“I don’t get it… How did you survive? It makes no sense…” Axis Gheit was kneeling down over a small pool of water. It wasn’t more than a meter deep, and if there was more natural light, it would probably be crystal clear. The hunter looked around the pool once more, taking in the dried up vines lying around and the wilted flower on the far side.

He and Lady Rikia had been searching around the Maze for almost an hour now, following the tracks of the monster anomaly. Their random monster encounters were non-existent, but that was by design. There would only be one monster that would encounter them in this place. And that monster had seemed to wander around aimlessly, and at a quickened pace, following a large battle with some of the local fauna. Then it suddenly made as direct an approach to this area as it could, where the tracks suddenly disappeared.

There were signs that some kind of blast, most likely magic in nature, had been set off. The side of this pool was free of debris, aside from the dried up vines. There were vines that were not dried up in the pool itself, but the ends were ripped or torn off.

The vines, together with the flower itself, were evidence of only one kind of monster: a Nightcaller. These were extremely dangerous creatures that were of the fae variety, but they were rumored to be cursed. And they were extremely rare. They were also not part of any dungeon, as far as the records could tell, that is. They would draw their prey with a psychic lure, manifesting in a variety of ways. And then it would consume the soul of its victim, leaving their body as food for its plant side.

Axis himself had been subject to the lure of a Nightcaller. Once. Then, he trained himself to never be lured again. His Hunter Core helped him resist them to a degree, but it was his Sheltered Mind Ability that gave him full protection against such mental attacks.

But, if the monster had indeed met with a Nightcaller, it shouldn’t have been able to survive. There were no records of any such creature having an Ability like the Hunter’s.

“So then… How did you escape?” Gheit repeated this question to himself.

“Hmm? What was that?” Rikia had come back over after looking around the rest of the clearing. “Did you say something?”

The hunter looked up at the Princess, quiet for a long moment. Then he stood, “No. It was nothing. Did you find anything?”

The girl pointed to a small hole in the vines around them. “The vines over there are moist, as if something wet had passed between them.”

Axis looked over the small hole, and the ground leading up to it. Sure enough, there were the monster’s tracks heading right up to it. “Good work. Judging from what had happened to the other dungeon, I know where it is heading.”

Rikia looked at him quietly for a moment, as if expecting him to continue. When he did not, she inquired, “Where do you think it is going?”

The hunter smiled widely. “Isn’t it obvious, my dear lady? It’s heading for the Boss of the Maze.”

To himself, he only thought, And soon, it will all be over for the both of you.

*************

She had thought of asking Axis why he determined that their quarry would be heading to the Boss Room, but she wanted to piece it together herself. Princess Rikia had always been a curious girl, even before the life of adventurers caught her fancy. She would watch the soldiers train, ask many a question to the Mages of her father’s Court, and spend hours in the library, reading every book she could find. Then she found her first adventure novel, and it changed her outlook on what she thought her future would be.

Sure, her father expected her to find a suitable companion for herself, be married, and then succeed him on the throne. But that was never something that she wanted for herself. At the tender age of fourteen, she found that she wanted to travel the world and become a renowned adventurer in her own right.

At first, her father was against it. But after bringing a suitable solution to the table, he stated that he would “consider it”. The solution was that they would change from a Monarchy to an Oligarchy, made up of seven councilmembers. Her father would serve as a member for a time, then allow for another to take his place. And then he would only serve in an advisory position for a time, until the council was able to handle running the country.

After a time, and many discussions about this, her father saw that her spirit would not be swayed. The High King then put in the time to see if this solution would actually work. And he did. As he ran it by his Court, it began to gain footing, with a few naysayers here and there. Eventually, there was a suitable plan in place.

While it seemed like that was it, and that Rikia would be free to live out her life, there was a small wrench that was thrown into her plans. That was that she would be one of the first council members, along with her father. And that was a secret, as well. Her father said that it would be announced on her 18th Birthday, and that by the time she was 20, it was to be in effect.

