Chapter 9

Showing up unannounced as we were about to set sail, Lucoa requested we take her with us. Asking her why she wanted to come with us suddenly, as she had said nothing yesterday, she insisted that she felt the urge to help us on our first voyage. Informing us that she was a former B Rank Adventurer, Lucoa wanted to impart her knowledge to us so we could flourish. Sensing that there was more to it than that, I pressed her for further details which made her true reasoning come to light.

"Alright fine, I just want to get off this island and enjoy a short vacation!", Lucoa admitted, "When I joined the Guild Staff, all my free time went out the window. They have us running around twelve hours daily with no days off, not even holidays. Now that I am stuck here, without help, my hours are more like sixteen hours a day and my time off is spent sleeping. Please take pity on this poor Guild Receptionist and let me join you!!"

Looking at Roxanne for her opinion, she left the decision entirely up to me. Seeing no reason not to accept her, so long as she helped us out a bit, I agreed to let her come with us. Immediately tossing her luggage onto the boat, she ripped off her guild uniform revealing casual clothing underneath. Leaping onto the ship, Lucoa moved to the bow and had a seat.

"So you know, we only have one small bed on the boat. It barely sleeps Roxanne and me comfortably so it will be very cramped with the three of us.", I advised her.

"If that is the only problem, I am fine with it.", she stated, glancing over her shoulder, "Hehe, I think the bigger question is if you can handle sharing a bed with Roxanne and me. Two beautiful women sharing a bed with you, quite a lucky boy!"

'She is ten and half years too early for that.', I thought, as I untethered us from our moorings, "If you are expecting to get a rise out of me, it will not work."

"Hehe, it was worth a shot.", she teased me.

Starting up the Propulsion Engines, I slowly guided us out of the harbor and into open airspace. Getting us pointed in a westerly direction, Lucoa inquired if we had any particular destination in mind.

"Are you planning on visiting every rock out here, or did you see something on the map that caught your eye?", she asked.

"Our main goal is looking for a dungeon, but we will settle for monsters too.", I remarked, "With that in mind, we will only stop on islands that could support one or both of those. Do you mind helping us spot potential islands?"

Giving me a thumbs up, Lucoa sat back and admired the scenery. Joining her at the front, Roxanne used a makeshift spyglass to look far into the distance for anything interesting. Increasing the output of the engines to fifty percent, I sat back and began sharpening my homemade Steel Sword.

—Two Hours Later—

"Hey guys, I think I see something off in the distance!!", Roxanne shouted excitedly, breaking the peaceful silence, "It looks like it is a few miles in that direction!"

Using her hand to point at the island, I steered the ship toward it and increased our speed. Watching the green speck on the horizon quickly turn into a medium-sized island, Roxanned inquired if we knew its name.

"Based on where I think we are, that island is not on the map.", I told her, vaguely aware of where we were.

"Oh, so it is an Undiscovered Island?!", Roxanne exclaimed, "That means there might be a dungeon here for us to explore!!"

"I would not get your hopes up quite yet, Roxanne.", Lucoa said, tempering her expectations, "Not every undiscovered island has monsters or dungeons on it. Some are just wide open grasslands while others are full of valuable ores and gemstones. Do not be disappointed if we do not find anything."

Nodding her head in response, though she had not heard a word Lucoa said, Roxanne leaned over the railing eager to explore. Taking us around the island once to find a good spot to dock, I settled on the end of a small river that flowed off the edge of the island. Coming to a stop a few dozen feet from the dropoff, Roxanne jumped out and immediately tethered us to a solid oak tree. Shutting down the Propulsion Engines, Lucoa and I disembarked and joined Roxanne on the grassy river bank.

Surveying the area around us, the scenery around us looked completely untouched by man or beast. Wondering if this island was completely abandoned, I asked the two women to sniff out any potential monsters or people living in the vicinity.

"Both of you have a better sense of smell than me, can you smell any threats around us?", I inquired, surveying the space around the island for Sky Pirates.

Taking a few minutes to sniff the air carefully, Roxanne was the first to confirm the presence of monsters on the island. Pointing her nose toward the central woodland part of the island, she stated that there were monsters present but she did not know what they were.

"Unfortunately, I only know what goblins and kobolds smell like so I cannot say what they are. What I am certain of is that there is a foul odor coming from the center of the island.", Roxanne stated, "Do you know what they are?"

"That is the scent of Orcs, I know their scent very well from my early adventuring days.", Lucoa said, "They are much stronger than goblins and kobolds, if they get their hands on you, they crush you like a grape. Not only that, when they are in heat they are especially dangerous for female adventurers. If they see a woman nearby, they will not stop pursuing them till the Orcs are killed or they catch them."

"What do they do to them?", Roxanne asked, completely unaware of what Orcs were known for.

