scene suddenly spoke.


    "You''re right. This might be the only good chance we get for a while, so let''s make the best of it."


    Agreeing with the voice, he decided to reply to the message, before quickly going back to sleep.


    But before his slumber had taken effect. Karl muttered to himself.


    "I''ll finally be able to get closer to getting revenge."

 Tomb of the Undead Chapter 1

    Standing outside in the frost was not something Karl liked to do much. However, because of the situation he was in at the moment it could not be helped.


    He was standing in an abandoned building in the middle of December, wearing nothing more than a regular Tracksuit. He was freezing to put it lightly.


    But despite that, Karl could not help but feel excited at the opportunity that had presented itself. Franz had written him the night before, asking him if he wanted to partake in a Raid.


    And seeing the opportunity present itself, Karl was happy to oblige.


    Now that he actually had the power to accomplish something, he was more eager than ever before in his life. He wanted to take every opportunity he could to get his revenge on the monsters that destroyed his life.


    "Don''t be so hasty, or else you might be rushing into your doom sooner rather than later."


    Said the voice that had introduced himself as Geist to Karl the night before.


    "I know, but I just can''t contain myself. Now that I have the chance to actually achieve my goals, I''m more motivated than ever."


    "You need to keep a calm mindset. You are not strong enough to afford haste and arrogance. Those two might well become the end of you before completing your goal."


    Karl listened to the words of Geist carefully and took them to heart.


    Whilst talking with him in the past couple of days, he had come to realize, that Geist was an incredibly wise person. He was someone who radiated the aura of an experienced veteran, often knowing what would happen if certain actions were taken. Through these conversations Karl began to rely on Geist¡¯s teachings and started thinking about his actions going forward more carefully.


    "I know....but I just can''t contain these emotions."


    Having finally gotten a chance to achieve his goals, Karl''s emotions were overflowing. They were impossible to keep under control. Yet, due to Geist¡¯s warnings he still tried doing so anyway.


    Whilst thinking about the upcoming raid a hand suddenly landed on Karl''s shoulder.


    It felt like a large and muscular hand, like it was hardened.


    Karl instantly knew who''s it was.


    "Didn''t expect you to actually partake in the raid. So, what brought this on?"


    The familiar voice of one of his acquaintances rang out as Karl turned around and shook the man''s hand.


    It was Markus, the one that had invited him to this raid in the first place.


    "Haha, I wanted to earn a little bit more money, so that I can take it easy during the holidays."


    With a smile Karl responded.


    ''I probably shouldn''t let anybody know of this ability until I can at least protect myself sufficiently.''


    Karl had decided to keep quiet about his ability for the time being, as he was not sure what it could entail for him if he were to talk of it.


    People might think he''s crazy in the beginning, but after seeing results, they might want to start experimenting on him or try to find out how the ability works. These were all things Karl did not want to deal with, so he decided it was for the best if he simply stayed quiet.


    "Yeah, the last Dungeon had a small paycheck. So, you going to keep the same strategy?"


    "Strategy..... What do you mean with that?"


    "You know, the staying back and avoiding fights strategy you always seem to prefer."


    Markus laughed mightily as he made that joke.


    Karl didn''t look really pleased with that joke, but he decided not to take it the wrong way, as he knew it was only friendly banter.


    "No but seriously, what will you do? This Dungeon is almost level 2 you know. It¡¯s really dangerous. I won''t be able to protect you this time, I will have a hard-enough time protecting myself from those monsters. Protecting someone else is out of the question."


    Karl smiled as he replied to the warning.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll be able to protect myself if the situation gets dangerous."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Where is all that confidence coming from? If someone were to hear that without knowing you, they would think you were a strong adventurer. Hahaha~"


    Markus laughed as he tipped Karl on the shoulder.


    But after a second his expression changed.


    "But really, be careful in there. This isn''t like anything you''ve seen before, don''t get arrogant and run if you need to."


    As Markus was giving the young man one last warning, a man with short blonde hair approached.


    "You guys getting ready?" the mysterious man asked in a friendly tone.


    ***


    After entering the Dungeon Karl was walking alongside other Fighters from his Group. There were 5 of them in total. 4 guys and 1 girl. None of them looked that strong to Karl, but he was almost completely certain of the fact that they were stronger than him.


