“Yo, how are you doing, dude?” Liam said as he walked closer to me.
“I’m fine…”
Turns out, he’s okay… I thought there was something serious yesterday when he suddenly left…
“By the way, where did you go yesterday, Liam..?”
“Oh, it was nothing, I remembered something important yesterday, but it’s all taken care of, don’t worry!” Liam said as he pats my back.
“Is that so..?”
That explains the part where he suddenly ran away yesterday, but what about the unusual faces he was making..? well… I want to ask him, but…
“Ah! I forgot to tell you. Come with me for a second.”
“O- okay..?”
Liam then leads me away from the crowds to a more quiet and silent alleyway. He then leans his head closer to me as he cautiously checks our entire surroundings.
“W- What’s happening, Liam?!”
“I found a treasure-filled secret room in a dungeon,” Liam said as he whispers to my ear.
“Dungeon..?”
Isn’t dungeon that…
“Yeah… you know, a labyrinth-like place filled with monsters and treasures! I went to a nearby dungeon for my Monster-extermination quest. Everything was fine until I accidentally stepped on a trap, but I was lucky enough to avoid it, next thing you know, I accidentally reveal a secret room by my stupid mistake! What luck!”
“That’s amazing, Liam…”
“I have also secured the spot, so there won’t be any monsters for a while anywhere near the secret room… you are the only one that I have told about this. Do you want to come or not?”
Going to a dungeon… to be honest, I feel scared knowing that a place like a dungeon is filled with horrible monsters… but if Liam said that he ‘secured’ the area near the secret room, then… it’s probably okay for me to come, right..? this is also a chance to hunt the blue slimes if we encounter them in the dungeon Liam was talking about.
“O- okay then… I’ll come... I have a quest to kill a couple of blue slimes also.”
“That settles it. Let’s go, then!”
…
Liam then leads me to the forest once again for us to go to the secret room Liam mentioned. On our way there, I didn’t feel any hostile presence from my [Perception] and instead, the forest was quiet and calming.
That’s weird… I thought monsters would attack us at any time, but I didn’t detect suspicious movements or sounds around us…
“Umm… Liam? Where are all the monsters..?”
“I’m using a monster repellant, just a precaution in case monsters like those vampire wolves come and surprise-attack us again. The repellant only works for weak and low-ranked monsters though, which this forest has many of… but don’t worry, I’ll remove the scent once we arrived at the dungeon for your quest.”
Scent..? I don’t smell anything out of the ordinary though… but it’s a relief that there’s something like a monster repellant, maybe I should buy one for future quests.
“There it is!” Liam said as he points in front of him excitedly.
We arrived at a clearing where there is a huge and dark cave in the center of it. The cave emits an ominous and bone-rattling feeling as I gaze into the dark and deep entrance.
T- This is a dungeon..? I can only see up to the entrance from over here… the darkness of the dungeon makes it feel like a monster as I keep gazing into it… ready to devour…
Liam then suddenly pats my back, startling me.
“Relax, man! I’ve also cleared the upper floor of the dungeon, so it’s safe to say that there will be no monster appearing out of nowhere. Besides, there’s no strong monsters in this dungeon, only crimson bats, slimes, and huge bugs, even beginner adventurers can safely train here if they’re in a party.”
Well… come to think of it, this is a golden chance. I can level up my [Absorb] and use it to absorb new skills from monsters that I haven’t encounter, and I can complete my quest because Liam said that there’s also slimes in the dungeon, the blue ones I hope.
“Okay… let’s go, Liam.”
We walked closer to the dungeon’s entrance. Before we step any further, Liam threw a pouch that was hanging from his belt to the ground and steps on it, he then reached in his bag and hands me a slice of dried meat.
“I forgot that I brought a snack, haha! Here.”
“Whoa… thanks, Liam…” I said as I took the dried meat from Liam’s hand.
