The group descended the stairway until they reached a heavy door at the bottom.
The door opened to reveal a vast underground chamber housing the ruins of a forgotten city. The grey stone structures were worn and cracked with age, their foundations sagging under the weight of time. Rotten wooden roofs slumped inward, and several buildings bore gaping holes where walls had crumbled away, leaving the seemingly once-proud city in ruins.
"Looks like the ruins of a city that was under siege," Bastion commented, his eyes scanning the crumbling structures. "The damage resembles something caused by siege weapons."
He turned to Elyra and gave a clear command. "Scout it out. Let us know what we're dealing with."
"Yes, Master," Elyra replied.
She slipped into the shadows without another word, moving swiftly and silently.
Bastion turned to Lilia. "What do you think?"
"There could be traps or a horde like before," she answered calmly, eyes watching the ruins. "Never both."
"I hope it's a horde," Bastion said with a smirk. "I want to reach level five before we face the boss."
An awkward silence followed as Bastion relaxed, while Lilia fidgeted with her staff, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"Bastion, I… um… I've been thinking about what you said. About getting married," she murmured, fidgeting with her fingers. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet… but I do think there's, um, something I can do for you."
She glanced up briefly before looking away again. "I was thinking… maybe I could be your personal wizard?"
Bastion thought it over with a hum. He could definitely use a personal wizard to assist with his projects. At the very least, it would be nice to have an enchanter on hand.
"Alright," he said seriously, "but you have to work for me until I leave the kingdom. You'll also need to take lessons on enchanting, runes, ancient script, magic circles, magic circuits, and engraving. Do we have a deal?"
"YES!" she shouted, then quickly covered her mouth, regretting her mistake.
Bastion chuckled, just as the sound of footsteps echoed through the ruins.
"I'm so sorry," Lilia whispered, but Bastion waved her off.
"Don't worry about it. I was getting bored anyway."
Goblins rounded the corner of a nearby street and charged in their direction. There were over thirty of them, armed with iron weapons and clad in sparse armor.
'The difficulty just shot up,' Bastion thought, lashing out with his whip sword and cutting down the two nearest goblins.
Lilia fired off Ice Arrows, aiming for the goblins' eyes. They had become stronger, and striking their iron or leather armor would allow them to survive.
Bastion held the line, ensuring that none of the goblins got past him. He frequently used Shield Bash to clear his immediate area, then swiftly turned to slash at any that slipped through.
Once the last goblin fell, the ground was littered with iron weapons.
Bastion listened intently, noting the absence of reinforcements. Hearing none approaching, he began inspecting the fallen weapons, observing their crude craftsmanship.
Still, iron was iron, so he stored them in his bag. He could melt them down and refine them into steel later to use for practice.
They continued waiting for Elyra until she suddenly emerged from the shadows.
"The city is swarming with patrols of twenty or more goblins," she reported. "The castle at the center is where the stairway is located. Rough estimates put their numbers at over four hundred, with more than a hundred stationed at the castle."
"They're also armed with iron weapons and some armor," she finished.
"Let's take them one group at a time. You'll have to work overtime, Eli."
"My pleasure, Master."
Elyra scouted out each patrol before luring them back to Bastion and Lilia, who swiftly wiped them out. When an extra patrol stumbled upon the fight, Elyra handled them herself with ease. She excelled in urban combat, using the abundant shadows to her advantage and striking with precision using her twin swords.
Once all the patrols were eliminated, they stormed the castle and killed all one hundred goblins stationed inside. Surprisingly, clearing the castle was easier as the narrow hallways allowed them to draw attention and funnel enemies straight into Bastion's waiting blade. Unlike the open terrain of forest battles, the castle's solid walls ensured they couldn't be ambushed from every direction, allowing the group to clear the entire floor quickly.
Already familiar with the pattern, the group quickly cleared the eighth and ninth floors before taking a rest ahead of the boss battle.
"I can't believe it only took us six hours to get here," Lilia said in disbelief.
"Elyra and I both have very powerful bloodlines, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise."
"I never did ask which noble family you came from. Would you mind telling me? I'm already working for you, after all," she said with a smug grin.
"The Diamondhart family," Bastion replied casually, taking a slow drag from his Manaleaf.
