.

Making his way through this long and narrow path, Lowen had to continuously stop so he could catch his breath as well as recover some of his ki. Using his earth sense, Lowen could see 50 ft all around him, up, down, left, right, in front and behind like a huge ball. Lowen senses stretched out trying to find the correct path. But the further he went along this path, the more confusing it all became. Coming to a clearing in this cavern, the path he was on suddenly split into nearly 30 different paths. Once more he looked ahead 50 ft but unfortunately, all the tunnels looked the same at that depth. With no clear choice, Lowen was stumped but he knew he couldn't remain here forever guessing. Just as he was about to decide, he heard the echo of footsteps coming from behind. In a panic, Lowen desperately dove into the closest path and while carrying Bren, he continued to race forward. Lowen ran forward taking twisted paths left and then right but no matter where he went, after just a few minutes he could hear footsteps approaching him again. Using his earth sensing, he continually evaded goblin soldiers and again took another path. Doing all this and already not knowing the way, Lowen was completely lost, he wanted to ask Bren for his opinion but Bren had already lost consciousness long ago and wasn't waking anytime soon. All Lowen could do was push forward.

-------------------------------------------------

After 6 hours of being in this maze of a cave, again Lowen heard footsteps in his surrounding and ran into the nearest path to avoid them. Running around for all this time, most of these pathways looked the same but this new one he just found himself in was different. This one was a long corridor made entirely of metal. Walking forward, Lowen found many cells lining this corridor, inside each and every one of them there were dozens and dozens of people. Inside most of them were women and children and each child whether they were a boy or a girl, was so skinny that each bone could be visibly seen. With hair completely disheveled, dirty skin, bruises, lice, and sickness, they all looked as though they were on the verge of death. Lowen saw this and his gut twisted in both anger and sadness. The women didn't fare any better, none of them seem to be skinny though, instead, most of them were pregnant but they too had sickly appearances. Along with the dirtiness and ragged hair, how they survived in these conditions for so long, Lowen couldn't even begin to guess. Lowen wanted to save them, he wanted to rescue them all but he had no way to get them out alive, not with all these goblins creeping around every corner and especially not with Rize having control over this place.

As Lowen walked by, many of the women and children could see him through the gaps in the doors but they thought nothing of him. Their eyes were dull and lifeless, seeing him, they only wondered why he wasn't in a cell. Knowing their situation they figured he would soon be in one soon enough and with these passing thoughts, they thought of him no more. As he continued along, making his way down this corridor, he couldn't help but be disgusted by the smell of human waste that had simply been thrown into the corner of each of these cells. Even dead animals smelled better, in Lowen's opinion.

Coming to the end of this corridor there was one more cell, however, this cell was different. The door was made from the exact same material as the one that had trapped Lowen and Bren in the dome earlier before. This door was not only made from the same looking material but it also seemed to be at least two times as thick. Before Lowen even came to the door, he could hear calm steady breaths, in and out, as though this person was meditating. Looking in, Lowen could see a skinny disheveled man with long hair and a long beard. This man looked to be in an even worse state then all of the other prisoners. However, unlike the prisoners that could roam about their cell, this man's arms, legs, and even his neck were entirely chained up. The chains were at least 2 inches thick and they too were made of the same material as the door. This man was the only adult male that Lowen had discovered in this entire cave so far.

(Who is this person and why would Rize keep him alive?)

Looking at the man's arms and legs, Lowen was surprised to see inscription tattoos on each of his limbs.

(No wonder why he's chained up, so this is the reason why the door is so thick and durable. Those inscription tattoos look similar to Clovis's and Brens. If this man were to be set loose, I doubt any of those goblin soldiers or even that earth mage could stop him.)

Lowen continued to look at this man and his curiosity grew more and more but he had little time to spare. Looking left and right of this door, there was a path going in both directions, whether they led up or down, Lowen had no clue but he had to make a choice. Just as he turned towards the right to try that path, the man in the cell suddenly spoke.

"A child? A boy, hmm, what are you doing down here? Don't you know how dangerous this place is?"

Lowen stopped and looked back into the cell, the man slowly lifted his head and Lowen could see a powerful will in his eyes. This was a man who still clung to life with everything he could. Lowen looked at this man and wondered.

(This man, he has inscription tattoos so he's clearly a battlemage and Rize said that once you're broken he can completely control you, yet this man isn't walking around under Rizes influence. Doesn't that mean his mind still hasn't been broken.)

Looking more clearly at this man, his body was covered from head to toe in scars and he even had a few cuts on his body that were obviously made recently. This man has been tortured for an incredibly long time and was still being tortured even up to this day and yet his unwavering eyes said the opposite. Lowen didn't know if he could endure the same amount of torture for so long and still be unbroken. Lowen couldn't help but ask.

"Who are you?"

The man chained up in the cell, with his voice completely horse let out a rough chuckle. Shaking his head he said.

" Me, I'm just a fool too stupid to see through one ugly goblin."

"Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing but looking at the condition you and your friend are in, I doubt it was for something as simple as sightseeing."

Lowen didn't have time for this and so he quickly asked.

"Do you know the way out?"

The man stared at Lowen and a small smile formed on his lips, he said.

"You want to leave already, even though it's already been so long since I last talked to someone. Shame, such a shame."

Lowen, not getting the answer he wanted, could no longer stick around, so he just turned and was about to head down the right pathway, before the man suddenly said.

"Boy, that's the wrong way, well, that is unless you wanted to go towards the soldiers training grounds."

Lowen stopped in his tracks, that really would be the most unfortunate decision. Looking at this man again, the man's face seemed somewhat familiar but Lowen having just come to this world only recently and not traveling anywhere, he simply couldn't place it. Taking his words to heart, Lowen decided this man really had no reason to lie to him and so he turned and headed towards the left path.

