Gabriel ran with the wind at his heels.

The green scenery passed through their vision as it would for a speeding car. Of course, after the initial burst of speed, he had to slow down, he activated Dash every few seconds, and the Skill remained active for just as long. His plan was that of running all the way to the exit and inform the guards, they could intervene, all Dungeon guards Tier 4, if they couldn’t do something about the situation, then no one could.

“We need to check for them!” Greta shouted over the wind. Her armored dress clung to Gabriel’s chest as the speed at which they were going made it impossible to be otherwise.

“Don’t shout in my ears! I have Enhanced Senses! Even if you whisper, I can hear you!” Gabriel shouted back. If she had an armored dress, Gabriel was still wearing a civilian suit. There were still two weeks to go before he could receive his armor; he was dangerously under-protected.

“Then go to Prisha’s direction!” She screamed back. “There’s no way she’ll make it out of here if we don’t help her out.”

“Why!? She’s got Fred with her.”

“Fred doesn’t have attack Skills; he can only send back the damage he receives, which means he needs a healer for sustain, which means they are both dead if the Bastards catch on to them! We need to help them!”

Damn… “I don’t know where they went!”

“I have a tracker on Prisha. We can track her up if you let me down!”

Gabriel tried to feel the enemy’s presence at his back, there was nobody. So he abruptly stopped, then he put down a disheveled Greta.

“Why have you got a tracker on her?” Gabriel asked; he didn’t know if he wanted to smile or not at the situation.

“Because!”

“That’s no answer.”

“Oh, shut it, for a second! I need to find the receiver.”

Greta retrieved it from her Dimensional purse.

“If you have an Energy potion in there, it might be of use,” Gabriel said.

“Be my guest!” Greta literally slammed the flask on his palm.

She doesn’t take pressure lightly. Gabriel shrugged.

What Greta took out of her bag was nothing but a piece of paper.

“What is that?” Gabriel asked when he saw the piece of paper pull toward the north.

“Enchanted Gemini paper, it pulls towards the location of its twin part. We need to go that way-” Greta couldn’t finish her sentence that Gabriel put his index finger on her mouth.

“They’re here.”

They were just careful steps, but Gabriel could hear them. A thorn big like sword flew in Greta’s direction; Gabriel pulled her close to remove her from its course. He barely made it in time.

Holy shit!

Next, Gabriel took her in his arms and proceeded in the original direction. They were too many of them.

“Why are they all here?” Greta shouted again, as Gabriel put all he had in his running.

“How many of them?” Gabe asked; she could see from behind his shoulders.

“Looks like almost all of them!”

“Then something’s wrong!”

“Of course, it is!” She answered.

“I think this is not the first time this has happened to me!”

“What should that even mean?”

“That we run! I don’t want to spend another month sequestered in a fucking Dungeon!”

“What are you talking aboooooout?” Greta shouted as he further boosted his speed with Burst of Fury.

Then they reached the exit.

Thank the gods it’s not sealed!

Gabriel was about to burst through it when something hit him in the ankle. He screamed as the thorn tore his foot apart.

He and Greta tumbled on the floor, rolling over and over again.

“Go!” He shouted to Greta the very moment he recovered enough from the fall to summon his spear.

Greta, half-panicked, half-in control, cast on him everything she had, including a dome shield exclusively for him; she could cast only one instance of the thing, which left her unguarded.

Gabriel didn’t even have time to be thankful to her because his eyes locked to those of his enemy.

It was a Yggdrasilian, a male.

They differed from the females only in the foliage style; their curves were barely distinguishable. The one in front of him was an Elite; he could feel it in its posture, his battle sense, maybe not even that, his feeling of the Bastard’s presence said so. And it was confident.

The boy, for it looked like such, had entirely detached from his group. They would be reaching the, shortly, probably.

Gritting his teeth in pain, Gabriel cast Helping Hand on himself, he knew the foot would not restore completely until his Life points became full again, and right now, they were at 2. Even with Greta’s help, it would take him at least six minutes to recover entirely.

Without detaching his eye from the boy drawing his bow, Gabriel called for Greta.

“Can my foot be fixed if I drink a potion now?”

“We… we can cut it again and regrow it,” she answered almost right away.

“Good. Throw me a Life potion, then. I need to fuck my ideals over if we want to live.”

Greta, slowly shifting behind him, threw him a potion; the potion was immediately shot down in the air, but Gabriel didn’t care. He knew it was a Tier 3 potion; even a sip would heal him back to almost full. So he launched toward the falling liquid sucking in the air by applying Burst Attack on his diaphragm. He sucked in glass and liquid, ingurgitating whatever he could, then shutting the pain down, Gabriel exploded forward with another instance of Burst of Fury. His overhead cut connected with the monster’s bow, shattering it, but being caught by the monsters’ hands successively.

