Part 32

"Holy shit, these taste even better than I would have thought!" Jonathan yelled as he bit down into his rabbit. Icarus agreed, chewing into his rabbit like it was the last thing he would ever eat. The girls were a little quieter in their efforts to eat their rabbits, but I could tell they thought it was delicious as well, "I have decided. I'm going to worship you from now on!"

"Worship?"

"Yes! Arthur, you're a god now, just because of this!" Jonathan yelled as he took another bite, "I don't even know how you were able to catch these, but thank god you could."

"These aren't even that good," I whispered as I turned to mine, which was already half eaten, and smiled.

"I also found a river on my way out," I said as I leaned forward to take another bite, "We can get all of this goblin blood off of our armor."

"Ugh, finally," Hazel sighed as she finished eating the rest of her rabbit. I turned to her, then saw her relax against the ground as she leaned back and looked to the sky, "I was trying my best to ignore it, but we really do stink, don't we? Where's the river?"

"Just a few minutes south," I replied as I looked away from Hazel. I turned to Jonathan, then stood up and brushed off my knees.

"Let's clean ourselves up, then head back to Hewe," Hazel said as she stood up as well. Jonathan and Evelyn got on their feet shortly after her, then proceeded to stomp the fire out. Hazel moved to take care of the tent, then placed it in her pack before she followed me and the others through the forest.

"It's been three days," Kelvin gasped as he ran through the forest. His knees and feet were on fire, burning under the sun like steak on a freshly prepared grill. His body was covered in sweat and his stomach was gnawing at him from the inside. Kelvin hadn't slept or eaten for three days and his body was beginning to shut down after so many hours of continuous work, "Where am I?"

Kelvin dropped to the ground, gasping for air as his arms hit the dirt below him. A valley of trees surrounded him, trapping him with no way out. It was like he was in the middle of an endless maze with no way out. There were no walls, but there was no exit either.

However, the memories of the dungeon would flash in his mind when he let down his guard, bringing him back to his feet to push on. He continued his journey through the forest as he went north, hoping to find the city of Hewe.

Once the group found the river, they separated. Hazel and Evelyn went to bathe first while Jonathan and I were left behind with Icarus. To pass the time, we decided to spar.

"I just leveled up, big man!" Jonathan yelled with triumph as we stood a few yards opposite each other. He quickly unsheathed his sword and brought his tower shield to the ground, slamming it with enough force to shake the ground below him, "I'm not as weak anymore!"

"Bring it on," I chuckled as I prepared myself, "Just try not to get burnt."

Jonathan quickly ran forward, dashing with as much speed as he could as he carried his weapons in his hand. I watched as he advanced and guarded myself. Then, when he got close, he brought his sword into the air and slammed it down.

I dodged by twisting my body to the side, dodging his attack. A blade of fire escaped from my heel as I dragged it against the ground, singing the dirt below me. At the same time, sent out a punch with my arm. My fist connected with his shield before disarming Jonathan of his shield. The power of my attack pushed against Jonathan, creating an explosion of flame that ended up pushing him into the air and back a few meters. His shield ended up falling to the ground with a massive dent in the center of it. Then, before he could get himself adjusted, I quickly stepped forward.

I reached Jonathan in a heartbeat, striking his body again as I forced him against his back. Another explosion of flame danced through the air as Jonathan fell backward, hitting the ground like a rock. He gasped for air as he landed, but he didn't let go of his weapon.

"You're still leagues behind me, Jonathan," I sighed as I straightened my back. I let my hands drop to my thighs as I looked at him. However, as my eyes met with his body, I noticed he was uninjured. His sword, which he had used to protect him with the last attack, had been bent and damaged, broken beyond use, "But not bad."

"Damn, dude," Jonathan gasped as he slowly stood up. He looked down at his sword and groaned. Then, as he turned to look at his shield, his expression only got more exaggerated, "I thought I stood a chance from how close our training spars went. What the hell are your stats?"

"That's a secret," I chuckled. Jonathan laughed, then let his weapon drop to the ground, "We'll get those fixed when we get back to Hewe."

Suddenly, I heard a high-pitched scream echo through the forest. It lasted only for a few seconds, but it was enough for me to realize something was wrong. I turned my head and searched for the scream, then realized it was coming from the river. Jonathan and I looked at each other, then nodded as we began running to the source of the noise.

Icarus joined in, running far faster than even I could handle, as he bolted toward the river. The river was only thirty seconds away from us if we ran at top speed, but I had a horrible feeling in my gut. Something was definitely wrong.

