I was completely clueless about that mysterious female kid.
She slowly looked back at me.
I couldn't properly describe her colours. At that moment, everything I saw felt black and white. Her hair looked like it should be white, but even that wasn't certain.
She was wearing a casual outfit, and there were dark spots under her eyes.
"It's been a very long time no see," the girl said.
"What do you mean?" Haruto asked.
"Oh, I remember… you can't remember me for now."
"And I see Kamini is doing her work properly," the girl said.
"I was confused."
"Who is Kamini?"
"What was she actually meaning?"
"I never saw her."
"Or… did we meet before?"
"My time in Tenzu is very short."
"So it's impossible to see me."
"But wait…"
"It could be possible that we met before…"
"But not in Tenzu…"
"But in Earth…"
Haruto thought in his mind.
He wanted to ask that girl about it.
But he was a little unsure to ask it directly.
Because he could sense her power.
A power that was far beyond what I could handle.
So he didn't ask her anything more.
But—
Out of sudden—
That girl looked at Haruto's back side.
"Oh, so you finally came here," that girl said.
Haruto looked behind him.
And he saw a mysterious figure.
The figure was holding a big book in his left hand.
His entire body was covered with a long dark cloak, hiding all of his physical structure.
A dark black hoodie covered his eyes.
Only his mouth and nose were visible.
Haruto was speechless.
He couldn't move his body.
He stayed completely frozen.
Then suddenly—
That mysterious figure asked,
"Are you Haruto Tabata?"
Before Haruto could even react—
Suddenly—
He was teleported to another place.
He was floating in a space-like environment.
Haruto looked around him.
He saw countless round-shaped objects.
There were so many…
Almost endless.
Then suddenly—
Haruto got pulled into one of those round objects.
He entered inside it.
At first—
Haruto saw a giant line.
A line that was flowing infinitely.
Then—
He saw something else.
He saw the Four Horsemen.
They were riding on horses…
Walking along that endless line.
Haruto was completely confused.
Then suddenly—
He was pulled again.
This time—
Into a frozen ocean.
The ice broke.
And Haruto started to drown.
Then suddenly—
A pocket watch appeared in Haruto's hand.
Then—
That girl and the mysterious figure appeared inside the ocean.
And the mysterious figure said—
"After the tragedy, go to your destiny."
Then suddenly—
Haruto woke up.
It was a dream.
"What the hell is that dream…"
"No… that dream is not normal… it's different…"
Haruto looked at his hand.
And he saw the pocket watch.
Haruto immediately understood—
"No way… I was right…"
"It wasn't an ordinary dream…"
"It's something else…"
"But the main thing is… what should I do with this pocket watch?"
Haruto thought.
He looked at the watch.
It showed 10:30 a.m.
Haruto thought—
Right now it should be 11:00 a.m, because he usually wakes up at that time.
So—
He stopped the ticking of the watch.
Then he changed the time to 11:00 a.m.
Then—
He started the watch again.
Suddenly—
A fog appeared.
Haruto fainted for a second.
Then—
He woke up.
He realized—
He was in a different place.
Not his camp.
And he saw—
Alan, Aon, and Kerion had already killed many monsters.
"Hey Alan… weren't we at our camp?" Haruto asked.
"What do you mean?" Alan replied.
"Didn't we just leave our camp and eat our breakfast first?"
"We just killed some monsters here—and you helped us, didn't you?" Alan asked.
Haruto instantly understood everything.
"Yeah… sorry for the wrong question," Haruto said.
"It's okay," Alan replied.
Haruto looked at the watch again.
It showed 11:01 a.m.
He thought—
Me and Alan talked for about one minute.
So that means—
This watch can allow me to time travel.
Either to the future…
Or maybe to the past…
Depending on the time set on the watch.
Haruto tried again—
He added four more minutes to the watch.
But this time—
Nothing happened.
"I was right…"
"This watch allows me to time travel after a reset cooldown."
"So I guess… I can't use it again immediately."
"But the main question is—"
"Who are they?"
"And why did they give me this watch?"
"And why did they appear in my dream?"
Haruto questioned.
But for now—
He decided to set aside those questions.
Because he had no clues about them.
After some hours of walking and killing random monsters—
They finally set up another camp.