But that was a minor delay. She would be free after her five year term was up. After that, and she had been adamant to her father about this, she would travel the world and be an adventurer.

She smiled to herself as they made yet another turn in the maze, and that brought her back to the present, and the reasoning behind catching the monster at the Boss Room. She thought back to the collapse of the Newb’s Dungeon, and what they had learned. It was not repairing itself, which meant that the Heart was most likely depleted of energy. Did the monster do that? She thought. Only one way to find out…

“Captain Gheit… Do you think that the monster is after the Dungeon Heart?” She asked as they began to ascend towards a more solid second ‘floor’ in the Maze. The ‘ground’ was made out of branches, vines, and other vegetation, creating a solid ramp and landing. On the other side of the balcony was a huge tree that ascended above the Forest itself.

The plant ramp continued off to one side of the tree, the path continuing all the way to the top. According to the map that they had, the Boss Room would be found there. This was the only entrance, even being separated from the Maze with some kind of magic.

The hunter glanced back at her. “I do.”

That meant that it would seem like this anomaly that destroyed the other dungeon was amassing power. While she still had her own doubts, the Princess felt that there was a lot of evidence against the creature on this matter. She glanced around and was about to inquire of the Hunter if he thought that it was already here when she saw it. Up on the ramp, one floor above them, there was a small, round mass that was hopping up the ramp, heading for the Boss Room. There were signs of another battle on the landing itself. Rikia chided herself for being so caught up in her own head, patting her cheeks to get back on track.

“There. Let’s hurry!” Her companion left only those words before he hustled towards the ramp after the little monster. Rikia ran after him. Hopefully now would be a time that she would finally get her answers.

They were only halfway up, but they had yet to see it. The little gelatinous monster was faster than it looked. Axis looked back at Rikia, and said, “I’ll go on ahead to cut it off before it enters the Boss Room.” And then he took off running.

“Wait… What?!” Rikia was flabbergasted by the Captain’s sudden burst of speed, but could do little to change it. She was alone in a matter of seconds. She grumbled to herself for a moment, but trudged along after him, hoping that they really could catch this monster before it had a chance to topple another dungeon.

She made another round and saw that the ramp turned inward. As she rounded the corner, she slid to a complete stop. Something was off. She gripped her staff in both hands, breathing heavily and only shaking slightly. All that running uphill had taken its toll on her, but she would not let that be the death of her.

She glanced around while she struggled to control her breathing. The door to Boss Room was still shut, with neither the slime nor her companion in sight. There was a tingling against her skin, which told her that some kind of magic was afoot. She slowly turned around, and saw it. The arcane markings of a wall. She turned back around and saw a similar wall blocking the door to the Boss Room. She was trapped.

“What… is… going… on?” She heaved. The slow footfalls that she had grown accustomed to the past week or so sounded in her ears. She turned to find Captain Axis Gheit, his bastard sword drawn and pointed at her. She tried to say something, but all she could get out in a tiny voice was, “Why?”

The man’s face was in a blank, unreadable stare. The same look that he got whenever he was killing a monster. It sent shivers down Rikia’s spine. “Your ideals have angered a great number of people. And the price to pay for such insolence is death.”

She felt all blood drain from her face. A hundred different questions were bouncing around in her head, possibilities and outcomes. People responsible. And then it suddenly snapped into place. The Chancellor. He had to be responsible for this. And why had Axis brought her out here? Well, that was most likely the simplest part of it all. And she finally found the strength to voice it. “He sent you to make sure it looked like the anomaly had killed me… didn’t he?!”

The hunter did not respond with words, only leapt forward, sword raised high to end her life quickly. But she refused to make it easy for him. If he was going to kill her, then he would have to earn it.

Rikia dodged off to one side, barely avoiding the hunter’s blade. She then leapt as far away from the man as she could, narrowly avoiding another slash. The blade had nicked her outer robe, leaving a small gash along the edge. Without wasting another minute, she cast out her first offensive spell.

