"Kill her! Kill her!" the crowd shouted.
A boy was forced to the ground. An adult placed a hand on the boy's head. The boy cried.
"Stop, please stop! I'm begging you!" he sobbed.
In front of him, something was burning.
"Shidaken! Shidaken! Shidaken!"
Shidaken slowly opened his eyes, seeing a familiar face.
"…Fin" Shidaken muttered.
"Are you okay? You were breathing heavily, was it a nightmare?" Fin asked.
Fin was Shidaken's roommate.
Shidaken and Fin were part of the Royal Order, a prestigious imperial force that served as a shield for the empire and the emperor.
"No, I'm okay" Shidaken replied.
"Wake up! Oh yeah, a new lair has been discovered" Fin said.
"A what? Where?" Shidaken asked, sitting up slowly.
"Just outside the city, a few kilometers away. Hurry up and get ready, we've been ordered by the higher-ups to investigate the lair and report back. We might hit the jackpot if we're lucky" Fin said.
"How are we going to hit the jackpot? We're not like adventurers who can take loot from lairs. We're part of the Royal Order, we're government dogs" Shidaken replied.
"No, this time the higher-ups gave us special permission. They said we can take anything we find, as long as it's not rare or legendary" Fin explained.
"Ohhhh! Really?" Shidaken said.
"Yes! I'm heading out now. See you at the lair" Fin said with a grin.
He stood up from his chair. "Meet you at the lair" he added as he exited the room.
Minutes later…
Shidaken arrived at the gate. Several squads had already gathered.
"Shidaken!" Fin called out.
Shidaken approached him, three unfamiliar faces stood beside Fin, Shidaken narrowed his eyes.
"Who are they? new friends?" he asked.
"Yes, meet my friends. you guys, introduce yourselves" Fin said.
"My name is Lilia. I'm a healer."
[Name: Lilia
Species: Human
Skill: Healing
Status: E-Rank Royal Knight – Healer (Level 1)
EP: 1010]
"My name is Zhou. I'm a tank."
[Name: Zhou
Species: Human
Skill: Attribute Enhancement
Status: E-Rank Royal Knight – Tank (Level 1)
EP: 1050]
"My name is Kikio. I'm an assassin."
[Name: Kikio
Species: Human
Skill: Invisibility
Status: E-Rank Knight– Assassin (Level 1)
EP: 1030]
"What happened to your previous squad?" Shidaken asked Fin.
Everyone looked at Fin.
"Ah… they were given a seperate mission somewhere else" Fin answered.
"And what about your squad?" Fin asked.
"They kicked me out" Shidaken replied.
"Ahh… How many squads you have been kicked out? Sorry, I didn't mean that to sound rude" Fin said quickly.
"It's okay. I don't mind" Shidaken replied.
"Shidaken, why don't you join my squad? Since we're all E-Rank knight, no one really wants us on their squads. That's why we formed this squad and we need one more member to qualify for the Lair raid."
"Royal Order guards must be in a squad of five to be eligible to participate in a lair raid, no matter the level of threat the lair poses."
"Well, it looks like I have no other choice but to accept your offer" Shidaken said.
"Then that means" Fin began.
Shidaken nodded.
"My name is Shidaken. I'm a mage. Nice to meet you."
[Name: Shidaken
Species: Human
Skill: Five Element Manipulation | ???
Status: D-Rank Royal Knight
EP: 1100]
"And I'm Fin, a knight."
[Name: Fin
Species: Human
Skill: Sword Knight
Status: D-Rank Royal knight – Knight (Level 1)
EP: 5080]
"Nice to meet you all. Looking forward to the raid" Fin said.
"Let's go!" he shouted.
"Yeah!" everyone cheered, except for Shidaken, who wasn't the type to get excited.
They stepped through the gate, shielding their eyes from a bright flash of light.
When their vision cleared, they found themselves inside a castle. Crystals embedded in the walls shone like diamonds, casting a bluish glow that lit up the surroundings.
"Let's move forward" Fin said.
Suddenly, goblins began materializing in front of them.
"Don't panic! They're just goblins eight of them" Fin called out.
"Zhou, take the ones on the left. Shidaken, the right. Lilia, stay in the back and provide support. Kikio, protect Lilia."
"Yes!" they responded in unison.
Zhou leapt forward, slamming his shield into the goblins one after another, sending them flying.
At the same time, Shidaken raised a hand and calmly chanted:
"Firebolt."
A flicker of flame formed in his palm and quickly grew in size.
He launched the firebolt at the goblins. Their screams echoed through the corridor as they were incinerated.
Finally, Fin charged forward and beheaded the remaining enemies.
"Let's keep going" Fin ordered.
Everyone nodded and continued on, defeating many monsters along the way.
Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor, where a massive red iron door stood before them. Statues flanked either side of the entrance.
"Ahh! After an hour of walking, we've finally reached the boss room" Lilia said, stretching.
"This is my first time fighting a boss monster" Kikio said nervously.
"Really?" Lilia asked.
"Yeah" Kikio replied.
"Don't worry. Don't tense up. Stay calm and trust in your strength! Hahaha!" Zhou laughed.
"Zhou, can you open the door?" Fin asked.
"Yes! Leave it to me" Zhou said confidently.
He stepped forward, placed both hands on the iron doors, and pushed them open.
The team stepped into the boss room.
A red carpet lined the floor. Tall pillars led the way toward a circular platform at the center of the room.
Fin's group moved forward cautiously.
"Where's the boss?" Kikio asked.
"The boss will appear once we reach the center. Stay alert" Zhou replied.
Kikio nodded.
As they reached the center, a massive figure suddenly dropped from above, slamming into the ground with a thunderous impact.
The explosion that followed rocked the chamber, hurling debris in every direction and choking the air with a thick cloud of dust.
Instinctively, everyone shielded their eyes, bracing themselves as a powerful shockwave surged through the room, its force pressing against them like a tidal wave of raw energy.
A dark silhouette began to emerge from the dust cloud.
"High Winds!"
Wind exploded outward from Shidaken's body in all directions, the dust vanished in an instant.
Standing at the center of the chamber was an humanoid monster. It's chilling presence his long hair hung over it's face like a curtain of shadow, spilling down past its feet in tangled strands.
It radiated a menacing aura, so powerful, it could crush the will of even the bravest warriors.