《Before:After》 Chapter 0.1-re Running away, a practice commonly used by cowards, at the first signs of trouble, fleeing¡ªwithout remorse. ¡°Why! Why always me?¡± Nayb was getting exhausted, he was just sleeping peacefully a moment ago, in his cell, on a pirate ship. So when he found himself woken up by the sounds of wood and metal, crushing into a mountain of stones, he desperately tried to stand,but the dizziness he got when he got thrown off earlier made him pause. Slowly, deliberately, he stood, clutching the steel bars on his cell with his shackled hands. There he noticed, about half of his room was missing. He shrugged, walked out of his cell, remarking the lack of [Guards] of any sorts. Was this ship under attack? He was hearing a lot of shouting, probably outside, but no sounds of fighting nearby. ¡°Come to think of it Na--Trafe!¡± he shouted, looked around the other cells, surely he would find him in one of the cells. He slowly searched, while being watchful, he checked his footing, making sure not to fall off on some of the damaged floorboards. He didn''t find Trafe, or any sorts of people. Frowning, he made his way out of the ship. He was starting to get worry, not because Trafe was missing, nothing to worry about him. No, what he was really worried about was in fact the ship! or more exactly, What did Trafe do to the ship and their crews? if there really was any, for all Nayb knew, the ship could just be sentient and didn''t need a crew, but how did they get here? He remember being out of the ocean, and he was also searching for Trafe, who Nayb knew was not a good of a swimmer. What if, only Nayb got rescued and not Trafe? Fuck¡ª He ran, thoughts getting wild, he saw a large hole on the ground, just near the stairs, he jumped, landed on his feet, at first, he heard a splatter, then the pain hit him, his left foot caught some wooden splinters, he removed them without looking. He practically skipped some steps on the stairs, almost slipping, his left foot was bloody. The first thing he saw were the bodies, lifeless, most were clumped up together at the far end of the hallway, probably from the impact. But that wasn''t the reason for the crews deaths. Nayb squinted his eyes, he examined one of the bodies¡ªa girl, or just a man with long hair, that was not important, he looked at the neck where a knife was hanging, nothing special, but there was another body, this one, with a missing hand and sword to the chest. still, nothing special. But the more Nayb looked, the more he noticed a pattern, missing hand or feet, sometimes both, or all limbs missing. some pierced in the heart, eyes, armpit, groin. The more he looked, the more he was convinced. Trafe probably did this! Nayb knows how he fights¡ªalways aimed to kill in one strike, if he couldn''t, he would just disable his enemiee first, sometimes multiple times, if the enemy was tough enough. Slightly relieved, Nayb walked forward, peeking at the doors. By the time he was near the bodies, and beside the last room, he finally saw Trafe, not moving, Nayb went to a halt. Shit¡ª Nayb stumbled forward, his bloody left foot tripped by a bottle of some kind. His concern was immediately dispersed, when he heard the snore. Chuckling silently, Nayb checked Trafe for injuries, firstly his left hand, he wasn''t surprised to see cuts there, considering how Trafe usually block a sword with it. Nayb actually helped him practice that sort of thing. He stood up, noticed that they were in some kind of a fancy room, complete with beds, tables, and chairs. ¡°Definitely the captain''s cabin¡± he muttered while looking for something. ¡°There!¡± beside the big bed, a chest of some sort. He opened it, found what he was looking for, potions, and of top qualities. Nayb ignored the rest, he just needed a health potion, not that it''s hard to find, they were at the top most portion of the chest ¡°I know an enchanted bag is costly but an ordinary chest? Really?¡± He grabbed a health potion, ignoring the stingy personality of the former owner. Tried to open the potion, but his shackles was preventing him from doing so. he looked at Trafe''s hand, a chain of keys was onto his right arm. especially the one key separated from the others. Without doubting weather it was the one he needed, he took it and unlocked his shackles, thinking how stupid the [Inventor] who created those shackles.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. That done, he opened the potion again, poured some on Trafe''s left hand, then proceeded to heal his left foot¡ª ¡°You, check the inside, I think I heard something¡± Nayb heard a deep and large voice, tried and failed to whisper. ¡°No¡ª YOU! you see the bodies over there? I''m not paid enough for this kind of shit!