Author's Note:

As promised the second chapter is here. Nothing much to say just warn that the third chapter might be a bit late and come out on Sunday as I'm going cannoeying on Saturday and am not sure if I'll be back on time to post. Anyway hope you like this chapter

****

A bright sun rose over the Oradin Kingdom bringing hope back to the players. But not everyone was basked by her warm glow. One group was walking deep down in a dungeon instilling fear into the monsters' hearts, none had managed to stop them as of yet.

Ace had now joined the party but was still told to stay in the back with Par. He would call out if traps were ahead and disabled or simply told how to pass them.

They had all come back after a day and a bit game time and were walking since. There were traps every step which made monsters go extinct so even after a day's worth of walking they hadn't met any opponents.

"Do you think we're reaching the end?" asked Aurora tiredly. Being a cleric her stamina was at all-time low.

"I'd say we passed midpoint if traps started but it's hard to say how much is still there" answered Hawk bored. There was nothing to do but talk yet Monthu's grave look discouraged anyone from doing that. That was besides the kids. They seemed oblivious towards daggers thrown their way from his eyes.

The two wondered about their friend's bad mood but knew better than to ask.

Once Aurora was no longer able to walk they took a break and ate lunch. Ace always ate with eagerness that made her smile. It felt good to be appreciated.

But she knew it won't last long. Par's parents would never allow a stranger to be this close to their son.

Only after a few more hours did they see their first enemies. It were three fully grown cavemen - a shaman, warrior and rogue.

Monthu jumped to them slashing with his spear at rogue whose health dropped by a third only from that but before more damage could be inflicted he jumped back and hid away. Monthu decided to first take care of the shaman but the warrior appeared in his path blocking his advance.

Scythe clashed against sword making both of the their hands ring. Freeing his weapon Monthu used it's longer range to keep the caveman at bay and deal damage if he tried to attack. The monster got tired first which made him slower and allowed Monthu to deal a fatal hit to his heart. Then he advanced to kill the shaman but saw only a staff lying there. While he was staring uncomprehending the last caveman fell to the ground finished off by Hawk and elemental. Seeing that he became angry.

"What the hell has happened here?!"

"I took care of shaman while you played with warrior and Hawk found the hiding rogue." answered Ace cleaning the blood from his blade with a handkerchief.

"You're supposed to stay back with Par!" roared Monthu. "I can take care of this myself!"

"And what fun would that be? Do you think I bought this insanely expensive game to stay in the back and watch how others are enjoying themselves?"

The Reaper wanted to say something, maybe argue his case but Ace gave him no chance with a raising voice he continued on.

"I have no idea how you subdued your teammates but the same is not going to work on me. Only a week at sidelines ate all my patience away. There's no way you can make me into your lapdog that barks only when ordered! So you better get used to it. Besides why should I stay back with a sliver of experience going my way when you get everything? I'm not that selfless... Or pathetic."

Those last words cut deeply into Aurora and Hawk. Their heads and shoulders dropped down, neither was able to raise their eyes towards Ace's challenging gaze. Monthu saw it and was mortified.

Did they really think like that? Was he just keeping them down instead of protecting? Then he remembered something. They weren't here to be taken care of.

They were protectors themselves!

'What have I done?' was the only intelligent thought in his head as he watched with newly opened eyes two proud people, his childhood friends now reduced to those who can easily be humiliated by a child.

An eerie silence descended into the cave. Even the elemental’s fire seemed to diminish a little, casting everyone's faces in shadow. Par wasn't sure what had happened, what Ace's words meant but he stayed quiet. It somehow felt appropriate.

How does one change what was done? They started this game to take care of his brother so how did it happen that instead of protecting together it became only him? 'Was it something I said? Or was it something I did? We even chose classes to complement each other! So what happened?'

But there was no answer.

He remembered them laughing together the first month, playing around but somewhere along the way it all ended. It became like work. Hawk distracted enemies, Monthu killed them while Aurora kept Par from being bored out of his mind. Now that he thought about it Trist even wanted to play less and less until Ace appeared. 'Was it all my doing?' he asked himself raising his head to search for an answer in their faces.

