We were so happy to see Hiroshi,

"Hiroshi, are you alright?

"I'm fine Kid, I'm fine, the pipes sent me straight here to these people. How about you and the girl?"

"We saw very dangerous monsters while coming here but thanks to Will we escaped."

"So even here there are monsters, huh?"

"Yeah, I've never seen a species like this before. They were very aggressive, and in the shadows, they were quite fast. But they couldn't get close to a light."

"Maybe people here will tell us what's going on."

Hiroshi walked towards Will,

"Hey Miner, what exactly is going on here? And also why are you all living here? Could you explain that to us?"

After Hiroshi's words, everyone in the village fell silent. Will made a hand sign to Hiroshi,

"As people here, we don't know much, but if you follow me, I can lead you to the wise of the village. He will tell you everything."

Following Will, we went to the place where the wise of the village lived. The wise of the village was older than the others, he was so old that his eyes almost never opened. Will stood in front of the wise,

"Wise, there are people who want to talk to you."

"People, I thought not many people come here...."

"They accidentally fell out of the pipes and wanted to know where they were and how to get out."

"I understand."

Wise started talking by showing us a place to sit.

"Please sit down, and I will be happy to answer your questions."

We sat where he showed us. He looked at us with a slightly opened eye.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Hiroshi said, "Old man, we are not here to chit chat, we just want to get back on our way."

Lezlie turned to Hiroshi and said "Hiroshi! You don't have to be rude he's just showing his hospitality!"

I said, "Hey calm down, calm down. I'm sorry but we are not here for that. Can you tell us where we can get back?"

"Well then, I want to ask you a question. How did you end up here, the pipes were covered with stones and trees. I thought we covered enough to hide it from the people outside."

"Actually, we had no intention of crossing this path, but the map we had led us here."

"Can I look at the map you have, young man?"

I pulled it out of my bag and handed it to him. The wise slowly took the map.

"Yes, this is a rare map that shows where you want to go. Ooh, I see the map really shows this place. So, what are you looking for so bad that the map showed this place."

"A friend, a person will fight beside me and my friends, We are looking for someone who will fight against the epics. I'm only looking for a friend."

After my words, the wise gave my map back,

"I don't think there's anyone like that here, especially someone who knows how to fight."

"But the map showed us here. Is it possible that the map isn't working?"

"I don't think so, young man, this is a very rare map, It's not possible to be wrong."

By putting the map back in my bag, I said,

"I understand."

"As far as I can remember, you wanted to know what was going on here."

"Yes."

"Well, then, I tell you, a long time ago, we Miner Bloodline left our Kingdom and moved here to investigate and excavate. Everything was going so well until the shadow Bloodline came out."

"Shadow Bloodline?"

"Wild creatures with red eyes behind the big door. We call them the shadow bloodline. They kill everyone without mercy, no matter it's a normal person or a person from a bloodline. They're incredibly fast in the shadows. But they can't move in the light. If they get close to the light, their bodies start burning."

"But why all the miners are still here?"

"Because no one who came in here could get out of here. We've tried many times, but they're faster than us."

"Have you tried to contact your kingdom?"

"No, we can't contact anyone outside here. When unknown people outside closed the pipes, our exit became impossible, and after that, no one, no one came to save us, after that we started we living here."

But what about.....

"I have an idea. I think I know how to get out of here."

"Tell me, what's on your mind?"

"When Lezlie and I escaped from the shadow bloodline, I saw a place behind us, where I saw a little sun reflection, I'm sure we can come back to the surface when it's dug up a little. It's pretty close to the big door."

"I understand, but how do we get there?"

"I'd advise you to dig from here to there, but the ground is pretty unstable, and it could collapse on you at any moment. But if my friends and I can distract the shadow bloodline, then you'll have time to dig and run."

"How do you going to escape?"

"Of course, with the pipes, we came from."

"The pipes are quite high above the ground, how are you going to get up there."

"Using Lezlie's spells and the gunpowder that Hiroshi has, we can blow up the ground where we are, but then the mine can completely collapse, so we'll distract them until you run, and when you all run, we'll blow it up and run."

"It's a pretty sensible plan, but it's too risky"

Hiroshi lit his cigar and said,

"You should have said from the beginning that you had such a plan, Kid. Also, Kid is right, this place is not very durable, if you don't get to work now, you will soon be under the ground."

The wise man touched his beard slowly,

"Even though you don't know us, you want to help us. it means a lot to me and everyone here, please grant me your name."

"I'm Ryuu these are my friends Lezlie and Hiroshi."

"Lezlie? Pelena's daughter Lezlie?"

Lezlie looked surprised,

"How did you know my mother's name, do you know my mother?"

"Yes, everyone in this village knows her. She helped us a lot with her magic back then. Where she is now, how is she?"

Lezlie bowed down head, her expression turned into a sad one,

Hiroshi said, "She passed away almost a week ago."

"I'm really sorry to hear that."

"Thank you."

"People like Pelena, unfortunately, are not so much in this world."

Wise, he stood up after his words,

"I stand by what you say to the end. But it's not my opinion that matters, it's the people's opinion. But don't worry, I'll try to convince them as much as I can."