    Because of this he felt a strange sense of security. He did not know how to feel about that, but alas it could not be helped, he thought.


    The Dungeon they were in was completely made out of bones, every wall, corner, roof and even the floor were complete structures made from bones. Their sizes looked like they were taken right out of human bodies, but they were sturdier than normal bones. One could walk on them, without the fear of them breaking.


    "Ahh, when''s the fighting gonna start? I wanna fight already."


    One of Karl''s companions was eagerly waving his sword with a frown on his face.


    He had blonde hair and big muscles, that were visible to the naked eye.


    "Settle down, you''ll alert the enemy." The Girl from the group warned him.


    She looked like she was in her early twenties, with puffy cheeks and long brown hair. She carried her sword at her waist, and the way in which she was walking, one could see she was always ready for an ambush.


    "Huh! That''s my goal you idiot. If they know we''re here, they''ll come to us won''t they?"


    "You shouldn''t do reckless things like that. If you were here alone I wouldn''t care, but I am here too, as well as a lot of other people. So, you shouldn''t put everyone in danger because of your bloodlust."


    "Don''t worry, I''m strong enough to beat every monster in this cave by myself. So, you can rest easy knowing you''re safe and just let me do what I want." he proclaimed as he put his finger to his chest and displayed a wild smile.


    The girl looked mad and replied.


    " It''s idiots like you that get everyone killed. You should stop with that nonsense immediately."


    " What did you just call me? "


    The boy walked up to the girl and was ready to pull her up by the collar, when another member intervened.


    The boy had short blue hair and had a calm expression with a slight smile.


    " It''s okay guys calm down. We''re a team, we shouldn''t bicker like this."


    He waved his arms, trying to calm the situation at hand. But it didn''t seem to work.


    The boy and the girl continued to bicker and argue back and forth, whilst the young man with blue hair held them apart from each other.


    This continued on for a couple more minutes, until the two people arguing noticed the parties in the front looking at them judgingly.


    The girl quickly noticed what was going on and apologized.


    "I''m sorry for causing a ruckus."


    Looking genuinely sorry, she immediately stopped talking and walked further away from the other boy.


    He seemed to understand the situation at hand, but couldn''t help but throw a last verbal jab.


    "You giving up?" he asked while smiling like he had just achieved victory.


    The young woman ignored him in turn and just looked forward as she walked.


    With that it was over.


    The Ruckus which had swept the fighter team vanished, and silence returned.


    "Whuh, thankfully it ended without any fights breaking out."


    The blue haired boy that had mediated the conflict said as he approached Karl.


    "It''s never a good thing if there is in fighting between the members of a group. Don''t you agree?" the boy asked.


    "Yeah, in fighting only leads to sloppy teamwork and more mistakes. We should avoid that at all cost."


    "Oh-ho, you seem to know your stuff. My name''s Leo by the way."


    "Karl. It''s a pleasure."


    As they exchanged pleasantries the boy introduced the other members of the group. He had come to know Their names earlier, before they entered the Dungeon.


    The girls name was Kristina and the boy''s Alex.


    They were both fighters of Rank D, much stronger than Karl was at this point. He didn''t know how to feel about two people stronger than him bickering. He wasn''t confident in being able to stop the fight, if it ever occurred.


    But thankfully he had this guy, Leo, who was also a rank D fighter, so he was able to relax a little.


    Consequently, Leo tried talking to the other fighter in the group, but he only ended up being ignored in the end.


    This fellow was quite weird, Karl thought to himself.


    His outfit looked really shabby, with holes protruding out of everywhere, his pants hanging, and his face covered by a black medical mask that covered everything except his eyes.


    No matter how one looked at him, he looked weird. And it didn''t help that he was constantly shaking and talking to himself in quiet.


    ''Ahhh, what a weird guy.''


    Karl ended it with that, realizing it was a waste to continue to worry about that guy.


    Walking along the Dungeon, Karl couldn''t help but feel slightly nervous because of the Team''s synergy. He was mainly worried about their Teamwork and if they would even work together in the first place.


    He continued worrying about this as he walked deeper and deeper into the Dungeon.


    ***


    The room the party entered after about an hour of walking was huge. An open area, where a hundred people could fit in easily. The makeup of the room stayed the same, but the sheer size of it surprised even the veteran Adventurers.


