25 All Together
"Prepare for another battle" a voice yelled from outside of the tunnel.
It sounded like a human rather than a beast. The other adventurers? The people responsible for this situation? Beast that could talk?
"Wait. That voice sounds familiar." Lance thought.
"Martha?" he yelled out.
The voice did not answer as the group had finally made it to the new open area. This area was as big as the last and once again had paths in each direction. In front of the group was another group of adventurers with familiar faces.
The co-leader Martha of the original group held both swords in hand as she was expecting a beast to appear. Instead, it was just humans who were "incapable of giving her a good fight". She almost seemed disappointed to see them instead of a beast.
The sounds of the charging Minotaur close behind made a smile appear on her face.
"Is that one of those big men beast chasing you?" she asked.
The group quickly replied and explained how it was already killed and got back up. They also explained the three adventurers who had died including Thomas who lost his life giving the group some extra time.
Jay however thought that it was a futile sacrifice. Thomas was planning to create the walls to stop the beast but did not expect it to break right through or at least not that fast. It wasn't supposed to be a sacrifice but he lost his life so they choose to see it as one.
"You guys move to the side. My group will take care of this beast" she replied as the rest of her group also pulled out their weapons.
"Raaaaawh" the Minotaur roared as it charged into the area as the group was finished preparing.
Bang
A fireball directly landed on it's face. It's eyes were obviously affected as it covered it's face unable to see it's surroundings.
Martha dashed forward slicing it's legs one by one which dropped the beast to the floor. Now behind the beast, she leapt onto it's back and ran towards the neck.
With both of her swords she stabbed into the nape of the beast.
"Rwaa-" the beast started to roar in pain before receiving another fireball, this time into it's mouth. It quickly closed it's mouth and released a sound indicating that it was in pain.
Smoke came out of the beast's mouth.
Jay and the others from his group watched on as a barrage of different magics and strikes were unleashed. It was as if they were merely playing with the Minotaur.
Watching on, Jay did not know if he would be able to use Plunder on the beast with these adventurers around. They could notice which would only increase their current suspicion on him.
He had gained 150 EXP from killing the beast before and was now able to level up once more. It would have to wait though as the leveling up pain would cause screams and movements which could easily be noticed.
Turning his attention back to the beast, he noticed that it was now wet and covered in water from a water magic attack. A lightning strike from one of the adventurers made contact with the water and ended the beast with no mercy.
Martha with a devilish smile walked over to the lifeless body and beheaded the beast with a strike that extended past the length of her sword. It was a clean slice and only took one strike.
Her hands were definitely metallic just like Lance when he used his ability and even Jay's harden skill.
"System explain this." Jay commanded.
"Although harden was extracted from a beast using the Plunder Skill, the same ability can be taught to humans who focus on strength rather than agility. It is actually a common ability among knights and melee fighters." The System replied.
"Makes sense. I wondered why no one questioned me having this ability." he thought.
After the fighting was all done, the two groups got together and began to talk about their situation. Martha explained how beheading the beast and destroying it's head would render it unable to get back up.
Martha's group had experienced 0 losses and had already defeated a Minotaur before this. It was expected that the other paths also had Minotaurs walking through them. It was like they were the guards of the area.
The group decided to continue together and search for their last few members which included their leader Arthur. He was strong and they had no doubt that he was still alive.
...
"I wonder what changes I will get upon hitting level 4." Jay wondered as he walked in the front of the group next to Martha and Lance. "The system has been very random in all honesty and I have yet to get a quest while in here."
The three led the group down another tunnel of Martha's choosing. They had been walking for over twenty minutes and had finally entered another space. This area was different.
The area was much smaller than the last but still huge in terms of sizes. An empty fountain laid in the middle with benches in front.
Behind was a stone wall with a large, open doorway and holes that formed multiple windows. The wall extended from one end of the room to the next. On the walls, were banners which could not be made out due to the lighting.
Entering through the doorway, a new sight could be seen.
This room reminded the group of a castle's front room. The room was lit by crystals along the wall which allowed the details of the room to be observed.
The walls were decorated with banners and carvings that formed designs on the wall. The banner was red and displayed a logo of a skull within a star. A banner unknown to anyone in the group.
The floors rather than the same old stone as before was now a beautiful marble floor that showed a reflection of all above. A red carpet with the same logo as the banners on the wall led the path from the entrance to to the inside of the structure.
Large open double doors drew the group's focus but all that was inside was a Throne. Leaving the room, the group was a bit disappointed.
The group walked down the red carpet in hopes of finding clues about their situation. It was very quiet and the breathing of others could be heard. Everyone was on high alert.
The room only extended more and more as the group walked for what seemed like an eternity. It was more of a hall than a room.
Occasionally a door would be seen on either side of the hall and it was always locked. Martha would easily break the door down to check the contents of the room.
From rooms with boxes, to bedrooms, to bathrooms and such, all the rooms had not a single soul within.
Eventually the hall ended, as another double door cut off the path. The door was red and had the same logo as the banners before.
"Finally, this room should be something new." Martha whispered as she stepped forward to push open the doors.
To everyone's surprise, the door did not budge.
Martha was extremely strong and even Lance admitted he would not be able to beat her in a test of pure strength.
No one stepped forward as they did not dare challenge Martha's strength. If she could not do it then they could not either unless working together.
Martha began to push once more, this time with the metallic arms and after seeing no changes, Lance offered his help. The others looked at him as if he had challenged a top tier beast to a battle of strength.
The group was again surprised when Martha accepted his offer.
"Why are they so surprised?" Jay wondered. "Yeah she seems like she never asks for help because she is the strongest here but surely in such a situation she would appreciate it."
The two worked together, both using their metallic arms which increased their strength. After a couple of seconds, the large doors began to move.
"It's not enough." Jay whispered as he stepped forward to help.
Martha and Lance let out a small smile as they struggled to push the door. One by one, the others with high strength stats came forward to help as well.
The doors let out a loud creak as they opened and after a large enough opening was created, the group stopped pushing.
After catching a quick breather, the group walked into the new room. It was a large room with a long table in the middle. Around the table were many chairs, and the same banners as before decorated the walls.
The group walked further in before Martha stopped them with a quick hand signal before pointing down the table.
In the furthest chair from the group sat a dark figure. It could not be made out completely as some of the lights on that side of the room was not working, leaving behind only the visible outline.
"I have been waiting for you." an ominous voice echoed throughout the area.
Bang
The doors behind the group closed and what stood behind them was a a variety of undead beast. Each beast could be recognized from the forest where this all started and they were able to block the exit without any sound before it was to late.
"Take a seat. Your friends will be here soon." the voice echoed once again.
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Author's note: I have many ideas that I want to implement but at the same time, I do not want to add to much details which would make little to no sense without a decent amount of details or affect other ideas that have already been implemented.
It's hard but I enjoy creating stories.
Also, thank you for almost 200 collections. Although this is just a hobby, the support means a lot and motivates me to really try my best. Thanks for reading my "ok" story and for all the great suggestions.
