Narkis announcement sure raised some brows, its not like everyday you hear about a Titled Monster which in that world means it was very strong and poses extreme danger. These monsters require parties or teams in order to defeat, the amount depends heavily on the monster's rank. Titled Monsters usually have a Hazardous to Extreme difficulty, which is the last two of the difficulties the game (or world) offered.
With their current state and average level (all of the Expedition Force combined), it was no question that they would be easily wiped out by the dragon, heck, a level 15 SS+ Rank monster needed seven skilled people with three unique items each in order to hand its demise with each one of them barely surviving. Just imagining how to take down a monster like that made a chill run down on everyone's spines.
"Have you seen its Level?"
Sigrun asked before anyone could speak.
More than anyone in there, she was the most interested. She had this "Information gatherer" charateristic and can't help herself from stopping her own urge against it.
"I'm afraid not"
Narkis replied.
"It only showed its name, other than that, was nothing."
When he finished, several gasps were heard, some even scratching the insides of their ear to see if their hearing is right. Monsters, especially in a game should show their name, level, hitpoints and mana (if there is) to the players, majority of MMORPG games were like that even MagMa Online, but this is one thing that they heard for the first time. Its a complete mystery, the monster had its name and title but other info were missing? unbelievable, its ridiculous to have it like that.
"Can you please repeat."
Varix asked him. He knew to himself that he heard it right the first time but he couldn't believe it. Maybe hearing it the second time would completely erase his disbeliefs and maybe even clear his doubts.
"The dragon only showed its name, other than that, was nothing."
Narkis repeated.
"Strange, most monsters we encountered had given off their names and other basic info."
Jouzu stated, hands on his chin.
"Ain't that sh*t interesting? I need to go see that for my self."
"Now's not the right time Nimbus, we can see that later."
Mischa growled, eyes dead-locked. Her tone was unusually authorative. Normally, she wouldn't stop Nimbus, it was Sigrun's job. But after hearing some of the most intriguing and unnatural things, she had grown curious and serious on the topic.
"I have seen it my self too as I was with Narkis, one glance alone had given me chills."
"If one glance is enough to give you chills, then the monster should be extremely dangerous."
Forte commented.
"I agree, even the Scoropede wasn't able to give us that kind of aura except for the slight intimidation."
"Still, it doesn't answer the real question. Which of the tunnels here are our ticket to exit this chamber?"
Sigrun noted, addressing their main goal.
"Well, I can answer that."
A man followed by 9 Adventurers respoded as he approached the leaders' forum. The silver heavy armor and a long sword were the most noticeable things about him, his brown eyes gave off an authorative aura to anyone who catched a glimpse of it.
"Haff, its you."
"Pleasant greetings, Disgyr."
The man named Haff greeted.
"I heard you went off shortly after we've gone into one of the tunnels, how's your venture?"
"Normal, probably. Anyways, me and my party have found the way to the mountain exit. You might not believe it but if you want to hear it, just tell me."
"Where's the way?"
Irish asked, first thing she did after waking up in a peaceful slumber.
"Right above the dragon."
"Dragon?"
Still groggy, Irish asked. Jouzu and the others knew that she would be asking questions until she was satisfied so he signaled Sigrun and Mischa to go and explain things to her. Really, her talkative, hyper and cheerful personality was the complete opposite of what he saw the first time they met.
"Is that true, Haff-san?"
Varix asked, steady and serious tone.
"It is Varix. I don't look like a person who's always joking around am I?"
He joked.
Haff then began telling the story on how they found the way.
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Walking through the dim lit tunnel was a group of men wearing silver colored armor. Their leader, a mature man around his forties guided them from the front. If they were to walk in the city, most people would probably think that they were knights from their perfectly synchronized marching alone. As they went through, passages branched out on their sides but they continued walking forward, as if they already knew which way was right and which way wasn't. Their leader ordered them to stop once they reached a certain passage, he then told them to wait for him to return in which they obediently followed.
