Chapter 125: Eastern Dungeon (Part 4)
Things felt as if they were getting brighter as a opening in the tunnel came into view. Sounds of stream could be heard as a faint breeze sent the aroma of roses past them. Something about the rose scent seemed strange.
"Ice Roses?" Prince Leo's words sounded like a question. No answer was needed for his words.
They all paused at the clearing and scanned the view before them. It felt as if they had stepped into a crystalized paradise. Large crystals the size of sky scrapers were standing tall, scattered about a wide flatt land. They were connecting the ground to the roof and emitting a bright light that covered the land around them.
Vorbuk's eyes soon found patches of roses that looked like they were made of pink and white glass. They seemed to be sticking out from the ground surrounding the large crystals.
No... Not Glass... They are real, live, roses. Somehow they just resemble that of fragile glass. Vorbuk thought to himself as he observed the unique flower.
"Ice Roses only bloom in areas of high mana waves. They are rare because of it usually takes mana equivalent to that of a war to conjure." Daryl wondered what could have happened so close to Theapan to cause Ice Roses to grow.
They were called Ice Roses because they resembled glass. At a glance one could mistake them as something easily breakable. However its beauty was one that came at a cost. It was a flower that took extremely high amounts of mana to bloom. Thus when they were found it was often in areas where a strong beast resided.
"High amount of mana.. We might just be heading straight for the tiger's den." Leo pondered. Thinking about the tiger and the high amount of mana the beast had to evolve from he hoped it was the worst of their worries. If there was something worse waiting for them further inside the dungeon he was not certain they were prepared for it.
Rustling sounds could be heard from above. Flecks of dirt falling from the roof of the cave on top of The Prince. Brushing the dust aside as Bredret stared at Leo blankly.
"I would take a few steps back." Bredret casually remarked.
"What are you tal-GAH!" Before the prince could finish his words his body was body slammed into the floor.
SSSKKKKKRR! SSSSKK!
Atop Prince Leo stood a giant scorpion. Clad in white the scorpion's tail was sent forward at a speed he could not keep up with. Raising his hand to try and stop the attack he found there was no impact. Instead his face was splattered by the scorpion's blood.
Beside Leo Bredret stood holding the scorpion's tail firm in hand. The beast turned it's attention towards the one who was holding back from attacking.
"Don't say I gave you no warning." Bredret scoffed at the prince's delay to respond to his previous warning.
Gripping his hand tighter on the scorpion he released a flame in the palm of his hand. The fire burst forth burning the scorpion to ash that scattered in the faint breeze of the cave.
"... Thanks." Leo spoke while climbing back to his feet.
"Don't thank me yet." Bredret turned his head away causing Leo's gaze to follow.
From all around more of the giant white scorpions began to crawl out from their hidden grooves in the crystalized domain that they had taken refuge to live in. At first it was only a few but quickly became dozens.
"Move now!" Daryl shouted at the group as they all began to run at once.
If they did not make it out of the area quickly they would be over run with the scorpion beasts. There was no where to hide as long as they were there.
"Over here!" Ashley shouted for their attention to a tight crevice in the crystals that they could all squeeze through.
Rushing over towards the way out that Ashley had found they all began to slip through it one at a time as quickly as they could. When Vorbuk hesitated to go in before everyone else the vampire grabbed him by the back of his neck and tossed him through without hesitation. The wolf fumbled but regained his footing to glance back at the others coming in after him. Last person to make it through from the other side of the crevice was Ashley.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Vibrations could be felt from the ground up as the scorpions continued to violently stab at the crevice with their tails and pincers. They were desperate to try their hardest to get to the group. No attempt they made could reach them. Dirt scattered about the air with every failed attempt to attack.
"Great plan.. but how are we supposed to get out of this tight spot now? We have to reach the exit." Leo glared at Ashley for causing them all to be entrapped by the beasts. They were safe from being attacked. Yet they were still cornered and had to find a way out.
"At least we can camp here for tonight since they can't get to us. We will figure out a way to break through them tomorrow after they calm down." Daryl spoke up as if he was defending the vampire's quick thinking.
"Someone should keep guard while the others sleep. We can-" Daryl began to speak.
"I'll do it." Ashley volunteered before he had a chance to finish. "I don't sleep anyways."
"Alright. We leave it to you then." Daryl responded to his offer with caution. It was true that the vampire race did not require sleep. That was something that made Ashley the best option for the task as long as he was willing to do the night watch for the group.
Vorbuk watched as the group conversed and made their plans for rest.
Finding a place to lay down beside the prince, Leo. It did not take long for everyone to fall asleep due to their exhaustion. Feeling uncomfortable in the situation for him only made it that much harder to sleep. No matter how exhausted he was physically; his mind would not calm down.
Vorbuk's red eyes gazed at the crevice they had hidden themselves within.
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded the more he thought about the beasts outside that awaited them. It felt like something inside him was urging him to go out fight with them. Something inside him wanted to hunt!
What is this feeling? It must be the wolf instinct. He wanted to prove himself the dominate creature instinctively. It was a temptation that he knew wasn't really himself. It was the beast side of him trying to take control and make him act against himself.
Flop~!
Vorbuk's body was sent full of shivers as a heavy weight dropped on top of him.
Prince Leo had fallen over in his sleep. His body weighing down on top of Vorbuk's wolf body from the side. The wolf's face had a shadow cast over it as he contemplated sending the prince soaring with a kick from his hind leg.
"... Get-" Vorbuk transformed into his human form. His expression going darker at the feeling of the crown prince's head against his shoulder. "GET! OFF! ME!"
Vorbuk's voice was raised out of agitation. Regardless of how annoyed he felt to raise his voice he only roughly shoved the prince away from him. Holding back his desire to brutally beat him to a pulp for getting too close to him without permission or warning.
Once he regained a safe distance from others touching him he stood up and went towards the crevice to gaze out at the scorpions that awaited them outside.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone