"We shouldn't leave Archen behind!" The worried girl insisted, she was the type of girl who wouldn't leave a member behind. She tried to throw as many punches as she could behind the bulky guy that carried her, but everything was futile for he simply ignored her.
The red-haired guy smacked her in the head, he gave a bitter look and said, "Give it a break, we shouldn't waste his sacrifices. Archen is a good leader, thus he left behind for us. That's a Black Rival dragon, we can't beat it and he surely will die. Unless a hero would appear and s-"Right before he could have finished the sentence, they all heard an explosion and looked in the same direction to where it came from. They were in shock as they all saw a figure from afar. Suddenly it emerged from the ceiling covered with white hot flames on his two arms. As the squad witnesses the silhouette of a man, their eyes gazed at the falling black dragon. "Now we should go back to Archen?" The girl asked.
"Y-yes? We definitely should." The party agreed to check their leader to see if he was still alive.
The fearless monster was burnt into ashes, Archen couldn't believe what he just saw. The battle was over but he remained on guard as he couldn't discern whether the man in front was an ally or a foe. "WHO ARE YOU?" He boldly asked in a commanding tone. "How did you beat a level 100 dragon that easily?" A bombarded him with questions that he desired for an answer.
Akamatsu slowly approached the man whom he saved. Of course, Archen felt threatened by the presence of immense condensed mana flowing around the man walking towards him. He was like a monster in the shape of a human being. Akamatsu's buffed body with hair that reaches the grounds, and clothes that were all worn out for ages. With his ominous looks, and appearing out of nowhere we're surely to give one a fright. That's how Archen felt despite the fact that he was saved by Akamatsu.
"Archen!!" yelled his party as they came back. "Who is that guy and what the hell happened to the dragon? Did he really beat it alone?" They shared the same thoughts as him.
"I have no idea but what I do know is that he defeated the dragon which means he could be a threat. You guys shouldn't have come back, you fool!" He scolded the four but appreciated their concern without showing his true emotion.
"Jeez old man, as if we can leave you out. Boss would be mad at us," said the red head. He stared at the Akamatsu confusingly. "Are you joining Guinness for the longest hair?"
"Uhm sorry but do you know the way out?" Akamatsu asked like a lost child. He raised his bang to reveal purple gleaming eyes just to see them better. He looked gleeful when he saw a fellow race of his, "I'm glad I found humans!"
"Humans? What are you some ancient dude?" The red hair scoffs.
"S-so aren't you humans." His friendly eyes shifted to a hostile stare as his hands glowed with brilliant flame.
"Y-yes we are!" Archen flicked his ally's forehead. "I ask pardon for this foolish one. We are humans, it's just that this younger generation has their own way of language" The old man air quoted.
"I don't understand, but I'm glad I found humans. I was lost a minute ago." Akamatsu felt relieved and returned to his friendly look, however he remained intimidating to them. Something about him made them feel uneasy, especially with his unique mana.
"What are you doing here anyways?" The girl jumped into the conversation. "We came here! This dungeon was recently discovered and we were the first one to be given the opportunity to explore." She was astounded, especially since there was no sign of humans a while ago when they scanned the dungeon.
"I was lost, I'm still a kid." Akamatsu replied. "I fell into the cave, and lost consciousness. I woke up and looked like a grown adult." He explained.
"C-cave?" Archen was perplexed when heard that word. "There's no cave in the entrance nor 50 miles away from the dungeon." He couldn't believe what he just heard. The group found it hard to believe his story, after all it didn't make any sense to them.
"There's a hole from the upper side and I fell, it had a slope, thus I tumbled and here I am now, confused."
"I still don't understand, but we have no choice but to take you to our guild leader. I think she can understand." Archen told Akamatsu.
"But leader! What if he was sealed here?" The red hair didn't like his idea.
"Fool, if he was part of the dungeon then he cannot leave this place. That's a simple rule here, right?"
As Akamatsu was chattering with the strangers he just met, the familiar sound came to his ears once again. "Go with them," Knowledge told him. "You are already strong, but it isn't enough to face what lies ahead."
"H-hello? Are you, their sir?" The girl asked.
"Yes! I apologize for dozing off." He came back to his senses and quickly responded.
"Mari, give me the teleporting crystal." Archen ordered. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"Yes, I have it in my loot bag." Mara pulled a ball crystal out of her bag , it was a dull crystal with runes that Akamatsu couldn't understand so he asks. "Won't we be in danger if you use the crystal? You clearly said that a while ago!"
"You see, the teleporting process still takes time. When we break it, it activates a glowing rune below us that can attract monsters within. You already saved our lives, and we are grateful for that but we still need you to protect us once again, just for a minute." Archen requested. He had no idea who he was, nor how he came out from the dungeon where no one can survive on their own, but Akamatsu asily beat the dragon. His strength easily surpassed an S class. Despite the fact that he only met him that day, Archen decided to gamble, he believed in him enough only because they had been looking for powerful magic users like him. In the end it was all about getting a hold of him before other guilds finds him.