¡± another one chimed in, this time with a shout, not even trying to lower their voice. Nayb froze for a second, he looked around for weapons¡ªsaw none, he saw shadows, some movements, there was a head peeking on the upper side of the door Nayb threw his unlocked shackles at it. heard someone growl, followed by another, the first one must have stumbled with the other¡ªNayb grabbed and hurl Trafe on his shoulders, he was skinny, but so was Trafe. He rushed past the other door, not daring to look behind, to the hallways, back below the stairs, almost slipping again, he saw the hole and jumped in. He was at the bottom most part of the ship, He quickly scanned around, saw some lights behind him and ran. There, he found an opening, a small crack in the wooden walls. He kicked the small opening, widening the gap, he slipped through it, crouching low. He was not expecting the sight. A tower of some sort, or what''s left of it. The shipped probably crushed onto it. it didn''t actually make the tower fall, but the lower part facing the ship was hollowed out, stones and debris scattered, some, hanging on top were still falling. The most noticeable part of it was the top. Two giant rays of light in opposite directions were spinning around. CLANK! With the sound of wood falling, Nayb ran, or tried to, but each step he took just made his feet sink, the sands were slowing him down, Nayb paused, then he saw the beach, surely the wet sands over there would give him some footing? He slowly made his way near the beach. ¡°YOU! stop right there!¡± The thundering voice followed by the sound of hooves made Nayb slightly pause, he resisted the call, it was probably from a skill, he was not sure of what to do so he proceeded to talk to his luggage. ¡°Why! Why always me? Hey boss! You¡¯re not planning on sleeping for the whole night, are you? You¡¯re getting heavy, you know!¡± He yelled, while running and almost slipping on the sandy beach. ¡°Oi! Boss? They are riding horses you know?¡± He desperately tried shouting again as the sound of hooves got louder and louder. He didn¡¯t need to be smart to know the odds of him outrunning their pursuers while carrying a sleeping person, who smells of alcohol. While finding a place to hide was his first goal, looking at the vast desert to his left, and what seemed to be large mountains farther away, such an idea was never going to happen. And while he is confident in putting up a fight against almost a dozen [Riders], his attitude towards that very idea is somewhat not he wants to happen. Not to mention that attracting too much attention would surely be unpleasant for them. Well, technically, that last part was not going to be a problem, since his boss, who was still sleeping, ¡®accidentally killed all the crew members of the ship, just minutes away from a trading port, which then prompted the crewless ship to crush to the said trading port, leaving the two of them blamed for that said accident. And now the surviving authorities are chasing and closing in to them. ¡°[Halt!] Stop right there!¡± a booming shout coming from behind commanded. Nayb tried resisting the command, but the other [Riders] took advantage of his slight pause, gaining enough momentum for the pursuers to surround them. ¡°Halt I say!¡± the same deep voice shouted, sounding more annoyed than angry. Now that Nayb has a clearer view of his pursuers, he noticed a very small mistake, the [Riders] weren¡¯t exactly riding horses, they were the horses! Well, half of them anyways. Some of them were not even half horses, if the intimidating curved horns were not proof enough. [Minotaurs] and [Centaurs]. Nayb¡¯s attention was now diverted to a [Minotaur] who was now walking closer to him, fuming with irritation, almost as if exhaling smokes from his? Her? It¡¯s nostrils. Nayb didn¡¯t want to be rude or anything, so instead of peeking what¡¯s between the angry bull¡¯s legs. Nayb decided to ask his boss about what to do. He asked Trafe, by throwing him on the freezing cold waters in the middle of the night, head first. ¡°FU¡ªFuck! What the--¡ª¡° Nayb cut him off by a shrilling and piercing whistle. Prompting Trafe to immediately take action. Jumping just behind Nayb,with a lowered stance, as if to pick up shells near the ground. Eyeing the surroundings, a cold stare, thinking, calculating. Nayb relaxed a little, and forcing everyone else to brandish their swords and spears while readying their shields. ¡°So? What¡¯s the plan?¡± asked the grinning and anticipating Nayb while trying to stand larger, intimidating. Well, his long natural fair-silver hair was enough for some to take a step back. Silence, everyone was looking at Trafe, waiting for his answer. Trafe quickly picked up two small stones near his feet. Forcing some to raise their shields, while confusing others. Nayb quickly understood and readied himself, looking for an opening. His boss took a step forward, Nayb quickly backing up, then. Confusing the others more. Some looked at their commander, but was signaled to hold, possibly because they have the advantage. The standoff paused for a few moments, then suddenly without warning, his boss extended his right foot forward, aimed his left hand holding two stones, and then threw the pebbles way out of range, upward towards the sea. ¡°Run!