"While it may be a bit early for you to know this, Orcs are known for raping females of every race to sire children. There is no such thing as a female Orc so wild Orcs use other races to procreate.", Lucoa explained, "That said, that only applies to Orcs that live outside dungeons and labyrinths. Those created by dungeons and labyrinths do not violate women, they will kill us alongside the men."

A large number of wild monsters in our world started as spawns in dungeons or labyrinths, though the public at large was unaware of this. Under normal circumstances, monsters in those places are unable to leave the floor on which they are spawned, but there is an event where that no longer happens…a Monster Stampede. During a Monster Stampede, dungeons and labyrinths no longer restrict monsters to their spawn floors and increase monster spawn rates by four times. With no restrictions on where they can go, hordes of monsters will come flooding out of their home. Once they are outside, any connection they have to their birthplace is severed giving them unbridled freedom and self-awareness.

Fortunately, Monster Stampedes are something that humanity has been able to cull in the last few decades. After discovering that they are created by a surplus of magical energy inside the dungeon/labyrinth, the nations of the world and Adventurer Guilds routinely help chip away at any surplus by killing large quantities of monsters within all locations in their jurisdictions.

"Hmm, are they valuable monsters?", Roxanne asked.

"Oh heck yes!", Lucoa acknowledged, "Not only can you be paid well for eliminating them, just like Hobgoblins, several of their body parts are worth a lot of money as alchemical ingredients. Their balls in particular are a key ingredient in a male enhancement potion that many noblemen pay top dia for."

"What does it-", Roxanne began to ask out of curiosity.

"Something that only older men need to worry about, none of us need to worry about it.", I told her, looking at Lucoa with an exhausted look.

Giving me an apologetic smile, she shrugged and motioned for us to proceed toward the forest. Since we were relying on their sense of smell for the moment, I had the two of them take the lead while I watched our backs. Following the river toward the center of the island, as we approached the Orc's territory we were greeted by several human skulls hanging from trees. Below them on the forest floor, beneath some leaves were the rest of the corpses still wearing their armor.

"Oh wow, that armor belongs to the Principality!", Lucoa remarked, as we cleared the leaves away, "We are pretty far from the border here, what are they doing here?"

"We should report this to my father when we get back.", I said, stowing the armor and equipment in my Item Box.

Glancing over my shoulder at Roxanne, her gaze was frozen on the human skulls hanging from the trees. Having never fought a monster she felt could kill her before, facing the reality that death was a possibility here, she began to have second thoughts about proceeding forward. Seeing her expression as well, Lucoa spoke up for her as Roxanne was too fixated on what she was looking at.

"You know, if you do not feel confident about this we can turn back and leave.", Lucoa said, "What do you think, Leon?"

"We are going to have to face our fears someday, all Adventurers have to. It is completely normal to be afraid of death, what is important is that you do not let it hold you back. That is what sets the good adventurers apart from the legendary ones.", I chuckled, placing my hand on Roxanne's shoulder, "I am confident that with the right plan, we will easily kill these Orcs without so much as a scratch to us. Do you trust me?"

"Of course!", Roxanne stated, without hesitation, "I trust you completely!"

Taking the lead from the two women, I guided us into the river and continued pressing forward into the forest. Using the river as a safety precaution, as I read Orcs were smart enough to use traps, I knew that we would be safe from most traps they could have set up. A few hundred feet from where we found the skeletal remains, a worn walking path appeared with fresh footprints. Confirming that they were Orc prints, we exited the stream and silently followed the path with our weapons at the ready.

Walking half a mile along the trail, I was beginning to think this was a trap when I heard some grunting noise just a few yards away. Crouching down immediately, I poked my head out from behind several tall bushes and discovered the Orc's encampment. Counting six Orcs huddled around a campfire, they appeared to be cooking some fish they caught down at the river. Using the spell Farsight to confirm the number of bedding mats they had, I verified there were no others we needed to worry about.

"I count six bedding mats and all of the Orcs are here.", I whispered, barely loud enough for them to hear, "A frontal assault is not a good option here, they are far stronger than Roxanne and me. We need to throw them off balance to make things easier for us to kill them."

"What do you have in mind?", Lucoa replied, poking her head around the bushes to see for herself.

"I plan on creating a Fire Drake with my Illusion Magic. When they see it fly overhead, the group will run away as six of them stand no chance of killing it. While they are running away, Roxanne and you will pick as many of them off as you can. Since you only have a sword, use this bow to kill them.", I said, pulling a bow and some arrows out of my Item Box, "I know it is not a proper bow, but it is the best I could do with some rope and a supple willow branch."

Pulling on the string a few times, Lucoa looked impressed with what I managed to make with scraps from around my home. Assuring me that it would be a piece of cake, she glanced over at Roxanne who was picking up some stones off the ground.