He walked down through the path, not giving a damn about the slippery terrain. As he got further and further, the passage he's trekking went on a series of ups and downs, forcing him to call two of his party members to go with him. He waited for them and as soon as they were complete, they proceeded on without wasting any time. As hard as the path had been for them, it was just as beautiful. Ethereal mosses that grew from the "ceiling" glowed in neon blue, which changed in different colors as they went on the "alienic" path. Soon enough they heard something sizzling, a sound imitating water that dripped into a very hot pan. Something hot was in there, no doubt about it. They've gone forward until they eventually reached its end. Light as yellow as the sun in the morning sun blinded them, after the light subsided they felt warmth from beneath.
One of Haff's men looked down, eyes wide in shock as he saw a dragon size far greater than any he have seen slumbered in the flowing river of lava. Haff and the other one soon noticed it, and both had to admit, it was terrifying. Luckily, they were above it but this also meant that one wrong move and they could either wake or fall on the giant dragon. Their gazes soon turned back into their fronts, "Praise the gods" expression written all over them. Finally, their ticket to the exit showed itself as a long stone bridge lead to another passage.
They rushed back into their comrades carefully but swiftly, afraid to wake the peacefully sleeping dragon. When they rounded up, Haff and the other two told the tales to the other seven wo waited for them. The story earned them open mouths, fear, shock or both were the cause. From there, they returned back into the temporary settlement and the rest was just another page of the story.
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"Sh*t's getting crazier and crazier."
Nimbus sighed.
"At least, we have our way out now. Its a good thing since we're already running out of supplies."
"Varix's right, we'll move once were done packing things up."
Disgyr agreed. He's that one guy which believes that the faster, the better.
"Alright then, Haff-san lead us with your party, we'll leave the directions to you since you've already seen the way. Mister Varix and Forte, please divide the Divisions back to Raids, by Haff-san's story I assume that the way to the exit would not suffice in volumes of hundreds. Me and Forte would announce the news to the Expedition Force."
Jouzu directed. In such short time, he had divided tasks and handed them out to the leaders.
To be honest, even he was surprised at his development. Before, he could only lead his party at most, but as soon as he was assigned as the Expedition Force's centerpiece, things changed slowly. He learned to ask people before he handed out his commands, he learned to listen to other's opinion and analyze it to sort out the good and the bad ones before making a concrete decision.
Seeing his slight improvements, Varix looked at him and gave him a smile, as if saying to him that he's glad that he was the centerpiece of this entire thing. His friends also gave him the same look, even the Division leaders.
The chamber quickly became busy as soon as everyone got the announcement, people moved in a fast but organized way. Not so long and they were already facing the said bridge. The majority of them looked at the monstrous dragon that lied in the thick and ever-flowing lava. Sometimes, they would also look the the [Lava Wyverns] that flied around, assessing and analyzing them in their every move. Then as Varix organized, they pressed on in Half-Raids, going slowly one group after another, careful steps as they proceeded.
"Can you actually believe this..."
Mischa said as she marveled at the giant dragon. She knew that she was in a fantasy world, but the feeling of seeing something that's as "fantasy" as that, she couldn't help it. At that point, she was glad that she was transported into a game world though memories from the real world still lingered deep in her heart, memories that made who she was as a person, memories that were irreplaceable and unforgettable.
"What they said was true, I didn't imagined that we would see one of the most high ranking monsters so early."
"Yeah, I don't know if luck's just on our side or not anymore."
Sigrun whispered, agreeing with Mischa's statement.
"Arakath, The Earthshaker huh? no wonder about his title, his monstrous size alone would automatically and literally shake the earth."
"Guess were lucky to just encounter the Scoropede, if we encounter that we would be good as dead."
Nimbus stated, unusually serious in his tone and volume.
Flashbacks came quick into their minds, reminding them of their battle against the Scoropede. All of them had been placed in danger, especially Nimbus and Jouzu who nearly died during the fight. Should Jouzu hadn't figured out anything, and they would sure be facing death. Well not literally, but still its death. It wasn't their first time to be put in a situation like that, they've experienced many when they were just nothing but a bunch of newbies. But taking all of their acquired feelings and experiences into credit, they were confident that time atleast, that they could take it down without taking major casualties.
Silence prevailed as they passed the dragon's den, the scared looks in each and every faces was a sight one would never forget. It was like that until the dragon's head moved, facing a certain [Lava Wyvern], its eyes opened up and revealed eyes with a melting gaze that locked into the poor monster. A quick moment and the dragon launched it head, crunching the whole Wyvern and devouring it whole, the same action Narkis saw when he had his first glance at the monstrous dragon. What's really weird about it was the other Wyverns didn't pay attention to their fallen kin, they just kept flying around as if knowing that it was futile and just natural.
