Chapter 53: The Night Terror

Kai stood in the heart of the dungeon-like cave, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Sweat trickled down his forehead, stinging his eyes, but he didn't dare to wipe it away. His gaze was fixed on the creature in front of him, its body glowing ominously in the dark.

The cave was cold and damp, the air heavy with the smell of moss and wet stone. The only light came from the eerie glow of the creature, casting long, monstrous shadows on the cave walls. Its eyes glowed a sinister red, and its body was covered in scales that shimmered in the faint light. It let out a low growl, the sound echoing off the cave walls, sending a shiver down Kai's spine.

"How did I get caught in this situation?" Kai thought to himself, his mind racing as he tried to figure out a way out of this predicament. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He starts to recall back how he came back to the dungeon.

After a while when Sakura and Celestina went back, a maid came over with dinner for Kai and Montina. Kai asked to put them on the table and they shall eat it once Montina was awake. As the maid exits the room, Kai looks at Montina wondering to himself if he should wake her up.

"Hmm, maybe I shoul-" but just then, he noticed a glow coming from a book in his table. "The book is glowing…?" he wondered, as he slowly put Montina over a pillow and went to reach out to the table and pulled out the book. It was an old book, complete blue covering. He recalls back, when he was about to come to the mansion from the village, the chief there gave him few books that Emily had asked for, for him. He looked at the book, when he noticed.

"No name?" He pondered, "Did it got mixed with the books I asked for?" He looks over the book, trying to find any writing in it. "What kind of book is it?" as curiosity got to him, he thought to read the book. But as he tried to open it, he felt electricity in his finger which touched the book. "What the-!" he pulled back, the book still on his other hand as he scanned his finger. "Nothing seems wrong. So, what was it?" he wondered when the book cover had a small light glow in the front. He looked towards it with surprise. The book cover glowed, as the lights formed words on the cover.

"Is this a magic book?" Kai wondered, as slowly the light faded. He looked back at the book, his eyes widened in surprise. In front of him, the book was as good as new, and also the blank cover now had something written to it. As Kai noticed the words, he was completely shocked. The words in the cover were written, but not in Vestalith.

"…It's in English?" he thought so, as he read the title.

"Adventurer's Diary."

Kai stared at its title, "A real diary? Or just a diary in name?" He wondered as he looked back and forth of the book. He tried to open the book again, to which it opened easily. As he opened a page to the book, he found it was empty. He opened the next page, but it was blank as well. He continued to check the rest pages.

After sometimes, Kai left the book on the side. "It's all blank…"

He scanned the whole book, but there was nothing in any of its page. "Hmm," he picked the book and reached out to his table, about to place the book over it. Just then, the book glowed again as it escaped Kai's grip and started to float in the air, it's pages starting to turn. Kai just stared at it, as the book landed on a page. "It's definitely a magic book," even though he was surprised, Kai observed everything, as the page of the book started forming words in it. After some time, the book landed back to Kai's hand. He looked at the page again, this time with words in it.

"Magic Mastery."

As Kai saw the letters, he recalls back on the day of the church. The priest then told him about the mastery skills. "Is it similar to that?" He wondered, as more letters formed on the page. He started to read the letters forming on the page.

"Hmm… Magic arrow, Magic javelin and Magic wall." He started to read the whole page, "Magic arrows: Shots small magic arrows to the target. The number of arrows increases depending on the magic output. Magic javelin: Drops a javelin on the target from above. The size and power can be changed depending on the caster's control on the magic. Magic wall: Creates a protective magic wall around the caster. Its range and duration can be increased on the caster's will and mana output."

He reads the description as he turns to next page, "Huh, only one page has the writing." He wonders to himself as he thinks to ask Eva, "Hey Ev-" but before he could ask, he feels a sharp pain in his head. He drops the book, as he holds his head with both the hands. "Arghhh, this pain…" The pain consecutively starts to increase. He held his head more tight, but unable to bear it, Kai goes unconscious, landing on his bed.

When he opens his eyes, he finds himself in the dungeon again. "The dungeon? I thought the dungeon only came when I slept…" He looks around, checks himself from head to toe. "Okay, nothings wrong with me." After checking everything, he looks straight the way it's leading. "Let's just look around until the time runs out," he starts to walk straight, not sure where the road leads to.

Back in the mansion, in the dining hall. As the dinner is served in front of Maximus and Hiro, they reach out to eat it. But before that, they take at glance at Sakura and Celestina who were smiling, seemingly very happy. Maximus and Hiro looked at each other, as Hiro asked. "Did something good happened?"

To this, Sakura and Celestina, both chuckled as they answered. "Not yet~" both of them shared a laugh, while Hiro and Maximus looked confused.

Meanwhile, Kai was navigating through the dark corridors. "This time, there is not much light in here." He could hear the distant echo of dripping water and the occasional scurrying of unseen creatures. He kept moving, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. "This is confusing," he thought to himself. "That book, this dungeon…"

As he was making his way, he heard a low growl. He turned around, only to come face-to-face with a monstrous creature. "What is that thing?" he observed the monster carefully.

In the dungeon, Kai found himself staring at the monstrous creature. It was unlike anything he had seen before, with scales covering its body and eyes that glowed in the dark. "This one seems to be strong," he stared at it, careful not to let his guard down. As he wondered what to do, the screen showed up in front of him.

"Welcome back, Adventurer." The screen welcomed him, as it started to explain. "You came across the unique monster: Varak, The Night Terror. Level 230." As Kai read the name, he looked at it, as he thought to himself. "That explains the dark atmosphere." The screen started to load, as it flickered again, "There seems to be some upgrade in you."

"Upgrade?" Kai asked. "The adventurer has powered up. Congratulations, you unlocked the adventurer's diary."

Kai was surprised, "The book?" The screen continued, "Congratulations, you got magic mastery. Congratulations, you unlocked three skills from magic skill tree. The adventurer is now eligible to use magic." As Kai read it, he recalled back about the book and the skills mentioned in it.

"On celebration for getting new skills, there will be a special quest for the adventurer." Kai continued to read the details, when he saw Varak attacking at him which he dodged. The attack hit on a wall ahead creating a big hole in it. "Okay, this is risky."

Kai was about to flee the scene, when he saw the quest in the screen. "Defeat the night terror. Upon quest completion, the adventurer will be awarded with a A-Rank weapon. On failure of quest, the adventurer won't die this time." As Kai read the whole thing, he was shocked. "This time? Does it mean that the system here knows that the original owner died?" As he was wondering, Varak released another attack, this time a beam. "Crap!" Kai barely dodged it, as his shirt was burned a little on the back. Kai takes back his stance, "What now?" he was cornered. His route to escape was blocked, and in front stood Varak.