Chapter 28 - Dungeon Dive #2

***

Hours went by and the darkness was eventually torn away by the light of the day. The sunrays emerged from behind the distant hills and shone the brightness over nature.

"Morning."

Walking out of the room, Theo caught the sight of Adam standing near the window with his gaze fixed beyond the borders of the village. Upon hearing the familiar coarse voice, Adam glanced over his shoulders and saw the dwarf. "Morning."

The yellowish-orange sun poking its head from behind the distant mountains shone its radiance on Adam's face. Theo nodded and went outside to stretch his limbs.

Minutes moved on and the others also awoke.

"Ready for the dive?" Tara's voice probed at Adam. The response was only a smile with a nod.

Turning his sight to the beauty of nature that was lying beyond the walls, Adam quietly recollected yesterday's conversation.

Almost an hour went by as they had their breakfast. The panther meat soup was delicious and their hearts leapt in ecstasy.

***

"As we spoke yesterday, we are venturing an undetermined dungeon. We must assess the situation and decide whether reinforcements are necessary or not. If the situation gets bitter, retreat immediately and inform the nearest guild."

Gary spoke with a commanding tone as his eyes skimmed over the four accomplices. His voice and eyes were solemn. Adam and the rest of the party nodded in acknowledgement.

Vigour and excitement could be seen on their faces. Except for Adam, everyone else was wearing an enforced vest and had weapons in their hands. The earthling didn't have a new pair to wear so he used the 'Repair' glyph under the veil of darkness.

Gary's eyes turned soon caught the figure of Durian walking towards him and he concluded prep speech.

"The guards haven't found anything since yesterday night. But today at dawn, one of the patrolling men found a Scout Fox roaming and spying the village walls."

Gary immediately stepped forth and asked, "Which direction?"

The village head turned and pointed at the rising sun, "That way."

Quickly bidding the villagers and Durian farewell, the party took long strides while walking eastward.

"Hey, what's with Gary? I have been noticing since yesterday." Adam hushedly probed at Theo after noticing a grim expression on the party leader's face. He couldn't help but sense some sort of veiled frustration from his demeanour.

Theo pulled Adam away from the fast-paced trio and muttered, "He lost his family to a dungeon beast horde." After peeking at Gary to see whether he had noticed their almost silent conversation, the dwarf continued, "Gary was a child when a dungeon near his family mansion suddenly erupted and all the beasts ran out like a tsunami. In that unprecedented stampede, the entire mansion with all of its residents, except for him, passed away."

One more peek at Gary and Theo concluded his words, "They were all slaughtered by the beasts."

Leaving Adam in horror, Theo walked ahead and joined the party.

No wonder!

If he wasn't angry, then that would have been abnormal!

Increasing his pace of strides and catching up with the party, Adam kept his silence. A glimpse at Tara and Walter and their faces also reflected a peculiar solemnity.

While lost in his thoughts, Adam didn't catch the fleeting figures of a couple of Scout Foxes. Gary and Tara leapt ahead but their agility was inferior to the foxes' nimbleness.

A dozen steps ahead, the party caught the glimpse of foxes again.

"The dungeon is certainly lying ahead of us. Get ready to engage."

His sword resonated a desire to drench and bathe in blood. It echoed his anger at these dirty beasts. Tara and others could only witness his demeanour and swallow their saliva subconsciously.

Gary's pace quickened abruptly as his eyes saw a cave into which the foxes vanished. His figure flashed ahead without any concern of potential traps.

The trio could only follow his lead into the darkness of the cave. But before they began their sprint, someone dashed past them complaining, "Why aren't you all cheering his enthusiasm? You guys are mean!"

"..." Theo, Tara and Walter.

After a second, Walter shook his head and conveyed, "No wonder he runs frenzy."

An exhilarating sensation rippled across his body and he followed Adam's lead. Into the darkness of the cave, they disappeared.

"You waiting for someone?" Theo quickened his pace while probing at Tara. Soon, the entire party was inside the dungeon.

