34.2. Centinels
I sprawled myself onto the ground with a triumphant sigh. Over a dozen kills and over 20 levels above me but only a single level, huh? It wasn’t the best gains I had gotten in the Dungeon. However it felt good to level so soon after a previous level up just the day before.
So I didn’t let it bother me.
Daniel panted in relief, letting his sword dig into the ground next to me.
“That was dangerous.”
“But good for experience.”
I straightened and shot him a smirk. The Human man shook his head, murmuring under his breath.
“Not if we died.”
“We didn’t die.”
Edithe spoke simply as she strode over to us; Mistshard and Druma were gone— the Human woman unable to sustain them after the battle was over. It took a bit of time for her to use the [Return Summon] Skill, but now it was done and she took a seat next to me in our makeshift camp from weeks ago.
“The experience was rewarding, however we didn’t do it just for that.”
She nodded at me.
“Thanks to your quick thinking, Salvos, we were able to take out those Centinels here and now. If they had reached even a city like Hazelbury— there would have been a lot of innocent lives lost before they would be taken down.”
“Huh.”
I looked at her, then at the broken body of one of the few Centinels that crested to the top.
“Are they that dangerous?”
“Anything above Level 50 is dangerous. Even those Giant Spiders we’ve been fighting are dangerous to any of the nearby towns. That’s why it’s wrong for the Iron Champions Company to keep a Dungeon such as this hidden. And Centinels too?”
Edithe sighed and rubbed at her temples.
“They’re especially dangerous because they can dig through the ground. They’ll just go under the city walls and attack anything they see. If there really is a nest or a Lair of them down in the Dungeon— we need to return to Hazelbury and notify the authorities. These may only be Juniors, but Seniors wouldn’t even have to dig under a wall to get through it.”
I nodded.
“Dangerous then.”
“Right.”
“There’s probably a Lair, I think. There were a lot of them— they were attacking the Giant Spiders. Dozens of them.”
“Then all the more reason we should return to Hazelbury as soon as possible. Come on.”
Edithe hauled her sack over her shoulder and looked over at us expectantly. Daniel sighed, gathering his things.
“Why didn’t they burrow through the earth? I mean, you said they can do that, right?”
“I’m not really sure—”
“They wouldn’t.”
I spoke simply. The two Humans exchanged a glance as we started away from the Dungeon. Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Why not?”
“Because they’re stupid. I saw the way they acted. Other monsters— like the Giant Spiders— they would only protect their territory. Most would give up chasing me after a while. But these Centinels? None gave up. They didn’t think whether a dozen of them breaking away from the rest to attack me was worth it for them. They just saw me and wanted to kill me. Like wild Demons.”
Edithe smiled.
“You really have a thing against these ‘wild Demons’, don’t you?”
I folded my arms across my chest.
“Of course! They’re mindless Demons! They just want to kill me! I have no reason to like them.”
The Human woman nodded. Then she lightly placed her hand on my head.
“Well, Salvos, it’s a good thing you aren’t like them, aren’t you?”
I paused, staring up at the Human woman, then at Daniel. They both looked at me with a soft face— completely different from when I first met either of them. And I felt as if they were finally looking at me.
Slowly, I smiled.
“Yep!”
—-
“—and that’s why you came to hate wild Demons?”
“Yes! She was just there one moment, then it crushed her!”
“...the Netherworld sounds like an incredibly harsh place. Why do you even want to go back there?”
Daniel turned to me, his brows were creased and a grimace plastered onto his face.
“Because Haec is there.”
I spoke simply. Daniel blinked, but Edithe just laughed.
“You know, Salvos, you’re actually quite simple aren’t you?”
“Hey!”
I looked over at the Human woman with a glare, however she didn’t blanche. She didn’t step back in fear or wariness. Instead, she just waved a hand off lightly.
“It’s not a bad thing, really. Honestly, us Humans are often so complicated, it gets really tiring sometimes.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
Daniel muttered with a sigh. I glanced between the two Humans, my lips curled up as I shook my head.
“I agree. You Humans are weird! But that’s not really a bad thing.”
“You think?”
The Human man eyed me dubiously. I nodded eagerly.
“You’re not like rocks at all.”
“I… don’t even know where to start with that.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t hate us. You’re going to be around lots of us again soon. Come on, Hazelbury is just up ahead.”
We continued walking up the dirt road; neither Mistshard nor Druma were with us since Edithe had no reason to summon them. The three of us had been traveling at a slower pace than it took us to get to the Dungeon, and after a few days, we had finally arrived, cresting up the tall hill a few miles from the city.
I stopped as the two halted midstep. Edithe’s eyes bulged out of their sockets while Daniel just stared in shock at the sight before us. I blinked as I took in the state of Hazelbury.
The gates of the city lay broken, the walls covered in ash. Smoke billowed up from the city ahead.
So as the sun rose from the horizon, my companions and I returned to Hazelbury only to find the city had been attacked.
By Lucerna.
Announcement
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Salvos: Vol. 1, Curious Beginnings (A LitRPG Evolution Story)!
34.2. Centinels
I sprawled myself onto the ground with a triumphant sigh. Over a dozen kills and over 20 levels above me but only a single level, huh? It wasn’t the best gains I had gotten in the Dungeon. However it felt good to level so soon after a previous level up just the day before.