I wanted to refuse his offer, but knowing him, he would just force me to eat it…
Liam took out a torch and lights it on fire as I was eating the dried meat Liam gave me. We continued our walk inside the ominous cave, now illuminated by the torch Liam lit, dimly lighting the darkness around us. The dungeon’s path is linear and feels like a small tunnel with how enclosed and narrow the path forward is with its rocky walls and roof.
What is this feeling… I don’t feel so good about this… something’s not sitting well…
“Out of all the dungeons that I’ve ventured in, this is the most narrow and linear one, well… the entrance at least. It’s pretty scary when a mob of the monsters filled the corridor, but thankfully this is a pretty easy dungeon, so fending them off is not a big deal.”
From the games that I’ve played, each Dungeon is different in size, shape, and inside, how long and deep the dungeon depends… but if this is a beginner dungeon, why would there be a trap..? Liam took a quest, but he didn’t tell me what quest, and even if he did, why would he pick a low-ranked quest when he is a C rank adventurer..?
We silently walked through the dark and jagged corridor and arrived at a wide and spacious dark room, dimly illuminated by the sunlight from the cracks on the roof of the dungeon.
Whoa… what a wide room…
“Watch out!” Liam shouts as he blocks me from walking any further.
“W- Wha-“
I immediately looked down and I saw a gaping hole on the ground, filled with darkness and indefinite depths. I jumped backward in surprise as I was a step away from doom.
“Watch out, man! You gotta be careful inside a dungeon, even if it’s a beginner one!”
“I- I’m sorry, Liam! I was kinda lost in my thought…”
Liam crouched as he points the torch to the dark hole.
Thank goodness Liam blocked me from moving onwards… who knows what would’ve happened if I fell in this deep hole.
“Hey, Dian…” Liam said in a serious tone as he looks at me with a blank face.
“What is it..?”
Liam then stood slowly.
“On the very bottom of this dungeon, there is a legend that a calamitous Dragon with scales as dark as a moonless night resides within… according to the legend, the Jet-Black Dragon is one of the primordial monsters as old as the beginning age of Gaia. The Dragon brought chaos and havoc as it soars the skies, killing and destroying every living thing in its path of world destruction.”
“W- What..?”
“Humankind was blessed with the birth of a hero, a hero who became the very first hero of this world. He was able to vanquish the Dragon’s rage and terror once and for all in a mighty clash of unimaginable power. Some say the Dragon was killed, some say the Dragon retreated to a dungeon.”
“What are you...-”
“The Dragon then was never heard of again until now, but some say that the Dragon is in a deep sleep on the very bottom of this Dungeon… The First Hero became the saviour of all living things in this world. The Hero even managed to fend off an invading Demon Army back to their realm.”
“Liam..-?!”
As soon as Liam finishes his sentence, my body started to weaken and I fell on my back, unable to move all of my body.
DING!
P- Paralysis-?! What?!
“Hahahahaha… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Liam started to burst out laughing maniacally with a wide smile on his face.
“L- Liam-?! What’s happening?!”
“Haha… ha… oh, Dian… you stupid, naive moron… I bet the dried meat tasted ‘paralyzing’, huh?” Liam said with a wide smile as he crouches and looks at me dead in the eye.
“What..?”
I then heard footsteps coming closer to me, and when the footsteps arrive, I saw the three old adventurers and Hans surrounding my paralyzed self, looking at me with a pleased look on their faces.
“Recognize these people, Dian? Angus, Delmar, Bard, and the recently dismissed Hans?”
“Y- You…” I said in complete disbelief.
Why…
“I can’t believe it’s that easy luring this idiot here, good acting, young master Liam! Hahahaha!” Said one of the men with a burst of laughter.
Why me…
“Thank you for the compliment, Delmar. Now,”
It's happening again... why...
2 of the men held both of my arms and raised me, no matter how hard I try, I cannot move my body.
“L- Liam… but why..?”
Liam paused for a while when he heard me asking, he then chuckled and laughed out loud again as his face looks towards the roof of the cave. He then pulls my hair and stared at my eyes with his cold gaze.
