Chapter 11 : Dania

Today's weather was a bit breezy with gentle cold winds slowly blowing. The sun was hung high atop the sky. The combination of both these elements gave birth to a pleasant and comfortable sensation. This was the specialty of Bandung, having a bit colder temperature than most of other places in Indonesia.

Raka was sitting at a table inside a cafe. The cafe was called Home. Even though it wasn't popular, it had a strange charm to him. When he first saw the place, he was determined to make it his usual spot.

Raka was playing with his laptop, while sometimes scribbling at his favorite journal. Today he wanted to analyze everything he knew regarding Maya.

First, his condition was obviously abnormal. It had been a few days since the opening, now he had a chance for his account to be investigated as the company wasn't that busy anymore.

Of course, he decided not to. The rewards he gained from this opportunity was immense. He may be a bit left behind compared to other experts, but he could catch up soon with his excellent stats foundation.

Having a stat of late 10s while being at level 1 ? He could instant kill mobs below level 5 in a single strike!

Obviously, at a later level, everything wouldn't be that simple. The system would start calculating player's equipment, title, class, and even the probability of a fortuitous encounter. Anyway, he was sure that he could breeze through for dozens of level before he would start having some difficulty.

Next, it was the temple. Actually, he wasn't sure why it was called a temple. The structure was just like a huge tunnel where guardians stood guard at each section. He had encountered 6 batches of guardians with the formation of 1-1-2-2-3-3 according to the number of the golems.

The temple started at yellow color, but then the deeper he went, the redder it became. At first, it was just lines of red, then it slowly concentrated into some runic engraving. By the time he reached the end, it was a door with entirely blood red color.

It was the place where he logged out yesterday.

He thought that maybe it was the deepest part of the temple. If it was true, then he needed to prepare and rest before entering it.

Everything was strange in this place. Golems who gave stats instead of experience, A dungeon which difficulty matched with the player's level, and the strange feeling he got when he first arrived at this place.

Just when he was about to be lost in thought, Raka heard a sound coming from behind him.

"Umm. Raka.. is that you?" the soft voice brought Raka back from his thought. The girl had a bit shy appearance. She wore a blue apron, indicating that she worked in this place.

Raka was startled for a moment. He didn't seem to recognize this girl. The girl had short black hair. She was a bit short, but her body was very nice. Her timidness seemed to enhance her charm, making her looked lovely.

"Uhh. Sorry, do I know you?" It was impolite to forget someone, but Raka doesn't like to lie when he doesn't have to.

The girl was a bit depressed hearing Raka's answer, but then she realized something. She quickly rearranged her bangs into covering her eyes.

"Aahh!! Dania?!"

Seeing this, Raka couldn't help but remember one of his friend in middle school. She was very timid, but they managed to become friends because of a task that was given to them by the class. Unfortunately, they became distant because of a certain event.

"Hehe, I may be a bit different, but it was too mean for you to forget me" She returned her hair to normal. The sight of her hair fluttering because of the winds was quite.. mesmerizing.

"Hahaha forgive me, but you seemed very different now. I can't even recognize you. You looked prettie-" Raka realized that he was about to say something awkward. He quickly stopped whatever he wanted to say and tried to change the topic.

"Uhh, anyway! What are you doing here? Are you working part time?"

Dania was a bit dazed hearing Raka's unfinished sentence, but she quickly regained her demeanor. Though, one could still see a slight smile blossoming at her lips.

"Actually, this place is my aunt's. I am attending a college here, and I need a place to stay. Rather than paying for rent, my aunt offered me to help her at the cafe for the compensation of living at her house nearby"

"I am attending a college here too, Bandung University. What a coincidence!" Raka said excitedly.

"Too bad we attend a different college, though I am not that far. It's Bandung College of Literature"

"Not far? It's very close! Hahaha to think that we are in the same city. Hey, tell me how you've been after graduating, why did you suddenly move to another city"

"The truth is, when I entered high school, I felt very lonely. Somehow I started to write and it turned out very well! Because of that, I decided to pursue it. Well, about me moving out, let's just say I had a family matter"

When she spoke the last sentence, Raka could catch a hint of sadness emanating from her eyes. Being the gentleman he was, he decided not to pursue the matter.

Both of them chatted happily for a long time. They were best friends in middle school. Even though they hadn't met for a long time, the chemistry still existed between them.

"Hey Raka, I was very sad-"

Ring.. Ring..

"Sorry.. wait a bit, I have to answer this" Raka heard his phone ringing. But, when he saw who the caller was, he froze.

"Hello.. uncle?"

"You are late. Come here. Twice the set today."

"Uncle! I am very sorry, I forge-"

Tut.. Tut.. Tut..

Raka was left speechless. he really forgot today's training! After gaining so much in Maya yesterday, he was too absorbed in happiness that he forgot the hell that was beside him.

Raka apologized to Dania because he had to go. Seeing his depressed look, she decided to not obstruct him. Sure, seeing him walked away limply from the store made her pity him a bit.

'At least hell multiplied by two is still a hell, right?', was the only thing in Raka's mind that could console him a bit.

...

Night time.

Ragna was standing in front of the door. He could feel some pressure emanating from inside. He was a hundred percent sure that whatever it was inside must be very strong.

Though, he was also very sure that he would find whatever he was looking for inside. The strange feeling he got when he first arrived must be pointing at the room in front of him.

Ragna gritted his teeth. He couldn't surrender, he had spent too much time and effort. He had to overcome it!

There was no turning back!

Ragna slowly opened the door. He found himself in a pitch black place. The only source of light was coming from behind him. He couldn't see anything past a few meters.

Just when he was about to explore the place, he heard an archaic voice coming from his surroundings.

"Overcome the trial. Accept my legacy. Continue the slaughter. Revenge!"

The room suddenly brightened at a fast rate, revealing everything inside it. It was a huge expansion. There were no ceiling and one couldn't even look past to the surface. The floor was shaped as an O with a strange square platform in the middle of it.

Even the platform was huge, one could imagine how enormous the expansion is. The only thing connecting the O-shaped surroundings and the platform was a single passage in front of Ragna. There was no other way because the platform was surrounded by an abyss which one couldn't even see the bottom.

At the middle of the platform was a large statue of an ape. The ape had dull eyes but its dullness couldn't even hide its ferociousness. The ape had a height of a two-story building.

The statue of the Ape was covered in a layer of yellow rocks. It seemed to seal the giant ape from running rampant.

At this moment, Ragna already knew what the trial would be.

Even though it seemed impossible, he had to defeat the giant ape!