Dungeon Training with the Fool

Just like the morning before, I awoke to see Cathy sitting by the table, reading another one of her magic books. She offered a warm smile to begin my day, keeping my spirits up as I prepared for our upcoming dungeon visit.

After putting on our battle gear, I was unable to contain my excitement when I looked over at Cathy. Her beautiful dark purple robe and that dazzling gold staff, along with her long luscious black hair… she just exuded the essence of a queen. And I knew I wasn't as discreet as I would have liked, as Cathy blushed when she noticed my gaze.

"Ummm…" Cathy murmured as she shrank back. "How do I look?"

"Wowww…" I continued to gape at Cathy, my head unable to turn away from her. "You look absolutely stunning! I don't know what else to say…"

"Awww! You're just the sweetest! I have you to thank for this! You said you liked these, so I just knew I had to buy them!" Cathy continued to smile as she looked over herself in the mirror.

After I relished at the sight of Cathy for another moment, we decided it was time to head for the guide shop. I picked up my bow and arrows and checked my bag for medicinal herbs and wraps. Cathy made sure she also had her fair share of healing items, and we then left the inn and walked towards the southwestern part of town, where the guide shop was located.

Sunshine again filled the sky this morning, and hardly any clouds were in sight. Ever since I met Cathy, there was not a single rainy day, and I wanted to think Cathy was the good luck charm to provide such pleasant weather.

The guide shop wasn't too far from the inn, about a 15-minute walk away. It was at the edge of town, and we could clearly see the dungeon about a 2-minute walk further south.

There was much banter inside as we opened the front door and entered. A young man and a young woman standing at their desks gazing at each other were deep in conversation, speaking quite loudly. A teenage boy sitting down at another table tried to get their attention to help out with filing a report.

A second young woman sat at the front counter and was the first to address us. "Ahhh, welcome! I apologize for the racket. Seems like Chio and Sho back there have been hitting it off pretty well outside of work, and they can't stop fawning over each other!" She chuckled at her remarks. "Oh, oops! Where are my manners today?! I assume you want to go to the dungeon today?"

I nodded as I replied, "Yes, we would like to try out the dungeon. She's a mage, and I'm an archer, so…"

The woman at the counter interrupted before I finished. "Ahhh! And I assume you both have prepared well enough to heal yourselves, hmm?! I know just the right person for you then!" She turned around and raised her voice several octaves to address the people at the back. "Hey! Hey! HEY! SHO! You got some customers! Stop being so lovey-dovey with Chio for just one minute and get your butt down here!"

The shouts must have worked, as Sho, the young man who had been standing, slipped from his position on his desk and remained flat on the floor for a rather long moment. He eventually recovered from his fall and sauntered to the front.

"Hey, Mia!" Sho cried as he approached. "Why'd you do that just now? I could've been killed, and then who would Chio fall head over heels with, huh?!"

"Just shut it, Sho! I know she's completely smitten with you, so you can continue this love affair later." Mia, the woman sitting down at the front counter, sighed and shrugged her shoulders in irritation. "Besides, I have two people here who would do well with your more than adequate monk skills."

"Hey! I resent that! You know my abilities are sooo awesome!"

Sho then turned towards us. "But ahhh! Never mind that! Customers for me… sweeeet! So, a mage and an archer, you say? And look at you!" Sho whistled at Cathy. "Hmm… I know I've seen a girl as beautiful as you somewhere before…"

"Umm…" Cathy hesitated as she blushed. "Thank you for the compliment… But I'm sure you've seen your fair share of pretty girls; you must be confusing me for someone else…"

"Hmm… looking at you again, you're right, haha! I've seen plenty of girls who look similar to you, so my bad, I must be mistaking you for some other one! And besides, my Chio is at least a hundred times better looking than you and the others!" Sho guffawed so loudly, the teenage boy at the back even bounced from his seat.

Even though Cathy stopped blushing, she still shrank back a little and murmured, "Umm, sure…" She then raised her head to my ear and whispered, "I'm prettier than that girl in the back, aren't I?"

