Chapter Eighteen: Level One

Ava had no idea that Shawn was planning to enter the dungeon in the Fire Kingdom. After what happened in Skyland, she realized that she shouldn't be so strict with the people around her.

All she knew was that Shawn would never do something crazy, so she didn't want to cause him similar trouble again. She regretted it and blamed herself for his suffering.

Meanwhile, Shawn wanted to grab the opportunity when nobody was trying to stop him; he didn't want anyone to get involved with his stupidity. It might sound stupid, but if he could save the kingdom from the upcoming danger, he wouldn't hesitate to do it.

Along the way to the Fire Kingdom, Shawn met someone he didn't expect to meet. It was the old woman who looked creepy with her long, curly, black hair that spread around her shoulder.

The landlady of a boarding house in the capital city of Owl. Her name was Jessica Marchant. Shawn wondered how she got there.

Shawn chatted with Jessica. He learned from her that she decided to move to the Fire Kingdom because she had a lot of businesses there, including the coffee shop where they were having a conversation.

"How about you, lad?" Jessica asked in return. "What reason do you have to come here?"

Shawn remained silent for a while, wondering if he could trust this old lady about his plan. Then he continued, "I'm going to a dungeon located in the northern part of this kingdom."

Jessica accidentally choked up the coffee in her mouth because of what she heard from the daredevil boy. She knew very well that nobody had ever come out of that dungeon, which is why they prohibited everyone from entering there.

Although she wasn't comfortable with what this lad was planning to do, Jessica decided to help him. If Shawn couldn't make it out alive from that place, then it wouldn't be her problem anymore.

"So, do you need a map to go there?" Jessica whispered. She didn't want others to hear their conversation because she knew that they were doing something that could send them to jail.

Shawn nodded in response. A map would be a big help for him to go where he wanted without getting lost in the woods or eaten by wild animals, especially boars, which he hated the most.

Jessica asked Shawn to follow her inside a room, and then she showed him an old map of the Fire Kingdom. Its lines were almost faded, and it was covered by dust. Jessica blew the dust away and used magic to recover the lines, and it looked new again.

"The dungeon is located here." Jessica pointed at the map with a red mark on it, indicating that it was prohibited to go there. She gave Shawn the map and reminded him to be careful because the way there was filled with monsters and dangerous creatures.

Shawn thanked the old woman for her help. Then he continued his journey. He followed what was shown on the map and encountered a lot of dangerous creatures along the way, but with his communication capability, he was able to pass through their territories without getting hurt.

Eventually, Shawn reached the mouth of the dungeon. Just by looking at it, he felt a chill in his spine, as if there was something dangerous inside. He stopped for a while, hesitating whether he would enter or not.

Leo's words kept lingering in his head. Nobody had ever come out alive from this dungeon, and it made him more curious to check what was inside. Everything slowly got dark as he kept moving in. He walked and walked until the light completely disappeared.

"What?" Ava, Ash, and the old man asked simultaneously. They couldn't believe what they heard from Leo.

"Is he really out of his mind?" Ava asked, tapping her forehead in disbelief. Her eyes were filled with worry. "Why would he enter that dungeon without even telling us? I could have stopped him."

"I'm sorry, Ava. We have tried our best to stop him, but he insisted on going. I thought you already knew his plan," Leo replied apologetically.

"No, we don't," the old man said. "He's not talking with us as much lately. I don't know that he's been planning to enter that dungeon."

"Yup, I should've gone with him if I knew," Ash added, wondering why Shawn hadn't informed any of them about his plan. There might be a lot of strong and dangerous creatures in that dungeon.

Ava didn't say anything. In her mind, she knew she shouldn't let Shawn die. Her life would have no purpose without him, so she decided to follow him wherever he had gone.

Ava hurriedly left the guild without telling anyone where she was going because she knew that they would only stop her from following Shawn. She headed to the Fire Kingdom, using her skill to move faster, hoping that she could catch up with Shawn before it was too late.

As Ava entered the dungeon, she didn't feel right; the cold breeze was sending shivers down her spine, but she didn't hesitate to continue. No matter what was waiting for her inside, and no matter what would happen, she would always be there for Shawn, even if it would cost her life.