¡ª¡± As confusing as that plan is, Nayb knew what to do, almost everyone who heard that word thought that the person who said that was a coward, surely, only a coward would shout like that. Just like back then, when the only choice was to run away. To flee. And be a coward. But here¡¯s the thing, so what if it looks cowardly? Does it still look cowardly when that same person ran away from a battle¡­ ¡­and into a Legendary dungeon? Chapter 0.2 -re Chapter 0.2 The Centaurs and Minotaurs were well coordinated, almost as if they were a single entity, from the moment Trafe threw the stones, the centaurs and minotaurs immediately moved as one, shields and spears pointing at the two strange humans, like a bear trap waiting to be snapped, not letting anything escape, except the pebbles thrown at sea. They cannot win against such foes. Nayb knew, with no weapons or armor, they wouldn''t be able to win a physical fight, but they still have a chance, right now, even while running away, Trafe was preparing something which Nayb knew too well.A simple Spell? Skill? A mix of the two, unique from that alone. All Nayb have to do was buy enough time for Trafe to finish what he was doing. He only needed seconds. So he stopped and faced the [Riders]. Right before they escaped the dungeon, Nayb promised himself not to be involved in any fighting or killing, but it looks like he will have to break it. He only had a few offensive spells, but those were very reliant to the strength of his enemies, which is not powerful enough against opponents such as now. So he focused on channeling his defensive spells, he only need to defend Trafe for a few moments before¡ª Nothing happened. Confused, Nayb tried focusing, something was wrong, he tried focusing again but still nothing happened. He couldn''t feel his magic forming. Confusion turned to panic as he tried again and again and¡ªSplat! Nayb lost focus as he searched where the sound came from, he looked down, and saw a spear,but it was missing the tip, then he realized it was pushed against his left thigh. He lost his balance after that, he tried kneeling, but a surge of pain stopped him from doing so, instead, he tried grabbing the spear. ¡°Arghh!¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Nayb screamed his lungs out. The attacker, a centaur, pulled the spear back. aimed, and thrust it toward Nayb''s right thigh, Swoosh! the spear propelled forward like a blur. [Quick Thrust] the centaur said with a calm voice. Nayb greet his teeth, jumped left, or tried to, his left leg felt hot, he wouldn''t be able to dodge¡ª Thwack! The sound came from afar, the cold rough sands in his hands made him realize that he was on the ground far from his attacker, he quickly glanced at his thighs, only one was bleeding. He was getting dizzy, yet he tried to stand up, he need to focus again, despite the injury. He adjusted his stance, shifting his weight to his right side, he was no stranger to injuries, but the pain was still unwelcome. He redirected his focus to his surroundings, waiting to reposition himself between Trafe and the enemies. He was waiting for¡ª ''Ahh, of course'' Nayb muttered. Their enemies were not moving, like statues, or one''s who got caught by Gazers. Unmoving. Nayb tilted his head. But as quickly as enemies the froze, they immediately recomposed themselves, ¡®That¡¯s weird¡¯ Nayb mused. He glanced back to where Trafe was, seeking answers, there he saw what the fuzz was about. Trafe was just simply standing, nothing special about that, but he was holding something, a pole, No, a spear, still nothing special about it. ''Ahh!¡¯ Nayb suddenly realized what the slight paused their enemies made. Right now, at this moment, Trafe was holding a spear, a spear which was aimed at Nayb earlier, But somehow didn''t connect with his thigh. But the confusing part of it was their positioning, especially Nayb and Trafe. They have switched places, as simple as that, a simple magic, with many applications, depending on how well someone trained. And what better place to train that than a dungeon. ¡°What the¡ª¡± a confused centaur said while pulling his spear back. He succeeded, he must have pulled harder than he should, humans are no match when it comes to physical strength when compared to centaurs. "Huh?¡± but instead of a spear, the centaur was now holding something else, something small, a pebble, one which is still wet. Baffled, he made a quick glance at his commander, who took out a piece of gem from one of his many pockets, it was not glowing, meaning it''s not detecting what is it suppose to. Frowning, the commander yelled and pointed a finger at Nayb. ¡°It''s not an illusion! And the other one is still bleeding. Mages! cast anti teleportation spells, Now, Huh?