The carriage bumped over the rocky roads, and for a few short moments, only the creaking of the wheels could be heard.
The one who broke the silence was Connor. With a sly grin on his face, he said, "I reckon we're going to make a fantastic team!", the sarcasm clear in his voice.
Abigail muttered, not looking in his direction, "Yeah, try not to get us killed."
It was the first time Dusty had ever actually heard her speak. Her voice was soft but had a slight sense of humor to it.
Mark chimed in, "Relax, we've been training for four months now, I'm sure nothing will go wrong."
Dusty gave a slight smile, "Overconfidence is the quickest way to get stabbed in the back."
Connor, the smirk growing even wider on his face, said while directly looking at Dusty, "Oh come on Dusty, I thought you were the quiet type. Have a little fun, no need to spoil the mood!"
Dusty replied, "I'm just into what's best for the party. After all, survival is the top priority."
Mark continued on, "Come on guys, we have to work together. Let's not start this with an argument."
The carriage rattled on with more silence.
Dusty, in the corner of his vision, saw that Abigail was looking in his direction. It was almost as if she was reassessing her thoughts about him.
Dusty didn't meet her gaze. He was focused on the landscape, while also pretending not to notice. They approached a lush forest and the trail becoming even more bumpy.
The path they followed was covered in cracked stone and moss growing on the sides.
Connor, again, and clearly unable to take a hint, broke the silence once more. "If this thing breaks, I'm not carrying any of you."
Mark, who apparently had a humorous side to him, said, "Don't worry, I'll carry you, princess."
Dusty fought so hard to suppress a chuckle, but Abigail failed even worse than him as she tried to disguise her laughter as a cough.
Connors face went beet-red, and he went silent.
The carriage had made it out of the forest. And ahead, Dusty could see a small cave. It looked unassuming, but these dungeons were deceptive, hosting large, monster-infested underground pathways.
The carriage suddenly came to halt and a slightly muffled voice could be heard from presumably their instructor, "We've arrived!"
Connor leaped up, "Time to kick some monster-ass!"
Mark, with a sigh, retorted, "Please never speak again."
This time, laughs came from everyone. Maybe Connor wasn't such a bad guy after all. Just a little... hot-headed. I mean, he had still beat Dusty up everyday, but maybe he had a change of heart.
They each slowly got out of the carriage, the guards holding the door open.
"Gather with your teams!", he heard the instructor say from a distance.
The class was clearly tense, each attempting to hide their apprehension.
Bellatrix stood in front of all of them and loudly announced, "HEROES! You know the drill, this is your first real combat mission, and it could result in life or death. Your priority is safety first, do not let your guard down. This is a low-risk dungeon, but these things are unpredictable. You are not immortal. Stay alive."
Dusty's eyes narrowed to the entrance of the cave, he felt as if somebody was watching them. He chalked it up to him being superstitious.
The teams of four slowly marched into the cave, some eager, and some visibly trembling. It seemed to be about half and half.
As for Dusty's team, Mark seemed indifferent, Abigail seemed worried, but she was masking it, and Connor seemed like he was scared but hid it with a facade of bravery.
As for Dusty, he was more focused on the pair of eyes that had been watching his group since they got out of the carriage.
The cave split and the instructor ordered them to each go a separate way and come out after an hour. They had been prepped on all of the various types of monsters. This cave was mostly filled with beast and dread monsters.
The air felt heavy with anticipation as Dusty's team ventured deeper into the cave. The drip of water echoed through the silence, the only noise being the scrape of their boots on the stone. Mark led the way as he was given an orb of light to help them see in the darkness. Abigail trailed behind, her expression clearly showing she was scared but masking it with indifference. Connor, despite his earlier confidence, seemed subdued, his eyes darting nervously across the cavern's walls.
Suddenly, a faint growl ripped through the stillness. Two figures emerged from the darkness ahead, their eyes glowing yellow with malevolent intent. Dread monsters. They were called High Goblins. Larger than any goblin should ever be, their jagged teeth made a small snarl. The air was filled with tension.
Reacting instantly, Mark swung his hand to the right. The gravity suddenly increased exponentially and the creatures were slammed into the cave wall. They instantly died from the trauma. Dusty took note of this, incase he ever had to go against mark. He was an extremely powerful opponent and not someone to be taken lightly. Abigail appeared to have a water related ability, but Dusty wasn't sure exactly what it did. On the other hand, Dusty watched Connor. He figured out that his ability was to generate large amounts of force from his hands. Similar to Mark's but less powerful and versatile. It was almost like explosions, but without the fire.
Dusty remained the rear: after all, fire and caves didn't match too well. The monsters groaned as they died, leaving blood stains and tattered remains on the wall. When it stopped, the silence came back. They all instinctively knew, the dungeon was far from empty.
The deeper they went, the more dungeon monsters appeared. Vampiric bats, with leathery wings and with bloodthirsty teeth, were agile creatures that were hard to deal with. There were wolves, their eyes glowing with hunger and stalked their every move. And of course, more god damn Goblins and High-Goblins.
Their team, however, moved with ease. Mark's raw power made quick work of most of the enemies while Abigail and Connor made a surprisingly good pairing trapping enemies in water bubbles and exploding them. The water contained the blood making it a lot more clean. It was unexpectedly quick and simple. Connor's tension looked more like confidence every second they didn't end up dead.
After what felt like an eternity, they had finally reached the boss room. The colossal stone door, untouched and imposing, was extremely durable. It took the combined efforts of Mark and Connor to finally open it.
To Dusty, it was a shock that Alistair hadn't already broken through, but perhaps he was too focused to ensure his own teams safety.
They had finally found the boss. The chamber opened to reveal a throne room with an enormous goblin. It was far larger than anything they had encountered before. It wore robes lined with gold and sat upon a bloodied stone throne. Two curved axes were at his side.
The giant goblin slowly rose, its movements menacing. It snatched the axes, the glint of metal reflecting from the orb of light. A deafening roar ripped through the chambers. This was no mere high-goblin; this was a Tyrant-level threat.
"I got this!" Connor yelled, his voice laced with adrenaline. He surged forward, his ability propelling him towards the goblin. With a burst of speed, he closed the distance and placed his hand on the giant goblins chin. Before the goblin had time to react, his hand applied a force so great that it's head was blown off.
There was blood splatter everywhere. It was extremely messy, but it was done. "See! I had this all under control!"
It felt too easy, too simple. I mean, it was a low-level dungeon, but this was a world filled with danger.
And then, there was more blood.
Just, this time. It came from Connor's chest.
There was a small training dagger that pierced his heart.