Some scholars say that the monster dungeons were left by the lost Arnean races. They were powerful entities who ruled the planet before the legendary Eternion Champions liberated humans from slavery. Some say they were made by the Champions themselves as a legacy to train and empower the humans of Arnea—so they could fend for themselves in the absence of their ancient liberators. It seemed to Klay that his childhood friend might know more about the truth of these theories than the pompous scholars who gossiped and schemed in front of brothels after their weekly debates. He had sold them herbs once in a while and he had managed to gather some news from them in their brief interactions. The ancient ruins and passages found in seemingly random places around the world were a frequent topic amongst them. He had always wondered what it looked like inside. What kind of monsters stalked its different levels and if they were as treacherous as the [Soldiers] claimed them to be. Was it really dark inside? Were there doors that lead to other worlds? Klay never thought his questions would be answered. Now he walked behind his friend as silently as he could. The passages that they entered were dark and musty. Only the light from a few dimly glowing inscriptions on the walls allowed them to see where they were going. He expected to meet monsters left and right—so he was thankful for the quiet walk in the first few hallways that they traversed—until Ed stopped and told him to duck out of an incoming arrow. "Ogres!" Ed said, "I see five of them. I'll slow them down as much as I can but you need to finish them off quickly." "I'll try!" [Shadow Walk] Klay vanished into the shadows and the sound of his steps vanished. Shadow Wing, on the other hand, dashed towards the eight-foot tall humanoid monsters and took their attention away from its master. [Debilitating Stare] The cockatrice used its skill and the ogres slowed and staggered. [Gravity Ball] A dense dark spherical mass coalesced amidst the company of ogres and started dragging them towards its center. The hulking brutes dug their feet and fought the control spells with skills of their own. Their muscles bulged and their bodies grew even bigger as their eyes glowed red. Two of them threw their spears at Ed but he suddenly vanished and appeared a yard to the left of where he was. Klay saw the opening and struck at the ogres. [Power Strike], [Power Strike], [Power Strike] He assailed the brutes with a barrage of attack skills as he bobbed and dodged all of their attempts to hit or grab him. With his [Basic Midnight Sentinel Mastery], he danced amongst all five of the ogres and savoured the sensation of fighting powerful foes. This martial art skill thing is such a blessing! He thought. He kept attacking the ogres but their skin and bodies were thick and resilient. The neck, the groin, hamstring—he chose his targets carefully and used [Power Strike] to inflict as much damage as he could. His body grew a bit sluggish after his tenth [Power Strike] but by that time all five of the brutes were already swimming in their own pools of blood. "These guys were tough," he said. "Get ready for more. We need to fight our way into the next section of the dungeon." "Can we rest for a bit?" "I can't guarantee that no monster would ambush us if we sit around here so we should keep moving. Let's just take it slow and hide if you feel like you can't fight yet." Klay nodded at his friend and followed again as Ed led him through a wider hallway. He did not expect to recover his stamina so quickly but after about five minutes of slow walking—he felt like he could throw it down again with the fiercest monsters the dungeon could offer. "I think I've recovered." "Good. Let's speed up and stick to the shadows." They maneuvered through house-sized boulders and avoided fighting monsters as much as they could. They slipped past a gang of humanoid crocodilians and dog-sized scorpions but had to fight a pack of kobolds who picked up their scent and stalked after them. They also dodged traps that Ed somehow knew of and killed more ogres on their way to the next dungeon level. All three of them gained a level after they wiped out the last group of monsters. Klay chose to focus on increasing his strength and agility. Then he allocated more levels on [Power Strike] and [Basic Midnight Sentinel Mastery]. On and on they walked in silence after that until they reached a chasm. He looked down with utter curiosity but could not see the bottom of the deep trench. His friend kept walking until they reached a rock bridge with an arch at the other end. He glanced and noted the grim look on Ed's face as they hurriedly crossed the rock bridge. A little more than halfway across, they heard a deep rumble from the chasm below. Against his better judgement, he looked down the edge and saw a gargantuan eye looking back at him. Blood-red veins pulsated with the glow of Eternion from the gigantic pupil and radiated towards the edges of the eyeball. He stifled a scream and ran past Ed through the arch at the end of the bridge. His friend, however, continued at a quick but calm pace and stopped in front of Klay to provide new instructions. "The enemies in this level should be a bit too much for us so we need to sneak our way through until we get to the safe zone that I know of." "You mean we can't fight back? What if they chase us?" "Then