The two stood the same - their heads lowered, weapons clutched so tightly it probably hurt. Par was standing aside unsure of what was going on but that it was important and he should let the grown ups to take care of it. The newcomer who dragged the skeletons out was assessing the situation, gauging the mood and what that meant for him.

Monthu wanted to feel angry, to shout at him for disrespect but seeing his once best friends so downcast made him unable to feel anything but regret. It's not even like the kid had done it on purpose, his giddiness simply wouldn't let him stay still for too long. 'He might have been a grown up but he kept more than his body from his childhood. Even in his most serious moments you could detect a certain amount of frivolousness' mused Monthu before catching himself in changing the theme.

'What am I supposed to do now anyway?' He looked at the aforementioned kid but his eyes were uncompromising steely grey, no help there. He even felt as if they were accusing him of taking so long to reply. Why were they even turning into slits?

He could act like nothing happened but his friends deserved more than that. He couldn't just brush it off and forget what he saw. What was done was done. Maybe with the kid’s help he'll be able to turn a blank leaf and start anew… If he opened the wounds making them bleed again, he should have the courtesy to help heal them so this time they wouldn't scar!

"I'm sorry'" he murmured facing his old time friends with a lost expression.

Aurora's and Hawk's heads bounced up at their own volition, shocked expressions on their faces. Monthu wasn't heard apologizing often.

They stared at him for a long time unblinkingly which made the tough guy squirm, even a light blush could be detected at his tanned skin. That made Aurora smile a bit, daring she even came closer to poke his cheek.

"That doesn't go well with your tough guy act"

It made Hawk burst out laughing and Monthu swat her hand away.

"Leave me alone" he growled turning around and speed walking ahead. The group exchanged a glance chuckling and caught up to him. Par was glad to see everyone happy so he didn't ask what had transpired there. What if it made them all sad again? To make sure that didn’t happen he ran to his brother, took his hand and walked beside him for the first time since long ago.

Now that Par was occupied with his brother, Ace was free to scout ahead. He used [Shadow Veil] to make himself less visible and [Silent Steps] to create no sound. It lowered moving speed but was well worth it. Using these abilities he was almost impossible to detect.

For some time there was nothing new but the same brown roughly made walls and obvious traps he disabled just in case. He was about to turn back and report when a sound caught his attention. Activating [All Ears] he sneaked closer. Further ahead the path branched off. The main one went ahead into a large cavern similar to the one where they started while the smaller one led into a cavemen den.

The whole place seemed newly made with mounts of rock and dirt still lying around. Silently running from one to another Ace came very close to the encampment. There were around twenty houses built of mud and many cavemen walking around. Most of them carried shovels or pickaxes but they were even more dangerous in the cavemen's hands than a sword.

Only a few shamans walked around while not even a one woman was in sight. 'Just what are they doing here?' wondered Ace. 'Now that I think about it no one deemed it worthy to share the quest with me or at least explain what was going on'. Grumbling he took a last look and went back.

"There are around thirty cavemen further ahead. Most of them are workers with only a few shamans present" he reported to Monthu who just barely kept himself in check not to run out alone.

"Okay. So..." he wasn't sure what to say. What did he have to tell them to do? Weren't they doing what they were supposed to do anyway?

Ace hit his own head with a loud smack which turned everyone's attention back to him.

"Now…" he started slowly "We're all going to do whatever we want and exterminate the cavemen who decided to make their encampment at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Everything's clear?" he asked looking at Monthu as if challenging him to disagree.

"So I can use my spells?" asked Paradox with his eyes shining, a spell of fireball on his lips.

Monthu nodded with a loud sigh noting others' malicious grins; that made him have second thoughts about unleashing them but it was too late. No more words were exchanged as they all ran off to meet the monsters; Ace and Hawk first with their high agility, Aurora and Par on their heels while Monthu lagged behind unused to see such enthusiasm before the fight.

They quickly reached the battlefield and descended on the cavemen like a hungry pack of wolves. There was no order in their attack and that terrified the cavemen most.

