Within the Third Gate (1)

The world around me was filled with all sorts of vibrant colors, it was nothing like the previous gates I had seen. Why was this world like this?

They've all had such a dreadful feeling to them but this place feels like the complete opposite of it. The buildings in the distance were also in one piece still, was this all some kind of trick?

"Another lost soul arrives here it seems." A woman with a soft voice says from behind me.

I turn around to see a woman with ripped up clothing just staring at me with lifeless eyes as it nothing was going good here.

"I'm not a lost soul. I came to defeat the gate boss of this place." I reply while keeping an eye on my surroundings.

"How will you do such a thing? It's fooled so many people and we still have yet to see someone stop it." The woman responds with no hope in her tone.

She gave me the first hint that I needed but I don't think it'll be enough for me to find it just yet. This boss seems to be a master of deceit, I'll have to play more cautious than usual.

"I've done it twice already. This will be the third time. I will save your world." I say with confidence.

"I guess we will see if it's possible." She says before wandering away.

The normalcy of the gate is throwing me off since usually it helps make it more obvious when the world is in ruins.

~Must've expected the world to be a wreck like every other one huh.

Can't really blame me after everything I've seen.

~Maybe. But don't let this world fool you.

{Sense}

~No hostile enemies are in the area at the moment.

I drew my sword and began to travel across the grassy fields, nothing seemed right but I needed to move forward somehow. The forest ahead seemed like it could be a good area to head for but I'm not sure what I'll find in there.

Come find me. A voice echoed in my head as I got closer to the forest, what could it be?

Is it the boss calling out to me or is it some other enemy with the ability to do that?

~Your skills are active so you know.

Thank you.

| Inside the Forest of the Third Gate |

Nothing seemed off about the forest and that's exactly what bothered me most about this whole thing. Nothing in this gate has had any sort of issues or obvious ways to show what was wrong.

The woman was my only clue but wait it could be illusionary. This whole world could be made to look like nothing is wrong but in reality it's the exact opposite.

Using something like that would make more sense but that only could mean that the boss could do the same thing.

Creek. Snap.

I can hear something coming towards me so it's best to be ready for whatever is out there right now.

Out from behind the trees came a bunch of knights, normal looking knights but something wasn't right. No talking between any of them and I could see blood all over their armor.

Undead knights disguised as normal knights? That would be the only logical answer here.

Without any hesitation I could hear the clanging of their armor as they all began to run at me. Undead knights are strong alone but as a whole army, it's a little bit more challenging.

I didn't hesitate either. A fireball began to form within my hand as I slowly started to infuse it with my kings strength power.

These fireballs have come to be my biggest Lifesavers since they do so much damage in one go.

Fwoosh!!!! I sent the fireball out of my hand towards the group of knights and watched as it made contact.

Kaboooom!!! The explosion covered the knights in smoke and I couldn't make out anything.

It was hard to tell if I had even killed them or not but I don't hear their armor clanging around anymore. Maybe the kings fireball is enough to kill undead knights for the time being.

It'll mean less work I have to do with my sword since I don't want to push too far ahead without any backup. I really should've went back for the others but I didn't want to waste time with this gate.

~The knights have perished before your fireball.

I'm good to keep moving forward it seems then.

Making my way deeper into the forest after dealing with the knights I could feel something, almost like I had eyes on me. I know the boss is well aware of my presence but I don't know if it'll strike.

Could be using lower tier mobs to try and see what I'm capable of before fighting me outright which is smart. The other gate bosses didn't try doing such a method, maybe because I had a full party.

"Help me please!" A little girl began screaming as she ran towards me.

Taking my attention was the sight of a little girl being chased by undead hounds and a couple of skeletons. Nothing I couldn't handle with a sword.

"Don't worry I'll save you." I say confidently before dashing past her.

It was all so fast that I don't even think the enemies knew what happened. I moved and slashed my sword across each one within seconds of passing.

Thud. Collapse. Multiple thuds of bodies hitting the floor could be heard.

The skeletons turned into dust while the undead hounds fell onto the floor. I had a feeling it wouldn't take much to stop them since they are usually considered the early game mobs.

"You saved my life. Thank you so much." The little girl says with tears of relief going down her face.

"It's what I'm here to do." I reply while surveying the surroundings.

I don't see anything else around that could harm her so she should be safe now.

"Can you help me get home? I don't want to get eaten by those things." The girl asks with a scared tone in her voice.

"Yeah. Of course." I respond.