It should be the last camp before fighting the Hydra.
Aon and Kerion went to sleep early.
Meanwhile, Alan and Haruto sat quietly near their campfire.
The flames flickered gently in the darkness.
"Hey Alan, by the way, why did you even come to this dungeon? And how did you even know about this dungeon?" Haruto asked.
Alan looked at the fire for a moment.
"Oh… it's a long story," Alan said.
"Can you tell me?" Haruto asked.
"Sure," Alan replied.
It was many years ago—
When Alan was still little.
From the very beginning, he was quite talented in rituals.
Especially in wind-type rituals.
All because of his grandfather.
His grandfather was a former adventurer.
When Alan turned 10 years old—
His grandfather gave him a staff.
It was one of the best staffs at that time.
Because of that—
Alan also wanted to become an adventurer like his grandfather.
So—
He started to gather friends who could become adventurers with him.
And that is the reason—
He is here now.
Then one day—
Alan's grandfather received a letter.
A letter about a dungeon.
Inside that dungeon—
The sons of his grandfather's friend had gone missing.
So—
That friend asked for help.
Alan's grandfather agreed.
Before leaving—
He told Alan—
"If I don't return back home…"
"You have to become an adventurer like me."
Alan agreed to his words.
Then—
After some days—
They received a report.
A report of his grandfather's death.
Alan's grandfather was someone very close to him.
Alan felt deep sadness.
But—
Instead of breaking—
He made a decision.
To become an adventurer.
And that is why—
He came to this dungeon.
The same dungeon—
Where his grandfather had died.
Haruto understood everything.
Alan then added—
His grandfather always told him—
To solve all the mysteries of Tenzu.
So—
Alan asked Haruto—
If he dies here—
Haruto should solve all the mysteries of Tenzu.
"Why do you think you will die here?" Haruto asked.
"Because my grandpa was actually super strong," Alan said.
"Even my village used to say that my grandfather could rival Hermit Zero."
"Who is Hermit Zero?" Haruto asked.
Alan looked at him in surprise.
"Don't you know about Hermit Zero?"
"He is a legendary figure in the whole of Tenzu."
"He is one of the strongest in the 4th era of Tenzu."
"He was the strongest South sword style user."
Alan said.
Haruto immediately realized—
He asked the wrong question.
Because Hermit Zero is extremely famous.
Everyone in Tenzu knows him.
So asking about him like that—
Could raise suspicion.
But—
Haruto still wanted to know more.
So he asked again.
However—
Alan shook his head.
"We don't have much information about Hermit Zero."
"We don't properly know about him… or even about the 1st to 4th eras," Alan said.
"So… it's the 5th era your grandpa went to this dungeon, right?" Haruto asked.
"Yes, you are right," Alan replied.
Haruto learned something new.
About Hermit Zero.
About the eras of Tenzu.
And about which era is currently happening.
"If I ask directly about the current era, Alan might suspect me…"
"But asking through his grandfather made it natural…"
Haruto thought.
After that—
Haruto and Alan went back to their tents.
But—
Haruto couldn't sleep properly that night.
So—
He used the pocket watch.
To skip time.
And instantly—
He was teleported to the morning.
They started walking again.
After some time—
They saw a door.
A massive door.
It was the door to the Hydra Boss.
Alan stepped forward—
And opened it.
They entered.
And then—
They saw it.
The Hydra.
Standing right in front of them.
The battle started.
Aon moved first.
He raised his hand and activated his Light Blind Ritual.
A massive burst of light spread across the battlefield, illuminating everything in an instant.
The Hydra's vision was completely blocked for a few seconds.
Taking advantage of that opening, Kerion and Haruto attacked together.
They both used Lightning Strike Ritual.
Their attacks struck one of the Hydra's two heads directly.
Alan stepped forward and used his Windstuck Ritual.
The Hydra's massive body became unbalanced.
Its movements became unstable, and parts of its body began to rise into the air.
The Hydra retaliated immediately.
From its three heads, it launched multiple fireballs toward them.
Aon reacted quickly and countered with three Light Ray attacks.
At the same time, Haruto supported him by launching his own Fireball Ritual.
The Hydra roared and released a flamethrower attack that spread across the entire area.
Kerion moved forward again and struck at the Hydra's heads.
