After everyone was ready, Zayzal turned to the left, contemplating whether they should return the way they came before shaking his head. “Let’s see what’s down here first,” he said as he turned to the right. Nobody else had a problem with that and followed him.
This time, Kaldrik stood right behind Zayzal and next to Anders with a torch in his hand, lighting up the way. Their shadows flickered on the walls as they silently walked through the corridor. While Zayzal watched the front, Anders kept an eye on the ceiling, not wanting to be ambushed again.
They crept along steadily before they hit another corner. Zayzal paid it no mind and rounded the right hand corner.
*Thump!*
His ears twitched at the sound of a bowstring being released, and he hurriedly jumped back behind the wall. A moment later, an arrow whizzed right past him before hitting the wall with a clack as it embedded itself in it.
“Damn…” Zayzal breathed out a sigh of relief. “...That was close.”
“Of course it was.” Kaldrik’s cold voice rang in his ear. “Only a fool would cross a corner so boldly.” He walked forward with a sigh, a fist-sized fireball appearing on his palm. With his back against the wall, he tossed the fireball around the corner like a grenade.
*BOOM!*
The tunnel vibrated as the explosion echoed through the walls, followed by the sounds of screams and screeching.
“Sera!” Zayzal called out, and the tall Viking warrior immediately jumped into action.
“On it!” She yelled. With her shield out in front, she charged around the corner, only to see half a dozen blueish-green goblins on the floor, flailing around in pain as they were engulfed in flames. Stomping on the ground, she dashed toward them, her axe descending. In one swift motion, she chopped off a head before launching herself at the next victim.
Not even a few seconds passed, and the screaming had already stopped.
Kaldrik narrowed his chilling blue eyes at the power behind Sera’s movements. ‘That’s not normal. Even those who have been altered by the mana in the air are nowhere near that strong.’
His gaze shifted to Zayzal and Anders. He could feel that the mana within them was denser, and the way it shifted through them was smoother.
‘Have they found a way to strengthen themselves with mana?’ His eyes finally landed on Zayzal. ‘Is that why they’re following him?’
He couldn’t be sure, but he began to speculate that perhaps Zayzal had a talent that helped people get stronger or was incredibly intelligent. Either that or they were just special, but he leaned more toward his original guess.
‘Zayzal has potential, but he’s a bit inexperienced. Unless there were another reason, someone like Sera wouldn’t follow him.’ He concluded before a smirk crept up on his face. ‘The world really has changed, hasn’t it? Interesting.’
“You’re good to come through now!” Sera yelled, waking Kaldrik out of his thoughts. He gave Zayzal a pointed look before he shook his head and walked behind him, a cold glint passing through his gaze.
They all walked into the corridor and were immediately drawn to the wooden perches sticking out of the walls.
‘The goblins must’ve been on those.’ Zayzal thought as he continued down the hallway. He noticed the shabby leather armor and tiny bows on and next to the goblin’s bodies but didn’t pay much attention to them. They were worthless in their current condition.
He walked over their bodies with Sera right next to him. Kaldrik stayed behind them, but Anders decided to stay with the village people.
As the group pressed onward, the corridor grew colder, with tendrils of mist creeping across the ground. Kaldrik's torch seemed only to penetrate a short distance before its light was swallowed by the chilling fog.
Anders squinted, trying to see through the mist. “I've got a bad feeling about this,” he murmured, his voice echoing slightly in the close confines of the passageway.
“Stay alert,” Zayzal cautioned, his hand resting on the hilt of his weapon.
A soft, melodic hum reached their ears, eerily resonating through the dungeon. It sounded almost mournful, yet hauntingly beautiful.
Sera tightened her grip on her axe, looking around warily. "We're not alone," she whispered, her voice dripping with tension. "That tune… it sounds like a siren’s song. Be careful."
Kaldrik also nodded, his eyes more focused on the energy around them. “Something about the mana around us has changed.”
Almost on cue, ethereal figures began to materialize from the mist, their forms translucent and indistinct. They looked somewhat human, but their elongated limbs, hauntingly white eyes, and the intangible quality about them suggested otherwise.
“Geists…” Anders breathed, recognition flashing in his eyes. He'd heard tales of these ghostly spirits known to haunt the darkest recesses of ancient places in folklore. They were bound to the location of their demise, unable to find peace.
The Geists circled the group, their melodic hum growing louder and more intense. The air grew colder, and an oppressive weight settled on them, the very atmosphere trying to sap their strength and will.
