Chap 42: Trapped in the basement
1892 Words
***Galen’s POV***
BANG! The whole body of mine got impacted onto each floor steps and fell down, causing my body enduring in limitless pain that I would not know when to stop…
My head was spinning chaotically until my body stopped falling at the last step of the stairs. Right at this moment, I didn’t let myself to be slacking, the smell of the dead corpse of the monster had already near my location.
In this situation where I was trapped into the basement, no source of light, everything just can be judged by hearing and prediction of the enemy’s movement, I had to let myself fighting by myself while waiting for Liana and Roman noticing my disappearance and save me out.
Here it is! I could feel the noise of the monster’s breath, right distanced from where I was standing few meters. I picked up a wooden knife from my training weapon and cast “Resurrection”. The ray of green light of my aura energy poured from my hand into the knife, urged the vines growing from the knife attached together, created a sharp sword as I wish.
With the weak of aura light, at this moment, I just noticed how the monster looked like…
It had three sizes bigger than me, its form and shape looked like a giant bear. The entire of its body was being covered by the cold black smoke spreaking around his body. Seeing that, I then saw something very familiar. According to the diary of Oswarth, wasn’t it the black miasma as his diary mentioned about?
Among the ominous black, I could see its eyes, sparking the deadly light of red and starring at me as if it had targeted me as its final prey, wanted to finish me and teared me apart…
If it was its intention, which was defeating me, then I would have no other choice. I didn’t care why Madame Norn… no! Those damn goblins of aunt Felica wanted to push me into this place and kill me. The current thing, was surviving from this!
“I’m very sorry, I don’t know who you are. If what Oswarth said is true… You must be one of my relative too, right?” I spoke to the monster ready to use its claws. Meanwhile, I rose my sword up above, stood in defensive stance and closed my eyes, sensed the battlefield with all of my focus “If you attack me, I have to end you.”
Just when the light of my aura energy turned off and everything had returned back into the darkness, I could hear the monster stomped down and its roar moved up above me. It was going to use its weight to jump and crush my body down, I dashed myself to the side to avoid it. Right before the battle started, I already had a slight chance to take a look at my surrounding and tried to memorize them. With the direction of the wind inside the basement, that was how to I could determine where to avoid without hurting myself at the cold wall.
Wait… Talking about the wind blowing in the basement… Now I just remember a very important thing. In this basement, there was a current of wind, so there must be another way to get out from this place as well. The only matter was following reversely its direction to determine where the wind came from.
“ROOT FRENZY!!” With this Tier 3 magic spell of mine, the surrounding old wooden furnishings in the basement slowly got back to its initial state which was the tree. Their roots grew rapidly, blocking the way between the monster and me.
At the other side of the wall of roots, I could hear the monster roaring in the madness and slammed its body on the wall, trying to break it and catch me. I stood up, tried to stabilize my breath. That Tier 3 skill Root Frenzy consumed a lot of my aura energy already. In this such unknown environment of Enderworld, that skill earlier caused me an extreme dizziness that I almost couldn’t stand steadily. However, the survival instinct was telling me that with no matter what, I could never kill this monster with current power and had to run away, following the current of wind and my friends as fast as possible.
Holding the Oswarth’s diary in my hand, I just could pray that aunt Felica wouldn’t harm them…
***
Meanwhile at the aunt Felica’s office room…
“I see.” Felica nodded her head while hearing the report of Madame Norn “Everything was out of my plan a little. However, let’s keep as it is and soon or late, the boy will find out the truth…”
Suddenly, BANG! An explosive sound echoed right at the door of Felica’s office room door. That sudden explosion had burnt the elegant doors into ashed revealing the image of a pair of two teenagers on boy and one girl. On both their faces, expressed their extreme anger.
“FELICA!!” Liana screamed out loud. Her eyes burning the ray of fire, she turned the form of semi dragon and menacingly stared at Felica “WHERE IS GALEN?!" WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!”
“Madame Hartridge, my apology for this impoliteness...” Opposite with Liana, Roman showed his calm side. He pointed his rapier to the woman sitting at the office room and spoke next to Liana “But you dare to hurt my friend, I’m afraid that I won’t secure your life from now on.”