Cathy, it's obvious who the most beautiful girl in the shop is. Hands down, it would be you. Of course, I'm not going to blurt that out in front of lover boy here...

Complying with my thoughts, I smiled mischievously and nodded to Cathy, while remaining silent.

Mia seemed to have had enough of the farce and coughed twice to get Sho's attention. "Alright, that's enough! You're making me… I mean, the shop, look bad here. Can you compose yourself long enough to be their guide for the dungeon?"

Sho finally regained his composure and emanated a more serious tone. "Okay, I got it. So, you both want to enter the dungeon, right? Well, let's not waste any more time, so follow me!" He then quickly opened the door and left the shop.

Cathy and I stood there looking at each other, deep in confusion. After I somehow snapped out of my daze, I turned towards Mia, when she spoke to me. "Don't mind Sho. When his mind is on business, he really is on top of things. Regardless of how much of a fool he is when it comes to Chio over there, that is."

"I guess I'll have to take your word on that," I replied, lacking much conviction.

"Just a warning, though. Your girl right next to you, she really is easy on the eyes, so Sho might try a little bit too hard in there to boost his own ego. Just try to keep focused on the task at hand when that happens, and you'll be fine."

I gulped and then responded, "Point taken. Thanks for the heads up on that."

As Cathy and I were about to head out, Sho suddenly opened the door and shouted, "Hey, lovebirds! I don't have all day, so let's get going! I know you're just raring to go, I know I am!"

Even though we wanted to blush at Sho's unexpected remark, we just sighed, flustered by the entire ordeal so far, and followed Sho out of the shop.

Sho led us on the short walk to the dungeon. He kept asking me questions about where we came from, where we were heading to next, what we thought of Manchuren, what our hometowns were like, and so on.

Sho was rather talkative, but I understood he wanted to lighten up the mood and make Cathy and me feel comfortable with him before all three of us fought together.

Yet, I noticed Sho only asked me questions and never tried to direct any towards Cathy. That seemed to make sense, as he was in a relationship with Chio back at the shop, so it was probably the smart option to not provoke or lead on Cathy.

Sho even tried to confirm if Cathy and I were together romantically, which both of us completely downplayed the thought. I wasn't too sure if Sho bought our defense, but he didn't press on the issue, so it seemed he was okay with our stance.

The three of us then reached the entrance to The Flying Haven, another cave-like dungeon. Before Sho chanted the activation spell, he turned to us and said, "As the name suggests, this dungeon is focused on flying creatures. So, depending on your party, this could be very easy or quite challenging. Knowing that, are you still ready to go in?"

Cathy and I both nodded, and Sho recited the spell to open the dungeon entrance. After we entered and walked a little way in, all three of us activated Illume to brighten the path in front.

The Flying Haven had a somewhat similar layout to Helmut's Cave, with plenty of rocks and stalactites. The ceilings, though, were much higher here, and the hiding spots were much sparser.

We didn't encounter any enemies for a long while, but once we turned the first corner, Sho signaled for us to stop. He directed us to look at the ceiling, where hung legions of killer bats. It was an insurmountable task to count them all. Still, we knew if we left the bats alone and continued onwards, they would quickly swarm us.

Sho suggested we take the initiative and go on the offensive first, mentioning the large fighting area we could retreat to behind us. Cathy and I nodded in agreement, and Sho executed one of his skills, sending a shockwave up above.

The three of us immediately ran back for more space, and the bats launched from their perches towards us. Sho then shouted instructions to us. "If you both can kill some of them off with your long-distance skills, do it. If not, try to distract them, and I can finish them off while their focus is away from me."

Cathy and I hid behind separate rocks, and I saw Sho leaping around the open space, taking down the bats one by one. I launched arrow after arrow and successfully connected on most of my shots; Sho took down the bats my arrows missed.

As ineffective as Cathy's lightning spells were before we reached the town, she was much more useful against the bats. The lighting staggered them long enough for Sho to quickly dispatch the creatures when he got the chance.

