!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis & Tembulon who not only both pred it but improved this ch's quality greatly please rep them. Also Full Credits to Askard who maintains the Information Doc where a majority of spectral regalia information is written please Rep him to ^^!!!

To Both Draconis and Temb. i think they are improving rapidly in pring i usually meassure how good a pr is by the ammount of commas compared to past ch i can see a 50-60% increase which means they are trying harder to make this story great round of applause for them both! *claps*

Hello! here is your ch for the week. tonight il hopefully write a raw or 2. this chapter felt somewhat pleasing for me to write and post.

btw i'm receiving pms of people wanting to place my story on their blog or on their website, im ok with this in fact it benefits me by getting me out there it also helps these blogs/sites potentially bring in more people and if i am able to live a dream to write a popular story then why cant i help assist them, by letting this story be hosted.

so just know you all have my permission to host the chapters of SR/ES/MG on a site/blog but this is not permission to monetize my story and trick others into paying to read it. as long as credits are given i am happy.

Please Rate/Follow/Favouite/Share/Enjoy Ch 77.

P.S MG ch 4 is bieng pred there is no set date when its done as its finished when the prs are satisfied with it.

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As Avrin and Kael carefully progressed down a sort of ramp-like tunnel that was in a cylinder-like shape, Avrin couldn't help but glance at the depictions on the walls. There were quite a few interesting images that seemed almost like hieroglyphics. One depicted a group of human warriors kneeling down towards a beast-like eye covered in rocks.

The image after that depicted a light engulfing the humans, who seemed to worship this eye, and the final image in the set Avrin focused on was that in place of these humans, images showing creatures similar to the Draconians appeared.

Avrin had little doubt about what he was dealing with, having a strange feeling regarding the origin of the draconians. He had read a decent amount into Seleria’s history, and he understood that a race as capable as the Draconians would leave an impression. But information about them didn't exist, which meant they were not created by the gods of Seleria.

He also understood by the pictures that the Draconians possibly may have been converted from humans into the creatures he sees today. But he wondered why they would go as far as the creation images.

Humanity, on Seleria, had quite a nice start, and were intelligent. Why not leave records behind? Why choose images? This mystery was the most bizarre. He was suddenly brought out of his slight trance at the sound of rumbling.

It caused the tunnel to shake a bit, as bits of dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Kael gave a stern look as he cautiously looked around. “Master… What was that?” Avrin also looked around. Of course, his guess was as good as Kael’s.

“Forget it. Let's continue.” The pair continued on down the tunnel. Of course, it had only taken a few more steps before Avrin’s body felt a twitch. He immediately rushed over to Kael and grabbed him by the gorget he wore, before pulling him back.

At the same time, a shadowy figure that was hidden in the darkness of an opening in the ceiling shot out and smashed down at Kael’s previous location. The creature was strangely odd to Avrin. It was definitely Draconian by appearance, but at least a meter and a half tall, with long, claw-like hands that seemed like scissors.

Without hesitation, Avrin moved the stunned Kael to the side, before giving a soft right kick towards the creature. But it simply jumped up with commendable agility, and slashed downwards with its scissor like claws towards Avrin.

“Hmph!” Avrin uttered out, before he formed a void sword in a near instant, countering the creature's hands. Several sparks flew, and it gave a screech-like roar, before kicking off from the void sword, shooting back several dozen meters. Even causing Avrin to take a step back.

“Kael, be careful, this one focuses on speed.” He called out. Kael had already unsheathed the blade, that was somewhat dulled from the 4 armed Draconian. But the creature's next move brought caution to Avrin and fear to Kael. It screeched in a sort of communicative manner, and within moments, the screeches sounded from all the directions of the cracks in the tunnel that led into the darkness.

Dozens of the small creatures began to appear and surround Avrin and Kael. Of course, Avrin had to make sure to be careful. Although his intention was to train Kael, he couldn't continue to babysit him constantly, it was an extra handicap where he had to look after another person but also gauge that he is handling enough combat to give kael experience.

Avrin felt that valuable life and death situations in combat were one of the best methods to improve. Of course, this was not confirmed to him yet, so he hoped he was right. “Well, let's get started.” Avrin’s face darkened slightly.

Meanwhile, within the halls of the upper section of the dungeon, a figure crashed against the tunnel wall as the sound of metal and yelling roared out. The figure that had hit the wall crawled out in a limp before scurrying away in a portal that opened up near it.

