Chapter 6, Royalty
It had been more than a year since we encountered the hooded man. Master Kaiser continued to train the three of us. Apparently, Lura's parents were supposed to come back to the capital in a few days. Ever since we heard news of this, Lura hasn't been coming to train. I guess that makes sense if she was preparing to meet her parents. They're King and Queen afterall. Nazeem and I have been getting much closer. We've been spending our entire day with each other ever since the town burned down. I've learned a lot about who he is. Apparently, his father is from a noble family, but he ran away because of some issues involving a kingdom from the West. His mother was born and raised in our town, which is probably why she seemed so quiet recently. Her lifelong home was burned down, afterall. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't tell him anything about my parents. Whenever I asked my father, he would brush me off and just say, "Your mother and I used to be adventurers." Which I already knew because he still goes on dungeon raids. Mother was the exact same way. She would never tell me anything more than the fact father and her were in the same party.
I woke up one morning and suddenly felt a sharp pain in my side. I guess I must've pulled a muscle during yesterday's practice. "You're finally awake ay?" Nazeem was standing by the foot of my bed. "Wow. I wasn't expecting you to get up before me… ever." "Well it's an important day. Lura's parents have made it back to the capital. And Kaiser told us we're invited to their welcome-home party!" Nazeem's eyes were wide with excitement. This was when I noticed he was wearing formal clothing, rather than his training apparel. "Alright…" I said, "I'm guessing we aren't going to the courtyard today, so I'll freshen myself up before leaving. I got out of bed and wet my face in the sink. I took a look at myself in the mirror and realized how much bigger I had gotten since the last time I looked at myself. Shit… am I really getting this much older? It won't be too much longer until I turn ten. When that happens, I should be old enough to go through Knight level dungeons with Nazeem and Lura. "Nazeem, what time should we arrive at the palace?" "Well, Kaiser is in the hotel lobby waiting for us, so we'll just ask him once we're done here." Uh oh… does that mean we're late? I took a look outside. Judging by how bright it is, I doubt it's anytime past 8 o'clock. "Alright I'm done. Kil, I'm gonna go meet with master Kaiser, come down once you're ready but try to make it fast will ya." I nodded my head as Nazeem left the room. Wait a minute, Ginelle isn't here. I wonder if she'd gone to the market early or something. Meh… she's a capable woman, no point worrying over her. I wiped down my face and put on my formal clothes. I took another look in the mirror before leaving the room. Master Kaiser and Nazeem were talking in the lobby when I arrived. "Ahh Kiliano. I see you're ready for the party." "Uh, yeah. Do you mind asking why we're leaving so early though?" Kaiser gave me a smile, "Well… Lura wanted you guys to meet her parents personally, before the rest of the guests arrived." Wait what!? We're going to meet the King and Queen of Zuri'el… personally!? I wasn't expecting this, that's for sure. "A-are you sure? I don't think I have the manners required to have a conversation with a King or Queen." Kaiser laughed, "Hahahah, nonsense! Lura's parents are not nearly as formal as you'd think. Honestly, they're pretty laid back. And since you're their only daughter's best friends, they are almost guaranteed to welcome you. Now, are you ready to go?" "W-wait… I gotta go tell fathe-""No need." Nazeem interrupted, "I've already told everyone about our situation and they've also been invited." Ahh, so that's why I didn't see Ginelle in the room. "Alright then, I'm ready." Master Kaiser got up from his chair and walked out of the hotel, with me and Nazeem following shortly behind.
Once we made it to the courtyard Kaiser told us to wait for a few minutes. He walked inside one of the buildings which surrounded us in the courtyard. It took a few minutes before he walked back out, "Nazeem, Kiliano. Come inside." He gestured for us to come inside. We began walking but once we made it about ten feet from the building, our body' were hit with a wave of mana. It didn't feel bad but it did frighten me. I guess this was a way to ward off any unwanted guests. We walked inside to find Lura waiting for us on a couch which extended for about twenty feet. "Oh hey Lura!" Nazeem said with more enthusiasm than I'd ever heard in my life. "Hey Nazeem! How are the two of you doing? I'm sorry I couldn't make it to training these past few days." Lura patted the couch as a gesture for the two of us to come sit next to her. Nazeem and Lura began chatting while I tried to soak in all the information that I'd just been exposed to. So… I'm going to meet the King and Queen. If I say something wrong they won't send me to the chopping block… right? "Uh… master Kaiser? The King and Queen won't execute me for speaking too informally, will they?" Lura and Nazeem stopped talking and turned to face me with wide eyes. "Hahahahaha! As I told you before. The King and Queen are very laid back. Trust me when I say this… you are going to enjoy this." What!? That sounded way too ominous. Shit… I'm way more stressed now. Should I just bail out and l- before I could finish that thought, a door opened from behind us. An aura began emanating from it. I could sense no hostility but it's power was overwhelming. Perhaps it even surpassed master Kaiser's. I tried to turn my head but I couldn't. My body was stiff as a board, not out of fear but instead out of nervousness. I could hear feet patter through the room. A man began walking to my vision. Kaiser began speaking, "I am proud to announce the arrival of his majesty, Julius Zuri'el. Our humble and righteous King. The man walked to face the three of us on the couch. He had hair which resembled Lura's. His face wore a smile. He was dressed in a black suit and wore a silver crown upon his head. His mouth opened, "Hello. It's nice to finally meet Lura's friends." He didn't speak loud but his words carried heavily through my head. He seemed so intimidating yet so friendly. His voice was deep and demanding but still kind. Kaiser gave me a glance from behind the King. Oh right! This is when I speak up. I got off the couch and stood on one knee in front of him, "It's an honor to meet you sir. My name is Kiliano Monfril." "Ahh yes. So you're the one who defended Lura against that hooded man. I've heard a great deal about your capabilities as a swordsman. Please stand sir, you're an honored guest and a good friend to my daughter." He put a hand on my shoulder and we made eye contact. His eyes were a deep brown and they seemed quite intimidating. But still, he was emanating a very warm and welcoming presence. Perhaps he changed his aura flow to make us feel less stressed? He turned to face Nazeem, "Then I take it you're Nazeem? It's nice to finally meet you. I've also heard quite a bit from Lura about you and your antics." He gave a little chuckle and patted Nazeem on the head, before taking a few steps back. "Lura, I'm glad I was able to meet your friends. It seems you've been doing well, I'm glad." Lura's eyes were on the verge of tears, "Y-yes. Thank you father. I'm happy you're back ho-" "Where are theyyy!?" A woman's voice echoed through the room. "Julius you turd! I told you not to see them before me!" A woman ran into the room. Her hair ran down to her waist. She wore a red dress and also had a silver crown. What the?! She looks exactly like Lura. "Haha, calm down honey. I just wanted to meet them so badly I couldn't wait any longer." "No excuses. You've made me look bad now!" The King smiled, "Well, as you can see… this beautiful lady is my wife, Margaret Zuri'el." Her face turned from one of anger to pure joy as she set her eyes on us. "Hello! You two must beee… Nazeem," She pointed to me, "and Kiliano." She pointed to Nazeem. "Uhh mom. It's the other way around. Don't go guessing names, it's not polite." "Oh I see. Well my apologies." She turned away from us, "Damn, and I was so confident too." Wow… the King and Queen really are laid back. Kaiser was right, I didn't have anything to worry about. The Queen is a jokester and the King is very passive.
