23 The Masked Individual

It had been a while since I had felt a presence like this one. A figure emerged from the darkness, a dark cloak masking his facial features, but I immediately recognized what he was.

Dragonkin.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, alarmed. Even if his presence was completely concealed and the only way I had been able to sense him was through my dragon senses, it was still extremely dangerous. All it would take was one wrong move, one miscalculation, and the entire existence of the dragons would be exposed.

"The Empress sent me to inform you about our situation," responded the scout, keeping his voice extremely low as to not wake the others.

"What situation?"

"We have revealed our existence to the other races."

I stood there, perplexed. After only a few months, Selena had decided to unmask the whereabouts of the Dragonkin. I hadn't heard about it from the commonfolk of Eloria, so I guessed that only the royal families and officers knew about this.

"Negotiations have begun?" I asked, my voice slightly higher from the slight shock.

"Yes, sir."

"How is it looking?"

"It will take time, sir," responded the scout. I knew he was addressing me in such a manner due to my rank as the appointed knight of the princess, but it still felt weird. I had never been of a higher social position than anyone else in my entire life, and the sense of superiority made me uncomfortable.

"I see. Thank you," I answered quickly, the scout realizing that time was short as dawn approached. He nodded his head, bowing ever so slightly before returning to the shadows and completely vanishing, his aura included.

Considering that was the power of a normal scout of the Dragonkin, I could only imagine what their army at full strength would look like. I understood why the other nations lived in fear of the dragons, and I didn't know how Selena would be able to accomplish an understanding.

But if there was anyone that could do it, it was Selena.

I looked at the pile of corpses surrounding the camp and sighed, igniting my palm. A humble smoke arose from our location as I lit up the dead animals, controlling the fires to make sure they didn't spread.

I looked up at the dark rose sky, the sun was beginning to rise. We'd be able to make it to the dungeon in a few hours of walking, so I sat against a tree and waited until the inevitable awakening of my companions.

A cheerful chirp of birds rung throughout all of Auroria, waking the sleep-deprived adventurers from their short slumber. I merely nodded at Mike and Rom as they exited their respectful tents, yawning profusely.

The last to get up was Katherine, no surprise there. She waved at me lazily, and I smiled underneath my mask. She reminded me of Asthia, though the reason eluded me.

We began the final stretch towards our destination, the rest of the way being clear from monsters. I could sense them in the vicinity, but something told me they were also aware of who I was, as well as Katherine.

I could spot Hugo's carriage in the distance, two guards standing around it.

"This guy has guards?" I muttered in disbelief, Katherine approaching me.

"Don't you know he's related to the royal family? How do you think he got permission to become an adventurer at the age of eight?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I looked up, the pieces slotting into place. The reason Hugo had been admitted to becoming an adventurer at such a young age was due to his connection with the royal family. There was no way the guild could oppose them.

Did this mean that Hugo was aware of the Dragonkin's existence? He was technically royalty, but something about his reckless attitude led me to believe that he couldn't be trusted with such information.

Hugo stepped out of the carriage, his flaming red robes resembling the amber color of the sky.

"About time," he muttered, my enhanced senses barely picking up his words.

We gathered at the entrance of the domain, a massive cave right in front of us. A dark green glow emanated from deep within the cavern, a vile stench escaping.

"Remember. Listen to the tank, no disobeying orders, no talking back, got it?" said Mike, extremely serious as he fit his shield onto his arm and unsheathed his broadsword.

"Oh come on, it's a C-rank," pointed out Hugo.

What he said wasn't necessarily wrong. We were all capable adventurers, and after seeing Katherine in action, I realized she could easily make it to A-rank with her situational skills and precision. Bind control and one's aura weren't the only factors that came into play when measuring one's rank. The overall utility of an individual was one of the key factors, and Katherine was more than able of supporting her teammates as an archer.

"Let's still take this seriously," remarked Rom as he readied his staff, absorbing bind.

I noticed that most members of our party weren't wearing armor. It wasn't a flaw, but it meant that we were going to rely on speed and evasive maneuvers rather than tanking blows. I had no doubt that Katherine was fast enough, but were the other two going to be fine?

"We'll be going up against sects, so just make sure to clear them efficiently before their numbers swarm us," warned Mike, stepping up and gesturing us to follow him inside.

If I remembered the guide correctly, sects were basically scorpion-like monsters with stingers that relied on overwhelming numbers rather than individual strength. A D-rank adventurer could easily defeat a C-rank sect, even with the rank difference.

The danger was not defeating them fast enough. The monsters' numbers slowly grew, and you had to stay coordinated and composed if you wanted to survive. The rank of this dungeon was C-rank, but the type of monster residing within it was easily the most dangerous.

I pulled out my sword, the blade still perfectly viable for low-ranked monsters. I noticed small dents within the steel, but there was no need to worry just yet.

"For our positions. I'll be the tank, Rom is our healer, and you three will be in charge of killing as many monsters as fast as possible. Understood?" asked Mike, looking at Katherine, Hugo, and I. We all nodded, understanding our positions.

I looked over at Hugo, the boy seemingly in check. I had to keep my eye on him, my instincts telling me it was the right course of action.

"Don't hold us back," whispered Hugo into my ear as he followed the rest of the group into the domain.

I sighed. This kind of rivalry was something I wasn't looking forward to. I had to focus on one thing, and one thing only:

Making sure we all made it out of this domain in one piece.