Chapter Nineteen: Armored Guy

This mysterious world was filled with peculiar creatures, but Shawn didn't want to fight something he couldn't see, like a ghost. A few moments later, he began hearing some weird sounds and laughing around him, making him a little bit uncomfortable.

The laughter grew louder and louder, and Shawn noticed that it came from a girl. Her laughter was harsh, like that in a horror movie, but Shawn tried to strengthen his stance. In case there was a ghost, he wouldn't hesitate to run.

"Who are you?" Shawn asked, with fear in his voice. "Please don't play with me; show your face!"

Someone suddenly appeared in front of him. Shawn got into a position of being ready to run as fast as he could, but instead of doing such things and seeing who it was, he couldn't move his feet.

"Ava?" Shawn asked in a confused tone. His jaw drooped in surprise; he was stuck staring right at the gorgeous lady with long, curly black hair and lilac eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Ava repeated this question. "After leaving without saying anything, you'll ask me such a question? Did you ever think—" Ava hadn't finished her sentence when another figure emerged from the dark.

"I'm sorry, but I think we should focus on this one first," Shawn replied, turning his attention towards the enemy inside a finely carved, huge, and heavy black armor who made some hefty steps as he walked.

Ava rolled her eyes at Shawn. She was frustrated that after doing everything to get inside this dungeon at the right time, Shawn would only ignore her for the enemy. But she thought for a while after seeing the armored guy.

This guy looked huge enough to be considered a guardian. In this world, there were two types of guardians: the light guardian and the dark guardian. Just by looking at it, Ava knew it was a dark guardian who probably served the demon lord.

"This one looked tough," Ava told Shawn. "Let's see what I can do." She used her skills to move swiftly towards the armored guy.

Ava was about to use her assassination skill when the armored guy sensed what she was about to do. He released some rare, dark magic similar to Allen's, which sent Ava back, landing her back directly on Shawn's abdomen.

"Are you okay?" Shawn asked worriedly. "Just stay behind me; let me deal with this one."

Although they both looked fine, Shawn could say that the armored man was stronger than Gork because he could feel the impact on his body when Ava landed on him. He could have almost lost his balance if he hadn't leaned his right foot against the wall behind him, or worse, if he had bumped his head against it.

"But—" Ava was about to ask Shawn how he would defeat such a tough armored guy if she herself couldn't get near it.

"Trust me," Shawn interrupted. A mischievous smile appeared on his face, as if he were planning something crazy. He slowly walked towards the armored guy. "How dare you hurt my girl?"

The armored guy laughed as if he couldn't believe that this weak, seventeen-year-old boy from Earth was Ava's boyfriend. He seemed to be underestimating him, and that favored Shawn.

"Stop right there, Shawn!" Ava shouted worriedly from behind. "You can't defeat him!"

Ava's words didn't discourage Shawn; they even fueled his interest in fighting this armored guy because he knew that someone was worried for him. Shawn also thought that it would be a good opportunity to show Ava how much he had grown.

"Hahaha!" The armored guy laughed again, like a demon who had woken up from purgatory after a million years of being sealed. "Stupid boy, you've made the wrong choice in fighting against me!"

"And who told you I'm wrong?" Shawn replied. Then he used the fire magic that he had learned when he was looking for the demon lord. The truth was, he learned a lot when he was traveling with Ash.

Shawn almost learned the different forms of magic, not only from reading books but also from his experience in face-to-face fights with monsters, especially when he wasn't able to get them through talk. He always ended up fighting them.

There might be times when he gets defeated by an enemy, but defeat also teaches him some lessons. It wasn't a complete failure after all because it made him try a new approach to how to win next time.

"Tell me, how would you defeat me with those tiny arms of yours?" The armored guy asked in a mocking tone. "I'm invincible with this armor."

"You sure talk a lot, huh? Here, taste it!" Shawn replied as he released continuous fireballs towards the armored guy. He heard him screaming in pain as if he were being burned to death.

Shawn might be stupid, but he wasn't dumb. If that armor was the enemy's strength, then without it, he would be weak. So he decided to use fire magic to make him feel the heat of inferno inside his armor.

"You dumbass!" The armored guy screamed. "I will kill you." He was about to release dark magic, but Shawn went first by throwing a huge fireball at him.

Although the armor remained undamaged, Shawn knew that whoever was inside was suffering from the heat around him, as if he were being cooked or cremated in a hundred-degree celsius heat, as he screamed and screamed until he lost his voice.