At once, a large pale green crystal lit up at the most bottom floor of the dungeon with a gentle humming and an exciting voice resounded, "They've arrived!"

***

"Grandma Mera, did you summon me?"

Poking his head through the door, Durian asked while catching the sight of the physician sitting on the couch. She raised her eyes and gestured at him to enter while placing her teacup on the table.

"Did those adventurers leave?"

Her voice was different from before. It didn't exhibit any fragility of sixties but pride and vigour of mid-twenties.

"Yes, they left about an hour ago."

Responding to the query, a frown appeared on his face as he caught the glimpse of the soothsaying crystal placed on a table across the room, radiating a relaxing lustre. His eyes narrowed at once and a barrage of uncertainties arose in his heart.

"Who among those five individuals defeated the Crowned Silverline Panther?"

Rising from her seat, the granny had an entirely different demeanour. With hands clasped behind her back, it was as if she is an underworld don disguised as a granny.

"That...we didn't ask. But according to..." Durian couldn't complete his words as granny turned her gaze at him. Her eyes did convey kindness of old age but the terror of an invincible underdog. The glare brimming with irritation pierced straight into Durian's soul.

"You didn't ask?!" Mera's voice was harsh and her words were cold. The exposure to the intimidating presence forced the village head to take a step backwards.

But she relaxed her gaze and shook her head. "I knew you're unsuitable for the position. But never did I thought that you're this unreliable."

Finding the granny's emotions spiking and then abruptly switching, Durian was conflicted. But he didn't dare to voice his doubt.

"Tell me, who do you think defeated the leader of the panther pack?" Pacing towards the table on which the irradiating soothsaying crystal was placed, Mera enquired. Durian took a moment and replied, "It must be that Gary fellow. He's the leader of the party and has the highest level."

Granny merely chuckled before asking, "Is that your reasoning for deducing that he killed the pack leader? Your rational thinking is going down all the way to the gutters!"

The remark was a stab to Durian's soul. He almost spurted blood and staggered backwards but suppressed his imbalance. He could only frown at granny.

"If the situation wasn't anything special, that could have been the case. But the fact that his weapon of choice is a sword and the wound on the beast's body originated from its inside conflicts immediately. It's also important to access whether he has the capabilities to bring down the beast.

Your reasoning ain't wrong. It's just that you forgot an important variable." Granny had a grin as she turned to display her victorious demeanour to her grandson.

"...Adam? But he..." Durian couldn't help but scratch his head. At once, granny interrupted his speech.

"That's right. Adam. From the moment I saw him, I felt something off. So I quickly came back and divined about him." Her glorious grin switched to a sour frown. "But I couldn't even proceed an inch. His origin is shrouded in mystery."

"You couldn't proceed?" The village head was astounded.

Granny Mera, his grandmother, was a very powerful diviner. She is three hundred and forty years old in the coming spring. It was her supernatural ability to prophesise and foresee the upcoming events that helped her navigate her decisions in a way that even death found her as a slippery eel.

For she to be unable to proceed even an inch, that means the identity of Adam isn't something simple. For granny to be hindered in her venture, he must be related to...

"Deities." Granny nonchalantly said before her grandson could conclude his train of thoughts.

Durian was wonderstruck.

Deities!

The overpowered existence that only a few knew about.

The supreme beings that control the creation, sustenance and destruction of the worlds.

"Perhaps, he's an offspring of deities?" The village head muttered unconsciously.

"That's not the case. If he was an offspring of deities, then he must have a glorious and prestigious origin. Instead, he is simply a cloud of mist. Existing, visible, but uncatchable." Granny replied.

"If my assumption is correct, he is somehow related to deities. Even without substantiating that claim, he successfully killed the Crowned Silverline Panther with bare hands." Sweat was dripping from granny's forehead as she uttered her diagnosis.

"Bare hands?" Durian felt the back of his throat running dry as he imaged the scene in his mind.

Adam, what kind of existence are you?