Arcadia— Heroes Of Relics
Updates every 10:00PM UTC+7 Centuries ago, a mysterious meteor descended upon the Earth. Instead of wiping all life forms on the planet, it terraformed the Earth, transforming both living and non-living things alike. This event was called the Great Meteor Fall. Monsters and Beasts appeared and proliferated on the land, causing a shift to the ordinary lifestyle people once knew. Humans also underwent changes thanks to the meteor. Some were granted supernatural powers, and some were granted strength. With these changes, mankind concluded that life will never be the same. The rise of adventurers and guilds was only a few things brought about by the change. Those who wielded great power became prominent figures. But this was just the beginning. The ground zero of the meteor, where it descended, became the territory of a powerful entity known as the Dark One. No one knew where he came from, but rumors said he was inside the meteor when it landed. The energy levels in ground zero were so potent that an average human wouldn't be able to survive it. As such, only high-ranking adventurers could enter it with great difficulty and survive. However, no one came close to the fortress of the dark One, built on top of the meteor itself. As years passed, the monsters and beasts became more powerful, and the adventurers struggled to keep up. But there was no real threat. The Dark One didn't seem to care for Earth's inhabitants, or maybe he was in deep slumber, awaiting his awakening before he invaded Earth. It was foretold, however, that the Dark One was close to awakening, and the powerful monsters and beasts were a clear sign of it. Backed into a corner, the countries were forced to rely on forbidden technology to combat the upcoming invasion. Messing with the space-time continuum, mankind was able to summon influential and powerful people from the past. They became known as Heroes of Relics. These heroes partied up and became Earth's last line of defense against the oncoming invasion. Albrecht Stein was part of the Heroes of Relics. However, he was kicked out of the party since they no longer needed a porter. His only particular skill was spatial storage space, and he was just an additional headcount, so they kicked him out. Just like the other Heroes, he was transported to the future with the sole purpose of defeating the Dark One. But now that his purpose was gone, he decided to live a quiet life in the countryside. That is until the final countdown was issued, and the world's destruction drew near.
The Decree of Anvis
As an A-Rank Monster, the Terror Ghoul Captain is the supreme leader of the Terror Ghouls. It was the guardian of the Shadow Realm Dungeon wherein it kept the Beast Horn of Obedience safe.
It had one job, and it was going to see it through until it was ordered another task.
Intruder detected.
Sensing a human aura in the vicinity, the Terror Ghoul Captain floated up as it tried to get a good glimpse of the surroundings. It was told that humans won't get past the maze no matter what and that its job would be relatively easy.
Even then, it would take an entire team of Heroes to easily defeat it so it didn't have to worry about a couple of humans getting through the maze by mere chance.
Two entities detected.
The Terror Ghoul Captain felt its powerlessness the moment it detected the presence of Yukina. As the boss of the First Outerlayer, she was superior to the Terror Ghoul Captain.
As if on cue, Albrecht and Yukina appeared in front of the Terror Ghoul Captain. They didn't hesitate to extend their hands into a t-pose before bowing down. This was a normal and respectful greeting for the Terror Ghouls.
The Terror Ghoul was surprised. Only those who belonged to their race knew that greeting. And yet, Albrecht and Yukina were aware of it. Curious, it approached the duo without animosity.
"Interesting. How can a human know our greeting?" The Terror Ghoul Captain asked, leaning forward as if to purposefully scare Albrecht.
"Ylkshasha, the Terror Ghoul Captain. It is nice to finally meet you." Albrecht greeted, doing the greeting a second time before staring through the empty sockets of the eyes of the Terror Ghoul Captain.
Bewildered, the Terror Ghoul Captain backed away. 'How could a human know my name... only my master knows my...'
The Terror Ghoul Captain's thoughts trailed off as it carefully scrutinized the person in front of it.
There was no way. No way it was facing its master!
"I see, you're as incredulous as ever. You don't have to put up your guard in front of me, Ylkshasha. Just hand me the Beast Horn of Obedience and we'll leave. I need it."
If by any chance its master was defeated, then there was a good chance that the person in front of it was stronger than its master. The Terror Ghoul Captain didn't want to admit it. It'd rather accept Albrecht as its master in disguise, instead of accepting the fact that its master was defeated.