    Karl also could not help but feel amazed by the size of the room. Incidentally, this was the first time he had seen a room this large in a Dungeon.


    ''You can see, this is a higher-level Dungeon...'' he thought to himself as he checked it out with a gaping mouth.


    "Woah, look, there''s no roof!"


    The blue haired man beside him said, also floored by the size of the room.


    "How far do you think the ceiling expands to?" he asked.


    Karl looked up at the ceiling, and seeing nothing but a pitch-black void, decided to answer nonchalantly.


    "Who knows. It might not even have a roof."


    Saying things like, "That would be crazy." and "Do you think there''s something up there?", Leo''s imagination ran wild.


    After everybody had their fair share of amazement, the Leader of the group, a blonde-haired man, looking to be in his early thirties, decided to keep advancing.


    "Come on men, we are still far away from our Goal. We won''t stop until we reach the entrance to the Boss!" he shouted as he waved to everyone to follow him.


    With eyes still sparkling with wonder, everyone decided it was smarter to follow the leader. So, without complaints everyone continued.


    "Such a huge room must be really rare if even you''ve never seen it before Leo." Karl said as they continued onward.


    "Yeah, in all my life I have never once come across a room that was this big. I don''t think I''ve even seen a room half this one''s size either."


    "Speaking of which, you''ve been adventuring for quite some time now haven''t you?"


    "Yeah, I''ve been doing it since I was eleven years old...."


    After hearing that, Karl couldn''t help but jitter.


    Somebody going into Dungeons at that age, I can''t imagine what it must have been like, he thought to himself.


    "They told me I had the talent and wanted me to nurture it. So, I ended up entering at quite a young age."


    Leo showed a smile after a couple of seconds later, but one could see there were complicated emotions behind it.


    Karl didn''t know how to react, so he quickly tried changing the subject.


    " But this Dungeon sure is weird. I mean just look at this ro--"


    Before he could finish his sentence, something sudden happened.


    The one and only pathway leading onward, suddenly closed.


    The Bones, which made up the wall suddenly started moving and producing more milk white bones. Which in turn connected to the ones on the other side, closing the pathway.


    "What''s happening?!"


    Karl looked around nervously, trying to figure out his situation.


    "It''s closing behind us to!"


    One of the Healers wearing a red cloth screamed as he hastily looked back.


    "This is bad! Really bad! We''re trapped in here."


    "Was this a trap?! Can we get out of it?!"


    "There''s no way out!"


    Some of the less experienced people started freaking out and making a fuss, which in turn made other members of the party worry as well.


    "This is not good. If we don''t calm down, who knows what will happen." Leo said as he looked to the people panicking.


    "We need to help them calm down before it''s too late."


    Leo urges Karl as he goes over to the panicking people.


    Karl panics as well, but with Leo''s words he regains a little bit of his composure.


    He as well goes over to people who are panicking and starts calming them down.


    But then an eerie echo reverberates from the pitch-black Void above them.


    The sound transmitted sounded like something was cutting the air as it was heading downwards.


    Swish! Swoosh!


    After it got louder and louder, the sound of clinking could also be heard.


    "What''s that?!" one of the Adventurers asked.


    After everybody was frozen in space, too anxious to move, only then could they truly see what was quickly approaching the group.

 Tomb of the Undead Chapter 2

    The sounds of battle raged throughout the area as the Adventurers were engaging the enemies forces.


    The enemies were skeleton warriors, as well as archers, carrying old and rusty gear, they fought viciously, slashing away at the Adventurers without fear in their eyes.


    The skeletons had fallen out of the void in the sky suddenly, scaring and throwing everyone out of balance.


    But that was only at the start, after everyone noticed they were only weak skeletons, ones even a weak adventurer could beat, they regained their composure and engaged them head on.


    The tanks went into position and tried taunting as many of them as possible with their "enrage" skill.


    This Skill allowed one to make the enemy furious with oneself and in turn force it to attack the caster of the spell. It was like taunting the enemy to attack you in theory.


    Whilst the tanks were distracting the enemy, the mages and warriors were slowly getting rid of them one by one.


    Additionally the Healers in the group were healing the Tanks and the fighters as they engaged in combat.


    Everything was proceeding how it should be, Karl thought to himself as he stood face to face with a skeleton.