With a fist extended out, with red flame affinity energy engulfed around it, Clovis spat on the ground. “These bastards act tough, but you injure them enough and they run with their tail between their legs, hahahaha!” Right at that moment, Felia called out. “Clovis, watch out!”

Feeling on instinct, Clovis ducked, managing to avoid a sideways swipe from a Draconian that wasn't busy fighting the many mercenaries in the tunnel. At the same time, he countered with an uppercut “First Strike!” Smashing his fist into the creature's jaw, it smashed upward and crashed against the ceiling before falling flat on the ground. It stood up, showing it was alive, but was limping.

At the same time, a portal opened up underneath it, and the creature soon vanished within it. Clovis frowned a bit. “They’re much easier once you fight them a few times.” He spoke out as he looked around, seeing at least 12 Draconians fighting against different groups of mercenaries.

Considering the skill level, it was fairly even, but with Clovis in the mix, the balance was put on their side. Felia delicately jumped over a Draconian, arching her body in a quick motion, enough for it to flex and show her curves and figure.

At the same time, she slashed against the creature's shoulders with 2 large daggers that managed to pierce the scales, causing it to screech in pain as blood flowed out.

The creature madly turned around as it rushed towards Felia, who had barely managed to land on her feet, and was preparing to defend. At that moment, a white blur smashed down towards the creature, which barely managed to avoid it by stopping at the right moment on its own instincts.

There was a crashing sound, as the ground under the blur crumbled, leaving a large battle axe clad in fur, as well as blood of the Draconians it had attacked before. The Draconian that had escaped with, possibly, it's life, felt a little sweat form on its body as it looked to see a female beastmen with a pout-like smile on her face.

“Damnit, I was sure he would fall for it!” The figure called out in a playful manner. “Wyni, stop joking around” Felia called out to Wyni, who was the owner of the large battleaxe that was twice her size, showing her strength as a beastmen.

The Draconian, feeling it had met its match, didn't bother to risk its life, and soon vanished in a portal that opened up underneath it. Wyni rubbed her twitching ear in a cute, animal-like fashion. “Aww, it got away!” Wyni spoke, which made Felia shake her head with a grin.

Clovis, after having defeated his 2 opponents, had managed to take many of the remaining Draconians, who were occupied by dealing with the mercs, by surprise. In the end, after a roar by one of them, the Draconians all retreated, leaving the mercenaries, who suffered heavy wounds but no fatalities, to rejoice in their victory.

Cheers erupted in the tunnel, but they didn't last long. They were veterans, and knew time couldn't be wasted, so they immediately began to recuperate and bandage their wounds. Potions had gone to the people with the major injuries, while some who had learned a bit of healing magic had used it in the best way they could without exhausting themselves.

Clovis had stayed, as he looked around carefully and frowned a bit. “That Avrin is probably half way down by now. That boy is lucky to have front row seats to the battles he must be facing” Clovis laughed to himself, before Felia walked over as she cleaned one of her daggers with a damp cloth.

“Avrin is strong, but this dungeon is riddled with ambushes… But I guess I'm just hoping he hasn’t gotten to the treasure first. I really should have made it so he had to remain with us” Felia nervously frowned. She was worried Avrin was doing too well that he would take more than they agreed upon.

Clovis shook his head slightly at her doubt. “I doubt he would stoop so low. For now, it's best if we try to advance. That was the 4th attack, and it was larger than before. I'm sure whatever it is that lurks around doesn't want us here.”

Felia felt she had to agree half heartedly with Clovis. Doubt couldn't be so easily dismissed when much was at stake, but she put it aside. “Ready up, we are heading further.” Not a single man or woman groaned, as they were all prepared for such difficulties.

Being veteran mercenaries in such situations, their hope for treasure and bragging rights, as well as the potential of retiring and no longer having to put their lives on the line. With that they progressed onward.

Strangely, at the same time the group advanced, it was also the time Avrin and Kael had begun to combat the strange clawed Draconians. The mercenary group had stopped with careful and cautious looks on their faces.

In front of them was the large door opened by Kael nearly an hour ago. He and Avrin have long since passed through, but the door being opened already was a sign to Clovis, who was cautiously approaching that Avrin and Kael must have gone through.

