Charles Blueflame

“It’s here!” Boulder bellowed while pointing at a strange, oval hole in the ground located in the middle of a silvery clearing. The surrounding space was large enough to accommodate a few of our exploratory teams and even more monsters.

And right now it did.

The Princess’ team was leading the way all this time, unstoppable and easily plowing through the rat ambushes. They had shown a ridiculous amount of perseverance, but the speed at which we arrived at our destination seemed to be directly connected with a lessening resistance.

Just behind Swords of Hope, two more distinct groups of people stood tall, glancing warily at their surroundings. Their bearing, while not overwhelming, seemed proud and self-confident. These were adventuring teams made up from commoners. Without any healers and mages their overall survivability was questionable, but acquiring any level of power without the aid of nobility was something uncommon.

Even deeper in our formation a bunch of lowly peasants worked madly, trying to cut down the trees, clear the remaining plant matter and drag the stumps away. The road they were building into the heart of this jungle was nearing completion.

For them, it meant food or maybe some coinage. If they were lucky even a level-up was not beyond their reach. We would soon start a fight, after all.

But enough about them.

For me - for us - these last few hours were backbreaking. I couldn’t feel my legs, the mana levels were also getting low, while the accumulated tiredness was like smoke, threatening to slowly strangle me to death.

And yet I walked. We walked - each of us in the throes of fatigue. Only the one leading us - Agnes - seemed to be lively beyond measure, even when spearheading all these battles. Her blades already turned dark red from the dried blood. It was flaking off in small, gross petals. Which was quite disturbing.

I had a different problem though.

A bunch of enemies stood between us and a well-deserved rest.

In the silvery glade, a squad of the rat monsters was waiting, formed in the two orderly lines. Their skin was glinting in the sun, sending beams of light, like a performance created before a bloody finish. Each of their spears looked deadly and ready to fire. Beady eyes were following our every move, full of muted fury and determination.

To tell the truth, they weren’t that dangerous when fighting in the open. In the straight-up battle, we would win ten times out of ten. That was why their course of action made it painfully clear that they were the dungeon monsters. Only this type of being would blindingly rush towards their death despite the odds. Especially seeing how intelligent they were.

I planned to avoid the first volley, retreat and let the others do my job. It seemed however that my esteemed fiance had other plans.

“Charles, give me a Firebomb right in the middle of their group, Peter - defensive buffs! Eve, be prepared just in case! Boulder and Lone Mountain cover the casters!”

“And what you’ll do?” I shouted back, happy that the rats didn’t understand our language. Yet.

“I’ll dance!” She flashed her happy smile and turned towards the front. Our helpers were however confused, not being given any orders in particular. I only shook my head and focused on ignoring the ensuing commotion.

After that, I can lie down and go to sleep.

With a slap, I forced my tired body to move.

Mana gathered just under the ribs, in the middle of my chest. The familiar burning sensation then moved into opened palm. I was concentrating heavily. This preparation was important, something that old mage tutor quite literally had beaten into my flesh. Spells were never easy to cast. In a second the deadly energy spun around, creating a small vibrating ball, which radiated heat and condensed power. It was something monstrously terrifying - this emotion of mine didn’t change, no matter how many times I saw the mana change.

A rush of pride filled my heart. Lesser mages would need a chant to even pull this off.

The peasants around me took a few steps back and even the Swords of Hope eyed me warily.

The Firebomb was just that - a ball of fire which the mage threw at the closest enemy. It would, in turn, explode, creating a large impact and setting things on fire. Many things.

Sometimes even all of the things.

But if one was careless enough and dropped said magical construct on the ground... Let’s just say that such people were rare and tended to not live long.

I was not one of them.

My magic stabilized and I used this chance to immediately throw the spell. It flew nearly soundlessly and landed in the middle of the enemy formation. The rats were surprised and due to my move suddenness, many forgotten to relocate.

Which ended badly, as the Fireball exploded in their midst, killing two of them outright and setting fire to nearly half of the remaining monsters. Those affected crawled in the dirt, trying to extinguish the flames and screaming in pain.

Their squeaks filled the air.

I grinned.

This rush.

This satisfaction.

This feeling of power!

It just never got old.

I was admiring my handiwork, when the rats retaliated - most of them managed to somehow ignore their burnt bodies and flung the iron spears towards our lines.

Few of them even found their targets.

The damage was however minimal.

A few peasants ended up either hurt or dead. Hard to tell.

One of the adventurers also shared their fate, a metal spear robbing him of his life.

After this wild attack, the rest of the rats moved into melee. It would be a moment where the slaughter would begin in a battle against normal monsters. If these were normal monsters I mean.

They reacted immediately, adapting their formation by dividing it into impromptu teams of five to seven beasts, each of them targeting one opponent. A mob tactic if I ever saw one. But it worked. Worst of all they were even being helped by their burned comrades. Wounded rats were still capable of shooting, their lack of limbs or desolate pain being only a minor hurdle.

While Swords of Hope were able to easily dispatch the attackers our expendable escorts were having a much harder time.

Both Boulder and Lone Mountain were simply guarding me, Eve and Peter. Being a type of defensive fighter allowed them to battle without rest for a prolonged period of time. I was almost jealous.

Shield, spear and light leather with chain armor were enough for Lone Mountain to both remain mobile and take hits when needed. As a tribal, she was a tall and muscular fighter and a serious person who didn’t like to talk more than necessary. It was hard for me to cope with her being that way, as I was mostly used to the butterfly-like capital nobles.