"What are you doing?", Lucoa questioned.

"Getting ammo for my sling.", Roxanne answered, finding several suitable stones, "Where should we aim for, Leon?"

"If they show you their back, aim for the base of their head.", I said, pointing to the spot on me, "In the event they are facing you, aim for their knees and ankles. Slowing them down or disabling them is most effective in that case. I can pick them off easily afterward."

"Hold on, what is a sling?", Lucoa asked, still confused about how it could kill anything.

"Lucoa, focus!", I scolded her, "Did you hear where you need to shoot?"

"Yeah…", she acknowledged, "You sure that thing will work though?"

Having never seen a weapon like that before, Lucoa was unconvinced it could do any real damage. Looking at us with concern, she was about to say something when Roxanne cut her off.

"If Leon says it will work, I trust him!", she assured her.

Deciding to trust me, Lucoa reluctantly shut her mouth and waited for further instructions. Pointing toward other dense bushes a few yards away, I motioned for them to move over there. Nodding their heads, the two silently made their way there while I kept an eye on the Orcs. Once they were in position, I made my way to the opposite side of the camp and began forming an image of a Fire Drake in my mind. Casting the Illusion Spell into the sky, a forty-foot Fire Dragon immediately appeared overhead.

Blanketing the area in a dark shadow as it flew overhead, the Fire Drake let out an earthshaking roar that sent the Orcs into high alert. Looking up into the sky to see what was happening, they barely managed to make out the drake through the dense foliage. Roaring a second time, the Orcs immediately dropped everything they were doing and fled the scene. Using the small amount of intelligence they had, the Orcs understood that being in a dense forest with a fire-breathing lizard overhead was a bad idea. Making their way toward the river, it was clear they understood that the flowing water would give them some semblance of protection from the potential fire.

Running past Lucoa and Roxanne, the two of them shot up from their hiding spots and began attacking the Orcs from the rear. Taking two of them out in short order, the rest of their group did not even realize they had been taken out. Firing another volley at them, this time only Roxanne managed to take her target down as Lucoa's arrow came up short.

"Sorry guys, I goofed up!", Lucoa apologized.

"It is okay, I will bring them back toward us with my Illusion.", I said, guiding the drake toward the river.

Before the drake could reach them though, we heard horrific screams come their direction then utter silence. Unsure what had happened, I kept the drake circling overhead in case we ran into something even worse than the Orcs. Cautiously following the trail they left behind, we stumbled across a massive hole in the ground that had not been there when we passed by a short time ago. Peering into the hole, we found the three Orcs full of wooden spikes at the bottom of the pit.

"Jeez, what a way to go…", Lucoa gulped.

Since they were within range of my Item Box pickup, I pulled their three corpses into my Item Box for processing at a later date. Retracing our steps back to their camp, having determined there were traps around here, I collected the other three Orcs before proceeding to loot their camp.

"I have to say, Roxanne, that sling is an amazing weapon. It looks so harmless but it packs quite a deadly punch!", Lucoa commented, as she sifted through their bedding.

"Hehe, is it not amazing?", Roxanne boasted, "Leon made it for me when we first met. As long as my aim is good, it has never failed to take out an enemy yet!"

"Is that so?", Lucoa said, with a smile, "I will have to tell the Guildmaster about it. A simple weapon like that could save a lot of lives in a pinch."

Sifting through the Orc's poorly made war chest, I was disappointed to see that most of what they had were destroyed rifles and guns they had probably taken from the soldiers. Stowing them away, as I could use them for scrap metal or parts, I asked if they had found anything of value.

"Nah, just some stone tools and a broken watch.", Lucoa replied.

"I only found this metal cylinder thingy.", Roxanne stated, holding it up for us to see.

Looking back to see what she found, my heart began to pound as I stared at my first piece of sci-fi tech. Running over to her, I asked her if I could have it which she immediately agreed to.

"Is it something special?", she asked, as she handed it to me.

"Yes, it is.", I acknowledged, turning the lightsaber on.

Watching a blue beam of plasma extend roughly three feet out from the hilt, the two women shrieked as they stumbled away from me. Before I could assure them everything was fine, a sudden burst of energy came flooding into my mind. Dropping to my knees as my brain struggled to stay conscious, I felt something in the back of my mind open up. Disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared, the world around me began to feel slightly different than it had before.

"Leon, are you okay?!", Roxanne shouted.

"Yeah…I am fine…", I replied, looking at the lightsaber, 'What was that? Did I somehow awaken my connection to the Force?'

Vaguely sensing a large lifeform about a mile away from us. I turned off the lightsaber and asked the two women to follow me. Telling them that we had hit the jackpot, I believed I had accidentally located a Dungeon.