Once they lived outside in an open cave and fought adventurers time and time again and learnt their habits. Melee classes walked first to take the brunt of damage while mages and archers easily used their abilities.

This wasn't even close to that. The red robed mage was smiling maniacally like only a kid who was allowed to play with fire could, standing at the entrance and calling out fire storms while throwing fireballs at everything that moved. His aim was so bad that it was impossible to predict where they'll land!

The ranger who had run in first used a short bow shooting flaming arrows everywhere. He jumped and rolled around everywhere making it impossible to catch him or stop him from targeting their weak spots.

The blue cloaked kid wasn't slacking off either. He disappeared and reappeared behind their backs cutting the unlucky ones throats or just stabbing and jumping away letting the poison finish them off which made them keep glancing back and eating fireballs or arrows because of being distracted.

To top it all off even the cleric wasn't healing or buffing! With an evil glint in her eyes she summoned holy fires and hammers to bash everyone down!

Monthu who entered at that time was scared to go ahead. It was a sight worth being in Hell itself; fire raging everywhere while even more was raining down, fireballs and blazing arrows were flying while cavemen ran around screaming, their bodies on fire. A shadow was appearing here and there to finish off ones who tried to escape. It was mayhem and a pyromaniac's dream.

'Were they always like this?' wondered Monthu deciding to let them enjoy the moment. And they were all really doing that. Bright grins were shining in their faces while they rained fire on the unfortunate monsters.

Only after half an hour had they exhausted themselves and came back to where the path branched off falling down to rest. The fire that was still raging on in the side cave was impressive but actually did little damage. Neither of them have had the chance to use it much if at all so their levels were basic. But that didn't stop them from indulging in it and raising their skill levels considerably.

Ace got back on his feet first and gave Monthu a winner's smile. The guy couldn't do anything but laugh at that.

"Did you lot had to destroy everything? I think there won't be a copper left there."

"It was them!" shouted the kid pointing at the general direction behind himself. "It's their entire fault!"

Monthu just shook his head looking at his party members pretending to be asleep or innocent. 'The kid, I should probably start to call him by his name... So Ace, he brought such a change with him. He didn't go for leader's position but made everything he didn't like well known. Just what does he want from us?' For the first time that thought didn't make him worried. The happiness radiating was enough to make it worth it.

They decided to make a camp there for the night before entering the cavern. Aurora once again made food while Ace, Hawk and Monthu went scavenging.

The cave was full of ashes and charred remains of items. Not much survived the blazing inferno. Some embers were still burning, keeping the cave alight. There was a slight scowl on Monthu's face. 'How are we going to prepare for another quest if no loot will be gotten leaving us copperless?'

The three went in different directions digging in an inch deep ashes.

"Food's ready!" came Aurora's shout and the group returned putting items that somehow were intact or only lightly blackened.

It was a pitiful heap considering that around thirty cavemen were killed and their houses weren't bare either. An embarrassed look passed four of members' faces but none seemed apologetic. It felt too good to regret it.

The group rested until both their stamina and mana were back to full and readied themselves. The large cavern looked empty but it was hardly believable it'll stay that way once they entered.

They carefully walked ahead expecting something to spring out but nothing happened. Hawk was first to reach the other side of the cavern where a table stood with a letter on it. It read

~I congratulate you on coming this far into my lair but I'm a bit busy right now so I'll let my servants escort you back~

"What di..." Aurora's words were cut off by a sound of many feet moving.

From each entrance of which were five beside the one they had come from emerged groups of cavemen ranging from thirty to fifty of them. Together they made a fearsome army of diggers. They weren't extremely high level but it was all made up in numbers.

"What can we do?" asked Aurora looking for an exit but they were surrounded.

"Fight" answered Monthu grimly, entering a stance.

Hawk murmured something over his bow and started to shoot flaming arrows at the approaching monsters.

Par followed his actions and summoned his elemental. After ordering him to fight he started to throw fireballs. This time his aim was true. There were so many cavemen that wherever he shot someone got hit!

Aurora didn't prepare her spells. This time healing was more needed than offensive power. She looked for Ace but he was nowhere in sight. 'Did he run away in chaos?'