“Children, everything is too late. Also it was Galen’s fault that dragged himself into this.” Felica gave a sight “If he discovered the secret of House Hartridge, he had to be swallowed by the darkness of Black Magic forever.”
“THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM TO DO THAT?” Liana asked and angrily screamed “AREN’T YOU HIS AUNT AND YOU LOVE HIM VERY MUCH?! HE EVEN TRUST YOU!! WHY DID YOU BETRAY HIM??!!!!”
“Liana, Roman, I’m very sorry. But I don’t have other choice… If we don’t do that, both Enderworld and your world outside would be vanished.”
“Vanished? What do you mean?”
“Are you sure that you want to hear the answer from my side?” Felica looked at Liana and Roman seriously “Once you know it, I’m afraid that I have to prison you two with Galen forever at this world as well.”
“As if we care about that.” Both Liana and Roman gave her an eventual response “If Galen is in danger, we will follow him too. He is our friends, and we will never leave him alone!!”
“…”
Felica went silent for a few seconds, as if her mind just got a breakthrough… Then she slowly talked to Liana and Roman.
“You know what, my children. I envy my nephew for having such the good friends like you.” Felica showed both of them a smile “I understand, I’ll tell you two everything. But at the same time, I know this is selfish if I want to ask you a request:
All of you… could you help me saving Galen’s life by lifting the curse of House Hartridge? Since like you two, I don’t want him to become like me, like his late mother… to become the next victim of this curse...
If you can do it. You two will be able to get out of this world of darkness.”
***Galen’s POV***
I couldn’t remember how long I had been running. With my weakened body due to the effect from using magic, I kept pushing my body to keep going until the edge of my limit…
I had been losing my thought while running along the long route inside the basement’s dungeon. Suddenly, my head got impacted on the wall right in front of my face and pushed myself backward.
“Ouch ouch ouch…. my head…” I hugged my head which was torturing my nerve “Stupid darkness doesn’t allow me to see anything…”
But then, when I gained back my focus again, I noticed that the current of wind had changed its direction. Now it came from up above. At this place, the wind was greatly stronger than before, so I believed that I almost reached to the destination.
In this case, in order to escape it, I gave a bored sight when realizing that I had no other choice than consuming my aura energy again. Now I just hope that I wouldn’t faint just because using too much aura energy… If I fainted, it meant I would surely be doomed!
There were two wooden knives in my pocket. One had already been used to counter the monster’s attack. So I only have one left…
“Resurrection.”
I whispered, casted magic speel on my last wooden knife and put it on the ground. Rapidly, it grew up into a tree and lifted me up, following the vertical dungeon way and headed up above.
When I looked up, finally, there was a ray of light just at the end of the tunnel! I smiled deep in my heart. But of course, to prevent the case if I got ambush by aunt Felica’s goblins, I held my sword tightly with my hand, stood up on the tree’s branch and prepared the upcoming fight.
Just when I reached at the end of the vertical tunnel, the first thing I would do was carefully looked at my surroundings. Bizarrely, there was nothing here, but a very huge hall being covered by many of paper charms flying around, flashing the weak of white lights like the ghost. I closed my eyes and focused again, everything around me was so silent. There was no sign of the enemy around here. At this moment I just allowed myself to let my guard down and relax my mind. I had been focusing for too long so the diziness in my head had becoming worse. I needed somewhere to heal myself after the fight against the monster earlier… so I decided to walk around this place to find the safe place.
“Heal.” Eventually, my dizziness had gone but of course, my body had become weaker. I was aware that I had been using my aura energy a lot today without having the sunlight to charging. I thought to myself, I had to be more careful, to not always depend on my magic forever.
After healing, I then stood up and continued checking on the place I was currently being trapped in. Then, among the darkness, I then noticed there was something being inlaid on the wall, right with the same as my height, sparking the weak light of ominous yet fascinating red color.
By curiosity, I caught a paper charm flying around me and slowly approached at red shiny thing. Just when I was distanced from it for few meters within my sight, my pupils opened widely, as I had seen that sparking thing somewhere before….
“Wait… Don’t tell me… If everything Seaza said is true, it is…”
That was right… I have found The Core of Cirion!!
- Writer
