Chapter 37 Ancient Dungeon (part 3)

"Then... We are lost."

The large gates that brought me to this place, the islands that are scattered everywhere, the cloudless blue sky, the rainbows that adorn the islands thanks to the waterfalls that fall from one island to another, the fields of flowers and grass, and right in front of me, a lake.

Certainly, the place is like one of fantasy.

"But this world is fantasy."

The air whistled so loudly, the waves of mana coursing through....

"I don't feel mana."

It was then that I looked around. The mana... it just wasn't felt, but for some reason my body was filling with dark mana. Then, after looking around, I noticed that there was no monster.

Where was this place? What if my companions are right here, but it's also possible that we had split up and each member of the group is in different random places.

But what if there is someone on one of these islands?

"Muffled sound."

It was then that a curtain of dark mana appeared just ten feet away from me, and a figure I know very well appeared.

"Uh..."

"..."

"What the hell... How did you...?"

"Interesting... Looks like I can get away without the need for mana in this place, but..." He paused.

Encrid, in his human form, was right in front of my eyes. How the hell did he get out?

"I became weak..."

"..."

"How weak are you right now?"

"First circle... This is a very big problem."

It's definitely a big problem, but how the hell could Encrid get out without the need for me to give him mana?

This place is very strange, and above all, Encrid is able to be in his human form without the need for mana, but the biggest problem is his strength.

"A first circle... You're kidding, right?"

"No, it isn't. I definitely have the power of a first circle, but it seems to be temporary. Unless we get out of here, I'll go back to the way I was before."

"Sigh."

I put my hand to my forehead and began to ponder.

There definitely has to be something to this place, maybe some way we can get out, but....

"You say this place is a dungeon of times."

"That's right, do you have an idea?"

"Do you know how to get out of such a dungeon?"

"Of course... But it's not at all easy to do. The best thing to do would be to look for your companions, they could be in danger."

It was then that I remembered the rest. Even if this place doesn't seem to have monsters, that might not be the same for the others. It's possible that right now they are fighting some monster, but there's only one problem if I have a little idea.

It's possible that one of the group is in this place, but.... How the hell do I move to those islands that are floating in the air, unless I can fly?

"Encrid... You know how to fly, don't you?"

"Mmm... Yes, it's very easy, but... if you want to do it, it would take at least three days. It took me a day, but I'm not sure about you."

"Never mind, I can do it in less than half an hour."

"..."

Encrid's eyes widened, but quickly a smile appeared on his face and....

"Ahahahahah... Don't be funny, brat. It's impossible to learn how to fly in half an hour."

"Is that so? Then teach me. If I succeed, you'll owe me a favor."

"All right."

"Then we'll get started, brat."

"Of course."

***

-Scene change.

-Alice's perspective.

Darkness, that's all I was looking at. I couldn't feel my body and I couldn't feel any part of me that I could control.

"Mmm."

"Whistling."

What was this feeling? The sound of a field as flowers and leaves moved was the first thing I heard. Then I opened my eyes and could finally feel my body again.

"Where... I am?" I said after opening my eyes as I lay on the ground.

A field of rapeseed filling the place with yellow and a sunset, an orange sky and the breeze in the air moving strongly.

Where the hell am I?

What is this place and how the hell did I get here?

What happened to that strange door?

Then I looked around and that's when the door itself was just a few feet away from me.

"It's the door, but how did I get here and the others?"

I felt confused at this point, but again I looked around. It was a field of yellow colored rapeseed that I couldn't even see the end of this place, but there were some not so tall mountains that could be seen from this distance.

Then I stood in the big yellow field of flowers. This whole place is very beautiful, but....

"Why do I feel something is wrong?"

My sixth sense never lied in this kind of situation. This place is very strange and exudes a very uncomfortable vibe. Then I thought of just one word.

I must get out of this place as soon as possible.

I was not sure, but this place is dangerous. My senses were simply alerting me to this place, a place I should not be in, but why?

What is in this place and where is it located? I can't even see monsters nearby. It was then that my eyes opened after sensing something different.

"I don't feel the manna, but.... why is my body filling up with mana?"

What the hell is this place? I don't feel the mana, but my body is unconsciously absorbing it without my doing so myself. There are no monsters, but my senses alert me to some danger in this place. So what the hell should I do?

Of course, the idea is to get out of this place, but how do I do that? I don't know exactly where I am or where the way out of this place is.

At first glance, this place gives a feeling of discomfort, but I also feel that it is quiet, perhaps because of the look of the place. But my senses were active and alerted me to some danger. Not just a single danger, this place was a danger in itself.

"Crunch."

It was then that I quickly turned my head and looked at the place where a creaking sound echoed. My heart began to pound harder as did my breathing. I felt a strange fear, it's as if I was the prey of some monster, but....

Why don't I feel anything in this place? It's as if there was no living thing, but then....

"Creaking."

Again the creaking echoed and I quickly turned my head in another direction, but.... There was nothing. It was silent again, with nothing there.

"What the hell is going on?"

I felt upset just thinking about that strange creaking noise, why the hell is this happening?