"Alright now…" Kaiser said, "the party will be starting shortly, I suggest we get moving to the main hall. Kiliano, Nazeem, your families are going to be arriving shortly as well." Julius and Margaret Zuri'el stiffened in sync. They both bowed their heads and said, "We welcome you into our home." They stood straight and walked out of the room. Lura got off the couch and began walking towards the courtyard, which was the opposite way the King and Queen left. Nazeem and I followed after her. "Lura? You know we're going the wrong way right?" Nazeem said. Lura turned around, her face held a smile, "Actually, I wanna show you guys something before we go to the main hall." She continued walking as we followed closely behind her. I turned back and noticed that master Kaiser wasn't following us. Instead, he chose to follow the King and Queen. Lura was walking towards a giant cylindrical tower which was disconnected to the rest of the palace. She made it to a wooden door and took out a key, which was then placed inside the door's keyhole. She turned the key and its door opened on cue. "Follow me. I gotta show you guys this!" Her face still wore a large smile, as she began walking up a flight of stairs. Nazeem and I hesitated, making eye contact towards each other for reassurance. Nazeem began up the stairs before me. Wow… the atmosphere in here is a bit cold. I don't think I've ever felt anything this cold since I took an ice bath back in my old town. We continued walking up for about a minute before Lura stopped before a door. "Alright, we're here." She opened the door and walked inside. The interior was well furnished. It had a bed with linens, a desktop with a chair and paper spread across it, and shelves of books. "This is sorta like an extra room. I go up here to study about dungeons and other things related to that stuff." She reached up onto a shelf, and grabbed a book with a pure black cover. "This is a book given to me by Kaiser about a year ago. I've been studying it for a while now, and I've found out how to clear almost any dungeon below the tier of Veteran." I got excited, "Wait what!? Does that mean we can find an Advanced level dungeon and you'd know how to clear it?" Lura nodded her head. "Perfect! We gotta go out and clear a dungeon asap." Nazeem stepped up, "Wow now. Don't you remember the last time we tried something like that?" I chuckled, "Yeah… you passed out before the real trouble arrived." Nazeem's face went red, "Oh c'mon that's not my fault! Actually… I remember you falling to the ground for the same reason a few minutes before I did." I shrugged my shoulders, "Doesn't matter, I managed to stay conscious and was even able to fight against a Sword Saint. While you passed out from exhaustion from merely walking." "Alright stop it you dumbasses." Lura said, with an agitated expression on her face. "The reason I brought you guys here wasn't to start fighting about who's more pathetic. Instead, I wanted to show you that we can probably clear out a dungeon if we want to. And if it makes you guys feel better, that hooded man who attacked us was a rare case. So I have no doubt in my mind that we'll be okay while on our way into the dungeon." Nazeem and I chimed in at the same time, "Well, if you say so!" We made eye contact and chuckled. "Alright enough chatter. Let's meet up here again tomorrow. But until then, we should go back to mother and father in the main hall." She walked past us and began down the staircase. Nazeem followed her with me shortly behind him. We made it down the staircase, walked through the courtyard and made our way around the palace until we were in sight of its main entrance.
Lura walked up to the doors and pushed them open. The inside was huge. Its floors were made of marble, and there was white glass hanging from the ceiling. The room itself was bigger than anything I'd ever been in before. Rows of tables were strategically set up all around the floor. They were furnished with glasses, napkins and white tablecloths. A red rug stretched from the entrance doorway to a staircase which started upwards in a spiral directly in front of us. The staircase led up to an outlook for the King and Queen to stand upon while making a speech. Lura walked in without hesitation and started her way towards the staircase. Nazeem and I were too stunned to move. We had never seen anything so fancy in our lives. The atmosphere was clear and a slight chill filled the room. It was so refreshing since the air outside was always so hot. I snapped out of my daze and began looking around for our families. There were dozens of people chatting around tables. All of them wore black suits, with the exception of the knights who were stationed around the room. "Hey Nazeem, I think I see our parents." His eyes blinked as he turned his face to look at me. He had obviously been in a daze much like mine. "R-really? Where are they?" I gestured for him to follow me and headed farther into the room. I had noticed father talking to some nobles. He was wearing a black suit, much like everyone else. He was also holding a cup filled with what I assume is wine. "Father!" I waved, continuing to walk towards him. He turned to face me and made a wide smile, "Ahh, Kiliano. You're lookin' sharp kiddo. Here I want you to meet a good friend of mine. We used to be in the same adventurer's party together before I left. This here's Emilia." She cleared her throat and spoke up, "Hello there. I assume you're Kiliano? Krill's told me a lot about you." I took out my arm and we shook hands, "It's nice to meet you Ms. Emilia." Suddenly, I felt a pressure emanate from her body. She was secreting a slight amount of ominous aura. "Ms. Emilia, may I ask what your specialties are when it comes to combat?" She gave me a smile, "I'm surprised you could sense my presence. Krill was right, you are an exceptionally talented child. And to answer your question… I am an Overlord tier Swordsman of the North style. And I'm a Saint tier Water mage." Overlord? She's gotta be pretty powerful. I'm surprised someone of her caliber used to be in the same party as my father. "Hey father? What tier are you?" Father gave me an embarrassed smile. His eyes were drawn away from me. "Well… if you must know. I'm also a Saint tier water mage. But my sword skills are also Saint tier." Hmph. Not bad. I didn't expect father to be weak, but I had no expectations for him to be on the same level as that of an Overlord or even a Lord. I guess being Saint tier is still pretty impressive. "Well, if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go meet up with Nazeem and Lura." I excused myself and turned away to find Nazeem. He was on the other side of the room talking to a boy who seemed to be in his mid-to-late teens. He wore a sword by his hip and had a car on his forehead in the shape of a half circle. I walked up, "Hey Nazeem, who's this?" The boy stepped up, "Hello, my name is Gregori Zuri'el. I am Lura's older cousin. May I ask your name?" Lura's cousin ay? He didn't look anything like her, if I'm being honest. "It's nice to meet you Gregori, my name is Kiliano Monfril." Once I said my name his eyes widened. "Wait you're Kiliano!? I've heard so much about you! Lura has told me a lot about the trouble you had with the assassin and how you bravely protected her despite being wounded." I'm surprised Lura had made me out to look so heroic. "My actions that day were pretty selfless but I wouldn't go so far as to assume I was too brave. I just didn't want to watch her die, that's all." "Even so, you went face-to-face with a Sword Saint and fended them off long enough for master Kaiser to arrive. I love my cousin very much. She's like a little sister to me. And I hope you know I am truly grateful for your heroic actions." He bowed his head. Wow… I'm surprised. This guy really does care for Lura. "Thank you for the sentiment Gregori." I reached out my arm to shake his hand. Instead, he cupped my hand and kneeled on one knee. "W-wow! Hold on a second now, Gregori. S-stand up. There's no need for you to sit on one knee." "No… I must show you the extent of my gratitude. I am truly grateful for what you did." He stood back up and smiled. "If there's ever anything you need, please let me know. It may not look like it… but master Kaiser has taught me a lot and I'm quite a capable fighter." "Thank you for your kindness, Gregori." I bowed my head and excused myself, "Nazeem do ya wanna go check out the food?" "Ohh yeah!" We walked off to the side of the main hall. There was a giant table which spread for at least 20 or 30 feet, completely covered in platters of food. I grabbed a plate and walked towards the mashed potatoes. We began filling our plates with the best looking food and once they were full, we walked to an empty table. Nazeem and I scarfed down our food rather quickly. "Hey Nazeem. Ain't it funny how Lura's royalty. Yet the first thing we did after we met was go around stealing street vendor's food? I find it kinda ironic." Nazeem's face was full of food but he still tried to speak, "Yuh. Petty funny ay?" I continued shoveling food in my mouth, after only a few minutes the plate was empty. "Nazeem, I'm gonna get seconds. I'll be right back." I got out of my chair and walked back to the table of food.