/I'll try to take out the shamans in the back though I'm not sure how much it'll help/ came a PM and she quietly passed it to others. Monthu nodded and jumped forth to intercept the first diggers.

He used [Reaper’s gaze] to make them hesitate and slashed at their undefended chests. It took a good chunk of their health but now they were ready. One of them blocked his scythe while another tried to bash him with a shovel. An arrow hit his hand at that moment and the weapon felt harmlessly down. Not wasting a moment Monthu freed his own weapon and pierced the digger together with another arrow.

Hawk was annoyed. How could he show his skills as an archer if enemies were a step away. His arrows were embedded into their chests more than shot. But he didn't have time to complain aloud. The numbers were overwhelming their sole melee fighter and the elemental, which was more of a mage than a fight, couldn't help much.

All Monthu was doing was trying to keep them all away while arrows and magic wore them down. His weapon’s range allowed him to keep them mostly at bay even without three layers of armour but it wouldn't last long. They needed some kind of a miracle to survive this onslaught. And fast.

On the other side of the room Ace was having his own set of problems. At first it went smoothly with him killing three shamans silently but then a random fighter turned around and met his eyes. They both looked at each other for a moment but before Ace could silence him, the guy shouted an alarm. Now the whole back line was looking at him and there were no traps to lure them into.

Ace silenced the guy just the same for bringing everyone on him and punched the closest shaman in the eyes, blinding him momentarily. He jumped behind him and evading a sword used [Backstab] and [Cut-throat].

Seeing another thrust he rolled away letting the sword finish off the shaman. Being down he slashed at legs slowing cavemen just that little bit. And poisoning them. There was not a dagger that wasn't coated in the most prominent poison he could get his hands on in his possession.

Standing up he evaded a shovel and blocked another one with his dagger while with a free hand he slashed at anything that was in reach. The poison would finish them off but it took an hour and they even had shamans to slow that down. And he didn't have time.

Jumping up to save himself from the hit at his legs and using one of the nearby cavemen as support he managed to get on his shoulders and produce daggers from his boots. This way he used [Backstab] and [Cut-throat] to his stand and jumped on another one. He wished to use [Heart-seeker] but it cost too much. This time there was no use in risking everything just for that one kill. If only there was a boss monster he could assassinate!

Some kind of spell flew his way so he turned sideways to dodge it but another came and it was too late to do anything about it.

Ace hissed as the acid attack hit his back and burned the clothes and his flesh. Deciding it was too dangerous to stay up he slashed with his boot blade at his support and jumped up down doing a summersault and throwing a bunch of daggers landed in a group of three cavemen shamans. He slashed at their necks without waiting for an invitation and evading to the left expecting swordsmen to not stay idle.

Where he had been two swords made their way but were only met by thin air. Ace was already using [Shadow Dash] which was actually a jump to appear behind one of a few surviving shamans and finally using [Heart-seeker]. It killed the target in an instant but it immobilised him for two seconds which allowed enemies to regroup and surround him.

Ace desperately looked around but they had made a complete circle and he didn't have enough defence to survive breaking through. His running eyes fell on stone icicles hanging from the top of the cavern. He would be safe there but how was he to get up there? It was as high as a three story house!

The circle around him was getting smaller and smaller. The monsters had learnt to keep him always in sight to prevent his invisibility and to cut off his paths with no shamans around. Maybe they were all dead or dying? Ace threw poisoned daggers to slow the advancing fighters and give himself some more time. There had to be a way!

His brains analysed the situation in every aspect but his few low level spells weren't much help while assassin’s abilities were pretty much useless in the open.

Then his eyes fell on the rough walls. What if?

Without thinking about it better Ace tied a rope around one of his sharpest daggers and threw it at the wall with all his strength. It stuck halfway to the hilt and looked promising. Ace tugged it a bit to make sure it wasn't loose and used wind to propel himself over the stunned warriors. Then he tightly held the rope until a wall welcomed him with her hands wide open. A grunt escaped his lips but there was no time if he wanted to escape with his life.