That was exactly what Gabriel was waiting for.

For the first time since his encounter at the renovated Turtle Dungeon, he cast his curses. He cast them all. Like rivulets of darkness, they left his mouth with a puff of his breath. They all locked in, the boy’s eyes widening in surprise.

Necrosis, Sickness, Mana Poisoning, Spirit Chain. They were shot forward one after the other, each one debilitating its target in order, Necrosis to make it lose Life over time; Sickness to reduce its Alacrity, Recovery, and Stamina; Mana Poisoning to make him burn Mana by the second, while at the same place applying a nasty poisoning that could even kill after vast exposure; and Spirit Chain which description said that it crippled the target’s Willpower, something that Garena had explained to him as a confluence of Power, Resilience, and Stamina. It was indeed a nasty cocktail of affliction.

The Yggdrasilian staggered back as he felt the massive toll on his Attributes first than the necrosis and poison taking effect. Gabriel took that chance to swiftly engage him, reaching a hand for his legs.

Battle Seal.

As the Sub-Skill took effect, Gabriel knew that he had won.

The boy was unable to move and fell backward in an awkward attempt to back away. Gabriel raised his spear and started stabbing him over and over again with the murderous rage peculiar of Burst of Fury. However, as he was about to deal the finishing blow, he stopped.

The monster’s eyes… Not a monster.

The boy’s eyes were full of fear. He had never seen fear before in a monster, only in the Tyrant King maybe, but his eyes were inexpressive anyway. It was not the case for the creature in front of him. He was begging with, pleading, to be left alive. A pull from within him, Liz, drew him too. It convinced him that this monster did not have to die.

Gabriel backed immediately away. He was still wary of a sudden response from the creature that even though lower than him, especially because all his curses had taken effect, he was still an Elite monster. So he turned around and hobbled fast, over to Greta. Before reaching the exit, Gabriel removed the Battle Seal he had placed on the boy then they were out of the Dungeon before Burst of Fury was even over.

***

Phreviel was there, weak as he had never been before. And terrified. Guardian or not Elite or not, what the Reevers Tree had defined the Herald of Spirits had utterly defeated him. Him!

Then, if that wasn’t enough, it took pity on him and spared him from his misery.

The Yggdrasilian was immobile, the curses savagely shredding him apart on all levels, until he felt them wash away; with what couldn’t else be but sacred water. A Yggdrasilian caster had freed him of them and was now helping him back on his feet.

“They escaped,” said the Yggdrasilian, a guardian, “How?”

“It… was my mistake, I did not expect the Herald to be so… decisive,” said Phreviel.

“We Analyzed him, his attributes were irregular but nothing you shouldn’t have been able to deal with. What has happened?”

Phreviel launched him a look of challenge, “You are implying I lied? There is no way for us to know his Skills. Our levels don’t reach the up to unlock Scan. I couldn’t expect his Skills. He had not shown them before. I thought he was just a melee fighter. As it seems he is a Dark Magician.”

“Our Herald? A dark magician? It’s impossible! If all things he should know Life magic!” Answered Thredon, for that was his name.

“Ask him next time; he might show them to you… however, he let me go.”

“What do you mean? I thought you fought to a standstill.”

“No, won me with only one brutal exchange… but then he left me alive. He didn’t finish me. Do you understand the implications of this?” Phreviel was fervent.

“He let you live… Why? I thought we had to indoctrinate him,” Thredon said.

“That was what I thought too. Maybe, maybe there’s another approach we might take,” Phreviel said, turning back to think. “Contact the others! I want them to capture the Spirit jailers, do not murder them. I’ve got an idea.”

***

“What more in N’arr’s name is going on?” General Jackson Reevers shouted once he reached the outskirts of LargeLeaf Dungeon’s Entrance.

Gabriel and Greta had been escorted to the treehouses, one of them was a medic facility, and they had already proceeded to cut away Gabriel’s leg and were enchanting it to make it regrow as it was. It was a procedure that had to be applied right away, and it required the individual’s soul not to have accepted the change as permanent. In this case, Gabriel really did not; he had been accustomed to regrowing limbs, so his mind had taken a form in which everything he lost could be recovered. However, there always was some unlucky one on whom the process would not succeed, especially amid the youngest members of their society.

The treehouse was not what he was expecting. The inside was a thorough and thorough military facility, and he was sitting on a comfy operation bed. However, even from there, he could hear Jackson Reevers’ shouting. Someone got in to inform him that he was expected, so Gabriel got up and followed the nurse with a sigh.

Jackson did not seem one to easily incur in anger, or at least that wasn’t the man he had encountered at the Reevers meeting. This man was enraged. I wonder what happened.

