Chapter 1.23 — Maid, Monsters and My Own Choice

  In the deep dungeon—sounds of twin blades slicing through hordes of monsters echoed throughout the cavern.

  A white and black clothed figure was moving like a blur through the dungeon as it destroyed everything in its path.

  The figure suddenly stopped in its tracks, revealing a woman in a maid’s uniform.

  She turned her head back at her companions—causing her brown-haired ponytail to flail around her face.

  “Miss Tessaria, how come I’m the only one working?” The maid shook her head, complaining.

  Tess sighed. “That’s because it’s your job, Mirra!”

  Mirra pouted. “But what about Mr. Leo? He’s just letting me do this alone!” She glanced back at me.

  I scratched my head. “Ohh come on, you’re way better than me at taking care of those monsters!”

  Mirra squinted her eyes. “No! I’m not that much better—please don’t let me do this icky job all by myself!!” Tears flowed down her eyes.

  “Seriously, get a hold of yourself!” Tess frowned.

  “Please don’t let me do this ALL ALONE!!” Mirra dropped to her knees and pulled in Tess’s clothes.

  Looking at Mirra’s reaction I couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy.

  Hey—aren’t you supposed to be a Ninja Maid or something?

  Mirra clambered harder to Tess as tears poured out of her eyes, like a waterfall.

  Suddenly, I had a sense of deja vu.

  She’s basically like Ann—a strong fighter but hates icky stuff!

  I facepalmed at witnessing this shameful display.

  Ahhh… fine, she’s only fifteen years old—so maybe I should cut her some slack.

  “Alright I’ll take the lead.” I said, annoyed, and unsheathed my sword.

  Mirra’s eyes brightened. “Ohhh—Thank you so much Mr. Leo!”

  Tess stared at Mirra with a deadpan expression.

  “Yeah, yeah… just get behind me.” I said exasperated.

  Maybe it’s fine, since I want to avoid the place where the inscriptions are carved into the wall… I don’t want Tess to see it since she might try to open it?

  It’s quite normal in an RPG game, for a low level dungeon to contain a few secrets.

  That’s why I need to make sure that certain things stay the same. I’m not running any more chances of changing events too much.

  Not that I think that Tess IS able to open it—but I’m not taking any chances.

  I glanced back at Tess; she had a displeased look on her face as Mirra hid behind her.

  I let out a small chuckle at the sight.

  This reminds me of when I was here with Ann last time… she also freaked out.

  Ahh… I can’t believe I’m back here so soon…

  As we walked deeper I made sure to use a different route than last time.

  Suddenly.

  “Wait!” Tess called out.

  I looked back at her. “What’s wrong, Tess?”

  She looked around for a moment and scanned the surroundings.

  “I can sense something… a familiar surge… almost like?” Tess froze; she seemed unsure.

  Don’t tell me she can sense THAT!—I’ve made sure not to get too close to it!

  I knitted my brows together. “What do you mean by a familiar surge?”

  Tess closed her eyes, then shook her head. “Hmm… I’m sorry… It must’ve been my imagination?”

  Tess cleared her throat. “Let’s keep going.”

  I nodded and pushed forward. Mirra hid even tighter behind Tess while I brutally sliced through the hordes of slimes and horned rabbits.

  Shortly after we finally arrived at our destination. It was the room where I had destroyed the ground into a cavern.

  “Alright I’m gonna go down and pick some stuff up, you guys stay here unless something attacks me—got it?” I instructed.

  Mirra and Tess nodded and I went down the hole with a rope.

  The moment my feet touched the ground I scrambled, looking at every nook and cranny but with little to no success.

  “Dammit! It’s not here anymore!” I shook my head.

  “Huh? Are you sure? Maybe you just need to look more?” Tess said.

  “Noo… There’s only one more place where it could be, but I really don’t want to go there.” I gritted my teeth.

  Tess and Mirra looked at each other, confused.

