A city lay in ruins after a grand battle with a powerful magical beast. Governmental workers dug through the debris, doing their best to clean everything up, while in the background, the corpse of the beast in question lay motionless.
It looked almost like a giant bat, but with the head of a lion. A massive hole went through its skull, where a lance had blown through it.
"Everyone has what it takes if they're willing to put in the work." Standing atop the head of the beast was a woman in advanced, futuristic power armor. She wielded a mighty lance, which was currently floating in the air behind her. One hand was on her hip, and the other pointed to the camera. "Are you willing to put in the work? I want you for the Arcane Knights!"
At the bottom of the screen, text rolled out reading, 'This message is sponsored by the Lance of Estiria. Please ensure you register for the Arcane Knights before the end of next month.'
"Put the phone away, Olivia."
Olivia jumped when she heard Rosco speak, and she looked around with wide eyes, realizing she had lost focus again. After the fire, she had followed Bruno and Rosco home and enjoyed a nice meal. It had been night when she and Bruno set out for Lotus, and now it was well past midnight.
"Sorry." She said sheepishly, and she turned the video that was playing off. "Though it was just getting to the good part. I got to see the Lance of Estiria again! She's so cool!"
Rosco twirled his wand and spoke a simple spell. "Row Ice Hands!" The air grew colder, and a few dozen hands made out of ice appeared and began to clear off the table, taking all the plates to the sink, where they started to wash them. "You can browse the internet later." Rosco chuckled, placing his hands on his hips. "Right now, it's time for bed."
"We're going to have to wake up early tomorrow." Bruno agreed, nodding his head. "Who knows when one of the Arcane Knights will show up?"
Olivia shook her head and pouted a bit. "I can't believe you actually hired an Arcane Knight to come here."
Rosco gave a bit of a sheepish look and shrugged. "We didn't really have a choice, did we? This creature is clearly a magical beast, and I can't fight it. I'm not strong enough, like the Arcane Knights are. Those guys specialize in slaying monsters and other things like this. I thought you'd be excited about it. I already made the call, so there isn't anything to be done. Besides, they have already charged me for the fee."
"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to meet one. The Knights are expensive, though," Olivia muttered. "Getting an Arcane Knight to come out to a place like this costs a lot of money." That was one of the reasons she partly wanted to become an Arcane Knight. It'd be great to help the village out since Arcane Knights made such a fortune. Of course, she had another reason for genuinely wanting to be one.
Despite working alongside the government and with them for most things, the Knights weren't actually a government job like cops or the military. They served under the king of Estria out of loyalty, and both sides shared a deal, but technically speaking, the Arcane Knights were freelancers and hired mercenaries that could do their own thing so long as they didn't make an enemy of the kingdom. Estiria was willing to let them get away with a lot, since at the end of the day, the Knights were real-life superheroes and the only line of defense left that could hope to match the magical beasts, which not even the military could stop.
Rosco finished putting all the dishes away and turned his magic off. He rubbed his chin a bit and hummed. "Maybe there was a better way, but it's too late now." He shook his head. "We can worry about it tomorrow. For now, let's just focus on getting some rest."
"Yeah." Bruno yawned and stretched. "I'm exhausted. That's the last time Olivia and I stay in Lotus past curfew."
"It better be." Rosco snorted. "I'm getting sick and tired of you kids running off in the middle of the night. It was well past midnight, you know. What if something bad happened?"
"We can handle ourselves, old man!" Bruno announced, only to instantly be forced into a headlock by his father. "I yield!"
"You wanna talk back, too?" Rosco teased, glancing at Olivia, who let out an innocent whistle and put her book away, rolling her shoulders.
While Rosco and Bruno talked, she was getting ready for bed. She was just about to lie down when something glimmered in the corner of her eye. Her head snapped over to it, and she found herself looking out the window. The village was silent, all lights off, and not a soul was supposed to be outside other than the guards, yet she was sure that she had seen someone stalking around.
"Is something wrong, Olivia?" Rosco asked when he noticed her staring outside.
Olivia remained in place, staring, before finally shaking her head. "No. Sorry, I just got a bit distracted. I'm going to go to bed; good night."
"Good night?" Rosco and Bruno shared an odd look as she climbed into her bed. Eventually, they shook their heads and went to bed themselves.
As the house grew silent and the sounds of snoring filled the air, Olivia opened her eyes and slowly climbed out of bed. She was sure that she had just seen Ash sneaking through the village. She made her way back over to the window but didn't spot them this time. With a sigh, Olivia grabbed her shoes.
"What are those idiots up to?" She muttered.
Though she was pretty sure she had a good idea. They were going after the dragon.
***
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Ash?" Trent asked nervously.
Ash didn't bother looking back at his friend and kept marching through the village. "Are you doubting me?"
