Ray temporarily joined an A rank party led by Kyle, a young but experienced adventurer. She was quite famous among men for her beauty.
Her party consisted of Matt, a dwarf, and the shields man. Lily, a human female and the archer, she had an enchanted bow. Tidlen, a wolf man and the magician, he also had a gift that made it easier to detect and weave mana. And lastly, Kyle, the leader of the party, she wielded the dagger.
After introducing themselves, they headed towards the Ruins in a jeep. The jeep used mana to turn the wheels. This mana was provided by either the mana crystals or a magician. There were many mana devices attached to each other to provide comfort and control over the vehicle.
While some of the devices provided things such as cool air or play recorded music, most of the other mana devices were used to give the drivers more control over the vehicle.
The Ruins were not that far from their town, Bani. It was refugee town with all sorts of people. Though the town did not have that many facilities, it still had the necessities that one needed. These Ruins were newly discovered as they were hidden in the forest cliffs.
Supposedly a gatherer had mistakenly activated the entrance to the Ruin causing a landslide resulting in his death.
***
Kyle was a veteran adventurer. Because of various reasons she had become an adventurer when she was only 9. She had faced a lot of challenges and even made her own party at the age of 18.
Yet she was very surprised when she heard the news of an A rank at the age of 16. She didn't believe it at first. But the same boy had asked for a party and she let him join, partly curious of his skill. If he was a fake then it would be good know early, but if he was real then it would not be bad to make him an acquaintance.
But he had surprised everyone by his skill. Their opponents were Drossi, intermediate rank monsters that were a low subspecies of dragons. The were mostly used as slaves but they were not easy monsters to beat.
But Ray, was perfect in teamwork and his flawless swordsmanship and awareness, let the party fight to their full potential. It wasn't long before there were countless Drossi corpses.
The Drossi were humanoid monsters. They had sharp claws, and could breathe fire. Their body was covered in hard scales of black or red and normal weapons would not do much damage.
Though, they were usually quite difficult to slay, their team right then was in an optimal condition and managed to clear the whole corridor.
Kyle originally thought that an addition to their party would cause problems with team work as they would not be accustomed to the party.
But she was in disbelief as Ray understood her orders and never questioned them. He also expertly cooperated with her party. Such a feat would only be possible with a lot of experience but how could a 17-year-old boy have such experience?
After clearing the corridor, they looked for clues to open the door leading them inside. As she searched, she noticed that Matt was less tired than usual, even Tidlen and Lily seemed more enthusiastic.
As they searched for clues, they made small talk. It seemed as if Ray was an old member of the group as he was easily involved in the conversations.
After much searching, they found tiles with unique runes. Matt being knowledgeable in rune magic, pointed them out.
"Look here, these tiles have runes etched on them. Maybe its clue. Try to find more of these tiles." said Matt.
"Easier said than done. You finding that tile must have been a fluke or something. We have been searching for so long without a single clue." Lily interjected.
"What kind of runes are those? I've not seen anything like them before" exclaimed Tidlen. It seemed that his curiosity was starting to get the better of him.
"Hey, look is this a piece of it?" Said Ray as he pointed towards a broken tile.
When Matt came over to see, he looked disheartened as the rune tile had broken." How? Runes normally never get destroyed till they have been used"
Kyle, also coming over, saw the broken rune. She knelt and picked up the piece. She slowly channelled some mana into it and it glowed. The remaining pieces of the rune flew towards it and the rune completed itself.
Looking at the complete rune tile, Kyle said "I knew it. Runes never get broken. Someone purposely put a spell to scatter their mana. Its illusion magic."
At the same time, Tidlen had also found a broken rune tile. He also tried channelling mana into the tile and all its pieces joined again.
After becoming familiar with the mana signatures of the runes, Tidlen used his gift of detection to find all the remaining rune tiles.
"I guess my gift came in real handy. There are lot of these tiles." Tidlen said as he examined the tiles.
"…Hm 12 of them" Lily counted the runes as everyone else looked.