Kaldrik began channeling his mana, a warmth radiating from him as he summoned his fire magic. A protective barrier surrounded them, pushing back against the Geists' cold. The spirits hissed and recoiled, but they didn't retreat entirely.
However, the man just smirked. Clenching his fists, the fiery barrier expanded and engulfed the spirits, causing them to shriek like banshees before they inevitably disappeared. Blood dripped out of Kaldrik and everyone else’s ears, but they were just glad that they were able to move on without much issue.
Everyone looked at the culprit with a multitude of emotions, but the primary one was respect. Kaldrik might be cold and indifferent, but he was definitely powerful.
Finally, the corridor was silent once again, save for the heavy breathing of the adventurers. They exchanged glances, a mix of relief and weariness evident in their eyes.
"That was... unexpected," Zayzal muttered, sheathing his weapon.
Sera chuckled, her usual passionate spirit returning. "In this place, we should expect the unexpected."
Kaldrik nodded, looking around the now Geist-free corridor. "We should keep moving. There's no telling what else this dungeon has in store for us."
And with that, the group continued their journey, each step taking them deeper into the dungeon.
***
About an hour later, and after numerous other goblin battles, the group now stood in front of a small, empty room. The only thing in the room, aside from the stone walls, was a medium-sized wooden chest in the middle.
Anders, Zayzal, and Sera’s eyes lit up.
‘Loot!’ They all inwardly exclaimed, but they weren’t the only ones. The village people also had an inkling about what could be inside the chest, but they didn’t dare to voice their thoughts.
Only Kaldrik narrowed his eyes while looking at the chest. He grabbed one of the middle-aged men in his group by the arm and pushed him forward. “Open it,” Kaldrik ordered.
The man wanted to refute Kaldrik’s demands, but seeing the cold look in his eyes, he shivered and nodded. Slowly walking forward, he inched closer to the chest. Zayzal and the others frowned, unsure why Kaldrik would do this, but they were also curious.
Zayzal gave Sera a look, to which she understood and prepared to cast a barrier around the man.
When the man neared the chest, he kneeled down in front of it and successfully unlatched it. Feeling a little bolder, he opened it as well. A gold light shone from within as the torch reflected countless gold coins.
The man beamed and began laughing. “Hahaha! We’re rich! We’re ri-!”
A tongue burst out from within the chest at the guy’s head, which exploded like a watermelon. Sera didn’t even get a chance to save him as it all happened so fast.
“AAAHHHH!” The village people yelled and prepared to run away, but Zayzal, Anders, Sera, and Kaldrik had already engaged the creature. Kaldrik tossed a fireball at it while the others brought their weapons down on it.
Zayzal’s spear pierced its tongue, Anders jammed his deep into the chest while Sera cleaved it like a chunk of wood. Under their assault, it barely lasted a few minutes before it let out a scream and exploded out a bunch of blood, guts, and wood. All the gold coins in it had disappeared and were replaced by bits of flesh.
After making sure it was dead, everyone’s expression turned solemn, and they turned to stare at Kaldrik. However, the man just stood there with an indifferent expression. If anything, he looked slightly disgusted as he looked at the mess.
Zayzal opened his mouth to speak up, but no words came out. ‘...What am I even supposed to say? Should I confront him about how he just sacrificed that man for no reason? What would I do if he just shrugged it off? The man clearly doesn’t care. Also, is now the right time to bring something like this up?’ He looked at Anders and Sera, then back at the dead creature.
His mind drifted to the dozens of monsters they’d already fought in this dungeon. What if an internal conflict happened and the villagers turned against them or started making a whole bunch of noise? Would they be forced to fight off hordes of enemies? Perhaps kill other people just to make it out of here alive?
What if they had to fight against Kaldrik as well?
‘Can I really put the lives of myself and my companions at risk because of something like that?’ He questioned himself but couldn’t find an answer. For the first time in his life, his morals were being put to the test, and he wasn’t sure how to respond. ‘I want to confront him, but…’
Zayzal felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Anders looking him in the eye and shaking his head. The message was clear: Leave it.
Grinding his teeth, Zayzal forced himself to calm down. “...Let’s go.” He grunted. “We’ve hit a dead end.”
His boots echoed within the room as he walked out, but on his way, he glared at Kaldrik, who just crossed his arms and returned a side-eye.
Anders and Sera followed behind him, and soon, everyone left the room, but nobody noticed the growing smirk on Kaldrik’s face.