    The lump of milk white bones was carrying a rusty sword, which was barely hanging together. The tip of the sword was brown and was probably crumbling away due to the rust which had overtaken it.


    The Skeleton also wore some brown colored iron armor.


    Which made Karl think it was probably a warrior of some kind before he became a monster.


    ''I finally get to fight.''


    Karl pulled his short sword out of it''s sheath with a smile on his face.


    "You will become the first step I take towards my goal." he exclaimed as he raised his sword.


    Without a second of thought, the skeleton rushed at him, lifting his sword up towards the sky and then slashing it downwards.


    Karl raised his sword up, ready to block the downward slash.


    ''Bad Posture. Plant your feet on the ground. '' said Geist.


    But the attack was coming too fast.


    ''Too late''


    The attack hit Karl''s sword and made his body wobble.


    Karl tripped and fell down like this.


    ''Get up! Quickly!!'' Geist told him, as the next attack was already underway.


    The skeleton thrust his sword forward, intending to pierce Karl''s flesh. However due to the quick warning Karl managed to crawl backwards slightly, and in turn avoid the attack.


    The smile that was on Karl''s face only seconds ago vanished, like it was never there, and was replaced by an expression of fear.


    The Monster, without any hesitation continued to move forward and attack Karl mercilessly, every attack getting closer and closer to striking him.


    ''What are you doing?! Get up on your feet quickly!''


    Hearing Geist¡¯s orders, Karl quickly got up and gripped his sword again.


    His hands were shaky and the sword was wobbling up and down.


    Karl''s legs were moving backwards slightly, as if trying to escape. But the monster did not let up.


    ''Brace yourself he''s coming!''


    Karl raised up his sword however meekly and tried blocking the attack.


    ''Not like that!! Get a hold of yourself! Hold that sword with more power!'' Geist screamed at him.


    However it was too late. The sword which Karl had been holding got knocked out of his hands by the monster, due to his weak grip on it, and the enemy slashed away at his forehead.


    "Ahhhg!" he screamed as he fell backwards due to the pain.


    Karl did not know the amount of damage he had taken, but due to the shock, it felt like he had been cut right through.


    But the Skeleton wasn¡¯t going to let it end there, he moved forward intending to finish this fight.


    As he got closer he was getting ready to cut through Karl''s body whilst he was on the ground.


    ''Quickly move away! Or you''ll die!!'' hearing these words, Karl''s legs moved on their own, pushing himself backwards.


    Nevertheless, the Skeleton managed to penetrate Karl''s leg with his sword.


    "Ahh!!" Karl screamed due to the pain.


    The blood spurted out, painting the ground and the blade red.


    ''Get back up! This is your only chance!''


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Ignoring the shrieking pain which had befallen him, Karl quickly got up and limped over to where his sword had fallen.


    His face only carried hints of fear and a want for escape, as the blood poured down it. However, his spirit did not allow him to give up. No, not this easily.


    "I''m not giving up! I won''t be beaten just yet."


    Even though Karl was shaking and his legs were barely holding him up, his spirit managed to recover and allow him to persevere.


    ''That''s the attitude. You''re spirit is the only good thing about you, so you better put it to use. Now listen to me. Hold your sword with both hands tightly and make sure to put weight on your feet, so that they''re planted firmly on the ground.''


    "Understood."


    Listening to orders blindly was the only thing Karl could do in this situation.


    Even though his spirit had not given up, he knew he did not possess the power to beat the monster just yet. So, the only thing he could do was trust in Geist¡¯s orders and try to carry them out.


    He gripped his sword with all his might, rubbing his skin deep into the blades handle, until it turned red.


    The Monster charged forward again without hesitation, it''s bones crackling as it approached.


    ''I''ll tell you which way to evade. You just follow my instructions.''


    With a quick nod Karl confirmed and looked ahead with full focus.


    His legs were shaky and his eyes hazy, but his spirit spurred him on, not to give up.


    ''Left''


    As the skeleton swung his rusty sword, Karl moved to the left and avoided the attack.


    The cutting of air reverberated in his ears, but he had to bear with it for now.


    ''Jump backwards''


    He continued this with a jump and got out of the way of the skeletons follow up attack.


    His lungs were practically out of air every time the monster approached him. But his spirit kept his mind and body in check, forcing him to move.


    ''Good. Now continue like this and let''s counter attack.''


    "Understood."