¡± Only now, did the commander noticed it, but the moment he and his [Riders] look at the gem, their enemies, the ones who were suspected on attacking one of their trading port, possibly the same ones who hijacked an infamous [Pirate Lord]''s Ship and killing everyone on that same ship, the ones they needed to catch. Are now, nowhere to be found. Their only hope of finding them, two wet pebbles. Chapter 0.3 -re Chapter 0.3 No one survives alone, when thrown off to the unknown, if one hopes to live, faithful companions, increases survival, to entrust one''s life to others. Isolation is a troubling decision. He was drowning, a moment ago he was just on the beach, the next thing he saw was water, a lot of it, he was inside a small bubble of sorts, slowly expanding, forcefully trying to spread outward, but like any bubble, it lacked solidity, making it puff, engulfing and knocking the air out of its inhabitants. He tried to breathe air as much as he could, but it was too late, he couldn''t afford to swim up to the surface, their pursuers might see them. It was always like this, just like before, before they entered that damned dungeon, always powerless, always relying on others, he only wanted to help, to save the others, to escape their fate, their doom, he just wants to be recognised, to matter, so he could have saved them, her! But this world is cruel, more cruel than anyone could realize. He saw it with his own eyes, experienced it like no other, he was sure of it. He thought of dying, he remembered how they died, he always did, everytime he closed his eyes, seeing their back against him, how they shielded¡ª protected the pathetic one, three their lives, their hopes, wishes and dreams, all because they knew he mattered, because they hoped he could fulfill his promise, oh how they entrusted their very souls to him, for a glimmer of hope, a chance. How that tortured him, the nightmare he suffered, the never ending dream of living, so their lives could still matter, thru him, they still live, his memories of them that only he remembers. He wish for it to end, the sinking feeling of despair, It does not matter in the end, the world would still go on, even without him. So he let the water claim him, didn''t resist the water rushing in his mouth, he didn''t know how to swim anyway. He closed his eyes, hoping to see them soon --- ¡°afe¡ª Trafe! Thank goodness! I thought I lost you there boss¡± he heard Nayb muttered. ¡°Geez! sorry I didn''t find you right away, those damn water was deeper than I thought it was in those parts, I think you might had missed cast you spell there¡ª or maybe the spear were you casted the spell anchor was so far down before you managed to swapped with it¡± Nayb was talking faster that he usually does. And he was paler than usual too. Trafe slowly seated himself up, noticing that they were surrounded by some big slippery rocks beside a cliff. He knew Nayb has doubts about the spear and miss casting, but decided to dodge the questionUnauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°You''re injured, that usually doesn''t happen¡± Trafe said, more curious than concerned. ¡°Oh this? I ah¡ª I think I was out of mana mana back there, must have been those shackles they put on us, back when we were on that pirate ship, oh and I kinda ripped some of your shirt to use as a bandage, you know, since you took the time to get change after you accidently killed them off, mine still look primitive¡± Trafe''s left eyebrow rose to that, Nayb might be hiding something from him too. ¡°Those were ordinary shackles, that [Pirate Lord] thought we were from the same place as him, Some place called Irt or something, he said every 20 years or so, someone would get transported here or some other places, he somehow perished that thought when he saw you, something about you having those silver hair¡± Trade replied while getting a hard time remembering it, he saw some alcohol lying around after killing them of, so he decided to get drunk, somehow forgetting that the ship became crewless. ¡°And you killed them because¡­?¡± Nayb rose an eyebrow on his own, their personalities were getting similar as of late, something about being with noone else but themselves while inside a dungeon. Sighing the thought away, Trade replied. ¡°They concluded that they were natives somewhere for Mindos, so they decided to enslave and sell us, specially you¡± ¡°So you killed them? because they thought I was more valuable than you? Nayb had to laugh at that, such a childish reason. ¡°Oh, but why didn''t you try fighting the [Riders]?