  “I guess we have no choice.” I sighed.

  We continued and a little while later we arrived at the end of the dungeon. I gestured for us to stop.

  “So here’s the thing… there’s gonna be a boss and we need to defeat it, fast… So I’m gonna lure it out. I need you guys to be my support.” I explained calmly.

  “No way, Leo… I can’t let you do that!” Tess shook her head.

  “Look… I need to get my hands on those materials. With both of you it should be no problem to defeat this boss—so don’t worry.” I grinned.

  Tess pressed her palm at her forehead. “Come on… I only promised to help you because you made a good case—but this is too dangerous!”

  Well yes I might have made a good case.

  But, the trust is that Tess felt bad for what had happened between me and Ann. However she won’t admit that despite it being written all over her face.

  Ahh… Tess does normally give off a sort-of femme fatale vibe—but sometimes her caring side shines through and honestly… It only makes me like her even more.

  “Miss Tessaria is right, please let me handle it.” Mirra stood up and pulled out her weapons.

  “No, no… this thing is dangerous, there’s a way to beat it fast so I need you guys to let me handle it!”

  “How do you know Mr. Leo?” Mirra tilted her head.

  Tess widened her eyes. “Yes, I would like to know that too, Leo?”

  I gave them a deadpan stare while trying to compose myself—a cold sweat ran down my spine.

  “I’m a guild member… there’s stuff I just know alright!—No more questions!” I snapped.

  Tess and Mirra stared at me with blank expressions, almost like they didn’t completely believe me.

  I stood frozen in place and tightened my fist, my body trembled slightly.

  Tess sighed. “Alright Mr. Adventurer. We’re gonna do it your way but the moment I sense danger I’ll step in myself—Got it!”

  I slowly shook my head.

  Damn, she’s still scary.

  “I got your back too Mr. Leo.” Mirra said firmly, raising both her blades.

  “Alright, here is the plan.” I leaned in.

  With my sword drawn I walked slowly into the middle. The cavern was a huge open space.

  I scanned the room until I found what I was looking for. A circle with what looked like ancient symbols carved into the floor.

  I kneeled down and placed my palm on the circle.

  “Trial of the first kingdom—awaken!” I shouted.

  But nothing happened. I turned my head back only to see Tess and Mirra’s confused expressions.

  Hmm… I’m pretty sure that’s how to trigger it?

  I examined the circle closer only to facepalm myself as I realized my mistake.

  Gahh! I’m so stupid!—it’s of course the language!

  I shook my head for a moment and placed my hand on the circle again.

  “What do you think he is doing?” Mirra asked curiously.

  “I’m not sure, but that boy has always been a mystery to me.” Tess furrowed her brows.

  I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

  “Huh!! What kind of language is that?” Mirra gaped.

  Tess’s expression turned into shock. “No way! That’s—”

  Suddenly—the circle glowed as light illuminated the area.

  Mirra covered her eyes. “Ahh—what’s happening?”

  A moment later the light dissipated and I stood up.

  I could hear something closing in.

  Mirra widened her eyes. “Huh! Is that a glowing wolf?”

  Around me a horde of semi-transparent glowing wolf-like creatures emerged.

  So these are Ruby Golems?—funny how much their form resembles wolves.

  Suddenly the Ruby Golems began their attack—I immediately dodged.

  “Take this!—spark edge!” I spun my sword—cutting them in half.

  More golems came out of the shadows—and attacked fiercely.

  However they were no match for me.

  Is that all you’ve got?!

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  I grinned while slicing through them like butter.

  Ahh, I wish Grey and Jen could see me now!—killing small fries!

  Before I knew it I had successfully destroyed all the Ruby Golems.

  I quickly tried to catch my breath since I knew it wasn’t over.

  A loud cry suddenly echoed through the cavern.

  I turned my head back only to find a really big Ruby Golem staring at me. It was in the shape of a bigger Dire Wolf, but still much smaller than the Weiss Dire Wolf.

