The Ruins were far from their town, Bani. It was refugee town with all sorts of people. Though the town did not have that many facilities, it still had the necessities that one needed.
Thus, the group had felt a bit of pity for the village they had stayed the night in. It had very less convenience gadgets and the people only had the bare necessities.
As they left the village, Matt looked at its struggling dilapidated structure, as he muttered something inaudible, followed with
"Maybe it was because of this that the Ruins nearby were only found now. Supposedly a gatherer had mistakenly activated the entrance to the Ruin causing a landslide resulting in his death."
Everyone sighed. They all knew how dangerous the ruins were.
After preparing themselves, they headed towards the Ruins.
***
Kyle was a veteran adventurer. Because of various reasons she had become an adventurer when she was only 9. She had faced a lot of challenges and even made her own party at the age of 18.
Yet she was very surprised when she heard the news of an A rank at the age of 19. She didn't believe it at first. But the same boy had asked for a party and she let him join, partly curious of his skill.
'If he was a fake then it would be good know early, but if he was real then it would not be bad to make him an acquaintance. Not that it was easy to fake a guild card.' That's what she had thought when inviting him.
But he had surprised everyone by his skill. He quickly adapted to the team on the first day. In the next two days he had already become well acquainted with everyone. Leaving Kyle satisfied with the team's working
As they neared the entrance of the ruins they were met with the Drossi.
The Drossi were intermediate rank humanoid monsters, low subspecies of dragon slaves. They had sharp claws, and could breathe fire.
Their body was covered in hard scales of black or red and normal weapons would not do much damage.
Though, they were usually quite difficult to slay, their team was in optimal condition and steadily managed to clear the whole corridor.
Kyle still had a concern that an addition to their party would cause problems with team work as they would not be accustomed to their party fighting.
But Ray understood her orders and never questioned them. He also cooperated with the party well. Clearing the remnant doubts in her mind.
After clearing the corridor, they were met with a huge bronze door, mostly covered under the cliff. As it was locked, they looked for clues to open the door leading them inside.
While searching the observant Kyle noticed that Matt was less tired than usual, Tidlen and Lily also seemed more energetic.
As they searched for clues, they made small talk. Ray had already adjusted to them and was easily involved in the conversations.
After much searching, they found tiles with unique runes. Matt being knowledgeable in rune magic, pointed them out.
"Look here, this tile has a rune etched on it. Maybe its clue. Try to find more of these tiles." said Matt.
"Easier said than done. You finding that tile must have been a fluke or something. We have been searching for so long without a single clue." Lily interjected.
"What kind of runes are those? I've not seen anything like them before" exclaimed Tidlen. It seemed that his curiosity was starting to get the better of him.
"Guys, we'll discuss that later. Let's find them first" Kyle instructed albeit exasperatedly.
"Hey look, is this a piece of it?" Said Ray as he pointed towards a broken tile.
When Matt came over to see, he looked disheartened as the rune tile had broken." How? Runes normally never get destroyed till they have been used"
Kyle, also coming over, saw the broken rune. She knelt and picked up the piece. She slowly channeled some mana into it and it glowed. The remaining pieces of the rune flew towards it and the rune completed itself.
Looking at the complete rune tile, Matt said "I knew it. Runes never get broken. Someone purposely put a spell to scatter their mana. Its illusion magic."
At the same time, Tidlen had also found a broken rune tile. He also tried channeling mana into the tile and all its pieces joined again.
After becoming familiar with the mana signatures of the runes, Tidlen used his gift of detection to find all the remaining rune tiles.
"I guess my gift came in handy. There are lot of these tiles." Tidlen said as he examined the tiles.
"…Hm 12 of them" Lily counted the runes as everyone else also looked.
Matt, after examining the runes carefully, started to put them in different patterns. Tidlen excitedly hovered over Matt, asking him to teach about the runes. Finally, after about 15minutes the runes started glowing and resonated with something on the door, the huge door magically opened.
