Volume 03 - Chapter 01: The Blind Spriggans

(E/n I slept and forgot to publish it 🥲☠️. Also, If you're confused, you can ask, it'll be clarified.)

// 3rd person //

The dark, murky shadows flickered—trembling as the light emanating from the ruby jewel atop Arisu's staff brightened. The light extended in a dome shape, sweltering like a protective veil above the three.

Arthur looked at Arisu from the corner of his eyes as she walked confidently while maintaining the translucent crimson barrier above them. His mouth opened, trying to say something to her. However, he was stopped midway—interrupted by the rapid clang of Jasmine's dagger against its scabbard as she unsheathed it.

Arthur looked at Jasmine and then around him.

Mana signatures... and a lot of them. Sound of prowling beasts as their claws gnashed against the smooth marbling of the floor. The dungeon in itself so far has been peculiar. With an entrance that was hidden behind a huge rocky wall covered with overgrown moss and creepers, it already raised many suspicions.

Arthur's hand slowly crept towards the handle of Dawn's Ballad. His right feet shifted to the back for a fraction of an inch. His back bent as he got into a stance. Jasmine's whole body went stiff as more and more mana signatures flared to life. The concentration of mana alone in them was enough to class them as B-Class mana beasts.

A number of possible scenarios flashed in Arthur and Arisu's mind. However, the sheer lack of information on the beasts and the current peculiar predicament all indicated one possible solution to the current scenario—to fight with all they have.

Arthur's thumb pressed against the hilt and as he opened the sword out of its confines just enough for it to establish its link to him. The invisible threads of mana pulled as he felt the connection gain strength once again. However, there was no voice this time. An eerie silence ensued that seemed to catch Arthur's concern for the slightest fraction of a second.

*click*. (A/n SFX sound effects xD)

Just as his sword clicked, a sharp projectile came whistling at Arthur, ripping the air. Shifting his heel to the side with minimal movements, he dodged it as the projectile landed behind him. It exploded with a huge boom. Grabbing Jasmine by her waist he pulled her to the side, just in the nick of time.

"Ok?" Arthur asked.

"Hmm," Jasmine hummed, nodding her head in affirmation. A figure stepped from the shadows. And then another. The floor vibrated with their rhythmic clopping. Arisu took a few steps back and stood right beside Arthur, her features scrunched as she tried to comprehend the identity of the beasts.

Flames that seemed to reach the roof conjured with a simple flick of her fingers. The sheen of illumination fell on the beasts as they were finally revealed.

With collars around their necks multiple figures appeared. Grotesquely ugly, wizened old men with large childlike heads. Huge metallic talons emerged from their backs. Their mouth had huge beaks, making them look like a chimera.

"Blind Spriggans," Arisu mumbled. Arthur's ears perked up as he heard the name. The beasts were considered extinct. Centuries ago, when people of Dicathen didn't have the ability to wield magic, mana beasts ruled over lands. People lived in fear, distress and anxiety—confined to a few lands.

At that time the mana beasts that killed the most humans were beasts with high intellect and almost human-like appearances. Their blindness was inherent. However, they make it up with their superior sense of hearing.

Because of these features, they massacred hundreds if not thousands of humans. After the deities blessed people with the ability to use magic, this species of beasts went into hiding—never to be seen again.

And the beasts in front of them fit all of those descriptions.

A palpable tension lingered between them which was broken by Jasmine as she took a step towards Arthur, "We should leav-"

Before she could complete her sentence, Arthur pulled her arm to the side as one of the Spriggans shot another blazing projectile at Jasmine. Catching her small frame, Arthur covered himself in a sheen of green mana and dashed to the corner.

"We can't escape," Arthur told Jasmine in a calm way. Her eyes widened but the realisation soon dawned on her as she saw another Spriggan catch up to them. With a huge mace in tow the Spriggan jumped up in the air and swung it down.

Arthur racked his brain for possible solutions. If it was the former him he would've let Jasmine be crushed under the gigantic mace. However, it was different now. He wanted to change.

Throwing Jasmine out of harm's way, Arthur withdrew Dawn's Ballad completely. The Teal sword shimmered to life as Arthur's link established itself to the sword. His will seemed to mould inside the sword. Deviant Ice mana trickled from his secondary core towards his hands. The mana absorbed inside the sword, increasing Dawn's own comprehension of ice mana.

The teal blade changed colours, shifting from teal to a shimmering white. Fire mana exploded under his feet as he propelled like a missile from the ground. His whole body blurred in an instant. The white arc hissed and clashed against the Spriggan's skin.

However, the subtle recoil from the impact made Arthur spin in mid-air and land on his feet. Looking up he saw a deep wound across the beast's chest. However, what was supposed to cleave even an A-Ranked beast into two, only made a deep wound.