we run. I think we would have better chances that way than if we try to best them." "That doesn't sound too good." "We'll just have to be extra careful." Klay took note of their surroundings with vigilance. He couldn't help but notice the gradual change in the wall's materials from polished bricks to weathered rocks. The ceiling also changed from concrete archways to stalactites dripping with mineral-rich water. The humidity and temperature of the air shifted into a thicker texture that left a slimy residue on one's skin. But something else caused his heart to pound harder in his chest—the dense flow of Eternion surrounding them. It was ... ominous. Like being left alone in a small boat amongst stormy waters. Or like watching your entire village get ravaged in front of you as you hide beneath a pile of rocks. With all the glorious power that was coursing through his body—Klay felt helpless. Why do I feel this way? Somehow, I know I can't fight whatever is pulling all this Eternion towards it. His instincts are telling him to run away from this place. But his friend trudged on—so he followed. Eventually, they reached a spacious cavern. It had massive rocks strewn all around and a couple of weathered and broken pillars made of bones stood at the center. A humanoid creature taller than any tree Klay had ever seen stood between the pillars and a web of thick metallic chains and shackles bound it to the bone constructs and to the walls of the cave. Its lipless mouth dripped with thick saliva and its skin was visibly thick and leathery. It had a multitude of scars all around its muscle bound body but all of them appeared to have been inflicted a long time ago. Before it stood two smaller glowing suits of armor with their hands leaning on greatswords in front of them—as if to guard the bound monstrosity. Glowing words written around the helm, gauntlets, chestplate, and boots pulsated and sucked streams of Eternion from the surrounding atmosphere which was almost suffocatingly thick with the ambient energy. Klay crouched behind a boulder and looked, mouth agape, at the sight before him. He moved as quietly as he could, blending amongst the shadows without much effort. They were a few meters into the cavern when Ed signalled to stop. He moved closer to Klay, pointed at something behind the bound creature, and whispered. "Wait, do you see that dimly lit passage behind those rocks? That's where we're going. Let's try to get there without being detected by those living armors." "What if they do see us?" "Run as fast as you can." There was no room for argument. When he told his friend that he was in for it, he did expect to fight more than a few [Soldiers] and escape the country. Perhaps even get chased by the entire army in the process. He did not expect to have to fight Ogres and play hide and seek against homicidal suits of armor, though. Klay glanced at the monsters and activated [Shadow Walk]. I hope Ed knows what he's doing. Atleast, I got my skills to help me hide. They stuck close to the walls and crouched low to hide among the fallen rocks, with Shadow Wing walking beside Ed as stealthy as they were. Falling debris, bats flying close, large spiders scuttling around dark holes in the cavern's ceiling, every sudden noise stopped them on their tracks and sent their hearts racing with dread. But eventually, they made it across and reached the area behind the colossal prisoner. Foreboding yet elegant, a massive gilded door stood at the farthest wall of the cavern. Klay could feel Eternion being even denser near the door than at the entrance to this area of the dungeon. What lay beyond such a door? The question would need to be answered some other time—for Ed led him not into it but into a dimly lit passage perpendicular to the wall. They relaxed a bit. They stood up from being crouched and walked at a quicker pace. The suits of armor were not facing their way and the bound giant did not appear to notice or care. They were already halfway through the passage when Shadow Wing let out an alarmed cluck and started flying ahead of them. Confused, the two young men looked back and saw a scaly head the size of a wagon silently slithering towards them. Ed let out a surprised gasp and vanished. He reappeared several meters ahead and vanished again until he reached a glowing door at the end of the passage. Still hidden with [Shadow Walk], Klay dashed towards his friend who opened the door again with a splash of blood from his wounded hand. He felt a wet tongue lick the back of his arm and pain immediately flared from it. "Klay!" Ed reached for him so he put as much power as he could into one last step and leapt forwards. A firm hand grabbed him and yanked him into another room beyond the door. The door shut behind them, cutting off the sound of a deafening shriek from the serpent that almost ate Klay. "Aaaarggh! He screamed in agony. He tried to keep quiet but the pain was too much. Ed checked his arm and hissed. His left eye glowed and he took a bottle with a green liquid from his pocket dimension. "It's okay, it's okay. We're in a safe room right now. Drink this." Klay did so and his eyes widened as the pain from his arm suddenly subsided and vanished. He checked for a wound but saw a completely healthy arm. Ed tapped his shoulder and nodded at him. "That was a Greater Health Potion, we have more of it so injuries are not much of a