The cold morning wind wrapped around the forest as Laguna and Eve leaned against a tree trunk. They sat at the edge of the silent battlefield. The ice on the ground started to melt. Puddles of water formed, revealing faint traces of blood.
Laguna took a deep breath and turned to Eve, who was still sitting and panting.
"Can you still stand, Eve?"
Eve nodded, her face revealing deep fatigue. "It seems... quite difficult for me to fight again. My legs are still shaking."
Laguna took out a small bottle filled with red liquid from her pocket and tossed it to Eve with deliberate care. "Take this. Red potion. It should be enough to heal your wounds."
Eve caught the bottle, staring at it for a moment. "Red Potion? But isn't this... very expensive? What about you?"
"I still have one more and one Healing Scroll," Laguna replied as she opened her inventory. "We have to save. Our next opponents are the Dwarves. And their numbers are more than enough to make things difficult for us."
Eve uncorked the bottle and took a sip. The minor wounds on her body began to close without delay, fading away until no scars remained. She looked at her hands in amazement.
"Wow... I still can't believe it. This liquid is like magic."
Laguna offered a faint smile. "That's why it's so expensive. But remember, Red Potion only works for minor wounds. Deep wounds or serious injuries? You need more than potions."
Eve stood up, taking her time, then patted her thighs to clear away the dust and remaining ice that had stuck to them. "Okay. Let's continue."
They continued their journey to the place Harvey had visited—the entrance to the secret room.
Arriving in front of a large stone pillar surrounded by dense bushes, Eve glanced around. "Is this... some kind of door to another world?"
Laguna stepped closer to the pillar. He reached into his pocket and took out a small dagger, then began fiddling with the bottom of the pillar. "No. This is a path to the basement."
Eve approached, her gaze fixed on Laguna with interest. "Then what are you doing?"
"Trying to open the door."
"With... a knife?"
"Don't worry. "It's a simple mechanism," Laguna said, not looking up. His fingers moved quickly among the stone carvings."
A few seconds later, there was a deep click. The ground trembled with a gentle vibration. Then, a stone door swung down from behind the bushes, making a rumbling sound.
Eve's eyes widened. "Wow... Are you sure you're not a witch?"
Laguna grinned. "If I were a witch, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."
They walked into the dark passage ahead. The morning light faded as they entered the secrets hidden below.
After the secret door opened, a humid wind from underground immediately greeted them. The smell of metal and dust filled the air.
Laguna grabbed a black bow with silver carvings from his inventory. He also took out several arrows. He handed them to Eve.
"Eve, take this."
Eve stared at the bow with sparkling eyes. "Wow! Where did you get this? This is... beautiful!"
Laguna glanced at the dark hallway in front of them. "Remember this well. The hallway ahead is very narrow, with only one flight of stairs leading down before we reach the main room. I'll go in front. You stay behind and help from a distance."
Eve pouted her lips, puffing out her cheeks. "Hey! You haven't answered my question!"
Laguna nodded with a subtle gesture, tucking his sword into his waist. "I'll tell you later. We don't have time right now."
Eve snorted but continued to follow behind him, her steps silent on the ground. Her eyes were still staring at the bow in her hand with a faint smile.
They descended the stairs in a relaxed manner. Their footsteps were almost silent. Only the sound of dripping water and the whistling wind accompanied their journey.
Suddenly—
TING! TANG! TUNG!
The sound of hammers forging iron was faint to me.
"Shhh... we're close," Laguna whispered. "Slow down."
As they reached the end of the stairs, a view of a large room stretched out before them. In Drone Vision, the room had large furnaces, forging tables, and heavy woodworking tools. Glass tubes with strange orbs filled the space, too. The dwarves were busy with their work.
On the other side of the room, a dwarf larger than the others was holding Laguna's Drone Vision. Harvey sat not far from him, watching with a sly smile.
Laguna observed each of the dwarves in the room one by one. They had strong physiques on average. Their stats were: Strength 20, Vitality 15, Agility 8, and the others were below average. Only one stood out.
[Ricky]
Race: Dwarf
Skills: Stonehammer Mastery A, Mountain's Blessing C, Molten Flow Control C
Str: 25,
Vit: 30,
Agi: 8,
Int: 5,
Wis: 5,
Luk: 5
TING!
"INTERPRETER!" one of the dwarves shouted, dropping his hammer.
All heads immediately turned toward the stairs.
"Ricky! There he is! That's the Ashford kid! Aaron's little brother!" Harvey pointed out in a strong voice.
Ricky stood up, placed the drone vision on the table, and reached for the giant hammer that was resting there.
"So you're… the little brother of the man who killed my brother," he said in a deep, vengeful voice.
Laguna narrowed his eyes. "Little brother? Wait… you mean… Rocky?"
"RIGHT! Your brother killed him! I will avenge him! Dwarves! ATTACK!"
