I'm a farmer, not a hero : Chapter 50

A couple of nights ago, as the guide and the farmer bond over a couple of roasted wolf's legs, the guide explains his plan to get them to the demon king's castle.

"Prr-the dungeon has ten layers, with nine being the inner…"

"Prr-the first layer is the barracks, the second is the hallway, the third is the training grounds, the fourth is the stable, the fifth is the armory, the sixth is the prison, the seventh is workshop, the eight is the banquet hall, and the ninth being the throne room."

"I see, so where is the secret path?" The farmer asked.

"Prr-at the second layer, there is a trap wall that will lead you to the prison. Prr-continue from there to the workshop and you'll find a portal that will lead you to the Demon king's castle."

"I see… Wait, how do you know all of this? Didn't you say you only reached the fourth layer?"

"Prr-that is just a ruse to hide my real identity… Prr-even after what happened to it, I know this dungeon like the back of my hand."

"What do you mean?"

"Prr-that dungeon was the previous demon king's castle… Prr-and I'm the chief guard for the demon king."

*****

Back in the second layer.

With the farmer sending the scythe to the front, they were able to advance though the immortal horde of monsters, except for the farmer who kept fighting in the rear with the young cleric backing him up.

"We should go, they're able to push through those monsters now!" The young cleric said to the farmer, but the latter just kept fighting.

"At this point, not only will we be left behind but will be surrounded by these monsters as well!" The young cleric thought to herself.

Soon the young cleric joined the fight, repelling the monsters as well to give them some space to be able to run, but the number of their enemies weren't dwindling. Without the scythe, they were just stuck in an endless fight with the immortal creatures.

All of a sudden, the monsters were being sliced at high speed.

"Prr-sorry I was late." The guide said as he joined the two.

"What took you so long?" The farmer responded.

"Prr-I had to make sure that they're nowhere near here." The guide replied.

"What is he talking about?" The young cleric asked the farmer.

"Have you forgotten why we're here in the first place?" The farmer said to the young cleric.

"Wait! Are you telling me that we'll be leaving them? And during this crisis?" The young cleric, worried over the graverobbers party, stated.

"Prr-don't worry, I will lead them to safety after this. Prr-right now, I will need your help to open the door." The guide said.

"What do we have to do?" The farmer asked.

"Prr-just protect me while I search for it." The guide stated.

As the beastman rubs her paw to the walls, searching for the hidden path, the farmer and the young cleric repel the immortal creatures that are charging at them. It didn't take long before the guide could find the mark and started channeling his aura on it, opening a small pathway only big enough for one person to pass through.

"Prr-it's open!" He shouted at the two.

Upon hearing this, the farmer quickly bashed the monsters surrounding them, knocking most of them to the side, before throwing the shield to the ones that were still standing.

"I'll take the lead, okay?" The farmer said to the young cleric before entering the pathway. The young cleric followed soon after, with the guide closing it just in time before the monsters could fully swarm him, retreating back to where the rest of the graverobbers party were.

Now, with just the two of them, the farmer could now use his cudgel openly. Wielding it in front to use it to guide through the pitch black hallway, at the same time, to detect and dispel any traps.

"Hey, what is this place anyway?" Making small talk to pass the time, the young cleric asked.

"This dungeon, I mean." She clarified.

With one hand clinging to the back of the farmer's cloak so as not to get separated from him, the young cleric tries to walk as fast and as carefully as she could to try and keep up as the farmer narrates what the guide told him about the dungeon and himself.

Soon, the two reached the end of the dark hallway, and with the farmer using the cudgel to guide the way by tapping what's in front of him, he inadvertently dispelled the sealing magic on the door to the secret path which leads them to the warden's room in the sixth layer, the prison.

"From here, we should head to the workshop, huh?" The farmer said aloud, recalling the guide's instructions to him.

"But how do we get there anyway?" He added as they exited the room and found themselves in yet another maze surrounded by jail cells.

The farmer started approaching one of the jail cells to try and investigate as the young cleric looked around.

"Hey!"

The young cleric heard a whisper from one of the cells, but upon closer inspection, it was empty.

"What the? Am I hearing things?" She wondered aloud.

"Let me out of here…" The voice continued.

Unsure where she was hearing the voice, the young cleric turned to look at the adjacent cells to see if there was someone, but they were all empty. All of a sudden, just as she was about to turn back to the previous cell, she felt a violent thug on her skirt.

"Let me out of here!" The visage of a man, bloodied and mangled, appeared for a brief second inside the cell, causing the young cleric to stagger back in shock.

Just then, loud banging noises started erupting to the other jail cells as if the residents had just woken up from a deep slumber.

"What's happening?" The farmer wondered.

"I-I think these are wraiths!" The young cleric exclaimed.

"What?" The farmer asked.