"Of course not!" Trent's eyes went wide. "But did you hear what Olivia said? What if it's a dragon?"
"She said she knows how to beat it. Well, so do I." Ash rubbed his wand absentmindedly. "I know the documentary she was talking about that has the dragons' weakness in it. I once stole her phone from her, and it was in the middle of playing. Surprisingly, it was an interesting listen, and—never mind…"
"So you agree with Olivia that it's a dragon?" Nev raised an eyebrow.
Ash didn't say anything and instead kept marching forward through the village. Most of the people in Fri Village were asleep by now, but a few of the guards and farmers walked around with flashlights, making sure none of the kids did anything stupid like the three of them were about to do. One even floated through the air on a flying magitech motorcycle. The lookouts were pretty tired, though, so it was easy enough for the three of them to sneak past them all.
"Row Wind Hand!" Ash flicked his wand out, and the wind took the shape of a large hand, which carried him and his friends up past the wall, setting them down on the forest floor. "I'm going to show Olivia up," Ash stated. "She dared to claim she could kill the dragon; well, I'll beat her to it and be the real hero!"
Olivia was an outcast in the village. Not only did her magic type suck, she didn't even belong. She had been dropped off at Fri nearly eight years ago. She had only been ten when she was abandoned. She'd be alone if not for Rosco, who took her in. Her life was just sort of sucky, which always pissed Ash off more since she kept smiling and declaring that her dream wasn't dead. Unlike her, he had a chance at joining the Arcane Knights. He was everything she wasn't, after all.
He was talented. He was the one who passed every combat test that the academy threw at him, and he was the one to slay the ogre in record time.
Figuring out where the dungeon was turned out to be shockingly easy. Dungeons had a powerful EMP field around them that shut down electronics, so before he set out with his friends, Ash had flown a drone up the mountain until it suddenly went dead. This gave him a pretty good idea of where the dungeon's entrance was.
Ash climbed the trail, getting higher and higher up the mountain. It got colder, and the air got less and less dense. By the time he did reach a cave opening, his legs were killing him. Trent and Nev weren't in better shape either, both boys gasping for air and struggling to breathe.
At the entrance of the cave was his drone. It had dropped into the mud, and he pulled out his phone, finding it had become totally dead and unresponsive.
"Are you sure about this, Ash?" Nev asked once they reached the top.
"Not you, too." Ash groaned and shoved the broken drone into Trent's arm. "Do you two not have faith in me? You saw me take the final exam test earlier today, right? I can kill it. I know I can. I was able to easily one-shot an ogre." He lifted his wand and forced a smirk on his face. "Just watch me! You're looking at a future Arcane Knight!"
Directly in the center of the cave entrance was the gate that led into the dungeon. A gate referred to the entrance to a dungeon, and it could appear anywhere and come in any form. Once you stepped past a gate, you'd appear inside of the dungeon, which could look like anything. Most gates were small, and most dungeons were also small and would only contain a few monsters or two. Once the alpha of a dungeon was dealt with, the gate would close and seal shut after some time and vanish.
All combat lessons hosted by magic academies offered a magitech deck that could use a mix of illusion magic, conjuration magic, and holograms to simulate pocket dungeons that students could try to beat. Most failed, since many mages weren't suited to combat or being able to cast more than ten spells, but some were able to do well and pass the exams that were held. It was required to take these lessons and several other ones in order to have the qualification to join the police force. Both the military and the Knights would allow a mage to join without these tests, but it helped them secure a spot in the long run.
The issue with a gate in the real world, which the simulations didn't do justice to, though, was that monsters could step out of it and leave at any time, just like how humans could enter the gate and appear in the dungeon.
"Did you at least bring something in case the beast is resistant to magic?" Trent pleaded.
Ash let out a snort. "What would I have brought? The only gun in our shitty town is owned by farmer Jermy or Rosco. It'll be fine. I told you, I know how to take down a dragon."
Despite the fact that magic was so common, practically everyone could use it, modern weapons were still used heavily during times of war. This was because no matter how strong a spell might be, it was a lot faster to point and shoot a gun. Not to mention, some mages could even combine sorcery with their firearms.
Even though guns did exist, most magical beasts were immune to bullets, and Knights were well beyond the scope of normal guns and only used gear forged from magic that was highly enchanted to get the job done.
"What if we get trapped in the dungeon, though?" Nev asked, trembling slightly. "We could become Magical Mutants?"
"Y-yeah." Trent nodded. "I don't want to become a Mutant. They say dungeon air is dangerous for humans."
"Knights enter dungeons all the time." Ash sighed.
"Those are Knights! They're basically demi-gods!"
"Anyone can become a Knight." Ash barked out and glared at his two friends. "Just as any person can physically train and join the police force or the military, anyone can put in the hard work required and become a Knight. This is the first step. I'm taking it. With or without you two!"
