The trio of knights moved in formation through the acorn-themed dungeon. Their silver armor reflected the dim glow of the cupule shaped sconces adorned along the walls.

  Kai walked forward, leading at the front, his presence ever commanding. His armor was polished to a mirror-like gleam; a seasoned warrior with deep-set eyes and a scar across his cheek.

  Kai’s every movement radiated confidence and precision. In his hand, he wielded a glaive etched with ancient runes, their divots molded from sapphire, his blade black-steel.

  Kai’s gaze flickered over the carved columns, their acorn cupules were crowned with jagged thorns and their surface was etched with the precise imprint of oak leaves.

  Behind Kai strode Weylin, Kai’s most promising pupil; though, Weylin’s once youthful enthusiasm had long been tempered by a weight of responsibility.

  His slightly dulled armor bore scratches and dents, evidence of hard-fought battles and lessons learned. He held a calm demeanor, a bright contrast from his sister. Weylin moved with practiced grace, his form and steps instilled into him over years of monotonous training.

  Amara, meanwhile, kept to the rear. She bore a striking figure, her silver armor fresh and pristine. Atop her wand, an emerald gem hushed green.

  The magic in the air coursed through it, radiating, pulsating — the green light illuminated the curling vine motifs that wound up the dungeon’s columns.

  Amara’s eyes wandered nervously between the creeping vines etched into the dungeon’s walls, as if expecting them to come to life.

  She muttered an incantation and her emerald-tipped wand shone brightly; a shield of miraculous green energy formed around the group — protection from the earthy grandeur of the ancient acorn-carved dungeon.

  All throughout the first floor, Kai led, but Weylin fought.

  The golden-eyed teenager cut down the Bat-Apes without remorse or hesitation. His dual blades blurred amongst the air, they cut and slashed, pierced and prodded.

  Weylin was quick. His fighting style relied upon burst movements, fast steps, and extended lunges. He rolled across the tiled floor, his swords severed the achilles of each beast he encountered.

  Blood left in his wake.

  Then, their gaze crossed paths with Smoky’s.

  The behemoth squirrel plummeted from the dome ceiling, its cracked-acorn in hand.

  Smoky impacted upon the arena and cracks spread across the tile; dust billowed from the ceiling.

  “Weylin-”

  “I can handle it.” Weylin interrupted.

  Amara looked at Kai with worry in her eyes.

  Smoky was big. That much was an understatement.

  Large beasts, especially of Smoky’s caliber, were not typical for first floor excursions.

  “Are you sure?” Kai asked.

  “You’ll keep me safe if I’m not.” Weylin said dryly.

  Amara rolled her eyes and slouched away. Her idiot brother would be the death of her one day — she was certain.

  Kai just smiled. He gestured towards the arena where Smoky lay waiting.

  “Be careful.” He said.

  At that, Weylin exploded.

  His iron boots pressed into the tile and his figure burst forward.

  Weylin sprinted across the arena towards Smoky; his dual swords in his hands, a glint in his eyes.

  Smoky loomed over Weylin — a behemoth with a hulking, fur-covered frame rippled with muscle. Within his eyes, a feral intelligence gleamed.

  Smoky hefted his weapon of choice above his shoulders — a massive, cracked golden acorn — its jagged edges were worn from countless battles.

  In the next moment, Smoky let out a guttural growl and lunged towards Weylin.

  Weylin dove to the side just as the golden acorn smashed into the stone tile.

  *BOOM*

  Shards of rock exploded out in every which way, but Weylin weaved through their onslaught.

  Weylin’s swords flashed across the lantern light. They lashed out with a flurry of strikes aimed at Smoky’s flank.

  The dual blades cut into fur and flesh, but the beast barely flinched, as its thick hide absorbed most of the blow.

  Smoky twisted at an alarming speed. His bristled tail whipped around like a battering ram and slammed into Weylin’s chest-plate. The teenager ricocheted back and slid across the arena.

  Weylin’s chest heaved in and out. He scrambled to his feet whilst blood dribbled from his cheek.