Matt, after examining the runes carefully, started to put them in different patterns. Tidlen excitedly hovered over Matt, asking him to teach about the runes. Finally, after about 15minutes the runes started glowing and the huge door magically opened.
After getting ready, Kyle and her party ventured into the main ruins of dragons.
As soon as they entered the light stones on the side of the walls glowed lighting their way. The walls were very strong as they were made by Adamantium (A very strong and rare metal. It's usually insanely expensive).
Not long after entering the ruins the party was surrounded by Drossi. As they fought their way deeper into the ruins, only more Drossi attacked them.
After fighting for a long time, everyone was tired. So, Kyle decided that they should take a break. But unfortunately for them they were continuously swarmed by the Drossi and they could not rest.
After what seemed like an eternity, they came across a room where there were no Drossi. It was a small room, like a storage area but it had a bed and book shelves. Seeing the absence of the Drossi in the room and after checking for any potential traps, they all finally decided to rest there.
Matt slumped on the ground as he was understandably very tired by stopping all the incoming attacks. His shield was a special that emitted an energy barrier to extend its size and reduced the user's burden. Yet it was also in a rough shape.
Lily's bow was fine but she did not have many arrows left. Her magic gun also lacked ammo.
Magic guns used mana bullets. They were a special kind of bullets that condensed the user's mana. Thus, magic guns were quite taxing for the people and less practical in ruins or Nests.
Tidlen was also quite low on mana and was drinking mana recovery potion. But the surprising thing was that Ray looked much better than them even though he was on the frontline.
Even Kyle was quite tired as she drank potions. They had brought enough food and thus decided to eat.
While eating Matt asked Ray "when did you become an adventurer."
"Well…I became adventurer when I was 11. I was a refugee and an orphan so; I needed to earn to live."
'I can't say that I was the demon lord and my powers and also sealed.
Moreover, I like being an adventurer. I get to travel to different cities and experience the changes and development. I also can fight monsters to increase my strength even more.'
"How did you survive at the Nests?" asked Lily suddenly curious.
"At that time, I just worked as a porter."
"I heard that you mostly worked solo. Why is that? Isn't it much safer to join a party?" Lily asked again. Though at this question, Ray's face stiffened a bit with a serious and nostalgic look, but it was just for an instant. Looking at him Lily apologised as she had been very insensible.
Ray just brushed it off, but Kyle who had been listening had clearly noticed his expressions.
I observed the different personalities and tendencies of my party members. Matt was friendly and humble but determined at the same time. A good personality for a shields man.
He bravely defended against the attacks without hesitating. One could tell he was experienced; he parried the heavy blows and pushed forward at the quick blows. Most shield men know this strategy but it is difficult to use it skilfully in real battles.
Tidlen was also friendly and was very curious and interested in magic. His gift allowed him to easily find the rest of the hidden tiles. Also, he was quite skilled at timely magic casting.
Meanwhile kyle was more observant and quieter. She skilfully used her dagger and perfectly aimed for the Drossi' s weak points while manoeuvring between the attacks.
Lily had a more outgoing personality. She was skillful at using her bow. She had perfect timing and good accuracy. For an archer timing is essential. Her arrows supported the attack whenever needed adequately.
But her curiosity sometimes led to her asking more than necessary about others…
After resting, they decided to move onwards. Tidlen used his gift of detection to find their next path, but surprisingly, his gift pointed towards the same room.
They were all confused, and they started thoroughly examining the room for some clues.
Just then Lily found that showed resonance with her bow. Her bow was enchanted so resonance meant that the book also contained mana stored inside.
She told about her finding to the rest of the team, and they all decided to try channelling mana into it.
A hidden passage way opened. And a bright room was seen at the end.
As they passed through the passageway into the luxurious hall. It was so grand that we all were left in awe.
Huge pillars rising to hold the ceiling, chandeliers lighting the space golden, a domelike structure very unbecoming of the old deteriorated entrance.
[to be continued]