Chapter 25 - First Encounter

Dungeons were a very important source of resources for the Amine Kingdom. Rare herbs, mana gems, and monster parts could all be found in the dark recesses of the dungeons. This was why each dungeon entrance was heavily guarded, preventing poachers from stealing the precious resources.

This was also the reason the Adventurers Guild was created, to dive deep into the dungeons, gathering the rare resources. They were also tasked with keeping the numbers of monsters to an acceptable level. Usually only adventurers were allowed to enter a dungeon. They were the only ones trained well enough to face all the dangers inside.

Professor Kal had bypassed the Adventurers Guild; he was allowed to enter due to his deal with Dean Petticoat. The Dean had given him a token that once shown to the guards would allow him, along with whomever he brought along, unrestricted access to any dungeon within the Kingdom.

Ryan was nervous, he was standing close to Professor Kal as they walked up to the building outside one of the dungeons inside the capitol. He didn't know what to pack, so he brought some food, a change of clothes, and a few other necessities he thought he might use. He at first tried to put everything inside the storage ring Professor Kal had given him, but found out that only the things already in there could be put back in, nothing new.

He had asked the Professor about it only for him to chastise him about wanting to fill the treasure full of useless junk. Forced to carry a cumbersome pack on his back, Ryan looked around in awe at all the adventurers coming and going from the administration building. Many of them had leather armor on, a handful had iron plate armor. Swords and axes were the most favored weapons, but he could see bow and crossbows mixed in as well.

He looked around closely, finding that the groups of people were missing something.

"Professor, why aren't there many mages here? I only see two or three, shouldn't there be more?"

Professor Kal looked around as well, spurred on by his apprentice's question. After a few moments, he answered. "Think about it, who are mages? They are the upper class, nobles or their children. Although, like yourself, there are those that are not nobles, but are still very wealthy. Mages have no reason to risk their lives in a dungeon, not unless they are here to conduct research, such as myself, or have fallen into poverty and need the funds."

This explanation made a lot of sense to Ryan, he just hadn't thought about it. There was nothing to gain by going into a dungeon if you already had wealth. One could gain some amount of fame by clearing a dungeon, but they would have to risk their lives to do so, would it really be worth it? While Ryan mulled over the words of his teacher, they both made their way inside.

Inside the wooden building was a fairly simple setup. There were several counters set up with bulletin boards lining the walls. On the boards were requests for materials that adventurers could harvest in the dungeon while exploring the ever changing tunnels. That was one of the mysteries of the dungeons, the fact that every once in a while the orientation of the passageways would change.

Many theorized that the dungeons would change in order to impede the monsters from reaching the surface sooner. That hypothesis had some merit, it would take several years for monsters to break through if they were not culled, it would be much shorter if not for the rearranging of the tunnels.

After waiting in line for a few minutes, they were granted access to the dungeon. The clerk did question Professor Kal about bringing a child into the dungeon along with him, but was promptly told to mind her own business. A scornful look appeared on the clerk's face, all Ryan could do was give her an apologetic smile as he walked by her, following after the Professor.

The real entrance to the dungeon looked much like a simple cave entrance. It was only wide enough to allow one person to comfortably walk through at a time, and just tall enough so you wouldn't have to crouch down as you did so. Professor Kal boldly walked into the cave, not even bothering to look behind him to make sure Ryan was following him. Of course Ryan was, he wouldn't want to be left alone.

Once inside, the tunnel expanded in size greatly. It was almost as if they had stepped into a different plane. Professor Kal nodded his head as he inspected his surroundings, it was subtle, but could actually sense that they had in fact entered a kind of subspace. He was astounded at the complexity of the mana veins he was seeing with the mana detection crystal he was holding up to his eye.

The mana detection crystal was a tool that allowed the user to visualize mana. Although he could see mana with just his eyes, it was fuzzy and distorted, but when using the crystal, it made it possible to see the most intricate detail. He gingerly touched the cavern wall, the wall lighting up as he did so. The mana coursed through the wall like an intricately weaved tapestry, pulsing like a heartbeat.

As Professor Kal caressed the wall like a long lost lover, Ryan observed his surroundings. The beginning of the dungeon was pretty much like he had expected, dark, dingy, and scary. The only sounds he could hear were the drip drop of water and the swooshing of the flames of torches lining the damp walls. The tunnel they were in was well over fifteen feet high and over twenty feet across. It went on for several tens of feet, eventually turning into pure darkness that he couldn't see past.

Ryan took a few steps towards the wall himself, trying to discover what was so interesting about the damp looking stone. He placed his hand on the cool stone, he felt the damp grittiness, rubbing it between his fingers, not finding anything of note. Before he could bring his finger to his nose and smell it, an ear piercing scratching noise assaulted Ryan's ears. It sounded like iron nails on a chalkboard, and it was growing louder as time went by.