  Then, Smoky advanced. He dragged his golden acorn across the tile like a wrecking ball — his every step shook the floor of the arena.

  Weylin feinted left which drew Smoky into another wide swing, then the boy bolted right. He took advantage of Smoky’s unbalance and sliced along the beast’s forelimb.

  Smoky roared in pain.

  Weylin seized the moment. He dashed towards the nearest column and leapt onto its surface. Weylin used the carved vines as footholds and launched himself into the air above Smoky.

  He crossed his swords into an ‘X’ and shouted.

  “Twin Style: Severance!”

  Immediately, a glowing energy exuded from Weylin’s blades. They burned white, erasing the shadows of the arena and blinding Smoky.

  Weylin cut down; and a crescent-shaped beam of white energy exploded from his sword's intersection and plummeted down unto Smoky.

  The crescent blast cut into Smoky’s neck. It ignited his fur to flames and eviscerated his flesh. Meanwhile, the scorching heat produced from the blast singed the wound as it cut deeper into Smoky.

  Smoky’s head rolled.

  Not a drop of blood spilled, however — the wound cauterized — the blast like plasma.

  Weylin dropped onto the floor.

  His armor clanked against the tile.

  Weylin kneeled as he gasped for breath.

  “Weylin!!” Amara ran to him.

  In the meantime, Kai inspected Smoky’s corpse. He poked at the beast’s razor-edged nails and prodded at the fine bristles along Smoky’s tails.

  Kai pocketed a bristle and nail respectively — weapons to be, perhaps?

  Then, his eye caught a glint from the edge of the arena. He walked to the onyx podium where the manacorn lay.

  Kai’s eyebrows rose.

  He picked up the manacorn.

  *rattle*

  Suddenly, the iron gates beside the podium lifted off of the ground. They raised into the ceiling, pulled by some mysterious force until the pitch-black staircase revealed itself.

  *clank*

  The sound of metal against stone pulled Kai’s attention.

  Amara pulled Weylin’s breastplate off — it had been dented during the fight and was most likely protruding into Weylin’s chest.

  Kai walked over.

  “You did well, Weylin.” Kai said.

  A slight smirk tugged at the edge of Weylin’s mouth.

  “Thanks.”

  “How are you?” Kai asked.

  Amidst their conversation, Amara treated Weylin’s wounds. She started with the cut across his cheek; she patted it dry with a clean cloth then, with another cloth, dabbed alcohol.

  “Ssssss!” Weylin winced at the burn. “A couple broken ribs…”

  Amara punched him in the shoulder.

  “And a sprained wrist.” Weylin spat out.

  Kai nodded his head along as if he had expected it.

  He raised his finger in the air, his eyes shut.

  “When fighting a beast that big — you especially, Weylin — need to take advantage of your mobility. Your first attack, the beast’s flank — that was the correct approach. Due to your size difference, you have a shorter range of motion than the beast, meaning you will always have to move less to achieve the same result. Instead of competing against the beast head-on, like you did when you received each of your injuries, you should have continued to maneuver around it to strike at the beast’s obnoxiously large blind spots.”

  “Its flank was too thick, my sword barely-”

  “Severance made quick work of the beast’s spine, Weylin; it would have cut through any part of it.” Kai interrupted.

  Weylin’s brows fettered. He didn’t respond.

  Twenty minutes later, the trio began their descent to the dungeon’s second floor.

  ***

  Meanwhile…

  Kuzo, Bram, and Lyra finally caught sight of the second floor’s entrance.

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  Lyra held her eyes closed. She grit her teeth and clenched her fists.

  Her nails dug into her palms, but she couldn’t feel it. She couldn’t feel anything. Not really. Not anymore.

  Her chest heaved in inflammatory pain; every breath, every inhale and exhale — burned alongside the fire’s of Hell.

  She couldn’t feel her throat, hands, or feet as they all burned with the same intensity as her lungs.

  At the start, hours ago by now, tears streamed down Lyra’s face — but even her eyes had long since dried up.

  Her hope long since extinguished.