My stomach was already filled with delicious foods, but I needed more. My body was yearning for more. I began filling my plate up with food, until I reached the cooked beef. I stood my arm out to lift up the platter's lid but before I could reach it, a hand moved in my way and grabbed it before me. I turned my eyes to face the person who'd done this. But what my eyes laid upon wasn't a person… It was an angel. An angelic girl was standing to my right, her hand and mine reaching for the same platter. Her face was beautiful. She had deep hazel eyes, and ginger-colored hair which stretched just past her elbows. "Oop- s-sorry. Go ahead." My face turned red and I began to feel flustered. She was so pretty! I felt a thump inside my chest as I laid eyes on her. "She turned to face me, and with a soft smile she said, "Oh it's quite alright. Please, take your share first." Her eyes left me speechless. I forgot to breathe, as I continued to stare at her. She noticed this and spoke up, "I-i'm sorry, is there something on my face?" Oh shit… I'm acting like such a creep! "No no, sorry. Please go ahead and take the beef. I don't need any more." She smiled and opened the platter's lid. She began scooping piles of beef on her plate. That's when I noticed her plate consisted of only meat. I guess she wasn't a big fan of the selection they had here. "W-wow… Are you a big meat eater?" She turned her eyes and began glancing at me while continuing to put meat on her plate, "Yeah… it's about all I eat. Is that wrong?" "N-no I guess not. Everyone has their preferences." I chuckled. She stopped putting beef on her plate once it was full, "May I ask your name?" "Oh sure!" I stuck out my hand, "The name's Kiliano, what's yours?" She shook my hand, "Hello Kiliano, my name is Nyleah, it's nice to meet you." She smiled and walked off. I continued to stare at her as she left my side. "Kil snap out of it will you." Nazeem was right behind me, shoveling food on his plate. "It's really obvious you like her… dumbass you're pathetic." "W-what's that for?" Nazeem gave me a disdainful look, "You're a very capable person. And if you like her then you should talk to her. But knowing you, I doubt you'll ever talk to her again." "Why do you say that!?" "Because your talking skills with girls suck." Nazeem scoffed and walked back to the table. I continued filling up my plate.
By the time I walked back to the table Lura and Nazeem were chatting, "What're y'all talking about?" Lura glanced over at me and made an ominous smirk, "Sooooo, you like Nyleah ayyy?" You bastard! Nazeem how could you! "Nazeem… you probably shouldn't fall asleep tonight." W-why?" Nazeem looked terrified. "Because if you do…" I began emanating as much malice as I could muster up, "If you fall asleep, you'll die." I began staring daggers at him. Lura spoke up, "Oh please! Nazeem didn't need to tell me. I noticed you fiending over her like a dog from the stands." W-what!? Was it that obvious? "W-well… shit was it really that creepy?" Lura's smirk reappeared, "No not really. But It's obvious you like her." I could tell she was just messing with me before. But something about her tone made me feel as if she'd help me. "What's it to you?" Lura frowned, "idiot. Nyleah is one of my cousins, and she's also a very good friend. If you like her…" She gave me an evil smile, "I can help you." "Oh really? I'm guessing this help ain't for free?" Lura laughed, "Of course not. I'm gonna need something pretty important actually." I sighed, "Well, what is it?" Lura stood up from her chair and began staring at me, "I want the two of you to go on an Advanced tier dungeon with me… tomorrow." What is she talking about? Tomorrow is way too sudden. I'd need to prepare for at least an entire day. "If you're worried about preparation, then don't worry. I've gotten everything in order. We have supplies that should last us a few days." Nazeem spoke up, "Well in that case, I'm all in. Kil?" "W-well I don't know… this could be really dangerous you know." Lura got mad, "Do ya want the help or not!?" Geez? Lura's pretty persistent on this matter. I guess there isn't much to worry about in an Advanced tier dungeon. So long as another assassin doesn't show up. "Fine, I'll do it. But if I say so, we gotta turn back… got it?" Lura and Nazeem nodded in approval. "Alright then… help me." I said, with determination in my eyes. Lura looked up at me, meeting my gaze. Her face was stern. "Alright I'll help." She stood up and began walking with me towards where Nyleah was standing.
"Lura, please tell me, what's her age?" "Don't worry about it Kil. Nyleah's ten. Not much older than you." Alright, that's perfect. We made our way to her table. I had assumed Lura would talk to her, and maybe introduce us. But instead… she shoved me into her! I looked back at her, fuming. She smirked and walked off. "Hello again, Kiliano. Is there something I can help you with?" I turned to look at her. She was smiling but her expression was that of worry and curiosity. "O-oh sorry about that." I stood back up and stiffened my posture. "Nyleah. Are you by any chance… busy at the moment?" She shook her head, "No, not at the moment." Perfect! Now's my chance, "Well if you're up to it. I have a table set up with my friends. If you'd like, I would love to introduce you to them and maybe we could become friends?" Holy shit! That came out a lot smoother than I'd expected. Nyleah's head turned to look behind me, she was looking at the table where Nazeem and Lura were sitting. "I see you're one of Lura's friends. Actually… Now that I think about it, I've heard a rumor about your heroic act outside the city. Is it true? Did you really fight a Sword Saint?" I blushed, "Well, y-yeah I was able to hold my own but only for a little bit. I'm nowhere near the level of an adult Sword Saint." I chuckled. Wow she's really tootin' my horn. Nyleah grabbed her plate off the table next to us, "If your offer still stands, I'd love to join you at your table." Lets fucking go! Mission accomplished. Nyleah cleared her throat, "Are you okay if I got more food before I joined you?" Wow she's got a real appetite. I smiled and said, "Of course not. Actually, I was gonna get thirds as well." She began off to the food while I bolted over to my table and snatched up my plate before meeting back up with Nyleah before she could even begin. I began putting food onto my plate. As I was doing so, I glanced over at Nyleah's plate only to see a giant stack of meat on it. Nothing but meat. I'm surprised a girl like her could still be in such good shape and have a diet consisting of purely meat. I chuckled, "It seems you only eat meat?" Nyleah glanced at me while continuing to plop meat on her plate, "Well yeah. Meat contains large amounts of protein. And since protein helps to build muscle and increase strength, I'm gonna have to take advantage of this abundance." Wow… she's trying to build muscle? But she's only ten. I guess it isn't much different from my training with Kaiser. "I can respect that. I'm also trying to get stronger." She looked at me. Her eyes were shining. I got flustered, "Oh sorry, did I say something wrong?" "N-no it's not that. I'm just surprised someone my age was able to sympathize with me… that's all" She began to blush and turned away from me. Oh my… is this what father would call, game? Did I just make her fall for me? No no, that's not it at all. Girls aren't that simple at all. I was merely able to add points towards our new friendship. "Nyleah…?" She turned back to face me, "I'm sorry to ask you this so suddenly, but is it possible that you have trouble making friends?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "You can tell that easily?" I nodded, "It wasn't that hard actually. The only people at your previous table were adults. And judging by your reaction when I asked for you to sit with us, it seemed almost like a new experience. Honestly, there's no shame in it. I used to have a lot of trouble talking to new people. Actually, I still sort of do. But getting out of your comfort zone is what's going to help you the most." I smiled at her. She began blushing once again, but instead she chose to smile back at me, "Wow, you're right on the mark. Thank you for inviting me, Kiliano." "Please… call me Kil." We walked back to our table and she sat down. We started talking about our interests and what we enjoyed doing in our free time. It turns out, Nyleah is training with the bow and arrow. She hopes to one day achieve a high ranking job as a guard or military official. I told her about my hopes of becoming a legendary hero. "Wow Kiliano! You've got just high expectations of yourself." I chuckled and made an arrogant face, "Well of course! If you don't aim high, your chances of living up to your standards fall drastically. And besides, being a legendary hero who helps everyone just sounds really fun. I wanna be known as someone who rivals the Gods." Nyleah giggled at this. I was making progress. We were getting closer. She had opened up to me and so had I. "If you don't mind me asking…" I spoke up, "...Where is your residency? Like do you live in the city or are you just visiting?" Lura spoke up in Nyleah's stead, "Nyleah is currently living in the palace with me. Her parents aren't currently around so she's been staying here. And as far as I know, she won't be leaving anytime soon." Lura sat back down. I'm still a bit confused then. Why hadn't I ever heard or seen her? I continued on, "If that's the case then why haven't I seen you around? We've been training in the courtyard for quite some time now, but I haven't heard so much as a whisper that Lura had a cousin living in the palace." Nyleah's gaze turned to the ground, "Well I don't really like leaving the palace much. The city tends to be rather crowded, and I like my solitude." What!? Her first impressions on me made it seem like she was very outgoing. But it turns out she's actually very shy. "Well, now that you've made some friends, we should hang out! Perhaps you could join us in our training some days. Or if you're not interested in learning swordsmanship, we could find some activities to do." I leaned in, closer to Nyleah, "Truth be told… we're gonna challenge a dungeon tomorrow. It's only Advanced tier so it won't be a problem for us, but it should be fun. You're welcome to join us." Nyleah's face was stunned. Her eyes were fixated on me. Uh oh… was she gonna tattle on us? Before I could say anything else, Nyleah spoke up, "You guys are pretty insane huh. But I've gotta admit… I do enjoy a bit of danger." She smiled, "I'm in!" Perfect! We've got a fourth. That makes this a real party, rather than a trio. Lura stood up, "It's settled then. We'll meet up in the courtyard tomorrow morning." "Got it!" We all said in sync.