So I didn’t let it bother me.
Daniel panted in relief, letting his sword dig into the ground next to me.
“That was dangerous.”
“But good for experience.”
I straightened and shot him a smirk. The Human man shook his head, murmuring under his breath.
“Not if we died.”
“We didn’t die.”
Edithe spoke simply as she strode over to us; Mistshard and Druma were gone— the Human woman unable to sustain them after the battle was over. It took a bit of time for her to use the [Return Summon] Skill, but now it was done and she took a seat next to me in our makeshift camp from weeks ago.
“The experience was rewarding, however we didn’t do it just for that.”
She nodded at me.
“Thanks to your quick thinking, Salvos, we were able to take out those Centinels here and now. If they had reached even a city like Hazelbury— there would have been a lot of innocent lives lost before they would be taken down.”
“Huh.”
I looked at her, then at the broken body of one of the few Centinels that crested to the top.
“Are they that dangerous?”
“Anything above Level 50 is dangerous. Even those Giant Spiders we’ve been fighting are dangerous to any of the nearby towns. That’s why it’s wrong for the Iron Champions Company to keep a Dungeon such as this hidden. And Centinels too?”
Edithe sighed and rubbed at her temples.
“They’re especially dangerous because they can dig through the ground. They’ll just go under the city walls and attack anything they see. If there really is a nest or a Lair of them down in the Dungeon— we need to return to Hazelbury and notify the authorities. These may only be Juniors, but Seniors wouldn’t even have to dig under a wall to get through it.”
I nodded.
“Dangerous then.”
“Right.”
“There’s probably a Lair, I think. There were a lot of them— they were attacking the Giant Spiders. Dozens of them.”
“Then all the more reason we should return to Hazelbury as soon as possible. Come on.”
Edithe hauled her sack over her shoulder and looked over at us expectantly. Daniel sighed, gathering his things.
“Why didn’t they burrow through the earth? I mean, you said they can do that, right?”
“I’m not really sure—”
“They wouldn’t.”
I spoke simply. The two Humans exchanged a glance as we started away from the Dungeon. Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Why not?”
“Because they’re stupid. I saw the way they acted. Other monsters— like the Giant Spiders— they would only protect their territory. Most would give up chasing me after a while. But these Centinels? None gave up. They didn’t think whether a dozen of them breaking away from the rest to attack me was worth it for them. They just saw me and wanted to kill me. Like wild Demons.”
Edithe smiled.
“You really have a thing against these ‘wild Demons’, don’t you?”
I folded my arms across my chest.
“Of course! They’re mindless Demons! They just want to kill me! I have no reason to like them.”
The Human woman nodded. Then she lightly placed her hand on my head.
“Well, Salvos, it’s a good thing you aren’t like them, aren’t you?”
I paused, staring up at the Human woman, then at Daniel. They both looked at me with a soft face— completely different from when I first met either of them. And I felt as if they were finally looking at me.
Slowly, I smiled.
“Yep!”
—-
“—and that’s why you came to hate wild Demons?”
“Yes! She was just there one moment, then it crushed her!”
“...the Netherworld sounds like an incredibly harsh place. Why do you even want to go back there?”
Daniel turned to me, his brows were creased and a grimace plastered onto his face.
“Because Haec is there.”
I spoke simply. Daniel blinked, but Edithe just laughed.
“You know, Salvos, you’re actually quite simple aren’t you?”
“Hey!”
I looked over at the Human woman with a glare, however she didn’t blanche. She didn’t step back in fear or wariness. Instead, she just waved a hand off lightly.
“It’s not a bad thing, really. Honestly, us Humans are often so complicated, it gets really tiring sometimes.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
Daniel muttered with a sigh. I glanced between the two Humans, my lips curled up as I shook my head.
“I agree. You Humans are weird! But that’s not really a bad thing.”
“You think?”
The Human man eyed me dubiously. I nodded eagerly.
“You’re not like rocks at all.”
“I… don’t even know where to start with that.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t hate us. You’re going to be around lots of us again soon. Come on, Hazelbury is just up ahead.”
We continued walking up the dirt road; neither Mistshard nor Druma were with us since Edithe had no reason to summon them. The three of us had been traveling at a slower pace than it took us to get to the Dungeon, and after a few days, we had finally arrived, cresting up the tall hill a few miles from the city.
I stopped as the two halted midstep. Edithe’s eyes bulged out of their sockets while Daniel just stared in shock at the sight before us. I blinked as I took in the state of Hazelbury.
The gates of the city lay broken, the walls covered in ash. Smoke billowed up from the city ahead.
So as the sun rose from the horizon, my companions and I returned to Hazelbury only to find the city had been attacked.
By Lucerna.
Announcement
Want to read ahead but can't afford patreon? Read the next six chapters ahead up to chapter 40 on Amazon kindle right now for only $2.99!
Click here to buy it, and please don't forget to leave a review! Amazon reviews require no word minimum, so you can just write a quick sentence about it! It would really really really help me out!
Salvos: Vol. 1, Curious Beginnings (A LitRPG Evolution Story)!