  Kuzo and Bram dragged her along; they each held up one side of her as her ankles dragged across the stone, now cut and bruised.

  Not to mention that every once in a while Kuzo and Bram had to spontaneously drop Lyra, as when the bat creature’s approached — so her forehead, hips, shoulders — Lyra was bruised and battered worse than ever in her life.

  It was a miracle she was even alive, let alone conscious.

  Her will must be made of steel! Erin thought as he observed.

  He was the most surprised of them all, after all. He knew exactly what he had willed into the venom — a burning so intense it should lead to comatose — a struggle in of itself to live as taking a mere breath became the devil in disguise.

  “We’re almost there….” Bram wheezed.

  He was more exhausted than ever too. Due to carrying Lyra all this way, not only did Kuzo and Bram move slower than ever before, but they had to fight more than ever as well.

  Bram was completely mana exhausted. He had nothing left in the tank.

  It was, in fact, negative in the tank.

  For Bram, he was fighting just to stay awake.

  Kuzo, on the other hand, still had some mana — but he was mostly a physical fighter; his joints creaked, hypertension assaulted him, and one of his ligaments was either torn or about to be.

  “Hey! I see light!” A girl’s voice suddenly echoed throughout the caverns.

  Kuzo and Bram stilled. They both looked towards the entrance, then at each other.

  “Holy fuck…” Bram muttered.

  “It just had to be now…”

  “Kuzo!!” Bram whispered. “I’m not ready!”

  Kuzo, however, was still in his own stupor.

  “Even if we were in the dungeon overnight… it’s been what? Eight days? It took them only eight days…?”

  The sound of voices coming from the spiral staircase increased.

  “Kuzo!!!” Bram pleaded. “I don’t think I can do it!!”

  “With the amount of mana I have left…” Kuzo continued absentminded.

  *thud*

  *smack*

  Bram dropped Lyra onto the ground and smacked Kuzo. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

  “Kuzo!! I can’t do it!” Bram said with as much seriousness as he could muster.

  Kuzo’s gaze hardened. His attention returned to him.

  “But you must!” Kuzo said. “It has already been decided!”

  Bram looked at Kuzo shocked.

  “Kuzo!!” Bram pleaded.

  On the other end of the commotion, Kai, Weylin, and Amara stepped out of the staircase and onto the cavern’s floors. Their black capes molded perfectly with the floor’s darker depths, casting them into the shadows behind their armor’s silver gleam.

  Although the dark pervaded egregiously — at the second floor’s entrance, more algae bloomed than anywhere else.

  So from across the thin edge that distanced the two parties, each could see the other’s silhouettes — it was the details they lacked.

  Kai, Weylin, and Amara; they immediately stopped upon noticing Kuzo and Bram’s presence. Their dark forms scuttled in the distance, the two seemed to be at odds.

  Bram, meanwhile, pointed to Lyra on the floor; who could not be seen by the three Scouts.

  “We can’t use her like this!!” Bram argued.

  “There is no other choice!!” Kuzo stated.

  “Pick her up!!”

  Bram scurried around the woman and lifted her head.

  Then, Kuzo pulled a vial of red powder from his inner-breast pocket. He uncorked the small, glass vial and the pop echoed throughout the cavern.

  “Huh? What was that?” Kuzo and Bram overheard Amara’s comment.

  Instantly, the two men stifled.

  “What the hell are you doing?!!” Bram shouted as quietly as he could.

  Kuzo tipped the red powder into the back of Lyra's throat — although she was conscious — her limbs and chest hurt so much that most of her feelings had gone numb at this point.

  Kuzo closed her mouth and chucked the glass vial over the edge. He looked at Bram.

  “We have ten seconds until she goes berserk!” Kuzo looked Bram dead in the eye.

  “…”

  “You WHA-” Kuzo slammed his palm over Bram’s mouth.

  Bram struggled against Kuzo; he was a wind mage for crying out loud, he couldn’t compete with the old sword master!

  The two wrestled along the floor.

  ***

  Meanwhile….