"Prepare yourself, we have company." Professor Kal said, reluctantly tearing himself from the dungeon wall.

Ryan turned to look up at Professor Kal who had appeared next to him, then turned back towards the ever increasing noise. Ryan would be lying if he said he wasn't scared, he had heard of the dangers inside the dungeons. Evil monstrosities that feasted on human flesh, only kept at bay by the heroic adventurers. He stepped back, bumping into Professor Kal, then being pushed forward by him.

Ryan steadied himself, prepared to face whatever was birthed from this dungeon head on. He had Professor Kal behind him after all, he knew that the Professor would never allow harm to befall his prized student, at least that's what he told himself. He squinted his eyes, attempting to peer through the murky depths.

He was rewarded with a gruesome sight, a green man that was just shorter than him, was dragging what looked like a long sword behind him. The green man was the ugliest being he had ever seen. Boils covered his large, crooked nose. A few yellow teeth jutted out from his oversized mouth, he could almost smell the man's breath from where he stood. Only wearing a loincloth, the green man hulled the long sword behind him, finally seeing Ryan and Professor Kal standing up ahead. Seeing the two humans, a frantic look appeared on the green man's face. Thick saliva started to flow from its mouth, telling the two what it was thinking.

"Go on, kill it." Professor Kal urged him on, nudging him from behind.

"W..what? K...ki..kill it?" Ryan's eyes opened wide as he turned to look at Professor Kal.

"I didn't stutter. You better keep your eyes on the goblin, he's getting closer. Here, take this, it'll help." Professor Kal told him, handing over a simple looking dagger.

Ryan timidly took the dagger, holding it awkwardly in his right hand. He couldn't process what was happening, Professor Kal didn't really expect him to fight against the monster, right? He didn't even have proper training handling a weapon, they didn't teach that until you turned sixteen. He looked back up towards Professor Kal once again, hoping for him to tell him something different, but all he got was the Professor pointing to something behind him, causing him to turn his head.

Ryan was just in time to witness the long sword being swung level with his head by the goblin. In a panic, Ryan ducked, feeling the rushing air disturb the hair on top of his head. Sweat ran down his back, his heart was pumping blood vigorously through his body. He was in a life and death situation, and he was at a clear disadvantage.

He rolled to the side and got to his feet, barely missing another swing aimed at his head. The goblin seemed like it was trying to kill him with the least amount of damage done to his body, keeping the meat intact. Ryan still had the dagger in his hand, his grip so tight that his knuckles were white. Although he didn't know the proper technique, he knew to at least stab his target with the pointy end.

Breathing ragged breaths, Ryan kept just out of range of the goblin's swings. Even though the sword was much too big for it to use efficiently, it refused to let go of it like it was a precious treasure. Ryan thought that he could use that to his advantage, wait for just after the goblin swung the huge sword, then rush in and finish it off quickly.

The goblin clumsily swung once more, missing Ryan just barely. Ryan enacted his plan and rushed in, the dagger reflecting the torchlight as he held it out in front of him. He was so close to the monster that he could see every pore on its face and smell the horrendous smell that it gave off. Just as the tip of the dagger was about to pierce through the goblin's eye, it simply moved its head to the side then stuck out its stunted leg, tripping Ryan, causing him to fall to the ground.

He tumbled over a few times due to his momentum carrying him forward. Before he could get back to his feet, he felt a searing heat come from his back. He rolled forward instinctively, but it was already too late. The goblin had struck him in the back, causing a long, jagged gash to appear.

Blood flowed from the wound, turning his black robe wet, sticking to his skin. Fighting back tears, Ryan struggled to stay standing. Every breath he took caused pain to shoot from his back, and down his side were the gash ended. With shaky legs, he faced the goblin.

The goblin, seeing its prey injured, smiled a crooked smile. It rushed forward, dragging the blade behind it. It may have only been reborn a short time ago, but was still full of insatiable hunger and rage. There were no rational thoughts left in its mind, two millennia trapped underground had long driven it mad. Its stumpy legs carried it forward faster than one might think possible, soon, it was upon its prey.

Jumping up into the air, the goblin finally let go of its weapon as its hunger drove any thought, other than eating, out of its feeble mind. Seeing the creature lunge towards him, Ryan panicked. He closed his eyes and held the dagger out in front of himself with both hands. The goblin barreled into him, knocking him off his feet. The goblin's inertia carried them both a few feet across the ground before they both came to a stop with the goblin on top of Ryan.. Professor Kal looked at the unmoving, bloody pile, shaking his head.