Chapter 29: Hello Son?

(Arthur Leywin)

As I opened the window, the murky night descended cold and funereal---an unsettling silence lingering in the mist filled arena of the Xyrus Academy, saved for the occasional chirp of a cricket.

I turned to see Feyrith slumbering, emitting hoarse snores with his mouth agape.

Sylvie spoke aloud, without resorting to our mental connection, "Have you double-chekced the locks?"

"I have," I replied, casting my gaze downwards towards the parchment given to me by Arisu earlier.

The Dire Tombs.

A dungeon with a compelling narrative. Several days prior to the new academic term, a party of six adventurers delved into the depths of the dungeon, yet only one managed to emerge alive...

Lucas Wykes.

The parchment revealed that the Dire Tombs were an unregistered dungeon, with a boss entity not even documented in the official records. What piqued my interest was that a trio of AA-Ranked adventurers had been dispatched to conquer the dungeon two days prior, and yet no word of their progress had surfaced.

I felt compelled to investigate this enigmatic dungeon.

My motivation to conquer the dungeon did not stem from a desire to go out of my way for someone else. The impending attack from the Alacryans, who worshiped an entity known as Vritra and boasted Scythes and Retainers---smiliar to people on Dicathen who took pride in Lances, spurred my actions.

Although I was uncertain of the respective power levels of Scythes and Retainers, I could not evade the imminent war. Nevertheless, I resolved to prepare in a way that would yield the most advantageous outcome for both me and the people who had become my family. Though the notion of familial love guiding every decision appeared to be a potential detriment, I chose to deviate from my past life and embrace a distinct approach.

As I stepped onto the ledge of the window, I pushed it and felt the gathering of mana, propelling me into flight. Though I had recently discovered this ability, I knew that mere contentment with it would not suffice; I sought to fully utilize this newfound power.

From my shoulder, a brilliant white light radiated forth as my companion, Sylvie, leapt forth. She vanished into the darkness of the perilous night, only to return in a blinding flash that set the sky ablaze.

In a magnificent display, her fox-like silhouette twisted and turned, sprouting wings and horns before she morphed in her true form as a dragon amidst a vibrant shimmer of the purple motes. Her shimmering topaz eyes were the only visible feature in the darkness.

"It feels good to be myself," Sylvie exclaimed cheerfully, circling me.

For a moment, I looked at her before turning my gaze forward.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Nothing much," I remarked, "but the stark contrast between your menacing appearance and childish voice is rather bizarre."

"Are you calling me strange?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Not at all." I replied. The mana beneath my feet condensed into a compact space and then exploded. The cacophonous boom of explosion made me propel forwards leaving Sylvie behind.

With a newfound sense of exhilaration coursing through me, I stretched out my arms and soared above the world below. The rush of wind against my face, the fluttering of my hair and the sheer thrill of it all made me feel alive like never before. It was as if I was untethered from the mortal coil, a weightless being amidst the vast expanse of the sky.

I glided over the rolling hills, the verdant forests, and the glistening rivers, marveling at the beauty of this world from a new perspective. The trees were miniature, the rivers mere ribbons, and the hills rolling bumps from above. I swooped and dived, twisted and turned, reveling in the sheer freedom that flight provided.

It was much different from flying in a plane. I could actually feel it all. The closeness to nature, the scent of fruity trees---becoming one with nature itself.

My senses were heightened, and I could smell the earthy scent of the forests, feel the cold aura of the moon on my face, and hear the mellow chirp of the birds. I was no longer confined to the ground, but a soaring entity, unbound by the limits of gravity.

Aided by technology in my past world this might've been possible but flying without any aid and totally by my own capabilities---it felt different, like something I couldn't put into words.

I continued to experiment with my newfound skill, pushing myself further and higher, feeling the rush of air against my skin. It was as if I was dancing with the sky. Spotting a river that seemed like a silk ribbon, I landed, my heart racing with the thrill of what I had experienced---the feeling of freedom and weightlessness.

"So, this is how it feels, huh?" I asked myself.

'I am coming, wait for me.' Sylvie thought.

'Don't come to me. I will meet you at the dungeon.' I replied as she gave me a mental equivalent of a nod.

I stood on the ground, taking deep breaths and feeling the coolness of the air. I looked up to the sky and saw the remnants of my flight. Trails of white and gold hung in the air, etched by my movements. It was as if I had left my mark on the world, a testament to my newfound ability.

I felt a brief moment of freedom.

But that was it. Nothing else. A BRIEF, fleeting moment, that vanished the moment I stopped flying.

The ground beneath me cracked as I took flight once again. As I soared above the world, I felt nothing, and yet everything all at once. The wind rushed past me, tugging at my clothes and pulling at my hair, but this time I felt no joy or excitement other than a minute feeling of accomplishment that I could do what others could do too.

It was as if I was a mere observer, watching the world unfold below me.

And yet, despite my seemingly poor comprehension of human emotions, I couldn't help but feel a sense of curiosity. This was the first time that I had truly felt free, unbound by the limitations of the ground. I pushed myself further and higher, wanting to explore the possibilities that lay ahead.

Deciding to not question my own self, I shook my head and flew towards the dungeon.

After a few seconds of following Sylvie'e presence, I finally arrived in front of Dire Tombs. Sylvie was sitting by the entrance, her neck extended as she saw me land.

As I stood in the middle of the vast open field, the darkness of the night engulfed me. A chilly breeze brushed past me as I approached the daunting dungeon ahead of me. Its walls towered high above me, seeming to stretch on into the abyss of the night sky. As I reached out to touch the cold, hard stone, a shiver ran through my body. The eerie aura emanating from the dungeon was palpable, and a sense of foreboding washing over me.