  It immediately lunged towards me with its mouth wide open—exposing its teeth.

  But before it could bite me—Mirra stepped in—blocking its mouth with her blades.

  Mirra held the wolf-shaped Ruby Golem back, but suddenly the crystal on its forehead began to glow.

  “Watch out—it’s going to attack!” Tess shouted.

  Mirra gritted her teeth—her hands shook while she held the golem back.

  The crystal on its forehead hummed menacingly, as if it was ready to release its power—when suddenly.

  My sword pierced the crystal on its forehead. The Ruby Golem let out a cry and immediately collapsed.

  “Huf, huf, huf… thank you so much… Mr. Leo…” Mirra spoke between breaths.

  I immediately turned toward the wall. “It’s not over yet!”

  Mirra’s face turned pale as she turned her head toward the wall.

  A hand suddenly burst out—then a foot—then an entire body violently emerged from the wall as if the mountain itself had awoken.

  It looked like a giant humanoid had stepped out of the wall. As the golem moved closer the rocks fell off its body—revealing the semi-transparent glowing surface underneath.

  I gritted my teeth and stared at the giant as it closed the distance.

  It towered over us like a giant crystalized skyscraper—yep, my neck’s gonna hurt after this!

  “Wait! Is that the so-called mini-boss you were talking about?—It’s a friggin tower!!” Mirra screamed—her voice trembled.

  “Unfortunately yes—it’s the Ruby Golems Primary Body!”

  The mini-boss suddenly stopped for a moment. It looked like it was scanning its surroundings, only to suddenly let out a huge cry.

  It then began to stomp towards us—the ground shook in the process.

  “Ahh… I don’t think I can take it.” Mirra cried.

  I gritted my teeth. “Just a little more—come on!”

  The golem was now upon us—it stretched its hand out towards us—then.

  “Light of Judgement!—Spear Lancer!” Tess shouted as she launched her spell.

  Suddenly a boom echoed through the air—a spear-shaped beam of light blasted past us—hitting the golem.

  The spell exploded on impact—illuminated the entire area.

  I shielded my eyes with my hand, the light slowly vanished leaving a dust of smoke behind.

  “Did we get it?” Mirra asked excitedly.

  Slowly the dust began to settle, revealing only a few parts of the golem—it seemed to stand unharmed.

  “No way—Mr. Leo!—we need to run away, now!” Mirra said in horror while turning away.

  I immediately grabbed her by the arm. “Relax… take one more look!” I spoke calmly.

  Mirra stopped for a moment and looked back at the golem.

  After a moment the dust had completely dissipated, revealing the entire body of the golem—with a hole carved into its chest.

  Mirra’s eyes widened in disbelief. “We, we did it!—we won over that thing!”

  “Of course, what did you expect?” Tess chuckled.

  “It’s not over yet you two.” I smiled.

  Mirra jumped back. “Ehh! Don’t tell me we need to fight it again?!”

  The golem’s body shone and it shrunk down while taking the form of a semi-transparent glowing human.

  It suddenly spoke.

  “Huh? Wait, it’s that strange language again?” Mirra furrowed her brows.

  Tess stood silent.

  I scratched my head, trying to remember the lines.

  Seriously, why is it always hard to remember stuff like this when it counts?

  Hmm… how did that phrase go again?

  I leaned in closer to the golem and spoke.

  “Huh! He’s doing it again!—Miss Tessaria?” Mirra shook her head confused.

  “What? No way!” Tess’ eyes widened.

  Mirra turned her head toward Tess. “What’s going on?”

  The golem suddenly shone brighter only to disappear into thin air.

  Tess gritted her teeth. “It asked him to choose a reward.”

  “Huh! What did Mr. Leo then say?” Mirra looked confused.

  Tess’s gaze met hers. ”He asked for the path to the kingdom?”

  Mirra blinked. “Ehh… I’m not sure I understand?”

