Chương 301: Dungeon
Leena rubs her head as she takes a step back and falls on her butt. "S-Sorry, did I do something wrong?" Leena stutters with a fearful face. 'Oh noooo, I messed up. They're going to kill me!' she thinks, closing her eyes and covering her head with her arms as Oda, who looks huge in her eyes, reaches down.
"Come on, let's get moving," he mumbles in his husky voice, helping her up with one hand. She slowly opens her eyes, puts her hands down, and tilts her head down as Ryua walks past her.
"I'm sorry," Leena mumbles.
Pop. "I'll join the others near the gate. I'll see you there," Ryua calmly says, ignoring Leena.
"Alright, don't shoot..." Before Oda can respond, she vanishes. "Anyone..." he finishes his sentence with a small exhale.
"I didn't mean to make her angry..." Leena mumbles, still looking at the ground while biting her inner lip.
"Ah, she's not angry." As they walk through the path, Oda yawns, stretching. "Ryua has had a tough life. When she was three, she was abandoned by her parents. Her aunt took her in, but she was abused." He sighs, scratching his head. "Her mother returned, trying to make amends, only to be murdered a week later. Once she turned twelve, she joined the military where I met her. She was a kind soul who quickly made friends with everyone."
Leena blinks, hearing him talk. "So she's actually a kind person?" she says, confused.
"Hmm... One day, after a siege, we were celebrating. The contract we signed with the private military group was going to end; however..." He stops for a second and rubs his temples. "We had one more job. They didn't tell us the details, but we never failed, so we were confident. It was a fatal mistake. There were too many, they were powerful, and they were prepared," he mumbles with an unreadable tone, his expression showing no sign of emotion. "My role was to divert them while Ryua and the others focused on the objective, but it was a trap. Everyone except Ryua died that day. She fought for her life. No, it's more appropriate to say she fought for everyone's lives. But there was nothing she could do; she was outmatched. If I was there, the result could've been different, but I had my own fight."
Leena nods in understanding. 'I get it. She didn't attack me because she's mad. Still, I shouldn't have run up to her like that...' Leena bites her lip while she thinks.
"Since she was the head of the group, she blames herself for their deaths. But it's not her fault. The military group we worked under planned it all. They set it up to kill us since they didn't want to fulfill their end of the contract and pay us. Once she found out they did it, she went out to kill them."
Leena's eyebrows shoot up. "S-she killed a whole military group?"
Oda shrugs. "I helped. She wouldn't listen, and I couldn't let her die. It did nothing; she still feels the guilt. So it's not that she's mean or mad. She's just scared to make friends, believing she'll lose them." Oda mumbles.
Leena scratches her head. "U-um, this seems very personal... why are you telling me?" she asks, stuttering.
"It's not a secret. Every guild member in Team Alpha knows each other well. We've been working together for years; we know each other's past. That's one of the requirements to be part of the team. Ryua didn't want to join, but I forced her. The guild master promised me she could help her," he stops and smirks. "You're going to be traveling with us for the next two months. I bet the guild master is going to invite you into the guild."
As he continues to walk, she blinks, standing still watching his back before shaking her head and catching up to him. "Um... one more question," she says before exhaling. "Why don't you seem bothered by your past?"
Oda looks ahead without an expression. "I've learned to move on," patting her back, he continues to walk. "You're too young to understand, but the thing is... The world doesn't wait for you. The past is the past; that's been set in stone and it can't be undone. Dwelling in the possibilities that could've been, the different choices one could've taken won't change the present. So one must move forward, make a new path, learn, grow, and become a better person to prevent the same mistakes from occurring," he mumbles in his husky voice.
Leena smiles, her eyes twinkling as she looks up at him with respect. "I don't know how you did it. If I was in that situation, I don't think I could recover," she exhales heavily, slouching.
"Hmm..." he responds calmly. 'If Ryua died that day, I would've been a completely different person...' he thinks as he spots the others ahead.
Meanwhile, in the cave—BOOM! It's gloomy, the dark crystalized rocks surrounding the cave, with black slightly big flowers growing on the walls with their center being a lava red. Vines surround the edges, black as night, spreading out to who knows where, moving gradually, unnoticed by everyone. BOOM! More crystals shatter.
"Zhzhzhmhm, aaah guild master~ Is this why you brought me?" Rotû laughs with a smirk, his single fang glinting. Pushing his shades back, he plays with a card in his green hands.
"There was no point in doing this beforehand. You're the best one here at dealing with these stupid things," Cora mumbles with a cold eye, staring at the wall in front of them.
Tapping his sharp nails together, Rotû grins. "Zhzhhmhm, you're right, this place is fucked~" he giggles, popping his knuckles. 'One, two, three, four, five... eight... nine... twelve... thirty-four. Shiiiieeet, this is crazy,' he thinks before stepping forward. "Hahahahaha, this place is rigged with runes. Fuck, a runemaster would've been nice," he grins, his chains shining under the dim light.
"Ugh... If only," Bein sighs, extending his hand out. "Right now, there are only six known runemasters. No one wants to study to be one these days," Bein complains, leaning on a wall.
"Don't tell me you can't do it. Guess I'll do it myself." Cora smirks, holding her sword.