Ash ignored the two boys and stalked toward the cave where the gate resided. It was directly past the opening of the cave, and this particular gate looked like a glowing blue portal. It was a vortex and swirled around, humming softly. He couldn't see anything past the blue field, not even the rest of the cave, since the portal blocked it, and for a moment he hesitated.
"I can do this." Ash took a deep breath, forced himself forward, and jumped through the portal. Nev and Trent looked at each other for a moment, then finally they also walked forward and entered through the portal.
It wasn't how Ash thought it would be. He thought it would be uncomfortable stepping through the gate or it'd feel weird, but it was like going through a normal doorway. He didn't even feel the blue energy that washed over him. One moment he was stepping into the cave, and then the next he was stepping out into a new, bizarre area.
It wasn't like the inside of the cave. The floor was made out of jagged red crystals that caused Ash to wince as they dug past his shoes. The crystals kept spreading out, forming walls and a roof. They twisted and stabbed out in every direction, and the strange room he was in looked sort of like a long hallway that stretched out going forward into a much larger section that opened up.
The other thing he instantly noticed was the taste of the air. It was sour and burned his tongue, and his skin felt hot. The air was something he was used to, being a wind mage, but the air inside the dungeon felt wrong, like something was off.
Behind him was the glowing blue portal that would lead him out of the dungeon and back into the real world if he stepped through it again.
Nev and Trent both appeared after a few seconds, and both winced as they felt the red crystals stab into their heels. Ash had a flashlight, but he turned it off, since the light kept bouncing off the crystals and going in all directions.
A dungeon was owned by the alpha monster that lived within it. Each dungeon was different and made to give the alpha an advantage. Knights often entered dungeons and did battle with alpha monsters in order to slay the creatures and stop the monsters from coming out of the dungeon and evolving.
"Okay, we've checked it out; can we leave?" Nev asked, trying not to sound cowardly.
Ash just snorted. "You're starting to sound like useless Olivia. Now come on."
He began to walk down the only path he had, ignoring the pain in his feet. The hallway stretched down, and near the back of the crystal cave, it opened up and somehow got even darker. They hadn't been very silent as they walked through the cave, and something had taken note of them. It was just past the hallway, in a large room that opened up. This room had no crystals and instead had stone that was covered in scratch marks.
The monster was shrouded by the darkness, making it impossible to see its form, but whatever it was, it was big, and it had yellow eyes that pierced through the shadows and locked onto the three of them.
There was a spark of orange, and Ash realized it was about to unleash its flames. "Row Wind Barrier! Row Wind Bird!" He cast two spells at once. He knew his barrier wouldn't be able to hold the fire off for long, but he didn't need to. He just needed it to hold long enough for his attack spell to take the beast out. From the tip of his wand, a barrier of wind formed around him, Trent, and Nev, and then through his barrier, the wind took on the form of what looked like a large hawk, which screeched and blasted forward.
The fire launched out of the cave, and his bird avoided it. The flames rammed into his wind shield, which shook and began to crack, but it didn't matter because now the dragon was left wide open. Ash screamed out even louder and flicked his wand out, his bird launching to where the weakness was. Its scales would be parted, allowing his spell to pierce it and take it out in one hit, just like the Arcane Knights could do in the stories. This was why dragons had been wiped out, because of how easy it was to exploit this weakness. Ash got ready to brag. The reason he was so cocky was simple. From what he had read, taking down a dragon was deceptively easy.
'The scales of a dragon are truly formidable. Due to their large size and density, even someone able to wield the Arcane Arts would have trouble breaking through. The scales, however, have a single weakness. When the beast lets out its ferocious roar and unleashes its flames, part of the scales along its chest open just wide enough to allow something small to slide through. In theory, should someone be brave (or foolish enough), it could be possible to stab a sword directly into the dragon's heart, slaying the beast. Of course, this practice has never happened before.'
Until now, that was. It was an audiobook called Tales From Mordheim that told him of this weakness. This was most likely what Olivia had been talking about when she said she knew how to kill the dragon. She wouldn't be the one to do it, though! No! That honor went to him!
Ash's grin grew. He could already hear the praise. The Arcane Knight would arrive only to learn that he had already slain the beast, and all the glory would go to him. The Knight would have no choice but to invite him into the Arcane Knights on the spot. "I win." His spell faded as soon as it hit the creature and vanished. "Huh?"
"Ash!" Trent screamed as the barrier shattered and the fire roared toward them. The boy managed to grab his two friends, dragging them to the ground, but he wasn't fast enough and felt the flames lick his shoulder. Trent screamed as his arm caught on fire, and he dropped.
Nev's own eyes were wide and filled with horror. He flicked his wand out, casting a spell that put the flames on Trent out, but it was too late. Trent's arm was charred down to the bone, and the pain had caused the electric mage to black out. "What do we do now, Ash?" Nev gulped. "Ash?"