Right as Lura sat back down, the King and Queen appeared on their overlook stand. The room went silent. A small magic orb hovered around the King's mouth as he began to speak, "I welcome you all to this party! Please continue to help yourselves to the feast we've prepared. And as you can see, we've finally arrived back home after a long few years outside our kingdom. During our travels, we've met with several other royals from different kingdoms, and have established connections with all of them. Those kingdoms include Jarlee, Sumerst, Hydenfort, Lortmunt, and Belafleece. Each one of these kingdoms have agreed to offer mutual support during this time of unfruitful weather conditions." Unfruitful ay? It's a bit more drastic than that but whatever. The King continued, "I'm also happy to announce an official peacetime with the Southern kingdom of Thyndhime. After decades of war, we've made an official peace treaty and have agreed to halt all interactions involving our two kingdoms." Wait, we were at war? Damn I didn't even know that. The room was filled with applause. I turned to face Nazeem, "Did you know we were at war." Nazeem chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. For the rest of the day, we continued to fill our stomachs with food. And once we were sure there wasn't any more room left, the four of us began going around the room pulling small pranks on the nobles. It started with simply pouring sugar in people's drinks, but spiralled into things like continuously hiding people's plates and then blaming others for what we'd done. It had obviously made people angry and some even began to argue amongst themselves.
By the time we had left the palace, it was nightfall. Lura and Nyleah decided to walk us home, with the company of master Kaiser. We continued chatting all the way to our hotel. Once we made it back the four of us said our goodbyes for the night. I looked over at Kaiser, his face was filled with a half-asleep grin. He was obviously pretty drunk. So drunk in fact, that I'm quite confident that if I caught him off guard he would probably lose to me in a battle of swordsmanship.
Chapter 7, Lord of the Accursed, and a Cult
At the same time Kiliano and his friends were enjoying a feast, people began to gather in a kingdom far off to the South. In a small town which occupied very few visitors, a large warehouse, the size of a city block, held a large group of people. Each one of these people wore black hooded robes and carried with them some sort of weapon. Paper's lined up on the wall, each of them read out similar things, always referring to the Northern kingdoms and the evils of their ways. Red paint was written on each wall, it said Lord of the Accursed - God of Gods. "Today is the day!" One of them spoke out. "Our saviour will be amongst us once more! Be truly grateful that you will live in a time where we can serve our master directly!" The man walked over to a giant cylindrical canister which stood about ten feet in length and nearly reached the warehouse's ceiling. He stretched his hand out to touch it. Once he did, the canister began to emanate a dark red. The inside of the canister was revealed. A humanoid shape was formed in the fetal position, but its overall size was much larger than the average human. Small traces of mana began seeping out from within the canister in the form of vapor which covered the floor. "This mana… it's time! Arise my lord, come forth… master… Sh-" Glosh! The man's arm suddenly began spewing blood. "Gaah! What is this!?" He turned his head to find another hooded man. "T-traitor! You dare defy our lord!?" The traitor spoke up, "He isn't my lord. Actually… he isn't a lord at all. You cling to him as if he's some God. But truthfully, he's a devil which will bring the world's end." The traitor ripped off his robes, revealing long, deep blue hair. "My name is Fuijin Inouye! And I've come to put an end to this little charade!"
Fuijin raised his sword and charged towards the canister, but before he could reach it, a group of hooded men appeared in his way, "Move you scumbag cultists!" Fuijin began cleaving through each one of them with ease. Blood splattering everywhere, he continued to hack at anything that got in his way. A pile of bodies surrounded him, "Bring forth an abundance of power with this offering of mana, tidal floods!" Massive amounts of water began washing away all the cultists. Now his path was clear, he raised his sword once again and began a chant, "Cleave through all that stands in my way, allow me to use the power worthy of a Lord! Windfall cleave!" His sword flew downwards, with a slash that emanated snowy mana from it, the atmosphere in the warehouse became freezing in an instant. The canister began to crack, but it wasn't enough. He had to destroy it completely. Fuijin charged at it, he raised his sword once more and jumped towards it, preparing to swing. But before he could land the final blow… Clang! Fuijin's sword was stopped by another. A man had appeared right in front of him. He had white hair and intimidating red eyes. He wore a black shirt with white baggy pants. Fuijin's eyes widened as he shot himself backwards. But before he could regain his stability, the man appeared behind him. "What're ya doin Fuijin?" Clang! They clashed once more. But Fuijin was obviously overpowered. "I don't think we've formally met, but I have heard a bit about you. Apparently you fight for Zuri'el, no? That unfortunately means you've probably killed men from this country. And I can't allow someone like you… to live." His words shot fear into Fuijin's body. "I might as well introduce myself, since you're about to be killed by me." The man's eyes met with Fuijin's. His stare turned Fuijin's fear into absolute despair. There was no way he could win this fight. "My name is Asfodel… Asfodel Zuri'el. And I'm a Sword Emperor." With those words, Asfodel lunged towards him, and plunged his sword into Fuijin's chest. Spewing blood, Fuijin grabbed Asfodel's sword with his left hand and raised his sword with his right. "I may be dying here, but I won't go out without taking you with me!" Fuijin switched the grip of his sword into a reverse grip, and plunged his sword into the ground. Light began to encase the warehouse. Asfodel's eyes widened, as he contorted his face into a smirk, "Good one, Lord Fuijin." A giant blast of light enveloped the entire warehouse, and destroyed it. A giant dust cloud was formed, leaving it impossible to see anything.