“Stay here.” Clovis spoke quietly, before he entered inside. Widening his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a battle that had occurred, with the ground shattered and split in many places, as well as a large crater like hole not too far from the entrance.

“This…” Approaching the area carefully, Clovis looked around with caution. He knelt down and pressed his finger against a few scattered drops of red and blue blood mixed together. He raised it carefully, as he wasn't sure what to make of it.

He then gazed off to see green Draconian blood, and was quiet for a bit. Unable to contain herself, Felia soon entered, as she was escorted by 10 individuals who looked around with as much caution as her, as they had seen the battle marks left by Avrin and the Draconian. But as they saw Clovis kneeling down, inspecting a bit of the blood left behind, they were at ease somewhat.

Felia approached Clovis with her weapon unsheathed, for caution, as she looked around carefully. She spoke out. “What do you make of this? I think Avrin surely passed through here, but I wonder if he is alright.”

Clovis leaned up and spoke with insight. “Look carefully. I know this blue-reddish blood is Avrin’s. When I was fighting him, I noticed he was strange, in the sense that he would bleed red and blue blood. I will have to ask about this later”

Felia scratched her head, confused. “Hmm? Red and blue blood? Isn't that strange. Would his blood be infused with water affinity mana?” Clovis shrugged. “That isn't the case. I can't feel mana from the blood, so we’ll just assume it's something else. I'm sure it's a sort of healing technique.”

Felia nodded, no longer pressing the question. “Do you think Avrin and the boy made it out unharmed from the encounter” Felia spoke, gazing around again. Even glancing back to see more of her merc group shuffling through the large entrance, with Wyni in front.

Giving a soft laugh, Clovis spoke. “I did say I will have to ask him about this blood later. He is fine. Look around, there is quite a bit of the Draconian blood, but only a little bit of this purplish mixed blood around. It's best to assume he got out of this fine. I'm curious as to what sort of opponent he had found this room. It is indeed strange.”

Clovis walked over towards a small stone platform, where bits of thick stone fragments were scattered about, as if something was shattered. “Hmm...” Clovis quietly bent down and picked up a fragment to examine it, only to find the inside back layer of the stone fragment had a sort of sticky, flesh-like touch, as if something had shed its skin. “Strange...” He uttered to himself.

Not a moment later, a voice called out in fear. “Ahh!” A merc that wandered near the crater like hole fell on his butt as he yelled out in fear. Although he has been through many encounters, not once had he encountered a creature like this.

Without hesitation, Clovis and Felia, as well as others, rushed over to see what was happening, only to experience similar reactions. Clovis widened his eyes as he gazed at the unconscious, limp Draconian covered in dried up green blood. It was severely cut, as well as bruised. “This…” His face had gone pale as he eyed the creature carefully.

His instinct as a Master, having trained many years, and even been considered a genius in his martial school, had only felt such a ferocious aura from someone stronger than him. Seeing the unconscious, 4 armed Draconian laying limp in the rubble, Clovis instantly thought of the blood before.

If this creature was in this state, he was wondering about the one who put it here. And from his only guess, there was Avrin, as no one else but them entered after. Felia, unable to control herself, spoke out. “Clovis, this creature... How should we deal with it? It seems it's still alive.” Clovis eyed it carefully, as he himself was wondering what the correct action would be.

Tensing his body, his aura surged. He jumped up into the air and punched downwards with a powerful surge of mana emitting from him. “Third strike!” He called out, before his fist pummeled into the creature's abdomen, causing the area to shake from the energy, as well as bring the mercenaries, and even Felia and Wyni, to draw shocked expressions.

The creature's body was pressed into the ground as it coughed up some green blood. It was already wounded before, but now it was near death because of such a direct blow to an already weakened section of its scales. Clovis then jumped up from the crater that was deeper by a few feet, before dusting his hands off, giving a careful look.

“You killed it?” Felia uttered. Clovis turned. “Killing an opponent who is already down isn't my style. I only brought him near death’s door. This way, when he wakes up, he won't be much trouble for us if we ever see him again. That is to say, if he hasn’t already recovered, we can at least by ourselves some more time”

Felia wasn't sure if what he did was wrong or right, giving only a quiet nod, before following Clovis, who seemed to be heading towards the door at the end of the large room. From there, no one dared to speak. Although some thought killing it was a much better solution, no one could argue that Clovis didn't have honor.