¡± ¡°Fuck you! and I was drunk, remember? I swear I thought we were fighting an army back there, the dizziness and headache was killing me, I was almost kneeling back there, trying not to puke in front of them¡± Trafe snorted, they could have easily fight their way out there. ¡°But then I saw you getting screwed there, that was unexpected, but it somehow made me sober, forcing me to bail us out there, good thing those pebbles went to the waters, I seriously thought I had hit a flying horse there, those things are hard.to fight, specially the horned ones¡± Trafe continued, casually forcing Nayb to spit his secret out. ¡°Well that¡ªthat was very lucky for us, do you ah do you have a hidden potion somewhere? my legs are kinda killing me right now¡± ¡°Ah about that, our equipments are still back in the dungeon, i couldn''t detect anchors there, maybe it''s blocking me from, I think it''s afraid I''ll teleport everything out of it, our hidden base plan is ruined now¡± Trafe complained, things really are unfair in this world. ¡°I think I could still go back to the pirate ship though, want me to have a quick look? check any potions and some weapons? oh and some armour too and a pirate hat!¡± Distrust, skepticism, isolation, it brings men into madness, when lives are at stake, a faithful companion will surely keep you sane? chapter 0.4 -re Chapter 0.4.1 As soon as Trafe vanished out of existence, an empty bottle suddenly replaced his position, with their conversation suddenly ended, Nayb was somehow relieved. He picked up the empty bottle then threw it across the sandy beach, with how Trafe was talking, Nayb''s experience told him that Trafe might bring back something unexpected. So throwing the bottle in a safer and empty place should do the trick. Since Trafe won''t be returning anytime soon, Nayb dragged his left leg across the rocky stones, he spotted a small cave beside the cliff. Being out in the open somehow made Nayb feel too vulnerable, for what it''s worth, he really missed being out, he hadn''t seen the sky for so long that seeing the two large objects in the sky was sort of unreal, absurd even. ¡°Red and blue huh, destined for each other, but can''t be together. Just like the two I know of¡± With a sigh, he entered the small cave, it wasn''t that high off the ground. The howl of wind and the soothing sound of sea waves echoed throughout the cave. The moons lit up the entrance, but it wasn''t enough to engulf the whole cave. Nayb closed an eye down, searching for any sign of life. He is a good tracker, he slowly trek into the darkness. With every step, the surroundings drew darker, but Nayb went on, eventually opening his left eye when he couldn''t see farther. A needle like twinged stab the back of his neck, he paused, a familiar feeling, a constant feeling. He quickly crouched down a large stone near the cave wall, the feeling was still there, getting stronger, something knows he was here. He slowly moved back, but the feeling won''t go away. He stood up, ignoring the pain in his leg, whatever he was detecting was surely getting close, the shaking ground was a definite hint for that. He felt like an idiot for going here, was he really that keen on going to places like this. The shaking grew rugged, it was definitely after him. He stopped trying to run, the thing that was chasing him was surely faster than him, so he stood still on his position, he focused on his mana, even without a weapon, or with an injury, he could still put up a fight, He didn''t try on focusing on defensive spell, instead he opt on concentrating for an offensive one, but without a defense, it could spell the end of him. He closed his eyes, relying on his mind instead. The rumbling got stronger, he ignored the shaking feeling, he was waiting, he needed to wait for the right moment before he¡ªTHERE! Something hit him, from his right shoulder down to his feet, it wasn''t sharp, but a hundred teethlike grind at him, a rotating set of death, created for shredding everything on its path, it wasn''t fast, but the dull revolving set of teeth ensured it would torn anything to pieces¡ª ¡°[Retaliate]!¡± Nayb painfully shouted his spell. The worm-like creature stopped to a halt, its rotating jaws suddenly going in the opposite direction. The worm shrieked to death halfway through its body before the spell could even finish retaliating the whole body. Nayb fell to the ground with worms still clutching him, he yelp in pain as he tries to pull the worm off his body, his spell did more damage to him than the wormas the jaws rotated backwards. He couldn''t even feel half of his body now. But that was the least of his problems, as two more worms crawled up in front of him, larger than the dead one, he could also see that their teeth were sharper to. ¡°Great, so fucking great¡± He muttered before closing his eyes¡­ --- He closed his eyes, he needed to focus, he had done this a thousand times, but relaxing his mind made things easier, he searched inside, like looking for a particular star at night, a small and dimming star. but the thing he was looking for wasn''t a star, so he tried to remember, its weight¡ªlight, with a long narrowed neck about the size of a knife handle, the bottom part was a round and hollow container, it was holding liquid inside when he last checked, but it was empty now, he was sure of it. So Trafe looked for the bottle in his mind space, he needed to make sure that the bottle was in an open space lest he find himself squished in a tight container, it wasn''t hard for him to grasp how it works, if the mental image of a particular object he was sensing were glowing on long intervals, then that particular object might be in a smaller space, the longer the interval, the smaller the space it''s occupying.