Dwarf's Mine Maria P.O.V
After the brightness of light disappeared, I opened my eyes and saw a cottage 'Looks like this place leads to the mine that the headmaster said' I thought to myself
"So this is the Dwarf's mine, it used to be prosperous thanks to magic crystal mining but..." Deuce said while I felt Grim clinging me on my leg
"Uuuuuuhhhhh..... Feels like something could jump out..." Grim said
"Oh. There's a house back there. Let's go ask them about the mine." Ace said and we started to head to the cottage
Inside Cottage~
When we got close to the cottage, Deuce knocked on the door
"Good evening..." Deuce said but nobody answered "I guess it's abandoned... It's a mess in here" Deuce said and he was right, the cottage is very dusty and full of cobwebs
"Puwahhh! I got a spider web in my face! Peh! Peh!" Grim said as he tried to remove the webs from his face
"Oh my... This place needs a lot of cleaning" I said as I looked around the cottage
"Aren't the tables and chairs a bit on the small side? Like for kids?" Ace asked as he started to count the chairs "One, two... There's seven! So many!" Ace said in astonishment
"This place was probably a lively home when the Dwarfs' mine flourished" Deuce said
"They did what they had to. After all, magic crystals are found inside coal. For now, let's go check it out" Ace said
As I went to catch up to the guys then I heard a voice "Be ready to fight..."
"That was weird..." I said and continued to catch up with the guys
Mine Entrance~
After we walked for a couple of minutes, we saw the entrance to the mine
"So this is the mine's entrance?" I asked and I noticed Grim is shaking a lot
"W-we're g-gonna g-go in that pitch black cave!?" Grim asked in a scared tone
"What? Are you scared or something? Lame" Ace said as he smirked
"Naaaaahhhhh!? I'm not s-scared at all! I'm taking the lead! You guys follow me!" Grim said as he started to walk ahead into the cave and we started to follow
Inside Mine~
We entered the mine and everything is dark until I saw a lantern, I asked Grim if he can light it up which he did without a second thought. Our path looked a bit better now that we can see our way, until I had a feeling that something is following us and Deuce noticed it too
"Wait!" Deuce shouted
"What?" Ace asked
"Something... is here!" Deuce shouted
"Your right about that Deuce, I feel something is following us as well" I said and I felt Grim hiding behind my leg, shivering
"Heeee hee hee! Our first visitors in ten years!" One ghost said
"Make yourselves at home. For eternity!" The second ghost said
The ghosts appeared one by one and soon realized we're out-numbered
"This place is haunted with ghosts too!" Ace shouted
"We don't have time to deal with them one by one. Let's go!" Deuce said as he grabbed my hand so we can start running
"Don't think you can just order me around. If you hadn't done something so idiotic then we wouldn't be in this mess" Ace said which made Deuce let go of my hand and he walked towards Ace
"You wanna talk about who started it? It's cause you wouldn't clean the windows!" Deuce said while shouting
"It started when that furball almost burned the Queen of Hearts' statue! Ace shouted back
"Ffgna! That's what's you get for making a fool outta me!" Grim shouted at Ace
"How about we try to calm down? Shouting won't solve anything you know and I think we should save the shouting when we're not about to surrounded by more ghosts" I said but they just ignored me
"Sigh... Why do I bother?" I said. While they were arguing, I heard something
"Hey... Guys, I think I heard something" I said and that finally shut them up
"St...one.... sssss..... mine...."
"W-who said that?" Ace asked in a shaky tone
"St...one... sssss..... mine...." The voice is getting closer
"I think it's... getting closer..." Deuce said with a shaky tone as well
Then from the caves came a beast of some kind
"Stone.... IS MIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNEEEEEE!" The monster yelled
"I-It's heeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee!!!" We all shouted and we started to run
"W-what the heck is that thing!?" Deuce asked while running
"Ffgnnnnnnaaaaaa!! Crowley didn't say anything about that! Let's get outta here!" Grim shouted even though we're already trying to get outta here
"It's so nasty looking! But didn't it mention a 'stone'?"