Within the deeper parts of the dungeon, a large dome of purple energy was being attacked by several green blurs. Inside this dome of energy, Avrin and Kael stood. Avrin frowned a little. “They work in teams better than I thought they would.” Of course, Avrin was not worried for himself, but Kael’s safety was what he had guaranteed.

Thinking carefully, he willed the dark matter to become more transparent. The dome lost its heavy dark luster, and became as transparent as glass that was emitting energy. The creatures shrieked and roared as they clawed against it, causing the dome to shake a bit. But Avrin knew their attacks wouldn't work unless they could pierce it or shatter it with a strong enough force.

“Agile little monkeys” Avrin uttered out, before looking at the screeching, lizard-like creatures that were all the size of a chimpanzee. One of the Draconians jumped up and slashed rapidly at the side of the dome shield that Kael was on, causing it to shudder slightly.

Of course, this made Kael take a step back, as he was looking in all directions. “M...Master… What do we do?” Avrin was in no rush. He had told Felia that he would be doing things at his own pace.

“Relax, Kael. Let's make this as a lesson for you. Do you know the weak point of this dome? I'll tell you. Other than being able to be shattered by a more powerful force, it has another disadvantage. I haven't figured out how to fix that one yet.”

Kael looked at Avrin, who seemed relaxed, and felt that if Avrin was calm then he also should be. After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and shutting his eyes for a moment, he seemed to subconsciously block out the screeching, monkey-like Draconians.

While doing so, he gazed around the dome shield carefully, trying to look at a weak spot. “It's hard to say, Master…” Avrin waited patiently for the boy. Not only was Kael learning, Avrin himself was finding out how durable and how long he could sustain this shield. With every hit it was damaged and required dark matter, which in turn requires mana.

Slowly, the area around the hall had its mana absorbed by the shield to replace the lost dark matter. Avrin looked carefully at one of the creatures that had seemed to go crazy enough to bang its head against the dome shield, which made Avrin look at it strangely “Better hurry. At this pace, I'm sure these things will discover it before you do.”

Kael looked at Avrin with worry, before gazing around with more focus. He began to walk around carefully, before he spotted one of the creatures behind them, seemingly using its claws to try and dig underneath the dome.

“Under...us?” Kael uttered. Avrin glanced back, noticing his words as well as the creature. “Indeed. I haven't yet discovered how to make this defence spherical. But very good. There is a saying where I come from. The best defence is a good offence.”

Kael looked at Avrin, trying to decipher his words. He knew Avrin wouldn't spit nonsense out. “Because I rarely use this technique, I don't really have a way to attack from the inside. This puts me at a disadvantage. But if I find a way to make good use of my defence, then it will be of great advantage.”

Raising his hand, the dark matter dome emitted energy, before shadow like pillars shot out from it, with a width of half a foot. These pillars, although weakening the energy of the dome shield, were quite durable and held a heavy blunt force.

The unlucky Draconian that was digging closest was blown away, smashing into the wall of the tunnel into paste from the force of the shadow pillar. The scene played out in a similar fashion for 4 others, while some ended up with wounds, and the lucky ones that weren't close escaped with caution.

Kael looked amazed as he smiled, then frowned. “Master, how does this benefit me? I don't have your abilities. You're a genius, being able to develop a new ability on the spot. How can I accomplish such a thing?”

Kael’s words held truth, but Avrin’s intention wasn't to show him what he was capable of. It was to show him the concept of the phrase. “Kael, when you are able to develop your own techniques, you will need to cover all sides.

Focusing too much of your offense will leave your defence low. But if you balance it out and turn defence into offense, and offense into defence, you will surprise many opponents, and leave little to no openings to individuals around your level.”

Kael pursed his lips, gazing at the disfigured pulps that were the unlucky Draconians. It made his stomach churn, but he had seen worse when with Avrin. “Master, that's only if I have a talent for something… Right now, even with a sword, I'm no good.”

Avrin scratched over his hood a little that was somewhat tattered from his fight with the four armed Draconian, but still durable. He had made sure to create it from a hard kind of leather that wouldn't easily tear, but wouldn't get in his way.