"Thank you."

Before Lowen made his way down the path, the man said.

"If you go that way, make sure you stick to the left side of that path for 400 ft before you take a right and you don't need to change directions for at least a mile, then, take another left another right and two more lefts, that should lead you out."

Lowen nodded at this man. Who knew how long he's been in this cell and yet his mind seemed to still be so sharp and clear. Lowen wasted no more time and raced down the left path, trusting this man. He believed this man had no reason to lie to him but besides that, he really had no other options. Whether he went left or right, either way, it was 50/50. As Lowen disappeared down this pathway, the man in the cell, under hushed breath, whispered two words that only he could hear.

"Nice hammer."

The further Lowen went down this path, the more and more the directions were spot on, so Lowen increased his speed, pushing himself to his limit. However, as he continued along he could hear the footsteps of goblin soldiers increasingly growing louder and louder. Soon they were right behind him. Lowen dashed through this dimly-lit cave and soon Lowen could see a bit of sunlight in the distance. Dashing forward even further, he could now smell fresh air blowing towards him and as it gently brushed against his face Lowen grit his teeth and pushed his exhausted body forward.

As the goblin soldiers continued to follow him, Lowen finally saw the exit of the cave but there were a dozen goblin soldiers blocking the exit. Spotting Lowen and Bren, they screamed while drawing their blades. Lowen lowered his center of gravity and placed his heavy hammer in front of him. Charging like a mad bull, with one more push Lowen bashed through these small fry, crushing all in his way before he exploded out from the cave. Seeing the sun starting to set and feeling the fresh breeze on his skin, Lowen felt more alive now than he ever had before since arriving in this world. Rushing to the tree line, Lowen spotted Roland, standing next to him stood a ragged-looking woman, it was Lucy. As Roland saw the terrible condition that the two were in, he immediately prepared a spell and as he did, hundreds of goblins began to spill out from the cave. Lowan entered the edge of the forest and with Bren still on his back, he jumped high up into a tree near Roland. Lowen looked at Roland and said.

"Change of plans, use your Rippling Inferno on these goblins outside but don't send it in the cave, the mission.... we failed."

Roland clenched his jaw In bitterness and nodded in understanding. Concentrating on his magic, his power began to build and build and with enough of it gathered in his magic tool, he pointed the tip of his cane at these hundreds of goblins and in a voice that seemed as if it could shake the heavens, he roared out.

"RIPPLING INFERNO!!"

A small circle of flame formed at the tip of Roland's cane and quickly began burning brighter and hotter and in one swift movement, the circle of flame expanded outward and in every direction like a wave of death. Ash and dust.... in an instant nearly 300 goblins were gone, their bodies became dust in the wind. The grass was ash, besides the trees that Roland and Lowen were on, all the other ones within 500 ft of Roland became black ash that could choke a person's lungs. The rocks that lay on the ground, some of them glowed a bright orange, while the smaller ones had simply melted. Even though Lowen had witnessed it before, he was still completely shocked. Seeing the power of this spell kill hundreds of enemies at once was terrifying indeed. To Roland's enemies, this attack was completely devastating but to his allies, it merely felt like a warm embrace. The amount of control Roland had over this spell prevented it from harming his allies, this was truly astonishing.

The woman named Lucy, standing next to Roland, was absolutely petrified. Seeing the horde of goblins rush out, she thought that she would once more be captured. The thought of it sent shivers down her spine and before Roland had used this attack, she had contemplated leaping from the tree and bashing her head on the ground below. She would rather die then to ever go back and suffer at the hands of those disgusting goblins again. Once she saw the after effects of Roland's attack, however, not only was it a nightmarish scene, it was also a little hard to accept. These disgusting goblins that had raped her repeatedly, beaten her, tortured her for so long. The goblins that she feared with every fiber of her being were suddenly gone in an instant. Lucy couldn't help but collapse on the branch. Leaning against the tree, she began to cry and weep as hard as she could. The feelings and emotion she was feeling right now were so overwhelming that she was almost hysterical.

Rize had made his way to the entrance and saw the devastation his army. With half of them gone he was about to order for the rest of his army to attack Roland but he could feel Roland preparing another attack. Suppressing his anger, he ordered some soldiers to guard the entrance and he and his soldiers retreated back inside. With Roland waiting with that massive spell, Rize now found himself stuck for now. An open battlefield with Roland having enough energy to cast his 4th circle spell, it would be suicide to face him in the open. The only thing Rize could do, for now, was wait. He would soon have control over Clovis 's mind and with that, he could lure Roland and his allies into a trap, but again, he had to wait.

Lowen breathed out a sigh of relief. Being down in that cave completely lost in the dark, fighting for your life, with enemies chasing you from all over, it was a feeling Lowen had never felt before in his entire life and he never wanted to have that feeling again. Now that he was finally out and so many of his enemies had been killed, Lowen took a deep breath and felt a terrible pain all over. With the built-up exhaustion his body had accumulated and being covered from head to toe in wounds and blood, as well as Rize using his powers on Lowen, trying to break his mind and with that agonizing pain he felt in his mind, Lowen had pushed himself to his limit. This was truly one of the most difficult things he had ever been through. Lowen's entire body suddenly relaxed and his legs began to buckle under him. As he tried to catch himself, he felt his eyes rolling back and he completely lost consciousness. With his mind completely blank, Lowen fell from the tree and crashed on the ground from a height of 20 feet. With a *Thud* Lowen's mind slipped off Into darkness.

Roland and Lucy seeing this were shocked. Lucy quickly climbed down the tree and ran over to Lowen, holding him in her arms, her tears continued to flow like a fountain. With that, the sun finally set and the world as well.... became dark.