"It did mention something like that" I said
"St...one.... won't.... give....!" The monster said as it continued to chase us
"So there really are magic crystals left!" Deuce said
"I guess so Deuce" I said
"N-n-n-n-nope! Nope! I'm a genius but I can't beat that thing!" Grim said
"But we'll be expelled without it, I'm going!" Deuce said getting ready to fight
"You gotta be kidding!?" Ace said in a shocked tone
"Deuce, there's no way you're doing this alone. So I'm gonna help you as well" I said
"It'll be alright. I'm sure I can handle it. Stay behind me, okay?" Deuce said
'But... I want to help... Guess it makes sense since I don't know if I even have any magic' I thought
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Deuce has been fighting the monster, but the monster wasn't getting a single scratch or dint on it
"Leave! Leave! Leeeeeeeeeaaaaaaave!!" The monster yelled as it hit Deuce and he hit the wall
"Guuuuuuuhhhhh!" Deuce shouted in pain
"Deuce!" I ran towards with a look of worry
"Stand back if you have no control Mr. Serious! I'll stop it!" Ace said he casted a spell towards the monster
"Wuuuuuooooooohhhh!" The monster screamed and it attacked Ace in the process
"Guuuhaaaah!!! Ace groaned in pain
"Ffgnaaa! Stay away!" Grim shouted in fear
Then the monster growled at us like a beast and I noticed something shiny
"Guys, I saw something shiny behind the monster" I told the guys and Ace looked horrified
"Behind that thing!? At the end of the tunnel or something" Ace said
"That light... Is it the magic crystal?" Deuce asked in a hopeful tone
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH! WON'T GIVE!" The monster yelled
"L-L-L-L-Let's get out of here! We're done for at this rate!" Grim said
"For once, your right Grim. Let's go you guys!" I said as we started to run out of the mine
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Dwarfs' house~
When we finally got outside, the monster stopped chasing us and we finally took a breather
"I-Is this far enough?" Grim asked
"I believe so." I said as I was trying to catch my breath
"Oooowww.... What in the world was that? No one said anything about that!" Ace said
"It didn't seem like any old ghost" Deuce said
"Let's give up and go home, I'd rather get expelled than fight that thing" Ace said
"Wha!? Don't screw with me! I'd rather die than face expulsion!" Deuce shouted and I realized his personality changed "There's a magic crystal in front of us and you wanna go home!" Deuce shouted again
"Ha. You talk big for someone who's worse at magic than me. Go alone if you want, I'm done." Ace said as he was getting ready to leave
"Oooh, that right? Then stay right there cowering like a spineless coward!" Deuce said in a bad boy tone like a delinquent
"Huuuuuuh?? Coward?? Who exactly are you talking about?" Ace asked in a confused tone
"Hey... uh... Deuce...? Are you feeling okay?" I asked
"Yeah, are you okay Deuce? Why did your personality changed?" Grim asked which made Deuce realize his personality change
"Huh! A-ahem. My bad, I lost my composure a bit" Deuce said
"What can we do? Can't we try to fight that monster with magic again?" I asked
"Like the headmaster said earlier, magic isn't all powerful. If you can't imagine it, then it won't materialize. Large-scale or complicated magic requires a lot of training" Deuce explained to me
"But that's why we have schools for magic. You have to practice a lot to use magic just as it comes to mind. Bluntly speaking, you'll screw up if you lose your cool" Ace explained to me more
"I see. I guess that explains why Grim only use fire and for me are these claws" I said as I made my claws appear again
"Stuff that you're good at, you can go off instinct" Ace said
"At any rate, I'm going in there. I'll figure out on how to beat that thing and come back with the magic crystal" Deuce said as he was getting ready to go back to the mine but...
"However, judging by that chandelier incident, you're a complete idiot. You couldn't even land a single hit earlier, but now you'll 'figure it out'? It's going to end the same" Ace said which angered Deuce
"Come again!? You think...!" Deuce is angry again
"Here we go again" Grim said he lay on my head
Seeing them arguing is really getting stupid and I couldn't take it anymore, I got up and I slapped them on the back of their heads
"How about you both shut up and think for once in your life's?!" I yelled which made them shut up and scared for a minute
"Waah! Why are you shouting all of the sudden?" Grim asked shocked with my sudden change of tone
"Instead of arguing or pointing fingers like children, how about we talk this through like proper adults? Or do you all want to go back to the school empty-handed and get expelled?" I said as I felt the same aura surrounding me and they shivered in fear
"Ff-fgnnaaa...." That was the only thing Grim said
"Guuhhh... B-but... What exactly should we do?" Deuce asked
"Well for one thing, let's all take a breath and think of a strategy that could help us in this situation" I said
"Strategy? You mean get along and work together?" Ace asked and I nodded "Ha! That's cold, you have no problem saying lame things with a serious face huh?" Ace said and I smacked his head as result
"Disagreed. No way I'm working with this loser" Deuce said and I smacked his head too
"But... I feel like it's way lamer to get expelled on the first day of school" Grim said
"Uuh, that's..." Ace had noting to say while Deuce remained silent
"Well, since your both quiet now, how about I tell you my plan?" I said and the guys looked at me
"....haaaaaahhh.... Fine! We just have to get it done right!? So what's your plan?" Ace asked me as I told them my plan
Mine entrance~
"You... really think it'll go as planned? I'm sca... no, just nervous" Grim asked me and I petted his head
"Don't worry Grim, I'm sure it'll work. So I believe it'll work" I told Grim with a small smile
"Haha, you're too stiff. Just go with the flow. Let's get this over with." Ace said with a confident smile
To be continued~