When we got near the river, we noticed the belongings of Hazel and Evelyn set aside, freshly cleaned of goblin blood. I quickly grabbed onto the cloak while Jonathan grabbed onto Evelyn's clothes, then we bolted through the trees into the river.

When we got through the tree line, I immediately noticed Hazel and Evelyn standing in the water. Neither of them had their clothes on, but that wasn't what concerned me. I looked to Hazel, who was standing awkwardly over what looked like an unconscious body.

The body belonged to a dwarf, but his clothes and armor were covered in dirt and blood. The blood on his armor was fresh. I looked to Hazel, who was turned away from me. I quickly threw the cloak into the air, directing it toward her body to block her skin from my vision. I looked to the sky as the cloak flew through the air.

"Arthur," I heard Hazel mumble. I looked at her, then sighed in relief as I saw that she was unharmed. She had grabbed the cloak and put it around her body. I looked at the dwarf on the ground for a moment before my eyes widened with shock.

"That's Kelvin!" I mumbled. I quickly remembered the dwarf that had explored with his buddy in my dungeon. His buddy died from the first group of Kobolds that they found, so I didn't have much hope for Kelvin. How had he survived? I looked to Hazel, who was staring at me with shock. Tears were starting to drop from her eyes as her body shook, "Hazel?"

"I feel weird," She said, "Something is wrong,"

『『 Hazel 』has met the requirements to unlock Skill:『 Morph 』』

Suddenly I watched as the skin on her body was quickly surrounded by a thick black fog. The fog traveled around her like smoke before finally settling. I backed away, recognizing what was happening as I made distance between Hazel and me.

"She's unlocked『 Morph 』," I groaned, "But she doesn't know how to control it! Shit! Not here,"

I turned to look at the twins, who were sitting on the edge of the river with panic in their eyes. They were too close. If they saw Evelyn transform into a dragon, it would cause too many questions and concerns.

I looked back to Hazel, who was still covered in black smoke. It had been almost five seconds since the smoke first appeared, but she still hadn't transformed. Something was wrong. Transforming should've only taken about two seconds, so why hadn't she transformed yet?

I watched as the smoke around her body began to build, almost like a river being blocked by a dam.

"Hazel, it's okay!" I shouted as the smoke built up even more. I turned back to the twins, who were still at the river bed, before turning back at Hazel. If my fears were correct, then she was resisting the transformation. She knew what it would do, so she was trying to prevent it from happening. However, that was causing the buildup to increase, which might end up hurting Hazel, "Do it!"

I looked at the twins, wondering what I should do with them. Suddenly, I heard an explosion in front of me. I turned back to Hazel, only to see the smoke expanded to the size of a large house. The form of the smoke shifted, creating the form of a dragon within a second. Then, as the smoke disappeared, I saw the surface of a black scaly creature.

I immediately ran back to the twins, then stopped as I neared them.

"Arthur, what's happening? What's happening to Hazel?" Evelyn asked as she stood up. Her cloak, which was the only thing covering her skin, was clutched tight in her hands. I turned to Hazel and watched as the last of the smoke covering her body disappeared.

Behind the smoke, where Hazel had once been, stood a massive dragon. The dragon was similar in build to my transformation, just a little smaller. I turned back to the twins, then quickly swung my hand and activated my skill.

A giant portal covered in fire appeared in the air, leading to a stone room.

"Go!" I shouted as I put my hand on Evelyn's shoulder. Then, with as much force as I could muster, I pulled Evelyn through the portal. I turned to Jonathan, who was staring at Hazel with shock.

"What the hell," Jonathan muttered.

"Jonathan, go," I ordered, "I have no idea if she has any control right now. It's her first time using that skill."

"What?" Jonathan muttered as he looked at me, "Why? Why are you not shocked? Hazel's a fucking monster!"

"Go into the portal!" I shouted as I put my shoulder on Jonathan's shoulder. Then, before I could explain anything else, I shoved him through. As Jonathan landed on the floor of Aros's boss room, I peeked my head through the portal and looked at Aros.

He was sitting on his throne, as usual, as he stared at me.

"Aros, take care of them but don't let them leave! I'll be right back!" I shouted. Aros quickly nodded and stood up from his throne. Then, as I turned back to Hazel, I looked down at Icarus, who didn't need any orders. Icarus quickly ran through the portal and joined the twins on the other side.

The portal closed a moment later, closing off the connection between the dungeon and the outside world. Then, after all of the loose ends near me were cut off, I turned to Hazel.