For the hundredth time, Shawn didn't show him any sympathy. His rage towards the armored guy urged him to burn him to death, as he couldn't forgive anyone who'd hurt his girl.

Ava was shocked by what Shawn did to the armored guy. She didn't expect he would have that kind of personality. The Shawn she knew was very gentle and empathetic, not wild and battle-maniac.

Shawn didn't stop throwing fireballs at the armored guy until he turned into ashes. However, his armor was still undamaged.

"Look at this, Ava!" Shawn informed. "I've got a new armor for you." He took the armor from the ground, left the ash of the cremated guy, and walked towards Ava, who was still shocked by what she had witnessed.

"How did you do that, Shawn?" Ava asked. She couldn't maintain a normal tone of voice in amazement. "I thought it was over for us."

"Why would you think like that?" Shawn asked as he offered Ava a hand and helped her stand up. "I will never let anyone touch my girl."

Shawn gave the armor to Ava because he knew that it could protect her if similar things happened again. Ava smiled and hugged him so tight, thankful that it wasn't over for them yet. She really thought she couldn't catch up with Shawn, but now they were flinging together.

"Stop being so dramatic," Shawn said as he let go of Ava. "I think we still have a long way to go."

Ava and Shawn continued walking. They were having a chat about the dungeon along the way. Shawn shared his idea that they might have entered a system where they had to fight enemies to level up and get out alive.

"That sounds stupid, but I think you have a point," Ava replied. "We might have entered a dungeon where we have to fight monsters and lords to level up."

No matter how confusing their situation right now, Shawn could still manage to smile, especially because he wasn't fighting alone. He was fighting with the woman he loved for their survival.

Going back to the adventurer's guild, Leo, Emma, Ash, and the old man couldn't help but worry about what might happen to Shawn and Ava. Nobody had ever come out of that dungeon, so even if they were very important to them, they hesitated to follow, except for Ash, who didn't realize the danger because he loved fighting dangerous creatures.

The old man thought that if he only managed to stop Ava from following that strange boy, he might not be so worried about them. But Ava didn't even tell them where she was going before she left. The old man just realized that she was gone when Ash asked where his sister had gone.

The truth was, the old man knew everything about the dungeon because he had also entered it when he was young. He was the first and only one who had entered there and gotten out alive.

As he reminisced about the past, the old man also remembered his tragic love story with Amalia, as well as the other adventurers they had lost along the way while trying their best to get out alive.

At every level they successfully passed, they also lost another comrade, until there were only the two of them left: Amalia and the old man. They continued to the last part of the dungeon, where the overlord resides.

It was already eons ago when the old man faced the demon lord, but it was still clear as crystal in his memory how he looked as well as how he fought against him. That was also the moment Amalia died, and he almost lost hope and the will to live.

Fortunately, the old man had survived that fate by using his last mana and skill to escape. Then, the demon lord transformed into a dragon to follow him to the land of dusk.

The old man was sure that the demon lord was the strongest and most powerful in this world, and even a saint's magic couldn't scratch him. Just by thinking about it, the old man didn't know how Shawn and Ava could defeat that demon if it seemed like they couldn't even defeat all those enemies along the way.

The old man knew it was all his fault that many innocent people died, including Ava's parents, but he never told anyone about it to escape the guilt and possible punishment. Now that Shawn and Ava have entered, perhaps it is time for him to pay for his mistake. However, he didn't want to leave Ash, who wouldn't let him go.

"What if they already died, and you'll also die?" Ash couldn't help but cry; his tears and the liquid from his nose were mixing on his face.

The old man didn't know what to do anymore. He knew that Ava and Shawn needed his help this time. There were many things he was considering. He was no longer as strong as he was before, so it might be difficult for him to defeat those enemies along the way.

Although he can use teleportation, he also didn't know the exact level where Shawn and Ava were or if they might be in a different stage if they ever survived. Before it could be too late, the old man decided to leave Ash to the adventurer's guild in order to follow his apprentices.

"Just stay here for a while, Ash. I'll be back, I promise," the old man said before he left. "If I ever die along the way, I know my friends will take care of you."

The old man used teleportation to reach the Fire Kingdom in an instant. He appeared in front of the dungeon, thankful that he didn't have to fight all those creatures along the way. This time, he didn't hesitate to enter the dungeon to save the people he loved.