Ash's body shook, and he remained seated, staring at the darkness in fear as the creature crept forward. "Olivia was wrong. It's not a dragon."
The beast stepped forward, and the crystals reflected the fire's light, finally allowing Ash to gaze upon its form. Its skin was pale white, with a few scales across it, but not the amount a dragon had. It walked on all fours, its belly rubbing across the ground, and it had a fish-like tail that whipped back and forth. Its head was that of a snake, lacking wings—a fire salamander.
It was a freaking salamander! A different kind of lizard-looking monster that could breathe fire! Worse yet, they were known for having skin that was extremely spell-resistant. Only powerful magic on the level of an Arcane Knight could break through. Even rockets or anti-tank rounds would barely slow a fully grown fire salamander down.
That creature was also now stalking its way toward them.
"Ash!" Nev looked to his friend, but again, the boy wasn't standing. Ash just whimpered. Nev shook his head and stood up, letting out a loud yell. Mana began to bubble at the tip of his wand, and he slashed it down. "Row Fire Bolt!"
Within the Estiria kingdom, being able to cast spells wasn't rare. Perhaps it was because it was so bountiful, which was also the reason why it wasn't as impressive. Most mages couldn't do a lot with their magic, simply viewing it more or less as an extra tool they could use to make life a little bit easier. Only people such as Arcane Knights could truly use their magic in grand ways, and Nev certainly wasn't an Arcane Knight.
The spell slammed into the fire salamander and vanished. Nev gave the monster a sad look. "Yeah, I didn't think fire would work on a creature that has that word in its name, but I still had to try." Nev turned to look back at his friends. "Ash! Run—"
Nev was cut off when the salamander casually lifted an arm and swatted out. The thing was about as big as an elephant, and its force tore Nev off his feet. There was a horrible bone-shattering crunch that echoed through the cave, and Nev smashed into the cave wall headfirst. He didn't get back up.
"Nev!" Ash cried out in horror. His eyes were wide and fearful, and he tried crawling away, waving his wand out uselessly in front of him, casting spell after spell, but all of it just bounced off the salamander's hide. "Stay away from me!" He screamed. He couldn't fly away like he did from the ogre. There was no way to escape this thing's reach due to how enclosed the cave was, and even if he did take to the air, the monster would just launch a fireball at him. This wasn't like the simulations; it was real. "Row Wind Tornado!"
The wind blasted out of his wand and formed a jagged tornado, but he was unable to lift the monster off of the ground like he did the ogre. The salamander's claws dug into the stone floor, and it stayed rooted in place, ignoring the intense wind, causing Ash to let out a whimper. It stalked ever closer and peered down at him with lifeless, uncaring eyes.
"N-no! Wait! Please!" Ash felt himself having a panic attack, and he lost concentration on his spell, causing it to end. In the simulation, it was always easy. The air wasn't hot and didn't burn him, and his attacks always worked. Now that he was actually in a dungeon, he was starting to realize how hard it was to keep casting spells. The wind was heavier, and his mana flow was wrong. His head spun, and he nearly vomited.
How did Knights fight in these conditions every day?
The salamander slammed its hand down on Ash, attempting to crush the boy. Ash cried out, and at the last second, a bubble of red liquid appeared around him. It managed to stop the salamander's strike, and the bubble popped, splashing Ash in its liquid. It tasted of copper, and he knew what it was instantly.
"Run!" Olivia dove past the boy and ran further into the cave. The salamander's eyes followed her, and instead of using her wand to cast another spell, she chucked a rock at its eye, making it roar in anger at her. "Get out of here, Ash!"
The salamander began to chase after her, leaving Ash alone, who remained seated, staring down at all the blood on him. His hands shook, and he looked up, finding the salamander had left him behind, going deeper into the cave after Olivia.
The girl he had mocked, belittled, and bullied had just saved him.
"Why?" Ash felt his mouth go dry, and a pit in his gut opened up. "Why!"
The answer he received wasn't one he expected. A scratching sound scraped across the stone floor. Ash felt a sudden, intense chill crawl up his spine, and he knew he wasn't alone. He turned, shivering, and stared at the entrance of the cave as a new figure entered. One who wore dark black armor.
"W-who are you?" Ash whispered as he stared at the figure, but he knew what this was. An Arcane Knight had arrived.
The knight silently looked at Ash and then at the two unconscious boys. Further in the cave, orange flared up, and Olivia's yelling bounced off the walls. "Go." The Knight ordered. "Take them and flee. Now."
That was all Ash needed. He wasn't a hero. He wasn't the person that could slay the monster. He was just a kid. So, without further argument, Ash grabbed his friends and awkwardly dragged them out.