After getting ready, Kyle and her party ventured into the main ruins of dragons.
As soon as they entered the light stones on the side of the walls glowed lighting their way. The walls were still very strong and solid. Tidlen identified them as Adamantium.
"Oh I so want to examine them right now, but I'll hold it off for later." Tidlen said looking intently at the walls, before turning away. The last part was also simultaneously echoed by Kyle.
As they continued onwards they were repeatedly attacked by Drossi, wave after wave. Though they wanted to rest, the Drossi didn't leave them any chance.
After what seemed like an eternity, they came across a room without Drossi. It was a small room, like a storage area but it had a bed and book shelves. Seeing the absence of the Drossi in the room and after checking for any potential traps, they all finally decided to rest there.
"Haa...I needed this break" Said Matt as he slumped on the ground.
He was understandably tired by even his shield which was a special item that emitted an energy barrier to extend its size and reduced the user's burden was in a rough shape.
Lily's bow was fine but she did not have many arrows left. Her magic gun also lacked ammo.
Magic guns used mana bullets. They were a special kind of bullets that condensed the user's mana. Thus, magic guns were quite taxing for the people and less practical in ruins or Nests.
Tidlen was also quite low on mana and was drinking mana recovery potion. Ray also looked rugged but compared to the fact that he was on the front lines, he was doing quite well.
Even Kyle was quite tired as she drank potions. They had brought enough food and thus decided to eat.
After eating in silence. They rested a bit longer. Matt asked Ray "When did you become an adventurer?"
"Well…I became adventurer when I was 11. I was a refugee and an orphan so; I needed to earn to live."
'I can't say that I was the demon lord and sealed my power.
'Moreover, I like being an adventurer. I get to travel to different cities and experience the changes and development. I also can fight monsters to increase my strength even more.'
There was short silence, with no one having anything to talk about.
"How did you survive at the Nests?" asked Lily suddenly curious.
"At that time, I just worked as a porter."
"I heard that you mostly worked solo. Why is that? Isn't it much safer to join a party?" Lily asked again.
Though at this question, Ray's face stiffened a bit with a serious and nostalgic look, but it was just for an instant. Immediately after asking the question, Lily apologized as she had been very insensitive.
Ray just brushed it off, but Kyle who had been listening had noticed his expressions.
Observing his teammates, Ray thought, 'Matt is a humble and friendly person but he is always the first to react, which makes him a skilled shields man.'
He bravely defended against the attacks without hesitating. One could tell he was experienced; he parried the heavy blows and pushed forward at the quick blows. Most shield men know this strategy but it is difficult to use it skillfully in real battles.
Tidlen was also friendly and was very curious and interested in magic. His gift allowed him to easily find the rest of the hidden tiles. Also, he was quite skilled at timely magic casting.
Meanwhile kyle was more observant and quieter. She skilfully used her dagger and perfectly aimed for the Drossi' s weak points while manoeuvring between the attacks.
Lily had a more outgoing personality. She was skillful at using her bow. She had perfect timing and good accuracy. For an archer timing is essential. Her arrows supported the attack whenever needed adequately.
But her curiosity sometimes led to her asking more than necessary about others…
After resting, they decided to move onwards. Tidlen used his gift of detection to find their next path, but surprisingly, his gift pointed towards the same room.
They were all confused, and they started thoroughly examining the room for some clues.
Just then Lily found that showed resonance with her bow. Her bow was enchanted so resonance meant that the book also contained mana stored inside.
She told about her finding to the rest of the team, and they all decided to try channelling mana into it.
A hidden passage way opened. And a bright room was seen at the end.
As they passed through the passageway into the luxurious hall. It was so grand that we all were left in awe.
Huge pillars rising to hold the ceiling, chandeliers lighting the space golden, a domelike structure very unbecoming of the old deteriorated entrance.
[to be continued]