Dungeon Training (3)

Gray's heart was beating. The thrill weighed over him as this situation was dire. In his training, he never encountered a situation like this due to the sole fact that Ben would always save him when things got rough. Currently, he does not have that type of protection. He was a sitting duck, waiting to be eaten out by the outside world without the support of Ben. Not to mention, this monster is definitely in a different league than the ones he fought during his training. He gulped, staring down at his menacing opponent. He only managed to throw a solid combo at it out of surprise earlier on, but looking at their condition, his blows did no damage. Even after fist conditioning, it seems his damage was still not enough. The monster and Gray stared at each other, locking in their focus. It was then that Gray decided to rush in. Gray knew that his reach and damage were at a disadvantage, so he decided that the best course of action was to go in and throw a few jabs and crosses at his lower body. Once his opponent lowered their guard down to their body, their chin would be wide open. This plan could work with his smaller height, but he didn't know what his enemy could do. ("I'll just have to play it safe...")

Before he could enact this plan, something unexpected happened. A sword pierced through the monster, and then the monster's body proceeded to be engulfed in flames. The once smooth skin that glistened with the cavern walls was falling apart. The monster wailed, grasping their face to try to ease the unbearable pain. The person who did this to the monster was none other than Zack, who was quite excited that he achieved an accomplishment like this. "Heh, you looked real nervous, Gray. I bet you're glad that I saved your butt, eh?" Once again, Zack's amazing talent managed to shine—managing to make Gray irritated. Ignoring Zack's loud boasting, he went over to Umeris who was steading himself from his fall. "We should get going; more monsters might come." he told Umeris. Not giving off a response for a second, the words finally came out of his mouth. "Yeah... let's just wait here for now." His eyes were glued to the brown, rough dirt floor. It stained the clothes he knelt in, but it didn't bother Umeris. He was only lost in thought. The three of them took shelter in one of the abandoned structures in the ruins.

The things left at that moment were the eerie ambiance of the cavern. It was only then that Umeris finally let out words. "Gray, what are your motivations?" It was a question that Gray didn't expect. All that he did was go with what kept him living normally, never fueled by anything else to make his actions. "Motivations? What are you bringing up with such a question now?" Gray responded.

"The Linadel Academy was what my parents hoped for me to be at when I was younger, but their expectations were shot down when it came to my skills as a sorcerer. I was too weak and forced to be sent to a lower-grade school like the Academy of Yorka." Gray figured that all rich-kid schools were somewhat similar; he never expected a grand place like the Academy of Yorka to be considered lower grade. "I mean, what's the difference between them? Aren't they both great schools?"

"You don't understand, Gray. The Linadel Academy is one of the most prestigious places to learn at. The Academy of Yorka is also quite prestigious, but not as good as the Linadel Academy. In fact, we never won the Golden Beetle in the Hunera Tournament." Yet again, another thing that Gray did not know about. The Hunera Tournament? The Golden Beetle? It was his first day, and he had already been given so much information. "Umeris, can you explain what the hell you are talking about?" Gray asked. 

"The Hunera Tournament is a tournament where both the Linadel and the Academy of Yorka challenge each other for the Golden Beetle each year. They send their best sorcerers into this tournament, and they then clash to see who comes on top." Umeris shamefully averted his gaze. "To be honest, I only managed to get 6th place, even when I tried my hardest; however, I think this year we can win!" A ray of hope glistened in the eyes of Umeris. 

"Oh, why do you say that? Is it cause of me?" Zack questioned.

"Nope, the new guy named Harold Crook has shown great power and mastery of lightning magic; I swear he can dominate this year's tournament!" Umeris excitedly said.

Gray's focus dulled out, and all the noise dissipated around him. The name Harold bothered Gray and made him wonder if it was really him from Earth. ("That gaze on his face, his demeanor—Harold could never be like that, but something felt familiar to him.")

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Ida cowered behind Harold. "Eeek! That's a ton of goblins!" A mob of goblins hurried at them both. The tiny collective steps grew louder and louder as the mob formed. Their eager faces and their weapons rose as if they were already preparing the methods to slay both Ida and Harold. But their tyranny soon came to a stop as the goblins encountered a wall—a wall that couldn't be broken. That wall was the tremendous might of Harold's lightning, cooking them to a crisp. Ida was in awe, seeing Harold mercilessly kill the goblins. He had no expression at all. There was no fear, no anger, not even a sign of excitement—it was all just a hassle.

As the cold stone dungeon walls went silent, Harold turned his head to Ida. Ida couldn't utter a single word and was only flabbergasted by his sheer power. "Your name was Ida, right?" he asked. She nodded slowly, responding to his question. "You're pretty cute; why not be mine?"

"Eh?"

Ida's face went a shade of tomato red, and she quickly turned her back on Harold. ("W-W-What did he just say?") 

She peeked her vision at Harold again before darting her head back. ("N-No way, this guy just confessed to me! I mean, it's out of the blue but he's pretty hot!") Her mind boggled at the thought of Harold and her together. She envisioned it as one of the romantic books she read. ("I-It's just like the Diaries of the Lunar Princess! A handsome, strong male, proposes to her after a harsh battle!")

She then slapped herself. ("No, no, no! I keep overreacting to attractive guys. I need to keep myself composed because my mother told me there was more than just appearance to love!") Ida jerked herself back to the sight of Harold. She was ready to speak until Harold stepped closer to her. He got closer and closer before their faces nearly touched. Ida's heart was pounding against her chest; she could hear her heartbeat loud and clear. "You're exactly my type, so come with my back to my manor." He gently placed his hand on her chin, aware that Ida was immensely flustered by his advances. Ida gave a quick reply to his proposal, unsure if she should take his offer. "Wouldn't you be ashamed of my weak power, though? I can't even use mana to begin with!" 

"I don't care about that." He gave her a smile that reassured her for the most part. A smile that reached out and hugged her for all that was granted. Ida clutched onto him and murmured. "Okay..." His body was sturdy for his age, as if he trained for hours on end daily. Even then, it still felt nice for Ida to hug him.

She looked back at the entrance of the dungeon, the old metal framing, and the closed 40-foot door. "Also, why did you tell our party members to wait outside?" Ida asked. At the beginning of the dungeon training with the party, Harold told them all to go back to the academy because the dungeon was too dangerous. This decision confused Ida, but it confused her even more when Harold told Ida to join him in clearing the dungeon. ("He must've just wanted a private area to confess to me!") she thought. 

"Now then, Harold, let's finish the dungeon together!"

"No need; I already cleared it out beforehand."

"H-Huh..? You already cleared it out?"

"Yeah, I just wanted a private area to talk with you. Now, let's go back to my family. I'll need to introduce them to you."

He walked her to the dungeon door and opened it by pulling the hatch on the side wall. The door slowly opened, making a loud creaking noise that echoed throughout the halls of the dungeon. Harold held Ida's hand, making her even more flustered by the sudden move. Harold shuffled through his pocket before taking out another teleportation rune, this time to the Crook family manor. "Let's go." He said as he used the rune.