    Not letting up, the skeleton rushed forward with all it''s might and swung his sword downward, aiming at Karl''s chest.


    Karl however avoided it with Geist¡¯s hints and, gripping his sword with all his might, he struck the skeletons head straight on with enough force to send it flying away.


    The skull flew a couple of meters away, with the body of the skeleton left standing in place.


    ''It seems you still don''t know how to wield a sword correctly. All you managed to do was knock the head away by pure force. There was no grace behind the strike.''


    Even though Geist was only criticizing Karl, he could not help but feel a slight joy welling up inside of himself.


    He had managed to take the first step forward. No matter how small, it was still an improvement from how he was before.


    Then, as if to ruin the moment, the skeletons body suddenly made a move and Karl''s shakiness instantly came back to him.


    ''There''s no time to celebrate. The skeleton will continue to move until you destroy his skull.''


    Knowing that, Karl quickly limped over to where the skull was and destroyed it.


    Afterwards he moved closer to a Healer and asked to be healed.


    ***


    ''Why did this have to happen?''


    The girl named Kristina thought to herself as she easily battled the low level skeletons.


    She was gracefully blocking their hits and in the same second cutting their skulls in half.


    ''I''m in a group with an arrogant loudmouth, again....''


    She couldn''t help but look over at where the boy named Alex was dispatching of the monsters, with a smile plastered on his face.


    He was also a fighter and just like Kristina used a steel Longsword.


    ''He reminds me too much of him.... I can''t stand it.''


    With a disgusted look she shifted her focus back to the skeletons and with pure anger, she started ending them faster and faster.


    Her movements increased exponentially in speed and Power, yet her movements stayed just as graceful as before. A sign of a truly experienced person.


    ***


    Managing to dodge the oncoming attack, Karl swung his blade and struck the head of a skeleton fighter.


    Due to the armor he was wearing, the cut failed to break the neckbone and only ended up leaving a scratch.


    However, not discouraged by this fact, Karl struck again and tried hitting the same spot.


    With the successful hit, he managed the break the bone in two. And thus, the Skull fell down, where Karl was able to quickly break it and proceed on to the next enemy. However, the smile he had before was no longer present. Now only a concentrated face remained in its place.


    "I see you''ve gotten better. How come you''re this strong after such a short time."


    Coming to support him was Markus, who started running next to him with his heavy armor.


    "It''s nothing really. I just started to take my training more seriously."


    "Huh, you got this much stronger just by training a little harder. I somehow don''t believe that. So, tell me the secret, I also want to get stronger."


    Markus showed a genuine smile as he looked at Karl for a second.


    "As I said, it''s pure hard work. Nothing else. There''s no secret shortcut to getting stronger. Sadly. But you don''t need to get stronger anymore, you''re plenty strong as is."


    "If only that were true. Even though I am above average, I still am weak in the larger scheme of things. I''m only that, above average."


    Looking slightly sad, Markus quickly looked in front of him and saw a skeleton approaching.


    "I''ll block the hit and you finish him off. Got it?"


    "Understood."


    Even though Karl had confidence that he was able to finish the skeleton. He did not know how Markus could know that, and why he would be able to trust him, even though he was so weak just a little while ago.


    And just like that, Markus took out his mace and blocked the attack of the enemy skeleton with the spiky edge of the weapon.


    Using the opening, Karl took out his blood-soaked blade and with full force, swung it at Skull of the monster.


    He was able to penetrate the bones with easy, but when he tried pulling the blade out, he encountered a problem.


    His short sword had gotten stuck, and he did not possess enough power to pull it out.


    He put all his power behind it, but it did not budge.


    "I would hurry up if I were you. More of them are approaching."


    Looking behind him Karl saw 6 skeletons approaching him and Markus. All wearing broken down, rusted armor.


    With newfound horror he once again pulled with all his might, but even though it looked like the blade had moved, it did not exit the Skull.


    Karl kept pulling repeatedly, not giving up until he could so much as hear the bones rattling right behind him.


    That''s when Markus jumped in and kicked the skeleton away.


    "In a Dungeon it''s essential that we help each other out. I''ll always try to help if I can, so don''t be shy to ask."


    He quickly broke the skull, in which the Blade had been stuck in and looked forward at the rapidly approaching skeletons.


    "Sorry. I''ll ask in the future."


