Lurking Dangers (1/2)

* Expedition team Beta *

Fiona let out a low, rumbling growl as she sniffed around the cave. Her pack was immediately on alert and Sumiré drew back her slingshot, trying to find a target to aim it at. Fatná drew a dagger and tried to approach the Blood wolf. Fiona kept her at bay with a short bark, almost as if she was cautioning her against coming closer. The party looked around the dark cave but they were the only ones there! Why were the wolves so on edge? "Daughter.. We should slowly back away towards the exit!" Fatná whispered as she took the first step.

"Mother I can't see anyone or anything around us! What is Fiona sensing?"

"I don't know but that wolf's nose has never been wrong before.."

The women had spent a few hours exploring the smaller Plateau and the surrounding caves. They had only managed to find some quail eggs and some clay. These could be assimilated and reproduced by the Lady Minõa and her strange powers but.. they had found no signs of intelligent life, great beasts, monsters or any threat to their Dungeon.. until now..

For every step the women took towards the cave entrance, the wolves took one more towards its center. They faced away from each other, using all their sharpened senses to locate this phantom enemy who was stalking them from beyond the shadows. It was unseen, silent and yet.. reeked.. reeked of death, decay and a maddening lust for blood! That is how Fiona was alerted to its presence! The smell of the enemy had given it away. Sumiré reached the entrance of the cave and stood next to her mother, both ready to bolt in case something bad happened. She stood slightly further away than her mother was, able to see the outside of the entrance. The stone shook ever so slightly, releasing dust and sand loose, letting fall to her feet. She tilted her head to the side and knelt down, placing her hand on the caves floor. At first she only felt the jagged rock's cold surface but after a second or two.. she became aware of a low rumble and the shifting of earth beneath her feet!

"There's.. I think there's.." Sumiré mumbled and even the summons turned to her as she continued. "I think there's something beneath our feet.." she managed to say as the ground erupted with an explosion of loose earth, rock and sand! Monstrous humanoid forms took shape behind a cloud of dust that blinded the team while they found their balance. A maddening cackle was heard, sending shivers down their spines and weapons were raised for battle. Fiona jumped in front of the pair as she and her pack growled in anticipation for a hunt! Two red eyes, like glowing beads of crimson light, pierced through the cloud and into each one of their souls. Fiona could not use words here but barked loudly as she jumped into the fray! If she could speak to the women behind her.. she would have said "..RUN.."!

* Great Elgolar Dungeon *

Team Alpha returned and their reception was ceremonious to say the least. The goal of this expedition was to to wipe out a pack of coyotes trying to build a new den, in a cave located at the base of our great Plateau. My Wyvern had scouted ahead, spotting five adult wolves, ranging from levels 4 to 7. Thus, Team Alpha was born. Comprised mainly by Amber Jellies and escorted by my Wyvern for extra protection. The Amber Ooze and Jellies were the ones that had to pull this off, the monstrous bat would only have intervened if necessary. Thankfully the little slimes had performed admirably!

[ Amber Jelly A has reached level 8. Amber Jelly B has reached level 7. Amber Jelly E has reached level 8. Amber Jelly D has reached level 8. Amber Jelly F has reached level 8. ]

I was trying to figure out how I could constantly level up my monsters with greater efficiency. An idea had occurred to me but I still wasn't very keen on following through with it. I had thought of creating a "fighting pit". A place where my monsters could fight each other in order to gain experience on a daily basis and evolve naturally. This would be great fro testing out new monsters and evolution variants. The idea however of having gladiatorial bouts between my beloved summons just didn't sit well with me.. especially if the fights needed to be "to the death" in order for my mobs to gain experience. I made a mental note to look into it later on..

The first thing on my mind at that time was making sure my second team returned home safe. The sun had risen to its zenith, yet.. Team Beta had not returned.. The agreed plan was, that if that area needed more than a few hours to be explored, they were to report back to the Dungeon. This way I could escort them there myself or at least send more reinforcements. Thankfully, Fisher was there to calm my anxiety and remind me that that technically, it would still have taken them about an hour or so to return even with no unexpected delays. I needed a distraction.. I focused on training myself and my Magic. After running a few laps and exercising, I practiced my sword-fighting forms. Practicing my routines only took about 40 minutes now, including a warm up. I followed that up with some target practice, hitting stalactites and stalagmites with my simple fire spell. My "Finger Gun", even at double strength, was barely strong enough to leave a mark on the caves hard surfaces. It was quick, had low Mana consumption and could be used in quick succession. But lacked any stopping power!

As I pointed my fingers to a large boulder, ready to fire again, I paused. Reaching out with my other hand, I started feeding the spell more Mana. I drew back my hand slowly, willing the flames to compress and bend into shape, using my Ranked-up skill for Fire Manipulation. It was like tugging on the string of a bow. The fire compressed into the shape of an knocked arrow, spinning around its axis and pulsing with energy. Finally, I visualized letting go of the string, unleashing a torrent of power behind my projectile. The arrow shot forward with great speed but even I could feel the force behind it waver, sending it off trajectory and robbing it of some of its oomph. The projectile travelled through the cave, lighting up the darkness around it, producing an impressive *woosh* as its heat made the air around it expand suddenly. It ultimately missed the boulder, pinning itself in the ground before disappearing into nothingness. It did however leave behind an impressive hole of scorched earth and molten rock!