The half-orc called Boulder, on the other hand, was blessed with a powerful physique, which allowed him to lug his plate armor, tower shield and mace everywhere. Said mace was a two-handed model - to the normal people at least. Being a slave he didn’t really have a say in the party matters, but his treatment was much better than those of his kind kept by the other nobles. Or merchant families.

And yet his sour expression brightened only when he could fight against a worthy enemy.

Just like now.

He was under a direct order to defend the mages but still made sure that blood rained all around us, sometimes even directly “stealing” adventurer’s enemies. Which the commoners were all too happy to do since their own teams had their hands full.

Unlike him, Agnes was looking at the bigger picture. She ran head into enemy ranged squads and spread death and destruction in her wake. Countless monsters were throwing themselves at her, only to fall down after a delicate smack or an armored kick.

The battle was clearly turning in our favor, but seeing my allies getting mobbed was enough to make me wonder if I could contribute a bit more.

“Status.” I whispered into the air.

Name

Charles Blueflame

Level

11

Class

Inferno Mage

Abilities

Fiery Soul; Quick Casting

Good a level-up! This means I’ve got some more mana to spend.

“Spell list.” Before acting, I checked a spellcaster-exclusive menu. Maybe I got lucky and another spell had appeared on the list?

Spell list

Firebolt

Fireball

Greater Fireball

Firebomb

Shield of Flames

Wall of Flames

Nope. Nothing.

The mana level was always a concern. For some reason, the statuses of sentients didn’t show how hurt we were or what amount of magical energy was available for use. The trained mage, however, was able to simply know if the remaining power was enough to cast a spell.

And since I was very thoroughly trained…

“Shield of Flames.” Hearing my shout, the faces of people turned in fright. Always remember to inform your party members when casting a spell. A wizened face of the old teacher popped-up in my mind. Wiping it off I focused instead on my fiance. Much better. She flashed me another of her smiles as three orange bucklers started to levitate around her. Anyone hitting them would get blasted by a Firebolt immediately after.

While fire spells, in general, were offensively oriented it was something I grew used to. My second nature was to kill the enemy before he closed the distance. It was a completely different tactic than the one used by these cowardly earth mages from the Dross Republic. Or our own resident worm-eater.

My help didn’t really matter in the long run. The battle was won. I just wanted to contribute and maybe get some more experience. We finished the battle with few more killed commoners but managed to exterminate any rats in the vicinity.

They fought to the last one.

And now… now we would build a stronghold here, prepare for a delve… and for the Fallen tribes unavoidable counter-attack. This place was in the middle of their territory after all.

But first the most important thing in the world - SLEEP!

Ignoring the wounded trashing on the floor I walked back to the camp, jumping straight into my cot.

***

Royal Chambers, Luna Kingdom

“Is this report genuine?” Asked an old man. He was sitting near the fire, light playing with his golden hair and eyes. His ears were elongated and sharp, betraying elven ancestry. Like most people in the room, he was wearing a luxurious robe and excluded a royal bearing.

“Yes, your Majesty. I checked the contents myself. The one submitting it was also… checked.” Sharp-nosed half-elf bowed while speaking. His grey clothes were somehow blending with the surroundings. “Of course there is no evidence. Still, the person who composed these words sacrificed nearly all of his men to deliver it.”

“Father. Let me do it! Let me purge this blight from our world!” A young man stood up from his chair to declare his loyalty and stared with passion at the old King. The person in question only sighed tiredly.

“And that’s why I won’t let you go. In the best case, you would destroy the whole place, in the worst, we would end up in a war against the Geinard Kingdom. A war we cannot win.”

“So what?!” Young half-elf shouted indignantly.

“Shut it, older brother.” The second prince spoke in a harsh tone, his black hair shockingly different in the sea of gold.

“Why aren’t you wearing the artifact?” The “older brother” answered in anger.

“Because I wish to be true to myself.”

“It was father’s order!”

“Let me repeat your words. So what?”

“You!”

“Silence.” Both of the princes stopped their quarreling immediately. “Are you children? Neither of you is wise enough to lead such a difficult mission. I would send my Crows, but…” He looked at his spymaster with a narrowed eye. “Was the Hawk dispatched? And his men?” Seeing the man nod, he started to massage his temples.

“If I may, your Majesty.”

“Speak freely.”

“The youngest Princess already finished her training. Maybe conquering and accidentally destroying the dungeon heart could be left to her?” The Crow spoke and people in the room froze.

“You would send that thing out there? Why not let my men finish it?” A golden prince fumed, anger visible on his beautiful face. The black prince radiated a different emotion.

“Father, you can’t let Minnalea go there by herself! The filthy humans are there! I can’t stand the thought!” He shouted. “Let me accompany her! Not as a warrior - as a chaperone!”

“Calm down! Both of you!” The old King shook his head. At least the other two aren’t here right now.

“I’ll think about it. Leave me be.” The unwilling princes both bowed and left the room immediately. Only the Crow and the King remained, exchanging tired smiles.

“Your Majesty?”

“She will have to go. This dungeon is simply too dangerous for anyone else. All Forgotten Dungeons must be destroyed. The legacy of the Magi-Tech Empire is simply too powerful to fall in the mortal hands.”

“Is it worth risking the war?”

“You know the answer. Prepare the escort. And tell the Princess. Don’t forget about the one she calls Shield, okay?” The Crow nodded, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.

“Is this wise, your Majesty? He may die. There are others, more capable and more loyal.”

“Crow, I took everything from her.” The golden eyes of King clouded for a moment. “Let her have it. Her last, final toy. And he is loyal. Just not to me.”

“As you wish, your Majesty.” The man bowed and left the room.

Only the old King remained, staring at the greedy flames.