People from all around the town rushed over to see what all the commotion was about. People began using wind magic to blow away the dust cloud but it did little to improve the situation. Then suddenly, a huge gust of wind shot through the air. Blowing away the dust cloud with ease, revealing only three men left standing. Two of them were Asfodel, who was almost completely unscathed, and Fuijin, who was bleeding out his mouth and was on the verge of death. The third person, was a naked man. He had white, spiky hair, and deep gold eyes. His gaze turned to look all around him, as if he was familiarizing himself with his surroundings. His gaze then turned to his hand which he stretched out, facing the villagers. His mouth opened, and with a deep, bellowing voice he said, "Die." Almost immediately, each villager's body expanded slightly before exploding into a pile of blood. This triggered Asfodel to fall to his knees and bow his head, "My lord! Please allow me to welcome you back after a long slumber." The man turned to face him, "Who might you be?" Asfodel raised his head, "My name is Asfodel, I am a devout follower of you, and have devoted my life to this very moment. Please allow me to serve under you." Asfodel made a smile, his eyes wide with admiration. The man turned his gaze to Fuijin, who was kneeling on one knee, and breathing sporadically. "Who are you?" Fuijin turned his head to face the man, "I… am Fuijin." The man's gaze stiffened, "What is it you want?" Fuijin's eyes fell to the floor. Tears began to fill his eyes, "What I… what I want, is for you to… For you to rot in hell!" He stretched out his arm to face the man and shot out a fireball the size of a small house. It flew at high speeds towards the man, but before it could reach him, a piercing white light shined through the fireball and directly into Fuijin's head, dissipating the fireball, and cutting Fuijin's skull in two. Splat, his body fell to the floor. The man closed his eyes, "Fool… one must know better than to challenge me while they possess such pathetic power. For my name is Shyzen, Lord Of The Accursed, and a God amongst Gods." Asfodel stood back up and began walking towards the man, "My lord, we should begin our preparations." Shyzen nodded his head, "First, I would like some clothing." Asfodel stiffened his body, "R-right of course! My apologies sir, but that man you just killed blew up our entire base, so all I have are these…" Asfodel handed Shyzen a pair of high quality pants with a belt. Shyzen put them on and balled up a fist with his right hand. Suddenly, a black aura enveloped it, and some white bandages formed from his hand up to his forearm. Asfodel continued talking, "Let us go to a nearby store and grab some clothes which are more appropriate for you." The two of them walked deeper into the town, in search of clothes for the newly born God of Gods.
On that same night, the King of Thyndhime began his preparations. After a long visit from his rival-in-war, they had agreed upon a treaty. However, King Piule -the ruler of Thyndhime, is a deeply evil person. He had no intention of upholding that treaty. Rather, he was going to use this opportunity to devise a plan which would destroy the kingdom of Zuri'el in a matter of days. Inside his palace, King Piule pulled aside three men, "I will appoint each of you as my Generals. You will each be in command of your very own personal army. Each one of you is an Overlord, who has achieved many victories in battle. I trust you will accomplish my goal." Piule made an evil smirk.
Back in the kingdom of Zuri'el, Kiliano and Nazeem were getting ready for bed. Kil's stomach had grown twice its original size, "Oh geez… I'm absolutely stuffed! What about you Nazeem?" Nazeem was laying face-down in his bed, "Ohh yeah. Honestly all the trouble we had got in made me really tired." Kiliano's face puffed up, "Oh c'mon. I could've played for at least another hour or two. You really gotta step up your game man… you'll fall behind, now more than ever since we just added another friend to our group." He was talking about Nyleah, the girl he met during the party. Nazeem grumbled in his pillow, "Ohh come on man! I don't have the stamina to do stuff like that for so long. I enjoy it and all, but I just can't last that long, you can't blame me for that." Kiliano shook his head in disappointment, "Man you're so wrong. Hahaha, you can't let yourself become the weakest in the group, Nazeem." "Whatever Kil, I'll see you in the morning, alright?" Nazeem fell asleep on the spot. Kiliano smiled and put on his casual shirt. He looked outside at a shining, full moon and began whispering to himself, "Wow… tonight was fun. I really hope I can have this much fun again some day." He chuckled to himself and hopped in bed, turning off the lights.
Chapter 8, An Advanced Tier Dungeon
The next morning, I woke up nice and early to properly prepare myself. Nazeem would often wake up late so I decided to let him sleep a bit longer. I walked into the bathroom and began brushing my teeth. By the time I woke up, Ginelle was already getting herself prepared for the rest of the day. By the time I finished brushing my teeth she opened the door, walked outside, and closed it behind her. I walked out of the bathroom and over to Nazeem's bed. I inhaled a deep breath and released a shout, "Nazeem, wake upp!" His eyes shot open. "What the hell Kil? Why are you waking me up?" I turned away from him, "You needa get ready. We're gonna meet up with Lura and Nyleah soon." That prompted Nazeem to get out of bed and walk into the bathroom, closing its door behind him. I walked over to my backpack and pulled out my training clothes. I walked into a closet located next to the bathroom and began changing. Once Nazeem and I were done preparing , the two of us left the hotel, and began walking towards the palace courtyard.
Once we made it to the palace courtyard's entrance, Lura walked outside and waved to us. "Hey guys! Why don't ya come inside?" Nazeem and I walked inside the courtyard's main house. Lura was standing by a door. She spoke up and said, "Nyleah and I will come out in a moment. Just wait for us." She opened the door and left the room. Nazeem and I sat down onto the couch and began waiting.
After a few minutes, the door where Lura had made her exit, opened. Lura walked out, with Nyleah right behind her. The two of them wore training attire, similar to the ones me and Nazeem were wearing, except ours are obviously of lower quality. I couldn't stop looking at Nyleah. She was glowing in my eyes, I thought of nothing but her beauty the whole way through the city. Eventually, we made it to the city's gate and Lura took us to the same spot we'd used to get out of the city a year ago. Lura started heading North, closer to the mountains which surrounded Zuri'el's capital. We continued walking for nearly an hour before Lura stopped right in front of a giant rock. She turned back, holding her book, to face the three of us, "Alright we're here. Get situated cuz once we're in, it'll be chaos." The four of us began warming up. Nyleah took out a bow, Nazeem was stretching his legs, Lura was swinging her sword, and I was stretching my chest muscles.
Lura sheathed her sword and cleared her throat, "Ahem! Are you guys ready?" We all nodded. Lura walked up to the giant stone and stuck out her hand. "Alright everyone… stand next to me and put your hand on the rock. Once we're all ready, begin channeling mana through your hand and into the stone." The four of us placed our hands on the stone and began to focus on channeling mana. Once my mana began flowing into the stone, a circle of light began emanating from where my hand was placed. I turned to face my three friends, their hands were also covered in a blue circle of light. Lura spoke up, "Don't worry. This is a magic circle. In a few seconds we'll be transported inside the dungeon, so prepare yourselves." A magic circle? I think father's spoken of these things before. He has a lot of experience with going through dungeons so I guess magic circles are common when dealing with things like this. I looked forward, in preparation. I waited for a few seconds, then suddenly, my vision went completely black. Not long after my vision went blank, I heard Lura's voice, "Get your ass up moron!" My eyes reopened to see a rocky ceiling. Stalactites were covering the rock above us. I was laying on the ground. Nazeem took out his hand and helped me up. Lura and Nyleah were waiting for us farther up. We were now inside a cave. The atmosphere was wet and hot but not humid. The air was dry but the rocks surrounding us emanated a watery substance, probably a type of mana residual. Lura led our group further into the cave. She had her sword drawn and was walking with caution. I guess we were already amidst danger. I drew my sword and readied myself for danger. I turned to face Nazeem, but before I could ask him a question a loud clang ran through the cave. I shot my head back to find Lura clashing swords with a skeleton. "S-shit! Nazeem ready yourself" I said. Nyleah readied her bow and shot an arrow into the skeleton torso. The skeleton staggered which gave an opening for Lura to cut it down. But once the skeleton fell to the floor, three more appeared through an opening in the cave. I began to channel mana through my body and charged towards the skeletons. Each of them held brittle iron swords which were worn out. Their blades were rusted but I could tell one blow from them could wound me. I raised my sword and swung downwards. The skeleton blocked my attack and countered. Its movements were well-timed but slow. I dodged left and slashed through the skeleton's torso, ripping it in two. I turned to face my friends. Lura was occupied with the skeleton but Nyleah and Nazeem had beaten the third one with magic. I ran over to help Lura but before I could do anything, she chopped the skeleton's head off. Lura readied herself once more, "Don't let your guard down, we gotta keep going!" The four of us began running deeper into the dungeon.
