Chapter 25 - Bloodlust

I turned around only to see Liv watching me closely, she then stuck out her hand and touched the rippling air with a gentle poke.

"A dungeon?" She spoke with a calm register, almost routine.

"Looks like it, I think it's what the Golem were guarding. I don't think it's a good idea to explore it though."

After poking it another two times she nodded in agreement.

"There's no telling how long it would take to clear it, so you're probably right."

"What are you two whispering about?" Welm approached with glaring eyes.

"N-nothing, we were just checking the area for any other Golem or monsters." I replied with my arms glued tautly to my sides.

"Good call kiddo, you're turning out to be pretty handy!" Welm pat me on the back with a mighty gusto. Suddenly the grin on his face shifted. "You moved pretty well back there. Are you sure you're a rust rank?"

My eyes began to twitch, I was about to let off a wide gawk but stopped myself before that could happen.

It wasn't the worse thing if others found out I was stronger but it would get complicated with these guys. Something isn't right about their eyes, something is off.

My skill earlier must have been a little too much and grabbed their attention. Dammit, I thought that if I was quick enough they wouldn't see.

What will he say if he finds out that I'm stronger than I say I am, will they try and break the new agreement?

My eyes trembled waiting for a response but Welm only laughed it off.

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Sorry kid, I guess my eyes were just playing tricks on me. No Silver rank would have eyes like that—Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" Welm released his hold around my neck and walked off, he gripped his sides as he laughed.

I should be relieved that he convinced himself but do my eyes look that weak?

The rest of the party followed behind him when suddenly Jasper stopped. He held out his finger to the air and pressed against it ever so gently, causing the air to ripple like water in front of his eyes.

"Woah!" He stumbled back in surprise.

"What's with you, you seeing things too?" Welm commented.

"There's a dungeon here, I found a door."

"What for real?"

Jasper reached to the floor and lifted a stone from the ground, with a flick of his fingers he launched it into the air and watched it vanish before them.

The stone passed through the air and vanished into it without a trace.

"Damn, what kind of luck is that? First a Wondering Boss and now an unclaimed dungeon!" Welm moaned in frustration.

"This is probably what caused all of those Golem to spawn here. What should we do, boss?"

Welm stroked his chin, he looked deep in thought as he stared off into the distance.

"Don't touch it, are you an idiot!" Jasper slapped Marcel's hand away as he tried to reach inside the portal.

"What's the big problem, I saw you doing it?" He replied.

"If you cross through there then forget about coming back out, these kinds of dungeons are a one-way gate until the boss is beaten."

"What, seriously!" Marcel's face turned white as he stepped away from the portal.

"That's not a bad idea." Welm added.

His aura completely changed, the energy he was giving off was past menacing, it was straight-up menacing. A cold smile curved across his face.

"I hate to admit it but we can't waste time on this dungeon, we'll lose the Wondering Boss if we do." Welm announced with a deep sigh behind his words. His head hung low but the smile remained.

His face and his words don't match, am I missing something? What could he be so worked up about…?

"In times like this, I'm so glad that we have outside help. What if we divide the labour so we can do both?"

"Divide the labour, what are you talking about?"

Welm leaned in over my shoulder, and with his mouth next to my ear he began to whisper.

"I wonder how a Rust Rank could move like that earlier?"

…

A devilish cackle fell into my ears as Welm vibrated from glee. He stood up straight and looked down at me with a heavy bloodlust.

"After seeing how well you moved it didn't seem fair to continue with the agreement as before. I mean, you're stronger than we thought right?"

"I really am just a rust rank…I didn't—"

"Dividing up the labour might be best, after all, so we'll go on ahead! In the meantime, we'll leave the dungeon to you, Rei~" His lips danced joyfully with every word.

Suddenly Welm extended out his hand, shoving me back with a solid push. My feet knocked into something right behind me and sent me falling.

I tripped over, and as I crossed into the portal I saw Jasper's leg extended out from where I tripped. The same dastardly smile I had seen seconds ago, was plastered over his face just the same.

I was set up.

The tingling sensation of my body crossing through the portal raced throughout every nerve as the four figures in front of me disappeared out of sight. My senses were being drowned out as I fell back into a new world, with only one voice left behind.

"Rei!!"

Liv's scream was the last sound I heard before slamming back onto a dirty moss surface. My head slammed against the ground and I could feel my body being forced down a slope.

Am I rolling—what is this place, I can't see a thing?! Ow—what the hell, how long does this go—

After a series of painful flips and rolls down the slope, I eventually landed on levelled ground. "Ouch…" I groaned while rubbing my lower back.

The area around me was dimly lit, so much so that none of the details were clear enough to identify. All I could see was the large gaping hole in the wall ahead of me, leading out to the only source of light around.

I felt around, all that was behind me was the slope I dropped down from and the stone walls beside me in that empty cave room.

The floor much like the tunnel I fell from was completely made of stone with a thick layer of moss coating over it.

"What is this place?"

{User has entered the Dungeon}

{Emergency Quest has been created}

{Escape the dungeon} – {Reward: Mystery Item}

A quest right off the bat? I didn't get one last time, does it have something to do with the difficulty of the dungeon?

As I walked out of the cave-shaped room, I entered a large enclosed area underground. The entire area was easily as large as a small farm with plenty of open space.

At the centre of the room was a shallow pool of water where a large tree resided. The tree curled over as if a large weight was holding it down and shifted ever so slightly from left to right. Above it was a massive opening in the room where sunlight poured down, illuminating the tree like a spotlight.

The spot where I stood was a rocky surface that acted like a ring around the water, spanning hundreds of steps in both directions.

It's like something you would find in a castle, is this really a dungeon?

This can't be right, if it's a dungeon then why is there only one massive room here? Also, where are the monsters?

I scanned across the room when suddenly my vision landed back on the tree. The lush green leaves shook violently as a figure burst out from its depths. The figure moved faster than I could keep up with.

I tried my best to follow but it rushed into the corners of the room where the darkness was able to shroud it from my sight.

My eyes caught sight of a fragile object gliding down from above. Once it landed in my hand the appraisal ability activated.

{Rhaskan Feather} – {Rarity: uncommon}

"A feather from…a Rhaskan?" My eyes traced back the direction of the feather and noticed the large wings extended over me.

The large beast crashed down over me and pinned me to the ground with its massive body.

An unbearable weight crashed over me and forced me flat onto my back with nothing but puffy feathers in every direction.

"What the—I can't move! So…heavy…"

Buried under the large mass of feathers I wasn't able to see the monster's body, with the last of my breath I muttered,

"Shad…ow…s…step!"

My body vanished from under the crushing weight and appeared back onto the ground a meter away. I was still groggy from being crushed and stumbled back.

The HP bar in the corner of my eye had dropped down, with barely any green remaining.

"It's fast…I can't lag behind. This'll be a fight for my life."