Chapter 14: Side Story: Road to Beginnings IV

Chapter 14— Road to Beginnings IV

"A dungeon?"

"Yep. You heard me."

"Why the hell would we need to go to a dungeon? Isn't that too easy?"

"I'm not talking about those Tier 0 dungeons the school send us on missions to. I'm talking of a Tier 1 dungeon— a D rank." Skye said with a slight grin.

"What the?—" Layla was mildly shocked.

"Look— First of all...have you got a death wish? Even with all your special talent in fighting, I don't think even YOU are ready to take on a D rank. You're gonna to get yourself killed!" Layla said with worry on her face.

"MYSELF?— I thought you were going to come with?" Skye grinned.

"Uh... I u-uh... I—" Layla was flustered and she waved her hands around in panic.

"Don't worry, I got everything covered Layla. But you don't have to come with me if you don't feel like it." Skye said.

'Not like you're ready for it anyway. It'd be best if you could stay out of this.' He thought inwardly.

"It's nothing like that actually. I just feel like my strength won't be much of a help. Even this level 1 Beast Territory proved to be a challenge. Won't we be digging our own graves if we were to take on a Tier 1 dungeon? Plus, we are going to be in trouble once the school finds out about this. I just don't want anything to happen to you. Can you please reconsider?" Layla said with fear in her eyes.

Skye looked at her. He knew she was right. Though the two of them may have gotten much stronger ever since they arrived in the academy two years ago, a Tier 1 dungeon was a little— if not too much for their current strength.

There was even the problem of the academy. Even though they were quite lax in the affairs of the students and allowed them to frequently go on missions and take on dungeons, entering a dungeon without authorization would usually result in a suspension at minimum. In some very rare and serious cases, expulsion might occur.

But Skye knew that this was necessary. He had to do this. He was afraid. Ever since he arrived at the academy, there had always been this hanging feeling that he felt— deep inside him, he knew he had to increase his strength. He was currently a 3rd level Apprentice. This was actually quite low compared to the other geniuses at the Imperial Academy. He felt that although the school might have given him an opportunity because of his talent in combat, it was not enough. It would not be able to help him at higher levels where a powerful magic spell could end him without even blinking.

'I can't let go of any opportunities I have to increase my strength. The uneasiness I feel is getting stronger. It's so confusing and strange. No matter what, I have to enter that dungeon!' He roared in his heart.

"I'm sorry Layla. I have to do this." He said while turning his face away from her. He was afraid that if he looked into her eyes, he would lose his motivation to enter the dungeon.

Layla let out a sigh. She knew that whatever she might say at this point would not be able to get through to him. She had to express her stance. It was either she was with or against him.

"Sigh! Ok! I'm coming with you. What do you have in mind? Knowing you—there's something going on in that handsome head of yours." She said with a chuckle.

They looked into each other's eyes. There was nothing that was left to be said. Two years of partnership had brought in them an unprecedented level of co-ordination. Skye too, let out a chuckle.

"Alright, here's the plan, it's not gonna be an unexplored dungeon so there's nothing too much to worry about. I've already got the layout of the dungeon." He said as he showed her a projection on his communicator watch.

"You were planning this for a while now, weren't you?" Layla said in realization.

"Maybe— maybe not." Skye gave a perfunctory answer as he chuckled.

"Alright, enough jokes. This is what we are gonna do..." Skye continued.

...

In another location, a huge portal could be seen floating a few metres in the air. Around this portal, groups of people could be seen. Most of them were dressed in battle gear and held weapons of different shapes and sizes. Some of them set up stalls of some sort, trying to sell some artifact or potion. Skye and Layla, both wearing masks, walked towards a young man who wore battle gear with the logo of a black snake on his belt.

"Hey you two! You here for the dungeon run?" He asked with a lazy look.

"I think anyone not selling anything, is here for the dungeon. Do we look like we've got anything to sell?" Skye shot a question with a disinterested gaze.

"You certainly don't look like it. Come on, I'll take you to meet the others." The man said with a laugh.

The three of them soon left the majority of the people, walking towards a tree in the area where about 15 people were gathered.

"Oy! I've brought them! They really do look like kids." The man walking in front of them said to the people, chuckling as he said so, leaving a bad taste in Skye's mouth, causing him to frown.

"This is Rey Cage, he's our big boss in this dungeon run. And Rey, this is...uh what was your name again?" He continued as he pointed to another man, about 6ft tall with a head of red hair with slanted eyebrows, and a feral look on his face.

"Clyde." Skye answered coldly behind his mask.

Rey walked towards the three, and patting the young man's shoulder, he said, "Shut up Cel— Clyde. Your name right?" He turned towards Skye.

"Yeah. So what of it?" Skye answered with impatience.

"Nothing. Let's go. It's about time to enter the dungeon anyway." He said while looking at Skye with a glint in his eye, but was quickly seen by Skye.

'Hmm. I forgot. This is the Black Snake Gang's group. I have to be more careful. Who knows what tricks they might pull.'