Once we cleared the room, the three of us repeated the same process in the next two open spaces. There seemed to be more bats with each new place, but we made sure to escape the ambushes as unscathed as possible.

When we reached the fourth large area, Cathy pointed up to a new enemy, the gargoyle. Sho stretched out his arms and shoulders, as if unconcerned about the latest challenge.

We decided to take the same approach as before and drew the gargoyles' attention on the ceiling. Unfortunately, the results were unlike those with the bats, as the creatures were more resistant against my attacks. What was worse, Cathy's magic was utterly ineffective, whether lightning, fire, or any other element.

Sho was having a much harder time than before, unaware of how inept Cathy's magic was. "Hey! You should've told me before your magic isn't much use in here! Just keep distracting them, and I'll finish them off myself!"

Cathy and I complied with Sho's request, and the gargoyles were eventually eliminated. Sho seemed more exhausted from this single room than from the other three combined, but he still pressed on. "Come on, you two! Let's just keep doing what we just did in the next rooms."

We repeated the same process in the following two rooms, also filled with increasing numbers of gargoyles. And after each room, Sho's breaths became more haggard, and his movements started to slow considerably. Fortunately, Cathy and I were able to increase our attack output, but the strain began to affect us negatively.

We began to tear through our medical supplies. But, Sho rejected using the medicine as much as he could, claiming he could endure the drain on his body. Even though Mia's warning popped in her mind, I decided to trust Sho's judgment instead.

We eventually approached a large door. Sho turned to us and said, "This is it, the one and only boss of this dungeon, the wyvern. Usually, I would say this should be straightforward, with a party well equipped for this beast. But considering the shape we're in now, I'm wondering if we should head back instead."

I glanced at Cathy, who turned to me and looked into my eyes with fierce determination. Being in the same profession as Sho, I usually would agree with him and follow his guidance. But that look from Cathy was more than enough for me to go against the path of caution and continue to proceed into treacherous territory.

"No, Sho," I replied. "Let's keep going. We'll find a way through this."

"Ooookay, then. If I see we are in too much danger, we run the heck the other way immediately."

Cathy and I nodded, so Sho opened the door. As we walked into the chamber, we saw a high rock past the center, where the sleeping wyvern perched on top.

We tiptoed further in, making sure to remain as quiet as possible. We were about a quarter of the way in when Sho signaled for Cathy and me to hide behind separate rocks.

I made my way to the left and crouched down. I looked to my right and saw Cathy was about to do the same when she suddenly tripped on a stone and fell on her forehead. She was still conscious, but unfortunately, let out a piercing shriek.

Intense fear immediately crept to the surface of my mind. The wyvern instantly woke from its slumber and flapped its wings with immeasurable vigor.

The gusts were so fierce, Sho was sent flying into the air. His body hit the back wall, and he then fell to the ground and laid there motionless. The impacts were so aggressive, it was evident to me he was unconscious and wasn't getting up any time soon.

The next thing I knew, Cathy screamed in horror and dashed to the center of the path between us, directly facing the wyvern. She was preparing to cast a spell, but I knew how futile that effort would be. And it seemed apparent any spell she cast would be dulled due to the negative impact of the streak of blood flowing down on her forehead.

Out of the corner of my vision, I suddenly noticed a large rock flying directly into her.

Cathy's been hit on the forehead once already. If she takes another hit there, and from a rock of that size, oh no!!!

Fearing tremendously for Cathy's life, I rushed out from my hiding spot and stepped in front of her. I covered her with my arms, my back facing the wyvern.

I felt the rock digging into me, hitting everywhere above my shoulders. Cathy kept staring into my eyes, but my vision started to fade. I knew she had been yelling me at first. "Haru! Oh, no! Haruuu!"

But it wasn't too long before I was unable to hear her voice. I tried to speak to her, but I was unable to move my mouth, and the words didn't come out. As much as I wanted to run away with Cathy, my body didn't respond. And as I felt myself collapsing in Cathy's arms, she vanished out of my sight, and everything turned black…