He found handholds and footholds and started to climb. He wasn't good at it but an encouragement of acid balls made him reach the top in record time.

There he took a deep breath and jumped on to the closest stone icicle. It was better than holding onto a small piece of rock but not by much.

From up there he could see the whole battle and it looked damn impossible to win. His team mates were still holding their own but there was sweat rolling down Monthu's face while Aurora was desperately trying to meditate her mana back at least a bit to heal him. Just as he watched Monthu’s shoulder was slashed by a sword. He managed to push the caveman back but his movements were slowed down considerably. Hawk was shooting with the same vigour but his quiver was almost empty. Fire elemental was nowhere to be seen and Par was crying while throwing fireballs randomly.

On the other side there still were around a hundred cavemen. Many of them were hurt with only one shaman remaining but there were still...

A crack echoed in Ace's ears and with a fear he raised his eyes. His stone pillar was breaking! Not waiting for more news Ace pushed himself away and jumped onto another one while his one from the added force fell down on cavemens' heads killing one instantly and injuring three beside him.

That gave Ace an idea.

He pulled himself to the top and started to chip it down. Once it started creaking he pushed himself away and jumped onto another one. His previous one fell doing even more damage as it was bigger so Ace started on his mission with a renewed energy. Maybe just maybe they could really survive this.

There's a saying telling not to cut the branch you're sitting on but Ace threw it out the window breaking every pillar on the other side of the cavern where his friends resided.

Monsters soon noticed that and started to push forward even more but Monthu kept his place. Aurora had just finished meditating and healed his wounds and also buffed. It was like rainwater to a thirsty man.

"What is going on?" he shouted without turning back after hearing some screams and crashes from the other side. It was quiet for some time so they had deemed Ace dead or gone but maybe he just took a breath and was creating mayhem once again? But why were the monsters so desperate on getting closer to them even pushing each other around, making it a bit easier for Monthu to keep them away.

"Parts of ceiling started to fall down!" answered Aurora standing on a table. Ace had made good on his promise to take care of shamans so she and Par could safely stand on it.

The back lines of cavemen were in chaos with ceiling falling on them and killing ones while chips of stone flew in all directions hitting many others. They were running in all directions trying to escape the falling debris but such a thing as a safe place didn't exist. The things fell randomly coming closer to their side but not enough to threaten the party’s lives.

"Par look! There's stone raining down on our enemies! Maybe you can add fire too?" asked Aurora with a renewed hope.

"Isn't it pointless? Didn't you say we're all going to die anyway?" replied the little mage, tear stains on his cheeks.

"But we can't give up! I might have thought it was hopeless but have you seen me give up? Never! A true adventurer fights till his last breath against any odds!" Aurora shouted with conviction, silently cursing her own pessimistic mind and using a holy fire spell to weaken the monsters even more. Only a bit more and they would die!

Par munched over her words and finding them true steeled his expression and wiped all the tears away.

"Souls of the damned come and turn this into your playground, Burning Inferno!"

Black fire rose from the ground with his scream and engulfed all that stood in it's path. None were spared while the stones kept falling and arrows flew in a rhythm.

Monthu only heard it with one ear. He was pushed back with cavemen desperately trying to get past him. They no longer cared about not getting hurt or evading; they just mindlessly ran ahead like people who saw Satan himself.

He slashed and slashed and somewhy monsters died. ‘Why is their hp so low?’ But he didn't have time to ponder. The attack was still going and he had to protect his brother while giving time for his friends to fight back. He wouldn’t back off, not now not ever. So his scythe moved on in a practised sweep reaping the lives of those who came in it's range without any break.

Ace was used to hearing the cracking stone so it didn't surprise him. He just looked around for a closest stone... But there no longer were any! He had cut the last stone icicle in the vicinity!

The wall was impossible to jump back onto even if it had been close while falling down wasn't an option. With creaking in his ears he saw the rope he used to escape the cavemen. It was halfway up the wall and about 10 meters away from him.

Seeing a crack open up before him Ace pushed himself towards the wall while using wind magic to get the rope closer to himself. Somehow he managed to reach it and kissed the wall again. He slid down the rope and looked at his hp bar. Only a third was left. 'That wall took more of my health then the cavemen!' he grumbled while drinking two potions and running back into the fray.