The dwarves raised their great hammers and ran toward Laguna and Eve.
"Eve! Aim one by one! I'll hold them here!" Laguna shouted, drawing her sword.
The narrow hallway became a natural defense. Laguna stood at the bottom of the stairs. She fended off attack after attack with speed and precision.
CLANG! CLANK! ZZZTT!
"Forward! Don't be afraid!" Ricky shouted from behind, pumping up his men.
One of the dwarves jumped up and swung his hammer from above his head. Laguna twisted her body and blocked the attack with a sharp slash of her sword.
THUMP!
Eve fired an arrow from the top of the stairs. Her arrow hit one of the dwarves' shoulders.
"AAARGH!"
"Nice shot!" Laguna shouted.
"Of course! I'm not only beautiful, but also accurate!" Eve replied with a mocking smile, although her face was still full of tension.
Another dwarf crept in from the side. Eve noticed and rushed to move. She shot two arrows in a row.
SWISH! SWISH!
Both were accurate, piercing the dwarf's leg and chest. They fell to the ground.
"They keep coming!" Laguna shouted, stepping back a bit to catch his breath.
"I'm out of arrows!" Eve shouted. "Three left!"
Laguna throws an arrow at Eve,"Use them with careful consideration! Focus on the ones trying to sneak up from the side!"
Laguna did her best, holding off two great hammers at once. One attacked from the right, and one from the left. She spun her sword around and stabbed one of the dwarfs in the leg, knocking him down.
Ricky approached the front lines with caution. His giant hammer was steaming hot.
"Now it's my turn," he said.
"Eve! Get ready! This is the strongest of them all!" Laguna straightened up, ready to meet the strongest enemy.
Ricky roared and raised his great hammer high, then swung it toward Laguna and Eve with great force.
"Watch out!" Laguna shouted as he pulled Eve away.
The two of them jumped to the side, out of the narrow staircase that had been their battleground. Once they entered a larger area, Laguna assumed a defensive stance. Eve positioned herself behind him.
Laguna wiped the blood from his temple, his breath coming in short gasps. Beside him, Eve looked exhausted, her hands shaking as she reached for the next arrow.
Ricky, strong and muscular, had sweat dripping from his beard. He still held his great hammer as if it weighed nothing since the fight had begun.
"You're strong for a mere human," Ricky growled. "But this isn't over yet."
Laguna stood firm, even though his knees were about to collapse. "So are we. We won't stop until you give up."
"I don't know the meaning of the word 'give up'!" Ricky roared and hit the ground with his hammer. Cracks spread out in all directions.
Laguna jumped to the left, avoiding the rising wave of earth. Eve let loose an arrow, but Ricky blocked it with the handle of his hammer.
"Quick, keep up the pressure!" Laguna shouted as he attacked from the side, slashing with his sword. Ricky twisted and blocked it, then retaliated with a horizontal blow.
BRUAKK!
Laguna was thrown into the wall and groaned in pain. Eve immediately ran to his side, then fired two arrows in succession at Ricky.
One arrow hit his shoulder, and the other struck his stomach. Still, Ricky stood firm, yanking the arrows out like tiny thorns.
"You guys... are stubborn!" Ricky roared and charged at them again, his hammer spinning in the air.
Laguna raised his shield while Eve ran around, trying to distract him. Ricky slammed into Laguna's shield and pushed him back three steps. Eve took advantage of the gap to stab Ricky with an arrow.
"ARGH!!" Ricky screamed in pain, but still didn't fall. Instead, he swung his hammer at Eve.
Eve jumped back, but she couldn't avoid it. The hammer's edge hit her shoulder, and she fell to the ground.
"Eve!" Laguna shouted, then ran at her with a flurry of blows.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Ricky blocked each blow, but his movements began to slow. He struggled to breathe. His right hand began to shake from the pressure.
Finally, they all stopped.
Laguna staggered to his feet. Eve propped herself on her knees, forcing herself to stay conscious. Ricky stood on one knee, blood dripping from his chin.
Silence fell over the room; the only sound audible was the heavy breathing of the three of them.
Then—
"That's enough," Harvey said in a low but audible voice.
They all turned. Harvey walked over to a glass tube on the side of the room. With a loud slam, he shattered it.
Crrraaakkk!
The tube shattered, and Harvey pulled a pitch-black orb from inside. Without hesitation, he threw it into his mouth and swallowed it.
"Harvey, stop! Don't!" Ricky shouted, his eyes wide.
But it was too late.
Harvey's body began to shake. Black veins spread from his neck to his face. His eyes turned pitch black.
A rumbling sound came from the ground, and a dark aura began to surround Harvey. The air became heavy; the room felt colder.
Eve shivered. "What... is he doing...?"
Laguna could only stare with a tense gaze. "That's no ordinary magic..."
A dark aura began to radiate from Harvey's body, forming a small vortex around him.
A more terrible battle... had begun.