"No worries," Akamatsu simply spread his arms, and the fire appeared from his hand formed into a circle that stretched up to 15 feet wide and 20 feet tall. They all look confused as they have never seen something like this, "How can you still stand without casting a key spell?" Mara exclaimed. She was the person who was stunned the most when she saw the sheer raw talent of Akamatsu. Akamatsu utterly confused demands "What's a key spell" Immediately Knowledge explained "Key spells are chants required to cast a magic spell. Its very similar to when you say fireball or shockwave, the spell will activate given that you put in the required rune and mana. They are necessary when using magic and without it the user will have to do your way."
But the clueless Akamatsu couldn't explain it. "I just let it out? I don't think I ran out mana yet. I've been doing this since I woke up."
"H-how come then?" Mara was perplexed.
The well-educated Archen sighed and gave an explanation. "IT means he has an abundant amount of mana; I've seen Beth fight like this sometimes. We simply call it burst; I used that a while ago but look at me all drained up."
"Which means this guy has a lot of stored mana!!" The obvious was stated by Mara.
"Yes, that's the case for him."
Archen broke the crystal on the ground, a bunch glowing symbols appeared to where they stood. Only those who've studied magic can understand what it says.
Space, Gateway, and Dove.
These are the three words implied in the symbols placed in each side of the triangle, which was enclosed by circular line. In the middle appeared a hole which created a wormhole that sucks everyone inside of it.
The group was teleported outside the dungeon, 10 meters away from entrance.
"That was exhausting!" Mari stretched her arms while walking.
"Luckily we got enough loot. Oh yeah I never introduced myself. My name is Jared but its not important just keep following us," Said the Jared Akamatsu followed the group outside the forest which led them to the a highway road. The road was made if cement with technologicaly advanced cars driving. His eyes widened as he saw something that he never seen before. He couldn't believe his eyes. The boy spotted a big white object and he couldn't identify it.
"That's a big carriage, right? Where's the horse?" Akamatsu was amazed of what he saw.
The Jared busted out laughing, "HAHAHA You really came inside dungeon, are you? Probably older than the great hero Marcos!"
Archen broke his laughter to give him an earful word. "Enough Jared! Just shut your mouth for one second will you?"
"That's actually a car, more specifically a van. We use that as mode of transportation and we don't need a horse, they were extinct a long time ago. This thing is fueled with gasoline and run by mana as a battery" Mara explained.
He looked impressed especially when he got inside. All Akamatsu could think of was the soft seats, the bright lights, and the breezing air despite the van being sealed tight. Akamatsu looked like a kid who fascinated with everything he sees. "What is that? Now is that metal horse?" Akamatsu pointed at a guy that passed them.
"That's a motor bike, it's faster than an ostrich. Plus, ostrich were also extinct a long time ago." Despite of Akamatsu's naiveness, Mari answered patiently.
"What an idiot." Jared grumbled. He crossed his arms, with jealousy eyes and looked away.
"Is that a tower?" Akamatsu brought another question, he pointed at the tall buildings that they passed by.
"We called that skyscraper, people lived there or sometimes work at those establishments" Mara briefly explained. She finds Akamatsu's curiosity to be cute.
"I see." The fascinated Akamatsu looked down, he realized how much time he lost after sleeping underneath those caves. The world evolved and grew but he remained the same. He was worried about his future.
Mara noticed the shift in his expression and held Akamatsu's hand to cheer him up, "You don't have to worry. We from Twilight will help you adjust. We only met, but I'm looking forward to working with you."
"Aheeem" Archen coughed to break the wholesome moment between the two. "Listen, we already got out but we haven't gotten tb know your name yet. Can you kindly tell us?" He asked. He forgot it a while ago.
Akamatsu nodded, he looked at everything to give a brief explanation, "My name is Akamatsu Hahito, I was a 13 year old boy who fell in the cave, for some reason I look like an adult now."
"A-akamatsu?" They all were surprised. "That's an odd name, it sounds ancient." The modern generation, were unaware of the old language, it was forgotten over time. Thus, hearing it for the first time simply caught their interest.
"Thank you Akamatsu Hahito, we owe you our lives." Archen and the group humbly bowed to thank him. As he finished those word, their leader went directly to the point. "With that being said, let's move on to the main topic. We brought you here without knowing if you're really one of us or part of the demon race. No human was ever reported to have slain a rival dragon on their own. But I give my full trust to you, because I believe that you can help our guild." Even with those fancy words, he remained cautious. He was confident that if ever he revealed his true colors, there are powerful people who could beat him. "We need you to join our guild. We'll provide you a shelter,food as well as a guardian to help you adjust in our modern society. I'll vouch for you so that you can easily join in. Would like to join us?" Archen offered.
He thought about it for a second. He remembered his family and their sacrifices. He was weak and helpless back then, but now he obtained the power to save lives. Akamatsu looked at their eyes, he didn't feel any danger and thus he accepted his offer. "Sure, I'll join you. I don't have much a place to stay and I don't think I'll survive this place without your help."
"Great, don't worry! You'll be part of our group in no time." The old man gave an assuring smile.
After their conversation, Akamatsu turned his attention outside the window, and saw the city to where they were about to head. It was different from before, everything looked bigger and brighter. He was anxious of what's to come, but he was keen to face the challenges and possible fear.
"I'm not the old Akamatsu anymore, I've obtained power now. Those bloody goblins better prepare. I'll kill all of those evil bastards." He kept those words inside his thoughts, as they stopped at Twilight's building.