Stepping inside the dungeon, I took in my surroundings. The field around me was barren---a stark contrast to the lush green fields outside as this dungeon was devoid of any signs of life. The only sound was the howling wind, which seemed to carry the whispers of ghosts from the dungeon. The moon, hanging low in the sky, cast a pale glow over everything, highlighting the stark emptiness of the landscape as it intruded from a gaping hole in the roof.

As I ventured deeper into the eerie dungeon, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, thick with the musty scent of old stone and cobwebs. The dimly lit corridors twisted and turned, beckoning me further in with their tantalizing secrets. Despite the ominous aura, I felt a curious excitement pulsing through my Sylvie, eager to discover what laid ahead.

The walls were slick with moisture, and the occasional drips echoed through the cavernous hallways, adding to the eerie ambiance. My footsteps echoed off the walls, alerting the beasts to my presence, but their fear kept them at bay. The floors were uneven and treacherous, and I had to keep my wits about me to avoid stumbling and falling.

As I pressed on, the air grew colder and damper, and the darkness seemed to envelop me, making me feel like a small speck in the vastness of the dungeon. The deeper I delved, the more I felt like I was descending into the depths of a sick miasmic mess.

I could feel the distant silhouettes, the shadows of the unique beasts in this dungeon blending with the shadows of the night. Their beady eyes glimmered in the darkness, but their fear of me was palpable. A few scattered boulders littered the field, their rough surfaces gleaming in the moonlight. In the distance, I could hear the faint howling, adding to the already eerie atmosphere.

"This is almost comical." Sylvie spoke as she transformed into her fox form and leapt over my shoulder. "They aren't attacking us. Their temperament was supposed to be really belligerent."

I looked over to the silhouettes, the undying beasts were only unique to this particular dungeon. They didn't have a mana core. So, killing them resulted in just them being respawned. The way this dungeon works was to turn every fight into a battle of artrition.

The little monsters sneaked a peak and then disappeared as soon as I walked past them.

"Do you see a pattern?" I asked Sylvie, testing how far her skills have come.

I could feel the screws in her brain turn as she continued to look around for an answer. It was subtle but once she got the gist of what I was trying to imply, the answer was quite obvious.

Her neck stretched and looked sideways. Her gaze landed from lurking beast to another, as they appeared and disappeared in a systematic order.

"They are leading us somewhere?" Sylvie asked, her face tilted and her sharp, piercing topaz eyes burning holes in the side of my head.

"Hmm." I hummed in agreement. Just as we passed another shattered mess of cobblestone and dried puddle of blood around an acidic pool, I stepped an inch to the left. A thin, almost transparent sheen of mana stuck to me like a second skin. The cave rumbled and like a blazing projectile, the compressed steam shot up, splitting the ground into two.

"How did you know that?" Sylvie asked, astonished.

Pointing towards a rotting skeleton, I started to speak, "What colour are the bones?"

"Black?"

"And are human supposed to have black bones?"

"No... and that means it was related to steam or some burning phenomenon. But the steam was naturally occuring. It wasn't a mana attack. How did you knew it was coming?"

"Probability, Sylvie. I taught you before. This dungeon dive might be my decision because I was curious, but I want to see how much knowledge you have been able to absorb."

She hoped down from my shoulder and started to look around. Tucking my hands inside my pocket, I made my way to the rotten mess of cobblestone morphed together with human flesh and bones---still sizzling inside the miasma. It was strange. I had not seen something like this in a long time. A decay form of mana.

That explains a lot.

Standing back up, I saw Sylvie walking towards me, "I think I understand somehow." She started, "The number of charred bodies we came across from out brief walk from entrance to here and while accounting the fact that the lurkers attacked too, the hot steam is timed after every 2 minutes in while being approximately 20 meters in any direction of the first explosion."

"18.5, but for the most part, you're accurate." I corrected while she huffed and jerked her head proudly, puffing her chest out.

"Come on, let's get going." I said, walking towards where the other beady-eyed "lurker" as Sylvie put it was.

After a few seconds of walk, I reached in front of the place where the boss monster was supposed to be.

As I approached it, I noticed that it had been destroyed, reduced to a pile of rubble and splinters. It was evident enough that many people have forcefully tried to break into this place before.

The party of which Lucas Wykes was a part of.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the debris and emerged into a vast lush green field, enveloped in a thick mist that obscured everything beyond a few feet. The grass was soft and vibrant, and I could feel the dew on my boots as I walked forward. The mist was so thick that I could barely see my own hand in front of my face, and the only sound I could hear was the soft rustling of the grass underfoot. The air was thick and humid, and I could feel the moisture on my skin.

There were no pillars.

The whole infrastructure was standing without any foundations. The architecture in this world never ceased to amaze me.

"Papa? This is..."

"Yes, they are similar." I replied.

"It seems to carry same properties as the one in Elshire Forest. This mist has traces of mana." Sylvie spoke, her senses heightening but remained in her fox form.

"We should clear it." I said and a hurricane conjured, wiping the whole mist away.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see a figure approaching.

A man in his forties, a sturdier build.

I could feel something in my heart for once.

I couldn't understand what this subtle beat of my heart that it even ringed in my ears was as I looked at the man with Brown hair walk towards me.

"Kiyotaka, My son. We meet again."

(***)

(A/n) Heya everyone. Hope you all are doing ok and liked the chapter. Do comment your views on the chapter. I like to read em and try to reply all questions without spoiling much, xD

Hope the writing quality hasn't degraded much and is satisfactory enough to be read smoothly. With that, I am out. See ya all next time.