The ground also shook lightly as the dragon ate its prey, its intensity was enough to make the bridge rattle. Luckily, uproar from the crowd was prevented just because of their fear alone. Only the head moved, but the ground had immediately shaken with that magnitude, if just the head made such impact, then what more if its whole body moved? thinking just of that made everyone so scared they knew that silence is the only way to respond.
"So monsters have their own thinking too."
Sigrun noted, monitoring every single flying Wyvern she saw.
"Seems like it. Even creatures like them do have their own fears and nightmares too huh."
Jouzu replied in agreement.
"We're almost there, keep the pace up. Just a little more and we'll be taking an exit to this den."
He rallied using the group chat.
When they were at the bridge's end, they waited for the whole Force to pass them. Several occurences of shaking and rumbling happened but this didn't stopped the Adventurers to reach their final destination. The next moment passed by and everybody had already passed, they managed to keep the dragon asleep (or groggy). But it still isn't the time for celebrations, they have yet to exit the dragon's den.
They all seemed to earn a reward as the beautiful spectacle of the cave's natural structures astounded them. The stalactites and stalagmites that have been growing over the span of thousands to millions of years allured their eyes, along with it were the glowing mosses that lit up their path in a very fantasial way. The view didn't end to just that, the other beholding sights filled their eyes to indescribable amazement, such as the lights that pulsed like the heart as they strolled, syncing and "beating" into their steps. Glowing bugs also managed to capture their eyes, bugs that were neutral. Like a firefly, they hovered here and there glowing and lighting up the area in different colors. It was an ethereal feeling really, seeing something like that. At some point in their pace they had finally reached the path's end. Yep, it was another successful venture again.
The exit showed their eyes one of the most organized sea of trees, they were placed in perfect accuracy so that no tree touched each other, in roots nor in branches and leaves. Is this even natural for trees to be placed like that? it was so un-nature-like that most of them thought it was made by the world's residents. But well what do they know? it was a freaking game world and nothing is impossible to happen, even in a natural or unnatural way. They descended from the Mountain Pass and took their way to the carefully "placed" trees. Since the trees were "arranged" they didn't need to divide into Raids, they pushed their way in Divisions since the place allowed them to.
A few minutes of walk and they found a lake with water so clear they could see the entirety of its bottom, including the monsters and fishes that swam on it. Seriously, where have they gone to? Heck, the answer was obvious, they were in the most beautiful part of the game's world map. Most of them couldn't stop to appreciate the marvelous place, so the leader's told them to take a short break, causing them to rejoice in happiness. They were near anyway, no problems in taking a small breather.
"Uwaaah~ look around guys! everything is so beautiful~."
Irish said sweetly as her eyes sparkled in the marvelous surrounding. She danced around while enjoying the view she was eyeing, her robe was blown by the gentle breeze of wind revealing a dress with adequate tightness inside, reaching just a few inches before her knees. Everyone gaped as they saw her divine figure, every aspect of it was alluring to the eyes, even for the girls. That radiant smile, that long, silky hair that flew along with the wind, the heavenly sight of the cheerful healer wallowing her surroundings... Had she always been this beautiful?
"Hou~? what's that look you're giving her Jouzu?"
Nimbus playfully asked, looking at him with a mocking expression.
"N-nothing, its just my first time seeing her as happy as that."
Jouzu replied, surprised by Nimbus.
"Seriously? I thought you had seriously fallen for her."
"Nah, I'd prefer going solo in life."
He rebutted. Of course, it was a lie, but in all honesty his heart skipped a beat when he saw Irish like that. He was a young boy after all, it was the stage in life where he would experience the bitter and sweet taste of romance.
Their stay ended afterwards, they packed things up and then continued their march to their destination. There was no need to hurry this time, every single one of them walked steadily. Eventually, they sighted their goal for the day. The whole Expedition Force rejoiced in chorus as they saw the town that showed in the map just a few days ago. At last, their long adventure was nearing to an end and soon enough, they would be able to pinpoint the location they're seeking.
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