Chapter Seventeen: Dungeon

Cyrene, the Green Dragon, brought Shawn to its nest and laid him there beside her eggs, treating him like a baby as it tried its best to cover the wound on his back. It seemed like they had developed a deeper connection.

"I'm sorry for what happened, my dear guest," Cyrene apologized in a worried tone, although Shawn was the only one who could hear her due to his communication capability.

"Don't worry, Queen Cyrene. It was my fault that Ava suddenly appeared here; perhaps she scared your fellow dragons, and I should be the one to apologize," Shawn replied politely.

Alice sighed with relief upon seeing Shawn. She was so worried that something might have happened to him. For sure, Ava would never forgive her if that happened. She slowly walked towards the green dragon's nest and asked if she could take Shawn with her.

The dragon seemed to refuse. She wasn't letting go of Shawn. He had already become her baby, until Shawn told Cyrene that it was okay and that Alice was his trusted friend.

Cyrene slowly handed Shawn over to Alice. Then Alice and Shawn went out of Skyland. Alice carefully put Shawn on the ground, perching his head on Ava's leg. The blood and the wound on his back slowly disappeared as Ava used healing potions that she kept in case of emergencies.

Shawn didn't say anything but gave an annoying smile at Ava, who looked so worried for him. He didn't expect Ava to be following him, but a woman like her was worth sacrificing his life for.

Ava hesitated to say this, but she apologized while crying, "I'm sorry, Shawn. I'm really sorry for making you suffer from my recklessness. I admit it was all my fault, so please can you forgive me?"

Seeing Ava in her most vulnerable state made Shawn smile even more. He knew she cared so much about him that jealousy drove her to do something unusual. But regardless of what she did, he still couldn't hate her.

"Don't worry, Ava. It's okay. I just want you to know that I and Alice are just friends and nothing more than that." Shawn slowly raised his hand, his eyes still fixed on Ava's face. He gently wiped her tears with his fingers, and then he kissed her lips.

Alice couldn't look directly at them. Deep inside, she was jealous that her friend and Shawn had a deeper relationship. She thought she had already found someone she could love, but fate was against her.

Before he left, Shawn received one of Cyrene's eggs as a gift. Cyrene thanked him for spending his time with her despite the trouble that happened. Shawn hesitated to accept the little egg because he didn't know how to raise a dragon, especially the wild ones, but Cyrene told him that it wasn't a dragon but something that could help him when needed.

Shawn didn't understand what she meant by that, but he didn't bother to ask; he just accepted the egg and went back to the guild headquarters with Alice.

Ava, on the other hand, went back home. She knew she could trust that Shawn and Alice wouldn't hook up. Perhaps she just has to stop being as insecure as she was with his brother.

"Bwahahaha! Congratulations! Here's your reward!" Leo placed two pouches of gold coins on the counter. "They are divided fairly; I heard that you two had a deal, and it seemed like the dragons had already stopped destroying the crops."

Money could be easily gotten, just as much as it could be spent. The truth was, it wasn't that easy after all. A lot of trouble happened just to get this reward. But money couldn't buy the adventure they had.

"Thank you, guild master!" Shawn and Alice replied simultaneously. Then they looked into each other's eyes and laughed.

"By the way, I heard that you had an accident. I hope it wasn't a deep injury," Leo interrupted, looking worriedly at Shawn. "Emma had many healing potions left; just take some if you want."

"Don't worry, guild master. My injury isn't that serious, quite far from my intestine. I'm just grateful that I didn't die," Shawn replied sarcastically.

Shawn was always amazed at how things work out in this world. It was very different from his old life on earth, where wounds, diseases, and illness were dominant. Even experts and scientists couldn't prevent them. But here, in this world, his wound could heal easily with just a single drop of healing potion, and he felt like he was already immortal.

"Next time, just take on the quest that you can handle. Dragons are actually ferocious by nature," Leo advised. "By the way, can I have your guild card? We're going to change your rank."

Shawn pulled his guild card from the pocket of his pants and handed it to Leo, then the guild boss disappeared. After a few moments, Leo came back with a new guild card. The rank was no longer W, but M. It seemed like Shawn's expectations were met.

Shawn knew that there was still a long way to go to reach his dream, but he was always willing to face the challenges and grow with the people who supported him in his journey.