“Hmm. Let's see. “By now, the Draconians were hissing, but were keeping their distance as they gazed at Avrin and Kael. Avrin suddenly lowered the dark matter shield until it vanished, which made Kael go pale, but the Draconians even more cautious.

Avrin gazed around and spotted an injured Draconian with a weakened leg on its own behind them. He grinned under his mask and looked at Kael. “Go finish that one off. It's injured, and I don't feel like fighting all of your battles. Get some experience.”

Kael was a little worried, but when he saw the injured creature, he had gained a funny sort of courage. As if he was picking on a cripple. Half of him was shamed, while the other half was eager.

“Yes!” He called out as he brandished his somewhat damaged sword that had been slightly chipped by the four armed Draconian. Although his injuries were now healed thanks to the potion, his armor was still somewhat dented.

He approached the creature as he clenched the sword with both his hands, and eyed it aggressively. The creature hissed at him baring its claws, limping a little, with blood oozing from its right twisted leg. Its speed was definitely cut in half, but its attack power still remained the same.

“Ha!” Kael charged at it, and the creature limped towards him. But the pain put it off, allowing Kael to slash down towards it. The creature shrieked as it rolled to the side, before weakly slashing towards Kael with its right arm a couple of seconds later.

Kael, having his heart beating quickly, felt the rush of battle. The adrenaline had allowed his reaction time to become faster, allowing him to block with his sword. But the creature’s attack made his arms wobble a bit.

As the creature limped forward towards him, Kael clenched his teeth and used his own strength to deflect its hand back, stunning the creature somewhat. Taking advantage of it, he rushed forward and slashed horizontally. The cold steel sliced against the creature's chest in a novice-like manner, allowing a deep, dirty cut that made it squeal in agony.

The other Draconians, seeing their friend being attacked in such away, howled in a screech-like fury as they rushed towards Kael. Avrin frowned, as he had already known these creature's, if similar to their larger, look-alike brothers, were somewhat attached to one another.

The ground shook, as he had already emitted Nebula Mist into it, and a few moments later, a large shadow wall shot up, cutting the hallway off from their side, leaving Avrin, Kael and the Draconian he was fighting, alone.

Kael only glancing in concern, and saw that there was no longer anything to fear. But this mistake nearly made him lose his life, as the creature slashed towards him. Kael, acting on the bit of instinct he had formed due to the ambushes and fright he had met here quickly, dashed back, but it was done in a clumsy manner and he fell on his butt.

“T...This thing...” He uttered with a frown, as he gazed at the creature using its left hand to try and cover its wound. Its face seemed to be filled with twisted anger and pain. Avrin didn't feel much sympathy for these creatures. Anything that aimed to kill him was fair game. “What are you doing leaving yourself open for so long? Finish it off.” He uttered softly.

Kael clenched his teeth and stood up, as he rushed towards the creature, which was only 2 meters away. The creature also felt that this last attack may either end him or it. It screeched, using its last amount of strength to jump towards him to try and inflict a killing blow.

Kael had used the lesson Avrin had taught him as they were fighting, and, while exploring, Avrin would always ask him to analyze things carefully and focus. Having used that insight now, he took into consideration that the creature had leapt up towards him, meaning it could no longer change its direction.

Quickly twisting his body while sidestepping, the creature's claw scratched against his dented plate armor, causing sparks to fly. While, at the same time, Kael brandished his sword and slashed diagonally with all his might, hoping to hit it precisely.

Having missed its mark, the creature could only glance from the corner of its eye to see the dim light of the tunnel’s torches reflecting onto his dirtied steel sword. Within moments, the sword slashed down towards the back of the creature's neck, managing to completely severe it, but in a messy manner.

The force of the sword strike changed the trajectory of the headless body as it slumped down, while the blood oozed out and sprayed onto Kael’s armor and face. The body itself twitched a bit, while the creature's eyes were still open, as it hadn't understood how it died.

Kael panted heavily as his body shook. “I...I’ve...never...killed….before…” Although he had trained hard, he himself had never killed a creature before. Not even a small animal. He had lived and trained to gain strength, but had never killed for the purpose of doing so. But in this moment, he had done so to defend himself.

“What you are feeling now, you are going to learn to accept it, you may love it, or hate it. One day, you may even get tired of it. But right now, you need to learn to accept it.” Avrin uttered out, before removing the shadow wall to show the scene to the creature's that were madly attacking it from the other side.