Back at the dungeon Reign and the others had just finished another small patrolling team, they didn't know how much longer they had to travel to get inside the main part of the dungeon, the tunnels were starting to get on their nerves with all the twists and turns and the annoying groups of enemies.
Right behind them, the group of four observers was still following them, even after such a long period of time Reign and the others had no idea they were there.
"It's about time to go to them, I mean if we wait any longer and they reach level 20 then they won't get all the benefits of the mark, right?" Kristy speaks to Raegan with a slight worry on her face.
"Yes, you should give your mark to the boy, even though it's not irreversible for them to miss out on the first evolution it would be better if they gained some benefits, I don't know how much the boy will get from you though, after all, you're not that strong." Raegan smiles with a slight mock on his face as he looks at the now fuming Kristy, there was nothing he loved to do more than to make fun of her.
"A-hole." Kristy punches Raegan out of frustration but her punch gets stopped a couple of centimeters from his face, there was an invisible force that prevented her from even touching him.
"Now, now, don't be so angry my dear, simply stating the facts, after all out of all the marks they have, and the one the big guy will give to the brute there, you really are weak." Raegan smiles and waves his hand in the air as if trying to calm her down with his words.
"Hmph!" Kristy humphs in anger as she turns around, she could not refute his words, they were true after all. She was betting on gaining benefits from the boy along the way while becoming stronger, she truly believed that one day she would be able to stand at the same height as Zeus, Raegan, her father, and the others.
"Enough already Raegan, the lady is angry, you have done enough." Aurroth tries to diffuse the situation and speaks to Raegan, the big demon might not be as strong as him but he was still considered a somewhat famous person in the universe. Compared to Kristy he was infinitely closer to becoming as strong as him and the other big shots.
"Alright, I apologize if my words of honesty were hurtful oh dear lady Kristella." Raegan does a small bow as he apologizes to Kristy who turns around and stares at him with eyes full of hatred.
"DO NOT."
"CALL ME"
"KRISTELLA!"
With a shout, she summons her bow and draws it back instantaneously. An arrow was already there and with a quick movement the bowstring was released and a pitch-black arrow was shot at Raegan who simply smiles at her. With a simple pinch of his fingers, he catches the arrow before it reached him. Applying some force the arrow was snapped as if it was a normal twig.
"Alright, I may have crossed the line with that, I do confess that." Raegan looks at Kristy calmly as she lets go of the bow. Both Aurroth and Kristy's friend were shocked by what just happened, they never imagined that a simple name would draw such ire from Kristy and prompt her to attack Raegan.
"Now, it seems they have gone to the next zone, I think this is the perfect time for you two to give them your marks." Raegan looks at Kristy and Aurroth as he tells them, his words wake them up from their stupor and all of them proceed to Reign and the others who were standing at the end of the tunnel, well the entrance of one tunnel to be more exact.
They were stunned at what was in front of them, they did expect a big area to serve as the center of the dungeon, but what was laid in front of them was a small underground city. It was of course a primitive one, with houses built from mud, but even so, they were able to see lights everywhere in the city, even the houses had light sources inside of them. Were the light sources coming from torches similar to the ones found in the tunnel or from more sophisticated tools similar to the ones found in the castle from their own safe zone they didn't know?
There were a lot of hobgoblins goblins inside the city, some were patrolling and were armed while others were simply walking around or trading with others with different materials and monster carcasses and body parts.
"Quite a sight ay?" Reign and the others nod in response before freezing. They didn't recognize the voice and it came from their left, not from inside of the group. With a quick movement, they turn and get into a fighting position. They could see four people looking at the city next to them, they didn't know how they got there as nobody heard any footsteps. Wolf was already sweating as he was able to check the danger level the four possessed. Every single one could kill them without any effort.
"Who are you?!" Reign asks as lighting dances around him, he didn't have the same ability as Wolf but he still understood that the people in front of them were very powerful.
"Don't worry Reign, we are not enemies, if we were then you would have died quite a while ago." Raegan flashes a smile as he looks at Reign.
"How do you know my name?" Reign tenses up even more with the unfamiliar man's words.
"Heard it from your friends, back when you were fighting all of those hobgoblins in the tunnels." Raegan's words make them all widen their eyes in shock, if his words were true that meant that the group had been following them for quite a long time now, and yet nobody managed to sense that.
"Who would have thought that even such a primitive race could build such things, they may be near the bottom of the food chain but even so, you have to admire the tenacity these guys have." Raegan simply continues looking at the city without a care, with a nonchalant attitude he points at Kristy and Aurroth and says. "Don't mind me, these two have something to discuss with you."
They both step forward and look at Beast and Tank. Without even caring for the others they approach them as everyone gets ready to attack. It didn't matter to them, attacks of such a level wouldn't be able to even touch them.
"We can't win, any one of them can kill us whenever they want," Wolf says while putting his sword back in the sheath he had made on his back. Hearing his words everyone understood their meaning, these people were not here to hurt them, otherwise, they would have done so a long time ago.
Kristy stops in front of Beast and looks him straight in the eyes. With a gentle smile, she puts her hand in front of her and a bright light could be seen. "Do you accept my mark boy?"
"M-mark?" Beast stutters and everyone finally understood what was happening, these people were the same as Zeus and the others who had given them their marks, in short, they were something like gods.
Kristy nods to Beast as he looks at the mark with caution. Steeling himself he nods to her and the bright light goes straight at him, positioning itself on his left shoulder.
On the other side, Tank was looking up at the giant Aurroth. He wasn't scared, he was smiling ferociously at him, the second their eyes met each other he knew that they were similar with their lust for battle.
"You're probably crazy strong right?" Tank asks the smiling Aurroth as the latter nods in response, there was no need for words, Aurroth simply extended his hand, and a mark showing a horned head was displayed. It quickly disappears and enters Tank's body, forming a large mark on his back.
Kristy and Aurroth turn around and start walking away from them before the timid girl that came with Kristy suddenly speaks.
"Can you show me your wolf?" She looks straight at Beast with a nervous expression. Beast points at himself in confusion as she nods her head a couple of times to confirm.
"Um, a-alright." With a wave of his, hand Beast summons his three wolves and the girl slowly starts walking towards Blackie.
"J-just him." She speaks nervously again as Beast commands his other two wolves to draw back and leave the two alone. With gentle steps, the girl was now in front of the giant black wolf, her small and petite stature was a stark contrast to the ferocious beast.
"He looks so scary but, I can see that he is a good boy." With a smile, the girl slowly brings up her shaking hand and pets the wolf who lowers his head submissively, slowly a dark mark was being formed from her hand, it was something similar to the ones the others gave them, just weaker in regards.
"Since everyone gave their marks I should at least do this, may it serve you two well." The little girl smiles cutely at Beast while the wolf licks her face out of appreciation, it could sense that the gift he had been given would be of immense help to him in the future.
The girl laughs a bit as she puts her hands up to defend against the vicious attacks. Blackie stops and goes back to Beast as she slowly goes back to them. They were all about to leave until.
Bzzz
Reign had blitzed past them and attacked Raegan. The attack was a shock to everyone, nobody expected him to actually attack someone that was obviously much stronger than him. With a smile, Raegan shows that it is alright and meets his attack with a finger.
Clang!