  “Me neither.” Tess said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

  “Alright! Let’s collect the stuff we came here for!” I said with an ecstatic smile.

  “Hold on!” Tess suddenly leaned in.

  “Tell me about that reward—the path to the kingdom?”

  Tess moved in so close that I could feel her breath on my face.

  I instinctively looked away—my face flushed.

  “Ehh… Not much… just a little thing for later.” I grinned awkwardly.

  Tess tilted her head. “TELL ME!” Her voice was sharp.

  As she stared at me with a cold gaze, a bead of sweat ran down my spine.

  Ahh… she’s so close—and soo scary!—My heart is really getting confused.

  I took a deep breath. “Fine… you win. Here.” I took it out and showed her the item.

  Tess stared at it for a moment. “Huh! It looks like a compass?”

  “Why did it give you a compass?” Mirra raised a brow.

  I grinned awkwardly. “Well… you see… uhm…”

  I hesitated for a moment, not sure if I should say it.

  Is it fine to let them know?

  “Leo?” Tess leaned in closer.

  Ahh she’s too close!

  My heart pounded as I could feel her breath on my face.

  Tess sighed. “I see… you don’t trust me…” Her expression turned sad.

  “Noo, it’s not that…” I widened my eyes.

  I don’t know why but it’s hard seeing her like that…

  “Alright… but please keep this between us.” My voice trembled.

  Tess nodded, her face turned serious.

  I leaned in and whispered something in her ear.

  “WHAT! Are you seriously gonna do that?” Tess looked up in shock.

  I shook my head. “No, this is only for safekeeping. I don’t know if I’m gonna use it or if I’m the one who’s going to use it.”

  “I don’t understand?” Tess knit her brows together.

  I placed the compass into her hand. “Please Tess, can you keep it safe for me? Just for the time being?”

  She looked at the item in her hand. I could sense a bit of hesitation from her.

  “This can become dangerous if you decide to use it… I will keep it safe but ONLY under one condition!” Tess’s voice was firm.

  “Of course—name it!” I said while punching myself in the chest.

  “I’ll only allow you to use this item—if I deem you strong enough to handle it!” Tess’s tone turned sharp.

  I chuckled. “I expected as much from you… but yes, I can accept that condition!”

  Her lips curled into a smile; she then tucked the compass away into her pouch.

  Suddenly the ground shook.

  “Umm… something happened?” Mirra’s voice trembled.

  “Don’t worry, it’s a slight tremor—look over there.” I pointed toward the wall where the golem had emerged.

  Tess and Mirra’s eyes widened.

  A small stone door had appeared and was opening in front of our eyes.

  The tremors came to a halt and I gestured that they should follow along.

  At the other side of the entrance was a small room. I looked around to see if everything was as I remembered.

  The room was really small but filled with a few materials, books, scrolls and potions.

  “Woo!” Mirra’s eyes shimmered. “But I heard that this dungeon was dead without any treasures? that’s why its name is The Dungeon of Nicts?”

  I raised my head proudly. “Well yes, but as you can see it’s not true—people just didn’t have the right knowledge or skills to unlock it.”

  I raised my nose up into the sky—grinning like a maniac.

  “Alright there, Honeypoo! Don’t get too full of yourself.“ Tess said sarcastically.

  “Yeah, yeah… anyway as a thank you for helping me—I want the orphanage to have as much of this as possible!”

  “Huh? No way… we can split it even!” Tess insisted.

  “It’s fine… I came here for two things.” I said while I picked up a small box.

  “The compass and these dark mana crystals!” I said sincerely.

  I leaned in closer to Tess. “Besides, if you sell most of this stuff the orphanage can afford to buy new clothes for the kids, right?”

  Tess looked away for a moment. “Well… yes… of course…” her face turned slightly red.

  Mirra pressed her hand to her lips—chuckling.

  “Good, it’s settled then—now let’s get to it.” I said excitedly.