"Are you... my master?" The Terror Ghoul Captain asked, puffing its chest so it won't show any signs of weakness in front of the human. In hindsight, the human in front of it didn't display its fear, so there was a good chance that it was really its master in disguise.
"How insolent, Ylkshasha! Are you seriously asking me that right now?!" Albrecht exclaimed as he exerted pressure on the Terror Ghoul Captain. Honestly, Albrecht used every ounce of his Zecian Aura to exert pressure.
But to the Terror Ghoul Captain, it believed that Albrecht only displayed a portion of its power.
"I... I'm sorry for not recognizing you, master!" The Terror Ghoul Captain guiltily wailed, bowing down in front of Albrecht before turning around and presenting the Beast Horn of Obedience. "Here it is. I have kept it safe in your absence."
"Very well." This time, it was Albrecht who puffed his chest. Their plan had worked, and they were able to obtain the Beast Horn of Obedience without engaging the powerful Terror Ghoul Captain in combat.
Now that he had 'retrieved' the Beast Horn of Obedience, he had to appoint a different task to the Terror Ghoul Captain, otherwise, it would be suspicious of him. After all, they've been guarding the Beast Horn of Obedience for decades now.
'Or I could just set them free.' Albrecht said in his mind as he extended his hand to the Terror Ghoul Captain. This was a gesture that meant he would give them a new set of orders.
Since the Terror Ghoul Captain completely trusted Albrecht at this point, it floated down and bowed its head.
"You've done an incredible deed, guarding the Beast Horn of Obedience all this time. By the Decree of Anvis, I am setting you free."
Amongst the inhabitants of Ground Zero, there was an unwritten rule— if the owner of a slave got defeated in battle, the slave ownership would be transferred to the champion. This was the Decree of Anvis, and it held the power to free the slaves by challenging the slave owner.
However, Albrecht had never fought the owners of the Terror Ghouls. Then again, he knew the Decree of Anvis like the back of his hand, thanks to the information he accessed through the System. There, he found a hole in the decree, and he abused it.
Technically, Albrecht had defeated the masters of the Terror Ghouls since he managed to steal the Beast Horn of Obedience. This was the sole reason why he didn't mention anything about the Decree of Anvis while he was negotiating with the Terror Ghoul Captain.
In the end, Albrecht managed to defeat the Terror Ghouls' master, transferring their allegiance to him and giving him due ownership of the monsters.
A flash of light appeared in front of Albrecht, and a parchment with a monochrome sheen appeared out of nowhere. The Decree of Anvis.
A series of gasps were heard from the Terror Ghouls as they realized what was going on. They were going to have the freedom they badly wanted for so long.
But what of it? They've been guarding the Beast Horn of Obedience for so long that they don't have a life outside the Shadow Realm Dungeon.
"Ylkshasha, you're free to go along with your group. We'll be taking our leave now." Albrecht bowed down before turning around. He was confident that they won't attack him. Now that he had proven his ownership over them.
Yukina promptly followed Albrecht but there were still a lot of questions in her mind. She had no idea how Albrecht had ownership of the Terror Ghouls when she personally knew their master.
As for the Terror Ghouls, they decided to stay in the Shadow Realm Dungeon and reject the offer of freedom. They've acknowledged Albrecht as their new master, and they've decided to stay under his leadership since he was lenient enough to grant them freedom. They were also convinced that Albrecht was not their previous master in disguise— after all, the Decree of Anvis appeared before them. This was proof that their previous master was defeated.
— — — — —
As Albrecht and Yukina got out of the Shadow Realm Dungeon, a couple of adventurers who were in the vicinity became curious since no one had tried to attempt that dungeon for quite some time now. They were prepared to laugh at the foolish adventurers who didn't know what they were doing.
However, once the duo got out, the portal gate leading to the Shadow Realm Dungeon shifted into a bright blue color... and then to a calm white color. This was proof that the dungeon was cleared. (While most dungeons disappear after they were cleared, some portal gates change color and don't disappear.)
"What th— SOMEONE CLEARED THE SHADOW REALM DUNGEON!" One of the adventurers screamed, attracting the other's attention.
Before they could take a good look at Albrecht and Yukina, however, they immediately ran towards the portal that led straight to the outskirts of Rilegarthe Kingdom.
"How did you do that?" Yukina finally asked, to which Albrecht only smiled in response. They've got what they came for. Now they have a fighting chance against the breach.