“Oh, Dian, Dian, Dian… the ‘why’ part is obvious… how could you not have known that?” Liam said with a baffled look on his face.
“… I… Don’t…”
“…” Liam puts on his blank face again as he lets go of my hair. “Break his legs.” Liam then steps out, Hans and Delmar came close as they crackle their knuckles in excitement.
“Oh, the horrible things that I want to do to you, you little career-ending piece of shit,” Hans said with a vengeful and angry look on his face.
They both grabbed a mace and started bashing my legs and ankle ruthlessly.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” I screamed in a tremendous amount of pain as my legs get pummeled by the iron maces. They continued bashing, and bashing, and bashing, blood splatters everywhere, bones crushed to tiny pieces.
“Stop,” Liam said, stopping Hans’s and Delmar’s swings.
“Haaa… haaa…” I pant, throat sore from the blood-curdling screams of pain I unleashed, tear and sweats all over my body.
Liam steps closer to me again and looks at me in the eye.
“I ask again, what do you think caused all of this, hmm?” Liam asked with a blank and cold stare.
Pain… can’t…
“Ghaa… haaa…”
“Okay then, the real reason ‘WHY’ I did this to you was because… you got too close to Isabella.”
“Ghh!.. W… wha….”
Isa… Bella..?
“Who would’ve thought that Isabella, who is like a goddess from the heavens, approached by a measly, disgusting weakling like you! BUT I GUESS THAT’S NOT OBVIOUS ENOUGH! Hahaha… I love her… ever since I laid my eyes on her a long time ago, the first time she enters this town… haa… Isabella…”
What..?
“I have always watched her… day-by-day, morning till midnight… when she ventures on a quest, all the time when she sat and beautifully stares at the setting sun… I’m always there… admiring the beautiful figure sculpted by the gods, a woman named Isabella Snow… every single thing about her is perfect. *sigh* But everything changed ever since I saw YOU, coming to this town with her… laughing, smiling, crying, looking at you filled with happiness on her face… VERY UNACCEPTABLE, DON’T YOU THINK?”
Because of me..?
“I cannot take it, so I ordered my ‘friends’ to get rid of you, erasing you from this world. Don’t worry, your death will not be in vain… we could take everything you have and potentially sell them, and this!” Liam said as he drew out my sword.
No… brandor’s…
“A fine, well-polished elven sword… how could a weakling like you even get this quality of sword? Well, it doesn’t matter!” Liam said as he hands my sword over to Delmar.
“Haaa… Liam… you…”
“Take all of his stuff.”
All of them took my backpack and searched my pockets after Liam ordered them to.
“*sigh*… I can’t wait until everybody knows your death… the brokenhearted and hurt Isabella will be vulnerable to emotional support… I can get close to her, held her with my arms, and ensures that everything will be okay, and then she’ll surely seek me for comfort. Get ready to throw him.”
Vision… blurring… my eyes… heavy…
2 of the men lifts my broken and near-death body close to the gaping hole, Liam then looks at me with his cold and dead stare again.
“Thank you, Dian. Because of your stupidity, I can finally get close to my goddess… goodbye, and have a nice sleep… for eternity. I hope your corpse will be fine dining for the Dragon below! Hehehe… hahahaha!” Liam said with a smirk and a burst of a laugh.
This… can’t be happening…
Liam backed out, he then signals the 2 men that lifted me and then they threw me into the hole, time feels slowed down as my feeling was filled with confusion and disbelief, pondering whether or not it’s a nightmare or real life. The last thing I saw was their grinning and smirking faces.
Is this… truly the… end… of my jour… ney..?
I kept falling down the dark hole, feeling like an eternity has passed as life flashes before my eyes, I closed my heavy eyes, only seeing darkness.
Mika… I’m sorry… loo… ks like… I… won’t be able to… find… you…
THUD!
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
DING!