There were about twenty weakened monsters left but they were so scared and pushing forward that they didn't notice the danger from behind. Ace used all of his abilities and made short work of their remaining health. He wanted to congratulate others on surviving when a fireball, arrow and a scythe came his way.

Falling down he screamed out "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The group blinked a few times concentrating on their surroundings once again.

"Ace? You're alive?!" shouted Par first and came running.

"What could a few cavemen actually do to me?" asked Ace indignantly but with a proud smile on his face.

"So what happened there? Why did the stones start to fall?" asked Aurora who had free time to see over the battleground.

"Well, I took care of a few shamans before they noticed me and I had to make myself scarce. My only chance was ceiling because path to you was kind of blocked. So I did just that and saw those fragile looking stone icicles..."

"So maybe you're not useless after all" muttered Monthu sitting down. His stamina bar was flashing red, the same as satiety.

"Ha ha ha" laughed Ace mockingly but without any real anger. It was a compliment from Reaper. Or that’s how he decided to take it .

"Do you think it's dangerous or can we rest here for a bit?" asked Aurora turning her attention to Monthu.

"It should be safe. I doubt these cavemen are respawning ones."

"That' s good to hear" said Aurora with a sigh and leaned against the wall. She closed her eyes to rest but Ace picked the conversation up again.

"So can anyone enlighten me on what your quest is? It's annoying to be in the dark, you know?"

"We're here to catch a mage named Levin and bring him back for trial."

"Awesome! What did he do?" asked Ace curiously while a blank look appeared on the group's faces. "You didn't ask them?!" he shouted in disbelief while bursting out laughing. "You took a quest to catch a criminal which required a full group of people and didn't even inquire on what he was capable of? That's just smart!"

The laughter made Monthu uncomfortable. Once he put it that way it seemed incredibly stupid.

"It doesn't matter. We can take care of him."

"Of course" agreed Ace and still chuckling lied down on his side. Closing eyes he fell asleep or logged off in reality.

***

Kirin unstrapped the many wires from his body and yawning left the cabin. The smile was still on his face.

It vanished quickly when a bluish light on his laptop indicated a new e-mail. He opened it and saw a photo of his parents smiling at each other in some tropical place. The letter below read.

~How are you doing? Have you been well? We hope you enjoy your game! We on the other hand have been delayed. A conference will be held close by a month from now so we decided to wait here to save some money instead of flying back and forth. We know you can understand it; we'll be back as soon as we can! Promise! Love, Julie and Robert

'You're really quick' mused Kirin with a scowl on his face but his reply didn't show it.

~I'm fine! I've had pizza yesterday and it was delicious! Have a good holiday then! And can you bring me a present? Kirin~

He sent it and opened a new tab for Google. Using this god of knowledge he searched for a mage called Levin.

At first there was nothing useful but after searching for half an hour he found a mention of an illusionist Levin. He clicked on the shortcut and went to read the full post.

~I'd like to warn everyone about a user going by the name Levin in Oradin Kingdom. He pretends to be a mage and know the way of all dungeons while in reality he leads you to an ambush and when monsters leave, picks up your dropped loot. That's what happened to me and my friends. I warn, beware of him!~

Scrolling down Kirin read the comments. The first two expressed their disbelief while a third one mentioned the same thing as the author just added that his party was annihilated while going in a dungeon which then disappeared never to be seen again.

It gave Kirin an idea but nothing concrete.

Finished he went to kitchen and scrambled some eggs. It wasn't the most nutritious food but he didn't care enough to make something better.

Tiredly he went to sleep. Playing more than forty-eight hours without rest made you feel like that.

***

"Where is he?" asked Aurora annoyed. "It's been a few days already! Maybe we should march of without him?"

"And where would you go? Back to town?" replied Hawk tiredly. They had this specific conversation five times already and will probably many more if the kid didn't return soon.

"Where could he possibly be?! Isn't he the one who’s always here no matter what time it is?"

"He needs time to rest too, don't you think?"