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. So when he finally found the bottle with his mana anchor, glowing with no visible interval, he activated his spell¡ª[Materiality Shift],a maelstrom of blue light only he could see pulled him to its center, he felt himself being tugged in, like being roped and pulled, a whirly and nauseating sensation he feels every time he used the spell. He tried to open his eyes, only to be blinded by the surrounding infinite streaks of lights passing around him. He stared for what he felt like minutes before an object passed through him, a bottle. His real eyes flew open. Only a second had passed, all the sensation vanished as soon as he felt it, like a misstep when going down the stairs. His eyes were blinded again, but this wasn''t caused by his spell, He wasn''t expecting this place to be this bright. After his eyes adjust, he didn''t anticipate seeing a centaur here at this hour. The centaur was in front of a chest, casually humming as he¡ªshe? definitely a he, as he transfer the contents of the chest to a smaller bag, probably enchanted. Trafe crept behind, picking up a broken piece of bottle, then he remembered the spear he marked last night, he then marked the bottle as well, pouring as much mana he felt required. He focused on the spear in his mind, swapping two objects are simpler than swapping himself with an object. But swapping live objects or beings was the hardest. If he wanted to swap person A with person B, he first needed to touch and mark each one, then he himself would need to swap with person A, then swaps with B, then swap with A again. It''s both physically exhausting and mana consuming for him, so he usually just does that when he deem it genuinely needed. He continued to get closer, he could already smell the rusty and sweaty odor of the centaur, just a little more, he readied his spell, swapping his bottle with a spear if needed. He pointed the bottle behind the centaur, concentrating his mana, he leaned it at the centaur''s back¡ª ¡°ARGHHH! It''s not what it looks like¡ªOh! your that pebble guy!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Trafe got confused by that, the centaur wasn''t even trying to unsheathe his sword, more worried being caught, he eyed Trafe''s empty bottle and pointed. ¡°You ah, looking for some of those? Here! and ah,sorry for yelling at you, others say my voice is way louder than two minotaurs mating, haha! You''re the adventurers who took out this sorry lot huh? Are you Gold Rank? How did you even manage to enter the ship? I heard Captain Firefly was a very suspicious scum, he doesn''t even let his ship go near any land¡ªHey are you okay? Do you need a potion?¡± The minotaur only stopped when he saw Trafe was kneeling while holding his head. ¡°Sorry about that, just got a little dizzy, you talk a lot you know?¡± Trafe said after his dizziness went away. ¡°Oh! my bad, my friends say¡ª¡± a waving hand interrupted him from talking again. ¡°I need a health potion, not this one¡± Trafe said while pointing at the stamina potion which the centaur was offering. ¡°And weren''t you guys chasing us a while ago? Why are you being friendly now?¡± Trafe was getting a hard time processing what the centaur was ranting about, he got a feeling they might have mistaken them from adventures, but that doesn''t explain the friendly vibe he got from the centaur. ¡°Well you see¡ªyou should probably sit down first, you might get dizzy again or anything¡± The centaur helped Trafe to sit, as he explained, Trafe learned that this Firefly guy who he just killed was not really fond of [Mages] or even [Adventurers]. So when the centaur saw Trafe back at the beach, more exactly, when Trafe and the other guy vanished before their eyes. Their [Commander] more or less concluded that they were probably adventurers, they didn''t even tried to fight the [Riders] something the [Adventurers] would definitely do. ¡°And ah, sorry about your friend back there, you see, the boy Kali, the one who attacked your friend. He''s still new to this ah, patrolling thing, he just got his class last week, and was just too eager and was probably nervous on his first night out¡± the centaur, who''s name was Mrakr said. ¡°The city guild would compensate for the injury of your friend! Speaking of which, why didn''t you guys just tell us that you are Adventurers? that could have saved all of us the inconvenience, heck, this ship wouldn''t be here by now¡± There was no suspicion from his voice, that made Trafe want to tell the truth, but if he admitted that they weren''t adventurers as the centaurs claim, they could be imprisoned, fined or anything that could potentially detrimental to them. He was going to lie his way out but remembered something. ¡°Can we talk about this tomorrow,my friend really need the potion, so uhm, how about this¡ª¡± --- ¡°Hey Nayb! look what I got!