[ New Mana Sequence discovered! You have successfully crafted two sequences! New achievement unlocked, "Spell Crafter". 150XP Awarded! 80 Aether points awarded! Name your new sequence? New sequence named.. "Flame Arrow" has been chosen as designation. This sequence costs 20 Mana points, requires 5 seconds of casting and deals 30-45 Fire damage at a maximum range of 60 meters. ]

I was thrilled by my new spell and achievement! I still needed to get used to casting it, in order to wield it effectively but this damage output was exactly what I needed! Flame Arrow was now my strongest weapon! The cost was a bit much but with my growth rate I was sure I would adjust nicely. Plus, with all that training and concentrated effort, I didn't even realize how time flew by. And yet.. still no word from Fatná and Sumiré.. "Wyvern! I want you to fly towards their location.. Report back to me when you find them!" I sent out with my thoughts. My summon responded at once, leaving its perched positive outside my Dungeon and flying towards the direction the women had followed. Maybe I was overreacting.. But I couldn't shake this bad feeling.. Thinking it would be nest if I was prepared for anything, I slipped into my meditation in order to accelerate my recovery and collect Aether.

[ You have cultivated for 1 hour. Stamina is at 80%. 14 Mana points collected. 6 Aether points collected. HP at 100%. Aether Cultivation Skill at 74% to reach Rank 4. ]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race: Superior Dungeon Core Lv.8

Avatar: Arsani (Hermaphrodite)

Age: 29

HP: 170/170

MP: 34/66

XP: 290/950

Aether: 198

Gold: 800

Physical - 11 (Beyond Peak Condition)

Mental - 3 (Average)

Social - 5 (Above Average)

Magic - 8 (Well Above Average)

Skill Points: 1

Skills

1) Monster Summoning (Rank 2)

2) Dungeon Manipulation (Rank 2)

3) Aether Cultivation (Rank 3)

4) Bound (Rank 1)

Passive Skills

1) Fire Resistance (Rank 2)

2) Natural Allure (Rank 1)

3) Minor Regeneration (Rank 1)

4) Fire Manipulation Magic (Rank 3)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Just an hour after I had started cultivating, I received telepathic messages of great severity. Once I opened my mind to them, images started flooding my consciousness, images of Fatná and Sumiré crawling back to the Dungeon under a scorching sun. They seemed exhausted, hurt and lacking most of their equipment! The most worrying fact however was that they were lacking their escort! I jumped to my feet and armed myself with weapon, armor and supplies. In mere seconds I was already outside my entrance, sprinting at speeds that would put Olympic gold medalists to shame. My Wyvern flew overhead while I ran and leaped over dune and sandhill. I knew I should have taken more allies with me but the ones I had available just wouldn't be able keep up at these speeds. We weren't alone however!

Less than an hour had passed when I finally heard my Wyvern screech and fly in circles over a target ahead. I saw the two women trudging through the rough sand, leaning on each other, their lips dry and their eyes betraying their exhaustion. They recoiled at my approach, weary of any shape that came to close to them. "Its me! Fatná! Sumiré! Its Minõa! Are you hurt? What happened?" I almost yelled out of concern. They mumbled back to me incomprehensibly, showing me small bruises but no serious injuries. I offered them a water skin and they drank greedily to quench their thirst. It was Sumiré who managed to speak first. "My Lady! They.. they.. came from the earth! They were hungry! And mad! They looked like small men but they are demons from hell! FIONA! Fiona fought so we could run! I'm sorry my Lady!" Her tears ran black over the dry dust that had collected on her cheeks. I turned towards the cave and just glared. My feelings were a bag full of angry images of slaughter and revenge. "Help them back.." I said to my wyvern before I bolted ahead. Fatná screamed at me.. begging me not to go. I had to. I had to see my enemy with my own eyes. Know them for who they were and prepare accordingly. Was this random? Or had one mistake returned to bite me in the ass? "Please Master! We need to run!!" Her voice bellowed forth with the practiced concern of a mother. I sped up, blocking out any distraction, trying to get a handle on my anger and failing miserably.

I must have run inhumanly fast, because it took me only an extra 30 minutes to arrive outside the cave in question. Having a complete resistance to the extreme heat and sun surely helped reserve my stamina.I could feel the presence of my own Aether here. My summons.. I skidded to a stop over hot sand and veered into the cave's darkness. At first their was nothing but after mere seconds, the dark sprouted dozens of yellow eyes that glared back at me! Yes.. there was no doubt in my mind now.. the Vorska had returned.

** Author here. How are you enjoying the story so far? What would you like to see most in the novel and the upcoming chapters? Feel free to leave a comment! **