Alan used his Wind Tornado Ritual, creating a powerful vortex.
At the same time, Haruto used a Mud Ritual to further unbalance the Hydra.
Then Alan focused his power.
He activated three Wind Charged Rituals, each aimed at a different Hydra head.
In the next moment—
Boom.
All three heads were destroyed instantly.
"Finally, we did it," Alan said.
"We defeated the Hydra."
Aon and Kerion became extremely happy and relieved.
They looked at Alan with smiles of victory.
Haruto slowly walked toward the Hydra.
Meanwhile, Alan, Kerion, and Aon were celebrating their success.
Then suddenly—
"Alan, Hydra is the final boss of this dungeon, right?" Haruto asked.
"Yes, but why?" Alan replied.
"If Hydra was the final boss, then why was it defeated so easily?"
"If your grandpa was actually strong, then he should have survived this," Haruto said.
"What do you mean by that?" Alan asked.
"Alan, please listen carefully."
"Hydra is not the final boss of this dungeon."
"There is someone else who is the real final boss," Haruto said.
Then suddenly—
The roof collapsed.
Alan immediately pushed Haruto away to protect him.
However, the falling stones crushed Alan, Kerion, and Aon.
At that exact moment—
Ryuk and Leo entered the room.
A flashback began.
When Leo woke up from his dream, he did not remember anything about it.
However, a door appeared in front of him.
It was the gate to escape the dungeon.
Leo told EMA to leave the dungeon.
EMA agreed.
After that, Leo rushed directly toward the Hydra boss gate.
The flashback ended.
Aon and Kerion's entire bodies were crushed under the stones.
Alan's lower body was completely destroyed.
Alan threw his staff toward Haruto.
"I leave the rest to you," Alan said.
Then—
He died.
Haruto looked around him.
He saw Ryuk and Leo standing there.
He understood everything.
The entire Elemental Tribe team had been killed.
Only they remained alive.
Ryuk and Leo approached Haruto.
"I guess we are the last ones left," Haruto said.
Then suddenly—
A shadow appeared in front of them.
It was the final boss of the dungeon.
The Shadow looked directly at Haruto.
Then it said—
"The Watcher."
The Shadow created three energy spears.
It threw them at Haruto, Leo, and Ryuk.
All of them managed to dodge the attack.
Haruto used his Fireball Ritual and attacked the Shadow.
However—
The fireball did not hit.
The Shadow's body absorbed the attack.
Haruto attacked again using his Flamethrower Ritual.
Once again—
The Shadow absorbed it.
Then Leo rushed forward at high speed and stabbed the Shadow.
The attack successfully landed.
However, the Shadow quickly pushed Leo away.
Ryuk followed up with a sword slash.
This attack successfully hit the Shadow.
Haruto understood something important.
The Shadow could absorb power-based attacks.
However, it could not absorb physical attacks.
"I need to use a physical attack," Haruto thought.
Haruto remembered his Stone Drill attack from his previous dagger fight.
He realized that it would be effective against the Shadow.
Haruto used Rock Thrower Ritual.
With the help of Alan's staff, he shaped the rocks into sharp drill forms.
Then he launched them at high speed toward the Shadow.
The attack hit successfully.
It created a hole in the Shadow's body.
"I was right," Haruto thought.
The Shadow began attacking continuously with energy spears.
Haruto dodged each attack using zig-zag movements.
Then he rushed forward and punched the Shadow.
The Shadow began to bleed.
Ryuk appeared behind the Shadow in his Fusion Sword Form.
He slashed the Shadow.
The Shadow started to freeze from the inside.
Without wasting time, Leo lunged forward again and stabbed the Shadow multiple times.
The Shadow became enraged.
It created a countless number of energy spears across the battlefield.
Haruto, Leo, and Ryuk became extremely alert.
They dodged every single spear one by one.
However, the continuous attack destroyed almost everything around them.
The entire place started to shake violently.
Haruto carefully observed the Shadow's power.
"That power is gravity," Haruto said.
"What is gravity?" Leo asked.
Ryuk looked at Leo with a strange expression.
"How did you figure that out?" Ryuk asked Haruto.
"It is because the Shadow is constantly pulling and pushing us."
"So it must be related to gravity."