I ran in front of Lura, taking a sharp left turn. An aura hit my body, making me hesitate slightly. As I turned the corner, my eyes met with a giant humanoid. Its body was covered in silver armor. At first I suspected it was another adventurer but realized quickly that whatever it was, wasn't human. That thing was almost 8 feet tall and had glowing red eyes emanating from inside its helmet. From behind me I heard Lura yell, "Watch yourself, That's an undead knight! They fight in the North Sword style and are highly skilled in comparison to the skeletons." I readied my sword. But before I could swing, the undead knight lunged his sword in my direction. I was barely able to parry the attack, and my balance had shifted too far to the right. I tried to regain my balance but the knight reset his stance and took another swing at me. Before I could react, Lura blocked his attack and countered with a swing to its breastplate. The knight was able to step back and dodge most of Lura's attack. I regained my footing and lunged at the knight, with Lura to my left doing the same. The knight raised its sword and swung down at me. I raised my sword above my head and redirected the knight's swing to hit the ground. Lura used a Veteran tier sword skill and cut the knight's leg off. It fell to the ground, holding itself up by its arms. I pulled my sword to my waist and slashed its head off. Lura walked over its corpse and pointed behind me, "Nazeem and Nyleah need our help." I turned around and found the two of them fending off skeletons. Lura ran over with me following shortly behind her. There were five skeletons in total. Each of them wore light leather armor and iron shortswords. Their equipment had improved from the ones we'd encountered earlier in the dungeon. I guess things are going to get harder as we progress. The four of us took down each skeleton with ease. I was getting warmed up. Lura and I were acclimating easily to the dangerous situation but Nazeem and Nyleah were having a harder time trying to adjust. Nazeem was shaking and Nyleah was stiff from fear. I was about to speak up but Lura spoke over me, "Nazeem, Nyleah… don't worry. I know this is probably a bit scary since your lives are in danger, but you have nothing to worry about. This dungeon shouldn't be too hard for us." Lura gave them a big smile. Nazeem smiled back awkwardly, and Nyleah rubbed her shoulders, casting her gaze onto the cave's bone-covered ground.
Lura continued to walk deeper into the cave, with me by her side. Nyleah and Nazeem were following behind us. Their role was to give us support and take out the lesser mobs while Lura and I focused on the toughest enemies. For a few hours, the dungeon's mobs weren't very difficult. We hacked our way through small hordes of skeletons and would occasionally run into an undead knight. But once we had made it roughly 3 hours into the dungeon, the caveway cut off, leaving a massive hole the only way to go deeper into the dungeon. Lura peered down the hole and sighed, "Phew. Alright let's take a break and prepare." The four of us sat down. My arms were tired and my feet felt a bit worn out. Everyone was tired, but we knew the dungeon wasn't over yet. "Hey Lura, how far in do ya think we are?" She put a finger to her lip, "Well, if I had to guess. Then this hole right here will lead us to the mini boss. But since this is a cave dungeon, we're probably like 80 percent done." Wow, already 80%? That went by kinda fast. Lura frowned, "However, the rest of the dungeon is going to get a lot harder. After this mini boss I bet each mob will get more powerful. So don't get yourself injured… or else." Her gaze scared me. I knew that this excursion meant a lot for her pride, and if I ruined this for her my head would be at stake.
After a few minutes of rest, Lura grew agitated. She stood up, "Alright, you guys ready?" The three of us nodded and stood up as well. Lura took a deep breath in, and jumped down the hole. I followed behind her, with Nazeem and Nyleah dropping down after. The room we dropped down into was circular. Its walls were covered in blue crystals. I looked around and noticed an abundance of mana flowing through each crystal. I grew hesitant and asked Lura, "Uh, Lura? What's going on? I thought you said the mini boss was here." She snapped back at me, "Don't let your guard down! The boss is definitely in this room. It just hasn't shown itself yet." I continued looking around, but the only thing in the room were crystals, and a hallway which led out of the room. After a few more seconds of waiting, I sensed a malicious aura appear from the hallway. I turned to face it. My eyes were met with the gaze of a giant arachnid. It was a four legged spider, the size of a small house. Lura wasted no time in lunging at its legs. She swung at it, but the spider swatted her away with its leg. Lura blocked the spider's attack, but it sent her flying behind me. This thing is fast and strong. Let's try magic. I channeled mana into my hand and unleashed a large fireball. It hurled towards the spider, making direct contact and setting it ablaze. I knew this wasn't enough to kill it so I ran towards it with my sword readied. The spider dissipated my fire and unleashed a huge string of silk. I dodged right and swung my sword at its leg. The spider whipped itself forwards, kicking up a large dust cloud and knocking me on my back. I got up to find Nazeem also swinging at it. The spider evaded every attack and countered, but before Nazeem to a hit, Nyleah shot an arrow encased with mana which pierced the spider's leg. That triggered it to retreat backwards. I began another charge at the spider, looking to my right I noticed Lura charging a sword attack. She was going to use a veteran tier skill which I would most likely get caught up in, so I decided to hold off on my attack. Lura yelled, "Sweeping Clever!" And swung her sword sideways. A bolt of light shot outwards and cut off one of the spider's legs. Nyleah and Nazeem unleashed magic which staggered it, this allowed me to run in and channel my mana into its blade. I jumped upwards and plunged my sword into its skull, twisting my blade and killing it. The spider fell to the ground. I grabbed my sword and walked away from my corpse. I hadn't noticed it, but the crystals around the room began to glow. Lura's eyes widened and she stretched out her arm while yelling, "Kil, get back!" I sensed a huge aura pulse behind me. I shot my head back and saw a huge spider leg smack me with enough force to knock me out. I was sent flying across the room and hit the wall on the opposite side. My vision began to fade and I blacked out.
When I had awoken, we were in a different room. I felt a warmth by my left side. "Ooh what a nice sensation… mhm, am I in heaven?" I was still dazed. Nyleah's voice spoke back to me, "Uh… thanks for the compliment… I think." My eyes shot open and I turned to my left. I was laying on Nyleah's lap. My head went bright red and I shot back up. I turned to face Nyleah, her face was blushing. Oh shit… that was so creepy! "O-oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were acting as my pillow heh…heh." I laughed awkwardly. Lura and Nazeem were waiting a bit deeper into the hallway. Lura spoke up, "Are you done!? We got a dungeon to complete." I nodded and walked over to them, with Nyleah by my side. We continued walking for a bit and I chose to strike up a conversation with Nyleah, "Hey… can I ask what happened after I lost consciousness?" "O-oh right. Well after you killed the spider, all the mana which was collected in the crystals channeled into the spider's corpse and unleashed one final attack. After it knocked you out, the spider began to glow and Lura yelled, it's about to blow, so I grabbed you and ran out of the room before it exploded." Damn that makes sense. I should've realized that the crystals had something to do with the boss. I let my guard down for only a moment, and still I paid the price. I feel fine now, but if things went even a little bit different, I might be dead right now. This just goes to show how dangerous dungeons can be. "Geez, sounds like I messed up heh… I won't make the same mistake again though." Nyleah giggled, "Don't worry about it." Ohh my god… she's making me blush! I can't say things can get any better than this. I'm clearing a dungeon with my friends and a really cute girl. My daydreaming came to an end when I heard another clang ring through the cave. Lura was facing off against another undead knight, but this time there were two of them. She was clashing with one but the second was preparing an attack to her side. Nazeem launched wind magic which made the knight stumble. I rushed in, channeling mana into my sword. Nyleah's magic arrow whizzed past my head and pierced the knight's breastplate, making a small explosion on impact. I chopped the knight's sword arm off and turned back to face Lura. She was holding her own for now, so all I gotta do is take care of this one. But before I could unleash the killing blow, a third knight jumped out of the shadows and swung its sword my way. I was caught off-guard but barely managed to block it. My footing was off but I kept my balance. Nyleah and Nazeem shot magic at the third knight which sent it flying into the cave's wall. By then, the second knight threw a punch at my shoulder. Its fist landed perfectly onto my skin and pushed me to the ground. The knight raised its leg and began stomping on my stomach. I pushed myself across the ground, dodging its attacks. The knight took a step back and grabbed its sword with its left hand. That gave me enough time to stand back up and prepare another attack. But before I could charge in, Lura's voice echoed through the cave, "There's another!" I turned to face her. She was right, a fourth knight was clashing with Lura. She had taken out the previous one but I could tell her stamina was running out. If I don't finish things off fast, we could be in serious trouble. Nazeem's voice responded, "Lura get back! Fireball!" He had a giant fireball at the ready, which was sent hurling towards the knight, engulfing it in flames. Nyleah had taken out their knight, which only left mine. I parried the knight's attacks and countered, slicing its breastplate clean in half. It staggered back as I continued my barrage of swings. It took no time at all until the knight's corpse fell to the ground. I wiped off my sword and the four of us continued through the dungeon. We encountered more undead knights but they weren't much of a problem for us. We made it another half an hour before Lura stopped us all, "Alright we're here. The boss room should be right up ahead. Take a few minutes and rest." Wow… I don't know why, but this dungeon didn't feel very long. Maybe that was just because it was Advanced tier or maybe it was because I'm just super strong. No, now isn't the time to toot my own horn. We've gotta prepare for the boss battle. I looked over at Nyleah, "H-hey… how're you doing? You're not hurt are you?" Nyleah smiled and shook her head, "No I'm doing just fine. What about you though? You've been taking a bit of a beating." I made a triumphant smirk and declared, "Nothing these monsters can do could ever hurt me! I'm doing just fine, don't worry." Nyleah giggled and went back to cleaning her bow. I turned to face Nazeem, he was having a conversation with Lura. Now that I think about it, they've been talking a lot more recently. I guess that's good since Nazeem has a hard time making friends. I'll just focus on preparing for myself since everyone seems to be doing well.