As they walked towards the entrance of the dungeon, Rey soon said to Skye. "You two stay behind us and pick up the leftovers. There might not be much, but it's not you guys deserve anything anyway."

Skye felt a huge burst of anger welling up in his heart, but said nothing. He knew that the two of them were not a match for the group. Plus, it was not like they were paying for the exploration, he was just lucky enough to be able to tag along. Not like he'd be able do to come here without their help. The school would find them in mere minutes if he tried.

The dungeon was shining with a bright white light, reminiscent of Tier 0 dungeons. But Skye noticed something that filled him with an uncomfortable feeling.

'Why did the light suddenly flicker? I thought this was an explored dungeon. Those are supposed to be quite stable. They shouldn't be flickering like that. But no one would believe me if I told them. Gotta be careful then.'

"Layla, stay close to me. At all times." Skye said calmly.

"Mm." Layla, who hadn't said a word since they arrived at the dungeon area, let out a soft grunt.

...

"So this is a Tier 1 dungeon. Interesting." Skye muttered softly.

"It's quite amazing, isn't it?" Layla asked him, slight traces of awe in her voice.

"Yeah. Wonder what Tier 2 and 3 dungeons would look like." Skye said in curiousity.

"Whoa! Better get your head outta the clouds buddy. Tier 2 and 3 dungeons are a huge no-no for somone at your skill level. Best to be safe these days. By the way, what's your friend's name again?" Cel interjected.

"Mindy." Layla said perfunctorily as she looked at the young man.

"Clyde and Mindy. Not bad. You two have some nice names. Mind if we grab a bite sometime? I know a great place—" Cell chattered with a smile.

"Hey you three! Get over here—now. We're going over the plans on the run." Rey interrupted them with a shout.

'Great. I wondered when this guy was going to stop talking.' Skye thought as he looked at Cel.

After what seemed to be a boring gloss over of the raid to Skye— the team soon navigated the maze like dungeon, killing the beasts that inhabited the place, picking up anything that might seem of value. They had almost finished raiding the dungeon, with very little losses and a significant amount of gains, or so they thought....

"Hey boss, should we check the core point of the dungeon? This place seems pretty much cleared to me. I don't think we're gonna be making more money by raiding this floor." A man in the group suggested to Rey, wiping the bloodstains off his dagger.

"And what makes you think that the core point hasn't been cleared yet?" Rey asked with a disinterested look in his eye.

"I know. I'm just saying. Maybe we can find some lost treasure or something. Or maybe we could find a high level beast and take it down. Plus, with your Golden Lion bloodline, nothing can stop us! I can feel it boss, our rise to victory!—" The man continued to ramble.

"Just shut up. Stop talking like an overgrown idiot. But since you like rambling, we can go and check out the upper floor. Maybe you'll like screaming your mommy's name when you'll be chewed by a beast." Rey said with a placid look.

"Hehe! Boss, you have a perfect sense of humor, brighter than the sunny skies."

"Stop it. Enough with the flattery. It's making me sick."

...

*Thirty minutes later*

"Mommy! Help! Boss! Help! Please! I don't want to die!" A familiar man could be screaming while a huge leg belonging to a massive spider pierced his shoulder and dragged him closer to its sharp jaws, like a reaper's blade hanging over his head.

While Rey was busy giving orders to minimize the losses the team had suffered, Skye was deep in thought as he battled smaller and weaker versions of the huge spider that kept spawning from her posterior.

'How the hell did this happen? I thought this was supposed to be a Tier 1 low grade dungeon that was supposed to be explored already. How did it increase its grade all of a sudden? I kept having a bad feeling as soon as I entered the dungeon. Why did I become so careless at the time? It's a good thing I told Layla to escape. At least I wouldn't have to worry....'

But Skye soon met with a rude awakening as he realized that he was the only one battling the monster. The others had fled as soon as the realized that they were no longer catching its aggro.

'Those bastards! How dare they!' Skye thought in anger as he avoided the beasts while trying to land a hit on the spider queen. His efforts prove to be quite futile as he soon suffered a blow from one of her legs, hitting the walls of the maze like structure. But that wasn't the only thing that proved to be quite the shocker. As Skye caught a purple light at the corner of his eye, he saw the spider queen gathering a beam of mana, aiming at him.

For a brief moment, Skye's life flashed before his eyes and he tried to move his body away from the direction of the growing purple light.

'Am I going to die here?'

'No! Move! Body! Move! I can't die here!'

'You have to move!'

As the spider queen released the beam of mana at him, Skye had almost resigned himself to his inevitable death.

But then a figure, one that he knew all too well, moved in front of him, trying to block the beam of mana.

'Is that Layla? What is she doing here? Get out of here! You can't block it! That shot is going to kill you! Come on, just a little while longer...move!' Skye roared in his heart.

But then, Layla's body was soon overwhelmed by the concentrated burst of mana.

"LAYLA! NO!" Skye screamed.

...

Sorry for the late release. Got a lot of things going on, it's overwhelming. But I'll try my best to release more chapters. If you like this novel, please support with PS. Don't forget to drop a review and let me know your thoughts on my book. Remember to recommend to your friends kay:-)