“Gabriel Walker! Do you second Margareta Wagner’s statement?” Said a woman, probably the Commander set to guard the Dungeon entrance.

“Yes, that is exactly what happened.” Gabriel had heard Greta’s recounting of the facts, and it was crystal clear. He wouldn’t be able to add a comma to her retelling.

“This… has never happened before. We know there are higher ranked monsters in hiding, and they rarely come out, even in the warm seasons, but this?” She said to General Jackson.

“Don’t lose yourself in accounts of the telling, Commander. We do not know the full details. Send a team to investigate, bring a scryer with you and emergency medical specialists. There might be people still living.” Jackson pointed at Gabriel, “If a Tier 2 and a healer have made it, there’s a good chance most of the others have too.”

“Yes, General,” said the Commander.

“And Commander, I shouldn’t have to remind you that Yamamoto and Jansen take precedence. Should I?”

The Commander hesitated for a second. “No, General. We shall find them, no matter what.”

Jackson didn’t seem to exactly like that answer. Gabriel noticed that maybe it wasn’t specific enough for his likings.”

“Now, go, activate,” the General finished, and at that, the Commander sped away, shouting orders here and there.

“Gabriel…” Jackson turned toward him, “Is it possible that you are the cause of this too?” Asking that, the big-bellied man who was dressed in armor worth probably the fortune of a lifetime seemed to relax.

“I have no idea… General. I only know that when we noticed we were still followed, almost the entire ambush group was upon us. It might have to… do something with me, but naturally, I can’t be certain.”

“Alright, alright. The Seer will be able to help us. Expect a call from her. Now go, you’re dismissed.”

Gabriel nodded. I’m dismissed. He really thinks I’m his to order around. Gabriel sighed once he left the place, he was going to check on Greta, but the girl was still being questioned. So Gabe waited by the door of the room. Greta did not notice him; she was indeed flustered.

Soon later, someone coming on a run shouldered him. She didn’t even stop to apologize before throwing herself in and catching Greta into a big hug.

It was a tall blonde woman, just a little shorter than Greta herself, but a lot like her.

“Mom!” She heard her say as she embraced her.

Gabriel smiled; then, he left quietly.

It was still night when Gabriel with only one shoe got back to the inn. He just wanted to sleep it off.

“Lad! Voices have come of something weird happening in Leaf Dungeon, didn’t ye say ye we’re going there?” The Dwarf said, just as he saw him.

“Hey, Com. Yeah, weird indeed.” He proceeded to recount the fact to a surprised Com; it was soon after that Garena joined in, and he had to start from the beginning.

“You are saying that these things just don’t regularly happen?” Gabriel asked.

“Never I say,” the Dwarf shook his head.

“Well, what do you expect, then it’s me, not justification.” Gabriel realized, shrugging. In the meanwhile, Liz had done anything else but sit by his side, rolling on a stool. She whipped her tongue in the air while she pushed herself to spring with her tail.

“Would you- would you stop that!? It’s night, and my head is already spinning. The last thing I need is you acting crazy!” He shouted at her.

The lizard stopped immediately.

“What? Are you going through puberty or something? Just tell me so I can prepare myself. I’m gonna buy you lizard porn mags or something, even a laptop but at least tell me!” Gabriel shouted, raising his hands in the air.

Liz opened her mouth only to close it back. Commodo and Garena looked at themselves, their gaze communicating something their mouths didn’t.

“Go rest, laddie. Ye’ve done nothing but push yourself since ye’ve come here. Ye need rest.”

Gabriel sighed but nodded. “Come on, let’s go. I’m sorry I shouted at you, Liz. But seriously, you can act really crazy somet-”

The lizard tackled him into a huge, stopping him halfway.

It was soon later that Gabriel’s eyes started shining with tears.

It was all about to come out; he knew it. But he didn’t want to show it, not here, not in front of them, not in-

Commodo and Garena came out of the counter then they embraced him in a tight hug.

The Dwarf barely got to his chest, but Garena was slightly taller than him, yet they both encircled him with their arms.

“We know. We know what you’ve been through, child. You are safe now, you get it? Don’t worry about anything else,” said Garena.

Gabriel didn’t know what they were talking about; he didn’t know what it was that they had been through. But even though they didn’t know of his situation, he was happy. So Gabriel, let go. He let himself go like he had never done before. Not because of retelling, just to cry, cry out everything he had been holding inside. All his frustrations, all his worries, and his feeling of powerlessness, he let them all come out in a sob that wanted to escape since the very day he had gotten here.

The only thing which would have made this moment perfect was his mother’s presence.

I swear to god, I’ll find you. Whatever it takes.