After everyone was ready, Zayzal turned to the left, contemplating whether they should return the way they came before shaking his head. “Let’s see what’s down here first,” he said as he turned to the right. Nobody else had a problem with that and followed him.
This time, Kaldrik stood right behind Zayzal and next to Anders with a torch in his hand, lighting up the way. Their shadows flickered on the walls as they silently walked through the corridor. While Zayzal watched the front, Anders kept an eye on the ceiling, not wanting to be ambushed again.
They crept along steadily before they hit another corner. Zayzal paid it no mind and rounded the right hand corner.
*Thump!*
His ears twitched at the sound of a bowstring being released, and he hurriedly jumped back behind the wall. A moment later, an arrow whizzed right past him before hitting the wall with a clack as it embedded itself in it.
“Damn…” Zayzal breathed out a sigh of relief. “...That was close.”
“Of course it was.” Kaldrik’s cold voice rang in his ear. “Only a fool would cross a corner so boldly.” He walked forward with a sigh, a fist-sized fireball appearing on his palm. With his back against the wall, he tossed the fireball around the corner like a grenade.
*BOOM!*
The tunnel vibrated as the explosion echoed through the walls, followed by the sounds of screams and screeching.
“Sera!” Zayzal called out, and the tall Viking warrior immediately jumped into action.
“On it!” She yelled. With her shield out in front, she charged around the corner, only to see half a dozen blueish-green goblins on the floor, flailing around in pain as they were engulfed in flames. Stomping on the ground, she dashed toward them, her axe descending. In one swift motion, she chopped off a head before launching herself at the next victim.
Not even a few seconds passed, and the screaming had already stopped.
Kaldrik narrowed his chilling blue eyes at the power behind Sera’s movements. ‘That’s not normal. Even those who have been altered by the mana in the air are nowhere near that strong.’
His gaze shifted to Zayzal and Anders. He could feel that the mana within them was denser, and the way it shifted through them was smoother.
‘Have they found a way to strengthen themselves with mana?’ His eyes finally landed on Zayzal. ‘Is that why they’re following him?’
He couldn’t be sure, but he began to speculate that perhaps Zayzal had a talent that helped people get stronger or was incredibly intelligent. Either that or they were just special, but he leaned more toward his original guess.
‘Zayzal has potential, but he’s a bit inexperienced. Unless there were another reason, someone like Sera wouldn’t follow him.’ He concluded before a smirk crept up on his face. ‘The world really has changed, hasn’t it? Interesting.’
“You’re good to come through now!” Sera yelled, waking Kaldrik out of his thoughts. He gave Zayzal a pointed look before he shook his head and walked behind him, a cold glint passing through his gaze.
They all walked into the corridor and were immediately drawn to the wooden perches sticking out of the walls.
‘The goblins must’ve been on those.’ Zayzal thought as he continued down the hallway. He noticed the shabby leather armor and tiny bows on and next to the goblin’s bodies but didn’t pay much attention to them. They were worthless in their current condition.
He walked over their bodies with Sera right next to him. Kaldrik stayed behind them, but Anders decided to stay with the village people.
As the group pressed onward, the corridor grew colder, with tendrils of mist creeping across the ground. Kaldrik's torch seemed only to penetrate a short distance before its light was swallowed by the chilling fog.
Anders squinted, trying to see through the mist. “I've got a bad feeling about this,” he murmured, his voice echoing slightly in the close confines of the passageway.
“Stay alert,” Zayzal cautioned, his hand resting on the hilt of his weapon.
A soft, melodic hum reached their ears, eerily resonating through the dungeon. It sounded almost mournful, yet hauntingly beautiful.
Sera tightened her grip on her axe, looking around warily. "We're not alone," she whispered, her voice dripping with tension. "That tune… it sounds like a siren’s song. Be careful."
Kaldrik also nodded, his eyes more focused on the energy around them. “Something about the mana around us has changed.”
Almost on cue, ethereal figures began to materialize from the mist, their forms translucent and indistinct. They looked somewhat human, but their elongated limbs, hauntingly white eyes, and the intangible quality about them suggested otherwise.
“Geists…” Anders breathed, recognition flashing in his eyes. He'd heard tales of these ghostly spirits known to haunt the darkest recesses of ancient places in folklore. They were bound to the location of their demise, unable to find peace.
The Geists circled the group, their melodic hum growing louder and more intense. The air grew colder, and an oppressive weight settled on them, the very atmosphere trying to sap their strength and will.