The ground shook and pillars of flames rose up from the crack on the ground. The flames went up and then bent, taking the shape of whips. Flaming, sweltering whips branded themselves on the beasts' bodies as they coiled around them and crushed their bones.

Arthur took this moment to take a deep look at Arisu's core. With his burning curiosity filled, he finally took his dominant hand out of his pocket and looked at the wounded beast in front of him. The reason for holding back so much was to test Arisu's strength and then evaluate it accordingly.

Now that he knew how to deal with her, there was no more need to hold back. A veil of mana weighed down on the entire cave. Jasmine fell to her knees and the gravity multiplied by four. Arthur tapped his heel on the ground.

The ground split opened and huge earthen spines protruded from inside the crevice. The sharp spikes mutilated the beasts that had circled around Jasmine. The sickly grey, viscous liquid oozed out of their bodies, drenching Jasmine in it.

She looked up as she saw Arthur walk over to her.

As nonchalant as ever. Sheathing Dawn back in its scabbard, Arthur pointed a finger at Jasmine. A gust of warm wind blew, clearing any dust over her. He bent and extended his hand towards her. Slipping her hand into his, she was pulled firmly by her.

"Shouldn't we help her?," Jasmine asked as she brought her daggers up, reading to pounce on other beasts that were now trying to sabotage Arisu's mana barrier.

Arthur held Jasmine by her arm and pulled her towards him. "Wait." He said calmly.

"The prophet despaired, looking up at the Erdtree, for soon the kindling would burst into flame, bringing ruin. The burning of the Erdtree is the first cardinal sin. Welcome, to the abode of the damned, Hellfire."

Arisu's chant fell like a gong on everyone's ears despite the mellow edge to her voice. Her eyes turned from a lighter shade of golden to deeper, tenebrous shade of blazing orange. Flames covered her whole body and the surrounding. A tsunami of flames covered the whole place.

Arthur flicked his wrist and a veil of ice mana covered both him and Jasmine. Jasmine made an additional barrier made of wind. Activating Realmheart in small bursts he saw wind mana getting eaten away from the stifling heat of Arisu's spell. Using wind mana he regulated the amount of air inside the barrier so they don't run out of oxygen.

The heat intensified followed by loud, mortifying cries of Spriggans that filled the entire cave.

A second passed by... feeling like an entire hour as beads of sweat rolled down Jasmine's face.

And then another.

After almost 5 seconds, the flames disappeared into thin air, like they didn't even existed. The charred walls and burnt mess of the Spriggans were the only proof of the living hell that had befell on this cave a while ago.

Arisu's eyes shifted to Arthur, the glimmering golden meeting his darker shade of sapphire.

"Satisfied?"

"..."

Arthur remained silent and looked back at Jasmine. Her face showed confusion but seeing him uncomfortable, she decided not to press on the mysterious relationship between the two.

Walking over to one of the beasts, Arthur bent and took a closer look at the melted skin of the beasts. Realmheart flickered to life for a small moment and then turned off as he looked out for motes of mana.

The mana didn't belong to beasts. Rather it was because of external injection. Arisu walked over and kicked the corpse over, throwing it on its front, revealing its back.

A single rune was etched on the spine of the Spriggan.

"Interesting." Arisu muttered as Arthur sighed.

This dungeon really wasn't as simple as it looked like.

// Arthur Leywin //

The presence of sickly green mana all around the mysterious beasts was concerning. However, what was even more concerning was the presence of Jasmine. She was an AA-Class adventurer. However, she couldn't defeat more than one of these.

The speed of these beasts was impeccable. Centuries ago they were able to massacre villages because of this speed and being hypersensitive to sound. But the strength that they displayed just now don't fit in the frame established for Spriggans.

Their power seemed unstable. Like a virus boosting their strength but eating them from the inside at the same time.

"We should report this back to the guild," Jasmine suggested.

What she suggested was exactly the correct choice to make. However, humans are born with an endless amount of curiosity. No amount of knowledge could quell that sweltering desire for more. It was like an endless tunnel. The more one ventured into it, the more he became fascinated.

"We should stay the night outside and then return back. I don't think much is left now," Arisu suggested, her scheming golden eyes calculating my every movement as her gaze shifted from Jasmine to me in a rapid succession. Her twin ponytails swayed as she jerked her head in Jasmine's direction, pressing her to make a decision.

Jasmine looked at me, her red eyes asking me for confirmation. I nodded my head meekly as she understood, "Fine. Tomorrow evening we will report." She said with finality in her voice.

The smirk on Arisu's face widened, "Very well."

(*****)

A/n Ah yeah, shit happened and we couldn't do Christmas special. My apologies.

Also, sorry for the small chapter since I'm travelling with my parents now. So most probably, the chapters will be short for a small portion of time. Here is the compensation in form of AI art I made. Not the very best but it'll do... I hope

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sayonara.