"Why did he pick a day before a boss fight?! Couldn't he have taken a nap when all of us did?"

"Maybe he didn't feel like falling asleep in the middle of a boss fight?" guessed the ranger.

"Maybe he mentioned something to you Par?" asked Aurora turning to the little mage.

"No. We didn't get to talk once since the big fire!" answered Paradox in a whiny voice.

"Oh well, it seems like he's not coming back today either. I'm logging off" said Aurora and left giving up first. Others followed soon enough. There was no reason to stay in if nothing could be achieved.

***

A few more game days later Ace came back. It was night where he lived and the cave was empty beside the dead like bodies of his comrades. Sitting down he called up [Flare] and took his flute out. A warm melody left it and echoed around the empty cavern.

***

"You're here! You're here!" screamed Aurora who had logged in first. "What took you so long?!" she asked while e-mailing others the good news.

Ace answered only a few minutes later after finishing his song.

"I overslept"

"You mean you slept all that time?" asked Aurora aghast.

"I was tired" answered Ace while Par and Monthu woke up.

"You're back!" screamed the kid running to his friend with arms wide open.

Ace welcomed his hug and smiled widely.

"I feel loved" he said happily.

"You're the only one who can open secret doors" replied Monthu stonily.

Ace showed him a tongue over Par's shoulder. Releasing his friend he squatted down to look under a table.

"We've searched but couldn't find anything" said Par helpfully looking over Ace's shoulder.

Ace nodded and pushed the table away but still found nothing. No hidden lever like in the old man's house or a rock that didn't fit with others. Not despairing he searched the wall walking a whole circle around the cavern but without any luck. 'Where could it be hidden?' wondered Ace now standing in the middle of the cave imagining that it'll help him solve this mystery.

Looking around he took in the high walls, ceiling with few remaining stone icicles and hard well-made floor. Why was the floor so smooth while everything else so rough?

It didn't add up.

Deciding this needed more investigation Ace crawled over the ground touching every little space.

"Uhm... What are you doing now?" asked Aurora while eating the food she had made out of being bored.

Ace didn't feel like acknowledging that question. 'He was slaving around while they took a break and that's how he was going to be treated?' he grumbled under his breath but remains of a smile stayed on his face.

Near one of the caves he found what he was looking for. A patch of ground that looked just like all the other to an untrained eye but Ace saw differently. He noticed a slight curve upwards there and a hollow sound was heard after hitting it. Now only to figure out how to open it remained.

"It's here" he shouted to his team mates staring intently at the ground.

"You sure?" asked Aurora coming closer.

"Yes. Just how does it open?" he wondered aloud tilting his head.

Monthu came closer and like a true Reaper wasn't keen on waiting. He stabbed his weapons down side at the ground in full force. A hole opened up, dirt falling down.

"Or you can do it this way" agreed Ace with a sage like expression, nodding.

Then he widened the hole with his hands and sent the little flame down there. It outlined a staircase made of polished wood leading downward. Ace jumped in first.

"Are you sure it's safe there?" inquired Aurora fearfully.

"Safe?" asked Ace incredulously. "Which part of a dungeon is ever safe?"

That made her complaints die out and everyone followed Ace down.

At the bottom they were met by intricately made giant stone gates behind which a maze lay. A pop out message appeared before everyone's eyes.

You are the first ones to discover Gates of Tuneran.

Reward: +100 Fame

All items inside now belong to you

"It's a different place?" exclaimed Aurora carefully touching the gates.

"Seems so" agreed Hawk scanning his surroundings. "You're going to lead again?" he asked turning his eyes towards Ace.

"I can" he answered walking in first once again.

The maze had high walls which were made of stone and had no cracks. Feeling a presence further ahead Ace activated [Shadow Veil] and [Silent Steps].

Behind the next corner he found a group of cavemen. That surprised him. 'What are they doing here?'

Not having any ideas he PMed Aurora and waited for others before starting the fight.

They made short work of the five cavemen with barely scratches that Aurora healed only because she was still bored.