Leo handed over the new guild card and shook hands with Shawn. He congratulated him again for increasing his rank so quickly.

Alice was also happy for Shawn, despite the fact that their relationship should remain as friends because Ava was his fated mate. Alice wasn't sad, though; she was just a little jealous of them.

Shawn and Alice took their rewards and parted ways, wondering if they would ever meet again after those unforgettable memories. Shawn went home happily.

Aside from the green egg that he decided to bring wherever he'd go, as it wasn't heavy or big at all, Shawn also received valuable information about the demon lord from the dragons.

The Skylanders were considered the watchers of the sky, and they actually know where the demon lord has gone after attacking the land of dusk. Shawn felt like he had hit two targets in one shot.

Cyrene told him about the secret place located in the Fire Kingdom. There was a dungeon that probably sheltered the demon lord. It was said that many adventurers had entered there, but nobody had ever come out, so they had no idea what was inside; nobody had ever attempted to go there again for the fear that they would get trapped as well.

Shawn wanted to find out if the information he got from the Skylanders was correct, so as tomorrow came, he decided to visit the place. His impulsiveness urged him to check the dungeon without knowing what was waiting for him there.

Before continuing to the Fire Kingdom, Shawn stopped at the adventurer's guild to satisfy his curiosity about the dungeon. Perhaps there was something he missed, so he asked the guild master what he knew about the dungeon.

"How brave of you, lad, to plan on entering that dungeon. Don't you know that we have lost a lot of adventurers because of that?" Leo asked worriedly. "Aren't you satisfied with the money you've received just yesterday? Is that the reason why you're planning to die?"

Shawn wasn't really surprised to hear those things from the guild master. The Skylanders must be right that the demon lord resides there, and nobody has ever defeated him.

"That's not what I mean, guild master. I'm satisfied and thankful for the rewards I've received from the guild. I know that you're just worried about my safety, but I'm more determined to defeat whatever resides in that dungeon than do nothing because I'm afraid," Shawn replied with determination in his voice.

Leo was left speechless for a while; it wasn't the first time he heard someone say those words to him. His admiration for Shawn's strangeness and bravery grew stronger, knowing that he didn't fear death.

"Well, that's your life, and as an adventurer, it's our duty to promote safety in the land of dusk, so I can't stop you, but still, it's unfortunate to know that we're about to lose another adventurer again." Leo sighed.

Leo couldn't manage to laugh at this certain topic. If it cost someone's life, then it wasn't something he could joke with, especially if it was Shawn's, one of their bravest and most ambitious adventurers.

Leo didn't know if his friend, the old man, already knew about his apprentice's plan. It seemed like he was about to put himself between them. It was just yesterday when Shawn became an adventurer, but now he was acting on his own.

"Don't worry about me, guild master. I will return alive now, no matter what," Shawn promised. "I just came here to ask if you have other information about the dungeon."

Leo tried to forget those thoughts that he had been thinking about for a while. He didn't want to focus on his own emotions right now. Perhaps he could do something to help Shawn, but he couldn't; even if he'd checked all the information that the adventurer's guild collected from eons ago, he wouldn't be able to find something about that dungeon.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Shawn, but the adventurer's guild can't help you with that. Nobody has ever come out alive and told us what they found inside that dungeon," Leo said apologetically.

Although Leo's words were meant to warn him from entering the dungeon, Shawn found it interesting that he might be able to make a big contribution to the adventurer's guild if it happened that he would be lucky enough to get out alive.

"I think I really have to go there myself to discover what's inside," Shawn muttered, his curiosity growing stronger towards this newfound adventure. "Thanks for your time, guild master."

As Shawn turned to leave, Leo wanted to stop him, but he couldn't. He didn't have the right to prevent someone from doing what they wanted to do as long as they were not hurting others.

Shawn received similar advice from Emma; she told him not to enter the dungeon no matter what, or everything would be over for him. However, those reminders only fueled his curiosity and interest in discovering what was inside.

"I hope you'll be able to come out alive if you've already decided to enter there!" Emma could do nothing but wish Shawn good luck. Just like the guild master, she was also worried about what could happen to Shawn. She didn't want their friendship to end here.

Leo and Emma couldn't help but hope that it wouldn't be the last time for them to see Shawn. He had always been a good friend to them, someone who was always willing to help and sacrifice himself for the Land of Dusk.