Kaldrik began channeling his mana, a warmth radiating from him as he summoned his fire magic. A protective barrier surrounded them, pushing back against the Geists' cold. The spirits hissed and recoiled, but they didn't retreat entirely.
However, the man just smirked. Clenching his fists, the fiery barrier expanded and engulfed the spirits, causing them to shriek like banshees before they inevitably disappeared. Blood dripped out of Kaldrik and everyone else’s ears, but they were just glad that they were able to move on without much issue.
Everyone looked at the culprit with a multitude of emotions, but the primary one was respect. Kaldrik might be cold and indifferent, but he was definitely powerful.
Finally, the corridor was silent once again, save for the heavy breathing of the adventurers. They exchanged glances, a mix of relief and weariness evident in their eyes.
"That was... unexpected," Zayzal muttered, sheathing his weapon.
Sera chuckled, her usual passionate spirit returning. "In this place, we should expect the unexpected."
Kaldrik nodded, looking around the now Geist-free corridor. "We should keep moving. There's no telling what else this dungeon has in store for us."
And with that, the group continued their journey, each step taking them deeper into the dungeon.
***
About an hour later, and after numerous other goblin battles, the group now stood in front of a small, empty room. The only thing in the room, aside from the stone walls, was a medium-sized wooden chest in the middle.
Anders, Zayzal, and Sera’s eyes lit up.
‘Loot!’ They all inwardly exclaimed, but they weren’t the only ones. The village people also had an inkling about what could be inside the chest, but they didn’t dare to voice their thoughts.
Only Kaldrik narrowed his eyes while looking at the chest. He grabbed one of the middle-aged men in his group by the arm and pushed him forward. “Open it,” Kaldrik ordered.
The man wanted to refute Kaldrik’s demands, but seeing the cold look in his eyes, he shivered and nodded. Slowly walking forward, he inched closer to the chest. Zayzal and the others frowned, unsure why Kaldrik would do this, but they were also curious.
Zayzal gave Sera a look, to which she understood and prepared to cast a barrier around the man.
When the man neared the chest, he kneeled down in front of it and successfully unlatched it. Feeling a little bolder, he opened it as well. A gold light shone from within as the torch reflected countless gold coins.
The man beamed and began laughing. “Hahaha! We’re rich! We’re ri-!”
A tongue burst out from within the chest at the guy’s head, which exploded like a watermelon. Sera didn’t even get a chance to save him as it all happened so fast.
“AAAHHHH!” The village people yelled and prepared to run away, but Zayzal, Anders, Sera, and Kaldrik had already engaged the creature. Kaldrik tossed a fireball at it while the others brought their weapons down on it.
Zayzal’s spear pierced its tongue, Anders jammed his deep into the chest while Sera cleaved it like a chunk of wood. Under their assault, it barely lasted a few minutes before it let out a scream and exploded out a bunch of blood, guts, and wood. All the gold coins in it had disappeared and were replaced by bits of flesh.
After making sure it was dead, everyone’s expression turned solemn, and they turned to stare at Kaldrik. However, the man just stood there with an indifferent expression. If anything, he looked slightly disgusted as he looked at the mess.
Zayzal opened his mouth to speak up, but no words came out. ‘...What am I even supposed to say? Should I confront him about how he just sacrificed that man for no reason? What would I do if he just shrugged it off? The man clearly doesn’t care. Also, is now the right time to bring something like this up?’ He looked at Anders and Sera, then back at the dead creature.
His mind drifted to the dozens of monsters they’d already fought in this dungeon. What if an internal conflict happened and the villagers turned against them or started making a whole bunch of noise? Would they be forced to fight off hordes of enemies? Perhaps kill other people just to make it out of here alive?
What if they had to fight against Kaldrik as well?
‘Can I really put the lives of myself and my companions at risk because of something like that?’ He questioned himself but couldn’t find an answer. For the first time in his life, his morals were being put to the test, and he wasn’t sure how to respond. ‘I want to confront him, but…’
Zayzal felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Anders looking him in the eye and shaking his head. The message was clear: Leave it.
Grinding his teeth, Zayzal forced himself to calm down. “...Let’s go.” He grunted. “We’ve hit a dead end.”
His boots echoed within the room as he walked out, but on his way, he glared at Kaldrik, who just crossed his arms and returned a side-eye.
Anders and Sera followed behind him, and soon, everyone left the room, but nobody noticed the growing smirk on Kaldrik’s face.