Shawn, on the other hand, had reached the first level of the dungeon, where he encountered an ugly creature named Gork. It had two backswept pointed horns resembling those of a buffalo's, sharp teeth, long claws, and red eyes that glittered in the dark.

At first, Shawn was bothered by the growling sounds he heard while walking in the dark. Then he decided to use King Orc's ring to create fireballs to light up the place, but he was surprised by what he saw as the room gradually became apparent.

Layers of skeletons were piling up from the ground. Shawn thought that perhaps they belonged to those adventurers who hadn't made it out alive from this place. Whoever did this to them, he knew was so strong, stronger than those adventurers.

"How brave of you to enter here, little boy," Gork said as he walked out of the dark. His steps were heavy and unpredictable. "This will be your graveyard."

Shawn couldn't stand firmly on his feet; his knees were shaking from fear, but he tried to straighten himself, telling himself that it was just his amygdala. If he were lucky enough to get out of here alive, he wouldn't hesitate to marry Ava.

Out of his knowledge, he had already entered a dungeon composed of seven levels, and he had to survive them all—the creatures that stayed inside—to be able to get out alive.

"I know you're trembling in fear just by hearing my voice, little boy, but what could be your reason to enter this dungeon?" Gork asked, trying to be friendly, though he couldn't hide the threat from his voice.

As he looked at the skeletons around him, Shawn knew that he shouldn't trust the words coming from this creature's deceiving tongue. He would become one of those skeletons if he got it.

Out of the blue, Shawn faked a laugh to show that he wasn't scared of him, although his heart was beating so fast just by thinking about what could happen.

Hearing Shawn's laughter, Gork was annoyed. It was the first time he heard someone laughing at him. His anger grew stronger as Shawn's kept laughing, to the point that he instinctively initiated an attack.

Due to his own recklessness and unpreparedness, Shawn was nearly hit in the face by Gork's steel-hard fist. His teeth almost got detached from his gums, and his pointed nose almost flattened. Fortunately, he was able to dodge him before he could lose his handsome face.

"How dare you laugh at me?" Gork clinched his teeth, not only out of anger but also because he couldn't hit the annoying boy.

"Catch me if you can," Shawn joked around with his tongue out. Instead of being scared, he wanted his enemy to get frustrated until he got tired before he would fight back.

Gork was very frustrated, as he didn't have time for Shawn's game. But he kept chasing him around anyway, until he got tired. He stopped, holding his knees while chasing his breath.

"Are you tired now of chasing the wrong person?" Shawn sneered. "Why do you keep running after those people you can't catch?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, and how dare you underestimate me? I have defeated even the strongest adventurer," Gork said angrily. His mana gushed around his body, filling his veins with anger.

"Yup, but how long was it? Don't you know that time changes everything? And you haven't even exercised after a long time because this place became forbidden?" Shawn replied logically. "What were you doing these days?" he added sarcastically.

"I—" Gork realized what he was about to say. It had been many years since the last time he had a fight, and there was no doubt that he had lost his muscles.

It was just a few moments before he chased Shawn, but he felt like he was about to die. He had poor cardiovascular endurance due to the lack of exercise.

Although Gork wasn't strong enough to be his opponent, Shawn didn't show him any sympathy. Perhaps it was Karma who told Shawn to do such a thing because he knew that Gork's death could not pay for the lives of those adventurers he had killed.

It had been almost a year since Shawn started killing orcs, but still, he couldn't tolerate the smell of blood before it turned into a red crystal that resembled a ruby. This crystal looked expensive, making him excited about what was next.

"I will sell this to the adventurer's guild once I get out of here," Shawn said, continuing his journey.

The moment he entered the second room of the dungeon, Shawn felt like there was a demon living there. The cold breeze was sending chills down his spine, as if there was something he couldn't see.

Shawn had a hunch that someone was watching over him, lurking in the darkness, though he couldn't sense any danger. Perhaps it was due to his power that he could sense their presence. He also noticed that the egg given to him by Cyrene was radiating green lights.

"It might be telling me something," Shawn said to himself as he took the egg from his pocket. "What could it be?" he wondered.