problem as long as we don't kick the bucket midfight. But ... I'm sorry you got hurt because of me." "Don't get all guilty around me now, you know you just need to treat me to some chicken after this and we're square yeah?" Ed chuckled and stood up. He offered a hand and helped Klay get on his feet too. Breathing deep, they looked around the room. It definitely looked safe and accommodating. "A room of respite," said Ed. Klay took note of the silent awe in his friend's tone as he said that. There was a fountain of freshwater in front of them. It was enclosed in a circular brick pond that drained into a canal. A canal? And there were luxurious houses beyond, and cobblestone streets and—that was when Klay realized—it was a city. "I thought we were in the dungeon?" "The room of respite is not exactly just a room, it's another plane hidden inside a dungeon." "How did you know all these things?" "You know who my father was right?" "The late Baron Mansfeld, we never believed the lies about him you know." "What matters is what those in power want you to believe. Well, he did manage to amass a number of ancient tomes of knowledge in his expeditions. He only consumed a few." Klay glanced at his friend's face. There he found the somber look that Ed wore every time they rested after a day's labor in the fields—as if he was longing to be in some other place that he could never go back to again. "I'm guessing you consumed the rest?" "Not all. One's mind can only take so much infusion in the few years I've been alive. I still have half of them in my pocket dimension." "That's another thing you need to explain." "We'll get to talk about all of it after we get my mother back—I hope." They wandered into the heart of the room—the city—and walked on empty streets and silent alleys. Blue skies with cotton-white clouds brightened the mood of the silent place. They entered a few buildings and found that they were completely clean, with food in the cellars and different drinks in barrels and portable wooden kegs. Some contained mead, wine, fruit juice, and water. But a few actually had health potions! They took some with them together with a bunch of bread, meat, and kegs of fruit juice. The two young men stuffed them into Ed's personal stash as quickly as they could. Their pet cockatrice started crowing loudly at the sight of all the food so they tossed it an entire ham which it completely devoured in a mere minute. "This city can feed an entire town for years!" said Klay. "Unfortunately," said Ed, "you would need my blood to open the doors to this place so we can't just tell anyone about it." "Sure but we can go back to this place whenever we want to eat good food, right?" "You know what? Come here." Ed took his spear and reopened the wound in his palm which was already completely healed by the time they finished grabbing the kegs of health potions. Then, he took Klay's left palm and sliced it open as well. He clasped their wounded hands together and Klay heard him say unintelligible words as their hands glowed and transparent glowing words showed up in front of them. A chorus of voices inundated Klay's mind, pronouncing him to be something that he only knew of as legends and myths. "New Eternion Champion registered. Grade S clearance has been granted to Klay Grentson. Reconfiguring bioetrinion matrix." "What in the—" The power in him took on a different flow. His body felt ... different—as if a door was opened—a limiter, removed. "Now you have the blood of the Eternion Champions too. I was born as one, my friend. With one eye of deep violet and the other green. My father, being a noble, knew right away that he had to hide the truth. He replaced my violet eye with an Eternion artifact not long after I was born hence my own personal ... eye of holding." "Why did he have to do that?" "Because the nobility and royal family had always hunted and killed the scions of the ancient heroes. They are afraid of their—MY power—you see. And now you are just like me via rite of bestowal." "Why didn't you just give the same power to your father or mother and fight back against the other nobles?" "I would have—had I known it was possible before my father was arrested and murdered. Alas, it was only in the tome of knowledge that I consumed last month that I gained the know-how. By then, I had already decided to keep a low profile and live a quiet life with my mother. Though I would love to give the same power to my elder sister too if ever I meet her again." "Oh, yeah I forgot you do have a sister right? Wasn't she adopted by another noble?" "One of my father's old friends, yes. But I digress, my mother didn't want it when I offered her so here we are. Let's get going. I want her out of the baron's hands before sunrise." Ed ran ahead and picked up the pace. Klay followed not far behind. Shadow Wing, clucking happily after a sumptuous meal, flew low overhead as he kept pace. They travelled through the main road, made of crimson cobblestones, and eventually reached the tall gold-inlaid gates of the city's main entrance. The crest on the gate looked like a large ship with gigantic sails. There was a glowing arc of ancient letters on its bottom right corner and Ed went straight to it. After smearing it with his blood, the arc glowed and an invisible door opened—welcoming them to another part of the monster dungeon. What they would see there—Klay didn't know.