After a few minutes, Lura stood up and unsheathed her sword, raising it in the air, "Ready yourselves! This will be the final battle of the dungeon, so don't let your guard down for even a second… Kiliano." Yeah I deserve that, heehee. We all stood up and readied our weapons. Lura charged through the hallway with me by her side. Once the hallway ended, we found ourselves in a giant room nearly twice the size of the mini boss'. Inch tall water covered the floor, and I could feel mana flowing within it. "Guys we should be wary of the water, I can sense mana flowing through it so my guess is it'll probably have something to do with the boss." Lura nodded her head. The two of us slowly walked further through the room, paying close attention to our surroundings. I felt no presence aside from the four of us, until a sudden flash of blue light raised from beneath us. The water had begun glowing a bright blue. Its mana was collecting right by our feet, "Lura, run!" The two of us bolted outside the mana's radius just in time for a giant vortex to form behind us. We managed to escape it, but that wasn't the real issue. I began to sense a large reserve of mana emerge from the point of singularity. A humanoid figure emerged from the water. It was a woman, who wore white cloth which wrapped around her torso and upper legs. Her entire body was radiating white mana. My eyes widened, "Watch yourselves, that's a Naiad! I've read about them in some books, they're not physically strong but their water magic is probably way beyond ours." Lura wasted no time and lunged, full speed towards the spirit. The Naiad raised an arm and a giant wave of water crashed into Lura, sending her into the wall. I doubt we're gonna reach her with our swords, so I sheathed it and decided to focus on magic. Nyleah began charging all her mana into a single arrow, while Nazeem and I began shooting fire magic towards the Naiad. It was easily able to counter our spells with the accumulated water surrounding the area. Lura got up and began another charge towards the Naiad. At that same moment, Nyleah launched her arrow which was sent flying past Lura and made direct contact with the spirit. Vraaaa! It made a loud screech and stammered to the ground. Lura raised her sword and swung downwards, piercing its skin and triggering blood to spew out from it. The Naiad dropped to the ground, limp as a corpse. Lura jumped back, as we continued to sense mana emanate from its corpse. My eyes widened. An arm shot out from the scar which Lura made. The Naiad had a third arm inside its body? No… a fourth shot out from it as well, as if another creature was trapped inside its corpse. The arms grabbed its body and ripped the spirit, opening its wound and revealing a contorted humanoid figure. The naiad was split in two, flopping back onto the ground, but out came another creature. It had fish-like features but stood on two legs, and had arms much like ours. Its head resembled a fish, with long sharp teeth. Its body was black and covered in blood. My body began to shake. What the hell is that? I've never seen or heard of anything like that in my life. The creature stood up, its body and limbs were skinny, but it stood almost 8 feet tall, similar to the undead knights we had fought earlier. I readied my sword, but a wave of fear hit me hard. I could tell this thing was dangerous. It was dripping blood and had a feral aura to it which made its next moves unpredictable. Lura was closer to it than anyone else, so she took it upon herself to make the first move. "Gale strike!" She swung her sword down, unleashing a slash of wind magic towards the new boss. It struck the monster at full force, sending it flying into the wall behind. Lura charged at it once more. She swung down, but the monster grabbed her sword with its bare hand. She froze out of fear. Realizing this, I charged in at full speed. Crap, am I going to make it in time!? The monster raised its other arm and swung down. A spurt of blood came from Lura's torso. I jumped above them and plunged my sword into the monster's shoulder. It didn't flinch, but instead grabbed my sword and shook me off. Now I didn't have a weapon, and Lura was injured. She tightened her grip and jumped backwards, freeing her sword from the monster's grasp. Nyleah shot an arrow at the monster, hitting its chest, but the arrow didn't pierce it. Instead, the arrow bounced off like it hit a huge steel wall. This thing isn't going down easily. It set its eyes on Nyleah, and lunged at her. Nazeem shoved her aside and took the force of the hit. Its head made contact with Nazeem's stomach and sent him flying into a wall. I turned back and ran at it. I channeled magic into my hand and unleashed a fireball. The monster noticed this, turning its eyes to face me. It lunged at my fireball and completely dissipated it. I heard Lura's voice behind me, "Physical attacks won't hurt it… not unless you can weaken its defenses first." Okay, so we just gotta hold off for long enough and that thing will eventually run out of stamina. The only problem was that I was the only close-ranger fighter since Lura was injured, but I didn't have my sword. Nyleah doesn't have the defensive capabilities to stand her own against this thing, and I'm unarmed. "We're at a severe disadvantage here! Nazeem, if you can, heal yourself and Lura! I'll be able to hold this thing off for a little while but not for long. Nyleah, I want you to cover me, got it!?" She nodded and readied her bow. I began channeling mana at maximum output. If I'm able to maximize my defenses, I should be able to take a few hits from this thing without much problem. The monster stood up with a slouched back. It ran at me swinging its arms. I dodged most of them but the water under my feet made my footwork slow, which led the monster to hit my side and sent me flying onto the ground. I stood up as fast as I could, but it was too late. The monster was already in front of me, getting ready to pound me into minced meat. But then I heard Nyleah's voice, "Mana Piercer!" She shot an arrow which penetrated the monster's back, sending a small puddle of blood spewing from it. The monster staggered which gave me enough time to get up and channel mana into my fist. I unleashed a punch full force at its stomach while simultaneously generating fire magic around my fist. The force was enough to send the monster flying back at least a few dozen feet. My fist was stinging and the skin on my knuckles was gone. I turned to face Nazeem, he was done healing himself and had already gotten started on Lura. I looked closer and noticed my sword in the corner of the boss room. "Nyleah cover me! I found my sword!" I ran towards the corner, but the monster had no intention of letting me go. It lunged at me at incredible speeds, but before it could reach me, Nyleah sent an arrow flying into its eye. Greeeeah! The monster fell to the ground screeching in pain. I made it to my sword and picked it up. The monster stood back up, holding its pierced eye. I lunged at it and swung my sword sideways, aiming at its torso. The monster jumped back, dodging my attack and countered with a kick to my stomach. I got sent flying ten, no twenty feet into the air. I lost all oxygen in my body and fell to the ground, gasping for breath. I looked up to find the monster running towards Nyleah. If I don't get up now, she could die. I tried to regain my strength but I couldn't breathe. That was when I saw Lura run past me. She lunged at the monster, with her sword enveloped in flames. She slashed the monster's back, forcing it to wince in pain, Screee! She continued her onslaught by beginning the chant, "Set ablaze my weapon and bring down my foe, Fireblast!" Her sword shot out a large burst of flames which encased the boss. Nazeem grabbed my arm and helped me up, "Get ready Kil, this ain't over." I chuckled, "Well shit, I don't know how much more I have in me." I looked at Nazeem's face. He had sweat running down his cheeks and he was gasping for breath. I tapped Nazeem on the shoulder, "I'm