System Change

Once again, the light faded from Derek’s eyes, and when he opened them, he saw the sight he had expected before—well, somewhat. First, all the party members faded into existence at around the same time he did, actually, he and Silvi may have beaten them by a few moments. Once everyone appeared, then the three new bonded beasts appeared all at the same time.

What surprised Derek the most was that he had planned on coming to in half a cave or a giant area of nothing but rubble because he knew that if Blitz appeared in the small cave when he and Edgar escaped the dungeon, the wyvern would have destroyed it just because of its sheer size alone. Instead, what met him and the others after their exit from the dungeon was a much more calm and controlled dungeon orb area.

The cave was completely gone—actually, everything around the dungeon orb was gone. There were no boulders, or remnants of the cave, just sand from the beach. Speaking of the dungeon orb, it had lost all vibrance, and at the same time, stopped moving and fell to the ground, dark and inactive. It looks like the raid dungeon will be inactive for a long time to come, Derek thought about what he’d learned about that type of dungeon since joining the raid.

Finally, after taking one last glance at the inactive dungeon orb, Derek took in the rest of his surroundings. Where the cave once connected to the water of the ocean, there was nothing but sand and the dungeon orb. Not far away from them, further inland, was what seemed to be a very small outpost—one that reminded Derek of the camp that had been set up once the Undying Dungeon was found and the Adventurer’s Guild took it over. It seems that things are going well here, then…

Not long after Lyra, the biggest of the companions, made her appearance, multiple people—guards, it seemed—came rushing over from the new outpost. The amphithere was definitely large enough to draw some attention to the party.

“See Dustin! I told you the orb activated again, and look, they’re all back this time, too!” The first guard shouted over his shoulder as he approached the group. It seemed that Lyra hadn’t been what had drawn the guard’s attention. Apparently, the guard had been watching the dungeon orb and had gone to get the others when it showed signs of activating.

“Martin! Your station. You are in front of the kingdom’s elite,” the trailing guard—Dustin, by the sound of it—chided the first guard.

The first guard, Martin, came to an abrupt halt and his hand went to his forehead in a salute… just before the second guard crashed into him. Derek and the others all stared at the two guards and their antics, while they took in everything else.

With the way they’re acting, I guess the kingdom isn’t in as bad shape as I thought it could have been. I wonder if Edgar has something to do with that. Derek couldn’t help but think about the information Silvi had brought to them, then Edgar leaving in a hurry to save his kingdom. This was not what he expected when he got out.

“Ugh,” the second guard grunted as he stood. “I apologize… um… Sirs… Ma’ams…”

Derek took a step forward, as the guards didn’t seem to know who to speak to, but he wasn’t really trying to help them. He was waiting for the third person heading their way. It was an older man with long dark blond hair and gray-blue eyes. He was a handsome man for his older age. Instead of a frantic run like the other two, this man was approaching at a brisk walk. He wore a well-worn set of plate armor on top of leathers and had a longsword strapped to his hip.

“Get back to camp you two!” the man commanded the two watchmen as he stepped in front of them.

“Sir!” the two men saluted at once, then ran back toward where they came.

“I apologize for the two of them. They have been stationed at this dungeon for much longer than intended, and we have only recently been afforded the time to come bring proper management to the dungeon once it was revealed.” The man bowed slightly to Derek when he finished speaking.

“It’s not a problem—refreshing, even. Makes it seem like things on the outside aren’t as bad as I had imagined.” Derek said with a smile.

“You must be Mr. Hunt,” the man stated with a slight nod.

“Guilty,” Derek said, his sense of urgency to race to Savanna calmed by the previous interactions with Dave, then with what he was met with outside the dungeon.

The man nodded. “Welcome back, Mr. Hu—” he started, but was soon cut off.

“Oh, I know you!” Derek said as the man’s face and appearance clicked in his mind. “You’re the guy from the Adventurer’s Guild! The one who was over at the Undying Dungeon.”

“Uh… yes?” the man said. “I was stationed there for a short amount of time to verify the dungeon details. Though I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Sure we have,” Derek said with a smile. “When I gave you the dungeon guide for the Undying Dungeon.”

“You! You were the one in the mask?” the man’s eyes widened as he looked Derek up and down. Unfortunately for the man, Derek was not dressed the same way as he had been back then. He was currently wearing his light armor made out of the dark wyvern.

“Nathan!” A voice came from behind Derek and drew the attention of the man before he asked Derek any more questions.

Derek turned to see Cain approaching with a smile while leaning against Walter and Shae.

“Cain! It looks like you’ve seen better days,” the old man, Nathan, broke out of his stupor from Derek’s reveal and spoke back.

“I see that the guild still has you doing grunt exploration duty,” Cain chuckled. “You should really take a Guild Master position somewhere. I suspect Savannah will be in need of a new one once Judy kills the current.”

At that, Shae’s happy attitude vanished and his head dropped ever so slightly before he muttered, “Don’t remind me.”

Everyone laughed, and the old man, Nathan, replied, “You know I enjoy my job. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t like it. Plus, the better I do, the less young adventurers we may lose to a new dungeon.”