  “What the hell do you think’s going on over there?” Weylin asked, his eyes squinted.

  “Are they… fighting?” Amara peered through the depths.

  Kai shook his head.

  Adventurers! He sneered.

  Kai pointed his glaive forward and, in an imposing manner, he addressed the uncouth adventurers.

  “This is Commander Kai — Leader of the Third Regiment of the Scouts — by tutelage of the Minister, I command thee; identify yourselves immediately!”

  Kai stood with his glaive drawn.

  Seconds passed.

  Bram and Kuzo continued to ragdoll across the ground.

  Kai’s veins bulged.

  “By order of the-”

  “AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Lyra’s warped scream pierced the caverns.

  Her runes blasted with red light. Her body twitched, it rose from the ground, blood dripped from her lips and ran down her cheeks — her eyes curled back behind her, only the whites remained.

  The blood pooled down her arms and dripped from her fingertips. She levitated in the air, glowing red, dripping blood — she looked like a monster.

  Kai didn’t hesitate — not after recognizing those runes.

  “Water Style: Kraken!” Kai shouted.

  A tentacle of water surged around Kai’s form. It traveled around his legs and up his torso, then wrapped around his shoulder and glaive.

  The tentacle coated his outstretched glaive and with it, Kai snapped it forward.

  The tentacle exploded across the cavern, it struck fierce, aimed directly at Lyra’s heart.

  But in her uncontrollable state, Lyra raised her palm in the air before her. She reached forward and curled her fingers.

  As if squeezing the very air itself, suddenly, the massive tentacle approaching her exploded into a burst of mist.

  Water droplets ricocheted around the cavern and the air filled with a dense fog.

  Kai could not afford to be docile, however; he lowered his center of gravity and pushed off the stone. He disappeared from his place next to Weylin and tore through the fog.

  Lyra sensed him through space.

  She dabbled her fingers along the air above her and the stalactites responded to her call; they severed themselves from the ceiling and began to fall until Lyra caught them.

  The stalactites froze in the air, manipulated by Lyra’s pull, then began spinning.

  “DIE!!!” Lyra screeched.

  She dropped her bloodied arm and the stalactite projectiles cut through the air. They moved like missiles and zipped through the fog, homing in on Kai’s position.

  Kai readied himself. He brought his glaive up and slashed down, splitting one stalactite in two — then he spun the polearm around his back and kicked into the air.

  Kai somersaulted over one stalactite and whilst he landed, his glaive intercepted another.

  The stalactites burst apart. Rocks and jagged stones exploded into the air and rained down.

  Within the chips of stone, therein lied potential.

  Lyra clapped her palms. The loose rocks and stones froze once more. She directed them around the room, pooling them into a vortex, then brought them down unto Kai’s head.

  “Water Style: Bubble Shield!” The mist condensed rapidly.

  Its form solidified around Kai’s body until waves cascaded around him.

  Kai stood in a prison of water; the liquid surged around him in a sphere and continued to compress.

  Then, the avalanche of rocks and stones slammed into Kai’s bubble. The rotating waves clashed with the rocks, drawing many of them away, sucking them into the shield’s powerful currants.

  Kai successfully defended against the attack.

  He laid his glaive upon his shoulder. Kai stepped back; then leapt forward.

  He hurled his glaive into the air. It burst through the bubble and popped the shield, but continued on through the fog.

  A foot away from Lyra’s chest — the glaive froze amidst the air.

  “KHAHAHAKHAA!!!!” Lyra cackled uncontrollably.

  The glaive could not pierce her.

  Kai clasped his hands.

  “Spear Style: Piercing Shot!!”

  The tip of Kai’s glaive ignited with energy.

  Kai’s mana, perhaps due to being a water mage, ignited blue. It contrasted with Lyra’s red runes — a battle between good and evil — Kai’s blue energy clashed against Lyra’s red onslaught.

  From the tip of his glaive, a beam of energy rushed forth.

  It pierced through Lyra’s chest and into the cavern wall behind her. The beam continued unperturbed, completely hollowing the stone that stood in its path.