We were simply going to clear a grade 9 dungeon and now I find myself in this completely strange place, with my senses alerting me to a danger surrounding me, but I couldn't even see anything.

"I must calm down..."

"Sigh."

I quickly closed my eyes...

"Crunch."

I calmed my breathing and steadied it to a more comfortable, calmer one.

"Crunch"

Now I calmed my heart, which was beating so hard and fast it was out of control. Then it stopped beating fast and I recovered.

"Crunch."

Then I quickly opened my eyes and the creaking sounds I heard no longer echoed again.

"I see, this place... it works on fear."

I finally figured out how this place works. My senses stopped alerting me and I managed to calm down again. I concentrated on not being afraid of this place at all and let myself be calm inside myself.

"Whistling."

Then the air began to move quickly, as the flowers fluttered with the force of the wind and my hair fluttered in the air. Finally, I started to walk.

I didn't know where I was supposed to go, so I just started walking to wherever I was going. Maybe I would run into someone from the group; that was the best idea as I calmed down and avoided the fear in this place.

***

-Scene change.

-Clara's perspective.

"Mmm..."

Where... Where was she? The only thing I remember was that strange door that emitted a glow after Asher infused it with mana. But after that, a darkness filled my mind and I lost consciousness.

Then I opened my eyes. I was lying on a grassy ground as the wind breeze was running strongly. I got up from the ground and looked around me, but my eyes opened wide when I saw a strange place I had never seen before.

"Where... am I?"

Several islands with waterfalls and not a tree in sight, all that and incredible scenery everywhere I looked. Islands floating in a place I don't know. I was lost in this strange place.

"Whistling."

That's when I realized the mana was gone. So how the hell was my body unconsciously absorbing mana without me doing it myself? Why was I absorbing mana?

And what place was this? Then I looked around and the first thing I saw was the door that had brought me to this place.

"What the hell...?"

I didn't know how, but it seems that this door brought me to this strange place.How is that possible? I didn't feel like I had teleported, so how did I get to this place?

"There must be some logical explanation for me to be in this place."

"But... where are the others?" Then I looked around again and realized they were gone. Alicia, Asher and Dik.

Maybe they are on one of those islands, but....

"How can I get to them?"

I can't fly. The ability to fly freely is difficult; it would take too long to be able to fly. But even if I could fly, the mana expenditure in trying to reach even one of those islands would be too much, seeing how far away those islands are. It was so huge, but...

"Why do they appear to be close?"

At first glance, it looked like the islands were very close, but in reality they were not.

Looking closely at the distance, I could tell they were more than two kilometers away, which would be a huge waste of mana.

"Shit... If I were stronger, none of this would be like this."

Maybe being stronger is the solution, but what if it's not? Then what do I have to do, how do I find a way out, will I just stay in this place?

"Damn... I'll take a look at the island first."

Then I started to walk away from the door and began to walk. The whole place was full of flowers and a grassy ground on uneven ground with not a tree in sight. Most striking were the waterfalls cascading from other islands just above.

This place was full of floating islands, so it would be best to investigate the place and know better where I was.

I walked and looked at my surroundings every time I took a step. Little by little, the terrain was changing to a warmer one. The place started to get warmer, but there were also cold areas, as if this island had two seasons: summer and winter.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the hot and cold suddenly appeared as I went along. Then I reached the end of the island, looked down and it looked like I was in the sky; the clouds were far below this island.

"What is that?"

It was then that I saw two figures on an island far below me. I couldn't see them very well, as they were quite far away, but one of them had a completely black suit just like the other, although I could see a white dot.

"That could be him."

I thought to Asher. The white dot I could barely see could be his silver hair, just like his black clothes. But if it is him, then who is the other one?

"Asher, I'm here, look up," I shouted as loud as I could the moment I saw them.

But they didn't seem to hear me. So I kept watching what they were doing and that's when my eyes widened like saucers.

"He... he's flying," was what I saw after noticing Asher floating in the air and moving at high speed.

He managed to fly, but since when? I don't think he learned in a day. The most logical thing would be that he could already fly from the beginning. But what if that's not the case?

"Impossible... That can't be true, no one can have such a talent."

He simply couldn't believe that idea. What if he really learned to fly just today and not from a long time ago? Maybe that explains why he's a wizard, but there's also the possibility that he's from the royal family.

"Asher, look up," again I shouted, trying to get his attention.

I need him to look this way. Then his head tilted up and he seemed to be looking in my direction.

I could barely see his face, and his lips were saying something. He was uttering some words, but I couldn't hear very well. Then I tried to read what he was saying.

"Look back," was what I read on his lips, but I didn't understand why he was trying to say that.

I followed those words that I wasn't sure if he was really saying, but I looked up and that's when my heart beat so hard, my breath caught and I felt a lump in my throat as I saw that "thing" up there on an island that wasn't that far away from me.

"Th-that... A... grade 7 monster."

Exactly, what I saw just above me was a monster that was coming down from an island that was just above this one. It was a grade 7 monster, one that I can't fight. If only I wasn't a curse mage, I could kill that monster.

"Damn, why is this happening to me?" then finally the monster fell from above and raised a curtain of dust. That's when I saw it right in front of me, less than twenty meters away....