all good." He let go of me. The four of us had surrounded the boss, which was still engulfed in flames. I looked closer, and a red light shined through the fire and shot into Nazeem's chest. Time slowed down, I turned my eyes to see Nazeem coughing up blood as his body shot backwards. I didn't have time to react before I felt a warm pain shoot through my leg. I fell to one knee, with my right leg losing blood. "With this offering allow my wounds to heal!" I used an advanced tier healing spell to try and close up my wound. Lura and Nyleah continued their battle. With loud clangs running through the boss' arena. My vision was fading but I could tell the two of them weren't winning. The monster smacked Lura across the room and charged at Nyleah. It raised its arm in preparation for an attack. If that hits Nyleah, it could be fatal! I shot up and focused all the mana in my body to channel into my legs, with that power, I launched towards the monster at faster speeds than I thought possible. My blade connected with the monster's arm in less than a second, chopping it clean off. I was still in the air, but landed in the wall beside Nyleah. With the remaining leverage, I launched myself off the wall and swung my sword across the monster's torso, with a trail of spewing blood following behind my blade. Greeah! The monster shrieked and jumped back. I turned to face Nyleah, "Are you alright!? You're not hurt are you?" She shook her head, and I brought my attention back towards the boss. It was losing large amounts of blood, but I could tell it wouldn't die from them. My senses are on an all-time high, I've gotta take advantage of this! I lunged towards the monster, it swung at me with its left arm but I dodged right. Aiming at its exposed side, I plunged my sword into its ribs and twisted my blade before pulling it out and jumping above its head. The monster swatted at my previous location, but I was already in the air preparing another attack. I channeled more mana into my blade and twisted my body, getting ready to swing at its neck. I released all the power I had left and my blade made contact with the back of the monster's neck. My blade cut clean through, sending its head falling downwards and onto the ground. My body went numb and I didn't have enough strength left to catch my fall. I landed onto the ground with a thud, losing consciousness.
My vision was still black but I had regained consciousness. "Uh… guys? I'm not dead right?" Lura scoffed, "Don't be stupid, why would you think that!?" "W-well… I can't see anything." Lura scoffed again, "Open your eyes idiot!" Oh… I opened my eyes and light flooded into my vision. I was laying down again. Oooh, this sensation is familiar. Is this Nyleah's lap? I turned to my left and saw Nyleah smiling with tears in her eyes, "Oh good, I was worried for a second there." She was worried about me? I can't lie, that makes me feel pretty good heheh. "Get up will ya!" Lura said, with a disgusted sound in her voice. I sat up and took a look around. We were back outside. The giant rock was nowhere to be seen but I'm sure this was the exact same place we were before. "O-oh right! How's Nazeem, where is he?" Nyleah spoke up, "Don't worry. He's doing fine." "Oh, o-okay. But where is he?" Lura laughed, "Haha, he's someone taking a dump. Right after we left the dungeon he said uh oh, I got a major case of diarrhea, and ran off behind some rocks." Yikes! Diarrhea? I don't think we brought anything to wipe his ass with. I guess he'll have to do with water, womp womp. I stood up and began stretching. My head was a bit fuzzy and my muscles were sore, but for the most part I was completely fine. We had completed our first dungeon, and nobody suffered any major injuries. "W-wait a minute. How did Nazeem heal? I saw him get hit through his chest, he was coughing up a lot of blood, wasn't he?" "Teehee…" Nyleah seemed to be overjoyed, "...Well I'm able to use Saint tier healing spells, so his wound was treatable with a bit of effort." "W-wow. You can use Saint tier healing spells? That's really impressive Nyleah, I gotta say, I don't think even my master was able to use healing spells that advanced." Lura seemed confused, "Wait a minute, Kaiser can use Lord tier healing spells." "Oh sorry, I meant my first master. He was my first formal teacher of magic. He was a Lord tier mage named Fuijin. He taught me and Nazeem magic until we were separated after our village burned to the ground. I haven't seen or heard of him since." Nyleah stood up, "Oh wow I didn't know you had a different master other than Kaiser." Before I could answer Nazeem walked out from a patch of rocks, "Hey Kil, seems you're doing fine." I smiled, "Yeah I'm doing good. What about you, is your butt okay from all that diarrhea? Hahaha!" Nazeem sighed and put his head down. The four of us packed our things and began walking back to the city. By the time we made it out of the dungeon, it was beginning to get dark outside. I don't think father or mother are going to get mad if we make it back to the hotel after dark, but I'm more concerned about master Kaiser. I doubt he'll be too happy that we skipped training practice today, but I don't think his anger will stay once he hears about our triumphant victory in the dungeon.
We continued walking for a few minutes before I began to smell a toxic aroma. It reminded me of something, and instilled anxiety into me. I turned to face Nazeem, he was staring up ahead. His eyes were wide, his mouth was open and his overall expression was one of distraught and despair. I turned my head to see what he was looking at. It was the capital, completely covered in flames.
The aroma I smelled was smoke! Lura ran towards the city at full speed, Nyleah followed behind her. Nazeem and I were too scared to move. I knew the dangers of these flames. And I also knew that there was no hope for recovery. The size of these flames were too much for any amount of water.
Lura and Nyleah ran through the city gates and made their way towards the palace. Sounds of metal clanging covered the streets. Guards fought with soldiers, magic was being thrown around, and dead bodies littered the ground. It was an assault against Zuri'el. Lura and Nyleah were able to recognize the soldiers' outfits. These were soldiers from Thyndhime. I guess king Piule not only went against his word, but completely betrayed the trust that king Julius had given him. The two girls made it to the palace courtyard, but it was a battlefield. They snuck around the battle and made it inside the palace. Its interior wasn't in flames but things were in complete chaos. Zuri'el royal guards were fending off Thyndhime soldiers, while Kaiser was clashing blades with another swordsman, who's abilities were obviously formidable. Suddenly a man noticed the two girls, and ran to their aid. It was Gregori. He had no wounds, but his blade was stained with blood. "Are you girls safe!? We gotta get y'all out of here now!" He sheathed his blade and grabbed their hands, leading them towards the palace exit. "I'm gonna have to protect you two, so stay by me and don't stray far!" He opened the palace doors and unsheathed his blade, preparing for battle. Multiple Thyndhime soldiers charged towards them. Gregori readied his blade and unleashed a sword skill so clean it hit all the soldiers, killing them immediately. He continued running towards the city's main gate, cutting down any Thyndhime soldiers who got in his way. They turned a corner and the main gate was within sight, only a few hundred meters away. But before they could reach it, Clang! Gregori was clashing with another swordsman. The swordsman wore a red scarf and white robes. He was obviously a high ranking fighter. Gregori yelled out to the two girls, "Get out of here now! I'll hold this one off! Your safety is of top priority, got it!?" Lura nodded, and continued running towards the gate. It was now a clean shot to the exit. Lura and Nyleah narrowly escaped the capital and continued running until they met back up with Kiliano and Nazeem.