  Lyra’s red runes dimmed.

  She slowly fluttered towards the floor, like a piece of discarded paper — she cascaded down.

  Within her chest, a hole pierced her heart. It ran through her body, the size of a fist — her heart was no more.

  Blood spilled from her mouth.

  Kai picked up his fallen glaive and cut off Lyra’s head.

  Only then did he curb his nerves.

  “Master!”

  “Kai!”

  Weylin and Amara ran up beside him.

  “That was awesome!” Weylin said.

  “Is she dead?” Amara asked.

  Kai nodded. “She’s dead.”

  He scanned their surroundings. There were two people here earlier, Kai was sure of it.

  “Excuse me?”

  Kuzo’s voice startled the trio.

  Kai spun around. He arched his glaive outwards and precisely pressed it against Kuzo’s neck.

  Kuzo raised his hands.

  “My apologies!” Kuzo said very quickly.

  “My name is Kuzo and I personally attend Duke Moor! I ask that you spare my life!” Kuzo pleaded.

  Kai ran his eyes down Kuzo’s appearance. He was an older man, in his forties maybe, with dark brown hair and a leather eye patch. He wore a black outfit with a blue, military style vest. Adorned across the breast pocket of his vest — Duke Moor’s emblem lay stitched finely.

  Kai exhaled. He removed his glaive from underneath Kuzo’s chin and turned his attention back towards the slain Dark Elf.

  “Can you identify this woman?” Kai asked immediately.

  “Yes, sir!” Kuzo stood at the ready.

  “Her name is Lyra Spire — we discovered her among the ports of Moorndell and hired her to aid in our search for the Duke’s fourth born, but…” Kuzo hesitated.

  Agitation momentarily flashed across his face, but before he could reply.

  “And let me guess — she turned on you the moment an opportunity arose?” Kai spoke with a venomous intensity.

  Although he spoke with Kuzo, his eyes still preyed upon Lyra’s figure. His gaze was sharp and unruly, he refused to blink, and Kai’s grip around his glaive only further intensified.

  The man appeared consumed with rage.

  “Kai…” Amara tugged at his armor.

  Kai exhaled.

  “I apologize for my hostility.” Kai acquiesced.

  In response, Kuzo bowed towards Kai.

  “I am to blame, sir! It was my first time encountering a Dark Elf… I didn’t-”

  “It’s alright.” Kai stopped Kuzo from speaking any further.

  This whole fiasco had already put a dent in Kai’s day — his mood was already well and ruined.

  “Weylin — dispose of her; and let’s get out of here. I’m sure there’s much to learn from sir Kuzo here.” Kai determined.

  Without questioning, Weylin muttered an incantation and set Lyra’s corpse ablaze.

  After that, the party of four returned to the surface. They set up camp alongside the others and prepared for a night in.

  They’d explore the dungeon properly tomorrow.

  …

  Erin watched all along, of course. How could he not?

  But instead of following the others out of his dungeon and eavesdropping upon their current conversation; Erin’s attention directed towards the bottom of his canyon.

  Within the bold darkness, a glass cube rested upon the stone.

  Like a snow-globe, the glass cube depicted a miniature landscape within: it had a few pine trees, a log cabin, a small running stream with fish jumping in and out, and an outhouse posted behind the cabin.

  But what attracted Erin’s attention more than anything…

  Bram opened the cabin’s front door. He stepped out onto the grassy hill and inhaled a deep breath of fresh air.

  He walked around the fireplace and picked up an ax that was leaned against one of the many barrels of grain.

  One, two — after an hour, Bram had stacked up quite an impressive pile of firewood for himself. He threw a couple onto the already lit campfire, then returned to within the cabin.

  Erin, meanwhile, coaxed the glass cube with his mana.

  *zap*

  Erin’s mana tendrils quickly retreated.

  I can’t touch it… Erin muttered.

  What even is it? Erin wondered in awe more than anything.

  Bram currently stood at no greater than an inch in height!

  Erin replayed the events in his mind.

  Again, what the fuck just happened?!