¡± Trafe didn''t really need to shout, as evident from what he brought back, it was huge and as wide as four houses. ¡°Now we wouldn''t need to find a house, and this thing has everything we need!¡± Trafe continued to shout, not even daring to look at Nayb. He only stopped when Nayb didn''t answer back, he usually has something smart to say. He looked for Nayb, but he didn''t see him. He saw the cave, then he threw the bottle he just emptied. When he swapped with the bottle, he immediately noticed the carnage, five¡ªseven large things were on the ground, some were even half buried. There could be even more of this things, as Trafe noticed some sort of mouth and circular heads lying about farther away from the large ones. He heard something shuffle, prompting him to hide behind a large worm twice as high as him, he then proceeded to pick up what seemed to be a sharp rock. He glanced back to where the sound came from¡ª ¡°Ohh! hey Nayb, what''re you doing here?¡± Trafe asked while grinning, sounding more jealous than worry ¡°Ahh¡ªnothing, just ah, looking for a place to sleep¡± Nayb replied ¡°Your leg''s all heal up! I guess you won''t be needing this then!¡± Trafe said, not noticing the horns shrinking back on Nayb''s head Chapter 0.5 Chapter 0.5 He really was cursed; from the moment those Sandworms crept out of the cave, other monsters soon followed. Burrowers, Basilisks, even Earth golems! Not just those, other smaller creatures rushed out as well. If he was to guess, then this place must be a dungeon, or a new expansion from it, there are cases where dungeons uses its creatures to expand its territory so this thing isn¡¯t that rare. But the timing and coincidence was something else, as if the creatures were hunting or defending? But together? Basilisks and Earth golems were natural allies but with Burrowers and Sand worms? Then this cave is probably a part of a dungeon now. And this is close to the ocean too! This could¡ª ¡°[Guild Master] Hammersworth! Someone wishes to see you¡ª¡± a female voice hurriedly said as if not wanting to disturb a grumpy dwarf. The guild master slams his short hands on his table; making some paper works jump up and sways back down to their original positions. ¡°If it''s THAT skinny human brat again I SWEAR on my ancestor''s golden beards I''ll nail you on that door!¡± Hammersworth or Runtirl Hammersworth only meant what he swears if his words has ancestors or beards on it, which prompted his assistant to immediately close the door before she literally becomes a nail, but not before she casually tossed a small stone behind, which the guild master saw and made him consider lifting his Warhammer resting beside his chair, he grabbed it with his left hand, although it''s the only hand he have and the weapons weight and height wasn''t meant to be lifted with only one hand let alone a dwarf like Runtirl. He casually threw it towards the door, not minding whether the whole building collapsed, but just before it hit the door, the destructive projectile was blocked or rather was swapped out of the building and to a vacant lot just beside it, the building shook but unlike the first few incidents, no one inside the building panicked, a few even managed to wage bets, whether if the hammer would crash somewhere within the building or not. ¡°Aren''t you getting tired of this old man?¡± a human smugly said, clearly enjoying the aggravated look of the [Guild Master]. ¡°Pfft! You''re not as invincible as you think BOY! If I truly wanted to kill you, you wouldn''t even see it¡± replied Runtirl whose anger seemed to dissipate into resignation. ¡°And if you still insist on not telling your real name on this stone, then we cannot verify your Status and that means the Guild wouldn''t be able to compensate you¡± Runtirl''s curse or Trafe who already heard what the guild master said last, didn''t bother to listen again, instead he took the moment to tie his shoulder length black hair into a spiky ponytail after that he threw a stone at the guild master, who held his left arm up, but he didn''t expect the stone to swap back with his Warhammer while in midair, making the heavy weapon swing in an uncontrollable motion.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°[Revert]!