“Bind!” the princess shouted, invoking a small band of white light that ensnared Axis. The man seemed a little surprised at her outburst, and then his eyes widened slightly as he saw her next attack. Completing the 3-second incantation, Rikia called out the activation word, “Holy Bolt!”

A fist-sized ball of white energy shot forth from her hand, quickly covering the short distance between the two. Axis struggled to break free, but the spell slammed into his chest, knocking him backward. He landed with a huff, appearing to be momentarily dazed. This gave the priestess another opportunity to use a larger spell, one that took a whole 10 seconds to complete the chant.

During that time, the Captain shook off the daze, and strained with all his might against the white energy binding his arms and legs. He started to growl with the strain, his eyes seeming to flash red for the briefest of seconds. With a cry, there was a loud *crack!* The energy fell away and the man jumped to his feet, but not in time.

“Judgment!” Princess Rikia cried, flinging her arms to the sky with her staff held in both hands. A small comet of white energy crashed down from above the dangerous hunter, enveloping that spot with a blinding flash of light.

When the light rumbling had finished, Rikia fell to the ground breathing heavily. That last spell had taken almost all of her remaining Mana to cast. In a few minutes, she would recover, but for now, she doubted that she had the energy to stand. At least I’m safe… she thought, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm down a little.

“Neat trick, your highness.” A deep, primal voice called out from the slightly smoking form of what she thought was the hunter. Axis Gheit stood slowly, brushing off the remnants of his tattered cloak. He had a few scrapes and bruises, but looked to be mostly unharmed. He was also smiling deeply, eyes narrowed as if he was re-appraising her.

“How…?” she gasped, as she felt her stomach fall. “That’s not…!”

“‘That’s not’ what? Not possible?” His slow laugh froze her thoughts. “It wouldn’t be if you were a decade later in your training. As it is, that merely tickled.” The man… no, monster, stretched his neck, and his eyes took on a reddish sheen. He grabbed his sword and leapt toward the now weakened princess.

Move! Rikia called in her mind, forcing herself to attempt a dodge, but it was too slow. Axis’ blade slammed into her, causing her to fly through the air.

--- You have been severely injured for 75 life. Your armor has lessened the damage by 35.

She cried out in pain as she skidded across the ground to slam into the invisible barrier. Now lying upon her stomach, the princess slowly raised her head to see her murderer stalking toward her, appearing to be taking his time. She coughed up blood, and glanced down to see that she was heavily bleeding, most likely from one of his combat oriented Abilities.

This is it… She thought, tears starting to fall from her eyes. There was still so much that I wanted to do… but all that means nothing to the treachery that I have discovered here. She looked back up at the man, now standing over her, the betrayal filling her with panic. I… I don’t want to die!

She watched Captain Axis Gheit raise his sword high above her, before she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see her own life end. At that moment, a rumor she had heard one of the guards say some time ago came back to her. It said that the souls of those adventurer’s in the throes of some tragedy that perished in Dungeons would come back as a monster in servitude to that Dungeon. Rikia did not know if that rumor was actually true, but if she did come back as a monster, she would hunt this man down for all this pain that he caused her…

Only, the blow never came. At least she did not think that it did. Having no experience with death, she was unsure if something was supposed to happen. Like a notification or faint blow from the strike that would end her life. But there was nothing. Confused, she opened her eyes, and found that the truth was that the hunter was backing away cautiously.

This only caused her confusion to grow. That was, until she felt a soft, gooey weight on her. She turned her head slowly to see that a soccer ball-sized gelatinous orb was now resting on her back. Her eyes widened, unsure of what this meant, as it began to expand over her, blocking out the light from the early dawn.

I guess being eaten by this slime is better than dying by someone I used to trust… May your meal help you be strong enough to avenge me, little monster…

Then darkness enveloped her...