"Di–Diamondhart? One of the three duke families? Bloodline of the legendary hero? Oh… my… Goddess!" she exclaimed.
"It's not that big of a deal. We have our own troubles, after all."
"Your family controls a third of the kingdom, and you think it isn't a big deal?" she cried out again.
"Like I said. We have our own troubles. I'm sure you'll find out once we graduate."
Lilia stared off into space, silently processing the fact that she now worked for the son of a duke.
'I'll have to learn noble manners now, right? Will they behead me for stuttering? I'm going to get executed,' she thought, dread creeping in.
"Ah, afraid of getting imprisoned for not sneezing right?" Bastion teased. "Don't worry. I'll be the duke once we graduate, so I'll make sure to pardon your crimes to the nobility."
"You're the heir?! Immediately after graduation?!" she gasped.
"It's a shame you didn't accept my proposal," he added with a mock sigh. "You could've been a second wife at least, living a life of luxury until I decide to leave the kingdom. Now, you're stuck enchanting at my beck and call as my personal wizard. Don't you regret it, even a little?"
Lilia continued to stare off into space, still reeling from the revelation, while Bastion chuckled and kept teasing her.
"Master, I think you broke her," Elyra said, stepping in with a smirk.
Bastion glanced at Lilia's blank expression and laughed.
"Ah, you're right. Well, I think she'll recover… eventually. For now, why don't we check our status."
Lilia snapped out of her daze the moment she heard the word status. They had estimated they'd reach level 5 by the end of the ninth floor, so she hurriedly opened hers to check.
[Name]: Lilia
[Age]: 20
[Class]: Mystic Water Mage (Rank 2)
[Ability]: Mystic Water
[Rank]: Apprentice
[Level]: 5
[Health]: 30/30
[Mana]: 36/54
[Strength]: 15
[Dexterity]: 25
[Vitality]: 30
[Intelligence]: 54
[Wisdom]: 30
[Charm]: 17
[Status Points]: 1
[Arts]: Water Magic 3, Staff 2, Cooking 1, Cleaning 1, Traps 1
[Skills:]: Mystic Mend 0, Mystic Veil 0, Mystic Downpour 0, Water Curtain 0, Water Barrier 0
[Skill Points]: 5
Her class, Mystic Water Mage, was a rare mage specialization that granted healing abilities typically exclusive to priests. The class imbued her water magic with the Healing attribute, which was why she used Ice exclusively for combat. In addition, she benefited from increased mana regeneration and enhanced magical effects.
The increased magic effects trait amplified the potency of her magic. Her ice magic, for instance, was colder than average and more effective at slowing or freezing enemies, while her water magic could mend wounds far more efficiently.
Unlike most commoners, her Intelligence stat had been able to grow steadily through training, thanks to her parents, both of whom were mages.
They had prioritized Intelligence as their primary stat, and she had inherited that affinity, allowing her to excel as a mage. Unfortunately, she had reached her natural potential when her Intelligence capped at 50, and had since relied on status points to continue improving it.
As for her skills: Aqua Mend was a focused healing spell that worked faster and more efficiently than her base water magic. Mystic Veil cured status conditions while offering a minor healing-over-time effect. Mystic Downpour summoned a heavy rain that served as a wide-area healing spell. Water Curtain created a wall of cascading water for defense, while Water Barrier formed a protective sphere of flowing water around her.
Without hesitation, she chose Water Barrier. If she ever became a target while Bastion was occupied, the spell would drastically improve her chances of surviving the fight.
Bastion, on the other hand, chose Diamond Armor. He might have been steamrolling goblins, but he never forgot that his primary role was to be the tank.
Elyra selected Garrote, aiming to take down tougher opponents more efficiently. Backstab could have worked just as well, but Garrote seemed far more lethal in her hands.
"I picked an armor-type skill. What about you girls?" Bastion asked first.
"I chose a close-range silencing attack," Elyra replied.
"I picked a barrier skill," Lilia added.
"Perfect. We'll put all of them to good use during the boss fight."
"Now, for a quick strategy meeting. As the tank, I'll engage the boss head-on. Eli, pick off the add-ons and ambush when the opportunity arises. Lilia, your main job is to stay alive. No offense but even with a barrier skill you might still get hurt and I cannot afford to look away."
"Yes, Master."
"No complaints here."
"Good. Let's go."
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