"Tsk tsk tsk, who do you think I am?" Rotû flicks his finger. The card shatters and embeds itself in the stone before slowly burning up. Suddenly, golden strings begin to appear in the air, connecting to glowing runes hidden behind the stones. These luminous strings seem to phase through the crystals, attaching themselves to the wall. Rotû grins. "These damn runes are some sort of puzzle. Since they're ancient, I have no clue what they mean," he says, tapping his chin.
"Hmm? Are you saying you can't crack the code?" Bein asks, walking forward.
"Crack the code?" Rotû responds with a smirk. "Zhzhzhmhmhmh, yeah, fuck that." He lifts his arm to where all the strings intersect and grabs them. "There's always plan B," he grins. "'Brute force.'" He pulls the strings, clenching his teeth. Then, POP! Somehow, the rune carvings themselves are pulled off the rocks and dissipate. *Cough Cough!* Rotû breathes heavily before spitting out blood and falling to a knee.
"Hey, you okay?" The guild master asks calmly, kneeling beside him, 'Why do runes have to be so complicated? Basic runes are no issue but once advanced runes are at play its nothing but puzzle after puzzle.'
"Yeah, yeah. Fucking thing had a trap set for anyone trying to deactivate the runes. I closed it off before it could kill me, but if an elf had tried, they would've died," he mumbles, wiping his mouth before standing up. "It's a small internal injury; I'll be fine."
Hearing this, Bein raises an eyebrow. "Are you saying the trap was designed to kill elves?" he taps his chin. 'We are near the elven kingdom, but even so, dungeons attack any and all outsiders with equal force,' he thinks.
Stretching, Rotû shrugs. "I don't know. The pattern it used is hard to interpret, but it's definitely more dangerous to elves. You know elven biology is completely different from other species given their age."
The guild master walks up to the wall. "There's no point in overthinking. Now that the traps are disabled..." Cora lifts her huge sword and, with a single slash, shatters all the crystals in the way. Once the dust settles, the entrance becomes clearly visible, even through the dense fog. The doors are massive, standing 10 meters tall and each door 5 meters wide. Made of some unknown stone, completely black, the edges are covered in the same vines around the cave, yet these vines seem to be engraved in the stone while somehow still alive. The tendrils pulse with a faint, eerie light, as if they are imbued with a life force of their own.
"Oh~ can't wait to go in~ The doors themselves must be worth a fortune," Rotû grins, stepping forward.
The guild master grabs his arm. "Don't. The door will open once a living being touches it. Let's call everyone in," she mumbles coldly, walking past him.
"Okay, everyone is here. I thought Synthie and Shiol would try something stupid. As long as they follow us, it doesn't matter if they're hiding." Bein looks around before snapping his fingers, the sound loud enough to make everyone turn to him regardless of their distance. "I hope you brought your alcohol, we're staying for two months," he says with a smirk trying to lighten the mood, 'Ah... what's the point, these morons never take anything seriously.' The guild master glares at everyone before turning around.
"Keep your guard up at all times," she states before walking into the cave.
"Pfff, it's funny when she acts serious," Itto says with a sigh. "This is going to be painful, kid. I have no clue why they'd send a boy into a dungeon." He scratches his head before walking.
"Hmhmhmhm, they just want to get rid of him~" the prince grins, his golden hair waving to the side as he gets closer to Kael and whispers, "You're going to die here, but if you run away right now, you might live another day~" he smirks maliciously.
"Uhuh, I bet you would love to see me dead," Kael yawns, looking at the cave. 'What the hell does this mean?' he scratches his head.
[❇Congratulations!❇]
[❇You actually did something with your life and traveled out of your comfort zone!❇]
[❇New Quest❇]
[Solve the issue the Dúranthil Forest is facing!]
[Reward]➙[Sword skill technique]➙[Moonlit Fae Flare]
[Rank: Rare ⇮]-[Evolution: ⊘%]
[7 strike based skill]
[10 day cooldown]
[Gain access to fairy magic for 15 seconds]-[complete immunity to spirit magic for 1 second]-[speed increases by 22%]-[1% chance to understand a small portion of the technique]
or
[3500 points]
[!Notice!] [!Notice!] [!Notice!]
[You will lose control of your body while the 7 strikes are in progress, your body will move based on your intentions but you will not have control until the strikes are completed.]
[❇Congratulations!❇]
[❇New Quest❇]
[Have a one-on-one chat with Rui and find out the truth regarding the phantom dungeon]
[Reward]➙[A glimpse into the past]
[Point option is unavailable]
[!Notice!]
[This is connected to a Quest you are 78% likely to get in the future]
[!Notice!] [!Notice!] [!Notice!]
[You are about to enter a Phantom dungeon!]
[As a dungeon master yourself you will be detected.]
[Would you like to temporarily deactivate your passive title: 'The one who conquered the dungeon!'?]
'What the hell is a phantom dungeon? I don't recall writing this,' Kael thinks, scratching his head. 'Hmmm, I don't want to be noticed, but if I deactivate the title, won't I be unable to create a rift back to my base?' he wonders.
[!Notice]
[The dungeon has restrictions on teleportation and rift creation]
'Oh, so it doesn't fucking matter, then do it. I don't want to be noticed by whatever boss monster is in there,' Kael sighs as he thinks.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
QTV
QTV I think this mini-arc might turn out longer than I anticipated. lmao, sorry guys
(posted early so I'm not posting tomorrow morning)
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