They marked their way with chalk. Exploring took half a day with rarely walking back on their own tracks but the end wasn't anywhere in sight. Ace had a feeling that something was amiss but couldn't put a finger on it. 'Why are cavemen down here? Wasn't Levin's Hideout their work place?'

"Let's have a break. I'm exhausted" said Aurora finally with a tired sigh. She's been breathing heavily for some time now.

"I'll make fire this time!" Ace said, surprising everyone. He took out a bit of wood from his backpack and after a lot of trial ignited a small spark.

"Owowoow!!!" he suddenly shouted out, taking his finger away and putting it in his mouth.

"What happened?" asked Aurora quickly.

"I burnt it" murmured Ace still sucking on his finger with a dejected look.

"Come over here. I'll heal you…" said Aurora smiling at his adorable expression.

"No!" disagreed Ace shaking his head vigorously. "I can do it myself!"

"You do?" asked Par surprised coming closer.

Ace nodded and took a piece of cloth from his bag. Then he carefully bandaged his index finger.

And tore it all off immediately.

"Wha..?" asked Aurora sharing the whole groups mystified expressions.

"It's healed!" shouted Ace with a grin.

"Wasn't it supposed to?"

"Nope! I don't have a bandaging skill!"

"So wha..?" once again before Aurora could finish her question Ace interrupted her this time by starting to chant.

"Illusions placed to misdirect and fool the unwary turn into mist and show me the truth I have seen behind your veil, Revelation!"

After the last note left the kid's mouth white mist started to rise from the walls covering them in no time. Soon they couldn't see a thing but no one was worrying. They had trust in Ace, even Monthu. He understood that if the kid had wanted to pull something off he had more than enough chances before.

Little by little the mist started to scatter as if being sucked in one side.

"It'll lead you to your friend" murmured Ace, his voice strained. "The mist will be thickest around him as it's his creation."

Monthu nodded and taking Par's hand walked inside the whiteness. Following it he reached a crudely made wooden door. He opened it easily and entered but couldn't see a thing so he squeezed his brothers hand. Par understood what his brother wanted and quietly cast a spell.

"Air flow without stop, Gust!"

Wind rose up taking all the mist with it outside the door, leaving a surprised mage sitting cross-legged on a bed.

"How did you get here?!" he asked astonished. "My illusion was perfect!"

"Seems like it wasn't good enough" answered him Monthu coming closer and binding him with handcuffs made of onyx. The whole party entered by that time and Aurora asked crossing her hands.

"So this is the man that made fools out of us?"

After Monthu’s nod she came closer and hit him with all her strength.

"What was that for, you violent woman?!" shouted the mage Levin indignantly after hissing in pain. She hit extremely hard for a woman. There will probably be a red mark.

She hit him on the other cheek.

"I'm not violent! And that was for making me walk so long for nothing!" answered Aurora her face beat red, hands itching to hit him again.

"It's your own fault for being stupid!" argued the mage with a smirk. "Aaah!" he screamed as a dagger appeared in his shoulder.

"I would be more respectful if I were you" said Ace coming closer with an icy expression. "They need you alive but nowhere in the contract was it said that you can't be on the verge of death." He pulled out the dagger making the mage wince and licked the blood. It was salty and had a taste of rust but it was also a taste of victory, of revenge served well.

"Gross!" shouted the mage. "Get that psycho away from me!"

A malicious grin appeared on Ace's face.

"Remember what I said before? I think you didn't hear it well. Respect goes well while being a captive" he accompanied those words with another thrust.

Now the mage was bleeding from both shoulders but he didn't dare to say anything else. His face was a mask of horror and fear. Never had he encountered someone so mindlessly cruel.

"I think you've done enough" Monthu said, finally leaving his shocked state and pushing Ace away. Never would he have thought the kid could be so heartless. Why would he torture a chained man, anyway? Wasn't he the one who was so nice and patient with Par while being helpful to everyone else? Something just wasn't right. "I'll be taking care of the mage while Aurora walks with Par and Hawk. Ace you're on scouting duty. We're leaving now."

He caught Ace's eyes but instead of anger there was understanding in them.

The trust he had worked so hard to gain was gone.