"And those energy attacks feel like gravitational force," Haruto explained.
"But how can you be sure?" Ryuk asked.
"It gathers energy at a specific point."
"And I was hit by one of the spears, so I could feel that it behaves like gravitational force," Haruto replied.
The Shadow attacked again by throwing rocks and debris at them.
Haruto, Leo, and Ryuk barely managed to dodge those fast-moving attacks.
Haruto countered with multiple Stone Drill attacks.
However, the Shadow managed to dodge them.
Ryuk rushed toward the Shadow again.
He continuously swung his sword at high speed.
The Shadow dodged the attacks.
However, Ryuk did not stop chasing it.
The Shadow attacked Ryuk with energy spears.
But Ryuk continued moving forward without stopping.
Soon, Ryuk and the Shadow clashed directly.
They moved across the battlefield in an instant during their clash.
In the middle of the fight, Leo joined them.
He attacked the Shadow with even more aggression.
Meanwhile, Haruto waited patiently for the perfect opportunity.
Then—
The Shadow moved to the center of the room.
It activated its gravitational power.
Haruto, Leo, and Ryuk were suddenly pulled toward the roof.
Their bodies stuck to the surface like glue.
They could not move at all due to the intense gravitational force.
The Shadow began preparing a final attack.
Haruto looked around carefully.
He noticed that Ryuk and Leo could not move even slightly.
He searched for a weakness in the Shadow's ability.
Then he saw it—
A giant round stone on one side of the room.
Haruto came up with an idea.
He used his staff slightly.
The giant stone began to move in a circular motion around the Shadow.
As the stone interacted with the gravitational force, its speed increased rapidly.
The movement started to annoyed the Shadow.
Suddenly—
Haruto, Ryuk, and Leo regained their ability to move.
Ryuk and Leo looked confused.
"Shhh," Haruto said quietly.
Haruto then controlled shadow's nearby stones.
He transformed them into drill shapes.
After that, he destroyed the giant round stone using a Fireball.
Shadow noticed that
Haruto and others again started to pulled on the roof again
The drill-shaped stones began to rise due to the shifting gravitational force.
They moved upward rapidly and struck the Shadow.
The Shadow started bleeding heavily.
Its ability was interrupted.
Haruto, Ryuk, and Leo fell back to the ground.
Leo immediately lunged forward.
He stabbed the Shadow and pushed it against the wall.
Without wasting any time—
Ryuk activated his Ancestor Sword Form.
He completely froze the Shadow in place.
Then Haruto began casting Wind Charged Ritual.
He had took this technique from Alan with the help of his gloves during a previous fight.
However, the Shadow countered with a Shadow Ball attack.
The two attacks clashed with each other.
Haruto and the Shadow both pushed their attacks with full force.
Then—
Haruto felt something strange.
It felt like someone was supporting him.
He looked to the side.
And he saw Alan.
Not his physical body—
But his soul.
The Wind Charged attack overpowered the Shadow Ball.
It hit the Shadow directly.
The Shadow was defeated.
Haruto fell to the ground.
He looked at Alan's soul.
"Thank you," Alan said with tears in his eyes.
The dungeon was finally cleared.
They could not find the Hydra's head because it was destroyed during the battle.
However, they found an item called Shadow Nail.
"How did you counter that gravitational attack?" Ryuk asked.
"That is called science," Haruto replied calmly.
They had finally cleared the dungeon.
However, they had sacrificed many lives.
They came out of the dungeon.
EMA saw them.
She realized that she was the only survivor from her side.
She began to cry.
Leo and Ryuk stopped her.
She left, saying that they might meet again in the future.
Haruto, Leo, and Ryuk went to the Hunter Centre.
They sold the Shadow Nail.
It was worth 4,500 Reo.
It was enough for them.
Ryuk started crying in happiness.
Then Ryuk asked Haruto where they should go next.
Leo suggested that they should visit a kingdom.
"Which kingdom do you want to go to?" Ryuk asked.
Haruto asked which one was the nearest.
Ryuk replied—
"It is the Fate Kingdom."
Hearing the word Fate—
Haruto remembered his dream.
The mysterious figure—
Telling him to go toward his destiny.
And finally—
Haruto decided to go to the Fate Kingdom.