"Wraiths! They're trapped spirits that have become malevolent over time. Physical attacks won't work on them, just magic." The young cleric explained.

"W-we need to get out of here, fast!" She said in a panic voice.

"But where do we go?" The farmer asked.

The young cleric paused for a minute and started chanting a miracle spell, with the farmer standing guard in case one of the wraiths managed to break free and attack them. A small orb of light then suddenly emanated in front of the young cleric as she finished casting the Miracle spell of guidance.

The orb started hovering around for a while before it followed a path, with the two closely following it.

As the two continue to follow the orb deeper into the prison, the loud banging noises coming from the cell followed by the desperate wailings of the wraith prisoners grew louder, striking fear into the young cleric and causing the light to start to diminish.

Knowing her miracle spells depended on her mental stability, the young cleric tried to steel her nerves, choosing to concentrate on the light ahead of them instead of the horrifying noise that they're hearing. Eventually, they are led to an enormous room surrounded by metal bars and barbed wires. In the middle of the room is a hulking man with its head covered in darkness, wielding a giant ax and a hook; the sixth layer's boss, the executioner.

"Good job, just leave the rest to me." The farmer said to the young cleric who was breathing heavily, exhausted both from running and concentrating to keep the Miracle spell of guidance active.

The farmer slowly approached the executioner, with the cudgel in his hand ready to attack at any given moment.

"Are you the one that's been causing the commotion to my men out there?" The executioner, with a deep and dark grim voice, asked.

"Regardless of whether I am or not, you'll still try to kill me, right?" The farmer responded.

"Correct…" The executioner said as he lifted his gigantic ax in preparation for battle.

"Then there's no point in asking, right?" The farmer stated before dashing to the executioner, instantly hitting him to the stomach with the end of the cudgel.

The attack should've ended the fight, it was after all, a full forced thrust from the sacred cudgel. But it barely gave the executioner any scratches.

"What the?" The farmer uttered, a bit confused as to what just happened.

The executioner retaliated with its ax, swinging it across the farmer but the farmer dodged out of reflexes. He could feel the wind brushing off his skin as he dodged the attack, giving him the impression that his enemy was solid, and so he launched a counter attack to his enemy's head but had the same feedback.

"Did he dodge my attack?!" The farmer thought.

Another attack came from the executioner, this time, the farmer tried to block it with the cudgel and just as he suspected, he could feel the weight of the ax.

"Shit! It's really hard to fight in this darkness!" The farmer said to himself, pausing upon realizing something.

"Wait! I don't have to hold back with my magic anymore…" He uttered before engulfing both ends of the cudgel with fire magicka.

During his previous fights, mainly during his fight with the flame emperor, he realized that the sacred cudgel does not block magicka with his mana making it possible for him to add magic enchantment on it like how the arrogant swordsman does so with his sword.

The farmer started his assault, and even though he could still not feel any feedback from the cudgel, he could see his enemy stagger as if he was getting hit.

"That's weird…" The farmer uttered, puzzled at his enemy.

Though he's attacking him with the cudgel engulfed in flames, the executioner doesn't seem to get burned though it still suffers from some kind of damage.

Eventually the executioner fell to its knees, weakened from the damage it suffered, with the farmer not fully understanding how he was able to beat it.

"Wow, to think that you'd be able to beat a wraith with just magicka enchantment." The young cleric commented as she approached the farmer.

"That thing's a wraith? No wonder I couldn't feel anything whenever I hit him." The farmer looked surprised.

"I thought that you knew, hence why you enchanted the Sacred cudgel with fire magicka." The young cleric responded with amazement.

"No, it's mainly because I couldn't see well in the dark and I thought he's dodging my attacks hence I couldn't feel my attacks hitting him." The farmer explained.

"How did you know that that thing is a wraith anyway?" He then asked.

"Its presence, even though it's stronger, is still the same as the ones in the prison." The young cleric explained.

"I see… still, I feel a bit disappointed." The farmer commented.

"On what?" The young cleric inquired.

"Well, for a sixth layer dungeon boss, it seemed too weak… The third dungeon boss was more formidable than him." The farmer remarked.

"I wonder…" The young cleric uttered.

What the farmer didn't know was that the executioner was emitting a powerful aura that fears anyone close to its range. Since the young cleric was resting at the entrance of the room, she wasn't affected by it, but most parties that tried to engage on the monster would be struck by fear the moment they set foot within its range.

Although most fighters have indomitable will that makes them insusceptible to the boss' fear, their attacks would be ineffective as physical attacks have little effects on wraiths. Although it is extremely weak against magic attacks, mages would have a hard time casting their spell due to the monster's fear aura.

With the flame engulfed cudgel, the farmer hits the executioner one last time on its head, dissipating its presence and opening the door to the seventh layer, the workshop.