  ***

  A few days later, on a field not far from the Nachman residence. I stood with a grin and folded arms—staring at the others.

  “I don’t get it?” Grey said. “Why do you wanna go to the Capital?”

  Jen pressed her palm against her forehead.

  Tess and Mirra looked awkwardly at each other.

  “It’s important to me that I go… NO, I need to go!” I said with resolve.

  “I understand you're hurt because of Ann… but are you sure going to the Capital is the right call?” Jen said softly.

  I nodded. “Yes, it’s the only choice that makes sense.”

  Grey raised his brow. “You do get that we cannot follow you there? You’ll be all by yourself!”

  Jen nodded. “Grey is right… I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  I tilted my head. “Ohh, so you were fine with me leaving with Ann, but going to the Capital is out of the question?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying, Leo… The difference is that we don’t have any relevant connections that would allow you to live there.” Jen’s face turned serious.

  “You’ll be truly alone… do you understand that?” Jen’s face softened.

  Tess observed us in silence.

  “But why do you need to go?” Grey asked, confused.

  I cleared my throat. “Because I need answers… I need to know what this means?”

  With my hand I pulled out the pendant—showing it to them.

  “Ever since you guys found me… this thing has only become more of a mystery.

  I’ve spent six years trying to figure out where it’s from—only to become a dead end!” I tightened my fist.

  “We know how you feel… that you want to figure out who you are and where you’re from… but I’m just not sure what the best thing to do is.” Jen lowered her head.

  Grey sighed. “Even though we all have tried to help—none of us could find a clue about your pendant… I’m truly sorry.”

  Tess and Mirra glanced at each other—remaining silent.

  With a serious face I pointed my finger at them. ”That’s why I want you to let me go to the Capital!”

  Jen and Grey looked at each other for a moment.

  “You’ve already had Tess and Simon borrowing ancient books and knowledge from the Prima Library… if there is any clue about your pendant it would be there?”

  “Yes I know… but do you really think the Prima Library truly has everything?”

  The people of this world think that all knowledge can be found in that library—that’s so narrow-minded.

  “Huh? What do you mean?” Grey’s face turned curious.

  “The Prima Library is not the only place in the Capital where ancient knowledge can be found!—that’s why I need to go.”

  “Huh? That can’t be right?” Grey looked over to Tess.

  Tess sighed and looked up. “He’s right… the library is not the only place.”

  Jen folded her arms. “Should a former member of the Temple Order be saying that?”

  “That was a long time ago, but he’s right. There are many things that cannot be found in the library.” Tess explained.

  Grey shook his head. “But Leo, if you find something the Temple Order doesn’t like—”

  “That’s not an issue,” I interrupted Grey.

  “I’m only going to look for clues about my pendant. Even if they found out, there’s nothing that will go against the teachings of the Temple Order.” I proclaimed as cold sweat ran down my spine.

  Good Leo—keep your face straight!—let’s hope they eat my bluff!

  We stood and stared at each other—not sure what to say.

  I took a deep breath.

  “Listen… I’m so tired of not knowing why I was placed on that field. Why me? Why there? And for what purpose?—Just why?” My voice cracked.

  I closed my eyes and lowered my head.

  “This is my deepest wish…please I beg of you—won’t you help me?” I said in defeat.

  Jen and Grey looked uneasy, Tess folded her arms while Mirra looked like she was unsure what to do.

  Grey then sighed and looked at Jen. “What do you think?”

  “I’m not sure I should be the one to decide that. After all, I was the one supporting Leo in running away with a girl.” Jen scratched her head.

  “That might be true. But I want you to be a part of this decision!” Grey leaned in closer to her.

  Jen was taken aback by his statement. She then pressed her palm to her lips—chuckling.

  “Well if you insist. I would say let’s hear him out, don’t you agree?” Jen smiled.

  “Hmm… I see…” Grey sighed and looked toward me.

  “Alright Leo… tell us about your proposal!”