¡ªDamnit Boy! Do you wanna destroy my table! And why was it swinging? I heard it crash outside¡± Hammersworth yelled in surprise. ¡°Oh that? Too much mana maybe? I didn¡¯t know if your weapon was an Artefact or just have a lot of enchantment, I guess I know now¡± Trafe answered like he was either confuse as well or was just confirming something, either way he learned a lot more about the weapon without needing a [Blacksmith], [Enchanter] or a similar Class. ¡°Pfft! You''re smarter than you let on or you don''t really know how to use your Skills or was it a Spell? Ah forget it, I know you wouldn''t answer, you don''t even want to reveal your name, let alone your class¡± The guild master mused. ¡°You''re either a criminal on the run or your name must be too valuable¡± Runtirl rambled, he isn''t as talkative as his kin, but he is clearly interested in having a conversation with Trafe, even if it''s a one-sided one. Now that he thought about it, his assistant was still letting Trafe in even after Runtirl warned them not to. They might have heard him talk too much whenever Trafe was around. ¡°My real name does not matter, although that''s the reason why I''m here¡± Trafe said with a disrespecting tone, but the guild master doesn''t seem to mind. ¡°And what would that be? Runtirl asked, but he already knows what Trafe wants. ¡°Your assistant¡ªSheryl? You see, I asked her if she knows a way for me to change my name permanently, and I think you already know what she told me¡± ¡°Sheryl huh, kind-hearted that lass, so? Let¡¯s say that she told you something about it, what makes you think that I¡¯ll help? I could have mention something like that the before if I wanted to¡± ¡°Well, I heard that you want someone to explore this cave near my ship¡± said Trafe with a small grin. Runtirl sighed when he heard Trafe said that he owned Firefly¡¯s ship, for the last three weeks since the Ship Incident, the guild was trying to reclaim the ship from Trafe, they tried but the ship keeps popping out of the port. The guild couldn¡¯t afford or spare a mage to secure it. So for now, Runtirl decided not to bother with it. ¡°We do not allow non authorized personnel in to a dungeon¡± Rinturl flat out declared. True, he doesn¡¯t have any competent adventurers or team available now, but he was waiting for one of his Gold rank team to return, he already ordered his assistant to send a [Message] to each one of them but, one team will be enough for a scout mission. ¡°Then give me one, your [Guards] can¡¯t hold that entrance much longer, sure they can hold it for now, but that¡¯s because me and Nayb are there helping them, well just him for now but¡ª¡± ¡°NO! Even if I wanted to, I can¡¯t give you one unless I confirm your name! And you want me to change it for you? You don¡¯t look like a nobility, and I know if someone is even if they try to hide it, which means you¡¯re hiding from someone and possibly because they can find you if you were to give your name, and only criminals do that!¡± Runtirl¡¯s sudden outburst made Trafe consider his words, especially because the guild master was gripping his now human-sized weapon. ¡°I can assure you¡­¡± Trafe said while he gestured his hand for Runtirl to stop whatever what he is about to do. ¡°Hiding my name is the best for my¡ªfor everyone¡¯s safety, I may have had took something that wasn¡¯t mine before but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m dangerous. Look! I really want to tell you the truth but I reassure you that hiding it is for the best, I think you¡¯ll understand once I told you but I can¡¯t. For now¡± ¡°Pfft! You sound like a criminal to me, doesn¡¯t matter, I know just the thing to make you talk!¡± He raised his hammer. ¡°I¡¯m out of patience with you boy! You either get out of here now or you won¡¯t be able to!¡± the seriousness on his deep voice was enough for anyone to run away immediately, but not Trafe. ¡°Make me old runt¡± Trafe declared. This prompted Runtirl to swing his weapon. A loud crash was heard yet again besides the building as Trafe swapped the hammer again but Runtirl knew it was going to happen. ¡°[Return!]¡±. Runtirl leaped forward, lifting and swinging his empty hand to the air. The warhammer returned mid-swing, [Thunderclap!] The warhammer hit the floor, a expanding wave of sound travelled across the room, but the floor held, anyone within the room except Runtirl is surely to wail in pain as the sound hit their ears. Sadly no one other than him was in the room. ¡°That will teach him¡± the guild master murmured. He returned to his desk, making the papers and some furniture rearranged themselves back to where they were. A few minutes of complaining later, a knock on his enchanted door was heard and Sheryl entered again without bothering to wait for Runtirl to let her enter. Runtirl was sure she was just going to complain about the ruckus he made.