Chương 25: Entering the Private Study
Dale had no idea that the scrawny kid who he snapped at for slowing the line was the same person who had stolen the first dungeon clear record from him.
After Rick walked through the double doors, the others started walking in as well. There were a total of six of them and Jay knew at a glance that they were stronger than the average person outside in the settlement.
One by one everyone walked into the library, weapons at hand, ready for whatever came at them.
Dale immediately felt something was odd about this dungeon right after entering it. Since clearing the Ogre dungeon he had gone cleared another three of them and escaped from many more.
But unlike all those dungeons, when he entered this time, there was no notification letting him know that he has entered a dungeon!
Dale didn't have time to brood over the anomaly though. As soon as he walked in, there was a sudden force that stopped him from taking a single step back, cutting off his escape. The only way to escape now was by moving forward!
By the time Dale walked in, of the two before him the line, the scrawny looking kid was nowhere in sight and the shield-bearing lady was barely holding off the barrage of arrows by taking cover behind her shield. Grasping the severity of the situation, he quickly took cover behind the reception desk, ignoring the few cuts and bruises on he suffered.
"Hey come over here," he called out to the shield bearing woman and the other who entered behind him.
Only now did he get the chance to look around the place. The dimly lit library floor had none of the tables and chairs you would normally see in a library. Only the reception desk that was built into the wall remained.
"Whatever monster here, it has the brains to change the layout of the place" Dale murmured.
Within the next minute, the other three survivors of the original group of six crawled their way behind the desk, finally getting out of the line of sight from the arrows. All three of them were injured to various degrees and Dale made a quick assessment that of the four of them, only the lady with the shield would be able to put up any resistance in they were immediately ambushed.
"I don't think there is anyone. Let me check. Maybe we can make a dash," the bald man with the machete whispered.
Before anyone could stop him, he slowly peered through the top of the counter.
"Zoom," an arrow zoomed and pierced him through his forehead before he could even glance past the counter.
He immediately dropped motionless on the ground eyes wide.
"Don't' be rash. We don't know what is out there. We need to be prepared to face up against them," Dale spoke up, taking the command.
He quickly arranged the three of them into a simple formation.
Meg, the shield-bearing lady was to take the vanguard while he would be responsible for long distance fire-cover and Sazad would fight beside Meg in close combat once the arrow wound on his leg healed enough to allow him to walk.
But, all this planning was for nothing when the four Rotzwergs came charging in, on their hellhounds, wielding massive clubs.
The stout and broad-bodied Rotzwergs with their red horns were expert hellhound riders which this made them excellent patrol guards. Being among the weakest warrior in all of Hell, they generally fought in groups to overcome their opponents with larger.
One moment Dale felt the ground rumble and even before he could ready his rifle, a large hellhound was almost upon them. The jet black hound with its glaring eyes sent shivers down anyone who laid down their eyes on them.
"Baaam"
With a swing of the club, the Rotzwerg first tossed Meg out of the way and then backhand towards Dale.
"Crack"
He could feel his arm break immediately on impact with the club and then crashed against the wall breaking another bone.
"Damn it," he cursed. Everything happened so quickly that he did not even have the moment to fire a single shot!
Dale was still lucky, after swatting him off, the hellhound them tore apart Sazad with a single snap.
But it was not over, the second Rotzwerg rider closed in on Dale to land the finishing blow!
"Come at me!" Dale dared the Rotzwerg as he raised the club, refusing to beg for mercy.
The Rotzwerg brought down the club, but the blow never came. Right before the blow landed, a large shadow cast over Dale which caught the blow of the club mid-air.
With a flowing cape behind him and wearing an armour helmet, Dale was sure that the man before him was a virtuous knight.
But all of his hopes came crashing down when the knight spoke.
"Don't kill them, throw them out of here."
"What why? I was promised a commission for every dead human," the Rotzwerg patrol guard protested.
"Orders from High Command. Follow it, or I will claim a commission with your head," the 'virtuous knight' replied curtly.
"Y-yes Commander," the Rotzwerg conceded.
Although in immense pain, the two monsters discussing his faith with such impunity was more painful for Dale.
The Commander Knight disappeared after passing his orders.
"I just need to throw you out alive right," he snickered and then with a swing of his club tossed him towards the exit and with another swing tossed him out from the library.
Only when the sunlight hit his face did Dale realize that the nightmare was finally over. Beside him was another figure lying. It was Meg, she was in an equally bad condition.
"I will have my vengeance," Dale promised, feeling no gratitude for having his life spared.
---
In the Eighth Floor of the Library
"You just have to put your hand into the wall and the old Master's study will open up automatically," Aaymon, the king of the East spoke.
"I know the entrance," Rick let out a chuckle, "But seeing that even the four of you know of this, maybe I need to increase the security."
'Was this a test?' Aaymon was taken aback by the Young Master's care for details.
"Young Master, we would not dare to betray your trust. The four of us are nothing more than security as well. You have nothing to fear," Aaymon articulated his sincerity.
"Hmm," Rick nodded, "You can leave now"
"Yes Young Master," Aaymon replied and slowly stepped back before leaving.
'So I just need to put my hand inside this wall, is it? Could this be a ploy by the Kings to take trick me?' Rick wondered.
He was always on the alert for any suspicious move by the Kings, but this did not seem like one. The four Kings had only blurted everything out under fear that he would unleash Pip on them.
"Okay here it goes," he braced himself as he placed his hand into the opening on the wall.
The hole was deep enough for his entire forearm. It was only near his elbow that his hand finally hit the back of the wall. A warm feeling spread on his hand from the Signet and with a click, the bookshelf beside the wall swung back.
He immediately removed his hand and walked in, the door closing behind him.
The place he walked into was like nothing like the inside of the library, it was as if he was transported to a different place again, but he knew for a fact that this was not his subconscious.
He had walked into what looked like an indoor garden with a small shack to one side. It was obvious that the place had not been maintained from the looks of the overgrown plants and shrubs.
He carefully made his way into the shack and opened the door.
The inside of the place had a simple layout. There was a wooden table to one side and a closet beside it. On the other side of the shack was a simple cot on the floor for rest. On the table was only a single thing which looked like a table knife.
Ignoring it, Rick opened the closet instead. With a creek, the closet door opened. The inside of the closet only had two brown golf ball sized objects. Instinctively Rick picked up one.
The ball suddenly started to vibrate and slipped out of his hand. It hit the ground and from the ball morphed and expanded right before Rick's eyes to take the shape of an earth golem coming up to the height of his knees.
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