“Fine, fine… you don’t want a different job… So, why are you here, anyway? This isn’t the typical new dungeon I’d expect to see you at,” Cain asked, now standing next to Derek, but still half a step behind him in respect. Neither Derek nor Nathan failed to notice that.

“I was free, and they needed someone to set up camp after the prince returned with a dragon. They broke the cave all to hell—revealing the previous hidden dungeon orb to all who ventured by—so we went ahead and made it a proper outpost. From what the prince has said, this could be a very lucrative dungeon to watch over—we just need to find out how long it will stay dormant.”

“How is Edgar? And Savannah?” Derek asked.

“The prince is fine, and Savannah is even better. I wasn’t able to see it personally, but Ms. Swan caused the invading army to retreat with their tails between their legs,” Nathan spoke with respect. If his words weren’t enough, then his eyes said it all, he was impressed with whatever Alanah had done in defense of the city.

“Hmph,” a snort from Avery came from Derek’s other side. “It seems Mistress Swan let them off lightly if they were allowed to retreat.”

“You… oh! Mister Swan! Actually, Ms. Swan collapsed just as the prince arrived on his dragon. It seems the fighting was actually quite taxing on the lady.”

“What!” Avery stepped forward, and Lyra flapped her wings once. “How dare they? I’ll make them wish they were never born!”

“It’s fine. She recovered quickly, so I hear,” Nathan quickly explained to calm the man. “Ever since she awoke, Ms. Swan, Prince Edgar, and his dragon, Blitz the Magnificent, have been pushing and harassing the invading army. Actually, they have almost been pushed out of Cydarian territory altogether. It’s truly something worth celebrating.”

“Blitz… the Magnificent?” Derek’s jaw dropped.

“Yes, that seems to be what the dragon calls himself,” the man confirmed.

I bet he’s already regretting giving Blitz the Telepathy skill. Derek half chuckled.

“Is there anything else?” Cain asked. “Anything more on the topic of the war?”

“Just that while Prince Edgar and Ms. Swan are able to harass and keep the army back, they aren’t causing great losses. I believe it’s too risky for just the two of them to initiate a battle. So, it seems like they are doing their best to give Cydaria a chance for a breather. Other than that, I don’t know anything else,” Nathan replied. “I’m just an old man from the Adventurer’s Guild, after all. I don’t have a high enough place to know more than the rumors that I’ve already told you.”

“That still doesn’t make sense,” Avery replied. “Mistress isn’t so sympathetic to risk herself like that with Edgar. Defending Savannah is one thing… she promised to keep Derek’s friends safe, after all. But risking her own neck for the kingdom as a whole? I don’t get it.”

“As I said, Mr. Swan. I do not know any more than that. From the rumors, it seems that she is selflessly protecting the kingdom,” Nathan reiterated. “If you want to know more than that, I suggest speaking to her or King Edwin.”

‘King Edwin!’ Derek was startled by Silvi’s voice suddenly appearing in his thought. ‘That Old Sparky is waiting for me. I almost forgot. We need to go see him!’

‘What?’ Derek asked.

‘The reward for saving Little Sparky. I bet he’s gathered it by now. We need to hurry.’

‘Oh… that,’ Derek almost chuckled. Derek nodded to Nathan. “Is there anything you need with us? Or are we free to go as we please?”

“Ah, yes,” Nathan replied. “It would be very helpful if I could get a recounting of the dungeon in as much detail as possible for our records and future attempts. And we are able to offer some aid and rest in the camp if you would like.”

“Sure,” Derek said, then turned around and looked over the rest of the group, who were listening attentively. Finally, his eyes landed on the person he was looking for. “Elena. You and Jasper go with Nathan and give him the details of the dungeon. Between the two of you, you experienced all the trials except for trial four.”

“Okay,” Elena replied and Jasper nodded. “And we’ll take Nathan up on that rest, too. System knows we need it.”

“Great,” Derek said, then turned back to Nathan. “As for trial four, I completed it myself. It was an epic rarity duel against a big ass swimming and flying toxic whale with either insane regeneration or its regeneration only seeming insane because of how big it was. It was basically an entire island of nothing but whale. Once in the duel, the escape scrolls were inactive. We lost one of our members because of that.

“I would suggest mental attacks, or maybe lightning. Anyone who relies on being on the ground is a sitting duck,” Derek finished.

While Derek was talking, Nathan had already found his way to a notebook and was frantically scribbling down notes. “And how did you defeat it, if I may ask?”

“I out survived it and killed it from within,” Derek answered. “I don’t suggest that as a way to deal with it, though. I just happened to be suitable for such a fight.”

“Got it,” Nathan said. “Anything else?”

“That’s it. Elena and Jasper know the rest,” Derek replied. “Is there a working teleporter anywhere around here?”

“Unfortunately, there is not,” Nathan said. “Most of the kingdom’s teleporters are still inactive due to the current invasion. Only a few of the main cities still have active ones.”

“I see…” Derek replied, then turned to his right and looked at Avery. “Any chance me and Silvi can catch a ride to Savannah? It’s about time we get back.” Derek smiled as he looked off in a certain direction. It was time to go home.