    Standing next to Markus, Karl also got ready to battle the encroaching enemy.


    ***


    ''I''ve always been talented. At least, that''s what my parents said.''


    Leo reminisced as he easily fought off the attacking skeletons.


    ''Ever since I was little, I had to come to this horrendous and filthy place. Filled with Death, Despair and Agony. I was surrounded by it at the age of seven. How could they do that to a child? How could they send him of to a place such as this at that young an age? What were they thinking? Questions like these were always swirling around my head. But I never seemed to find a fitting answer. Was it for money? Fame? Status? Or something else? I was never able to figure it out. But, I guess it doesn''t matter.''


    As the more and more skeletons approached him, he started picking up the pace as well.


    With a single stroke he now managed to cut two skulls in half, all the while avoiding the blade strikes of the other enemies.


    Such was the power of one talented in combat. One that was meant to be in a place like this.


    But just because one was meant for something, doesn''t mean one enjoys or even wants to do that thing.


    ''That''s why, I''ll show them. I''ll show them how it looks when somebody with talent decides not to nurture it. They''ll see how it looks when somebody wastes their talent.''


    And thinking that Leo, the Rank D Fighter, continued to cut down the approaching mass of walking, geared up bones.


    ***


    After eliminating every skeleton in the surrounding area, Karl could not help but fall to the ground in pure exhaustion.


    His breaths were heavy as he looked at the nonexistent ceiling of the Dungeon.


    "I could see that you''ve improved. But to this extent. Life sure is crazy sometimes."


    Markus laughed as he looked down at the tired Karl.


    "But, it seems your stamina is still quite poor. Getting tired after beating only five skeletons, it might still get dangerous in the future, even if you''re more powerful now."


    "You''re right. I still have a lot to work on."


    With a slightly pained expression Karl laughed as he stood back up.


    "But, you really have improved drastically. A weak ago, you couldn''t even beat one skeleton alone. And now you can handle multiple....There must be a secret. Come on, tell me. What is it?"


    "No secret here. Just hard work."


    "Huh, fine then, don''t tell me."


    With a jokingly pouting expression, Markus looked away, while laughing.


    The suddenly a black fog started descending on the tired party.


    The fogs thickness wasn''t very high, as one could still see the other party members. But it still creeped everyone out.


    "What''s this?!"


    Karl asked as he drew his sword.


    "Are more enemies approaching?"


    "No, it doesn''t seem like it. But stay on guard, you can never know what kind of surprises a Dungeon might hold."


    Markus readied his mace as well as he went to Karl with his back. Their teamwork was improving slowly but surely.


    "Welcome Adventurers! I humbly welcome you to my Dungeon. A place that far exceeds the Depths of even Hell when it comes to suffering and horror. A wonderful place of my own design, that I have made just for the likes of you."


    The people in the party all looked around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. They looked left, right, down and up, until everyone¡¯s heads landed on the same spot.


    They all looked at the same thing with gaping mouths and sweat drops flowing down the sides of their heads.


    Their eyes open wide, awaiting the next second with nervousness.


    The void.


    Every single person''s eyes were stuck on what should have been a nonexistent ceiling. A hole filled only with darkness.


    That''s what it should have been.


    But in that pitch Darkness were now two rows of big, milky white teeth.


    Their size humongous, they looked like they could fit at least 5 people in them.


    And worst of all, it was smiling right at the Adventurers. A smile filled with twisted delight.


    "Now that I have welcomed you all, you should probably get ready. In about two to three hours, I plan on releasing more of my skeletal minions to attack and eradicate you. This will all be done for my delight, so please put up an entertaining fight. But, that is all for now, don''t forget, two to three hours. Be ready to fight by then. I wish you all good luck. Goodbye."


    Just as fast as it came it disappeared as well.


    And that all filling black void reappeared in its place.


    "What the hell was that?" Karl asked.


    "I don''t know. But whatever it was, it wasn''t on our side. We should probably stay on guard, even if it did say nothing would happen for two hours."


    "I Agree. We need to be careful." Karl nodded.


    "But, nothing will come of just standing around and waiting. Come on, let''s just eat. But don''t sheathe your sword yet. You may need it sooner rather than later."


    With that the two Adventurers sat down and took their food out to eat.


    Even in a Fear inducing situation like this, one cannot do much on an empty stomach.